Once again. I don't own this it's just fanfic and I know it.
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Tony lay on his back in Ziva's bed, trying to fall asleep. His body called out for slumber as his mind churned the events of the past days over and over like prop wash from a boat. He took advantage of Ziva's absence to sprawl out. It didn't help. He wanted her to be next to him. Tomorrow maybe she would stay with him after she got out of the hospital. Maybe. Ziva didn't often spend the night. She liked her space. It made her happy so he didn't push the issue.
Tony rolled over and stuck his face down into her pillow and inhaled. His whole body ached with sleep deprivation. The thought that in a few hours he needed to pick Ziva up from the hospital made sleep even more elusive. He pushed his face further into her pillow. It didn't help. Snapshots of the past forty-eight hours clicked through his mind on fast forward.
X
After he and Ziva had broken out of the hanger they'd stumbled to side of the highway. Ziva clutched furtively at him. He held her, watching the colour drain from her lips until they were as pale as bleached bone. Her side seeped slowly, the blood running down her leg. Still, she stayed alert and on her feet. In fact, it was she that spotted Gibbs barreling down the highway like a member of hell's racing team.
The blue sedan whizzed past them at light speed, swung into the break down lane and flew backwards in reverse showering them with a spray of gravel. Gibbs leapt out of the car solo. No Rebekah in sight.
"Hey Gibbs." Ziva said before she passed out and pitched head long into him.
X
Shortly after midnight Tony grabbed his blanket and pillow and trudged into the living room to lie down on the sofa. He wrapped himself up like a mummy and willed his mind to stop.
X
He and Gibbs had driven an unconscience Ziva to the hospital fast enough to make the passing scenery blur. She came to in the emergency room and tried to rip out her IV. Ziva had no desire to be a patient. She fought the orderlies voraciously. Tony himself had pinned her to the bed with one hand placed firmly between her collarbones. Gibbs held her feet. Both men were relieved when one of the nurses injected her with diazepam. She suddenly became much more manageable.
Ziva lay in a befuddled Valium haze on her hospital bed with Tony and Gibbs by her side. Tony watched her attentively. She looked better, except for her eyes. They rolled around unfocused reminding him of the goofy plastic arts and crafts eyes that you glued on paper bag puppets as a kid. She rambled and babbled, her internal filter, such as it was, disengaged by the drug.
"So I sleep with Tony." She said to Gibbs, "What the hell do you care? We still do our job. 'Sides. I slept with you and we're fine."
X
The sofa wasn't working. Tony still couldn't sleep. He sat up and channel surfed until he came to some old black and white flick. He watched it with out absorbing anything. He had wanted to stay by Ziva's side in the hospital but Rebekah had kicked him and Gibbs out.
X
In the late afternoon Rebekah breezed into Ziva's room. She bent over her friend and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "We swept the airplane hanger and netted half a dozen operatives. I think some of them will talk."
"And Hannah?" Tony asked.
"Dead. I shot her in the chest. She scurried away but there's no way she could have survived the blood loss. She left a trail like a leaking tanker truck. I'm thinking one of her operatives made off with the body to keep us guessing. I have people there looking for it now." She wet a paper towel with cold water and wiped down Ziva's face. "She get sedated?"
"Ya think?" Gibbs said, speaking for the first time in hours.
"Good. Otherwise she's a real pain in the ass. We've done this before." Rebekah pulled up a chair and sat down. "I'll take it from here boys. You can go home now."
"I'm staying." Tony said. He might be exhausted but he wanted Ziva to know that he cared and would stay.
"Me too." Said Gibbs.
"Trust me. I know Ziva. She doesn't want you to see her like this. Go home and get some sleep. You'll need it so you can deal with her later." Rebekah grabbed Tony's shoulder and lifted him out of the chair, urging him towards the door.
Tony thought about it. He really was tired and when Ziva's diazepam wore off he'd have his hands full. Rebekah would take good care of her. "Give me a minute?" he asked.
Rebekah and Gibbs nodded and left him alone with Ziva.
Tony stared at her for a long while before pressing a kiss to her lips. She might look like hell but he knew she'd make it. "You'd better get better soon sweet cheeks. You owe me." He teased.
Ziva looked at him, smiled, and returned to la la land.
X
Listless, Tony got up from the sofa. He slunk into the bathroom and took a warm shower in the dark. It was Ziva's prescription for a sleepless night. He slumped against the wall and let the water run off him. Gibbs had given him the day to take care of her. Someone had to do it and Tony wasn't quite sure he wanted it to be him. Ziva was in a foul mood. Rarely had he had to remind himself that he loved her enough to not smother her with a pillow. Feeling drowsy he shut of the water, toweled dry and stumbled into bed.
As luck would have it Tony fell asleep two hours before his alarm went off. Groggily he dressed. He rooted through the laundry hamper and pulled out a reasonably clean shirt and pair of jeans. He skipped the shave and drove to the hospital stopping on the way to pick up coffee.
Shortly before 9 he strolled into Ziva's room, a coffee cup in each hand. Ziva wasn't in bed. He heard running water and the idle chatter of two women who know everything about each other. Ah, Ziva was in the shower and Rebekah was babysitting. They spoke in English as Rebekah seemed prone to do.
Listening to their light female voices echo off the tile of the bathroom, Tony pushed back unbidden images of the two pleasing each other under the warm spray. She's right. Sometimes I'm a jerk. Still, it's a pretty good fantasy.
He sat down to wait in chair by the bed.
"Pass me the razor, I need to shave my legs." Ziva said.
"Sweet heart, I wouldn't if I were you. You're supposed to take it easy for the next two weeks. I've seen the way flyboy looks at you. You're on the dinner menu. You might need an excuse to keep your pants on." Rebekah laughed.
"The bladder infection's enough for me." Ziva replied. Tony smiled. Poor Ziva. Not only did she have cracked ribs, a gunshot wound and a re-set thumb-she'd gotten a bladder infection from wearing those pants. That had almost pushed her over the edge.
Tony listened to them carefully. He'd never seen this side of Ziva before. He knew she had a plethora of friends but he'd never met any of them. Especially not one as willing to reveal everything about her as Rebekah was. He heard the shower shut off and Ziva groan as she exited.
"Careful." Rebekah said. "Remember what happened with your c- section? You almost bled to death."
"Don't worry. It's burned into my mind." Ziva said dryly.
"So this guy of yours, is it serious?" Rebekah asked. Tony heard something clunk against the vanity and then a pause.
"As serious as either one of us gets." Clunk. Shuffle. Swoosh: The sounds of a woman readying herself for the world.
"Do you love him?"
"Yes."
"Did you tell him?" Rebekah asked.
"He knows." Ziva said quietly.
"But you didn't tell him? Sometimes you're such an idiot, you know that?"
"So you've told me. Whoa. Uh oh." He heard a violent retching sound as Ziva empty the contents of her stomach.
"You okay?" Click.
"Better."
"So, have you told him you're ZZZZZZZZZZZZ?" The rest of the conversation was lost to the whine of the hair dryer.
Tony snapped to attention. Ziva had many secrets that he didn't want to know about. This wasn't one of them. You're what? Tell me what? What other surprises do you have up your sleeve? This doesn't have to do with Gibbs, does it? Some other guy sweet cheeks?
The hair drier clicked off and Tony heard Rebekah continue. "I can't believe you haven't told him. What are you waiting for? That's the kind of thing a guy is supposed to know. I told my husband as soon as I found out. If he doesn't understand then it's time to bail."
"I'll tell him when I feel like it." Ziva said coolly. "I don't see why it's important now. It might never be."
Tony felt a surge of acidic emotion in his stomach. What could she possibly be talking about? What could be so important for him to know that Rebekah would be so passionate? It couldn't be another man. Wait a minute. Wait a minute. No. She couldn't be. Damn. What else could she be talking about if she's not pregnant?
Come to think of it- they hadn't been exactly careful. In fact, he'd been down right negligent. Mentally kicking himself, he got up and let himself into the bathroom.
Ziva jumped when he entered. She was surprised to see him. He'd only snuck up on her once before and he couldn't help but grin as she glared at him.
Rebekah winked at him. It was then Tony realized she'd known he was listening all along. She's set them up.
"I'll take it from her Rebekah." He said. His eyes never left Ziva. She wore only a bandage over her bullet wound. Still she was beautiful.
"That's fine. I have a plane to catch anyway. See you around." Rebekah gave Ziva a kiss on each cheek and a gentle hug. Turning she did the same to Tony. "Take care of each other, okay?" and then she was gone.
Tony helped Ziva pull up her underwear and a pair of her loose cotton pants that she used to exercise. He let his hands rest on her stomach. Could it be?
Ziva looked at him like quizzically. "Tony. I'm not supposed to have any activity for at least two weeks. What are you doing?"
"Helping." He said.
"More like you're feeling me up."
"Can't I just touch?"
She snorted. "I didn't think you knew those words." She gestured to a pile of clothing on the floor. "Help me put my shirt on? No bra, the wires hurt my ribs."
He obliged and helped her pull a dark low cut T-shirt over her head. He stared at her, as if by looking he could discern her secret.
"I know the look-you over heard me didn't you?" Ziva said angrily. She turned around and began to place the few personal items she had into a small bag. Thunk. Thunk. Thunk. She was steamed.
Tony rested his hands lightly on her shoulders and she looked up at him, meeting his gaze in the mirror.
"So what if I did. Is there something I should know?" He asked.
"Eventually, maybe."
"What is it you're not telling me?"
She spun and brushed past him into her room. "It's not important."
"Sounded important."
"It might be. But it's not now." She grabbed the cup of coffee he'd set on the nightstand for her. "This mine? The stuff here is slop." With out waiting for a reply she drank it.
Ziva was determined to change the issue and he knew not to push her but to come at her from a different angle. Tony packed her things into her backpack as he re evaluated the situation. "You know. We haven't exactly been careful. What happened to Abby and McGee can happen to us."
"Trust me. Getting pregnant's not really a concern of mine anymore." She laughed.
Not a concern anymore? What does that mean?
"Spill it sweet cheeks. Bare your soul." He prodded.
"No."
"Zee-vah." He rolled his eyes.
"Not yet." She sighed. "Look. If I tell you then we're even for the elevator incident."
"Okay. I'll bite." He said.
She responded by wrapping her arm around his waist and pulling him towards her. "Not here. Take me home first."
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All right all. Once more chapter – I lied and redid the ending so that's why it's taking so long- don't forget to review.