Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters. This story is entirely fictional and is based on my own experiences. Reviews and/or comments would be greatly appreciated as I am loving this story and it is a pleasure to write. Enjoy.

Xxxxxxxx

Gibbs kept a tight hold of Ziva's arm, as they made their way down to autopsy. He didn't have the patience to chase her through the building, should she try and run off, again.

Ducky looked up from his computer as the pair walked in, a worried look taking over his face. Ziva showed no emotions, it was as if the events from the morning had made her shut down again, which is what Ducky had been afraid of. He would speak to Jethro again later, to see if he could get the full story of what had happened.

"She's all your Duck, I don't want her back until you've done a full examination" Gibbs barked as he turned on his heal and left autopsy. He felt he was due a much needed coffee break.

"Please take a seat on the table, my dear" Ducky said gesturing to an autopsy table, whilst making his way over to the door. Once he had it locked, he turned to the young woman who was nervously fidgeting on the table.

"I need you to change into this please, so I can examine you properly" Ducky said carefully handing her a gown. He had locked the door for this specific reason, because he knew that getting her to change into something that exposed her self-harm was going to be difficult.

Ziva looked at Ducky, and sighed taking the gown off the ME and quickly changing. Ducky turned as Ziva started to undress, giving her some privacy that he knew she would appreciate. He used the minutes that it took her to change to gather his thoughts, and steel himself for the task ahead.

Once she had changed, Ziva sat back on the autopsy table and stared at her hands. She knew there was no talking herself out of this one, as the ME could not be as easily fooled as Gibbs. She knew that Dr Mallard, had also recently completed a psychology degree as well, which was not helpful at all to her situation at the moment.

Ducky heard her sit down, and slowly turned a comforting expression on his face. He knew she would probably not give her the entire truth of the situation, but he needed to start somewhere. Her body told him a great deal more, than what her words would.

Ducky was silent as he rolled up the sleeves of the gown, exposing the damage she had done to her upper arms. Several of the wounds needed to be stitched up, and he was grateful that Jethro had brought her down to him. If they had waited another couple of hours it would have been too late, and the scars that are left from wounds that need to be stitched, if not treated could be horrific.

"Could you please lie down my dear, I just need to check your legs and stomach" he said kindly, whilst gently pushing Ziva into a lying position. Ziva's face remained expressionless, which in Ducky's opinion was unusual not only for her, but also for someone when their "secret" is being exposed.

Ducky lifted the gown and examined her legs. It was obvious from the scarring that she had been self-harming for a while, and her legs were the first place that she had started cutting. He cleaned the old wounds, and made a mental note of the new wounds that needed to be stitched. He proceeded to do the same with her stomach, before placing a blanket over the young woman, so as to keep her warm until he finished tending to her arms.

Ducky decided that the best time to question her on her self-harm would be whilst, he was stitching her up. He knew that she would know better than to try and run, when he had a needle in her, and this way he wouldn't have to worry about trying to wait until she was calm enough to talk.

"Ziva why did you do this to yourself?" he gently probed as he was getting the anaesthetic ready.

"I just wanted the voices to stop, cutting makes me feel better. My head is peaceful when I focus on the pain" she answered in a low voice.

"My dear if you are in that much emotional pain, then we need to get you some help. You cannot continue on like this" Ducky replied sadly. He could understand from a textbook point of view, how people got to this point, but it pained him to see someone he loved going through it.

"It's ok Ducky, I already see a psychologist. I'm seeing her today actually, and like I told Gibbs I'm not going to do it anymore." Ziva replied praying that Ducky would just accept that and leave her alone.

You've done it now David, he thinks you're an attention seeking freak!

"Well my dear I'll take your word for it for now, but if this continues we are going to have to get you to see a psychiatrist. That way we can send you somewhere safe" Dr Mallard said carefully. He knew he was skating on thin ice as it was, and he had no intention of upsetting her more than she already was.

"Of course Ducky, I understand" Ziva replied, giving the doctor a weak smile. She was torn between being relieved and angry. Relieved that he was buying her story, and angry that she had managed to push him away. She couldn't win.

Ducky worked in silence for another 2 hours, fixing as much of the damage as he could. The stitches would dissolve on their own, but he did warn her to be careful when doing fieldwork, because they could easily be undone. What he didn't tell her was that he was going to speak to Jethro to make sure she wasn't out on the field for a week. She needed the time to physically heal.

Xxxxxxxx

1100

Ziva made her way up into the bullpen slowly. She was in no mood for Tony's teasing, and god only knows what she was going to tell them, as to why she was 4 hours late for work.

"Hey Zivvvaaa where have you been all morning?" Tony asked, curious as usual.

"None of your business Tony, where's Gibbs?" she asked, trying her best to not look as if she couldn't move around properly.

"He's in the Directors office" McGee replied, surveying the younger agent. There was definitely something up with her, and she had bandages on her upper arms. He knew better than to pry, but he was still worried as to what could have happened to her.

Great, he's probably told Jenny. Soon the whole building is going to know how pathetic and useless you are.

Ziva nodded her head at McGee and sat down at her desk. She was just about to pull out the cold cases when Gibbs came running down the stairs, mobile in his hand.

"Gear up, dead naval officer in the Pentagon" Gibbs yelled, and the team immediately jumped up and grabbed their bags.

"Not you David, take the cold cases and work on them down in autopsy with Ducky."

Ziva looked at Gibbs with a mixture of shock and anger, though the latter was taking over.

"No arguments David, Director's orders. I'll deal with you more when I get back now GO" he shouted the last direction in order to make sure she listened.

Tony and Tim, looked on with shock as she gave Gibbs her best death glare and exited the room with a stack of folders in her arm.

"I'll be ringing Ducky to make sure your there" Gibbs yelled after her, watching as she went into the elevator. He then turned back to the two male agents and gave them a look that meant no questions were to be asked.

"Hey Duck, she there, yep, good, ok see you when we get back" Gibbs snapped his phone shut, and signalled to the younger men, and then they left for the Pentagon.

Xxxxxxxx

Ziva walked down to autopsy with a furious expression on her face. She was not a child and she certainly didn't need babysitting!

Don't you though? You need someone to look after you, it would be nice to let someone else have the control for a while.

No SHUT UP you idiot, they are going to ruin you. You were just starting to get somewhere and now you're going to stay a fat cow.

"Ah Miss David, I have set up a desk for you right over hear" Ducky said kindly whilst gesturing towards the empty desk. The first time he had seen the young woman today she had looked expressionless, and it had reminded him of his dead bodies. Now however he could feel the anger radiating off her.

Ziva made her way over to the desk that Ducky was pointing to. At least he hadn't locked her in this time!

"Before we start Ziva, I need you to hand over all your weapons. I will give them back to you in a week"

The anger on Ziva's face quickly turned to horror.

"You mean to tell me, that I will be out and down here for a week?" She asked the colour draining from her face.

"Consider yourself lucky that it was only a week, I should and could have recommended a psych evaluation and I think both you and I know you wouldn't have passed. Behave yourself when you're down here and it will only be a week" the ME replied sternly. He needed her to know that she was doing this to help her and not punish her, but he couldn't let her back out onto the field whilst her stiches were healing.

Ziva glared at him angrily, but started handing over her weapons. She knew she had no choice, as Ducky was right about the psych evaluation. She hadn't even thought about that!

Once she had handed over all her guns, including her backup she looked at Ducky as to what to do next. But the Dr was not as easily conned as she thought.

"I said all your weapons Ziva, and that definitely includes your knife" Ducky said in an stern voice that brooked no arguments.

Ziva glared once again and handed over the knife, before settling herself down into the chair to start working. She had a feeling this was going to be a very long week.

Xxxxxxxx

1545

It had been a long day, with both the young agent and the ME working silently. Jimmy Palmer had returned to the Navy yard at 1400 with the body of a female naval officer. The officer had been badly beaten and then strangled, and Ducky was just getting started on his autopsy.

"Ducky may I please be excused? I need to get going now" Ziva asked as politely and calmly as she could. She was still embarrassed that Ducky had seen everything she had done to herself, and she was still angry that he had taken away all of her weapons.

"You don't usually finish work until at least 1700 hours Ziva. Is there something wrong?" Dr Mallard asked concern evident in his voice.

"I have an appointment with my psychologist at 1630 hours Ducky" she replied in a small voice.

"Of course my dear, please go up and let Jethro know you are leaving though" he said watching her reaction. She seemed resigned to her fate for the moment, as she just nodded and didn't bother to try and argue.

"Also Ziva, just so you are aware, I will need to examine you everyday until those stitches dissolve to make sure they are still ok" Ducky knew that this would not go down well, so he was watching for her reaction.

"Every day Ducky? Why every day? Isn't it enough that I'm stuck down here not doing anything?" she asked, her voice rising with every word. She was so close to losing it, but she was trying to keep herself together.

"Yes everyday my dear, the fastest way to get back out onto the field, is to cooperate with me. This way you will be only down here for a week" he replied watching as she nodded and exited autopsy.

Ziva however was beyond furious. Wasn't it enough that they were treating her like a child? That she was forced to study cold cases every day, when everyone else was doing their usual work?

Stuff Gibbs, I'm going. Ducky can let him know I've left, I'm not a child.

With that she left the Navy Yard and headed to Katrina's office.

Thank God I'm seeing Katrina today, I need it, she thought as she made her way into Katrina's waiting room, and waited for her to call her.