As Ziva drove Tony to the hospital, she worried about him. He was gasping for air and there was nothing she could do to help him. She pulled in under the hospital awning in record time. Nurses came rushing out in their PPE to get Tony out of the car and ask questions. Ziva made her way to the other side of the car to help Tony out and go in with him.
"Ma'am has he been showing signs of Covid-19?" a nurse asked.
"He has been coughing, running a fever and is now gasping for air. I should also make you aware that he had the pneumonic plague 15 years ago." Ziva said, causing everyone's eyes to leave Tony and meet hers.
"He what?" a nurse shrieked.
"It was back when he was an NCIS agent. A lady put the plague in an envelope and Tony happened to be the one to open it. It nearly killed him. But he does have severe lung damage because of it." Ziva explained.
"That makes him more susceptible to the virus." The doctor said as he joined the group and heard about Tony's shining medical history. "Let's get him inside. Run a Covid test on him and let's start him on some oxygen at 2 liters."
Ziva went to walk in with Tony but was stopped by one of the nurses.
"Ma'am, I can't allow you into the hospital." The nurse said.
"And exactly why not." Ziva crossed her arms.
"With Covid, we can't allow visitors or families in. After we get him settled and onto the Covid floor, he can facetime you. If you can give me your number, we will have the doctor call you and tell you the results of his test along with what they plan to do next." The nurse explained.
Ziva quickly jotted down her phone number on a small piece of paper for the nurse and handed it back to her.
"Thank you…" The nurse looked at the paper "Ziva. We will do all we can for him."
With that, the nurse turned and went back into the hospital, leaving Ziva standing alone by her car. She felt so lost and helpless. She reached into her pocket and took a few of her anxiety pills. She didn't want to go back to Tony's apartment to get Tali yet. She didn't want to get the call about Tony while being around Tali just in case it was bad news.
She parked her car in the hospital parking lot and waited. She took out her phone and started looking at the pictures of Tony and Tali from while she had been away from them. Tali had grown up so much. Just as Jimmy had told her, Tali had not forgotten her because Tony told her about her Ima every day.
Once Ziva had come back to Paris, she and Tony had met up, allowing Tali to see her Ima for the first time in years. Tony had asked Ziva to move in with them, let them be a family, but Ziva declined. She wanted to get better first. She needed to deal with some of her demons before she could be a full-time mother to Tali. Ziva knew her baby girl was in good hands with Tony, so she decided to check herself into a rehab to get help.
To Tali, Ima had an apartment. She never realized it was a rehab center. The center was built like an apartment complex and would let children come and stay the night with their parents on occasions. Ziva often questioned herself if she was fit enough to be a mother. Tali deserved so much more. She had so much more in Tony. Since he had her, his whole world had changed. He had retired from NCIS, moved to Paris, and was raising their daughter who was his whole world. She was brought out of her thoughts when the hospital called her.
"Ms. David, this is Doctor Jonathan Lejeune I am taking care of Anthony DiNozzo Jr." Dr. Lejeune said.
"Yes, how is he?" Ziva asked nervously.
"He is very sick. He tested positive for Covid-19. We are going to try some antibodies and hope that works along with a broad-spectrum antibiotic. We have him on a nasal cannula now for oxygen. He is on our Covid intensive care unit due to his history with the plague. We will keep a close eye on him and if there are any changes one of our Covid ICU doctors will call you." Dr. Lejeune explained.
"Can I speak to Tony?" Ziva asked, trying to hold back tears.
"At the moment he is resting. I will put a note in that in the morning he can speak to you." Dr. Lejeune answered.
"I would appreciate that, and I know our 6-year-old daughter will too." Ziva wiped tears from her eyes.
"Of course. If you haven't already, go home and get some rest. We will call you in the morning." Dr. Lejeune said before hanging up.
Ziva drove over to Tony's apartment and parked in the visitor's parking spot for his unit. How was she going to explain to her daughter that her daddy didn't have just a simple cold, that this was much worse.