Chapter 4
Tony stared at her and then got up from the table ready to make Ziva pay when a resounding crack and then the sound of glass shattering filled the room. Ziva slumped forward a little before putting her shirt back on. There was blood flowing from her left shoulder as she scrambled to get to her weapon. She noticed Tony already had his gun in his hand and was taking cover on the other side of the bed. She followed suit as soon as her weapon was in her hand.
"You're hit." Tony said not taking his eyes off the window.
"Yeah, but it is not too bad." Ziva said with a wince.
"I think we will get a medical professional to be the judge of that." Tony said simply with a roll of his eyes as he kept facing the window. He had his cell phone in his hand and hit Gibb's speed dial.
"Gibbs." Came the reply on the other end.
"A sniper just took a shot at us, Ziva's hit and we're pinned inside the hotel room." Tony said simply before hanging up and not waiting for a response. He knew that Gibbs and McGee were on their way here anyway and hopefully this would make them speed up.
"Tony, I think we are safe to get up now." Ziva said biting her lower lip against the throbbing
"I'm not taking any chances until we have backup that clears the outside." Tony said as he placed his hand on Ziva's right shoulder, keeping her down.
After what seemed like a couple of hours there was a knock on the door and then it flew open as Gibbs and McGee stood there with the bewildered night manager. Tony and Ziva sprang to their feet and immediately all eyes went to her bleeding shoulder. Tony stuck his gun in the waistband of his sweatpants and immediately placed his hands on the wound trying to stem the flow of blood.
"All right I have a crime unit coming out to clear the area. DiNozzo you and McGee are taking her to the local hospital to get examined." Gibbs instructed with a sigh.
"No they are not." Ziva said stubbornly. "Tony may have been killed tonight and that would have been my fault. I will not risk anyone else's lives because of my problem."
"We would like to know exactly what that problem is." Gibbs said with narrowed eyes. "David, this was not a request you're heading to the hospital with McGee and DiNozzo."
"You are being a pirate now." Ziva said with a grimace from the pain.
"I think you meant tyrant Ziva." McGee said with an arched eyebrow.
"Whatever, same difference." Ziva grumbled as the pain was starting to overwhelm her.
"You're driving McGee so let's get moving. We'll call you from the hospital boss." Tony said with a glance at Gibbs.
"Just get her some medical treatment before she passes out on us." Gibbs said shaking his head.
McGee and Tony were sitting in the waiting room as Ziva was being treated. It was driving them both nuts that they didn't know what was going on or how bad the wound was. It seemed like hours before Gibbs entered the hospital with a frown on his face. He took a seat next to the two of them and they waited patiently for any news about what was going on with Ziva. Finally the doctor walked out and sent them a confused look.
"What are you still doing here?" The doctor asked them with an arched eyebrow.
"We're waiting for Ziva." Tony said not liking the look he was getting from the doctor at that point.
"I discharged Ms. David about an hour and half ago. She isn't here anymore." The doctor said with a shake of his head. "It looks like your friend snuck out on you."
Ziva sucked in a deep breath as she leaned back against the door of her apartment. It had taken her a long time to find a way back there but she had. Now it was about trying to figure out how she was going to make sure she lost the rest of the team so that no one else risked getting hurt because of her. She needed to go out there and face her past on her own, even if it meant that she was going to die and that the team would have to hurt for a little while. The fact of the matter was that they would be able to survive because they would be given the chance to live. Abby would have the chance to finally be with McGee, once she stopped denying her feelings. Gibbs would be safe and able to run the team and Tony would eventually move on. It wasn't like he was in love with her anyway, not like she was with him.
"I must let them have the chance to survive without me, I can not put their lives at risk because of my Mossad past." Ziva said with tears in her eyes.
"Why don't you let everyone make their own decisions my dear?" Ducky asked stepping out from her kitchen.
Ziva jumped and then groaned. She should have known that they would send someone to try and detain her until they got back. But just sending Ducky wasn't very smart because she could overpower him without a second thought.
"That's why Gibbs also ordered Abby and Palmer to accompany me." Ducky said as if reading her mind. "You my dear are in big trouble with Tony. He is going to stick to you like glue now."
Ziva just looked at him confused and walked over to her couch to sit down and wait for the other three to show up. She saw Palmer and Abby sitting there watching TV and noticed the glare that Abby sent her way and decided to avoid sitting near her new friend. She had a feeling she was going to be doing a lot of explaining which meant she was going to have to hurry up and make something up and find a new plan to get away from everyone because there was no way she could keep them all in the line of fire because of her past.
