Chapter 8

Tony was sitting on the couch as McGee and Gibbs looked over the kitchen. Another agent had already cleared where the shooter had fired from and there was nothing left behind. Tony glanced over at Ziva who was keeping her eyes focused straight ahead. He could already tell that she was trying to find a way to get away from the team yet again.

"Forget it Zi." Tony muttered as the paramedic finished wrapping his feet.

"Forget what?" Ziva asked with a confused look.

"Forget trying to sneak away from us again. I am going to need to sleep at some point and if I have to continuously worry about you sneaking away from me then I don't think I am going to end up very well rested." Tony said with a sigh.

"I told you I would not sneak away again. You do not trust me do you?" Ziva asked softly.

"I don't know what to think right now." Tony admitted.

When the two of them were sitting alone and Gibbs and McGee were outside talking over the evidence Ziva was ready to confront Tony.

"You always kiss me and yet you feel nothing." Ziva said with a sigh. "You must stop doing that Tony."

"What makes you think I feel nothing?" Tony asked arching his eyebrows.

"You refuse to look at me after you kiss me. You also refuse to acknowledge what is going on." Ziva said simply.

"I'll tell you what. Let's make a deal, you tell me what is really going on and who this person is that wants you dead and I will tell you why I keep kissing you." Tony said leaning back into the couch. His feet were killing him and he could tell that Ziva wasn't her normal Mossad self. She was keeping her gaze down on the ground and only glanced at him from time to time. He could also clearly see that she was rattled and he didn't think there was anything that could do that to her. He had never seen her in this position before and it scared him. Ziva was supposed to be his unstoppable assassin.

"I have my share of secrets Tony and many of them you do not want to know. Many of them I wish I did not have to live with." Ziva whispered her voice close to breaking. "But this one is one that you are not going to want to have me deal with. This is one secret you are not going to want any part of."

"Zi, we are partners and I would hope that you would also see me as a friend. I can promise you that there is nothing that is going to change my opinion of you. There is nothing you could say or do that would make me think twice about keeping you safe and alive." Tony said knowing he was close to breaking her. He knew he had to get her to trust him enough to tell him who was trying to kill her and why.

"Tony, as a Mossad Officer I have done things that now I see were wrong. I can not honestly sit here and tell you all my deep dark secrets." Ziva said getting annoyed now.

"Then tell me the one that I need to know. Tell me the one that has someone trying to kill you right now. Tell me the secret that I can fix to keep the woman I am totally head over heels in love with alive." Tony said frustrated.

"You are in love with me?" Ziva asked her eyes going wide. She was not expecting that.

"You know sometimes I wonder how you can be so observant over other things but be completely oblivious to the one thing that has been right in front of your face the whole time." Tony said rolling his eyes.

"You are just oblivious as I was." Ziva whispered.

"You're in love with me?" Tony asked doing one of those Scooby-Doo double takes. "You could have said something earlier."

"So could you have not?" Ziva said screwing up her English again.

"Huh? Never mind, it doesn't matter now." Tony said as he got up and winced as he walked over to where Ziva was sitting. "The point is that now that I know how you feel and now that you know how I feel we are going to be in this together no matter what. I am not letting whoever is trying to kill you, kill you. You might as well spill it Zi, I am not going anywhere so I should know what I am up against."

Ziva stared at Tony. Her mind was spinning a mile a minute and she wanted to just be able to tell him everything. She wanted to tell him what it was that she had done that was causing this person to want her dead. She wanted to trust him enough to know he would never leave her side and that they could get through this together. However the big problem was she wasn't so sure they could get through this. She was positive that if she told Tony the truth that he would no longer love her, that he would hate her and look the other way.

"I can not tell you why they want to kill me now but I will tell you something you did not know. I will confide one secret in you." Ziva said making a split second decision.

"I guess that will have to do for now." Tony said rolling his eyes.

"I betrayed my own family." Ziva said softly as she stared at the ground.

"What are you talking about?" Tony asked with a sigh.

"Gibbs did not kill Ari, I did." Ziva said her voice shaking as once again her mind flashed back to Gibbs basement where she had killed her half brother. She knew it was necessary but at the same time it still haunted her. Like many of her prior kills it stayed with her, making it hard to sleep at night. She felt lonely and that having anyone love her would be a miracle. When her real secret got out she would lose everything she held dear.

"Zi, tell me who is trying to kill you." Tony said, he didn't want her to know he already knew that one. He needed her to tell him the truth. He needed her to trust him with what could be her biggest secret of all.