Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS

After another hour, they were joined by Ducky, Abby, and Palmer. Gibbs didn't bother asking why they were there instead of working. They were all starting to get worried. Gibbs had known more serious surgeries to take half as long as this one was taking.

They all breathed a sigh of relief when a weary looking doctor came out and said, "Family of Ziva David?" pronouncing it Day-vid.

"Dah-veed," they all corrected simultaneously as they stood. The doctor was shocked that all six of them had stood and approached him. "I'm sorry, are you her family?" he asked, and was immediately shown three badges.

"I'm Special Agent Gibbs, these are Special Agents DiNozzo and McGee, Ziva's doctor, Dr. Mallard, and this is Abby Scuito and Jimmy Palmer."

"I'm sorry, but I'll only be able to speak with her family or her medical proxy," the doctor said regrettably.

"That would be me," Gibbs answered. He nodded his head at the others who frowned and walked a safe distance away, but kept their eyes on them. "What is it, doctor?"

"Well, I have to say, Ms. David is in remarkably good health, and it will help speed her recovery. However, there were some complications during surgery."

"What kind of complications?"

"Well, the most worrisome thing is the blood loss. Ms. David has a rare type, B negative, and we haven't been able to find enough resources for it."

"I'll talk to my team, see if any of them would be able to donate if they have the same type."

"That would be good. And if any of them are type AB, that is a universal donor. We would prefer B neg, but O neg could work in a pinch, which is where we are now."

"Understood, doctor. Anything else?" Gibbs asked.

"Well, yes. I mentioned the severe blood lose. That caused her heart to fail once during surgery for 72 seconds. However," he said quickly as Gibbs paled, "we were able to get it going again rather quickly. The bullet was a through and through, which is rather lucky for her. It could have done a lot more damage to the bones and muscle. She is a very lucky woman. We would like to keep her for a few days, as she will be needing transfusions for a while to replace the blood she lost, but she should be back home in a few days. She will have to stay out of the field for a while, though, give her shoulder a chance to heal."

Gibbs nearly laughed. That was a conversation he wasn't looking forward to, and he would have to make sure she didn't have any weapons on her when he told her.

"Now, like I said, she is very lucky. I have known injuries like this to be a lot worse. She needs her rest, but if you would like to see her, I could allow each of you to go into her room, though no more than two at a time."

Gibbs nodded, and shook his hand. "Thank you, doctor."

He just nodded, and turned to leave. Gibbs walked over to his team.

"How is she, Gibbs? I mean, she's going to be okay, right?" Abby asked, worriedly.

"She'll be okay, Abs. But she's lost a lot of blood. Any of you B neg or O neg?" he asked.

"I am," McGee said, raising his hand slightly.

"Great, McGee. You be okay donating for Ziva?"

"Boss, you really need to ask me that?" he said, looking his boss in the eye, mouth grim.

"Good man," Gibbs said, clasping the Junior Agent's shoulder. "Now, doc says that we can go in and see her two at a time. So, McGee, how bout you and Abby first, that way once you're done you can go and give the blood."

The two nodded, and left. " Okay, so then it'll be Ducky and Palmer, then you and me, DiNozzo."

"Boss, I can't," Tony whispered, shocking everyone.

"What the hell do you mean, you can't, DiNozzo?" Gibbs snapped.

"I mean that I can't go in there," he said clearly, his voice hard. He turned on his heel, and walked back out the hospital doors. Gibbs was tempted to go back and give his Senior Agent the hardest head slap he ever had. This woman saved his life, and the man was too much of a coward to go and see her? He was furious, but knew he had to keep his calm for the others.

He nodded, and the three men waited for McGee and Abby to come back out. Once they had, the ME and his assistant went in. Gibbs didn't comment on Ducky's wet eyes when they came back out a minute later. He just nodded to them and walked into her room. He was surprised that she was awake.

"Hey, Ziver, how you holding up?" he asked, sitting next to her in a chair.

"Well, I'm a hospital, Gibbs. You can probably guess how much I hate hospitals. At Mossad, I would be getting debriefed, take a few aspirin, and be back in the field a few days later." She looked away, not wanting to say that honestly, she didn't know which she preferred.

"True. I know how you feel. I hate hospitals, too. They're too, I don't know, sterile. Quiet, and they smell funny."

She laughed quietly. "But the drugs are nice," she said, smiling a goofy smile at him, making him chuckle.

"Very true," he said.

"Where's Tony, he still at the scene?" When Gibbs didn't answer right away, she got agitated. "Don't tell me that he got hurt, too, Gibbs? I thought I killed the shooter! What, was there more than one of them?"

Gibbs reached out and grabbed a hand that was flailing in her panic. It was amazing to him that after everything DiNozzo was doing, she still thought the best of him, that he was injured and not choosing to be someplace else. "Ziva, calm down. Tony's not injured. He had some things to take care of, but he'll be here tomorrow." As soon as Gibbs said that, he meant it. He didn't care if he had to drag him in by the ear like a puppy, Tony was going to see his partner.

She sighed, calming. "Well, I'm glad he's okay. I'd be rather pissed if I got hurt for nothing," she joked. As soon as she said that, he gently head slapped her. "Hey, what was that for?" she demanded with a laugh.

"You disobeyed an order, David. I told you no heroics, and then you go and take a bullet for your partner," he said with mock sternness.

"I guess Agent Todd and I are more alike than I thought," she muttered, and Gibbs knew that she was saying that more to herself than to him.

"You are a lot alike, Ziva," he assured her. "There are differences, of course, but the two of you share a lot of admirable traits."

"What, like the willingness to jump in front of a bullet for someone we care about? I have to say, that was the first time I'd ever done that. Usually, I'm on the other side of the gun," she admitted. She still didn't know what prompted her to do what she did, and that scared her.

"Ziva, you both had extreme training, in two very different lines of work. However, when it comes down to it, you are both dedicated to doing the right thing, and you both care immensely for this team."

She just smiled and reached out to squeeze his hand. "Thanks Gibbs. Now, I know that you guys have a lot of work to get done, so I won't keep you here any longer," she said.

He nodded and stood. "You need anything, you just call and let us know, alright?" he asked.

She nodded. As soon as he reached the door, she thought of one thing. "Gibbs?" she called. He paused and turned back around. "Could you go into my desk, and bring me those two photos?" she asked quietly, not entirely sure why she wanted them.

Gibbs smiled and nodded. "See you soon, Ziver."