Interlude
Chapter 7
Gibbs gave one of his patent death stares at Megan as she slid slippers onto Ziva's bare feet. "She was doubled over in pain yesterday so bad she had to be sedated and today you want her to walk?"
Megan wouldn't be intimidated by his death ray. "Doctor's orders. We're only going to the chair not ten feet away, have a sit down for fifteen minutes and then right back in bed. Ziva isn't even going to leave this room." She turned her attention to her patient. "Are you ready, Ziva?"
Ziva could feel the concern and worry radiating off of Gibbs and she had to admit that she had doubts about this, herself, but she nodded."If it will help me go home, then I am ready."
Megan slipped her arm around Ziva's waist and helped her to stand."How long has it been since you've walked on your own for any length of time?"
Ziva wavered, her legs very weak. "I do not know. I had no way to keep track of time. Why does this hurt?"
"Did you suffer any excessive trauma to your legs, particularly your knees and hips?" Megan asked as they slowly inched toward the chair.
"Yes." She wavered again and Gibbs reached out to steady her.
He hated to see her hurt like this. "Can we stop now? She's in pain and I think she had far too much of that lately."
"Ziva, your joints hurt from disuse that your captor intended."
"Then work me no matter how much it hurts. I want to go home," Ziva replied with conviction, despite the undeniable agony every step caused her. She was getting tired of being the victim in all of this.
"Ziver, don't torture yourself," Gibbs said softly, keeping a steadying hand on her elbow.
"I am not torturing myself, Gibbs. I want to go home and I cannot get there if I do not work hard," Ziva said through grit teeth. She eased herself into the chair with a sigh. "Saleem beat me, starved me, made me beg for even the tiniest sip of water. You do not wish to know what all he and his men did to me. If I do not work hard and get it all back, then he has won. He has broken me."
Gibbs smiled a little, recognizing the Ziva he knows coming back; the fighter. "All right." Gibbs phone rang. "Yeah...slow down DiNozzo...He's here?...Not gonna happen. I'll be right down. Have the MP's hold him if they have to."
Ziva's curiosity was piqued. "Hold who, Gibbs?" she asked, looking up at him.
He thought for a moment and then squat down next to the chair, taking her hand. "Your father is here and he wants to see you."
"Eli is here?" Ziva asked, flabbergasted that he would have the nerve. "He can go back to Tel Aviv. Make him go away."
Gibbs stood and placed a kiss to her cheek. "That's what I thought."
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"Agent Gibbs, what is the meaning of this?" Mossad Director Eli David exploded. "I demand to see Ziva."
Gibbs was the picture of calm at the moment. "I'm afraid that's not gonna happen, Director David."
Eli pounded the table with his fist. "She is my daughter and I demand to see her!"
"Well, she's not too keen on seeing you," Gibbs said, beginning to let his anger show.
Eli shook his head. "She is sick and hurt and needs her father. When she is able to travel, I will take her home to Israel."
"She's coming back to the States with us."
"You left her in Israel. You didn't want her anymore. You left her standing on the tarmac in a state of shock because she trusted you and you betrayed her," Eli pointed out.
That was it; Gibbs anger soared. "You hypocritical son of a bitch! I may have left her in Israel, but I did not send her on a suicide mission and then leave her to die in the desert! No recovery mission. You didn't even care whether she lived or died. You just left her. She spent almost four agonizing months in that camp and I know you know what those bastards did to her. Ziva doesn't want to see you. She said for you to go home to Tel Aviv." Gibbs turned to the MP standing at the door of the examining room. "Under no circumstances is this man allowed access to Ziva David's room, do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, sir."
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Ziva was already back in bed by the time Gibbs returned to her room. She was curled on her side with her eyes closed. They snapped open the second she heard the door. Fear mixed with anger warred in the dark orbs. She relaxed when she saw that it was Gibbs. "Where is he?" she whispered, almost afraid to speak normally because he may be nearby.
Gibbs hated that look of fear in her eyes. It didn't belong there. "When I left, he was standin' with his jaw hangin' open in a room with a MP. They have orders to let him nowhere near you."
She closed her eyes in relief, fighting yet more tears. Her chin trembled. "Thank you."
His touch, stroking her hair, were words enough. She was safe.
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She was getting progressively colder, sitting on the floor and that's where McGee found her when he stopped by to visit. "Hi, Tim."
"Jesus, Ziva! Did you fall out of the bed?" McGee squeaked as he dropped the fast food bag he was carrying and shot to her side and knelt down by her.
"I fell, yes, but not out of the bed. I was trying to walk to the chair on my own. They are letting me get out of bed now. I lost my balance and fell...can you give me a hand?" she explained rather hurriedly.
McGee picked her up in his arms and set her on the chair. "Ziva, are you alright?"
She winced a little, but beamed more. She had almost made it all the way to the chair by herself. "I think my bruises have bruises, but I am fine, McGee."
"You look awfully proud of yourself for someone that I just had to pick up off the floor," McGee gently scolded.
"I am. I could not walk unassisted this morning," she said proudly. "I almost made it to the chair on my own."
"You couldn't? Well, good for you, Ziva. Just, promise me that you'll have someone here to pick you up if you fall next time. We just got you back in once piece. I don't want you breaking anything else. Promise me," McGee said with stern concern.
Ziva took in his brotherly concern and the twinkle of pride in his eyes and nodded. "I promise, McGee." She sniffed appreciatively. "Gibbs said that you were bringing dinner."
McGee retrieved the previously dropped bag and held it open for her to see the contents. "Your doctors have given us permission to bring in outside food, so, I brought you the usual."
"Fantastic! I am starving. Relearning how to walk burns calories. And, I do not think I will throw anything up today."
Tim smiled at her. "Do you want to get back in bed first?"
She shook her head. "No, I'd like to eat right here. Call it a...measure of progress, yes?"
McGee's smile widened. She was coming back bit by bit. She was coming back to them all. "Yes."