Daughter of Ares, Goddess of Death
Chapter 2
Tony reached out to Ziva just as she fell in front of him, trying to keep her face from hitting the ground. He did manage to get one hand under her head. He crawled the two steps necessary until he could reach her.
"Ziva?"
He turned her over and pushed the hair out of her face. McGee came up beside him.
"Probie, check those guys. If they're not dead, cuff 'em. And bring me some of their jackets. She's freezing."
"Right, Tony."
Tony gently held Ziva in one arm while he shrugged out of his coat. He put it over her upper body and pulled her close to him.
"And bring me something I can use as a pressure dressing, McGee."
Patting Ziva's cheek he kept up a running commentary, whispering in her ear.
"C'mon, Ziva. Don't do this. You need to wake up. You can't just show up naked, kill the bad guys and die! That's too naughty TRUE GRIT even for me. C'mon, sweetheart, open those big brown eyes for me."
He knew he was babbling; he couldn't help it.
"McGee!" he screamed.
Tim ran up and knelt by him; a pile of jackets in his hands and a couple of shirts.
"Here, Tony. They're all dead. All four. How did she do it? The bad news is she also got the gas tank in the truck and it's a good two miles back to our car."
"Okay, okay. Here, hold her."
Tony leaned Ziva toward McGee, making sure the other agent had his arms firmly around her. He took his jacket from her shoulders and then tore one of the shirts McGee had given him into strips using the other as the pressure part of the dressing. He bandaged her as securely as he could. Then he took her back in his arms, propping her on his chest.
"She so cold, Tony. I think she may be hypothermic."
"I know, Probie. I KNOW. Get those jackets over her."
McGee took the four jackets he had and wrapped them around Ziva, making sure to tuck everything tightly around her, Tony covered her head with his jacket. He remembered reading somewhere you lost a good percentage of your body heat through your scalp.
"Did you find any cell phones on those guys when you took their coats?"
"No, Tony."
"Well, look again, Probie. That asshole Watkins threw ours in the stream. We need to get Gibbs and Ducky here and soon."
McGee nodded and got up to search the bodies.
"Oh, and grab some of that driftwood. Let's see if we can get a fire going."
"Right, Tony."
He heard McGee searching the bodies but he concentrated on Ziva. He slapped her face softly and then a little harder.
"Ziva, wake up. Talk to me, honey. Wake up and curse me in one of the 100s of languages you know. Wake up and punch me in the chest and leave a bruise, I got my hand on your perky little boob. C'mon, I need you to wake up."
He buried his face in her neck. He could feel the slow, slow beat of the big vein there but her flesh was still so cold.
"What the hell is taking you so long?" he yelled at Tim.
"Coming, coming," McGee said and began throwing branches on the ground in front of Tony and Ziva.
"Make it a big fire, Tim. Maybe someone will see the smoke and come see what's happening, like Gibbs."
"No phones, Tony. I even checked the truck."
Tony nodded.
"Build the fire. Aren't you some kind of ranger or boy scout or something?"
Tim only nodded. He knew Tony was scared. He was too. Ziva looked dead; so pale and still. Don't think that way, Tim, he told himself. Build the fire.
He did. McGee built a huge fire and then he gathered more firewood and stacked it near Tony.
Tony was getting more worried if that was possible. Ziva had started shivering. Shivering so hard he could hardly hold her up. He hugged her to him tighter. Her teeth were chattering so he was afraid she'd break some of them.
What else could they do? He could send McGee hiking back up the path to the car but that would take at least 30 minutes at best and then another 10 minutes or so to drive back and there was no guarantee the low-riding sedan would make it on the trail the pickup had taken. Tony was afraid if they didn't get Ziva warmed up soon it would be too late. He knew people died of hypothermia every winter. Why hadn't they waited for back up? The thoughts ran continuously through his head like some kind of crazy, sped up, merry-go-round.
McGee knelt in front of him, breathing hard, his cheeks pink with the physical effort he had been putting forth. He gave Tony an idea.
"McLumberjack, take off your shirts!
"What?" Tim asked.
"Take off your damned shirts and just put your jacket back on, leave it unzipped. Just effin' do it okay?"
McGee did as he was told. It was chilly when he undressed but not so bad near the fire. He put his jacket back on unzipped.
"Okay, Tony. Now what?"
"Come over here, get close."
Hesitantly, Tim did as he was ordered.
"Closer, c'mon, I'm not going to bite."
Tim sat down as close to Tony and Ziva as he could.
Tony said, "Now uncover Ziva as little as possible and pull her to your chest. Just do it, Tim."
Tim moved the jackets and pulled Ziva to his chest. Her skin was still ice cold and she shivered constantly. He took a firm hold on her. He got her back to his chest and put his arms around her waist. He nodded at Tony.
Tony kept the lower part of Ziva's body on his lap and quickly pulled off his shirt and t-shirt, now putting his jacket back on. He scooted close to McGee, close enough to put his chest against Ziva's. It made him shiver. She was so damned cold. He positioned her legs into his lap and leaned forward, draping the jackets around them all but mostly Ziva and then wrapping his arms around Ziva and McGee, grabbing McGee's shoulders, pulling him tight.
The heat of the fire warmed Tony's face. Soon he knew he would get hot but he couldn't move away. They had to stay as close to the fire as possible. He also felt a strain in his back where he leaned toward McGee, trying to keep Ziva in place between then without crushing her. God, he hoped Gibbs would find them soon.
Ziva seemed to be shivering a little less violently now. Tony hoped that was a good sign. He shifted his grip a little trying to find a more comfortable position. She was definitely shivering less now.
"Uh, Tony," McGee said.
"What?"
"Does this feel, well, a little weird to you?"
Tony grinned without humor.
"What? You think the two of us, naked from the waist up, hugging each other while sandwiching our naked female partner between us trying to keep her from dying is weird?"
Tim nodded.
"If I had a free hand I'd slap you so hard your head would spin around like Linda Blair in THE EXORCIST, Probie. Of course it's weird. But it if keeps Ziva alive until someone shows up that can help then it's worth it. We will just never speak of it again."
Tim nodded once more. They held onto each other and Ziva for a few more minutes, watching the flames dance, saying nothing.
Tony couldn't really tell if Ziva was getting warmer but he was. The fire and the body heat shared with McGee and the stacked jackets all did their part. But he was very much afraid that something else was warming him up too. He could feel Ziva's naked breasts pressed against his chest and the sensation was distracting. Damn, what was wrong with him? She could be dying and he was getting slightly turned on.
"Uh, Tony?"
"Yeah, McGee," Tony said.
"Something even weirder."
Tony had an idea what McGee was going to say.
"What?"
"I don't know how to say this, it's kind of embarrassing and I don't know why it's happening but…well, I, I think I'm…"
"Getting turned on holding naked Ziva?"
"Yeah. How did you know?"
"Well, how the hell do you think, Probie?"
"You too, Tony?"
Tony just shot him a look that shut him up.
"Just keep holding on tight and think about something else?"
"What, Tony?"
"How should I know? The freakin' string theory. Just something else."
Tim nodded.
They sat for a few more minutes and then Tim reached out and threw a couple more large branches on the fire which had started to die down.
Tony started. Had Ziva moved?
"Was that you, Probie?"
"What?"
"Did you just touch my chest?"
Tim shook his head.
"No, I'm still holding onto Ziva."
Tony peeked down inside the jacket cocoon. He could see Ziva and she had moved, her hand touching his chest now.
"Ziva, can you hear me? Ziva?"
She moaned.
Tony looked at Tim who had a smile for the time in what seemed like days.
"Ziva, stay still. You've been shot and frozen. We're warming you up, okay? Just be still and stay warm.. . Hopefully, someone will be here soon and we can get you to the hospital."
"Tony?" Her voice was soft, he could hardly hear her.
"Yeah, me and McGeek are here, honey. Don't worry."
"Is this a dream?"
Tony looked at McGee. McGee looked puzzled.
Ziva continued.
"Is this my favorite dream? I have had this dream before."
Tony felt her hand on his chest move and he saw McGee jump. Ziva must have touched him too. What was she saying? That she'd had a dream with him and McGee in it before? What kind of dream and had she been naked in it?
He looked at McGee who was blushing furiously.
Tony opened his mouth to say something just as he heard tires protesting furiously on the dirt trail and then the squealing of brakes.