She had only one thing on her mind: Tony. She fought her feelings and emotions for nearly five years, and now it was too late. Being in that room, sitting across from his desk… It was too much. Ziva had to get out of there. Without a word, she gathered her things and drove down to the pier were the explosion had occurred the day before. Had it really only been a day? It felt like years since she last saw Tony. Tony.

Despite the fact that the parking lot was a good ten minute walk through the chilly air, she left it there and walked slowly to yesterday's scene. She stood near the edge on the wooden dock, ignoring the cold of the air. The sun was rising gloriously. The water in front of her shimmered.

"Tony would have a movie quote for this," Ziva said aloud and laughed a little to herself. "Those stupid movie quotes. Oh, they drove me crazy," Remembering his charming grin that always appeared whenever she admonished him for such things, she began to shiver. "I am sorry, Tony. I am sorry. I could not protect you. I failed you. And now I am out here, talking to myself. I must be going crazy." She began to cry again. "I am so sorry. I am so weak. You—you made me that way. When you entered my life I could not control myself anymore. I softened," she said through her tears. She knew there was no way he could hear her, and the reality only made her lonliness more painful. "I should have been the one to die. I should have done something, something more. Please, please come back to use. To me,"

"As you wish," A familiar voice replied. At first, Ziva thought she was just imagining it. Or perhaps her mind was playing tricks on her.

She turned around slowly, just her head first. That's when she saw him. A cry escaped her mouth, though she tried to cover it. He stood there, illuminated by the early morning light. He smiled compassionately.

"Tony?" Ziva whispered, her brow furrowed. She became breathless as she began walk slowly to him.

"The one and only," He said, grinning through the bright sunrays rising behind her. At that, Ziva run into his strong arms. For what seemed like years, they stood there, embracing one another. He stroked her hair as she cried into his shoulder and grasped at his coat, still hardly able to believe that it really was him.

"You were dead," she whispered.

"You know better than to believe everything you hear," He said, smiling incredulously. He cupped her face with his hand. How he wanted to kiss her. "Come with me," He said instead, taking her hand. He led her to the warehouse.

"I saw it explode,"

"I'm sorry," Was all he could say as they stood in front of it. He put his arm around her shoulders and stared up at it.

"I… I could not protect you,"

"You don't get it, do you?" He laughed softly. He led her inside, stepping carefully over the charred debris. "I walked in here," He bent down and pulled a latch, opening a trap door in the ground. "Climbed down through here," He climbed the ladder that led them down thirty feet below the ground. Tony pulled out a small flashlight from his pocket. "Walked through this tunnel, through this doorway, got into a car, a drove away,"

"I still do not understand,"

"I staged my own murder," He smiled again, seeming quite please with himself.

"But, why would you do such a thing? If it was for attention, I swear I'll—" Ziva began to get angry and threw up her defenses.

"They were going to kill you. Then they were going to kill me,"

"Why?

"The murder, the one who was killing all those Marines. I got too close. I figured out who the killed was. He threatened me,"

"I know,"

"You saw the letter?"

"Yes, but it said nothing about me,"

"That was the first of the letters. The second said that if I didn't back off, they'd kill you, and then they'd kill me,"

"I can handle myself,"

"I know you can. But I didn't want to take any chances. This guy, he is a pro. And he has connections in high places. ," Tony looked her in the eyes. I couldn't stand loosing you too.

"Who was the man in the warehouse?"

"He was the Marine, unfortunately. He was already dead when I got there. I knew about the bomb, but the bombers didn't know about the tunnel," Tony explained.

"Ducky said he had the same blood type. He had even had the plague,"

"Coincidence," Tony offered.

"Gibbs doesn't believe in coincidences,"

"This time he'll have to," Silence agin.

"The text message?" Ziva suddenly remembered.

"It was the only way I could tell you I was sorry. I would have told you. I would have told you everything if I knew you would be safe. But with me out of the picture, it wouldn't be a problem anymore," He stroked her cheek. "I was trying to protect you. It's time you let someone protect you," Ziva looked at the ground.

"You were gone. You left without a word. Do you have any idea..?" Ziva asked, growing angry.

"I had no choice!"

"You could have told me, you could have told Gibbs! You have every choice in the world!"

"I was protecting you!" He cried, throwing his hands in the air.

"I don't need protecting," Then out of nowhere, a round of bullets rang out. They drew their guns much like they had a day earlier. They were coming from everywhere. Tony shot out, trying to determine where the shooter, or shooters, were. After awhile, however, the fire stopped. Tony turned around only to find Ziva, lying silent on the dirt, a pool of blood streaming out from underneath her.