A/N
Thank you all for the awesome reviews! I was surprised when i logged in the next day seeing so many already! THANK YOU!
I'm sorry this is late, but this was a hard chapter with dry facts... i studied a lot for this chapter, but it was totally necessary to have it all.. Thank you so much Tari, for bothering to beta all my errors and blablabla! This lady, is pure amazing. if that's even a sentence to use...
Copyrights: No, i do not own a thing except for my errors.. And my bed, thank god!
Look After You
"I'm sorry, but who are you?"
The words hit her, and she felt her Mossad-mask slide straight back on. Smiling sadly at him she said, "I'm Ziva David, I was the one who found you." She stood up from the chair she had been sitting on and walked a little away from the bed. She looked worriedly over at the doctor who was writing on his pad.
"Agent DiNozzo, do you remember what year it is?" he said, only looking up while waiting for the answer.
"Why are you asking that? It's uhm,, 2005," he said finally and Ziva felt a wave of nausea. Tony obviously noticed the look of worry in their faces. "Why? What's wrong?" he carefully used his hand to feel at his head, wincing a little as his hand crossed the wound.
"It is not unusual, but you obviously have a amnesia, and who knows, it might just be temporary, but it might last for a while," the doctor said, once again continued scribbling on his pad,. "I've had people forgetting all the way back to the eighties, but they have just gone on living their life, and one day they have their memories back. It may come faster than expected, even," he said, trying to reassure the man.
"So what you're saying is that I have forgotten the last couple of months? Then what date is it now?" Tony scanned the room, hoping to find something to help him with the date.
"Today it's February 9th, 2010," the doctor said calmly. "What! It's been that long! But, I've missed so much!" Tony exclaimed and the heart monitor starting beeping faster.
"Agent DiNozzo, you have to calm down else it might get more painful. I will now give you a new dose of painkillers just so you can sleep a little, more to get your body relaxed, alright?" And before he let the patient react, he opened the stopper at the bag of fluid which contained liquid morphine.
Ziva watched as Tony's eyelids lost the fight against the drugs, and closed. His muscles got less tense and the monitor calmed down, going back to calm rhythms.
"How bad is it?" she asked as they left the room.
"He shows signs of having Post-Traumatic Amnesia, which often occurs immediately following a traumatic brain injury. He only remembers parts of his life, like here he remembers up until 2005, which may show that something traumatic happened around this time making him block the memories. It can take days, weeks even months, but he will get his memory back. But during PTA, all that happens now will be forgotten once continuous memory returns. Also he might have memory flaws where he suddenly forgets something like a name, a task he was supposed to have done, etc., but only time can actually show how this will go. He might have a mild case, which can show when he wakes in an hour or two, or pretty severe..." the Doctor explained.
Ziva silently nodded at the doctor's explanation, trying to absorb the situation. She said her thanks to the doctor, going back into Tony's room. He was snoring which made Ziva chuckle lightly to herself. She pulled her cell out of her pocket and dialed Gibbs' number.
She explained what the doctor had said, and he listened carefully. "They say his subconscious has blocked his mind at the year 2005, perhaps because something traumatizing happened that year," she said as she walked over to Tony, placing her palm to his cheek, feeling his cold skin under hers.
"They have him sedated at the moment with painkillers, but he will be awake again in a couple of hours or so, maybe you should come in? He does not remember me," She did her best to hide the feeling of hurt in her voice. They agreed for McGee to come down in two hours time and then they hung up. She sat down again in the chair, pulling her legs up close to her body, resting her chin on her knees.
She woke to the feeling of someone stroking her hair, sliding it behind her ear. She quickly sat up properly, shocked to realize that her head had slipped onto the bed Ziva rubbed her eyes roughly, stifling a yawn. She looked at the man in the bed, smiling lightly at her. "Tony, you're awake," she smiled, combing her hair back with her left hand.
"Yep. Say, how did you say we met?" he asked as she turned the chair more towards him.
"Does your head feel, better?" she changed the subject.
He frowned a little as he moved, "You know, could've been worse, but not bad waking up to a gorgeous woman sitting there waiting," One of his cheeky DiNozzo smiles spread across his face, a smile she hadn't seen in so long, and she felt herself blush lightly.
And just as she was about to ask him more, McGee entered the room. "McGoo! Missed me now, did ya?" Tony grinned as the man walked into the room. Again Ziva stood up, excusing herself to the toilet and some coffee. Just as she was about to leave the room, Tony asked McGee, "So, when's Kate coming in?" He laughed heartily, and once again she felt her stomach twist up and down. She felt McGee stare at her, but she simply left. She had never met Kate, all she knew was that it had been her brother who had killed her five years earlier, then she had killed him. In the basement of Gibbs' house. Just like that Ziva could remember what it felt like as she pulled the trigger. She quickly removed a tear from her eye that almost escaped.
She splashed some water in her face, cleaning her hands thoroughly in the cold water. Looking at her reflection, seeing the drops of water run down her face, Ziva frowned. 'Pull it together, David!' She dried them away before she left the bathroom. Once Ziva got the coffee, she placed herself in the chair right outside Tony's room "Has he woken up yet?" The doctor walked over to her, interrupting as she was deep in her thoughts. "Oh, uhm, yeah, he woke about ten minutes ago," she looked up with a disconnected look on her face. "Tony still doesn't appear to remember anything after 2005. He even asked for his old partner right before I left the room."
The doctor simply nodded. "But we must not push, it will make the process worse, 'cause then he will start stressing which will make the amnesia worse," he warned.
He told her some more about the basics with amnesia before he was paged to the ER. Ziva sunk down along the wall, taking a deep breath. Just as she was about to pull out her phone, McGee walked out of the room and sat on the opposite side of her in the waiting chairs.
"He fell asleep again," he explained. "He keeps asking about Kate and Ari, how the case went," he said rubbing his temples lightly.
"And what did you tell him, McGee?" Ziva stretched her legs in front of her, stifling a yawn. Tim looked at her, "I told him he would have to wait 'till Gibbs got here, thinking it would be better to let him tell Tony." McGee smiled sadly.
When they were all gathered in Tony's room again, Gibbs there to give some orders after hearing the doctor's words, Ziva sank down in the chair in the corner of the room.
"He will be able to go home tomorrow as long as there will be someone with him to watch over him," the doctor did some last tests before turning back to the rest of the team. Tony had been quit after Gibbs had broken the old news to him.
Gibbs turned towards Ziva as she was seating there simply looking at Tony in the bed deep in thoughts. "Ziver, I put you in control of taking care of him, I know he has a spare room where you can sleep. Don't let him out of your sight for too long, and make him take all the medicines given to him, do whatever you have to do to make that happen, okay?"
"He does not even remember me, Gibbs, how can we live as strangers that way?" Ziva felt her heart beat in her chest, not wanting to be alone with the Tony she had fallen so hard for 5 years earlier.
"It's not like you have never been working with strangers before and I'm not asking you to sleep with him! This is not a request but a demand!" Gibbs looked at her with almost a little sympathy which quickly was erased from his features. Ziva simply nodded, avoiding the charming smile Tony was sending her way now that he realized they were discussing him. "Cool, haven't had a roommate since college," he smiled gladly.
A/N2:Thank you if you are still reading, and please do leave a comment! They are highly appreciated! I will try post next chapter before leaving for NY in the eastern, but cannot promise... I will try, as long as school doesn't put too much on us this week... Thank you again!