Chapter Six: A New Friend
Emily came awake to the sound of angry muttering in what could only be Hebrew. For a moment she couldn't remember what had happened or why she'd be with some speaking a foreign language.
Then she remembered the porch and Agent David, and then Hotch holding her. Hotch and Gibbs.
She opened her eyes further and looked toward the other side of the room, realizing quickly that she was in the hospital ER. Several staff members in facemasks were hovering around her. Her arm was hurting badly, and she felt unbelievably light headed.
A mix of Hebrew spouted from the other bed in the exam room, and Emily turned her head abruptly. Agent David was in the middle of her own examination, and was fighting heatedly with the youngish, good-looking doctor leaning over her. He was eyeing her warily.
David was resisting his examination, muttering all the while about the unnecessary need to stay at the hospital for a little headache. The poor doctor obviously had no idea what the foreign words meant.
"He doesn't know what you are saying, Agent David." Emily told her in the same language. Languages were her specialty, and she'd been speaking the Hebrew words fluently since she was sixteen. "So threatening his virility is doing little good. What happened?"
"You speak my tongue?" Ziva asked, surprised enough to stop resisting the doctor's attentions. She only liked Dr. Mallard as physician, any one else made her nervous. "How odd."
"Why is that odd, I am a linguist." Emily said, focusing on the other agent instead of the pain in her arm.
"How many languages?" Ziva asked, looking crossly at the doctor when he shown a light in her eyes. She looked past him, watching as the other personnel hooked the agent up to another IV full of familiar red liquid. The woman's arm was freshly bandaged, so Ziva knew the wound was probably not that serious. Not as serious as it would have been had the FBI agent not knocked Ziva out of the way. Ziva thought on that for a moment. "Thank you. Agent Prentiss. For pushing me out of the way."
"Six. I speak six languages. And thank you, Agent David, for pulling me under the porch." Emily said. "Was it the guy?"
"I do not know. They will not tell me anything." Ziva glared at the physician once again. He was brandishing a big needle that he thought would go into Ziva's body. Ziva didn't think so. She told him so, in a mix of Hebrew and English that terrified the man even more. Her voice rose with each syllable, and he kept backing up. The other medical staff in the room froze, watching the tableau.
Emily watched in a sort of drugged curiosity. She didn't think David would do the things she threatened and it was slightly amusing to see how the man was afraid of the woman. He had a good one hundred pounds on the Israeli—who'd been injured at that. It was really funny, and Emily started to laugh. Pain medication always made her laugh—each and every time.
The curtain was jerked back thunderously and everyone except the doctor, Prentiss, and Ziva turned to see what who was joining this strange little act. Gibbs took one look around and understood the situation.
He knew Ziva hated doctors—except Ducky, of course—and that she hated needles even more. On top of that—she hated appearing weak, so she'd never admit her fears. So it was easier for her to terrorize the doctor instead of letting him meekly inject her with what were most likely antibiotics for the scratches marring her face.
"Excuse me, sir, but you cannot be in here right now." A nurse tried to say, but was hushed by the look in Gibbs' eyes. "Two minutes, no more."
"Officer David! What seems to be the problem?" He barked quietly, staring his agent down, while ignoring the giggles coming from the other bed. Giggles that made him want to smile. If Emily was awake enough to laugh she was most likely going to be ok.
"I want Dr. Ducky, Gibbs, he'll know I don't want needles." Ziva looked at Gibbs with an almost pleading look on her face.
"Dr. Ducky?" Emily said, laughing at the absurdity of a duck being a doctor.
"Dr. Can our medical examiner take over from here? He's her personal physician of record." Gibbs said, compassion in his eyes as he looked at both Ziva and the doctor. Poor man was really scared of Ziva—but then she often had that affect on people, so Gibbs was used to it. "And just what did you all do to Agent Prentiss?"
"Pain medication affects some people differently." The doctor explained as they all looked at the laughing woman. "She should get passed the buzz in about an hour and a half. As for Officer David, does your examiner have privileges here?"
"Yes."
"Then, by all means, he can have her." The doctor handed the syringe to one of the nurses and hurried out of the room, glad to be away from that woman.