Chapter 16

On the dirt roads in the middle of nowhere in North Korea, the Hummer continues moving south toward the boarder in order to reach South Korea. They drive in the vast forest on the dirt roads where there are no signs of life to be found; except wildlife.

While driving the Hummer, Ziva tries to conceal her knife wound by turning her body slightly to the left in order to keep the blood out of view. She also tries to conceal the pain from being expressed upon her face. Ziva looks down and to the left. The left side of her shirt and jacket are stained with blood. Enough blood has been lost that it's actually dripping off the left side of the driver's seat. Ziva is slightly weakened by the loss of blood, but her pride gets the best of her so she says nothing.

Close to dusk, the Hummer continues speeding down the long, straight dirt road; heading south. Ziva's eyes start to blur. The road becomes fuzzy in her eyes. Ziva's breathing is decreased from its normal rhythm and she feels lightheaded. The Hummer swerves to the left. Yair quickly grabs hold of the steering wheel. Ziva finally passes out and her head hits the driver's side window.

"Ziva!" Yair yelled in concern. He scoots over from the passenger seat and presses his foot to the brake pedal. The vehicle finally comes to a halt.

Jael steps out and runs around the Hummer to the driver's side. Yair gently pulls Ziva toward the passenger side. Jael opens the driver's side door and gets inside. Yair lays Ziva in his lap and applies pressure to her wound. Jael presses on the accelerator pedal. The vehicle moves away from the dirt road. The Hummer is driven behind a hill.

Ziva is carefully taken out of the vehicle by Yair and Jael. Gibbs, Tony and Chioke are standing nearby. Yair speaks to Jael in Hebrew; his order is to make the tire tracks leading into the forest vanish. Jael runs away from the area in order to do his job of concealing the tire tracks. Yair looks to Gibbs.

"Help me." Yair said. Gibbs is hesitant for a couple seconds. But he caves and kneels down close to Ziva in order to help.

"What's going on?" Ziva said as she's having a hard time keeping her eyes open.

"Hold her down." Yair stated.

"Tony, get over here." Gibbs ordered. Tony kneels near Ziva. Chioke is left standing there, just watching.

Yair rips Ziva's shirt open to expose her chest. Tony and Gibbs hold Ziva down. Chioke remains watching. Blood from Ziva' knife wound continues to trickle out. Yair wipes the blood away. Gibbs notices Tony is staring at Ziva's breasts. Gibb smacks Tony on the back of the head.

"Old habits die hard, Boss." Tony said. "Sorry." He looks away.

Yair examines the wound for a couple seconds.

"I have to burn it." Yair stated. He takes out a knife and a lighter. The lighter is used to heat the knife.

After a couple minutes, the knife is heated up enough. Gibbs and Tony hold Ziva down tightly. The heated knife is placed toward Ziva's wound. Yair touches the knife to the bleeding wound. There's a look of pain on Ziva's face as she feels it. The wound is burned to stop the bleeding.

"We'll rest here until morning." Yair stated.

Later in the night, Ziva's eyes open. Ziva's head lies in Yair lap as he's stroking her hair. Jael is sitting nearby. They talk in Hebrew to each other.

"How do you feel?" Jael asked.

"A little weak…" Ziva replied.

"You gave us quite a scare." Yair said. Ziva lifts her hand toward Yair's face.

"You're not going to get all mushy on me, are you?" Ziva wondered smacks him with the back of her hand in the playful manner.

"I guess not." Yair smiles down at her.

"You should've told us about the knife wound." Jael said.

"I know." Ziva agreed.

"You truly care for your coworkers." Yair said. "I can tell."

"Cause I would've immediately told you about my wound, I know." Ziva said. "I need to get them out of here, Yair. I may not fully understand why I feel the need to get them to safety…"

"You're loyal, Ziva. You always have been and always will be. No matter what team you're a part of." Jael stated. Ziva's head turns. She looks to where her coworkers are. Even though there's not much light, only that of the moon, Ziva looks at Chioke lying in Tony's lap. She smiles has the moonlight shines down on them.

"Jael... Can we have a minute?" Yair asked. Jael stands and walks away. Yair and Ziva are now alone. "What Jael said is true. But there's more. Something only I know about."

"They were slaughtered, Yair." Ziva said. "Every time I look at Chioke…"

"You think of Isaac, I know." Yair said in acknowledgement of what Ziva is talking about.

"You're the only one who knows of Isaac."

"How can I not? You and my brother created him."

"The other day, when I was going to go talk to my boss…"

"You mean the time you choked, turned back and ended up not talking to him."

"Yes, that time." Ziva chuckled slightly. "I felt something I never felt before. I didn't know what it was at the time. But I think I know now."

"You want to be a mother again? For real this time…"

"I think so, yes." Ziva said with a smile as she watches Chioke sleeping in Tony's lap. "Isaac wasn't planned. He just happened. But this time is different. I actually want it."

"Do you feel guilty for leaving them, Ziva?"

"Yes… I just wasn't ready for motherhood."

"He never blamed you for walking out, Ziva. My brother understood why you left."

"I was scared… Scared of the thought of marriage and being a mother. So I left. I abandoned my own child."

"My brother never stopped loving you. He prayed that one day you would return."

"When I did… It was too late. I returned to a burning home." Ziva's eyes become watery. A couple tears roll down her face. "I couldn't save my child. But I'm as hell going to save Tony's."

Yair continues to stroke Ziva's hair as she lies there watching Tony and Chioke in the moonlight. Ziva smiles as she remembers the man she once loved and the child they had together, the child she left behind.