Pivotal Moments

A/N If you missed the chapter where Rebekah turns up in DC and they plan a rescue op, click back to chapter 22.

Sigh. I drove the five hours back from Long Island to Baltimore today, and was thoroughly sleepy writing this just now. I hereby blame any typographical errors on I-95 :).

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June 13th, Somalia

A groan escaped her lips as Ziva pulled herself up onto the chair. Her eyes were nearly swollen shut, but she forced them open as wide as she could in order as she stood carefully on the seat. She paused there a moment, what vision she had blurring.

If this worked, her jump would force the back of the chair against the right set of vertebra to leave her unconscious at worst, and at best—the tears slid down her cheeks. On any other day Ziva would have fought them, but there wasn't anything to gain anymore with toughness. Or with softness, she pointed out to herself. Or intelligence, or strength. It was over.

Gunfire in the distance shocked her into a twirl toward the sound that her brain ordered instinctively but which her torn muscles could no longer accommodate. With a muffled shriek, Ziva slipped off the chair.

The next thing she was aware of was a pair of man's hands on her body and she screamed, lashed out with the last of her energy to keep him away from her. She had been so close...

But then she felt herself calming, and a familiar scent floated around her. Zibilya, came a whisper from far away.

Ziva opened her eyes as best she could, found Rebekah's face inches from her own and sobbed with relief. Rebekah pressed a tear-streaked cheek to Ziva's own and whispered in her ear, "I need to give you a sedative, so we can move you without you feeling the pain."

Ziva managed to nod. A twinge of pain in her hip filtered into her brain, and then the world evaporated into softness and warmth and her mother singing a lullaby.

***

By the time Rebekah finished the first verse, Ziva was deeply asleep, and she stood quickly. "Help me carry her," she ordered Tony, who was standing frozen in a corner of the cell. When he hesitated, she snapped at him. "She didn't know who you were. But she needs you right now. They're still fighting. We have to get out of here."

Without speaking, Tony stepped forward and pulled a blanket from the first aid bag Rebekah had been carrying. Together they wrapped it around Ziva. As he lifted her, Tony couldn't suppress the memory of holding her like this weeks earlier, depositing her laughing onto her bed. She was so much lighter now.

Rebekah readied her weapon and led the way out of the compound, radioing to Gibbs that they'd secured Ziva. As soon as he joined them, they were into a plane and off the ground, leaving the rest of the troops to worry about holding the facility.

***

As soon as they were in the air and on their way to the Naval Air Station at Sigonella, a pair of doctors took over Ziva's care with Rebekah's supervision while Gibbs and Tony sat in worried but relieved silence. Twenty minutes out, Rebekah came to their row to join them.

"The doctors can update you," she said softly.

Gibbs rose at once, with a glance at Tony. Tony shook his head. Gibbs shrugged and headed toward the back of the plane.

Rebekah sank into the seat he had vacated. "You don't want to see her like this?" she asked Tony.

He shook his head again. "It's not that."

"What, then?"

Tony didn't answer.

Rebekah twisted in her seat so she could stare into his face. "She really didn't recognize you, before."

He looked at her hard. "Why should she want me here? I killed her lover. She has to blame me for that, and for leaving her behind--"

"Tony." Rebekah put her hand on his arm to stop him. "She blames herself for Michael's death much more than you. And—she told me what happened between you."

Tony's face reddened and Rebekah smiled encouragingly. "You'll have to wait until she wakes up to ask if you can stay, but in the meantime, I think you should trust me that she'd want you here."

Tony sighed, then focused on her intensely again. "She's going to wake up?" he demanded, a grin tugging at his face.

Now doubt flickered over Rebekah's features. She looked away.

"What?" He grabbed her arm to get her attention.

Rebekah looked back into Tony's face. "We'll have to wait and see, that's all they'll say."

Terror flared in his eyes.

Rebekah put her hand over his and squeezed. "Tony?"

He looked at her.

"Be with her."

Tony nodded somberly, then followed her down the aisle and back to where Ziva lay.

***

June 14th, NAS Sigonella, Italy

Tony's knock at the door roused Rebekah, and she slowly sat up, swinging her legs off the edge of Ziva's narrow hospital bed.

"Anything?" he asked eagerly.

She looked down at Ziva's bruised face and shook her head. "No change."

Tony passed her a cup of coffee, which she accepted and sipped gratefully.

"I'll sit with her a while," he said and Rebekah nodded. In the twenty-four hours since they'd arrived here, one or both of them had been with Ziva at all times except when she'd been taken into surgery. Now her bones were set, her internal damage had been repaired as well as it could be until she was more stable, and her blood loss and dehydration were resolved. But Ziva still had not woken.

With another glance at her friend, Rebekah rose to let Tony take her place and slipped out into the hallway. She found Gibbs there, slumped sleeping in a chair. The older man had left Ziva mostly to their care while he dealt with Vance and the political repercussions of their actions in Africa.

Rebekah leaned her coffee in his general direction and smirked as Gibbs jerked awake.

"What?" he demanded, looking up at her wearily and taking the cup. Then, suddenly alert, he looked toward Ziva's room and back up at her.

She shook her head tiredly and sat down beside him. "Do you know how Ziva and I met?"

"In the army," Gibbs muttered as he stretched enough to sit up straight.

Rebekah nodded. "As I'm sure you know, Ziva grew up with weapons and lessons in their use. While my father was also Mossad, he was a linguist and rarely if ever in the field. So I had none of her background." Her lips quirked, remembering the mortification of failing at every exercise compared to her bunk mate. "She showed me a few things, kept me from making too big a fool of myself. I got quite good in time, though never as good as she was."

Gibbs raised his eyebrows, clearly asking what the point was. Rebekah didn't draw things out.

"Her skill was weapons. Mine was bombs." She looked into Gibbs' eyes, making sure he understood what she was saying.

Gibbs gave a slight nod.

"After she wakes up," Rebekah said softly.

Gibbs nodded confirmation again, and slid down in his chair so he could lean back against the wall again to sleep.

Rebekah sank into her own chair, only to jerk upright as Tony cried out from inside Ziva's room.

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A/N Ooo! Just one more chapter...maybe two? Let me know what you think!