Seven
"Are you in pain?" Ziva asked, wanting to change the subject.
Tony nodded. "A little."
"Your back?" Ziva asked.
Tony nodded.
"Are your stomach and chest okay? Do you think you could lay down? I could try rubbing your back a bit of you wanted." Ziva suggested.
"Okay." Tony said.
Ziva moved off the couch so he could lay down. He shifted uncomfortably for a few moments before settling.
"Are you ready?" Ziva asked.
"Yeah."
"If I hurt you, tell me." Ziva reminded him.
Tony nodded.
Ziva knelt down beside the couch and started to work on his shoulder blades, which looked like they had sustained the least of the beating. She moved her hands up to the hand shaped bruises that extended from the tops of his shoulders down to just above his underarm.
"Is this okay?" She asked.
Tony nodded.
Her hands traveled to just below the back of his neck, where a bruise stretched from one side to the other, before her hands moved down to his ribs, making him squirm.
"Are you okay?" She asked, worried that she may have pressed to hard.
Tony nodded. "Tickles." He mumbled.
Ziva smiled and worked her way to the middle of his back, around the large bruise there.
"Can I ask you a question?" She asked.
Tony nodded. "Sure."
"How did this one happen?" She asked, referring to the bruise over his spine.
"I tried to get up, and one of them kneeled on me."
Ziva bit her lip. She hadn't wanted to be right about that. She felt a tear roll down her cheek, and before she had the chance to catch it, it fell onto Tony's back.
Tony lifted his head and turned around. "You okay?"
Ziva nodded and wiped the next tear off her cheek. "I am fine."
"Then why are you crying smarty pants?" Tony asked.
"Because I do not like seeing you in pain, and this looks incredibly painful." Ziva told him.
"That's the reason you're doing this. To make it less painful. It's helping." Tony said as he lifted his hand to wipe her tears.
Ziva reached up to hold his hand against her face for a moment before turning her head to press her lips into his palm.
"Lay back down." She said softly.
Tony laid back down and Ziva moved her hands down to the waistband of his sweatpants.
"Can I do your hips? I won't go any further." Ziva said.
Tony nodded, and Ziva slowly, carefully slid her fingers under the waistband of his pants to the back of his hips.
"I wish the bruises would go away. I don't mind the pain, I just don't like the giant purple splotches all over my body. I look like someone dumped grape juice all over me." Tony said.
Ziva nodded. "I have some aloe gel I can try if you want." She said.
"I thought that was for sunburns." Tony said.
"It helps bruises too. It speeds the recovery of broken blood vessels." Ziva told him.
Tony nodded. "Okay."
"I will be right back." Ziva said.
She stood up and walked into the bathroom in search of the aloe. She opened the medicine cabinet and took the small bottle from its place on the shelf and hurried back to the living room.
"It will be cold." She said.
Tony jumped when she spoke.
"I am sorry Tony, I did not mean to scare you." Ziva said.
"It's okay, I just didn't hear you come back, I wasn't paying attention." Tony said.
"Okay." Ziva popped the lip on the aloe open. "Ready?" She asked.
Tony nodded. "Yeah."
Ziva squeezed the gel into her hand and rubbed her hands together so it warmed up a little bit before going to work on his back.
"I am going to have to touch the actual bruises." Ziva told him.
"Alright." Tony said, bracing himself.
Ziva slid her hands over his sides first, trying to be as gently as possible as she massaged his wounds, then moved to the bruise in the middle of his back.
"Can I do the hips too?" She asked.
"Yeah." Tony said quietly.
Ziva slipped her hands under the waist band of his sweat pants and gently rubbed the aloe into the back of his hips, before slowly working her way around to the front of his hips, careful not to go too far.
She squeezed some more gel on her hands to do his shoulder and the back of his neck, which made him flinch.
"That one is really bad?" Ziva asked.
Tony nodded. "It was a belt or something."
"A belt?" Ziva asked.
"Yeah, I could feel hands on my shoulders, and I guess they didn't want me to be able to see what was coming, my face was on the pavement and there was something across the back of my neck, and it kind of kept getting tighter across, so I think he had to have had a belt or something across it." Tony told her.
"Does it hurt to move your head?" Ziva asked.
"No, just to touch, or when I lean my head back too far." Tony said.
"Okay." Ziva said softly. She sat back on her heels for a minute, waiting for the aloe on Tony's back to dry.
"Do you want me to do your chest too?" She asked.
Tony thought for a minute, then nodded. "Yeah, you probably should." He said before rolling onto his back.
Ziva picked up the aloe and squeezed some into her hand. "Ready?"
Tony nodded and Ziva put her hands on his chest gently. She rubbed the aloe into the bruise on the front of his shoulder, then moved to his ribs, and down to his hips.
"Anywhere else?" She asked.
Tony shook his head no. "The rest of them don't hurt as bad."
"Okay." Ziva said as she closed the lid on the aloe.
"Will you lay with me again?" Tony asked.
Ziva nodded. "Of course, just let me put the aloe back?" She said.
Tony nodded. "Okay."
She took the aloe back into the bathroom and turned on the faucet to wash the gel of her hands. She grabbed Tony's towel from his shower to dry her hands before she threw it in the hamper and hung a fresh one on the towel rack.
"Do you want to watch a movie?" Ziva asked as she walked back into the living room.
"What do you ha-" Tony's question was interrupted when Ziva's cell phone rang.
She picked it up and looked at the caller ID. It was Gibbs. She hit talk and held the phone to her ear.
"Hello."
"Ziver, how's Tony?" Gibbs asked.
"Good." Ziva said simply.
"Is he up for a ride?"
"Why?" Ziva asked.
"Well the description he gave us isn't really much to go on, we were hoping he would work with Abby for a sketch or two." Gibbs said.
"I will ask, but do not push Gibbs." Ziva told him.
"Well ask then." Gibbs said.
Ziva rolled her eyes and sat down next to Tony. She hit the mute button on her phone, so Gibbs wouldn't be able to hear their conversation.
"Gibbs wants you to go and work with Abby for a sketch." Ziva told him.
"I don't know… I don't really want to be around people." Tony said quietly.
Ziva nodded. "You do not have to today, you are allowed to tell him no."
Tony thought for a moment. "Will you stay with me?" He asked.
Ziva slid her hand into his. "The entire time." She told him.
"Okay." Tony said softly.
"Yes?" She asked.
Tony nodded. "When?"
"I think right now." Ziva told him.
"Alright."
Ziva unmuted the phone and held it up to her ear. "We will be there in about a half an hour." She told Gibbs.
"Okay. Thanks, Ziver."
Ziva hung up.
"I'm gonna need a shirt." Tony said.
Ziva nodded. "Yes, you are." She walked over to the bag McGee brought over and unzipped it.
"Is there a long sleeve or a sweater in there or something? I want to cover the bruises." Tony said.
Ziva dug around until she found something that felt like it had sleeves. She pulled out his Ohio State Buckeyes hoodie.
"Good?" She asked.
Tony nodded.
"Can you get it on?" She asked.
Tony shook his head no. "Probably not by myself."
"Okay." Ziva said.
She unfolded the sweater.
"Head first I guess." Tony said.
Ziva nodded and slid the sweater over his head and held the arms steady for him to slide into.
He got his arms into the sleeves and held his hands out for Ziva to help him up. She took his hands and he pulled himself off the couch. He stood up a little too quickly and stumbled forward. Ziva braced herself for the impact and wrapped her arms around him to catch him.
"Are you okay?" Ziva asked, scanning his face for signs of pain.
Tony nodded. "I think so." He said. "Are you?" He asked, wrapping his arms around Ziva's waist.
"I am fine." She told him.
Tony smiled and kissed her forehead. Ziva smiled and brought one hand up to his cheek and rested the other one carefully on the back of his neck before gently, briefly, pressing her lips to his. She pulled back and tucked her head under his chin.
"I love you Tony." She said as she wrapped her arms around his waist again.
"I love you too Zi." He said softly.
"Are you ready?" Ziva asked.
Tony shook his head. "No, but I guess I don't really have a choice, do I?" He asked.
"Yes you do Tony. If you do not want to go, I can call Gibbs back and tell him no." Ziva told him.
Tony shook his head. "No, I don't. I have to do this. It's important." He said.
Ziva nodded. "But if it is too much…"
"Just… stay with me." Tony said softly.
Ziva kissed his cheek softly. "Of course."
"I'll be okay." Tony said softly.
"If you are sure?" Ziva said.
Tony nodded. "If I'm not I'll tell you."
"Alright. Let's go." Ziva said.
Tony let go of Ziva's waist, taking her hand instead. Ziva grabbed her keys and led him out of her apartment.