Eighteen

As soon as Clemens was out of the car back at NCIS, Ziva's grip on his arm resumed. She slammed the car door shut and pushed Clemens forward. Gibbs and McGee stepped out of the car and followed behind her closely.

Ziva moved Clemens out of the way, allowing Gibbs to pull the door open for her. She nodded to Gibbs as she pushed Clemens through the door and across the lobby to the elevator.

McGee hit the call button for her, and the elevator doors slid open. The four of them stepped into the elevator and waited for the elevator to stop.

The doors slid open, revealing the pumpkin orange walls of the fourth floor and McGee and Gibbs stepped out of the elevator, followed by Ziva, pushing Clemens.

The rounded the corner and walked down the strip of carpet in front of the windows overlooking the Navy Yard.

Ziva looked around the squad room and stopped, almost shocked to see Tony at his desk with Abby and Ducky, instead of downstairs in Abby's lab where there were less people.

Gibbs turned around to look at her and reached out to grip Clemens' arm just as tightly as she had. Ziva let Gibbs and McGee take Clemens, and she went to Tony.

Tony's eyes were wide as she walked up to him. She kicked herself mentally. If she had known Tony was going to be in the squad room, she would not have paraded Clemens past his desk. She walked around Tony's desk and perched herself on the corner of it. She reached out to take Tony's hand gently, stroking the back of his hand with her thumb.

Ducky and Abby watched as Gibbs and McGee took Clemens away.

"Did you inflict the damage to his face?" Ducky asked.

"Of course she did." Abby stated, looking up at Ziva.

Ziva sighed. "We fought, my fist connected with his face." She told them.

She felt Tony squeezing her hand and she looked back down at him. He was looking up at her, his eyes still wide. Ziva brought her free hand up to rest against his cheek softly.

"Everything is okay. We got him. He is going to prison for a very long time." She told Tony before she kissed his forehead lightly.

Tony nodded silently.

"Do you want to go home? Back to my apartment?" Ziva asked.

"I don't want to be here with him." Tony told her, his voice cracking.

Ziva nodded. "Okay. Let's go then." She said as she stood up.

She took Tony's jacket off the back of his chair and held it so he could slip his arms in.

"Can I hug you?" Abby asked quietly.

Tony looked up at her and tried to smile. "Always." He said, holding out his arms.

Abby smiled softly and walked into Tony's embrace. She needed to know that he was really okay, or at least on the road to being okay.

Abby released him a few moments later and Ducky reached out to pat Tony's shoulder gently.

"Get some rest Anthony." Ducky told him.

Tony smiled at him. "I'll see you guys later."

Ducky waved as he walked toward the stairs.

"Tell Gibbs I'll e-mail him my report about Clemens' arrest." Ziva requested.

Abby nodded. "I will." She said before she headed off, directed toward interrogation.

Ziva looked up at Tony's face as she reached for his hand, tangling their fingers together before leading him to the elevator silently.

XXXXX

"We can talk about it if you like." Ziva said as she sat down on the couch, facing Tony.

Tony shrugged. "What's there to talk about?"

"I am sorry you had to see him. I was not even thinking about you being upstairs. I assumed you would have gone down to Abby's lab where there were less people." Ziva said, reaching out to rub his back.

Tony nodded, staring silently at the wall.

They sat together in quiet for a few minutes before Tony spoke.

"I hate him." He said quietly.

Ziva looked up at him. "Clemens?" She asked.

Tony nodded.

"That is completely understandable Tony." She said softly.

"I hate that… it feels like he ripped a piece of me off, and I don't know how to get that piece back, but I don't even know what it was to begin with." Tony said.

Ziva shifted closer to him. "He stole your sense of safety, and trust, and he did something that was unforgivable." She told him quietly.

Tony turned to look at her. "Can I ask you something?"

Ziva nodded. "Of course."

"How do you get it back?" Tony asked.

Ziva sighed. "I really… I am not sure… I will tell you if I ever figure it out though." She told him sadly. "I wish I knew. I think it comes with time, although there are some moments when I do not feel safe."

"What helps?" Tony asked.

Ziva thought for a moment. "You, thinking about you, I mean. You have always protected me. Even when I did not want you to."

Tony nodded. "Because I love you."

Ziva smiled a bit and kissed his cheek gently. "I love you too."

Tony laid down on the edge of the couch and pulled Ziva down to lay with him. She laid down on her side, resting her back against the back of the couch and she pulled Tony close to her.

Tony's eyes closed, and he relaxed, feeling Ziva's warmth against his body, and he let himself drift off to sleep.

XXXXX

Ziva hadn't heard from Gibbs since she and Tony had left NCIS, almost ten hours ago. She checked her phone for the hundredth time as she was brushing her teeth, groaning in frustration when the same blank screen appeared.

She rinsed her mouth and walked into the bedroom to see Tony already covered up.

"Clothes?" She asked.

Tony shook his head. "Constricting."

Ziva nodded knowingly. Tony had developed a fear of being tied down or held down, which was perfectly normal after what he had been through.

"Do you want me to change into clothes?" Ziva asked.

She had found that he slept through the night better if he could feel her skin beside him. He still woke up two or three times, but the warmth and the contact settled him a bit faster now.

Tony shook his head no.

Ziva nodded and crossed her arms over her body, grabbing the hem of her shirt to peel it over her head.

"Oh my God Zi what happened?" Tony asked as she raised the shirt off her stomach.

Ziva dropped the shirt in the dirty clothes hamper and looked up at Tony.

"What?" She asked.

Tony pointed to her torso.

She looked down at herself, shocked to see that she had a dark purple bruise in the middle of her stomach from Clemens' knee, and more bruises down her left side from hitting the ground. There were also a few bruises on her arms from shielding herself from his fists.

"I did not even realize they were there." She told Tony.

Tony sat up. "Come here." He said softly.

Ziva took her pants and underwear off quickly, less surprised that there were a few bruises on her hip and leg and tossed the pants into the hamper as well.

She walked over to Tony's side of the bed and stood in front of him.

"Did he do this? What am I saying of course he did this… Zi I'm so sorry." Tony said, running his hand along her side. "Does it hurt?" He asked.

Ziva shrugged. "I have had worse."

Tony looked up at her. "That's not an answer." He said softly.

Ziva leaned down to kiss his forehead softly. "I did not even realize they were there until now." She told him honestly. "But yes, I suppose they do hurt."

"Sit." Tony told her.

Ziva sat down beside him and Tony tossed the covers off of himself and stood up.

"Where are you going?" Ziva asked.

"Don't worry." Tony said softly.

He walked out of the room, leaving Ziva to sit alone for a moment before he came back, holding up the bottle of aloe gel and a towel from the bathroom.

"Lay back." Tony told her, motioning toward the pillows.

Ziva smiled a little and did as he asked, laying down on her side of the bed with her head on the pillow.

Tony sat down beside her and turned all the way around to face her, letting her bruised leg rest on top of one of his own. He flipped the lid open on the aloe and squeezed the gel into his hand. He put the bottle down on the nightstand and rubbed the gel between his palms for a moment before resting one hand on the bruise in the middle of Ziva's abdomen. She flinched and yelped, and Tony drew his hand back as if he'd been burned.

"What happened?!" He asked, panicked. "Did I hurt you?"

Ziva shook her head and Tony was shocked to see her start laughing.

"What the hell?" Tony asked.

Ziva rested her hand on his leg. "You did not hurt me; the gel was cold." She told him.

Tony let out a sigh of relief. "I thought I hurt you." He said softly.

Ziva reached up to cup his cheek softly. "I am okay. Just warm it up a bit more this time?" She said.

Tony nodded and rubbed his hands together before settling his hand back on Ziva's body, even softer than he had before.

Ziva smiled slightly and her eyes closed when she felt Tony's hands on her. She loved that she could relax around him, and he loved that she trusted him enough to see her like this – completely vulnerable and open, two things Ziva wasn't a fan of being.

Tony worked the aloe into the bruise on her stomach before running his hand up and down her left side, and then the smaller bruised patches on her arms and legs. As he looked over her body, he couldn't quite determine the emotion that he felt when he realized how hard she must have fought Clemens to end up with wounds like this. Bruises were unavoidable in a fight, but this many… he knew he would have fought just as hard for Ziva as she had done for him.

Tony wiped the extra aloe off on the towel and laid down beside Ziva.

She opened her eyes and turned her head over to look at him.

"Thank you." She said softly.

Tony smiled and propped himself up on his elbow to look down at her. She smiled up at him, and he leaned down to kiss her softly.

"Thank you for protecting me." Tony said as he pulled away.

Ziva reached her hand up, running her fingers through his hair gently. "I told you I would, and I always will."

Tony nodded. "I know."

Ziva smiled softly and pulled the covers back for them to slide underneath. "Come sleep." She said.

Tony climbed under the covers with her and they migrated toward the center of the bed, toward each other. Ziva wrapped an arm around Tony as he rested his head on her chest like she had become accustomed to him doing.

"Goodnight." Tony said quietly.

"Goodnight Tony. I love you." Ziva said, running her hand over his back gently.

"I love you too."