A/N: Oh, I forgot to mention two things in my previous, ridiculously long A/N - 1. Ziva isn't dying. Yes, she has cancer, but most of it has been removed through surgery and the rest will be eradicated through chemotherapy. At present, the biggest risk is that of her relapse rather than her death. 2. Um...this story has no real plot...lol. I mean, it progresses throughout the course of a day, but the focus is on the emotional interaction between Ziva and her friends/team mates rather than her physical recovery. So we won't be seeing her go through chemo. :)

I don't know how this affects your willingness to read the story, but I do hope you like it. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, favourited, and put out alerts for the first chapter! Big hugs and a box of chocolate for each and every one of you :D

This chapter is Gibbs/Ziva friendship...there are no major spoilers to any season.

Enjoy, please review!

-Soph

It's daylight the next time she wakes up, and Tony is gone but Gibbs sits in his place. She feels lost for a moment because even though she told Gibbs about the cancer – she wouldn't have been able to get leave for the operation otherwise – it has always been Tony by her side. Not that Gibbs doesn't care about her wellbeing, but the oddly fierce look in her Italian partner's eyes at anyone else's interference seems to have convinced Gibbs to let the senior field agent be the one to take care of her.

Take care of her. Since when had she needed taking care of?

"Ziver," Gibbs calls softly to her, and she turns her eyes away from the blinding glare of the sunlight towards him.

"Gibbs," she whispers with a small smile. She wants to continue with, thank you for coming to visit, but he shakes his head slightly. It's more of a twitch than a proper shake, but she gets his meaning anyway – no formalities needed. So she changes topic. "How are things at work?"

He grimaces. "Ahh, I had to tell Abby." Of course he did. "She wondered. You took four days off work."

"I took three."

"I made it four." Of course he did. Gibbs, always just like an overprotective father. She feels annoyance growing in her heart over that fact at the same time that a smile grows on the corners of her mouth because that simple gesture moves her. She's never had an overprotective father. It's quite nice to have one now.

"Tony's gettin' some food and rest. I sent him home," Gibbs says shrewdly, and her eyes snap up to his. She wonders if he knows how much she misses Tony.

He lifts one shoulder and drops it. "Brought Abby with me. Couldn't have convinced him to leave your side otherwise. Abby did whatever she does and got him to go home for three hours."

She almost laughs at that, and for the first time since her diagnosis she feels normal. Like she had never left the office, never left the people she works with, never distanced herself from the people she loves.

"She's coming after she sends him back. Got a big bouquet of black roses waiting for her at the florist's shop, ready to brighten this room up." He looks around the plain room with his nose scrunched, as if he thinks the roses might make a reasonable improvement to it. She agrees.

"That is nice of Abby."

Gibbs gives a brisk nod and changes topic again. "McGee knows too. Ducky and Palmer. Thought you might wanna be prepared if they drop by."

"You…told them?" Her heart suddenly feels like stone, because overprotective she may be able to handle but presumptuous she cannot.

"No. Abby did."

She closes her eyes and focuses on steadying her breathing. She loves Abby on a good day, but right now…"I didn't want them to know."

"I know."

She opens her eyes and glares at him. He was the one who had told Abby, after all. "Do you?"

Gibbs sighs and pulls his chair closer, resting a warm hand on her forehead. "They're your family too, Ziver."

"I don't need people to know that I have this…this…"

"You don't have it anymore."

"What?"

"They cut it out."

"They cut a part of me out!"

"Yeah, if a part of you is cancer cells. You got a bad thought in your head, you put it out, no questions about whether it's you or not. Same thing here, Ziva. You want to live, you cut it out. You're still you; just alive."

She comes to the realization that she feels wetness on her face again; that she's crying, again. She brushes at the tears angrily, suddenly desperate for Tony's presence. She's really starting to suspect that excessive emotionality is part of her condition.

Gibbs strokes her hair softly.

"You're still you, Ziver. They're your family. They want to see you."