Gibbs: I'm just giving her time that's all.
Vance: Time to what?
Gibbs: Remember, who she can trust.
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Gibbs was the first to arrive at her side and gently untied her. He knew she couldn't see him but was certain to assure her of his identity.
"We're here Ziver…you're safe now."
She fell limp into his arms but still managed a few inaudible words. Only Gibbs didn't have to comprehend them…all that mattered now was her.
In his arms.
Where she belonged.
Safe.
He placed a soft kiss on her matted hair as she reluctantly passed her off to the medics. "You take care of her…you hear me?" His stare didn't relent as he accompanied their every step. If he had it his way, he'd nurse her back to health himself.
Both Tony and McGee came to a dead halt as they caught a brief glimpse of her.
"Was that her?" Tim questioned his partner as he processed what he'd just seen.
Tony looked up to see Gibbs following closely. "Yeah…it was."
Tim broke out of his train of thought and turned to follow after Gibbs, only to notice Tony hadn't moved. "Hey, you coming?"
Tony remained still.
McGee approached him cautiously but with urgency, not wanting to miss where Gibbs was headed. "It's okay Tony…"
"No it isn't Probie…" He glanced in the direction they were taking her. "I did that to her…"
Tim swallowed. "Blame doesn't matter now…we need to be with her."
Tony shook his head. "You go…I don't want be the face she sees when she wakes up…and neither does she."
McGee didn't have time to convince him otherwise. "Okay…I'll call you."
Tony waved for him to go and watched as he raced towards the ambulance behind Gibbs. For a second, he thought he saw Gibbs looking back at him briefly but averted his eyes. Ziva was safe now…he'd done his part to make sure of that. Now it was time for him to go home…he couldn't cause her any more pain there…