I Am Damaged Goods

"No, you're not, Ziva." He soothed, resting a hand on her cheek. It was hot to the touch. "You are not broken." And if she was, I'd put her back together. She coughed roughly, her entire body heaving. The fingers on the hem of his jeans tightened. He remembered all the times they'd taunted each other – in the bullpen, in the break room – all the times he'd corrected an idiom, and wondered how this hurting woman with her head in his lap could possibly be the same one.

"You nearly drove us up the hall, Ziva." He attempted when she didn't respond. Her grip on the hem of his pants was still tight; Tony thought he saw white sticking out of the crooked angle of her leg and sucked in a breath. Her eyes seemed to follow his, because she shuddered and Tony's attempt at humor was lost.

He didn't have the chance to comfort her again – at that moment, Leroy Jethro Gibbs came at a jog into the shed. Tony saw the former marine's eyes flash with an angry determination before the man stuck his head outside the shed and yelled, "Duck, in here!" He hurried back towards them, his dark jacket fluttering. Gibbs stopped next to DiNozzo, crouching down. Ducky soon joined them, his eyes widening at the sight before him.

"She's got a fever." Tony didn't wait for his boss to ask. "Leg's screwed up and she's lost blood."

"From the way she's holding her torso, broken ribs are a good bet as well." Ducky answered, crouching by her side.

"She…" Ziva attempted, spirit rising for just a moment. "She is right here." Perhaps seeing more of her team had encouraged her.

"Sorry, Ziva." He apologized quickly.

"DiNozzo, McGee needs your help with suspects." Gibbs said, and when Tony shot him a defiant glance, he fixed him with a warning one right back.

"I'll be back." Tony promised, shrugging off his jacket and placing it below her head before leaving.

As DiNozzo left the room to help McGee contain the suspect, Gibbs bent down by the hurt young woman. She cradled one arm against her chest – the arm was covered in bruises. As Ducky had said, the other hand gingerly covered her ribs – as if she didn't want anyone to touch her.

Ducky moved slowly, fearful of startling her. He was aware of how quickly she could instinctively turn on him, even weak as she was- especially when she was scared. "Distract her for me, Jethro." He spoke, knowing that wasn't an easy task, not even for Gibbs.

The man bent down, closer to Ziva. Her eyes were tracking him, watching his every move. She coughed and her face tightened in pain. "Toda, Gibbs." She whispered, trying to keep her eyes open.

"For?" He asked gently. The Senior Special Agent quietly took the hand that rested against her ribs into his own, removing it inconspicuously so that Ducky could examine her. He gave her fingers a squeeze.

"I did…" She breathed sharply as Ducky's hand passed over her ribs."Not wish for … DiNozzo…" She swallowed. 'To witness me … as I am now."

"Ein Be'ad Mah, Ziva." He said to her in Hebrew, calling on what he knew of the language. He knew that she hadn't wanted Tony to see her – she'd probably kick him out if she didn't already know what his answer would be. He saw her yes glaze over and her muscles tighten as Ducky's hand pressed ever so slightly to her ribs, counting how many were broken and where. "Ziver, stay with me." He asked of her. 'Don't go back to what Duck's doing. Talk to me."

Through gritted teeth, she asked, "About what, Gibbs?" Now that the team was here, she was gaining some strength back, relaxing her instincts as much as she could – but she was also attempting to show as little of her pain as possible, however much that was failing at the moment.

"Anything." He said, one eye on Ducky as he moved to check out her leg. "What should I get you instead of hospital food, Ziver?" He asked kindly, trying to distract her.

"I would murder for a milkshake." She said shakily. A momentary smile passed over her features.

"As long as you don't murder me." Ducky called to her, smiling and shaking his head at the resilience that she still had left.

"The phrase is 'kill for', Ziva." Gibbs was smiling as well.

Ducky pressed a bandage over the exposed wound of her broken leg. A wave of pain passed over her face, and Gibbs tapped the ground to grab her attention back. In the distance, he heard the wail of approaching ambulances.

There was a broken look in the young woman's eyes, one that he wanted to wipe away. He couldn't stand to see the hurt there, to hear it in her voice. He caught the moment she was about to lash out on Ducky. "Relax, Shayna." The familiar word caught her off-guard and he saw her shoulders relax marginally. "Nobody's going to hurt you again." He realized that he'd failed on that promise in the past and squeezed her hand.

"I am neither beautiful or pretty right now, Gibbs." She answered after a moment where her eyes had gazed over. "I am no 'shayna'." I am broken. I am damaged goods.

"I disagree." He countered.

A medic touched his shoulder and he reluctantly let go of his grasp, stepping back, out of Ziva's line of vision. Ducky joined him.

"Gibbs." She called out, contained panic in her voice.

"Right here, Ziva." He assured her. Frankly, the level of fear in her eyes surprised him, though he'd never thought of her as infallible. Everybody had their breaking points, and she'd found hers through Somalia and now. The combination of the two had cracked the wall she kept so tightly built around herself.

He could hear her heavy, quick breaths over the sounds of the EMT's working to load her onto a gurney. Gibbs caught a glimpse of her face as an EMT changed positions. He eyes were much the same as they'd been when DiNozzo had walked in and found her – wild, panicked, scared. Just as soon as he saw them, she shut them, struggling to control her breathing. He knew what the straps of the gurney were doing – giving her flashbacks of her time in Somalia, when she'd been bound. Anyone who'd been trained as she had wouldn't take kindly to it, but she was doing relatively well, given the situation. If they weren't necessary, he would have stopped it altogether, but he knew that they were.

Not wanting to take a chance, he moved into line besides her as they began to move the gurney, her body tensing visibly. "I'll be riding with her." He asserted, and one look from the EMT at the agent's face was cause enough not to argue.

He walked forward into the muddy light of the outdoors, catching the eyes of DiNozzo and McGee, standing with their suspect handcuffed. The man's head was high, his dark eyes flat of emotion. A smile lifted the corners of his lips. Tony shoved the man towards Gibbs once Ziva was loaded in the ambulance, out of sight.

"What do you-" Tony began, but Gibbs cut him off.

"Bring him to interrogation. Leave him there, and then join me at the hospital. Got it?" He said it all while staring into the eyes of the man before him.

"Yeah, boss." McGee said, and Tony jerked the suspect away. Gibbs could just hear Tony's words to the man as he departed. "Not sure when we'll be back." He said. "Could be days."

Gibbs smiled.

Author's Note:

Hebrew: English

Toda: thanks.

Ein Be'ad Mah: Don't mention it; you're welcome.

Shayna: beautiful, pretty.

Nine reviews, oh my! You guys are awesome. Fantastically awesome.

Still, though, I feel like this chapter was pointless/ out of character. I mean, obviously they'd be a bit out of the norm in the given situation, but … yeah, I don't know. Opinions?

Dedicated to my grandma, who always calls me shayna.