I Am Damaged Goods

Her scream pierced the air, closing an icy hand around Tony's heart and leaving sick aftertaste on his tongue. Her scream had been that of pure terror. Tony's head spun and his heart twisted. He wondered what sick, horrific thing could cause that amount of terror in someone so strong.

All of his thoughts occurred in mere seconds, because he was already moving towards the bed that held her. Sheets were tangled around her good leg, and the one that was encased in metal and pins was pale even against the sheets that no longer covered it.

The nurse brushed past him with the intention of going towards Ziva. Gibbs moved with the speed of someone half his age, his hand closing around the nurses' upper arm, successfully stopping from making the worst move of her career.

Tony pushed past them, ignoring it al. His only concern was Ziva. Her eyes were open now, but they were unseeing. If she did see anything, it wasn't what was in the room. Ziva David was, effectively, seeing ghosts. The fear in her eyes – it broke his heart completely.

"Ziva, it's not real." He promised her, hands held before him. Her eyes didn't change from their frightened, unseeing gaze. "Ziva, please." He moved closer – the only concern he had was for her, there was no regard within him for his own safety. If she was to freak when he came too close, she could easily injure herself even further. He couldn't have that – he wouldn't.

"Get away!" She hollered – her voice was shrill, the voice of a caged animal being tortured. "Don't touch me." Her voice wasn't just frightened – it was wildly terrified.

"Ziva. Zee-vah, it's Tony. It's DiNozzo." He reached forward, tentatively, and placed his hand on hers. "I'm not hurting you. See?"

It was to his intense surprise when she flipped her hand over and caught his before he could pull away. Instead of crushing it in her grip, Ziva David clutched his hand tightly.

"Save me." She whispered, pleading. "Tony." Her voice was caught in her throat, reminding him of something small.

He sat on the edge of her bed, lightly. She still clutched his hand. He was aware of Gibbs, standing three or four feet from the doorway, his arm barring the way for the nurse. The side of her head was pressed against his thigh. "Zi, wake up." He pleaded. "It's just a nightmare – you're okay. I'm right here." He did what he'd done before – reached over and massaged with his thumb where her neck and shoulder met. There was only one difference – this time, she didn't relax.

"Get me out of here." She begged. Ziva was no longer screaming – she was crying now, tears she rarely shed streaming in fat drops down the contours of her face. She was struggling, too – flinching and fidgeting as if she couldn't quite figure out how to get up.

"Hey, come on, you're safe." Tony told her, feeling his heart break. "There's nobody here. Just the doctor, me, you, and Gibbs. I promise." She didn't relax – if anything, she only struggled harder.

"He was here! I saw him." She said, persistently. When Tony looked at her, he saw that her eyes were no longer far away – they were on him, they were seeing him. Gibbs and the nurse were silent. If Tony had looked up, he would have seen that the nurses right outside of the glass walls of her room had ceased movement, watching and waiting until they had to step in.

"You were having a nightmare, Zi." He took the hand that had been on her shoulder and laid it on the cheek that wasn't pressed against her leg. For once, she didn't pull away – she was shaking, violently. "It's not real. "

"I was not asleep." Even her voice shook.

"You drifted off while the boss and I were sitting here, Ziva." The woman shook her head, but her resolve was weakened. "It's okay. You're safe." He soothed. "We got him, remember?"

"You did not catch Donald." She whispered, but he could tell that she was already more relaxed – her hand had loosened on his. "I saw him." The side of her face was still against his leg. "Was I …" She swallowed. "Was I dreaming, Tony?"

"You were." He promised, meeting eyes with Gibbs. His arm was no longer barring the nurse – she was standing still of her own accord, but she came closer now. It wasn't Ziva's muscles that tightened – it was Tony that had to work to let down the protectiveness he felt at watching the woman come closer. Ziva's eyes slid to the nurse.

"Hi, Mrs. David. I'm Elizabeth – I'm going to get you something to help you relax, alright?" Her eyes were kind, but Ziva shook her head. Tony' arm went around her shoulder protectively.

"I …" She struggled with showing weakness, even after all she'd already shown. "I do not want…" Her dark eyes went to Tony, who was watching her. She couldn't find the words to say what she wanted to. She didn't want to relax – she was too frightened to relax. She couldn't take another moment of not being able to have full control of her body. She didn't want him to leave – not now, but she couldn't tell him that, couldn't find the words to. "Please." She said instead.

Tony took his eyes off of Ziva for a moment to look at the nurse. "It's alright, Elizabeth. I'm not going to leave her side."

--

He was silent. He was a ghost. He did not exist.

Donald O'Neil had been dead for the past five years. That was both the point that had kept him alive and the point that he hated. Everybody now knew about his brother, the poor sap who'd been caught. He'd kept him protected, unseen, for the past five years, and for that he was thankful.

He'd always considered himself the smarter one, though his brother didn't see it that way. Just because he was the weaker one in physicality – just because his wife had cheated on him and he'd nearly been killed - did not mean he wasn't just as capable as his older brother.

As he left the hospital in the white lab coat, he smiled.

TBC

Author's Note:

-insert dramatic music here-

I can't even express how AWESOME you guys are. There were nearly THIRTY reviews for the past chapter. Do it again! LOL. Please review? Yes? I want to know what you think about this one.

Anyway, back to being sick at home. :(