A/N – Sorry for the delay. Here's the chapter some have been waiting for!

Disclaimer – I don't own NCIS or the characters

Chapter 14

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Gibbs was staring at the downstairs bedroom door. They were all waiting for Ziva. She hadn't come out for breakfast and no one had seen her since last night. Abby was panicking because she thought it was all her fault that Ziva was overly emotional and she was venting about it now. Tony was pacing. McGee was trying to calm Abby down. Jen was staring at the door, just like her father. Jenny was watching Tony closely and Ducky was just standing there waiting patiently.

"DiNozzo, go get her, we're going to be late," Gibbs said in a harsher tone than he meant to.

"Tony. Tell her I'm really sorry," Abby said. "Wait! How did our argument make Ziva cry anyway? What was with the waterworks last night?"

Tony shook his head and entered the bedroom without answering her question. He walked in to see Ziva curled up on the bed staring at the closed closet door ahead of her. She was hugging her knees and didn't look up to see Tony enter the room. She felt the bed depress as he joined her, wrapping an arm around her.

"We've got to go to work, sweet cheeks," he whispered to her, near her ear.

She finally tore her eyes away from the closet door and looked him in the eye.

"What am I going to say to them, Tony?" Ziva asked. "They know that I'm not like that normally. They know that I do not get sick and I certainly do not ever cry. How am I supposed to explain the reaction I had last night?"

"We blow it off like we normally do with difficult things to talk about, Ziva," Tony said. "Then at least you are giving them something that they will expect." Tony sighed heavily. "It will be alright, Zi. They're all going to understand it soon enough. After all, it's not like we're planning on hiding this forever, even if we could."

She nodded and wrapped her arms around Tony and hid her face in his chest. He could tell that there were more tears from the amount of stress she was feeling. He could feel the warmth of her tears through his shirt. His arms tightened around her and held her close for a moment. Then, he pulled her up off the bed and handed her the crutches she needed. This was difficult and he was feeling it too.

They crossed the room to the door and he pressed one quick kiss to the side of Ziva's head with a few choice words.

"No matter what happens when we go through that door, Zi, I've got your back," Tony promised. "You're what's important to me."

She smiled and kissed him as he opened the door and left the bedroom finally. She gave Gibbs a smile, seeing that he was nodding in understanding. Abby, however, crossed the room, escaping McGee's grasp just then.

"Let's go, before we're later than we already are," Gibbs said immediately, putting off whatever Abby had planned. They did need to get off toward work, though, before it was later than it already was. "Tony, Ziva, Jen, you're with me. Ducky, Abby, McGee, Jenny, take the other car."

They all filed out the door before anything more could be said and got into their cars. The ride to work was completely silent and Ziva and Tony were relieved when Gibbs finally parked outside the Navy Yard along with the other car. Everyone filed into the elevator.

They were all shocked when it was Abby that stopped the elevator. They were already late to work, so Gibbs did not argue. All eyes were on Abby, but Abby's eyes were focused only on Ziva and Tony huddled together in the farthest corner of the elevator from her.

"I'm sorry, Ziva," Abby said quietly. "I should not have flown off at Tony quite like that. I'm sorry I made you cry."

"There is nothing to be sorry for, Abby. We are all stressed right now," Ziva said.

"I know that. I mean with you one leg down and Jen with one arm down. I've been shot at, Tony's been shot at. We can't solve this thing. Of course everyone is stressed. But, Ziva… the tears?"

"Were stress related," Ziva said quickly and quietly before anyone else could question it or come up with their own speculation.

"Right," Abby said and Gibbs looked at her, urging her to be quiet as Gibbs reached around and turned the elevator back on.

It was silent as they continued their ride up. There were eyes on Ziva and Tony as well as on Abby. At least not all eyes were on either of them now. That was good for Ziva, who was feeling a little emotional and turned her head to face Tony's chest.

Once they got to their seats, they all noticed a note on their desks.

Trial set for Monday at 0900. Be early. Good luck. Vance.

Great! That was just what they all needed on top of everything that was piling up. Two injured and pregnant agents (one pregnancy was hidden). Two others having been shot at. A case they couldn't solve. Adam Eschel needing to talk to the agents on Friday. Isaac missing. Now a trial on top of it all. Ziva had tears in her eyes that she turned away from the rest of the team, so they could spill.

Tony walked over to her desk as the others watched, knowing that Ziva was getting emotional again. Tony whispered something that they couldn't hear to her and soon they were both laughing. When Ziva turned back to where others could see her, she was smiling, though her eyes were very red from the tears that had threatened her.

Friday, November 1, 2013

"Alright," Gibbs said, standing up. It was five now. He was going to hand out the assignment. Normally it would be time to go home, but he had told everyone they were having a late night that night. "McGee, you're going to go help Abby in the lab, to see if you can hack into anything that can help you with that print that came back negative today through Interpol. Jenny, I want you to help Ducky with profiling whoever it is that's after us. Ziva, Tony, Jen, you're with me."

Everyone got up and moved to where they needed to go.

"Boss?" McGee asked.

"Following my gut, McGee," Gibbs said, which wasn't a total lie. He was following a lead that had walked right to them, right into Ziva's hands actually, which was why the two pregnant people were involved in this heavily, when normally Gibbs would have done anything that he could have to keep these two away from anything that closely resembled field work.

They made it back home quickly and Tony got to work in the kitchen. Ziva did not feel well, she hadn't eaten enough that day. She was also exhausted, because she hadn't slept on her desk that day at all.

She sat down on the couch and closed her eyes. She was not fully asleep when Jen started to whisper with Gibbs, and Ziva made sure she listened closely.

"Dad?" Jen asked. "I think I know what's going on."

"Don't, Jen," Gibbs warned her.

"Don't what? Tell you what I think? How do you know it isn't related to the case?"

"Because of the look in your eyes. Stop speculating and just be patient, kid. I'm sure whatever Ziva is going through is something that she'll talk about when she's ready," Gibbs said, looking carefully at Ziva and realizing that she wasn't fully asleep.

Then, there was a knock on the door and Ziva's eyes snapped open as Tony came into the room, gun drawn. Ziva drew hers as well. Gibbs also had his out with Jen behind his back and her gun in her good hand. Tony went to answer the door. Adam was there.

He let Adam in and Adam instantly noticed that there were four guns pointed directly at his head. He put his hands up in the air and slowly disarmed every weapon that he was carrying as Tony shut the door behind him.

"What a greeting," Adam said as he made his way slowly to the couch, seeing Ziva on crutches and Jen with her arm in a sling. He shook his head. "I knew someone was after your team. They got two former Mossad Officers?"

"Yea," Gibbs said, lowering his weapon.

Tony looked to Ziva, seeing the tears in her eyes as she fought for control.

"Excuse me for a moment," Ziva said quietly as she made her slow way into the kitchen by herself. She leaned her back against the wall just inside the kitchen and allowed her tears to spill. They waited for her as she collected herself and returned, her eyes still watery.

Tony went to her and put an arm around her. He leaned in closely so that only she could hear his whisper.

"We just need to get through this, sweet cheeks. I've got you. No need to worry," Tony whispered as quietly as he could and she let out a soft smile.

"It's wonderful to see you again, Special Agent DiNozzo," Adam said with a bright smile. "It's always good to see you, Ziva."

He winked and she gagged, as though she was really about to vomit. She turned away for a moment and Tony went to stand in front of her. His eyebrows raised at her, asking if she was going to be okay. She nodded to him and sighed. They, turned back around, with Tony's arm around her middle, even though the crutches ruined the closeness that she needed right then. He led her to the couch opposite Adam and sat down on it. Jen sat on her other side and Gibbs stood behind them.

"You have information?" Gibbs asked.

"How do I know you'll believe me?" Adam said.

"It is not your concern," Jen said quietly.

Adam's eyes met Jen for the first time since arriving. He assessed her carefully. The girl was six months pregnant and it was totally obvious. Aside from that she had a cast on her arm and held it in a sling. She still had her vibrant red hair and stern look that she had always carried as a child in Mossad. He smiled at her.

"You finally got the man?" he asked playfully. "I guess, had is a better term. I know he's missing and I'm sorry for this. Isaac is a wonderful man. He's lucky to have you."

Jen nodded in comprehension, without saying another word. They all wanted Adam to get down to the point. Gibbs had gone out and gotten dinner. He brought plates for everyone, handing one to Adam last. Adam looked at it and then decided to eat.

"What do you have?" Ziva asked in a less than pleasant tone.

Adam's eyes met Ziva's. He realized that there were tears in her eyes. She was sitting with her legs crossed and her hands folded over her stomach. His eyes narrowed, but he decided that he should just cooperate, because even a Ziva impaired somehow was a dangerous Ziva.

"Best I can get is you are looking for someone who has escaped prison. His name is Alejandro Rivera. That is an educated guess at best. But I assume you have some evidence to work with," Adam said and started to get up.

Ziva beat him to it. She got up on two feet, which she wasn't supposed to do. She pushed him back on the couch and she stared into his eyes.

"You are not walking away from here," she said. "What do you know of Isaac?"

"He's been taken," Adam said. "That's all I know. I'm sorry."

"Where?"

"Somewhere in Saudi Arabia, but he might not even be there anymore. Saudi Arabia, as far as I know, has nothing to do with this. And trust me I've been looking for connections," Adam said, looking scared as he tried to get up again.

Ziva pushed him back down. "You are NOT going anywhere!" she shouted at him, placing a hand on his throat. "What you did to me was wrong! You are going to jail, Adam!"

He sighed and held up his hands in defeat. Ziva backed off, tears in her eyes.

"Ziva," Adam said quietly. "I am truly sorry for what I've done to you. It was never my intention to hurt you. It was always my intention to help. But, I guess I should have known that even though you were drugged you still managed to hurt my shoulder to the point of it no longer working correctly, which is why I'm on the run from Mossad. I'm no longer useful to them."

"You're under arrest for the rape and drugging of a US Federal Agent," Gibbs said. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you."

Adam just stood up and placed his hands behind his back and Ziva turned into Tony, crying again.

"Tony, Ziva, Jen, stay here. I'll be back with the others soon," Gibbs said.

"No, Dad. You are not going alone," Jen said and she followed him out the door, with a sinking feeling as soon as he had decided that three were staying behind and they had given one the address of where they were.

Ziva continued to cry into Tony's chest. She was still standing on her cast, which was against her rules and hurt her a lot. But, the emotions soaring through her scared her and made her unable to move from the spot.

She jumped and clung tighter at the sound of four shots being fired, reaching into Tony's pocket and pulling out a cell phone and staring Tony in the eyes. What just happened?