Enemies in General

By tivamcabby5

Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING! Well, technically I own seasons 3-7 of NCIS on DVD and a few t-shirts and pins…but whatever.

Note: WELL! That episode wasn't exactly what I was hoping for, was it? (Don't get me wrong, it was an awesome episode…but hey, my story shall continue as an AU now…Thanks!

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

Tony stayed by her side until she woke up the next morning, holding her hand and still muttering those silent prayers. He'd never been very religious, but he needed to take his mind off of what had happened, and that happened to be what came to mind.

She wasn't comatose; just knocked out because of all the medication running through her system. Tony knew Ziva would have stupidly refused pain killers had she been awake, and for that reason he was almost grateful she hadn't been.

Tony wasn't prepared when she finally did wake up, though. First the hand he was holding squeezed back a little, and then her eyelids fluttered and finally opened.

"Tony?" she asked, confused. "What happened? Where am I?"

"You don't remember?" he responded.

"Not everything…" She looked at her bandaged hands, then back at Tony.

Does she remember me saying that I love her? Tony thought. "What do you remember?"

"It was loud," she said, closing her eyes, as if she was trying to remember. "And hot. And it hurt…it hurt a lot. And you were there, Tony," she told him, looking up. "You were helping me, I think." He nodded. "There was so much smoke. I could barely hear or talk or think. But, I could hear you talking to me. But I…I can't remember what you said." She cringed, like thinking hurt her head.

Tony took a breath. "I told you I loved you, Ziva."

Her eyes sparkled as if she suddenly remembered, too. She smiled. "And…and I told you that I loved you, right?"
Tony nodded. Ziva laughed, so happy she had been coherent enough to say what she wanted to. But she quickly stopped, a sharp pain stabbing her in the side. "Ohh…" she groaned, but stopped. She didn't want to show her pain.

Tony reached for the call button on the side of the bed. "You want more meds, Zi?"

"No," she said quickly, but then gave in. "Well, yes, but wait." He took his hand away from the button. "I meant what I said, Tony," Ziva whispered, looking straight into his eyes. She took another deep breath. "I love you. More than anything."

"I meant it too, Ziva," he said as he smiled and leaned in to kiss her forehead as he pressed the call button.

"Miss David?" the voice said.

"No, Annie, it's Tony," he explained. He had gotten to know a few of the nurses, but by far his favorite was Annie, a grandmotherly lady with graying hair and a sweet smile. "Ziva's awake…and she says her stomach hurts."

"Of course, the poor thing," Annie said. Ziva rolled her eyes and Tony laughed. "I'll be right in."

When Annie arrived, Ziva quickly explained how she didn't want to be "knocked up" again, to which Annie and Tony laughed and explained to her that the term was "knocked out."

Annie thought about it for a little bit and complied. She set Ziva's pain medication level so that she wouldn't fall asleep again. "There are quite a few people that want to see you, honey," Annie said, stepping back.

"Abby, Ducky, McGee, Gibbs…everyone's here, Zi," Tony explained.

"My father?" Ziva asked, worried. She didn't want him to be here.

Tony shook his head. "On a flight back to Tel Aviv right now. Malachi and Liat thought it would be safer for him back home."

Ziva breathed a sigh of relief. Then she went pale. "Do they know, Tony?"

He knew what she was talking about and laughed at the face she was making. "No, they don't."

"Annie," Ziva asked, calm now, "can they all come in at once?"

"I don't know, hon…do you think you're up to it?" Annie asked.

Ziva nodded. She missed her team so much. "I'll go get them," Tony said. He wanted to see them as well.

"No, Tony…please don't leave me here," Ziva begged.

"I'll go get them, darlin'," Annie said, smiling, looking between Tony and Ziva. She knew. Tony knew she knew. "Don't you worry 'bout a thing!"

As soon as she left, Tony laughed and said, "Guess the cat's out of the bag now, huh? At least for Annie."

Ziva wrinkled her forehead in confusion. "What cat?"

Tony laughed and kissed her hair before the rest of the team came in.

o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o

A/N: So…do ya like? I was soo overwhelmed with the amount of story alerts I got, guys! Thanks! I also got a ton of favorite story/authors, which just make my day. But reviews…reviews help writers so much, and I really need them! Hundreds, maybe thousands, of hits on this story, and I think I got 8 reviews. I am so grateful for anyone who reviewed or favorite-ed me, or put me on an alert… (I guess that's one of the many things I'm thankful for for Thanksgiving, along with NCIS, my dog, Tiva, and chocolate, of course).

I love anonymous reviews as well! So even if you're not a member of FF or are just too lazy to log in, please review my story!

Thanks so much!

-TM5