Strange Happenings

Disclaimer - I Own Nothing

A/N - Thanks so much for all the lovely reviews and alerts, it means a lot :)

Chapter Four - I'll Protect You

Ziva couldn't breathe. She couldn't believe this was happening to her again. She had spent too much time as a prisoner, she didn't know whether she could survive it a second time round. Her eyes remained closed, hoping that whatever was going to happen to her, would happen quickly. She felt a hand on her shoulder. It felt comforting, it felt familiar. Ziva slowly opened her eyes and found herself looking into the eyes of Tony Dinozzo. She almost collapsed with relief at the sight of her partner. She then realised she was in Gibb's car. He was driving, and she was sitting in the back seat with Tony.

"Ziva, are you ok? We have been looking everywhere for you!" Tony asked, obviously concerned about her, but angry that she had chosen to go missing at a time like this.

"I am fine now Tony, but I have to say that you scared the living nightlights out of me" Ziva replied, her voice a little shaky from the shock.

"Daylights Ziva, living daylights. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, I was, we were worried about you. What have you been doing?"

"Running, I lost track of time. I do not mean to sound ungrateful or rude, but I would really like to just go home and take a shower"

"On our way Ziver" Gibbs replied.

"This is not the way to my house"

"I know that, you're not going home. I have arranged a safe house for you, and no arguments Ziva. I want you safe, and if that means going against your wishes then so be it" Gibbs said. Ziva realised she had no choice but to agree, and she did not have the energy to argue. All the running she had done was beginning to take it's toll on her body and all she wanted to do was sleep. She looked up at Tony and gave him a small smile, to let him know that she was not mad at him. He smiled back and planted a kiss on her head, forgetting that their boss was sitting in the car with them.

"Hey! Pack it in you two, can I trust you to stay together without breaking rule 12?" Gibbs shouted.

"Of course Boss" Tony answered with a grin. He was relieved that Ziva had forgiven him. The two hours that she had been missing had been the longest in his life. Looking back, he didn't know how he had coped during the time after he had left Ziva in Israel. The whole team had been out of contact with her for weeks, but he had not worried about her then, at least not at first. But it was his worry in the end that had forced the rescue mission to Somalia. Tony thanked his gut everyday, for the instinct that Ziva had been alive and needed rescuing. When he had seen her sitting opposite him in that chair, he could have cried. Her usual clear complexion littered with bruising and swelling, the hurt in her eyes. He saw the same hurt in her eyes now. And there was nothing he could do about it. He was brought out of his thoughts abruptly when the car came to a halt.

"Get in, make yourselfs at home and I do not need to see you at the office tomorrow, either of you" Gibbs informed them. Tony climbed out of the car, and Ziva was set to follow when Gibbs grabbed her by the shoulder.

"I'm sorry I am being so tough on you Ziva, but I can't trust you to keep yourself safe. McGee and Abby will be round later with some of your belongings."

"It is alright Gibbs, I understand"

"Look after her Dinozzo!" Gibbs shouted out of the window, before driving away.

After a light dinner, Tony and Ziva settled down on the couch to watch a movie.

"I am sorry for what I said today Ziva, I didn't mean to upset you. I guess this is affecting all of us and not in a good way"

"Tony, there is no need to apologise. I should not have reacted the way I did. It was stupid to run, but it is how I deal with things"

"It will be alright Ziva, I promise"

"Do not make promises you cannot guarantee to keep Tony. Whoever is doing this is pretty clever"

"Not as clever as Team Gibbs. We will get them Ziva"

"I am tired, I am going to bed"

"McGee and Abby will be round soon, do you want to see them?"

"I need to sleep, please send my apologies"

"Good night sweetcheeks"

"Good night my hairy little butt"

Tony sighed as he watched Ziva walk down the hallway into one of the bedrooms. She really wasn't coping with the situation very well, and Tony didn't know what to do to help. One minute she would open up and talk about her feelings, then the next she would deny that anything was wrong.

It wasn't long before the doorbell rang, and Tony let McGee and Abby into the house.

"Hey Tony, how are you? How's Ziva? The poor thing, I can't imagine what she must be going through" Abby rambled as she gave Tony a bone crushing hug.

"We are doing just fine Abs. Ziva apologises, but she has gone to bed. She was pretty tired after today" Tony replied.

"How is she holding up?" McGee asked.

"Not bad, trying to be strong, but I know she is struggling deep down. I just wish she would let me help her more"

"She'll be ok Tony. She's Ziva, she has to be" Abby said with quiet confidence.

After spending some time catching up and talking about the case, Tony waved McGee and Abby good-bye and decided to get some sleep himself. He drifted off to sleep quite easily but woke up with a start and couldn't work out why. He looked at the clock sitting on his bedside table and groaned when he realised he had only been asleep for an hour. Just as he was about to close his eyes again, he heard a scream coming from Ziva's room. Tony jumped out of bed and grabbed his sig. He crept out of his room and walked the short distance to Ziva. He stopped outside her door and listened. All Tony could hear was Ziva shouting and screaming.

Ziva was lost in Somalia. She was trapped in the cell, surrounded by six men. Her clothes had been ripped from her and they began to beat her, one by one.
Each man was using a different weopon - a whip, electric cable, even their own fists. Ziva screamed everytime pain was inflicted on her body. For a long time, Ziva had shown no emotion when they had tortured her, but after weeks of continuous beatings, Ziva did not see the point in hiding her pain any longer. Five if the men had now left the room, and she was left with Saleem. As he walked towards her, lust showing in his eyes, Ziva began to cry. Saleems eyes looked directly at her, and as he grabbed her face with his hand, she was forced to stare straight back at him. All of a sudden, Saleem's face morphed into his brothers. Ziva screamed.

Tony burst into the room intending to shoot whoever was hurting Ziva, and he was surprised to find that she was alone in the room. At the last scream, Ziva had sat bolt upright in bed and was breathing heavily. Tony made his way over to the bed, and sat down next to her. He started to put his arm around her shoulders, but she flinched at the touch.

"Are you ok Ziva? That dream sounded pretty intense"

"I have not had a nightmare like that for a long time. I am sorry for waking you"

"Stop apologising. I just want to look after you Ziva" Tony tried again to put his arm around her, and this time he wasn't rejected. He looked down and Ziva was fighting to stop tears from falling down her cheeks.

"I'll protect you Ziva, I promise" Tony kissed her on the cheek and enveloped her in a hug. She sobbed quietly for a few minutes before composing herself.

"Will you stay with me tonight Tony, I do not feel like being on my own"

"Of course. Lets try and get some sleep"

The man outside the window laughed as he watched the scene unfold inside the house. He watched as the couple settled down to sleep, entwined in each others arms. He looked down at the object in his hand and grinned. He took aim and threw it through the window. A feeling of satisfaction grew as he heard the woman inside the house scream, as glass shards rained down on them.