Title: When Two Worlds Collide
Rating: PG-13
Category: Case fic
Genre: Gen
Pairing: None currently
Summary: Gibbs is due to retire but first he has to get through one last case.
Disclaimer: The characters herein belong to DPB, CBS, Paramount, et al. No copyright infringement is intended.

The three men followed her back to the offices and the rest of the day was spent following up suspected leads.

Leaving that night Ziva and Gibbs travelled to a hotel on the far side of the city. Gibbs paused at the front desk as Ziva checked them into a suite under false names.

Settling into the suite he watched her, "You were always very forward Ziva, but earlier with Vance, was that wise?"

"Probably not… But I do not like my agents risking damage to a reputation I have worked hard to build; and I certainly did not need reminding of the fact."

He nodded, sensing there was nothing to be added, and tossed the room service menu in her direction, "What do you want for dinner?"

Together the two of them waited for their meals to appear, they ate in silence before sliding into bed, Ziva quickly fell asleep and Gibbs lay watching her before he placed his hand over hers and fell asleep.

The next morning Ziva awoke first, smiling as she felt his warmth beside her before slipping from the bed and into the bathroom. She turned the shower on stripped before stepping under the warm stream of water. Allowing the water to wash over her she picked up the small bottle of complimentary shampoo and rubbed it into her hair; quietly moaning as her fingers massaged her tired scalp. Rinsing the bubbles from her hair she leisurely applied conditioner, combing it through with her fingers and beginning to feel human again for the first time in two days.

After finishing showering she stepped out and onto the mat wrapping a large fluffy white towel around her body before wrapping a smaller one around her hair and walking back into the bedroom. She had just sat at the vanity when Gibbs woke.

Seeing him stir in the mirror she smiled and removed the towel from her hair, lightly patting it dry before picking up her brush and gently pulling it through the tangles, "It seems it's my turn to say hello sleeping beauty"

He laughed and slid from the bed walking over to her; he bent down close to her, his lips brushing against her neck as he smelt her hair, "Hmm strawberries…"

She swivelled round to face him, finding herself just centimetres from him she gazed into his eyes before coming to her senses, "I left some in the bottle if you want to use it..." She smirked and turned back to the mirror, "There's coffee in the pot…"

She waited for him to disappear into the bathroom before she finished drying her hair and dressing. She stood crossing to the coffee pot and pouring herself a mug before moving to the sitting area to wait for Gibbs. She glanced up as he appeared in the archway; his hair was still damp and pressed against his forehead, his towel wrapped around his waist. She smiled taking in what had once been such a familiar sight, "I'm not sure what they'll say if you turn up at the office just in a towel…"

She stood walking towards him, "I'm sure you'll be a distraction to most of the women, maybe even some of the men and that would never do especially as we're meant to be working on keeping you alive…" She laughed as he rolled his eyes and crossed to the coffee pot, pouring him a cup before closing the rest of the distance between them.

"Here…" She handed the cup to him savouring the feel of his fingers against hers before cursing herself for allowing herself to be distracted by him. "Get dressed, it's already late, I don't want the others thinking we are dead…"

He nodded before disappearing back through to the bedroom with his coffee. Less than ten minutes later he reappeared now fully clothed and placed his empty cup on the side, "Okay, I'm ready to go."

She nodded and rose from the chair joining him at the door. Together they walked down through the hotel and out to the car. They quickly made their way through the post rush hour traffic as they drove back to the yard; both were in good spirits due to the ten hours of uninterrupted sleep as the stepped from the elevator.

Ziva smiled at Tony as she spotted him, "Sorry we're late, the hotel was on the other side of the city and the traffic…"

She paused sensing the sombre atmosphere in the office she looked around her, "Where is Agent Whyte?"

She looked around at all the agents before her eyes settled on DiNozzo, "Does he have her Tony? Has Nahir got her? Is she dead?"

"We don't know yet Ziva… She didn't appear for work but we've got no evidence he has her, for now it's just a natural assumption…"

Ziva slammed her fist down onto the desk and the whole room jumped at the sudden noise, "I should have protected her…"

Gibbs guided her to his desk, "Ziva this is not your fault."

"I should have known he would do something like this. He idolised Ari almost as much as he idolised my father. Ari came after you through your team, he killed Kate and he attempted to kill Abby I should have suspected the Nahir would attempt to copy him."

The room lapsed into silence as no one knew what they could say to ease Ziva's conscience. Suddenly the telephone rang, the tone piercing the silence. Gibbs picked up the phone and listened to the voice at the other end, growing visibly more agitated as the phone call continued, finally he snapped, "If anything happens to my agent I will hunt you down and I will kill you…"

The voice simply laughed, "You know what you have to do Special Agent Gibbs."

With that the line went dead and Gibbs slammed the phone back into the cradle so hard it broke. Tony was the first to speak, "He's got her then boss…"

Gibbs nodded, "I'm to meet him later and he says he will release her in exchange for me…"

"We have a place for the meet? We can surround it and take him out before anything goes down."

"416 Ridge Road…"

McGee swiftly looked up the address and put the satellite photo on the plasma. DiNozzo moved closer to it and began vocalising possible plans before Ziva spoke up. "No…" they all turned to her, "It will not be that simple. Nahir will know that our first thought would be to surround the building. I expect all Gibbs will find when he goes in is a cell phone; Nahir will probably call and give him locations to another location, the real location and one we will have no time to surround."

DiNozzo looked at her, "How do you know Ziva?"

"Because it is what I would do… If his plan is to get Gibbs alone he will manage it. The best we can hope for is us managing to track Gibbs ourselves and that we reach them before anything happens…"

The rest of the day was spent busily making preparations. Teams of agents were prepared and given details of the positions they were to take up around the building. The car Gibbs was to drive was fitted with a GPS tracking unit; and at Abby's insistence Gibbs allowed Ducky to implant a small tracking chip into his arm.

As they were preparing to leave Abby ran into the bullpen and flung her arms around Gibbs, "Do you really have to do this Gibbs? Oh of course you do…" She suddenly turned on the other three agents preparing to leave, "If anything happens to him just remember I can commit a murder and leave no forensic evidence"

Ziva stepped forward and pulled Abby into a hug, "No harm will come to Gibbs I give you my word Abby. I would die first."

Abby looked shocked, "Oh no Ziva! I don't want you to die either!"

She began to pace frantically and McGee moved to her, placing a hand on each of her shoulders and holding her still, "Hey Abs… Abby look at me, we are all coming back alive okay…"

She looked at him, her eyes filled with a childlike innocence, "You promise?"

"I promise…"

She hugged him tight, "Okay then."

The four of them rode down together in the elevator, DiNozzo and McGee stepped out and Ziva moved to follow when Gibbs put his arm out to block her exit. Pressing the door close button he hit the emergency stop.

"I want you to promise me you will not put yourself in danger to help me… I don't care what you told Abby…"

"I will promise no such think Jethro. I came back to America to protect you from Nahir and that is what I will do. At Mossad we do not fear death; we face it on a daily basis. I am not afraid to die today Gibbs especially if it allows you to remain safe."

He sighed, "I was afraid you would say that. Consider it an order Officer David."

"I am no longer in your chain of command Special Agent Gibbs; you have no authority over me..."

"Damn it Ziva!" Gibbs was beginning to get frustrated, "I am trying to keep you safe!"

"And I you… So let us hope we both come out of this alive Jethro." She looked to the floor and then back at him, "Please know that all I have done over the past few years I have done with the best of intentions. Leaving NCIS… Leaving you, it was all done with the intention of keeping you safe…" she reached up and pressed her lips gently to his, kissing him before slowly pulling away and hitting the button to bring the lift back into action. As the doors opened she strode over to her car and turned the key in the ignition fighting back the tears that threatened to fall.