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.
A/N: Managed to sneak on for a few minutes in the middle of everything so here's the next chapter. For those of you that thought the cliff hanger in the last chapter was nasty just be pleased it was there, it was very nearly 7 paragraphs into this one instead...

Both men turned to see Ziva approaching from the shadows. Her face displayed no emotion and her voice was cold as she spoke directly to Nahir, ignoring Gibbs completely. "You are a Mossad agent and you will follow orders from your director."

Nahir glared at her, "Why do you defend this man? He killed your brother; the desire to avenge him should flow in your veins as it does in mine. By working for this man you have disgraced your father and the agency…"

Ziva continued walking forwards; intentionally positioning herself between Nahir and Gibbs. She stopped and looked him calmly in the eyes, "Ari was a traitor to our family, to Mossad and to our country. He knew our father had orchestrated his mother's death and he hated him for it, he was no longer a Mossad asset within Hamas, he was a Hamas operative…"

"What has this man done for you that leads you to so willingly lie and dishonour your own brother and father when they are no longer here to defend themselves."

"You are blind to their flaws Nahir, you always have been. Ari was a traitor and my father was not a good man."

"You were in this country for too long Ziva, you have allowed this man to brainwash you against your country; against your family. This man deserves to die"

"Agent Gibbs is guilty of nothing but protecting me." She ignored the warning from behind and continued, "The report was a fake. I killed Ari and Agent Gibbs lied to ensure my father's wish for revenge was not directed at me; he knew it would be far easier for my father to orchestrate my death than his…"

"You?! You killed Ari? You brought shame on your own family… You are a disgrace to Mossad and to the country of Israel."

A shot rang out and Ziva fell to the floor. Gibbs looked on in shock as Nahir crossed to her prone body; he pointed the gun towards her head, his finger was poised to pull the trigger when her foot shot upwards knocking it from his hand. Swiping his feet from under him she hissed, "Did my father teach you nothing… You have a head shot you take it. You never know when your target will be wearing a vest."

She gingerly moved away from him reaching for the gun she had just kicked away when she saw him roll to the side and grab the gun he had ordered Gibbs to discard earlier. She saw him raise the gun, aim in her direction and fire; instinctively she moved to the side but winced as the bullet grazed her arm.

At the sound of the second shot McGee and DiNozzo burst into the warehouse. The noise of their sudden arrival created enough of a distraction for Ziva to move forward and knock the gun from his hands for the second time. It skidded across the floor coming to rest at Gibbs's feet; he picked it up training it in Nahir's direction but found himself unable to take a shot without risking hitting Ziva.

All three men could only watch on in horror as the two cousins fought in the centre of the room. Both of them dropped into their fighting stances ready to begin the hand-to-hand combat they had been trained so thoroughly in, Nahir was the first to move, taking a step forward swinging his leg upwards and round in Ziva's direction. She easily side stepped before swinging her own leg upwards and connecting solidly with his gut. He doubled over winded and Ziva wasted no time in closing the gap between them, bringing her knee up to connect with his face and breaking his nose with a crunch. She moved back slightly and waited for him to stand upright once more before lunging towards him, forcing him onto his back and pressing her good arm to his throat, closing off his windpipe. She looked calmly down into his eyes as he struggled to breath waiting for the end.

Suddenly she hissed in pain as his fist made contact with the ribs the bullet had broken earlier and he used her moment of weakness to force a change in position. Ziva found herself forced onto her back as her cousin straddled her waist. Pinned beneath him she was unable to move as he brought the heel of his hand down onto her chest and a sickening crack filled the room as he broke another rib. Ziva gritted her teeth determined not to give him the satisfaction of vocalising her pain but as he moved further over her and allowed the whole of his body weight to press against her broken ribs she couldn't help but cry out in pain as she struggled to breathe. She strained beneath him but his greater body weight and her difficulty breathing worked against her as his hand closed around her throat slowly choking her.

The three men watched in shock as the movement suddenly stopped and both figures lay slumped on the ground. For a moment none of the men could move, all rooted to the spot in shock. When they saw the tiniest flicker of movement Gibbs was the first to react, sprinting over to them and pulling Nahir's body from Ziva's. He crouched down beside her noting the amount of red staining her shirt, as he gently pulled her fringe back out of her face "Ziva?"

She gasped for breath as the pressure was removed from her chest, "Not my blood Gibbs…" She winced as she raised her hand to point in Nahir's direction and his eyes followed her hand and spotted the handle of a small knife sticking out of his chest. He turned his attention back to Ziva and her eyes locked onto his. "Rule nine Gibbs. Always carry a knife…"

She gasped in pain as she tried to sit and she clung to Gibbs as he helped ease her into an upright position, she clamped her hand around her injured arm and looked around the room demanding a phone. McGee passed his to her and they remained silent as she dialled a number, the weakness briefly disappearing from her voice as she barked a number of orders in Hebrew down the line.

She ended the call and the phone slid from her fingers and onto floor as she began to shiver; her blood beginning to seep between her fingers no matter how tightly she clamped them to her wound. Gibbs instructed DiNozzo to call an ambulance before carefully removing Ziva's jacket and shirt. He gently removed the bulletproof vest that had saved her life but was now hindering her breathing before shrugging his jacket from his shoulders; taking his shirt off he ripped the sleeve away, wrapped it around her arm, pulling it into a tight knot to stem the bleeding before gently draping his jacket around her shoulders. He carefully pulled her to him, gently holding her mindful of her broken ribs. Resting his head on hers he mumbled into her hair, "It's okay Ziver, it's finished… it's all over…"

Tony and McGee stood protectively over them as Ziva clung to Gibbs. Suddenly the silence that had enveloped them was shattered as agents, local police and paramedics all flooded into the warehouse.

Gibbs left Tony and McGee in charge of the scene as he forced his way onto the ambulance with Ziva, clutching her hand in his for the entire journey and only releasing it as they arrived at the hospital and he was told he could go no further. He paced in the waiting room, watching the clock as the minutes ticked by agonisingly slowly as doctors ran tests and took X rays before treating her. When he was finally allowed to see her he found her sitting upright in bed, her ribs were strapped and a bright white bandage circled her arm. She smiled as she saw him and motioned for him to come closer, wincing as the movement jarred her ribs.

He hurried to her side, "Hey, doctors say you can leave in the morning as long as you have no problems overnight…"

She nodded "They told me, they put me on painkillers to help with my breathing, they should kick in soon…" She settled back into a more comfortable position, "Will you stay with me tonight?"

He nodded and pulled over a chair, taking her hand in his, "Of course I will."

Smiling she gently kissed his hand, "Thank you…"

He shook his head, "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else…" He looked at her lying back on the pillows, "I'm so mad at you Ziver…"

She looked at him confused, "You're angry with me?"

He nodded, "Of course I am! You could have died in there! You were shot twice! And that first time when I didn't know you were wearing that vest and I thought you were dead… That I'd lost you again…" He paused attempting to blink away the tears that were building in his eyes.

She squeezed his hand tightly, "I'm sorry I scared you Jethro…" She slowly reached up and brushed a stray tear from his cheek.

He nodded recapturing her hand and pressing his lips against it repeatedly, "Don't you ever scare me like that again…" He paused for a moment before continuing, "Thank you for coming after me…"

"I would never have just left you; we have always been there for one another, that is what makes us special. You are far too important to me for me to just let you walk away like that…"

She yawned and he gently stroked her hair, leaning forwards he gently kissed her forehead, "You're exhausted, try and get some sleep, I'm going nowhere…"

She nodded and closed her eyes; slowly drifted into a peaceful sleep as Gibbs rubbed her hand, sensing that she was not having too much difficulty breathing he moved closer resting his head on the edge of the bed and falling asleep himself.