Author's Note:
Thank you all for reading and for the lovely reviews and PM's. You all make me feel very special...
Here's the next chapter... Enjoy and review soon... Thanks.
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In another ward, on another floor of the hospital, Tony tried to calm McGee down.
"I don't understand, Tony. I don't remember what happened. You said Ziva was shot. Did I shoot her?" McGee demanded.
"You didn't shoot Ziva. Now you have to calm down." Tony said, placing his hands firmly on McGee's shoulders when McGee looked like he was going to try to sit up.
"Listen to Tony, McGee." Abby said, putting on a brave face when all she wanted to do was cry.
"Abby I need to know...." McGee jerked and moved his head shapely.
"McGee don't move ..." Abby warned.
"Argh, my head's bursting!" McGee cried out as he slumped back to the bed.
"Take it easy, buddy," Tony said, patting McGee's shoulder. "The nurse will be back in a minute with something for the pain."
Breathing heavily, McGee squinted at Abby. "Is Ziva okay? Tell me... Please Abby."
Abby looked at Tony. McGee's eyes moved to Tony too.
"Ziva is in surgery right now." Tony said.
"It's bad... Did I shoot her? Did she attack me first? Why would she attack me. I don't understand Tony. Please help me understand." McGee moaned.
"Shh, McGee." Abby's voice cracked.
"McGee, I'm going to tell you again," Tony said. "You were attacked and knocked unconscious. You have a bad concussion and are currently in a ward at Bethesda. You will be disorientated for the next few hours and you may or may not remember the exact details of what happened."
"But I keep hearing Ziva's voice. I did something to her.... or she did something to me. I can't make sense of it... but...." McGee swallowed as he squeezed his eyes.
"But, McGee?" Abby pushed.
"Her voice..." He swallowed again.
"Her voice," Tony said. "Scared you. It's okay to say it."
"Yes. Her voice scared me. Why would it scare me?" McGee asked confusion, frustration and pain flirting across his face. Just then the nurse returned with two syringes filled with meds.
"Agent DiNozzo, Miss Scuito, could you kindly step outside, while I administer Agent McGee's medication. In fact, he should really be resting right now," the nurse said.
"You heard the nurse. You need to rest and by getting all worked up you won't remember anything." Tony warned.
"McGee, rest now. Things will come into perspective when you wake up. We'll be in the waiting room down the hall if you need us." Abby said as she leaned forward and kissed his forehead.
Once they were outside, Abby hugged Tony.
"It's going to be okay Abby." Tony said hugging her back.
"It's not. Ziva's still in the OR fighting for her life. McGee knows something bad happened but he can't remember. Gibbs is so upset he can't see straight and you are having to be the strong one for all of us, when you're just as scare as us. Oh Tony, Saleem hurt Ziva so bad."
"Yeah." He couldn't say anything else with the anger pulsing thorugh his veins.
"But it wasn't only him. He let him men... Oh Tony," Abby cried now.
"Come on Abby." Tony said leading her to the waiting room.
"Why didn't she tell one of us?" Abby whispered. "She didn't have to deal with this alone. We could have helped her through this."
"You know Ziva. She always keeps things to herself and believes she's strong enough to face anything."
"But this was too much even for her. We have to find a way to help her, Tony. When she wakes up and gets out of the hospital, and she will. I refuse to believe otherwise," Abby cried. "I can't lose another friend."
Tony held her and let her talk as she cried. He knew she needed to express herself this way. He would let her. He just hoped that he would be able to find a way to help the rest of his team through this.
As he closed the waiting room door, Tony's eyes landed on Jackson.
What is he doing here? Tony wondered.
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Outside the ICU ward, Gibbs paced like a caged lion. He had walked out of the viewing room after seeing Ziva's dead daughter. It had been too much to see that.
Now he desperately needed to know if she was going to pull through. But the doctors and nurse insisted that he let them do their jobs. Ziva was their priority and needed to get her settled.
Almost 30 minutes later, an ICU nurse allowed him to enter Ziva's room.
"How is she?"
"She'd critical but stable for the time being." The nurse replied.
"I need to speak to her Doctor."
"He is in the OR dealing with another emergency case right now. He will be by to speak to you as soon as he can." The nurse said before moving away to look at the various monitors surrounding Ziva's bed.
They had her on a ventilator. They had drainage tubes hanging on the ground and they had various IV lines attached to a point in her neck.
She was so pale, almost transparent. Her hair was dull and flat. When he reached out to touch her hand, he shuddered to find it ice cold.
"Ziva," Gibbs whispered leaning close to her face. "I know you can hear me, so listen up. I want you to pull through this. That's an order."
He swallowed when his voice threatened to crack.
"You are one of mine and I'm not ready to let you move on. You forced me to leave you once and ... look ... at ... what ... happened. I won't let you do it again."
He pressed his lips to her forehead and whispered even softer, "You will pull through this and we will deal with what happened together. I will always be here for you. Now take all the time you need but make damn sure you come back to me. You owe me and I want you to pay up..."
Gibbs straightened and took her hand more firmly into his. He squeezed it gently and will her to feel what he felt for her.
I love you...
Just then, the door to the room opened, and Ducky stepped in.
"Did you speak to her Surgeon?" Gibbs asked stepping away from the bed.
"I did." Ducky replied, his face inscrutable.
"Did they have to do it... the hysterectomy?" Gibbs demanded.
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Author's Note:
That's it for this chapter....
Let me know your thoughts please... thanks.
BTW, should I change the rating to M... there will definitely be adult content in this story in the coming chapters....