Ziva's POV
I started walking towards the back room of Abby's lab when Callie suddenly whipped around, ran directly at me, and tackled Abby and me to the ground. Less than a second later, a bullet ripped through the window. Had Callie not done what she did, I would have been dead for sure. Callie didn't waste a second. She tore my gun from the holster on my hip and began to fire, but the bullets continued from the other end. I saw one hit her and then another, but I couldn't see where. She kept firing, moving slightly to the left and then back to the right, until the enemy fire stopped. As soon as she knew it was done, she dropped my gun and fell to the ground.
"Abby! Go get Gibbs and call an ambulance!" I pulled Abby off the ground and sent her out of the lab. I dragged Callie into the hallway just in case we were fired upon again. "Callie, where are you hit? Where does it hurt?" I searched her arms and chest for a gunshot would but found nothing. She groaned in response and pointed to her lower abdomen and her leg. I pulled her shirt up and immediately put pressure on the wound. "You're going to be okay."
"Ziva!" Gibbs' voice boomed from the elevator. He, Tony, and McGee poured out of the elevator, leading with their weapons. They cleared the lab and then circled around me and Callie. "What the hell happened?"
"I don't know! We were walking to Abby's office and then Callie tackled us! Then there was gunfire and Callie fired back with my gun. She was hit in the abdomen and leg. Tony, put pressure on her leg!" I couldn't take my eyes off her face. Her complexion was pale and her eyes welled with tears.
"Z- Ziva…" Callie shot her hand out, searching for mine.
Gibbs dropped to his knees and enclosed Callie's hand in his own. "Hey, you're gonna be okay kid." He wiped a stray tear away from her face and smiled at her. "Tim, where's that ambulance?"
McGee came around the corner with a terrified Abby in his arms. "They just arrived. The paramedics will be down any second."
I pushed my hands harder onto the young girl's stomach and she winced in pain. "I'm sorry sweetie. But, I have too. This will all be over soon and you are going to be just fine."
She nodded her head and finally let her eyes close. Seconds later, the elevator doors opened and two paramedics rushed in. They lifted Callie onto the stretcher and wheeled her to the elevator. I ran alongside them all the while keeping pressure on her abdomen. One of the paramedics took Tony's place on her leg.
"I'm riding with them. I'm not going to leave her." I stated as I looked Gibbs in the eyes.
He stared me down for a second before nodding in compliance. "I'll call her foster parents."
Ten minutes later the ambulance was pulling into the emergency bay at the hospital on the navy yard.
"Callie Jacob: 16 year old female, gunshot wounds to the abdomen and leg. She's been in and out of consciousness since we picked her up." The young paramedic, whose name I learned was Mark, rattled off Callie's blood pressure, blood type, and several other things that I didn't understand.
"What's this?" The doctor pointed to Callie's shoulder. "This is a healing gunshot wound."
"She was shot two days ago." I jumped in, knowing neither of the paramedics knew what that injury was.
"She's been shot three times within two days? What the hell is going on with this girl?" The doctor said to herself. "Ma'am, you're going to need to remove your hands. We'll take good care of your daughter, I promise."
"Oh, uh she isn't my daughter. Her foster parents should be on their way now." I pulled my hands away and let a nurse take my spot.
"Okay, well we need to take her up immediately up to surgery. There isn't time for scans. We'll have someone update you once we know something." The doctor smiled sadly at me and began to wheel Callie, who was now completely unconscious, to the elevator at the end of the hallway.
I nodded and went to go sit in the waiting room. When I got out there, Gibbs and McGee were waiting for me.
"Ziva, you have blood all over your hands. Go wash up and then come sit down." Gibbs turned me around and set me in the direction of the bathroom.
Once I reached the bathroom, I turned on the water and let it pour over my hands. The water was burning hot, but I could barely feel it. The blood turned pink and washed down the drain. I cleaned dry blood out from under my fingernails and scrubbed my arms with cool soap.
"How could this happen? How the hell could this happen?" I muttered to myself. After I finally got rid of any visible sign of Callie's blood, I dried my hands and joined McGee and Gibbs in the waiting room.
"We were just in this situation. How could this happen again so soon?" McGee asked seemingly to no one.
Neither Gibbs nor I answered. We all just stared into the open space in front of us for what seemed like hours. But it couldn't have been more than twenty minutes. After a while, Jude busted through the automatic doors looking completely panicked.
"Where is she?! What the hell happened?!" Tears poured down his face.
"Why don't we go for a walk and talk about what happened?" Gibbs stood and led Jude down the hallway, McGee following close behind.
"Stef, Lena… I'm so sorry. I don't know what happened. All of the sudden bullets were flying and…"
"Ziva, it's okay. This wasn't your fault." Stef cut me off. She sat down across from me and her wife sat next to her.
We all sat in silence for nearly an hour before a doctor came out.
"Family of Callie Jacob?"
Stef, Lena, and I all stood but only Lena spoke. "That's us."
The doctor made a slight nod in my direction before she spoke.
"That is Special Agent Ziva David. She is here for Callie too." Stef explained.
"Okay then. My name is Lieutenant Michelle Andres and I am the lead surgeon on your foster daughter's case. She was hit twice; once in the abdomen and once in the leg. Luckily, neither bullet hit any major organs or arteries. But, they both hit bone. One grazed her hip and the other shattered her femur. My team is repairing her femur now. We are going to have to put in steel rods to help hold the bone fragments in place." Lieutenant Andres explained. "But, she is going to be okay. We've stopped the bleeding, but we still have a few more hours to go. I will have someone come brief you periodically."
"Thank you, Lieutenant." Stef shook the doctor's hand quickly before she turned around and ran back to the operating room. "Well, I guess that is the best new we could have gotten."
"Should I go update the kids at home? It's going to be a few hours before we get to see her. Maybe it would be better if I was there with them so they aren't worrying." Lena grasped Stef's hand as she spoke.
"Yeah, that would probably be a good idea. I'll call you as soon as we get an update." Stef kissed Lena on the cheek and walked her out to their car.
My phone started to ring; Tony's face popped up on my screen. "Hello?" My voice sounded tired.
"Hey Ziva. How's everything at the hospital? Is Callie okay?" His voice was frantic and full of worry.
"She's going to be fine. They are in surgery right now and should be done in a few hours. How's everything there? Did you find the shooter?"
"No, by the time we got outside they were gone. But, there was blood on the ground. So at least we have DNA."
"Okay, I gotta go. Keep me updated Tony." I hung up my phone and ran my hands through my hair.
"Are you okay, Ziva?" Stef sat down next to me and put a strong hand on my shoulder.
I turned to look at her and was met with soft blue eyes. "I'm fine… just worried about Callie is all."
She smiled, but it quickly disappeared. "You know, these kids have only been in our care for a couple days and the majority of it has been spent in a hospital. I just can't believe she was shot again." Stef readjusted herself in the chair to get more comfortable. "I'm the reason Callie and Jude got kidnapped by New Intelligence. I walked away from them to call their social worker and they were taken. I should have just stayed there and called from my cell phone. Why didn't I do that?" Her voice got quieter and quieter as she spoke and I soon realized that she wasn't expecting me to answer her.
"Stef, this is not your fault. It's no one's fault except the person who fired into Abby's lab. You can't beat yourself up about this." I turned to face her, but she refused to make eye contact.
"Ziva, can I ask you a question?" She blinked away tears as she spoke. I nodded and she continued. "I overheard Callie and Jude talking this morning. Callie said she somehow found out about a job she could possibly get at NCIS. Is that true? Can she do that?"
I thought for a minute before I answered. "Yeah, uh, she could get a job as a hand-to-hand combat instructor, she could work in Abby's lab as an assistant, and I'm sure there are more."
"Do you think she could be hired? I mean, with her past and everything?"
"Sure she could! She would have to put in an application and go through a psychological evaluation, but I'm sure she would pass. NCIS would be lucky to have Callie on the team." I smiled at the thought of it. I felt a connection to that girl from the moment she walked into NCIS the first day. Something about me just wanted to protect her.
"Lena and I talked to her and Jude about continuing their education at a university, but Callie seemed reluctant. Would you mind talking to her about it? She really likes you." Stef wiped a tear off the tip of her nose and laughed a little. "Actually, she is basically your mini-me."
That too made me smile. "Of course I'll talk to her."
We sat in silence for a while before Gibbs and McGee walked back with Jude.
"Hey guys. Everything okay?" I stood up and ushered Jude to a seat between me and Stef.
He slumped down in the chair and pulled the hood of his sweatshirt over his eyes and groaned loudly.
"Uh, yeah. We're good." McGee said not-so-certainly.
"McGee and I are going back to headquarters to help Tony with the investigation. I take it you're staying here?" Gibbs asked.
"Yeah if that's okay."
Gibbs nodded and walked out of the hospital with McGee on his heels.
Stef, Jude, and I sat in the cold waiting room occasionally making light conversation until the doctors came out.
Lieutenant Andres stood sat down in front of us. "Callie did great in surgery. She is being transported to her room now. Would you like me to take you to see her?"
Jude jumped out of his seat. "Please!" His eyes were wide with worry and he was breathing incredibly fast.
The four of us walked down a long corridor all the way to Callie's room.
"She should be coming out of the anesthetic any minute now. She'll be in some pain, but the medication should start working soon. I'll be right out here if any of you need anything."
Jude darted into the room with Stef and me behind him.
Callie was laying awake on her bed, breathing in deeply with an oxygen mask on her face. She was holding Jude's hand and occasionally wincing in pain.
She turned to look at Stef and me and immediately ripped off her mask. "Ziva!"
I took two big strides to her bedside. "I'm here Callie, what do you need?"
"He's here." She said sternly.
"Who Callie? Who's here?" I sat down in the chair and took hold of her free hand.
"Evan! He shot into the lab and I saw him in the hallway on the way to my room! Evan is in the hospital!"
Hope you liked this chapter! What do you think will happen next? What do you WANT to happen next? Let me know!