Morning came entirely too quickly; Tony and Ziva could not have gotten more than a couple of hours of sleep when Tony startled awake hearing movement in the kitchen. He automatically reached for his gun. Ziva touched his chest for attention and softly said, "It is Gibbs."
Letting out a sigh, Tony nodded and laid flat again. He turned his head to look at her. She looked tired and her eyelids were half-closed which was unusual for Ziva even with this little sleep. Tony turned towards her and brushed his fingers along her cheek, "Are you OK?"
"Yes," she smiled softly. "Just a bit...drained," she said before taking his hand, bringing his fingers to her mouth and kissing them.
Tony smiled, "Go back to sleep, ninja. I'll take care of Gibbs."
"No," Ziva pushed herself up to a sitting position with more effort than usual. "I want to see if there is any new information."
Tony nodded and they went about their morning routine. After their shower Tony left Ziva in the bathroom as he always did for her mysterious woman whatever she did in private. He was her husband now; why couldn't he know? Tony shrugged and dressed in jeans and a black striped shirt. He grabbed a pair of black cotton yoga pants for Ziva that she found easy to hang around in and a blue top. She might come pick something else but he hoped she'd stay comfortable and nap today; last night had been draining for both of them but particularly her.
He set the clothes on the dresser then looked at the bed. Ducky was coming over, he thought. Tony decided he didn't need Ducky sitting on those sheets and stripped the bed. He opened the bedroom door and saw Gibbs nod with a grunt and a cup of coffee in hand. Tony smiled, feeling a tad awkward, then grabbed a spare pair of sheets from the linen closet before returning to the bedroom and closing the door. He made quick work of dressing the bed and chuckled to himself remember a few weeks ago going out to the store and returning to a perfectly made bed by Ziva and a linen closet that looked like it'd been invaded by aliens.
Ziva emerged from the bathroom and looked to the dresser where she saw the clothes he'd pulled for her. She pointed to them and Tony handed the items to her then crouched in front of her, "You don't look so ninja-y today. Why don't you get back in bed and get some sleep?"
Ziva glanced at the bed and grinned, "You dressed the bed," she leaned forward and kissed him sweetly.
Tony smiled, "If that is the reaction I am going to get then I will make the bed every day."
She chuckled and kissed him again, "I love you," she said as she put her hand on his cheek. "And I am going to get dressed. Watch your toes, Tony," she said as she wheeled back and then over to the closet.
"Fine," Tony said. "But if you fall asleep in your soup it is not my fault."
"We are having soup for breakfast?" Ziva asked perplexed.
"Ah…no, I am making eggs," Tony simply had no idea how to explain that saying.
"Ok good. Soup is too heavy for breakfast," Ziva said as Tony went to the kitchen.
Tony chuckled to himself as he pulled the eggs out of the fridge. Gibbs came back for a coffee refill and he noticed he'd changed clothing. McGee must have stopped by at some point last night. "Any news?" he asked Gibbs.
"Nothing yet," Gibbs sipped from his cup and grunted a compliment on the coffee. "McGee is tracking Barrett's last communications."
Tony nodded, "Scrambled or over easy?"
Gibbs smiled, "scrambled works."
"Alright, be prepared to sample DiNozzo's famous cheesy scramble." Tony embellished his movements as he grabbed the skillet and went about preparing scrambled eggs with cheddar cheese and sausage on the side.
"Abby is working on forensics but Ducky is on his way here first," Gibbs said.
"Good," Tony took down three plates and pulled out the orange juice from the fridge. "I want him to check out Ziva. She is off this morning."
"I am not off, Tony," Ziva wheeled into the kitchen. "We just did not get much sleep last night."
Gibbs raised his eyebrow and smirked at Ziva before putting his coffee cup down on the island and grabbing her chair arms to pull her close. He bent down and looked directly into her eyes, "You are off," Gibbs stated before straightening and retaking his cup.
"See!" Tony exclaimed. "The Gibbs has spoken."
"You two are like two Jewish grandmother's," Ziva narrowed her eyes, "I expect Yiddish sayings to pop out any minute."
"When something is burning, there is a fire," Tony stated in his most Jewish Grandmother accent.
Ziva craned her head to look at Tony and stared at him for a long moment before laughing. "I am going to check the computer," she said as she shook her head and rolled into the dining room.
"What?" Tony looked at Gibbs. "I grew up in New York."
"Kort sent me an email," Ziva announced.
Tony came into the dining room with her plate and his and Gibbs carried his own stuff. Tony put the plates down then went back for the juice glasses. "What does one-eyed Jack have to say for himself."
"EJ's was traveling to Ecuador in two weeks. She was using one of her CIA issued passports to travel but it wasn't a sanctioned op. He says that EJ didn't seem to be on Mendoza's radar yet," Ziva scanned the email then turned to Tony, "According to CIA, Mendoza has no operatives in the US. I knew he didn't have the network Cortez did. Mendoza was never the same kind of threat."
Ziva tapped her fingers on the keys then turned to Gibbs, "I don't think Mendoza is behind EJ's death. From what I know, Cortez only had a handful of operatives in the US and I sent that information in. With Cortez's death they were neutralized and are out of play. Mendoza doesn't have the resources to corner a CIA agent in DC and toss her off a roof. Somebody else went after EJ."
"Ziva, you know I don't believe in coincidences," Gibbs started. "And this isn't just a coincidence it is a big red bull's-eye aimed at you."
"He's right," Tony interjected. "EJ came to you, cornered you, for information on Mendoza. And then her body is tossed over the side of a building you are exiting? There is more here than just lack of available rooftops."
"But if it is not Mendoza," Ziva gestured to the computer screen, "than I am not sure who. Cortez certainly did not rise from the dead. I have to think about this," she said as she adjusted herself in her chair, clearly annoyed she could not stand. "Maybe I should go into Langley," she said as she looked at Tony.
"No," Tony left no room for argument. "You aren't going near that place."
"Tony," Ziva looked up at him, "I might be able to get real time Intel there. I might be able to use their resources to track what is left of Cortez's men."
"No. End of story," Tony stated. "Deal with Kort if you have to but you are not going there."
Ziva looked to Gibbs who offered her no help and turned to answer the door.
"If somebody is out there tracking us-" Ziva began.
"No. We'll use NCIS's resources and cobble together whatever else we need," Tony pulled her chair closer to his. "They tried to take you from me once. I am not letting them get near you again."
Ziva touched Tony's face and nodded. "OK, we will do this your way."
Tony kissed her then pulled back and stared at her, "You need sleep."
"Good Morning, Ziva, Tony," Ducky said brightly. "How are we this morning?"
"Fine," Ziva smiled up at Ducky. "Surrounded by mother ducks."
Ducky laughed then grabbed Ziva's wheelchair, "I brought the injections but I want to do a vitals check first."
"It is not fair that you can all literally push me around," Ziva pouted.
"Mind the doctor, Ninja," Tony said as he handed Ziva the fork and insisted she eat something.
Ducky let go of her wheelchair and took the offered coffee from Gibbs. "Well I must say, that excluding the unfortunate incident outside the theatre last night the play was marvelous. Thank you very much, Tony, for inviting me."
"My pleasure, Ducky," Tony smiled. "We'll have to do another night like that one of these days without the after show."
Ziva pushed her plate onto the table and took a drink from her juice. She only ate about a quarter of the eggs but he knew already she didn't want anymore. The shots Ducky gives her make her nauseous. Tony kissed her temple and took the plates back to the kitchen.
"Come, Ziva," Ducky rolled her towards the bedroom. "Let's see how you are doing today."
Ziva took over from Ducky and wheeled herself to her side of the bed, turned around and lowered the left arm of her chair before grabbing the overhead bar and moving herself to the bed. Ducky placed his bag on the dresser and opened it then took out the blood pressure cuff and stethoscope.
He went about taking Ziva's vitals and Ziva noticed he did a lot of aha-ing. Ducky then checked her back and gave her the steroid injections.
"I am going to talk to Kenneth this afternoon," Ducky started. "He'll likely want you to come in for a visit in the next day or so."
"Why? Do you feel more fluid?" Ziva asked as she lay flat on her stomach.
"No, no fluid as far as I can tell," Ducky said as he felt along her spine. "But I want to reduce your steroid dosage, Ziva."
Ziva rolled over and pushed herself up into a sitting position to face Ducky. Ducky stood then moved a pillow behind her back, "If the dosage is reduce will that not mean a longer recovery period? I remember Dr. Kenneth saying this dosage would speed along the reduction of inflammation."
"Yes, that is true," Ducky nodded and sat next to Ziva. "But I am afraid you might suffer from side effects that could cause a long term problem I do not want you to have."
"What side effect?" Ziva peered at him quizzically.
"There are some infections that are caused by steroids among a few other things," Ducky stood, "I am just being overly cautious with you, my dear."
"Ducky," Ziva sighed. "I want to start walking. I want to start exercising regularly before I lose all my muscle tone."
Ducky grinned, "I think it would be a long time before you lost all muscle tone, Ziva. It is barely three months since you've been returned to us. And the delay in treatment EJ caused did you no good. I want you to rest today, really rest. Let us deal with this case for now."
"But Ducky," Ziva touched his hand, "I need to see what I can do."
"Ziva," Ducky squeezed her hand in return. "You will best serve us and yourself by taking today and resting. I promise Tony and Jethro won't take down a terrorist cell while you are sleeping."
Ducky rose and went to his bag, pulled out a pill bottle and took two out. He then opened the bedroom door and asked Tony for some water. Tony retrieved it quickly and came into the bedroom with him. Ducky retook his seat next to Ziva and handed her the pills, "Take these."
Ziva opened her hand and took them from Duck and took hold of the water glass, "What are they?"
"Just something to help you relax your muscles. You seem tense today, Ziva," Ducky said as he patted her leg.
Ziva looked at the pills then glanced at both Ducky and Tony. "I smell a conspiracy."
"Oh yeah, sorry...it was the eggs," Tony said with an apologetic and silly grin.
Ziva smirked and took the pills then put the glass on the nightstand. "Did McGee call yet? I am curious about EJ's movements," she asked Tony.
"No, not yet," Tony grabbed a throw from the linen closet just outside the bedroom then returned and sat on his side of the bed. "He has had a rough time of it with her CIA issued cell phone."
Ducky rose and packed up his medical bag as Tony covered Ziva with the throw.
"I will see you later, Ziva," Ducky smiled and took hold of his bag. "I am going to call Kenneth."
"Thank you, Ducky, " Ziva grinned. "I will see you later."
The moment Ducky stepped out of the room, Tony pulled Ziva down from her sitting position and pulled her into his arms. "You need more sleep today," he said.
"Tony, I am fine. I think I should help with the investigation," Ziva rested her head on his shoulder and Tony leaned down and kissed her lips lightly. "I am worried," she said as she touched his face, grazed her fingers near his eyes.
"Don't worry, Ziva," Tony smiled. "We'll be fine. We'll figure this out."
"Tony," Ziva said, "if Mendoza is not behind this perhaps it is one of Cortez's other men? Perhaps EJ made a contact we are unaware of and used my name in the process? You told me that Cortez's men believed that I was a victim that day; same as Cortez?"
"Yes," Tony adjusted the throw on her, "the men I spoke to believed one of Santiago's men penetrated the building and surprised both you and Cortez. They assumed you were," Tony swallowed hard, "tossed out the balcony by whoever surprised you. You were out clean."
"Maybe it is not so clean anymore," Ziva's eyelids grew heavy and she tried to blink away the fatigue, "maybe EJ compromised me in some way? If that is true I need to find out-"
"You need to sleep," Tony kissed her nose, "look at you. You can barely keep your eyes open."
Tony pulled his arm out from under her head and made sure the pillow under her was comfortable. "Maybe just a bat nap."
"Ok," Tony rose from the bed, "you sleep. I'll brush up on my Yiddish grandmother sayings."
Ziva smiled and Tony left the room, closing the door behind him. He saw Ducky in the living room with Gibbs just hanging up his cell.
"Slip her a Mickey? Eh, Ducky?" Tony asked as he stepped up to them.
"I wanted her to sleep and I am well aware of how stubborn she is," Ducky nodded.
"Is something wrong with her back?" Tony asked, concern forming a pit in his stomach.
"Her back seems to be healing well," Ducky assured. "I am concerned about the medications. Her blood pressure is elevated. I know that is likely due to the stress caused by EJ's murder but I am worried that the steroids may be contributing to the blood pressure issue. I just got off the phone with Kenneth and he agrees. He wants you to bring her in tomorrow morning. We're likely going to reduce the dosage of her shots and I want to monitor her for any secondary infection."
"Ducky,-"
"She is fine, Anthony," Ducky smiled. "I am just being as cautious as I can be. And if we reduce the dosage and if Kenneth agrees tomorrow she may be able to start putting weight on her legs as soon as next week."
Tony stared at Ducky for a moment then looked at the bedroom door then back, "Isn't next week too soon?"
"It is a little earlier than...well pretty much most patients I have ever heard of," Ducky grinned. "But she is progressing well and she has reached the stage were the swelling is not interfering with nerve regrowth. I think the exercise will do her well and give her something to focus on."
"I think it is too soon," Tony stated. "I don't want her pushing too hard , and you know she will, and injuring herself. I am going to call Kenneth and tell him not to allow this yet."
"Hey," Gibbs interjected. "What's this about?"
Tony's jaw clenched and his hand fisted then released, "If she starts walking..."
Gibbs nodded, "You won't have the same level of control over her."
"I don't want to control her," Tony argued. "I just want to keep her safe."
"She is going to walk eventually, Tony," Gibbs said. "You are going to have to learn to trust her. Trust that she won't leave you out again."
"Easier said," Tony glanced at both men in front of him, "than done."
"Anthony?" Ducky said.
"It's alright, Ducky," Tony nodded. "Do what you have to do. And thank you."
Ducky nodded, patted Tony on the shoulder then left.
"Let's hassle McGee, see what he found out," Tony said as he went to the computers, the pit in his stomach tightening."
Author's Note: Feed the Feedback!
As to a question earlier about the wedding and why Tony had her sign the papers first; he simply did not want his bride to get cold feet at the altar - so once the papers were signed they were legally married. She'd have no reason to stop the wedding. Tony felt it would be easier to get her through signing some papers than the ceremony and wanted to hedge his bets. I may or may not have a conversation about this later in the story. Hugs all!
Chapter dedicated to Ziva Appreciation Day!