Scars

Written for the Scars Challenge (OK, so my title originality needs a little work)

Ficlet

Genre: Friendship/Angst/Supernatural

Rating: FR15/T

Warnings: Some disturbing imagery

Characters: Tim and Ziva

Disclaimer: Don't own, just playing, yadda yadda

Summary: Sometimes scars are not the worst things left behind.

"How did you get that?"

They had just finished their run and were doing cooling down stretches and one of Tim's normally covered appendages had been unwittingly bared to his partner's scrutiny. Tim glanced in the direction Ziva was pointing and sighed. "It's a long story." He reached down to pull the leg of his sweatpants over his calf, intent on covering the old wounds he had received so many years ago, but Ziva's hand on his stopped him before the subject of her curiosity was hidden from view.

"How long?"

"Long enough. They're just scars, Ziva. No big deal."

She stooped down and examined the area of damaged skin. "It looks like it was painful."

"It was…in more ways than one." She raised an eyebrow and he held up his hands in supplication. "Can we drop it?"

"Why do you not wish to talk about it?"

He started walking towards one of the park benches and she followed. When he reached the bench, he sat down and rested his elbows on his knees, struggling to control the flood of emotions associated with remembrance. He felt Ziva settle next to him on the bench and eventually he was able to raise his head and look at her.

"McGee? I am sorry, I did not realize…"

"No, it's OK. It just…caught me by surprise. I hadn't thought too much about it, lately." First lie. You're off to a good start, there, Tim.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

Tim pondered for a few minutes before coming to a decision. "Fine, as long as you don't tell anyone else. Especially-"

"Tony. Got it." She gave him an encouraging smile.

"OK…" Tim took a moment to collect himself before beginning the story. "It happened when I was thirteen, almost fourteen. A friend of mine, Chris, invited me to go camping with his family. This wasn't the same type of camping most city people do, mind you. No campers or modern facilities. We were out in the wilderness, in tents."

"I am guessing it did not go well."

Tim managed a small chuckle. "Understatement. We took all the precautions they recommend for back-country camping, especially when there had been reports of bears in the area: no food in the tents, keep smelly stuff out of the camping area, store food suspended at least ten feet above the ground. We didn't see any evidence that any type of carnivores were in there area, so we thought it was safe. I shared a tent with Chris, and one night, we were woken up by his parents' screams. Chris wanted to leave but I convinced him to stay in the tent. We kept as still and quiet as we could, and all around we could hear the sounds of the attack. I…I'll never forget that sound as long as I live." He barely noticed that Ziva had placed a comforting hand on his arm. "Chris fought with me to leave the tent, but I knew there was nothing we could do. Finally, when it was light enough outside, we ventured out." Tim closed his eyes and struggled to fight down the horrifying images that had arisen in his mind. "It looked like a slaughterhouse. There was blood and…pieces…everywhere." He let out a shaky breath. "We got out of there as fast as we could and headed for the ranger station, which was almost a two-day hike away. We didn't make it back before nightfall and we didn't have any supplies, so Chris suggested we sleep in the trees to keep away from the bears. We managed to find one that would hold both of us and looked high enough." He let out a soft snort. "I guess we misjudged that. I remember trying not to fall asleep, because I didn't want to fall out of the tree, but I guess I dozed off, and…I woke up just in time to see Chris pulled out of the tree."

"Pulled? So the bear…?"

He nodded. Lie number two. "There was just enough light from the moon to see, so I started to climb higher. I felt something grab my leg, and…well, that's where the scar came from."

"But you survived the attack. How?"

"I managed to shake it off…how, I don't know, and I just kept climbing. I guess I got high enough that it decided I wasn't worth the bother. Not high enough to not hear what happened to Chris, though…"

"How did you…?"

"The rangers found me later the next day, still up in the tree. I was so high up they almost missed me, and they had a hell of a time getting me down. I wasn't afraid of heights until after that incident, you know…Apparently another camper had heard the attack and sent them out to find me. They took me to the hospital, patched me up, and…let's say I wasn't that big of a fan of camping anymore."

"I can understand that. I imaging getting bit by a bear would do that."

"It didn't bite me," he said in a rush. "And the rangers could never confirm that it was a bear." That's at least the truth.

"So it clawed you?" Tim nodded, rising from the bench and walking towards his car. "Well, I guess it does not make much difference, being bitten or clawed. It was still traumatic, yes?"

Tim glanced up at the sky, at the swollen moon pushing its way above the horizon, and managed a shaky, yet relieved smile.

"Believe me, Ziva, it makes all the difference in the world."

The End

If anyone gets the reference at the end, I will be impressed. Please let me know what you think.