A/N: I promise this will be the only author's note so humor me for one moment and then we'll get to the good stuff. First, let me say that this is a completed piece of work and I will get the whole thing posted in a timely manner.
I don't post WIP's because I never know where the story will take me and I want it to feel cohesive. I edit the complete piece and my hope is that it is all in the same voice so I don't jump my own shark. Plus if I can't finish it at least I don't frustrate a reader.
Also, to those wonderful people who have reviewed my two previous short stories – thank you for the kind words. They are so appreciated and truly unexpected. I was asked by a few people to write something longer and so this is the fruit of that labor. I'll be the first to admit that I've read it so many times that I no longer have any perspective on the thing.
Oh, and I almost forgot, standard disclaimers apply. I don't own them – duh, I wouldn't even suggest killing anyone off if I did!!
The story started with the plot bunny 'what if Ziva really did need Tony when he wasn't answering her calls?' It's mostly fluff but there is a little (tiny) bit of plot thrown in. The only other thing I can say is that I have my fingers, toes, and hair crossed that the writers don't do anything crazy with my friends. I really really love NCIS and I'll be honest. I don't want them to change anything about it.
Enjoy!
Set in Season 4. Tony is deep undercover in his make believe relationship with Jeanne. In my season 4 world Tony is with Jeanne for work and no other reason. Gibbs knows that Tony is undercover for Jen but he doesn't really know why (or care probably – except that he isn't into part time field agents.) Ziva just knows that Tony is behaving strangely. She was convinced he was sick but Gibbs gave her a heads up that there were other possible reasons for Tony's bizarre behavior. Thus we begin our story.
Tony looked across the table at his date, Jeanne Benoit. He lifted the glass of wine to his lips and smiled over the rim before taking a drink. He continued to expound on the cinematic wonders of one of his favorite movies, Psycho – the original not the remake, when he felt the annoying vibration of his phone in his pocket. He subtly slipped it into his hand and glanced at the display under the table. Gibbs, what was he doing calling at 10pm on a Saturday night?
Tony grimaced, knowing that his boss would be pissed when he didn't answer the call but he couldn't have a conversation with Gibbs while sitting across the table from Jeanne. It was too big of a risk to his assignment. He silenced the vibrations and carefully put the phone away. He would have to find a way to slip away and call him back but just then he saw the waitress approaching with their food. Jeanne would not take kindly to him getting up and leaving the table at this moment.
He had just finished his surf and turf and politely declined the offer of dessert when the soft feminine voice came over the loudspeaker. "Mr. Tony DiNozzo you have a phone call at the concierge desk, Mr. Tony DiNozzo." Tony winced visibly.
"No one can get my name right," he said with feigned annoyance to Jeanne. He stood and placed his napkin on the table and tried to walk casually toward the phone. If Gibbs had managed to track him down in this restaurant something serious must be going on. No one knew he would be here tonight. He picked up the phone and spoke quietly into the receiver. "DiNozzo here," he waited, expecting to be verbally Gibbs-slapped for being unreachable. He was surprised to hear Abby's anxious voice on the other end.
"Tony, Tony, I'm so glad I found you. When Gibbs couldn't reach you he called me in to find you. I was bowling with the nuns and I left right away but it still took time to get the GPS location on your phone and then I had to convince the restaurant that you were there. They didn't have a reservation under your name and,"
"Abby, Abbs, slow down. I'm here now, what's wrong?" Tony turned away from the hostess and whispered into the phone. He heard Abby take a deep breath and she sounded much calmer when she spoke again.
"Tony, Gibbs needs you at a crime scene now." She continued to speak even as Tony attempted to interrupt her. "Tony, it's Ziva's apartment."
Tony's jaw dropped slightly and he struggled to swallow. "What happened?" His voice conveyed the urgency that he felt.
"Gibbs didn't give me any details Tony." Abby worked to keep the fear out of her voice. "He just told me to find you and get you over there. You have to call me when you know what's going on."
"I will Abby, try not to worry. I'm on my way." Tony closed his eyes for a moment before fishing his phone out of his pocket. He saw that he had four missed calls. There were two from Ziva, one from Gibbs, and one from Abby. Guilt plagued Tony as he put the phone away and walked back to the table where Jeanne was patiently waiting for him.
"Hey," he didn't sit down but instead stood nervously, holding onto the chair in front of him. "There's an emergency at work. I've got to take off. You can take a cab can't you?"
Jeanne flushed and looked surprised. "There's a movie emergency on Saturday night?"
"I don't have time to explain right now. I'll call you when I can." He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek before handing her cash out of his wallet. He gently patted her on the head. "Thanks for understanding." He called over his shoulder as he tried not to sprint out of the restaurant.
Tony didn't realize it as he put the petal to the metal on the way to Ziva's apartment, but his driving resembled Gibbs. He pulled into the lot and left the car parked haphazardly at an angle across three spaces. He raced for the door and took the stairs three at a time to reach Ziva's fourth floor apartment.
"Gibbs," Tony burst through the door and panted, his hands resting against his knees as he worked to catch his breath. "Where's Ziva?"
Gibbs looked at him quietly. "Where were you?" His voice was deadly quiet.
"I was at a restaurant. I'm sorry boss." Tony readily acknowledged his error. "Boss?" He asked hesitantly. "She is alright isn't she?"
"They took her to George Washington University Hospital. It looked like she took a nasty hit to the upper arm."
Tony looked around the room. "And no one went with her?" He asked with surprise.
"She called you didn't she, DiNozzo?"
Tony felt the blood drain from his face. "Damn, I didn't think,"
"I know you didn't think DiNozzo." He paused and looked seriously at the younger man in front of him. "And when she called me I think she was more worried that something had happened to you than she was about herself." Gibbs dug the knife of guilt a little deeper with his words. "Are you going to get down there or do I have to kick your ass the whole way myself?"
"Going Boss," Tony didn't hesitate. He turned toward the door and saw McGee out of the corner eye giving him a sympathetic look. He just ducked his head and left without a word.
Tony pulled into the visitors lot at the hospital and threw his cell phone down onto the seat in frustration. He had spent the entire drive trying to find out information about Ziva's condition but he had been less than successful. All he knew was that she was going to be taken to surgery. He hadn't been able to speak with her or found out any details about her condition.
The nurse at the front desk looked up Ziva's information for Tony. "It looks like she's in surgery sir, do you know where the OR waiting room is?"
Tony nodded slowly. "Do you know anything about her condition?" He asked hopefully.
The nurse shook her head with sympathy. "I'm sorry, I can only tell you her location but I'll let the OR staff know that you're here and they will give you an update when she is transferred to the PACU."
Tony smiled a shadow of his normal charming smile and walked away slowly. He had a bad feeling in his gut. Gibbs said it was just an arm wound, but he had never known Ziva not to come out on top of an altercation and the fact that she was wounded at all worried him.
The surgery waiting room Tony wandered into was the typical sparsely decorated waiting room with white walls and an ugly wallpaper border. Hard plastic chairs lined the circumference of the room and two row of chairs sat back-to-back down the center. There were televisions mounted high in the corners, poor distractions from the knowledge that a friend or relative was under the knife.
Tony was grateful that the room was mostly empty. He sat down and picked up a copy of Modern Man lying within reach on a table. The issue was over a year old, he noted with disdain. He idly flipped through the magazine, not seeing any of the words or even the pictures as he slowly turned the pages. Tony tapped his foot impatiently, looking at his watch. It had only been an hour since he left Ziva's apartment, realistically not a long time for someone to be in surgery but he needed to see for himself that Ziva was okay. The guilt he felt at not answering her initial calls bit at him. He stood and paced the length of the room twice before pulling his cell phone from his back pocket.
"Gibbs," his boss answered on the second ring.
"Hey Boss, I just wanted to see how things were going over there. Do you have any leads on who broke into Ziva's apartment?" He tried hard to keep his anxiety under control. He didn't really need to speak with his boss at that very moment but he welcomed the distraction that getting yelled at would provide.
"We're still going over the evidence DiNozzo." Gibbs voice wasn't as harsh as Tony expected. "Any news on Ziva?" He asked quietly?
"I'm still waiting for her to come out of surgery. No one can tell me anything. The waiting bites Boss."
"I know Tony, let me know when you hear anything."
"I will." Tony heard a scuffle in the background.
"Tony?" He heard McGee's anxious voice as he took the phone from Gibbs. "How is Ziva?"
"I don't know anything yet Probie," Tony's voice held no malice toward the younger agent. "I told Gibbs I'd call as soon as I do. She's going to be ok McGee. You know Ziva. She's as tough as they come."
"I know. Tony," he said hesitantly. "When you see her, tell her, just tell her…" The younger agent trailed off awkwardly.
"I'll tell her you're thinking about her McGee. Look, I've got to get off of here. I'll call you back when I know more."
Tony walked over to the coffee pot in the corner and poured himself a cup of the sludge that passed for coffee in the hospital. He just looked down at it before throwing it in the trash. He ran his hands through his hair before looking up at the ceiling. He should have answered his phone. This assignment was important to the director and his feelings for Jeanne were confusing him but none of it was more important than his team. If weren't for his loyalty to them he would have taken his own team in Rota when Gibbs first came back. These people were his family.
A doctor wearing blue scrubs walked through the door and pulled his cap off. Tony took a step toward him in anticipation. "Are you here for Ziva David?" The doctor asked, mispronouncing Ziva's last name.
Tony nodded without bothering to correct him. "How is she?" he asked anxiously.
"She's in recovery. She lost a fair amount of blood but she came through the surgery in good condition. She can go home in 24-48 hours as long as she does well. Her recovery will take longer, she'll probably need some physical therapy but my best guess is she'll regain most of the use of that arm."
"What do you mean most of the use?" The anxiety was back in Tony's voice as he heard the prognosis.
"Well, Mr."
"DiNozzo," Tony supplied automatically.
"Mr. DiNozzo, the bullet passed through Ziva's upper arm at close range. It did significant muscle and tendon damage. We repaired what we could but you have to realize that there are some things that just can't be fixed."
"Can I see her?" Tension remained in Tony's voice but he tried to be courteous to the doctor.
"She'll be in the recovery room for 30 – 45 minutes and then they will take her to a room. You can see her once she is there. One of the nurses will come for you after they have moved her."
Tony nodded his thanks and turned away from the doctor. He pulled his phone out of his pocket again and looked at the display. He knew he should call Gibbs but he wanted to wait until he had seen Ziva before he talked to his boss. He wasn't willing to accept the doctor's explanation that some things can't be fixed. This was Ziva. She was invincible.
Tony felt stupid for thinking it. Of course Ziva wasn't invincible. She was human just like the rest of them, but she was so tough that sometimes he forgot that she was just as fallible, as fragile as any of them. Perhaps more fragile for having grown up in such a hurry.
It felt more like hours than the forty-five minutes that was promised when Tony was finally standing over the hospital bed containing a sleeping Ziva. She looked peaceful, and if it wasn't for their location and the large bandage encasing Ziva's right arm from fingertips to axilla he would have thought she was just resting her eyes after staring at the computer monitor for one too many hours.
He sat down beside her and wrapped his hand around the fingers of her left hand. They were cool to the touch and he wondered if she was warm enough. He carefully pulled the blanket up under her chin and smoothed it out.
He sat back down and clasped her hand in his again. He was staring off into space when he suddenly felt eyes watching him. He turned and saw Ziva gazing at him sleepily.
"Hey," he said softly.
"Hey yourself," she croaked. Tony leaned over her and spooned a few ice chips into her mouth. He waited while she allowed them to melt on her tongue.
"How are you feeling?"
"Like I've been shot." Ziva gave Tony a look that asked what he was thinking. "Are you alright? She asked. "I couldn't reach you again."
"I'm fine. I'm sorry I didn't answer the phone," he apologized but didn't offer any explanation. She gave him a pointed look and he squirmed under her gaze.
He wanted to tell her the truth. He wanted to tell Gibbs the truth. This was one of the first times he had ever regretted being a federal agent. He had known that secrets would be involved in the job but he had never imagined that it would be necessary to keep them from members of his own team and he hadn't imagined how uncomfortable that would be.
He wished Gibbs was there to head slap him. The physical discomfort would take his mind off of the guilt he felt.
"Do you remember what happened?"
"I was in the shower and I heard a noise. I got out but I just had a towel on when I walked into the living room," she started her story slowly. "There was a man there He was maybe 6 foot 2 inches, 215 pounds. He had dark hair, average features. He pulled a gun and shot me and then he turned and left." She cocked her head. "It was very strange. He did not take anything and if his goal was to kill me he did not accomplish that. He had to know he shot me in a nonfatal location. I did not have the chance to defend myself before he was gone. I called you but when you did not answer," she said without recrimination. "I called Gibbs."
Guilt shot through Tony's gut once again. He watched as Ziva clenched her teeth and her nostrils flared as she inhaled deeply. "Hey," Tony reached over and pushed the hair out of Ziva's face. "You're hurting. Try to relax and I'll get the nurse to give you some pain medication." He stood to leave the room.
"I am fine," she ground out with difficulty. "When do I get to leave? I want to be part of the investigation." She attempted to sit up but was easily thwarted by gentle pressure to her good arm. She realized how weak she felt.
"Not for a day or two. They want to make sure everything is healing and there's no infection before you go home. Then you might need some physical therapy. So lay back and let me find someone to give you the good drugs." Tony stepped out of the room and inhaled deeply.
Keeping Ziva away from work for days when it was her case they were working was going to be a difficult undertaking and one he didn't relish.
Tony flagged a nurse down and after he was assured that she'd be in with some morphine for Ziva and that Ziva would most likely fall asleep soon after that, he stepped out into the lobby to call Gibbs.
"How is she?" Gibbs didn't bother with pleasantries when he answered the second call from DiNozzo.
Tony smiled. "She wants to come back to work, right now."
"That's not going to happen."
"I know. They aren't releasing her tonight anyway. Boss, the doctor said there was a lot of muscle and tendon damage to her am and that she's going to need physical therapy to regain most of her mobility. I told her she might need some therapy but I don't think she knows how bad it is."
"Well, don't you be the one to tell her. I wouldn't want her to kick your ass and slow down her recovery."
Tony was surprised to hear the smile in Gibbs voice as well as his attempt to add some levity to the situation but Tony knew that Gibbs was nothing if not unpredictable.
"You want me back there Boss?" The nurse told me that Ziva would probably fall asleep once she'd given her the pain medication."
"No, you stay there. We've got this covered. McGee found the bullet. It's on the way back to Abby now."
"Are you sure Boss? Because I could,"
"DiNozzo," Gibbs interrupted. "You think it's odd that someone broke into Ziva's apartment just to shoot her in the arm?"
"Good point Boss." Tony mentally head slapped himself. "I'll stay with her."
"Oh, and DiNozzo, the next time you don't answer your phone…" he let the words trail off, the unspoken threat loud over the faint static of Tony's cell phone.
"Got it Boss," Tony answered quietly. There was nothing else he could say, no joke that could make it better. He had violated one of the most important rules – to always be available.
He tucked the phone back into his pocket and walked back to Ziva's room. He sat down in the hard plastic chair that had been provided and prepared himself for a long night of watching his partner sleep.
"Gibbs," even the normally bubbly Abby sounded subdued at 0400. "I'm glad you're here. I was just getting ready to call you."
"Whatcha got for me Abbs?" He held a Caff-Pow in his hand. He thought she might need a pick-me-up. He handed it to her wordlessly.
"Nothing really exciting. The bullet is a standard full metal jacket 35 millimeter round, could have come from any number of pistols. But here's what's odd. There's a residue on the bullet. I got the results from the mass spectrometer and it's not anything I could identify."
"Some kind of coating, residue, contamination, dirt, what Abby?"
"I don't know Gibbs, it's not something I've ever seen before but I'm still working on it. Other than that we've got nothing. Ziva said he was wearing gloves but she didn't see him touch anything anyway. I mean, he must have touched the door when he came in even if he didn't touch it on the way out. You didn't bring me a shell casing but if I," Abby babbled, the wheels in her head spinning.
"Ziva said he policed it on the way out."
"That's what I'm saying. There's no trace. No fibers, nothing that doesn't belong except a hole in the wall, a bullet and Ziva's blood on the carpet." Abby tapped some keys on her computer and they watched as the crime scene photos flashed by.
Abby turned away as the pictures containing Ziva's blood flashed on the screen, larger than life. "Gibbs, you know I'm not squeamish but you have to tell them to stop getting hurt. I don't know how much more of this I can take."
Gibbs leaned over and gently kissed her on the cheek. "Keep working on that bullet residue. It may be the break we're looking for. And Ziva's gonna be fine, she's already pestering DiNozzo wanting to come back to work."
"I'll call you when I've got something else." Gibbs smiled as he made his way to the elevator.
It had been a close call tonight but he had every confidence that Ziva would make that doctor eat his words and she'd be back working with them at 100 percent in record time. She was an exceptionally strong woman and she would have all the support they could give. They just had to find the damn guy who had hurt her and put him away.
He ran a hand over his face. The adrenaline was wearing off and fatigue was catching up with him. He sent McGee home an hour ago when the younger agent couldn't complete a thought despite his best effort. Gibbs would stay as long as Abby did. Coffee, that's what he needed.