A/N- I own nothing to do with NCIS. Tell me what you think.

Summary- Tony is in an accident and loses the last four years of his life, and all memories of his relationship with Ziva, now the rest of the team have to help him find his way in the new world of NCIS.

TIVA, JIBBS, MCABBY

Forget not yet- Sir Thomas Wyatt

FORGET not yet the tried intent
Of such a truth as I have meant;
My great travail so gladly spent,
Forget not yet!

"No!"

Gibbs had heard the horrible 'thump' sound, followed by the tell-tale screech of the tires and the roar of a car engine.

Ziva's cry had followed mere seconds later and he had known.

Everything seemed to slow down then, as though in a dream. His legs felt weak as he staggered to the factory entrance, where McGee already stood, frantically shouting into his mobile phone.

Ziva David knelt a few feet away from the young agent, all business as she went over her basic medical training.

Anthony DiNozzo lay on the road, blood pouring from his head.

His senior field agent was unconscious and pale and not moving. Gibbs couldn't remember a dozen times together when he had seen Tony remain still for longer than five minutes, even when he had been hung-over he would still be pacing or fidgeting or doing…something.

The ambulance had taken hours to arrive, his watch had lied and told him it was less than five minutes, but he had known that it had been hours.

Because while they had waited, terrified to touch him, he had been forced to watched as Tony's blood pooled on the freezing cold cement, the steam rising into the air.

The medics had pushed him out of the way and he'd held Ziva tight against him as they had shouted to each other and delved onto his agent like vultures on a carcass.

They wheeled him away, with Ziva had broken free to follow right on their heels, her hands gripping Tony's wrist like a it was a lifeline and he knew that the jaws of life themselves wouldn't pry her hold from his agent.

The hospital was like every other hospital he had ever been in, too many people, too bright lights, disgusting smells and attempts to stop him.

"I'm his next of kin" he announced as he tried to force open doors to the trauma ward, McGee right behind him, still on his mobile, alerting Abby to the situation,

"His next of kin is already in there" the nurse argued vehemently, refusing to press the button.

Of course, Ziva would have used that lie already,

"Oh Ziver" Gibbs whispered, knowing that she wherever she was couldn't hear him,

"I am so sorry"

The moment Jenny Sheppard had received the emergency call from McGee she had run from her office, nearly breaking her neck as she flew down the stairs in her high heels. She had narrowly avoided collision with Palmer as he rounded the bullpen,

"With me" she ordered curtly, wondering where the hell Agent Cassidy was so she could order her to take Gibbs current case. He wouldn't appreciate the usurpation but he sure as hell wouldn't be leaving the hospital anytime soon and time was of the essence in this situation.

The elevator took too long to arrive; Jenny kicked off her shoes, picked them up in her hand and ignored Palmer's obvious shock as she trotted down the cement stairs, gathering dust and sharp debris on her stockings.

"You didn't just see that" she informed him as they reached the door to the parking lot, she grabbed his shoulder for leverage as she slipped her shoes back on,

"No ma'm" he agreed,

"Any idea where Ducky and Abby are?"

He didn't need to answer, they heard an engine roar and felt a gust of wind as a familiar scarlet hearse screamed past them; smoke came from the tires as it screeched to a halt. Abby stuck her head out of the driver's window,

"Get in!" she shouted, waving frantically and Jenny climbed into the backseat, Palmer following not even a second later and landing on her lap as Abby took off again.

"Sorry Director ma'm" he blushed furiously as she pushed him away,

"It's fine Jimmy" she reassured him, turning to see Ducky in the front passenger seat as she buckled up.

"What do we know?" she asked the three of them,

"As far as I am aware, the team was tailing a suspect on their murder case, they followed him to a factory downtown and were searching the premises when he tried to escape in his car, he ran over Tony in the process" Ducky reported, clutching the dashboard as Abby made an illegal turn and ran a red light,

"Tony sustained some minor bruising but severe head trauma…Good God Abigail slow down before you kill us all!"

Abby didn't answer and Jenny didn't feel the speed lessen in the slightest, she was used to it though, between five years driving with Gibbs and four months driving in Egypt with Ziva, erratic life-threatening driving didn't scare her.

Rather she wished Abby would drive faster so they could get to Bethesda sooner.

Jenny reached into the breast-pocket of her jacket as she felt her phone vibrate; anxious for reassuring news from McGee she flipped it open without checking the identification,

"Is he alright?"

She frowned in confusion, "Agent Cassidy?! How…?"

"One of my team was down in autopsy when Abby fetched Dr Mallard…is Tony okay?"

"I don't know" Jenny had to grab the door handle for support as Abby hit the brakes and she realized they had made it to Bethesda in record time, they leapt from the car and raced toward the off-white building.

"Just takeover for Gibbs until he or I say otherwise"

She hung up before Paula Cassidy could take up more of her time, and scrolled through her contact list, figuring out who to call if she had to get visiting limits overthrown.

From unfortunate previous experiences, every member of the quartet knew where the waiting room was, and Jenny spotted Gibbs pacing across the linoleum floor,

"Jethro" she moved towards him, her stomach sinking when she saw how pale and troubled he looked.

In that moment she wanted to reach out and grip his forearms with her own, the most intimate comfort she could think of for public areas. But she could tell that in his current state he would lash out, so she settled for stopping two feet away from him,

"Ziver hasn't come out yet, but the doctor says that DiNozzo might not need much more than stitches, surveillance and a lot of painkillers"
Jenny couldn't help but smirk,

"Not much different from his morning after requirements"

"Yeah" he gave her a small grin, "He won't be getting a call from a hot blonde this time though"

It was on the tip of Jenny's tongue to suggest they buy Tony a nude magazine in place of a get-well-soon card before her mind processed the first part of Gibbs sentence,

"Ziva was injured as well?" she gasped, horrified by the thought of making the call to Tel Aviv, in her experience- the less contact with Deputy Director David, the better.

But her fear turned to concern when she saw Gibbs swallow; McGee turn away and Abby bite her lip and looked at her shoes.

"Officer David wasn't injured" Ducky comforted, "Why don't we go speak with Dr Pitt, see if I can't get a look at Anthony's medical chart"

Jenny Sheppard felt her jaw tightening as they left the waiting room and began weaving through the hallway, her teeth were clenched and her eyes narrowed, by the time they had reached the smokers balcony she was in full Director mode,

"Doctor Mallard, would you be so kind as to tell me what exactly I am being kept in the dark about?"

Ducky paused while a middle-aged couple stubbed out their cigarettes and went inside,

"I assure you Jenny that it isn't what it seems…" he began but she brushed him off, running her hand through her pixie cut hair, feeling a mixture of exasperation and delight,

"Really! Because it looks to me like Gibbs rule number twelve is being broken right in front of the team's eyes"

She wasn't prepared for the sadness that flooded her old friend's face,

"No…I'm afraid you are wrong in that regard…much to the dismay of those who care for them"

She took his hand in both of hers, "Tell me Duck"

Earlier that morning

Ziva smiled at the waitress and then headed outside, two glasses in one hand and a jug of water in the other. Four large tables graced the patio outside the café, and she chose the one in the middle, bathing in the sunshine. It was only seven o'clock and she had just finished her three mile run, a light coat of sweat covered her body and her shorts and exercise top stuck to her skin, drawing the admiring glances of the few men around.

She ignored them though, filling the two glasses and drinking greedily from her own, she kept an eye out as she saw a familiar red convertible pull into the parking lot.

Wearing sunglasses and looking as though he'd just fallen out of bed, Anthony DiNozzo yawned as he made his way over to her, dressed head to toe in designer clothes and returning the over-friendly smile thrown to him by the waitress.

"Good morning" Ziva settled onto the wooden bench as he took the space opposite her,

"Oh…" he feigned surprise, "Is that what you call this hour!"

"You look tired" she reached over and removed his glasses, running her thumb along non-existent bags under his eyes,

"Did Macy keep you up all night?"

He scowled and swatted her hand away as she chuckled, taking her half of his newspaper,

"I ordered for both of us" she announced before opening the paper and beginning to read.

Amidst the reports of death, destruction and celebrity divorce, Ziva couldn't help but smile at her latest remark against Tony's taste in women.

Recently he'd 'dated' two women in a row with the same name and Abby had solved the confusing problem for the team by decreeing that henceforth all of Tony's women would be referred to as Macy.

Mentally. Absent. Certainly. Young.

Gibbs had given the title his approval and rewarded Abby with an extra Caf-Pow! Leaving the lab before Palmer could ask the million-dollar question,

"But what happens if he ends up marrying a woman called Macy?"

Abby had thrown him an exasperated but amused glance and Ziva had taken the opportunity to excuse herself, ensuring that she made it to the elevator before losing her composure.

What if Tony ended up marrying anybody, regardless of their name?

He was handsome, playful, compassionate, intelligent, funny and- since his father had died without rewriting his first will- extremely wealthy. He was an eligible bachelor, fair game for almost any woman.

Ziva being the one exception.

It wasn't that she was immune to his attractions; it was that everyone expected her to be. There was an entire world of people out there who considered her and Anthony DiNozzo an incomprehensible pairing, Tony himself had remarked, almost casually, how unlike his usual type she was, how caring so deeply for her went against the careless disregard he had previously shown life and love.

For he did care for her, and she for him, but Ziva knew that she and Tony could never truly be together.

Gibbs, her father, NCIS, Mossad, everything they worked for and believed in would not allow a world where she and Tony could be lovers. So they had compromised, they found a relationship that gave them everything but physical gratification. That way they could avoid breaking the rules and being separated but still safely enjoy their love for one another.

Contemplating their acknowledged but unspoken relationship, Ziva picked at the breakfast she had ordered, wondering what to wear for her date tonight. She had met an accountant last week and been on two dates already,

"Something less sexy than the first two times" Tony advised, snatching some of her breakfast from her,

"If you've made it to the third date you have potential for a relationship and can begin easing into relaxed couple phase, nothing too relaxed though, I hate it when she starts to look like Cousin It from…"

They were interrupted by Tony's phone ringing shrilly, quickly he brought it to his ear,

"DiNozzo here…McGee, don't you know what time it is?! What…okay we'll be there…where else would she be? Later Probie"

"Got a lead" he announced and Ziva leapt to her feet, following Tony as they hurried to his car, their tri-weekly morning ritual in ruins.

"Hatton's killer?" she asked, sliding into the front passenger seat and turning to him,

"Hopefully" he tossed her the duffel bag that he always kept in his backseat. It contained a spare set of his clothes and hers, in case of emergencies.

"I do not even have time to shower" Ziva muttered mutinously,

"You smell fine to me" Tony reassured her as his new car purred to life,

"You are biased" she pointed out as she slipped on a black knit top, he chuckled,

"Yeah…but mine's the only opinion you care about"

She pouted, "True"

Present Time

"Ziver"

Through burning, strained eyes, Ziva looked up to find Gibbs standing over her,

"Go home, get some sleep" he ordered gently and she shook her head,

"Tony has not woken up yet"

She felt his disappointment as he sighed, "It's been six hours David…we'll call you when he wakes up"

"And if he does not?" a lone tear coursed down her cheek, tracking a path to the end of her nose and she wiped it away,

"If Tony dies tonight and I am not here…what then Gibbs?"

He rounded the bed and slipped an arm under her shoulders, pulling her to him in a gentle, comforting hug, kissing the top of her head,

"He's stable Ziver, he's not going anywhere tonight, if he even tries he'll be answering to me. Besides he won't wake up while you're watching him"

"A watched kettle does not boil" she quipped, blinking rapidly to stop more tears escaping her eyes,

"A watched pot never boils" Gibbs corrected gently, "Abby will drive you, go get some sleep,"

She nodded, touching her gun and wallet to ensure they were there. Then, clearing her throat so Gibbs would turn away, she bent over Tony, kissing him above his brow,

"Please do not die Tony," she begged him, "If you die then so will I…and I want to live, so, so much"