A/N: Written December 2008 as a thank-you to iheartGibbs for running the NFA Secret Santa Fic Exchange. It's McGiva. A oneshot with a bit of a plot, some hurt!Tim and some mushy romance at the end. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not now, nor have I ever owned NCIS and I do not now, nor will I ever make money on my fanfiction. ...more's the pity.

Frozen in Time
by Enthusiastic Fish

Tim's green eyes were open wide, so wide, they seemed to be bulging out of his head. He, and all time with him it seemed, was frozen in place, mouth open in a silent scream reminiscent of the famous painting by Edvard Munch. Indeed, had the circumstances not been so dire, it would have been a comical moment. He and Ziva stared at each other, fear on his face, anguish on hers, as the moment lengthened out into infinity. As they stared at each other, it seemed that a wealth of information was communicated in silence, all the things they had wanted to say and never said, all now spoken in silence in a single moment frozen in time...

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

It had begun so simply. Tim and Ziva had gone out to recanvas a crime scene after an anonymous tip had mentioned that they'd missed something important. Not wanting to waste time on what might very well be a crank call, Gibbs had sent Tim and Ziva while he and Tony continued with the original investigation into what had been a simple case of theft. Normally, they weren't called in for such minor incidents...but when the victim happened to be the SecNav, things changed.

"Don't take too long on this," Gibbs had warned.

They hadn't planned on taking too long. A quick once through the house. That was all. However, when they got to the top floor, they had run into someone they didn't recognize from the staff or from the SecNav's family. It had been another moment where they had just stared at each other. Then...

"NCIS," Tim had said, holding up his badge. Ziva had actually starting moving just a second before the man had taken off, but he was too fast and a chase had begun. The man, whoever he was, had been fast. Really fast. Down the steps, out of the house and across the snowy grounds.

Ziva and Tim had taken up the pursuit, not catching up but not being left behind either. Then, the man had entered the trees on the edge of the SecNav's property. They would catch sight and then lose him moment by moment. Abruptly, the trees ended in a small snowy depression. Ziva tripped over a snow-covered log and Tim surged ahead.

"Keep going!" she urged. "I will catch up!"

Needing no encouragement, Tim had continued across the snowy expanse...until he heard a whisper of sound...

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

The knife stuck out of Tim's chest on the right side. Ziva tracked the trajectory and saw the culprit beginning to withdraw once more into the cover of the trees. Immediately, she aimed her gun and fired twice. Then, she ran to where Tim was slowly sinking to the ground. He seemed to be trying to stay upright but was losing that battle. Ziva caught him as he fell and eased his way down. The pain hadn't set in yet. Instead, he stared at her with a mixture of fear and disbelief. How had it changed so fast?

"McGee!" she shouted, not knowing why. Tim was right there. He could hear her, but he seemed to be drifting away. Then, without warning, he arched his back in pain and grabbed onto her with one hand, reaching for the knife with the other.

"No, McGee, leave it there. Do not touch it."

"It hurts," Tim gasped.

"I will help you," Ziva promised and pulled out her phone, quickly dialing 911. Tersely, she gave instructions and information and then hung up. "Stay with me, McGee."

"Not...going anywhere," Tim said, but already his voice was weakening. To her surprise, he suddenly laughed...and with his laugh came a bubble of blood.

"What is so funny?"

"Kind of...the opposite of...how...I pictured it," Tim said, and then caught his breath and almost writhed out of her grip.

"Pictured what?" Ziva asked, trying to keep a hold of him.

Tim's eyes started to close and Ziva shook him.

"Pictured what, McGee?"

"You...and me..." He coughed...and brought up more blood. The knife had obviously penetrated his lung. His breathing was very shallow.

"You and me?" she asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Yeah..." He grinned weakly. "...but I'm supposed...to be holding you...not you holding me."

Ziva laughed in surprise. "You have pictured this?"

"I'll bet...every guy has."

"But you have pictured it?"

"Oh yeah," Tim said, his voice fainter than ever. "A lot."

That timeless moment when they had stared at each other was briefly repeated. Ziva looked at Tim, wondering if this was merely something he was saying because of his injury...but the gaze he fixed on her, while too full of pain to be adoring, seemed to be forging a link between them. In spite of his growing weakness, his grip on her had not ebbed. He was looking only at her...as if she was his lifeline. His green eyes, so fearful were also trusting, trusting that she would stay, that if she had any power over death, she would exercise it just for him.

Then, the moment again passed and Tim's eyes began to drift closed. Afraid now, Ziva held him closer.

"Stay with me, Tim. Please, stay with me," she begged. She was not used to begging. It was foreign to her, but now, she was begging Tim not to leave her. When had this happened? How could one moment have changed so much between them?

A violent shudder rippled through Tim's body and he moaned.

"Look at me, Tim. I want you to look at me. Don't close your eyes. Don't look away. You hear me?"

"I...love to...look at you."

"Now is not the time to flirt," Ziva said, trying to smile.

"It's the perfect time," Tim breathed.

"Just keep looking at me."

"Will do."

It seemed another timeless age before the sirens could be heard and the ambulance arrived...and Tim was still alive. It was hard to tell who was holding whom more tightly. It was hard to tell where one of them ended and the other began. Tim's eyes were still fixed on Ziva, slightly glazed, his breathing shallow but he was still alive.

"Ma'am? Ma'am?"

Ziva did not move her eyes from Tim but she nodded to show she had heard.

"We need to go now."

Again, she nodded. When she spoke, however, she spoke to Tim.

"I have to let you go now, Tim. Do you hear me? Tim?"

"Don't go..." Tim whispered plaintively.

"I will be waiting for you at the hospital. Don't give up. I am not giving up. Okay?"

Tim nodded and his eyes closed.

"Don't leave me, Tim."

With a burst of energy she didn't think he had, Tim suddenly grasped her hand and brought it to his blood-stained lips. He kissed it.

"Not now..." he said and sagged back.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Left alone, Ziva remembered the man they had been chasing. She slowly walked to the place where she had fired her gun. Sure enough, there he was. Her aim had been as good as ever. Again, she pulled out her phone and this time called Gibbs. She remained at the scene only long enough to relate what had happened. Then, she left, not caring about anything other than Tim. That would pass, she knew, the rest of life would reassert its importance, but right now...all that mattered was whether or not Tim survived.

Tim was in surgery when Ziva arrived. With uncharacteristic patience, she sat down in the waiting area, thinking that there were things she could be doing right now that were more important...from a certain perspective, just not from the perspective she currently had.

It was late in the evening when Tim was moved to a room and Ziva was permitted to visit. Others would be coming soon, and she wanted to see him by herself, just for a little while.

She stepped into the room. Tim was sleeping, looking much better than he had with a knife sticking out of his chest. He'd suffered from hemopneumothorax which had collapsed his lung and would have killed him had it been allowed to progress much further. As it was, they had been able to repair his lung and drain the blood from the pleural cavity. He would be fine...or so they said.

Ziva couldn't help thinking that he looked rather...shrunken. Quietly, she walked to the bed and sat down beside him. He didn't move, except to breathe. She sat without speaking and after a few minutes, she reached out and took his hand. It was slightly cold and dry and she cradled it, toying with his fingers, remembering the touch of his lips on her hand just a few hours earlier. In imitation of that surprising gesture, she brought his hand to her own lips and pressed a kiss in the center of his palm, her eyes fixed on his face the whole time. He seemed not to even notice it...at first. Ziva cradled his hand in her own once more.

Then, his hand curled inward, touching her fingers...and his eyes opened. His eyes found hers and he smiled tiredly.

"Hey," he whispered.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like I got stabbed. How about you?"

Ziva smiled. "Like I watched you get stabbed."

"That bad, huh?" He grinned and his eyes fluttered for a moment before opening once more. "I certainly didn't enjoy it."

"Nor did I."

"Do I remember correctly that I flirted with you on my deathbed?"

"I believe that is the case, although since you are currently alive, you were not on your deathbed."

Tim smiled and then winced. "How bad was it?"

"As bad as it could have been without you actually dying."

Tim nodded. "That feels about right. I'm going to be okay?"

"Your doctor says so."

Tim's eyes didn't leave hers. They were locked on each other as they had been before.

"Did you enjoy the flirting?" he asked.

Ziva's smile was much brighter. "I do believe I did."

Tim's smile also widened. "You believe?"

"I know. Is that all right with you?" she challenged.

"Yes. I believe it is." Tim grinned and winced again.

"You believe?"

"I know. I wasn't lying. I love looking at you."

"You should do it more often."

"Gladly."

Ziva leaned in a little closer but then, the door opened and everyone else spilled into the room, all exclaiming about Tim's injuries and the fact that he was already awake. Tim smiled at Ziva and allowed himself to be fussed over. Perhaps only Gibbs noticed that look that passed between them.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Two weeks later...

Tim pulled up to his apartment after his followup appointment and was surprised to see Ziva sitting on the steps. He walked over and sat beside her. Neither of them spoke. They didn't even touch. It was just a moment...

Then, Ziva held out her hand. Tim took it and brought it, palm up, to his lips. He kissed it gently and then held it lightly, ready to let her go if she wanted only that much.

She didn't. Her hand tightened around his.

"What now?" she asked.

"Depends."

"On what?"

"On what you want to do."

"Why on me?"

"Because you can kill me 18 different ways with only a paperclip. I don't have that ability," Tim said, smiling.

Ziva smiled as well. "Point taken."

"So?"

"So...I want...to know what you want."

"I already told you what I want."

"You still feel that way?"

"Yeah."

"As do I."

"When did that happen?"

"I do not know exactly. It would not be love at first sight, would it?"

"I doubt it."

"Good, because that is silly."

"Yeah, it is. Kind of nice though."

They still weren't really looking at each other.

"Yes."

"What do you want?"

"I would like to reverse the positions."

That took a moment to decipher, but it when was, Tim smiled.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Here?"

"Why not?"

Tim shrugged and then released her hand and scooted closer. Carefully, he wrapped his arms around her. There was a moment of awkward tension and then she relaxed back against him. He tightened his grip. They sat quietly for a few minutes.

"I like this," Ziva said, softly.

"So do I."

"You are not disappointed?"

"Nope. Never."

"There is only one thing missing."

"What?"

"I cannot see your face," Ziva said and pulled away. She turned toward him and looked deeply into his eyes, repeating that first moment. They stared at each other, frozen in time, both smiling slightly, both slightly nervous at what they were attempting. To Ziva's surprise Tim was the first to move in. He moved slowly, to be sure, but he moved. She didn't pull back. Instead, she met him halfway...

A perfect moment...frozen in time.

FINIS!