A/N: So…this was originally a one-shot, but it managed to morph into a two-shot. So I hope you enjoy the second part because my favorite 2 lines that I have ever written are in this chapter. Leave your thoughts at the door in the form of a review.

Disclaimer: Nope, can't say that I own it. College won't allow it.

Gibbs knows something is different when she walks in the next day. He's the boss he's supposed to notice these things. She greets him and boots up her computer a subtle smile on her features. She looks rested and oddly content. He idly wonders who she talked to. Oh, he has a few ideas, three to be exact; him, Ducky, or Dinozzo, not necessarily in that order.

He knows who she talked to the minute he walks through the elevator doors. The man looks like he has been to hell and back. Dinozzo greets Ziva throwing her a fake smile. Tony nods to Gibbs next before settling at his desk. She stares at her partner for a few seconds pen in hand. Her pen finds the paper again sooner than Gibbs expected it too. Thankfully, she is too absorbed in her work to notice how different Dinozzo actually is.

"Dinozzo, Abby's lab," he commands and heads toward the elevator.

"On your six, Boss," the younger man says and soon joins him. Gibbs hits the emergency stop button and Tony turns looks at him. Tony isn't stupid, Gibbs knows that. So he does what he does best. He makes a statement a question.

"She talked to you?"

"Yeah, she talked," his senior agent concedes. He stands waiting for the rest of the conversation. He knows he won't have to pry to get his answers. Tony will tell him simply because he has no one else to tell.

"You know what they did to her boss? If he wasn't dead I'd kill him again, this time slowly," Tony says as he runs his fingers through his hair. The haunted look the younger man gives him is enough to make him clench his teeth. Tony is blaming himself for something he had nothing to do with. He might have been the catalyst that sent her spiraling, but she was the same for him. Their lives had always been woven together performing an intricate dance that no one knows the steps to except them. If someone tries to cut in everything falls apart in a burning inferno of hate and denial. There is nothing they can do to prevent it anymore, no matter how hard they try.

"Go home, Dinozzo," he tells his Senior Agent. He can't begin to imagine what Dinozzo is feeling. Whatever it is won't be useful at work today.

"I can't, Boss. I can't…" Tony says as his voice drifts off. He nods his head, understanding why Tony needs to stay. On some primal level he has to be near her just to make sure she is alive, to make sure his imagination isn't reality. It is the Alpha male characteristic they both share. Protect those you care about. In Tony's mind there is no one who needs protection more. He sighs and hits the button to start the elevator again.

"Take tomorrow off, Dinozzo, no argument," he says as he steps off the elevator.

"Yes, Boss," the younger man answers.

"Gibbs, where is Tony?" she asks him the next day. He can hardly believe she waited until lunch to ask him. Once the work day started she began her usual agitation rituals. One sure sign being the amount of time she spent at the filing cabinet next to her partner's desk. There is a difference between silent and subtle. Ziva does not know the meaning of the latter.

"Home, Ziva, he took the day off," he tells her calmly.

"He did not tell me," she looks at him expectantly, "is he sick?"

"Don't know, Ziva" he says honestly. He really doesn't know with how Dinozzo looked yesterday. For all he knows Dinozzo might as well be sick.

"May I have the rest of the day off? We do not have a case," she reasons too quickly.

"Go. Rule number 12," he adds the last part awaiting her reaction. She has been instigating more and more between the partners recently. He wants to see how far she is willing to go. He knows she doesn't want to defy him, but he can tell it is harder and harder for her to stay away from her partner. It appears that their dance is ending its circling and beginning to come together.

She moves to stand in front of him arms crossed and anger in her eyes. They stare at each other for a few seconds before she slams her hands down on his desk. He doesn't jump having already expected her movement. He knows the entire bullpen heard it, but she doesn't seem to care. He feels their eyes watching the entertainment for the day. McGee sensibly leaves the instant her hands make contact with Gibbs' desk.

"Rule 12, rule 12, rule 12: it is all I hear. You wanted me to talk to someone, Gibbs. I talked and now he is at home because I talked. To hell with rule 12, Gibbs," she spits at him before walking away. He is not surprised at her outburst. He brought it upon himself.

"Ziva!" he says loud enough to get her attention from across the room. She stops at the elevator only because she has to.

"Rule 51," he tells her.

"What?" she asks finally exasperated with the situation.

"Rule 51, Sometimes you're wrong," he explains cautiously.

"Are you saying I am wrong Gibbs?" she asks him barely leashing her anger.

"No, Ziva I am saying that sometimes the rules are wrong. Don't screw it up," he states. She stares at him in shock. The elevator dings signaling its arrival. Before she can step onto it he gives her a kiss on the cheek not caring who sees. It's his way of reassuring her that both she and Dinozzo will have a job tomorrow morning.

She knocks on his door a mere twenty minutes later. The drive should take twice that much time. He opens the door with a fake smile plastered on his face. She sees right through it. It worries her that he feels the need to cover up his obvious distress. The look in his eyes frightens her. That is something she never wants to admit. She sighs in order to give herself a minute to regain her composure.

"How are you Tony?" she asks him as she enters the apartment.

"I'm fine Ziva, fine, just taking a movie day," he attempts to joke.

"Except there is no movie on." she tells him. To support her claim she points to the blank T.V. screen.

He mumbles incoherently about something that sounds like "women" and she suppresses a smile. He is still coherent enough to joke. That gives her hope. She doesn't want to lose him after telling him of the horrors she has seen. Not talking has been the only way she's ever known how to protect those around her.

"What is wrong, Tony?" she asks him again.

"Nothing Ziva, ok? Nothing," he says unconvincingly.

He plops down on the couch and sighs again knowing instinctively she doesn't believe him. She walks over to him and sits at the other end, content to keep the distance. Two nights ago she fell asleep in his arms. It doesn't matter that all she wants to do was get back there; she had to figure out what is wrong with Tony first.

"What is wrong, Tony?" she asks softly this time. A pleading lilt finds its way into her voice. She wants to reassure him the same way he did for her two nights ago. She told him everything that night and he hadn't pushed her to talk. He had just held her, and woke up with a sore back from sleeping in a sitting position. He had allowed her to use his lap as a pillow for the entire night.

"Everything, Ziva," he finally admits and stands. She follows his movements. He starts by circling the kitchen. His eyes take on the look of a caged animal before he walks back into the living room. He approaches the only spot on the wall that does not have anything hanging around it. He curls his hand into a fist at his side. It never uncurls even after it makes contact with the wall leaving a hole in the drywall.

"Tony!" she yells and grabs his arm pulling it down to his side. He attempts to shake her off, but she doesn't let go. It is not an option. His knuckles are swelling. She taps each one along with each of his fingers. He doesn't flinch. She breathes a sigh of relief knowing that he hasn't broken anything.

"My mind won't let it go, Ziva. I see him beating you. I see him torturing you. I see him and you..." he ends there unable to finish the sentence.

"I have moved on, Tony," she tells him her hands coming to rest on his shoulders. She begins to move her thumbs in soothing circles until his muscles begin to relax. He growls when she tries to lead him away from the wall. Finally, she places herself in between him and the wall. This forces him to take a step back.

"Ziva…"

"Healing is a process, Tony. It is a long process and people play a role in that process. Once that role has been formed and started it cannot be reversed," she tells him slowly.

"Roles in healing?" he questions. She tries to think of a way to explain it to him. "Abby is the hugger, McGee the goof that will always listen, Ducky the one to get advice from, and Gibbs is the one to run to in the middle of the night," she admits

He nods; he knows that each member of the team fulfills those roles perfectly. "Looks like you have this whole thing figured out," he says. She notices he seems comforted by the fact that she had people to rely on during the hardest time of her life. It bothers her slightly that he doesn't care that his name wasn't mentioned.

"There is one more, Tony," she says nervously. She finds the carpet extraordinarily interesting.

"Who?" he says generally confused.

"The hero, the savior, the one that comes no matter what the circumstance. The one that will drop anything and everything when the time calls for it. He waits in the shadows refusing to take the glory," she states and looks him in the eye at the end of her speech.

"He sounds amazing," Tony admits.

"He is," Ziva concedes

"So when do I get to meet this guy?" Tony asks generally curious.

"I just saw him 2 nights ago Tony. I do not know when he will return," she says playfully. His eyes light up with recognition and he smiles. Tentatively, he touches his fingers to her hand. She smiles back at him. He lets her guide him back to the couch in the middle of the room. Somehow, she manages to have him sit on the side farthest away from anything breakable.

"The hero, huh? When did I get that role?" he asks. She sees how serious he is when she looks into his eyes.

"The day you sat across from me in Somalia. You sealed it the day you forgave me. Most times you are my partner, but some days you are my savior," she says easily.

"I'm not sure you want to give me that role," Tony whispers. His usual confidence is gone the moment he realizes that he is someone else's savior.

"It is too late, Tony. Once you are in a role you cannot be removed or replaced. You chose the role and I think you have done well in it. I would not want anyone else," she tells him sincerely.

He looks over at her and smiles. "So why did you come talk to me? You said yourself that McGee is the one that listens and Gibbs you can go to any time," he asks.

"Because I trust you Tony, more than you know," she answers. Thankfully, he accepts the answer without questioning her further. She leans toward him slightly and begins to drift off to sleep. He wakes her when she feels his lips on her forehead. She moves to look at him unsure of what to do next.

She places hesitant a kiss to his cheek. He responds by placing one on her lips. It is short and sweet and reassuring. She settles back into the position she was in two nights ago and he begins to stroke her hair.

"Once a hero, always a hero," she murmurs in her drowsy state. He grins and makes himself comfortable on the couch. His back will hurt in a few hours, but right now that doesn't matter. She is drifting off to sleep and he has done something he never thought he would. Tony Dinozzo the heartbreaker, womanizer, and general pain in the ass has done something incredible. He is so used to breaking things he never actually thought he could help someone heal. Tony Dinozzo has helped to fix someone, and he is so glad that it was her.