Ziva smoothed her hair back away from her face, pasted on a smile for the world to see, and then exited the hospital emergency cubicle. She was worried about Gibbs, but didn't want the rest of the team to glimpse the depth of her concern. Not that any of them would come even close to recognizing the reason for it, even if they were to witness said emotion. Her phony smile transformed into a sincere one when she saw Tony, Tim and Abby in the waiting room.
"…getting accustomed to the sludge they call coffee," Ziva heard Tony finish his sentence, as she walked up behind the group.
"Ziva!" Abby exclaimed, rushing to give her a huge hug. Ziva smiled. Abby was nothing if not consistent; and in this case, happy to see her. "How's Gibbs?" Abby continued. "They haven't let us in to see him yet. All we know is that he was injured, and…" Abby's voice broke in genuine concern for her boss.
"He will be fine, Abby," Ziva assured her. She turned her attention to the two men beside her who were uncharacteristically silent. "Have you even gotten to leave the hospital?" she asked curiously.
"No such luck," Tony answered. "We sent the rest of the evidence back with Ducky and Jimmy." He gave Abby a long look. "Abby SHOULD be working on…"
"Don't start with me, Tony!" Abby interrupted him, her nerves on edge. "You know I won't be able to work until I know he is okay. And Director Shepard gave me express permission."
"That isn't going to keep the FBI from getting a head-start on the investigation," Tony pointed out.
"Leave her alone," McGee interrupted. "You would do the same thing in her shoes. And it's not like Al-Fulani is going anywhere."
Ziva watched as her three coworkers bickered. She knew this was one of the ways they were coping with the situation at hand, but she couldn't bring herself to join. She made her way to the side of the group, sat in silence and waited for permission to see Gibbs.
---
They rose as a single unit when the doctor emerged from the area into which Gibbs had been taken. His eyes met theirs, and he gave them an encouraging smile.
"How is he?" Abby asked, her voice shaking a little.
"He's fine," the doctor said. "He lost a lot of blood and has a concussion. He's considerably weak, but alert. We're going to keep him overnight for observation."
The group gave a collective sigh of relief at the news. McGee immediately grabbed his phone to report back to Ducky and Director Shepard. Abby grabbed Tony and pulled him into a crushing hug.
"Can we see him?" Ziva asked. The doctor smiled in return.
"He's already asking for you," he responded with another winning smile. "He is currently being moved to a private room for the night. I'll have someone notify you when he is settled."
"Thank you," they answered, again in unison. The doctor walked away with a grin on his face.
---
"You riding with us, Zee-vah?" Tony asked, as the team began to make their exit. Now that they had been able to visit with the bossman, they had been given direct orders to get back to work and wrap up the case.
"I am going to stay here," Ziva announced, much to the surprise of the others. Seeing their shocked expressions, she continued. "We started this together, and we are going to finish it together. I will leave when Gibbs does." The expression on her face left no room for argument. "You can survive without me, yes?" she asked Tony with a smirk.
"I think we can manage," McGee answered with an understanding smile, physically steering Abby out of the room.
"Why should Ziva get to stay?" Abby asked, in a near pout.
"We have work to do Abs," Tony reminded her.
"But…" she continued to argue with them as they led her from the building. Ziva could hear Tony's insistent tones, and smiled. She had grown to love NCIS, her team and her friends. And she certainly understood Abby's position; she knew she wouldn't like it if she were the once being forced to work while Abby stayed with Gibbs.
---
"I thought I sent you back to work," Gibbs said in mock-complaint when Ziva reentered the hospital room.
"Making sure you do not cut the heads off the nurses IS work," she joked.
"I think you mean ‘bite' their heads off, and I'm not that bad," he countered. She gave him a skeptical look.
"Shall I take a survey?" she offered. He chuckled.
"I wouldn't be so bad if they had real coffee around here," he added.
"That seems to be the consensus. Tony was just complaining about the same thing," she said, settling into the chair next to his bed. "Besides, are you allowed to have coffee?" she questioned.
"What they don't know won't hurt them," Gibbs explained in his most conspiratorial tone. She laughed.
"I'll see what I can do," she answered, and began to rise from the chair. His hand reached out and grabbed her wrist.
"Wait," he said. "Don't go."
"Okay," Ziva agreed with a smile, and sat back down. She noticed he had not yet released her hand, and the subsequent sensation she was feeling as a direct result of the gesture was causing her no small amount of discomfort mixed with excitement.
"Thank you," he said simply.
At Ziva's confused look, he continued. "For saving me."
"For saving you back," she corrected. "I have never had the opportunity to repay you for your help last year. When you had retired," her voice broke remembering the situation she was in and how he came back for her. "Besides, I was doing my job."
"I will always come back for you, Ziva," Gibbs said sincerely. "No matter where I am; no matter what you need," he promised. Tears were now slowly streaming down Ziva's face as she met Gibbs' gaze.
"Thank you, Jethro," she said softly, wiping the tears from her cheeks with her free hand. She smiled at him. He smiled in return.
"Why do you never call me that?" he asked. "You did once," he corrected himself, "but not since."
"You are my boss. It isn't respectful. When I called you that before, you were no longer my boss," she explained.
"But you could call me that when we aren't working," he suggested.
"It would still not be appropriate," she hedged.
"Is Director Shepard your boss?" Gibbs asked her with a smirk.
"Yes," Ziva answered with a smile, already seeing the point he was about to make.
"And what do you call her after hours?" he asked.
"Jenny," she admitted.
"So, there we have it," he stated. "You aren't comfortable enough with me to call me by my first name."
She blushed. "I'd like to change that," she said in a near-whisper. Ziva held her breath as she awaited his response.
"Me too," Gibbs said quietly, as he began to gently trace random shaped on the palm of her hand with his thumb. Ziva closed her eyes and tried to focus on keeping her mind in the conversation, but the feelings his innocent caresses were causing her kept rendering her incapable of rational thought. When she opened her eyes, his were staring back; his pupils were dilated and the blue of his eyes had darkened with intensity. Her body reacted in response to his interest, and she sighed in frustration.
"What about rule number twelve?" she asked.
"We'll figure something out," he answered with a smirk.
THE END
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