22/9/09
Dear diary,
Today, I was rescued by the NCIS agents that I had been working with. It seems that they missed me. Tony said that he had originally intended to get revenge on Saleem for my murder but he had been happy to see me alive and relatively well. I wasn't counting on feeling happiness and relief at seeing my former partner. I was finally going to be safe after three months of torture.
My feelings of hope were quickly shot down when Saleem put his knife at my throat and said that either Tony or I would have to tell him what he wanted to know and that the other would die. He left us alone for five minutes and I immediately told Tony that he should tell Saleem what he wants to know because I am ready to die.
Tony hated this idea and that's when he told me about his plan. Gibbs was waiting about one hundred yards away, with his gun ready to shoot Saleem. I knew he wouldn't miss. He had, after all, been a marine sniper.
When Saleem came back in, he looked out the window and then put his knife back at my throat. He pressed harder this time and I felt the point. It was about to cut my throat. It was at that point that I realised that I didn't want to die. I wanted to live and return to NCIS.
Tony had then asked Saleem where he was going. Saleem's answer was that they were leaving but they weren't taking prisoners. They were going to leave them to die. Tony had then proceeded to tell Saleem about himself. He was the 'wild card', the one who refused to accept reality when he was in danger.
Saleem had sneered at Tony when Tony had told him that he had thirty seconds to live. But, after thirty seconds, Saleem was lying on the floor, a bullet hole in his head. McGee had hopped up at this point and untied Tony.
While he was being untied, Tony had asked me if I could fight. I wasn't sure what he meant but I said no anyway. I didn't have any strength. I could barely walk without help. Tony walked over with McGee once he was free and they each helped me stand up.
After walking for a few minutes, we saw Gibbs come around the corner. He was wearing a camouflage suit and carrying a sniper's rifle. He was smiling. Gibbs walked up to us and handed his gun to McGee. The next thing I knew, Gibbs had picked me up and was holding me in his arms. I rested my head against his chest and closed my eyes.
I didn't realise I had fallen asleep until Gibbs gently put me into a seat and woke me up. I opened my eyes and realised I was on a plane. I figured that we were heading back to Washington DC. Gibbs asked me if I was injured but I couldn't answer him. I wasn't sure. When I looked up again, I saw a doctor. He was checking McGee's head. After a few minutes, he walked over to me and sat down. Gibbs had moved to another seat to give me some space.
The doctor introduced himself as Andy and asked me if it was okay for him to check me. I said that it was okay. Andy opened a bag and pulled out a stethoscope. He checked my breathing and listened to my heart beat. He then pulled out a leather blood pressure cuff and checked my blood pressure. He checked my pulse and determined that everything was okay so far.
Andy then gently checked my head. He found that there was a small cut just under my hair. After checking over the rest of my head, he cleaned the cut and put a small butterfly stitch over it. He then checked me for any other injuries but found none. Andy determined that I just needed some rest and a few proper meals.
Eighteen hours later, we arrived in DC and found a car waiting for us. We piled in and were taken to NCIS HQ. We took the elevator up to the third floor and were met with applause from what looked like the entire third floor of agents.
I was reluctant to step out of the elevator. I felt weird but I followed Gibbs. Abby was the first person to rush over to me and hug me. She was sobbing. It was obvious that she had missed me. The next person to hug me was Ducky and he was followed by Palmer. I had missed all of these people but I still wasn't sure of myself. I decided to wait a few days before I went to Vance and asked for my job back.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Ziva's thoughts after she is rescued from Saleem Ulman's camp in Somalia.