Abby had finally agreed to let McGee take her to the hospital to visit Ziva. It had been two days since Ziva had been shot and Abby was the only one who hadn't visited her.
"Gibbs said that she's still unconscious McGee," said Abby.
"She is Abbs but it's alright. Maybe you'll be the one to wake her up," replied McGee.
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"Hey Tony," whispered Abby an hour later.
"Has she woken up yet?" asked Tony. He sounded like he had been crying and looked like he hadn't gotten any sleep.
"No."
Tony let Abby hug him before he sat on the edge of Ziva's bed. He lifted Ziva's hand as Abby left the room. As Tony started to cry, he felt a small movement in his hand. He looked up to see Ziva turn her head slightly. Tony leaned forward and planted a kiss on Ziva's cheek. Ziva turned her head again and opened her eyes.
Tony immediately called for Ziva's doctor. A couple of minutes later, Dr Smith came into the room. He removed the tube from Ziva's throat and placed a tube under her nose. He checked Ziva and re-dressed the gunshot wound before leaving.
"Thank god Ziva. I was so scared. I love you Ziva, I love you so much and I don't want to spend another second without you," said Tony.
Ziva smiled at Tony and grabbed his hand. She told Tony that she loved him too before closing her eyes.
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"Guys, I have good news. Ziva's awake. She's still critical but her doctor is hopeful that she'll make a quick recovery," said Gibbs.
"YAY!" screamed Abby.
McGee hugged Abby and then went to pick up his ringing phone.
"Boss, dead marine at the Washington Monument," said McGee. "MO matches the four victims from last week. No eyes or lips."
"Okay, I'm going to visit Ziva. I'll get Tony to meet you there," said Gibbs.
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"Hey McGee," said Tony.
"Hey," replied McGee as Tony bent down next to him. McGee looked at Tony. He was exhausted. "Same as last week. One victim without eyes or lips. How's Ziva? Gibbs said she's awake but still critical."
"Yeah, she is. But she's talking and the doctor said that she may have trouble doing that. She's healing faster than anyone thought."
"Have you told her yet?"
"Told her what?"
"How you feel."
"Yeah, I did. And guess what? She loves me too!" Tony's face had lit up as soon as Ziva had become the conversation topic.
"That's good Tony. Are you going back to the hospital today?"
"A bit later. I'm going to go home and change first. You think Ziva will want a nice meal tonight? I was thinking of making lasagne or cannelloni."
"I think that she would love anything you bring her Tony, home-cooked or not."
"I'll make lasagne. Gibbs is making me go home after I help you here."
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"Hey sweetie," said Tony when he walked into Ziva's room.
"Hi," whispered Ziva sleepily.
"Are you hungry?"
"A little, why?"
"I brought some lasagne for us. I made it myself."
"Sounds yummy."
Tony put the food and a bag on the table next to Ziva's bed and then helped Ziva sit up. He put another pillow behind her back before kissing her.
Tony then pulled two plates, two forks and two knives out of the bag and placed them on the table. He put lasagne on the plates and the two agents ate together in silence.
After dinner, Tony packed up their dishes and kissed Ziva again.
"I love you Ziva," said Tony.
"I love you too Tony," replied Ziva.
A knock on the door interrupted their conversation. Ziva looked up and smiled at her doctor.
"How are you feeling Ziva?" asked Dr Smith.
"Alright. Tony is a huge help," replied Ziva.
"I can tell. I'm glad you're happy Ziva. Have you eaten anything yet?"
"Tony made yummy lasagne."
"That's wonderful. Are you in any pain?"
"No. For some reason, whenever Tony is around, I feel like a little girl with her first boyfriend."
Dr Smith smiled at Ziva and then left. He knew that Tony would not let Ziva struggle with pain if he knew about it.
"You really liked the lasagne Ziva?" asked Tony.
"Of course I did. You made it after all. I always love the food you make, which is probably why it's always gone before anything else," replied Ziva.
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