Tony sat at his desk in the bullpen at NCIS in the early morning hours. He had spent the night thinking of how much detail he was going to give the team regarding Ziva's resignation. He had been weighing just telling them that she had resigned, period, end of story, or telling them the whole truth. Tony had come to the conclusion that they were a team, his team now, and they deserved to know the whole story.
He was still having trouble wrapping his mind around the fact that Ari had been Ziva's brother. Ari had murdered Kate. If he closed his eyes he still feel her blood on his face and see her lifeless eyes staring up at him with a glaring hole in the middle of her forehead. It was an image forever embedded in his mind and Ari was the cause. He had loved Kate; not in a romantic way, but like a sister. Kate's death had been hard on them all. Then Ziva had joined the team and things had begun to look up. She hadn't replaced Kate, that could never happen, but she had begun the fill the painful void left in the wake of her death.
It just didn't make sense. Ziva had been with the team for a year. She'd had ample time and opportunity to take out Gibbs and anyone else on the team if she had wanted to. Tony didn't want to believe that she had joined the team to seek revenge for brother's death, but what other explanation could there be for not telling them about Ari?
Tony heard the soft ding of the elevator letting him know someone had arrived. He looked up to see McGee enter the bullpen and make his way to his desk.
"Good morning, Tony. You're here pretty early." McGee said as he sat down and turned on his computer.
"Morning, Probie. I need you to round up the rest of the team, and get them up here ASAP."
"What for? Is something wrong?" McGee questioned.
"Don't ask questions, McGee. Just do it. Now." Was Tony's curt reply.
McGee swallowed. "Yes, Boss." And went off to gather Abby, Ducky and Palmer.
10 minutes later the team was assembled, anxiously waiting to hear what Tony had gathered them all here for. After the events that had taken place the last couple of day, they were nervous.
Tony stood up and walked over to the team who had assembled on and around McGee's desk.
"Alright people, the reason I have assembled you all here this morning is to-"
"Wait, Tony. Aren't you going to wait for Ziva?" McGee interrupted him.
Tony just shot him and look and continued.
"As I was saying, the reason I have gathered you here this morning is to inform you that Officer David has resigned from our team and I have accepted her resignation."
This news was met with gasps and looks of disbelief from his team.
"I must say I'm rather shocked. Whatever could have caused her to make such a decision, Anthony?" Ducky questioned.
"It's my fault, isn't it? I told her she didn't care about Gibbs and I slapped her. She left because of me." Abby said with tears in her eyes.
McGee walked around his desk and wrapped his arms around her and she buried her face in his neck.
"No, Abs. It had nothing to do with you, and you might have been right about her not caring about Gibbs."
"Tony what are you talking about? Of course Ziva cared about Gibbs. She helped him to remember and brought him back here." Said McGee.
"Ari was Ziva's brother. I went to her place last night to ask how she helped Gibbs to remember and found a picture of her and Ari together. When I confronted her about it, she couldn't give me an explanation as to why she had never told us. It is my belief that she joined our team to get close to Gibbs to seek revenge for Ari's death. When faced with the truth, she resigned and I accepted."
"Ari was her brother? I can't believe it. You really think she wanted to kill Gibbs? If she did, why didn't she? She's had plenty of chances." McGee couldn't believe what Tony had just told them.
"I don't know, Probie, but if that wasn't her plan, why didn't she ever tell us about Ari? And why did she resign? That's the end of this meeting. Everyone back to work."
As the group started to disassemble the phone on Ziva's desk began to ring. Tony looked at it, but decided to ignore it. It stopped ringing and Tony went back to his desk. He had no sooner seated himself than it began to ring again. Tony continued to ignore it. Again the ringing stopped for a moment, only to begin again, almost immediately. He finally lost his patience and got up to answer it.
"What!" He yelled into the receiver.
For a moment there was only silence and he thought he caller had hung up again. But then he heard a low, raspy voice come over the line.
"We know it was you. We know you killed Ari and now we are going to kill you. You cannot hide. We'll find you wherever you go. Soon, very soon." And with those parting words the caller hung up.
"Who was it, Tony? What did they want?" The look on Tony's face was making McGee nervous. Something was definitely wrong.
"The Boss," was Tony's only reply.
"McGee! Get me Mike Frank's number, now. We've got to get in touch with Gibbs. That was Hamas. They know he killed Ari and they're going to try to kill him."
McGee began typing frantically on his computer while Tony called down to Abby in her lab.
"Abby, I need a trace on Ziva's phone here in the office immediately. If it rings again, I want to know where the call is coming from." With that he hung up and walked over to McGee who had begun printing out a paper with Mike Frank's number on it. Tony grabbed the paper, pulled out his cell phone and began dialing. He wasn't taking any chances with the phones here in the office.
A moment later Tony heard the gruff voice of Mike Franks come on the line.
"Yeah, whaddya want?"
"Special Agent Franks? This is Special Agent Tony DiNozzo. I need to speak with Gibbs. It's an emergency."
Tony could hear the sound of static as the phone was handed over to Gibbs.
"What is it, DiNozzo? Have you gotten the team in trouble already?" Said Gibbs.
"No, Boss. The team's fine. It's you that's in trouble. Hamas just called Ziva's phone and said they knew you killed Ari and they were going to kill you."
"What? Let me talk to Ziva." Gibbs sounded alarmed and that worried Tony even more. If Gibbs was alarmed then this was really serious.
"She's not here, Boss. But, it doesn't matter. You're the one in danger." Tony replied.
"What do you mean she's not there? Where the hell is she, DiNozzo?" Gibbs demanded.
"She's no longer a part of the team. She resigned last night."
"What! You find her now, DiNozzo. I don't know what you said or did to make her quit, but you'd better fix it. I'm coming back there. I want Ziva at NCIS immediately, do not let her leave. Am I clear, Tony?" Gibbs was yelling now and Tony had to hold the phone away from his ear.
"Boss, you don't understand, she-" Tony tried to explain about Ari.
"I said, am I clear, DiNozzo?" By this point Tony had sat the phone down on the desk. Gibbs was coming through loud and clear.
"Yes, Boss. On it, Boss." He heard a click and the call ended.
"You heard him, McGee. We're going to Ziva's apartment to bring her here." Tony directed McGee and they both grabbed their backpacks and headed for the elevators.
Twenty minutes later they were stepping off of the elevator at Ziva's building. As they walked down the hall, Tony noticed that her apartment door was cracked open. He pulled out his gun and McGee followed suit. They moved silently down the hall each taking a position on either side of Ziva's door. Tony looked at McGee who nodded at him. At his signal, Tony kicked the door wide open and went in with his gun drawn.
McGee followed behind him and they quickly made their way through the apartment checking each room, then yelling, "Clear!" until they found themselves back in the living room.
The apartment had been ransacked. Furniture was overturned, there was broken glass everywhere. Pictures were hanging sideways on the walls and there was a fist sized hole in one. Tony spotted a puddle of blood on the floor and went to inspect it. Ziva was nowhere to be found and he was getting worried. Why had Gibbs been so angry with him about Ziva and adamant that he find her and keep her at NCIS? He was starting to get a bad feeling in his gut.
"McGee, I want you to go talk to the neighbors. Find out if anyone saw or heard anything. I'll start processing this scene. When you've finished, get back here and help me." Tony ordered.
"On it." McGee started to walk towards the door, but paused and turned back to face Tony.
"Do you think she's ok, Tony? That's a lot of blood. What if it's hers?" McGee sounded worried.
"Come on, Probie, this is Ziva we're talking about. She's got stealth Ninja moves. Do you think she would just let someone waltz in here and get the best of her?" Tony tried to calm McGee's fears.
"You're right. It is Ziva. I'm sure she's fine." McGee smiled and walked out the door to get started on interviewing the neighbors.
Tony had tried to act as though he wasn't worried about Ziva for McGee's sake, but his gut was telling him he should be very worried.
The next morning team was once again assembled back in the bullpen waiting for Gibbs. They had spent the night searching for Ziva with no luck. Tony had a bad feeling Gibbs was going to do more than smack him on the back of the head when he realized they hadn't found Ziva yet.
They heard the elevator doors open and all turned to watch Gibbs coming their way with an angry look on his face. Abby ran to him and gave him a hug.
"Gibbs! I'm so glad you're here. I've missed you. Don't ever leave us again. Do you understand me?" She demanded in the way that only Abby could without getting slapped or worse.
"I've missed you too, Abs." Gibbs briefly returned her hug before gently moving her to the side and turning towards Tony.
"Where's Ziva?" He asked.
"We spent the night looking for her, Boss. McGee and I went to her place, but she wasn't there. There were signs of a struggle and we found blood on the carpet." Tony explained.
"Don't worry, Gibbs. It wasn't hers. I tested it." Abby piped up.
"She hasn't used her ATM or credit cards to make any purchases. Her cell phone has also been turned off, but I'm keeping a trace on it. If she turns it on to use it, we'll find her." McGee contributed.
"What happened, Tony? Why did she quit?" Gibbs turned a dark look on Tony.
"I went to see her and ask how she got you to remember and I found a picture of Ari. None of knew it, but Ari was her brother. I couldn't believe she had fooled us all for so long. I confronted her about it and she couldn't explain it to me. We argued and she resigned. I accepted her resignation; I think she joined the team to try to kill you. I didn't want someone we couldn't trust on our team." Tony replied.
Instead of seeing a look of shock on Gibbs' face, Tony just saw more anger.
"Damn it. You don't know what the hell you're talking about! Yes, Ari was Ziva's brother and yes, I knew it. You've screwed up royally this time. I didn't kill Ari." Said Gibbs.
"Boss, what are you talking about? The report clearly says you killed Ari. If you didn't kill him, then who did?" McGee was confused.
"Ziva killed Ari! She killed her own brother to save my life and then this is how you repay her? Did you even give her a chance to explain? We kept it out of the report to protect Ziva. That is why she joined our team. She killed a member of Hamas. If they had found out, they would have come after her. Do you have any idea what you've done? That phone call wasn't meant for me. It was for Ziva. They're after her and they may have already found her, damn it!" Gibbs was furious.
"Boss, in my defense, she didn't tell me. Why didn't she tell me?" Tony questioned.
"Damn it, DiNozzo, she shouldn't have had to. Her co-workers, her teammates, her friends should have trusted her, as well as me. Do you have such little faith in my judgment that you think I would allow someone to join this team, to back you up in the field, if I thought she was a threat to any of you? Do you!" Gibbs slammed his fist down on Tony's desk.
"No, Boss. Tony hung his head. He hadn't been thinking. He had been so angry.
"It's ok, DiNozzo. It's not your fault. We just have to find her. She's in real danger with Hamas after her. You're all exhausted. Go home, get some sleep and meet me back here in six hours. I'll see what I can find out while you're gone." Gibbs sighed and rubbed his hands over his face.
Gibbs could tell they were about to object.
"You can't do Ziva any good if you're too tired to think straight. Go home, it's an order." He barked.
McGee gathered his things and walked towards the elevator with Abby and Ducky. Tony slung his backpack over his shoulder and made his way over to Gibbs who sat behind his old desk. "I'm really sorry, Boss. I should have trusted you and Ziva."
"I know, Tony. I know. We'll find her. Now go home and get some rest. You're going to need it." Gibbs replied.
15 minutes later Tony walked into his apartment. Gibbs was right, he needed to rest; he was utterly exhausted. He felt so guilty about the way he had treated Ziva and the things he had said. He kept picturing the pain in her eyes when she gave him her gun and badge and he could feel the kiss she had placed upon his cheek. If only he hadn't been such a jerk, she would be safe at NCIS.
As Tony stepped into the apartment, what he saw stopped him in his tracks. There curled up on the couch was Ziva's sleeping form. He dropped his bag.
"Ziva?" He said.
She stirred and looked up at him with sad eyes.
"Hi Tony." Was all she said.
Tony could tell she had had a long night. He assumed she had picked his lock searching for a safe place to stay.
He walked to her and took her hand, then spoke softly to her.
"Come on. Let's go to bed. We'll talk later."
TBC…
Chapter End Notes:
A/N: Again, spoilers for Hiatus. Again, thanks to Jeanne Luz and TonyZivaFan, for their help and unfailing patience with me.