Can't Live Without You
Sep. 15th, 2010 10:51 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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ncisficathonTitle: Can't Live Without You
Author:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
heartundone
Written for:tv_fan_girl
Prompt: Tony gets sick and is near death. Ziva admits her feelings for him.
Archive: yes
Genre: het
Pairings: Tony/Ziva
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not my sandbox, I’ll try to put them back where I found them when I’m done.
Word Count: 2905
Summary: When Tony falls ill, Ziva admits she can't live without him either.
Notes: I accepted the challenge to pitch fortv_fan_girl's prompt because I loved what was written for me, and had to reciprocate. Then the prompt conspired with a plot bunny and they ganged up on me. And what resulted is I haven't slept in a week, or so it seems. If I wasn't working or trying to keep up with other challenges, I was obsessing over this. So I hope it's even somewhat close to what was requested.
Ziva grinned to herself as she got off the elevator. With her new TV system sitting in boxes in her apartment, she had the perfect excuse to invite Tony over after work. She knew he wouldn’t be able to resist showing her how to hook everything up and explaining where the best places would be for her surround sound speakers. Naturally she would be able to talk him into pizza and a movie when he was done; it would almost be a date. Or at least one step closer to a date.
She stopped short beside her desk to see McGee riffling through Tony’s file cabinet as he muttered to himself.
“What are you doing McGee?”
McGee didn’t look up. “Searching for something.”
“Tony will kill you when he comes in.” She warned lightly as she sat down.
McGee shook his head and continued his work as though he hadn’t heard her.
“I am sure he will be here any minute.” She said softly.
McGee slammed the drawer shut. “No he won’t.”
For the first time, McGee looked up at her. His eyes were hollow and rimmed red. She felt fear clutch at her heart as she stood.
“Why will he not be here McGee? Where is he?”
McGee sighed. “In the hospital.”
“What? Why? Why did no one call me?”
“He called Gibbs last night. He was having trouble breathing. By the time Gibbs got to his apartment he was unconscious. The hospital said his lungs are shutting down.”
“Why?”
“They’re not sure yet.”
“Why was I not called?”
McGee shrugged. “I haven’t had time to think about calling anyone. I thought Gibbs took care of it after he called me. All I know is that I need to find a copy of Tony’s living will and bring it to Gibbs at the hospital. I know Vance keeps a copy of all of ours, but he isn’t in. I was hoping Tony had a copy in his desk.”
Ziva crossed the floor and opened her desk drawer. Drawing out a file she handed some papers to McGee.
McGee looked at them and back at Ziva.
“We are each other’s power of attorney.” She said with a frown. Looking at McGee she began to chew on her nail nervously. “I kept a copy of it when I signed it.”
McGee nodded. “I better take this to the hospital.”
“I am coming with you.”
McGee shook his head. “Find Abby, Ducky, and Jimmy first. Make sure they know what’s going on. Then come. All of you. You may all need to be ready to say goodbye.”
Ziva bit her lip, forcing the tears away. “Ok.”
***
Ziva silently prowled the hallway of the hospital waiting for news. The rest of the team was sitting in the waiting room, but she was too keyed up to stay confined. Just as she was ready to do something reckless, Gibbs came up behind her.
“The doctor is ready to talk to us.”
She nodded and followed him to the waiting room. Abby wrapped her arm around Ziva’s shoulder as they stood before the doctor.
“It doesn’t look good. Agent DiNozzo appears to have contracted malaria which has led to a cardiovascular collapse. With his lungs weakened from his prior bout with pneumonic plague, they were unable to fight the effects of the malaria even though the rest of his body does not seem effected by it. He is currently suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome. In lay terms, his blood isn’t getting enough oxygen and as a result, he’s unconscious.” The doctor paused, allowing everyone a moment to absorb what he had said.
Ziva shrugged out of Abby’s hold and turned her back on the conversation. Tony had been tired lately, but he had laughed it off. She had never imagined he could be ill. Malaria. The word echoed in her head. He had to have been exposed in Somalia. This was her fault.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and allowed McGee to pull her back into the team as the doctor continued.
“Agent DiNozzo is in the ICU. We have his sedated and he is on a regimen of drugs for the malaria as well as the ARDS. He’s also on a breathing machine which is keeping him alive until we see how he responds to the drugs.”
“What are his chances?” Abby asked softly.
The doctor sighed. “There is usually at 66% chance of recovery. Since Agent DiNozzo’s lungs were already weakened, that statistic drops. I’m sorry. You may want to consider calling his family.”
“I want to see him.” Ziva said softly.
The doctor looked at Gibbs who nodded. “We can arrange that.”
***
Ziva walked slowly into the room and flinched at the sight of Tony’s lifeless form. It was only a few hours since he was admitted and already he seemed smaller and weaker then she remembered. The breathing machine forced air into his lungs and she watched his chest rise and fall unnaturally.
Crossing the floor, she sat cautiously beside his bed and took his hand in hers. Running her thumb across his fingers, she stifled a sob and laid her head on the bed.
“It is my fault.” She whispered to herself.
Sitting up, she squeezed his hand and looked at him. “This cannot be it Tony. You do not get to die here. Not now. We never even got to take the chance to be together. You cannot save me only to die from my salvation. I never got to tell you...” She trailed off with a sob. Gathering herself she whispered. “I never even told you that I loved you.”
“He loved you too, you know.” Abby spoke softly from the doorway. “He’s never said it, but when you were gone it was obvious.”
“I cannot lose him Abby. I cannot live without him anymore then he could live without me.”
“I don’t know if you’ll have a choice.” Abby said softly crossing the room.
“He cannot die.” Ziva whispered as the tears began to stream down her face.
Abby pulled her into a hug and held her until her tears had slowed. “I’m so sorry Ziva. I can’t imagine what I would do if that were Tim.”
“At least you and McGee were together.” Ziva said with a frown.
Abby shook her head. “We can’t talk like this Ziva. This is Tony. He will wake up. He will be fine.”
“The doctors want to call his family. I do not even know who that is Abby.”
“We are his family. And we’ll be here every day until he gets better. I promise.” Abby said with a nod.
***
Every day was beginning to look the same to Ziva. Wake early after only sleeping for what felt like a few minutes, going for a run, calling the hospital, going to work, spending the evening at the hospital, falling into bed to do it all over. She couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten something that hadn’t been handed to her by McGee or Abby.
Tonight like every night she sat in the chair pulled close to Tony’s bed and talked to him as she gently held his hand.
“Ducky told me today that he thought you could hear us. I hope he is right. Though, I also wish he is wrong. It is much easier to talk to you when you are asleep, I do not know if I want you to remember the things I told you.”
“My father called me today. I did not answer. I wish you were awake to tell me what to do about him. He left me in Somalia to die, I know that. But he is my father. I do not know if too much is between us to salvage the relationship. I do not think it is worth it. Do you?”
The question hung in the air as Ziva stared at his sleeping form. She missed him.
“McGee offered to glue his own fingers to his keyboard if it would make me smile. I assured him it would not. I am glad he and Abby remind me to eat. Abby brought me the most wonderful piece of pie today, but I could not eat it. When you wake up we will have to go the café where she got it.”
She glanced up at the machines, watching his heartbeat on the monitor.
“We will go out when you wake up. On a proper date. I do not care what Gibbs says, I do not believe he will deny us that. And if he does, we will just lie about it. Some things are more important than his rules.”
She sat by his bed for the rest of the evening until the night nurse forced her to go home at midnight. Sometimes she just sat in silence, memorizing his face. Other times she spoke what was on her mind. She kissed him softly on the cheek before she left, always fearful that it would be the last time.
***
It was nine days before Gibbs stopped her in the elevator. She knew the talk was coming, and wasn’t surprised when he hit the emergency button, sending the elevator lurching to a stop.
“You can’t do this to yourself.”
“I do not know what you are talking about.” She said, her chin jutting indignantly.
“You look like hell. You weigh less then you did when we drug you out of Somalia.” He said bluntly. “When is the last time you slept or ate a real meal that wasn’t handed to you?”
“That is not your concern.” She said stiffly before dropping her voice to a whisper. “It is my fault he is there.”
Gibbs shook his head. “You need to stop being so self destructive.”
She laughed. “That is expensive coming from you.”
“You did not make him sick. The best thing you can do for him is to be healthy if he wakes up.”
“When he wakes up.”
“If Ziva. You need to face that reality. If he wakes up.”
“He will.”
“Vance wants me to find a temporary replacement until we know more.”
“Vance is a bastard.”
“He is a realist. There is too much work for you and McGee.”
“You will not allow Vance to replace Tony.”
“He is bringing someone in on Monday. I’ve agreed on a trial basis.”
“You are a bastard as well. You have given up on Tony.”
“No I haven’t. I’m just being realistic Ziva.”
Her temper flared in her eyes. “You have no right to replace him. You did not even replace me when I left. How can you consider replacing him?”
“It’s not replacing. If Tony comes back the job is his. But you and McGee are worn to thin as it is. I can’t lose the rest of my team from exhaustion. I’ve made that mistake before Ziva, and I won’t do it again.”
She opened her mouth and paused as her cell rang. Looking at the caller ID she flipped it open. “Ziva David....Hello Doctor Kent.”
Gibbs flipped the elevator on and hit the down button as Ziva nodded into her phone. Finally flipping it shut she turned to Gibbs.
“They are running a spontaneous breathing trial on Tony. If it goes well they will remove the ventilator and wake him up.”
Gibbs nodded as the door opened. “Go. Call us when you know something.”
Ziva looked blankly at the lobby. “They said it would be hours before the sedative wore off enough for him to wake.”
“Call us then. Go.”
She nodded. “Thank you Gibbs.”
***
Pulling her chair beside Tony’s bed she gave his sleeping form a half smile. The breathing trial had been a success and the doctor had removed Tony from the ventilator. Instead of it taking up space beside his bed, it was on the other side of the room just in case. For the first time since he was admitted he was breathing on his own and the doctor believed that was a good sign.
She knew the real test would come when he awoke, if he awoke. He may be fine, he may have memory loss, or he may be in a vegetative state. There was also the chance that he wouldn’t awake, and would remain in a coma. The doctor and Ducky had explained everything to her multiple times, and she knew his chances of a full recovery were still slim. But she believed it was possible. He chances of getting out of Somalia were slimmer than his odds and she had survived. He had to as well.
She took his hand and ran her thumb over it. “You have to wake up Tony. I will never forgive you if you die now after everything that’s happened.”
She laid her head down on the bed as she had done every day since he had been admitted. Breathing in deeply she tried to calm herself so she could talk to him. She didn’t like to cry when she was in the room, instead saving her tears for her apartment or Abby’s lab. Here she had to be strong.
“You have to wake up.” She whispered as nothing else came to her mind to say.
She had been telling him about the cases he was missing, the things she was doing to McGee, and everything else that seemed normal in a day. Today she had nothing. She wasn’t about to tell him that Gibbs was replacing him. So she sat in silence, her head down on the bed, her fingers touching his and she waited. She felt her eyes slid shut, then nothing.
She awoke an hour later to the feeling of fingers in her hair, lightly, weakly, winding her hair around them. She looked up carefully and met Tony’s eyes. Grasping his fingers in hers she untangled her hair from him and sat up.
“Tony?” She asked, her voice breaking as unasked questions hung in the air.
He squeezed her fingers in reply.
“Do you want me to call the doctor?”
He shook his head and squeezed her hand.
She nodded. Taking in the moment and catching her breath she stared into his eyes. The doctor would be in soon enough, but this was their moment. Like in Somalia, the world faded away and they were left alone staring into each other’s eyes.
“I cannot live without you either Tony.”
He squeezed her hand and smiled. She nodded in reply as a tear fell from her eye. Reaching for the call button with her free hand, she hit it and ran her hand down his arm never tearing her eyes away from his.
“Ani Ohev Otach Tony.” She whispered.
***
Ziva stood in the corner and watched the rest of the team huddled around Tony’s bed. After running a variety of tests the doctor had concluded that while Tony’s lung functions were decreased, with breathing treatments and lung exercises there was no reason he couldn’t continue with his job. Tony had been quizzed for memory loss, and while some things escaped him, he seemed to only have minor memory loss. Ziva was sure the way he was staring at her, that he had not forgotten a thing about them.
The doctor had warned them all recovery would be slow and he wouldn’t be released for work for six to eight weeks. Tony had merely nodded at the news.
Abby was perched on the end of his bed telling him about everything he had missed while he was out. She glanced quickly at Ziva and back at Tony and stood.
“You know what? It’s late. And I think we could all use some sleep. So we’re all going to be going. And we’ll see you tomorrow.” Abby said with a nod. “Come on everyone, march.”
Ziva whispered her thanks and Abby crossed the room to hug her. Abby merely nodded and grinned before herding everyone else out of the room.
Ziva leaned against the wall suddenly feeling shy.
“I could hear you when I was out.” Tony said softly. “Don’t remember what you said. But I know I heard your voice.”
“Oh.” She said softly as she felt the blush rise in her cheeks.
Tony reached out his hand and patted his bed. “Come over here.”
She slid off the wall and gently seated herself beside him on the bed.
Running his hand over her legs he smiled softly at her. “So when I get out of here, how about we go out?”
Ziva bit her lip trying to suppress a grin. “Or you could just come over to my place.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Really?”
She nodded. “My TV system needs someone to hook it up.”
He narrowed his eyes and laughed. “Tease.”
“I missed you Tony.”
He slid his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. She readily complied and curled up beside him with her head on his chest. She felt his fingers gently rub her back.
“When I get out of here, no more games ok? We’ve spent too much time apart and we’ve almost died too many times to count. I’m tired of it.”
Ziva nodded against his chest. “We should make that a rule.”
He laughed as she leaned up and gently caught his lips with her own. As she pulled away and met his eyes, she knew that he agreed.
Author:
heartundoneWritten for:
tv_fan_girlPrompt: Tony gets sick and is near death. Ziva admits her feelings for him.
Archive: yes
Genre: het
Pairings: Tony/Ziva
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not my sandbox, I’ll try to put them back where I found them when I’m done.
Word Count: 2905
Summary: When Tony falls ill, Ziva admits she can't live without him either.
Notes: I accepted the challenge to pitch for
tv_fan_girl's prompt because I loved what was written for me, and had to reciprocate. Then the prompt conspired with a plot bunny and they ganged up on me. And what resulted is I haven't slept in a week, or so it seems. If I wasn't working or trying to keep up with other challenges, I was obsessing over this. So I hope it's even somewhat close to what was requested.Ziva grinned to herself as she got off the elevator. With her new TV system sitting in boxes in her apartment, she had the perfect excuse to invite Tony over after work. She knew he wouldn’t be able to resist showing her how to hook everything up and explaining where the best places would be for her surround sound speakers. Naturally she would be able to talk him into pizza and a movie when he was done; it would almost be a date. Or at least one step closer to a date.
She stopped short beside her desk to see McGee riffling through Tony’s file cabinet as he muttered to himself.
“What are you doing McGee?”
McGee didn’t look up. “Searching for something.”
“Tony will kill you when he comes in.” She warned lightly as she sat down.
McGee shook his head and continued his work as though he hadn’t heard her.
“I am sure he will be here any minute.” She said softly.
McGee slammed the drawer shut. “No he won’t.”
For the first time, McGee looked up at her. His eyes were hollow and rimmed red. She felt fear clutch at her heart as she stood.
“Why will he not be here McGee? Where is he?”
McGee sighed. “In the hospital.”
“What? Why? Why did no one call me?”
“He called Gibbs last night. He was having trouble breathing. By the time Gibbs got to his apartment he was unconscious. The hospital said his lungs are shutting down.”
“Why?”
“They’re not sure yet.”
“Why was I not called?”
McGee shrugged. “I haven’t had time to think about calling anyone. I thought Gibbs took care of it after he called me. All I know is that I need to find a copy of Tony’s living will and bring it to Gibbs at the hospital. I know Vance keeps a copy of all of ours, but he isn’t in. I was hoping Tony had a copy in his desk.”
Ziva crossed the floor and opened her desk drawer. Drawing out a file she handed some papers to McGee.
McGee looked at them and back at Ziva.
“We are each other’s power of attorney.” She said with a frown. Looking at McGee she began to chew on her nail nervously. “I kept a copy of it when I signed it.”
McGee nodded. “I better take this to the hospital.”
“I am coming with you.”
McGee shook his head. “Find Abby, Ducky, and Jimmy first. Make sure they know what’s going on. Then come. All of you. You may all need to be ready to say goodbye.”
Ziva bit her lip, forcing the tears away. “Ok.”
***
Ziva silently prowled the hallway of the hospital waiting for news. The rest of the team was sitting in the waiting room, but she was too keyed up to stay confined. Just as she was ready to do something reckless, Gibbs came up behind her.
“The doctor is ready to talk to us.”
She nodded and followed him to the waiting room. Abby wrapped her arm around Ziva’s shoulder as they stood before the doctor.
“It doesn’t look good. Agent DiNozzo appears to have contracted malaria which has led to a cardiovascular collapse. With his lungs weakened from his prior bout with pneumonic plague, they were unable to fight the effects of the malaria even though the rest of his body does not seem effected by it. He is currently suffering from acute respiratory distress syndrome. In lay terms, his blood isn’t getting enough oxygen and as a result, he’s unconscious.” The doctor paused, allowing everyone a moment to absorb what he had said.
Ziva shrugged out of Abby’s hold and turned her back on the conversation. Tony had been tired lately, but he had laughed it off. She had never imagined he could be ill. Malaria. The word echoed in her head. He had to have been exposed in Somalia. This was her fault.
She felt a hand on her shoulder and allowed McGee to pull her back into the team as the doctor continued.
“Agent DiNozzo is in the ICU. We have his sedated and he is on a regimen of drugs for the malaria as well as the ARDS. He’s also on a breathing machine which is keeping him alive until we see how he responds to the drugs.”
“What are his chances?” Abby asked softly.
The doctor sighed. “There is usually at 66% chance of recovery. Since Agent DiNozzo’s lungs were already weakened, that statistic drops. I’m sorry. You may want to consider calling his family.”
“I want to see him.” Ziva said softly.
The doctor looked at Gibbs who nodded. “We can arrange that.”
***
Ziva walked slowly into the room and flinched at the sight of Tony’s lifeless form. It was only a few hours since he was admitted and already he seemed smaller and weaker then she remembered. The breathing machine forced air into his lungs and she watched his chest rise and fall unnaturally.
Crossing the floor, she sat cautiously beside his bed and took his hand in hers. Running her thumb across his fingers, she stifled a sob and laid her head on the bed.
“It is my fault.” She whispered to herself.
Sitting up, she squeezed his hand and looked at him. “This cannot be it Tony. You do not get to die here. Not now. We never even got to take the chance to be together. You cannot save me only to die from my salvation. I never got to tell you...” She trailed off with a sob. Gathering herself she whispered. “I never even told you that I loved you.”
“He loved you too, you know.” Abby spoke softly from the doorway. “He’s never said it, but when you were gone it was obvious.”
“I cannot lose him Abby. I cannot live without him anymore then he could live without me.”
“I don’t know if you’ll have a choice.” Abby said softly crossing the room.
“He cannot die.” Ziva whispered as the tears began to stream down her face.
Abby pulled her into a hug and held her until her tears had slowed. “I’m so sorry Ziva. I can’t imagine what I would do if that were Tim.”
“At least you and McGee were together.” Ziva said with a frown.
Abby shook her head. “We can’t talk like this Ziva. This is Tony. He will wake up. He will be fine.”
“The doctors want to call his family. I do not even know who that is Abby.”
“We are his family. And we’ll be here every day until he gets better. I promise.” Abby said with a nod.
***
Every day was beginning to look the same to Ziva. Wake early after only sleeping for what felt like a few minutes, going for a run, calling the hospital, going to work, spending the evening at the hospital, falling into bed to do it all over. She couldn’t remember the last time she had eaten something that hadn’t been handed to her by McGee or Abby.
Tonight like every night she sat in the chair pulled close to Tony’s bed and talked to him as she gently held his hand.
“Ducky told me today that he thought you could hear us. I hope he is right. Though, I also wish he is wrong. It is much easier to talk to you when you are asleep, I do not know if I want you to remember the things I told you.”
“My father called me today. I did not answer. I wish you were awake to tell me what to do about him. He left me in Somalia to die, I know that. But he is my father. I do not know if too much is between us to salvage the relationship. I do not think it is worth it. Do you?”
The question hung in the air as Ziva stared at his sleeping form. She missed him.
“McGee offered to glue his own fingers to his keyboard if it would make me smile. I assured him it would not. I am glad he and Abby remind me to eat. Abby brought me the most wonderful piece of pie today, but I could not eat it. When you wake up we will have to go the café where she got it.”
She glanced up at the machines, watching his heartbeat on the monitor.
“We will go out when you wake up. On a proper date. I do not care what Gibbs says, I do not believe he will deny us that. And if he does, we will just lie about it. Some things are more important than his rules.”
She sat by his bed for the rest of the evening until the night nurse forced her to go home at midnight. Sometimes she just sat in silence, memorizing his face. Other times she spoke what was on her mind. She kissed him softly on the cheek before she left, always fearful that it would be the last time.
***
It was nine days before Gibbs stopped her in the elevator. She knew the talk was coming, and wasn’t surprised when he hit the emergency button, sending the elevator lurching to a stop.
“You can’t do this to yourself.”
“I do not know what you are talking about.” She said, her chin jutting indignantly.
“You look like hell. You weigh less then you did when we drug you out of Somalia.” He said bluntly. “When is the last time you slept or ate a real meal that wasn’t handed to you?”
“That is not your concern.” She said stiffly before dropping her voice to a whisper. “It is my fault he is there.”
Gibbs shook his head. “You need to stop being so self destructive.”
She laughed. “That is expensive coming from you.”
“You did not make him sick. The best thing you can do for him is to be healthy if he wakes up.”
“When he wakes up.”
“If Ziva. You need to face that reality. If he wakes up.”
“He will.”
“Vance wants me to find a temporary replacement until we know more.”
“Vance is a bastard.”
“He is a realist. There is too much work for you and McGee.”
“You will not allow Vance to replace Tony.”
“He is bringing someone in on Monday. I’ve agreed on a trial basis.”
“You are a bastard as well. You have given up on Tony.”
“No I haven’t. I’m just being realistic Ziva.”
Her temper flared in her eyes. “You have no right to replace him. You did not even replace me when I left. How can you consider replacing him?”
“It’s not replacing. If Tony comes back the job is his. But you and McGee are worn to thin as it is. I can’t lose the rest of my team from exhaustion. I’ve made that mistake before Ziva, and I won’t do it again.”
She opened her mouth and paused as her cell rang. Looking at the caller ID she flipped it open. “Ziva David....Hello Doctor Kent.”
Gibbs flipped the elevator on and hit the down button as Ziva nodded into her phone. Finally flipping it shut she turned to Gibbs.
“They are running a spontaneous breathing trial on Tony. If it goes well they will remove the ventilator and wake him up.”
Gibbs nodded as the door opened. “Go. Call us when you know something.”
Ziva looked blankly at the lobby. “They said it would be hours before the sedative wore off enough for him to wake.”
“Call us then. Go.”
She nodded. “Thank you Gibbs.”
***
Pulling her chair beside Tony’s bed she gave his sleeping form a half smile. The breathing trial had been a success and the doctor had removed Tony from the ventilator. Instead of it taking up space beside his bed, it was on the other side of the room just in case. For the first time since he was admitted he was breathing on his own and the doctor believed that was a good sign.
She knew the real test would come when he awoke, if he awoke. He may be fine, he may have memory loss, or he may be in a vegetative state. There was also the chance that he wouldn’t awake, and would remain in a coma. The doctor and Ducky had explained everything to her multiple times, and she knew his chances of a full recovery were still slim. But she believed it was possible. He chances of getting out of Somalia were slimmer than his odds and she had survived. He had to as well.
She took his hand and ran her thumb over it. “You have to wake up Tony. I will never forgive you if you die now after everything that’s happened.”
She laid her head down on the bed as she had done every day since he had been admitted. Breathing in deeply she tried to calm herself so she could talk to him. She didn’t like to cry when she was in the room, instead saving her tears for her apartment or Abby’s lab. Here she had to be strong.
“You have to wake up.” She whispered as nothing else came to her mind to say.
She had been telling him about the cases he was missing, the things she was doing to McGee, and everything else that seemed normal in a day. Today she had nothing. She wasn’t about to tell him that Gibbs was replacing him. So she sat in silence, her head down on the bed, her fingers touching his and she waited. She felt her eyes slid shut, then nothing.
She awoke an hour later to the feeling of fingers in her hair, lightly, weakly, winding her hair around them. She looked up carefully and met Tony’s eyes. Grasping his fingers in hers she untangled her hair from him and sat up.
“Tony?” She asked, her voice breaking as unasked questions hung in the air.
He squeezed her fingers in reply.
“Do you want me to call the doctor?”
He shook his head and squeezed her hand.
She nodded. Taking in the moment and catching her breath she stared into his eyes. The doctor would be in soon enough, but this was their moment. Like in Somalia, the world faded away and they were left alone staring into each other’s eyes.
“I cannot live without you either Tony.”
He squeezed her hand and smiled. She nodded in reply as a tear fell from her eye. Reaching for the call button with her free hand, she hit it and ran her hand down his arm never tearing her eyes away from his.
“Ani Ohev Otach Tony.” She whispered.
***
Ziva stood in the corner and watched the rest of the team huddled around Tony’s bed. After running a variety of tests the doctor had concluded that while Tony’s lung functions were decreased, with breathing treatments and lung exercises there was no reason he couldn’t continue with his job. Tony had been quizzed for memory loss, and while some things escaped him, he seemed to only have minor memory loss. Ziva was sure the way he was staring at her, that he had not forgotten a thing about them.
The doctor had warned them all recovery would be slow and he wouldn’t be released for work for six to eight weeks. Tony had merely nodded at the news.
Abby was perched on the end of his bed telling him about everything he had missed while he was out. She glanced quickly at Ziva and back at Tony and stood.
“You know what? It’s late. And I think we could all use some sleep. So we’re all going to be going. And we’ll see you tomorrow.” Abby said with a nod. “Come on everyone, march.”
Ziva whispered her thanks and Abby crossed the room to hug her. Abby merely nodded and grinned before herding everyone else out of the room.
Ziva leaned against the wall suddenly feeling shy.
“I could hear you when I was out.” Tony said softly. “Don’t remember what you said. But I know I heard your voice.”
“Oh.” She said softly as she felt the blush rise in her cheeks.
Tony reached out his hand and patted his bed. “Come over here.”
She slid off the wall and gently seated herself beside him on the bed.
Running his hand over her legs he smiled softly at her. “So when I get out of here, how about we go out?”
Ziva bit her lip trying to suppress a grin. “Or you could just come over to my place.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Really?”
She nodded. “My TV system needs someone to hook it up.”
He narrowed his eyes and laughed. “Tease.”
“I missed you Tony.”
He slid his arm around her and pulled her closer to him. She readily complied and curled up beside him with her head on his chest. She felt his fingers gently rub her back.
“When I get out of here, no more games ok? We’ve spent too much time apart and we’ve almost died too many times to count. I’m tired of it.”
Ziva nodded against his chest. “We should make that a rule.”
He laughed as she leaned up and gently caught his lips with her own. As she pulled away and met his eyes, she knew that he agreed.
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no subject
Date: 2010-09-16 07:16 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-16 11:31 am (UTC)I love, love, love, love this story!!! It had me tearing up and laughing all at the same time. It's just wow!! Thank you so much!! I'm just going to sit here and keep rereading it. Over and over again. It's so wow....
Thanks so much!!
no subject
Date: 2010-09-16 11:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-29 09:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-09-29 09:38 pm (UTC)