EM: I have been waiting since season 5, episode "Designated Target" for these two to get together. And because Bellisario hasn't done it yet I have decided to do it myself. This is my Tony and Ziva. With a little bit of McAbby because I think they should get together too. This was inspired by the song Unthinkable by Alicia Keyes.

I really, really appreciate reviews. Really.

Disclaimer: NCIS belongs to Bellisario and CBS. And if you recognize anything else, it's not mine. Also, Alicia's lyrics belong to her.

In Seconds and Minutes

You give me a feeling that I never felt before / And I deserve it, I know I deserve it / It's becoming something that's impossible to ignore / It's what we make it

I was wondering maybe / Could I make you my baby / If we do the unthinkable would it make us look crazy

/\_/\_/\

It was one of those moments where you suddenly remember something stupid. Like the time when your Aunt Muriel made sure to point out your double chin in front of the entire family, or the awkward moment when you walk out of the bathroom after receiving a swirly and everyone around you knows it because of the toilet paper stuck to the bottom of your shoe. It was completely embarrassing and a desperate attempt to deny the fact that after these thoughts left your mind reality would drop in like an atom bomb.

Or more precisely an IED. An improvised explosive device.

"McGee!" Tim jumped at Gibbs' harsh bark. It was amazing what the mind could pick up on. Through all of the screaming, the sirens and the crumbling debris Tim still managed to hear Gibbs perfectly.

"Yeah Boss." His response automatic, he turned to Gibbs, knowing the look he was going to be receiving when another explosion went off in the building. He felt a nick on his cheek as he turned around, arm up in defense and his mouth hanging open. Moments ticked by.

"MCGEE!" Tim jumped again as Gibbs grabbed him by the shoulder and turned him around.

"Where are Tony and Ziva?" His lips flapped and no sound came out, his mind trying to piece together what he had seen and what the puzzle pieces meant. "Tim. Where are they?"

"Agent Gibbs." Gibbs and McGee both turned to the feminine voice. McGee registered a local LEO calling for the bomb squad, a man behind that voice yelling about a wife still in the hospital and a woman sobbing hysterically about a child.

A familiar woman stood before them both; her hands clasped together and worry in her eyes. "Agent DiNozzo ran into the…the building. Just before…the last two explosions." Tim watched as her eyes puffed up as she held back the tears. Gibbs turned to him and he nodded. Gibbs shook his head like he was waiting for more.

"Ziva, McGee?" His mouth dropped. "Oh. Right boss. I uh…" Ziva had never actually come out of the building. Just Tony and her. "Now McGee." Tim swallowed realizing he hadn't actually said anything.

"Ziva never came out of the building boss. Just Tony and Miss-" Tim cringed at the wail of another woman behind Gibbs. "I think he ran back into the hospital to get Ziva," he shouted. "Boss." Tim shifted his feet. It was that look. The angry, what the hell are you still doing here look.

"Right. Coordinate with the LEO's and get the bomb squad into that building." He waited for a confirming look from Gibbs. And waited. "Is there something else boss?"

Gibbs looked back at the building and Tim saw a rare scene. Worry played out across his face and Tim knew that he would do everything the boss wanted him to do.

"Call Abby."

_\/5 hours earlier\/_

"TGIF," Tony says as he drops his bag next to his desk and sits in his chair. Ziva looks up, head cocked to the side, that cute little wrinkle forming between her eyes. He loved it when she tried so hard to remember.

"Our new Special Agent does not know what TGIF means?" Tony smirked. He had used the initials before.

"I remember this one!" Then the second look, the one where her face lit up like a streetlight on a dark night. "Thank god I'm free!" Her smile says she's proud that she remembers this one. Tim smiles and shakes his head, his fingers flying back across his keyboard.

"Friday Ziva. Thank god it's Friday." Tony watches her mumble the word Friday, then shrug her shoulders.

"Potato, tomato." McGee smiled again as a small chuckle slipped past his lips. Ziva's head jerked up, eyes squinting at McGee in that ex-Mossad way. McGee's lips move slightly, possibly to speak and tell her that its potato, potah-to when he rethinks his words and drops his head back to his computer fingers flying faster. Ziva's lips quirk up as she goes back to her work.

"Actually Zi-va, Friday doesn't necessarily mean free. Just last week we had to come in on Sunday, so that makes it not the same. And I had so been looking forward to catching that episode of Magnum P.I. where-"

"DiNozzo!" Ziva laughs as Tony jumps up, eyes on Gibbs as he rushes past his desk to lean over his. "Right Boss. We have a Petty Officer squabble at-" No hesitation, "Next."

"A Lance Corporal shoplifts in-" Tony looks up expectantly knowing that this one will also be rejected. "Next!"

"Uh, yeah Boss. I got nothing more. Today sucks." Tony drops into his chair again as Gibbs looks up briefly from his seat when his phone rings.

"So Ziva, what are your plans for the weekend?" Tony leans over his desk, eyeing her with a half-smile on his face. Her fingers stop pacing over the keyboard as she looks up. Her lips curve up on one side, leering back at him.

She takes a deep breath building up suspense, "I have no plans for this weekend Tony." She folds her hands together and smiles openly, eyes alight. Tony's eyebrow arches, trying to ascertain whether she told the truth or not. He shrugged his shoulders, deciding that whether she told the truth or not didn't matter. But…

"Movie night then?" He asked tactfully while jotting down worthless notes and glancing in her direction from beneath his lashes, waiting for an answer that would confirm what she told him. He watched as she seemed to debate something, tapping her pencil on her lip.

"What movie?" He looked up and cursed internally. He quickly ran through some titles in his head, passing the ones that he knew she had already seen.

"I can't decide between City of Angels, Die Hard 2, or Dirty Dancing. And the original Dirty Dancing." Ziva watched as Tony's forehead wrinkled in concentration. McGee looked over with a confused look on his face. The movies Tony had chosen were so different. So random. So Tony. McGee just shook his head again. When he looked back to his screen he looked up, his eyebrows knit together. Gibbs had that look. And his phone conversation seemed awfully long for someone who didn't talk on the phone. He watched as Gibbs took a deep breath and slammed the phone on the receiver. He picked up his coffee and quickly walked through the bullpen and up the stairs.

"Boss?" McGee heard Tony's inquiry but Gibbs continued to jog up the stairs without a glance back. He watched and waited to see if it was MTAC or Vance. When he kept walking McGee's brow furrowed further. Going to Vance usually meant something big. And he hadn't said a word before he left. He looked back to find Tony and Ziva each giving each other that questioning look when Tony's eyes moved to him.

"Probie!" He pointed at McGee. "What'd Boss say?" McGee ignored Tony's question and turned back to his computer. He shouldn't do it, but he had stopped caring about it a long time ago. Hacking was his job description. If you looked at the fine print and perhaps twisted the words just a bit.

"McGee?" He heard Ziva's quiet inquiry but ignored her as well. He wanted to be quick and stopping to explain would waste time. He was typing fast, the code on the screen flying across his vision. Even if he was the Director it didn't mean he trusted him. They had had plenty of events to prove that Director Vance was in the right chair but it still didn't mean that McGee had to like him. He felt Tony and Ziva come up behind him.

"Something making you itchy McTim?" Tony whispered it causing McGee to lean slightly away from him and into Ziva. They always got so close. And then he found it. A file that wasn't accessible by anyone but the Director. Or so they all thought. He chuckled and visually patted himself on the back. "Speak Probie!" And Tony smacked him on the back of the head. McGee turned around with a scowl on his face. He clicked open the file after finding and disabling any viruses or alert systems.

It was half finished, in the process of being filled out. There was a request for a team to check out Providence Hospital. It didn't state any specifics or hint at any problems. But it had been placed in the top priority list, red light. He scanned the rest of the file finding absolutely nothing. But the request had been signed off by the Director which meant there was something that was missing.

"What does it mean McGee?" His finger tapped the J key impatiently, his mind racing through possibilities already thinking what Ziva had just voiced. Just then his phone rang.

"McGee." Ziva and Tony watched as McGee's face twisted. "Got it Boss," and he put the phone back down. "Boss wants you guys in Vance's office right now." McGee stood up quickly making Ziva squeak slightly at his abrupt action and the chair pushing against her. They watched him walk away quickly to the elevator.

"McSecret! What's goin on?" Tony yelled and looked around as if talking to a crowd when he looked back at Ziva, his eyes turning hard. Something was up and people weren't talking. They both nodded in silent agreement and made their way to Vance's office.

/\_/\_/\

"I don't want this getting out Gibbs. The last thing we need is a city full of panic right now." Gibbs gave Vance a look that told him 'ya think?' Tony and Ziva walked in together both standing at attention.

"There seems to be a situation. The hospital won't give any details even after I pushed. Something doesn't feel right." Tony and Ziva looked at each other. "I want both of you to go to Providence Hospital and assess the situation. I want you on full alert." Vance's look was redundant. They were already getting it from Gibbs. "Gibbs will fill you in on the rest." They took that as their cue to leave and exited, Gibbs following them.

When the door closed behind them, Tony and Ziva turned around coming face to face with Gibbs.

"Alright Boss. What's goin on? What's all the hush-hush?" Gibbs took a drink of his coffee and paused.

"You're to go to Providence Hospital and check it out." He looked at them both and then pushed past them, taking the stairs quickly. They looked at each other questioningly. They knew Gibbs wasn't much for talking but that was cryptic. They raced after him. "Boss! Is that it?" Gibbs was looking around the bullpen.

"Where's McGee?" Tony cringed back a little.

"We believe he made his way down to Abby. After he talked to you on the phone, he rushed out of here rather quickly." Tony nodded furiously at Gibbs.

"We tried to stop him, Boss. Honest. Probie was very…un-Probie like." Tony looked to Ziva for confirmation and she was staring at him like he had two heads.

"Well yeah, DiNozzo. Probably because he found something." Ziva moved quickly after Gibbs to the elevator, Tony running to catch the doors before they closed. "Wait boss. You sayin you didn't tell him to go to Abby's lab?" He squeezed past the doors as Ziva shook her head.

"No. I told him to come to Vance's office as well." Tony's eyes widened in shock and Ziva's eyebrow quirked higher. Tony was right. That was very unlike McGee.

\/_\/_\/

"If you ask me one more time Tim, I'm gonna tell Gibbs."

"Tell Gibbs what." Abby whipped around smiling. "Hi Gibbs!" She turned back around to her computer, taking the Caf-Pow from his hands.

"I was just telling Timmy here" and she glared at him, "that no, we cannot make this," she double clicked her mouse and an image on the screen magnified as the other three gathered around it, "image any better because the quality sucks. I mean I can lighten it up, zoom in, pixelate the image all I want but it's just too dark in that corner. And besides the fact that he's wearing a hooded sweatshirt." She took a breath as she shrugged her shoulders. "Although I don't why I'm looking at video feed of Providence Hospital to begin with. We aren't working on a case there that I don't know about are we?" Her brow furrowed together and McGee turned to her exasperated.

"Abby I already told you. It's not a case yet, but the Director-" He cut off his sentence as both Gibbs and Tony looked at him. "Look Boss I was gonna tell you but I wanted to get more information first." Gibbs waited expectantly.

"Well tell the man what he wants to hear Probie! Don't keep us waiting!" McGee scowled at Tony. "When I saw you talking on the phone and then you enter Vance's office I had a feeling something was up. So…I went into the files and found one on high alert from Providence that had no details. But the Director had already signed off on the request." He started clacking at his computer and on the screen the file popped up again. There it was again. The report for Providence that now contained Gibbs name. The request stated that Special Agent Gibbs' team would be answering the call. Still no other details though.

"And then I really felt that something was wrong. So I asked Abby to help me get into Providence's video feed and see what was up. That was when we saw this." He pointed up the screen as his video image skipped backwards. It was strange. No one in the hospital seemed to be doing anything. It was like everyone was frozen. They were obviously awake and aware of their surroundings but nobody moved.

"Woah…Twilight Zone." Ziva socked Tony in the arm. "Ouch!" He rubbed the spot she hit and turned back to the screen.

"Look. There." Tony and Ziva both looked to where Gibbs was pointing. There on the screen was a man, roughly six feet tall, 200 lbs, with dark brown hair, olive skin and looking very nervous. He seemed to also be the one in control. He was the only one who moved at all. They watched his lips move.

"McGee. What's he saying?" McGee had been watching as well. "Right boss." He and Abby zoomed in on the man's face, specifically his mouth. Abby and McGee stared intently at the moving mouth.

"It's hard to tell…" Abby didn't finish her sentence as she brought her focus back to the mouth.

"Contact…keep everyone inside….and those are words I would rather not repeat," Abby continued watching, "he seems to be yelling at someone. Stick to…plan. He must be in contact with someone because no one else around him is even responding. McGee do you think we could-" McGee's eye lit up. "Access the cell towers and see what numbers are in use. Yes." Both of their fingers were flying across the keyboard.

Gibbs turned to Tony and Ziva. "Go to the hospital, contact the local LEOs and see if you can't get into that hospital. I want to know what is going on in there." Tony turned around heading out already and Ziva turned to follow.

"Hey!" They both looked back simultaneously and waited. "Be careful."

/\_/\_/\

They made it to the hospital and found a single police car parked outside. They exited the car and walked up to the police vehicle, Tony on the driver's side and Ziva on the passenger's. They saw a single man sitting in the front. He rolled the window down when Tony knocked on the window.

"Excuse me. What's going on?" Tony noticed the man's nervousness and the sweat that rolled down his face. "Is something wrong?" He reached in to place his hand on his shoulder when he saw it. The bomb.

"Ziva. Inside." She looked down and into the car. She spotted in immediately, seeing the numbers counting down. There was two minutes on the clock and then she realized that the bomb was attached to the cop. And more importantly to something inside of his shirt.

"Tony, do not touch him." She opened the door as Tony was about to protest. She waved her hand at him, silencing him. He groaned exasperatedly.

"Sir, I would ask that you not move and that you not panic." He looked at her slowly and nodded hurriedly causing his heart rate to increase. Suddenly there was a high-pitched beeping coming from the bomb. Tony poked his head in, looking at her worriedly now.

"Zee, what's going on?" She concentrated on slowly exposing the components of the bomb. It was crudely made but she found that no matter how crude it was it was still effective. "I am going to open your shirt to assess the complete situation. Take a slow and ready breath. Do not worry."

"A steady breath," Tony remarked. She did not bother to acknowledge his comment. The cop looked at her like she was nuts but nodded anyway. She reached over and pulled his shirt open. His Kevlar vest had been removed and attached to his chest were pads that monitored his heart rate. She made to remove them when she noticed a safety glitch. The wires were tweaked to always need the heartbeat to continue with the count down. She would have to leave the wires and disarm it with the man still attached to it. She exited the car.

"Tony." He walked to her side. "It's connected with his heart. We need to keep him calm." Tony nodded and waited on her side this time. His gut told him he should. Ziva reentered the car and looked the cop in the face. "I am going to disarm the bomb." He started to shake and she quickly pulled off the top of the bomb. Inside were two wires. Only two. She groaned inwardly. Homemade bombs were dangerous. She didn't have the time to see if there was a trick set of wires or if one was an obvious dummy wire. She took a deep breath and whipped out her knife. The cop swallowed noisily and she placed the tip of the knife against the yellow wire. As soon as she made a slight incision into the rubber coating of the wire the timer dropped to 3 seconds.

Suddenly Ziva felt herself being pulled out of the car and pushed in front of Tony. They made it only a few feet as the bomb exploded throwing them both a few feet through the air. They each landed hard on the asphalt, Tony practically on top of her. He groaned and then reached out for Ziva. Her hand also found his and they looked up at each other as they touched.

"You okay?" He said and she nodded her head spinning and her ears ringing. And then it happened.

\/_\/_\/

"Uh-oh…Abby. Call Gibbs." She looked up at Tim and where he was looking with that shocked look. On their monitor they watched as the hospital shook the people in it finally moving and debris swirled everywhere. "Do I think what happened just happened?" She heard clacking and then another screen popped up and another and another until finally they found the one. In the south wing of the hospital there was a hall where there was nothing but chunks of ceiling and wall everywhere. Bodies thrown at awkward angles were hidden by the thick wall of dust that covered the screen.

"Abby! Gibbs! Now!" She hurriedly picked up the phone and called. "Gibbs. We need you down here now. Hurry!" And then she hung up the phone. She turned to Tim who was typing furiously. "What are you doing?" He kept glancing through files on the computer and biting his lip. "I'm looking through the terrorist database." Then he pointed at the screen. "That was NOT just a gas pipe or oxygen explosion. That was a bomb and I'd stake my life on it being a suicide bomb. This means that that guy," He zoomed in on the man they had been looking at earlier, "is the leader of this whole thing. I don't like this Abs. I don't like it at all."

"What the hell happened?" They both turned to Gibbs. "And what don't you like?" Gibbs looked pissed. It had been a while since McGee had seen that look. Probably the last time was when Gibbs had quit over the one navy ship being covered up. Gibbs had been furious then.

"Today McGee!" He jumped back to his monitor. "There was an explosion at the hospital." Gibbs' eyes flashed and McGee started to talk faster. "Tony and Ziva haven't called to check in yet which means they shouldn't be in the hospital yet but Boss." He pulled up the image again and this time the one guy was pointing a gun randomly and that was when they saw it. Wires and a box attached to the man's chest.

"That's…Gibbs. That's a bomb." Gibbs studied the screen a moment longer. "McGee. Pull up all the other feeds. Find out how many of them there are! And do it now McGee!" Gibbs took off to the elevator. "On it Boss!" McGee turned back to Abby.

"Tim…you don't think…" She couldn't finish the sentence. "Abby. You know Tony and Ziva weren't near it." He pulled her into his arms for a hug and she sniffled.

"Come on. Let's get the bad guys before Tony and Ziva do end up somewhere in the middle of this." She pulled out of his grasp and nodded her head furiously, both of them returning to their work.

_/\Vance's Office/\_

"When the hell were you going to tell me this was a terrorist situation?" Vance clicked off the television and leaned back in his chair.

"Well that didn't take long." Gibbs made a threatening step towards Vance. "Didn't take long? What the hell is going on? My people were there when a damn bomb went off. I want answers Leon." Vance pushed out of his chair and walked around his desk.

"A bomb?"

Gibbs shook his head. "You didn't know?" Vance popped a toothpick into his mouth. He studied the door.

"I received a communication that there was a situation at the hospital. It was vague and when I pressed for more information they avoided answering. Just because I'm in the chair doesn't mean I get all the answers Gibbs." Gibbs scoffed and made for the door, his hand grasping the handle.

"My people are in danger and you could have warned me before it. I would have sent Tony and Ziva in prepared. Or not at all." And then he left slamming the door.

"Why I didn't tell ya."

\/_\/_\/

Another bomb went off. But this time in the hospital.

Tony threw his body over Ziva's, wrapping his arms tightly around her. When the explosion's after effects seemed to settle they both looked up behind them. In the twilight a cloud of dust rolled continuously through the parking lot and then they heard it. People crying, a few screams.

"I guess it's safe to say there's a lot more going on here than we thought." He felt Ziva stir beneath him. "Sorry. You alright?" He looked down and right into her warm brown eyes. Despite the fact that she kept most of her emotions bottled up her eyes always managed to tell him stories. He always found it…entrancing. He watched her blink rapidly and then she nodded. He unwrapped himself from her and rolled over to get a better look at the hospital and the car. The car was up in flames and he didn't stop to think about the man inside. The hospital was in better shape though. It seemed it had hit only one part of the building.

He rose to his feet and reached back to help pull Ziva up. She dusted herself off and took in the surroundings.

"Something feels wrong here. The explosion was not that big. It does not make any sense."

"A bomb going off period is wrong!" Tony thought for a moment, "We need to call Gibbs." Ziva nodded and surveyed the hospital.

The phone rang twice when Gibbs answered. "Tony. You two okay?"

"Boss, long story short there was a bomb in a car, Ziva tried to disarm it and it went off. We're okay. But then right after that another one went off in the hospital. It wasn't big enough to make a huge impact on the hospital. But Ziva's ninja senses are telling her something is wrong."

"Ya think DiNozzo? Put Ziva on." He handed the phone to Ziva.

"Gibbs." She listened as he explained a possible terrorist threat, with plenty of bombs and plenty of martyrs.

"I agree. It is too quiet and there is not enough security. Tony and I shall infiltrate the hospital after contacting the local LEOs. When we get inside I believe we will lose contact with each other." Tony heard Gibbs' harsh bark and faintly heard him saying don't go in there and that she should wait for the police to get there with a bomb squad. But Tony knew that look. Ziva was going to go in. And Tony knew he would follow because she was his partner. He would always have her back.

"Gibbs, I cannot sit here and wait. I will go in." Tony heard Gibbs yell her name when she snapped the phone shut. His eyes widened. The boss was not going to like that.

"Was that really a good idea to get the boss all mad?" She handed his phone back without looking at him. Her eyes shifted over the hospital building and he could almost see her gears shifting. Then she walked off quickly to the building. Tony ran to catch up.

"I really hope the bombs get us."

Misaki: Part 1 finito! Hope to see you next week for part 2!