Never let me go – Chapter one
She stood in the window looking out onto the crisp autumn day, her dark long curls falling onto the light white and flowing material of her dress, her hands resting upon her stomach as she smiled and thought about all the things that her life was going to bring. The bedroom door opened behind her and she happily turned to the smiley face of the smiling girl with her long black straight hair falling upon her shoulders
"Oh my god Ziva, you look gorgeous" Abby squealed with delight as she got a glimpse "I can't believe you are getting married today" she said with a practical run as she shut the door and properly entered the room and hugging her dear friend rather tightly.
"Ooh" Ziva exclaimed as her stomach twinged and she laughed
"Your offspring is kicking me" she said letting go of her friend and kneeling down putting both hands onto the rather large stomach "Hey baby Tiva, are you all excited for mum and dads wedding?" she said before putting her ear onto the lump that was the clear indication that there would soon be a third DiNozzo in this family.
"It's kicking like crazy today" she said with a smile as she put a hand where her baby bump started, so wrapped up in the excitement she was feeling about today and the conversation that Abby Scuito was having with her spawn that she didn't notice Gibbs walking into the room, where he promptly leaned against the doorway and watched 'his girls' interacting, he loved having watched the revolution of both them before his eyes.
"How are we going to convince McGee to give me one of you?" Abby asked the baby inside her best friend's stomach
"Tell him you'll give him a video game" Ziva said with a laugh as Abby did the same with Gibbs soon following in the doorway, causing both of the women to turn
"You guys ready?" he asked as he stepped further into the room as Abby stood up, dusted off her knees and continued primping in the full length mirror with a smile
"I wish it was that easy" Abby said giving Gibbs a look, a wink and a smile
"I think I'm ready" Ziva said with this bouncy smile and her classic pregnancy glow, she wouldn't have ever believed that being pregnant lead to this profound glow of her skin, especially in the first couple of weeks when all she did was throw up and have temper tantrums at an incredibly patient boyfriend and team, and now she was at the last stages of her pregnancy and her boyfriend had turned into her fiancé who by the end of the day would be her husband.
"Hey Abby do you mind if I have a moment alone with the bride" Gibbs asked as Abby nodded towards him and walked out of the room as Ziva sat down on the couch "Have I told you how proud I am of you lately?" he said as she scoffed with a laugh "I mean it, you've blossomed into this truly amazing woman and I am so proud and happy that I have got to be part that journey and I'm so glad that you and Tony have found each other"
"Even if we broke rule twelve in the process?" Ziva asked with a laugh as she rested her hands upon her stomach, ignoring the dull pain and discomfort, waving it off as nerves and indigestion
"Don't tell any of the other agents, but sometimes you just have to go for it, life is too short for rules sometimes and sometimes if we don't break the rules we miss out on the greatest joys in life" he said putting an arm around Ziva's shoulder and she smiled leaning into him and placing her head upon his shoulder "You tell anyone about this conversation and I promise I will deny it"
"I know that Tony and I are just sort of eloping and it isn't a traditional wedding, and that I never really will be 'given away' but my dad isn't here and I was sort of wondering if you would…"
"I would be honoured" he said knowing exactly what she was getting at as he kissed her forehead "So your dad couldn't make it?"
"I didn't tell him" she said trying her hardest to hold back tears, the hormones weren't helping either but in the past couple of years Ziva had distanced herself from her father, she loved him of course she did he was her dad but with recent events distain had presented itself in both sides of their relationships, also her father had made it very clear through the earliest stages of Ziva working at NCIS that he in no way would ever approve of her having a relationship with Tony DiNozzo, their last conversation had been strained when she had called to tell her father that she was pregnant, the disapproval and lack of excitement in his tone had shocked her, she knew her father was protective and that he didn't approve of many or any of the men in her life but she thought that the idea of becoming a grandfather warranted more excitement and more emotion than what he exhibited. Gibbs had been present in all this, he had picked up on the vibe when Ziva had conversations with her father and picked up the pieces when she broke down over them, He had been the one who calmed Tony down when he had come into work pissed off and threatening to pay Eli David a bit of a visit and give him a piece of his mind because his girlfriend was upset at home and the one who gave him advice when he just couldn't work out what to do.
These agents were his kids and he would do anything in the world to protect them, he would go to the ends of the world for them and with them if that is what was required. And this kid that they were expecting was going to reap those same benefits because to him it felt as though the baby was his grandchild.
"Come on Ziva, let's go and get you married before you have this baby" He said as she lifted her head off his shoulder and smiled while Gibbs stood up and extended a hand out to her which she promptly took as he lead her out of the room.
X-x-x-x-x-x
Tony stood at the end of the small meeting room, surrounded by his and her closest family and friends. It was perfect, simple, and elegant and it would be a thousand times better when his gorgeous girl walked into the room with her infectious smile and their gorgeous bump. The previous night he had been a little lost, Ziva had slept at Abby's because it was the night before the wedding, so he was forced to sleep alone in their big bed and he hadn't done that for at least a year. Tony would usually fall asleep with his little Mossad Ninja at his side, snoring and kicking him or draped across his body, for a while it had bothered him but eventually it had become life and he couldn't get a decent night's sleep without her on top of him. More recently he had come accustom to sleeping with Ziva's head either on his arm or on his chest, curled into his side, one arm would cup her back and meet up with the crevasse of her arm while the other hand would sit upon her baby bump, it was the most comfortable position for him, if he could he would stay like that forever. And with that McGee was tapping him on the shoulder and sitting down next to gorgeous Abby Scuito, without hesitation his gaze fell upon the opening doors that held the entrance of a smiling silver haired fox known as his boss but his attention was drawn into the mirage of the water in the desert that was his stunning pregnant fiancé, her dress flowing freely as she walked down the aisle in her flat white shoes, her arm clenching onto Gibbs. Tony couldn't help but smile, just wishing that she would hurry up so that he could get married to the woman of his dreams but then it stopped, she stopped, Gibbs stopped and turned to face her, Ducky rushed over as Ziva grabbed her bump as Gibbs held her up whilst squeezing onto Ducky's hand. Tony ran to where she stood, phasing the world out around him and just focusing in on the pain on her face
"Zi what's going on?" he asked with this panic in his eyes and this fear in his tone and she just laughed as she looked down
"I can't marry you Tony DiNozzo" she said it and his eyes burrowed into hers with confusion "Not right now anyway, because I think I'm about to have your baby" she said it with this happy vulnerability in her voice as the rest of the team rushed to her side
"You're in Labour?" he asked with this nervous laugh as she nodded at him
X-x-x-x-x-x
They all swaggered their way into the emergency room, Tony and Ziva in the front holding hands with these incredibly scared and nervous smiles plastered across their faces, Ducky, Gibbs, McGee, Abby and Jimmy forming a line behind them bouncing along, excited for the new arrival of baby one of the DiNozzo saga. They all had a chance to hug Ziva as a doctor was paged and wish her well as she was whisked off up the hallway; they had the chance to laugh at the petrified face of Tony who followed the confident Ziva, now it was just a waiting game. A game where at least one person had to be pacing, another had to be on coffee and food run, and then another in the gift shop while the others sat tapping knees and reading out dated magazines.
"this is crazy" Abby said throwing herself down next to Gibbs and leaning in on his shoulder "It's been sixteen hours, sixteen whole hours and that baby isn't out here yet, I just want to meet it" she whinged as the older man laughed, his own wife had been in labour with their daughter for over twenty four hours so he wasn't panicked or phased yet, he was just enjoying the ride and feeling very sorry for Tony who was probably enduring pain way worse than all of the head slaps he had dealt him out in the history of time. And there it was eighteen hours and a whole lot of drooping eyes, which all sprung open at the sight of Tony DiNozzo bounding down the hallway. It was like a domino reaction, Gibbs who sat up the very end of the waiting room chair line, all bright eyed and bushy tailed spotted him first, sitting up incredibly fast and nudging Abby who sat next to him, she poked McGee, who in turn poked Jimmy who jolted Ducky.
Tony looked exhausted, his eyes practically popping out of his head but this incredibly mischievous and incredibly excited smile, all of his team, his family practically jumping out their skin just waiting for him to announce it "We Just had a baby GIRL" he practically yelled at the top of his lungs as people began to jump at him, Gibbs bringing him in for a big dad hug as he tried to hold back the stream of tears in his eyes "Ziva really wants you to come and meet our gorgeous baby girl" he said not having the ability to wipe the smile off his face as the team followed him up the hallway, the truth was they had had the baby precisely one hour ago, she had been whisked away to be checked on and Ziva had fallen asleep with Tony's hand in hers, he didn't want to risk waking her by letting go, so he sat and watched her sleep.
They all walked into the room with smiles as they looked on at an absolutely exhausted Ziva, her hair tied up in a ponytail and her gaze focusing in on the pile of blankets in her arms, Abby rushed over and burst into tears at the sight of the gorgeous DiNozzo.
"Great Job Ziva" Gibbs said kissing her temple and stroking the crown of the little girls head
"Have you picked a name yet?" Jimmy asked as Ziva passed Tony the baby, he gave her the look that said without words, you can tell them
"We have decided to name her Sienna Jen DiNozzo" Ziva said as a little smile quipped at the edge of her lips, she said it and a stream of 'Awes' was heard from the group who orbited to get another glimpse at little baby Sienna.
"Uhmm Tony" McGee said stepping forwards to the first time father rather nervously "Could I….you know….Uhmm"
"Spit it out McFlower Power" Tony said with a smile as he looked up to his nervous friend
"Can I please hold her" he said it with such nerves and all the women in the room sort of felt this swoon for him, the nurse making sure that Ziva had everything she needed would have jumped him If Abby wasn't given her a stern look of warning.
"Of course you can Tim" Tony said stepping forwards and meeting McGee's outstretched arms, which carefully folded to meet the requirements of the beautifully tiny little girl.
"I don't think you even have to buy him that video game" Ziva said as Abby pulled away from their hug with a smile
"Be careful!" Abby said beaming over cautiously to her boyfriend, already feeling the need of being extra protective of her little niece as McGee continued to look down at the little girl "She kind of looks a bit like you McGee" Abby said as everyone in the room in synch smirked "Just kidding she has the most precious lot of DiNozzo hair upon her little head and her little Ziva nose, Sienna Jen you are gorgeous" Tony looked on at the couple in front of him and had no doubt in his mind that they would make little nerdy babies and make the perfect little nerdy parents to said kid, but out of the corner of his eye he saw a familiar face and was shocked by the blast from the past and for some reason he found himself excusing himself from the group and into the hallway, he walked forward for a bit but the face and the person that belonged to that face were nowhere to be seen, so he decided to turn back and go towards his new little family when he came face to face with his boss, screaming like a girl when he turned.
"You scared the hell out of me" Tony said leaning over and slapping his leg before standing up again
"What's going on DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked with his piercing eyes of steel
"Was just you know looking for some water" he said trying to get away with a blatant lie that Gibbs wasn't taking a bar of "I thought I saw someone I used to know" he said again looking over his shoulder just in case they were back.
"Who was it?" Gibbs asked knowing that the face that Tony had pulled before he left the room meant that this wasn't just some person that he thought he knew, that this was serious and confronting for his senior agent
"Jeanne Benoit" he said again looking over his shoulder
"The frog's daughter?" Gibbs asked, he hadn't heard that name in a long time, the frog was dead and Jeanne Benoit hadn't come up in conversation since she dropped the case accusing Tony of killing her father, this was odd, so very odd.
"So you get why I was shocked now? I mean I haven't seen Jeanne Benoit for a very long time now"
"Are you looking for Doctor Jeanne Benoit" a voice said behind them and they both positioned themselves so they could see who was the owner of it, revealed to be the nurse who had been in his fiancés room five minutes earlier
Tony gulped "Actually yeah I am" he said it as he turned to Gibbs who gave him this look "Actually I'm fine" he said with a smile
"Well if you change your mind I suggest you do it another day, she leaves early most Friday afternoons" The nurse said as Tony nodded and she headed back to the patient charts in front of her.
X-x-x-x-x-x
Tony stood over the cot that held his sleeping daughter, he smiled as he walked over to where his fiancé sat looking at the hospital food in front of her with a frown on her face, she pushed it away from herself and looked up and smiled at him, picking up yet another present that sat beside her and beginning to unwrap it, Tony walked over and placed a kiss on the top of her head
"Can I get anything for my baby mama?" he said as he began to pack up things around him
"I would kill for a slice of that pizza" she said as she looked up at him with a smile
"And what pizza would that be gorgeous"
"That Pizza that we ate together outside of that hotel room in the pouring rain after we had first met"
"Wait you mean the pizza you stole from me?" he asked as Ziva laughed and nodded "I don't know exactly where that came from"
"I don't care where it came from; I just want something that doesn't taste like sick people"
"Okay Pizza here we come" Tony said picking up his wallet, kissing his girls and then walking out of the hospital room, to the elevator, out of the elevator, down into the lobby and then outside where his smiling face came face to face with hers. Both he and Jeanne sharing the same look of shock and disbelief as they just looked at each other, neither of them knowing exactly what to say to the other, this was the purest definition of awkward and there was no way that this silence could be rectified.
"MAMA" a voice beamed from behind them and Tony could see Jeanne visibly gulp, not knowing exactly why he stepped to the left to see who the voice belonged to as Jeanne did the same. A blonde little girl came booming up the pathway towards them, as though if she was big enough she would literally tackle the petite frame that she was heading towards. Why was Jeanne so nervous? Perspiring so much? Why did she have that look on her face? And then it clicked and while he was looking at the blonde little girl with Jeanne's fair complexion and lips she had these eyes that he recognised so distinctively, and they were eyes he knew so incredibly well, he had seen them in the mirror for the majority of his life, this little girl who jumped into his ex-girlfriend arms was his.
To be continued.