Pregnant Ziva and a very nosy Tony go on a road trip to collect some old files from a police department. Friendship/ Hurt/Comfort/Romance/Family. Ziva David and Tony DiNozzo.

And just like that it happened. They had finally run out of easy coming topics to talk about. Tony knew the rest of the three-hour drive would probably be spent in silence. Ever since Ziva had discovered that she was pregnant there was this new wall that didn't allow them to really have a serious conversation. She had withdrawn over the first couple of weeks after finding out. Back then it had seemed like nothing would ever be back to normal again. It probably wouldn't with her being a mom.
It had been Gibbs who had finally managed to get her to loosen up a bit around them again. After a particularly gruesome case she hadn't been able to hold it all in anymore, especially with the additional hormones blowing everything out of proportion. Their team leader had taken her aside and made her see that they were all there for her and that it was okay to be unreasonably emotional, as Ziva called it, while being pregnant.
She still didn't open up about things to him though, and he didn't want to keep pushing her when she clearly wanted to be left alone and figure things out herself.

Now at twenty one weeks she had long since been put on desk duty but had begged Gibbs to let her leave the office for this particular assignment. How could getting a bunch of pre-computeralisation files from a police department turn dangerous? It could, it seemed, if you were partnered with the wrong person and ran out of topics to talk about.
Tony had noticed how she had started to withdraw from him, she even mentioned once that she thought they were no longer partners because of her inability to work with him in the field.

Suddenly a quiet groan could be heard from Ziva.

"Are you ok?" The question was out before he was able to think about it, making its way into the bubble of awkward silence they were sharing.

Ziva sighed softly, oh so softly. It reminded him of his mother when had been sad. Ziva seemed a lot more feminine and motherly all over now that she was carrying a child, he thought.

"We are fine." She said and paused, "I think the baby agrees with me when I say that you need to drive faster, though. She is kicking like a soccer player, yes?"

Tony chuckled and glanced over to her hand which was moving over her belly in smooth circles.

"I thought being out and driving might calm her down a bit but today she is very active." She added.

"Should we stop and walk around for a bit? I read somewhere that it can put them to sleep." He asked and then felt Zivas eyes bore into him. He was worried he'd overstepped and stayed silent, hoping she would just dismiss the question.

"No, thank you. I already tried that this morning." She finally said, turning her head back to the road again.

Surprised that she answered him at all, Tony looked at her again, noticing that she was still rubbing circles over where he assumed the baby was moving and kicking her. He wondered if he could risk reaching over and touching her, but quickly decided against it, instead trying to come up with a way to distract her.

Ziva winced and changed position in her seat.

"Are you sure you're alright? I mean, I know it's common for babies to start moving around 21 weeks, but is it…"

"I didn't know you were paying so much attention." Ziva interrupted him, effectively deflecting the question.

Tony thought for a moment, not really sure if this topic was entirely safe for them to talk about. Everything related to her pregnancy or the baby usually set of some kind of a bomb and they would be stuck in an awkward silence again. Aw, heck, that'll happen one way or another.

"Of course I am. You're my friend, I want to know what's going on with you and that little one in there." He smiled and gestured vaguely in the direction of her abdomen.

Her hand continuously stroked the fabric of her shirt in attempt of calming her baby down. "In that case, is there anything else you've read about it?" She half mocked, half quizzed him to find out just how curious he was.

"Well, I know they can already hear a little starting when you're 20 weeks, so maybe we should try to find some soothing music on the radio." He said, not really realizing how much it said about him that he knew so much.

Ziva studied him for a couple of moments, realizing that he was being honest, that he really cared. He was such a good person to be caring this much about her and her child. She knew he hadn't wanted her to go with him because he wanted to protect her baby from what was happening out in the big scary world.

When she didn't comment on what he said, Tony glanced over at her and saw tears running down her cheeks. "Zi?"

She turned her head sharply and suddenly felt the silent tears that were making their way down her cheeks. "I'm fine, it's the hormones." She said, giving a small chuckle and wiping away the tears.

He smiled at her and reached over to wipe away one last teardrop that had remained on her jaw line. When she turned her head and looked him in the eyes for a brief moment before he had to turn back to the road, it was like lightning struck them. The feelings were overwhelming. Caring, understanding, love were conveyed in a simple glance.

It was a now-or-never situation, Tony knew as much so he finally dared to ask the question he'd been wanting to ask all week. "Can I feel her kick?"

TBC

Ziva's answer will be revealed in the next chapter. Yes, I'm evil like that :D