Okay... thanks for the reveiws they really help. After much consideration I've got a baby name; Isabella. In hebrew it means sign from god or something. Is it a sign for Ziva? Even I don't know. Enjoy.
Chapter Two
"Is she still alive?" Ducky asked, rushing over as he saw the infant held awkwardly in Ziva's arms. Ziva checked for a pulse in her neck… it was there, slow and faint. She nodded, "She's asleep." Ziva stated, confused. The noise and commotion should have woken her.
"More importantly," Tony interrupted, "what is she doing here?" he took a picture. "Aww, Ziva's a mom." He teased. The flash had woken the baby and she squirmed and wailed, Ziva suddenly held her at arms length; as if she were dangerous. Gibbs took her with one arm, discarding his coffee with the other, and cradled her gently. The baby's cries slowly stopped.
"You always had a thing for kid's boss." Observed Tony.
"Ziva keep looking for a weapon."
"I have Gibbs, it's not there." She objected; everyone looked at her in shock; no one questioned Gibbs.
"Look again."
"I have."
"Look again Officer David, it wasn't a suggestion!" Gibbs was being formal, not a good sign.
"At Mossad, we don't miss things, we have to be thorough sometimes our lives depend on it. It is our training. I have double checked every dumpster, every piece of trash, every minuscule place that a murder weapon could be hidden, places that it couldn't be hidden. I didn't miss it Gibbs, it is not here." Ducky, Jimmy, Tony, McGee and even Gibbs looked at her in awe as her voice grew steadily louder. Ziva always stood up for herself but this was one step more, Gibbs believed her; the murder weapon was not here.
"If you're so sure about that Ziva then you can take Bella and clean her up in the truck."
"Bella?" McGee asked.
"It's embroidered on the jumpsuit McGee." He answered.
Ziva was taken by surprise, she wasn't good with children and Gibbs knew it. There was something about the crying and the fact that they were so small that put her off, she felt like she would break her.
"On second thoughts Gibbs, I might double check." She said hesitantly. Gibbs laughed, "No, no you seemed very sure during that little speech of yours."
"Gibbs…" she pleaded.
"Come here." Ziva dutifully plodded forward, "Arms out." Ziva stuck her arms out in front of her, trying to ignore the snorting laughter and camera flashes coming from Tony's direction; her cheeks turned bright red.
Gibbs placed Bella on the crook of Ziva's elbows and observed Ziva for a reaction.
Slowly, and somewhat doubtfully, Ziva moved her arms by herself to hold the baby. One hand resting on her back, the other on her head, Bella squirmed for a minute and Ziva's eyes were full of doubt again.
"It's okay, relax Ziva. Put her head close to your chest." His plan had worked Ziva's maternal instincts, slight as they were, were finally kicking in.
Ziva looked at him, "Why?"
"She will relax if she can hear your heart beat." Ziva uneasily moved the baby's head. Bella settled and grabbed at Ziva's jacket with her small hand. A small smile broke out across her face, one that the team had not seen before; it was soft, loving; a motherly smile. Tony snuck around in front of her while she was occupied and snapped a picture. Ziva looked up, anger flaring in her eyes but it disappeared when she saw that Tony was not teasing, he flashed a genuine smile and went back to taking photos. Suddenly embarrassed, Ziva walked quickly behind the truck and out of sight.
The metal scraping and dull thunk of the gurney in the back of Ducky's truck, told Ziva that they were finished. She gently slung a sleeping Bella over her shoulder and climbed out of the back of the truck.
"Shotgun!" she called to Tony and McGee, who were busy lugging gear back from the taped off area a hundred meters away. She smiled with satisfaction when she heard their disgruntled groans and complaints.
Poor Tony, still not forgiven for his earlier behavior, was in back again but this time Gibbs was driving. He couldn't decide who was worse; Gibbs or Ziva? At least until Gibbs took one of his 'shortcuts'.
"Tony!" Ziva shouted over the crying.
"Ziva?" he asked confused, "What are you doing here?"
"You are at work Tony." She explained, rocking Bella back to blissful silence.
'I didn't know you had kids Ziva." He was clearly still asleep.
"Tony!" she yelled, throwing her stapler at him, "Wake up!"
"Hey! Oww! What was that?"
"Hey guys, what's going on?" McGee mumbled sleepily.
"Go back to sleep McGee." They said in unison. McGee laid his head down again obediently, snoring softly.
"You got any superglue?" Tony asked smiling devilishly. It slipped off his face when he was whacked over the head.
"What did I say last time DiNozzo?" Gibbs warned. Tony's face fell.
"That next time the skin might not grow back." He replied dutifully, returning to his desk.
"Go home and sleep. We aren't getting any work done."
"Nah I think I might stay here boss," Tony yawned, laying his head back down, "Too tired to go back home."
Gibbs looked at Ziva; sitting in her chair, cradling and reassuring the baby in her arms.
"You ever want kids Ziva?" that question had popped up again and again she tried to avoid answering it. 'Simple question." He prompted.
"I don't have a simple answer." Gibbs sat at his desk and leaned forward as if expecting information.
"We're not going anywhere." He shrugged.
"I-I-I-,"she stuttered, "It's just that…" she took a deep breath, "I'm scared. Scared that I won't be a good mother or that the father leaves me to fend for myself and a child and if I had kids my career would be over. I would not be able to stay a field agent, I would be on desk duty full time and I hate desk work," suddenly it was all flooding out, "and Tony is afraid of commitment and even if he did love me he would leave as soon as he got bored with me and if he stayed because he did love me and then I got pregnant he would leave anyway." She clapped her hand over her mouth suddenly aware that she had said too much.
"Tony?" Gibbs asked, his voice frighteningly quiet.
"I should not have said anything Gibbs, don't bring up personal questions please." She pleaded.
Gibbs got up, "It's okay Ziva, but my rules are still there and you wont break them unless you want your ass back in Israel." He walked to the elevator and saw the pain in Ziva's eyes before the steel doors blocked them from view. He couldn't help but feel sorry for her. It was like de jevu, like him and Jenny. He had wasted his chance, he had let her slip away. Jenny was the reason there was a rule number 12, because she had hurt him and didn't want to admit that relationships between co-workers could work out sometimes and he didn't want to have that fact proven by his own team. It would hurt too much. Jenny was gone, dead. It was his fault it hadn't worked out and now he was deprieving Tony and Ziva the chance to make things happen. He could see the affection in their eyes when the looked at each other and sometimes the loathing hate, yes his eyesight was weak but he wasn't blind. In the morning there would be a new rule number 12; 'don't waste chances'.
So what do you think, please reveiw and thanks for your suggestions last time.
