Oh hey!

Yes, I'm finally updating something.

Enjoy. Review.

xoxElle

Hard Time

Kate held the phone to her ear long after the message ended, trying to wrap her head around what she had heard. She had to tell Ari, he needed to know.

She threw her phone onto her bed and quickly made her way to the door, hoping to catch Ari before he went upstairs. But when she opened the door she found Ziva mid-make out with a guy.

Ziva had heard the door open and turned around. "Kate, I did not know you were back"

"Have you seen Ari?" Kate asked.

Ziva gave her a concerned look. "I have not seen him tonight"

Kate nodded and turned around, going back into the dorm and sitting on her bed. Ziva watched her with a frown, turning around to face the confused male standing behind her.

"I will see you tomorrow" She said as he leaned down to kiss her.

"Okay" He murmured, kissing her once more before walking away.

Ziva closed the door behind her as she went into the dorm, walking over to sit next to Kate, who was sitting on the bed with her hands resting limply in her lap. It look as though she was at war with herself.

"Are you alright?" Ziva asked. Kate turned her head to look at her.

"If I tell you something, you have to promise to never tell Tony" She said. When Ziva nodded Kate twisted around and opened the top draw of her side table, pulling out a wooden box before turning back and settling it in her lap.

Kate opened the box and pulled out the photo that was resting on top of the small pile. She looked at it for a moment before handing it to Ziva, who took it with an extremely confused look on her face.

"This is my...son" She said quietly.

Ziva looked down at the photo in her hand. It showed a boy, no older than two, laying on his side on a couch, a small black teddy clutched under one of his small arms. The smile on his face and the look of his eyes seemed so familiar to her.

The realization hit her like falling stones. Or was it bricks?

"Kate...he looks like Ari" Ziva said as she looked up at Kate. The look on her face was a mix between confusion and...well, Ziva didn't really know what she was feeling at that moment.

Kate took the photo back and held it in her hands, looking at it again for a moment before deciding that there was no going back.

"His name's Joel" She said. "He was born in Miami, two and a half years ago"

Ziva nodded slowly. "This is why you and Ari left, isn't it? You were pregnant"

Kate nodded and let out a breath. "I'll tell you everything later, I need to find Ari" She said, putting the photo back in the box and standing up, carefully putting the box back in her draw. Ziva watched her with a look of confusing before getting up to follow her.

"I will help you find him" Ziva said quietly as she caught up with Kate.

They made their way back upstairs to the party, and even though it was nearing the early hours of the morning, it didn't seem like it was going to die down anytime soon. It was easier than Kate thought spotting Ari, he was once again with that girl he had been with earlier. Except this time they were kissing against one of the walls.

Ziva, who was still standing with Kate, followed the other girl's line of vision. When she saw who her older brother with, she sighed.

"That is Tessa" Ziva said. "She and Ari are...I do not know. But, she...hangs off him like a tramp, yes?"

Kate couldn't help but smile at Ziva's comment. She took a breath and walked through the crowd with her back straight and no emotion on her face, Ziva following behind her.

She hesitated slightly when she got to them. Trying to push the fact that the situation she was putting herself in right there was extremely awkward out of her head, she gently tapped on Ari's back before crossing her arms over her chest. Ari managed to disconnect himself from the girl and turned around, his eyebrows furrowing together in confusion when he noticed the brunette standing before him.

"I need to talk to you" She said, managing to avoid eye contact with him and the girl hanging off him.

"Oh sweetie, he's with me. You've got no chance" The girl 'Tessa' said with a glare. She was tall, blonde, really the opposite of herself, Kate thought. Kate glanced over at Ziva, who had a look on her face that showed that this girl was not the brightest crayon in the box.

Ari glared slightly at Tessa before he put a hand on the small of Kate's back and walked with her through the crowd of students towards the staircase.

Tessa's eyes widened and she sprang to go after them, only to be stopped by a hand on her shoulder. She snapped around and saw Ziva standing behind her.

"Who the hell is that slut?" Tessa snapped. Ziva rolled her eyes at her and shook her head.

"If you must know who she is, then Ari will tell you next time you see him. Until then, you do not need to follow them"

"Caitlin?" Ari asked once she let him into her dorm. Kate walked over to her bed and checked her cell phone, seeing there were no missed calls displayed on the screen. She frowned and her chest filled with an odd sort of worry. She moved to sit on the couch, Ari following her a moment later.

Kate held her cell in her hand and looked at the twenty year old sitting next to her. "I got a call from Patrick. Joel's in hospital"

Ari put his arm across the back of the couch and moved to look at her better. "What is wrong with him?"

"I don't know. They're going to call me when they know something" She said, her voice finally cracking under the strain of emotions.

Ari stood up and held a hand out, which she took hesitantly and let him help her up.

"You have had a long day, you should sleep" He said, pulling her hand and leading her to the bed.

She shook her head. "Ari, I can't. I have to wai-"

He put a hand on her cheek and smirked. "I will wake you if they call. I will stay on the couch, which tends to be my bed quite often"

"Why?" Kate asked as she sat on her bed.

"I happen to live with Tony. Which means sleeping in my own bed is somewhat of a rarity" He said. "I do not wish to hear him have sex"

Kate let out a laugh and looked down at her bed before handing her cell to Ari. "Thank you"

Ziva groaned when she realized that she couldn't go back to her room, as Ari and Kate needed to talk about whatever had shaken up Kate so much. Earlier in the night she had seen Tony disappear into his dorm with a random girl, so she couldn't stay there for the night.

As she was thinking, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist and a kiss was pressed to the side of her head.

"I thought you were going to bed" A voice whispered in her ear.

Ziva turned around and put her hands on the chest of her 21-year old boyfriend.

"Something came up, and now I have no room to sleep in" She said, cocking her head to the side. "Do you think you can help me fix this problem?"

He smiled. "I think I might be able to help. Although," He said "I may have to kick the other girls out of my room"

Ziva let out a laugh and shook her head. "Damon..."

Damon Werth kissed her cheek and took her hand. "Come on"

Kate woke up only a few hours after she had fallen asleep. It took her a few minutes to fully register where she was, before she finally looked over at her alarm clock with blurry eyes. '5:23am' She read after her eyes had adjusted. Kate pushed herself out of the bed and stood up, shivering slightly when her feet hit the cold wooden floor. She realized she was still wearing the clothes she had on the night before, so she walked over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of grey track pants and a white tank top. As she pulled out the clothes she noticed the folded black shirt that was far too big for her lying at the back of the draw, a shirt she had 'borrowed' from Ari when they stayed in Miami almost three years ago.

Kate turned her head and looked over at the couch where Ari was sleeping, one hand behind his head and his other hand holding her cell phone to his chest with a small blanket covering his legs.

Kate went into the bathroom to change, and by the time she came out Ari was sitting up on the couch and folding up the blanket he had used.

"Did I wake you up?" Kate asked apologetically, putting her dirty clothes into a laundry basket she had put next to the door.

"No" Ari said as he stood, shooting a glance at the clock that hung on the wall. "In fact, I have slept in; I am usually awake at five"

Kate rolled her eyes, and in return got a smirk from him.

"Patrick hasn't called?" Kate asked when she sat down next to Ari, making sure she left a large space between them so they wouldn't have a repeat of what happened the night beforehand. He shook his head and handed her cell phone back to her.

Kate looked down at the phone in her hands and nodded, bringing her legs up so they were tucked underneath her and faced the twenty year old sitting on the couch next to her.

"Thank you for staying" She said quietly, putting her cell phone on the couch between them.

Ari shrugged. "It is fine" He said. "They have not called yet"

Kate sighed and nodded, not really knowing what to do next. She never thought she would be in the situation she was in with Ari, ever. She had always hoped that she would never have to deal with seeing Ari again, and yet, there she was sitting on a couch with him, waiting to see if their son was alright.

Ari reached across and brushed a piece of hair that had fallen out of the pony-tail Kate had put her hair in before he woke out of her face, leaving his hand on her cheek as he cocked his head to the side.

"He will be fine, Caitlin"

Kate had to look away from him. Those damn eyes, she thought. She was about to move away from him to stop herself from doing anything stupid when the door behind them suddenly opened.

Ari's hand dropped from her cheek when the door opened, Ziva walking in wearing the same clothes she had on at the party and a blank expression on her face.

When she closed the door she turned and looked at Ari, standing with her body stiff and her arms crossed, waiting for him to talk.

Kate couldn't help but laugh inside; it was times like these she realized how much Ziva and Ari were alike.

Ari got up and walked to Ziva, standing in front of her with his arms crossed, mirroring her stance. "You know" He stated.

Ziva gave a short nod. "Yes"

Ari nodded slowly, shifting his body and dropping his arms to his sides. "Do you understand now?"

Ziva gave another nod.

"Good" He said, he went to walk out of the room before looking at Kate. "Call me when you know" He said before shutting the door behind him.

Hopfully the next chapter will be up sooner. Reviews make me write.

You know the drill.

xoxElle