- Three Hundred Fifty-One Days Earlier –
Tony gave her a sideways glance, the threat going unnoticed when he noted the tone of her voice, the way she lied somewhat transparently. His suspicion and disbelief evident within his emerald orbs. Shaking his head, he waved a finger to the brunette female.
"Nope, I don't buy it." He finally stated. "You got laid, didn't you?"
"That is none of your concern, DiNosey." Her retort followed the act of setting her bag aside before taking seat. "Is it really that difficult to believe that I can be happy without something of significant importance happening?"
"Yeah, actually. I wasn't goin' to say anything, but you're kind of a downer."
"Oh, I am so sorry for being such a gloomy duck!" Her exclamation was so vehement that she did not even realize nor care about the fact that she had had yet another English faux pas. It was one thing commonly known about Ziva, almost as if it were a trademark.
"Goose, I believe you meant goose." Tony corrected, knowing all too well that this all was just a distraction, a way to get his attention of the fact that she was suspiciously content.
"Gear up!" Gibbs' voice rang out as he stormed in, coffee cup in hand. He went to his desk for a moment before leading the way towards the elevator. "Come on! You waitin' for an engraved invitation?"
With that, Ziva, Tony, Bishop, and McGee followed the senior field agent before going to a crime scene not too far from the hospital that Ari worked for. This made agent David far more nervous than she let show. She was assigned to photograph the body and the scene around it, however her mind was certainly elsewhere. Though, the only ones who picked up on that were Gibbs and Doctor Donald Mallard.
"Jethro," Ducky greeted. "Do you notice something… off about agent David this morning?"
"Duck," He responded with a nod. "A little, yeah."
Meanwhile, Ari was on his way to work, riding his all too signature motorcycle. Parking it in his spot, he took off his helmet to see a colleague approaching him. This was the first time Dr. Marsden had seen the ER physician's ride, and it was quite impressive. He had a smile on his face.
"Nice bike." His remark rang out through the parking garage.
"It is a motorcycle." Haswari responded as he dismounted it. "A bike is something one petals."
"Ah, yes." Marsden nodded, walking alongside his colleague. "So, how's the girlfriend of yours?"
"Girlfriend?" Ari questioned. "I do not recall telling you I have a girlfriend."
"Oh, you never did. It's just… I took behavioral psych in college. I have a knack for this sort of thing." He shrugged, walking through the automatic doors of the hospital entryway.
"This sort of thing, hmm? So, you have the ability to tell when someone is dating someone else?"
"Sort of."
"Hmm."
- Present Time –
Walking into their home, Ari dropped the keys in a small bowl on a table in the foyer. He watched Ziva as she slowly paced towards the couch. She looked exhausted, and of course she would be. Not only had she been arrested and in an interrogation room almost all day, but she was pregnant and most likely starving and dehydrated. Not to mention, emotionally unstable; despite how much she tried to hide it, amongst other things.
"Ziva, are you hungry?" Ari asked as he shrugged off his jacket.
Her shoulders moved up and then down only slightly, as if to silently tell him that she did not know. The torment on her face was there, unhidden by the all too typical mask she would consistently put up. Moving towards her, he crouched down in front of the brunette. Ari allowed his hands to gently rest upon her knees, watching as more tears broke through the shield, falling down her heart shaped face quicker than they had been earlier.
"Oh, Ziva…" He murmured, frowning before slipping his arms around her growing frame. "I am so sorry."
"I don't want to be here, anymore, Ari." She breathed into his next, sobs making her words a little less than comprehendible. Ziva could not take this place, this life anymore. She wanted to go away—far away. However, would they be able to get away with it? Part of her did not even care, so long as they were not in the states anymore.
"You do not wish to be in our home with me?" He questioned, having thought she meant that she wished to leave him.
"No, no… I do not want to be here anymore… in America." Her elaboration followed her pulling away slightly. "Take me somewhere; anywhere. I don't care where we go, I just do not think I can stand it here anymore."
"Where do you want to go?"
The question left her stumped, for not even she knew.
- Three Hundred Forty-Nine Days Earlier –
With the last case nicely wrapped up as if it were tied in a bow, and given that, Ziva David, along with the others, was allowed to go home. Entering her apartment, she dropped the bag with her gear beside the door. Raking a hand through her lengthy and slightly messy hair, she made her way to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of beer. After sitting down, she flipped through the channels on the television before eventually turning it off. A heavy sigh left her mouth, downing the rest of her alcoholic beverage, all the while waiting for Ari to come home from his shift at the hospital. Perhaps having him with her would help her to forget about work, and the rest of life's troubles—even though her situation with Ari was one of those very troubles.
Ari, meanwhile, was taking off his gloves; smiling to the patient he had just been working on. Out of all the patients he had treated, this had to have been the most interesting. A car accident victim with a nerve disease causing them to not feel any pain had a steel bar stuck through their leg. He pulled it out fairly easy.
"Alright, so, we'll be able to take the stitches out in a couple weeks. Do not mess with the sutures, okay?"
"Thanks."
Afterwards, Dr. Haswari meandered over to the other side of the Emergency Room. Checking the charts he had to work through, he let out a breath before picking up one the red file folders. His superior, however, stopped him.
"Haswari, you've been working really hard lately. I'm proud of your efforts, but you've got a new girlfriend, right? Why don't you go on home to her, you've got twelve hours scheduled tomorrow." Dr. Feldman spoke, causing Ari to chuckle.
"How did you know I have a girlfriend?" He questioned.
"People talk… especially around this hospital."
Ari nodded, a smile coming across his face.
"Go, really. We've got a handle on this."
"Thanks."
With that, he left the E.R. and shrugged off his lab coat. Replacing it with his leather jacket, he fished his cell phone from one of the pocket. Smiling yet again, he noticed the text message from Ziva.
Ziva: When are you coming home? I miss you.
Ari: I am on my way, sweetheart. I miss you, too.
- Present Time –
Ziva was pulling clothing from her closet, gently folding them before walking them over to the suitcase perched wide open on the bed. Her walk had a slight waddle to it, but not too much. She was glad they were deciding to do this, for it would not be too long before she was unable to travel. Rubbing her abdomen, she soothed the seemingly angry kicks which began to pain her ribs.
It had been only a couple weeks since their fetal evidence of a crime had started moving within her, and ever since the baby had been basically tormenting its mother and technical aunt. It felt weird for Ziva to have that knowledge of how her baby was related to her. This was not her plan, nor her intent. However, it happened and there was not much she could about it—especially now, especially this far into the pregnancy. When all the clothing she wanted and could take was in the last of her suitcases, she zipped it up slowly. Going to the dresser on the other side of the room, she grabbed her passport and most of her necessary paperwork before putting it in her carry-on.
Just then, Ari walked in with a soft smile on his face. It was not out of contentment so much as it was a reassurance. Going up to her, he allowed his arms to slip around her frame. He could not help but to pull her close, and hold her to him. It reminded him and her both of how they would hug when they were younger, just holding one another and not letting go. It even reminded Ziva of the night she found out Ari was alive, and how they stood there, arms wrapped around one another as if the whole world had stopped. This moment was not much different from that.
"Are you ready to go?" The former mole turned terrorist questioned in a gently accented voice.
"Almost," She nodded before pulling back in a disinclined manner. Her reluctance was quite apparent in the tone of her voice. "Let me just use the restroom and get my medical insurance papers, and we can go."
"Good."