Rifiuto: Non Miriena

Thanks to Guest for reviewing 5; silvermoon217 for reviewing 9; and Reader for reviewing 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9.

The kids had gone into the station and told the officers what they'd seen- a statement had been taken and file- and then Ziva and Tim had taken the children home and marched them upstairs, telling them to lie down and rest. None of the kids had missed much school- a total of about eight absences for all three, including today- and so Ziva and Tim weren't concerned with the amount of missed school as much as they were with the health of their children. With the children upstairs, Tim turned on the TV, leaving it on the news before heading up the stairs. Ziva was sitting at the table, looking through a recipe book, and Tim knew she'd appreciate the background noise.

Once upstairs, Tim slipped into Zipporah's room and laid a journal on his daughter's desk. The journal had pink and purple hearts on it- they knew the little girl would love it. He gently brushed her dark curls of her forehead and tucked the blanket around her tighter before leaving the room. When he checked on Liron, the younger boy was curled up under the blankets, wide awake, with a book. Tim sighed. "You are supposed t' be resting, not reading." The boy yawned, and Tim gently took the novel out of his hands, marking his place and setting it on the nightstand.

"But, Abba-" Liron yawned, reaching for the book. Tim shook his head, placing the Harry Potter journal on top of the book.

"Harry, Hermione and Ron will still be here waiting for you once you're rested okay, sweetheart?" The boy whimpered softly but nodded, and Tim gently brushed his fingers through his son's curls. "Get some sleep." He pressed a kiss to his son's forehead; the boy was still slightly warm- all three of their children had slight fevers, and Tim began to realize that it was a good thing they'd kept them home from school. Slipping out of his son's room, he looked up, hearing Jethro's soft growl. Shaking his head, Tim pressed a finger to his lips, and the dog instantly quieted, letting his master lip beside him and into Asher's room.

The boy looked up as Tim shut the door softly behind him. He gave his son a small smile, and took a seat on the edge of the bed. After a moment, Tim handed his son the black moleskin journal with the lined pages. Slowly, Asher sat up and took it, glancing at his father. "What's this?"

"A journal. So you can write down all your nightmares, and everything you're feeling. Ima and I won't read it unless you want us too." The boy looked down at it, opening it up and running his fingers over the soft, white-lined pages. "Just like the ones Fitzgerald and Hemingway used to write in." A small, fleeting smile passed over his son's face.

"Toda, Abba." Tim returned to small smile.

"Al lo davar." He reached up, brushing the dark curls of his son's forehead, before pressing a kiss to the boy's slightly feverish skin. "Go back to sleep, sweetheart." He stood. "Ima and I will be downstairs if you need us." Before Asher could say anything, Tim left.

Ziva looked up as Tim came into the living room. She'd found the recipe she wanted to use and set it aside, before curling up on the sofa in the living room and turning the TV up. It was a new report on the missing Israeli flight. "Did they like their journals?"

"Zipporah's sound asleep, and I had to force Liron to put Harry and his friends back on the shelf for a while so he could get some sleep, and... Asher seemed happy with his." He took a seat beside her on the sofa; she quickly shifted her legs into his lap before curling into his side. Resting one elbow on the back of the sofa, she reached out and began running her fingers through her husband's hair. A soft sigh escaped her lips.

"What do we do? How do we... handle this? Handle him?"

"He's our son, Zi." Tim replied, hearing the soft ping! on the laptop. Ziva removed her legs from his lap and moved closer as Tim moved to open the Skype view. "We don't handle him, we protect him and let him decide when to come to us." She sighed.

"I don't like it, Tim. Asher's never acted like this before-"

"Acted like what, Zivaleh?" Her head snapped up, and she found herself staring into her baby sister's dark eyes.

"Tali! Hey, long time no see, ranger!" She replied, as the younger woman chuckled.

"Stranger, Zi. Not ranger. Stranger. You'd think by now-" She punched her husband hard in the shoulder, glaring at him. "Ow! What was that for?" Tali laughed, as Michael joined her.

"For being a smartass." She replied, as the sound of footsteps pounded in the background of the kitchen. Benjamin and Esther soon joined their parents, excited to see their aunt and uncle.

"Ziva Doda! Tim Dohd! Hi!" Tim and Ziva chuckled, waving to the kids.

"Hey you two, how're you doing?" Tim asked. Esther grinned.

"I won the science fair today!"

"That's wonderful, Esther." Ziva replied. They chatted for several minutes, catching each other up, before Tali turned to Tim.

"We had Damon and Sarah over for dinner today, and they have something they wanted to tell you." She turned, beckoning someone into the frame. "Go ahead, Sarit." Tim smiled softly at his little sister as she took a seat on the sofa.

"Hey, Timmy."

"Hey, Sar. How you doing?" She shrugged.

"Good. I miss you." Tim glanced at his wife, taking her hand.

"I miss you too. So, what's so important?" His little sister took a deep breath, reaching for her husband's hand.

"I... I know you told Damon and I to wait at least a couple years, and we would have, but... but we won't get the chance. Timmy, I'm pregnant." Her brother's green eyes widened in surprise, and it took a few minutes for him to speak.

"That... that's wonderful, Sar. Congrats." She grinned softly.

"Oh, Sarah... when are you due?" Ziva whispered. Her sister-in-law glanced at her husband.

"Due around Halloween. I'm twenty weeks; Tali's my midwife." She turned to her brother. "Are you happy, Timmy?" He blinked the tears away.

"Sar, I'm thrilled. Shocked, but... but thrilled. I wish I could be there." Sarah took a deep breath.

"Say you'll be down for Halloween, Timmy, please. I want you there for the birth of my baby." He glanced at his wife, licking his lips.

"I'll try, Sarah. I won't make any promises, but I'll try." His little sister grinned. "I love you, Sarah."