A/N: This chapter comes with a belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY shout to Sehrezad and Woody2792. Thanks to you both for your patience as RL is doing its best to keep me swamped. *HUGS* =)
Gibbs and Ziva stirred again near 7 a.m. when carts carrying breakfast trays began rattling down the hospital corridors. Shortly after, the nursing assistant came in to take one more round of vital signs before the shift change, completing the process of bringing them awake.
After she left, Ziva ate more crackers and managed to get to the bathroom under Jethro's power without throwing up.
Their nurse for this shift, Laurie, came in about a half-hour later and introduced herself. She informed Ziva that her breakfast would arrive soon and provided the unnecessary reminder that she was scheduled for her next ultrasound at 8 a.m. She saw Ziva's uncertain look at the mention of the morning meal.
"Getting sick easily these days, are you?" she asked knowledgably, compassionately.
Ziva nodded.
"Well, I can tell you that the patient food tends to be on the bland side. Some people complain about that, but it might actually be to your advantage." Her eyes twinkled good-naturedly.
Ziva huffed out a light chuckle though her nose and agreed.
"Need anything right now?" Laurie asked.
Ziva shook her head, then glanced at Jethro who'd slid off the bed to sit in the nearby chair when the assistant had come in to check her blood pressure and the like.
"My husband will need coffee sooner than later, though." The gleam in her own eyes was impish, but all-knowing.
"I'm fine," he mumbled, despite knowing she was right.
"I'll bring you a cup from the staff lounge," the nurse offered generously. "It's not Starbuck's, but we always keep it fresh because we drink it all day and all night. Plus, one of the doctors on this floor keeps us well-stocked in a better brand than what the hospital provides and it's pretty good."
"Don't go to any trouble," Gibbs protested lightly. "I'll get some in a while."
Meaning after the ultrasound.
"It's no trouble," Laurie assured him with a smile. "I'll get it right now before things get hopping." She glanced at the now-melted ice pack lying off to the side. "I'll bring a fresh one of those, too, so you have it when you need it."
On her way out the door, she turned back with a look, taking Gibbs' measure. "I'm guessing black - am I right?"
He nodded with a tug at the side of his mouth. Ziva was the patient and he didn't want to cause anyone extra work, but he really would appreciate a cup of his life-sustaining brew, to be honest.
Laurie returned soon with a couple of small Styrofoam cups and the promised cold pack. "This is all we had to put the coffee in, so I brought you two."
Gibbs thanked her and was pleasantly surprised at the taste. Her departure was closely followed by the arrival of Ziva's breakfast tray, which included oatmeal, toast, jello, milk and decaffeinated hot tea. At least Laurie had been right: not much there to get her stomach rolling.
Before Ziva could begin eating, they were joined by the new ultrasound technician. She was a petite young woman named Amy who had her brown hair pulled back in a low ponytail. She was friendly and competent, readying both mother and machine with minimal fuss.
"Sorry about interrupting your breakfast," she apologized as she worked.
"Do not be," Ziva assured her. "I am a little nervous that I will get queasy as soon as I start to eat. Besides …"
She cast a dubious look at the tray, effectively communicating her thoughts on how it would taste.
Amy caught her look and grinned. "Yeah, it's not exactly the most exciting stuff, though it's better than other hospitals I've been in. Did they bring you oatmeal?"
The smell – or lack thereof – had given it away. Ziva nodded.
"Any concerns with your blood sugar?" Amy asked, seemingly off topic.
Ziva shook her head with a slight furrow to her brow.
"I know where I can find some brown sugar and maybe even some cinnamon," Amy shared conspiratorily. "I'll check with your nurse to make sure it's okay, then bring you some. It should spice up that oatmeal."
Ziva's eyes lit up. "Thank you."
"No problem," Amy smiled.
Gibbs and Ziva were both excited to see their baby again this morning, so Amy began the scan without delay. He – or she, Jethro reminded her with a twinkle in his eye that made her grin – was happily moving around this morning, apparently having gotten a good night's rest.
Just before the technician finished, there was a light knock on the door. It opened a little and Denise poked her head inside the room.
"This a private party or can anyone join?" she grinned.
"You are not just anyone," Ziva declared. "You are certainly welcome."
Denise smiled with pleasure and came on in.
"Checking up on me, hmmm?" Amy asked her senior technician with a wink. The younger woman had already been briefed on this case by Denise. She'd been given to understand just how special this couple and their situation was; after only working with them for a short time, she completely agreed.
"Gotta make sure my favorite patients are being well taken care of," Denise responded with a wink that encompassed all the others in the room.
"Everything is looking good," Amy assured them all. "The baby seems to have taken up dancing this morning."
Everyone smiled. Gibbs was holding onto his wife's hand and he raised it to his lips, pressing a kiss to her knuckles.
"I know it is too early to feel any movement, but it is amazing to see the arms and legs moving around and yet I cannot feel it inside," Ziva shared as she squeezed Jethro's fingers, her gaze fixed on the screen.
Amy finished up and said she'd be back in a few minutes. "I'm going to find her some brown sugar and cinnamon for that oatmeal," she explained, tilting her head toward Ziva's tray. Denise's eyes followed.
"Good call," she congratulated her with feeling.
The others chuckled.
Before long, she did indeed return with the sugar and spice. After pointing out that she'd see them again in four hours unless the doctor's orders changed, she left.
"No telling when they'll bust you out of this place today," Denise observed, "so I thought I'd drop off a little reading material."
She handed Ziva a Fit Pregnancy magazine with a meaningful glance.
"Figured you probably have a book at home on what to expect over the weeks of the pregnancy," Denise began.
"Or three," Jethro interrupted dryly, referring to the stack of books on Ziva's bedside table. His wife stuck her tongue out at him when he smirked at her. He just grinned, while Denise laughed.
"But, imagine you'll find something interesting in there," the technician added, nodding toward the magazine. Ah, Ziva thought. That is where the "daddy" picture was hiding. Brilliant, even if she could not say so out loud.
"And here," Denise continued, handing a book to Gibbs. "Thought maybe you'd like this. It was written by a buddy of my brother's who served in the Corps with him. We carry it in the gift shop downstairs. My brother read it when he and his wife were expecting their first and said it was great."
Jethro held the book out at arm's length and read the title. The Expectant Father. Yep, that was him, he thought with an inner kick of satisfaction.
"Thanks," he said with a small smile before walking to the closet in the room to remove his reading glasses from the inner pocket of his jacket. Sitting back down, he slipped on the glasses and immediately became engrossed in reading the back cover and the table of contents.
Both women smiled at the picture he made.
After goodbyes and best wishes all around, Denise left to finally head home. It had been a very long double shift, but it had also been one that reminded her why she loved her job.
"You do not have to read that, Jethro," Ziva said softly into the comfortable silence that settled on the room after they were alone. He cast his gaze at her over his glasses. "Denise does not know that this is not your first time with all of this."
Gibbs laid the book on her bedside table, resting his glasses on top of it. Rising from his chair, he took the couple of steps necessary to lean over her, bracing his arms on either side of her.
"Missed a lot the first time around," he started quietly. "Don't want to miss anything this time."
He dropped a brief kiss to her lips which she returned with a soft pucker.
"Besides, don't know if I'd've been smart enough to read a book like that back then, even if it had been around," he admitted. "Lookin' forward to reading it."
Ziva's heart melted, which was reflected in her eyes. She raised her fingers to his cheek, her look communicating her gratitude and warmth. Her gaze roamed his face, tracing the handsome features that had become beyond precious to her.
"I love you," she whispered, those big brown eyes of hers filled with emotion.
"Love you, too," Gibbs smiled tenderly. He placed a gentle hand on her hip, his thumb brushing back and forth over the still-flat plane of her stomach. "Both of you."
Her smile made his heart turn over in his chest.
"You should get some breakfast and some more coffee," Ziva fussed over him in a voice still husky with feeling. "You have not eaten anything since lunch yesterday."
"Don't usually eat breakfast," he reminded her, then he smirked at himself. "Well, not for breakfast."
"I know, but you should eat something," she insisted. Then her eyes teased him. "After all, you must keep up your strength so you can keep carrying me to the bathroom every five minutes."
She felt his smile as he pressed his lips to her forehead.
"Of course, you could always share my 'delicious' oatmeal," she offered magnanimously, tongue in cheek. She grinned at the grimace he couldn't quite stop.
Despite the unappetizing sound of her meal, his stomach rumbled, further making her point that it was time for him to eat, too. Still, he was clearly uncertain about leaving her.
"What if I promise that I will not try to go to the bathroom without you? Then would you go?" Her eyes gleamed with self-deprecating humor. "Though perhaps you should not take too long."
His characteristic grin tugged at his lips, but he still didn't take her up on her suggestion. Then she added the one thing guaranteed to get him to move from her side.
"Besides, I could use more crackers and ginger ale while you are out and about." Her supply had become seriously depleted.
With that, he caved. He couldn't not do something that would take care of her. "Okay."
He dropped another quick kiss to her lips before leaving. When he would have kept it brief, she fisted the front of his shirt in her left hand so he couldn't move away. Lifting her head from the pillow, she captured his mouth in a sizzling kiss that went deep and seductive in the space of a pounding heartbeat. She didn't pull back until the need for oxygen demanded she do so, flicking her tongue tantalizingly along his lower lip as she slowly removed it from his mouth. As she looked into his bedazzled expression, satisfaction rolled through her. She had rocked him to his toes.
After swallowing hard, he managed, "Not that I'm complainin', but what was that for?"
"So you remember who you belong to while you are out there wandering the hallways looking so handsome," she informed him proprietarily.
"In these?" he practically snorted, tilting his chin down toward his borrowed clothing.
"Mmhmm," she nodded, running an appreciative hand over his chest, lingering where a few tufts of salt and pepper hair peeked out of the V neck. He'd had to remove his t-shirt when he changed for her surgery. "They even match your eyes." Her brown-eyed gaze twinkled up at him.
Now he did snort and her lips twitched.
"In fact, you wear these scrubs well enough to be a doctor yourself," she advised cheekily, "or at least play one on TV."
The shake of his head was accompanied by an even louder snort this time and she grinned before schooling her expression.
"It is not fair, you know," she practically pouted with a mock scowl, "you get to wear this and look so very attractive while I am stuck wearing this." She pointed to her obligatory hospital gown in disgust. The sad-excuse-for-clothing left her feeling even more unattractive then she already felt, certain she looked worse for wear after the gunshot, surgery and frequent throwing up.
"You look beautiful," he insisted, bumping his nose against hers.
Now it was her turn to snort.
Then he leaned in close and murmured against her ear.
"'stead of looking at the gown, I just imagine you naked. Works every time."
Her delighted laugh brought out his characteristic smile as he pressed a kiss to that spot on her throat that never failed to make her breath catch.
"Mmmm … there is that smooth talk again," she all but purred as she arched into his touch, "the same that got me into bed with you on both of our 'first' dates."
"And look where that got you," he joked wryly. "Stuck with me."
"Lucky me," she husked, caressing his jaw with her fingertips.
He started to disagree with her, but she stopped his words by rubbing a gentle finger across his lips. She gazed into his face, with all the love she felt for him on display. Then she lightened the mood.
"Of course, you did get me out of the deal," she pointed out with mock arrogance.
He grinned.
"And I'm keepin' ya," he swore.
"Promise?" she whispered, a wave of emotion suddenly crashing over her.
Darn hormones.
"Promise." He sealed it with a soft, clinging kiss that lasted until her stomach growled loudly enough to be heard out in the hall. They pulled apart with identical chuckles.
"Guess the baby's hungry," Gibbs observed. "You'd better eat that oatmeal."
She wrinkled her nose in distaste, but resigned herself to her less-than-appetizing fate.
With one last kiss and a promise to come back soon, Gibbs left on his errand, determined to get back to her side as quickly as possible. After all, he didn't want to miss anything.
A/N 2: I own nothing with regard to NCIS, these characters, Starbuck's, Fit Pregnancy magazine or The Expectant Father. The last is a real book, by the way, written by Armin A. Brott & Jennifer Ash.
And raise your hand - or give a shout in your review =D (yes, shameless encouragement there) - if you get the reference to Mark Harmon playing a doctor on TV. I couldn't resist! *snort* :D