Rifiuto: Non Miriena
He was tiny, so incredibly tiny, and yet, he was there. The last piece of him, of the boy who'd been ripped from her arms. It wasn't fair, that he had given her this most precious of gifts, and that he wasn't here to share in the joy of the tiny human being now residing in her embrace. The baby looked up at her with his green eyes, and she struggled to contain her tears. She hated her father; she hated his parents, and their forced separation. She hated everything and everyone except for him and their son, and her mother and siblings. They had helped bring this little gift into the world after all.
Gently, she guided the baby's mouth to her breast, watching in silence as he nursed contentedly. It had taken some time, but over the course of the last few hours, breastfeeding had gotten easier, and she found herself taking the time to study her son and think of the boy who'd unwillingly left her behind. He should be here, to meet his son, to hold him, to count his tiny fingers and toes, and place feather-light kisses to his soft, downy head.
"I love you, my angel, and I know your Abba loves you too, even if he does not know of your existence."
She groaned, she really had to stop daydreaming. It was only getting her into trouble. "Tim! Tim, call Tali! Hurry!" By the time her sister arrived, she was well into active labor. Asher had been instructed to get towels and water to help clean the baby off, and he helped Liron fill the bowl before returning to the bedroom.
"This damn well better be your last, Zivaleh, because I'm putting a restriction on daydreams. No more, Ziva, you hear me? No more!" Her sister took a deep breath, leaning forward on her hands and knees to deal with the pain. Eventually, she sat back, gripping Tim's hand tightly.
"I just want her out, Tali." She lay her head back against Tim's shoulder, struggling to keep from pushing until she was told to. Tali quickly pulled on her gloves and reached down to check. She sighed, meeting her brother-in-law's eyes.
"It won't be a very long labor, Zivaleh. She's engaged and she's-" Ziva's scream caused her to pause momentarily, before she finished. "- starting to move through your birth canal. The only thing I'm worried about is that your water hasn't-"
Liron turned to his aunt, as the sound of something breaking broke through the conversation and Ziva's water broke. "What is that?" Tali glanced at her youngest nephew, giving him a small smile.
"That is... your Ima's water breaking, and it just means-"
"It means the baby is coming, Liron." Asher said, before getting up and taking a seat on Ziva's other side. He took her hand, and Tim gave his son a small smile. Ziva let out a groan, sitting up as she dug her nails into Tim's hand.
"Zivaleh, listen to me. Look at me." After a moment, she did as told, meeting her sister's eyes. "Your little girl isn't going to be taking her time. She's about as impatient as Liron was when he was born."
"What do you-" Tali reached out, taking her sister's hand and guiding it down between her legs. "That... that cannot be..." Tali nodded.
"That's her head. You feel those curls, Zivaleh? That's her head. She's already crowned and she's almost out, you just need a few more good strong pushes and she'll be here." She chuckled softly, meeting her sister's gaze. "If only I'd been as lucky as you, Ziva. Esther's birth was sixteen hours total- labor, transiton, and birth, and Benjamin's was ten."
"Habit for-"
"Long childbirths? Yeah." Tali chuckled, grinning at her brother-in-law. "I think Asher's birth was eight hours and Liron's was... maybe four hours, total. Six at most. With this one... I don't think even two hours." She looked up as Liron tugged on her arm.
"That is the baby?" She nodded.
"That is your baby sister." The boy nodded, as Tali turned back to the task at hand. "Ziva, I need you let your body do its job and push, okay?" Her sister nodded, closing her eyes and digging her nails into Tim's hand. "Liron, I need you to get a couple of those towels wet okay?" The boy nodded, doing as his aunt instructed, as she gently helped her sister birth. Asher held tight to his mother's hand, and quickly leaned over, catching sight of the small head between his mother's legs.
"She has dark hair, Ima." He said, as Ziva nodded, but didn't respond. She spent several minutes, doing what her body instructed and pushed, feeling the baby come out with each contraction. And with each push, her temper continued to shorten, mental dynamite with a lit fuse. Tim was expecting the yelling, the swearing, but the Hebrew was new.
"This is my last, Timothy! Do you hear me? Do you understand? This is our last! I will not go through this again! Oh, God, make it stop!" She choked on a sob, screaming in pain as she felt a shoulder slide out. "You Ben Zonah, if you even think of..." She groaned, collapsing back in Tim's arms and gulping in air.
"Come on, Zivaleh, one more push. Good and strong, okay?" She nodded at her sister, struggling to take a deep breath. Tim and Asher quickly helped her sit up, and she leaned forward, pushing with all her might.
"I am never having another baby again, you hear me? Never again! I mean it Timothy! This is the last baby we are having! And if you even think of having another one..." She let out another scream. "I am done!"
It was then that an infant's newborn cries filled the air, drowning out her mother's own screams. Ziva collapsed back in Tim's arms, dragging air into her lungs, as Tali adjusted her grip on the baby girl her sister had just given birth to. She grinned at her sister and brother-in-law. "She is exactly like her Ima, lungs and all."
