Rifiuto: Non Miriena

A/N: And here we go, the arrival of the baby. Now that I go back and read it as I edit, I think I added a bit of the 'Newborn King' episode to this- which was entirely unintentional.

Tony struggled not to lose his lunch, as he climbed out of the car and followed Gibbs into the birth center. He looked around for a few minutes, before realizing that Gibbs had headed towards what sounded like a scuffle.

The sight that greeted Tony and Gibbs was one neither could fully digest- Tim, forcing a scalpel into a petite blonde's abdomen, and twisting. The woman shoved him away, and rushed to flee, pushing between Gibbs and Tony. "Boss?" Tony choked out, but Gibbs had rushed to Ziva's side. She let out a bellow, and Tony winced, closing his eyes at the sight before him. "What do I do?"

Three voices answered, forcing his eyes open. "Go after her!"

"Right. Go after her... Ziva, will you be-" But he stopped, when Tim spoke up.

"I wounded her, she shouldn't be far. Go!" He hesitated. Tim lost his patience, turning to the older agent. "Tony, go after her! I have to stay with Ziva- Go, damn it!" Another primal bellow escaped Ziva's throat, and that seemed to be the push to get Tony going; he fled, following the blood trail.

"Thank you, Timmy. It's like breadcrumbs... small, bright red breadcrumbs."

Ziva had never felt pain like this before in her life. Sure, she'd been wounded, beaten, tortured, but nothing like this. No, the pain her own body was currently putting itself through was unlike anything she'd ever experienced. She grabbed the hand nearest to her- Gibbs'- and squeezed, letting out another scream. The peaceful, calm childbirth she'd wanted, she'd planned, had been disrupted by a psycho, intent on taking her baby once it was born. That alone pissed her off to no end, but there was nothing she could do except continue to go through labor. The first stage had been fairly quick, as had the second stage. She had no realization that she was transitioning, she realized nothing except the pain and the sound of Tim's voice, though they could hear the continuing sounds a struggle just feet away. Tim glanced back at the door, worry for Tony filling his gaze, before he turned back to Ziva.

"She's beginning to crown, Ziver." She looked up at him, squeezing Gibbs' hand.

"She is?" She choked out, and Tim nodded, giving her a small smile, emotion filling his green eyes.

"Yeah, she is." He met her gaze. "Remember the classes, Ziver. Pant slowly, okay? Be gentle." She nodded, doing as told, laying her head back against Gibbs' shoulder and taking deep breaths. A whimper escaped her throat as she felt the head start to move out, and she forced herself to focus on her breath and Tim's gentle tone of voice. "That's a good girl, Ziver, keep going. That's good. Keep panting, that's my good girl."

"Tim, it hurts." She whimpered, closing her eyes, forcing herself to keep from pushing, though she desperately, desperately wanted to.

"I know it does, Ziver, but you're doing great. Her head's almost out, just keep going, a little longer..." She kept panting, squeezing Gibbs' hand so tightly, she felt the bones begin to crack. "That's it, my girl, keep going. Keep panting, just like you're doing. That's my good girl."

Gibbs watched his two youngest, saw how Tim gently guided his baby's head from her mother's opening. He was gentle, tender, when he rested a hand on Ziva's sweat-soaked skin or the baby's head. It was at that point, that Gibbs realized that all their issues, all the things they'd gone through in the last nine months, all the fights and the doubt and the tears, had only served to show them both exactly what they needed: each other.

They belonged together, it had just taken the birth of their baby for them to see it.

"You're good, Ziver, relax for a bit."

"Is she out?" She swallowed thickly. Tim glanced up at her, a smile on his face.

"Her head's out, and she has a mass of dark curls. You want to feel?" Ziva glanced at Gibbs, and he helped her sit up; she reached down, allowing Tim to guide her hand towards their baby's head. A smile quickly crossed Ziva's features, and she met Tim's eyes. Just as she was about to say something, gunshots rang out, and Gibbs glanced out the door before turning back to his youngest.

"Go." Tim nodded towards the door. "Go on, Boss. I've got Ziva; I won't let anything happen to her or the baby." For once, the older man hesitated, but Tim's tone was firm. "Go help Tony!" Gibbs pressed a kiss to Ziva's head, before getting up and going to the door. "I can take care of Ziva, now go!"

Once Gibbs was gone, Tim turned back to the Israeli beauty. She sat up, leaning over, a hand on her belly. "God, Tim, get her out!"

"I need you to focus, Ziver!"

"I am trying, Tim!" She snapped, groaning as another contraction hit.

"Breathe, Ziver, deep breaths, and then I want you to push, okay?" She nodded, doing as told. A gutteral, very primal scream escaped her throat as she felt first one shoulder begin to work its way out of her body. "Ziva, stop, don't push right now!" She struggled to do as told, registering the feel of Tim's fingers slowly and gently easing the baby's shoulder from her body. Before he could say anything, her body took control again, and she pushed with the next contraction. Another scream escaped her throat as the other shoulder worked its way out, and after several minutes, they both looked up as more gunshots rang out.

She met his gaze, fear in her pain-filled eyes. "Tim-"

He glanced quickly over his shoulder, before turning back to her. "Don't focus out there, Ziva, focus on me, okay?" She nodded, but after a moment, he got up.

"Tim! Where are you going?" She cried, but all he did was shut the door, keeping the chaos out of the room where their baby was being born. He returned to her, giving her a quick smile.

"Did you think I was going somewhere, Ziver?" She took a deep breath, returning his smile for a moment, before another contraction took hold.

"Tim!" He returned his attention to the task at hand, glancing up at her. "I can't do this!"

"Yes you can, Ziver." She shook her head.

"No, I can't, Tim!"

"Focus, Ziver! I need you to focus, okay? Focus on me, and our baby girl, and getting her out, okay?" She nodded. "Now come on, push." She did as told, squeezing her eyes shut, the sounds of the gunfire only minimal background noise compared to what was going on in the room. "Push!" They both stopped, their attention diverted briefly by the continuous rounds of gunfire going on in the other part of the building. Ziva could see that Tim was worried about Tony and Gibbs; she was also, but there was nothing they could do to help their team members now, except stay put. Tim turned back to her, worry in his green eyes. His gaze flicked briefly towards the door again, before he turned back to Ziva and the job at hand. "Push, Ziva!"

She did as told, screams piercing the air as gunshots rang out within the building.