Next chapter as promised! It is later than I was hoping, but I had to do some stuff for my mum. I know its short, it's like a filler, I just couldn't put this into the next chapter and I didn't want to leave it out :)
Two days had passed since Ziva had her Intravenous Pyelogram, and anxiety was still a common emotion among the team, and it probably would be until Ziva received that envelope telling her whether or not she had a disease that would result in complete kidney failure by the time she was 60. If this was the case, it meant that more than half her life had already gone, and her and Tony's unborn child could have the same fate. The topic was touch and go with the whole team, each member dealing with it differently. Tony was worried, and had every right to be, he didn't joke as much and Ziva had to plead with him to return to his normal self, reminding him that they would get through it. Gibbs acted as the rock, allowing the team to come to him and voice their concerns, although his went very deep. The thought of losing his second daughter scared him and he was determined to do anything to help. Abby and McGee spent free time on the internet, searching for ways to help cure the disease and Ducky spent most of the time in Autopsy, thinking. It was something he did quite well and it helped calm his mind.
Ziva had a carefree attitude that Gibbs knew was a mask. A mask to hide the way she really felt: scared, and alone. She knew she wasn't alone in this but it just felt that way. She told the team almost every single day that 'they would worry about the results when they arrived, and until then they should continue as normal, as there was nothing any of them could do'. The mask was the way she functioned, because of that mask she had got through her challenges in life where many people would have crumbled. Tony and Gibbs had seen it the most: The death of Ari, The death of Jenny Shepard, The death of Michael Rivkin, The feeling of betrayal when Tony lost trust in her, Watching Tony walk off with Jeanne, The time when everyone thought Tony was dead, The recent struggles with her father and the biggest one of all, Somalia. That mask saved her life countless times in the short five and a half years they had known her and the whole team was sure that it had saved her countless times in the past with her sister, constant search of approval from her father and time as an assassin. That mask may have saved her, but it also made her stubborn, and sometimes uptight, people thought she was emotionless and didn't have a heart. She did, and her closest friends knew it, she just kept it guarded so she didn't get hurt once again. All the events of her life made her who she was, and the team loved her for it, the good and the bad.
Ziva entwined her fingers with Tony's as they walked across the parking lot. It was the day of Ziva's second ultrasound. They were both excited to see how much their child had grown since their last ultrasound 5 weeks ago. They patiently sat in the waiting room, waiting to be called into the small examination room by Dr. Amanda Billings.
"Ziva, Tony. Good to see you, come in" the doctor smiled. The pair walked into the room and Ziva lay on the bed. "Well, that bumps a bit more noticeable now isn't it? I assume you are aware of what we will do today?" Dr. Billings asked and Ziva nodded, "Very well then, this might be a bit cold." She squeezed the gel onto Ziva's tanned, slightly swollen stomach and placed the wand over the top. After a few moments an image appeared on the screen.
"Alright, everything looks normal for what we would expect at this stage in your pregnancy. Do you have any concerns or issues that you feel the need to talk about?" the real answer to that question was 'yes, they did' but Ziva replied with a "No, I feel that everything is fine" until they knew for sure whether Ziva had the disease or not, she decided not to make a big deal out of it, if it was an issue they would deal with it when the time came, until then they just had to get on with their lives.
Dr. Billings wiped the blue goo off Ziva's stomach, "as usual there are photos at the desk which you may show people. Would you like me to take an educated guess as to what sex the baby is? Or prefer to wait until the sexual organs are fully developed or the baby is born?" Ziva looked at Tony, he returned the gaze. "Tony wants to know, but I'm not sure" Ziva started, Tony continued, "I'll wait until the organs are fully developed, and then Zi can decide what she wants to do." The doctor nodded. "Very well, your photographs can be collected at the desk, I'd like to see you when you are 20 weeks, and if there are no abnormalities then you will not have to have another if you don't want to. Thankyou both for coming, have a nice day and I'll see you in 8 weeks time." Tony and Ziva both thanked the doctors before heading out to collect their photographs and go back to work.
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