A/N I got the idea for this chapter from a song, 'Our Farewell' by Within Temptation. So, basically, blame my friend Pandi for the fact that this chapter was created.

Enjoy!

Chapter 21: It'll Be Alright

Tony began walking down the corridor, trying to breathe slowly and keeping his head parallel to the floor. He didn't want the others to see him.

He was carrying the baby girl. Ziva's daughter. His daughter. Their daughter. The beautiful little girl who had no idea whatwas happening to those around her.

Ziva was sick. Life-threateningly sick.

Tony was barely keeping it together. He tried keeping an expression of happiness or sarcasm when the others were around, but when he was alone, it was different. His heartrate inscreased, he began panicking.

If something happened to Ziva, the little bundle in his arms would be gone forever. He had nothing tying himself to her. A ring that belonged to the mother, but was currently sitting in his pocket, meant nothing to the child welfare system.

She started to fuss. She was barely hours old and she already wanted to make herself heard.

Tony was silently kicking himself for not being present when she was born.

"Shhh," he whispered. He stopped walking and drew the little bundle even closer. "I know, Bub, I know. You want your mummy."

Bub. That's what he'd been calling the baby in his mind. He'd been doing it for a while.

"It'll be alright," he assured her, but he couldn't keep that promise.

Love wasn't enough. Just because you loved someone doesn't mean nothing bad could ever happen to them. He'd lost many people in his life, but two in particular stood out – his mother and Kate.

Kate had died instantly. Sometimes Tony took solace in that – she wouldn't have felt pain. She wouldn't have even realised what had happened. Not even for a second. A simple pull of a trigger, and she was gone. He'd never gotten to say goodbye. Despite their arguments, their teasing, Tony had considered Kate to be his best friend. He'd loved her in that way.

Carolyn DiNozzo had died when Tony was just nine. Completely opposite to Kate, she'd died after battling cancer for years. Slow, drawn out, painful near the end. She'd known what was happening, she knew where she was heading. Tony remembered, when he was a boy, desperately trying to understand why suddenly they didn't go to visit her in the hospital. His father had explained it, but still it made no sense.

He'd loved his mother, and still, she'd passed on.

Ziva...Ziva couldn't do that. She wouldn't do that.

Tony had always pictured Ziva fighting. Because of their profession, he'd wondered how things might end occasionally. He'd imagined Ziva going down in a hail of bullets, yelling profanities in one of her mulitple languages and taking down everyone around her.

She couldn't go like this. This wasn't fair. It wasn't her. She couldn't go lying on a hospital bed, unconscious, barely breathing.

He loved her. Tony loved Ziva. He'd even been the first to say it.

"Ziva, I...alright, I'm just going to say it. I have been with you for a reason. I want it to stay that way...I love you, Ziva."

Now he was standing in a corridor, calming a disgruntled baby. "It'll be alright," he repeated.

He continued walking until he reached the door. He stared at it, Doctor Matthews' words from moments before echoing in his ears.

Tony took a deep breath, and pushed the door open.

A/N So, it doesn't really fit into the fic, I just wanted to get Tony's emotions out there.