A/N: SOO! My computer's fixed! XD Here's an update and I'll see you on Sunday? :D :D
Also, did you guys not like Chap24? :/
R AND R! XD
Chapter TwentyFive
Ziva sighed and wiped sweat from her head with the back of her hand. She looked down and groaned when she saw that her hand had a long streak of yellow paint on it. Ziva shrugged and put the paintbrush down, resting her hand on her bump. She was really big now, she couldn't even see her feet anymore - not that she wanted to, she was sure that they were swollen to the same size as an elephant's, but what could be expected from someone with only two and a half weeks to go?
'' Oh, that's an improvement.'' said Gibbs, walking into the room to hand Ziva a cold mug of tea (another one of her weird cravings, it couldn't be hot, it HAD to be cold). Gibbs had painted the bottom part of each wall and had left Ziva to do the rest, as per her request.
'' Thank you.'' smiled Ziva, taking the mug off of him and drinking a large mouthful, not noticing Gibbs' wince of disgust. '' I like the yellow, it makes the room feel warmer and sunnier, yes? A cheery place... you know, I may move in here, the baby can have my room.'' joked Ziva. She walked across the room and grabbed the tin of paint, sighing heavily when Gibbs practically snatched it out of her hands.
'' No heavy lifting.''
'' It is not even heavy, there is hardly any paint in it.'' said Ziva, rolling her eyes.
'' So? Seriously Ziver, if you take anymore strain the baby'll just pop out of you.''
Ziva laughed and downed the rest of her tea before turning to face Gibbs head on. '' We need to wait for the paint to dry, then you may bring the furniture while I paint patterns on the wall, okay?''
'' Yeah, c'mere.'' said Gibbs, taking the mug out of Ziva's hand and tugging her arm gently to make her move. He led her down the hallway to where all of the new furniture was dotted around Ziva's living room, but one thing in particular caught her eye.
'' This is not the cot I ordered.'' said Ziva, walking slowly to the cot that sat in the middle of the living room.
'' No, I made McGee cancel your order. I thought that'd be better, but if you don't like it I can go get the one you ordered.'' said Gibbs, scratching the back of his head while watching Ziva run her hands along the smooth wood of the cot. It was a dark mahogany wood, with thin beams and thick legs, sturdy enough to hold a baby until the age of two. The legs had a twisty design that looked a lot like ivy vines crawling up a tree and around the headboard of the cot.
Gibbs cleared his throat. '' Ziva?''
'' It's beautiful, Gibbs.'' she whispered, she gave a teary chuckle as her baby kicked her. '' It would seem the baby likes it, also.'' she said, turning to face Gibbs. She wiped her tears away and groaned as she realised she had wiped more paint onto her face.
Gibbs smirked and wrapped Ziva in a one armed hug. '' It's okay, now, let's get you cleaned up before Abby decides to shoot me for not looking after you-''
'' What are you talking about?'' pipped up a familiar voice accompanied with stomps of boots. '' Why aren't you looking after Ziva?''
'' I am.''
'' He is.''
'' Not well enough! Ziva, you're covered in paint!'' exclaimed Abby walking into the living room and weaving around the furniture. She stopped in front of the pair and gave Gibbs her best glare. '' You were told to look after her.''
Ziva smirked while Gibbs rolled his eyes. '' I did.''
'' So why is she covered in paint?''
'' Because I wanted to paint my baby's room. Is that a problem?'' asked Ziva, raising her eyebrows, but it did nothing to weaken Abby's glare.
'' Yes! You're about to have a baby, you should be in bed... resting!''
Ziva turned on her heel and she waved her hands. '' Oh, I was doing that, but I got bored after 0900.'' said Ziva walking back down the hall to the baby's room.
Abby glared at Gibbs through narrowed eyes. '' Please tell me that you didn't let her carry the cans of paint?''
Gibbs opened his mouth to argue but Ziva beat him to it. '' Abby, I'm pregnant, not an invalid. If you would like to do something more productive rather than telling off Gibbs, you can start dinner.''
Gibbs gave Abby a smug look. '' You were told.''
'' Hey, Bossman, the paint is dry, why is there no furniture in here?'' called Ziva, her voice echoing, making Abby grin.
'' Right back at ya, Gibbs.'' laughed Abby, slinking off into the kitchen.
An hour later, the baby's room was fully decorated; yellow paint with pink, blue and green handprints running along a thin strip of the middle of each wall as a border, and it was fully furnished; a changing table, a cot, a rocking chair, a toybox, a shelf for books and a place to store all of the baby's clothes.
Gibbs was just finishing hanging up the baby's mobile when Abby called him for dinner. The three sat in silence for a while, eating their pasta until Abby spoke up.
'' So, thought of any names?'' asked Abby, putting her plate down and taking Ziva's off of her.
'' A few, yes, but there is not much point in discussing them as I do not know the sex of the baby.'' said Ziva, leaning back and moaning as Gibbs left his seat on the couch to massage her feet.
'' Aww, come on Ziva! Share, I wanna know what I should write in my niece's or nephew's card...'' whined Abby.
'' I cannot tell you what I am going to call my child. I don't even know yet, although, I can assure you the child's last name will be David.''
'' Smart move, Batman.'' said Abby, watching Gibbs get off of the floor to clear the plates. '' C'mon, not even a little hint?''
'' Abby, no.'' chuckled Ziva.
A little while later Abby left, leaving Gibbs and Ziva alone. Whilst Gibbs was reading the latest sanding magazine, Ziva got up.
'' You alright?'' asked Gibbs, watching her get up over the top of his magazine. He really didn't want her to strain herself.
She turned and smiled at him. '' Yes, I am fine. I just want to lie down. I'll see you in the morning.'' said Ziva, a cheery smile on her face. She disappeared down the hall, leaving Gibbs in peace.
Minutes ticked over into hours and when Gibbs looked at the clock hanging on the wall, he put his magazine down. It had just gone 2200. He got out of his chair and went into the kitchen to get Ziva a drink of milk and something to eat, a little habit of hers. Not that he minded, a Ziva that ate well was a happy Ziva.
He walked down the hall and walked into Ziva's bedroom to see that it was empty. Gibbs frowned and did a U-turn, there was no way Ziva could have left the apartment without him noticing. He walked a few more steps and went into the baby's room to see Ziva sitting in the rocking chair, her head was resting on her hand and she was looking out the window, Gibbs noted that her other hand was rubbing her belly in a comforting motion. He was about to leave when he heard a sniff.
He entered the room, put down the milk and cookies on the new chest of drawers and he walked closer to Ziva. He wondered if anything was wrong. The past few days, Ziva had been very low, not her usual self, everytime he asked her if she was okay, he'd get a 'I'm fine, it's just hormones'. He wondered if he'd get the same reply now.
'' You okay?''
Ziva shrugged, not bothering to look at him. Gibbs followed her line of sight and saw a fox outside in the garden, but it wasn't alone, it had two smaller foxes pulling at its tail. Ziva had pointed the foxes out to him a few nights ago, the smaller two seemed to be constantly growing.
'' Ziver, you can talk to me.'' said Gibbs.
'' I know.''
'' So why don't you?'' he asked gently, sitting on the toy box, in Ziva's vision.
Ziva sighed, rubbing her eyes. '' There are too many thoughts in my head, I don't know what to do with them all.'' she said.
Gibbs could hear exhaustion in her voice. Clearly whatever was troubling her had affected her sleep.
'' I am worried.'' said Ziva quietly, looking back out of the window.
'' 'Bout what?''
'' Whether or not I will be a good mother.'' Sensing Gibbs' abrupt reply, she beat him to it. '' I know you, Tony and McGee think that I will be fine, but I think about my experiences and Mossad and I think that ultimately I will fail the child.'' She turned to look at him, her eyes full of unshed tears. '' Gibbs, what if I am making a mistake? What if I should have just-''
'' Hey. You're not making a mistake, look at you. The fact that you're even worrying is a good sign that you'll be a good mum and even if you did struggle, you'll have us to help you.'' said Gibbs, watching Ziva take in what he was saying. '' Ziver, you'll be fine. Promise.''
Ziva nodded and wiped her tears out of her eyes. '' Of course I will, you promised, but what happens if I give birth and I... don't want the baby.'' asked Ziva, whispering the last part, as if afraid the child growing inside her could hear what she was saying.
'' Ziver, you're being silly. There is no way in hell that that would happen. I've seen you, the way your face lights up when people ask you how long you've got, what you're expecting. DiNozzo sees it, McGee does, Ducky, Abby... even Vance sees it. Don't be daft.''
Ziva nodded again and headslapped herself. '' That was a stupid thing to ask. I am sorry I did. There is no way I would ever feel like that.'' said Ziva, more to herself than Gibbs.
'' Right... anything else?'' asked Gibbs.
'' What do you think about names? I mean... did you have any ideas?''
Gibbs shook his head. '' I haven't really thought about it. I feel that naming the child is a mother's job. Shan just steamed ahead and asked me every now'n'again, I didn't mind then and I don't mind now.'' said Gibbs. '' Whatever makes you happy.''
Ziva grinned. '' You may live to regret saying that.''
They shared a laugh and sat in silence, their gazes occasionally flickering to the fox cubs playing outside while being watched over by their mother.
'' Not long to go now, though. You excited?'' asked Gibbs, watching Ziva for her reaction.
She didn't answer him for a while, as if gathering her thoughts before giving a definitive answer. '' I am several things. Excited is one of them, I will be happy to meet the baby after nine months. I guess I am more nervous than anything. I mean, I have dealt with pain before but this will be... different, won't it?''
'' Define different.''
'' Well, it will be more than others, but I guess the main difference is that it will be the first pain I have felt that has had a good outcome, yes?'' said Ziva, waving her hand in Gibbs' direction, seemingly a little unsure of her words.
'' The first time something worthwhile has happened as a result of pain?''
'' Yes, that. I mean, pain in Mossad taught me to stay alive and not get killed, but this pain... it will be something special.'' concluded Ziva.
'' Yeah, I guess it will be. Have you decided who you want there?''
'' I have not chosen, no. How can I decide?'' asked Ziva.
'' Good point.'' said Gibbs.
They sat in a comfortable silence, Ziva feeling a lot happier with a little weight taken off of her shoulders, talking with Gibbs helped, but there were somethings that she just didn't think he needed to know, silly little things that ate at her when she tried to sleep. Things like, how would they react when she told introduced the baby with its name, would they like it? How would the two that weren't the baby's father react? What school would the baby go to? Should she buy a pet? Just silly little things she didn't want to share... it was bad enough people stayed away from her because she was a skilled assassin, but for them to know that there was a boatload of crazy going on in her head too? Yeah, she had enough on her plate.
'' I have a question for you Gibbs. How will you celebrate?''
'' I'd drink some coffee.'' came the sarcastic reply making the room fill up with laughter. To be fair, Gibbs hadn't had coffee in months.
'' I tell you what, I will be the one to buy you it.''
'' David, you owe me more than one.'' smirked Gibbs, making the Israeli giggle harder.