Whoops. Almost forgot today was Tuesday and due for an update. Everyone who thought the baby was a girl give yourselves a pat on the back. Everyone else . . . well, here's a new chapter for you to read.
VillageVoice
"Colette." Ziva stated, looking up at the sleeping bundle in Abby's arms as she reached up to twirl a soft, dark curl around her finger tip.
Abby looked down at Ziva. "But it doesn't have an 'I' in it. It's tradition in your family."
"It is your favorite name." Ziva responded. "You have had it picked out since you were eight."
"Yeah because I saw a play with this adorable little girl named Cosette, but I thought that sort of name would only be used back in the nineteenth century France so I changed it to Colette. Besides Ziva, this is your baby."
"This is our baby." Ziva corrected.
Abby thought for a minute. "I've had Carly picked out since I was eleven. That's only a three year difference, and you can just change the spelling so that it has an 'I' in it. Like C-A-R-L-E-I-G-H or C-A-R-L-I."
"We could start a new tradition." Ziva offered. "You and I both have an 'A' in our name, yes?"
Abby nodded.
"That could be our family tradition. Besides," She took the little pink bundle from Abby's arms. "I think she looks like a Colette." Abby chuckled. "What?" Ziva asked.
"Besides the fact that Colette doesn't have an 'A' in it either. . . I kinda think she looks like a Carleigh."
Ziva looked down at the sleeping bundle in her arms. Gently she stroked her perfectly rosy cheek with the back of a single finger. "I have always liked the name Rebecca. It is a Hebrew name. Or Elisabeth. They both have an 'A' in them."
Abby sighed and dropped herself down next to Ziva on the bed. "We should have thought about this a lot sooner."
Ziva nodded. "Yes."
"Maybe this is a good thing." Abby offered. "We can get to know her first and pick a name that suits her."
Ziva put the baby down in the bassinette beside her. "Always thinking positively Abby."
Abby smiled. "That's me."
A loud wail filled the room and Abby turned to look in the general direction of the bassinette while Ziva quickly scooped the baby back up into her arms. "I do not suppose there is a name for 'she who cries a lot?'" She joked.
Abby chuckled. "Or 'she with great lung capacity.' Here, give her to me."
Ziva gladly handed the screaming baby over to Abby. "She does not need to be changed, she cannot possibly be hungry. Even if she is I doubt I have anything left. Do you have any idea how much breastfeeding hurts?"
"I've heard." She stood-up and paced in front of the bed while gently bouncing the baby in her arms. "Sometime all they need is a little bouncing . . . action." She whispered the last part as the baby's mouth opened wide with a yawn and her bright eyes fluttered closed. "It is hard work being four hours old." She whispered.
Receiving no response from Ziva, Abby was not in the least bit surprised to find her fast asleep. She tiptoed out of the room and brought the baby with her down into the living room. She grabbed her cell off of the coffee table and sat down on the couch, baby still in her arms, and typed up a text message and sent it to Sam and Lil.
'It's a Girl!
7lbs. 3oz. 20inches
October 31st 8:30pm'
Sam responded immediately, but that wasn't surprising. She was the only one who knew Ziva was in labor. 'Congratz you two. I bet she's beautiful. She have a name yet? Let us know when Anna is up for company'
Abby smiled. 'No name yet. And she's gorgeous. I'll let you know' She turned her cell phone off and set it back on the table. She sighed and looked down at the baby sleeping peacefully in her arms. "I could always put you down in the bassinette next to your . . . what does she want to be called again? . . . Ima! I could put you down beside your Ima, but I have a feeling you would just wake-up and start wailing your little head off again. How about we think of a name?"
She scanned the room for the baby names book Gibbs has given Ziva and found it resting on a bookshelf. She got the book and sat back down, grateful that the baby seemed to sleep as well as she did. "Hey look at that. There is actually a name that means 'great wailer.' Not a very pretty name though." She flipped through a few more pages. "How about Lily? Or Rose? I don't think your mother would like her child named after a flower. We need to find you a strong name." She nodded. "A good, strong name." She turned the page and made a face. "Ew. Not that strong. We don't want you getting beat-up … well, we don't want you beating anyone up on the playground."
Ziva came down the stairs about an hour and a half later to find both Abby and the baby fast asleep on the couch. The baby was carefully tucked to Abby's side and the arm of the couch so as she wouldn't fall. Ziva tip-toed into the kitchen to grab Abby's camera and snapped a quick picture for the baby's photo album. She set the camera aside and picked the baby name book off of the floor where it had fallen at Abby's feet. There was a bookmark between two of the pages. She was only able to quickly scan through the marked pages before the baby woke-up. Ziva picked her up before she could wake Abby.
"Hey beautiful." She whispered as she brought the baby with her upstairs into her nursery. It was the furthest room from where Abby was sleeping. Abby had taken the baby downstairs to allow her to sleep so it was only fair that she took the baby upstairs to do the same. "Are you hungry?" She sat down on the glider and lifted her shirt. It took a minute before she relaxed back into the chair. It was such a weird feeling. "As your mother would say, you are something else. I do not understand exactly what that means, but I think it fits." She stroked her daughter's cheek. "You have changed us. Not even six hours old and you have changed us; Me, Abby . . . you changed us. I do not fully know the meaning of that change yet, but I can feel it. And I am glad for it." She placed a kiss on the baby's tiny hand. "I love you."
Abby tip-toed away from the doorway. In the beginning of Ziva's pregnancy Abby had worried that because of how Ziva kept her emotions tucked away that she would have a hard time bonding with the baby. She smiled. She had never been so glad to be so wrong.
It was their first dinner as a family of three. However, at 1:30 in the morning it couldn't really be considered dinner, but the baby had just eaten, been changed and was currently sleeping and Abby and Ziva were both starving so a 1:30 dinner was appropriate. Abby put two plates of eggplant parmesan on the island.
"We need to discuss something."
Abby nearly jumped out of her skin and flipped on the light. "Ziva I told you to stay upstairs and I would bring the food up. You just had a baby. Even though you won't admit it I know you're in pain." She put her hands on her hips in that, you better do what I say, attitude. "Upstairs."
"About what kind of family we are going to be."
Abby shook her head with a sigh and sat down next to Ziva at the island. "Okay. Shoot."
"Shoot what?"
Abby waved her off. "Never mind."
"I do not want us to be the kind of family that stays inside watching TV all the time."
"Ziva we've only had the baby for a couple of hours. Let's eat and go to bed before she wakes up again."
"I want us to do things." Ziva continued right along. "Together, as a family. I do not want us to go off and do separate things. When I was growing up I was always with my mother. My father was at work or on a mission. I know that he is not the best man in the world, but he was my father. I wanted him home. I wanted to do things with him and my mother. I do not want our daughter to know that feeling."
"And she won't. Ziva, that little girl is going to grow-up knowing that her parents love her and would rather be with her than anywhere else. She is going to know she comes first."
Ziva smiled. "Now we can eat."
"You eat. I gotta go get something to show you."
Ziva nodded and pushed another forkful of food into her mouth followed by long gulp of milk as a chaser. Abby had made her drink milk at least once every day while she was pregnant. She wanted to be sure Ziva was getting enough calcium and it didn't look as though Abby was going to let up on the milk drinking any time soon. Ziva didn't particularly like the taste of milk, but it was good for the baby so she drank it anyway.
"I found it!"
"Found what?" Ziva asked.
Abby held a bag in front of Ziva's eyes. Ziva put her fork down and took the bag. "What is it?"
"Open it. Don't worry it's not going to explode on you."
Ziva put the bag on her lap and pushed aside the pink tissue paper.
"It's from that baby store we went to when we first moved here. While you were in the bathroom I went back and bought it."
Ziva pulled the item in question out of the bag. It was a baby dress. It was red and white striped with a bow in the middle, a little white onesie underneath, red leggings and a little red creature on the bottom left corner Ziva did not recognize.
"It's Elmo." Abby explained. "He's on Sesame Street."
"Is that around here?"
Abby sat down next to Ziva and ravenously attacked her dinner. "Is what around here?"
"Sesame Street."
"Zi don't tell me you've never seen Sesame Street?" Ziva shook her head in the negative. "It's a kid's show."
"And he is one of the creatures on this show?"
Abby chuckled. "Oh yeah. And there is a big blue guy named Cookie Monster, a green guy in a trashcan named Oscar, an eight foot yellow bird named Big Bird, a purple vampire named Count Dracula, an orange ballerina named Zoe and a pink fairy named Abby Cadabby. Then there's always Bert and Ernie, another blue guy named Grover, Mr. Noodle who is an actual person, and I think that's it for the major characters."
"It sounds very strange."
"The kids love it."
Ziva leaned over and placed a gentle kiss on Abby's cheek. "It is very cute."
"I couldn't help myself. I knew you wouldn't let me get it without a matching outfit for a boy since you were so adamant that that little girl sleeping upstairs was going to be a male." She cast a sideways glance at Ziva. "But I had to get it."
"I am glad you did. It is very cute."
"So you said."
Ziva nodded. "And I also say we should finish eating quickly so that we can get in a few hours of sleep before the baby needs to be fed again."
Abby scoffed. "We'll be lucky if we get an hour."
"Really?" Ziva asked.
Abby nodded. "Oh yeah." She looked over at Ziva and their eyes locked in silent agreement. Two minutes later and their food was gone, empty plates hastily thrown in the sink. Five minutes later they were in bed on their way to sleep. Forty-five minutes later the baby woke-up and the sleepless nights began.
"I've been workin' on the railroad, all the live long day. I've been workin' on the railroad, just to pass the time away." Ziva crept closer to the monitor not sure if she was hearing what Abby was singing correctly. "Can't you hear the whistle blowing? Rise up so early in the morn. Can't you hear the captain shouting 'Dinah, blow your horn'?" Yep she was hearing correctly. Americans had weird nursery rhymes. Why you would sing to your child about a day at work she did not know.
Abby rocked back and forth on the glider as she continued with the song. "Dinah won't you blow, Dinah won't you blow, Dinah won't you blow you ho-o-orn? Dinah won't you blow, Dinah won't you blow, Dinah won't you blow your horn?" She stroked the back of the baby's hand that was wrapped around her index finger. "Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah. Someone's in the kitchen I kn-o-o-ow. Someone's in the kitchen with Dinah . . . and strummin' on the ol' banjo. And singing fee, fie, fiddle-e-i-o. Fee, fie, fiddle-e-i-o-o-o-o. Fee, fie Fiddle-e-i-o and strummin' on the ol' banjo."
Abby leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on the baby's forehead. "I have a feeling your Ima is sitting in the bedroom listening to me and is very confused right now." She quietly joked, as to not wake-up the baby. "And now that you're asleep we can go put you in the bassinette." The baby slept in the bassinette next to Ziva as it was easier for her feedings and because Ziva kept checking on the baby every couple of seconds to make sure she was still breathing. However, Abby liked rocking her in the nursery. Ziva got her bonding time feeding the baby so Abby liked to get her time by rocking and singing the baby to sleep.
"And the princess is asleep." Abby said, carefully laying the baby down in her bassinette.
"Thanks to another one of your . . ." She held her tongue. "songs I see."
Abby chuckled. "You should hear 'On Top of Spaghetti.' Now that one is good."
"And what exactly is on top of spaghetti?"
"Same old, same old. Cheese and meatballs. Special tree-growing meatballs."
"Now that does not make sense."
Abby crawled into bed and pulled the covers over herself with a big yawn. "Nope. But…"
"The kids love it." Ziva finished.
"Exactly."
"Have you thought of any names yet?"
"Nope." Abby said with a yawn.
"In the morning then."
Abby yawned again. "It is morning."
Ziva checked the clock beside her bed before checking that the baby was alright and lying down herself. "Later then."
Abby nodded. "Sounds good."
Abby turned her cell off and rejoined Ziva and the baby on the bed. "That was Courtney. I asked her if she could take the baby's first pictures for us."
"And?"
"And she can do it next week. She said the earliest she likes doing newborn shots is at seven days, but when the baby is seven days old Courtney is busy so I booked her for when she is eight days old. Until then we will just have to take our own pictures."
Ziva looked up just in time to be blinded by a flash.
"Will you look back down at the baby?" Ziva did as she was told and allowed Abby to capture the supposedly candid picture.
"Do you carry that thing around with you? Ziva asked.
"Since she was born I do."
"Since last night?"
Abby repositioned herself to get a better shot. "Is she only that old?" She snapped off a few pictures.
"Almost twelve hours, yes."
Abby put the camera down and took the little bundle from Ziva. "Seems like she's been here forever." While Abby was busy pushing the blanket out of the baby's face Ziva picked up the camera and snapped off a few shots of her own.
"The baby was due a week ago." Ziva stated. "When do you think Gibbs is going to pay us a visit?"
Abby chuckled. "I'm guessing when she'd be a month old by his book, so probably in three weeks. What's your bet?"
"I think he will call first."
"Too risky."
"So is coming here."
Abby pursed her lips. "True. He'll find a way. He's Gibbs." She looked back down at the baby. "Gibbs always finds a way."
"I have been thinking of what to name her."
"Aw you mean we can't keep calling her 'The Baby' all her life?"
Ziva ignored Abby's comment and grabbed the baby book on her nightstand. She turned to the page Abby had marked earlier and showed Abby. "You had this page bookmarked."
There was a name highlighted.
"The name means complete." Ziva said. "That is what she does, yes? She completes our family."
Abby sat down beside Ziva and looked down at the baby's peaceful sleeping face. "Is that who you are? Were you sent here to make a family out of us?" She asked.
Ziva furrowed her brow in confusion. "She wasn't sent here. It took ten months – not nine as it is forty weeks and forty weeks equals approximately ten months, and over twenty-four hours of very intense active labor to get her here."
"Sent by God, Zi." Abby turned the baby so they could both look at her. "Everything happens for a reason and everything and everyone has a purpose. Maybe her purpose was to bring us together."
"But we were together before I told you that I was pregnant." Ziva said, gently moving the blanket out of the baby's face. It didn't seem to want to stay out of the way.
"Yeah, but she made us a family. Can't get rid of me now." She joked.
Ziva nestled up against Abby and sighed. "Like I would ever want to."
Abby placed a gentle kiss on Ziva's forehead. When she pulled away she realized the Israeli was asleep. A full day of active labor would make anyone tired. She smiled down at the sleeping infant and with a single finger caressed her small pink cheek. "Looks like you have a name little one."
"Okay everyone listen up please." Abby stood in the dining room in front of the doorway to the kitchen and turned on the lights and turned off all of the music to get everyone's attention. "As all of you know we were supposed to have this party three days ago. However," She motioned for Ziva, who was waiting in the kitchen out of view of their guests, to join her. "We had a good reason."
Ziva picked the baby up out of her swing and stepped into the dining room beside Abby.
"It seems someone finally decided to join us."
Amid a chorus of 'awe's and 'congratulations' Ziva cleared her throat. "This is our daughter."
"And yes she has a name, but you're going to have to guess." Abby held her hand-up as everyone started shouting names out at the same time. "Ah ah ah ah stop. Somewhere in this lab I have placed ten tiles inside pumpkins. Each tile has a letter on it and is hidden within the gooey insides of the pumpkins." Some of the kids laughed. "Now there are a lot of pumpkins in this room but all I can tell you is that it is not in the jack-o-lanterns. It is in an un-carved pumpkin. The tops of all of the pumpkins were cut off so you won't be able to tell whether a pumpkin has a tile just by looking on it. Also, please only take one pumpkin at a time and bring it to the plastic mat in the entry way to search there and please wash your hands when you have finished your search." She pulled a whistle out of one of the pockets of her lab coat and blew it lightly. The baby was sleeping. "Go."
"Oh" She interrupted a second later. "One other thing. Her name isn't ten letters long, but once you find all of the tiles you will have to combine them to make different names and hopefully one of them will be right." She blew the whistle again. "Now go."
She stepped back next to Ziva and watched as all of the kids, and a couple of the adults, went off in search of the mystery tiles.
"You have fake blood running down your cheek." Ziva said.
Abby grabbed Ziva's face and placed a big kiss on her cheek, leaving deep red lip marks on her tan skin. "I know. I did it myself."
Ziva eyed Abby's costume. It was everything the lab rat had wanted it to be. "Here, hold you-know-who."
Abby took the little baby bee in her arms. The costume was a little big, but a few cleverly placed elastic bands and pins to hold excess fabric under the tutu and it fit perfectly. "Where are you going?"
"To get the camera."
Abby shrugged and chuckled as she watched everyone frantically searching around for pumpkins. Looking on the fireplace, under tables and chairs, in bowls and containers, everywhere there was an inch of space.
"Nice trick." Sam began as she walked over to Abby.
Abby shrugged. "I told you you would find out her name at the party. I never said I would tell you or make it easy." Abby nodded toward the other end of the room. "I think your daughter is trying to get your attention."
"This is not over." She said as she left to help her daughter find a pumpkin.
"What is not over?" Ziva asked.
Abby smiled. "Nothing. She's mad I won't tell her the baby's name."
"As Tony would say, 'tough shi-'"
"Ziva!" Abby warned.
"What?"
"Not in front of all the kids."
"Sorry. Now stand somewhere in your lab so I can take a picture."
"Why don't we stand somewhere so someone else can take a picture? Hey Lil!" Abby waved Lil over. "Can you take a picture?"
Lil took the camera. "Can you tell me the baby's name?"
Abby smirked. "I could."
"But you won't."
"Exactly."
Lil sighed. "Fine."
"Thanks." Abby maneuvered the baby onto one arm so she could use her free hand to pull Ziva over to her desk - an almost identical match to her desk at NCIS. The both sat down on the edge with Abby holding the little bumble bee baby and Ziva next to her with her left arm behind Abby holding herself up and her right over Abby's arm holding the baby.
Lil took the picture. "Cute."
Abby winked and stood-up. "Thanks." She handed the baby back to Ziva and took the camera back from Lil, taking a picture of Ziva and her little bee. "Also cute." She turned toward everyone. "For those of you who are abstaining for the name hunt feel free to eat whatever you want there is plenty to eat and drink. Although once the kids find all of the tiles they will probably need some help making names out of them. Also, there are different stations around the room like the eyeballs in the pumpkin, how many hairs on the spider and so on so be sure to visit them all."
"How long do you think it is going to take them to find all of the tiles?"
"These tiles?" Abby asked holding up a bag of tiles.
"You didn't put them in? Abby" Ziva chastised her grown girlfriend the same as she would a small child.
Abby smiled. "Relax Zi." She winked. "These are the extras. The others are out there. Somewhere. The pumpkins may just not all be in this room exactly."
Ziva shook her head and looked down at the baby. "This is what you have to look forward to little one."
Abby leaned down toward the baby's face and placed a kiss on her little nose. "Don't listen to her. You're gonna love it."
Abby wondered off to join in the hunt with the little kids and Ziva stayed back watching it all. "You know what?" She asked. "I think she may be right."
"How about this?" One of the mothers asked in the little circle the women had made. The kids got bored of the game shortly after they found all of the tiles and were now digging into the deserts and playing games leaving their mothers and the women of the island to wrack their brains in search of the right name. Their Dads could watch them for a little while.
"No. I think the doubles are a trick. Something to throw us off." Sam said.
"That does sound like something they would do." Gwen added.
Lucinda, Lil and Courtney agreed.
"Mommy, does this make a name?" Shannon said, pointing to a name she had made out of the tiles.
Ziva snuck a peek at the name Shannon had tried to spell out as Sam sent her daughter back into the lab in search of a cupcake. Ziva winked across the room at Abby.
"Okay, time is up." Ziva said, surprising everyone with how she was able to get right next to them without any of them noticing.
"Time to see whether you people are as smart as we give you credit for." Abby said with a smirk. She waited until Ziva joined her before she asked for the first name.
Sam was the first to volunteer. "Now you know I'm right about this. Lia?"
Abby shook her head. "No."
"Leila?" She tried again.
Ziva shook her head. "No."
"Leyla?"
"No and your turn is over." Abby said.
"Amy." Gwen suggested.
Abby shook her head.
"Maia?" Came another suggestion.
The name was again met with a negative shake of the head.
"Sara?"
"No."
"Lily?"
"Nope."
"Remy."
"No."
"Alysa?"
Ziva shook her head. Abby looked down at the baby in her arms. "I am beginning to think that we did give them too much credit."
"Allie?"
"No."
"Aria?"
"Getting colder."
"Can we have a minute?" Lil asked.
Abby looked to Ziva who shrugged. "Sure." Abby answered. "Certainly couldn't hurt." She laughed.
After a couple more minutes they turned back to Abby and Ziva.
"We've got it now." Lil began. "Emily?"
Ziva looked away from Abby and pursed her lips to keep herself from laughing. They were going up, down, around and everywhere but to the conclusion they were supposed to be reaching.
Abby shook her head. "Wrong."
"Are you sure?" Lil asked. "I think it is."
"I think it's not." Abby answered.
"Maria?"
"Did you actually think about this?" Abby asked.
"Then it has to be Riley." Courtney suggested.
"No it does not." Ziva said.
"You did include the letters of her name right? This isn't some funny trick?" Ashley asked.
"Not a trick." Abby said.
By this point Ziva had again made her way back to the circle undetected. She motioned for Shannon to come over and whispered for her to make the name she had before. She did and Ziva sent her back to the cookies and rejoined Abby. She took the baby and gently bounced her. She didn't need to be changed and it wasn't time for a feeding yet so she just needed to get back to sleep.
"Okay, are you sure the letters are A, A, E, I, L, M, M, R, S and Y?"
Abby leaned toward Ziva and pretended to discuss it. "Yep pretty sure."
"Shannon." Ziva called. "Can you show your mother the name you made?"
The little girl smiled and ran into the middle of the circle and picked up the tiles. She dropped them into her mother's hands.
"Amme?" Sam asked only to be met with the same look all of their previous guesses had been met with. "This is ridiculous. I love my daughter, but Shannon is four. She barely knows how to spell her own name."
Lil rolled her eyes and grabbed the tiles out of Sam's hand. She spelled them out in her palm and smirked. She pulled Shannon over and whispered something into her ear.
"Her name is Emma." Shannon said proudly.
Abby and Ziva smiled. "Yes." Ziva began looking down at the little girl in her arms. "Her name is Emma."
Abby bent down and placed a kiss on little Emma's head. "Emma Caitlin."
