Abby picked up her phone on the first ring and pulled it to her ear. "Forensics."

"Hey Abs, it's McGee."

"McGee! What's up? I mean, you're calling me at 9 o'clock, and you said that you weren't coming back to work."

"Abs, this is important, so listen carefully."

"I'm listening…"

"Ziva's in labour."

"What? Since when?"

"For two hours!"

"Why didn't you call me?"

"Abby, I've been trying to contact you and Ducky for the last hour and a half!"

"Did you try Gibbs?" She heard McGee pause on the other line. "I'm guessing no."

"Why didn't you pick up?"

"Gibbs, Ducky, Jimmy and I went out for dinner. We ate at this nice restaurant, but we came back to work because another cold case was being opened. Turns out it was just a hoax, fake, make-believe…"

"Yeah, I get it Abby. That's not why I'm calling you. Tell Gibbs and Ducky and get to the hospital."

"We'll get there a.s.a.p. McGee!" She quickly ended the call as she heard the elevator ding and the lab doors open. She turned to see Gibbs walking in, coffee in hand. Gibbs noticed the look of excitement on her face, rather than the usual look of pure happiness.

"What's up, Abs?" Gibbs asked her. She gave him a big grin as she explained what McGee had just told her.

"Ziva's in labour! McGee says we should get to the hospital a.s.a.p. and bring ducky with us!"

Gibbs sighed as he grabbed Abby's arm and dragged her down to Autopsy to tell Ducky the news.

Abby, Gibbs and Ducky burst into the labour ward their eyes searching for any signs of an NCIS agent. Abby smiled as she saw McGee and ran to hug him.

"McGee!"

"Hey, Abs." He looked over Abby's shoulder. "Hi Ducky, hey boss."

Abby let go of him. "Where are they?" she asked eagerly. McGee pointed at a room opposite the chairs in the corridor. Abby quickly ran to open the door and McGee and Gibbs followed, close behind, just to stop her from doing something stupid. As the three entered the open door, McGee and Gibbs held Abby back when they saw the look on Ziva's face. Abby attempted to break free, but when she saw Ziva's expression, she froze.

Tony looked up from his place beside Ziva and gave the team a tired smile before wincing as Ziva crushed his hand. Ziva's eyes were squeezed shut as she endured a contraction. As soon as the contraction finished, she took a few deep breaths before turning to everyone else.

"Hello everyone."

McGee and Gibbs took this as their cue to let Abby go. Abby ran and squeezed Tony in a hug before leaning down to give Ziva a light one.

"Oh my god, why didn't you call to tell me you were in labour? I thought I was your best friend! You should have called to tell me!" McGee ran forward and put his hand over her mouth to shut her up.

Ziva chuckled before holding out her arms to pull McGee into a hug. McGee hugged her lightly before moving aside to let Ducky hug her.

"How are you doing my dear?" Ducky asked.

Ziva smiled weakly. "I'm tired, just very tired."

"Well, now is the time to rest and regain your energy for what lies ahead, Ziva."

Tony winced as he flexed his hand. "That's what I'm most afraid of."

Everyone laughed as Gibbs gave Tony a headslap. Tony gingerly rubbed the back of his head. "Thanks boss, I needed that."

Ziva smiled at him. Abby started jumping around.

"I'm gonna be an auntie soon!" she squealed over and over again. Ziva laughed before suddenly remembering something.

Auntie? Why did that ring a bell? Her eyes widened in shock as she remembered. "Where's Maria?" she asked.

Tony bit his lip as he remembered. "She's at Katie's house." He looked at his watch. "And I'm meant to pick her up now!" He quickly got up, but McGee sat him back down.

"I'll pick her up – you need to stay with Ziva."

"Are you sure?" Tony asked. McGee nodded. Tony got a piece of paper from his pocket and scribbled the address to Katie's house. McGee took it and smiled at Tony before turning to Abby.

"Come on, Abs – we have to go and pick up Maria."

"You go – I'll meet you out the front when you get back with Maria." She kissed his cheek lightly and shooed him out of the door.

Maria stared out of Katie's bedroom window, waiting for Tony to arrive. "Where is he? He's over an hour late!"

"Calm down, Maria," Katie calmed her down. "He probably has a very good reason."

Maria sighed as she moved away from the window. "Fine then. I'm just gonna pack my stuff so that I'm ready as soon as he gets here." She picked up her school bag and started putting her stuff away, including her half of the homework project she and Katie had been working on. Katie took her place at the window and gasped as a Porsche pulled up in her parents' driveway.

"Is it just me, or has Tony got a new ride?"

Maria's ears immediately pricked up and she ran to join Katie at the window. She stared in shock at the man that got out of the car. "What is he doing here?" she whispered loudly.

"Who?" Katie asked curiously.

Maria pointed at the man that was coming towards the house. "Him." She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it!" they heard Rachel call out as she raced down the stairs. After a few murmurs downstairs, they heard her call out, "Katie! Maria's ride is here!"

Maria and Katie raced down the stairs and paused at the bottom.

"Tim?" Maria asked. McGee smiled.

"Where's Tony?" she asked.

"He's at the hospital with Ziva."

"What?" Maria exclaimed, mouth opened wide in shock.

"Ziva's in labour," McGee explained quickly. Maria closed her mouth before quickly hugging Katie and Rachel and pushing past McGee to get out of the door. McGee chuckled.

"Someone's eager to see their sister."

McGee followed Abby as she led Maria to Ziva's room. Maria smiled as Abby went on about how Tony's hand was crushed when they had come in during the contraction.

"He does know that there are at least nine hours left, right?" she asked.

Abby nodded as they reached the door to the room. "He knows there's a long time ahead – I just don't know how many pregnancy books he read to find out how long they'll be here for."

Maria laughed as she entered the room. She stopped when she saw Ziva, her eyes closed and resting on the bed. Tony was sat on the chair beside the bed, sleeping in the chair. The rest of the team – Gibbs, Ducky, Jimmy and even Vance – were scattered around the room, either talking quietly or sleeping themselves. Maria tiptoed up to Ziva and stood beside her bed, watching her sleep.

"Ciao, sorellina, (Hello, sister)" Maria whispered. Tony's eyes blinked open.

"You speak Italian?" he asked.

"Nah – I just decided to say a load of random words. Of course I can speak Italian, you donut! I'm half Italian for goodness sake!"

"Alright, calm down."

Maria turned to Ziva. "Ziva? Are you awake?"

"I am now," she murmured. "Tony talks too loudly."

"Sorry – I didn't expect your sister to start speaking Italian."

Ziva chuckled as she sat up, then winced at the movement. Tony was awake as soon as he heard her wince.

"What's wrong?" he asked worriedly. The rest of the team looked at her expectantly.

"Don't worry – I'm just having back pain," Ziva reassured them. Gibbs, Ducky, Vance and Jimmy went back to their conversations. She slowly swung her feet off the bed and stood on the floor. Tony watched her puzzled as she waddled towards the door.

"Where are you going?" Tony asked.

"I need to use the bathroom," she answered.

"Need some help?" Abby offered. Ziva smiled at her and nodded. She held out her hand for Abby to take and let Abby lead her to the toilet. Once the door was closed, Maria and Tony just stared at each other. The whole room was quiet.

"So…" Maria said.

"So…" Tony repeated.

"You can put your bag down, you know," McGee told Maria.

"Oh, right." Maria laughed nervously as she put her bag down.

"Su che cos'era il progetto che ti hanno dato come compito? (What was your homework project on?)" Tony asked her.

"It was on a country in the world which was picked for us. We're doing Scotland."

"Why don't you ask Ducky for Scottish history? I'm sure he would be glad to help."

Maria looked over at where Ducky was sitting, obviously deep in a childhood story which Jimmy was very interested in. "I'll ask him later."

Tony noticed a concerned look on Maria's face. "Stai bene? (Are you ok?)" he asked.

Maria looked at him. "Sì, certo. Perché? (Yes, of course. Why?)" she answered quickly. Too qickly for Tony's liking.

"Cosa c'è che non va? (What's the matter?)" he asked curiously.

"I'm fine."

Tony gave her a look of concern. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I am."

"Because, if there's something wrong –"

"Sto bene! (I'm fine!)" she shouted at him. She got up and stormed out of the room just as Ziva and Abby came in. The whole team stared in shock at what just happened.

"What happened?" Ziva asked. Tony got up and followed Maria out of the room. Abby and Ziva watched as Tony walked out and headed the way Maria went. Ziva sighed as she went to sit on the bed.

"What took you two so long, anyway?" McGee asked.

"Ziva had another contraction in the toilet."

After failing to find her inside, Tony ran out of the hospital entrance and found Maria sitting on his car bonnet. Tony neared her, trying not to scare her.

"Maria?" he asked. Maria folded her arms and turned away from him.

"Lasciami in pace, (Leave me alone)" she answered. Tony sat on the bonnet next to her. Maria looked away from him to hide her tears. Tony noticed her changed position.

"Per favore, dimmi cosa c'è che non va. (Please, tell me what's wrong.)"

Maria continued to look away from him. "Niente. (Nothing.)"

"Dimmi la verità, Maria. (Tell me the truth, Maria.)" Tony continued to give her a look that forced her to spill.

"Io sono gelosa... (I'm... jealous.)" Maria sighed. "Di solito Ziva si occupava di me, ma adesso che nasceranno le bambine si occuperà di più di loro... (Ziva usually pays attention to me, but when the babies are born she'll pay more attention to them.)" Maria sobbed. ""Sarà come se non mi amasse più. (It will be like she won't love me anymore.)"

Tony saw the tears in her eyes and hugged her closely. "Non c'è niente che dovrebbe preoccuparsi (There's nothing you should worry about)," Tony whispered. "Se c'è una cosa a cui dovresti pensare è che Ziva ti amerà nonostante tutto, ti amerà per sempre. (If there's anything you should think, it's that Ziva loves you no matter what and she always will.)"

Maria smiled weakly. "Grazie, Tony. (Thanks, Tony.)"

Tony pulled her off the car. "We should go inside, because Ziva is probably worrying about us and begging to look for us right now."

Maria laughed a little. "They should let her, because apparently walking and moving around is good for helping labour move along faster."

Tony chuckled as he took Maria inside.

"No! I am not staying put in this room whilst my boyfriend and sister are who-knows-where doing who-knows-what!" Ziva tried to waddle past Matt. Matt just blocked her way.

"No. You are not to leave this room, Ziva. I told you that when I got here, Ziva, and I'm not gonna change my decision."

Ziva frowned. "But I need to look for them!"

"No you don't." Tony appeared at the door with his arm wrapped around Maria's shoulders. "We're right here."

Ziva pushed past Matt and hugged Tony and Maria. "Where have you two been? I have been worried sick!"

"You said the right thing for once!" Tony joked. Ziva frowned at him.

"This is not the time to joke around, Tony. Stress is not good for the babies."

"I've tried to tell you that over and over again, Zi." He pecked her lightly on the lips. "Calm down, honey."

"I will as soon as you explain everything to me."

Maria and Tony smiled at each other.

"We will Ziva," Maria promised. "We will."