It was about ten minutes after Gibbs left that the doors to the waiting room opened and McGee and I looked up fully expecting it to be Gibbs even though he hadn't been gone for long. I smiled when I saw who it was, but both girls were standing in shock. McGee and I looked at each other and smiled knowing that we'd surprised them. Sky was the firrst one to break out of hr shock and ran into me with such a force that it left both of us a little winded.
"Daddy, ew back" she said sobbing into my leg.
I picked her up and sat on my knee and hed her tightly,
"Yea baby girl I'm back" I said crying, kissing the top of her head before looking up and watching as Tim got up and hugged Abby who was now sobbing helplessly into his chest, he was whispering things in her ear and reassurring her that he wasn't going anywhere any time soon. I looked her right in the eyes when she turned a questioning look on me and I nodded my head, she smiled and kissed McGee with so much force both of them stumbled and fell to the floor.
"Nice one McGee" I said teasingly, continuing to rub circles into Sky's back. It took Sky about five minutes to finally calm down enough for her to say
"I miss ew daddy, very alot" she said to me and I smiled kissing her forehead and saying
"I missed you alot too baby girl. I heard you were a very strong big girl yesterday, I'm proud of you" I told her and she smiled a little before her face fell and she said
"Mummy not well daddy. I is very scared. I no want mummy to leaf me, daddy please tell me mummy no leaf me" she begged fresh tears rolling down her face as she cried against my chest
"I know mummy isn't very well at the moment sweetie but she is going to fight for us ok" I tried to reassure her as best as I could, without showing her how worried I was and how scared I was at losing her myself.
"She has to come back to us daddy, like you did, when you come backed from being hero and saving people" she said and I smiled weakily, remembering all too well what my eyes had seen that morning, what we had found and what was probably back at NCIS right now in Ducky's lab having an autopsy done right now.
"I know she does sweetie. I love you baby girl with all my heart" I whispered in her ear and she whispered back
"I love ew too daddy" she said as the tears continued to roll down her face and we sat in silence.
It was when Gibbs got back with our food that we finally spoke again. He looked around sheepishly noticing Sky and Abby were now here as well and then looked down at the food
"I'm sorry you guys I only got enough food to feed us" he said a little embarrassed
"Its alright Gibbs we ate before we came. Sky woke saying she was really hungry so I took her out to get some food" Abby told us, he smiled and handed McGee and me our food and coffee.
"So how long have you guys been back?" Abby asked
"Just over five hours" Gibbs said, he hadn't brought much for himself but was reassured when we finished and thanked him.
"So how are we going to work this?" he asked after a couple of minutes silence. We looked at him with questioning looks on our faces and he elaborated
"I mean who is going to stay with Ziva, not all of us can stay with her once visiting hours are finished and I want the rest of you to go home and get some sleep" he said looking at us
"I'll stay with her" I said and Gibbs was about to protest when I shot him a look and he agreed
"Ok McGee and Abs you will take Sky with us, all of you are staying at my place tonight" Gibbs said and they nodded. Abby stood and tried to grab Sky back from me and she fussed, before screaming and clenching to my shirt.
"Sky baby girl. Aunty Abby, Uncle Tim and Papa are taking you home to get some sleep, I'm staying here with mummy to make sure that she is alright. I promise and so does papa that when you wake up tomorrow and are changed and well fed that he will bring you back here to see us ok" she looked at Gibbs and he nodded she smiled weakily and reluctantly loosened her hold on me. I hugged her close and whispered in her ear
"Be a good girl baby, ok" she nodded I smiled kissing the top of her head before saying
"I love you baby girl" and she smiled and kissed me back before saying
"I love ew too daddy". With that she jumped into Gibbs arms and they left the waiting room.
Ten minutes after they left one of the nurses from the reception desk walked in and said
"Are you Mr DiNozzo?" when I nodded she ushered for me to follow her and we walked down one of the halls down to the room where Ziva was, there was another nurse in there who had just finished putting in an extra bed. I looked at the nurse and questioned
"This was part of your directors requests for you" the nurse said and I nodded in understanding remembering that Vance had something about the requests he'd asked of the hospital staff. The other nurse filled me in on Ziva's condition.
"Ms David here suffered alot of blood loss, it meant that she ran into high fevers and it may have efected one of the babies if not all of them, at the moment she is in a medically induced coma and we are in control of her breathing, however her heart is beating by itself. If her condition doesn't deterriorate over night we should be able to take her off the life suppourt and she will be breathing by herself again, the coma will start to wear off in the next 48 hours and when she does wake up her and the babies will be monitored for at lest 72 hours after that. The babies are on a monitor as well so we have a close on them. A night nurse will be in around 0100 to change her blood bag. It will be the last transfussion she will be needing, so her doctor will be able to do a check up and give us the all clear to take the life support off and stop the coma" I was a little overwhelmed with all of the details but eventually I managed to take it all in and when I did both nurses left and I sat by her side for a little while, moving the stray hair from her face and holding her hand. When I finally decided I was going to sleep I kissed her cheek and let go of her hand before sleeping in the bed that was about four steps away from Ziva's side.
I woke at 0100 to the night nurse changing the blood bag and checking the machines that were monitoring Ziva and the triplets, before the nurse turned around and I actually saw who the nurse was.
"Helen. Is that you?" I asked sitting up a little in the bed to talk to her. Helen had been my nurse when I was in here with pnuemonic plague, she had been great and when Kate had been released a week before me she had been the only one who actually cared enough to stay with me. She had thought that Kate and I had been a couple when we had never even been intimate.
"Tony, what are you doing here?" she asked
"Ziva is my fiance" I told her and Helen looked at me and smiled
"Well congratulations Tony, but what happened to Kate?" she asked
"Kate passed away about 9 years ago now" I said and she looked at me shocked
"Oh the poor dear" she said sympathitically.
"Is she alright?" I asked motioning to Ziva
"She is doing just great at the moment Tony, now you look after yourself" she said tapping my cheek before exiting the room.
The next time I was woken by the sirens going off, I jumped up and pushed the call button. Something had gone terribly wrong. I refused to leave when the doctors and nurses tried to get me to leave so they got me to sit on my bed and Helen was at my side reassuring me.
"She will be alright Tony" Helen said over and over again
"Its not just Ziva I'm worried about Helen, I'm worried about the triplets as well" I said and all the doctors looked at me and then back down at the monitor
"We only have two heart beats, check the rest of the heart wave monitors they said and they checked back a couple of hours back to the time I first got here and there still was only two baby heart beats, back to when Ziva was brought in the day before and still only two heart beats on the baby monitor.
"I'm sorry Mr DiNozzo but now we know why all of this happened, on of the fetuses hasn't made it. They are at a stage where this can happen to the babies however the other two are perfectly fine and healthy" the head doctor said and I looked at him in shock this wasn't the news that I wanted to hear and the fact that he'd tried to use the other two babies being healthy and safe was something that made it worse not better.
"Could there be a reason why only one fetus has um, you know?" I asked wanting to know the truth and every possibility as to why all our babies didn't make it.
"It could just be because that baby wasn't getting enough nutrients or blood. It could be because it didn't grow at the rate at which the other two grew these are both just guessess and I'm not entirely sure what it is at the moment. However I am positive that it will not effect Ziva and the other two babies" the doctor answered and I smiled weakily before the nurses left and I thanked the doctor. Helen stayed behind and asked
"What is it Tony?"
"I can't believe this has happened, we were so excited even Sky was excited about it and now I have to tell Ziva and Sky and my family that we have lost one of the babies. When Ziva inds out she is going to blame herself and hate herself so much. Its not her fault, it is not her fault, no matter what happens" I said bursting into tears.
"Your right it isn't her fault, and you can tell them it will be hard but it needs to be done and quick question who is Sky?" she asked
"Sky is my daughter" I said sobbing "She's aredy been through too much in the last couple of days I can't break her little heart she is so excited about having the babies at home" I said sobbing a little harder
"I know its going to be hard for you Tony and its going to be hard for Sky to take in and understand but I'm sure she will take it in her stride. I will see you tonight Tony. My shift has ended and I will be back tonight" Helen said. I looked at the clock on the wall it was 0600, Gibbs was surely awake right now, and what I needed right now was the reassurance from him.
"See you later Helen" I said as she left the room.
I took a deep breath before moving out of Ziva's room and back down to the waiting room. I pulled out my phone and hit speed dial two. Gibbs picked up on the second ring
"Gibbs" he said, I was too chocked up to speak
"Hello" he said and I still couldn't speak
"Tony what is it? What happened? Did something happen to Ziva?" he asked and I shook my head, knowing he couldn't see it I said just above a whisper
"Not Zi" and he asked
"Then who Tony?"
"Its the triplets. The monitors went off about an hour ago, at first they thought it was something to do with Ziva, they were checking the baby monitor when I asked if they thought it had something to do with the triplets, they looked at me before they looked at the monitor going back to when they put Ziva and the babies on the monitor yesterday. It only showed two heartbeats Gibbs. One of the triplets is de-" but I chocked on the last word I couldn't bring myself to say it
"Tony are you sure?" he asked
"Yes Gibbs I was in the room when they announced it. They said that the others were fine but they aren't sure of the cause. It could've been lack of blood to the baby or no food and nurtrients getting to the baby or that its growth rate wasn't as quick as the others so it didn't make it. It doesn't matter the cause Gibbs but when Ziva find out she will be devastated and so will Sky. Gibbs I need you here now" I said the fear in voice enough for him to say he would be there in less than an hour. I collapsed in one of the chairs and cried just wishing that all of this was just a dream and I was going to wake up and our babies would be fine.
A/N: Ok I don't know if what I have said is entirely true but my friend did actually lose one of her triplets and the other two did survive and since Ziva isn't that far along I don't believe that it would effect the other two babies as much as it would've if she were say six months along. Ok we are almost out of the woods guys, and the next chapter is in Gibbs point of view, as he tries to reassure Tony that everything will be alright, as well as convincing him that he can indeed be strong enough for him to tell Ziva and Sky. I'm sooooo sorry if you stop reading my story now but I promise it will get better for them!