The Envelope Please…
Ziva stood in the doorway of the spare bedroom nearest the one she shared with her husband. Rubbing her hands across her belly, she began to wonder if she was up to the challenge she'd undertaken. "What have I done, Little One?" she spoke to her unborn child. Over dinner the night before, Ziva brought up the idea of turning the unused bedroom into a nursery for their second child. Tony agreed it was a good idea and volunteered to help after he returned from his morning of errands. Ziva, however, decided to start without him.
Since the household of three became a household of four in December, the bedroom had been used for storage. Now that they were about to become a household of five, the stored items needed to be moved elsewhere. While it wasn't an overwhelming amount of stuff, it was a rather daunting task for someone alone, especially when that someone was well into their sixth month of pregnancy.
Ziva decided the closet was the place to tackle first. Thirty minutes later, she was sitting in the middle of the closet floor surrounded by boxes of all sizes. After moving aside a box of holiday decorations Tony forgot to take to the attic, she spotted something familiar against the back wall. Moving to her knees, Ziva crawled the few feet to grab the object. Shoving Tali's "lost" rain boots out of the way, she realized what it was...her travel bag. Grabbing it by one strap, she tugged it free and returned to her previous spot. Ziva held the knapsack and ran her fingers across the rough, worn fabric. A thousand memories flooded her mind, very few of which were pleasant. With the exception of the stolen moments with Tony, she would happily wipe the entire four-year experience from her mind. Her first inclination was to throw it away. Whatever was inside, she was sure she wouldn't want to keep it. That part of her life was finished, thankfully. Ziva was ready to toss the bag into the trash pile when she noticed a tear in the lining. Curiosity got the best of her and she picked at the tear. The speck of white peeking out at her was a sudden reminder of why the tear was there. She ripped the seam until it was wide enough for her hand to fit inside. From between the lining and the twill she pulled a battered envelope.
Trembling fingers lifted the flap. While the envelope was dirty and marred, the contents was none the worse for wear, proof the wrapping did its job. Ziva pulled out a small sonogram photo. She smiled even as tears sprung to her eyes. This was the first concrete evidence that the blue lines on the pregnancy test weren't a lie...proof that miracles did happen. Tali. Ziva's thumb brushed over the image tenderly.
"There you are."
Ziva turned in the direction of the voice and saw her husband standing just inside the doorway. "I did not hear you come in."
"You're not the only one with crazy ninja skills," he quipped. "I told ya I would help when I got back."
"I know, but I decided I did not want to wait."
"You could have gotten hurt and no one was here…"
"Your father was in the study."
"C'mon, Zi."
"I did not get hurt and you are here now." The look she gave let him know the subject was closed.
Tony walked to where his wife was and took a seat in the only empty spot. "Whatcha got?" he asked, craning his neck to see what was in Ziva's hand. Ziva handed him the sonogram. He stared at it for a minute. "Tali?"
"Yes."
"Wow." He touched the picture just as Ziva had. "I've never seen this."
"You were supposed to." Tony tore his eyes away from tiny Tali to look at Ziva. "That was in the letter I asked Orli to take to you in Washington."
"I swear to God, I never saw this."
"I know," Ziva said gently. "It was the only personal item I kept with me. I trimmed off all of the information so all that remained was Tali's picture. If I lost it, it would just seem like it was any other baby and there would be no connection to me or you."
"But she wasn't any other baby."
"Definitely not. She was my connection to the life I wanted to get back to...my connection to you."
Tony wrapped his arm around his wife and kissed her temple. "And you made it. You made it back to Tali and to me." He patted her stomach. "We have proof." Ziva laughed. "Do you mind if I keep this?" he asked.
"It is yours already." Ziva handed him the envelope that had held the ultrasound photo. She took the opportunity to lean against her husband. Tony could keep it. She didn't need it anymore. Ziva was done running. She had the real thing in the flesh. She was home.
Author's Note: This was inspired by an idea and a gif tweeted by Debss.