Prewritten, like the last chapter. And the one before that. And the one before that, and – you get the picture. This is another short one, but I liked it as it is. And it was not a bad word count this time either. Only 728, or there about.
Although, about three chapters ago this story surpassed 100,000 words I think, so that is exciting.
LIV. A Journey Of A Thousand Miles Must Begin With A Single Step
Tony stared at his wife's still body as she lay in the bed next to his, their entwined hands bridging the gap between them. She looked broken. Her baby would never hear her tell her how much she loved her. She had outwardly taken the news well, or as well as she was expected to, but he could see how much it was hurting her. Who was he kidding, it was killing him too. His perfect little girl would never hear him tell her a joke, read her a story.
A soft whimpering came from one of the bassinets. He rolled over and grunted when a splinter of pain ran through his shoulder. He reached his good arm up for the call button on the wall and waited for a nurse, making sure he hadn't woken Ziva.
"Is everything okay?" A nurse poked her head around the door to their private room and smiled.
"She's crying." Tony pointed in the direction of his baby daughter, his face full of fear. "Is she in pain?" The nurse walked over and checked the infant in the incubator.
"No, just lonely."
"Can I hold her?" The nurse paused and bit her lip, looking between father and daughter. "Please. I'll be careful."
She smiled again and lifted the small child out, carrying her over to the bed. Tony shifted, scrunching up his face when the pain intensified as he reached out for the pink blanket. "Careful. Like that." She nodded when he cradled the child in his arms. Not an easy operation, considering the sling. "Just call if you need anything else."
"Thanks." He nodded, looking down at the pink, wrinkled nose and watery blue eyes. "Hi there. I'm your Daddy. I know that you can't hear me, and you probably never will, unless you get implants, which me and Ima want to be your decision, when you're old enough to make it, but I just wanted to tell you that you're beautiful, and so precious. So, so precious." He whispered, stroking her cheek with one finger. "And I want you to know that me and your Ima love you, no matter what, and we always will. We will always love you and your brother equally, because you are the best thing that has ever happened to us. And it's not just me and Ima who love you, because Gibbs and Jenny and Abby and McGee and Ducky and everyone else loves you so much too. And they love you no matter what as well, because we're all family, and that's what family does. Family loves unconditionally." He pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead and held her tiny hand in between his thumb and forefinger. "I want you to promise me something, Adabelle. I want you to promise me that no matter how tough life gets, and no matter how difficult you find something, that you will stay strong, and brave and confident. Because you are so special, and you have to remember that." He sighed and looked at her small face, her wide eyes looking up at him. "I'm not gonna lie to you, Baby Girl, 'cause you deserve better than that. I don't know how easy your life's gonna be, but me and your Ima are going to do our very, very best to make it as good as possible for you and your brother. That is my promise to you." His voice cracked as he bit back tears. "And you have to know that whatever happens, wherever we are, we will always love you, and we will always be with you here," he tapped her pink babygrow just above her heart, "even if one day we don't come home to you, okay, because nothing can get in the way of how much we love you. If we don't come home it was because we were trying to make the world better for you and Bod." He looked up when he heard a sniffle. "Hey. I didn't mean to wake you."
"You did not wake me." She said shakily, wiping tears from her cheeks.
"Don't cry. Why are you crying?"
"Because…what you said was so beautiful." She sniffed.
"I try my best." He smiled at her. "It's gonna be okay, you know. We'll pull through. It's what we do best."
"I love you, Tony."
"I love you too."
Short and sweet. I hope. Or maybe not. I do not know. Hmmm. Let me know what you think. About anything. Well, anything related to the story. I think I know the consensus referencing Ada's hearing, and I also think I know what I am going to do, it is just hoping that people will stick with me through it.
