"You can't turn off the flood, when the dam breaks"
"To-Tony." He had to hold back tears of his own as he responded.
"Ziva?" Another sob come over the phone as she spoke through the phone.
"I, I am pregnant."
In Israel, Ziva covered her mouth in shock, not prepared for the ramifications of the words she let slip. She actually hadn't planned on calling him at all but then all of a sudden the phone was in her hand and she was dialing his number and his concerned voice made the news fall from her mouth like the tears from her eyes. Other than a small gasp, nothing else came across the phone and she began to wonder if this was all a mistake.
"I – I am sorry Tony. I should not have told you like this. I should – I should go." The phone was half-way from her ear to the table before her words registered with him and he spoke frantically.
"No, Ziva wait!" She paused before hitting the end call button, thinking hanging up would be the best option but knowing he would call back immediately. She brought the phone back up to her ear, waiting patiently for him to continue. "Ziva are, are you sure?" She wanted to scoff at the question but knew it was a valid one for him to ask.
"Yes Tony. I have not been to the doctor yet but I have taken five tests and they were all positive. And before you ask, yes, the baby is yours." Relief washed over her as she spoke the words aloud but was quickly replaced with fear when she faintly heard him crying on the other end of the line. "Tony?" Movement could be heard before he spoke again.
"I need to see you Ziva. I'm Skyping you now." Still in shock, she just sat there until the ringing noise could be heard coming from the computer he left with her before going back to DC. Standing on still shaky legs, she shuffles to the kitchen and opens the laptop, choosing this time to sit at the kitchen table. Before her nerves could take over, she hit the accept call button and held her breath. Suddenly, his beautiful face appeared on the screen and more tears ran down their faces as they saw each other for the first time in almost a month. "Hi Ziva." She laughed at the simplicity of his words.
"Hello Tony." A smile broke across each of their faces, the ones they reserved for each other.
"So, pregnant huh?"
"Yes. I um, I am pregnant. I am going to have a baby."
"We." He stressed the word, making sure to get his point across. "We are going to have a baby. Oh my gosh I'm gonna be a dad." His declaration made Ziva's eyes go wide and her eyebrows raise. "What? What's wrong?"
"Nothing. Nothing is wrong. It is just. You do not have to deal with this Tony. I pushed you away and made you leave and I have no right asking you to take on this responsibility!" The more she rambled the more the tears continued to fall and she silently cursed herself for being so emotional again.
"Deal with it? Ziva I know you're not asking me to take on this responsibility, I want to. That baby is not just yours, it's ours. This baby is something we created together out of love and, I don't know about you but, that night was the best night of my life and I don't regret it a bit. I want to be there for you and for our baby." Sincerity shone through his eyes and it made her cry even harder.
"Our baby. Those are words I never thought I would say to you." She wiped at her eyes with her shirt sleeve and watched as he did the same with his sweatshirt. "Tony, are you sure? I do not want you to feel obligated –" His hand up on the screen made her stop mid-sentence.
"Ziva, I've never been more sure of anything in my life other than the fact that I love you." Ziva gasped, shocked again and didn't know how many more surprises she could take tonight. She was shocked even more, however, by his next words. "You know what, I can't do this here. I'll be on the next flight to Tel-Aviv."
"Tony!" Ziva yelled his name as he started to walk away to get his tablet. "Thank you. You are going to be an amazing dad and, I. I love you too."
Three Days Later
It had taken some careful storytelling and finagling to convince Gibbs to let him take a few days off but the team leader finally relented and he was able to tell Ziva he would be there by the weekend. Now, just two days later, he's sitting in the airport at midnight waiting for boarding call. The announcement was finally made that his plane was boarding so he got out his phone and sent out a quick text.
"Count to a million. I'm on my way."
Her response came just seconds later and reassured him this visit would not be like the last.
"I will be waiting."
