Elijah Corbin came home from the hospital at thirteen days old. He was originally scheduled to come home at seven days old but his oxygen levels suddenly plummeted and he ended up on maxed out life-support. He remained like that for twenty-four hours and then it was like nothing happened. He maintained perfect oxygen for the next six days and soon began eating like his brother. By the time of his release his color was great and he was just as bubbly as the other DiNozzo children. Even though Marley and Lily had begged to tag along. Tony and Ziva opted to go to the hospital alone. They felt it would be best for Elijah if he had as little stress as possible. The pink, cooing baby who laid in the crib. Was a welcome change from the limp, blue one they had discovered one week before.
"As soon as you sign these forms he will be free to go." Nurse Carol informed the DiNozzo's.
"Anything we need to watch for?" Ziva asked.
"Just keep an eye on his oxygen." Carol replied.
"Our son AJ had a TBI we know what to look for." Tony replied.
"Great, I can send you home with a tank if you would like. Just in case." Carol offered.
"Probably not a bad idea." Ziva replied.
It felt strange for Ziva to be walking out of the hospital with her just released newborn in her arms. Both AJ's had been released with her and she carried them in her arms as she was wheeled out. She had been out of the hospital for nearly two weeks when her last baby came home. She walked down the hallway and through the waiting room with Elijah in her arms. Tony had his arm intertwined in Ziva's and his hand placed on Elijah's head. When they came to the doors Ziva stopped to chat with one of her fellow NICU moms. While Tony stepped out to pull the car around.
"I am so glad to see Elijah going home." Kim commented.
"We are so relieved and thrilled." Ziva replied.
"It is always so complicated when a baby goes home. We have been here five months and there is no end in sight." Kim admitted.
"Judy will be released before you know it. Just in the two weeks I have known her she has progressed by leaps and bounds." Ziva assured.
"That is very nice but this is how she goes. She will be doing great and we will have a discharge plan and then there will be a setback and we will be back at square one." Kim explained.
"Oh Kim, keep a good thought." Ziva whispered embracing her friend.
"Thank you, Ziva." Kim replied.
Ziva gave Kim one last hug and sent her regards to little Judy. Before heading out of the hospital and stepping into the waiting van. She carefully buckled little Elijah into the car seat, while Tony took pictures of the moment. She rode in back with the newborn while Tony drove them home. Every once in a while he would look back at them and smile and wave. Ziva swore that Elijah was waving too but assumed it was just a coincidence. They turned into the driveway and were greeted by the three older DiNozzo children standing on the lawn. Marley had baby Elijah in the baby carrier on her chest. Tony and Ziva both caught their breaths at the scene. Marley had hit a major growth spurt and was already taller than Ziva and looked more like a woman than a girl. Seeing her with a baby on her chest looking so confident and maternal was just too much for the parents.
"Welcome home!" The children cried in unison.
"How is he?" Marley asked.
"He is doing great." Ziva cooed.
"He is just as cute as AJ." Charlie commented.
"He really is." Tony agreed.
"I was hoping you would bring him home as sister. I don't want three brothers." Lily scoffed.
"Sorry Lils they don't do newborn sex change operations." Tony joked.
"TONY!" Ziva warned.
"Sorry" Tony apologized in an irritated tone.
"Charlie and I made lunch and it is ready whenever you are." Marley explained.
"I helped" Lily reminded.
"You ate all the ham and covered the kitchen and poor Charlie in mayonnaise." Marley reminded.
"Well none of you had to do anything. Just keep the house cleaned and make sure that AJ's diapers are clean." Ziva replied.
"It was our pleasure." Marley insisted.
After lunch Tony and Ziva were in the nursery giving the twins their lunch. Both twins were officially bottle fed. AJ had transitioned when Ziva was always running back and forth between the hospital and couldn't pump enough to keep up. Elijah ended up on the bottle as well because it was just easier that way. Bottle feeding was made even easier by the fact that each parent could feed one baby and Tony could take feeding times during the night hours. Currently Tony held AJ and Ziva held Elijah. Both babies were greedily sucking down their bottles.
"It is so great to have them home." Tony commented.
"It really is, it was hard going back and forth." Ziva replied.
"I have a feeling the boys were missing each other too." Tony replied.
"I bet they were." Ziva agreed.
"I am so glad they are both healthy and happy. Last week was terrifying with Elijah. We came so close to losing him." Tony explained.
"I know. I was just sure he would be too sick to survive or it would be months of setbacks and procedures. I was sure they would put him on a trach and it would be months more." Ziva explained.
"We got so lucky. The fact that he came home a week later and is fine. That is a miracle." Tony replied.
"It is" Ziva agreed.
That night Tony and Ziva were lying in their bed. The twins slept in bassinets on either side of the bed. AJ on Tony's and Elijah on Ziva's. The babies were actually sleeping at the moment but Tony and Ziva were both wide awake from the last meltdown.
"This is going to sound ridiculous. I mean we just had twins and one of them has already had a major medical scare. I should just be glad that my life is the way it is. With the five children we already have and I am. It's just what Lily said got to me." Ziva rambled.
"What are you saying?" Tony asked.
"I want a baby girl. I have always wanted a baby girl. I mean we have Lily and Marley but they were big by the time I met them. I want a baby girl." Ziva explained.
"Yeah I do too." Tony confessed.
"What should we do about it?" Ziva asked.
"Well we could start trying to get pregnant in a few months. If we don't get pregnant within a year of starting to try. We can look into adoption." Tony suggested.
"We are too old to adopt. We can try for a baby and if we don't get one our family is complete." Ziva explained.
"Sounds good" Tony agreed.
A/N: I am going to wrap this story soon. There will be three more chapters after this one and then I am done with this arc. New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.