Rifiuto: Non Mirena

A/N: Okay, from what I can figure out, this lovely little story of Zani's follows the whole rest of Ziva's pregnancy- from twenty weeks on- and Tim's recovery. Seems like it should be quick and easy to edit and upload, and then I can focus on everything else she has here... and everything else I can't find.- Licia

Thanks to Reader aka Sun Samurai and Sazzita for reviewing 1.

"P... pregnant?"

Ziva nodded, seeing the fear in his green eyes. "Yes. We... we are having a... a little boy... I... I'm twenty weeks... and I... I've decided on... on Amal, which means... it means 'hope' in Arabic. Perfect for our son... because that... that is all I have held onto since... since the accident..."

Accident? But something else nagged at him and he swallowed, slowly cutting her off. "Is it... mine?"

Her head snapped up, dark eyes widening in shock, and after a moment, she got up, pulling away. Tears began to well in her eyes. "Of course it is yours! How could it not be yours? How could this not be your son growing in my belly? You are the only man I lay with, the only man I've ever slept with, from the moment of our marriage! How dare you!"

"I... I'm sorry, I just... I just don't... I don't remember-"

But Gibbs quickly moved from the window, grabbing Ziva's arm and her forcefully towards the door. "Come on, Ziver-"

"No, Gibbs, please-" Nurses rushed into the room, Dr. Beniot following to check on McGee as Gibbs finally managed to yank the expectant mother out into the hall where the rest of the team were waiting, further down the hall in the waiting room. "Let me go! I have to talk to him, I have to make him understand... how dare he ask if this baby is his-"

"Ziva!" Gibbs grabbed her shoulders, shaking her gently. "Ziva, listen to me. He doesn't remember you. He doesn't remember your marriage or the baby... he just came out of a three-month long coma, and you threw a lot of information at him in a matter of minutes. Tim is just trying to process everything he's been told, and figure out where you fit into his life at the moment. His question wasn't meant to harm or insult, it was just an attempt to gather more information. It's what his brain does, remember? He's just trying to make sense of everything, and you getting upset at him because of something that's out of his control isn't going to help the situation."

She choked on a sob. "I just... I have waited three months, Gibbs. Three months for my husband to come out of that coma; I have dreamt of him every night from the moment of that accident... I have felt our child grow within me... I went through the first three months of my pregnancy without him... our son needs him... I need him..." She broke down, the stress of the situation, of the last several days, the fear that she could lose him... all of it finally took its toll.

Gibbs allowed her to curl into him, her head resting aginst his shoulder; he held her close, the tears gathering in his eyes as he gently stroked her hair, trying his hardest to comfort her in any way he could. "Shh, hush, Ziver. It'll be okay. Everything will be okay."

"How can you know that, Gibbs? He does not remember me... or our baby..."

"Gibbs?" He looked up, to find Abby make their way towards them; Ziva's outburst had brought the rest of the team from the waiting room just down the hall. "Is McGee okay?"

The team leader sighed. "He's awake, Abbs."

"Well then... that... that's good, right?" She nodded, agreeing with herself. "But... if McGee's awake, then why is Ziva so-"

"Tim does... he does not remember me..." Ziva choked on a sob as she pulled away from Gibbs, turning to the rest of the team. "He... he does not remember the baby we made... he..."

"From what I can discern at this point, it appears that Agent McGee has sustained anterograde amnesia from the accident." They turned as Dr. Beniot stepped out of the room removing her gloves. She turned to study them, before beckoning; slowly, they followed her back to the waiting room. Once there, she took a seat beside Ziva and Gibbs, a soft sigh escaping her throat.

"What's wrong with young Timothy, Dr. Beniot?" Ducky asked. The good doctor swallowed.

"I think he has a mixture of retrograde and anterograde amnesia- he can create new memories and recall old memories up until the last few months, when the accident happened. The common term for this specific type of amnesia is post-traumatic amnesia; it is normally caused by a head injury from an accident. In regards to the retrograde portion, he can remember older memories- memories from his childhood, from when he first joined NCIS, and the anterograde, well, let me put it this way- any new memories made before the day of the accident are gone. He can't recall them. It's not uncommon for a person with amnesia to forget specific people, unfortunately in this case, Agent McGee has forgotten his wife and child."

Ziva took a deep breath, reaching up and quickly wiping at the tears on her cheeks, her other hand coming down to cradle her belly. "So... he won't... ever remember me? Or... or the baby?"

"He may, but it will take time for his memory to return. And you- all of you- need to make this transition as easy as you possibly can. It's going to be hard enough for him to adjust knowing that he was in an accident as well as a coma, and throw in a marriage and a baby he may not remember-"

"The baby I understand, because we found the day of the accident, but... Shouldn't he remember that I'm his wife? Dr. Beniot, we've been married four years, shouldn't Tim remember that?"

The other woman sighed, glancing at the others on the team. "Ziva, you need to understand. Tim had major swelling of the brain- we lost him twice on the operating table before we were able to bring him back and finish the operation before he slipped into the coma. That much swelling can do serious damage. Major events like a wedding and a marriage may be something he remembers, but it will take time. He won't recall everything right away; this isn't TV. On television, a person wakes up from a coma and remembers everything before and after the coma. In real life, it's different- exceedingly different. It'll take Tim months to remember everything; it's going to be an extremely long, tedious process, his recovery, and you all need to be there helping him through it."

They all nodded, before Ziva took a deep breath. She quietly cleared her throat, asking, "Can... may I see him? Please, Dr. Beniot? I just... I just want to be with my husband."

The doctor nodded. "If you need anything, don't hesitate to call for the nurses." With a quick smile, Ziva stood, rushing off down the hall. The others watched her go.

"You're gonna have to keep a close eye on them both, Agent Gibbs. All of you are- this situation... this stress... it's not good for Tim, it's not good for Ziva, and certainly for the baby."