Rifiuto: Non Mirena

Week Twenty-Five

"... and there is your baby's heartbeat."

Ziva turned to him, a smile on her face. He returned it, slowly. In the week since their impromptu sex session, the pair had spent more time talking. They would be pretty much spending the entire rest of Ziva's pregnancy home from work; thanks to a surprise visit from Vance, who'd informed them that each of the agents and other workers at NCIS had chipped in, each giving up four days of their paid leave to both Tim and Ziva. The accident had affected all at NCIS, for while maybe not knowing Tim and Ziva personally, many knew how close the MCRT was, and how the coma had affected the couple. It was enough leave from everyone- including Vance- for Tim and Ziva to stay home and take care of Amal well into the first four weeks of the boy's life once he was born.

"You two doing okay?" Dr. Beniot asked as she cleaned Ziva up and then proceeded to gently feel her stomach. The baby kicked hard in response when she pushed down, and she chuckled. "Someone's active."

"He hardly ever stops being active. I feel as though I am hosting a marathon half the time." Jeanne chuckled softly, glancing at Tim, who leaned back against the wall directly across from her.

"How are you doing, Tim? Getting ready to be a daddy? Not much longer."

He sighed. "It's... getting there."

"And how are your memories coming? Still having problems recalling?"

"Some."

Jeanne nodded. "Well, if you need to talk to Dr. Cranston."

"I know, call." She grinned, before helping Ziva sit up.

"So, have you thought about Lamaze classes yet?" The couple shared a glance.

"Do I really need to be looking into them this soon? Jeanne, I am only twenty-"

"I know. But they fill up fast. So, check them out, sign up; you won't have to attend until you get closer to birth unless you want to."

Once they climbed into the car after her appointment, Ziva sighed, settling back against the seat. The drive was fairly silent-

"Oh!" Tim slammed on the brakes, his heart jumping into his throat.

"What is it, what's wrong?"

She turned to him, shaking her head. "I'm sorry, Tim, I... I just... wasn't expecting him to kick that hard." She sat up, resting a hand to her side. "God, that was my rib cage." The rest of the drive home was in the same fashion, and once they parked, Ziva unbuckled her seat belt and lifted up her top. "I don't know why, but whenever we finish our checkups with Jeanne, Amal decides that the ride home is the perfect time to start stretching. He couldn't do that at any other-" She hissed, her eyes shutting briefly. "Oh, that was my kidney..." She gave him a quick smile.

He chuckled. "Come on, let's go inside." They made it inside just as it began to rain. Once inside, Ziva headed upstairs, where she quickly changed Tim's NCIS sweats, leaving her bra on. She came back downstairs a few minutes later and made a beeline for the sofa. With her feet propped up on a pillow on the coffee table, she turned her attention to her belly, giving Tim a smile when he joined her, holding out a cup of hot tea.

"Look at this... watch. Just watch." She gently pushed on her belly. A few seconds passed, before her skin seemed to move upward. Tim leaned forward, watching intently. "I think that's his knee." Ziva pressed gently on her stomach again, feeling the baby kick in response. She sighed, glancing over at her husband, who flashed her a tiny smile. "Oh, Tim, look... if you look close... you can see him moving..." He moved closer, green gaze latching onto her belly.

Minutes passed, before he noticed the rolling movements beneath her skin. A soft chuckle escaped his throat as he groaned. "Sore?"

"I swear, he's training for a marathon..." She swallowed, hissing softly. Jeanne had explained at the appointment that the skin on Ziva's belly was sensitive and tender, which was why it often hurt when the baby kicked too much. She glanced at him, before reaching over and grabbing his hand, not giving him a chance to pull away. She rested it on her stomach, holding his hand over her stomach, watching his face as he felt the baby stretch and kick. He pulled away however when Ziva let go with a hiss.

"Okay, that was hard."

"Tell me about it." She sighed, reaching up and rubbing her belly. "Are you active today, little one? Hmm, ahuva? Just suddenly decided to put on a show for us? Wanted Abba to feel you moving? Is that why you're so active today?" Tim watched in silence as she rubbed her hands over her belly. "Well, you proved your point, we both felt that last kick." She winced, releasing a slow breath. "Try not to kick my bladder, ahuva, please. I don't want to spend the rest of the day in the bathroom." She groaned softly as she lowered her feet to the floor and stood. "I knew that was too much to ask for." Tim chuckled softly. "I'll be right back." She whispered, leaning down and kissing him quickly on the lips.

Once she was gone, Tim got up, going back to the DVD case. He quickly scanned the cases before pulling one out he hadn't see before. A moment passed before he slipped the DVD into the player and started it. At first, nothing appeared on screen, but after a moment, the camera turned, and he found himself looking into Ziva's beautiful dark eyes.

"Okay, so this is... week sixteen, and I am at Bethesda. Amal and I are going to go visit Abba, aren't we?" She took a deep breath, one hand moving down to caress her belly. It was evident that she was trying hard not to cry. "Abba hasn't been able to watch you grow like I have. He has missed the last nearly two months..."

She stopped speaking when she pushed the door to his hospital room open. There, on camera, was his body, hooked up to machines and wires. A moment passed as Ziva pulled the table close and set the camera onto it with her purse. "Hi, sweetheart. We're back." She leaned over, brushing a kiss to his forehead before taking a seat beside the bed. "I had another appointment; Dr. Beniot said that... that our baby is strong and healthy... do you want to feel?" She reached over, taking his hand and bringing it to rest against her belly. "I have a belly; it's small, but it's there. Do you feel it, Tim? Hmm? Do you feel our baby growing inside me?" She leaned over the bed, reaching up with her free hand to stroke his forehead. "Please, ahuva, wake up. I need you. Amal needs you... how is this fair? That that... ben Zonah gets to go home to his wife on Valentine's Day, while the man I love... the beautiful man I married... my husband, the father of my child... is lying comatose in a hospital bed... how is that fair?" She sniffled, bringing his hand to her lips. "Please, Timothy, wake up. I can't raise our baby alone... I need you... Amal needs you... so... so you listen to me, Timothy McGee, and you listen good." She stood, leaning over him.

"I have your baby growing inside me, and he is strong. He's a fighter, just like his Abba. You have been shot at, held hostage, blown up, beaten... and survived it all... so you can't... you cannot... allow some... some Chevrolet-driving son of a bitch that doesn't know the meaning of a red light to take you away. You hear me? You are strong, and you passed those traits onto our baby boy. So you get better, and you heal, and you fucking come back to me Timothy, because I am not going to bury my husband before I give birth to my son. I won't. And I don't care if you come out of this with major brain damage or partial brain damage or complete memory loss... because you will be coming back to me. And that's what's important."

"I threatened you." He turned from the video, to see Ziva come back into the living room, hands resting on her back. "You always seem to listen to me when I threaten you."

Tim took a deep breath, glancing back at the video. He bit his lip, never taking his eyes off the screen as he asked,

"Tell me about it. Tell me about the accident. All of it. Please."