Rifiuto: Non Mirena

Thanks to mcgeeksgirl for reviewing 52, DS2010 for reviewing 52, 53, 55, 56 and 57, Rosiesmomma4 for reviewing 52 and 53, and Reader aka Sun Samurai for reviewing 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56 and 57.

The music wafted through the house, and Ziva rested her head on Tim's shoulder, enjoying the feel of his body against hers. With two weeks left, Ziva was starting to go stir-crazy- she wanted her son out and out now.

"He's perfectly content in there, aren't you, ahuva?" Ziva looked down at her belly, where their hands rested, linked together. "You're not looking to come out any time soon, are you?" The baby kicked hard in response and Ziva winced. "Yeah, I know, we stopped dancing."

Tim chuckled. "Have you noticed that he tends to dictate everything we do at the moment?" She looked up at him.

"And why shouldn't he? We're the ones waiting while he gets ready to be born. It's no skin off his head if he doesn't come out when we want him to."

"Nose, sweetheart, skin off his nose. Not head."

She sighed. "Yes, well, I will not be surprised if he has a head full of hair. Even though the thought of my son having that much hair inside me makes me squirm."

Tim chuckled softly as she shivered, squeezing her gently and pressing a kiss to her own dark curls. "He's gonna be beautiful, sweetheart. This whole process is beautiful, from now until he's born." She turned, nuzzling her nose into his neck, a sigh of contentment escaping her throat.

"Do you really think he'll be beautiful, Tim?"

He pulled away, meeting her gaze. "How could he not be, with you as his mother?" She blushed, curling back against him, squeezing his hands gently.

"Don't forget, Timothy, you're his father. So our little Amal is going to be one very handsome little boy when he gets older."

Her husband chuckled, brushing another soft kiss to her temple. "Sarah told me that we're supposed to start recording when you go into labor until she gets here, then she'll film the rest of the process."

"We owe her, for doing this for us, especially since-" She stopped, her mind going to the heartbroken look in her sister's eyes that day. He squeezed her hands.

"I know, sweetheart. Believe me." They continued to sway in silence, until Ziva began to tire, and then they settled on the makeshift bed. Despite the summer heat, the house was cold, and so Tim had started a quick fire in the fireplace, which soon warmed the entire house. Once on the mattress, Ziva settled herself between her husband's legs, sliding one hand into his as his other came down to caress her belly.

"I remember the first night we officially used that fireplace, five months after we moved in here. It was in January, and there was six feet of snow outside. And it only got worse- we ended up not going into work because-"

"They couldn't dig through the snow fast enough to get to the front doors of NCIS. It was the worst snowstorm D.C., had seen in years. So we... we spent the day in front of the fire, roasting marshmallows, making s'mores and... making love."

She turned to him, surprise in her wide, dark eyes. "You... you remember that, Tim?"

A moment passed before he nodded, meeting her gaze. "Yeah, some of it."

"Tim, that... that was a year after we got married."

"It was?" She nodded at his furrowed brow.

"Yeah, we... we lived in your apartment until we got married and then we bought the house and moved in that Hanukkah. We were both so excited about it, that we-"

"Invited everyone over for dinner and ended up eating takeout on the floor. And after everyone left, we christened every room in the house."

A small smile tugged at Ziva's lips, and she leaned back, kissing him quickly. "We had so much fun that night." She glanced down at her belly, reaching down to rub her belly. "Honestly, I'm kind of surprised we didn't conceive our little Amal back then."

Tim shook his head. "We were careful. The last thing we wanted to do was get pregnant after we'd just gotten married." Ziva bit her lip, keeping quiet. She turned her attention back to their son, who was shifting against her skin. A moment passed before she looked up at her husband.

"Your memory is returning, Tim. You just need to stop worrying and let it happen." She then leaned up, kissing him firmly on the mouth before settling back against his chest, watching as he released her hand and began stroking his fingers up and down her belly. A contented sigh escaped her throat and she stretched, letting her body sink against his. The feel of Amal kicking and stretching didn't even bother her as the feel of Tim's hands on her stomach, the warmth of the fire, the soft music and the feel of his heartbeat against her back lulled her to sleep.

Tim chuckled softly, brushing a tender kiss to his wife's forehead as she shifted, snuggling into him. He continued stroking her belly, and despite Amal's kicking, Ziva was so exhausted, she didn't wake. The baby kicked hard against his hand, and Tim couldn't help a smile. "Shh, easy sweetheart. Ima's finally asleep, you need to be gentle in your kicks otherwise you'll wake her up."

For a few minutes the baby didn't move, and then he kicked against his father's hand; Ziva shifted closer to Tim, nuzzling into his chest, her breathing even and relaxed. He spent the next several minutes watching the fire, his mind wandering to the little boy growing in his wife's womb, and what exactly had led him to this particular path.

He'd never intended on falling in love, on getting married and starting a family; though kids had always been something he'd wanted, he'd never been able to envision himself as a father, with a house filled with childish laughter and the sound of small feel scurrying about the rooms. If anything, Tim had always pictured himself caught in a divorce, possibly never seeing his child again due to a failed marriage, so this... this beautiful reality that was taking place...

He glanced down at Ziva, pressing another soft kiss to her head. He was going to do everything he possibly could to show Ziva that he was worthy of this amazing gift she was giving him, amnesia or no. "I promise, Ziva, I'll always be here. I'm never letting you go, either one of you."