Rifiuto: Non Mirena

"So you've been having Braxton Hicks?" Ziva nodded, taking a seat beside Sarah at the kitchen table. "Do they hurt?"

"A little. They aren't so strong that they're regular contractions, and they're pretty irregular. They stop if I shift positions or move in any way."

"And you still aren't dilating?"

She shook her head. "Still two centimeters."

"Oh, Ziva, I'm sorry. I know how badly you want Amal to come." She reached out, taking her sister's hand. Ziva shrugged.

"He'll come when he's ready. He's not ready yet. He wants to stay inside a little longer." She glanced down at her belly, reaching down to brush a hand against the swollen mound. "Besides, I don't think I'm entirely ready to give birth to him just ye-" The words died on her lips as she looked up, her gaze locking on the ring on her sister's finger. "Oh, Sarah!"

The young photographer blushed, pulling her hand away. She subconsciously began playing with the simple diamond ring, quickly glancing at the other woman. "Kind of... hard to miss, isn't it?"

Ziva raised an eyebrow. "Kind of?" She laughed softly. "When did he ask you?"

"Monday night. He took me out to dinner and afterwards, we went for a walk along the Arlington Memorial Bridge. I took my camera, and when I went to take some shots, it wasn't working, so I opened the hatch where the batteries are, and he'd taken out the batteries and slipped it in there when I wasn't looking."

"Monday? You've kept this a secret for four days? Sarah! How could you? You're worse than Abby when it comes to secrets!"

Instead of being insulted, the younger woman just laughed, shaking her head. "I wanted to tell you in person, but you two have been so busy spending some quality time before my nephew comes that I didn't want to disturb you." Ziva rolled her eyes.

"You could have disturbed us for something like this! Oh, Sarit! Congratulations!" The young photojournalist allowed her sister-in-law to envelope her in a hug, and she rested her head on Ziva's shoulder, sighing.

"I want you and Timmy to meet Jason."

"We'd love to meet- I'd love to meet Jason." Ziva amended, knowing exactly how her husband would react. Sarah chuckled softly, closing her eyes.

"He's a wonderful man, Ziva, he really is. He's like Timmy in a lot of ways. He never left my side, from the moment we found out I was pregnant to after Shanti died. He was there every step of the way, helping me to get through it. Without him... I don't think I would have come from her death. It was so... sudden, so... surprising. One minute, my baby is growing in me, healthy and strong and exactly as she should and the next... the next I'm holding her in my arms as she takes her last breath at twenty-four weeks... if Jason hadn't been there, I'd have given up and probably joined her."

Gently, Ziva reached up, stroking her sister's hair. "He sounds like a wonderful man."

"He is." Slowly, Sarah pulled away, taking a deep breath. Her gaze went to Ziva's belly, a small smile playing on her lips as she reached down, resting her hands on her sister-in-law's round stomach. "I still can't believe that Timmy's going to be a daddy." Ziva followed her gaze, reaching down and lifting her blouse up, revealing the distended skin.

"And you're going to be getting married." The two women shared a soft laugh, and Ziva watched as Sarah gently brushed her fingers the swell. Amal kicked in response to Sarah's light touch. "You'd think by now he'd stop moving because it's so cramped in there. Not my son." Sarah chuckled, and continued to stroke her sister's belly; the baby kicked again. "I know, ahuva, that's Auntie Sarit!" Amal gave another kick at his mother's voice. "Yeah," She giggled. "Auntie Sarit's Daddy's little sister. Just like Auntie Tali is mine..." Another sharp kick met Ziva's mention of Tim, and Sarah pulled back.

"He's strong-" She watched as Ziva rubbed a hand slowly over her belly, starting on the left and moving in slow circles towards the right and up, before repeating it several times.

"He absolutely loves it when I mention Tim."

"I could tell." Ziva nodded, turning her gaze down to her tummy as she gently stroked a thumb along the top before moving her hand over the mound.

"Or if Tim's holding me, and he's rubbing my belly, Amal get excited and starts to play. And if it's both of us rubbing my belly at the same time-"

"Then he goes crazy."

"Crazy doesn't even begin to describe how our son reacts when both Tim and I rub my belly." Sarah chuckled, before cautiously reaching out and returning to rubbing her sister's belly. Ziva grinned. "Is Auntie Sarah playing with you now, Amal? Hmm?" The baby kicked, shifting from side to side as Sarah's hand moved over his mother's tummy in slow circles. "Are you having fun, ahuva? Is Sarah playing with you? Yeah, she's playing with you, isn't she? Yes she is- I know because I can feel her."

"Sarah's playing with Amal this time instead of you, sweetheart?" Both women looked up as Tim entered the kitchen, going to the stove and starting a pot of tea. He'd been in the living room, working on a new novel, and got up to stretch his legs and get away from his writing for a while. His wife smiled softly at him.

"Of course Sarit's playing with Amal, why wouldn't she? He's her nephew." Once he fixed his cup, he made his way to the table.

"You'd think by now our son would focus on getting ready to be born in the next week instead of playing with his aunt. Sorry, Sarah." His sister waved it away, watching with a grin on her face as Tim reached down, gently rubbing circles on his wife's belly; Amal kicked hard in excitement, recognizing the shift against his mother's skin.

"Amal can't help it, sweetheart. He likes to play." Tim raised an eyebrow.

"Like mother, like son." He kissed his wife firmly before heading back into the living room, kissing Sarah firmly on the head as he left. Both women rolled their eyes.