Rifiuto: Non Mirena

Thanks to mcgeeksgirl for reviewing 66, DS2010 for reviewing 62, 63, 64, 65 and 66, and Reader aka Sun Samurai for reviewing 62, 63, 64, 65 and 66.

Week Forty-One

She took a deep breath, looking up as Sarah turned the video camera towards her. "Okay, so it's one a.m. on Monday morning and we're at the Bundle of Joy Birth Center. Ziva, you want to tell everyone why?"

"Sarah, you're not conducting an interview."

"Oh, hush, Timmy!" She turned back to her sister-in-law, who sat on the sofa beside her husband, looking exhausted and definitely the worse for wear. "So, Ziva?"

The young mother took a deep breath, closing her eyes and resting a hand on her belly, tensing up. A moment passed before she looked up at her sister-in-law, and gave the younger woman a small smile. "I lost the rest of my mucus plug and um... the bloody show, I think is what they call it, and... when we got here three hours ago, Jeanne, our doctor, checked, she said that I'm about... twenty-five percent effaced, but I'm not dilating yet. She said it might take anywhere from a few minutes to another hour or two, depending on how fast my labor progresses."

"But this means you're in labor, right?" Ziva nodded, sighing.

"Yes, Sarit. This means that I'm in labor." She sighed. "It's finally happening."

Eventually, Sarah set the camera up so it wasn't far from the window, facing into the room, still recording, it's gaze on the sofa, before she took a seat in the armchair across from them, watching as Ziva curled up on the sofa in her brother's arms. The room at the end of the hall was cozy, private, just as Ziva wanted. Surprisingly, there weren't that many women in the center- it could have something to do with the fact that most babies usually weren't born until about the eight or nine a.m., so Ziva pretty much had the place to herself, and the staff periodically checked on her to make sure she was okay or if she needed anything.

When they'd gotten to the center, Ziva had brought a few books she was working on to read when she had time, a few pillows, blankets and some comfy clothes, though she had a feeling that as her labor progressed, she'd be shedding clothing as opposed to putting more on, and a few snacks- dried fruit mainly, as well as nuts and surprisingly, candied ginger- something that was Rivka's remedy to help deal with stress; Ziva remembered her mother always having a few pieces of the wrapped treat in her purse, that she'd suck on over the course of the day if she got stressed or exhausted. And since Rivka had told her that she'd had the sweet during both her pregnancies and labors, Ziva figured she'd use it too; after all, she liked the taste of candied ginger, as opposed to Tali, who detested it. So by now, the room was as cozy as it could be, with the temperature at a warm ninety-eight degrees, not that Ziva really cared at that moment.

Dressed in a pair of fleece pajama bottoms and one of his t-shirts, her hair pulled back in messy bun, she was as comfortable as she could get with her body going through the contractions that would lead to the birth of their son. Tim slid an arm around Ziva's waist, pulling her close and pressing a kiss to her head. "How you doing, sweetheart?"

His wife took a deep breath, meeting his gaze. "They're... they're starting to get stronger." She hissed, sitting up and shifting. "I can't get comfortable."

"Do you want to try walking around?" She shook her head, shifting down until she was lying on the sofa, her head in Tim's lap, using her arm as a pillow. Sarah glanced at her brother; she remembered the pain she'd gone through when in labor with her daughter- and though hers hadn't been the hours-long process of going through intense contractions as her daughter moved down her birth canal and out into the world, the pain had been enough to drive her to murder. No, once the bleeding had started, Sarah's contractions had come hard and fast and violently, stealing her breath away and stopping all forms of time. They had wasted no time in moving her daughter into her birth canal and out of her body, and, much like Ziva's situation, it was impossible to get comfortable.

"Try and take a nap, Ziva, get some rest if you can. It's gonna be a while and you're gonna be going through a lot." Her sister-in-law nodded, closing her eyes and trying to get some sleep. When it seemed that she'd dozed off, Tim turned his gaze to his sister, though he continued to stroke his hand through her hair and down her back.

"I'm sorry, Sarah. I can't imagine how hard this is for you being here, watching her go through this." The younger McGee shrugged, waving it away as she watched Ziva wrap her arm around her belly. The Israeli whimpered softly in her sleep, pulling her knees to her chest and folding tighter around her belly in her sleep. Tim whispered softly to his wife, stroking his hand up and down her back before moving down and gently massaging along the curve of her hip. His wife's whimpering got louder, and she shifted again, settling down briefly at the feel of Tim's fingers working on her hip. "I can only imagine what she's experiencing, what she's gonna be going through soon."

"It'll be worth it, Timmy. It'll all be worth it." Sarah met his gaze. "Trust me."

He sighed, nodding silently as he turned his attention back to his wife. She wrapped her arm tight around her waist, burrowing closer to her husband pressing her chin to her chest. "Shh, easy, Ziva. Easy. It's okay, sweetheart." He returned to working on her back, before pressing firmly against her hip, running his knuckles gently and firmly along her hip and the base of her back. His wife shifted again, her whimpering becoming more pained and high-pitched as she tried pulling her knees closer to her chest, even though her belly prevented it.

Minutes later, however, her eyes snapped open and she lifted her head, struggling to catch her breath. Sarah was on her feet in an instant. "Ziva, sis, what's wrong?" It took a few seconds for the woman to catch her breath, but when she did, she pushed herself up, keeping her free arm around her belly. "Ziva, honey, talk to us."

The Israeli closed her eyes, forcing herself to take a deep breath and release it, even as her face screwed up in pain. She whimpered. "Oh God... they hurt... mmhm... Sarah... go get Jeanne... please..." Once her sister-in-law was gone, Ziva curled into Tim's chest, tangling her fingers in his shirt with a sob.

"What can I do, sweetheart? Hmm, what can I do for you?" She shook her head, burying her face in his shirt and wincing.

"Don't let me go." He pressed a kiss to her head.

"I'll only let you go when you tell me to."

She quickly shook her head. "No, never, Tim."

He chuckled softly, pressing another kiss to her head and holding her closer. "Never, sweetheart. I promise."