Disclaimer: Mwahahaha….I'm just an evil fan who likes to play with the lives of characters created by someone else for my own entertainment. And I like to share….guess I can't be that evil. Hahaha.
Chapter 4
Ziva waited outside the room while Abby changed into the hospital gown, and while the doctors did their physical examination. She took the time to place calls to Tony, Gibbs, and Ducky, to let them know what was going on.
Gibbs told her he'd be right there, and Ducky said he'd come later on, as he was in the middle of an autopsy that he needed to finish, and as nothing was likely to happen right away, he wasn't in a rush.
Tony offered to swing by the apartment and pick up Abby's overnight bag, so that Ziva could stay with her. Ziva smiled, considering how thoughtful Tony had become in the past few months. She wondered to herself why the sudden change.
The doctor came out, telling Ziva that Abby had asked for her to come back in, so Ziva pulled the door open slowly. "Abs?"
Abby looked over from where she lay on the hospital bed. Ziva couldn't believe how small and pale she seemed. "Come on in." Abby said, pulling the blankets a little tighter around her. There was already an IV in her arm, and monitors hooked up around her swollen stomach. Machines beeped. Ziva was reminded of the scene she'd been met with when Abby had lain in the hospital after being poisoned with a gas from one of the crimes they were solving.
"Gibbs is on his way, and Tony's going to swing by your place and pick up your stuff so I can stay here. Ducky said he'd come a little later." She moved to take a seat next to Abby.
"This machine is so cool." Abby said, halfheartedly trying to be cheerful. "See" She pointed to the little disk shaped piece that was on her stomach. "This is reading the baby's vitals, and this one" She moved her hand to another one "is monitoring contractions."
Ziva frowned. "You're having contractions?"
Abby nodded. "Yeah, the doctor wanted to induce me, because he's concerned that if I continue to carry the baby…well I could have a stroke, or seizures like I said before, and that wouldn't be good for me or the baby."
Ziva nodded. "Will the baby be ok?" She asked, concerned because she knew things were happening early.
Abby shrugged. "They'll have a pediatrician at the birth to check it out, and make sure everything is ok." There was a moment's pause, and Abby's face seemed to morph from concerned and frightened to one of total discomfort.
"Abby" Ziva said, leaning forward and holding out her hand to her friend.
Abby just shook her head, one hand pressing to her stomach. She closed her eyes, and seemed to be trying really hard to imagine herself elsewhere, so Ziva just stayed where she was, ready to help if Abby asked for it, and completely unsure of how she'd be able to help when she had no experience in this situation.
Finally the contraction passed, and Abby relaxed. "Why hasn't he gotten here yet?" Abby asked, obviously referring to McGee.
Ziva shrugged. "He is likely caught up in traffic..you know how it is around this time of day, people just getting out of work in a rush to get home." She tried to comfort Abby.
Finally, as the words were coming out of her mouth, Timothy walked in. "Honey?" He said as he walked in, closely followed by the nurse who went to the monitors and began checking the print-offs.
Ziva stood up and moved back toward the door, giving Tim room to sit down in the chair and hold Abby's hand. His cheeks were flushed, and Ziva wondered how many times he'd come close to hitting someone else's car on his way here from the publisher's office.
Abby took his offered hand, and scowled at him. "How often have I told you not to call me honey? I mean…I'm not something bees spit out… really Tim." She squeezed his hand as another contraction came.
He laughed softly. "No, but you are sweet as honey."
Ziva stepped out into the hall, leaving the two of them to greet each other. She walked down the corridor a little bit, then walked back. There was too much excitement for her to settle into one of the chairs in the hall, or to go down to the waiting room provided for Labor and Delivery. She paced back and forth waiting for Tony, or Gibbs to arrive.
In the delivery room, Abby's contraction passed, and the nurse frowned, but silently left the room, leaving the two of them alone. Tim pressed a kiss to Abby's lips, and then sat back in the chair. "Are you feeling ok? Do you need me to get you anything?"
He was nervous, as most first time fathers are, and in his nervousness had not noticed the nurse's parting expression, and Abby's eyes had been closed in relief at the passing of the contraction.
Abby shook her head. "No..I'm ok." She said, with a faint smile at his worried expression.
The nurse reappeared, with the doctor in tow, and returned to checking the monitor print-offs. They talked quietly between themselves as Abby's contraction passed. Finally, the doctor nodded, and the nurse tore off the print off to put in the medical record, and left the room. The doctor checked Abby's blood pressure, and offered a reassuring smile that did not accomplish its goal.
"Well you must be the daddy to be?" She asked, holding a hand out to shake Tim's hand.
He shook her hand politely before asking "Is the baby okay?"
The doctor made an odd face, and shook her head softly. "The baby's heart rate drops with every contraction. I think the safest route for both mother and baby is to perform a cesarean section, which would enable Abby's blood pressure to begin to return to normal, and enable us to make sure that everything's alright with the little one."
A/N: Ok, so I know this chapter's gone a bit slow. My apologies, the next chapter will be a bit faster. Every time I relax and sit down to write, my own contractions start feeling worse (they're normal, for anyone who thinks that contractions are only a sign of labor, they actually happen throughout pregnancy, some women just feel them more than others, I've felt them through most of both this pregnancy, and my first.) Please review!