Now at home and unemployed, she began contemplating the possibility if finding something else, to make some extra money. Maybe work from home, or something that didn't require too much effort. She figured she could make ends meet with the money she had saved in the bank and once her daughter was born, she'd either return to Mossad or find a new job. When she was ready.

After about a month of unemployment and being stuck at her house, Ziva felt her life was moving faster. She found herself running against the clock, despite having the nursery ready, everything already childproofed, and a bag ready to grab when she had to go to the hospital to deliver her baby. Still, as the day got closer and closer, she couldn't help but feel that she was forgetting to do something and, eventually, she started questioning her own abilities as a mother. So when she went on early labor at just 36 weeks, she panicked, not knowing what to do in spite of the fact that she'd rehearsed it and talked to her doctor about it. Drowning in pain and fear, she called Dr. Ebbs to ask her what to do.

"Dr. Ebbs? It's Ziva. I know it's late but I'm pretty sure I'm in labor!" Ziva's voice was shaky and almost broken. She was terrified, as most first-time moms are.

"Ziva, listen to me. Don't panic, okay? It's going to be all right. I want you to grab your bag and take a cab to the hospital. I'll meet you there. Can you do that for me?" Dr. Ebbs was calm, mostly because she wanted to keep Ziva calm. She knew that panic could lead to stress and that wouldn't be good for the baby.

"Uh… yeah, I… I can do that" She had tears in her eyes, some of them from the pain, some others from the fear.

"Okay, then. I'll see you there. You'll be able to hold your daughter in your arms really soon."

What Ziva hoped would be an easy delivery, turned out to be more painful than what she was expecting. She was in a lot of pain and, after a while and the highest dose of medication they could give a woman her age and size, there was only so much the doctors could do for her. All there was left to do was wait until she was fully dilated. After 8 long, excruciating hours, Ziva finally started to push. She was alone, though, with no one there to hold her hands or tell her she was doing great. No one there to tell her how it would all be over soon or to remind her that in a few more minutes she'd be able to hold her baby. All she could see and hear were the nurses whispering about the standard protocol for the delivery of premature babies, where they'd have to take them and what to check for once they were born, like heart rate, fluids in their lungs and their breathing. A partner, boyfriend or husband is supposed to ease those fears. But she had no one. No partner. No boyfriend. No husband… No Tony.

Finally, her baby was here. And then she wasn't, just like that, because the baby was a bit premature and they'd had to take her away. She didn't get to hold her or place her on her chest, but she got to kiss her on the forehead and that's when it finally hit her: she was a mom now.

A few hours after the doctors took Ziva's daughter away, doctor Ebbs walked in and started asking her some follow-up questions.

"Hey Ziva! How are you feeling?"

"Hello, Dr. Ebbs! Well, aside from a bit of pain and soreness, I am all right. I am a little worried about my daughter. I would like to know if she's ok" Ziva was concerned that there could be something wrong with her baby.

"Well, that's why I'm here, to give you an update. Your daughter was born 4 week ahead of schedule and it's protocol to take premature babies to the neonatal ICU to make sure they're ok. We make sure they don't have trouble breathing, that they're not underweight or underdeveloped. Fortunately for you and your daughter, she was born just 4 weeks early, which means she's a bit small, but otherwise ok. The more premature a baby is, the more complications they present." She didn't want to worry Ziva for nothing.

"Oh, that's wonderful! Thank you. Will I be able to see her soon?"

"Let me see what I can do about that, ok?"

"All right. Thank you again"

The doctor smiled at Ziva before walking away and Ziva smiled back. About fifteen minutes after their conversation, doctor Ebbs walked in with Ziva's daughter in her arms and her eyes widened at the sight. She couldn't believe what she was seeing. As soon as she held her in her own arms, she noticed her little girl's resemblance to her father. She barely had any hair and the bit she had was platinum blonde. Ziva only got a glimpse of the baby's eyes right after she was born and they seemed to be kind of green, just like her dad's. There was no point in denying it anymore. It was rather obvious that her daughter's father was most likely not Israeli and this would confirm Eli's suspicions: Ziva did sleep with and American agent during her time in D.C about nine months ago.

But none of this mattered to her now because she was holding the fruit of a night with a wonderful man. A man who saw her as more than just a killer. A man who didn't judge her, who listened to what she had to say, to her side of the story and actually paid attention. A man she would've liked to get to know better. A man she knew she could be happy with.

In Ziva's arms laid a brand new life that was the best of both of them.

"What are you going to name her, Ziva?" the doctor asked, trying to make small talk. Ziva looked up at her with teary eyes and met the doctor's own. With a barely audible whisper –because she was in the verge of tears and something louder would've made her start sobbing- Ziva managed to say "Sarah".

Just a couple of days after giving birth, Ziva was discharged from the hospital with her newborn daughter. She still had Dr. Ebbs' number and a promise to call her if she had any questions or any trouble at all.

The first few days at home with her newborn baby, Ziva chose not to sleep much because she was worried that something might go wrong and that she wouldn't be awake to solve the issue. After the first week, though, she couldn't take surviving on 3 hours of sleep per night anymore, so instead of putting Sarah down to sleep in the nursery, she bought a bassinet so she could have the baby sleep with her in her room. Luckily for Ziva, Sarah was a good baby because she didn't wake up much at night. She'd read that some babies could wake up every couple of hours each night for a bottle or just to be held, but not Sarah. But she was still a newborn, nonetheless. Every night Ziva got up to change her or hold her once or twice, but she knew it would get better. As the weeks passed, Ziva was still in awe of how perfect her daughter was and how much she could love someone so small so very much. She was also very amazed at how much a baby could look like a man she barely even knew.

By the time Sarah celebrated her first month on Earth, Ziva had already gotten her ears pierced and had had to buy almost a whole new set of clothes because her daughter was growing at the speed of light. Not that it surprised her. After all the books she'd read on the subject, she knew exactly what would happen day by day throughout the baby's first six months.

More chapters to come =)