No new NCIS tonight :( Hopefully this can help to fill the void.

VillageVoice

"I really think we should draw up wills."

Ziva stopped buttoning her shirt back up and looked over at Abby. "What?"

"Wills. Like what we want to happen if one or both of us die. We have to think about the baby Ziva and make some sort of plan for what should happen to her if something happens to us. It's not just about you or me anymore."

"Maybe we should discuss this at home Abby." Ziva said as she reached for her jacket.

Abby held out Ziva's jacket out and helped the very pregnant woman get her arms in. She resisted a laugh when the two sides of the zipper didn't make it anywhere near close enough to zip around Ziva's belly. Although with the temperature outside she didn't understand why Ziva felt the need to wear a jacket in the first place. "Okay, but we will talk about it right?"

Ziva placed a hand on Abby's cheek and gave her a kiss. "We will talk about it when we get home."

Abby smiled and grabbed the ultrasound pictures off the desk. Their thirty-nine week appointment had gone very well. Dr. Jacobs was impressed that Ziva had been able to make it this far in her pregnancy considering the rocky patch they had at the beginning of her seventh month. However there were no other episodes of pre-term labor nor contractions so Dr. Jacobs was now comfortable taking Ziva completely off of bed rest as her pregnancy was now considered full term and if she did go into labor that would be a good thing. Ziva was relieved, but with her energy so low she was spending more time in bed now than when she was actually on bed rest. He also said that the baby's head was down and in the perfect position for a natural delivery. Ziva was also two centimeters dilated, but she had been since her thirty-seven week appointment so he didn't think that meant all too much.

After the appointment Ziva and Abby headed back to their house to drop off some things and warm up their boat. They still had a hard time getting used to it - especially Ziva who had only been on a boat a handful of times before they came to New Zealand, and all for NCIS cases. They had to pick-up a package they had waiting at the post office on the mainland. They had an arrangement on the island. Because not everyone traveled to the mainland on a regular basis they had other people pick up their mail when they were there. But packages had to be picked up by the people they were addressed to per orders of the post office. So thus they went to pick up their package of birthing supplies they had to have shipped in because the clinic didn't have all of the supplies they needed and there was nowhere within driving distance on the mainland that carried the supplies either.

"Abby, when someone in my family writes a will they typically have a need for it very soon after. It is bad luck."

"Did you have a will when you were with NCIS?"

"No. I know it is only a …" She paused for a second to think of the right word. "…a superstition, yes? But it has never gone well. My Mother made one shortly before she died, I have had a lot of friends who have made wills and then died. My Father never made one. His advisors made one for him and he signed it, but he refused to make one up himself. I-"

"No need to explain I totally understand."

"But I do agree that we should have something in place for the baby in the event that something were to happen to both of us."

"Zi since you're the biological parent you'll also have to put what you want to happen to the baby if something were to happen to you."

Ziva looked at Abby with a confused look on her face. "You would keep the baby. Wouldn't you?"

"Of course! But I have no biological tie to this baby so if something were to happen…"

"It needs to be in writing from me."

Abby nodded. "Yeah."

Ziva took a deep breath and let it out. "If you were to write something up, as me, I would sign that. But I can't Abby, too much has happened. I . . ." She shook her head. "I can't."

Abby leaned over and kissed Ziva. "I'll do it. You won't have to worry about a thing." She hopped out of the boat and held her hand out to help Ziva hoist herself out as well. There was a silent agreement that the conversation was now over. It had been months, with the exception of that one incident when Ziva saw her Father's bodyguards, that either woman had felt like they were being watched or followed, but they both knew you could never be too careful. "You know what I think?" Abby asked as she looped her arm through Ziva's as they headed down the dock. "I think it's time we get some Halloween decorations. You said we had to wait until October. We're into the second week of October already. I think its only time that we-"

"We can get Halloween decorations Abby."

"Really?"

Ziva nodded. "I have never understood this holiday of Halloween, but it is important to you. And we will have the baby then and even though he will only be a week or so old it is important we start introducing him to all of our traditions and celebrations."

Abby threw her other arm around Ziva as they continued walking. "I knew there was a reason I loved you."

Ziva chuckled. "Oh, is that the reason?"

Abby smiled. "One of the hundreds of thousands, but yes. It's one of them." She hit the remote on the keychain in her hands and unlocked the car doors. Lil owned the car, but she let them use it as it was pretty impossible for Ziva to walk much of anywhere in her current condition.

Ziva scooted into the passenger side and turned to Abby once the doors were closed. "What are you thinking for the decorations?" She asked.

"We're having a haunted house."

Ziva looked straight ahead. "This should be interesting.

Abby started the engine with a smile on her face. "Oh yeah."

Ziva loved going to the mainland. She didn't get sea sick anymore so she and Abby usually took a trip there either on Saturday or Sunday every week. They would go to lunch at their favorite Italian restaurant and spend the next few hours shopping. By the time Ziva bought a new outfit and brought it home she had already outgrown it. She was getting bigger by the day and outgrowing clothes faster than Abby had ever seen. But it was always fun. There was an incredibly large mall within walking distance from the restaurant as well as a few adorable little boutiques. So they would buy Ziva a few new outfits, buy the baby a couple of things, get some more pieces for the house as they were still in the process of furnishing it and stop by whatever store Abby wanted and pick up a few things she wanted as well.

This time she wanted to stop at 'Holiday Excitement' which was this seasonal store that was different every time they saw it. This month it was Halloween. Abby smiled and dragged Ziva into the store. Once inside Ziva sat back, literally as her ankles were swollen and carrying around a baby wasn't as easy as carrying around anything of a similar weight, and watched as Abby dashed in and out of every isle, more and more things in her cart with each turn.

"Zi! They have real pumpkins! We can carve them tonight and bake the seeds!"

Ziva smiled at the older woman's enthusiasm. She had never carved a pumpkin, but she couldn't imagine seeds tasting all that good. However, she would try them with a smile on her face for Abby. After all Abby did have good tastes for the most part. Those pumpkin flavored cupcakes with licorice frosting left a lot to be desired, but Ziva usually liked the things Abby baked.

"Ooh and a Halloween recipe book!"

Ziva could imagine all the cookies and cakes and drinks and fake blood covered treats that would soon take over their house. Not that she would complain. The baby had quite the sweet tooth. Ziva was good at making meals, but so far Abby had been the only one to satisfy her cravings . . . in more ways than one, but in the baking sense only Abby could seem to create snacks Ziva and the baby really liked.

Ziva brought a hand to her big belly and smiled. "Abby!" She called.

Abby stuck her head out from around a giant mummy. "Yeah?"

"Your son has hiccups."

Abby skipped over and sat down next to Ziva. She placed a hand on Ziva's belly and chuckled at the quick, jerky movements. "Aw, does my little girl have the hiccups?"

"There is a good chance this baby is going to be born and have serious gender issues."

Abby chuckled, but ignored Ziva's comment. She had been reading too many baby books. There was a difference between reading enough to be prepared and reading too much that it made you paranoid about every tiny detail that could ever go wrong. It was just yesterday that Ziva was asking what they would do if after the baby sloughed off the downy body hair it had in-utero and swallowed too much of it in the amniotic fluid. Abby pretty much tuned her out at the mention of the equivalent to a human hairball. "You're belly's lower."

Ziva nodded. "It happened last night."

"What like just last night?"

Ziva nodded again. "When we went to bed he was up here." She gestured a big above where her belly currently was. "And I woke-up and he was down here." She put her hands on either side of her belly.

"You know they say if you carry high it's a girl?"

"I was carrying high now I'm carrying low. What do they say about that?"

Abby took a minute. "More shopping?"

Ziva laughed. "Go."

Abby gave Ziva a kiss and bounced off in the relative direction she had been in prior to the baby hiccup event.

Ziva sighed and looked down at her extremely swollen belly. "I hope you take after her." She looked back up at Abby picking up a large black cauldron and smiled. "I hope you will be that happy one day."

"Ziva! Everything looks amazing!"

Ziva came out from the living room and greeted Abby with a kiss. "I am glad you like it. I did not know exactly what to do, so I looked at the decorating book and…" She trailed off looking around.

Abby's mouth dropped open. The house looked amazing. Like something out of a magazine, which it sort of was as Ziva based it off of one of the Halloween decorating books Abby had bought along with the plethora of Halloween decorations they got when they were out over the weekend.

The entire house was draped in a shroud of darkness - literally and figuratively. All of the previous curtains had been replaced with black lace fabric with silvery glow-in-the-dark spiders and spider webs, and red glow-in-the-dark pumpkins and bats. There was a black carpet runner going down the stairs matching the curtains with crimson edging that matched the welcome mat inside the front door. Faux spider webbing material covered the corners of every window and along the stair railing from the top all the way down to the bottom. There were bats hanging from the ceiling, two jack-o-lanterns in every room, a very realistic skeleton chillin' on to the right of the last stair step with a large black cauldron by his feet that would be used for candy on Halloween, a couple of little ghosts in each room as well as candles placed all around the house. And even though Abby couldn't see it at the moment, the bathrooms had been redone as well with new shower curtains, rugs, curtains, toilet seat covers and everything else Abby could ever have hoped for in the bathroom of a haunted house.

"Zi!" Abby smiled and wrapped her arms around Ziva's neck in one of her bone crushing hugs. "When did you do this?"

"Today."

"I was only gone for eight hours. Well, more like seven 'cause we met for lunch."

"I know. I also worked on it early this morning when the baby would not let me sleep."

Abby pulled away. "How early?"

Ziva shrugged. "One am."

"You started this at one am?"

"Yes."

"Ziva I really wish you'd wake me up when the baby doesn't let you sleep."

"Well" Ziva smirked. "Someone has to have the energy to stay up with the baby at night once he is born."

Abby smiled and took another look around. "This is . . ." There were no words as far as the forensic scientist was concerned.

"I didn't do everything. I thought that you would want to do some things as well."

"What's left?"

"Everything outside." They had lights to go around the entire house - like Christmas icicle lights, but on black wire with black and orange lights instead of white. There were tombstones to put up, a few undead to partially bury, more pumpkins to be carved and transformed into jack-o-lanterns to be put outside and truthfully, Abby couldn't remember what else. She had gone a bit overboard. Even with the baby's costume. The baby would only be a week old if he or she was born on Ziva's due date, but even so Abby had bought two little bee costumes - one for a boy and one for a girl even though she knew the baby was a girl. She was beginning to think that they were perhaps going a little overboard with this whole 'bee' theme as well, but this was their first baby so they were expected to go a little, if not completely, nuts.

"I was thinking that after dinner we could start. Although it is probably going to take more than just one night." She said. "Oh, and I baked some pumpkin seeds. I'm not sure if they turned out well or not, but-"

Abby silenced Ziva with a kiss. "I'm sure they'll be great!"

"I made some sort of pumpkin cake … thing. It was in your recipe book. So we can have that after dinner too or after we decorate outside."

"No."

"No?"

"No we are not having it after we decorate outside because we aren't doing that tonight." She wrapped her arms back around Ziva, hugging her so tight she could feel the baby kicking through Ziva's belly. "Because you have done enough work today."

"Dr. Jacobs said-"

"I know what he said, but Ziva even though I know you're tired of being pregnant and you just want this little one out of you, you still need to take it easy and rest. You need to stay healthy for the both of you. The more calm and relaxed you are, the more calm and relaxed the baby will be."

Ziva pressed a gentle kiss to Abby's lips. "There is nothing calm about this child. I think someone has been slipping him Caf-Pows when I am not looking." She winked.

Abby chuckled. "Because that's totally possible."

Ziva shrugged with a smile. "I would not put it pass you."

Abby placed a quick kiss on Ziva's lips. "Past me Ziva." She corrected as she gently swatted Ziva's backside pushing her toward the kitchen. "Now let's eat. I worked hard for my paycheck today and I'm hungry."

"What's so hard about running blood samples?" Ziva questioned as they headed through the formal and dining rooms into the kitchen. "The machine does all the work."

"Hey! I think you need to get out and do something. All this staying at home has given you an attitude."

Ziva's response was to turn around and stick her tongue out at Abby before running, or briskly waddling, into the kitchen. Abby chuckled to herself. Living here was good for them both. If it wasn't for the fact that they were thousands of miles and many time zones from everyone they loved she would want to live there forever. But for now, right now was good enough. For now.