A/N: Okay, so I'm so sorry I didn't update last weekend, but I was just having a hard time writing in general. Blah. I was much more productive yesterday, and this chapter is a bit longer, so that makes up for not posting last weekend. ;) You might want a tissue for the end. Happy tears, but it kinda made me well up and I was the one writing it. Though I'm also a lot of a sap, so . . . ;) Enjoy!
Chapter Sixteen
McGee's eyes widened as he turned and faced Ziva, who had slipped on a loose, but stylish, cotton dress and was patting her damp hair with a towel. "Uh, what?" he finally managed, causing Ziva to roll her eyes and smile as she walked toward them.
"I just heard you say, 'Do you think I'd be doing all this if I didn't?'" she said. "I am simply curious what you mean by that."
"Well . . ." he started, but Abby interjected, making him breathe a sigh of relief for a moment.
"Do you two want to be alone?" she said, and McGee regretted the breath he let out.
"We've got a lot of work to do yet," he answered before Ziva could say anything, then risked a look at her. She narrowed her eyes at him and poked him in the chest.
"We will talk later," she murmured, then headed for the kitchen, leaving McGee to let out another sigh, then turn a glaring eye on Abby, who shrugged.
McGee followed Ziva into the kitchen, attempting to take the situation back to normal by asking, "Can I do anything to help?"
She turned to face him, studying his face for a moment before saying, "No," and turning back to the oven, which she opened to check the dish she had baking.
McGee let out a sigh and leaned in, speaking softly to her. "Come on, Ziva. You know if Abby weren't here . . ."
She turned again, finding herself closer to him than she expected. Her breath caught in her throat for a moment, then she let it out, patting him on the chest. "It is okay, Tim. Now would not be a good time for that conversation, no matter if we were alone or not." She smiled, then said, "I should get the lasagna out of the oven now."
"You made lasagna?" Abby interjected, not able to hide the fact that she was listening in. "Tony is so going to love you for that." McGee turned to face her and both he and Ziva gave her a look and she gave them a sheepish smile. "I mean, I wasn't listening. I was just . . ." She pointed a finger behind her at the door. "I'm gonna go get the baby's present from my car."
She turned and left, leaving McGee and Ziva alone once more. McGee turned back to Ziva, finding her gazing at the door, her hand absently sitting on her stomach. "You should know," he started, and Ziva looked up at him, her gaze curious, "that I do care about you."
She looked down, a slight smile on her face. "I . . . thank you. I never doubted that." She glanced up. "I feel the same way."
"I know," he said, his voice suddenly taking on a deeper tone. He paused, then said, "Maybe we should wait . . . until after you have the baby."
She nodded, suddenly unable to look him in the eye again. "I think that would be a good idea." She turned around then, before she went against her words and pressed her lips against his, before she gave in to the feelings she knew they were both having. "The lasagna," she said, and walked to the oven, leaving McGee to catch his breath.
He turned around, running a hand through his hair, just as the door opened again and Abby reappeared, a box wrapped in black wrapping paper with pink skulls and crossbones in her arms. McGee shook his head at the choice of wrapping paper and Abby grinned, saying, "Look who I found outside." She stepped aside and Tony appeared in the doorway, holding a pale pink gift bag.
"Hey, Ziva, Probie," he said as he came in, closing the door behind him. Abby took the bag from his hand and set the gifts down in one corner of the living room. He walked closer to the kitchen, saying, "You letting the pregnant lady do all the work, Probie?"
McGee rolled his eyes. "I don't think she trusts me in the kitchen."
Ziva closed the oven, just having taken the lasagna out, and came over to where the two men stood, saying, "I trust you to set the table." He turned his head toward her and gave her a look and she added, "Please?"
He let out a sigh. "If you insist," he said, but smiled when she leaned up and pressed a kiss to his cheek, causing Tony to make fake gagging noises.
McGee grabbed a pile of plates from the cupboard and headed to set the table, and Ziva took the opportunity to speak to Tony. "Are you jealous that I am not kissing you on the cheek, Tony?" she asked, her mouth turning up in a smirk.
"Nah, just a bit disgusted at how easily you have him eating from your hand," he said. McGee walked back in the kitchen to grab the silverware and Tony said, "Gotta get some balls, man. Next thing you know, you're gonna be waist deep in dirty diapers while mom relaxes in a bubble bath."
McGee raised an eyebrow at him. "So you're telling me that if Ziva gave you the puppy dog eyes, you wouldn't be taken in by it?"
Tony scoffed. "Please. Probably just another one of her Mossad mind tricks." He turned his attention to Ziva, who was glaring at him. He gave her a beaming DiNozzo smile and she rolled her eyes, walking back to the oven.
"I made lasagna, Tony," she said, smiling to herself as Tony was immediately at her side, gawking. She chuckled to herself and left Tony to drool over the dish as she returned to McGee's side, tossing a, "Don't get drool all over, Tony. The rest of us have to eat, too." When she reached the island, she hefted herself onto one of the bar stools sitting there, letting out a groan as she did so. "I am so ready to have this child out," she muttered, and McGee laughed, placing his hands on her shoulders and lightly massaging them.
"Soon enough, Ziva," he said, smiling as Ziva closed her eyes and nearly started purring at his ministrations.
"Yeah, and when she's up crying all night, you'll be wishing otherwise," Tony muttered from his spot by the oven, where he was still gazing lovingly at the lasagna.
"Just one of the parts of being a parent, Tony," McGee said, and smiled as Ziva nodded her agreement.
"I was talking about Ziva," Tony responded, and Ziva made a noise of disgust.
"Okay, guys," Abby joined the conversation, appearing in front of them. "I decorated the gift table. It's not much, but I wanted to do something . . . festive."
Ziva opened her eyes and looked over to the area Abby was pointing, letting out a laugh at Abby's design choice. "Thank you, Abby. It's very . . . unique."
McGee raised an eyebrow at the gift table. "That's certainly very . . . you, Abby," he said. "Not necessarily the girliest colors in the world . . ."
"Well," Abby said, walking back to her masterpiece, which had black streamers and the same pink skulls and crossbones from her wrapping paper, "Ziva's not necessarily the girliest girl in the world, and there's some pink in there."
Ziva smiled at her. "I love it, Abby. Thank you." She held out her arms, waiting for Abby to come to her, rather than getting off the stool.
Abby ran over, ready to give her friend a hug, but not without a warning from McGee. "Gentle, Abby," he said, and she rolled her eyes at him as she carefully wrapped her arms around Ziva.
"I know, Timmy," she said, smiling at the murmur of pleasure Ziva let out. She pulled back then, grinning at Ziva, who responded to McGee's concern.
"I think it is sweet, even if it is unnecessary," she said, turning her head and smiling at him. He returned the smile and Ziva rested her elbow on the counter behind her, using the opportunity to sneak her hand toward McGee's. He felt her fingers on his and laced his own up through hers, his smile growing as he did so.
Abby watched the scene unfold with an amused grin, then looked past them at Tony, who was still distracted with the pan of lasagna. "Hey! DiNozzo!" she called in a gruff voice, mimicking Gibbs.
"Yeah, Boss!" Tony responded, spinning to face them and frowning at the laughter the three others shared. "Not funny, Abbs."
"Oh, but it was," Abby countered, grinning. Tony shook his head, but was saved from further embarrassment by a knock on the door. "Ooh, I'll get it!" Abby said, running to answer the door.
"You better hope that's Gibbs or Ducky and Palmer," McGee muttered to Ziva, who swatted at him with her free hand.
"Ducky!" Abby squealed a moment later, confirming the arrival of the older man. She kissed him on the cheek as he entered, a neatly wrapped box tucked in the crook of his arm.
"Hello, all," he greeted the group, placing his gift on the table with Abby's and Tony's presents, then walking over to the group, leaning over to kiss Ziva on the cheek. "I believe Mister Palmer will be arriving shortly, assuming he did not get lost on the way." Everyone shared a laugh at that, then another knock sounded at the door. "Perhaps that is him right now."
Abby ran to the door again, flinging it open and revealing . . . "Gibbs!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around him and giving him the kind of hug she couldn't give Ziva. When she backed off, she turned and pointed at him as she spoke to the rest of the group. "See, I told you he would come!"
Gibbs raised an eyebrow at that, saying, "You didn't think I'd come?"
"Oh, no, nothing like that," Tony insisted, shaking his head and then tossing a look of disbelief at Abby, who gave him an innocent shrug.
"Well, like I told ya before, I like babies," Gibbs said, leaving Ziva with a surprised, but amused, look on her face.
"I am glad you came," Ziva said, and Gibbs shrugged.
"Couldn't really miss it, could I?" he responded.
"Gibbs!" Abby suddenly gasped, having turned back to him. "Where's your present for the baby?"
"Abby!" Ziva hissed, embarrassed at her friend's behavior.
Gibbs ignored Ziva, though, instead saying, "We'll deal with that later."
Ziva's grip on McGee's hand tightened and he frowned a bit. Everyone recognized the sudden tension in the room, and secretly let out a breath of relief when they heard, "Uh, am I interrupting something?" from behind Gibbs.
"Not at all, Mister Palmer," Ducky said, smiling at his young protégé. "For once, your timing is impeccable." Palmer grinned at that knowledge and slid past Gibbs to put his rather large gift bag on the table with the other presents.
"What'd you do, buy a whole nursery, Palmer?" Tony asked, grinning.
Palmer felt his face heat up a bit and pushed his glasses up as he answered. "Uh, no, I . . ." He nodded. "You'll see."
Ziva laughed at the exchange and tipped her head toward Palmer. "Thank you for coming, Jimmy. I'm glad you could make it."
"Anytime, Ziva," Palmer responded, feeling more comfortable. Then he rethought his words and backtracked, saying, "Not that I think you're going to be having more kids soon. Not that that would be a bad thing, or I wouldn't come if you had another baby shower or something! I definitely . . ."
"Jimmy," Abby said, and he looked at her with wide eyes. "Stop talking." He nodded, then McGee changed the subject, saving them all from further awkwardness . . . for the moment.
"Well, since everyone's here, how about we eat?" he suggested, and everyone murmured their approval. McGee wrapped an arm around Ziva's waist, helping her down from the stool, and she glanced up at him, her eyes showing her appreciation, as everyone else tried to ignore the intimate moment.
"Tim, would you grab the lasagna and bring it into the dining room?" Ziva asked, then turned to Tony. "Can you grab the salad from the refrigerator, Tony?" She continued to give people assignments and soon everything was on the table and Ziva made her way to her seat, intending to pull out her chair and sit down, but she heard McGee behind her and turned to face him.
"Let me get that," he said, pulling out her chair for her as Ducky and Palmer looked on with smiles on their faces and Tony tried not to roll his eyes, earning him a punch on the arm from Abby.
Once she was sitting, Ziva looked up at the group, saying, "What are you all waiting for? Sit! Eat!"
They all did as they were told, enjoying casual conversation over the course of the meal. When they were done with the main course and the dishes had been brought into the kitchen for washing, Abby announced, "Time for cake!"
Everyone groaned, their stomachs full from the delicious meal Ziva had made, and Tony said, "As much as I love cake, can we wait a bit? I think I'm gonna explode, and I doubt Ziva wants to clean that up."
Abby pouted for a moment, but then brightened, saying, "Okay, time for presents!"
McGee and Ziva exchanged an amused smile as Abby herded everyone into the living room. Tony, Ducky and Gibbs took their seats on the sofa, while Palmer claimed a side chair and Abby headed for the gift table, leaving McGee and Ziva to settle in on the small loveseat. Ducky and Palmer exchanged an amused look at the situation, but no one could miss how close to each other they sat, how McGee draped an arm casually over the back of the loveseat, or how Ziva's hand rested on McGee's thigh as they waited for Abby to bring her the gifts.
"First up," Abby said, bringing over one of the gifts, "me!" Tony gave her a look and she returned it, saying, "What? I was the first one here."
"Technically, I was the first one here," McGee spoke up, and Abby turned to glare at him, "but since I'm already buying the crib . . ."
"Yeah, yeah, show off," Tony mumbled, and Abby grinned and presented her gift to Ziva, who quickly tore into the paper and lifted out the present.
"It's a . . ." Ziva started, turning the foreign item over in her hands, confused.
"Baby Bjorn," McGee provided, biting back a smile as he remembered Abby's long list of possible gifts for the shower.
Abby nodded her confirmation and pointed at it. "Check out the side," she said, grinning. Ziva turned it to the side and Abby continued. "That's to keep a knife. You know, just in case."
Ziva bit back a laugh and instead looked up at Abby with a smile. "Thank you, Abby. I'm sure I will get a lot of use out of this."
Abby returned the smile and trotted back to the gift table, as Ziva shared an amused glance with McGee, handing him the gift for safekeeping while she prepared to open Tony's present.
"This oughta be good," McGee mumbled.
"Hey!" Tony commented from his place on the sofa. "I'll have you know I put a lot of thought into picking out just the right gift."
Ziva reached into the bag and pulled out a tiny pink onesie, frowning as she read the saying on it aloud. " 'Don't you wish your mommy was hot like mine?,' Tony? Really?"
Tony gave her the usual DiNozzo smile, causing her to roll her eyes. "Hey, it's a compliment."
McGee gave him a slight glare, and Gibbs muttered, "Hands off, DiNozzo, I think she's spoken for."
McGee flushed slightly, but Ziva ignored the comment from their boss, instead waiting for the next gift. "From Ducky," Abby said, and Ziva happily took the box, gasping as she took out a large and elaborate book of fairy tales from around the world.
"This is beautiful, Ducky," she murmured, running her hand over the bejeweled cover. She looked up and met his eyes. "Thank you."
"The gift of knowledge, and appreciation for the stories of another's culture, are just as important as any tangible thing," Ducky replied, his eyes twinkling with life.
"Jimmy's gift!" Abby said then, lugging over the large bag he had brought. "Geez, Jimmy, what'd you get, a pound of bricks?"
"I don't think that would be very practical," he said, laughing at his own joke until he saw nobody else was laughing, then stopped. "That, uh, that wasn't funny." He turned his attention back to Ziva, who was pulling out . . .
"Diapers." She looked down at the package in her hand and then up at Palmer, who was giving her an unsure smile. She put on her best smile. "Thank you, Jimmy. They will certainly be very useful, that is for sure." Her assurance that it was a good gift made his smile more confident and everyone had to grin at that.
"So, I guess that's it," Abby said, not wanting to acknowledge the fact that Gibbs hadn't brought a gift.
"Nope, it's not," Gibbs spoke up then, and Ziva's hand gripped McGee's thigh. He reached over with his hand that had been resting on the arm of the loveseat and placed it on hers, both waiting anxiously to hear what he had to say.
Rather than say anything, though, he stood up . . . and walked out the door.
Everyone exchanged shocked looks at the sudden exit, both trying to gauge Ziva's reaction and avoiding looking at her at the same time.
McGee was the only one who seemed to feel comfortable talking to her, so he dipped his head close to hers and said, "He'll be right back. He's probably just gone to his car to get the present. Maybe he wanted it to be a surprise."
"Tim . . ." Ziva said, looking up and meeting his eyes, her own on the verge of tears. "Don't." She made as if to stand up, but McGee tightened his grip on her hand, Ziva's expression flashing surprise before returning to the sadness she was failing to hide.
"He wouldn't leave, Ziva," he insisted, continuing their private conversation as though nobody else was there. "He cares about you. We all do. And like I said . . ."
The door opened again then and Gibbs' voice came through the entryway. "Anyone wanna give me a hand here?"
Tony jumped up from the sofa, jogging to meet Gibbs at the door, while Ziva attempted to compose herself, McGee not releasing her hand.
"I thought you might need something for the nursery," Gibbs said, as Tony helped him drag in his present – a beautiful handmade rocking chair.
Ziva let out a loud gasp as she saw the gift and struggled to stand, McGee pushing himself to his feet and grabbing her hands to help her, then allowing her to walk over to Gibbs. She ran a careful hand over the chair, which Gibbs had sanded and stained to perfection, then looked up to meet Gibbs' eyes.
"I thought . . ." she started, and he shook his head, placing his hand under her chin and forcing her to keep eye contact.
"Never, Ziver," he said softly, and her eyes fluttered shut as a tear escaped and ran down her cheek. He put his arms around her, kissing her on top of the head, and Ziva let out a shuddering breath as he ran a hand down her back.
The moment was intense, but warm, and then . . .
"So, about that cake," Palmer said, as everyone looked at him in disbelief. He returned their stares with a blank look of his own. "What?"