Disclaimer: I own absolutely nothing

A/N: Hey it's Nerwen back from the dead!! I know it's been like 6 months since I posted last but I have some good excuses. My summer break was anything but a break, I barely had time to write and when I finally did have time...the unthinkable happen. My computer decided it was time to die so I had to wipe out my hardrive. Good news: I'd saved everything, bad news: it took me forever to finally get Microsoft Word onto my computer to finish the chapter. Then when I finally got everthing back where it should be, school started and man that has left me without any time to breathe let alone work on stories.

But here it is.

Special thanks to all my reviewers who kept sending me messages reminding me that I promised an update.

A VERY special thanks to my sister for helping write this chapter, reading my drafts and most of all, giving me a swift kick in the pants to get back to work, I couldn't have finished it without her.

So here it is all my beloved fans, the fifth and final chapter of Ripped From the Headlines, I know I'm sad but as the title says, "All good things must come to an end"

Chapter 5: All Good Things…

"What are you saying Abby?" Gibbs asked, all of eyes were on the forensic scientist trying to understand what she was frantically explaining.

"It's the baby Gibbs," Abby finished, "the baby could still be alive."

"Are you sure?" Gibbs asked looking straight into her eyes to determine the Goth's certainty.

"It's the only explanation for why a knife would be used with only the blood from the placenta on it," Abby told him.

"But she was eight months along," Ziva reminded them, "what are the chances for the baby's survival at that stage?"

"With proper care, very good," Abby finished, "he might be a little small but barring any complications should be healthy."

"The question we should be asking is 'where is the baby?'," Tony asked.

Gibb's turned to McGee who quickly answered, "We searched the Ramirez house; there was no evidence of a baby anywhere."

"It probably means they left him with friends," Gibbs remarked, "Update the BOLO, make it clear that we are looking for a premature infant…"

"And call all the hospitals and physicians in the area to see if anybody has treated a premature infant," Tony finished, "Got it.

Now he turned to McGee who answered just as quickly, "Check up with friends of Ramirez, find out if any of them have been taking care of a baby recently."

Next it was Ziva's turn, "I'll call my contacts in Mexico, find out if Corporal Ramirez has made it out of the country."

Gibbs nodded to his team, "I want to find that baby, today!"

Three hours later the investigation into Lance Corporal Mary Lambert's case was still on going and the search for her missing son had gone no where. McGee was still making calls to friends of Ramirez but Tony knew that it would probably lead to nothing. Ziva was check up with her friends in Mexico again to see if Ramirez had made it into the country, if he had then they didn't know about it. And Tony had checked with all the hospitals in the area, no baby had been brought in that wasn't accounted for.

Now it was quiet, the kind of quiet that allowed the thoughts Tony had been trying to push out his mind to creep back into the foreground. He noticed that his fingers were absently tapping on the book of baby names that Ziva had swiped from evidence lockup and he, in turn, had filched it from her desk after her little announcement earlier. He didn't know why he wanted to look at the book; the picture of the smiling baby scared the hell out of him now that he knew that within a few months he was going to have one. Tony's attempts to talk to Ziva were still being met with a brick wall, always making excuses that she was busy on the case.

Gibbs walked into the bullpen from the elevator, a brand new cup of coffee in his hands, the first thing he did was look at Tony, "I called all the hospitals," Tony said, his voice flat since his mind was still on more personal things, "nobody brought in a missing infant."

"I'm still calling friends of Ramirez," McGee piped in, oblivious to his friend's inner turmoil, "Nothing yet boss."

Now Gibbs saw the empty desk next to his, "Where is David?"

McGee shrugged, "Maybe she's still talking to her contacts in Mexico."

Tony scoffed silently to himself, he knew where Ziva was. The agent behind her desk had brought in take out Chinese food and as soon as she smelled his General Tso's she's made a mad dash for the Head. Her morning sickness was pretty bad, he'd wanted to follow her but knowing Ziva's pride, it would have just made her even angrier at him.

His eyes flickered back down to the book on his desk; Ziva had been flipping through the book a lot since they'd opened the case. Had she picked out any names? Tony couldn't help but wonder what names Ziva would like…what she would name their child.

Tony didn't notice that Gibbs was watching him, noting his senior agent's absent thoughts. He took a sip of coffee before walking quietly to McGee's desk, "Go help Abby with the evidence from Ramirez's house."

"But I thought you wanted…" McGee protested until he saw the infamous Gibbs Glare, "I'll get right on that." And the younger agent quickly scurried away to Abby's Lab.

Gibbs walked over to stand in front of the plasma screen by Tony's desk; he took another sip of coffee before casually saying, "Ziva finally told you didn't she?"

Tony looked up at his boss in surprise, denial was on the tip of his tongue but Gibbs' knowing eyes quickly told him that lying was useless, "Of course you would know…did she tell you or did you…" Another look from Gibbs gave his the answer, "She didn't have to tell you, you probably knew before she did, what do you have a direct phone line with God? Do you know how long we've been together?"

"Six months."

"How do you do that? Do you know the day too?"

"DiNozzo."

"Right boss, not important," Tony stopped rambling and looked back down at his desk, absently rubbing the tip of his finger across the word 'baby' in the title of the book, "She's got morning sickness. I followed her into the bathroom, wanted to see what was wrong." Tony grinned without any humor in the smile, "I thought she wanted to break up…then she just lays this bombshell on me. I mean it felt like she just hit me in the head with a really large hammer, or one of those anvils from those Roadrunner cartoons."

Gibbs gave him another look and Tony got the message, "So she's standing there, waiting for me to say something, anything, and I have all of these thoughts just rolling around in my head and for the life of me I can't get my lips to move! I'm just frozen there watching as she's begging for me to speak…but I can't think of what the right thing is. All I can think about is how the last thing I thought would ever happen to me is happening right now and I don't…I have no idea what to do!"

Tony once more looked to Gibbs, "Just look at my life boss, I've passed from one screw up to the next. I can barely take care of myself and a kid…it's not like anything else in life. If you mess up than you will ruin that kid's life, they'll run away or go into a gang or if they're a Menendez, shoot you in your sleep…and all of this is your fault!"

He finally stopped rambling, his eyes focused ahead and away from Gibbs as he finally said softly his true feelings, "I don't think I can do this boss."

Gibbs leaned down to eye level with Tony, "Look at me DiNozzo," he said firmly and Tony obeyed, "You can do this."

"How do you know?"

"Because I didn't think you could, I would have told you," Gibbs explained, "You are going to be afraid, you are going to make mistakes, but you will learn and you will find a way to get through it all…and it will be worth it."

Tony was silent for a moment as he took in Gibbs's words, "You really think so boss?"

Gibbs grinned, "I know so DiNozzo," He took another swig of his coffee and then casually slapped Tony on the back of the head.

"What was that for?!"

"For doubting yourself."

Gibbs walked back over to his desk still smiling, just as he sat down his phone began to ring. "Gibbs."

He listened for a moment and Tony could see his eyes grow serious. Gibbs set the phone back down on the receiver, "Get Ziva, Abby's got something."

Gibbs, Tony and a pale Ziva trooped into Abby's office where McGee and the Goth forensic scientist were waiting. "Gibbs Gibbs Gibbs!" Abby called waving from her computer, "We've got it!"

"We think, we've got it," McGee corrected.

"Oh we have so got it!" Abby shot back.

"What do you have?" Gibbs asked stopping the bickering.

"We checked into friends of Corporal Ramirez," McGee explained.

"More specifically, Grayson Samuels," Abby interrupted.

Ziva looked at them surprised, "You found the baby?"

Abby shook her head, "No, Samuels doesn't have anything that suggest he has the baby," She grinned, "but what he does have is a phone call from a phone booth a few miles outside of the naval base, it took place twenty minutes after Ramirez's wife said her husband went to the store."

"We called the convenience store where the pay phone is located," McGee continued, "they said a guy matching Ramirez's description was the only person who used that phone all day."

"He knows where Ramirez is," Gibbs finished.

"There's more!" Abby exclaimed, "Right after he talked to Ramirez, Samuels called his brother."

"What does that have to do with anything?" Tony asked.

"Because, Samuels' brother owns a small plane that he uses to fly tourists around, his favorite spot, Mexico!"

McGee looked up at Gibbs, "We called the hangar where his brother's plane is, they said that he canceled all of his tour groups today, said he was taken a private person on a tour to Mexico later today."

"Private tour," Tony scoffed, "More like a one way trip."

"Samuels is getting his brother to take Ramirez to Mexico," Ziva finished, speaking what they were all thinking.

Gibbs shook his head, "Not if I can help it."

There had been no doubt who would be driving to the hangar, while Ziva could certainly make a close second when it came to making record times; no one could beat Gibbs when he was determined to catch a suspect. The hairpin turns and weaving in and out of traffic made McGee nauseous and certainly hadn't helped with Ziva's own stomach troubles, Tony simply hugged the seatbelt and held on, praying he didn't go through the windshield.

"Take a left boss," Tony half groaned as the tires squealed on the asphalt.

The building that housed Samuels' brother's plane was looming ahead of them when Gibbs's phone rang, he didn't even hesitate, just continued to drive erratically with one hand as he answered, "What is it Abs?"

His team's eavesdropping abilities were taking a hit as they tried to stay alive in the giant missile that was their car, "Uh huh," Gibbs said into his phone, "Are you sure? Alright, we'll take care of it when we're done here."

"What is it?" Ziva asked.

Gibbs didn't reply but instead slammed on the brakes causing all of the occupants to lurch forward, the seatbelts digging into their chests but doing their rightful job at keeping them from slamming against the seat in front of them. "We're here," Gibbs announced as he leapt from the car, followed quickly behind Ziva.

The door to the warehouse was open and they could all see Samuels inside. For a moment the man looked shocked at their sudden arrival, but that quickly left his face. He yanked out a pistol and fired a shot at them. His aim was wide and it went over Gibbs's shoulder, striking the pavement instead.

Immediately, the team withdrew their own weapons and fired back, but Samuels had already ducked behind a series of wooden crates. "Enrique, go!" he shouted.

Ramirez stood just outside the plane. He let out a few shots from his gun before he climbed inside. The plane pulled out of the warehouse and barreled towards the team. They all ran to the side to keep from getting run over. Gibbs narrowed in on the fuel tank and let loose two shots. Both bullets hit the tank and let the fuel flow free from it. The plane kept moving, leaving behind a river of reeking gasoline, until there simply wasn't enough fuel to keep it moving forward.

The plane was slowing down, but that didn't stop Ramirez. He leapt from the plane and ran down the runway. Samuels attempted to distract the team by firing off some more shots. "We've got him, boss!" Tony shouted before he and McGee ran towards Samuels while firing off some rounds.

Ramirez was gaining ground on his escape though his current destination was unclear. Ziva kept her grip strong on her gun as she took off after him. She wasn't going to get away. Mary deserved justice for what that bastard had done to her.

"Ziva!" Gibbs shouted at her, but she pretended not to here. All of her Mossad training allowed her to have incredible focus on her target, enough to where it was easy to forget the rest of the world around, even the fact that she harbored a tiny life in her body.

She was catching up and Ramirez knew this. He slowed down his pace enough for him to turn around and shoot. His aim was much better than Samuels so Ziva had no choice but the drop to ground to escape the fire. She went back on her feet within seconds and took off after him again.

The distance between them had shortened enough for her to aim her weapon and fire. Her plan was to incapacitate, not kill, so the round struck his shoulder blade. The sudden shock of pain made Ramirez fall to the dirt.

Her successful shot gave her enough time to catch up to him, but Ramirez was ready for her. A knife was in his hand and he slashed out at her. Ziva had to jump back to keep from getting wounded. It occurred to her now just the sort of danger she was in. Normally she could tunnel in on the job, but now that she was pregnant she had to protect herself from harm.

Ramirez was intelligent enough to see that he had a brief window of control. He launched himself on top of her, pinning Ziva to the ground. She forced her fears to the very back of her mind and fought back, delivering a solid punch to the man's jaw.

He fell to the side, but was only stunned long enough for Ziva to get back on her feet. He followed her with his knife ready once again. She kicked at his knees, missing intentionally to try and build up his confidence. Ramirez lunged for her and she grabbed his wrist and twisted it to the side.

There was the vicious sound of bones cracking and Ramirez let out a cry of pain. The knife fell harmlessly to the soil. Ziva kicked it to the side and then knocked his knees out from under him. He didn't try to get up again.

Ziva was panting for breath from the fight. Now that it was over, her adrenaline cooled and she felt the queasiness settled back in. "It's over Ramirez," Ziva told him, her weapon trained on his head.

Gibbs wasn't far behind her, once he was within earshot Ziva called out, "He'll need a doctor, he didn't want to go down quietly."

"In a minute," Gibbs replied looking squarely in Ramirez's eyes, "He's got to answer some questions first." He leaned down so he was nose to nose with the disgraced Corporal, "Where's the baby Ramirez?" He asked him his voice increasing in volume, "Where is he?!"

It was dark out at the military base, the cookie-cutter houses were quiet with only a few lights on to show that some of the occupants might still be awake. Gibbs was now driving through the streets slowly, the urgency that occurred earlier in the day was no longer necessary, but there was silence within the car. No words needed to be said.

He parked on the curb outside of the house; Corporal Michael Jennings got out of his own car parked a few doors down and slowly made his way to the team. "I was watching the house when I saw her go in, I knew I should call you."

"Thank you Corporal," Gibbs told the young man, "We'll take it from here."

The rest of the NCIS team followed Gibbs up the front walk and quietly through the door, each of their weapons were drawn but none of them really expected to use it. The shoot out was over, only one more piece of business was left.

Slowly down the hallway they crept, Gibbs leading followed by Ziva, Tony and McGee. He opened the door and shined his flashlight and pointed his weapon into the nursery Lance Corporal Mary Lambert had put together with great love and care.

Now his light showed Marisol Ramirez rifling through the open drawer of the bureau, an open duffel bag on the floor by her feet filled with disposable diapers and plastic bottles. A sling was drawn across her body so that the tiny baby boy was resting peacefully against her chest, leaving her hands free to grab the items necessary to care for him.

She gasped in shock once she saw the agents and their weapons pointed at her, she did the smart thing and raised both of her hands over her head. "I take care of him," she said with her heavily accented voice.

"We know," Gibbs replied firmly, "but it's over now Mrs. Ramirez."

"It not over."

"Yes it is, we have your husband."

Tears shown in her eyes when she heard those words, "You found Enrique?"

Gibbs nodded, "He never made it to Mexico, we caught him before he could get on the plane; he's in our custody now."

Marisol's eyes narrowed at Agent Gibbs, "I not kill her."

"Yes we know," Ziva spoke up from beside her team leader, "Your husband told us that he took your car and came to Mary's home alone that night…but you followed him."

"I not kill her!" she said again firmly.

"No," Ziva repeated, "but you watched her die, as your husband strangled her in her own living room…because he knew that when his son was born, all of his lies would come out."

"But then you stood up to him," Gibbs stated, "didn't you." Marisol looked up at him expectantly as he continued with the evidence, "Our scientist identified the blood on the kitchen knife as yours…you were the one who cut the baby out and saved his life."

Marisol was silent as she looked down at the tiny boy in the sling, she looked back up at Gibbs and her dark brown eyes were hard, "I not care about her. I only want my husband safe." She looked down at the baby once more, "but this is his son, I could not let him die."

"But Mary didn't matter," Ziva finished sadly.

Marisol shook her head, "No."

Gibbs took a step forward, "Give us the baby Mrs. Ramirez, if you care about your husband's son so much…you know he needs to come with us."

Now Marisol took a step back and held the baby up close to her chest, "No," she said sternly, "He belong to Enrique."

Ziva stepped forward, she put her weapon down on the floor in a show of good faith as she walked towards the distraught woman, "No Marisol…he belongs to Mary. She loved her son very much. Look around this room, everything here was chosen out of love and care for her baby." She looked into the older woman's eyes, "Marisol, it's time for you to let go."

Marisol was silent as she looked down at the baby in her arms. She turned her eyes to Ziva as tears crept down her cheeks before she carefully lifted the baby out of his sling and laid him gently in Ziva's waiting arms.

Once the baby was secure in Ziva's grasp, Gibbs motioned for Tony and McGee. The two agents quickly made their way into the room and as McGee handcuffed Marisol's wrists behind her back, Tony led her outside, all the while reading her rights.

Ziva gently rocked the tiny baby in her arms; he had been fast asleep through it all but he stirred softly now, his little fingers flexing against his palm as he slept. She smiled sweetly at the little boy and gently hummed as she sat down in the wooden rocker in the corner, finally feeling at peace.

The next day the NCIS squad room was bright from the afternoon sun and the even more intense orange walls. McGee was talking on the phone with nobody Tony cared about, Tony was instead looking over at the empty desk in front of his. Ziva had spent most of the night at the hospital, watching over the baby even after the doctor had declared him to be in perfect health and Child Services had arrived.

Now the social worker in charge of taking care of Mary Lambert's son was waiting by the large window next to Tony's desk. He noticed her impatient mannerisms out of the corner of his eye so he turned to her, "Gibbs said he was on his way back with Lance Corporal Lambert's mother, he should be here in a few minutes."

McGee hung up his phone and turned to his team mate, "I just got off the phone with Bethesda, Corporal Ramirez is fine and he should be released to Leavenworth authorities tomorrow."

"Let's hope he stays there for the rest of his life," Tony remarked casually. He really didn't care about the Corporal. Now that the case was finished all Tony could think about was how he was going to fix his screwed up life, more importantly, how he was going to fix things with Ziva.

Frustrated, Tony snatched the report off of his desk and opened the file cabinet to place it in its proper place, closing the door with a little more force than necessary. It was then that the social services worker's phone began to ring and she couldn't answer it with her arms currently occupied with Mary's son.

"Could you please?" She asked as she held out the infant to Tony.

"Oh I don't…" Tony began to protest but she ignored his words and thrust the baby into his arms. It took a moment before Tony could find a position that seemed comfortable and gave the baby the proper support.

McGee was grinning at Tony's discomfort, "Look at that, Tony's a babysitter."

"Yeah well," Tony began a biting remark on the tip of his tongue but he looked down at the little boy in his arms. His blue eyes were wide open and looking up at Tony in wonder as he gently sucked on a pacifier, he was so soft and quiet and he had to admit: adorable. "It's not that bad," Tony finished quietly, still looking down at the baby.

Ziva turned the corner from the stairway and saw the scene at her team's cluster of desks. Tony holding Mary's little son with some obvious satisfaction as he gently tried to rock the baby, she couldn't help but smile softly. Then Tony looked up and caught her gaze, for the longest moment their eyes were locked onto each other, each feeling the magnitude of the moment and the significance it had on their own situation.

Now the social worker finished speaking to whoever it was that called her and she put her phone away, she smiled at Tony, "Thank your for taking over like that."

"It was not a problem," Tony said truthfully as handed her back the baby.

Ziva was finally able to tear her gaze away from Tony and she put on a smile for the woman, "Hi, I'm Officer David," she said quickly, "I just spoke with Agent Gibbs he should be here right about," The elevator doors open and she saw the familiar figure of her team leader, "now."

Gibbs was genuinely smiling as he led Susan Lambert into the squad room, he gestured with his hand to the woman holding the baby, "Mrs. Lambert, this is your grandson."

Susan Lambert's sad face was immediately replaced with one a look of pure joy and wonder as she saw the tiny bundle the other woman was holding. With a soft gasp she gratefully accepted the tiny boy and held him close to her chest, gently stroking his soft little fingers. Tears pooled in her eyes and trailed down her cheeks but her smile was real as she looked up at Gibbs, "Thank you," she told him and then looked to the rest of the team, "Thank you, all of you, so much."

Tony and Ziva were only standing about a foot apart now as the both looked on at Mrs. Lambert in wonder, then Tony's eyes turned to Ziva as he beheld her expression at seeing grandmother and grandson meeting for the first time. It took a moment for Ziva to notice that Tony was watching her, and then she too turned her head to look at him. Their eyes once more locked on each other, both begging silently to know the other's thoughts but too afraid to speak aloud.

What would the future bring?

Tony hesitated for a moment, taking a deep breath and letting it out, before he finally knocked on the door. He could only pray that he wouldn't mess this up again.

It only took a minute for Ziva to open the door but she wasn't prepared to see Tony outside of her apartment, though she had been hoping for this all night. Still she couldn't seem to find any words to say, which was fine with Tony, it was his turn to do the talking.

He looked into her eyes seriously, his voice gentle but firm, "I'm not ready," he told her, and he meant it. Still the pained look in her face when he spoke the truth nearly broke his heart, but he could only hope she would understand his next words.

"I'm not ready to have a baby, I don't know anything, not how to change a diaper or fix up a crib…I don't even know how you feed them," Tony told her taking a step closer towards her, "but I want to be. I want to be ready and I promise that I will do whatever it takes to get there, to understand what it is that I will have to do.

"I want do this," Tony explained, "I want to be there for you…I want to do this together…just tell me that I'm not too late."

Ziva didn't say anything but the tears that glistened in her eyes spoke volumes. She couldn't find her voice to say what she wanted to speak…but actions spoke louder than words.

She took a step forward and let herself fall against Tony's chest, his arms gently enfolding her in a welcome embrace. He pressed his lips into her hair, smelling that special scent that he loved so much. He wanted to keep a tight grasp on the ones who mattered to him most.

His family.

*Foof*

In Memory of Lance Corporal Maria Lauterbach and her unborn baby girl.

May you hold your baby in heaven for God is kindest to those who suffer most.

A/N: I wish Gibbs had been there to really get Maria Lauterbach's murderer. Unlike Ramirez, Corporal Ceasar Armando Laurean really did escape to Mexico. Thankfully he was found and is in the process of extradition...the bad news is that the death penalty is no longer an option.

Well what did you guys think? I hope you found the ending as satisfying as I did, it seemed like a great way to end an episode.

I'm sure there will be a lot of questions wondering if I am going to continue this story.

Well this case is done and this was never meant to be more than a case fic. However, my sister (the angel that she is) was begging me to continue this storyline since she loved the idea of Tony and Ziva having a baby. So we got to wondering what would happen if this was really on the show and we both began to come up with ideas on how the team would react to Tony and Ziva having a baby, I especially loved what we came up with for Abby.

So, yes this fic is over but yes I am also going to continue with this storyline in other fics similar to this one. The next story will be about how NCIS reacts when Tony and Ziva come forward with their relationship and their coming child. I cannot say when the next story will be posted since I'm still trying to come up with all of the parts to the case. Any ideas and suggestions would be more than appreciated.

So what are you waiting for? Hit that pretty review button and tell me what you think!