Still not mine…
Thank you all muchly for your reviews on the previous chapter. It's very nice to wake up in the morning and turn on my computer and see people loving my writing.
Oh, and by the way, I know the boy sounds a lot like Callen, but the wandering mentality just seemed to fit with this story.
Okay, last one. I apologize in advance for any medical inaccuracies. I am not a doctor, but I simply put what makes sense in light of known facts. If anyone has more knowledge in this field, I will welcome your input.
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He'd had it.
Officially.
It had taken less time than usual. Only five days.
He left his bed rumpled and unmade. They didn't deserve one last kindness.
Unzipping his backpack, he loaded it with his clothes- not many, just three t-shirts, some socks and underwear, a pair of pants, two pairs of shorts, and pajamas. He was already wearing his tennis shoes, baseball cap, and sweatshirt.
In the kitchen, he added two plastic water bottles, some granola bars, a box of crackers, and an apple. The fifty or so dollars hidden under the couch cushions would suffice for whatever else he needed until Social Services repossessed him.
One last thing.
The blue blanket had been folded neatly under his pillow. He never let anyone see it. They might think it was childish for him to still have his baby blanket when he was ten, and he didn't need to put up with whatever snide comments they would think of.
Impulsively, he unfolded it and ran his finger over the stitching on the corner. His birth mother had given him his life, his treasured blanket, and his name. Hand-stitched, messily, in navy blue thread. He couldn't imagine she was entirely the domestic type. Was that why she had given him up?
A life, a blanket, a name in thread.
Ari.
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"Ah, here we go."
Two bubbly outlines appeared on the screen. One sucked its thumb while the other appeared to be ad-libbing the Macarena. The technician hit a couple of computer keys, and two rhythmic heartbeats filled the room.
Around the room, smiles broke out. Abby put her arm around McGee enthusiastically. Tony looked like he was racking his brains for whatever movie this was like. Gibbs remembered when he and Shannon had gone in for Kelly's ultrasound, and how happy they had been; he wished Ziva could have seen this.
Eli, on the other hand, was lost in thought about far less cheery happenings; Tali's death and his violent disagreements with Ari were in the forefront of his mind.
Ducky's eyes were glued to the screen and the babies depicted on it, concern on his face. The ultrasound technician seemed to share his views, as she pressed the call button near Ziva's bed.
"Something wrong?"
Gibbs' voice cut through the room. The technician glanced over at him, her voice not entirely hiding her concern for the babies.
"It's probably nothing, but I want to get someone else to look at this; I'm not that experienced."
It seemed like forever, but couldn't possibly have been more than a few minutes before a doctor walked in, a friendly smile on his face. He introduced himself and shook hands all around.
"Let's have a look, shall we?"
The minutes dragged by as the doctor adjusted the ultrasound wand against Ziva's abdomen, then stared at the screen with increasing scrutiny.
Finally, he turned around.
"Baby A, the little boy, appears to be forming well. I'm a little worried about baby B, the little girl, though. I'm not sure her lungs are developing as properly as they should be." He held up a hand, forestalling the concerned exclamations of the entire team. "Now, I wouldn't be too worried. This isn't all that unusual. But if her lungs don't improve, she might have to have a lung transplant when she's born, which will probably be in about two months. If I'm understanding the situation correctly, this is Miss David's first pregnancy?"
"No."
Everyone in the room turned to look at Eli. He shook his head.
"No, it's not."
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Author's note: I guess you did kind of see that coming. But anyway, can we try to get this story up to 50 reviews? That would be awesome of you guys.