Rifiuto: Non Miriena

She rested her hands on her back, sighing as she struggled to support the immense weight before her. Though it was easier to breathe, the weight inside her uterus was uncomfortable, and she wanted nothing more than to have it over with. Her mother and siblings had been making regular visits as her due date got closer and closer, and she found that though they were helpful, all she wanted was for this to be over. Her mind once more flashed to him, and she swallowed the tears in her eyes. She heard the door open, followed by Tali's voice calling to her, and couldn't help but smile. Tali was always excited when she got to come visit, and she always made a point to talk to the baby, no matter how uncomfortable it made her sister. "In here, Tal-" She stopped, crying out in surprise as a sharp pain grabbed her belly. She had been experiencing them all day, but had thought nothing of them.

"Ziva!" Tali's small hand found hers, and she squeezed, closing her eyes. "Ima! Something is wrong with Ziva!"

She cried out softly, eyes snapping open. Glancing around, it took a moment for her to realize that she wasn't in Israel, but in Tim's apartment, with their son sleeping soundly beside her. Sighing softly, she gently brushed her fingers over the sleeping child's hair and got up, slipping out of the room and going into the kitchen. She rummaged around for a few minutes, before starting a pot of tea. As she leaned against the counter, waiting for the water to warm, her mind wandered back to the day that beautiful little boy had come into her life.

Her mother and brother rushed into the room, the door slamming closed behind them. Rivka instantly rushed towards her older daughter, taking Tali's place at Ziva's side. "Zivaleh, sweetheart, talk to me."

"Something is wrong, Ima!" Tali said, bouncing on the balls of her feet nervously.

"Zivaleh, Ziva, sweetheart, look at me. Look at me." She forced herself to meet her mother's gaze. "Talk to me. What are you feeling?"

"It hurts, Ima. Something is wrong. My belly..." She whimpered, squeezing her mother's hand. Rivka chuckled softly, a small smile on her face as she took her face in her hands.

"Oh, Ziva, my sweet girl. You are in labor." She saw the confusion in her daughter's eyes. "You are having the baby."

The kettle's whistling brought her from her musings, and she rushed to take it from the burner so as not to wake Tim or Asher. But she soon heard Tim shuffling into the kitchen and turned to find him rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Couldn't sleep?" He asked. She shook her head.

"No." She accepted the two cups he grabbed from the cupboard, and quickly filled them, fixing the tea without meeting his gaze. "I see that I am not the only one." He took the cup she offered and sighed.

"I just... I keep thinking about..." He glanced over his shoulder towards the back bedrooms.

"About Asher?" He nodded, meeting her gaze.

"God, Ziva, if I'd known..." He set his cup down and reached out, taking her hand. "I would have been there. I would have come back and taken care of you, helped you, but..."

"But you did not. Because I did not tell you. And even if I had... I would not have asked you to give up your career for..." She bit her lip. "Your career is too important. I see it; I saw it today, in NCIS." He swallowed, nodding towards the living room, before heading towards the sofa. She followed, taking a seat beside him. "I could not have asked you to give up your career for Asher and I."

"My career may be important, but so are you and so is he. Ziva, he's my son. How could you think I wouldn't want to be there for him? To... to think that you went through all that- the entire pregnancy, the labor, the last eight years, alone- Ziva, I should have been there. Career or not, I should have been there for you, and I wasn't." She reached out, taking his hand, stopping him.

"You were there. Not physically, but in my heart. In my soul, you were there. You were there for everything, because I kept you in my heart." She sniffled. "And you are in our son. And for the last eight years, I got to raise him and watch him grow, and every time I look at him, I see you. He is so much like you. He is beautiful, like you." She gently reached up, trailing her fingers over his face. He caught her hand, pressing a kiss to her palm.

"What's kept you up?" She sighed, pulling away and sipping her tea.

"Memories." She looked up at him, unsure if she should tell him. "Of..." She bit her lip. "Of the day Asher was born. Of the day I went into labor, and gave birth to our son." Her gaze drifted, and she found herself recounting that trying day as the memories flashed before her mind. "My mother and my brother and sister had come down and spent the night before; they had gone to the store for groceries; I'd woken up with... slight pain in my belly, nothing major, or so I thought. Went about my day, and was... standing at the window, daydreaming when they returned."

Tim sipped his tea, listening intently as she explained the day that his son had been born. "The pain kept getting worse, but I just thought they were false. I was too caught up in my dreaming to pay any attention." She scoffed gently, meeting his gaze. "I heard them come back; Tali called for me, and I started to tell her that I was in the living room, but..." She sighed. "Suddenly, this sharp pain formed around my belly, and I felt unable to breathe. Tali came in, and called for my mother. She knew instantly what was happening."

"You'd gone into labor." She met his gaze, nodding.

"Yes. I had, though I had not realized it."