Rifiuto: Non Miriena
A/N: Yes, this is Silver War... but not.
Thanks to skyjadeprincess and mcgeeksgirl for reviewing 37 and 40; Reader for reviewing 37, 38, 39 and 40; and Sazzita for reviewing 39 and 40.
Gibbs catching them was as close to a cold shower as you could get.
Groaning, Tim pulled away, meeting her eyes. He reluctantly buttoned his shirt and watched as Ziva tugged hers back down before helping her off the sink. As they left the men's room, Ziva latched onto his hand. "So, what do we tell him?" She asked, glancing towards the catwalk, to find Jenny and Asher watching them. The boy waved to them, and they waved back before heading to the bullpen. She grabbed Tim's hand, digging her nails into his skin. He yelped softly. "What do we say?"
"If you squeezed that hard during Asher's birth, I'm kind of glad I wasn't there." She dug her nails deeper into his skin, drawing blood. He hissed in pain. "Okay, okay, I get it."
"You never answered my question, Timothy. What do we tell our son?"
"Tell him the truth. Best not to lie to kids; they're smart, they'll see right through it. And your son..." Gibbs chuckled softly. "He's brilliant, gets his brain from his father, after all." The two turned to find Gibbs come back into the bullpen, a fresh cup of coffee in his hands. Neither one had seen him leave-
"I'm gonna go get coffee." Tim replied. "What do want, Zi?" He asked, turning to her. Ziva started at the shortening of her name, but made no move to correct him. She called him Tim, so it made sense for him to shorten her name as well. She shrugged.
"I do not care, whatever you want to get me, Tim." She whispered, taking his hand and squeezing. He gave her a soft smile, and leaned close.
"I'll be back." He brushed his lips against hers briefly, before heading to the elevator. Once he was gone, Ziva looked around, before dropping her bag at Kate's desk. She pulled the orders she'd received out and quickly flipped through them before putting them back. By the time Tim returned, she had checked her cellphone eight times, finding it was just after five. "There you go." She grinned.
"Toda." She whispered, leaning close and kissing him. He set his own cup down and pulled her into his arms, capturing her lips in several soft kisses. Neither noticed Asher watching from the catwalk. "So, do we start work now, or-"
"Not until seven." He whispered. "And with Gibbs breathing down our backs-"
"We have nothing to do." She ran a hand down his chest before moving to grasp his wrist and turn his hand over, pushing up the sleeve to reveal the tattoo. "I cannot believe you would defile your body like this, for Asher and I." She whispered, studying the intricate knot.
"It's not defiling." Tim replied, studying the tattoo. "It's keeping a part of him close; it's keeping my son with me, no matter what he does in his life. He will always be with me." She returned the smile he gave her, leaning down to press a kiss to his wrist. Then, she reached for the buttons on his shirt, undoing each one before pulling it off. Upstairs on the catwalk, Jenny was surprised to see the tattoo on her agent's back. She leaned towards Asher, never taking her eyes off Tim's back.
"I didn't know your father had a tattoo." Asher grinned, looking at her.
"He got it for Ima. He got one for me too. And Abba said, that if he ever gets another one, I can go with him and watch." Jenny nodded, attention returning to her agent as Ziva spoke up again. Tim had since turned his back to Ziva, and she was running her fingers over his back, tracing the star and knot.
"You covered up the pain of that night, with a new pain." She whispered. Though intrigued, Jenny forced herself to lead Asher back to her office, even as Tim turned to glance at her over his shoulder. "Was it worth it, Tim?" He turned to her, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her close.
"You and Asher will always be worth it." He breathed, kissing her gently before pressing a kiss to her forehead. Neither noticed Gibbs enter the bullpen.
"Put your shirt back on, McGee, this isn't a strip-" But the older agent stopped, seeing the tattoo on Tim's back. It was intricate, a blending of two cultures, two faiths, joining and becoming one. As his eyes moved over it, he saw the raised skin beneath. Scars. Horrible, hideous scars from something in Tim's past that he kept under lock and key. In a calm voice, he said, "Tim, my office, now." The younger man jumped, glanced over at his boss, and then took his shirt back from Ziva, squeezing her hand gently as he left.
Once inside the elevator, Tim moved to pull the shirt on, but Gibbs stopped him. With the lights out, he turned Tim so that his back was facing him, and slowly studied the design on his back before moving to the scars. "Who did this to you, Tim?"
"No one, the tattoo was my choice-"
"I don't mean the tattoo, I mean the scars on your back. How did you get them?" Tim swallowed pulling his shirt on and turning to face his boss; he had tried to avoid this. The less his boss knew about his past, the better, although that had all been shot to hell when Ziva had shown up with Asher. "Tim, how did you get them?" He asked, stepping closer to the younger man.
"There, was more... to my side of the story than I told you up in the Director's office..."