She comes into the hospital, with a heavy heart. She tries her hardest to push aside the doubt she is feeling, and instead focus on the faith that she has. She enters the ICU bay, and finds him right where she left him. There is a bandage around his head now. A machine breathes for him. Abby sits at his bedside, holding his hand. Before either of them can say a word a doctor walks into the room. Ziva's eyes meet his.
"The surgery went better than I expected," the doctor admits.
"He is still here," Ziva points out.
"We didn't expect him to make it through the surgery."
"You don't know him very well. He does things on his own terms," Ziva reveals.
"We were able to remove the brain tumor, and clip the aneurysm. There is no telling what lasting neurological effects it will have. The first seventy two hours are the most crucial. He is on the ventilator until he learns how to breathe again. We don't know what else will be effected, if, and when he wakes up."
"And the tumor is completely gone?"
"We were able to remove all of it. Luckily it was encapsulated. And, by some miracle it wasn't nearly as large as we had anticipated. It was closer to the size of a golf ball. We did a round of preoperative chemotherapy. We will continue to do chemo for a few weeks to make sure that we got all of the tumor cells," the doctor explains.
"You still don't expect him to live do you?" Ziva asks, bluntly.
"The survival rate of the surgery for a tumor as large as the one he has for is less than fifteen percent," he answers honestly.
"That is better than zero."
"Do you have any other questions?"
"No," Ziva shakes her head.
The doctor leaves the room. Ziva pulls up a chair, beside Abby. She looks over at the scientist who wears dark circles under her eyes.
"Abby," she says softly, "Go home. Get some rest. I will call you if anything changes."
"But..."
"He would want you to get some rest," Ziva insists.
"Ok," she nods, conceding to Ziva.
Ziva sits in the hospital, next to his bed, holding his hand. She watches as his chest rises, and falls with the assistance of a mechanical ventilator. She stays there, until Tim arrives, and relieves her of her post.
When she gets to her apartment she finds Tony passed out on her couch, with a baby asleep on his chest. She reaches for the baby, and Tony's hand's wrap around him, tighter. She gently touches Tony's hand.
She whispers, "Tony, it's me."
His eyes open, briefly, and his grip loosens. She slides the baby off his chest, into her arms. She takes him into the other room. She watches him, as he sleeps. His expression reminds her of Gibbs. She does her best not to cry. She takes a deep breath, and Jonah opens his eyes. He furrows his brow, and starts to whimper. She looks at her watch, and realizes that it is time to feed him.
Tony takes the nightshift, at Gibb's bedside. He watches as the nurses come and go. IV fluid is hung, and emptied. The ventilator makes Gibb's chest rise, and fall.
"Look boss, I know what you said. I have no problem being a father to Jonah. He's already got me wrapped around his finger, but it would be a travesty if he never got to know you. I'm not asking for forever. I am just asking you for a little more time, for him. Just until he's old enough to have memories of you."
He's been there nearly an hour, when someone else joins him. He looks at the grey, older gentleman as he walks into the room. Jackson takes a seat next to him.
"How did you get here?"
"I took a plane, and then a cab," Jackson answers.
"Who called you?"
"Abby. She said that she knew he would be pissed, but it was too bad."
"She told you what was going on?"
"I only wish that I had known sooner. My son takes after me though, he's too stubborn for his own good."
"Did Abby tell you the good news?"
"She said he made it through the surgery, which was more than the doctor's expected."
Tony's lips curl into a smile, "The other good news."
"What other news?"
"Abby didn't tell you how he found out that he had a brain tumor?"
"No."
"He was having impaired judgment. Abby made him get an MRI."
"What did he do?"
"He slept with Ziva."
"How is that good news?"
Tony pulls out his phone. He stares at the screen saver for a moment, and the turns to Jackson, "Because you're a grandfather again," he hands him the phone.
Jackson looks at the picture of the newborn boy, sleeping in his crib.
"What do you mean?" Jackson questions.
"Ziva got pregnant. That little guy is your grandson."
"My grandson?"
"His names is Jonah. He's incredible."
"Gibbs is the father?"
"Yeah," Tony nods in confirmation.
When Ziva arrives in the morning, she has Jonah in her arms. Tony is sound asleep, while Jackson sits in a chair, reading the newspaper, and drinking coffee.
"Any change?" Ziva asks.
Jackson puts the paper down, and looks at her, "No. He's still the same."
"I didn't know you were coming," Ziva admits.
"I hear congratulations are in order."
"Tony told you the whole story?"
"Yeah."
"Would you like to hold him?"
"Yeah," he nods.
Ziva carefully places the newborn in his arms. "This is Jonah."
Jackson stares at the sleeping baby. His lips crawl into a smile.
"He's an awfully handsome devil."
"We think so too."Jackson looks at the baby, "Hi, Jonah. I know look like an old fart, but I'm your grandpa."
"Jackson I am sure that you had a long trip, why don't you let Tony drop you off at Gibbs? The two of you can get some sleep. I'll be here for a while. I am sure Abby will be in, later, too."
"Ok," he nods, in agreement.