AN: To my dedicated 'regulars', I do not yet have my next multichapter story planned, only that I'm pretty sure it will be Criminal Minds. But there is some Tiva fluff (hopefully nearly angst free) that needs addressed first. So if you have any requests, prompts, or ideas for the CM story, PM them to me ASAP before I start that story. Also, I had an interview for a full time job today that starts July 8 (my birfdai!) and if I get that when I start I will have to cut back on writing significantly as I will keep my part time job too. Just want to have you all prepared for that possibility.
MN: Blah, blah, blah, What I care about is that this contains fluff, and then I get to do a short Tiva Fluff, and hopefully you guys will PM us and tell AJ that you want CM fluff. And then I can fluff myself into eternal bliss!
The feeling of her weight being shifted woke her up. Groggily she tried to get a handle on her surroundings. The last thing she remembered was being cradled in Tony's lap, head against his shoulder as he asked her about her pregnancy and she tried to ease his feelings of guilt for not being there through her rough first trimester.
She could only guess that she had fallen asleep there. Now, as she finally managed to figure out what was happening, Ziva realized that he must have removed her from his lap. He now stood above her and was in the process of lifting her from the couch.
Any other time she would have yelled at him to put her down, afraid he'd hurt himself. But not only did she know he'd refuse to comply tonight, but she was fighting an exhaustion that penetrated straight through into her soul.
She looped her arms around his shoulders as he moved around the coffee table and toward the stairs. Somehow, she managed to doze back off as he carried her, waking again as he laid her on the bed in the room Gibbs had once again been kind enough to loan her.
He pulled the covers over her before leaning down to kiss her on the forehead then straightening back up. "I'm going to go check on Ori. I'll be right back."
She nodded sleepily even as she heard his feet pad down the hall. By the time he'd returned a quick minute later she'd rolled to her side, but hadn't yet fallen asleep. The movement had seemingly woken the baby and she was moving quite significantly.
Tony quickly shed his jeans and button down shirt, climbing into bed in his undershirt and boxers after turning off the light. He lay facing her and, even in the near dark, she could see the intense look on his face. He was thinking again and for some reason she felt like he needed to stop doing that for a while.
As he lifted a hand toward her face she grabbed it with her own and redirected it to her swollen abdomen. The confused look he gave her was quickly replaced by one of awe as she felt their daughter give a sharp kick just below his hand. He stared down for a moment before dragging his eyes back to hers.
"Wow." In another instant his face fell. "I just can't believe I missed so much of it. I feel like I should have been there, Zi. You shouldn't have had to do this alone."
She reached up to cup his cheek with her palm. "It wasn't like you had a choice, Tony. And you're here now. That is what is important."
He stared at her for a long moment before nodding in agreement. When Ziva once again fell asleep just a few minutes later, his hand was still resting on her stomach.
She stared at the stick in disbelief. It couldn't be right. She'd only even taken the test to eliminate one possible cause of her sickness.
She'd been continuously ill for two weeks. Some days she was lucky to keep down Goldfish Crackers and water. At first she had thought it was simply a stomach bug, but when it didn't let up she knew it had to be something more serious.
So, being the stubborn former Mossad officer she was, she'd tried to ride it out. Until she'd realized that she was late. Very late. But she could attribute that to the stress she'd been under and the illness combining to wreak havoc on her body, right?
Reluctantly, she had purchased the test at the pharmacy two blocks from the house they were staying in. Now she was staring at the little window in the white stick that clearly said the word 'Pregnant'. She was suddenly glad she'd waited out the timer by sitting on the closed lid of the toilet as the world shifted around her.
She reached out a hand to the counter to steady herself and the test clattered to the floor. Pregnant. She was pregnant. With Tony's child. And she couldn't even tell him. She racked her brain trying to figure out how it had even happened.
Okay she knew how it happened. It just shouldn't have been possible. She'd been on the pill for years. It was much easier with how her life worked if she was on a strictly regular schedule. She got a plummeting feeling in her stomach when it hit her. That first week she'd had Ori, she wasn't on her regular routine. It was more than possible that she'd missed multiple doses.
A light knock on the bathroom door brought her crashing back to reality.
"Ziva, are you sick again?" She sucked in a deep breath at the sound of Ori's voice. She'd have time to completely lose it later. For now, she was going to plaster on a happy face and return to giving the boy his English lesson.
Tony had completely lost feeling in his right hand due to the crushing grip Ziva currently had on it. They were standing side by side in the courtroom, the rest of their team and Tony's father just behind them on the other side of the partition. Breena had accompanied the group today, but had volunteered to sit in the hall with Ori and a social worker to keep the boy entertained while the judge read his decision.
He felt Ziva's entire body tense as Judge Williams entered the room. He took his own seat before murmuring permission for the rest of them to do the same, but his partner made no move to sit so neither did he. The judge stared at them for a moment then shrugged and opened the file on his desk.
"Miss David, I have to tell you, I've never felt this much uncertainty when reviewing an adoption petition before."
He heard Ziva suck in a breath and her grip on his hand got even tighter as Williams continued.
"I have to say, I'm quite impressed with the loyalty your team showed to you yesterday. But when it really comes down to it, they are not the ones trying to adopt Ori. You are. Part of my job is to disconnect from my feelings and look at the facts. Fact is, you are unmarried, currently staying with your boss, pregnant, and a federal agent who works long hours in a dangerous job. Based on those facts, I cannot approve this adoption."
Tony felt Ziva completely freeze next to him as the Judge paused to take a deep breath.
"Yet. I cannot approve this adoption, yet. I'm going to sign off on an extension of your foster license, Ms. David. Take a year. Get your life together. Settle back in. In a year we'll come back, provided you continue to meet the criteria of your home visits. At that point if I feel like you're more stable, I'll sign the papers."
Tony let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding. For a moment he'd been afraid that Ori was going to be taken from them. It wasn't exactly the outcome they had been hoping for but he knew Ziva could handle it. They had a year to figure out everything else. They would find a way.
Ziva sunk back into the cushions of Gibbs' couch with a sigh of relief. Not that she was willing to admit it, but her back was aching and her feet were swollen and painful. After a moment Tony appeared with the glass of water she'd requested, handing it to her before dropping onto the couch next to her.
Once she'd taken a long drink, she set the glass on the table and turned, bringing her legs up to drape across his lap. He captured one foot in his hands and began kneading the sore appendage gently. The pleasure dragged a small moan from her mouth, which in turn brought a smile to his face.
He let her enjoy the feel of his fingers for a moment before he broke the silence while he continued the massage. "So? What'd you think? Did you like them, hate them?"
Ziva shrugged. She wasn't sure how to answer his question. "I did not like the first one, or the last one. The first one had…too many walls."
Tony nodded emphatically. "I agree. I like more open floorplans. What was wrong with the last one?"
Ziva chewed her bottom lip contemplatively for a moment before the answer struck her. "It had four doors. That's just way too many entrances."
His laugh surprised her but the look on his face told her he understood. "Alright, my security conscious ninja, what about the middle one? No hallways, open floorplan, three doors if you count the one in from the garage, nice sized yard, and that Jacuzzi tub in the master bath."
She took her time to mull over the second of the three houses they had looked at that afternoon as he switched his attention to her other foot. She had been looking at houses for two weeks now, and she really needed to find something soon. She, Ori, and Tony had taken such complete control over Gibbs' house that the man was now full on staying at Tony's apartment. It couldn't go on like this, so she'd been house hunting every night. Out of every one she looked at, today's number two was definitely at the front of the pack.
In addition to the attributes Tony had listed out for her, the house was convenient to work, in a good school district, had a good sized yard, and was already hardwired for a security system. The only downside on it was the price. It was a little outside of her range based on her conversations with a mortgage officer at her bank.
"It's lovely, Tony. But I don't think I can manage the monthly payments." His fingers froze on her skin and she looked to his face to find him scowling and she didn't know why. "What?"
He shook his head. "Okay, so I guess we're not communicating as well as I thought we were. Because I've kinda been under the impression that we were looking for a house. As in for all of us. As in my responsibility for the mortgage too. I keep telling you, Ziva. I'm all in on this. At lo levad."
Her heart constricted in her chest as she nodded back at him. "I know, I just figured, I mean we had not discussed it and I know you have your lease to fulfill."
His mouth hitched up in a half smile. "Actually, I've had an offer to sublet my apartment. Seems Dad wants to be more 'local' if he's going to have grandchildren that need spoiling. Already okayed it with my landlady."
She stared at him a moment. Her next question needed to be asked delicately or she risked hurting his feelings. "And you're sure you are ready for this?"
His hands moved from her feet to take her hands from her lap, squeezing them gently. "A pack of crazy Davids couldn't keep me away from you any longer." He leaned over to kiss her soundly, leaving her with a smile as he pulled back.
"Well, in that case, I will call the broker tomorrow."
Tony shook his head as he extracted her cell phone from her pocket with surprising ease. "Why wait?"
AN: So I actually thought I had another little scene I wanted in this chapter but I really think it's better ended there. I like how it is. So it's official: just the Epilogue to go and then we're done. Then it's on to my Tiva oneshot (which will be written as a sequel to a oneshot Tel Nok Shock is writing) then my Criminal Minds ficcie.
MN: That last little bit of (almost) pure fluff was, shockingly, AJ, not me. Even more of a shock, that first angsty bit with the judge, was me. That said, I cannot take credit for the idea behind the epilogue, but the writing itself shall probably be mostly me. It should be up no later than Saturday night. Also, I'm very excited for our little piece of joint work with Tel.