Rifiuto: Non Miriena

"We're going to have to start thinking of names soon, Ziver." Tim whispered, handing her a cup of cider. "Well, you're going to have to start thinking of names." He amended. Ziva reached out, laying a hand over his. He met her gaze.

"Tim, when I said that I wanted you in my life, and the baby's life, I meant it. This is our baby, we will be raising her together. As friends." He gave her a soft smile, squeezing her hand.

"I still can't believe we're having a little girl." He said, as he finished fixing dinner. She sighed softly, one hand stroking her tummy. The baby moved, and she gasped softly. "What's wrong, Ziver?" She shook her head, chuckling.

"We have a little acrobat residing in my belly." She shook her head. Tim gave her a small smile, before taking her hand and leading her from the kitchen. As they settled on the sofa, he gently pushed her shirt up, his fingers softly caressing the expanding skin of her middle. "It does not seem possible that I am twenty weeks, but I am." She said, looking up at him. He gave her a tiny smile, kissing her forehead, as they settled down, putting a movie on.

"You're small, for twenty weeks, but if I remember correctly, Eleanor said that was normal with a first pregnancy." Tim sipped his cider. Ziva raised her eyebrows.

"Are you suggesting that there will be other pregnancies, McGee?" She asked, returning to his surname. Tim opened his mouth, then shut it, shaking his head.

"No. No! Of course not, Ziva, I was just saying... that... that Eleanor said..." But he stopped when he caught Ziva grinning, and after a moment, he gently wacked her with a pillow. "Very funny, Ziver." She laughed, tumbling back into Tim's arms. He watched her, loving the sound of her laugh ringing through his apartment. He quickly wrapped an arm around her, pinning her to him, her legs outstretched on the sofa. As they settled down, Tim whispered, "This is nice." She nodded, one hand caressing her belly. She felt the baby kick, and looked up at him. "You okay, Ziver?"

"Yes, she is just..." She shook her head, trying to come up with a good word. "Our little bug is doing acrobatics again." She tilted her head up again to look at him. "We have a very active little girl, Tim." He gave her a small smile, reaching down to lay a hand on her belly. Though he could only slightly feel the baby's movements, it didn't stop his smile from spreading.


She looked up as Tim slipped into bed beside her. He grinned as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her lips, one hand moving down to gently caress her expanding stomach. She had unbuttoned her pajama top and pushed it aside, revealing the growing mound, and gently, Tim's fingers began to trace patterns on her skin. A moment passed, before they locked eyes, and she whispered, "I cannot believe Eleanor thought we were going to get married."

Tim sighed, shaking his head as he propped his head on his elbow. "I don't think people get the whole Friends-With-Benefits thing if it involves babies." She nodded, nibbling her lip. "Especially if it involves babies."

"This is not something that most people do, is it?" She asked, watching as Tim leaned down and gently pressed a kiss to her belly. His green eyes soon met hers. "Friends, having a baby together, but not marrying. It does not seem like something most people do." Tim shook his head.

"It's not. It's more common to donate like Tony's done, but... friends having a baby... no, it's not something people do." He sighed, returning his attention to her tummy. "But that does not mean that we don't love you, Bug. You're so important to both of us, and we love you so much." Ziva let a small smile decorate her features as Tim talked to her tummy, and the baby kicked hard in response to her father's voice. "You have a whole team that loves you, Bug. Abby and Ducky and Jimmy, and Tony and Gibbs, even though they don't exactly show it- they do love you, just like we do." Ziva cried out as the baby gave a good, hard kick to her insides.

"Well, she knows her Daddy's voice." She glared at Tim, who gave her a sheepish look. He chuckled.

"I think she has her Mommy's MMA skills." He joked, gently rubbing her belly. She lay her head back against the pillows, watching as he gently traced designs on her skin, whispering softly to the baby. "Tony's right, there's a little... ninja-ette," He made a face at Tony's choice of words. "growing inside you."

"With your green eyes, I hope." Ziva whispered. He gave her a soft smile.

"And you're dark curls." She sighed, looking up as Tim returned to her side. "Sweet dreams, Ziver." He whispered, kissing her quickly on the lips. She smiled at him, whispering it back as they settled down, Tim's arms wrapping instinctively around her middle and holding her against him. She reached down to caress her belly, and after a moment, glanced over her shoulder at her friend, whispering,

"Thank you, Tim, for giving me this."


The moon shone through the window, lighting the papers sitting on the table. He sat reading through them, the stark realization that Ziva hadn't signed them blazingly clear. She said that she wanted him in her life, in the baby's, but...

Sure, she was only in her second trimester, but soon, she would be in her third, and then she would be in labor, and then... and then, the baby would be here, and he would face the very real consequence of their actions. Ziva would be a mother, and he... he would be a father. They would raise the baby together, as friends, like they had catagorized it, and they would have to live with that. He sighed, continuing to stare at the papers.

The only problem was, could he live with just that? With raising their baby with Ziva as 'just friends', like they had agreed? Or, would he eventually find himself wanting more? Wanting something Ziva couldn't- or worse, wouldn't- give?