Rifiuto: Non Miriena
"We still haven't found a connection between these murders. No killer, hard to make an arrest." Tony said, as they'd pulled the now thirty images of the murder victims up on the plasma screen in the bullpen. Gibbs had ordered Tim home with Ziva, leaving him and Tony to work the case.
"DiNozzo, see if they have any doctors in common." Tony quickly ran it through the database.
"No doctors, but there is a secretary that has been at each murder scene."
"Who?" Gibbs asked, as Tony brought up the information.
"A Daisy Wills. Engaged, but no children. It says that Daisy is infertile, due to an untreated bout of chylamidia back in high school. All she's ever wanted is to be a mother." Tony shivered, a twinge in his gut. "That is the nastiest of diseases. Even worse that syphilis." Gibbs returned to his desk, grabbing his phone, ignoring Tony's commentary.
"Check her out, DiNozzo. Bring her in for questioning."
"What are you gonna do, Boss?" Tony asked, watching as he dialed a number.
"Call Tim and Ziva; give them a heads up about this new lead."
Forty weeks.
She sighed, turning her attention to the mirror in Tim's room. She glanced over her shoulder at the reflection. Only Jethro still resided in the room; watching her from his bed. He'd long ago accepted Ziva as his mistress, but the growing bump of her belly set the dog's hunting sensors on edge. He'd spent as much time as he could around Ziva's stomach, laying with his chin resting on her tummy, or watching Tim and Ziva as as they got ready for the baby. She turned back to the mirror, slowly unbuttoning her blouse to expose her expanded belly. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she gently traced the curve of her belly, feeling the slight shift of their baby inside.
"I know it must be cramped in there, you cannot be comfortable at all. I know I am not. But you'll be out soon, Bug, and when you come, Daddy and I will be there, I promise. And..." Tears came to her eyes, and she quickly blinked them away. "Daddy has to stay. He has to. How can he feel you move, how can he watch you grow, and decide that you are not worth it, that I am not worth it? You are not just mine, Bug, you are Tim's too. Can he not see that?"
She winced, as pain slid through her lower body, but thought nothing of it. She'd been having back pain since late last night, thanks to the massive weight she was carrying. All she really knew was that she was tired of being pregnant, and she wanted it to be over soon.
"I see it just fine, Ziver." She glanced over her shoulder, to see him leaning against the doorframe, a cup of coffee in his hands. He took a sip, before entering the room and setting the cup on the dresser. She turned back to the mirror. "I can see that she's mine." He said, stopping by her side. She glanced at him, afraid to meet his gaze, for fear of what she'd see reflected in his eyes.
"Then why have you decided to turn your back on her? On me? On what we could be?" She asked, wincing as another bout of pain raced through her lower body. She groaned, placing one hand on her back. Swallowing thickly, she turned to him, adding her other hand to her back, in an effort to handle the pain. In the back of her mind, she knew what it was, but told herself that it couldn't be happening, not today. Not when they had so much to discuss, in regards to where their future went.
Tim sighed, going to her. He reached around her, rubbing her back as he met her gaze. A moment passed, before he spoke. "Because it was what you wanted. Remember? You wanted a baby, not me."
"But now that she is almost here, have your feelings changed?" She asked, moving away from Tim and taking a seat on the bed. Or, trying to. He helped her before kneeling next to her. Ziva held her belly, taking deep breaths to control the pain in her lower back. He reached up, taking her hand. Slowly, Tim rubbed circles on her hand, before his gaze moved to the expanded skin of her tummy.
"Of course my feelings have changed, Ziver. How could they not, when every time I look at you, I see the consequence of our actions, our agreement, growing and forming inside you?" He reached down, gently tracing patterns on her belly, feeling the greatly reduced movements of his daughter within.
His daughter.
His.
He sighed, licking his lips, gathering his thoughts as he studied the skin of Ziva's belly. In its own unique way, it was beautiful, this whole process, was beautiful. What they'd done, what they'd created, this little, tiny human being, that had been growing and forming and moving within Ziva for the last nine months...
It terrified him, yes, but so did any thought of living a life without Ziva and this baby in it. He'd loved her for years, so why was it so hard to admit it now?
Maybe because admitting it would be like apologizing, and Gibbs had taught them to never apologize.
Ziva watched him, seeing the wheels of that brilliant mind of his turning at full speed. He was so lost in thought, that he'd forgotten she was there. She shifted as the pain intensified, moving her hands to her back and groaning softly. Puffing out her cheeks, she glanced down at him; Tim's eyes sparked with worry, his thought process broken by Ziva's shifting. She gave him a small smile that quickly turned into a wince.
"You're back hurt?" She nodded, and he stood, climbing up behind her on the bed and working his hands on her back. As he began to work on her lower back, she winced, whimpering softly. "It's because of all the weight you're carrying up front. Once she's born, the pain will go away." Ziva sighed, tilting her head back as he continued to work on her. While his massage was kind of helping, the pain wasn't going away.
"I think I need to lay down. Or sit on something that has a back to it." She said, glancing at him. He gave her a small smile, and moved to get off the bed, but not before surprising her with a quick kiss to her lips. Once he'd stood, he held out his hands. She glared at him, swatting his hands away. "I am perfectly capable of getting up on my own, Timothy, but thank you." A statement that soon proved false as she struggled for several minutes to push herself up, before finally giving in and reaching for him.
Tim chuckled, and quickly pulled Ziva to her feet, laughing softly as she stumbled into him. She lay her hands on his chest to steady herself, looking up at him, eyes bright with something Tim couldn't identify. A moment passed, before she gave him a soft smile. He returned it, wrapping his arms around her waist and holding her close. She winced slightly, and Tim quickly released her. "Sorry." She giggled, looking up at him.
"It is okay. I am just sore." She took a deep breath, meeting his gaze, before leaning up on her toes. He met her, drinking in her kiss, cradling her face in his hands. When he broke the kiss, he nudged her nose with his, before wrapping an arm around her waist and leading her into the living room. He squeezed her gently, pressing a kiss to her head as they made their way to the sofa. Once there, he helped her onto the cushions before quickly fixing two cups of cider and returning to her side.
Accepting the cup, she took a sip before setting it on the table and shifting so that she lay in Tim's arms, her head on his chest, her fingers caressing her full belly. She was due any day now, and anxiously awaiting the birth of their baby. The nursery was ready, they'd decided on her name, and Ziva and Tim were both on leave for the next several months. They hadn't fully and completely talked about what lay ahead in weeks, but Ziva found herself wanting to talk now, to get it off her chest before the baby came. She tilted her head back to look at Tim. "Where do we go from here?" He sighed, gently pushing her blouse aside to expose the skin of her massive tummy.
"It's up to you." He whispered, tracing patterns on her skin. She pushed herself up, turning to look at him.
"No Tim, it is up to us. We decide together." Tears came to her eyes, and she choked out, "Do you really not feel the same way I do that you would give up our child, give up me?" She asked, taking his hand. He sighed, swallowing the lump in his throat.
"Ziver-" She brought his hand to her belly.
"This is your baby, Tim. My baby. Our baby. How can you look me in the eye and tell me that you do not love her, do not love me? Especially when I so deeply love you?" He shifted, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer.
"Ziva, I thought that if I backed off, then when I found out that you didn't feel the same... that it would be easier to walk away. But it's not. It's harder. Watching you grow... seeing this..." He gestured to her belly. "And knowing that our child- my child- is inside you, waiting, getting ready to be born... just makes it that much harder to let you go." She reached up, taking his chin.
"Then do not let me go, Tim." She took a deep breath, whispering, "I love you, Tim. Only... I have been too stubborn to see it until now. I love you, and I do not want you out of my life. I want you in my life for the rest of my life, as long as I am alive. Only you. I love you, Timothy McGee. I... I see now that... that I have always loved you."
He took her face in his hands, pressing a soft kiss to her lips. "I love you, Ziva. From the moment we met. I'm so sorry; I never meant to hurt you. I love you, and I want to spend my life showing you that I do." She gave him a watery smile, reaching up and tangling her fingers in his hair as she kissed him-
"Oh!" She pulled away, letting out a startled gasp. Her hands went to her belly and she leaned forward, whimpering softly before she took a deep breath.
"Ziver? Ziva, what's wrong?" She looked up at him, grabbing his hand and squeezing. It took a few minutes before she could speak, but when she did, it was a pain-filled whisper,
"Tim, I am in labor."
