The morning of Gibbs last day at work dawned bright and early. Gibbs rose and began his routine as though nothing about today was different. Ziva, however, could not bring herself to roll over and go back to sleep when his alarm went off. Fighting the terse grip of sleep, she pried her eyes open, and threw back the covers to let the cold air steal into her cozy cocoon. Even with the chill and the sound of Jethro humming a Marine Corps cadence in the shower, it took Ziva several tries to keep her eyes from slamming shut again.
When Gibbs stepped out of the shower, he couldn't help but grin at the sight of Ziva dozing with one leg hanging off the bed, as though she had gotten halfway to sitting up before succumbing to the sandman. By the time he was finishing his shave, Ziva sat laboriously on the edge of the bed, watching him with bleary eyes. Gibbs watched her in turn from the mirror, smiling from behind the foam at her tousled hair and pink cloud-spotted pajamas. He caught her hand scratching at her swollen stomach as he rinsed. Straightening, he patted his face and hands dry on a towel before grabbing up her lotion. She didn't notice his intentions until he knelt in front of her—her eyes warmed from surprise to tenderness when she recognized the bottle in his hands.
"You know me too well," she said, voice husky with sleep. Still she gave no protest when he slid her shirt up and began to work a dollop of lotion into her stretched skin. It was a process they usually performed before bed, but Jethro enjoyed the rhythm of it no matter the time of day. He continued until every inch of her belly was warm and soft. As was his practice, he finished with a kiss, a single peck above her protruding belly button, where he imagined the baby's head would be. When he finally looked up again, he froze.
All trace of sleep had vanished from Ziva's eyes. She looked at him long and hard, studying him. When he rose to kiss her lips, she stopped him with both hands framing his face, making him pause.
"I want to remember this forever," she said softly. Her eyes sparkled. "This moment, this…feeling." Ziva smiled. "I can't remember ever feeling so loved."
Jethro gave her a heartbeat more, then pressed against her hands, kissing her softly. She would get used to it, he decided right then and there. Between him and the baby, together they would make it so she couldn't ever remember being alone.