Ziva was known for having an iron clad stomach. So when they went to investigate the explosion at the mausoleum and she bolted back outside to throw up splendidly in the bushes after catching a good whiff of the effluvium coating the crime scene, Gibbs was concerned.
He made her sit in the open doorway to the van and got her a bottle of water. When a little color returned to her cheeks and she had cursed the burritos Tony bought them for lunch the day before in all the languages she knew, Gibbs offered her a piece of cinnamon gum with a little grin and told her to go interview the cemetery workers.
She had just hopped down and was making her way to do the interviews when she groaned seeing the Army CID van arrive. Hollis was back. Again. And this time when Ziva muttered under her breath, it was cursing other things in all her languages.
Hollis was with them for the duration of the case. And in her own mind, Ziva blamed her for the semi-constant nausea that plagued her. She hid it from Gibbs though, not wanting him to worry unnecessarily. When they had finished the case and it still wouldn't go away Ziva decided that there really was something wrong and she visited Ducky.
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Gibbs had fingered the rows of careful, tiny stitches gently, a little smile ghosting his face. The soft yarn was multicolored and the rows were a medley, going from white to yellow to pink to blue. Baby colors. Ziva had started knitting the blanket last week for one of the girls at the office that was having a baby.
He had found out that she liked to knit when she went undercover at the speed-dating circus. And the idea that his little assassin enjoyed something so domestic made him smile every time he thought about it. The same as it did every time he actually saw her with yarn in hand, which was often.
She had somehow taken over a corner of his basement. It had started simply, with her sitting cross-legged on his workbench knitting as he worked on the boat, both enjoying the quiet companionship. Now months later, there was an old, comfortable leather wingback chair that he had hefted down from the attic, with a little table and lamp in "her" corner. And today he had was adding a cedar chest that he had made to her corner, to hold all her yarns and projects and protect them from sawdust.
As he placed the half-done blanket in the chest he heard her behind him and his "I thought you'd be done with this one by now" was playful and teasing
With a little knowing grin her "I finished the first one a couple of days ago, but I discovered that I needed to make another" was said lightly, as she slipped her arm in his.
When he questioned if somebody else was having a baby, it was a good thing there was a chair close by, because her simple "yes, us" took him completely by surprise and he had to sit as he didn't trust his knees not to buckle. A baby. They were having a baby.
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They had talked long into the night, well, talked in between making love. They just couldn't get close enough to each other. And as Jethro lay there with his head on Ziva's chest with his warm hand resting over her womb, over his child, he had sighed contently, his life had come full circle.
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One of the things they had discussed was getting married before the baby came, something that was important to both of them. There were practical attributes to that desire other than just not wanting a baby born out of wedlock. Ziva was not a United States citizen. And if her father had decided to make trouble for them, he could have her recalled to Israel and she would have had limited options but to go. And the baby being born out of wedlock and not on American soil would have made things extremely difficult in regards to his or her citizenship and parental rights.
Gibbs tried to talk her into speaking with her father, and had offered to go with her. But she wouldn't hear of it, she was petrified that her father would have found some way to take everything away from her, NCIS, Jethro, and even the baby.
They had decided in light of everything, that a small wedding ceremony with just those closest to them would be best. And Jethro had felt bad about that, in his mind Ziva deserved to have a big, lavish wedding with all the bells and whistles where she was the shining center of everyone's attention.
Ducky offered the use of his beautiful home and garden for the little ceremony and luncheon and they had readily accepted. What they didn't know was that once they did, that their friends immediately set to work to surprise them. Or more specifically, surprise her, because Jethro was wholeheartedly in on it all.
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The morning of the ceremony had broken bright and clear. Ziva had stayed at her own apartment the night before, having given in to the suspicion that it was bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding. She had just finished her shower when there was knock on the door, and she opened it to see Abby and Jen on the other side, both wearing matching grins that smacked of conspiracy. And sure enough, they dragged her out of the apartment and to a wonderful salon where she was pampered and had her hair and makeup expertly done.
When they had arrived back to her apartment there had been another surprise waiting for her. Her simple white summer dress that she had planned to wear had been stuck back in the closet and hanging on the door in its place was a long garment bag from an upscale bridal shop. There was a note attached, the dress was a gift from Tony. She quickly opened the garment bag and saw a designer lace and satin confection that she remembered that she had pointed out to Tony on a magazine cover.
As she had pulled the dress and matching veil out of the garment bag she thought about Tony. She still worried about him, not quite as much as before, when she thought he was sick again, but his secrecy still made her worry that he was in over his head with the woman he was seeing. And she hoped that he knew that she had his back whether this clandestine girlfriend was personal or as she rather suspected, work related. He was her partner, and more importantly, he was her friend, and she protected what was hers.
The dress fit her like a glove, and she chuckled, because if there was anything that Tony was good at, it was sizing up a woman's body.
When they reached Ducky's house, Tony met them outside. And sensing that Ziva and Tony needed a moment of privacy, Abby and Jen went inside, leaving them alone on the front porch. He had an odd, almost wistful little smile on his face as he took her hands and looked her up and down.
She thanked him for the dress and in his ever nonchalant way he just brushed it off like he bought designer wedding gowns all the time. Then he gave her hands a little squeeze and asked her with a little tilt of his head if she were really sure she wanted to do this. Ziva laughed lightly and hugged him fiercely and as she pulled back she kissed him on the cheek and whispered in his ear about the baby. They hadn't told anyone about that yet, and only Ducky knew. They planned on announcing the happy news after the ceremony. Tony's eyes grew large in surprise, he knew how much that had to mean to the both of them, Gibbs especially, and he could see the happiness about it shining on her face, staring back at him. His playful demeanor returned and his "well we better go get you married off then pregnant lady" was said in teasing and was especially lighthearted.
If Tony had any lingering doubts about how Gibbs felt about Ziva, they were completely blown away the by the look of awe and pure adoration that was in Gibbs' eyes as his sure hands gently lifted the sheer veil and covered her face. They had all researched Jewish wedding customs and traditions and found several that they could incorporate into the secular backyard service. Gibbs' placing of her veil was just the first.
As she stepped outside into the garden, Ziva's eyes had grown huge in surprise at the beautiful huppah being held erect by all of their teammates. And when Ziva looked at Jethro with the question in her eyes, he just smirked and teased her that they were waiting for them.
They approached the huppah together and Jethro took his place underneath it as she slowly walked around it and him. The symbolism was not lost on either her or Jethro, the walk around representing the building of their home, of their family. And the idea that their teammates, no, their family, were there supporting their foundation meant more to both of them than they could ever express with words.
Judge Cohen was a long time friend of Ducky's and had happily agreed to perform the ceremony. It was a medley of customs, some Jewish, some Christian, and most importantly the legal secular ones that officially married them. And when their rings had been exchanged and Judge Cohen pronounced them husband and wife, Gibbs leaned in and gave her a chaste kiss, a little embarrassed with everyone watching. But Ziva wasn't having any of that and proceeded to pull her husband in by his lapels and kiss him passionately. That got the party started.
They all ate, drank and made merry. Mrs. Mallard, surprisingly enough, was being a delightful hostess, and she took great pleasure in taking credit for Jethro and Ziva getting married, telling anyone that would listen that she had been the one to tell Jethro months ago to marry that girl. At some point in the festivities, probably around the time she had tried to marry Abby off to McGee for the third time, Ducky prudently swapped her champagne for ginger ale.
They were gathered around the beautiful cake that was Abby's contribution to the festivities, a towering confection of buttercream adorned with red roses, when Gibbs cleared his throat and made the announcement about the baby. There was a moment of stunned silence as everyone digested the news and it was Judge Cohen who broke the silence with a heartfelt "mazal tov" that started rounds of hugs and congratulations. Oddly, it was Tony's reaction that was most important to Jethro, and when Tony finally met his eyes he could tell that the smile on Tony's face was genuine and true, and the little nod he gave Jethro let him know that Tony really was happy for them.
When things finally started winding down, and the photographer that was Tim's contribution to the festivities had taken his last picture and left, Jen pulled Gibbs and Ziva aside and handed them an envelope. It was four day stay at a posh lakeside resort about three hours away. They hadn't planned on taking a formal honeymoon, but Jen being ever the romantic felt they deserved one, even if it was only a few days. It would be something they could enjoy and look back on in later years.
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And enjoy it they did, neither of them really wanting to go back home quite so soon when it had come to leave. But they did, and it was back home to what they were supposed to be doing instead of lounging at the resort, which was to finish packing up Ziva's apartment and moving the rest of her things officially into his home. Their home. Gibbs had originally requested that his team not be on duty that Saturday so they could recruit Tony and McGee's strong backs to help with the furniture hauling.
They were at the apartment packing and waiting for Tony and McGee when the call came in, Paula's team was dead. And he was deadly quiet as they practically flew to the scene. The thought that it was supposed to have been their weekend on the hotline was screaming in his head, and he struggled to put the thought that it could have been Ziva and the baby killed in a tightly locked box, and keeping those emotions in check. He didn't realize that he was gripping the steering wheel so tightly until he felt Ziva's hand on his, prying it open to entwine her fingers with his. He glanced over and saw the same emotions he was feeling written on her face, except for her, she was thinking that he could have been the one killed.
They managed to get through the case, but lost Paula.
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It had been a rough two weeks since then, and the meeting with her father not going well was more stress that Ziva really didn't need. And as Gibbs held her tightly in the middle of the front walk he wanted to kick himself for not going with her. He hoped that her father was at least happy about the baby, but she hadn't mentioned it so he prodded, "What did he say about the baby?'
Ziva stepped back and scrubbed her face with her hands, "I didn't tell him."
The smallest snort of laughter escaped him, "Wasn't the whole point of going?"
She scrunched up her face and gestured wildly with her hands, and she vented in frustration, "I could not even get that far before he was telling me that I was going back to Israel and that he would find me a proper husband." She said the last in an irritated imitation of her father and it unfortunately made him chuckle again.
She leveled a look at him that threatened bodily harm and he said a bit more seriously knowing she was seriously worried about her father and what he might try to do, "We, meaning me and you, are going to have to tell him about the baby sometime. And in the mean time I don't want you worrying about things, okay? Our wedding ceremony was performed by federal judge who signed, sealed and delivered the marriage license to the courthouse himself. We've got your citizenship application in the works and and all the rest of our legal ducks are in a row. The worst he can do is try and pull you out of NCIS and reassign you somewhere else, and we talked about that and what you'd do..."
Ziva finished for him with a sigh, "I know. I will resign and stay here obviously, but you don't just quit Mossad."
"Ziva, this will work itself out. Just give it a little time." He reached over and cupped her cheek.
She smiled tightly and nodded.
Deciding they needed to do something to take her mind off of everything, he asked, "How's about I grab my wallet and you let your improper husband buy you an ice cream?"
"Hmmm, only if I can get hot fudge and caramel."
"Deal." He paused a moment then added as he tugged on his earlobe, "And I was thinking we could maybe stop at the home improvement store and get some paint samples for the nursery if you want."
She took in his demeanor and realized that although he said it casually that this was something important to him. She was the resident expert in translating Gibbs' body language and she would be willing to bet that he had thinking about turning the guest room into a nursery since she first told him she was pregnant. She shook her head and smirked, "On one condition. No pink."
They were both too busy laughing and teasing each other back and forth as they got in the car that neither of them noticed the person in the parked car down the block that was busy snapping their picture with a telephoto lens.
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tbc...
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