Ziva was in her last month of pregnancy. She has been pretty tired recently. They were about to leave for the park. Tony was waiting for Ziva in the living room. He was getting a little impatient when Ziva called him in the bathroom. He simply put his head round the door and asked:
-"what is it ? We are waiting for you, Tali is losing her patience"
-"the park will have to wait"
-"wait ? Why ?"
-"because my water just broke"
Tony panicked and pushed the door wide open:
-"what ?! Your due date is in more than two weeks"
-"well it seems like our baby already has a strong sense of humor"
Ziva was sitting on the edge of the bathtub. She was obviously in pain. Tony panicked even more:
-"what should we do ? We are not ready"
Ziva talked with a calm voice even though she was fighting the need to scream:
-"yes we are. Stop panicking. Your dad is in town. Call him and tell him to come and pick up Tali. Then you will take me to the hospital"
Tony repeated:
-"my dad, Tali, the hospital, stop panicking, right I got this"
At the hospital
Tony walked in Ziva's hospital room. He had just hung up with his father. He said:
-"Tali's fine. She asked me to tell you that she loves you. How are you ?"
She was fighting the pain. The monitor next to her was beeping to indicate the rhythm of the baby's heart.
-"I am fine"
-"of course I should have known you would answer that"
The nurse came in and asked:
-"how are we doing here ? How is the pain on a scale from one to ten ?"
Ziva was having a contraction, she grabbed Tony's hand and squeezed it strongly. Tony also fought the urge to scream when she squeezed it. Ziva answered:
-"7"
Tony looked at his hand and nodded:
-"yeah definitely 7"
The nurse asked:
-"is this your first one ?"
Tony said:
-"second child, first delivery for me, long story"
The nurse was confused but she didn't asked more question. She turned to Ziva and asked:
-"do you want the epidural ?"
Ziva was panting:
-"No! No epidural.."
Tony looked surprised:
-"what ? Are you sure ? I mean..."
He was not sure his hand would survive a birth without epidural. Ziva was panting. She took a deep breath as she felt another contraction coming and answered:
-"you do realize that it's the second time I do this..."
-"yes but the pain.."
She cut him and answered:
-"it only hurts if you let it"
She grabbed his hand again and squeezed it. Once again Tony kept his screams inside and asked to the nurse:
-"can I have the epidural instead please ?"
Once the nurse was out Tony asked:
-"are you sure about the epidural? I mean I know you are strong and completely capable of handling this by yourself but seeing you like this..."
Ziva smiled and cupped his cheeks:
-"don't worry"
-"don't worry ? Of course I worry, I've never seen you like that before. I am totally freaking out. You've already been through all of this, I haven't. You know how to deal with this, I don't. I don't know what to do. You are in pain and I am useless"
She grabbed Tony's face to stop him from panicking:
-"you're not. I need you Tony" she took a deep breathe to fight the pain and continued "I need you to be my rock ok ? I need you to have my back"
She grabbed his hand again to show him that she needed him by her side to support her. He knew he had no right to complain or freak out right now, now that she was experiencing the worst pain a human being can endure for him and for their child. He had to act like a man, like a husband, like a father. He thought: "come on DiNozzo, pull yourself together man !" She needed him to be her partner again, they needed to work as a team again. He smiled and said:
-"just like old times then. Come on let's get this baby out"
He helped her to get a better position and landed a kiss on her hand.
It was time for Ziva to give birth to this baby. She had been in pain for more that 4 hours. The heart of the baby was getting low and Ziva was out of strength. They had to get the baby out now for Ziva and the baby's sake. Ziva was all sweaty and panting. Tony was still holding her hand. His other hand was caressing her forehead. He had been freaking out about the situation but he knew that Ziva needed him to pull himself together. He was whispering:
-"you can do this babe... You are amazing... Just breathe... It will be over soon and we'll hold our baby... Push.... I know it's hard, breathe... I know it's painful but you are stronger than the pain... I love you... I am so proud of you..."
The love Tony had for Ziva was strongly increased as he saw her fighting and handling the pain like a warrior.
One final push and they heard screams. Newborn screams. Their baby's screams. For a second Tony thought that he was about to faint. The medical staff congratulated them but Tony couldn't hear them. His mind was filled with his baby's screams. They placed the baby in a towel on Ziva's chest and finally announced what Tony have been waiting for:
-"congratulations, it's a beautiful boy"
Ziva was crying, she was exhausted and the pain was still giving her hard time but she mostly cried because of the relief to see her child alive and well. He was finally out. Her fight was over.
Tony kissed Ziva's forehead and said:
-"it's a boy ! We have a boy!"
He looked at their baby. He was still wrinkled and covered with various fluids but Tony thought he was the most beautiful baby boy he has ever seen. His son.
The nurse asked:
-"how are we gonna name this beautiful boy ?"
Tony and Ziva looked at each other, smiled and nodded in approval of their final decision. They both answered:
-"Adam"
