Chapter 09

Steve sat in the waiting room thumbing through one of the magazines the office had for its patients while Ziva was submitting her paperwork to the office clerk at the window. His eyes often glanced over at her to make sure that she wasn’t about to try to strangle the young girl manning the desk. He knew she had been on edge all day between her nausea and with Catherine’s presence, but his priorities were with her and the case.

He quickly turned his eyes back to the magazine when he saw she was finishing up so that she didn’t notice his watching. Turning the page, he waited until she was seated beside him before he looked up at her.

“This is ridiculous. I don’t understand why they need all this information,” she complained as she sat uncomfortably, her eyes surveying the room.

With a calming smile, he reached over to take her hand and tried to ease her nervousness. “Relax Ziva. It’s routine, you know that. I’ll be there with you the entire time,” he said, knowing that her anxiety was more than just the invasive questions. “I want both you and our little one to be absolutely healthy. It’s hard enough in our line of work and believe me I know asking you to take a step back would get my ass kicked, so this is the next best thing I can ask of you to do to humor me in taking care of yourself.”

Ziva huffed before she cracked her neck. “I do not like this,” she whispered.

“I know you don’t but it will be fine,” he assured her. “You’re not going to do this alone. Just breath.”

Her eyes darted to his before looking away. He knew very well what much of her fears were coming from and he was doing his best to reassure her. She knew her treatment of him as they had gotten closer to the doctor’s office was unwarranted but she still hadn’t gotten over her aversion of doctors completely. To have anyone that hadn’t earned her trust having any control over her, especially with a condition as intimate as their child, put her on edge.

Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes as she attempted to do as he had asked and calm down. It wouldn’t do either of them any good if she snapped and killed someone simply because her hormones were off balance. Although, she could not help but smile at the thought of the excuse considering her history.

Steve couldn’t help but to smile himself at the expression on her face and found himself curious as to what put it there. “What are you thinking about?” he whispered as he leaned in to kiss her behind her ear.

“Nothing much. Only if pregnancy hormones would be a valid argument for myself if I were forced to kill someone for angering me now,” she answered. “I believe Danny and Tony would say yes.”

He chuckled as he sat back, nodding in agreement. Before he could say anything else, one of the office nurses appeared at the door, mispronouncing her name badly.”Ziva David?”

A low growl escaped her throat as she started to argue with the woman but Steve held her back. He quickly corrected the nurse while he had his hand running up and down his fiance’s arm, but the flexing of his muscles as the woman glanced over the two was obvious that he was putting in some effort to hold her back.

“My apologies,” she said quickly as her eyes widened and stammered. Quickly she turned to lead the couple down the hall. “Let’s get you into the exam room and get you prepared for the doctor. According to the chart, you were supposed to see Dr. Kaeo? Unfortunately not long after you called, she was called into the hospital for a delivery but her partner is available to see you today to get you started. Dr. Mahoe is very good and if you don’t like her, you’ll still be able to continue with Dr. Kaeo for future appointments. Today was just to get established, correct?”

“Yes. Ziva has also had some severe nausea, so we were hoping for something that might help ease that so she won’t be suffering as much as she still wants to work,” Steve explained before letting out a grunt when Ziva’s elbow jammed him in the gut as she gave the nurse a tight, glaring smile.

Luckily, for the woman’s life, she was quick as she wrote her notes and took the preliminary vitals on her before leaving an examination gown on the counter before running out as if she was on fire from the way that Ziva’s glare remained on her the entire time. “I do not like her,” she said once they were alone.

“Somehow I doubt that there will be anyone that will satisfy you right now,” Steve muttered as he sat back in his chair and smirked at her. “I have to admit that this little display was amusing though. Just try to not bite off the doctor’s head.”

“I make no promises.”

“Ziva…” he warned.

She rolled her eyes as she sat annoyed on the table when another nurse entered. “Miss David?” she questioned, this time pronouncing her name correctly. “I apologize for Jessica. My name is Laura and I’ll be assisting with the rest of your appointment. If you would just come with me for a few minutes?”

“What do you want me to do?” Ziva questioned, immediately suspicious.

Laura only smiled back goodnaturedly. “I just need to get you weighed and a couple other things. Are you able to go to the bathroom or do you need a little time because we will need a urine sample.”

She could only blink for a moment and looked over at Steve who looked back at her. His eyes silently told her to reign in her nature and she could feel her nails dig into her palms. “Okay then,” she submitted as she slid off the table and followed the new nurse.

As Laura had said, she only had her weighed and she visited the restroom quickly. She retook her vitals again once they were back in the room where Steve was waiting as he was reading one of the poster displays. She took asked them a number of questions that started to make him uncomfortable to Ziva’s amusement before she closed the folder. “Alright now. Dr. Mahoe will be with you in a moment. We just need you to strip from the waist down and put the gown around you. We’ll be right back.”

Once she was out of the room, Steve smiled over at Ziva as he watched her undress. “See? That wasn’t so bad, now was it?”

“Shut up. We haven’t really begun yet. The worst hasn’t come so keep your mouth shut because this is your fault,” she glared at him, but there wasn’t her usual heat in it. “I’m going to ask to make sure that she’s the nurse that I deal with whenever I come in though. That other one is an idiot.”

“She seemed to have voluntarily passed your file to someone else so don’t worry about her. Relax before you get yourself more upset over something that you can’t control,” he attempted to reason with her.

She rolled her eyes as she fiddled with her engagement ring that she wore on her chain around her neck. “Are there any updates with the case?” she asked randomly.

“If there was, someone would call or text.”

“But..”

“Relax.”

“Steve…”

“Relax.”

“Maybe we should reschedule. I don’t think I can do this now,” she said as she stared at the door nervously.

Sighing, he moved his chair closer so that he could grab her hand. “You will be fine. This all is routine. No one will hurt you and I won’t let them. I won’t let anyone take you from me.”

She looked into his eyes searchingly for a full minute before nodding with a teary smile. “I believe you,” she said. She let out a shudder when they heard a light knock on the door before it slowly opened.

“Good afternoon Miss David,” a woman not much older than she was entered with a smile. “I’m Belen Mahoe and I’d like say congratulations.”

“Uh, thanks?” Ziva replied as she pulled back from Steve, not noticing his initial reaction to the doctor after she introduced herself.

Dr. Mahoe nodded at her before taking notice of who else was in the room. “And this is Dad?” she asked as she moved to take a seat on the other side of the exam table and opened Ziva’s chart to review the notes the nurse had made.

“Yes. We found out not long ago. Maybe two weeks ago although I had been filling ill for much longer,” Ziva explained.

“Yes. I can see that. It appears your birth control failed while you were on antibiotics for your chest infection,” the doctor explained as she raised an eyebrow as she eyed something on the chart. Looking up at Steve, she found him paying particular attention to her patient. “Such a small world…”

Ziva looked at her confused before growing more suspicious and turned to Steve. “You have something to explain?”

He groaned slightly. “There’s nothing to explain. I didn’t connect the name when the nurse mentioned it before. Only after she walked in and said it fully – Dr. Mahoe and I…”

“The doctor that’s about to examine our child and you…” she prompted icily.

“Steve and I dated in high school before he dumped me,” the woman said bluntly as she wrote some notes in the chart. “If you are uncomfortable by this history, it’s fine. I have no problems and certainly no lingering feelings for your – I don’t know what you two are, I’m sorry.”

“We’re engaged,” Steve said quickly, and rather loudly but with a lot of pride that eased much of Ziva’s growing anxiety and insecurity.

“More congratulations,” Dr. Mahoe said as she looked up with a genuine smile. “Alright. Ziva, it’s up to you if you want Steve to stay or go. We need to do a pelvic exam and do a couple more tests. It’ll be a little uncomfortable but I’ll try my best to get over with it as quickly as possible.”

She reached over and gripped onto his hand tightly. “I’d like Steve to stay. I’ll be more comfortable if he remained with me,” she admitted.

“Very well,” the doctor nodded as she stood and went over to the door to poke her head out. It was a moment before she caught Laura passing and informed her she was ready to start. Before long, Ziva was on her back on the table with Steve attempting to distract her from the activity below in between the doctor’s questions.

The procedures finished just in time for Ziva to push herself up as her face began to show distress. “Move,” she let out as she pushed Steve away. “I’m going to throw up…”

Dr. Mahoe quickly passed over an emesis basin on the counter and held it for her. “Has this been frequent?” she questioned.

“Yes and no. The nausea has been pretty intense for her over the last two weeks, but this I don’t know. She hasn’t told me if she has,” Steve answered as he held her hair back for her.

Ziva groaned as she wiped at her mouth when she was finished, leaning against him feeling exhausted. “It wakes me at night where I need to vomit, yes. It has been very strong with little relief. I’ve done what books have recommended. Crackers, ginger ale, juices… nothing helps.”

“Hmm,” the doctor murmured. “It’s still early so you need to give it time. I can write you a prescription to help give you a little relief right now but you really shouldn’t take it for long. We can give it a try for a week at a time and monitor your nausea. I’ll also give you some prenatal vitamins but they will also likely cause some stomach upset as well.”

“Lovely,” she muttered as she closed her eyes while Steve held her. “We still have to go back to work.”

The doctor looked back up from her script pad with concern. “I would recommend you go home and rest for what remains of the day. If you fill these prescriptions and at least start the one medication, it may make you more tired until you adjust to it.”

“We have an important case we are working. We cannot just stop working,” she snapped back.

Steve rubbed his hands over her arms to soothe her. “Easy there. We can go back to the house so that you can lay down and work from there. We can keep an eye on our guest and still do our job,” he said as he raised an eyebrow.

Sighing, Ziva nodded as she gave up. “Fine. Is there anything else doctor?” she asked as she wanted to leave.

“No,” the woman smiled as she handed over the prescriptions, as well as her card with her cell phone number. “Just take it easy tonight and preferably for the rest of the week. Give me a call anytime if you have questions or problems. If I don’t answer, just leave a message and I will get back to you. I’ll leave you to change. It was a pleasure to meet you Ziva, and good to see you again Steve. We’ll make sure that everything goes as it should with the little one. Have a good day you both.”

After Dr. Mahoe left the room, Steve helped Ziva dress before they made their way out and resolved any issues at the counter. She scheduled her follow up appointment reluctantly and he helped her along as she continued to appear to be rather weak from the ordeal inside the office. “I am thinking it’s a really good idea to go to the house now,” he commented as he looked at her while he went to open the truck door for her. “I’ll drop you off at the house so that you can lay down then head to the pharmacy for you.”

She nodded as she pulled herself up into the truck and settled into her seat and put her head back against the seat. He lingered at her side as he watched her. Reaching up he brushed her hair away from her face. “Hey,” he spoke softly to get her attention. When she turned her eyes on him, he smiled at her as he ran his thumb over her cheek. “I love you.”

Ziva returned his smile back as she rested her hand over his. “I love you too. Now, please. Let’s go. If I am not in the condition to return to the office, it does not mean that you should not be making the attempt to do so.”

“Yes Boss,” Steve smirked as he leaned in to press his lips to her forehead and closed her door. Jogging around, he quickly got in himself and set out on the road for home. All the while, he could not remove the smile on his face all due to the woman sitting beside him.

~o.O.o~

By the time that Steve returned to the office finally, he looked around confused at finding Kamekona eating in the office. His annoyance quickly spiked but he managed to control it as he turned around 360 degrees to look for his partner. “Where’s Danny?” he questioned.

“Detective Williams and the pretty lady are downstairs. HPD brought someone in and they went to go question the guy,” Kamekona answered in between bites of the loco moco that caused Steve to narrow his eyes.

“Kono and Chin?”

“They took the pretty girl out. I don’t know where. They said they will be back soon. Where have you been while everyone was working brah?”

Steve breathed out slowly through his nose. If he had been a cartoon, it might have looked as if it were puffs of smoke coming out. “Was that food sitting on the table when you got here and you decided to just start eating?” he asked instead of answering.

Kamekona paused mid bite as he looked down at his to-go tray, as if he had to contemplate his response carefully. He probably had to, knowing who he was dealing with. “Perhaps…”

“That was my lunch Kamekona. I just took Ziva to her doctor’s appointment and home. I haven’t had the chance to eat yet,” he said through grounded teeth as he closed his eyes shut. “We’ve been working a case since the middle of the night. What are you doing here Kamekona?”

“Umm…uhh…I forgot…” the big guy stammered as he slowly closed the lid of the tray and pushed it back. “I’ll go get you something to eat. I’m sorry brah. I didn’t know.”

Steve’s hand fisted at his side before he simply pointed to the door, indicating his silent desire for the man to leave. As his friend made his escape, he let out a sigh and ran his hands over his head. Pulling his phone out while his went over to check out whatever progress the team made on the case, he dialed a frequent number. “Hey Chin? Can you grab me something to eat on your way back? … Yeah – Kamekona. Thanks.”

Leaning over the situation table, he eyed what little information they were able to collect so far while they continued to wait on the forensic reports to come back. He knew he was going to need Ziva back to operational status because her skills were so much more evolved varied than any other on the team with her training and working with multiple agencies.

“What are you into Governor?” he murmured as he eyed the woman’s photo, thinking back to their interview with her.