The Betrayal Behind the Comfort

Roberta’s POV

"Mommy." Ziva's voice was very quiet. "I want to save Nolan."

"Ziva"

"I want to." She looked up at me. Her eyes were dry, but her face was doing the thing it always did before the real cry came, the way she held everything in with every muscle. "I saw him today. He's not okay. He doesn't look like he's okay."

"That's not for you to worry about"

"If he dies, everyone will hate us." Her voice broke on the last word. Then the tears came, fast and hard, the kind she'd been holding in for a long time. "And I'll eventually hate myself, Mommy. I'll hate myself forever because I could help, and I didn't, and he died"

"I saw him, Mommy. He's really sick. His hands were shaking. His skin was grey. He can't run. He can't play. He might really die."

"Ziva"

"He's my brother." Tears streamed down her face. "Even if he was mean to me. Even if Grandma says I don't count, he's still my brother. I don't want you to get in trouble with Grandma Irene." Another sob ripped through her."I want him to live. I want Nolan to have a healthy life. I want to help him, Mommy. Please. Please."

Her words hit my chest like stones.

I grabbed her arms. "Listen to me. You don't owe them anything. You don't have to do this."

"Yes, I do." Her voice broke.

"Please, Mommy. Please let me save him. I can't let him die. I can't."

I pulled her into my arms. She collapsed against me, and we sank to the floor together. Her crying filled the room, and mine joined hers.

We sat there, mother and daughter, broken together.

I thought about Jace's face when he said, prepare for the worst. I thought about a boy in a hospital bed dying. I thought about my daughter, seven years old, carrying a weight no child should carry.

I thought about what it would do to her if he died.

What it would do to her if she lived, knowing she could have stopped it.

I held her tighter and closed my eyes.

"Okay," I heard myself say.

She looked up, her face a mess of tears.

"Okay," I said again. "We'll do it. We'll save your brother."

She hugged me so hard it hurt, and I let her. I held her, rocked her, and let the decision settle into my bones like poison.

The first person I called when Ziva finally fell asleep was Millie.

"I agreed," I said when she picked up.

A short silence.

"Agreed to what?"

"The transplant. I'm letting Ziva do it."

"No." Her voice sharpened. "No, Roberta. Tell me you didn't."

"I did. She wants to. She saw Nolan. She's terrified he's going to die, and she'll be blamed."

"She's seven. She doesn't understand what she's agreeing to."

"Millie, she already feels guilty. Jace took her from school, and I think he said some things to her."

"Roberta." Millie's voice was urgent now. "Listen to me. Do not let Jace brainwash you into sacrificing your only child. You know you may not be able to have more kids because of the" She stopped herself. "What if something happens to Ziva?"

"Nothing is going to happen to Ziva."

"You don't know that."

"I know my daughter. I know she's suffering. And I know that if Nolan dies, she will carry that for the rest of her life."

"So you're going to let them cut her open? For a boy you've never met? For a husband who cheated on you? Are you insane?"

"My mind is made up."

"Roberta"

I hung up.

The phone sat in my hand. The screen glowed. Millie's name stared back at me.

My best friend. My rock. The only one who truly stood by me.

Millie’s POV

I was still looking at my phone when the knock came.

My hands were shaking. Not from anger. From relief.

Three knocks. Specific. His rhythm.

I opened the door.

Jace stepped in, already smiling, and pulled me in by the waist before I could speak.

"Baby." He kissed me. Long. Unhurried.

I let myself have a moment of it, then I pulled back.

"Guess what your wife just told me."

His eyes lit. "Well, what did she say?"

"She agreed." I laughed and set my phone on the counter. "My plan worked, Jace. I told you."

"I wasn't sure about it"

"I knew Ziva would cave once you guilt-tripped her. That's why I told you to make her see Nolan. And wherever Ziva goes, Roberta follows." I shook my head. "I've known Roberta since we were toddlers. We grew up in the same orphanage. She cannot watch someone she loves suffer and do nothing. It's her greatest quality." I paused. "And her greatest weakness."

Jace pulled me back against him, satisfied, warm in a way he almost never was.

"I saw her face crumple when I said 'prepare for the worst' on the phone with you earlier. She was almost crying."

We both laughed.

"She's my best friend, but she's the dumbest person I know. A complete idiot."

"I know, right?" Jace said.

"That desperate, pathetic, stupid little bitch." I laughed. It came out wild. "She finally agreed."

He pulled me closer. "She called you first?"

"She called me first. Like she always does. I'm the only one she trusts." I smiled. "She has no idea."

"She has no idea you're Nolan's mother. That we've been in love for years."

"None."

He kissed me again, deeper. When he pulled back, his hands rested on my waist.

"Where's Nolan?" I asked.

"With my mother. Resting."

"Good." I traced the lapel of his jacket. "Baby, I can't wait to stop hiding. I can't wait to live in the same house with you and our son. I can't wait to be the one and only Mrs Riggs."

"Soon, my love." He pressed his lips to my temple. "The moment the surgery is done, I'm filing for divorce. She's served her purpose. Nolan will get the bone marrow transplant. I don't need her anymore."

"And then?"

"And then you come home." He tilted my face up. "Both of you."

I looked at him, the absolute love of my life. The man I had loved in secret for years, in stolen hours and silent phone calls.

Roberta had always had everything that should have been mine.

The name. The house. The ring.

She had kept a man who never loved her because I had loved him first.

I feel sorry for Roberta. She has no idea.

No idea what's coming for her.

"I love you," Jace said. "Very much."

"I know," I said. "I love you too. Let's get the surgery done as soon as possible.”