SquidgeWorld Archive

“You’re joking,” Tony was saying as the elevator doors dinged open.

Ziva cocked her head, curiosity spiking as she dumped her bag next to her desk and slipped out of her coat.

“For the last time, Tony, I am not joking!” McGee said, sending an annoyed glare in Tony’s direction. “Is it really so difficult to believe that someone might actually want the benefit of my expertise?”

“And what expertise is that, McGee?” Ziva asked. “Your computer skills or your computer skills?”

“His very original writing skills,” Tony grinned at her. “And might I add that you look particularly lovely today, Agent David?”

“Thank you, Agent DiNozzo. However I was unaware that what McGee writes could be called original. I have put the nail in the bed, correct?”

“You’ve hit the nail on the head Zi-va,” Tony corrected, a grin crinkling the corners of his eyes.

“That is what I said,” she replied before turning her attention to McGee. “Who wants to know about your books, McGee?”

“Well, you know how Sarah wants to be a writer?” McGee asked and continued before they could do more than nod in reply. “One of her professors somehow caught wind that I was her brother and asked if I’d give a talk to her class.”

“How can you catch wind?” Ziva wondered, her brows furrowing in confusion. “It is impossible.”

McGee opened his mouth to answer but then thought the better of it, brushing the question off with a shake of his head and a rueful smile.

“Are you sure Sarah didn’t tell him, McGemcity?” Tony asked. “Sisters can be annoying like that.”

“And you would be such an authority on the subject?” McGee couldn’t withhold a slight sneer, annoyed that Tony would try to one-up him on his own family. He knew immediately that it was the wrong thing to say.

“You’ve got a point there, McGoo,” Tony conceded as he turned and strode from the bullpen. “Going for coffee, back in five.”

“Tony! I didn’t mean…” McGee tried to call after him but was waved off and gave up with a sigh.

“Are we trading places, McGee?” Ziva teased. “Am I not supposed to be the one without any tact?”

McGee groaned and buried his head in his hands as Ziva’s laugh echoed across the bullpen.

One person was not as amused by the interaction. Gibbs stood on the upper split level, unable to hear what his team were saying but taking a moment to watch them interact. On the surface, everything seemed fine but Gibbs had never paid much attention to the surface. It had first come to his attention last week that there was something not quite right with his senior field agent. The moment had been fleeting and, if it had been noticed by anyone but Gibbs, would’ve been passed off as imagined. But it had been noticed by Gibbs and it irritated the hell out of him.

For ten years Tony had been his. For ten years Gibbs has been privy to the childish, irrepressible, inquisitive, thrumming ball of energy that is Tony DiNozzo. Sometimes too childish, sometimes to shallow and always too damned selfless Tony has nonetheless been his. For ten years Gibbs has been simultaneously blessed and cursed with Tony’s full attention until suddenly he wasn’t.

Tony was still, for all intents and purposes, his loyal St. Bernard. He still broke the ozone layer when Gibbs said ‘jump’ and he still frightened new agents with stories of Gibbs’ prowess but…but it just wasn’t the same longer. It was the way Tony’s smile reached his eyes but only just. It was the way Tony’s visits to Gibbs’ home after a difficult case were becoming increasingly rare. In fact, it had been months since he’d seen Tony outside of work although Gibbs couldn’t tell you how many months. It was the way Tony backed off from arguments with Ziva and McGee more readily and the way his affable veneer was more prone to crack and reveal the steel core that Gibbs had only glimpsed at before. And again, he couldn’t pinpoint before what.

Gibbs held in a sigh, the uncertainty stoking his ever present fires of anger and irritability. It was no surprise then that, when his phone range, Gibbs answered with an impatient ‘What?’ When Gibbs breezed through the bullpen, his frown just a little deeper than normal, Tony felt the ball of lead that had settled in his stomach earlier that morning sink a little deeper.

“We got a body, boss? “ He asked, slinging his backpack over a shoulder.

“No, we got a psychotic marine with a gun at Lincoln High,” Gibbs snapped. “He’ll only talk to NCIS.”

Later the team would remember the way Tony paled and his fingers tightened around the strap of his backpack. As they all piled into the truck, however, the only things on their minds were blowing up their phones and PDAs for information whilst staying upright under Gibbs driving.

~O

Lincoln High covered grades six through twelve and was a sprawling red brick building with expansive, landscaped gardens and sports facilities a lot of colleges would envy. The tuition fees catered to the upper middle class. This, of course, meant that the ground was fenced, but not electrically and that there were civilian security guards at the gates.

“Local LEOs have secured the perimeter, boss,” McGee was saying as they climbed from the van.

“Contact with Lance Corporal Wilson is via a phone in the classroom,” Ziva added. “He has no direct connections to NCIS and has not been the subject of any recent investigation.”

“Turns out our Lance Corporal used to attend this school. He enlisted straight after graduation, five years ago,” Tony spoke, face and eyes so unsmiling that even Gibbs did a double take. Then again, some psycho had taken school kids hostage.

“Hey, you guys NCIS?” One of the officials of the scene asked, sauntering up to the group.

“You in charge here?” Gibbs asked in turn.

“Yeah,” the official replied.

“Not anymore,” Gibbs cut in before he could further elaborate. “McGee! Oversee the perimeter security. David! Interview the evacuated personnel. DiNozzo! With me.”

“You got a name?” Tony asked the guy Gibbs had so ruthlessly brushed aside.

“Detective Dave Andrews,” was the reply as the detective jerked a thumb in Gibbs’ direction. “What crawled up his ass?”

“Ask me that once he’s got the son of a bitch in cuff,” Tony replied and the biting response had Gibbs turning around and raising an eyebrow at his second in command. Tony gazed blankly back at him.

Gibbs stifled a sigh. He didn’t have the time right now to deal with whatever was wrong with Tony but really, if he was focused and harassing LEOs then, for the moment, Gibbs wasn’t complaining.

“How many hostages?” he asked instead.

“The whole of class 7a and their teacher. Twenty seven people in total,” Andrews replied.

“Teacher’s name?” Gibbs demanded.

“Annette Sweeting,” it was Tony who answered and judging from the look of surprise on Andrews face, it was intel that hadn’t yet been divulged.

“DiNozzo,” Gibbs barked, “there something you want to tell me?”

“No boss,” was the immediate reply.

Gibbs’ eyes narrowed and under normal circumstances Tony would have caved in seconds. Instead he just stared back and Gibbs couldn’t help but think that this was DiNozzo at his most lethal, that this was the man behind all those infernal masks. The thought sent a shiver down his spine.

“Alright,” Gibbs nodded, “start wiring up. We’ll get you in.”

Tony didn’t speak but echoed Gibbs’ nod and uniformed cops immediately descended upon Tony, getting him to strip off his shirt so they could tape on communication wires. In the meantime Detective Andrews watched the scene unfold with a furrowed brow, unable to shake off the feeling that he’d missed something.

“Those two been working together long?” He asked McGee who was pulling up schematics of the school on his laptop.

“About ten years now,” Tim replied, smothering a smile. People always assumed Tony was new.

“Huh, it shows,” Andrews replied and sauntered off to where Tony and Gibbs were trying to talk Lance Corporal Wilson into letting someone into the building.

~O

Class 7a was comprised of twenty six students aged thirteen to fourteen. Of these twenty six there were fifteen girls and eleven boys. Their teacher, Miss Sweeting, was in her mid thirties with the kind of disposition that favored florals and pastels and the kind of teaching skills that enabled her to easily control over twenty teenagers. None of the kids had ever wanted for anything and most lived in sprawling houses in the suburbs with pools in their backyards.

As Lance Corporal Ted Wilson paced up and down the class, from one end of the blackboard to the other, a gun held tightly in one hand, the class found themselves stiffening in their seats, fighting the ‘flight’ urges their bodies were issuing in response to the situation.

When the phone rang, and Lance Corporal Wilson greeted the man on the other side as Special Agent Gibbs, a couple of the students found the edges of their panic abating. Both had parents that worked at Navy Yard, both were old enough to understand said parents conversations and, truth be told, Gibbs was nothing short of a legend. Then the door was slowly opening and a handsome man in a suit was walking in, both hands raised in the universal gesture for ‘I come in peace’.

“Lance Corporal Wilson,” Tony greeted as he entered the class. It took all the willpower and discipline he possessed to keep his gaze locked on the marine.
“I’m Special Agent DiNozzo, but you can call me Tony. Can I call you ted, corporal?”

“Y-yeah,” Ted Wilson’s eye twitched and kept his gun trained on Tony. “Close the door!”

“Okay,” Tony kept his voice and body language non-threatening as he shut the door with his foot. “How old are you, Ted?”

“I’m twenty three,” the marine replied, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. “What’s it to you?”

“Nothing man, I’m just curious,” Tony grinned at Wilson like they were bonding over bottles of beer. “No offence, but you look older. I guess being on tour will do that to you, huh?”

“Yeah,” Wilson’s suspicion turned to confusion and the gun lowered a fraction. “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Where were you stationed?” Tony let his shoulders hunch a little, conveying the appearance of relaxation.

“In Iraq,” Wilson’s confusion increased. “Got back a couple weeks ago.”

“Yeah?” Tony raised an eyebrow and forced a smile to linger around the corners of his lips. “There were some kickass ballgames the past couple of weeks. Lemme guess, you’re a Wizards man, right?” Tony grinned.

“Yeah, I…how’d you know?” The gun lowered a fraction.

“Just a lucky guess,” Tony’s eyes sharpened as his grin widened. “The rest of your family Wizard’s fans too?”

“Yeah, born and bred,” Wilson said, “Except my little brother he…”

The following moments were a blur of motion and sound. Lance Corporal Wilson, distracted as he was by the unexpected camaraderie Tony was showing, lowered his gun. Immediately, with the muscle memory born of hours upon hours on a football pitch, Tony wrestled Ted Wilson to the ground and knocked the gun from his hands. A shot rang out. The class exploded into pandemonium. Tony grunted as something collided with his stomach and when Gibbs burst into the room Tony was slapping cuffs onto Wilson.

And then there was a shout of ‘Daddy!’ and a girl with sandy brown hair was barreling into Tony and Gibbs wondered if someone had spiked his bourbon last night.

~O

When Tony had gotten home from work that fateful day, all he’d wanted was to collapse. Sore and exhausted from more than a difficult case, the last thing he’d expected was to be greeted by an equally exhausted ex-girlfriend and Bianca, the daughter he never knew he had.

It turned out that Hannah, his ex, had suffered from severe post-natal depression and had never truly gotten over it. She was at her wits end, depression, apathy and guilt weighing heavily on her. Hannah had reached her breaking point but had summoned up enough compassion for the daughter she’d never bonded with to take her to her father, to explain the situation to Tony instead of simply dropping Bianca off with child services. For Tony, there had been no decision to make.

“What the hell is going on, DiNozzo?” Gibbs demanded and his scowl deepened when the girls arms tightened around Tony and her sobbing increased.

“In a minute, boss,” Tony replied, rising to his feet and carrying the teen with minimal difficulty.

“Isn’t she a bit young for you, Tony?” Ziva asked as she caught sight of her teammate. “You are stealing the cradle, yes?”

To her surprise Tony merely ignored her and continued carrying the girl towards where the rest of the class were getting checked out by medics.

“Tony, what are you doing?” McGee asked as he approached. “That girl should be with her friends.”

“No!” It was Bianca who replied and Gibbs, Ziva and McGee looked on in shock as she sobbed into Tony’s chest. “Daddy! No! I was so scared! I wanna stay with you!”

“It’s okay, angel,” Tony crooned as he petted her hair and shot his team a look that practically screamed ‘cease and desist’. “You’re safe now. I’m not going anywhere.”

“Gibbs,” Ziva turned to their team lead, determined to get to the bottom of this newest mystery.

“You and McGee head back to Navy Yard,” Gibbs ordered. “DiNozzo and I will escort Lance Corporal Wilson.”

“But,” Ziva started to protest but faltered under the glare Gibbs sent her way.
“Yes Gibbs,” Ziva caved and followed McGee to the truck.

Gibbs scowled after them for a moment, the look intensifying when McGee glanced back at his. Not even the way Tim quailed under the ferocity of his expression could ease the irritation that twisted Gibbs’ gut. When he turned back to Tony he found him trying to coax the girl into seeing a medic.

“C’mon sweetheart,” Tony cajoled. “He’s just gonna make sure you’re okay. I’ll be right by your side.”

“No!” Bianca buried her face into Tony’s neck. “That man had a gun, Daddy! And he said he’ll only talk to NCIS and you work at NCIS and then he was pointing the gun at you and what if you got shot?”

“I’m sorry, baby,” Tony whispered. “I’m sorry I scared you.” He ran a soothing hand over the girl’s hair and hugged her a little tighter.

Gibbs was about to step in, noting the pallor of DiNozzo’s skin and the lines of strain around his eyes when the teacher came bustling up to the duo.

“Mr. DiNozzo,” she greeted.

“Miss Sweeting,” Tony summoned up a smile. “Is everyone okay?”

“Yes, thanks to you,” Annette Sweeting replied. “Is Bianca okay?”

“She will be,” Tony replied, confident in his answer.

“Your father is a very brave man, Bianca,” Annette said, placing a soothing hand on the teens back. “It will take more than someone like that man to take him away from you.”

Tony shot the teacher a grateful look as the girls sniffling subsided a little and Gibbs fought the urge to scrub at his face.

“C’mon DiNozzo,” he said, voice gruff, “Ducky can check her over.”

“Thanks, boss,” Tony said before bending his head to talk to the girl. “Bianca? Sweetheart, say hello to my boss, Agent Gibbs.”

The girl kept her arms around Tony’s neck and turned her head to peer at Gibbs through red-rimmed eyes, eyes that were the exact same stunning green as her father’s. Her father’s. Christ.

“Hi,” the girl greeted, her voice scratchy from crying.

“Hi Bianca,” Gibbs let his features soften. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Tony flinched but kept eye contact with Gibbs.
“C’mon sweetheart,” Tony said, “we’re gonna go to my work. You wanna see where I work, don’t you?”

“Yeah,” Bianca nodded and let Tony lower her to the ground but kept a tight hold of his sleeve and glued herself to Tony’s side. Tony, for his part, merely smiled affectionately at his daughter and slung an arm around her shoulders, drawing her even closer.

And that’s when it hit Gibbs. Tony’s daughter had been held hostage by an armed marine that was most likely suffering a psychotic break. Well shit.

~O

“I am telling you, there is something about that girl,” Ziva said as they exited the elevator. “Tony was carrying her!”

“That doesn’t mean anything, Ziva,” Tim replied, slinging his jacket across the back of his chair. “She could have been hurt.”

“Then Tony would have taken her to the medics,” Ziva promptly returned. “McGee. He was hugging her.”

“So she was scared and looking for comfort from an authority figure,” Tim rolled his eyes. “There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Kids hate Tony,” Ziva declared.

Tim opened his mouth to reply then closed it again.
“You know, you have a point there,” he finally admitted.

“Ha!” Ziva folded her arms across her chest and favored McGee with a smug smile. “So you admit there is something kinky about this?”

“Hinky,” Tim corrected.

“Whatever,” Ziva snapped before walking forwards and planting her hands on McGee’s desk. “We need to find out who she is and why she called Tony ‘daddy’.”

“Because DiNozzo is her father.”

McGee and Ziva jumped as Gibbs stormed into the bullpen but he was barking orders before they could reply.
“I want your reports on my desk in the next hour and then I want you to go home. If either of you try to talk to DiNozzo before he’s ready to talk to you, you will answer to me. Understand?”

“Yes, boss!” McGee immediately replied whilst Ziva stayed stubbornly silent.

“Agent David,” Gibbs voice was quiet, dangerous. “Do you understand?”

“But Gibbs,” Ziva fought the urge to quail under the glare she received and instead argued her point. “If what you say is true then Tony has been keeping secrets. A team does not keep secrets from each other. We deserve to know the truth!#

“You deserve what I tell you you deserve!” Gibbs roared and Ziva flinched at the raw fury in his voice. “Reports! Home! Now!”

McGee and Ziva hurried to do his bidding and Gibbs stormed back out towards the elevators, starting the descent towards autopsy before hitting the emergency stop button.

It was all starting to make sense. The way Tony brushed off invites to after work drinks with Abby, the way he always maneuvered and manipulated his way out of partnering with Ziva or McGee during cases, the way he would start what seemed like a serious conversation with Gibbs before degenerating into jokes and obscure pop culture references. It was all so obvious now that Gibbs felt like kicking himself.

They had lost Tony’s trust. He had lost Tony’s trust. Somewhere along the way, and Gibbs should be shot for not knowing when, Tony had lost faith in his team. Had it been when Gibbs had run off to Mexico a second time? Had it been during the whole Domino fiasco? Or maybe when Tony had to dive into freezing water, twice, and then perform CPR for and on two people and hadn’t received so much as a ‘thank you’ in response.

Thinking back over the past decade Gibbs realized that any one of the innumerable life threatening situations could have been the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. Frustration welled thick and heavy in his gut and Gibbs slammed the palm of his hand against the steel wall of the elevator. He was the team leader goddamnit! Tiny was his responsibility. How had Gibbs not seen what was right in front of his eyes? When had he stopped looking?

Scrubbing a hand across his face, Gibbs rolled his shoulders and took a deep, steadying breath. Yes, he’d fucked up but he’d be damned if Tony didn’t have some explaining to do.

Letting the elevator shift back into motion, it was only a matter of moments before he was striding out of autopsy with every bit of his usual determination. Palmer, who was approaching from the other side, took one glance at Gibbs’ expression and immediately turned to retrace his steps. Gibbs couldn’t even summon up the humor to smirk. His black mood grew steadily with every step he took until the doors to autopsy whispered open and Gibbs found his anger evaporating. Reluctantly.

Tony was seated on one of the autopsy tables, shirt open to reveal a spectacular looking bruise on his torso and his daughter was sitting next to him, looking close to tears once more.

“Hey, it’s okay, sweetheart,” Tony was saying, his arm around her once more. “It’s just a bruise.”

“But daddy,” Bianca said, eyes wide, “You got shot!”

“It’s okay Bianca,” Tony pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “I was wearing a bulletproof vest.”

Bianca’s lower lip wobbled and Tony’s eyes softened.
“Hey,” he said, placing two fingers under her chin and tilting her face up to meet her gaze. “I can still carry you, can’t I?” That earned him a wobbly smile and Tony chuckled, mostly in relief.
“Atta girl,” Tony pressed another kiss to his daughter’s head. “You were really brave today, Bianca. I’m proud of you.”

The girl beamed at that and Gibbs found himself echoing the smile. Tony was a great dad but Gibbs wouldn’t have expected anything less. It was only when Gibbs caught sight of Ducky that his previous anger rose once more. Ducky was watching the father and daughter with a fondness that spoke of familiarity.

“DiNozzo,” Gibbs greeted, gut churning at the wariness in Tony’s gaze as their eyes met. “Anything we need to worry about?” He asked, gesturing to the rapidly darkening bruise.

Tony was going to be on desk duty for at least a week but it wouldn’t hurt for a scared girl to get a little extra reassurance. Gibbs was a bastard but never to kids. The look in DiNozzo’s eyes said he knew exactly what Gibbs was doing.

“No boss,” Tony grinned. “You’ll be kicking my ass around a boxing ring in no time.”

Gibbs almost smirked at that but managed to keep his expression neutral.
“Wilson’s in interrogation,” Gibbs said instead.

“Okay,” Tony’s voice was mild but his eyes sharpened with something that made Gibbs want to take a step back.

“Bianca, I have a bit of work to do,” Tony told his daughter. “You’ll be alright with Ducky, won’t you?”

Bianca looked like she wanted to protest. She opened her mouth to speak and, for a moment, Tony thought she would protest, but then she took a deep breath and offered him a shaky smile as she nodded and Tony was so filled with love and affection for her in that moment that he drew her into a hug and placed yet another kiss on top of her head. Nostalgia curled up in Gibbs as he watched father and daughter interact but he quickly squashed it down and followed Tony to the elevator. When he flicked the emergency stop switch between floors, the expression on Tony’s face was so knowing that Gibbs wanted to punch him.

“Talk, DiNozzo,” Gibbs ordered and Tony looked at him for a long moment before speaking.

“You won’t like what I’ve got to say, boss,” Tony warned.

Gibbs sent him one off his many patented glares, the one that said ‘get it over with DiNozzo’ and Tony nodded, taking a deep breath before thinking about how to say what needed to be said. No matter what, Gibbs was probably going to feel insulted but Tony wasn’t sorry. Bianca’s safety came before his boss’ ego. But still…

“When we broke up,” Tony began, “Hannah hadn’t known she was pregnant and she didn’t tell me when she found out. Turns out that she suffered from severe and prolonged post-natal depression.”
Tony scrubbed at his face as memories assaulted him, “She came to me four years ago,” Tony didn’t meet his gaze and Gibbs’ stomach sunk, “she was so tired and she felt so guilty…if I’d only known,” closing his eyes, Tony took a deep breath and wrestled closed that particular can of worms.
“Hannah came to me exhausted and at her wits end because she couldn’t be the mum Bianca deserved. She just didn’t have any maternal feeling in her and she said that I deserved a choice in whether or not Bianca got sent to child services.” A bitter laugh escaped Tony.
“Ten years on and thenmy daughter’s life.”

Gibbs fought the urge to put a steadying hand on Tony’s shoulder. He didn’t think the contact would be appreciated but he could see where Tony was coming from. Hell, anyone could see where Tony was coming from.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Gibbs asked instead, mostly managing to keep accusation out of his voice.

Tony sighed and leant heavily against the wall of the elevator, his gaze travelling towards the ceiling as he thought of how to answer.

“Spit it out, DiNozzo,”’ Gibbs let his impatience seep into his voice. The less time Tony had to think the less convoluted his answer would be. Gibbs really wasn’t in the mood right now for unwrapping the numerous layers that were Tony DiNozzo. Tony glanced at Gibbs, quick, assessing before he spoke.

“I love my job,” Tony said, “And I trust you with my life, boss.”

“But,” Gibbs prompted.

“But not with my problems,” Tony winced at the expression that crossed Gibbs’ face.
“You’re the best boss I ever had, Gibbs,” Tony abandoned all attempts at pretense. “But as a friend? You kinda suck.”

~O

Abby Scuito was a happy go lucky sort of person. She saw solutions to every problem (usually multiple solutions) and never hesitated to execute her planned course of action. She was a self-confessed caffeine addict and was quick to worry but even quicker to smile. Said caffeine addiction often meant that Abby was too busy talking to think much about what she was say (and too busy dancing around her lab and hanging out with her equipment to put much thought into tedious things like secrets and keeping them). She was an open person whose friends knew her well and who liked to think she knew her friends well.

So when Abby skipped into autopsy, enjoying some rare free time and looking for someone to share it with, her usual smile broadened when she saw Ducky speaking to a teenage girl. A really pretty teenage girl whose long hair was tied back into two French braids tied at the ends with ribbons decorated with skulls and crosses. Okay so the ribbons were pink and white but still…Abby already liked her.

“Hey Ducky!” Abby chirped out in greeting. “Hello girl-with-the-really-cool-hairstyle-whose-name-I-don’t-know.”

“Abby,” Ducky greeted, “This is Bianca, Bianca this is Abby, our forensic scientist.”

“Hi,” Bianca glanced up from where she was hugging her knees to her chest and offered the Goth a shaky smile.

“Hi Bianca,” Abby’s grin widened and she perched on the autopsy table next to the teen. “Whatcha doing here?”

“I, uh, my dad works here,” Bianca stammered. She was belatedly realizing that there was a really good reason she’d never met her dad’s friends from work before. In her panic, Bianca had blown their secret, one her father had kept for four years.

“Really?” Abby visibly perked up, not noticing the girl’s distress. “Who’s your dad?”

“I…I…” Bianca’s eyes widened as she paled, exhaustion robbing her of the ability to properly control her emotions. “Uncle Ducky, I screwed up!”

“There now, dear girl,” Ducky soothed. “You did nothing wrong.|”

“But nobody was supposed to know!” Bianca wailed. “Dad’s gonna be so mad!”

“Now Bianca,” Ducky placed a soothing arm around the teenager’s shoulders as Abby watched on with increasing bewilderment. “You know that isn’t true. Your father would never blame you for something you had no control over.”

“But he said nobody could know!” Bianca’s hands shook as she pulled her knees closer towards her chest. “He said that it was really important nobody knew and I went and told everyone! He’s gonna be so mad!” Bianca’s eyes filled with tears and Abby moved to hug the girl but was stopped by Ducky.

“Bianca,” Ducky’s voice was the most calming sound Abby had heard in a long time but the teenager continued to shake, tears streaming down her face.
“Bianca listen to me. Your father loves you very much. Nothing is going to change that.”

Ducky continued in this vain for a while, speaking soothing and comforting words in an attempt to calm the girl down but it was futile. The shock of seeing her father being held at gunpoint combined with the realization that she’d made a huge mistake was too much to pile on top of the emotional trauma of being held hostage. Bianca broke down in sobs, burying her head in her knees and her entire body shaking with the force of her emotions.

“Ducky!” Abby furiously whispered. “Don’t you think you should call her father?”

“I can’t,” Ducky lamented. “He’s interrogating someone.”

“Oh no!” Abby’s face fell. “Maybe I should fetch Bert?”

“Bless you my dear,” Ducky replied, “however I fear that even Bert will not prove to be of much use in this situation.”

Abby’s face fell even further and she bit her lip, tears prickling her own eyes when faced with the girl’s distress. It was to this scene that Tim and Ziva walked in on. Having seen Gibbs and Tony make their way to interrogation, neither could pass up the opportunity to see more of Tony’s daughter, even if it was against orders an even if they were facing crucifixion if they were caught.

“What is wrong with her?” Ziva asked, her alarm evident in her voice. “Why is she still crying.”

“Come now Ziva,” Ducky gently admonished, “have some sympathy for the poor girl. She had been through quite an ordeal today.”

“It was only one man,” Ziva muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes but she schooled her features into something kinder nonetheless.

“Shouldn’t someone go fetch Tony?” McGee asked to cover the slightly awkward pause that followed.

“Why would we fetch Tony?” Abby asked before Ziva could reply.

There was another awkward pause and it was Ziva who spoke first.
“It does not matter right now, Abby,” Ziva assured her before turning to McGee. “Tony is in interrogation. We cannot disturb him.”

“Wow, two suspects in interrogation and no evidence for me to process?” Abby’s features screwed up in confusion. “That’s kinda hinky, guys.”

“What?” Ziva frowned in confusion.

“Abby there’s only one interrogation happening at the moment,” Tim said. “It’s the gut who was holding the school kids hostage. That’s why there isn’t any evidence for you.”

“But Ducky said…” Abby’s eyes widened as she trailed off and she sucked in a breath.
“No!” Abby shook her head, pigtails flying as denial flooded through her. “No! No way! That girl cannot be Tony’s daughter!”

Bianca’s crying increased and Ducky drew the girl into a full hug but the other three didn’t notice.

“I know!” Ziva was in complete agreement with Abby’s reaction. “It was wrong of him to keep this a secret, no?”

“Look guys,” Tim tried to play peacemaker, “I’m sure there’s a good explanation…”

“No!” Abby interrupted, her voice rising, “There is no explanation because Tony does not have a daughter! He would have told me!”

“Now, now,” Ducky interjected, seeing the adverse reaction Bianca was displaying to the shouting. “Let’s all calm down…”

“Do not tell us to calm down, Ducky!” Ziva exploded. “Tony has been keeping her a secret!” She jabbed an accusatory finger in Bianca’s direction. “We should have been told…”

“What is going on here?” the voice that interrupted was familiar and Ziva, Tim and Abby spun around, intent on getting some answers from Tony, only to stop dead in their tracks at the thunderous expression on his face.
“What do you guys think you’re doing?” Tony demanded, pushing past them and taking Bianca from Ducky’s arms, wrapping her in his own. Bianca immediately curled into her father, her babbling broken by her sobs and incomprehensible.
“Get out!” Tony scowled at his team. They hesitated. “Now!”

Immediately Tim, Ziva and Abby scampered from the room. They had never seen Tony like that, as if his anger were a solid force, bending them to his will. To make matters worse, Gibbs had arrived with Tony and his expression was as murderous as they’d ever seen.

“Gibbs…” Abby began to say but Gibbs rounded his glare on her and she fell silent, more from shock than anything else. Gibbs never glared at her!

“ What the hell do you three think you’re playing at?” Gibbs’ voice was soft, laced with so many layers of anger and disappointment and raw fury that all three agents found themselves cringing.

“We did not mean to upset the girl,” Ziva managed to say, “We just wanted…”

“You just wanted to be selfish and arrogant and demand answers!” Gibbs roared. “For God’s sake! It’s because of stunts like this he doesn’t trust us!”

Throwing his hand up in the air, Gibbs turned and stalked away, already having said more than he meant to and knowing that, at the moment, he had zero control over his temper. The whole day had gone to hell in a handbasket hours ago and Gibbs was going to go home and break something before he smashed his fist into somebody’s face.

~O

Bianca DiNozzo knew that she was a lucky girl. At fourteen it was already clear she had inherited her father’s height as well as his athletic grace and prowess. She was practically unbeatable on a tennis court and an athletic track (sprints only, long distance sucked without and iPod). She had also inherited his hair and eyes and coloring.

Bianca had grown up asking about her father, and her mother had always said the same thing: ‘someday you’ll meet him, Bianca, but not today.’ The day she had finally met her father was one she would always remember. Bianca’s memory of her mother was of a beautiful but distant woman who had always been somewhat unapproachable. Her father on the other hand, he was all smiles and laughter. He taught her how to play basketball and softball and they went cycling and to the movies whenever he had free time. Bianca loved spending time with her dad. He was pretty strict about some rules, like locking doors and walking home alone from school, and making sure he knew where she was and with whom but he was really cool in the ways that counted.

She was allowed to have sleepovers with her friends anytime she wanted as long as it was on a weekend he was home. She could wear what she wanted as long as it wasn’t too revealing and she was even allowed a little make-up, just gloss and eye shadow really but her friend Janie’s mother wouldn’t even let her wear tinted lip balm! Bianca got a really good allowance and only a few chores compared to some of her friends and, yes, her dad was strict about homework and stuff but everyone’s parent’s were strict about homework. It was totally a parent thing.

The only rule her father had that she never fully understood was the one about how she wasn’t allowed to meet his friends from work. Her dad had a dangerous job and he had put a lot of bad people away and it was okay to tell her friends that he worked for NCIS (it helped when parents knew their kids were staying with a federal agent on sleep over nights instead of just a single dad). He wouldn’t really go into details about why he didn’t want people at his work to know he had a daughter except to say that someone had tried to frame him for murder as revenge against an arrest he made when he was still a cop and he didn’t want anyone to use Bianca to get revenge against him.

The only person Bianca had been introduced to was Uncle Ducky who was a doctor. Uncle Ducky was totally cool. He cursed in the politest way and the best part was that it wasn’t really cursing so her dad couldn’t really scold her for copying it. Except that it always felt kinda funny to say ‘posterior’ instead of ‘ass’ so Bianca didn’t really copy Uncle Ducky all that much anyway.

Two days ago, when her class had been held hostage by an armed marine, Bianca finally understood where her dad was coming from.

It had been the most frightening day of her life. At first, when she realized NCIS were coming, Bianca had been so relieved because, duh, of course her dad would save the day. He was totally the coolest. But then that guy was pointing a gun at her father and Bianca realized that her dad’s really cool job was actually really dangerous too. She had been held hostage and her father had been shot all by some whack job who had never heard the name ‘DiNozzo’ before in his life. The whole ex-con out for revenge scenario suddenly seemed less like a movie cliché and more like something that could actually, really happen.

But Bianca had been too upset to remember the rule about people not knowing he was her dad and had completely broken down in front of his team from work and he said that he wasn’t mad (and her dad never lied to her) but Bianca still felt really bad. His teammates had been seriously pissed and his boss had seemed nice but her Dad had regaled her with stories about what a hard-ass Agent Gibbs was and what if he was mad and her dad got fired? Okay so maybe she was over-reacting but it didn’t change the fact that things would probably be awkward for her dad at work for a while.

He hadn’t been back since that day. The class had been taken hostage on Thursday and the headmistress had told them not to come back 'til Monday and her dad had taken the time off from work to spend with her.

It was Saturday and the guests were due to arrive at any moment. Her father had move from his old apartment to get them a house close to the school. It only had three bedrooms but the TV room was massive and the gardens were huge and had a pool and Bianca loved it to bits. Her dad had invited her friends and their families round for a barbeque. The weather was brilliant and he said it was a great way for everyone to recover from what had happened on Thursday. Besides, her friends’ parents loved her dad. Come to think of it, most of her friends were crushing on her dad too. They didn’t know she knew and it was kinda creepy so Bianca tried not to think about it too much.

“Hey sweetheart,” there was a knock on her bedroom door and her Dad’s voice filtered through the wood. “You done getting dressed?”

“Yep! I’ll be out in a minute!” Bianca replied and pulled baggy denim shorts over her swimsuit and slid her feet into flops. She had painted her nails a bright orange and took a moment to admire the cheerful color as she brushed out her hair.

“There you are,” Tony grinned as she walked into the kitchen, “Will you take the chips and dip outside?”

“Sure,” Bianca shrugged and picked up the loaded platters, “Can I pick the music?”

“No Bieber,” Tony warned, eyes dancing.

“As if,” Bianca rolled her eyes. “He’s totally last year. I got the new Gaga and Rihanna albums last weekend.”

“If you must,” Tony conceded with a put-upon sigh. “I just don’t get how you kids can call that stuff music.”

“What like Sinatra’s better?” Bianca snorted.

“Of course he is!” Tony replied, “Sinatra’s better than everyone”

The playful bickering continued until the doorbell rang and Bianca immediately abandoned him for her friends and Tony found himself making conversation about the upcoming ballgames. He struggled to hold in a sigh and played the charming host the entire afternoon, pointedly ignoring the ache in his side. The kids needed this, their families needed this and Tony needed this. He needed something to take his mind off of going back to work Monday.

Tim, Abby and Ziva were going to be unbearable. Tony didn’t feel bad about not telling them about Bianca, not really. He just didn’t know how he was going to explain where he was coming from. How was he supposed to trust people that turned off the sound when doing surveillance? Who could put his life in potential danger and then laugh it off as justified? How was he supposed to trust people that would rather call on a retired agent than come to him for help? Who honestly thought him capable of killing someone from jealousy? How was he supposed to trust someone who didn’t see him? Who, when he needed her support and co-operation, merely snapped at him for not being Gibbs? How was he supposed to trust people that didn’t trust him?

The afternoon was long and Tony had to draw on some of the skills that made him so good at undercover work to get through but, by the end of it, any lingering shadows in Bianca’s eyes had disappeared and Tony thought that it had been worth it having people over. Bianca had fallen asleep in front of the TV after everyone had left and Tony carried her to bed, idly noting that pretty soon she’ll be too big for him to comfortably do so. He lingered at her bedside, brushing her hair away from her face, and pulling up the covers and pressing a kiss to her forehead before exiting, heading back to the TV room. As if on cue there was a knock on the door and Tony sighed. He’d wondered how long it would take Gibbs to come over.

“You moved,” Gibbs said by way of greeting.

“It took you four years to notice,” Tony folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the door frame. He was in no mood for games.

A muscle in Gibbs jaw worked, tensing and relaxing before the older man spoke again.
“Can I come in, DiNozzo?”

“Sure boss,” Tony stepped aside and led the way to the kitchen. “Can I get you a coffee? Something stronger?”

“Coffee would be good,” Gibbs replied. “This is a nice place, big yard.”

“Yes,” Tony shot Gibbs a long look but otherwise stayed silent with a patience that would have eluded him a handful of years ago. It was amazing what kind of qualities becoming a parent brought out in you.

Gibbs bit down on the frustration that welled up in him. He hated having to explain himself but it was not explaining himself that had cost him Tony’s friendship. He’d be damned if he let it stay that way.

“I reckon that yard’s big enough for an outhouse,” Gibbs said. “I got some wood lying around and I hear that teenage girls like their space.”

Tony’s back stiffened and his eyes narrowed as he slid a mug of coffee towards Gibbs, trying to decide if Gibbs was being sincere or looking for a quick fix that will let him back into Tony’s life.

“Something like that will take a lot of time,” Tony eventually said.

“I got time,” Gibbs said and mentally braced himself for what he was going to say next. “And I already have the plans drawn up. I was gonna build one for Kelly.”

Tony froze, eyes widening almost comically. If there hadn’t been so much at stake Gibbs would have smirked.
“Aw hell,” Tony exhaled but was spared from saying more when Gibbs stepped close, right up into Tony’s personal space, and slid a hand up to cup the back of Tony’s head.

“I messed up DiNozzo,” the admission cost Gibbs more than he liked. “I screwed up and I’m really trying to make it right.”

“Okay,” Tony nodded, unable to resist the sincerity in Gibbs’ eyes. “Okay.”

He didn’t even need to elaborate, didn’t need to tell Gibbs that this was the only chance he would get because he could see the relief and surprise and determination in Gibbs’ gaze that said he knew, he knew and there was no way in hell Gibbs was screwing up again.

“Not the other’s though,” Tony added. “I can’t let them in just yet.”

“You don’t have to,” Gibbs applied pressure to the back of Tony’s neck and pulled him into a hug. “This has nothing to do with work, son. This has nothing to do with them.”

Tony sighed, let his eyes drift closed, let himself relax into the hug. Son. Gibbs had called him son. Tony’s arms came up to wrap around his boss’ waist and he rested his head on one broad shoulder, content to be held. It felt good to have the sturdy, unflinching presence of Gibbs in such close proximity because, when all is said and done, being a parent sometimes sucked when there was no-one to share it with.

“Hey boss,” Tony perked up slightly. “Can Bianca call you ‘Grandpa’?”
The hand that collided with the back of his head was completely expected.

THE END