— The story and any possible original characters are mine. NCIS, its own characters and canon aren't. —

I changed the name of this story at least three times... Hopefully this one is "the one".

Leo

"Happy holidays! I'll see you next week!"

"You too! Drive safely!"

Leaning against the wall of the building, a teenager with a bored look on his face listened to the cheerful chatter between the people coming and going from the stores there, doing their last minute preparations. All happy smiles and faces and arms full of gifts and other things the big companies brainwashed people to buy. Things that no one even needs. He himself never wasted his time for that day. For him it was rich people's party time, which was ironic as he was supposed to be one of them. They were an illusion, both the world of the rich and holidays like these.

He then took out and lit up a cigarette. Smoking was a nasty habit and he mostly did it because he knew how much it infuriated his father, the man who himself could do whatever he wanted; drink, party, waste money, fool around with women and anything and more what his sick mind could think of. It was hard to keep up with it sometimes. Seeing a fully tattooed man walking by, the teen chuckled. Maybe he should get a tattoo next. That would surely give the old man a heart attack. He could already hear the yelling, 'Junior! What have you done!? You're disgracing your family name! ' Yeah. That would make the day. Maybe then he could finally be free from the DiNozzo name.

His gaze wandered to the street musician who was playing a happy x-mas tune with his guitar and singing merrily. He couldn't help but wonder if he was the only one hearing the sadness and loneliness behind the smile and happiness. Maybe because he was used to doing just that, covering up his sadness and pain with big smiles and sometimes even arrogance when he felt like getting beat up by some strangers. Pulling his jacket tighter around himself, he wondered if the man had any place to go for the night. It was already freezing cold and would only get worse; people kept saying that it was going to be the coldest winter ever. For the sake of that man, he really hoped they were wrong.

Digging around in his pocket, he finally pulled out his wallet, which was old and worn. Not the kind his father approved of, but he loved it, most likely because the old man hated it so much. Taking out some money, he put away the walled and walking past the man, he dropped the money in the old worn hat on the ground. From the corner of his eyes he could see it was already holding some money there; mostly coins and... was that actually some hamburger wrapping..? Shaking his head in anger at whoever had thrown it in there, he walked away. Certain people really didn't deserve a good life, or they needed a very serious and firm shake of reality.

It was getting dark by the time he finally stopped walking to nowhere. There were fewer people around and he knew he should also go back home, but he didn't want to. He couldn't stand dealing with another party with his drunk father and his friends who were just like the old man himself. Some of them even worse... He shook his mind away from the unpleasant thoughts. If it weren't so cold, he'd be happy to spend the night wandering on the streets. Maybe he still would.

Taking out another cigarette, he was lighting it up when his eyes spotted a small girl wandering on the street, not much different from what he'd been doing. The child couldn't be more than ten years old. The clothes that she had on could not possibly be keeping her warm; the slightly torn summer dress barely covered her pale knees, the summer jacket was rather useless in the cold winter night and on her feet there were a pair of sneakers, but he couldn't see any socks. Her bottom lip looked like she'd been biting it constantly. As he watched, she did it again, shivering and clearly trying to hold back the tears.

The cigarette now forgotten in his mouth, he frowned. Completely frozen to the spot, he watched as the people walked by, no one paying any attention to the young child who was practically begging for attention. After observing for a while, he realized she was trying to sell something. A box of matches of all things? Several boxes actually, he realized, noticing the small and badly worn shopping bag full of them. He could swear the scene reminded him of some old story his nanny used to read him a long time ago. It made him shiver, but then he became angry. All those adults, walking around with their family or to their family waiting at home and no one stopped to even ask if she was okay.

What about that nicely dressed street preacher, wearing his devil's collar like it made him something special, standing not too far from the girl? Preaching about many things, yet when the small girl was saying something to the man, he told her to not bother him; he's got important work to do. The man was probably one of those who walked around bragging about the charity he's done in Africa or somewhere, forgetting the people in need of that same help in his own neighborhood. What a hypocrite... The teen seethed and he observed some more.

There walked a young woman in her designer shoes, dressed in her designer clothes and carrying her designer handbag, reeking to high heavens of some ridiculously expensive perfume. Dropping a few coins in the box the Red Cross guy was holding, she probably thought it made her a good person or something. Fat chance...

Couple of teenagers walked by, laughing at some trash reality TV show about some trash reality family they had seen the day before.

Busy looking businessman was running through the crowd of people, almost running over the little girl and that's when the teen finally snapped. Walking to the man, he grabbed him by the arm and yanked back before he had a chance to run away. "What is wrong with you!?" he yelled, getting not only the man's but everyone's attention.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you!? Let go of me you hooligan or I'll call the cops! I'm busy!"

The teen saw red. Holding his cigarette in his other hand, he pointed toward the wide-eyed girl, now staring at them. "Apologize to her!"

"What? Why?" The man was genuinely confused and the teen was momentarily so taken aback by it that his hold on the man's arm loosened enough for the man to get free and escape from the scene.

"Kids these days..." one of the people was heard muttering and after that the city life was back to how it was before. As if nothing had happened. The world kept moving around the two kids now staring at each other.

Seeing how the child was shivering from cold and maybe even fear, the tall teenager crouched down so he would be less threatening. He was surprised how instead of being scared of him, the girl reached out her hand and then took the cigarette from between his lips and dropped it in the snow. "It's bad for your health..."

All he could do was stare and then admire her guts, which she obviously had. He smiled and she smiled back. "I guess you're right... You look cold," he said and then took off his jacket and put it on the girl who grinned happily.

"It's too big," she said and he chuckled.

"Are you lost? Where are your parents?"

Her smile vanished and her lower lip started wobbling as she moved her gaze down.

"Hey... It's okay. I'll help you find them. What do you say?" he said and then horrible thought came to him. What if she didn't have any parents?

"Thank you..." she whispered and took his bigger hand in hers. He was alarmed just how cold her hand felt.

"You know, you shouldn't trust strangers so easily, kid..."

She smiled at him. "It's okay. I know I can trust you."

"And why is that?"

"My gut tells me so."

He chuckled again. The kid was funny. "Your gut, huh? Alright... Let's go to someplace warm and get some rest and food. Tomorrow morning we will start looking for your family. How does that sound?"

"Okay..."

He hesitated for a moment, until the child wrapped her arms around his neck. Almost shaking his head at the trust, the teen raised the girl up into his arms and started walking away from the huge shopping center, which wasn't quite as busy as it had been a moment ago. "What's your name, kid?" he suddenly asked, realizing he couldn't just keep calling her 'kid'.

"Kelly."

"Kelly, huh? That's a nice name. I'm Tony."

Entering the big house, Tony avoided being seen by anyone as he moved toward his own room. It wasn't hard thing to do as his father had obviously taken an early start with his party, if the noise coming from the other side of the house was anything to go by. A party that would last for days as it always did.

Walking into his room, he closed the door and was glad that the noise didn't reach this part of the building, which was the only thing he liked about his room; when he needed the quiet in the house, this was usually where he got it. Although he had tried keeping Kelly awake, the child had finally fallen asleep on the way and he was once again alarmed by how cold she felt. Laying her on his huge canopy bed, Tony took out his phone and called their family doctor. He was worried and couldn't take any chances of doing something wrong. "Come on, Kelly. Wake up. I didn't save you just so you can die on me now..." he spoke softly, while at the same time trying to get her to warm up.

He had just finished preparing a hot bath when a servant brought the doctor in the room. He felt such relief seeing someone who actually knew what to do.

Kelly sighed and moved as her nice and long dream was starting to fade away. She didn't want to wake up. It felt so nice and warm and soft, almost as if she was home again... The thought made her sob quietly. She missed her mom and dad. She wondered if they missed her too. It felt like it had happened such a long time ago, when that bad man had taken her from her home and when she managed to escape, only to find herself completely lost and far away from anything familiar.

She cried for a while until she decided that as the daughter of a Marine, she should not be a crybaby. Finally opening her eyes, she sat up and gasped at what she saw and was stunned by where she was. It had to be a room straight out of a fairytale, and it was huge; it was like the room of a princess. Or a prince, she thought when she noticed the person sleeping on the chair next to the bed. Her savior. He really did look like a prince from her fairytale books. She smiled when she remembered how he had come to her rescue. She was her daddy's little girl and she knew she could trust her gut feeling. She could trust this person.

Crawling closer to the sleeping teen, Kelly wondered why he was sleeping on the chair. The bed was big enough for them both. It was big enough for them both and her mom and dad. She noticed that she was wearing a big T-shirt and shorts, which had to be some boy's clothes. Someone much bigger than she was.

"Kelly?" Tony spoke suddenly as he was slowly blinking his sleepy eyes open. He smiled tiredly and looked relieved. "You're finally awake..."

Kelly frowned and she nodded. "Of course I'm awake. Did I sleep long time?"

"Very long time... You slept for two nights. I was worried, even though the doctor said you would be fine." Tony sighed and he leaned closer to check her temperature with his hand, but then a loud noise broke the serious moment and he grinned. "Seems like you could use some food."

Kelly blushed. "Yes please..."

Tony hesitated for a moment, but reached out his arms toward her and much to his surprise, she didn't take hold of them, but wrapped her arms around his neck and snuggled closer. He wrapped his arms around her and stood up. "You really do trust me too easily."

"You feel safe. You feel..."

"I feel..?"

"You feel the same my daddy does."

"Oh..." Tony blinked, unsure how to take that. Had he just been made to take up the role of a surrogate father for a girl he didn't even know? Man... He was way too young to be a father figure. He was barely seventeen and nowhere near ready to be even thinking about starting a family of his own. "Well, I can be your temporary older brother until we find your dad, okay?"

She'd always wanted a brother, or a sister, but brother was fine too. "Okay."

Walking through the silent house, Tony was relieved that the partying was over for a moment at least. There were some things he'd really rather not have to explain to a child...

Kelly held her head against the strong shoulder and stared at the rooms they were walking through. She had never seen a place this big. It was like a castle.

"Teresa," Tony spoke when he entered the warm kitchen, complete contrast after the cold hallways and long corridors of the building.

The elderly woman working in the kitchen turned around and smiled when she saw him. "Antonio, you are up early. Who is this young lady?" she spoke in Spanish.

Tony put Kelly down on the chair behind the kitchen table and she listened with wide eyes as Tony and this friendly looking woman spoke in a language she didn't understand.

"I found her on the street. Couldn't leave her there. She would have frozen to death..."

"Poor thing..."

"I was wondering if you could make us something to eat? Or for her really... After that I'm going to try find her parents or anyone who knows her."

"But of course, dear child." Teresa nodded and started pulling things out from the fridge.

"Teresa... Don't forget we're only two people. One of us being just a child, who might not be used to eating too much right now," Tony tried to say, but that didn't stop her. Shaking his head, he turned to Kelly and smiled. "Teresa is a nice lady. She doesn't speak a word in English, but she will understand what you say. I'll go make a few phone calls. Don't leave the kitchen while I'm gone."

Kelly nodded and wondered why she couldn't leave the kitchen. It had to be because the house was so big. He was afraid she was going to get lost. That's what it was. Nodding to herself, she turned to stare at the woman when Tony left the room. Teresa didn't seem to mind that she couldn't understand a word she was saying as the woman was explaining something quite happily.

While sneaking back toward his room, Tony stopped suddenly. Closing his eyes he took a deep breath. Oh no... Not now.

"Junior. Where were you last night?" The man speaking was his old man, Anthony DiNozzo Senior. He was standing at the door of one of the guest rooms and looking as if he'd partied hard last night, which he had.

"Father..." Tony spoke and turned around to face his father, who was obviously still a little under the influence of alcohol, which he so loved. More than his own son. The man loved everything more than his own son.

"People kept asking me about you. Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was?" Senior was furious and with the volume of his voice raising, it was never a good sign for Tony. Stepping closer to his son, the man's face was starting to take a slightly red tone. "Answer me!"

"I went for a walk," Tony answered, without even flinching at the yelling, although he felt tempted to wipe off the spit from his face, which flew as the old man yelled at him.

"A walk!" Senior screamed and Tony hoped it wouldn't be heard in the kitchen. They were far enough, right?

"Yes father. A walk. I needed some fresh air. It happens when I'm around you and your friends during one of your drinking parties. The stench is horrible." Tony knew he was pretty much asking for it and so the punch in the face didn't come as a surprise. He didn't fall down only because he had been prepared for it.

"I'll teach you some respect, you little—!"

"Anthony?" It was a woman's voice coming from the bedroom, stopping Senior's roaring. She sounded uncertain and maybe even slightly fearful. She should be. Once he was drunk enough, Senior could raise his hand against anyone, men or women. Children.

Senior stopped saying whatever he had been about to say. Pointing his finger at his son, he hissed, "I will deal with you later!"

Tony took a deep breath, not having realized he'd been holding it back. For a change he was grateful for his father's random string of girlfriends. It had saved him from more yelling and from getting another black eye or worse. And it kept him from saying something that would have made the man even angrier.

"I hope I won't scare Kelly with this," he muttered, carefully touching his face around the eye. He didn't need a mirror to know he'd be soon having a black eye. Wondering why he didn't take his phone with him in the first place, he hurried to his room.

"Oh, Antonio. Antonio, Antonio..." Teresa spoke the moment she saw her young master stepping back in the kitchen. She could already see the beginning of a black eye. "What happened this time? And don't lie to me, I'm not stupid. Tell me the truth. Was it your father again?"

Tony grinned sheepishly. "I slipped on the empty bottles on the floor. Maria is going to have a heart attack when she comes to clean up the mess."

"Antonio..." Teresa narrowed her eyes and put her hands on her hips.

Ignoring her, Tony sat down behind the table and smiled. "Was the food good?"

Kelly stared at Tony with wide eyes. "You're hurt..."

"This?" Tony gingerly touched his eye and barely stopped himself from flinching as it did hurt. Didn't matter how much he was used to it. "It's nothing. I got into a fist fight with the door. You would not believe how often it happens. I'm pretty clumsy for a big boy like me."

Kelly narrowed her eyes like her daddy sometimes did. She had heard a story like that before from a friend at school. Later it turned out her friend's dad hit him and he was taken away from his parents. She never saw that friend again.

Tony tilted his head slightly at the way the kid was staring at him. He felt uncomfortable and didn't like being stared at. "Are you done eating?" he finally asked and Kelly nodded. Without any further word exchange, she held out her arms and Tony felt his heart swell at it. Swallowing down the lump forming in his throat, he stood up and lifted her up into his arms again. "Let's get going then. A friend of mine promised to help us find your family."

Kelly smiled and once again Tony was taken aback by the trust she had toward him. He was afraid to even think if instead of him she had ended up with some bad guy...

Teresa didn't look happy. "Antonio? Where do you think you're going? You have not eaten your breakfast yet."

"I'm sorry, Teresa. I don't have time." Tony shrugged and took a couple of pastries with him, giving one of them to Kelly.

Teresa shook his head as Tony left before she could force him to sit down. "Takes care of everybody else, but not himself..."

After dressing Kelly warmly in his old clothes, Tony was going to take her out the same way they had come inside, but as he was walking to his bedroom door, he heard the familiar steps of his father walking toward the room. Frozen in fear for a moment, Tony was now in a hurry to get not only himself, but also Kelly out of there. It was one thing when Senior treated him however he pleased, but he didn't want the child to even witness such a scene, let alone be the one getting hurt.

"Let's play a game," he whispered and Kelly could sense that something was very wrong.

"A game?"

"Yeah. A game where you are very quiet and hug me as tightly as you can. Don't let go, no matter what. Can you do that?"

Kelly stared at him and seeing how serious he was, she started to feel distressed, but she nodded her agreement.

"Good girl." Tony hurried to open his room's window. He was used to sneaking out that way, but this time he had someone else with him. Third floor wasn't really that high for him alone, but for the two of them... There was no time; he could hear the footsteps stopping behind his door. Taking Kelly on his back for a piggyback ride, he was glad she understood to wrap her feet around him. "As tightly as you can... And don't look down," he whispered and then rushed to the window.

He couldn't believe he had done it. Sure, he'd done many things that had made the old man furious, not that there was anything he could do right anyway, but this was a whole new level. He had basically stolen his father's car. Sure, he saw it more as 'borrowing it', but Senior would not care about any of that. He was so seriously screwed...

Looking at the passenger seat, Tony frowned at the silent girl. She hadn't spoken a word after they left his room. That was couple of hours ago now. "Kelly. Talk to me, kid. Please..."

Kelly stared outside the window; she was barely big enough to be able to see outside. She finally turned to look at him. The look on her face was far too serious and knowing for a child her age. "Why did we have to run? Is... Did your dad hurt you?"

Tony frowned. He had no idea what to say. He could easily lie, but...

"It's okay. I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to."

How could she be worried about him, after the hardships she'd been going through? "It's fine. Not really a secret. It's more like a secret that everyone knows about, but no one likes to talk about. My father just got a little angry and smacked me. I wasn't being a very good boy so he punished me."

"My dad and mom never hurt me... Even when I am being a really bad girl."

Tony didn't know what to say. Honestly, it wasn't like he had anything to compare to.

"I don't like your dad," Kelly spoke after a long silence. She sounded upset, even angry.

Tony's mouth twisted into a smile. "I don't like him either. Don't worry. As long as it's up to me, you don't have to see him ever again."

"But what about you?"

The smile vanished. "He's my father." He didn't say more and Kelly understood it was a 'I don't want to talk about it ' thing. It made her sad.

Tony stopped the car in front of a police station. He was glad to have a friend who was a cop. Their friendship started when the man had arrested him few years ago after he ran away from home and was trying out drugs with his new street 'friends'. He had never done anything so stupid again... No thanks to his father, but every bit of thanks to the cop who was like some long-lost uncle to him, or an older brother. Almost like a father, had he not been too young for that.

"Alright, Kelly. We are going to meet my very good friend who will help us find your parents."