Okay, folks. I know we are all incredibly bummed out about Cote leaving and I won't start ranting here cause it can go on forever, buut this is a fic I started before that debacle began. I decided to publish it since it's my birthday and I'm actually just really excited about this.

This is an AU fic, obviously, where Tony has a brother, so our OTP meets through him. Tony is an NCIS agent and well, if things are vague about Ziva, then it's because they're meant to be :D All will be revealed eventually.

Anyway, I hope you like it as much as I enjoyed writing it :)

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or any of its associated characters or intellectual properties. But I do own Nick.

Tony felt like someone was stabbing him with an icepick every time he moved. Who would've thought getting shot would hurt that much. Okay, that was probably a stupid question. But despite all his years in law enforcement, he hadn't managed to get shot yet. Kinda ironic to think that the shot that finally got him, was because of a housewife who didn't seem to know that pressing the trigger would make the bullet shoot out.

And now he had all this free time on his hands that he didn't know what to do with. He could lie on the couch and watch movies, of course, but he didn't think that would be the most productive use of his time.

He could go see Nick. Apparently, his brother had been dying for him to meet the new girl in his life. God, he wasn't really looking forward to that. Not to say Nick picked the worst girls, they were hot, he admits, but they were all just so incredibly…dull and empty, with no sense of sarcasm whatsoever. Tony preferred his women a bit more free, not so caged-bird types. Although, that was probably why he got into so much trouble with the opposite sex. Not all females were as accepting of Tony's desire to keep things light.

Nick was different from him. He was more the settling down type. The responsible one in the family. The brother who didn't disappoint. Nick had graduated with flying colors from the police academy and was now on his way to be one of the most promising rookies in Baltimore P.D. In contrast, Tony had been the one who fumbled through the academy and broke a lot of rules while doing so. Even as an officer, he had never been the one to specifically play by the rules. Despite what his father thought, it had sometimes saved more lives and that was the only thing Tony cared about. And by becoming an NCIS agent, he had pissed off his father even more. Senior had wanted him to become the next Chief which is probably why he was so angry at Tony for all his rebellious acts. Letting a known criminal go in order to save a teenage girl that was working for him, didn't look all that good on record. But Tony didn't give a damn about appearances. Maybe that is why he worked so well with Gibbs.

When his path crossed with NCIS, Gibbs saw the potential in him and took Tony under his wing. And he will never forget that. The man had been more of a father to him than his actual father ever was.

But Tony was proud of Nick. He took the remnants of their broken family and despite everything, had managed to make something of himself. Tony was the one who had taken care of his brother when their mother had died because their father was too broken. For quite some time, as a teenager, he had to be the responsible adult one for his little brother's sake. Perhaps that's why he has tried to take things a bit more loosely when he's an adult. Because he never got the chance when he should have. But never in a million years would he blame Nick of that. He was the victim in it all.

But not anymore. Nick had grown to be quite a dashing fellow he would say. Too bad he never took Tony as his wingman. They would have been legendary. And in the end, Tony would have gotten him a real woman.

That decided it. Tony would go visit Nick and tell him to stop associating himself with all the wrong women if he was serious about settling down. He would see his next pick and if she ended up being like the previous ones, he would talk him out of that relationship once and for all.

He got up and reached for his phone, dialing Nick's number.

"This is Nick DiNozzo." His brother answered formally.

"Nicky!" Tony grinned, remembering fondly that his brother was always the official type.

"Tony." Nick's voice softened and chuckled. "I thought I told you to stop calling me that."

"Tough luck, little brother." He chortled. "You will always be Nicky to me, no matter what you tell me. You know I never listen."

"For once in your life you are right, Tony. You've always marched to your own beat." His brother laughed quietly.

"Is there any other way?" he smirked and continued. "Besides what are you talking about? I'm almost always right. Remember the time I told you that neighbor kid had stolen your comic books not the raccoon? Or the time I told you that Chrissy chick you were so in love with was going to cheat on you? I love you lil bro, but I gotta say you don't have the greatest taste in women."

"Hey, it's not like you have the best track record with the opposite sex either. I remember you telling me about the time that crazy chick you had known for 2 weeks, threw your TV out of the window because you weren't willing to meet her parents. Or the time you managed to sleep with twins cause you didn't know they were two separate persons." Nick defensively commented.

Tony barked a laugh. "I most definitely wouldn't call that blunder, that was pretty epic even if I was thoroughly confused by their anger afterwards. But how was I supposed to know? They looked completely identical."

"That's because they were twins, Tony." Nick admonished.

"Well, in any case, I'm not trying to build a future with any of these girls I meet. It's a different story with you, Nicky." He countered.

"What's so wrong with trying to find a person I might spend the rest of my life with?"

"Nothing. It's just the ones you've tried it with so far have definitely not been good enough for you. Like Lisa, the animal-rights chick, for example. Remember how she got into that huge tirade about me being racist and an animal-hater when I told that joke about pandas being the least racist animals? I mean, I get that my humor isn't everybody's cup of tea, but come on."

Nick snorted. "Yeah I admit, I've dated a couple of…eccentric people, but Tony." He paused. "I think I've finally met her."

Tony was confused. "Met who?"

His brother huffed. "Her. You know…her."

Tony stifled a laugh. "Nicky. Buddy. You do know how many times you have said that, right?"

"Yes, Tony, I know I've been quite hasty with these things in the past, but I think this one's a keeper. Ziva is just so different from anyone I've ever met."

"Ziva? She's not American, I take it?" Tony quirked an eyebrow.

"She is. Well, she's from Israel, but she has an American citizenship." Nick amended.

"An Israeli? You caught an exotic one this time, didn't you, little brother?" Tony chuckled.

"She's perfect. She's absolutely wonderful. You'll see what I'm talking about when you finally take off time to visit me." He complained.

"Well that might be actually sooner than you think." Tony knew Nick wasn't going to take what he heard next well, but he had to say it. "I-I actually got some free time. Had a little work accident, no big deal, but they gave me some time off."

"What kind of accident?" Nick asked suspiciously.

"Oh you know, just an insignificant bullet wound." Tony closed his eyes, waiting for the blow-up.

"What?! Are you okay? Why didn't you say anything sooner? Why didn't you call me? I would've come visited you in the hospital and taken care of you!" his brother rambled. Tony waited for him to stop bombarding him with questions and took a deep breath when it seemed he had stopped.

"Nick. I'm fine. Really. I didn't call you because I didn't want you to worry. It was seriously just an accident with a witness I met. The gun went off and I just happened to stand in the bullet trajectory. It didn't hit any major organs or arteries and I just have a kick-ass scar on my side." Tony firmly assured him.

He heard his brother sigh on the other end of the line. "Nevertheless, Tony. You should have called me. I'm your brother. You can't just leave these details out."

Okay, Tony started feeling a bit guilty now. "I know. I'm sorry. The next time I get shot, you will be on my speed-dial, okay? You will be the one I'm gonna call when I'm bleeding out on the ground." Tony tried jokingly.

"That's morbid. Don't even say that." Nick reprimanded.

"Okay yeah, I'm sorry. Bad joke." Tony paused and continued. "But the good thing is that now I can come visit you and your precious Ziva."

"Really? Wow, great timing. It's Christmas soon, so it would be really nice to spend it together." Nick said.

Christmas. Tony hadn't even thought about that, but he figured it would be good to spend it together with family.

"Yeah, definitely. So, it's gonna take me a couple of days to get all of my stuff together, but I'll be there in no time."

"Awesome. I don't know if I'll be home the time you arrive, but just let yourself in." his brother uttered excitedly.

"Yep, will do. Can't wait to see your next perfect woman." Tony grinned.

His brother sounded amused. "I think even you will like this one. Just remember that she's off limits, okay?"

Tony snorted. "Nicky, I think that's the last thing we will have to worry about. We don't exactly have the same taste in women I've noticed."

"Yeah, that's true." Nick paused. "I prefer mine with some brains." He laughed.

Tony scoffed. "Heeey!"

His brother just kept laughing. "Okay, Tony. I gotta go now. I'll see you when you get here."

"Alright. Can't wait to tell you I told you so." He smirked.

"Ditto." Nick said and hung up.

The drive had taken forever. His ribs hurt from the trip and he couldn't wait to go lie down on his brother's couch. He had always loved the little house his mother had left them as an inheritance. It was meant for both Tony and Nick, but since Tony had moved to D.C. because of his new job, his brother was left to his own devices. The house was right on the outskirts of the city which meant it was away from all the bustle but not so far that it would be inconvenient to get to work every day. Neither of them had ever felt the need to sell it. It was the only thing they had left from their mother.

Their childhood home was another house. It was right smack in the middle of the city and it was still the place where Senior lived but it wasn't a home to either of them anymore. It somehow seemed so cold without the warm ray of sunshine that was their mother.

Now they called home the little cottage their mother had used as her studio. She had been a brilliant painter. As Tony walked in the front door, her entire presence seemed to wash over him. The walls were embellished with so many of her paintings and the warmth that emanated from the house made him feel like she was still with them. Whenever Tony was back in this house, a wave of nostalgia always came over him and he realized how much he had missed his little brother. Despite everything, he was all Tony had now.

He walked through the corridor into the living room to set his bags down. He suddenly heard a husky voice coming from upstairs.

"Nick, is that you? I thought you had to work until the night."

Tony walked towards where the voice was originating from, just stopping at the foot of the stairs and seeing a dark-haired beauty descend from the stairs.

"Well, you are not Nick." Her big brown eyes pierced through him inquisitively.

Tony seemed to have lost his voice, needing to cough a few times. "Uh, no. I-I'm Tony. Nick's brother. Nice to meet you." And reached out his hand to shake hers.

Her features seemed to soften and then take on a wicked expression. "Oh, he told me you were coming." And skipped down the stairs to shake his hand. "He forgot to tell me what a looker his older brother was." She stuck her tongue out playfully. Tony gulped and she chuckled slightly. "Nice to meet you too." And stormed off to the kitchen.

Holy crap. Nick was right. She was exquisite. At least where looks was concerned.

His brother had done well.

"Well what are you just standing there for, Mr. Hotshot Agent?" he heard her teasing voice from across the corridor.

This was going to be one hell of a Christmas.

Let me know what you think :)