A/N: I am back with a new story in the 'Family Ties' series. This one takes place a little over two years after 'Stay With Me'.

I hope you like it - let me know what you think! :-)

Chapter 1

Andrew Johnson drove around the quiet Foxhall neighborhood on a Thursday night, stopping outside of a beautiful two-story house. In the driveway stood a big BMW family car as well as an old green Mustang.

All light was turned off in the house and it appeared that the owners were fast asleep. Andrew stayed for 10 minutes before he decided to drive home. He could always come back tomorrow, he thought as the car left the neighborhood.

Wailing filled the DiNozzo house in the middle of the night.

'Not again' groaned Lauren as she sat up in bed.

Tony sat up and looked at Lauren. 'It's okay, I'll get him' he said as he stood and made his way towards Liam's room.

Entering the room, he saw Liam standing in his crib, tears running down his cheeks with his arms stretched out, ready to be picked up.

'Hey buddy, is it your teeth's again?' asked Tony as he lifted Liam out of his crib, holding him against his chest.

Slowly Liam's cries began to decrease as Tony carried him into the bedroom so he could grab a shirt. 'Honey, do you know where the teething gel is?'

'Yes, it's in the medicine cabinet' Lauren answered tiredly. 'and there is a teething ring in the freezer.'

Tony made his way to the bathroom with a still crying Liam in his arms. He quickly grabbed the teething gel and made his way down to the kitchen.

Liam was now almost two and a half, and he was starting to get the last of his teeth. They had been slow on the way but the doctor's said it was normal for a premature child to grow slower than normal children but that he eventually would get into the way of it. It was however, a very painful experience and he was therefore, having trouble sleeping because he would wake up in pain.

Tony quickly applied the teething gel on Liam's gums before finding the teething ring in the freezer. The gel had the desired effect as his cries turned down to small sobs. Tony walked into the living room, settling down on the couch with Liam lying against his chest. He handed him the teething ring that Liam soon began to suck on. Grabbing the blanket, Tony covered them both as he sank into the couch.

When Kendall had gotten her teeth she had not experienced this much pain, so it was new to Tony and Lauren.

After Liam had appeared in their world, Kendall had been nothing but a loving and caring big sister. The fact that she wasn't a baby when he was born, but a four-year-old toddler could play a part in it. Lately however, she seemed to resent the extra attention Liam was getting from their parents and she was starting to act out. This new attitude was especially ticking off Tony, who lately had been extremely busy at work while still trying to spend as much time with his daughter as possible.

Friday morning Lauren woke up, finding Tony's side of the bed empty and cold. She slowly got dressed before she made her way to her daughter's room to wake her up for school. Together mother and daughter made their way down the stairs where they found father and son sound asleep on the couch.

'Tony' Lauren said as she tried to wake him. 'It's almost seven, you need to get ready for work.'

'Mmm' Tony mumbled as he came to, soon realizing where he was. 'I never made it back to bed did I?'

Lauren smiled, shaking her head as Liam woke up. He looked up at his mom.

'Mama' he said as he put out his arms to be picked up.

'Morning baby, I see you kept daddy up' Lauren said as she made her way into the kitchen before she placed Liam in his seat.

In the living room, Tony struggled to get up from the uncomfortable position he had slept for most of the night. Then he quickly began to get ready for work. This week had been extremely chaotic when the death of a Navy Lieutenant developed into a hostage situation. That had resulted in long hours of work and Tony was looking forward to finally be able to enjoy a quiet weekend with his family.

Gibbs checked his watch just as the elevator dinged and DiNozzo emerged.

'You're late DiNozzo' Gibbs said, not bothering to look up from the rapport he was reading.

Tony quickly dropped his backpack, took off the scarf Lauren had made him wear and turned on his computer. 'Sorry boss. I had a long night, won't happen again'

'Sure it will DiNozzo, that's the joy of having kids' Gibbs replied.

'So Tony, was it Liam who kept you up again?' asked Ellie from her desk.

Tony nodded. 'Yeah, he's getting the last of his teeth - it's painful. I woke up on the couch this morning, never made it to bed'

Both Ellie and Tim started to chuckle. 'I bet it's driving your all crazy' said Tim.

'Yeah it's hard, but it's hopefully over soon. Kendall is at least a heavy sleeper so she isn't affected by it' replied Tony.

'That's good' Ellie said. 'I can't wait to see them both tomorrow'

'Oh trust me they are excited as well. Kendall won't stop talking about how much she misses her Aunty Ellie and Abby' Tony said with a grin. 'And Liam keeps asking for his grandpa Gibbs'

'What about me?' McGee erupted.

'Yeah sure, you too McGoo' Tony laughed.

'Hey, enough small-talk!' Gibbs barked. 'If you want to leave early for the weekend you better finish those rapports'

'On it, boss!' all three of the agents replied in unison as they returned to their computers.

The team got off work early and Tony made his way home to his family. Friday night always consisted of dinner out for the DiNozzo family followed by a movie at home. Whenever Tony had to work late, either Lauren took the kids out to eat alone, or most of the time they stayed home and made homemade pizza. Either way, it always ended with the four of them stuffed together on the couch.

After a long week of work and school for Kendall, they enjoyed sitting together as a family, enjoying a meal that no one had to prepare.

'Daddy, come on!' Kendall yelled. 'We gotta go'

'I will be there soon, princess' Tony yelled back from the bedroom upstairs.

'Sweetie, he just got home. Let him change clothes first' Lauren said as she helped Liam put on his jacket and shoes.

'But mommy I'm hungry' Kendall said as she stood at the foot of the stairs looking for her dad.

Lauren couldn't help but laugh. Kendall was always hungry, something she had definitely inherited from her dad. Liam however, was still a picky eater, something he had been ever since he was born. His parents constantly struggled to stuff some food in him, whereas his sister ate whatever she could get near. When Liam was born he had been much smaller than children normally was and he was still very small of his age. However, the doctor's had reassured the worried parents, that he most likely would come after it as the years went. Until then, he still had to go to the hospital once a month to make sure he wasn't too underweight.

Finally, Kendall heard the door to the bedroom close and soon Tony made his way down the stairs.

When he reached the bottom he scooped Kendall up and began to tickle her. 'I hear someone is hungry, huh' Tony said as he kept tickling her.

Kendall began to laugh while she tried to get out of her father's arms. 'DADDY! Stoooop' she said as she kept on laughing.

'Oh, I'm sorry kiddo, I couldn't hear what you said because of all the noise you're making' Tony teased.

'S.. stoo' Kendall tried to say but she didn't seem to be able to form the right words.

'Hey, you two' Lauren interrupted with a smile on her face. 'We better get going if we want to have dinner tonight'

Tony stopped the tickling and gently placed Kendall on the floor. 'Then we better go, we wouldn't want to miss dinner, would we?' he said as he looked at his daughter.

'No!' Kendall said as she got her breathing back under control. 'Let's gooo' she said as she grabbed her father's hand.

After a short drive, the family found their table at the kid-friendly restaurant they usually went to. Not long after they arrived had they gotten their food.

Due to Liam's need of extra attention these past weeks, Kendall had begun to tease him and tonight was no excuse as she picked up fries from his plate, trying to make him angry.

'Kendall, stop it. You have your own fries' Tony said for the third time that evening.

Tony's words finally came through and Kendall sat back in her chair while Tony and Lauren exchanged looks.

'It's not fair!' Kendall suddenly said. 'It's always Liam-Liam-Liam. He gets everything and I get nothing' she added, as she crossed her arms over her chest.

'Hey Munchkin, that's not true' Tony said patiently. 'I'm taking you to your piano lesson tomorrow morning, and you and mommy spent all evening yesterday painting'

Tony could see his words had had the desiring effect even though Kendall still tried to look annoyed and angry.

Lauren looked at her husband. He was such a good father and he had an amazing way with the kids. He always knew the right thing to say whenever Kendall started to act up. Like any other child, Kendall had her faults, but she was mostly a very easygoing child. She was very headstrong, just like her mother and she knew just what she wanted. But at the same time, she had a very soft side and was the most loving child; always wanting to make sure people around her were loved.

After the family had finished eating, the waiter returned to clean the table.

'Do you know if that couple is married?' a newcomer waiter asked the other waiter as he came back from cleaning the table.

'Why do you care?' he asked the man.

'I just think I recognize the woman that's all' the waiter replied. 'Could you see if they wear wedding bands?'

The other waiter looked strange at him. 'Well they are sitting with two kids so I would assume they are married'

'Just check, please?'

The waiter grabbed the bill and returned to the table to deliver it while he briefly glanced at the woman's hand before he left them again. That new guy, Andrew Johnson was extremely weird, thought the waiter. He had only been with them for a week but he already seemed like he didn't belong there. When he returned to the serving station he noticed that Andrew Johnson was waiting for him.

'The woman was wearing a wedding band' he said before he went back to work.

Andrew Johnson began to stare at the man who sat next to Lauren. Then he looked at Lauren, her beautiful smile, her long brown hair and his pulse started to quicken. Lauren was his and he'd be damned if he would let anyone take her from him.

TBC

A/N: I hope to be able to bring you chapter 2 at some point next week. I'm always looking for new ways to improve my stories, so feel free to let me know what you think and where I can improve.