Summary: "As parents, we do what we feel is best for our children, and most of the time our children grow to be successful adults, and life moves on. Sometimes though, despite our best intentions, life changes irrevocably in a single moment. You still have a chance to keep that from happening Tony, I don't." Can the combined efforts of the MCRT and the BAU end this and save Tony from himself in the process?

As always, I don't own NCIS, or Criminal Minds. I'm simply playing in the sandbox, and I promise I will play as nicely as possibly with the kids and return them as I found them. (Maybe a few of them will be a little worse for the wear.)

I hope you all enjoy my first NCIS/Criminal Minds crossover!

All mistakes are my own.


Chapter Summary: Tony surged to his feet in anger, glaring down at Ducky. "Damn it Ducky, it's not like that and you know it! It's not about me!" He pointed angrily down the hallway toward Annaleigh's room. "It's about that little girl in there, and me making damn sure I don't fail her again!" Tony snapped vehemently.

Chapter 1

Tony smiled and closed the front door as quietly as possible behind him, before just as quietly laying his backpack, wallet, and keys on the foyer table beside his gun safe. He shucked his jacket off, slid out of his shoulder holster, and quickly secured both his service weapons, his badge, and his credentials in the gun safe and scrambled the lock.

With all that taken care of, he dropped down on all fours and carefully crept through the living room and down the short hallway like a large cat stalking its prey. He couldn't quite keep the smile from his face as two soft voices came from behind the cracked door in front of him. He moved forward another few inches, and almost swore when he put all of his weight onto the one squeaky floorboard in the entire apartment.

He started counting as he heard a surprised squeak from inside the room. 3… 2… 1…

"DADDY!" He barely had time to sit back on his heels and catch the small pink blur that had hurdled itself into his arms

"Hey Sweetie," he whispered, closing his eyes, resting his cheek against her curly hair, and simply basking in her innocent presence in his arms. "I've missed you so much, Leigh-bear."

"I mist you tew, Daddy." Annaleigh whispered, popping her thumb into her mouth and snuggling into him.

She was asleep on his shoulder before he had even hauled himself to his feet. He chuckled and took the few short steps left into her room, and smiled at Ducky, who was perched on the edge of the twin sized bed with a leather bound collection of fairytales on his lap. Ducky pulled the covers back, so Tony could tuck her into bed, and he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead.

Together, the two men left Annaleigh's room, Ducky pausing to flip the light switch while Tony crouched and turned on her night light beside the door.

"Thanks for picking her up for me the past few nights and staying with her, Duck. Don't know what I'd do without you," Tony said gratefully as he flopped down onto the couch.

Ducky waved his hand dismissively as he sat down on the recliner with much more grace than Tony had. "It's nothing, m'boy. I do so enjoy the time I get to spend with our young Annaleigh." He rumbled, his familiar Scottish brogue washing over Tony and helping him relax from his impossibly long week. He closed his eyes with a relieved sigh and dropped his head back against the couch cushions. "Though, I still think it would be incredibly wise to tell at least Jethro about her existence, especially now that the two of you have been exploring the potential of your relationship outside of NCIS." Ducky muttered, peering at him over the tops of his glassed with a reproving frown.

Tony flung his forearm over his eyes and groaned. "Ducky…" he growled warningly.

"I won't always be around to assist you with her care, Anthony. You know that."

Tony's heart clenched painfully the way it always did when Ducky brought up and played his two biggest fears, he cracked an eye to look at the Ducky when the older man just sighed. "We've already had this conversation countless times. My professional and personal lives have nothing to do with each other, and I want to keep it that way. I lost Annaleigh's mom because I didn't figure that out sooner. I won't risk Annie like that too. The enemies that I've made at NCIS have a much farther reach than the ones I had in Baltimore."

Ducky raised an eyebrow, and folded his fingers together. "And your relationship with Jethro isn't mixing your personal and professional lives?"

"Not the same thing," Tony grunted.

Ducky rolled his eyes and changed tact, "My dear boy you cannot possibly still think that losing Emily was in any way your fault?" Tony raised an eyebrow in return and shrugged helplessly.

"Sure seems that way to me, Duck! If I hadn't of driven the cruiser home that night, Emmy would still be alive, Annie would still have her mom, I wouldn't be a single dad struggling to make things work so I can still work the job I love and raise my daughter, and we wouldn't be having this conversation!"

Tony sighed in frustration, not with Ducky in particular, but with his whole fucked up double life. Hell, Ducky probably wouldn't even know about Annaleigh if the live-in Nanny he had hired when he moved to DC hadn't quit within his first month at NCIS because she couldn't handle his erratic and unpredictable work schedule. He, Gibbs, and Vivian had been in the middle of a break in their case, when the Nanny had called him at 23:45 and quit. Ducky had been on his way out for the weekend, when Tony had asked for his help with a family emergency. In typical Ducky fashion, the aging Scot had gone to Tony's apartment and taken care of eight month old Annaleigh, going so far as taking two weeks of vacation time so the MCRT could finish up their case, without question. When things had finally calmed down and Tony had a day off they sat down in Tony's living room with a bottle of scotch and Ducky got the whole sad story. He'd adopted Tony and Annie that day, and had kept the younger man's secret ever since.

Ducky rubbed his temple and practically growled in frustration at Tony's stubbornness. "You wouldn't struggle so much if you let our family in! Good God, dear boy, but your stubbornness astounds me. The people we work with are GOOD loyal people, that would do anything to help you if you'd only let them in! Abigail, Jethro, and Caitlyn would do anything to insure your happiness." Ducky said firmly, his posture and tone similar to what he used when scolding Annaleigh.

Tony surged to his feet in anger, glaring down at Ducky. "Damn it Ducky, it's not like that and you know it! It's not about me!" He pointed angrily down the hallway toward Annaleigh's room. "It's about that little girl in there, and me making damn sure I don't fail her again!" Tony snapped vehemently.

Ducky merely stared back up at him, unfazed by Tony's outburst. "Forgive me, but I'm afraid that tone and glare don't work on me like they do your suspects." He gave a theatrical sigh. "I've spent too many years as one of Jethro's closest friends and colleagues, I suppose." Ducky adjusted his glasses and looked up at him over the frame again. "Answer me this, honestly, and I swear I will not broach this subject again."

Tony glared at him suspiciously for a moment and then nodded abruptly for him to continue. "Do you not feel as though you are already failing her?" Tony opened his mouth angrily, but Ducky held up a hand to silence him so he could continue. "By hiding her existence from the people that care about you, and who would in turn love her as deeply as I do, you are denying her, not to mention yourself, the family you both so desperately deserve." Ducky stood and gathered his things. "Not to mention, you cannot hope for your relationship with Jethro to go any further when you have such a lack of trust in him," He muttered as he rubbed Tony's arm when he passed him. Tony flung himself back onto the couch and nodded, feeling much, much, older than he was.

"Damn it, Duck. I'll think about it alright? No promises." He groaned, running his fingers through his unruly hair.

The older man chuckled and patted Tony's shoulder affectionately. "It's a start, Anthony. That's all I ask. Do remember that tomorrow is Saturday, and Mother is looking forward to seeing you and Annaleigh both for dinner."

Tony nodded. "Will do, Duck-man. See you tomorrow, thanks again." Ducky tipped his hat to Tony, before opening the front door and letting himself out. The younger man sighed in relief when he heard the dead bolt slide into place.

He closed his eyes and leaned back in relief. After two days of working nonstop, not even leaving the office or stopping to call Annaleigh, Tony was short tempered, hungry, dirty, and just plain exhausted. After a few minutes of wondering if Ducky had left any dinner for him in the fridge, his exhaustion won out and Tony fell asleep on the couch without even taking his shoes off.