Disclaimers: I do not own NCIS or the characters. Those belong to CBS/Show creators. Only thing I can lay claim to is Natalie Callahan.

Warnings: Tony/OC centric, AU, series spoilers

A/N: This story is going to start off with my introduction to Senior in the verse. More of darker version of "Broken Arrow" if you will. Right now it is rated "T" but, well, that probably will change at some point lol. As always your reviews/comments are appreciated! Hope you enjoy the sequel to Carry Me Through!


Never Let Me Go

Rain was hammering the east coast of the United States. It had been for the last three days, making the city of Washington, D.C feel like a virtual ghost town with no one on the streets. With the weather forcing everyone indoors, NCIS Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo was looking forward to a quiet evening at home.

He had a fire going in the fireplace and his girlfriend, his partner, Natalie Callahan snuggled in his arms while they listened to some jazz music and the rain against the windows after having some Chinese take out for dinner. He liked these quiet evenings, the ones where they lounged around in front of fires or watched movies—there was something normal and real about it.

Tony had been thrilled when they were given the weekend off. The team had been working around the clock for the last two weeks, domestic terrorists, a mentally ill Naval Intelligence officer driven to her own death... and Abby having a hard time accepting that perhaps the young woman had been off her rocker... not to mention in the middle of all that Tony and Natalie were trying to regain their footing in their relationship.

Fighting with her had thrown him into a tailspin. It brought memories of his parents' arguments, memories of the fights with Wendy before she had split, and he did not want a repeat of that relationship. Running had been natural to him. Hiding had been natural for her and they'd both done a fairly decent job of hurting each other.

Natalie sighed and burrowed into his arms, her eyes starting to slip shut. It had been a long week and she was exhausted.

Tony kissed her temple and whispered, "This is nice. I wish we got more time for this."

"Mmmmm, that's why we need to savor this," she said, smiling up at him sleepily. "Being federal agents doesn't allow a lot of time for the small things in life."

"I'll say," he agreed, kissing her temple again. "When was the last time we were home before seven?"

Snuggling deeper into his embrace, Natalie smiled. "A long time ago. My dad always did say that crime doesn't stop just because the workday clock has. It was also one of my mom's arguments when I decided to become a cop—all those hours, you'll never have time for a family," she recited.

Sighing, he pondered her words. Tony tightened his hold around her and buried his nose in her hair. "Do you... ever think about having a family?" he asked her, honestly, wanting to know the answer desperately.

Natalie shifted once more and looked up into his eyes. She could see him contemplating, wondering what her answer would be. "Yes. Some day I'd like to have a family. Just because I'm a federal agent doesn't mean I cannot have a baby."

Tony was conflicted about having kids, while he often wondered what kind of father he would make, or if he even wanted to be one—he wasn't sure that a child should live in a world where both parents worked a dangerous job. "I know that... but would you really want to come back to being shot at on a regular basis after having a baby?"

"Are you worried about our hypothetical children becoming orphans?"

"Yes. Aren't you?"

She rose up slightly and pressed her lips to his in a tender kiss. Pulling back, Natalie smiled at him, softly. "I think that it's cute you're so worried about the kids that we don't even have yet. It's actually rather sweet."

He ran his fingers through her hair. "I don't just worry about those kids we don't have, Nat—I worry about you too. Actually, I think I worry about you the most. It would kill me if you got hurt or killed on the job."

Natalie tensed, only slightly though. "I worry about that happening to you too."

Tony kissed her. "Well, then it's decided then... you'll just have to wear a vest twenty-four hours a day if we have a baby."

"Well that's going to make breast feeding extremely interesting," she teased.

"Maybe we can invent a breast feeding friendly bulletproof vest," he teased back.

"Oh... I bet that will be a hit."

"It will make us a fortune and neither one us will have to work in law enforcement ever again."

Natalie sat up and pushed away from him, gently. She rested her hands on his chest and studied him for a moment. In the last few weeks since their argument and almost ending their relationship they had been much more open with one another. This was the first time she realized that he wanted to have children, that he thought about having a child with her... She leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "Someday... I think you're going to be a great father... and I find it... endearing that you're already so protective of your unborn children."

Tony tucked her hair behind her ears. He had never really thought about being a father until she came into his life and their relationship had gotten serious. He grinned at her, softly. "Then here's to someday," he whispered, pressing his lips to hers in a tender kiss.

She sighed, happily, but instead of snuggling back into his arms, she got up and went into the kitchen. "I think it's time for that chocolate cake we bought."

He threw a sly smile at the kitchen. "Do I get to feed it to you? Or were you thinking of perhaps... eating it off my stomach?"

"You would like that wouldn't you?" Natalie inquired with a little twinkle in her eye as she stepped back into the living room with two slices of chocolate cake.

"I would like that very much," Tony tossed at her, matching that twinkle in her eyes.

"Well then... come and get it," she teased, waving the plate around.

He got up off the floor and walked towards her, a seductive look in his gaze and he took both plates from her hands. Tony placed them on the table and wrapped her into his arms. He kissed her, passionately and edged her towards the blanket on the floor in front of the fireplace. He had every intention of making love to her right there, in front of their fire... leaving the cake for afterwards...

She had just slipped his tee shirt over his head when someone shoved a key in his lock and the door was opening. Startled by the interruption, Tony and Natalie flew apart and the senior field agent quickly grabbed his tee shirt and pulled it back on.

The building manager, Larry, was standing there looking rather embarrassed to be have walked in on them. "Er, sorry Tony. Figured you were working... if I had known that you had a date here, I would have told him to find a hotel for the night..."

"Him?" Natalie questioned just as the belligerent drunk could be heard shouting in the hall.

"Son of a bitch," Tony hissed underneath his breath. "Thanks Larry. It's okay. You did the right thing."

Larry nodded and helped the drunken older man into the apartment. "Been awhile, Tony, since he showed up at my door asking to be let in. Figured he was dead..."

Tony grabbed at the visitor as he took a wild swing at Larry, shouting that he was not dead. Tony scowled and helped the man to the sofa. "Nat, can you start a pot of coffee, please. Use that strong stuff Gibbs likes."

Natalie, still confused as to what was going on, went into the kitchen to make the coffee.

"Want me to stay, Tony?"

"No. It's okay, Larry. I got it."

"Come on, you remember what happened last time... he sent you to the ER..."

Tony stood up and glared at the building manager. Larry held his hands up and surrendered. Quietly the building manager let himself out of the apartment, closing the door behind him. Tony turned back towards the drunk on his sofa.

Natalie got the coffee pot going and glanced into the living room. Tony was taken the older man's shoes off, helping him out of his jacket. She was struck with their similarities, how Tony was strangely different around the man... the Tony she knew would not just let his building manager drag a drunk guy into his apartment. Leaving the coffee to percolate, she went into the living room and crossed her arms over her chest. "How often does your father stop by like this?"

He straightened his shoulders. "Been a couple of years," Tony admitted. "Actually thought that the last stepmom had gotten him to kick the habit."

She watched as Anthony DiNozzo, senior, groaned on the sofa, mumbling. "He's an alcoholic, Tony. They just don't kick the habit."

"I am not an alcoholic!" Senior shouted at her from the sofa. "You... you tell her, Junior!"

"Dad," Tony said, easing him back down onto the sofa. "Just take it easy, okay?"

"Take it easy?" Senior snarled. He took a few swings at Tony, but Tony was easily able to hold his father off. "Get your hands... off of me, Junior!"

Tony let him go and stepped away letting his father fail about on the sofa until the elder DiNozzo had fallen off onto the floor. "Alright, Dad, have it your way," he snapped. "But you're having a cup of coffee when it's ready..."

Senior mumbled some more and pulled himself back up onto the sofa. "Don't need coffee... pour me another drink, Junior."

Natalie looked at Tony incredulously. "Tony..."

"Dad. You've had enough tonight," the SFA said. "Only thing you're getting is coffee. Black."

"Black coffee! I said bring me a drink, boy!" Senior snarled, his eyes flared wide with anger.

Tony knew what was going to happen next. He jumped in front of Natalie and pushed her back into the kitchen, out of the way of Senior grabbing whatever object he could use as a projectile and hurling it at his son. "Natalie, leave," he ordered.

Natalie stumbled back into the kitchen just as the pot of coffee finished brewing. How could she leave Tony with such a wild, out of control man? Sure, Tony was well trained in physical combat, but it was his father, and this situation required a more delicate hand apparently.

Senior was trashing the living room. Picture frames were broken, DVD cases tossed from the shelves—Natalie made it back in the room to grab Kate's water bowl before Senior had the chance to hurt the innocent goldfish that Tony was quite attached too. Her dash into the living room to save the fish, while Tony was struggling to subdue his father, caught the elder DiNozzo's attention. She had just put the fish bowl down onto the back kitchen counter when the coffee pot, filled with fresh, hot coffee, came flying at her. It landed just shy of hitting her, but when the pot shattered on the floor she was splashed with the hot coffee all over her pants.

"DAD!" Tony shouted, his voice filled with rage. He grabbed his father, roughly by the shoulders and dragged him back into the living room. "Back away from her!"

"I told you to keep your hands off of me!" Senior hollered, punching his son in the jaw.

Tony didn't flinch, not even a little. He shoved his father down onto the sofa. "Sit down! Before I call the cops and have your ass hauled off!"

Natalie remained in the back of the kitchen, too scared to move. Senior's violent rant was over, replaced with the man begging his son to forgive him, that he would stop his drinking and not hurt anyone anymore.

"Heard that all before, Dad," Tony snapped. He looked over his shoulder at Natalie. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Natalie replied, shaking slightly. "I'm fine... wish I could say the same about the pot of coffee."

"It's fine. I keep spare decanters underneath the sink," Tony said. "He's broken a few of my pots before. Can you make another one?"

"Tony... I really think you should not be alone with him right now."

"Don't worry about me. This has happened before. We're in the beg for forgiveness stage... he won't get violent."

She glanced at Senior on the sofa and then at her partner. She still wasn't sure she should be leaving Tony alone with his father, but they weren't going to sober up Senior without coffee. Natalie went back into the kitchen, found the spare decanter and got another pot going. While she waited for it to brew she cleaned up the broken one on the floor, careful not to cut her fingers on the broken glass.

In the living room things had gotten silent. When she brought a fresh mug of coffee out to Senior, she found him half passed out on the sofa, mumbling incoherent thoughts. She started to move towards the sofa, but Senior flinched at her movements and Tony stepped in, taking the mug to his father instead.

Senior took a shaky sip of the coffee, his glassy eyes looking at Natalie. "Who is she? New neighbor?"

Tony shook his head and helped his father drink the coffee. "My partner."

"Oh yeah," Senior said, grinning at Natalie under a drunken haze. "Junior has told me about you... 'cept he left out that you were a pretty little thing."

"Dad," Tony snapped. "Drink you coffee."

Senior growled and slapped Tony's hand away. To prevent another violent outburst, Tony backed off and let his father, however unsuccessful it was, drink his coffee on his own. By the third cup Senior was slightly sober and finally, fully passed out.

Tony got up and quietly went to put the dirty coffee mugs in the dishwasher. He felt Natalie hovering near him. "I don't want to talk about it," he said softly.

Natalie didn't move from her spot, her arm brushing against his as he took care of the dishes. "You said this happened before, and Larry implied it's happened before... when was the last time it happened?"

"Don't know, three, four years ago," Tony said with a shrug.

"Does Gibbs know this happens?" Natalie inquired.

He spun on his heel and glared at her. "No. And I'd like it to stay that way, got it?"

She took a nervous step back. "You're an adult now, Tony. You don't have to take this behavior from him."

Tony moved past her. "I'm going to clean up. You can either stay the night or go home... your choice."

Natalie gave him a moment and then headed out into the living room to help him clean up. She didn't need to tell him what her choice was going to be, but they were more than partners, they were lovers, they were best friends—they were family—and she was going to stick by him through the night. She was going to be the first one that helped him face his father.


He wasn't surprised that his father was gone the next morning. Tony knew it was going to be the case. Once his father sobered up, somewhat, he was off again, never bothering to let his son know where he was going.

Tony started a pot of coffee. Normally after a night of dealing with his father's drunken antics he wanted nothing to do with coffee, but Natalie had stayed to help him and he felt that she deserved breakfast. Most of his relationships never got as far as meeting his father at a planned dinner where Senior would no doubt pour on the charm, and they certainly never made it to the stage of seeing his father in a drunk, out of control state...

"Aren't you tired of coffee?" Natalie asked sleepily as she came into the kitchen.

"Making it to go with the breakfast I'm going to prepare for you," Tony said, sweeping her into his arms and kissing her.

"Shouldn't we be looking for your dad?"

"No, he does this all the time. I'm not worried. He'll give me a call when he reaches his destination... if he even remembers coming here."

Natalie wanted to argue that they shouldn't just let this behavior slide, that Tony needed to find his father while his father was still sober and tell him that things were going to be different...

Tony had just pulled the coffee pot off when his cell rang. Once glance at the caller ID told him all he needed to know—that they were not going to be getting the weekend off after all. As they drove out to the crime scene, Senior's drunken rampage was far from Tony's mind. He found that the older he got, the easier it was to just forget what a mess his relationship with his father was. If he was lucky, Senior wouldn't make an appearance for another three to four years. He would quickly learn that he wasn't going to be so lucky.