Tony DiNozzo rubbed at his eyes tiredly as he stepped off the elevator. It had been a long week they had finally caught the midshipmen who had been selling drugs to school children. DiNozzo stopped a short way from his apartment door there was a woman with a sleeping young child standing by his door.
"Can I help you?" Tony asked, closing the distance.
"You can if you're, Tony DiNozzo."
"Who are you?"
"Melody Harkin I'm with the Los Vegas CPS," Melody said, as she shifted the sleeping child to the other arm so she could remove her id from her purse.
"Child Protective Services," she said, after seeing the blank look on Tonys face.
"I know what CPS is but I don't understand why you're here."
Harkin sighed she hated cases like this obviously this guy had no idea that he had a child.
" Can we go inside please?"
"Why don't you tell me what this is about?"
"Do you know a Miss Elisabeth Hooper?"
The senior field agent brows knitted together as he thought about it.
"No, I don't think so."
"Well she knows you and according to her last will and testament and the child's birth certificate this is your child."
"Whoa!" Tony said, holding up his hands. "No way is that my child."
"Look Mr. DiNozzo, if you don't want to raise Krissy, that's your choice. A local CPS worker should be in touch with you by the middle of the week. Tell them then but let me warn you it's a lot easier to get a child into the system than back out if you change your mind later. Now I need to come in and make sure your apartment is a safe environment for the child."
"You're not listening there is no way this is my kid."
"Alright fine if that's the way you really feel about it I suppose I could try to find an emergency shelter to take her. Those places are so crowded but she's small they can probably fit her into the bed with another child or maybe they can make a pallet on the floor for her."
Tony sighed heavily he didn't know the first thing about kids but he really did hate for that little girl to end up sleeping on the floor of some overcrowded children's shelter.
"Someone will be in contact with me by the middle of the week?"
Melody carefully composed her face so she wouldn't smile. She knew this guy wasn't heartless and from the moment he'd stepped off the elevator whether he wanted to admit it or not there was no doubt that this was his child.
"At the latest," she agreed.
"Alright," Tony said, unlocking the door.
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It had been two hours since the CPS worker had left and the kid Krissy her name was Krissy Tony had to keep reminding himself of that was still sleeping on the couch. She really was kind of cute with her hair pulled up in a pony tail, sweet little face and clutching her baby doll.
Tony had almost finished off a bottle of wine when he decided it was time to go to bed. He had just drifted off when he heard a child crying. Funny he didn't remember any of his neighbors having young children. The wailing increased in volume and he wished that who every it was would shut the kid up he had to get up in a couple of hours. DiNozzo opened his eyes when the wailing seemed to be coming from right outside his door.
Krissy stood in the door way face red and tear streaked.
Reaching over Tony turned on the bedside lamp causing both of them to blink at the sudden brightness.
"Hey" He tried smiling his most charming smile.
"Mommy!"
"Listen uh Krissy um your mom's not here it's just me and you kid."
Still crying Crissy wandered off down the hallway. Tony wondered if a baby's diaper was suppose to sag in the back like that.
The NCIS agent was about to settle on his couch and hope the kid cried herself out when he noticed a large went spot on the couch.
"That better not be what I think I it is," he groaned.
After fifteen minutes of chasing Krissy around the apartment Tony finally cornered her. Who knew something so little could be so fast.
"I'm not going to hurt you I just want to change your diaper." 'However the hell you do that."
"No, no, no, no," Krissy squealed waving her hands in front of her.
Krissy began kicking as hard as she could while she threw herself backwards in Tony's arms and screamed at the top of her lungs.
Grabbing her bag off the floor from where the CPS worker had dropped it Tony carried the screaming child to the kitchen and laid her on the tile floor.
"Just hold still," Tony put a hand on Crissy's chest trying to hold her still. "Umm…sorry I'm going to have to pull down your pants take off your diaper. I don't guess you'd know how to do that."
The toddler had finally stopped screaming much to the relief of Tonys frazzled nerves. But she was still staring at him with huge blue eyes filled with tears and a trembling bottom lip.
"I guess not uh? Ok look I'm going to take my hand off your chest so I can uh…this feels so wrong, pull down your pants. Why is the back wet? Wait never mind I don't want to know. I guess I have to undo these tapey things. Oh God! this smells like ammonia."
After several minutes of examination Tony finally decided on the best way to put the diaper on.
"Alright what can I put on you? You've peed all over these pants." Tony dug through the small bag of belongings the CPS worker dropped off with Krissy.
"You don't have much do you kid?"
"Baby?" While Tony was searching through her bag Krissy rolled over got up on her knees and stood up.
"Baby?" The little girl wandered off wearing nothing but her shirt and a diaper.
"Wait where are you going?"
"Baby"
"Are you looking for your baby doll?"
"Baby"
After few minutes of looking the doll was found lying in the hallway.
Krissy looked at Tony and opened and closed her hand.
When Tony just walked away Krissy ran in front of him putting her pinky on her chin and pivoting it.
"Are you trying to tell me something?"
Spotting her bag on the floor the little girl ran over and started pulling things out until she found her cup.
"You're thirsty let me see what I have in the fridge." The refrigerator was pretty much empty except for some leftovers and some milk that was way past expiration date.
"Guess I need to go shopping I don't really keep a lot of food in the apartment since it's just me." Tony kept talking as he filled the sippy cup with water
Taking her doll and cup Crissy curled up on the couch and fell to sleep.
Tony spent the rest of the night sleeping in his arm chair.
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Tony walked into the office the next morning almost an hour late wearing the same clothes he had worn the day before looking exhausted and disheveled. In his arms Krissy's hair was un-brushed and sticky with syrup from breakfast, her clothes were mismatched and she was very sleepy and grumpy.
"Where the hell have you been we've been trying to reach you for almost an hour?" Gibbs asked, looking up from his paperwork.
"You have some explaining to do, DiNozzo."
