Okay, so I had a thought a few days ago. There are a lot of 'Tony has a kid' fics. There are fewer where he knows. But there are a shocking amount of small ones where the team knows. I decided that maybe there should be one more. Specifically focusing on how they met his kid. In this case, a daughter. There will be one chapter per person. Let me know if there are specific things you'd want me to include.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except Evangeline. And her mother and sister.

…

There's something like a line of gold thread running through a man's words when he talks to his daughter, and gradually over the years it gets to be long enough for you to pick up in your hands and weave into a cloth that feels like love itself. ~John Gregory Brown

…

It had barely been two months when Tony called in sick. Gibbs was furious. They were in the middle of a case and Tony had barely begun working on his team. He went to his car and drove to Tony's apartment. If his agent was really sick, Gibbs might let him slide. If not, he would be out of a job.

He walked up to Tony's floor and walked to his apartment. He knocked, but no one answered. So Gibbs sighed and picked the lock. He walked in and looked around at how bare it was. Half the place was covered in boxes. Gibbs surmised that he had yet to finish unpacking. He shut the door.

He was about to go into what he assumed to be a bedroom when he heard a loud, hacking cough from behind him. He turned around and saw a little girl, pale as a sheet, sniffling. She was wearing pajamas. She had red hair put into pigtail braids and had green eyes that seemed distantly familiar. His heart broke; she looked so much like his daughter.

"Kelly" he thought.

The little girl shook her head and Gibbs realized he must've spoken aloud. He crouched down to her height.

"No, what sweetie"

She studied him for a minute before saying, "My name isn't Kelly"

"Then what is your name?"

She sneezed and wiped her nose on a tissue that came from the box on the table next to her "My name is Evangeline, but call me Angel, everybody does."

He smiled, Angel certainly fit her.

"Be quiet, my daddy's sleeping." She pointed in the direction of the room Gibbs had been about to go into.

Ah, that's why her eyes looked familiar. Angel didn't seem to recognize his look of realization.

"Daddy called in sick to work 'cuz I got an infection"

Gibbs nodded, he could tell by her skin color and her runny nose and coughing. She continued.

"Yeah, Mommy and Sage had to go to work and school."

Gibbs frowned, DiNozzo hadn't mentioned a girlfriend.

"Who is Sage?"

The girl smiled "My big sister, she's not my real sister, but only half. 'Cept Mommy said not to say that, 'cuz we're all family."

Gibbs smiled, "Your mommy has a point"

The girl nodded. "Daddy said that he might get fired because his boss has been mean and making him stay real late at work."

Gibbs immediately felt bad. He had been pushing DiNozzo. Testing him to see what his limits were. If only, he knew that he had a wife and two kids waiting at home.

"I didn't know that Tony had two daughters and a wife."

Angel shook her head, "Mommy and Daddy aren't married. And nobody's supposed to know about us. That's what keeps us safe."

Gibbs sighed, so DiNozzo had an ex-wife and daughters that might as well not exist. He was certainly more than meets the eye. Then, Gibbs remembered that he had failed to ask certain things about the girl.

She took Gibbs's hand and pulled him into the kitchen. He watched as she got out two mugs, two little packets. She poured one packet into a mug and the other into the remaining mug. Then she walked over to the water cooler, pushed down on the red switch, and filled both mugs. Then, she put spoons in both mugs, walked over and pushed one of the mugs toward Gibbs. He looked at it questioningly.

"Hot chocolate. With extra marshmallows, just the way I like it." She said with a giggle.

"How old are you? Where do you go to school?"

"I am eight years old and I go to public school here in DC."

Just then, they heard a thump.

Angel giggled and whispered, "Daddy's up."

The door opened and out walked one sleepy DiNozzo. He looked over at Angel and then at Gibbs. Realization dawned on him.

"Boss, I-I"

Gibbs held up a hand, "it's okay, Angel told me everything."

"Everything?"

She chimed in, "almost everything. I didn't know he was your boss."

She punctuated this with a nasty-sounding cough.

Tony sighed, "All right princess, go back to bed."

Angel hopped off the counter and walked toward her room, pulling her dad with her saying, "Tuck me in Daddy."

Tony laughed and gave in. Gibbs followed them. When he got there, Angel was under the covers and Tony was stroking her hair, sitting on the bed.

"You have to get some rest so you can get better."

She sniffled again, clutching a stuffed wolf. "Okay Daddy. I love you."

Tony kissed her forehead, "Love you too, Pippi."

She giggled again and Gibbs closed his eyes. This reminded him so much of Kelly. He closed his eyes and sank down against the wall next to the bedroom.

-Flashback-

Kelly giggled as Gibbs gently threw her onto the bed. Gibbs proceeded to tickle her until she began coughing.

"Alright pumpkin, time for bed"

Kelly stuck out her lower lip. "Daddy do I have to?"

Shannon, watching from the doorway, laughed.

So did Gibbs, "yes Kelly, you have to go to bed."

"Awwwww"

The two parents looked at each other and then together tickled their daughter.

-End Flashback-

With Kelly's giggles still echoing in his ears he stood up and leaned into the bedroom only containing a sleeping little girl. He walked into the kitchen and saw DiNozzo pouring out a mug and washing it.

Gibbs took a seat at the counter. Tony finished washing the mug, loaded it into the dishwasher and turned around to face Gibbs.

"Well, what have you got to say for yourself?" Gibbs asked

Tony leaned against the counter and thought for awhile. Then, he straightened up and said, "Wouldn't you keep your precious girl a secret from the world if that meant she'd be safe?"

Thinking of his little girl and the way she died Gibbs nodded his head, "Yeah DiNozzo, I would."

….

Please review. I will happily take suggestions. You will learn more about Evangeline and her family and her past in future chapters. Let me know what you think.