Oh my good golly gosh! Thank you SO much for all the e-mail alerts I got for this story! I was so happy! 26 reviews on the first chapter!

So, I know I said it would be a while before I updated, but GND is taking longer than I thought, and since it's coming to a close I decided it would be okay to update this. :D

Disclaimer: I DON'T own anything, besides Annie and the gym. :D

Once again, all italics are memories. Flashbacks. My favorite parts.


She wasn't stupid; she knew she was special to everyone. She got that they all wanted to be there for her, and be the mother she needed to have. She knew when Abby would ask her about girly stuff, or Jenny would ask her if she wanted to go get her nails done or her hair trimmed. She knew it in the way Gibbs would pick her up off the ground and call her an angel, and then buy her candy and treats. She knew, she understood. She liked the attention, the constant pampering and love in her life. However, sometimes she wished she could just have a mommy and a daddy like all of her friends. She would watch them as they went to hug their parents, and the daddy would pick the kid up and the mom would say something and kiss the kid on the cheek. She would watch, and then sigh.

She loved her dad, don't get me wrong. She really did. Nonetheless, sometimes she wished her family wasn't so big and complicated.

She felt bad for thinking so, but sometimes she just wanted one mother.


"Daddy, I want to know now."

I stopped eating my dinner to see Annie and Abby standing in the kitchen doorway. I stood up and Abby crushed me in a hug.

"Tony!" Abby said, and I smiled.

"Hi Abs." I said, and she smiled. Annie bound forward, and I picked her up. I kissed her cheek and she smiled.

"Hi daddy, but now I want to know." She said, and Abby tilted her head.

"Know… oh. Well, I will leave now. Bye guys!" She said as she walked out of the apartment. I took Annie into the living room, sitting down on the couch. She curled up next to me; her head snuggled into my side.

"What do you want to know?" I asked, and regretted even asking.

"I want to know about her." She said, and I sighed.

"What about her?" I asked, and she stopped. She moved so she was sitting a little away from me, her legs crossed.

"What did you love most about her?" She asked, and I stopped.

"Why do you have to ask this now?" I asked her, and she pointed one of her small fingers at me.

"Daddy." She said in a warning tone.

"Tony, if you even think about it, I'll kill you." She warned me, and I stopped reaching across her desk to pull on her hair.

"Aw, come on! Have a little fun." I said, sitting back in my chair. She glared at me, pulling her hair up in a ponytail. I pouted at her, and she smirked.

"You didn't like her hair up?" Annie asked, and I shrugged.

"It all depended on what shirt she was wearing. Sometimes, when we were teaching a class, it looked better up." I said, and Annie paused.

"Wait, you worked together? Like, she was like Lee?" I nodded at her.

"Yes we did." I said, and Annie smiled.

"So, that is how you met!" Annie said, and I grimaced.

"I'm going to miss her Tony." Abby said in my ear, and I wrapped my arms around her tighter.

"It's going to be okay Abby." I said, and I felt tears on my shoulder as Abby kept crying.

"Why did she have to die like that?" Abby asked, and I shrugged.

"Ask the drunk driver who hit her." I whispered, and she sniffed.

"Do you think she suffered?" She whispered, and I shook my head.

"I'm not sure. I know she was with Ari though. She was probably having a fun time when the driver hit her." I said, and Abby sniffed again. She moved to look at me, and then rubbed her nose.

"I hope so. Ari made her so happy." She whispered, and I kissed her cheek.

"She's in Heaven now." I said, and Abby nodded.

"I know. Just, I wish she wouldn't have died. She was so great. She was my best friend."

I nodded, gently rubbing her back.

"She was everyone's best friend. I think even Gibbs thought of her a close friend." I said, and Abby nodded.

"Gosh, this sucks." Abby said, starting to cry again. I wrapped my arms around her again, holding her tightly and rubbing her back.

"I know." I said, feeling small tears in my own eyes.

"I'm going to miss you Kate." Abby whispered.

"Kate? Kate who?" Annie asked.

"She was my partner before your mother." I said, and Annie nodded.

"What was she like?"

"I don't get it Gibbs. They all want into that one class and it's the worst class." Kate said, looking through her signup sheet. I grabbed it from her, looking over the names.

"These are all old ladies." I said, and Kate glared at me.

"Looking for a hot babe, Tony?" Kate asked, and I smirked at her.

"Maybe." I said, and she shook her head.

"Pig."

Annie nodded, and twirled her hair.

"So, she was mean to you?" She asked, and I shook my head.

"No, she wasn't. That was how we acted. Like brother and sister." I said, and Annie smiled.

"How does that go with how you met my mother?" She asked me, and I smiled.

I sat at my desk, looking across at the now empty desk. Abby had taken all of Kate's stuff, and was going through it to see if there was anything that belonged to anyone else. Gibbs had taken her computer away, and was getting McGee to remove anything personal that Kate had on there.

"Some person doesn't need to sit down and see Kate's personal life spread out on this computer." He had said.

I heard the door to the gym open, and looked out the huge windows that encased the office that I occupied. I saw Gibbs walking with Kate's computer in his arms. He walked into the office, putting it down in the compartment. He didn't even bother to plug it in. He didn't know how.

"How are you Tony?" He asked, and I shrugged.

"I'm better." I said, and he nodded. He sat down at the opposite desk, and put his hands flat on the desk.

"Well, you're new partner should be here later. She's just moved into town." He said, and I nodded.

"I'll be here." I said, and Gibbs smiled.

"We all will. We may not be open tomorrow, but we do have to make sure the place is ready for Monday." He said, and I nodded.

"Want me to show the… what's her name?"

"Ziva. Ziva David." A voice said from the door, and I turned.

"That's it? That was it?" Annie asked in disbelief. I shrugged.

"It wasn't ideal." I said, and Annie shrugged.

"You know, I have no clue what that means?" She said, and I laughed.

"Yes, I know that." I said, and she smiled.

"How long did you know each other?" She asked.

"Until what?" I asked.

"When you guys started to date." She decided.

"You know, we've been partners for four years and six months." I said, and she smiled.

"We were partners for four years." She said, and I tilted my head.

"No." I said, and she shook her head.

"We've been dating for six months. I think once you've started to date you're partner, you aren't just partners anymore." She said logically. I smiled at her.

"We've still been partners for four years and six months."

"Four years?! It took you four years until you asked her out?" Annie asked incredulously. She got onto her knees, her eyes wide.

"Well, yeah." I said, and she crossed her arms across her chest. I glared at her.

"What?" I asked her, and she sighed.

"It took you four years to figure out that you loved her?" She asked, and I sighed.

"No, it took me two and a half." I said to her. She stopped glaring at me, and rested her butt on the back of her feet.

"When did you first realize it?" She asked, and I felt as though I was being interrogated.

It was a free day. Sunday afternoon. The gym was never open on Sunday's, seeing as most people went to church and didn't go to the gym. However, since some of the employees didn't go to church, we all hung out in the gym. It was something Gibbs started after I arrived, and it became a tradition for most. Every Sunday we all hung out, goofing off in the pool and sitting in the sauna until our fingers were as wrinkled as an old person's skin. We had to get our schedules ready for Monday, but none of us did that until about seven. Well, besides McGee.

"Tony, are you coming out here or not?" Abby asked, and I raised an eyebrow at her.

"What are you doing here? You don't work here." I asked, and she shrugged.

"Even if I don't work her, I'm still Gibbs' favorite." She said with a smile, moving away from the door. I shook my head, taking off my shirt and walking out into the gym. I looked at the pools, and smiled.

Ziva was laying on a blow up chair, face down and arms on either side of her, sitting in the water. I smirked, moving slowly into the pool. I knew she was dozing, but not fully asleep. I went under the water slowly, making sure I made no noise. I swam over to where she lounged and I swam under her. I reached up and pushed the blow up chair over, and she dunked into the water. I came up for air, laughing as she came up too. She glared at me, her hair plastered to the side of her face.

"Tony!" She yelled, and I laughed. I didn't move as she swam up to me, knowing that she wouldn't hurt me.

"Yes?" I asked sweetly. She growled at me, and then hit my chest.

"Don't do that again." She said, and I smiled.

"What if I did?" I asked. She smirked at me, reaching forward and wrapping her arms around my neck. Her legs went around my waist, and I put my hands on her thighs. She leaned up, her face inches from mine.

"You do remember that I know where you live, I know most of your fears, and every single way to torture you." She said and I shrugged.

"Frivolous stuff." I said, and she laughed. She threw her head back, and I got a clear view of her neck.

"Oh, and it doesn't scare you?" She asked, looking back at me.

I stopped, thinking about what she said. No, it didn't scare me. I wasn't afraid of her threats and I wasn't scared of her anymore. No, instead I found it attractive and a turn on. It didn't scare me.

"Yes, it does. I just don't think you'll take any action." I said, and she scoffed.

"Oh, you might want to lock your doors tonight." She said, wiggling her hips before letting go of me and pushing her feet off my stomach. I watched her swim away, my body frozen. When she stopped at the opposite end of the pool, she looked at me.

"What, bat got your tongue?"

I unfroze myself, swimming over next to her.

"Cat. Cat got your tongue." I said, picking her up and throwing her into the water.

"Tony!"

Annie scrunched up her face, a smile on her lips. She moved so she was sitting on the ground flat, her hand on her knees.

"That was it?" She asked, and I laughed.

"What?" I asked between laughs, and she stood up.

"You didn't tell her?" She asked, and I shook my head.

"Honey, you need to understand something. She was my best friend. We talked about everything, played pranks on McGee together, and worked together almost every day. But, there was one thing we always danced around, never just hit it on the nose. We never talked about feelings, and never about if we had them for each other. When Ziva's brother died, she didn't speak of it. And I didn't press it. After about three months, we were sitting at our desks doing paperwork and she just randomly said she missed him. I didn't ask whom she was talking about, because I already knew.

"She didn't cry, she didn't show it on her face. Just said it plainly, as if it was something she said every day. I reached over and reassuring squeezed her hand, and then we went back to work. She was fine, and we didn't speak about it again. That was how we were. And if we ever did talk about our feelings, it was only because we were angry and yelling at each other." I said, and Annie scrunched her eyebrows again. I knew she was having a hard time understanding this, seeing as she was used to fairy tales and happy endings.

"How did her brother die?" Annie asked, and I moved to sit down on the ground in front of her.

"Drunk driver hit the car he and Kate were in."

"He was Ari?" She asked, and I nodded.

"So, how did you not meet him if he was dating Kate?" She asked, sounding surprised.

"Nope. Kate knew his family, said they were nice. Well, that his sisters were. Said his dad was not so accepting of her. But claimed he was a hypocrite. Ziva had to explain that to me." I said, laughing at the memory.

"So, she never introduced you to Ari?"

"Oh no, we all met Ari. Since Kate's parents died in a plane crash years ago, we were her family." I said, and Annie fell back on the ground.

"This is all so confusing." She said, and I smiled.

"Well, it is your bed time." I said, and she groaned.

"But I want to know more." She complained, and I smiled at her.

"How about this: I'll tell you a bedtime story." I said, and she smiled.

"Yes, I like bedtime stories." She said, and I picked her up off the ground. I carried into her room again, just like every other night, and she got changed. She crawled back into her bed, and I sat down sat down on the edge.

"So, what do you want to hear?" I asked, and she shrugged.

"Tell me something different tonight." She said, and I thought it over.

"Well, once upon a time, there was a ninja. And the ninja was married to a pro wrestler. They lived in a small house in a large city, with their one child. Now, the kid was a curious little kid, and always asked questions. One night, the little girl asked her mother to show her some moves, and the ninja kindly obliged. Much to the father's dismay, he was flipped over and held down by his wife, and the little girl squealed with delight."

"Daddy, this is about me and you and mommy." Annie said, giggling from where she laid curled up in her bed. I smiled, leaning down and tickling her.

"Oh, but you don't know this story." I said, and she laughed.

"Yes I do. I squeal, and then you and mommy laugh and go back to watching TV." She said, and I stopped. She was reciting it as if she had seen it before.

"How did you know that?" I asked, and she shrugged.

"I just... do." She said, and I raised an eyebrow. She shrugged, and I shook my head. I leaned down to kiss her forehead, and she wrapped her arms around my neck.

"Daddy, can I sleep with you again?" She asked, and I smiled at her. I picked her up out of her bed, and she wrapped her legs around my stomach. I shut off her light as I walked out and then walked down the hall to the living room. I shut off all the lights, and left on the hallway light again. I walked into my room, and gently put Annie down in the bed. She curled up in the middle, and I got ready for bed. When I walked back in, Annie was laying on her back. She looked at me, her hands under her head. I sat down next to her.

"Go to sleep Annie." I said, rolling over and laying so I was facing her. She curled up into my chest, and I wrapped my arms around her body.

"Laila tov daddy." She said, and I looked down at her.

"Who taught you that?" I asked, slightly shocked.

"Abby." She mumbled, and I shook my head.

I was going to have a talk with my favorite little Goth.

"Night. I love you." I said, and she snuggled closer to me.

"I love you too." She whispered before she fell asleep.

--

"I'm thirsty."

"You're always thirsty." She said, and I shrugged.

"No, I'm always hungry." I said, and she nodded.

"Yes, this is true." She said, opening her desk drawer and throwing me a candy bar. I smiled at her, and opened the candy bar.

"Did I ever tell you that I love you?" I asked, staring at the candy bar.

"I assume you are talking to the candy bar?" She asked, her eyes on me. I smiled at her.

"Well, no. But, if you think so go right ahead." I said, and she smiled. She shook her head before looking back down at her paperwork. I smiled, glad that she didn't think any further into the small statement.

I walked across the floor, watching as the old women in the pool practiced their strokes. Lee was working with a woman in the shallowest end, and it looked like Lee wasn't having a good time.

"Mr. DiNozzo?" One the women in the front said, and I crouched down to her level.

"Yes, Mary?" I said to her. She moved her arms a little, and I smiled.

"Your left arm movement is off. Keep it closer to your body." I said, and she watched as she moved her arm tighter to her body. She smiled at me again, and I moved around the pool.

"DiNozzo! Get over here!" Gibbs yelled at me from his office. I looked over at Lee, who nodded, and walked over to Gibbs.

"Yeah Boss." I said as I walked over to him.

"Annie's school called. Said she is in the office, crying."


I know, a LOT of flashbacks. Annie is a curious little case. :) She just wants to know, and those flash backs are important to the next chapter, WHICH I am writing. It may seemed rushed, but this chapter is the beginning of the mystery.

I left it there for a reason people. kind of a cliffhanger.

-Reviews? :)Izzy