A/N: Hi guys! Bet you were surprised to see this update! I feel terrible! I haven't updated in I don't even know how long! I started this a couple weeks ago, but I finally finished it today. Hopefully I'll have another chapter up soon! I miss updating twice a week like I used to. Life has gotten in the way. Which sucks, but what can you do? Anyway, I hope you like it and please read and review!

Disclaimer: blah, blah, blah, I don't own NCIS much to my dismay. I do, however, own any unrecognizable characters from the show. Everything else belongs to DPB and CBS.

-break-

"Thank you again for doing this on such short notice, Alyx," Mrs. Braverman said as she stood at the door, purse in hand.

"It's no problem, Mrs. Braverman. The kids and I will have fun," I assured the woman. She was about thirty and she had two kids, seven year old Steph and four year old Cara. I'd sat for them a few times before and the kids liked me. There was also a little boy across the hall that came over to play all the time, Colton. He and Steph are the same age and best friends.

"I'll be back around five thirty. Colton will probably come over soon. If you need anything, the Carters are right across the hall and you have my number if you need me," Mrs. Braverman said.

"I've got it. We'll be fine," I told her.

After she left, I went into the living room where the girls were. Steph was always happy to see me, but it took Cara a few minutes to warm up to me.

As soon as she saw me, Steph immediately yelled, "Hey, Alyx, guess what?"

"What?" I asked her, sitting down on the couch next to Cara, who quickly moved to the other side of the couch, putting some distance between the two of us. I knew that by five she'd practically be sitting on my lap, like always. She loved me after she got over the initial shock of mommy not being home.

"Colton and I got married yesterday!" she exclaimed.

I laughed, but then looked offended. "Well why wasn't I invited?" I asked.

"Because," she said like it was obvious, "it was my wedding, not yours."

"But what if I had wanted to come?" I asked her.

"I don't know," she laughed.

"So did he get you a ring?" I asked, looking at her fingers and seeing no ring.

"No, we don't need rings," she said.

I just laughed. Steph was very spunky and this was exactly what I would expect out of her. "So did you change your name from Braverman to Carter?" I asked.

"No, he changed his name," she said simply. I had to laugh again, she was just too cute.

-break-

The afternoon was mostly quiet. Colton ended up coming over about half an hour after Mrs. Braverman left and he stayed until after she got home. I called Tony for a ride when she got back.

"Hey," he answered on the third ring.

"Hey, I need a ride back," I told him.

"Uumm." He paused. "I am not in a position to go anywhere right now."

"Gibbs called you in another Saturday?" I asked. Tony was supposed to have today off.

"I'm sorry," he apologized for Gibbs, who would never actually do it himself. "I'll ask around. I'll get someone there, I promise. What's the address?"

I gave it to him and he hung up, promising again to get someone there. I walked back into the living room and sat back down on the couch.

"Your ride coming, sweetie?" Mrs. Braverman asked.

"I hope so," I answered truthfully.

"I could give you a ride, you know," she offered.

"It's okay, someone should be here soon."

-break-

Ten minutes later, a buzz rang through the apartment, followed by a voice. "This is Special Agent Fornell of the FBI. I'm here to pick up Alyx DiNozzo."

Mrs. Braverman looked at me, astonished. She didn't know Tony was NCIS, so it was a bit of a shock for her. I hit the button and told Agent Fornell that I'd be right down. Mrs. Braverman paid me, I grabbed my bag, said goodbye to the kids, and walked downstairs.

I met Fornell in the lobby. He was about as old as Gibbs and looked just as tough. He noticed me right away. "You must be Alyx. You look just like your brother. My name's Agent Fornell, I'm with the FBI," he introduced and held out his badge.

"How do I know this is real?" I asked. Tony had warned me about people pretending to be feds to get to him through me.

He shrugged. "Fair enough. Okay, I've known Gibbs for years. He's an insufferable bastard and can be a pain in my ass. Like I said before, you look just like your brother, Special Agent Tony DiNozzo. The forensic scientist they have at NCIS, her name is Abby and she's goth. Your ME-"

I cut him off there. "Okay, I believe you. So, what happened, Agent Fornell? Loose a crime scene?" I asked. We walked out of the building and to his car, parked right out front.

"God, you even sound like him. Yeah, NCIS took over. Guy turned out to be a sailor," he explained.

"So you got the short straw and had to come get me," I finished for him.

He laughed. "Ah, it's not so bad. Less work for me and my team. We have enough going on at the moment."

-break-

Fifteen minutes later, we pulled up to the main gate at the Navy Yard. Fornell flashed his badge and we went right through. He headed for the parking lot before I stopped him.

"It's okay, you don't have to walk me in," I told him.

"I know. I have something to tell Jethro and its always more fun heckling him to his face rather than over the phone," he said as he parked and we headed for the building.

When we got up to the squad room, we stopped in our tracks. The team wasn't there. Fornell had said that they were going to beat us back here.

"Maybe they're down with Abby?" I suggested.

We walked across the room to the elevator that would take us to Abby's lab. When the doors opened on her floor, the first thing I noticed was that Abby's insanely loud music wasn't playing. I wrote it off as nothing and walked into the familiar lab, followed by Fornell. I saw a flash of what looked like a crying Abby before I had her arms wrapped around me tightly, like she was sinking and I was the only thing holding her up.

"Abby, what's up?" I asked as she cried and held me closer, if that was possible.

"Tony got shot."

-break-

A/N: Cliffhanger! Hope everyone enjoyed my first update in just under 5 months… I hadn't realized that was the last time I updated this… I now feel terrible.

I'm going away for the weekend so please leave me some reviews to come home to! Thanks guys!