DISCLAIMER: Not mine! It's all Donald Bellisario's!

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This chapter is for power214063, who asked for the chapter in which Tony gets full custody of his daughter. I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and because this was such a success, I would like to take more requests. So feel free to ask away. I'm almost at 20,000 hits! I can't believe it. I'm so thrilled to pieces. My hits are over 1,000 a day, so that's pleasing to me. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It was 6 pages long on Microsoft Word!

Also, I have never been to a custody hearing, or a hearing in general, so I made it up. My parents are still married, and when my mom had to go to a hearing for my brother, I wasn't allowed to go. So, let's pretend I have a clue on what I'm talking about. Okay? I figured I couldn't be too far off. But if you've ever been to one of these things and want to give me pointers, please feel free to PM me. I won't be offended. I enjoy learning.

Anyway, happy reading!

Tony DiNozzo had just moved to the Baltimore area; something he was grateful for as now he was closer to his daughter. He also had a new job which he enjoyed as much as anyone enjoyed their job; but it wasn't something that fell into boring routine after a week. He was constantly on his toes.

The knock at his door startled him as he wasn't expecting anyone. Okay, that was a lie, he was expecting the pizza person. He knew it wasn't the delivery guy because he had just gotten off the phone five minutes ago, but if it was them, they deserved a good tip for sure. He pushed away the box he was unpacking and made his way through the maze of boxes to the front door. Upon opening it, he was startled again as he saw his daughter standing before him.

"Wow. Hey there little girl." He said to her, wondering why she was here.

"Hey Daddy." She wasn't a little girl anymore, in a sense. She was thirteen after all. Currently, her arms were laden with belongings, and while she wanted to hug her dad, she couldn't.

He stepped to the side to allow her in. He hadn't seen her in months and didn't know what to say. "What brings you here?" He hadn't even known she knew he was in town. It was to have been a surprise.

"Mom says that now that you live here in Baltimore, I'm your responsibility full time. She basically left me on your doorstep. No, scratch that. She did. No basically about it. She did."

Tony's eyebrows shot up. "How did she even know I was in town?" He asked, and took the things that were left outside his door, putting them off the side inside the apartment, before taking the items in his daughter's arms, setting those on the couch. He then pulled her into a hug. He was glad to see her, no matter what the circumstance.

She quickly reciprocated the hug. "I have no idea. But she did. I was lucky I had time to gather all my things. Majority of my things are in a storage shed. She went ahead and moved all my things there while I was at my friend's house."

Tony rolled his eyes at her mother's antics. It was typical behavior. He didn't even think that she thought that Kristina was her daughter and not someone who just lived with her for the last thirteen years.

"Do you want me, Daddy?"

"Of course I do. What makes you think otherwise?" He couldn't conceive the idea that led to her question. Yes, he was surprised, but that didn't mean he would push her away.

"Mom doesn't."

"Well your mother is..." No, he wouldn't insult the girl's mother in front of her. It would be petty, however deserved. "Your mom just doesn't realize what she's missing out on. Besides, we both know I'm your favorite." Whether playful or not, they both knew it was true.

She nodded, arms still around her dad. "Do you even have room for me here?"

"Yeah. Of course. I have a two bedroom for a reason. Well. I did need a place to put my movies..."

This brought a small grin to her face. "Stop teasing."

"Alright. We'll go get your things tomorrow. But you do realize it'll be difficult trying to get a schedule, right?"

She shrugged. "How do you figure?"

"I'm a cop, baby. Sometimes my schedule will have me working at night. I don't feel comfortable leaving you here by yourself."

"Mom does."

"Well I'm not your mom."

She nodded. "Alright. Go on."

"I'll try and see if you can stay with my neighbor. She's a nice old lady. Very helpful, so far. She's brought me supper a few times since I've been here."

She rolled her eyes. "Alright. I can do that. Could I stay with a friend sometimes?"

"If I talk to the parent first. But I think no matter what happens, we'll make this work. Okay? I am definitely not letting your mom take you away from me again. It was a mistake the first time. I knew I should have gotten custody of you from the beginning, but no judge would have done that."

"Why not?"

"My schedule was too unpredictable. I wasn't home a lot. It wouldn't be good for a little kid to be in that situation."

"And living with Mom was?"

"Okay. You got me there. But still... it's different now. Don't worry. I'll make sure I have full custody of you. You won't be going back to her. The bad thing is you may have to speak against your mother."

She hesitated slightly. "Why?"

"To say that you want to live with me, and reasons why shouldn't be with her."

"What if she gets mad?"

"Baby. What more can she do to you? She's been irresponsible since you've been little. She's hurt you time and time again in various ways."

She nodded, hugging him again. "How long will it take?"

He shrugged. "I don't know. But you're staying here, obviously enough. You can start in this school district come fall. You'll be in ninth grade, right?"

She nodded against him. "Yep. Back to being a small fish in a big pond."

"But you're a cute small fish."

She smiled. "I'm nervous about it."

"Don't be. You'll do great. You're smart. You've got an excellent personality. You'll do wonderful."

"When can you get started on the custody thing?"

"I can probably start tomorrow. I work from 7 in the morning until 3 most days. It just depends on what goes down."

"Alright. Is there anything I can do while you're at work?"

"Meet my neighbors if you want. Unpack. I'm not sure what all there is around here. I don't feel comfortable with you wandering around until I know the area."

They continued to talk for the rest of the night, until he finally realized he had to get up early for work. It took some persuading, but he convinced her to take his bed until they could get hers from storage, along with the rest of her belongings.

It was an additional three weeks later before Tony was able to get them into court for the hearing. During those three weeks he had hired a lawyer, reviewed the case with the lawyer, and got a court order for the girl's mother. His lawyer was beyond one hundred percent sure that the judge would rule in his favor, especially with everything Tony had told him. There was a small chance, miniscule even, that the judge wouldn't rule in their favor, but that was only because of Tony's schedule.

The man didn't worry though. He knew he would win. Call it a gut feeling.

Ultimately, the day of the hearing came to pass, and Tony was jittery. His new boss wasn't pleased with giving him a day off so soon, but understood when everything was explained. Kristina sat next to her father, head on his shoulder as they sat outside the court room, waiting for it to begin.

"What if they don't agree with you, Daddy?"

"They will."

"There's a chance they won't."

"Well. Then they shouldn't be in the judge's seat and can't see that you living with your mom is a bad situation."

She nodded, and stood up when the bailiff came out to escort them in. Tony stood as well, heading for the door when he felt his daughter's hand slide into his. He squeezed her hand reassuringly, giving her a smile and led her to a seat that was right behind where he was sitting, just behind the barrier.

She fidgeted the whole time, and he could hear her shifting in her seat several times. He truthfully didn't want her to be there, but couldn't stop her if she was needed. Finally, after hearing from Kristina's mother and Tony, the judge called for her to speak. She looked to the floor as she walked to the witness stand, feeling very nervous.

Tony had to fight his instinct to go up to her to make her feel better, and started fidgeting himself. He quickly regained his composure as he realized that him fidgeting wouldn't help her nerves, so he gave her a smile, and looked to his lawyer, who gave him a reassuring nod that everything would be fine.

The judge spoke in a soft voice. "Please state your name for the records."

"Allison Kristina DiNozzo."

"Do you understand why you're here?"

She nodded. "Yes Sir."

"In whose custody do you wish to reside?"

"My father."

"Name?"

"Anthony DiNozzo." To be honest, she didn't know his middle name.

"Reason?"

"He's a good dad. He cares."

"Why do you not want to reside with your mother?"

"She doesn't take good care of me."

"Explain."

"She's left me alone for days on end. She's ignored me time and time again. She cares more about what's going on in her world. I'm not in her world. I'm just some outsider to her."

"How will living with your father differ?"

"He loves me. He makes sure I'm healthy and eats decent meals. He makes sure my homework gets done and that I maintain good grades. I used to stay with him for a week at a time every other week when he lived close by and I loved it. He can be strict sometimes, but well... I guess he has to."

"What happens if he leaves you by yourself while he works, as your mother has?"

"We talked about that. I won't be by myself. I have it arranged with a friend of mine to stay with her on some nights that Dad has to work. And if I can't stay with her, I'll stay with one of his neighbors."

"And during the day?"

"Being by myself for a few hours a day won't hurt me. We all need time to ourselves. Besides, usually his neighbor, being elderly, needs help during the day. I like her."

"And school?"

"What about it?"

"Are you currently enrolled in a school?"

"Enrolling for a school near Dad hasn't started yet. But we've looked at all the options and I found one that I like. And so I won't be alone after school, I intend on doing extra-curricular activities."

The judge nodded. "What if living with your father for more than a week at time proves to be worse than you think? What if it's not all that you think it will be?"

"It can't be worse than being unloved and ignored living with my mother. I'd rather fight with my dad all the time than just be ignored. At least then it's some attention."

Tony was surprised at her answers, it wasn't something they had discussed. It wasn't as if they had rigged the answers, because all her answers were coming from her heart, it was just surprising to hear her responses so formally.

The judge nodded again. Clearly the girl knew she was talking about. "Thank you. You may leave the stand now."

She quickly left the stand and went back to her seat behind Tony, using him as a shield to hide behind. She hadn't liked all the attention.

The judge looked to the entire court now, having been focused on the young girl on the stand before, and cleared his throat. "It has come to my attention that for the health and over all well being of the minor, Allison Kristina DiNozzo, full custody will be granted to the father, Anthony D. DiNozzo, with visitation rights to the mother, Erica J. Bradley. Court dismissed."

Tony relaxed in the seat he had been sitting in as his lawyer patted him on the back.

Erica sneered at him as she left the court room, ignoring her daughter once more as she left, but Kristina didn't really care anymore. Yes, she missed her mom already, but knew it was a worthless fight. So she just went over to her dad, hugging him. "Did I do good, Daddy?"

He nodded, putting an arm around her. "Very good. I'm very proud of you." He then turned to his lawyer. "Is there anything else?"

The lawyer half shrugged. "I'll get the official papers from the judge, of which you'll have to sign, as will her mother. But you won't have to see her, don't worry. Other than that, nothing really. Child support papers will be sent to the mother, if you wish to press it."

Tony shook his head. "She wouldn't send anything anyways. It would be pointless."

The lawyer nodded. "If you wish. But you're free to go. If I need anything from you, I'll call." He said.

Tony nodded, and offered his hand for the other man to shake. "Thanks for everything."

The lawyer shook his head. "I'm just glad to see the courts ruling in favor of the father. It doesn't happen often, which is sad. Apparently they think that the mother is always the more competent one. Which isn't true all the time."

"I'm glad too." He said and stood up, putting an arm around his daughter's shoulders, leading her out of the court room. At least he could finally get her life straight again. He was sure there would be some curveballs, but chose to ignore that for now. Nothing is perfect, but it didn't mean he couldn't try.