A/N: So I decided to let this swirl around in my head all day and I have a feeling the story may exceed my original plan of forty chapters, although we'll just have to see.

…

Tony stood just outside the open door for what felt like hours, staring into the night, letting the wind and rain capture him in its wake. Though he was covered by a roof, so aside from being a little damp and cold, he wasn't really damaged by the storm.

Only when the door to the basement opened to reveal Gibbs, whose original intentions had been to head to the kitchen for an unopened bottle of bourbon, did he move back inside.

Before he knew it, he found himself in the basement, his own bottle of alcohol in his hand.

"I screwed up, Boss."

"Screwed up what, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked absentmindedly as he carefully carved intricate patterns into woodwork.

"Everything."

He looked up from his wood curiously.

"I know what you're gonna say, but this time it was really was everything. She's the love of my life, the mother of my child, my partner, and she's gone. She's my everything, Gibbs."

The old sniper just sighed.

"Are you ever gonna say anything?" Tony asked, his voice rising.

"What about Willow?" he asked in reply, after careful consideration.

Tony set his bottle down on the counter and sat down on the rickety stool that permanently rested in the corner for these sorts of occasions. It was rusty, covered in sawdust and groaned when he sat on it.

"She's perfect," Tony confessed, staring at the dirty basement floor. "Every time I hold her in my arms it's like the first time all over again. I didn't know something could be so small; so precious, and I…I was really looking forward to being a dad, you know?"

Gibbs was silent once again, but gave him a nod, and suddenly something about his silence, now seasoned with a readiness to listen, was comforting.

"I was gonna be there for her every step of the way, Gibbs. When she said her first words, took her first steps. I wanted to watch her grow into the wonderful girl I know she's going to be. I wanted to be the father I never had growing up. And I know the job would have been hard on the family but we'd get through it, because we were surrounded by people who care about us. Me and Ziva, mommy and daddy. Aunt Abby and Uncle Timmy, and Papa Gibbs. Grandpa Ducky, maybe cousin Jimmy. I just knew that I wanted Willow to have people who cared about her in her life."

"She was always gonna have love in her life, Tony," Gibbs assured him. "And no matter what happens, she still will."

"I know, I just…I had this vision of what everything would be like. I'd watch as she grew bigger and bigger, stronger, smarter, more and more like her own person. She'd have tea parties and put on shows for us and draw pictures which we'd go to our grave swearing they were a work of genius just because they came from her. On her first day of school we'd walk in through the gate, holding both of our hands, and the second she set eyes on the playground, full of kids just like her, she'd run off on us and start chatting away with every other kid she passed and I'd laugh and say she has Ziva's confidence and she'd tell me she's got the DiNozzo charm. We'd enjoy those years of playing Tooth Fairy, Easter Bunny, Santa. Every Christmas and birthday she'd come rushing into our room shouting our names and we'd just roll over, telling her to go back to sleep and, having inherited both her parents' stubbornness, she'd just crawl right in between us. I'd be there for everything. Those nights when perhaps she'd rather be with her friends than at home, or she got into trouble at school. Maybe she wouldn't even wanna speak to me but I'd still be there. Prom, Graduation, and God forbid I ever let Ziva teach her how to drive,"—he chuckled softly—"And one day, we'd pack up her room and she'd drive off to college and we'd just stand there on the curb, waving until we couldn't see her car anymore and we'd say, 'We did a good job. It was worth everything'. And it would be."

Gibbs said not a word, but he stopped carving, holding his head in his hands.

"You ever feel that way, Gibbs? With Kelly?" Tony asked.

"Yeah, Tony," he replied sadly. "That's exactly what it felt like. Difference is, I never got the chance to know my daughter. You still do. Don't give up on family. I did, and I'd be kidding myself if I told you I wasn't lonely as hell."

Tony silently thanked his boss for his honesty.

"Get some sleep," he ordered, though the nature of the comment was gentle. Sometimes his harsh demeanour was hard to see through, but at times like these, Tony was thankful he had Gibbs, because really, he was the only one to go to.

…

EJ cursed as she stepped out of the NCIS elevator. Abby better have a damn good reason for calling her here so late, without a case. Her night had been bad enough.

As what she had learned to be the norm, loud music blared through the speakers and it hit you like a wave of sound as soon as you entered the lab. She almost had to shout to get the girl's attention. But she wasted no time in turning the music off.

"What the hell is your problem, EJ?" Abby barked almost immediately.

EJ scoffed, offended. "Excuse me?"

"How could you just kiss Tony? Why would you even do that?"

"Wait, how did you know about that?" the blonde asked, all hopes of keeping this quiet flying out the window.

"It's not relevant how or why I know that," Abby snapped, her hands placed firmly on her hips. "What matters is that you ruined the best relationship that Tony ever had!"

"Relationship?" EJ's eyes widened to the size of tennis balls. "He…he never mentioned a relationship…"

"That's because he didn't want to hurt you," Abby said defensively, although inside that fact did surprise her. "It took them six years to finally get their crap together before they realized they were perfect for each other, but it was a delicate balance. It took long enough to achieve the first time, who knows how long it's gonna take to fix, especially with someone with as much bad luck with love as Ziva."

"Ziva?" EJ practically squeaked. "She's his girlfriend?"

"Fiancé, actually," Abby added.

"Oh God, oh God, what the hell have I done?"

"That's a good question. Maybe you should ask yourself that next time you decide to throw yourself at someone."

There was a lot more Abby could have said, most of it in expletives, but she chose to simply leave it at that. She had other things to worry about.

…

Monday

"Abby, why did you call us all down here?" McGee asked as he walked through the door of her lab, closely followed by Ducky and Palmer.

"And why are you holding a gavel?" Palmer further questioned.

Abby put her gavel to good use and tapped it lightly on the bench. "Silence, please. Now, as you all know, a certain probationary agent has wreaked havoc among a certain pair of partners and, well, there were tears. Since Ziva's staying with me, it's become clear that these two are still very much in love and don't know what's good for them. So now it's up to us."

"Abs, this really isn't a good idea," McGee interjected.

"I agree," Palmer added. "What business of ours is it anyway?"

"Quiet, Black Lung," Abby snapped, slamming the gavel once again. "Your job is Caf-Pow, coffee and lunch, nothing more."

Palmer pouted and shut his mouth.

"Now, I officially call to order the first meeting of TCP," she declared cheerfully.

"Transmission Control Protocol?" McGee guessed.

"Tenocyladine?" Palmer guessed also, uncharacteristically piping up with previously unused knowledge of hallucinogenic stimulant drugs.

"?" Ducky suggested, incorrect though impressing his colleagues with his smooth pronunciation of the overly long word.

"Close Ducky," Abby said, "but not quite. I hereby call in session the first meeting of the Tiva Conservation Project."

All three men wore confused expressions.

"Do you mean Total Intravenous Anaesthesia, Abigail?" Ducky questioned.

"No, Ducky! Tiva. It's like Brangelina, but better."

"So it's like Tony, and Ziva?" Palmer asked.

"A plus, Jimmy!" she shouted, banging her gavel again.

"I'm still a little foggy on mine and Timothy's presence," Ducky said.

"Ducky, I need you to go over Ziva's psyche profile. Find anything about trust issues and figure out a way to, um…solve it."

The Scotsman nodded politely.

"And me?" McGee asked.

"You're on Tony duty," she answered. "You're the closest thing the guy has to a best friend. He may give you a hard time but he trusts you. In order for this operation to truly work, we need both sides of the story."

"I really don't have a good feeling about this, Abs," McGee warned.

"Meeting dismissed," Abby announced, hitting the table a final time.

"Where the hell did you get a gavel anyway?" McGee asked.

A/N: So kind of depressing but ended on a lighter note. In the end, you get by with a little help from your friends, as the song goes. I'll try to update on Wednesday. Please review!