The walk home had been nicer than he had expected. Katie wrapped her arm around his and placed her head on his shoulder as they walked together, taking in the scenery around them. He desperately wanted to know what thoughts were running through her mind, but he knew she would eventually share them with him. That was his favourite part of her radical honesty policy - he never had to wait too long to be let into her thoughts. When they got home, Tony exited the elevator first, scanning the room to see where his family was. Senior was in the kitchen, cleaning up the dishes from breakfast - from what Tony could see, it looked like he had found the prepped food Tony had left in the fridge. Tali was nowhere to be seen, but he could hear her gentle voice... she must have been playing in her room. Senior looked up from the dishes he had washed, dried and piled on the bench in front of him, making eye contact with his son. Before he had the chance to greet his son, he noticed someone else's presence in the elevator, but couldn't quite see who it was. Tony could see the curiosity on Senior's face.

"Hey Dad. You remember Katie, don't you?" He smiled, grabbing Katie's hand and encouraging her to move into sight.

"Of course!" Senior exclaimed, excitedly. It had been over twelve months since he had met the woman who had caught his son's attention, distracting him from the heartbreak he carried with him, but he remembered fondly how taken he was by her demeanour. He dried his dampened hands on a nearby hand towel, then walked around the kitchen island toward the couple. He held his hand out to shake hers, but she just smiled and wrapped her arms around him to hug him instead. He did not mind, at all.

"It is good to see you again, Mr DiNozzo." She said, pulling away from their friendly embrace.

"I do believe I told you not to call me that." He laughed. "Makes me feel old."

"Sorry, Anthony." She corrected.

"How is your family? Junior told me you've been visiting home for a little while." He placed his hand out, silently directing her to the couch. Together, the three of them sat and talked for a few minutes.

Once the polite small talk had seemingly come to an end, Tony rose and headed down the hall to his daughters bedroom. He poked his head through the door and watched her for a brief moment - sometimes it still amazed him that the little girl in front of him was actually his daughter. Everything she did made him prouder than he ever imagined he could be.

She noticed him watching her, and placed the crayon she had been eagerly scribbling with on the desk. "Hey Daddy." She smiled.

"Hey kiddo. Sorry I was gone when you woke up." He entered the room, moving to her bed and sitting down. He tapped his knee with his hand and she happily jumped up and sat on his lap, cuddling into his chest.

"That's okay. Were you with Ima?"

"No, baby." He kissed the top of her head, knowing she did not like being called his baby - she was, after all, a big girl now. But occasionally he just needed to hold onto the memory of her when she was his baby. "I have a surprise for you."

With that, she jumped off of his lap and turned to face him. Her eyes were wide with genuine excitement.

"A surprise!" She repeated. "For me?"

He couldn't help but chuckle at her excitement. He nodded and reached out his hand, waiting for her to place her own on it. When she did, he curled his fingers around her palm... her hand was so tiny in his. They exited the room, side by side, and after only a few steps, Tali could see her surprise.

"Katie!" She slipped her hand out from Tony's loosened grip and ran toward the visitor.

"Hey there, Chicken." Tony wasn't sure why Katie had given Tali that particular nickname, but Tali seemed to love it so he wasn't going to say anything. He watched on, smiling uncontrollably, as the two embraced each other in a warm hug. "I brought something very special from my family's home. I was wondering if maybe you could take care of it for me, while I'm travelling for work?"

Tali nodded enthusiastically, but stayed out when Katie left the room to retrieve whatever it was she was talking about. She returned from Tony's room holding what looked like a fluffy fur ball. Tali studies it, curious as to what it could be.

"Have you seen one of these before?" Katie asked, lowering herself to be at Tali's height. Tali shook her head. "He's a toy wombat. He was mine, when I was your age and I loved him very much. But now that I am a grown up and don't get to go home very often, he spends most of his time sitting on the shelf in my old bedroom. I think he must get pretty lonely there, what do you think?"

"It sounds lonely, to me." Tali agreed, reaching out to stroke the furry stuffed animal Katie was still nursing lovely in her arms, as if it were a real, live animal.

"When your daddy told me that you were here, and that we were going to be able to spend a little bit of time together, I thought to myself 'who better to keep my little friend company, than my little Chicken?' That is, if you want to."

"I have never taken care of a wombat before. I might need you to give me some tips to make sure he feels safe." Tali answered, taking the toy from Katie's arms and snuggling into him gently.

If Tony wasn't in love with this woman before, he sure was now. He knew it wasn't Katie's intentions... but knowing that she was so sweet with Tali, despite the fact that he had dropped a bombshell on her just this morning, was making her decision to redefine their relationship that much harder.

But he understood... kind of.