The blue plus sign stared back at him dauntingly, almost like it dared him to freak out. Tony swore under his breath and then fell back in the chair behind him, his legs giving out. His hands shook as his fingers twisted around the bit of plastic that said… He closed his eyes in thought, trying to remember the guy he had spent his last heat with.

It had been… a haze but he remembered bright green eyes and dark messy hair, slacks and a light green shirt. A scar on the guy's forehead stood out in his memory and really great sex. Tony snorted at the memories that flooded his mind, feeling his cheeks redden at the echo of pleasure, of really good sex. The aftercare had been wonderful, exactly like how he expected alphas to be.

The guy hadn't even fussed about Tony's job, hadn't even said a word about how omegas shouldn't be in a job that they had to risk their lives in. The guy had in fact walked like a soldier, like someone who was used to being listened to. Tony hadn't spent more than one heat with the guy, four nights that were a haze of heat and pleasure and need, but those green eyes…

He opened his eyes and looked down to the stick in his hand again. He had endured more than enough of various people telling him that omegas needed to have a kid to feel complete in their lives that he knew it was bullshit. But… Tony sighed and curled a hand over his stomach, trying to imagine a kid in there. Trying to imagine himself with a kid crawling around his apartment, running around and something tightened in his chest. Warmth flickered in the pit of his stomach but so too did anxiety. If he carried the kid to term and delivered, he would have a whole ass baby to take care of. With no one else to help him. He hadn't exactly asked for the alpha's phone number and the only thing he could go on was the guy's first name and the fact that he had an english accent.

Tony rubbed his fingers over his stomach and then stood up, grabbing his cell phone and dialing from memory. He didn't know if he wanted this child but for starters… He'd call his doctor.

"You sure about this, Tony?"

"Yes, I am. I just don't know how to…" Tony trailed off as he watched his doctor. The man's hands were tucked into his white lab coat, his short brown hair combed over. The guy was a beta, quiet, unassuming and right what Tony needed. "There's resources for single dads, right?"

His doctor, not Ducky, not right now, looked over to him, meeting his eyes gently. "Of course there are. The alpha's not in the picture?"

"No. It was a one off heat," Tony murmured, sitting on the exam table, a hospital gown over his chest and ass and feeling vulnerable and out of sorts. "I don't think he was even from the US."

"Alright. There's support groups for single dads who are omegas. Let me just grab you a few pamphlets. You can call them and sign up for classes. I know you're short on time usually but I know these people. If you really want to do this without…"

"I know my buddies from Baltimore will help," Tony interrupted, swallowing on a dry throat. "I've already called them. I just want this kept secret from my team. I'll tell my boss only. He'll support me."

"Okay. I'll refer you to a doctor for the pregnancy itself but your lungs… I'm a bit worried. If you-"

"It won't pass to the baby?" Tony asked worriedly, glancing down at his stomach and at the spawn… his spawn... that was growing inside. "I don't have like… leftover plague, do I?"

The guy huffed and shook his head. "No, it's nothing like that, Tony. If you feel like you're coughing more than usual and having trouble breathing in the coming months though… Schedule an appointment. I don't want to leave anything to chance."

Tony nodded, looking at all of the posters on the wall, many of them not about things he would think about right now.

"Thanks, doc," Tony murmured, finally looking back at his doctor.

"You're welcome."

"DiNozzo."

"Gibbs."

"Why'd I just get a letter informing me that my Senior Special Agent is going to be taking time off?" Gibbs asked, peering at Tony with worried eyes. "You're not dying again, are you?"

Ziva lifted an eyebrow over at them and McGee's eyes widened.

"Nope. I'm not dying. Unless Ziva has another sibling that wants to go crazy?" Tony asked, winking at Ziva, teasingly. Kate's last expression would forever stick in Tony's mind and he slowly shook it off, leaning against his desk.

"I have-had- only the one," Ziva retorted, shaking her head and turning back to her paperwork.

"DiNozzo?" Gibbs questioned.

"It's a personal matter, boss," Tony muttered, taking a breath and letting it out. "And it's not now. Just a few months down the line."

"Down the line?"

"In the future," Tony explained idly, nodding to Ziva. "Family."

Gibbs looked at him and then gestured to the elevator. Tony snorted and stood up, walking over in that direction.

"What's up, Tony?" Gibbs asked, leaning against the back of the elevator with ease, crooking an eyebrow. The elevator door was closed, leaving the two of them privacy to talk.

"I'm carrying."

"Well, of course you are," Gibbs said, his eyes crinkling at the edges in confusion.

"No, boss, I mean I'm carrying," Tony repeated, pointing down at his stomach. "It was a whole thing, a one off during my last heat, and I want to keep it."

Gibbs' eyes widened more and more with each word, his gaze finally flicking down to where Tony's fingers were curled around his stomach. Something soft flickered in his gaze before turning lost and Tony shook his head, knowing exactly where Gibbs had gone in his memories.

"I don't want Ziva or the probie knowing," Tony added. "At least not now."

"You sure you want this?" Gibbs finally asked, reaching out a hand to squeeze Tony's shoulder. "The alpha someone I need to talk to?"

Tony immediately shook his head, grinning a little bit. "Nah. Nothing happened that I didn't want, Gibbs. It's not like that. He just left right after making sure I was alright post heat. He was…"

The memory of wanting the guy to claim him filled his mind and Tony shivered at the thought. The phantom feeling of having the guy's fingers around his neck, curling around and stroking his skin… His cheeks reddened even though he had trained himself to not show any behavior that could be considered omega at work. He had his father to thank for that, to thank for considering omegas low on the totem pole.

"I don't know his full name or where he works or lives," Tony finally said. "Just his first name and that he had an English accent."

"And his appearance," Gibbs remarked, his eyes narrowing dangerously. "Should I go kick his ass for you?"

"Jeez, Gibbs, I'm not a helpless omega! I want to do this on my own," Tony retorted. "I have a few friends from Baltimore who are now on speed dial. I'm good."

"You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

Throughout all of the shock and confusion following Gibbs' memory loss and retirement, Tony forgot all about the date. He forgot all about the fact that he was soon to be due and when his kid, whoever they were, announced themselves at 3am in the morning the day after Gibbs left for Mexico…

Tony swore and called his friend's wife from Baltimore and then grabbed a taxi for the hospital.

Caitlin DiNozzo was born at 7:46 am on May 3rd, 2006, with bright green eyes and Tony's brown hair and nose and… Tony yawned even as he curled his arms around her, looking into her faintly familiar eyes. Her eyes were certainly not from him but from the alpha, from the guy that Tony had spent one heat with.

Caitlin let out a small sigh, curling her small fingers around his thumb and squeezing, blowing a snot bubble out of her mouth. And Tony fell in love.

The case rate of the MCRT didn't even decrease while Gibbs was away or retired. It didn't decrease even with Tony leading it as senior agent in charge.

Gibbs didn't even seem to remember the fact that Tony was an omega, let alone that he had a baby girl. Tony had taken two and a half months off from work, working remotely when possible and just flat out not working via his doctor's recommendation. He hired an inhouse babysitter and continued to hope that Gibbs would remember that Caitlin wasn't just their former agent.

McGee, Ziva and Abby had no idea about Caitlin and Tony planned on keeping it that way. At least for now. Ducky knew and assisted when he could, giving him advice on babies and on what vitamins to take.

By the time that Katie started to crawl, Tony was deep undercover, trying to find La Grenouille, major arms dealer and starting to suspect that Director Shepherd had ulterior motives. Jeanne had fallen for single dad Tony DiNardo and he had fallen for her. Abby by then knew and so did Ziva, who stared at Katie like she was an alien. McGee fared better than Ziva did but Katie much preferred to be held by her dad, crying loudly and getting Tony to come running.

Katie liked strawberries but hated blueberries. She liked bananas but only as a last resort. Caitlin DiNozzo had a sweet tooth as she grew, enjoying her first birthday cake with the whole of Gibbs' team and sending them all into a scare when she went missing. Tony had been the one to find her underneath one of the seats in the MCRT response room.

She giggled as he carried her out of the room, lifting her up into the air. She squealed when Abby gave her the biggest teddy bear for a birthday present, throwing her short arms around it.

"Mama! Tony!" Her voice was high and excited, probably just an hour away from crashing, but Tony loved her. He loved the way she curled into him, throwing her arms around his leg when he got in from work. She was already babbling the way babies do, starting to talk in short sentences, and loved looking up at the sky.

"You going to be an astronaut one day, Katie?" Tony asked, curling his arms around her and holding on, spending a few minutes alone in one of the hidden corners in the office.

Katie tilted her head, her brown hair falling to her ears. Her bright green eyes were wide and sparkling with excitement as she looked around at everything. "Astro… Astronaut?"

Tony pointed upward and Katie smiled, showing her first few baby teeth.

"Yes!"

Tony laughed and held her tighter.

When Tony walked into the bullpen following the attempt on his life by one of La Grenouille's henchmen, he realized one thing. He did not want Katie to go through life alone and drew up instructions for a legal will. If anything were to happen to him… what would happen to his daughter?

Jeanne left him soon after discovering the truth and Katie kept him from spiraling.

The job offer and promotion sounded tempting, with full child care covered and travel to Spain to a joint US-Spanish naval base. It sounded tempting but… Gibbs looked at Katie like she was his granddaughter and Tony didn't want… He didn't want to take that away but… still. Gibbs had continued to stay silent when McGee or Ziva talked shit about Tony right in front of him and… Several times, it had looked like Gibbs had heard and didn't care.

He didn't have enough time to track the alpha down, the one that left the memory of the best heat sex he had ever had. Didn't have the time between taking care of Katie and having to deal with Gibbs' coming back with his memories all askew. Didn't have the time between Abby asking McGee to take care of the dog who attacked them, who attacked Tim.

He had just put in a call to a friend in London when Director Shepherd asked him and Ziva to escort her to LA.

A crowd of well dressed men in suits welcomed them when Tony got back to NCIS headquarters. The loss of Director Shepherd had rippled over the intelligence community and had brought in the sharks and Tony shivered at the sight, heading over to his desk. A picture of Katie sat on his desk and he grinned at it, knowing exactly where she was right now.

She was about to turn 2 and in daycare, and probably about to take a nap. Tony's heart thumped in his chest as he leaned against his desk, seeing Gibbs talking with a few men. One of them had an English accent and goosebumps rolled up Tony's arms, seeing Assistant Director Vance among the men.

"DiNozzo! Get your ass over here! These men are here to debrief you and Ziva."

Tony nodded, catching the eyes of McGee and Ziva, who lifted an eyebrow. She stood up too and followed him as they left the bullpen and walked up the staircase, up to stand in front of the door to the response room. Assistant Director Vance, who was probably about to become Director Vance, stood opposite them, next to Gibbs, Fornell and…

Tony's heart stopped and then stuttered to a gallop at the sight of the man who had floated in and out of his dreams since he had met him those three years ago. The man, alpha, who was the father of Tony's daughter and he met those bright green eyes, seeing a tiny flicker of recognition in those eyes. The man's nostrils flared as he sucked in a sharp breath, a corner of his mouth turning up.

The guy held out his hand towards Tony and Tony took it, feeling the light calluses that trailed over the guy's palm. Heat radiated from the guy's skin and Tony shivered before sighing. A weight that he hadn't noticed before disappeared from his shoulders and he rocked back on the heels of his feet at the sudden change, shifting his weight.

"Agents DiNozzo, David. I'm Agent Potter of MI-6. I'm the neutral agent Fornell called in to observe."

"Neutral. MI-6 is not neutral," Ziva remarked.

"I am in this case. Gibbs, might I talk to your senior special agent for a moment?" Potter asked, turning to look at Gibbs briefly, crooking an eyebrow.

Gibbs frowned and stared at Potter, his eyes narrowing and flashing, alpha protectiveness kickstarting. He crossed his arms and Tony rolled his eyes at his boss' obvious need to be the Alpha. "Can I ask why?"

"Personal," Potter said, tilting his head in thought, like he thought Gibbs was cute. "Put away the posturing, Agent Gibbs. I'm not going to hurt him."

"We will need to start soon, Agent Potter," Vance insisted, glancing between Gibbs and Potter. "Fornell doesn't have much patience here."

"I do. If Potter wants to talk to DiNozzo here, then let him."

"I can speak for myself, boss," Tony interrupted right as Gibbs opened his mouth again. "Besides, I was looking for you… Agent Potter."

"You were?" Potter asked, his eyes tightening in what looked like worry. His scar was still faint but Tony still wondered what had caused it. No weapon he knew of would have left that kind of mark, the kind that looked like lightning bolts rippling down to earth.

Tony nodded and gestured to one of the office doors behind them. "I have somewhere we can talk, Potter. I have a feeling we'll need the privacy."

"Alright. Lead on, agent."

Tony led the way past Ziva, past Gibbs, past Fornell and Vance, and into one of their rarely used conference rooms. It was an empty at the moment and exactly what Tony needed as he closed the door behind Potter. The big table in the middle sat unoccupied and quiet, the whiteboard even more so.

Potter was dressed well, in slacks that were well fitted and tailored, in a work shirt that was just a shade lighter than his eyes. His boots looked comfortable and like they would be comfortable enough to run in, almost combat boots but not quite. Potter was built like a runner, lean and tall and sturdy. His black hair was brushed back, at least a little bit. In Tony's memories, it was all over the place, unbrushed for the course of a few days. There was just a day's growth of facial hair on Potter's face, making him look… touchable, more human.

Tony watched as the other man slid his hip against the table, swiveling around to look at him.

"Agent? What was it you wanted to talk to me about? You wrote everything down-"

"I…" Tony paused and leaned against the door, swallowing against words. Unsure of the reaction he'd get.

"DiNozzo, is there something wrong?"

"Tony."

Potter lifted an eyebrow as his eyes softened. "Tony. Alright. I'm Harry. What's wrong?"

Tony shook his head before meeting Harry's eyes again. "You left before I could get your name or where you worked or lived."

Harry blinked and stood up, nothing to prop him up now, and took a step towards Tony. "I had thought it was a one heat thing. A one off. Had you… wanted more?"

"I want more now. I… guess your little swimmers are strong," Tony said, laughing at the words, feeling his cheeks redden. "Or it's your knot. I don't know but… I…"

Harry inhaled sharply and took another step towards him, leaving three feet between them. "You…"

"I had the best heat sex ever. With you," Tony muttered, scrubbing a hand over his neck, trailing his fingers down to the scent gland seven inches away from his pulse point. "I didn't… hadn't wanted you to leave but I've looked at those green eyes ever since."

"Tony… what are you…"

"I got pregnant. You have a daughter," Tony finally said, seeing Harry's eyes widen so much he thought they would fall out of the man's skull.

Harry stood in front of him, blinking again, opening his mouth once and then closing it.

"Her name's Katie," Tony whispered, glancing down at the floor. "She's about to turn two."

Fingers cupped his chin and he saw Harry's boots before the man tipped his chin up, meeting his eyes. Tony let out a strangled sound at the touch then leaned into Harry's palm, seeing those green eyes sharpen with heat. Not… not arousal but more… wistfulness.

"Can I meet her?" Harry finally asked, his voice dry and shocked, his thumb rubbing over Tony's skin, making his skin, his nerves, light up.

"Yeah. I… What do you do?" Tony questioned, as Harry withdrew his fingers and left heated skin like a brand on his chin. Tony brought up a hand to trace over it and saw Harry smile at the movement. Tony flipped him off and Harry laughed before nodding.

"I'm with MI-6, yes. What makes you think I do more?"

"I tried to find you, Potter, and I couldn't."

Harry stared at him and then smiled even wider. "You believe in magic, Tony?"

"No. It's just children's fairy tales that we tell them…" Tony paused. "Katie does like stories with magic in them though. And flying. She likes stories with flying."

Harry's eyes softened, as he ran a hand through his hair, messing it up more, and he nodded. "I would imagine so. I love to fly too."

Tony blinked at Harry's words. Harry watched him for a moment before glancing behind him, his eyes darkening.

"I'm free after 3pm," Tony offered, lifting a shoulder in a small shrug, trying to stay casual even though his heart was trying to escape his chest.

"Alright. I'll be around," Harry replied, his eyes staying utterly focused on Tony. "Are you… dating someone right now?"

"No. I was… waiting."

Harry winked at him and Tony snorted, gesturing behind them. "We have shit to do first."

"That we do," Harry agreed. "I suppose I'll have to tell Fornell and Vance I'm not neutral in this."

Tony swallowed at the heat in Harry's voice, at the way he had lowered it. "You're MI-6. You're neutral."

"You were the best heat sex I've had too," Harry offered, smiling a little, smiling in a way that was a touch possessive. "You were fucking gorgeous too. Still are."

The strangled sound that left Tony's throat at the words was unconscious. The goosebumps that rolled up his arms made him shiver and swallow against arousal. Harry took a step to stand next to him, pushing the door open, and turning to look at him.

"Senior Special Agent Tony DiNozzo, huh? I didn't think to look at NCIS for you," Harry offered, before walking out of the room.

"You looked for me too?"

"Katie!"

"Tony!" Katie squealed and ran to him on short legs, her short brown hair swinging past her ears, her bright green eyes wide with excitement. The apartment was quiet behind her but Tony could hear the television and hear the woman he paid to baby sit wandering around the kitchen. Tony knelt down and caught his daughter, swinging her around and feeling his heart rabbit in his chest at her peals of laughter. Harry stood just behind him, his eyes wide, his fingers slightly shaking.

"I missed you!" Katie exclaimed, as Tony burrowed his face against her back, holding her tightly. Her arms curled around his neck tightly too then she pulled back in his arms, glaring at him. "You were gone too long."

Katie glared at him and Tony grinned, trying to hide the way tears pooled in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Kate," Tony murmured, looking into her eyes. "They held me up at work."

"They can't do that," Katie retorted, crossing her arms and continued to glare at them. Tony heard Harry laugh behind his back, something shaken but fond too. "You're my mama."

Tony huffed and smiled. "I can be yours at the same time, you know. They need me over there."

Katie stared at him, all about to be two year old indignation, and then shrugged. "Who's that? Why does he smell like you?"

Tony's heart clenched in his chest and turned to look at Harry, seeing Katie look at the guy too. "Kate, this… this is your father. Harry, meet your daughter, Kate."

Harry's eyes were red and he took the step to close the distance between them, holding out his hand. Kate stared at him suspiciously before glancing back at Tony, her eyes narrowed.

"He's okay," Tony murmured, jerking his chin at Harry. "He's not a stranger."

"Not a stranger?" Katie repeated, tilting her head just like Harry did. "You sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure," Tony answered, nodding.

Katie stared at him and then reached out her small fingers to Harry, letting the guy curl his fingers into his.

"Hello, Katie," Harry started, his voice gone quiet with restrained excitement. "It's nice to meet you."

"I guess it's nice to meet you," Katie said, shrugging then gesturing to be put down. "I was watching cartoons!"

Tony laughed and slowly lowered her down, ruffling her hair. Katie stuck her tongue out at him and ran back off, not even looking at them twice.

"She's beautiful," Harry whispered, meeting his eyes. "I didn't… Would you mind if I… took you out to dinner? Took you both out to dinner sometime?"

"Italian?" Tony asked, heat curling in the pit of his stomach like snakes.

Harry nodded, swallowing. "We'll figure out something about that agent afloat situation you have too."

"I was thinking…" Tony hesitated, his heart skipping enough beats at Harry's open expression. "There's a position in Spain still open. Promotion for me and child care covered and it's closer to London."

Harry's eyes widened. "You sure? I don't… I'm not forcing you into anything, am I?"

"Nope, babe. You're a catch."

Harry laughed. "So are you. Alright. It's a deal."

Tony smiled and Harry smiled back, winked at him.