THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS GUYS! YOU ROCK MY SOCKS OFF!

I thought that you would all like to know that Meet the Todds is the story with the MOST reviews that I, as a writer on have ever gotten! It makes me feel so loved!

In this chapter: Mr. Todd discovers he needs anger management.

Disclaimer: Not mine.


Tony was a brave person. He would not be afraid to jump in the line of fire for his team. He wouldn't be afraid to tail a serial killer or unwire a bomb. At the moment however, he didn't feel brave watching a smiling Mr. Todd approach him. Maybe it was that Mr. Todd was doing a very bad imitation of a smile. Maybe it was the fact that he was smiling at Tony, of all people. Or maybe, it was the fact that Mr. Todd hated Tony, so him smiling at Tony could never be good.

Sitting down, Mr. Todd tucked whatever he was holding between the two couch seats. Still smiling, he said to Tony, "So, you two thought of having any children yet?"

Tony felt Kate twitch next to him. "We thought we'd wait a year or two before having kids."

Kate was pale now, and she glanced nervously at her father.

Mr. Todd nodded at Tony's response, as if it were a very interesting point. "Then what," he said, his smile replaced with a mad scowl, "is this?" He pulled out the pregnancy test from between the couch cushions and slammed it on the coffee table, rattling the mugs of lukewarm coffee.

Tony leaned forward to get a better look at it. Mrs. Todd gasped. Kate placed her hand on his arm. But none of this registered to Tony as he took in what he saw.

A pregnancy test. A positive pregnancy test. But where did Mr. Todd get it? He was in the bathroom, so it came from there. But why would it be in the bathroom unless…

Stunned, he turned slowly to look at Kate. "You're pregnant?" His voice was monotone as his brain was grinding to a stop. "You're pregnant?" he asked again. This time, his voice was shriller.

Kate looked at her hands. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I just did the test yesterday, and with the whole issue about Dad…I didn't think it was a good time to tell you and-"

Tony placed his finger on her lips to stop any more words. Cupping her face, he whispered, "We're going to be parents?" His brain still hadn't fully started yet.

Kate nodded, tears showing in her eyes. "This doesn't change anything right?" Her voice suddenly choked. "You still love me, right? You're still going to marry me, right?"

Tony laughed. "Of course I still love you. And of course I'm still marrying you." He was having trouble not to cry now. "I can't believe-"

They were both snapped out of their own little world as Mr. Todd threw the pregnancy test at Tony and it hit his head. "YOU ARE NOT GOING TO BE MARRYING KATE!" he bellowed at the bewildered couple.

Not giving them a chance to respond, he continued, "I am not going to allow my daughter to marry some man who got her pregnant before they got married! So Tony, I'm going to watch you pack your bags and get out of Kate's apartment."

When neither of them moved, he exploded. "I SAID MOVE!"

"I'm not going anywhere."

Mr. Todd froze, his eyes practically popping out of his eyes. "What?"

Tony stood. "I said I'm not going anywhere." His voice rose to a shout. "I'm not going anywhere!"

Mr. Todd stood too. His face had turned a shade of burgundy, his hands clenched into fists. Mrs. Todd tried to restrain him, but he wrenched himself away from her. "Get out! GET OUT!"

Kate rose to her feet and stood side by side with Tony. "Dad, this is my apartment, and I am not going to allow you to kick my fiancé out." Her voice quivered with anger, but she did her best not lose her temper.

Mr. Todd swung to face his daughter. "He is no longer your fiancé! In fact, give me that ring right now young lady!" He held out his hand expectantly.

Kate shook her head violently. "I'm old enough to make my own decisions Dad. You aren't going to tell me what to do anymore." She grabbed Tony's hand. "I'm going to marry Tony whether you like it or not."

"I said give me that ring!" Mr. Todd's voice was a rumble now, and it must have shaken the photo frames sitting on the shelves. And when Kate didn't give him her engagement ring, he hit her, hard.

The slap resounded throughout the living room. Kate was knocked off her feet by the force of the hit. She bit her lip to keep from crying out loud. Her cheek was red from impact. From where she lay on the floor, she could see her dad approach her and grab her left hand to take the ring off. Her mother was screaming and begging her father to stop. And then, she saw it. A fist came flying out of the air and smacked Mr. Todd's cheek, knocking him off balance. And she heard Tony's voice.

"If you touch Kate again, I am going to kill you!" He knelt quickly and helped Kate sit up. "Are you alright?"

Kate touched her cheek. It stung, but she felt better knowing that Tony was by her side. "I'm fine." She secured the ring to her ring finger.

Mr. Todd had gotten up by now. "Did you just hit me?" he demanded.

Tony ignored him. Mr. Todd walked over and kicked Tony's side. "I asked you a question!"

Wincing, Tony stood and faced Kate's father. "You did?" he replied, purposefully acting stupid.

Fuming with anger, Mr. Todd grabbed one of the coffee cups and threw it at Tony. He missed, but cup was still half full, and saturated the carpet with brown liquid.

Tony looked from the brown stain to Kate's horrified face. The carpet was a light cream color, and the brown spot stuck out like a sore thumb. Facing Mr. Todd, he said, "For that, my dear friend, you are going to pay dearly." Walking over, he grabbed Mr. Todd's arm and led him to the door. "Kindly escort yourself out."

Mr. Todd wrenched his arm away before he could be pushed out the door and shoved Tony against the wall. Holding him by the collar, Mr. Todd hissed, "Don't ever tell me what to do." He proceeded to sock Tony in the stomach.

Tony doubled over with pain and surprise. Being hit by someone wasn't new, but this was his fiancé's father. Threw the haze of pain, he saw Mr. Todd about to kick him in the stomach, and he reacted with anger. How dare this man hit Kate and have the nerve to attack him!

With a roar, Tony lunged at Mr. Todd and tackled him to the ground. Though he could not see due to his rage, he threw his fists everywhere, and many of them came in contact with flesh. Mr. Todd was also fighting back. He wasn't the kind of man who simply let someone else beat him to a pulp. He scored a good few hits, but was losing the battle. Nothing could overcome Tony's strength in his anger.

The turning point in the battle came when Kate, fearing that one of them would be severely hurt, yelled out, "Tony, stop!"

Instantly, Tony's fist froze in midair. His vision cleared, and he only heard Kate's voice repeating in his head, "Stop…stop…stop," her voice growing softer with each word. When he looked down, Tony was horrified to see Mr. Todd with a black (really black) eye and bloody nose.He was lying quite still, and Tony prayed that he didn't kill him.

Without warning, Mr. Todd bolted upright and wrapped his hands around Tony's neck. Surprised, Tony fell backwards and hit his head on the coffee table, which stunned him. His coordination currently muddled, it made it easy for Mr. Todd to choke him.

Paul Todd was laughing inwardly. He was winning the fight! He would teach this bastard a lesson. He would teach him not to get close to his daughter. There were screams all around him. He pretended that he was delivering a soul to the devil, and the screams were of those who had betrayed God. The screaming got louder. Then, he heard it. The click as the safety of a gun went off.

An arm snaked around his neck and grasped it tight. The cold barrel of a gun was pushed against his head. "Let Tony go," hissed a cold voice.

Mr. Todd let his hands slacken. His heart was beating violently, his breathing short and sharp. He felt perspiration break on his skin as the voice continued. This wasn't how things were supposed to go.

"Now step away from him," came Kate's voice, soft and deadly. The man she held no longer resembled her father, but instead looked like a cruel beast that she didn't recognize. Her heart was pounding, and her knees felt weak, but she didn't let her grasp on the gun loosen.

Slowly, very slowly, Mr. Todd raised both hands in the air and got up. Kate shoved him against a wall and cuffed him. She'd arrested criminals many times, but this felt strange to her. Her father was mumbling something as Kate left him with her mother as guard.

Quickly bending down at Tony's side, she briefly remember how he'd done the same to her less than 30 minutes ago, when Dad had hit her. It was funny how things reversed themselves in such short matters of time.

Tony was coughing now, but he was able to breathe. Kate helped him sit up. "Are you okay?" she asked, her voice laden with concern. He had bruises on his neck. Kate thought back to all the times she and Tony had listened to Ducky explain how bruises on the neck always meant the victim had be strangled. She shivered, trying to erase the image of Tony lying on the cold metal autopsy table, dead, killed by her father.

"Are you okay?" she asked again.

Tony managed a weak smile. "I'm fine now," he whispered so softly that she could barely hear him. He grasped her hand. "I'm fine now."

TBC


Turns out I'm going to need a couple more chapters before I wrap this up. But I wont be updating much anymore because school's starting on Thursday for me. I'll try my best to post the next chapters ASAP, but I can't promise anything.

And now, my loyal readers, you must review!