A/N: Wow this took me longer to update than I thought it would. My apologies, my older brother just got married two weeks ago and me and my family have been otherwise occupied with that. But everything is good now so here's the next chapter. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter Three: First Days
It was August 13th, the day before the kids were going to start school, and the house was chaotic. Kayden and Annie were fighting over who was going to be more liked in the fourth grade, as if they didn't have most of the same friends. Kaylee was trying to convince a very upset Anthony that preschool was going to be fun. This was all going on while Kate was busy yelling at Tony because she felt like it, not because he actually did anything wrong.
"Sweetie can I do anything for you?" Tony asked sweetly, standing at the foot of their bed looking at his wife, who was lying on the bed trying to rest.
"Oh, well can we go back to six months ago and have these removed" she said angrily while pointing at her stomach.
"Baby-" he began but was immediately cut off.
"Ughh don't call me that, I'm old and fat" she told him
"Kate I think you are beautiful, even if you are a little bigger now than you were with the other kids" he said
"Oh so you think I'm fatter now than when I was pregnant with the other four"
"Honey that's a given, there's nothing wrong with that, I mean you're carrying twins so of course you're going to be a little bigger." he said with a smile
"Ughh you disgust me" she told him as she rolled her eyes
Before he could reply there was a squeal down the hall and not two seconds later Anthony came running into their room and jumped up on the bed, crawling up next to Kate.
"I feel sick mommy" he told her as he laid his head on her shoulder
"Me too baby" she told him as she kissed his newly buzzed head. Ever since he had busted his head open and had to have his head shaved, he decided he liked that look.
"Oh comeon Kate don't call him a baby. He's a big boy now. Aren't you Ace? Ready for your first day of school?" Tony asked
Anthony shook his head no and looked at his mom before asking,
"I'll always be your baby, right?"
"You bet Little-T"she answered, looking into his deep green eyes.
"Well you'll be a big brother soon. And you can't be a big brother if your still a baby" Tony told him.
Anthony immediately started crying, which he rarely did. Then Kate got angry and threw her bottle of water at Tony.
"Way to go do do head. Get out and go make sure our other kids are okay. Little-T and I don't feel good" she practically yelled at him
"Geeze fine" he yelled back as he slammed their bedroom door closed and walked down the hall to where more screaming was coming from, and found it emanated from Kayden's room.
"Hey, hey, guys, what's going on?" Tony asked as he walked in and found Kayden and Annie arguing.
"Annie says she has more friends than me" Kayden told his father, while staring down Annie.
"I do" she shot back with her arms crossed
"Umm guys, don't you have the same friends?" Tony questioned looking from one kid to the other.
"Some" they answered simultaneously
"Then why are you guys arguing about it?" he asked them
They both shrugged their shoulders but didn't answer.
"Is it maybe because you're nervous about going back to school?"
"We aren't scared of school dad. I think it's kinda fun" Kayden told him seriously
"Okay, but son do me a favor and don't admit to liking school once you get into junior high and high school" Tony told his son as he placed his hand on his shoulder and smiled
"Dad" Kayden said as he rolled his eyes in the same fashion as Kate
Tony shook his head and smiled before asking,
"Well if school isn't really the problem, then what' wrong?"
"I just don't want to go back to school. I like summertime" Annie answered
"Well what kid doesn't" commented Tony with a smile
"Mom's gonna be okay when we go back, right?" Annie asked
"Oh, is that what this is about? You won't be here all the time with her when she has her days off?" Tony asked his oldest children
"I just don't want anything to happen to her when no one is around" said Kayden
"Kiddo, what did I tell you. Everything's going to be okay. Besides she'll still be at work during the day for awhlie longer. So she'll be with me, and Uncle Gibbs, and Uncle McGee"
"But-"
"Hey your mom and I don't want you to worry okay. We want you to go to school and have fun, okay" he told them
Kayden and Annie both nodded before Tony gave them both a hug and told them it was time to get ready for bed.
He then proceeded across the hall to the girls' room where he found Kaylee playing with some of her toys on the floor.
"Hey baby girl, you ready for school tomorrow?" he asked as he sat down on her bed
She just shrugged her shoulders before looking up at him, and asking,
"Daddy will I always be your little girl?"
'Da ja Vu,' Tony thought to himself.
"Of course sweetie, why?"
"If mommy has another little girl then I won't be the baby girl anymore" she said as she looked up at her father.
"Well you'll always be my baby girl, okay. No matter how old you get" he told her as he held his arms out to her.
She immediately got up off the floor and walked over to him. He lifted her up on his lap and looked into her bright green eyes.
"Are you excited about being a big sister?" he asked her
She just shrugged her shoulders but didn't answer.
"Well you know when the babies get bigger you can boss them around" he told her
"Like Annie does to me?" she questioned
"Yeah like Annie does to you" he told her with a smile
"I tell Little-T what to do sometimes" she told her father matter of factly
"I bet you do squirt" he said as he began to tickle her and make her laugh
He pinned her down on her bed and tickled her more as she laughed,
"Daadddy" she screamed, "Stop"
He held his hands up in the air before kissing her on the forehead,
"Time to get ready for bed. Big day tomorrow" he told her as he got up
"Daddy are you going to school with us tomorrow?" she asked as she sat up on her bed
"Yes, your mom and I are both taking you guys" he answered
"Okay good" she told him with a smile
He then walked out of the girls' room and back down the hall to the Master Bedroom. He opened the door very cautiously, afraid another object might come flying his way. Luckily nothing was thrown at him as he came into the bedroom. He noticed Anthony was still snuggled up in bed with Kate so he said,
"Hey Ace time for bed. You got a big day tomorrow"
He recieved a death glare from Kate when he said that so he didn't say anything else when Anthony didn't move.
"Can I get you anything Kate?" he asked a bit sarcastically.
"Actually I would like some cookies n cream ice cream" she told him
"But honey you don't normally eat that kind"
"So, I'm fat anyways so I might as well eat what I'm craving, and that is what I'm craving" she told him
"But we don't have that kind" he replied
"Then I guess you're going to have to make a trip to the store" she said, slightly happy
Tony clenched his jaw together so as not to say anything he would regret and then took a deep breath before saying as nicely as he could,
"Of course honey, anything else you want from the store?"
"Mmm, make sure we have some peanut butter, and cookies. Ooo and while you're out would you pick me up a nice juicy burger"
"A hamburger? With meat and fat and stuff?" he questioned
"Uh duh DiNozzo" she told him as she rolled her eyes
"Okay babe. I'll be back later" he said as he turned to leave.
He returned some thirty minutes later and put all of the cold stuff in the freezer and refigerator. He headed down the hall to the master bedroom with the still warm hamburger only to find, when he opened the door, all four kids and Kate snuggled up together on the bed, sound asleep.
He had to smile at the five of them. Anthony and Kaylee were snuggled into both sides of Kate, Kayden was laying on the edge of the bed next to Anthony, and Annie was on the other edge of the bed next to Kaylee.
So Tony turned back around and went into the living room to watch some TV, while he ate the hamburger he had gotten Kate. He knew if she woke up and found out he had eaten it, she would be pissed, but he really didn't care. Even though they had had four other children Tony still couldn't get over how grumpy Kate would become during the pregnancy. Kayden's wasn't so bad because it was their first child and they were excited, but towards the end of the pregnancy Kate had decided she didn't want to be pregnant anymore and blamed her condition on Tony. And for some reason every pregnancy after that was accomadated with lots of anger, depression, and yelling. Tony loved Kate, a lot, more than anything, but for a pregnant woman, she could be very scary. He smiled to himself right before Hobie started barking. Tony got up and ran to the back door, where he found his son's German Shepherd waiting to be let in.
"Sorry boy, did Kade forget to let you back in?" Tony said, bending down and petting the dog.
Right after Hobie was let in he took off running down the hall and ran into Kayden's room. When he couldn't find the boy there he ran down the hall and nosed open the master bedroom door before Tony could stop him. As Tony ran down the hall after the dog, there was already screaming coming from his bedroom. When he walked into the room Hobie had Kayden pinned down on the bed and was licking his face, while everyone else was sitting up in the bed.
"Sorry" Tony said as he walked over to Hobie and pulled him off of his son.
"How long have you been back?" Kate asked him
"About twenty minutes"
"Where's my burger?"
"Ummm-"
"You ate it didn't you" she stated annoyed
"Honey you were asleep"
"Whatever"
"Okay kids, I think it's time for bed" Tony said motioning to the kids. All of the kids complied, getting up and kissing their mother goodnight before heading to their rooms. All of them except for Anthony, who stayed nuzzled into Kate.
"C'mon Ace, you too" Tony told him
"No I want to sleep here" he told his father
"Don't you want to sleep in your own bed tonight?"
He shook his head no and stayed next to Kate.
"You heard him Tony, he wants to sleep in here"stated Kate
"Okay Ace how about you and me go have a talk in the kitchen?"
Once again Anthony shook his head no, but didn't say anything.
Tony then sat down on the bed, somewhat close to Anthony and Kate and turned so that he could face both of them.
"Are you scared of going to school tomorrow Ace?" Tony asked looking at his youngest child, who seemed truly upset.
Anthony turned and looked his father in the eyes and Tony could tell there was something wrong. Anthony's eyes looked dark and sad, instead of bright and full of life, like his personality.
"Anthony I'm not going to be mad at you, just tell me the truth" Tony begged his son
Kate was now sitting up in bed, leaning against their headboard. Anthony was snuggled down next to her, with his head on her stomach.
"I don't want to go to school" stated Anthony
"Why not?"
Anthony just shrugged without answering.
"Well you were at the daycare part of the school last year, and I bet lots of the same kids will be in your pre-school class" Tony told him
"Sweetie why don't you want to go to school tomorrow?" Kate asked gently, joining the conversation.
"Kaylee said pre-school is for big boys, but I don't want to be a big boy" he said looking up at his mother
"You did a few months ago, why don't you want to be a big boy anymore?" Tony asked, not understanding
Anthony just shrugged her shoulders again, without saying anything.
"It's okay buddy, I promise I won't get mad at you" Tony told him gently
Anthony looked at his father before answering,
"Because if I go to pre-school then I won't be your little boy anymore cause I have to be a big boy"
Tony and Kate both smiled at their son before Tony scooted closer to him and Kate and said to Anthony,
"You know what Acce, you will always be my little boy, no matter how old you get, okay. So what do you say you stay a little boy until Kindergarten, then you can be a big boy"
"Really?" questioned Anthony, sitting up and looking at his father
"Yeah"
Anthony smiled that DiNozzo smile and then jumped into Tony's arms,
"I love you daddy"
"I love you too son"
Kate smiled at the two of them before saying,
"Okay well what do you say we all go to bed, cause it's late"
"Okay, night mom" Anthony said giving her a hug
"I thought you were going to sleep in here?" she asked
"No I'm gonna sleep in my bed" he told her proudly
She smiled as she watched him climb onto Tony's back and Tony gave him a piggy back ride back to his room.
The next morning came all too quickly for the kids, as well as Tony and Kate. But they all managed to get up and make it to school in time.
Kayden and Annie both told their parents they were old enough to walk themselves to their class. So after some hesitation on Kate's part, she and Tony agreed and gave them hugs goodbye in the parking lot and watched them walk away. Tony looked at Kate and could tell she was sad and he wondered if she was going to make it through the morning without breaking down.
Tony and Kate took Anthony and Kaylee by the hands and walked Kaylee to her classroom first, but before they even got to the classroom Kaylee was crying and holding onto to Tony's leg for dear life. And unfortunately Kaylee's crying upset Anthony, and he began crying as well.
"Hey, hey, Kaylee, it's okay baby girl. Your mom and I are going to be here to pick you up this afternoon and then we'll all go get some ice cream, kay" Tony said as he tried to unattach his six year old daughter from his leg.
"Nooo" she cried as she wrapped her legs and arms tighter around Tony's leg.
"Sweetie what's wrong, you weren't upset last night" Kate said, bending down and rubbing Kaylee's back, while Anthony was holding tightly to Kate's other hand and still crying.
"C'mon baby girl, aren't you excited about seeing your friends?" Tony asked trying to coax his youngest daughter.
She shook her head no and Kate knelt down in front of Tony and next to Kaylee and whispered in Kaylee's ear,
"Don't you want to be brave for Anthony? You told him last night there was nothing to be afraid of"
Kaylee slowly stopped crying, yet she was still sniffling and hiccupping, and her eyes and face were red from crying. Kate stayed next to Kaylee while Anthony was standing behind Kate with his arms wrapped tightly around her neck. Slowly Kaylee unwrapped herself from Tony's leg and stood up. She turned to Kate and threw her arms around her neck.
"I love you mommy" she whispered in Kate's ear
Kate smiled before replying, "I love you too sweetie"
Then Kaylee turned to Tony and he bent down to her level and looked in her eyes,
"You're growing up too fast squirt" he told her as he pulled her to him and she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"I love you daddy"
"I love you too baby girl"
"Do we still get to go for ice cream after school?" she asked him
"Yeah baby, we do" he told her as he stood back up.
"Bye mom, bye daddy, bye bye Ace" Kaylee said softly as she walked into her classroom.
Then Tony and Kate turned to walk back towards the preschool classroom. Anthony was walking between both his parents, holding both of their hands. The closer they got to the classroom the more Anthony slowed down and pulled his parents' hands to slow down, but they just dragged him along.
Once they got outside Anthony's classroom, he completely lost it.
"Mommy please don't make me" he cried, dropping his fathers hand and holding tightly to her hands with both of his little hands,
"I promise I'll be a good boy"
Kate bent down in front of him and looked into his deep green eyes,
"Sweetie we aren't mad at you" she told him
"Then don't make me go" he begged
"C'mon Ace, you'll have fun, I bet some of your friends from daycare are in there" Tony said
"Nooo" he cried tears streaming down his face
"Hey Little-T, look at me" Kate told her youngest child, "Just because you have to go to school, doesn't mean we are mad at you. You are still my little boy...my brave little boy, right?"
He slowly stopped crying, but continued to sniffle and hiccup just like Kaylee had,
"Yeah I'm brave" he choked out
"I knew you were" she told him with a smile, "And you know brave little boys go to school"
"But...hiccup...I don't want to" he told her
"I know sweetie. But after school we are all going to get ice cream"
"No" he told her still sniffling
"Look sweetie your dad and I have to go to work. We love you and we'll pick you up after school" Kate said standing back up and walking into the classroom with Anthony still attached to one of her hands.
"Mr and Mrs DiNozzo, nice to see you again" a lady said walking up to them
"Mrs. Rheghetti" Kate nodded at her
"Well I was thinking this was going to be the last DiNozzo I was going to teach, but I guess I was wrong, huh" Mrs. Rheghetti said referring to Kate's stomach
Kate smiled, but before she could answer, Tony had jumped in.
"Yeah, what can I say, she can't keep her hands off of me. I mean why else do you think we have so many kids"
"TONY" Kate said shocked
Mrs. Rheghetti just smiled at the two before bending down to Anthony's level.
"Your parents are funny" she told him with a smile
He grinned slightly and nodded.
"And what's your name Little Man" she asked
"It's Little-T not Little Man" Anthony told her matter of factly
Tony and Kate both smiled at his answer as Mrs Rheghetti looked up at his parents.
"Sorry that's his nickname. This is Anthony" Kate told her
"Oh wow, your named after your dad" she stated, "You must be proud"
Anthony nodded saying, "Uh-huh, I look like him too"
"I can see that" she told him
"You know I taught your brother and sisters too"
"Really"
"Yep"
"I'm going to be a big brother that's why my mom is fat" Anthony told her
"Okay well Ace your fat mom and I are going to get to work before she does something she'll regret" Tony said taking Kate's hand.
"Mommy you are going to come back and get me?" Anthony asked still holding her hand
"Of course Little-T and then we'll go for ice cream, okay"
He nodded his head and let go of her hand, turning and walking back to the teacher, talking to her again.
Tony and Kate stood outside of Anthony's classroom and watched as he went from talking to the teacher to playing with a little boy who was building stuff with blocks. Tony turned to leave and assumed that Kate was following him, but when he turned around she was still standing at the classroom door. He walked back over to her, put his hand on her back and said,
"Kate c'mon we got to get to work"
Instead of moving she stood still, watching her youngest child playing happily on the floor, oblivious to the fact that his parents had just left him there.
"My baby doesn't need me anymore" she said, without looking at Tony
"What?"
"Anthony is my baby, but look at him. He's not even upset anymore" Kate said, still watching her son through the door.
"Kate you know he's always been a little more independent that the other kids" Tony told her
"I know, but look, he doesn't even care that we left him there"
Tony looked at her and saw tears start to stream down her cheek.
"Baby-"
"No Tony, the other kids all threw a fit when they started school, remember. I mean Kayden and Annie wouldn't let go of us, don't you remember?" she questioned him
"I know"
"Now they don't even want me to walk them to their classroom" Kate said as she completely broke down in front of him.
"Baby all kids grow up, but that doesn't mean they don't need you" Tony told her as he put his arm around her, "And look on the bright side, soon you'll have two more who will most definitely need you"
"Yeah, maybe. Or by the time they're three they won't need me, just like Anthony"
"You don't know that"
Kate turned to Tony and cried into his chest as she realized how fast her kids were growing up.
"Hey aren't you happy that we didn't have to seem like mean parents and feel bad about leaving our crying children at school. I mean we should be happy that their first day went so well. Remember how bad we felt when we left Kaylee on her first day of preschool. I mean you and I both wanted to take her back home, just so she would stop crying"
Kate pushed away from Tony and looked into his eyes with anger,
"Are you saying I'm a bad parent because I want my kids to be a little sad that they have to leave me on their first day of school"
"No, no, that's not what I meant by it, I was trying to make you feel better" he told her
"Well your doing a sucky job"
"Kate" he said reaching out for her
"Do not touch me. Leave me alone" she said as she walked down the hallway towards the exit.
"Gotta love pregnant women and their mood swings" Tony said out loud, but to himself
"I heard that DiNozzo" she yelled down the hall, which slightly interrupted the classrooms.
Tony apologized to the class he was standing in front of, which happened to have its door open, and then ran to catch up with Kate.
When they arrived at NCIS they walked through the elevator doors right on time and headed to their desks. As they sat down Tony was still trying to get Kate to talk to him, but she continued to give him the silent treatment. Finally she was sick of listening to him so she got up and walked past McGee's desk saying,
"I'm going to see Abby"
She practically ran into Gibbs when she marched around the corner and he could tell she was upset. Instead of stopping at his desk he walked over to Tony's and slapped him in the back of the head.
"Ow, Boss, what was that for. I've only been here for five minutes" Tony whined
"I just passed your wife and I could tell she was upset and I'm sure it's because of you" Gibbs told him
"Actually it's just because she's pregnant and she has these mood swings" he turned to McGee, "Pregnant women, huh" he said with a laugh
He received another slap on the back of the head by Gibbs before he turned and went back to his desk.
"Oww Boss-"
"I don't want to hear it DiNozzo because if she's going to talk to Abby it's obvious that you did something" Gibbs remarked
While Kate was downstairs talking to Abby Tony was upstairs at his desk contemplating what to do to make Kate feel better. Gibbs had gone out for coffee, so it was just Tony and McGee at their desks. McGee looked over at Tony and saw him looking lost in his thoughts.
"You aren't hurting yourself over there, are you Tony?" McGee asked him
"What?" Tony responded, not looking at McGee
"Well you look like you are really concentrating over there and I wanted to make sure you hadn't hurt yourself in the process"
"McGee that better not have been you making fun of me. Because the only people allowed to do that are Gibbs and Kate"
"Why?"
"Because Kate is my wife and she packs a mean punch, and Gibbs...well is Gibbs" Tony told him
"Right"
"Ever think about having more kids?" Tony asked McGee
"Sometimes, but most of the time Abby and I are too busy keeping Piper out of trouble to consider having any more. Why?"
"Just curious. I wish there was a way to skip the whole nine months of torture on the husbands part" DiNozzo commented
"You aren't serious are you? Have you even thought about what women have to go through just to give birth to a baby. The least we could do is listen to them complain and allow them to throw things at us"
"Oh, is that what you did when Abby was pregnant, you just sat back while she called you every name under the sun"
"That's not what I said, I just said we should be more understanding to them" McGee said
"You really don't want any more kids, do you McGee?"
"Truthfully...Not really. I mean I love Piper and I am glad Abby and I have her, but I've seen the chaos in your family and I would just as soon not go through that" he told Tony
Before Tony could respond Kate came back around the corner and headed to her desk and sat down. Tony leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on his desk and just stared at her. Then he took a few paper clips out of his desk drawer and threw one at her, hitting her in the side of the head. Instead of lashing out at him she just ignored him, until he did it for a third time. Then she turned to face him and stood up, eyes slanted, anger written across her face.
"Hey there honey, what's wrong?" he asked, a cheap grin plastered on his face.
"Will you please grow up DiNozzo"
"Why?" he asked childishly while wriggling his eyebrows.
"Imbecile"
"What was that dear"
"Nothing" she muttered as she sat back down and turned her attention back to the computer.
But not five seconds later another paper clip landed on her desk. She spun her chair to face him, grabbed the cup of pens on her desk and threw the whole thing at him.
"Butt wipe" she yelled as she threw the container of pens at him.
As Tony ducked and tried to avoid being struck by the pens and cup he lost his balance in his chair and fell over backwards. Gibbs happened to come around the corner right after that and grabbed Kate as she was reaching for her gun.
"Uh-uh Kate, we talked about this. No family drama while at work. If you want to kill him when you get home then you have my permission" he told her
"Boss, what about me?" Tony whined as he got up from the floor
"It wouldn't be that difficult to replace you" before turning his back to him and allowing a smile to escape him. Then he went to his desk and pulled the file on top and opened it showing it to everyone.
"We've got a new case involving a naval officer who just returned to the states after being gone for twelve months. His wife woke up this morning and he was dead"
"Boss that would have been a few hours ago"commented McGee
"Well she called an ambulance and they told her he was still alive and took him to the hospital. That was around 8:30AM" Gibbs said filling them in.
"Okay, so where are we going?" questioned McGee
"DiNozzo, McGee, with me. We are going to the officers house to process the crime scene. Grab your stuff and lets go" Gibbs told them before turning to Kate's desk, "Kate you go to the hospital and talk to the Doctor about Tyler Bradley"
"But-"
"Agent Todd, do not argue with me" he told her as he stepped into the elevator along with McGee and Tony.
On the elevator ride down Tony looked at Gibbs,
"You know Boss, she's really going be mad at you"
"Well she'll have to get over, I am the Boss"
"I know but-"
Gibbs slapped Tony in the back of the head for the third time that day.
"Oww Boss, I'm not gonna have any brain cells left if you keep doing that"
"Who says you had any to begin with" he told Tony. Now DiNozzo if Kate has a problem with her assignment the I can always fire her. I believe she can fight her own battles."
"I know"
"Besides do you really want her to go to a crime scene where she could get hurt when she's six months pregnant"
"But Boss don't you think it was probably just a heart attack or something. I mean he wasn't shot or stabbed. How dangerous could it be" stated McGee
Tony and Gibbs both turned to look at McGee before Tony did the honors of slapping him on the back of the head.
"Probie you never say anything like that before you get to a crime scene" Tony told him angrily
"Why are you calling me Probie?"
"Because that's something a Probie would say. Haven't you learned anything the past eleven years?" said Tony
Once they arrived at Tyler Bradley's house Tony and McGee were at the back of the truck gathering up their gear while Gibbs went to talk to the police officer standing at the end of the driveway.
"Agent Gibbs, is the wife here?" Gibbs questioned the officer
"No, no one's been in the house yet. The wife is still at the hospital, so we thought we'd wait for you guys before we went in"
"So the place hasn't been cleared?"
"We didn't want to mess up any evidence that might of been left, even though it's highly unlikely that he was murdered"
By this time Tony and McGee were heading up the walkway to front door. Tony was in front of McGee still yelling at him for his earlier indiscretions. When they were halfway up the walkway Tony turned away from McGee and yelled at the officer at the front door.
"Hey are you going to open that door for us or just stand there until we get right in front of you with all our heavy gear" Tony said to the officer just as he and McGee were about to reach the front steps to the porch.
At that moment Gibbs turned towards McGee and Tony,
"DiNozzo" he yelled, just as the officer opened the front door and the house exploded, throwing Tony and McGee through the air. The force of it being so strong it even threw Gibbs and the other officer to the ground.
A/N: I tried to leave a bit of a cliffhanger, I don't know if it's much of one though. But please review and let me know what you think about this chapter. Thanks so much!