Wow, you guys are seriously awesome in the reviews department; I must say they always put a big smile on my face. . So, this chapter here is sort of like the part two of the last chapter, it's the continuation of how Abby, Ducky and Gibbs found out about Tony's daughter Nikola. And for the reviewer who was concerned about Nikki opening the door, she did have a babysitter there so she wasn't alone. I'm sorry that I didn't make that clear. Thanks for bringing that to my attention. Please review this chapter and let me know what you think, it is always much appreciated. Peace, One-Two

Chapter Five:

Still Four Years Ago:

"Okay, honey, you just sit down right there, I'm going to talk to my co-workers, okay?" Gibbs smiled lightly at little Nikki and gestured towards the chairs in the waiting room. Nikki made her way to sit down as Ducky and Abby, dumbfounded, got up and came to meet Gibbs in the hall.

"Who's the kid?" Abby asked.

Gibbs chuckled, "The kid is Katalina Nikola DiNozzo, aka Nikki DiNozzo. She is what I found when I went to Tony's house." Gibbs said, looking past her and his eyes softening when he saw Nikki sitting there, lightly crying, almost as if she were trying to hold it in and be brave.

Abby and Ducky both gasped before turning to once again look at the girl. Abby tilted her head, "She does kind of look like him." She said.

"So that would explain why Tony asked you to go to his house." Ducky added as they turned back to look at Gibbs.

Gibbs nodded, "He's taught her well, too. I told her who I was, but as soon as I suggested her coming with me here, she asked to see my badge and then went into the house and got a flashlight, making sure that it wasn't a fake. Apparently Tony taught her all sorts of ways to tell if a badge is a fake. It wasn't until she had inspected it five different ways that she believed what I was telling her and came." He smiled, "Her babysitter, though, wasn't all big on her leaving without Tony's permission. I ended up having to tell Nikki to go outside while I told the babysitter that Tony did ask me to come and that he couldn't really say anything anyways in the condition he's in."

"Poor girl," Abby sighed.

"I must say that Katalina looks almost too old to be Anthony's. He must have had her very young." Ducky decided and his two friends nodded. "I wonder where her mother is."

Gibbs nodded, before looking over at the girl once again. "She certainly reminds me of Tony. She told me how much Tony hated the hospital on the way here and that someone that he knows well would have to be in the room with him when he wakes up or he would have a panic attack. I asked her why, but she wouldn't tell me. All she said was that her daddy was scared to death of hospitals."

"I didn't realize that Tony was scared of hospitals," Abby said.

"Ah, yes, I believe that Anthony has mentioned that to me before." Ducky nodded. At the bewildered faces on Gibbs and Abby he explained, "Two weeks ago, do you remember when you and Tony went to apprehend the suspect and he ended up tying you both up and then beating Tony mercifully? All that happened was that he came down to the morgue and I looked him over, however, his ribs were badly bruised and I had suspicions that they might have been slightly fractured and I told him to go to the hospital. He turned white as a ghost as soon as I suggested it and then was out the door as quick as he could in his condition."

Gibbs nodded, "Afraid of hospital is there a phobia name for that?"

"Nosocomephobia, I think," Abby said.

"Hmm," Gibbs said, not taking his eyes off of the distraught young girl sitting in the waiting room.

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"You're afraid of hospitals?" Kate asked, surprised.

"Deathly afraid of hospitals," Tony replied.

"Why?" Kate asked.

Tony furrowed his brow, "Why does it matter? Now on with the story."

Kate sighed.

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Gibbs, Abby and Ducky returned to the waiting room to sit with Nikki. It was incredibly quiet, no one saying a word. A few moments later, the doors opened and there stood Tony's surgeon, covered in blood.

"Agent Gibbs?" he said.

They all looked up; preparing themselves for whatever news was to come their way.

"Agent Gibbs, I'm sorry to say that though Agent DiNozzo miraculously made it through surgery, he fell into a coma. Now he could come out of it in an hour, and he could come out of it in years or he could never come out of it. I'm sorry to say that we cannot tell whether or not he will. He is in the Intensive Care Unit if you would all like to go and see him." He eyed Nikki for a moment before asking, "And you are, young lady?"

Nikki sniffed, looking up at the doctor. "My name is Nikola DiNozzo, that's my daddy you're talking about."

The doctor's face softened, "I'm sorry sweetheart."

Gibbs stood and took Nikki's hand in his as the four walked towards the elevator to take them to the ICU. The elevator ride seemed to last forever and the only thing that Gibbs could think about was why Tony had told Gibbs that he should be the one taking care of Nikki did Tony die. He squeezed the girl's hand reassuringly as the doors opened and they found his room. Nikki ran to his bed and climbed up with him, laying next to him with her head on his shoulder and her arm across his waist gently and the three adults all took seats in the chairs next to the bed.

"You'll need to be careful, honey," Gibbs said to Nikki, "You don't want to hurt him."

Nikki nodded. "I know; I do this every time."

Gibbs frowned, "Every time what?"

"Every time he gets shot or stabbed or drugged and beaten up." Nikki replied, closing her eyes.

Gibbs, Abby and Ducky exchanged worried glances.

"He tells me that it's always okay because he's a fighter and has always been a fighter. My mom would always get so worried about him, but he would tell her that he's a fighter and she would just smile and tell him that she loves him and make him promise to come home that night unscathed." Nikki said with a sigh. "He's never been in a coma before, though."

Gibbs sighed. "Where is your mother?" he asked.

"They're both dead." Nikki replied. "My dad is actually my uncle; my real mother was his sister. She died giving birth to me when they were eighteen. My dad has taken care of me ever since and he married who I call my mom when he was twenty two, she died two years ago in a car crash."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart," Abby whispered.

"I miss my mom, but me and dad, just us, has been nice, too." Nikki said with a sigh. "He'll wake up soon, so we have to stay with him." Nikki said.

"How do you know?" Gibbs asked gently.

"I just know that's all." Nikki replied, "He promised me that he would come home tonight unscathed just like he always did with mom. He promised that he would see me tonight, he never breaks a promise. Not ever." She said.

Ducky sighed. "Katalina, I'm afraid that it's a little bit more complicated then that when it comes to your father's condition…"

"Don't say that," Nikki said. "You'll see."

The time went by, nobody talking, everyone just sitting with their own thoughts about their new co-worker. Gibbs was thinking about how Tony had asked him to take care of Nikki, about Tony's father and about the unknown picture that Gibbs now assumed was one of three people, his wife, his daughter or his sister. Abby, with tears in her eyes, was thinking about the poor little girl and what would happen to her if Tony didn't wake up. Ducky was thinking about what Tony's chances were and hating his medical knowledge at this moment because he would rather not know how small a chance of survival Tony had and Nikki…

Well, Nikki was like a little ray of hope and sunshine. She didn't speak to them, but they could see her whispering things to Tony and they couldn't help but hope that he could hear her. She seemed to believe with all that she had that he would wake up any moment, apparently just like he had done all of those other times. But, as she herself had said, he had never been in a coma before.

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Four weeks later, Tony still hadn't awoken from his coma. Nikki was living with Gibbs for the moment, just like Gibbs had promised, and everyone was now starting to get worried about whether or not Tony would wake up. Gibbs hadn't been prepared to take care of a child the day Tony had gotten shot, and even after a month, he found that he just couldn't expect anything that Nikki did.

Just as her father, Nikki loved to watch movies and she would tell him all the time about her and Tony's James Bond marathons. Gibbs tucked Nikki into bed at night and they made dinner together every night (just like she and Tony used to) and he was slowly getting used to the little girl. Nikki, however, was having a little bit harder of a time.

She adored Gibbs, he knew, but at night once he's tucked her in he can hear her cry and he listens from the door as she prays for the safety of Abby, Ducky, and Gibbs and for her daddy to wake up. He always feels pained to hear the young girls' cries, but he knows that there is nothing that he can do about it. Were he a more sociable person, maybe he would be able to talk to her about it, but he has never once been able to bring himself to do that.

It had been five weeks since Tony had gotten shot when Nikki and Gibbs were sitting eating pasta (made by Nikki only as it was a recipe known only by her and Tony and she didn't want anyone else to know it) silently at the kitchen table in Gibbs' house.

"If daddy dies, would I have to go and live with…" Nikki gulped, "Him?" she asked.

Gibbs frowned, "Who is him?" he asked.

Nikki looked up at him with wide eyes. "Daddy's father," she replied with a scared look in her eye.

Gibbs remembered all too well talking to DiNozzo Sr. on the phone and it was clear that Nikki hadn't had very good experiences with the man either. "No, of course not. But why would you not want to live with him?" Gibbs couldn't help but be curious about the relationship between the three DiNozzo's.

"He's really mean," Nikki said, "Daddy doesn't like to talk about him, but whenever he calls daddy always ends up really pale and very upset. He is the meanest person alive, that's what daddy says." She said, "Daddy says I'll never have to meet him; that I'll never have to worry about him."

Gibbs nodded. "Well, you're daddy would never lie to you." He said, "Do you have any other family?"

Nikki shook her head. "No, just daddy and him."

The way Nikki always said him was a little unsettling for Gibbs and he wondered just what Tony's childhood had been like. "Well, I promise, you will stay here with me, okay?" Gibbs said.

Nikki smiled. "Okay," she said.

Gibbs smiled. He hoped that Tony would wake up soon because he really wasn't sure if he would be able to keep Nikki without legal paperwork. A shiver ran up Gibbs' spine as he realized that Nikki may end up in foster care….

Or worse: with Tony's father.

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Hey, thanks for reading, I know that this chapter took forever to get up, but it is pretty long and I've had exams to study for so sorry. The next chapter (part three of how Abby Gibbs and Ducky met Nikki) will be up shortly. Thanks a lot and please review!!! Peace, One-Two