A/N: See the first chapter for the disclaimer. I apologize for how long it's been in between updates. I've been busy, and my muses have also decided to run off, and I've had an incredibly hard time rounding them up again. I'm working on it. ;) Until then, here's the next chapter. As always, I hope you enjoy, and please review. :)

Chapter Four

December 1, 1993

Tiny footsteps made their way into the big bedroom at the crack of dawn, and Tony discretely quirked one eye open. Keri was laying still as well, waiting to see their little princess. A moment later, two tiny hands gripped onto the bedspread, pulling a tiny body up with them. Heather crawled her way further up the bed, standing in between her parents.

She started jumping up and down, trying to wake her parents, who were pretending to be asleep. When she tripped over Tony's leg and landed on his chest, the charade was over. He wrapped his arms tightly around the little girl, who squealed in delight.

"Wakey wakey, Daddy!" she giggled, hugging around his neck.

"Morning, Princess," he replied, sitting up as he kissed her on the top of the head.

"It's mah biwfday!"

"I know. You're almost as old as me."

She giggled again, shaking her head. "Nuh uh."

"Uh huh."

"Nuh uh."

"Uh huh."

"Nuh uh, Daddy. You weally owld."

He laughed. "I'm not that old, Princess." Pulling her closer to his side, he uncovered his legs and climbed out of bed. "So, what would the princess like for breakfast on this special day?"

"Cookies!" she chirped, digging her little fingers into his undershirt.

"Cookies aren't a good breakfast for little girls," he replied, walking into the kitchen. "What about pancakes?"

She frowned. "I want cookies."

"And if Mommy weren't here, I might give you cookies, but you'll have to wait until lunch for those."

Her eyes threatened to well up with tears, and he had to force himself not to look, lest he cave.

"How about I put chocolate chips in the pancakes, and we don't tell Mommy?"

"Okie!" she agreed. "It ouwr secwet!"

Tony smiled, kissing Heather's hair gently as he glanced over to the doorway where Keri had been standing. He winked, and Keri shook her head.

Pushover, she mouthed.

Tony just grinned.

January 25, 2010

1:45 a.m.

He lay on his back, watching the shadows dance across the ceiling. Memories, moments, laughs, fights, tears, and everything in between ran through his mind faster than Gibbs drove. The three and a half years of Heather being in his life played out more like a jumbled version of Memento than anything else.

Backwards. Forwards. Everything in between.

Sighing, he sat up, scrubbing his hand over his face. Sleep wouldn't come to him, which wasn't what he had expected. He thought that when he knew she was alive and healthy, that sleep would come to him easily. Instead, he was focused on what he'd been there for, and all the moments he'd missed.

And there was the question about his father.

There were a lot of things that Senior knew about. A well-to-do con man like himself, who had swindled people for so long… it was hard to believe that Senior could be conned. Even Tony wasn't sure that Senior ever really believed the note. And if he did, he was in for a wakeup call when Al told him he had no idea what Senior was talking about.

The thought made Tony smile.

Resolving himself that he wouldn't be able to sleep without the answer, he picked up his phone and dialed a number he normally loathed calling.

"DiNozzo," a very sleepy Senior answered.

"Hey, Dad," Tony replied.

Pause. "Junior? What are you thinking calling so late?"

"I'm sorry, Dad, but I need to ask you about something."

"This couldn't wait until morning?"

"No."

Tony heard his father sigh and move around in the background. "What's so important, Junior, that it couldn't wait until later?"

"Heather."

Senior sighed again. "I haven't heard you bring her name up in fifteen years."

"How much do you know about her?"

"Just what you've told me, Son. What are you getting at?"

"Do you think she's still alive?"

Another pause, and Tony wished he could see his father's face, to know what he was thinking. "You're the investigator," Senior said after a moment. "You tell me."

"I don't know," Tony lied softly, almost reverently.

"I've always hoped she was. I'd like to know my granddaughter, to hold her again."

Tony closed his eyes.

"When you told me she was missing, I hoped they'd find her alive," Senior continued. "I always thought that was the reason you'd stopped calling. Wasn't surprised to find out from someone else about Keri."

"I didn't call you to argue about that," Tony said tiredly.

"What did you call for, Junior?"

"I don't know. I guess I just… was thinking about Heather, and… I don't know. I never knew what you were thinking about what happened. And, well, you were here two weeks ago… although, I'm not sure why you came, but it was good to see you."

"Sure was, Junior."

Tony shook his head. "Anyway… I, uh, I'm sorry I woke you up. I'll let you go back to sleep."

"Junior, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," Tony said, forcing conviction and hoping Senior didn't see through it.

"Alright," Senior replied.

"I'll let you go."

"Okay."

"Night, Dad."

"Night, Junior."

Tony hung up, lying back in bed with the feeling that none of his questions had really gotten answered.

Gibbs walked into the bullpen, furrowing his brow at finding a half-asleep, half-troubled senior field agent staring at his computer. He stopped in front of Tony's desk, looking at him.

"I called him last night," Tony said, not looking away from the computer.

Gibbs said nothing.

"I don't know if he knows anything. But… maybe he does. Maybe that's the real reason he came down here two weeks ago. Maybe he wanted to check out Hannah, and… and I got in the way. I was… I was just another excuse. Although… I don't know. It's hard to tell when I'm not looking at him. And… he had a point, that I kinda stopped calling after she disappeared…"

"I get that," Gibbs said softly.

"He said he's always hoped she was alive," Tony said, finally looking at Gibbs. "So maybe he did know. But… I don't know how he'd pay to hire someone. Or hell, what he'd even really be looking for her for. I mean, it's not like he'd do it to give me peace of mind. So… maybe he was looking for her for money, which she doesn't have as a student, but… I don't know."

Gibbs said nothing, simply patting Tony's shoulder.

Tony scrubbed his hands over his face. "I need answers."

Gibbs shrugged. "Go find them," he offered.

"Yeah, because my dad's just gonna come right out with them when I ask," Tony retorted.

"He surprised you before."

"Yeah, I guess." Tony yawned briefly before getting up from his desk. "I need coffee," he announced.

Gibbs wasn't going to stand in his way.

"So, Tony has a daughter?" Palmer asked, looking at the assembled group.

"I ran the prints myself," Abby replied. "I even compared her DNA to his sample. She's his daughter."

"I can't imagine what that'd be like, finding your father right after your boyfriend's killed."

"I can't believe he didn't tell us."

"He believed his daughter was dead," Ziva said simply. "She and his wife both disappeared in 1994. Keri, the mother, was found in someone's backyard two years later. Though nothing was ever found of Heather, it was not a stretch to guess that she was dead too."

"How long have you known about this?" McGee asked her.

Ziva chose that moment to say nothing.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Abby asked, half-glaring at Ziva.

"I had figured that you all knew," Ziva replied. "Or, that Tony did not want to talk about it. So, I did not mention it."

"So, is it safe to assume that you knew about Shannon and Kelly before we did?" McGee asked.

Ziva gave the slightest nod.

"You knew about Tony's past, and you said nothing," Abby accused.

"I have never told any of you about each other's pasts," Ziva countered. "Why would I start with Tony's?"

"So, do you think he's going to become all serious and fatherly?" Palmer asked, diffusing the argument for the moment.

"I doubt it. His daughter is already grown with two normal parents. I'm not sure she will want a third."

"He'll be there for her if she wants him to," Abby said.

"Yeah," McGee agreed.

"What's gonna happen if she doesn't want him in her life?" Palmer asked.

No one in the room dared to answer.

His phone rang just as he was getting settled down behind his desk once again, and he answered it with a quick, "DiNozzo."

"A-agent DiNozzo?" Hannah replied, her voice terrified and hesitant.

"Hannah? Hannah, what's wrong?"

"Please, help me!"

"Hannah?"

Before she could answer, he heard a struggle, followed by a silenced gunshot. And then the line went dead.