A/N: See first chapter for the disclaimer. I'm sorry it's been over a month, but real life is pretty hectic right now, and trying to settle in is proving to be very difficult. I apologize. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and please review. :)

Chapter Six

May 16, 1993

"You nervous?"

Tony mockingly glared at his wife. "It's only a graduation," he replied casually. "I've been here, done this all before."

"It's your college graduation," she pointed out. "And our daughter's going to be there. Which means she's going to see just how successful her daddy is, and strive to be just like him."

He scoffed slightly. "Because she'd really pick out me, a guy with a B.A. in Phys. Ed., over you, the E.R. doctor, to idolize."

"You're going to make an amazing police officer. You know that."

He smiled. "Yes, and fortunately, I'll have my wife's immense wealth to support me."

She chuckled softly. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Hey, at least if anything happens, I know I'll have someone in the E.R. with a vested interest in my recovery," he commented.

"Really?" Keri replied. "Heather's already a doctor?"

He glared again. "Cute."

She smiled wider, kissing him gently on the lips. "Nothing's going to happen to you while I'm around. I'll kill them first."

He nodded, pulling her close to him. "And I'll protect you two too."

She rested her head against his shoulder as Heather waddled into the room, all dressed up and ready for the ceremony. "Mama, Dada, look!" she said, spinning in circles.

"Looks like our little princess plans on being a dancer," Tony joked softly.

"Honey, slow down or you're gonna fall down," Keri warned gently.

"Fall down, go boom," Heather said, plopping on the carpet.

The proud parents shared a quick glance and an easy smirk at their daughter's behavior.

"Come here, sweetie," Tony said, crouching down for her.

"Dada!" she said, crawling over to him. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he stood back up with her.

"You gonna cheer for Daddy when they call his name?"

"Uh huh!"

Tony smiled, kissing her on the top of the head. "That's my girl."

Still January 25, 2010

Gibbs and Tony made their way into NCIS headquarters, the latter of which still caked with blood, drawing the attention of Ziva, McGee, and Senior.

"It's not mine," Tony offered softly, walking behind his desk.

"Whose is it?" Senior asked. "Because, they won't tell me."

Tony kept his head down as he sat in the chair. "Connected to a current case, Dad. Can't talk about it."

"Can't, or won't?"

"Does it really matter?"

"Yes, it does. Why won't you even look at me? What the hell is going on?"

Tony looked up. "Dad, we are trying to work here. So, please, let us do that."

"You wake me up in the middle of the night, asking me about Heather. You're being cryptic about a case. You come in covered in blood. And last time you had that expression on your face, you were telling me your wife and daughter were missing."

"Well, maybe you should try telling me what you know," Tony countered, standing.

"What are you talking about, Junior?" Senior replied as Ziva and McGee shared a look.

"When I asked you about Heather last night, I got the distinct impression that you might know more than you were saying."

"Junior, all I ever knew about her was what you told me."

Tony scoffed. "You're lying. I can tell. So, again, what do you know?"

"What makes you so convinced I know something?" Senior asked.

"You wouldn't just jump a train on a whim because I called you at two in the morning," Tony replied. "You may care, sure, but not enough to rush down here to see if I'm jumping off a ledge or something. So what was it that I said that got you down here? And what do you know?"

Gibbs stepped forward, cornering Senior against Tony's desk with Ziva and McGee.

"Back off," Senior growled.

Tony shook his head. "You're my father. You owe it to me to tell me what the hell's going on. What do you know?"

Senior sighed, closing his eyes as he realized he had no other way out. "Heather's alive."

Tony arched his eyebrows. "How do you know?"

Senior looked at his son. "She's been living as Hannah Branford since she was about four years old or so. This was, uh, recently brought to my attention."

"How recently?"

"New Year's Eve."

"So, when you came down here, you weren't just talking about finances."

Senior shook his head.

"What happened?"

"In 1994, I… made a deal with a few gentlemen," Senior explained nonchalantly. "I thought nothing of it when things started going wrong. It's the nature of the beast. But, when I saw you a little while later, and you told me Keri and Heather were missing, I… grew a little concerned. I wasn't aware of the truth of the situation until one of the gentlemen told me, on his death bed, what they had done and where Heather was now."

"Death bed?" McGee asked.

"Dad, did you kill him?" Tony implored.

"Do I look like a murderer, Junior?" Senior countered.

"Do you really want me to answer that?"

The team glanced at Tony, wondering where his sudden bravado in the face of his father had come from.

"No, I did not kill him," Senior said. "I would have if I knew before, but the cancer got him this time. And he didn't give up the names of the guys who actually did it before he went, just the impression that he had taken care of them a long time ago."

"And so, when you found this out, naturally your first thought was of yourself?" Tony asked.

"These weren't exactly reputable gentlemen, Junior. I didn't want you getting your hopes up."

"If they weren't reputable, then why'd you go into business with them?"

Senior clenched his jaw, glaring at his son.

Tony shook his head. "You don't want to admit to me that you screwed them, so they took it out on me. Is that it?"

"No," Senior growled.

"Sure it is. Answer me this, though, Dad. Are they still after her, or is this something else entirely?"

"What? Why? Is someone after her?"

Tony scoffed. "You tell me." He held up his still blood-crusted hands for emphasis.

"So, that's what all the questions were about. You found out about Heather."

"Yeah, I did."

"Is that her blood?"

Tony bit the inside of his cheek slightly, and Senior wilted albeit slightly.

"Is she okay?" Senior asked.

"She'll live," Tony replied. "No thanks to you."

"Junior, this one isn't on me. Her going missing, yes, that was my fault. And I'm sorry. But I have nothing to do with it this time."

"Yeah, you're sorry." Tony shook his head. "You were the one who tried to pay off Keri so she'd take Heather and leave. And now you're sorry she's gone?"

"I didn't want Keri to die. I didn't want to hurt you."

"Bit late for that one, isn't it?"

Senior opened his mouth to answer, but Tony cut him off by muttering something about cleaning up and walking away. Still stunned, Senior turned around, facing Gibbs.

"I think it's time for you to go," Gibbs urged quietly.

"Can I at least know what happened to my granddaughter?" Senior asked, looking to McGee and Ziva, who both looked at Gibbs.

"Tony's choice, not ours."

Senior nodded, heading toward the elevator with McGee following behind as an escort.

Gibbs leaned against the bathroom wall, watching as Tony splashed cool water over his face. "I take it you told him to leave," the younger man said, without so much as a glance toward the door.

"Uh huh," Gibbs replied succinctly.

"I can't believe he knew all this time that it was his fault, and he never said anything. He got Keri killed."

Gibbs merely locked the door in response.

Tony shook his head, dropping onto his hands as they grasped the ledge of the sink. "They didn't deserve that."

"None of you did," Gibbs reasoned softly.

"Yeah, but… I mean… Keri… she was…" Tony closed his eyes tightly. "It was brutal. Wherever they were held, it was… we… we never found that scene. Thankfully, I think. I'm not sure I could've handled that."

Gibbs thought about assuring Tony that he could've, but decided against it, choosing instead to let the younger man continue his thoughts.

"I was afraid that when we did find it, we'd find Heather's body too. I mean, I felt that she was still alive, but… as a cop, you know the odds."

"Right."

"There was no trace left on Keri's body when they found it," Tony continued. "No way to pin down who did what. Just… knife marks."

Gibbs watched as Tony looked away in an attempt to keep his emotions in check.

"She, uh, she had been pregnant when she was murdered. Seven months." Tony closed his eyes, swallowing hard as he failed to keep his tears at bay. "They, uh, they cut the baby out."

Gibbs exhaled softly, reaching forward and putting his hand on Tony's shoulder as the younger man began sobbing softly.

"They never found him, either," Tony whispered through his tears.

Gibbs squeezed Tony's shoulder gently.

"And… and that bastard… he knew. He knew all this time. And he said nothing. My family was gone, and he said nothing. What kind of father does that?"

"I don't know," Gibbs said softly.

"I, uh, I think I need to go home and change," Tony muttered.

"Get some sleep, too. Ziva, McGee, and I can handle it."

Tony nodded absently, drying off his face and hands. He threw out the paper towel, unlocked the door, and made his way toward the nearest exit.

Gibbs made his way back into the squad room, finding McGee alone at his computer. He glanced at his junior agent, then at Ziva's empty desk, then back to McGee.

"She, uh, went on a coffee run," McGee offered.

Gibbs nodded. "Good. I need you to run something for me…"