A/N: All, I'm very sorry it's been so long between updates. I've been wicked busy with a bunch of stuff. And after this chapter, there might be another long hiatus because I'm hitting a wall with this story (somewhat). See the first chapter for the disclaimer. I hope you guys enjoy this one, and please review.

Chapter Eleven

August 8, 1992

Tony stood in the back room with the rest of his groomsmen, readjusting his suit for the umpteenth time.

"Nervous?" Mark asked.

Tony half shrugged, half shook his head. "Not really," he replied. "I love Keri. We already have a family. Nothing to be nervous about. She's not planning on running."

Nick chuckled. "She probably should," he said. "You're nothin' but trouble, Sex Machine."

"Especially considering that's what got you Heather in the first place," Phil added.

"Yeah, yeah," Tony retorted, rolling his eyes.

"You sure you wanna do this?" Carl asked.

"How many times are you gonna ask, Carl?"

"Dude, you're 21. You haven't even lived yet."

Tony rolled his eyes again.

Before anyone else said anything, the door creaked open, and Heather toddled in, followed by Keri's sister Priscilla. "Dada!" she exclaimed, rushing over and hugging his leg despite the box in her hand.

"Hey, Princess," Tony said, scooping her up.

"Fwom Mama." Heather pushed the box into Tony's face, causing chuckles from the gathered group.

"Thanks." He balanced her on his hip as he grabbed the box out of her little hands. He placed it on the table next to him before walking to a chair and picking up another box. "Can you give this to Mama for me?"

"Uh huh!"

"Good." He kissed her on the cheek before putting her down and winking at Priscilla.

"Come on, honey," Priscilla said, putting her hand on Heather's shoulder to guide her out of the room.

"Buh-bye, Dada," Heather said.

"See you soon, Princess," Tony replied as the two ladies made their way out of the room.

"Okay, maybe kids aren't so bad," Carl conceded.

Tony simply smiled.

January 28, 2010

Tony made his way into the bullpen, stopping at Gibbs' desk. The team leader looked up at him.

"She said the man who attacked her was trying to get revenge on 'him,'" the younger man told him.

"You interviewed her?" Gibbs asked.

"Off the record. Follow up being done as we speak by Ziva."

Gibbs said nothing.

"I just can't figure out who 'he' is," Tony said, stepping back to lean against McGee's desk. "The midshipman? My father? Who?"

Gibbs' phone rang, effectively cutting off Tony's line of questioning. After a few moments, he hung up. "Abby's got an answer for us."

The two of them walked into Abby's lab to find the tech with a downtrodden expression on her face. "So, we found a stray hair in…" she started, turning around and letting her voice trail off as she recognized Tony standing behind Gibbs.

"Hannah's room," Tony finished for her.

"The DNA was degraded, so it took a little while to get a decent enough sample to run with, but I finally got a match."

"To who?"

"Ryan David Cortland."

Tony froze, and Gibbs watched the younger man. "You know him?" the older man asked.

"Arrested him," Tony replied. "About fifteen years ago. He raped and beat three girls to death in Peoria. It was the first serial case I worked on. One of the first cases we proved with DNA. Always said he was innocent, though, that he'd just had rough sex with them. All the evidence said otherwise, though. He broke in, raped them, forced objects in them, and beat them to death. Almost didn't get the conviction. He was one of those pillar of the community types. Had a wife and a six-year-old son. Neither of which had any idea what he was doing. Sick guy. But we had DNA, the new science that was just proven. Nailed him."

"How'd his DNA get at our scene?"

"I don't know. He died in prison four years ago. Stabbed by an inmate."

"What happened to the wife and son?"

Tony sighed. "Wife left him after the conviction, took the son with her. Don't know where they went. They changed their names, moved away. I never thought about it. I moved away myself."

"He ever threaten you?"

Tony shrugged. "Half the people I arrested did. I didn't exactly take it personally."

"Abby, any other DNA at the scene?"

Abby shook her head. "Just Hannah, Midshipman Johnson, and a few of Hannah's staff members and residents," she said.

"All of which have given statements that they've been in there," Tony added.

"We need to find that wife and son," Gibbs said.

"Ryan Cortland," McGee began. "Married Janice Emerson, had one son, Keith Cortland. After Ryan's conviction, Janice and Keith moved to Raleigh, North Carolina under the names Jacqueline and Kevin Hartford. Jacqueline remarried to Alfred Dawson, who adopted Kevin and gave him his last name."

"So, Keith Cortland is Kevin Dawson," Tony summarized.

"Yeah."

"Twenty-one years old. That makes him a… senior in college?"

"Yeah. At…"

Ziva entered the bullpen. "I talked to Hannah," she started. "And she thinks she has an idea about the guy who did this. Said he smelled a little like one of the guys she works with. A…" Her voice trailed off as she looked at her notes.

"Kevin?" Tony asked.

Ziva looked up. "Yes."

"Kevin Dawson was one of the people we interviewed," McGee said. "Said he'd been in her room a time or two, that they were friends. He'd gone over to offer his condolences."

"What, for killing her boyfriend?" Tony grumbled.

"This wasn't about her boyfriend," Gibbs said to Tony. "Or your father. It's about you."

Tony sighed. "I'm the 'him.' Kevin, what's his major?"

McGee hit a few keys before looking up. "Psychology with a minor in Forensic Sciences," he reported. "Working on his senior thesis, which appears to be about either wrongful convictions, the perfect crime, prison mentality, or the psychology behind police officers and their convictions."

"You can't tell for sure?" Tony asked.

"His library search doesn't pinpoint which one he's looking at specifically. It's one of them."

"We know what he wants," Gibbs said, looking at Tony.

Tony smiled. "Then, let's use it to our advantage."