Disclaimer: Nothing's mine!

A/N: Sooo there were a lot of unforseen circumstances that are responsible for the delay. I won't try to explain them to you because that would need a chapter of its own. Let me just say that I'm really sorry and that I'm still staring at the number of your reviews in awe and wonder! Thank you so much!

Chapter 03 is already at my beta, the great Ktwesterna who also beta'd this chapter, so it should come a lot sooner!

Important: Please remember that you need to have read TDBTD before reading this story. From now on there will be a lot of little references throughout the story that you won't get if you haven't read the prequel.

On with the chapter:


Their Day in Baltimore


Chapter 02

To say that Gibbs was surprised would have been the understatement of the year.

He had a brief second of incomprehension before the penny finally dropped. And it dropped like a bombshell.

'DiNozzo... Anthony... Tony!'

Images and memories invaded his mind, whirling in his head like a tornado.

'A boy, sitting on the sidewalk holding an ice pack to his head... A boy standing in a big office, looking forlorn and strangely lost... A boy sitting on a bed, eating pizza and watching a James Bond movie... And finally, same boy, lying in a hospital bed watching him go with unreadable eyes...

And now, 15 years later, that little boy was standing right in front of him again, in an officer of the Baltimore PD, all grown up and bearing almost no resemblance to the scrawny little kid from back then.

Gibbs face didn't show any emotion as he took the offered hand, nodded and greeted the young man with a gruff "DiNozzo", but inwardly he felt as if he had been plunged into the past.

It was so surreal, he almost expected little Mia to pop up from behind the desk.

As soon as the surprise faded, a wave of shame cursed through him. He had to admit that he'd never really bothered to check up on the boy. Oh he had planned to, even vowed, but with Kelly's birth, every plan he might have had disappeared into thin air.

His little girl hadn't been born as healthy as he would have liked: since day one Kelly had suffered from a mild congenital heart defect. It hadn't been anything too serious and the doctor that had treated and operated on her had been a pre-eminent in his field, but the first two years of her life had been filled with fear and worry for Gibbs and his wife. He had barely been able to concentrate on his work, let alone a little boy in New York.

By the time Kelly had her last appointment with the doctor and Gibbs could think about things other than operations, hospitals and doctor's bills, years had passed.

And his vow had been all but forgotten.

The guilt was almost too much for a moment before Gibbs remembered that, until today, Tony hadn't bothered to call either. Maybe there hadn't been any reason to worry about the boy, after all...

He inconspicuously let his eyes wander over the man in front of him. Tony had changed quite a bit, indeed. His hair was still the same color as it had been back then but it was a little bit longer. His clothes looked quite expensive and seemed to hide a well-toned body.

Yes, Tony had obviously fared well alone.

'Of course he has. He's a Detective, and at such a young age at that...'

Even back then, Gibbs had thought that the boy had a lot of potential running through his veins, but with a father like DiNozzo Sr., he had doubted whether Tony would get to take advantage of that potential. He had feared that the kid would have to spend the rest of his life behind some desk in his fathers company.

But it seemed like DiNozzo Sr. had done one good deed after all, by letting Tony decide his own career.

A strong spark of something akin to pride flared in Gibbs chest - which he stifled almost immediately, mainly because he didn't understand it.

Why should he feel proud of the boy? And what was with the 'boy', anyway? The man in front of him was certainly not a 'boy' anymore. In front of him stood a young man, a detective, that had probably faced his own fare share of rapists and murderers over the years. A man that didn't need his approval or attention or even his protection anymore.

So why couldn't he stop thinking of him as a 'boy'?

They had barely seen each other for more than five minutes after a 15 year-long hiatus and he was already falling back into old patterns.

And worse, Gibbs couldn't seem to forget what had lead to their hurried departure back then.

Kelly's birth.

While he loved to remember his daughter, he dreaded the memory of her birth. He knew that other parents who lost their child cherished that particular memory, but every time he thought about the day Shannon had brought Kelly into the world, he couldn't help but think about the day that man had ripped her out of it again, too.

It was almost as if the day of her death had been decided on the day of her birth.

And Gibbs couldn't stand that thought. The thought that, from the very beginning, he was only meant to have 12 years with his daughter.

Remembering Tony ultimately meant remembering Kelly's birth and even after three years he wasn't anywhere near ready for that.

But here was Tony, staring at him and obviously waiting for a reaction. Any kind of reaction.

Gibbs decided, there and then, that he would have to keep his distance if he didn't want to be overwhelmed by the memories. He couldn't afford to get as close to the boy as he had back then. And he really didn't want to either.

"You know each other?" Mike asked, looking from one man to the other.

"We've met before." Tony drawled while he obviously tried to suppress a grin.

Gibbs on the other hand, deliberately ignored the comment and turned towards the older Detective.

"What can you tell me about the murders?"

Gibbs didn't have to see the surprised hurt in Tony's eyes, to know that it was there, but he didn't allow himself to react.

This was for the best.

He was determined to close this case as fast as possible and that meant that he would have to leave for DC pretty soon, leaving Tony behind... again.

'Better the kid doesn't get too attached this time.' he thought.

The possibility that, maybe, he was afraid to get too attached to the kid as well, didn't even cross his mind.


Tony could only blink in surprise when Gibbs turned towards Mike and more or less ignored him. He hadn't expected hugs and tears but he'd thought he would get more than the cold shoulder he was facing right now.

Tony noticed that he'd clenched his hands into fists and forcibly relaxed them.

He'd had no idea how this reunion would go, but it certainly wasn't supposed to be like this, was it? It certainly wasn't supposed to turn into a complete disaster!

And hadn't Gibbs mouth briefly, almost too quick to catch in fact, quirked into a lopsided grin when Tony had introduced himself?

Hadn't he seen genuine joy in the man's eyes when they'd shaken hands?

Or had he really imagined those things?

'What did you expect? You were a kid back then. Everyone is nice to kids, especially an Agent. You don't get that privilege anymore. And why should you?' , an all too familiar voice whispered in his head. He mentally shook it off as well as he could.

He couldn't afford to think like that anymore. Couldn't afford to dwell on the past. But one thing was true nonetheless: he wasn't that little cheeky kid anymore. He was an adult now, like Gibbs, and he wouldn't let the Agents rejection get to him.

In a way he was almost relieved.

If Gibbs kept on ignoring him, he wouldn't have to face any uncomfortable questions. And he wouldn't have to worry about the secret he'd kept from the man back then. Although he was more or less free of his father, he still didn't want anyone to know about the life he'd led as a kid.

Least of all Gibbs.

No, this was for the best. Better to act like nothing happened between them. Better tonot let emotions get in the way. Better to focus strictly on the job at hand. Tony preferred it that way anyway.

It was professional. It was safe.

It was also sad and gut-wrenchingly painful, but it was safe.

They would solve this case together and then Gibbs would go back to DC and Tony would change departments yet again and burn that damn paper with Gibbs number on it and never look back.

That was the plan.

Tony could almost pretend that it was a pretty good plan on top of that.

"Yeah well, I solved a case of his when I was just a teenager. No big deal." he said and put just enough mockery and sarcasm into the words to conceal the true wistfulness he felt.

Judging by the dirty look Gibbs threw him, he succeeded.

"Well... okay then." Mike was clearly uncomfortable with the tension in the room and moved towards the table with the reports and pictures. He obviously wanted to get this over with.

"The first victim was Alan Lowe, 31 years old. He was an accountant and married to Karen Lowe" He pointed to a picture that showed a middle aged man with brown hair and equally brown eyes. "A jogger found his body in a nearby park. Our ME estimated that he was already dead for several hours which would imply that he was killed in the middle of the night."

Mike picked up another picture and handed it to Gibbs. It showed the crime scene with Lowe's body, naked and stretched out like a sacrificial lamb in the mud.

"We found tire tracks in the nearby vicinity. It looks like he was killed somewhere else then dumped there" Tony continued. "The tires are standard models, which are used for many different types of cars. Unless we find the killers car and compare the tracks they are useless."

The young Italian handed Gibbs yet another picture that showed the vic's body in greater detail. Especially his wounds.

"Was he beaten to death?" Gibbs asked. Although Mike already opened his mouth to respond, Tony jumped in and practically cut him off. A little voice in the back of his mind taunted that he was pretty eager to show Gibbs how good he was at his job for someone that had decided to ignore the man, but he silenced it almost immediately.

"No, but it was close. Cause of death was strangulation." Tony's voice turned a little bit softer at the mention of the strangulation. He always thought that it had to be the most horrible way to die. His father had once strangled him in drunken stupor and although it couldn't have lasted more than ten seconds, Tony still experienced nights where he woke up with the feeling of hands around his neck.

He cleared his throat and continued. "I already talked to his wife, who has an alibi by the way. She told us that her husband called after work and told her that he had to take care of something and that he would be late for dinner. When she asked what was wrong he said that it was a surprise and hung up. That was the last time she heard fromhim before his corpse was found the next morning."

Gibbs nodded thoughtfully. "And no one knows where he was going?"

Mike took a seat and used one of the less gruesome pictures to fan air into his face. "No. We asked his colleagues and some of his friends but no one knows what he had planned. But one co-worker told us that Lowe seemed a bit distracted the last couple of days. Nothing major - he missed one or two meetings and came late for work - but the guy said that those things were very unlike Lowe."

"What about the second victim, Corporal Lance Sperr?"

Tony shrugged. "Pretty much the same." He handed Gibbs the picture of another man. "Found in a park in the early morning hours, probably killed somewhere around midnight. Apparently strangled to death although we are still waiting for our ME to confirm it."

Gibbs stared at the pictures of the two victims intently before he raised his head and made eye contact with Tony.

"They look exactly the same."

Tony knew what Gibbs really wanted to say and barely kept himself from rolling his eyes.

'They look exactly like you.'

The victims looked like him alright, but Tony didn't really see why Mike, and now apparently Gibbs, had such a problem with that. A lot of people closely resembled him.

Gibbs continued to stare at him as if he was waiting for some kind of answer, but Tony just stared back with a smug smile on his lips. Finally the Agent looked back to Mike.

"Did you already speak with his wife?"

Mike shook his head and looked rather sheepish. "Not yet. We only identified him a few hours ago and DiNozzo thought it would be best to wait with the interrogation until you arrived. She doesn't even know that he's dead yet."

"Good. I'm gonna do the interview."

Tony couldn't help but narrow his eyes at Gibbs superior tone. "Yeah, with me. It is still as much our case as it is yours now, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs glared at him but Tony wasn't going to back down. If Gibbs thought he could storm in here and hijack the case he'd obviously forgotten how stubborn the young Italian could be.

Before Mike could attempt to interrupt the staring contest between the two men there was a knock on the door. It opened to reveal Dr. Mallard and Tony felt a cold lump settle in his stomach.

He had really liked the doctor back then but he hadn't spent nearly as much time with him as he had with Gibbs. And if Gibbs was already treating him like he wasn't even there how would Ducky act?

The doctor had no idea of the young man's inner turmoil. He automatically addressed Gibbs, not because he was rude, but because he tended to oversee other people's presence when he had something interesting to tell.

"Ah Jethro, I've finally found you. The architecture of this station is rather confusing. It reminds me of that library in Moskow I once visited. It had the oddest layout I had ever seen, I can tell you..."

Tony grinned, relieved that Ducky obviously hadn't changed that much, but Gibbs didn't look amused.

"Did you find something Duck?"

The doctor didn't seem to mind the interruption all that much. "I certainly have. The poor Mister Sperr had taken quite a beating before he was strangled to death, sometime between midnight and 2.00 AM. Unfortunately I wasn't able to find any traces from our killer but I did manage to find some unknown substance under his nails."

"What kind of substance?" Tony asked.

Ducky shot him a quick look before turning back to the glasses he was currently cleaning with a handkerchief. "At first glance I thought it was blood but I now believe that it is some sort of paint." He glanced at Gibbs. "And before you ask: yes, I already sent a sample to dear Abigail. She should have it in a few hours."

The old man continued to clean his glasses for a few seconds before he put them back on and finally turned towards the other two occupants in the room. This time his eyes lingered on Tony's face. His brow furrowed a tiny bit and he tilted his head to one side and then to the other as if he was trying to remember something.

Tony unconsciously held his breath.

"Excuse me my boy..." Ducky began. "But...do we, by any chance, know each other?"

Had Tony turned around he would have seen Gibbs shocked and disbelieving face but he didn't. He could only stare back at the old man. He felt elated as well as a bit hurt.

Why hadn't Gibbs asked him that?

"Yes Doctor Mallard, we do. My name's Anthony. Anthony DiNozzo."

Even before he'd completed his sentence Ducky's eyes began to glow with warmth.

"Ah, Anthony! My dear Lord, you have grown quite a lot haven't you? And you're a detective now. Good for you my boy, good for you." He took Tony's hand in both of his and shook it enthusiastically. "How have you been? I hope your wrist doesn't bother you anymore?"

Tony couldn't believe it.

'He remembers that? He remembers my wrist? And he is truly happy to see me?'

A gruff bark interrupted his thoughts.

"He's fine, Ducky. DiNozzo, if you still want to come with me you better get moving." And with that the older Agent spun around and left the room.

Ducky's smile faltered for a second before he composed himself. "I guess you have to go. We'll talk later, yes?"

"I'd love to Dr. Mallard." Tony was only partially surprised that he actually meant it.

The older man patted him on the shoulder. "It's Ducky, please."

Tony smiled faintly. "Ducky. Right."

When he left the office to hurry after Gibbs, he saw that the Agent was already in front of the elevators, tapping his foot impatiently while he waited for it to arrive.

He had to run if he didn't want to be left behind and while he maneuvered around dozens of people who either glared or outright insulted him, he wondered what he'd gotten himself into.

Gibbs obviously couldn't care less about him and now he had condemned himself to a long car drive with the man that alternately glared or ignored him.

'Ah well, at least it can't get much worse...'

And then he remembered Gibbs driving.

'Oh God. Please let me survive this...'

TBC


A/N:

Oh come ooooon! You didn't really think that it was going to be hugs and tears, as Tony put it?! The road from 'Second B stands for Bastard' to 'Papa Bear' is a long one but we are going to make it! Promise.

From now on I'll post the progress of the next chapters in my profile, so if you want to know how far I am with the next one, one click is enough! :)