Ahhhh! Sooo sorry for not updating sooner. I gave myself a Gibbs slap to make up for it.

Haha, so thank you so much to MythsndLegends for the name error. My computer was set to correct to "Zeva", and not the correct "Ziva." Thanks, now it will be right.

A shade Tony saw everyday when he looked in the mirror.

This, Tony thought with difficulty, might be an issue.

The picture frame slipped out of Tony's hand and fell to the floor, a small thump registering far back in his mind. Those eyes...he couldn't get them out of his head. Well, of course he couldn't; they were his. His eyes, and there was no escaping that.

No.

Why was this happening to him?

Just when everything had been going good, this came and just...well, he didn't really know.

The sound of heavy boots rang down the hall and brought Tony back to reality as Ziva looked from room to room for Tony. "Tony? Are you in here?" she called from down the hall.

"No," he tried to yell back, but found his voice wasn't working. No sound was emitted when he opened his mouth, so he just let it hang slack as he turned to face the door.

"Tony, you scared us back there..."she looked up at his face and responded, "What's the matter? You look like hell."

Now, see, here's the problem with that statement. Tony knew what hell was. Hell was waiting to die of a hundred year old disease that no one would help you out with. He'd been there and back when he watched Kate die. Then over again with Jenny. Not to mention the countless times on his father's account. This time, it felt like hell had come to him. Inside, he felt like he was on fire. Hot flames licked at his throat, drying every word he tried to say and reducing it to ashes in his mouth. The way his stomach rolled and flipped felt like a hot poker being stabbed in his midsection over and over. His eyes watered excessively and he made no notion to stop them.

Outside, he was the complete opposite. His palms were so cold he felt ice cubes hanging at his side, and his face had broken into a cold sweat. His feet felt frozen into his shoes, and he swayed on the spot.

"Tony?" Ziva's face contorted into a mask of worry. "Tony!" and she made a move to catch him as he stumbled forward. "I'm fine, Ziva I'm fine." He mumbled as he gained more control over his speech skills.

All he could think about were those eyes. The color was dead on, there was no denying it. But what he didn't understand was how young she was. Anna had last seen him about sixteen years ago, so the age didn't add up.

Ziva heard a call from Gibbs downstairs, shot Tony a worried glance and left the room. Taking deep breaths to stop the spinning, Tony sat down on the bed. The picture rested next to him, photo side down. The wood on the back had been written on, a date, maybe. He grabbed the frame and brought it up to his face, examining it for the date it was taken. A light hand had drawn on the back with pencil, "Katherine at the park, 1997." Doing the math in his head, she was about three or four at the time of the picture. Which made her now...

"Sixteen. Just about sixteen." He hadn't realized he spoke the words out loud until his reflection in the glass mouthed the words out in front of him. The glass was a bit dusty and he could only see himself slightly, his image blurred and drawn by the dust. Tony thought that this must be how Anna viewed him; his former self known, but blurry and unclear as to his next move.

After a few more minutes of contemplating what to do, he stood with a sigh and headed downstairs to help Ziva and the rest of the team. Tony's personal issues could wait to be dealt with later.

Back at headquarters the team organized the day's events onto a board. They knew this much; the house the shooting had taken place in belonged to Anna Reynolds, a woman of about forty one, and had one daughter, Katherine, who was sixteen. The daughter was being located, but no one quiet knew where she was yet. The shooter was a thirty two year old neighbor who had only run into the house as a precautionary and not as a target, so less focus on the family and more on him.

McGee came into the office and sat down at his desk with a sigh. Tony looked up and asked if he has found the daughter. The younger man shook his head and put his hand over his eyes. Tony silently cursed himself and turned back to his computer screen, a thousand questions flying through his head at once. Where was Katherine? Would she recognize him right away? Would it be hard to see her and not have her know?

Ziva looked over at him and asked him what was wrong. "Tony, I have never seen a case upset you so much. Her daughter will show up, it's just a matter of time."

"Time." McGee groaned and slapped his head. "Boss, she's only sixteen. It's about twelve thirty; she'll be in school today." Gibbs shot a look at the younger man that spoke without words. Go get her. Tony stood up hastily and tried to grab his gear but sat when Gibbs said no. "You feel too close to this case. I don't know why and neither do the rest of us, but ya do. Something's up that you're not telling us."

Gibbs had these deep gray colored eyes that made criminals cringe with fear when he walked into the interrogation cell; he commanded a room with a single glance that usually had Tony squirming and speaking within seconds. But this time, his green eyes were able to withstand the glare coming from the icy greys. Something had won out the grey eyes, and Gibbs nodded his head towards Tony who hesitated a moment, then bolted from his desk to the elevator, already planning the fastest route to the local high school.

"Uhh...boss?" McGee asked the older man. "Ya, McGee?" he said as he turned from watching Tony and his dramatic exit. "Katherine doesn't go to the local high school, or the one on base, she goes to an outside one a bit out of the area." Gibbs rolled his eyes over to McGee as he silently said, "And when were ya gonna tell him that?" "I'll get on that, Boss." McGee called Tony and told him that the coordinates and directions were sent to his car. Tony listened and muttered thanks, hanging up on the newest team member, who in turn made a face about how he felt towards the senior agent.

Ziva looked up from her paperwork and muttered, "Men. Go fixate."

"It's figure, Ziva. Go figure."

Tony pulled up to the high school in a rush of dust and squealing tires. His car slammed to a stop as he flew from the car and ignored the annoying school yard lady in a flashy orange vest telling him it was illegal to park there, but he silenced her with a flash of his badge. He yelled in her face, asking where the main office was, and she pointed a shaky finger off somewhere to the right of the main building.

Taking off, he noticed all the strange looks he was getting, so he slowed down and tried to calm himself. Straightening his tie and pulling his jacket down and out in the sleeves, he hoped he looked more normal. Besides the teens walking around him, he noticed a strange sensation coming over him. It was a feeling of remembering; of passing notes when the teacher turned his back to the class, of laughing at the kid who got toilet paper stuck to his shoes, of spitting paper balls into the opening of the band kid's instruments, and of taking someone down to under the bleachers to be out of sight from the tearing eyes of your peers. His palms started to sweat and his heart rate increased. There was only one place, aside from your girlfriend's parents' house, that could have this effect on him.

High school.

Looking around the open school yard, he saw that the building was designed in a wide U, with the top opening towards you as you walk in. The gym and the auditorium were off to the left, and the library to the right. As you walked in a glass structure covered your head from rain or snow, depending on the season. The parking lot was in front of the whole school and wrapped around to the right of the building. It was old, and made to look like a historic structure, with ivy draping the walls and climbing up towards the roof. Archways took places of doors, and almost all of them were wooden.

The cliques clearly stood out in his mind, but weren't really defined by the location of people. Everyone looked happy and content to sit in a general mass and not exclude those who didn't have the same social status. Sure, people were defined by looks, but it wasn't brutal. Tony relaxed a bit inside, for he thought that having this kind of environment would be better for a kid than the harsh society he grew up in.

As he pushed through the wide doors with one hand, he held the other in his pocket, searching for his note of authority to take Katherine, when a redhead turned the corner up ahead and raised her eyebrows at him. "Are you a visitor here, sir?" she asked, with a slight drawl in her voice. She was shorter than average height and really small. Her yellow jacket covered a purple t-shirt with a band name on it. Her jeans had small rips in them and looked like she had been climbing fences. Black sneakers with white laces were on her feet and looked worn. Her hair was an unruly mess of curls, and they reminded him of Anna. A small laugh bubbled to his laugh, and the girl just stared at him, her pink gum halting in half chew.

"Oh. Yes, sorry. I'm looking for the main office?" he stumbled over. She turned and tried to hide the roll of her eyes, but Tony was a trained agent, he caught it.

While the girl walked him to the office, he noticed attributes in her, and the other students, that he hoped his, God, daughter, would have or not have. He like the hair on his guide, just not the color. She mentioned her name was Kenet, and she launched into a pre planned speech.

With a sigh, Kenet said, "Welcome to Cedar Point High, home of the kangaroos, established in 1814, when..."

A girl who bent over the drinking fountain was wearing all black some chains that crossed her chest in a scary way caught Tony's eye as they walked by. Kenet kept talking, but he wasn't really listening. When the girl at the water fountain turned around, he saw the thick eyeliner that filled the area under her bright blue eyes and made her look like a raccoon. He shivered and prayed Katherine wouldn't wear makeup like that.

"...and ever since then, the crack has remained in the same place, never fixed. Ya know, I never liked that crack. I always thought it was annoying, especially since..."

A girl walked down the hallway in the middle of a group of boys who clearly worshiped her. She was a stunning blond, but her shirt didn't meet the top of her lowly slung jeans, and normally he would have made a comment to her, but thinking about Katherine stopped him. As she passed, he noticed the band of cloth above her pants. Dear God, no...

"...and I know I'm supposed to technically give you a tour of the whole school, since I am the elected greeter here, but you look real anxious, so I'll just take you to the main office right away. But if they ask, you saw everything, ok? I'm sure you're here for a good reason."

He looked at her gratefully and she smiled up at him. They walked into a room with a desk on the left hand side of the room that connected to the wall, and a narrow hallway going to a back room. The woman at the desk looked up as the door swung shut at Kenet as if waiting for something. There was a moment of silence, before Kenet jumped from her slouched stance behind Tony. "Oh! Sorry, Ms. Groven, this is...uh..." He realized he had never told the girl his name so he stepped forward and stuck his hand out to the receptionist, "Tony DiNozzo, m' am. NCIS." She accepted his hand and nodded at Kenet, who waved and ducked out of office, clearly wanting to be other places.

As the door closed, the woman motioned to a chair for Tony to sit in. He turned and looked at the plastic chair, memories flooding back to him. The seat squeaked as he sat down, and he looked around embarrassedly. No one noticed, but he still remembered being laughed at for something like that. The receptionist was finishing up a phone call that he had interrupted, and he looked around at the blandness of the room. Generic magazines sat on the table in front of him, with titles like, "College: How to find one and be accepted", "Teens and how to deal with them", and finally, "Brains: We all have one!" How different high school had become...

The click of the phone being hung up brought Tony back to reality, and he stood and walked over to Ms. Groven. She looked up and asked, "Now, sir, how can I be of assistance today?" Her blue eyes were soft, set in a kind face that matched the personality of the woman. She was older and a bit heavy, but yet seemed homey. He pulled the note out of his pocket slowly, and said he needed to take someone back to headquarters. Her eyes widened but she remained calm, as she looked up Katherine in the directory and called the classroom she was in. "Yes, hello Mr. Porter? This is Ms. Groven at the main office. Can you please send Katherine Reynolds to the main office? Oh, well ok then. Thank you for your time."

Tony had been tapping a pen open and closed on the counter of the office, and looked up as she hung up the phone. "Well, she's taking a test right now, but he said he could send her down in about fifteen minutes." Tony stared at her for a moment, then told her to just have Katherine sent out to the front of the school and he would bring his car around.

Tony walked down the halls slowly, trying to calm himself and to get a feel for where Katherine spent everyone of her days. Above the lockers were pictures of sports in the past years. All the halls had them lined everywhere and he wondered if he could find Katherine, but saw he was in the 1940's, so he figured she wouldn't be there. The years got closer to the present as he exited the building, but he couldn't find her. What he did find, however, was a bright red tow truck about to pull his blue government car away.

"Hey! Hey, no! That's my car! STOP!" He waved his arms as he ran towards his car and held his badge out towards the man trying to load his car into the truck. The man stopped and backed up, hands in an apologizing gesture at his chest. After ten minutes of arguing about why he should get off without a ticket, the man with the truck yelled a few choosy words to Tony and flipped him off, ripping out of the parking lot with a lot of dust. Standing in a cloud of dust coughing, he didn't notice the girl approach his car from the main office. She stood back about twenty feet and just watched him; her backpack slung over one shoulder. Tony turned to watch the front doors, and saw her.

"Umm...hello? Are you Tony DiNozzo?" Her voice was a bit lower than the average girl, but not deep. She stood at five foot seven and had on a light blue t shirt with a black cardigan sweater. Her jeans were a deep color indigo and she had grey flats on. Nails painted a bright pink, they clung to her backpack strap tightly. Her hair was down today, coming down in waves that frizzed a bit in the heat and parted on the right side of her face. Her face was rounder, with full eyebrows and a nose that was the slightest bit wider than normal. Her lips were pursed, one side bit in confusion. But it was her eyes he couldn't see; between the sunny day and the clearing dust, he just couldn't tell. He took a step forward and she looked up at him.

His heart stopped. There they were. Those green eyes he had been looking for.

She waited for an answer, and Tony found his throat tightening a bit. He cleared it, pretending it was dust, and said, "Yes, Katherine, I'm Tony DiNozzo. I'm afraid there's been an accident, and you're going to have to come with me." She looked down at her shoes and bit her lip again, but then looked him straight in the eye and agreed.

As Katherine got in the car, she slung her backpack down on the floor of the front seat and sat down. Tony gripped the wheel in a death grip, he felt like a nervous teenage boy on his first date. Katherine sat there and looked around the car; it was a new place for her. She tapped her lap with her hands as Tony started the car and pulled out of the school parking lot. Now that he had met her, he didn't know what to do. It was obvious right away that he couldn't tell her he was her father, he still had troubles dealing with it himself. He thought it was weird that she agreed right away to leave with him, but her mom was a Navy officer, so maybe their kids were trained differently. He looked at her and saw she was practicing a beat on her lap. "Are you in a band?" he wondered out loud. "No." she answered quickly. "Well, ok, I mean the school band, but not like a cool band or anything." She smiled embarrassedly at him. "Oh, really. What instrument do you play?" She must have thought he was making small talk, but he learned this was a fast way to find out more about his daughter. "I play percussion." She said proudly this time. "The only girl in the whole section." Tony smiled at this, and how she found it a feat. They talked idly for a few more moments before the conversation stopped. Katherine looked out the window and watched the scenery go by with a thoughtful look on her face. Tony asked what class he had pulled her out of, and she replied, "History. It's my favorite one." And before he could apologize, she laughed, "It's fine. Ms. Miller gives some of the hardest tests, so I was glad to have an extension." Tony smiled and said, "My favorite class was always gym." Katherine laughed and said, "A bunch of guys say that. Is it just because it's an easy A or because you like to show off your muscles?" And she smiled mischievously at him. He found himself laughing and opening up to this girl, and that it was easy to talk to her. By the time they pulled up to the security gate at the office, he knew all about her day at school and most of her friends. A stab of regret shot through him as he thought, "Things all fathers should know about their daughters."

As Tony hit the button on the elevator to go to the office level, Katherine asked him where he worked. "Uhh...NCIS." Based off the blank look on Katherine's face, he explained, "Naval crime investigative service. We solve crimes having to do with or related to the navy." "So, then, if this is the Navy, why am I here?" Tony said, "Because of your mother, Katherine." She scrunched her eyebrows together and looked at her shoes again. "Is she ok, Mr. DiNozzo? Did something happen to her?" Tony looked straight ahead as he answered, "It will all be explained when we meet..."

The ding of the floor being reached cut him off mid sentence, and the metal doors swung open, revealing a taller man in a clean cut suit clearly waiting for the pair to arrive. His arms were crossed and his foot looked as though it had been tapping the floor. "Well, DiNozzo took ya long enough, didn't it?" And even Gibbs didn't understand how the underlying double meaning in his words stung as he escorted Katherine into the area he Christened, "The Pit."

Ahhh! Getting so much better! I am sorry again for not updating sooner, stupid stuff in my way. I am sorry for any spelling mistakes, I tried hard to catch them all! Thanks again and keep reading!