Hey my lovely readers! THANK YOU for the great reviews and comments. It makes my day reading all the great things you all have to say! Just to address a question I was asked, I aim to update this story every 2-3 days (time and inspiration permitting). So with that…
Here we go! Chapter 18! Enjoy! :-)
I DO NOT own NCIS and blah, blah, blah…let's just keep rolling shall we?
Tony and Kate laid wrapped in one another's arms, sleeping peacefully on Monday morning. The alarm clock buzzed and Kate aimlessly reached over to shut it off. Rubbing her eyes, her vision slowly cleared to the sight of someone standing next to her bed, staring at her. Kate gasped as she reached under her pillow searching for the gun that was supposed to be there before realizing that it was Arissa standing in her bedroom and not an intruder.
"Arissa, what are you doing up?" asked Kate, trying to catch her breath.
"I go to school today, Kate!" shouted Arissa as she hopped into bed between Kate and Tony, who was still sound asleep.
Coming to her senses, Kate finally realized that it was in fact Monday morning, which meant that today was Arissa's first day at daycare. Sharon had set it up so that the state would cover the cost of child care for Arissa and they were able to find a program close to NCIS that had in immediate opening. After Abby's exaggerated stories about everything she would get to do, Arissa couldn't wait to start daycare.
"Are you excited?" asked Kate, as she sat up and pulled the little girl into her arms.
"Yeah! Abby say I get to learn about colors and numbers and letters. And she say I can use what I learnt to help her at N-Y-C-A."
"We work at N-C-I-S, sweetie!"
"I know! Are you and Nozzo going to school with me?"
"No, you have to go all by yourself."
A nervous look came over Arissa's face. "You going to leave me?"
"Yes, but only for a little while. We'll be back to get you this afternoon."
"You promise?"
"I promise!"
Arissa hugged Kate. "Can I pick out my outfit?"
"Sure," said Kate as Arissa hopped out of bed and ran off towards her room.
"See why I had you put that gun away? You almost shot a three year old!" said Tony, as he laid half sleep beside Kate.
"Sorry, I'm not use to having a kid around the house yet."
"Better get used to it Agent Mommy, pretty soon you will two more running around here," said Tony, gently placing a kiss on Kate's stomach, resting his head on her belly.
"Don't remind me!" sighed Kate as she ran her fingers through Tony's hair.
"Well at least you get to get practice being a mommy with Arissa."
Arissa ran into the room, smiling and carrying a pair of glittery jeans and a pink shirt. "I want to wear this!"
"Okay!" smiled Kate as Arissa ran back out the room.
"How can she possibly have this much energy so early in the morning?" asked Tony.
"She's worse than Abby after too many Caf-Pows! You mind practicing being a daddy and helping her get dressed?"
"Why can't you do it?"
Kate cut her eyes at Tony. "Because I'm busy growing your kids inside me!"
Tony smiled. "Fine," he kissed Kate before rolling out of bed and to help Arissa get dressed.
It was only 7am and Arissa was running through the apartment laughing and giggling while Tony tried his best to get her dressed for the day.
"I go to school! I go to school!" laughed Arissa as she ran between her room and Kate's, half dressed.
"Kate! Where are Arissa's socks?" yelled Tony as he rummaged through Arissa's dresser.
"Top drawer!" yelled Kate.
"They're not…" Tony spotted the tiny pair of rolled up socks. "Found them!"
Kate stood in the kitchen, attempting to cook breakfast while she searched through her cabinets for something for the three year old to take to daycare with her for snack.
"Arissa, what do you want for snack?" shouted Kate. "I have crackers and peanut butter or granola?"
"I like crackers!" said Arissa as she appeared in the kitchen door with her shirt stuck over her head. "Help me, Kate!"
Kate laughed as she pulled Arissa's shirt down over her head revealing her smiling face. "Let's go do your hair," said Kate as she led the little girl to the bathroom.
"Can I have it like Abby's?"
"Sure! Tony, finish breakfast!"
Kate did Arissa's hair and when she was done, she held Arissa up so she could she herself in the medicine cabinet mirror.
"Look how pretty you look?" said Kate.
Arissa ran her hand over her face where scars from her cuts still remained. "I still got cuts, Kate."
"I know, sweetie. It's going to take some time for them to go away."
"But you say I look pretty. I no look pretty with cuts."
"Who says? You are the prettiest little girl I have ever seen!"
Arissa smiled as she hugged Kate. "Thank you, Kate."
"You're welcome, sweetie! Come on, we better get going. You don't want to be late for your first day! Go grab your backpack and shoes"
"Can I take Teddy and Mr. Snuggles with me?"
"Sure," Kate put Arissa down as she ran out of the bathroom nearly running into Tony, who was making his way into the bathroom.
"Arissa, you're going to have to eat in the car, we're running behind!" said Tony as he reached for his toothbrush noticing Kate's outfit. "Really, Kate?"
"What?"
"Your pants!"
Kate looked down and noticed her outfit. While she had managed to find a sweater that still fit over her bump, she was still in pajama pants. "Crap! No wonder they felt so comfortable! I don't even know if I have a pair of pants that will button to go with this sweater?"
"Will you just face the facts and buy some maternity clothes?"
Kate tugged on her sweater, noticing how tight it was around her belly. "Fine! I'll take Abby and go shopping this weekend! In the meantime, where's that Red OSU sweatshirt of yours?" asked Kate as she left the bathroom.
Tony laughed.
The trio entered into the sky blue painted classroom and was instantly greeted by the roar of kids playing. Tony, Kate and Arissa stood in the classroom doorway for a moment and watched the organized chaos that was happening in front of them. Just then a young, blonde woman with too much energy for 8am approached them.
"Hello! My name is Jackie! You must be Mr. and Mrs. DiNozzo!" said the woman.
"Actually it's DiNozzo and Todd," corrected Kate. "Nice to meet you!"
"The pleasure is mine! This must be Arissa! I've heard a lot about you, young lady!"
Arissa shied away from the woman, hiding herself behind Tony's leg. "Nozzo?"
"She's isn't all that comfortable around woman," stated Tony.
"Oh, that's right. I remember Ms. Lee saying something about that. Well in that case, let me introduce you to my assistant, Robbie."
Jackie signaled and a young, blonde man who could have been Jackie's twin with just as much energy walked over.
"Hi, I'm Robbie!" exclaimed the man as he extended a hand to Tony.
"Nice to meet you, Robbie," replied Tony questionable of the man's energy level.
"Robbie, this is Mr. DiNozzo and Ms. Todd. Their little girl Arissa, will be joining our class today!" said Jackie.
Robbie noticed Arissa standing behind Tony.
"Hi Arissa. I really like your hair!" said Robbie.
"Thank you," whispered Arissa. "Kate did it."
"She did a very good job! How would you like to come and see your new classroom?" asked Robbie as he reached his hand out for Arissa.
Arissa looked up to Tony.
"It's okay, you can go with him," ensured Tony to the little girl. "At least I hope its okay?"
Arissa reached out and took Robbie's hand.
"She's in good hands," said Jackie as she left to join Arissa and Robbie.
Tony and Kate walked out of the classroom before Arissa had a chance to notice.
"They are a little too excited for eight in the morning!" said Tony. "You think they're on something?"
"They work with kids, Tony! They have to be high energy to keep up with them," replied Kate.
"I don't trust them! Remind me to run a background check on them when we get to the office!"
After giving her the tour, Robbie left Arissa to go and mingle with the other kids in the classroom. Unsure of her new surroundings, Arissa sat in the corner and played with her two teddy bears by herself until a little girl approached her.
"My name Brittany, what your name?"
Arissa looked up at the little girl fearful. "Arissa."
Brittany sat down on the floor next to Arissa. "You teddy bears are cute. What they names?"
"Teddy and Mr. Snuggles."
"Why you play by yourself?"
Arissa shrugged her shoulders.
"You want to play with me? I coloring with my friend, Sammy."
"Okay," said Arissa as Brittany took her by the hand and led her over to a round table where a little brown haired boy sat coloring.
"Sammy, this Arissa. She our new friend."
"Hi! I like your teddy bears!" replied Sammy with a smile.
"Thank you," replied Arissa.
Arissa sat down with the two children and started to color. After talking with the two kids for a while, Arissa started to become more comfortable allowing her tension to disappear. She was beginning to enjoy daycare until two bigger, twin boys, Shawn and Jeremy, approached the three kids.
"What happened to your face?" asked Shawn, pointing to Arissa's scars.
"That looks nasty," added Jeremy. "Why your face look like that?"
"I got cut," said Arissa in a shaky voice.
"Well you look ugly!" said Shawn, loudly.
Tears began to form in Arissa's eyes. "I not ugly, I pretty!"
"Leave her alone! She not ugly! Stop being mean!" shouted Brittany.
"Look, she crying! She's a crybaby!" interjected Jeremy.
"Leave me alone," screamed Arissa, trying her best to hold back her tears with no luck
"Crybaby! Crybaby" taunted the twin boys.
"I said leave her alone!" shouted Brittany. Brittany pushed the boys causing them to fall to the ground. "Leave her alone! She not ugly, you meanie!"
Robbie noticed the argument between the kids and rushed over stepped in. "What's going on?" asked Robbie as helped the boys off the ground.
"She push us!" shouted Shawn.
"They being mean! They make her cry!" said Brittany, pointing to Arissa who stood crying.
"Is that true? Were you two being mean to Arissa?" asked Robbie.
"She look ugly. She got cuts on her face!" shouted Jeremy.
"That's not nice! We are not mean to each other! We don't make fun of others! And Brittany we don't push either, I want you four to come with me!" said Robbie as he took the two boys, Arissa and Brittany and led them out of the room.
When they arrived at work, Gibbs informed them that they would be going to the shooting range for target practice. Kate was more than happy to go to the range and shoot as it would allow her to left off some of the stress she had been feeling lately. Tony on the other hand, was not so thrilled.
"I don't know about this, Boss! I don't think Kate should be out here, being pregnant and all!" objected Tony.
"Pregnant or not, she is still an agent, who needs to be able to efficiently shoot her weapon," replied Gibbs.
"But I don't think it is safe for the babies to be exposed to the noise of the guns going off!"
"They're fine, Tony! Let's just shoot!" replied Kate as she loaded her gun.
"Fine, but just to be safe," Tony picked up two pairs of protective ear coverings and placed them over Kate's stomach, smiling.
Kate snatched off the ear coverings before slapping Tony in the back of the head, which caused Gibbs and McGee to both laugh. Tony, Kate and McGee all stepped up to the firing line while Gibbs stepped back to watch his agents in action.
The starter buzzed as shots started to fly. Kate was fully focused on her target as she quickly fired her first round. She unloaded her empty clip, quickly replacing it with a new one to begin firing again. She let off two shots before a sudden tremble in her stomach caught her attention. She focused her attention back on her shooting, firing a few more shots before the feeling returned. A smile crossed Kate's face as the buzzer sounded, seizing all fire.
"Kate, you were doing good, why did you stop?" asked Gibbs.
"Um, I got a little distracted," replied Kate as she placed a hand on her stomach, still feeling the movement.
"Distracted by what? We're at an indoor range?" asked Tony.
"They moved!" smiled Kate.
"What? Really!" exclaimed Tony as he placed his hand on Kate's stomach.
"Yeah, was firing my second clip, when I felt it."
Tony moved his hand around Kate's stomach. "I don't feel anything."
"Here, let me see," McGee reached out his hand to touch Kate's stomach but was stopped by Tony grabbing his hand.
"Not if you enjoy having two hands, Probie!"
"Sorry!" exclaimed McGee as he retracted his hand.
"Hate to break up this little family moment, but if you don't mind maybe we can get back to shooting?" interjected Gibbs.
"On it," replied the three agents as they stepped back up to the line to shoot again.
Tony's cellphone rang. "DiNozzo?"
Tony and Kate received the phone call and rushed to the daycare, still wearing their shooting range gear and packing their guns. They ran into the timeout classroom to find Arissa sitting at a table with Brittany and the two boys.
"Kate! Nozzo!" shouted Arissa, running up to hug Kate's leg.
"Arissa, what happened?" huffed Tony, trying to catch his breath from running.
"They was being mean to me!" said Arissa, pointing at the boys.
Robbie walked over and immediately noticed the guns that rested on Tony and Kate's waists. "I'm sorry but we don't allow weapons on the premises!"
"We're federal agents, Robbie! We carry guns! Now, what happened?"
Robbie sighed. "Arissa was involved in an altercation with Shawn and Jeremy over there. They were making fun of her scars and calling her ugly. She got pretty upset and started to cry and well, the altercation got physical!"
"Oh my god! She hit them?" exclaimed Kate.
"No! No! Arissa is a very sweet girl. I don't think she has it in her to hit anyone. But Brittany stepped in on Arissa's behalf and pushed the boys for making her cry."
"Sounds like my kind of girl!" exclaimed Tony.
Robbie gave Tony a disapproving gaze.
"We're really sorry about all this!" interrupted Kate, trying to cover for Tony.
"No, I'm sorry. This is Arissa's first day in class and she had to deal with bullying. It's not fair to her! Believe me I will be having a talk with Jeremy and Shawn's parents about their behavior."
"What's going to happen to Lara Craft over there?" asked Tony, looking towards Brittany
"Anytime a child is involved in something like this, we send them home."
"Send her home? You should reward her for standing up for Arissa," said Kate.
"We don't promote violence Ms. Todd," spat Robbie, as he looked at her gun before going to check on the other children.
"Lara Craft?" asked Kate.
"Tomb Raider, Kate! She was one badass chick!" smirked Tony.
Kate looked at Tony and nodded towards Arissa and the other kids in the room, reminding him to watch his language.
"Sorry!"
"Not even in class half a day and she's involved in fight? We're on a roll with this practice parenting thing!"
"Nozzo, I go with you and Kate? I no want to stay here!" pleaded Arissa.
Seeing the sadness and fear in Arissa's eyes, Tony couldn't say no to her. Brittany walked over and tapped Arissa on the shoulder.
"You go home?" asked Brittany.
Arissa nodded yes.
Brittany hugged Arissa. "I sorry you had a bad day. Will you come back tomorrow and play with me?"
"I no know?"
Brittany looked to Kate and Tony. "Can she come back tomorrow and play with me?"
"Yeah, we can try school again tomorrow," answered Kate.
Back at NCIS, Kate, Tony and Arissa entered the Bullpen and were greeted by the sight of Gibbs and Sharon Lee.
"Sharon? What are you doing here?" asked Tony, surprised to see the woman.
"We need to talk!" replied Sharon, sternly.
Man, Arissa had one tough day and now Sharon! What do you think? As always reviews/comments are welcomed and an update is coming soon :-)