Hi everyone, this is my first story. I hope you'll like it.

Disclaimer: I don´t own NCIS.

Chapter 1

When Agent DiNozzo looked at his watch, it was quite late. The sky was deep black and the night was already full on display. To be exact, it was already 1:23am. A short sigh slipped out of his lips when he got his bag from the car and locked the vehicle. He had hoped to come home earlier and spend some time with his daughter, but lately it was quite a mess at NCIS.

First, the hunt for Bodnar – and now they had a wanna-be investigator who was watching every move they made and who wanted to pin the murder of Bodnar on the team.

Tony just hoped that the guy would soon leave again without causing too much damage to the team. He didn't like the man, and he had the feeling that this snoop had especially picked him out to take the responsibility for the murder of Bodnar. Tony didn't know what he would do if the creep actually managed to pin the murder on him. He had a 14-year-old daughter of whom he had to think about; even though when he would willingly take a hit for the team when he had to, but he couldn't go to jail.

He had made many enemies in the course of his life. He had put many gangsters behind bars, and they would certainly pay him a visit. A visit he would presumably not survive. Besides, it would break his heart to be taken away from his daughter for more than a week.

Amelia Joan DiNozzo. That's the name of his daughter who meant everything to him. She was the sun he circled around and if he had only the feeling that somebody wanted to hurt her, he would become quite nasty.

At the time that she was born, Ame lia wasn't planned, but he never regretted the night she had been conceived. When Amelia's mother, Joan Marten, had called and had told him that she was pregnant, his world broke for the first time. Tony had a lot to deal with then. He had just started a new job and had broken up with Wendy, and Joan had only been a One Night Stand. He didn't know what he had to do and raising a child hadn't been included in his plans then. But he promised Joan that he'd help her with the child, and soon they had decided to move in together so that they wouldn't have to pay for two apartments.

After a while, they had gotten to know each other better, and soon after that they had started a real relationship. Everything had run smoothly and in spite of the initial difficulties and uncertainty, everybody had been happy and the birth of their daughter should have completed their happy life. When Joan had been brought to the hospital because the baby was on the way, Tony had just been out arresting a suspect with his new partner, Tyson Cole. As soon as he had gotten the phone call from the hospital, he had driven to the hospital as quickly as possible while Cole had brought the suspect in. He had made a short stop at a flower shop on the way to the hospital and couldn't wait to see Joan with the baby in her arms—but apparently the day wouldn't become the happiest day of their lives. No. For Tony, this happy day of the birth of his wonderful daughter would forever be overshadowed by a tragedy.

- Flashback -

When Tony arrived at the hospital, the doctor was already waiting for him and told him that there had been complications and that Joan had died while giving birth to their daughter. Suddenly, Tony felt lost. He was alone with a small baby and he didn't know how he should manage the situation. He and Joan had already planned out their future. They had wanted to marry a year after the birth. Joan had wanted to continue her studies and become a teacher. They had looked around for a bigger apartment. But it wouldn't be. The moment the doctor told Tony that Joan was dead, Tony was lost.

He didn't know what to do and he didn't know how he got to the newborn station. The doctor had said something, but he didn't listen. Tony tore himself away from his thoughts when the doctor rambled something that he didn't quite understand completely and pointed to a bed in the middle.

"How should your daughter be named, Mr. DiNozzo?"

Tony stared at the baby that was lying in this small basket and his heartbeat quickened. His daughter. This small human being was his daughter and he hadn't grasped it yet. He had no idea how he should do all these things without Joan, but at this moment he swore to himself and to Joan that he would do everything in his power to make their daughter's life wonderful. He pulled away from his thoughts and he looked at the doctor again. God, he didn't even remember the name of the doctor.

"Mr. DiNozzo, I know that this is a lot to take in, but you have a wonderful and healthy daughter now. I'm sure Miss Marten would be proud of her daughter."

"Amelia." It was just an inaudible whisper from Tony.

"Could you repeat that?"

Tony cleared his throat and spoke a little bit louder. "Amelia. Joan wanted to name her Amelia."

"That's a beautiful name. Do you want to change or add anything?"

Tony kept looking at his daughter. This small miracle that was lying there in front of him. "I would like to name her Amelia Joan."

The doctor nodded. "Then I will put it down on the birth certificate. If you want, you can go to her."

"Thanks." Tony went into the room to his daughter. He touched her small hand with his index finger and was immediately wrapped around the finger by her. She looked so perfect. Those tiny fingers and tiny toes, her rosy cheeks, her amazing green eyes. She was wonderful and Tony already aged 15 years only thinking about all the admirers she would have. He would have a lot of work to do when the time came around, getting to know each potential boyfriend, showing every one of them that if they hurt her they'd have to deal with him. He even thought that a background check couldn't hurt either. The only thing he was afraid of was, that somebody of the Malacuso family might take revenge on her, because he had infiltrated them and he had been the reason that two of them had gotten arrested.

- End of Flashback -

Because of his worries that somebody might harm her to get revenge, he had kept her existence a secret. Only a few people knew that he had a daughter. In fact, only two people at NCIS knew about Amelia because he trusted them since the beginning. These two people were Ducky and Gibbs. He had entrusted them with the life of his daughter and, until this very moment, they hadn't disappoint him. His daughter idolized the two of them and had both of them instantly wrapped around her little finger. They couldn't say 'no' to her and Amelia's wish was their command. In the past, Gibbs would sometimes let Tony go home early so that he could look after Amelia.

When Ziva had stayed over as she was recovering from the loss of her father and to hide from Bodnar, Amelia had slept at a friend's. Thank god Ziva hadn't been there for long and hadn't discovered Amelia's room. To draw no suspicion, he had slept on the couch, although he could also have slept in Amelia's bed. Not that he had something against Ziva – on the contrary, he liked her and had also developed feelings for her – but after all this time he didn't know how to explain his daughter to her. Amelia knew that none of her father's colleagues knew of her, and because she knew the reason he was doing this, she understood him. Although she had told him often enough that nothing was going to happen, he was too protective of her to expose her to the world of NCIS. When he was at work and Amelia wasn't at school, his neighbor, Luisa, watched her.

Luisa Sinclare was a 65-year-old retired office secretary. Her husband, James Sinclare, had died two years ago and it had hit everybody in the building, because everybody loved the Sinclares. Both were helpful and caring. If there were any problems, you could go to them. After her husband's death, though, Luisa had found herself again fast. She told everybody who announced their sympathy to her that everything was alright and that James had had a fulfilled life. And when the time came, she'd see him again in their next life. Luisa was like a mother for Tony, and that was sometimes reassuring, because his biological mother had passed away very early in his life.

Senior, Tony's dad, came every now and then to visit his granddaughter, but his affairs and his money were mostly more important to him. Tony had been surprised that Senior had wanted to celebrate Christmas with them last year. The fact that Senior had slept with Tony's neighbor in his bed hadn't really been the main reason he had thrown Senior out of his home. No, he had thrown Senior out because of his daughter. She hadn't gotten to know how her grandfather really was as a person, and if she had come home earlier from one of her friend's, she would have seen something that Tony hoped she still wouldn't see for a very long time. The bed, he could have dealt with although it disgusted him, but to create such a situation without thinking of Amelia first had caused Tony to see red.

Tony tore himself out of his thoughts and went to the front door. He didn't know how long he had stood there, just lost in thought in front of the door. Maybe ten minutes. Tony unlocked the door and entered the small apartment. The apartment was dark, which was normal, considering it was already after 1:30am. Amelia was most likely fast asleep and Luisa had certainly found a comfortable place too. He was so grateful for Luisa. Without her, he wouldn't know how to manage everything.

He found Luisa on the couch. A blanket was covering her legs and a book laid open on her belly. As much as he wanted to let her sleep, the couch was not good for her back and she would regret it in the morning. Tony had often told her that if he was running late, she should sleep in his bed. She always declined his offer and said to him that she only lived two doors down the corridor and the path to her bed wouldn't be that far.

Tony kneeled next to her and shook her shoulder lightly. "Hey Luisa, wake up."

Luisa blinked awake, confused until she remembered where she was. "Anthony? What time is it?"

"It's late, Lu. You should go to bed."

Luisa sat up slowly and put the book that she had been reading on the coffee table. "You're right. An old lady like me needs her beauty sleep."

"Were there any problems while I was at work?"

Luisa smiled softly at Tony and put her hand on his right cheek. "Oh kid, Amelia was an angel like always. She came home, ate something and did her homework. After that I took her grocery shopping, and for the rest of the evening she studied for a test. She went to bed around 10:00pm."

"Good. I don't really think that I ever have to worry that my daughter would do something she shouldn't do."

"No, no, she is a sweet little girl. You are very lucky to have such a beautiful and nice daughter."

At that, Tony had to smirk. "I know. I still don't know what I did to deserve her as my daughter but I'm grateful for that."

Luisa laughed softly so that she wouldn't wake up Amelia. "Well, the paths of the Lord are inexplicable." With that, Luisa got up and went to the door. "I'll see you in the morning. Good night."

"Good night."

Tony didn't turn on the light on his way to his bedroom. He knew the way by heart. Before he went into his room, he looked in on his daughter. There she lay on her bed; half her covers lying on the ground, her brown hair completely covering her pillow.

Tony entered the room and picked up her blankets so that he could cover her again.

Amelia woke for a short moment and her green eyes looked at him sleepily. "Dad?"

"Sshhhh, Jojo. Go back to sleep." Tony pulled a wisp of hair from her face and she was already fast asleep again. His little angel. He stood up and left her room quietly. Slowly, Tony went to his room and changed his clothes. He brushed his teeth, washed his face and went to bed. Gibbs had told them that they could come in at 9am. That meant he could have breakfast with his daughter. These were his last thoughts before he fell asleep.

So this was the first chapter. I hope that it isn't that bad. Please tell me if I should continue.