Charity now sat in the hospital, still decked out in her black and kevlar. They had taken Tony and her dad back for testing just to make sure. After about fifteen minutes, Charity looked up and Tony was walking in the room. Charity stood up to meet him.

Tony grinned at her. He pulled her into his arms. "You know , someone's going to think you were worried about me." Tony teased her.

"So what if I was?" She replied, trying to keep her concern from her tone.

Tony reached a hand up and stroked her cheek with his thumb and looked into her eyes. "Well, that Miss Gibbs, that would mean that you care about me. Maybe almost as much as I care about you."

Charity smiled up at him. "And what if I do?" Charity asked.

Tony's grin widened. Then he bent down and kissed her lips.

After a few moments, Charity broke the kiss. She looked up into his eyes. As they looked into each other's eyes, she could read everything that he wanted to tell her. She hoped he could see the same in hers.

"Charity...I love you." Tony told her.

"I love you, too." Charity replied. "And I have no idea how I'm going to thank you for what you did tonight."

Tony gave her a playful grin. "I can think of a few ways." Tony said.

Charity giggled. "Oh, I bet you can. Of course, I can think of a way to start."

"How is that?"

"Being locked up in a hotel room for seventy-two hours." Charity answered.

Tony chuckled. "I think you overestimate my abilities, but I would be willing to try."

Just then a nurse came out. "Miss Gibbs." She said.

Charity reluctantly pulled herself from Tony's arms and turned to the nurse. "How is my dad?" She asked.

"Everything appears to be fine. He's in his room and ready for you to see him, now." The nurse answered.

Charity then turned to Tony, she was about to speak, when he stopped her. "You go be with your dad." He told her. "I did this so that you could be together again. Call me in a couple of days. Then you can thank me." Tony said, adding the last part with a grin.

Charity grinned up at him. She stretched up and gave him a quick kiss on the lips. "You are the most wonderful understanding man."

"I know." Tony replied with a cocky grin. "Now go before I throw you in there."

"I love you, Tony." She told him before giving him one last kiss.

"I love you, Charity." Tony told her as she turned to walk away.

"That was an amazing and stupid thing you did." Dan said, coming up behind Tony.

"She's worth it." Tony replied.

"You're hooked man." Dan replied.

Charity...

Charity walked into her father's hospital room. After all these years, he was finally home, alive, safe. She practically ran over to his bed and threw her arms around him again. She kissed his cheek.

Gibbs wrapped his arms around his daughter and kissed her cheek back. They sat there for a long moment, holding onto each other, onto what was left of their broken family. After a few more moments, Charity pulled back and looked at him. "I'm guessing those guys didn't have you all these years. What happened after the crash?" She asked.

"My buddy Sergeant Blake and I survived. THe others didn't. Blake was injured, his legs."

"I know. He's a double amputee." Charity interrupted. "I volunteer at the VA retirment home. I met him a few days ago. He told me about what you did for him."

Gibbs smiled. "Well, after he was taken away, I wandered around. I came to a little village and stayed there."

"Why?" Charity asked. "Why didn't you find your way home?"

"Baby girl, when they told me about your mom and your sister, they told me you were dead, too." Gibbs answered. "A couple months ago was when those guys found me."

"They told you I was dead, too?" Charity asked.

Gibbs nodded. "But I'm glad that they were wrong."

The father and daughter let the silence surround them for a moment. Then Gibbs spoke up. "So, what happened after they declared me MIA and presumed me dead? Where did you stay? What made you decide to join NCIS?"

"Grammy Jo and Pappy started a custody battle over me." Charity answered. "I didn't want to stay with either one. I didn't want to leave the house." Charity felt the tears stinging at her eyes and she gave a dry chuckle. "I had this crazy feeling that if I left, you wouldn't be able to find me when you came back. Silly, I know."

"No, it's not." Gibbs told her, squeezing her hand. "You were hurt."

"The lead agent on the case Mom was testifying in, Mike Franks, he volunteered to be my legal guardian." Charity said, continuing her story. "He moved into the house and looked after me. He also mentored me and helped me get an internship at NCIS while I went to college. I've worked my way up since."

"What about this Tony guy?" Gibbs asked. "He said he met you when you had some cases cross?"

A find smile played across Charity's face. "Yeah. We didn't quite get along at first. Some very heated arguments."

"Well, I know he loves you." Gibbs replied. "You love him?"

"I do." Charity replied.

"He seems like a good guy." Gibbs said. "Only a good man would do what he did. Only a man in love. I'm gonna be here tonight. You go be with him baby."