Few years had gone by since they saw Kelly's savior, the handsome beginning of a man. It wasn't that they'd forgotten him, but time did its job and went on as other things and people stole their attention, but that didn't make him any less precious of a memory to them. For a while Kelly had been angry and upset when she found out that Tony was gone, both at her father and Tony. In Kelly's room, on the wall, there was a bigger than life picture of Tony, which was the one she took back then. Now, the old relic stood almost forgotten for the most part.

They had tried keeping track of Tony, but after only a couple of weeks, all traces of him seemed to disappear as if the boy had never even existed. There didn't seem to be any crime involved either, even though soon after the disappearance, DiNozzo Senior had moved to Italy.

It was a phone call from the FBI Agent Fornell, early one morning, which finally changed everything.

"Gibbs."

"I think I found your boy."

Any other thoughts left Gibbs' mind and there was an odd feeling in his chest. "You think?"

"I found your boy."

"Where is he? Is he... Is he all right?" he asked lowly.

"He's alive and... He's alive. Well, he's in Bethesda actually."

Gibbs froze. "Bethesda?"

"He just came back home."

"If you don't get to the point anytime soon..."

"He's a Marine and a really good one too by the looks of it. You'd be proud of him. He wants to meet you. You and your girls."

...

...

The family of three rushed toward the room where they knew their long-lost boy should be. They were all nervous and anxious at what was waiting for them behind the door. Other than admitting that the discovery had been by pure chance, Fornell had been deliberately vague. Getting closer, they saw that the door was open and heard laughter coming from inside the room.

"Are you sure he didn't shoot you just so you would shut up, Dino?"

"You insult me. That's exactly what happened and you know it."

The room was full of laughter again. Tony lay in bed, looking rather pale, but he was smiling. The room was full of some Marine friends of his. The laughter stopped when everyone noticed Tony had turned serious and was looking at something. Looking at the door, they saw the three people standing there.

"Guys... Let's talk some more next time, okay?"

The friends left with their 'get well soon or we'll kick your ass ' wishes, leaving Tony alone with them.

Shannon closed the door to give them some privacy, while Gibbs studied the young man, who hadn't really changed a whole lot, only this time he clearly was a man, with a haunted look in those green eyes of his. One look in them and Gibbs knew it had been a big mistake to not have fought harder to keep the kid with them. There was a sinking feeling in his gut when their eyes met.

Crying, Kelly ran to the bed and hugged Tony who tried to cover his hiss of pain. "You left!"

"I'm sorry," Tony mumbled and returned the hug awkwardly. Seeing that Kelly wasn't going to let go anytime soon, he sighed and moved a little bit and then patted at the empty spot, which she happily occupied, snuggling next to him. Tony stared at her parents, especially at Gibbs who stared back, while Shannon sat on one of the chairs. "So. It's been a while."

"You're a Marine," Gibbs said and eyed the bruises that he could see and wondered about the injuries that he couldn't.

Tony shrugged self-consciously. "Hate the haircut, but they promised me it'll grow back. I'll sue them if it doesn't."

Gibbs nodded and the room was filled with awkward silence. "Heard you've done more than a fine job out there."

"Just did my job." Tony looked uncomfortable.

Still the same... Gibbs mused. "A job or not, I'm proud of you, son."

Tony opened and closed his mouth like a fish on a dry land. Then he grinned. "Well, you better be. It's your fault I became a Marine in the first place."

"My fault?"

"Well, yeah. Kelly kept going on and on about her amazing Marine dad and then I met you in person and... I guess I was a little impressed."

Gibbs was amused when Kelly rolled her eyes. "Impressed. That I was a Marine?"

"Just a little. And sure, that too... And this big bad Agent—not FBI—and the kind of father every kid should have." After saying that, the room was filled with silence again.

"Any father would be proud to have a son like you."

Tony's face turned dark. "Mine beat the living breath out of me and then, thinking I'm dead, dumped me in some ice-cold river in the middle of the coldest winter ever. For a while there I was so sure I saw the light and thought that my dead grandmother came for me. After that I kept a low profile, in case he returned."

There was a flash of danger in Gibbs' eyes, his head filled with images of the battered young teenager, lying in some ditch, dying. Seeing it, Shannon held her hand over his arm, calming him down enough to not go into his sniper mode in the hospital room. He had plenty of time later.

"Well, I'm proud of you."

Tony looked somewhat embarrassed. "I had to see you guys. When I was out there... I lost two good friends; one of them while protecting my sorry ass. They made me promise to see you and I made that promise to myself."

"Took you long time..." Gibbs muttered.

"Sorry."

"This time you will come home with us. Got it?"

There was a small smile on Tony's face and he rolled his eyes. "Got it, boss."

— The End —