A/N Hey, guys, yes, it's me. I know I've been silent for a while, sorry, I've been busy. I want to thank donnag76 for being the only reviewer on the last chapter. I feel like I waited so long to update that no one cares about this anymore, but, you know, hopefully I'm wrong. So, if you do have an opinion one way or another, please let me know what it is. This chapter is more of a sequel to the last chapter than some of them have been, so if you didn't read the last chapter, you might want to.

Ally sat staring at the wedding invitations she'd been writing addresses on.

Clark Alexander Everett and Alianna Nicole Roberts-McGee

"What's wrong?"

Ally jumped slightly. Clark had come up behind her and noticed her looking down at the invites with a peculiar expression on her face. They were at his apartment, desperately trying to get some of the wedding details taken care of without the intervention of their well-meaning relatives.

"Nothing," Ally glanced back at the fancy names embossed on the cardstock.

"You sure?" Clark sat down next to her, following her gaze.

"Yep," Ally picked up the pen again, moving on to the next address before Clark could question her further. He had a way of always asking her if something was wrong, like he was afraid she'd change her mind about marrying him. It was endearing, but also frustrating.

"Just wait," Clark covered her hand with his own, "Soon it will be Mr. and Mrs. Everett." He smiled broadly at her, but she had trouble answering that smile with out of her own. "Have you looked into any legal steps there might be to changing your last name?"

I'm not even sure I want to change my name! Ally thought desperately. To her, it felt like Clark was interrogating her about why she hadn't made up her mind, when, in reality, he was just curious. "Not yet . . ." she trailed off, not sure if she should voice her concerns.

It's not like she didn't want to take Clark's last name, it's just that she didn't want to give up the names she already had. To give up her birth parents' name felt like betraying them (especially since she already felt guilty that she could barely remember her father) but to give up the McGees' name made her feel like she seemed ungrateful for what they did for her. But she couldn't have three last names, could she?

"Oh," Clark shrugged, "I just figured we might want to look into it. Wouldn't want to forget to do something," he paused in reaction to Ally's tight smile, "You're sure nothing is wrong?"

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm fine?" Ally demanded, jumping up and pulling her hand away from Clark's.

"I'm sorry. You just seem preoccupied," Clark stood too, holing his hands up in defeat.

The hurt on his face made everything worse. "Sorry," Ally pushed her hair out of her eyes, "I'm just tired, that's all."

"Oh," Clark didn't look convinced.

"Let's just get to Uncle Tony's and Aunt Ziva's," Ally said, "We don't want to be late."

Tony and Ziva were throwing a bridal shower for Ally (and Clark) at their house. Not many people were invited, just like not many people were invited to the actual wedding. The only people there besides the McGees and DiNozzos were Gibbs, Ducky, and Palmer's family.

"Hey, guys," Ally opened the DiNozzo front door gently. You never knew what to expect when you walked into that house. Clark was behind her, but kept a careful distance between them. He still didn't know what was wrong with her, so he'd been quiet in the car, and avoided grabbing her hand or putting his arm around her waist like he normally would.

The atmosphere of the room they entered was one of a tense, uncertain silence. Apparently they'd just missed something.

"What's up?" Ally asked, looking around the living room, "Where's Zachary?"

"You just missed him," Tony said, glancing out the back door, and Ally saw a glimpse of a brown head pacing in the yard.

"What happened?" Clark came up beside Ally and no one missed how she flinched away from him.

"He just stormed out," McGee said slowly, looking from Ally to Clark.

"I said, 'Hey, Andrew,' and he . . ." Katie gestured outside.

"I'll go talk to him," Ziva patted Tony's leg and stood up.

"No, I got it," Ally said, surprising everyone. "Sometimes it's hard to explain things to someone you're close to."

Everyone couldn't help but assume she meant Clark, and even Clark himself had a look of wide-eyed surprise.

"He was always a momma's boy," Tony gave Ally a strange look. "Maybe she should go talk to him instead of you, sweetcheeks."

"Okay," Ziva sounded hesitant, but she sat back down.

"Go get 'em, Socks," Tony smiled at her.

Ally rolled her eyes at the nickname, "I stopped wearing multicolored knee-highs when I was fifteen, Uncle Tony."

"So?"

Ally laughed, stuck her tongue out at Tony, and went outside.

"I guess it's just me she's distant with, then," Clark said as the door swung shut.

~o0o~

"Zachary?"

Zachary looked up. He'd been expecting his mom, not— "Ally? You're here already?"

"Yep."

Zachary waited for Ally to ask him why he'd gotten mad and stomped off, but she didn't, so he plunked himself down on a bench on the porch and asked, "Well?"

"Well what?" Ally sat down next to him.

"Well, aren't you going to ask me what's wrong?" Zachary gave her a look.

"Nope."

"Nope?" Now he wasn't sure what to say, "Why not?"

"I'm just going to wait for you to tell me yourself."

"Oh."

There was a small silence. Finally, Zachary spoke up. "You changed your name when Uncle Tim and Aunt Abby adopted you, right?"

That wasn't what Ally expected to hear. "Yes," she said in a measured voice, "Just my last name. Why?"

"Were you afraid people would get mad?"

"No," Not then. "You're not planning on being adopted, are you?"

Zachary wrinkled his nose, "No."

"You're going to put your sisters up for adoption then?"

That actually made him laugh, "No," he giggled and considered for a minute, "Okay, maybe just Katie."

"Then why do you want to know?"

"I have a problem," Zachary grew serious again.

"What's your problem?"

"Zachary Greene and Zachary Donaldson are in my class this year."

"So?" Ally asked, not unkindly.

"So, it's going to be a problem."

"How do you know?"

"I've had a class with both of them. Two years ago I was with Zachary Greene, and last year I was with Zachary Donaldson," Zachary looked down at his hands.

"Are they mean?"

"No. It's not like that. I like both of them."

"Then what's the problem?" Ally thought she knew what this was about, but she let him tell her.

"There's three of us," Zachary explained. "The name Zachary can only be shortened one way, and they already call Zachary Greene Zack, and Zachary Donaldson Zachary D, but that's what they'd use for me," Zachary sighed, "I don't want to be called Zachary DiNozzo, or just DiNozzo, for the rest of my life."

Ally didn't make fun of him, like he'd expected, or get mad at him for hating his name, even if he didn't actually hate it. She didn't say anything, just looked at him, so he felt compelled to continue.

"And, last year, Dad talked at career day, and he called me Andrew, and then everybody asked about that, and it's just—it's just confusing."

"I know what you mean about that," Ally nudged his shoulder, "When I changed my last name in high school, it was crazy, and everybody asked me questions, about my birth parents, about being adopted, about how I knew your Aunt Abby and Uncle Tim. It was hard for a while, but I like being a McGee, and being a Roberts too. You don't have to hate your name to want to be called something different."

"You think so?"

"I know so," Ally made a decision, looking down at his earnest, smiling face. "What are you thinking of calling yourself?"

"Well," Ally had to hold back a laugh at the serious and contemplative look that graced the face of such a young boy. "I thought about Andrew, but then I thought about Mom, and that wouldn't be right, because of their whole argument," he paused until Ally nodded to confirm that, yes, she knew of the famous battle of the names. "So, then, I thought, well, I've never used Jethro, but that's Grandpa Gibbs's name, and I don't wanna steal that," he shrugged, "So I don't know what to do."

Ally thought for a moment, "You could put them together."

"What do you mean?"

"What about A.J? For Andrew Jethro?" Ally suggested.

Zachary's face lit up. "That's perfect!" He threw his arms around Ally's neck. "But how do I tell Mom and Dad? Won't they be mad?"

"I don't think they will, if you explain it to them," Ally ruffled Zachary's hair, "And they'll love you no matter what you do."

And I need to remember that too.

~o0o~

"Is everything okay?" Abby asked carefully when Ally and Zachary came back inside. Clark had explained what he knew about Ally's weird mood, so Abby was talking as much to her adopted daughter as she was to Zachary.

"We have two announcements," Ally said, closing the door and putting an arm around Zachary.

"Two?" Zachary looked up at her, confused.

"Yep," she nudged him, "Why don't you tell them yours first?"

Zachary swallowed. They were all looking at him, his parents, sisters, Annabelle and Rhiannon, Uncle Tim and Aunt Abby, Grandpa Gibbs and Grandpa Ducky, Uncle Palmer (or Uncle Autopsy Gremlin, as his dad kept trying to get him to call him) and Aunt Breena, and Clark too.

"I—I don't want to be called Zachary at school anymore," he blurted.

"What?" Ziva tensed like she wanted to stand up, but Tony held her back.

"What do you want to be called?" Tony asked calmly.

"A.J. For Andrew Jethro."

"What's wrong with Zachary, sweetie?" Ziva asked, but she didn't sound mad, which was a relief.

"Nothing! But –" he faltered.

"Zachary Greene and Zachary Donaldson are both in his class," Ally explained. "He doesn't want to be confused, but he's really afraid he'll hurt your feelings."

"Aw, honey," Ziva opened her arms, and Zachary came crashing into them, "Of course that doesn't hurt my feelings."

Zachary sniffed, "Really?"

"Of course not."

"You can still call me Zachary," he assured her, "And Daddy can still call me Andrew."

Tony ruffled his son's hair, "Sounds like a deal, Andrew."

"I like A.J." Abby threw in, "There's that quarterback—"

"Enough, Abby," Ziva cut in, giving her friends a look.

"Sorry."

Everyone laughed.

Except for Clark.

"You said you have an announcement?" he asked Ally hesitantly, locking eyes with her from across the room.

"Yeah . . ." Ally took a deep breath, "I'm sorry I've been so rude lately, but I've had something important on my mind and—"

"You're not pregnant are you?" McGee demanded.

"No!" Clark and Ally said together.

Gibbs smiled, "That's one way to find out if they're sleeping together. Good one, Tim." He took a sip of his beer.

Ally rolled her eyes, "Calm down. As long as you don't expect us to have twin beds after we're married, I don't care what interrogation techniques you use on us now."

Clark was blushing furiously, "I care!"

"Anyway," Annabelle broke in, "What's you're news?"

"Right," Ally blew air threw her teeth, "I've done a lot of thinking, and I'm not sure I want to take your last name," her eyes were once again boring into Clark's," I just wasn't sure how to tell you, and I really don't even know what to do." Clark's expression was unreadable, so she hurried on, "It's not that I don't want to take your name, it's just that, well, my names are who I am."

"You were afraid to tell me that?" Clark asked after a small silence.

"I didn't want you to be mad, or think I didn't love you, or—"

"Of course I know you love me," Clark interrupted. "That's why you said yes. I don't need you to go by my name to know that."

"I want your name, though. And mine," Ally half-argued. "I don't know what to do."

"You could drop your middle name and be Ally Roberts McGee-Everett," Tali suggested.

"Of you could drop your middle name and be Ally Roberts-McGee Everett," Katie added.

"Nicole is my grandmother's name," Ally said ruefully. Nicole Roberts, her paternal grandmother, was the only living blood relative she had left.

"Might I make a suggestion?" Ducky spoke up, "Why not just be Alianna Nicole Roberts-McGee Everett."

"That's four of five names, depending on how you look at it," Ally protested.

"So?" Gibbs asked. "It's your name, not anyone else's."

"There's nothing wrong with two middle names," Zachary added.

Ally looked at Clark again, "Is that okay with you?"

"Is it what you want?"

"I think so, yes."

"Then of course it's okay with me." Ally ran into Clarks' embrace much the same way that Zachary had run into Ziva's, but Clark gave Ally a kiss for good measure. "I love you, no matter what your name is," he said, smiling.

"I love you too."

A/N Please leave a review if you have time!