Warnings: None

A/N: Fluffy little one shot that focuses on Tony and Grace, with a brief Leah appearance. Enjoy!

Fact of Life

Sick kids were a fact of life—however, three sick kids while your wife was out of town—that was another story.

Anthony DiNozzo thought he was done wipng noses, dosing medicine, and rubbing bellies for the evening when all three kids had finally gone to sleep for the night. However, no sooner had he sat down on the sofa to watch a football game did he hear the sound of small feet in the kitchen.

With a silent groan, Tony rose from the sofa and proceeded into the kitchen. When he flipped on the lights he wasn't sure what he was expecting, but certainly it was not three year old Grace pushing a package from the back porch inside. "Gracie, what are you doing? You should be in bed so you can fight all the germs and get better."

Grace glanced up from her labors, nose red, lips chapped, and she let out a big sigh. "I remember you said you had to bring this in before someone steals it."

"I could have done that, Gracie," Tony assured her as he picked the package up and placed it on the island. He shut the backdoor. "You are not going to get better if you're working."

"You and Mommy go to work all the time sick," Grace argued.

"Papa has a saying you should learn; do as I say, not as I do."

"Huh? That makes no sense Daddy."

Tony chuckled and picked her off the floor. She might have been trying to act all tough a few seconds before as she was pushing that package, but the moment she was in her father's arms, she melted and snuggled against him. He laid a gentle kiss on her hair that normally smelled like honey but tonight smelled like Vick's Vapor Rub. He hated it when his kids were sick, but he especially hated it when it was his Gracie girl.

Grace had been a daddy's girl from the moment she was born. At first, Tony had worried that it would bother Tali that he was closer to Grace but nothing bothered that child. He wondered where she got that temperant from—certainly not her parents.

"Daddy," Grace said, breaking the silence. "When is Mommy coming home?"

"In a couple of days," Tony promised. The one time Grace naturally gravitated towards Leah was when she was sick. "She had to go help Missy with the new baby."

She buried her face against his already snot covered shirt. "But the baby isn't sick. I am! Mommy is supposed to be here taking care of me!"

He rubbed her back, like he had been doing all day. Trust me, I wish Mommy was here to take care you too, Tony thought. It had been very poor timing for Leah's niece to have her first baby when all three of their kids came home from school with the latest germs. "It hasn't been that bad. We've watched a lot of great movies."

Grace scrunched her nose up, looking very much like her mother when Leah was annoyed. "We watch movies all the time, Daddy. Mommy thinks we watch too many movies."

Tony sighed. He wasn't going to argue with a three year old, mostly because she was right. Leah did think he watched too many movies with their kids. "So, you don't want me to put in Frozen?"

"I didn't say that, Daddy."

"Okay, I'll put the movie in."

"Should we get Tali and Jack?"

"How about this is just a you and me movie?"

"Okay."

Thank God, Tony thought as he got up to put the movie in. He was too tired to handle all three of them—Grace was enough of a handful when she was sick. She very much took after her father—she got cranky. Right now though, with the movie running, she was cranky and quiet.

Tony took a deep breath; maybe it wouldn't be long before Grace fell back to sleep and he could put her back to bed. Then, perhaps, he could recoup for the evening.

Grace had other plans. "Daddy, how did you meet Mommy?"

He smiled thinking about that rainy day, Leah's bright purple umbrella that their daughter, Tali, now used. "I met her at the coffee shop. You know the one, by Mommy's school… she takes you there all the time."

She smiled, sweetly. "Was she the prettiest lady in there?"

"Yes, she was."

"Was she as pretty as Cinderella?"

"Prettier."

"I think Mommy is the prettiest lady in the whole world."

Tony chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "I think so, too."

Grace snuggled close, her eyes starting to slip shut. "Daddy, are me and Tali the prettiest little girls?"

He rubbed her back and smiled softly at her. "I tell you that all the time, don't I?"

She yawned and stretched her small body. "Daddy."

"Yes, princess?"

"Thanks for taking care of me."

Tony hugged her tightly and whispered in her ear, "I will always take care of you." But Grace had finally fallen back to sleep and was softly snoring. Running his fingers through her hair, he sighed. He knew that moments like this wouldn't last forever, and that one day Grace was not going to need him to take care of her. She would grow up, go to college—have a family of her own—his heart broke a little thinking about not being the only man in her life someday.

Grace stirred when keys jingled in the lock, the back door opened and someone stepped into the house. The beeping of the alarm resetting briefly woke her but she quickly settled back to sleep.

Soft footsteps headed down the hall towards the sound of the television. Tony didn't look up from the movie as the person stepped into the room. "You didn't have to come home. I can take care of them while they're sick."

Leah sat down on the sofa with him. She gently pushed his unwashed hair back. "I know," she whispered and then pecked his cheek. "But who's going to take care of you?"

"I was doing okay."

"Tony, you're covered in snot."

"But I wear it proudly."

She smiled at him and softly laughed. "Do you want me to make some cocoa?"

He grinned. "Yes. We need cocoa for Frozen."

Leah leaned forward and kissed his cheek. "And I assume you want some little marshmellows?"

Tony gazed at her, lovingly. "Is there any other way to have hot chocolate?"

"No," she teased, but then a serious look came over her face. "Anthony, I hope you know that I know you can take care of the kids when they're sick. I hope you don't think I don't trust you."

"Sweetheart, I know that," he assured her. "If you really didn't trust me all alone with our kids for a few days, you never would have gone to New York to help Missy with the baby."

"You're right," Leah whispered. "Grace is a handful, though, when she's not feeling well."

"Grace is a handful at all times," Tony said with a soft chuckle. "She's got her mother's curious mind and my knack for trouble."

Leah kissed his cheek again and went to make some hot chocolate. Tony smiled and snuggled Grace. Sick kids were a fact of life—however, when your wife was around to take care of you while you took care of them—that was another story.