Precious Gifts

Disclaimer: I don't own them. Never have and never will. Wish I did though. No copyright infringement is intended

A/N 1: This is set starting at the end of Season 9 episodes Engaged I and II .

A/N 2: This story starts off as mostly cannon then becomes an AU of its own. It is a WIP that will be finished. Unfinished stories drive me nuts and I won't do that to my readers

Chapter 1

The last few days had been long beyond belief. He hadn't been home in more hours than he wanted to count, but he was finally going home. The day had ended with both good and bad resolutions. Marine Lt. Gabriella Flores was safe and would be o.k. Those kids on the school bus not dying had been another high point. However her commander hadn't been so lucky. He had been killed during the rescue mission. His family was probably receiving that dreaded knock on their door right about now. Too many had died since this had all began. Starting with the explosion at the school, the plane that went down while returning the remains of those brave soldiers and the Captain that died during the rescue. He was so tired he thought he could sleep for a week, but figured sleep would be a long time coming. All he wanted to do was eat a pizza, drink a beer and put in a movie. "DiNozzo! Your report done? " Gibbs was standing in front of his desk looking at him with that intent look on his face that told you he could read you like an open book. "Yeah boss, the hard copy is in your in box and I e-mailed you a copy."

"Then go home, you look exhausted." Gibbs replied.

"Where are Ziva and McGee Boss?"

"Already sent them home. Ziva was going to visit the Captains family. She had a final message for them from him. Abby and Tim were going bowling with Sister Rosita and the nuns, Ducky is going to dinner with jimmy and Breena. I'm leaving for dinner with Lt Flores and her dad at Bella Peppers. You want to come with?" Gibbs asked.

"No thanks boss. I have a date with my shower and a movie."

"Where did you go with Chaplain Burke this afternoon? You OK DiNozzo? You have been pretty serious and not your usual self. I' m concerned." Gibbs said as he sat on the corner of Tony's desk.

"I'll be OK boss. This has really made me think about how short life is you know. We don't know if we have 5 min., 5 hrs or 50 years. I made this bucket list, things I want to do before I die. I spent some time talking to the Chaplain about it. I went with her to the daycare here on the Navy Yard. Listen to me rambling without a movie reference and baring my soul to you without the help of your basement and bourbon" He sat and thought about how Gibbs truly knew how precious life was. This was sending him down another tangent and he had better get home before he ended spending the whole night sitting and thinking at his desk.

"My door is always open, no matter the time if you need me. It's Friday and we aren't on call this weekend, get some rest. If you need more time to get your head together let me know. Vance already approved more time off for all of us if we need it. Told us to do something fun." Gibbs quietly informed him.

"You gonna take some time Boss?" Tony would have bet money the answer was no. Gibbs never took time off.

"You kidding me. This is what I do for fun." Gibbs told him with a smirk as he got up from the desk to leave. "Grab your bag and let's go."

One hour and twenty minutes later Tony was pulling into his parking space in front of his apartment building and breathing a sigh of relief that he was finally home. He eyed the two flights of stairs that led to his apartment and wished for an elevator. The two story art deco building had seen better days but still was in pretty fair condition. The longer he lived here the better he liked it. It only had three other apartments and they were all occupied by elderly couples. First there was Aaron and Rebecca Klein. She watched everything that happened in the neighborhood. She was a one person neighborhood watch group by herself and always seemed to know when he had been working long hours and made the best chicken noodle soup. Somehow she always knew when he was going to get home after a bad case and had fresh pot of soup and homemade biscuits waiting. She also instinctively knew when he needed his space. But it wasn't just him that she spoiled. She did this for the other tenants to when they were sick and feeling down. He really needed to introduce Ziva to them. They were Jewish and had survived Auschwitz as children. He was sure that they would have many things in common. They lived in the other apartment on the second floor across the hall from him. Directly below him were Anna and Joe Campbell. He had spent his life working in the maintenance department for the fire department in DC. Oddly enough his wife was obsessed with burning those scented candles that seemed to be so popular right now. He could smell the lilac candle burning from here and was sure that his apartment would be overpowered by the scent to. I wonder how many of those things she is burning right now to make it smell that strong. "I bet you it would rival the smell in the Yankee Candle shop next to Michaels' Tailor shop" he mused. " I wonder if you could asphyxiate on the fumes from all those candles. That might be something I should ask Abby or Ducky ." And finally there was Bud and Paralee Hortin. They had owned a dairy farm in Illinois before retiring. Both of whom loved to read and had a passion for American history. They had moved to DC because they wanted be near all of that history and wanted to make sure that all of Congress was well versed in said history. It never ceased to amaze him how much history Bud really knew. He should have taught at a University. He could quote amazing number of our founding fathers writings word for word and yet he had dropped out of school his tenth grade year. He had been the youngest of six and the other five boys had been drafted into service during WWII. His father had to have help caring for the farm. "Oh well, time to get my pizza and laundry soap inside and kick back." Looking at his watch, he was surprised that it was already 7 PM. He had just sat his pizza on the counter when his phone began to ring. He sighed when he saw it was from Dispatch and answered "DiNozzo"

"Agent DiNozzo we have a woman named Sandy on the other line who says she with Family Services and needs to speak with you , that it is urgent."

"Transfer the call"

"This is Agent DiNozzo, may I help you?"

"Agent DiNozzo my name is Sandy Thurman and I am with Family Services here in DC. About 4 hours ago a baby girl was brought into the emergency department at George Washington University Hospital. She was left at the desk stating she couldn't take care of the baby. She said she had heard that if you chose to walk away from a newborn after giving it staff in a hospital that she wouldn't face being charged with abandonment. The mother then handed the nurse a business card and said that the card belonged to the baby's father. The card read Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, Naval Criminal Investigative Services with this phone number." Tony no longer heard a word Sandy was saying, he was too much in shock. He slowly slid down the refrigerator door and sat in the floor trying to wrap his head around the concept he might be a dad.

A/N 3: All 50 states have Safe Haven For Newborns laws (Sometimes called Baby Moses Laws) of some sort. These laws allow unharmed newborns to be left at hospitals, fire departments or police stations and were enacted to prevent newborns from being abandoned in an unsafe place.

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