Hey all, I'm sorry it's been a long time but A levels and stuff kinda got in the way, however I'm back! This chapter is a bit bitty and I'm not hugely happy but it is here :) I hope you enjoy it, not sure where this is going but if you have an idea drop me a PM or review! Thanks in advance for reading and doubly thanks if you review, they make writing another chapter 100 times easier.

As Tony stepped out of the hotel, at past one in the morning, he started to once again doubt himself. How could he do this? Look after three children and stay on top of his job? Even with Talia's help he didn't have a clue how his life was going to work. He didn't even know where they were all going to sleep. After pacing up and down outside the hotel what seemed like a thousand times, Tony pulled out his cell phone and dialed the only number he could think to call.

"Gibbs", a gruff voice answered on the second ring. Tony had known he would be awake despite the unearthly hour, probably working on his boat.

"Hey boss, it's Tony" Tony replied, unsure on how best to drop the bombshell.

"Yeah?" Gibbs responded shortly, "we got a case?"

"Well no..."

"Then why the hell are you calling me at half one in the morning DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked, his voice rising in annoyance.

"Well it's just that..." Tony stuttered nervously, gulping an deep breath, "my dying aunt wants me to look after her three children and I already said yes and now I'm not sure if I can and I'm not sure what to do next." Tony stated without any pauses.

At first there was momentary silence from the end of the phone before Gibbs' slightly surprised voice reemerged.

"I'll meet you at your apartment. Give me twenty minutes tops." Gibbs stated matter of factly, "and Tony" he added after a moments hesitation, "I'm proud of you".

Tony could only smile as he heard the phone being hung up.

Tony got back to his apartment in record time, not wanting Gibbs to be standing outside. He didn't really need to tidy up (he was never home anyway) so he sat on the sofa until about five minutes later when he heard the recognisable rap on the door.

Tony knew that Gibbs would be helpful but in all honesty he had underestimated the man. In just an hour Gibbs had made Tony so much less nervous. He had agreed that Tony would not work past 7pm unless there was an emergency, and that sometimes he may have to leave early if Talia was not available. As regards to telling the team, Gibbs had maintained that it was Tony's decision and that he would keep the secret until Tony was ready to reveal it.

The pair had discussed at length where the new family members would all sleep; Tony's apartment only had two bedrooms. They came to the conclusion that as a temporary measure, Nathan and Elliott would share one room and Carly and Talia would take the other. Tony in the mean time would have to take the sofa in the lounge. This would of course have to change and Tony would have to look for a real house or at least a bigger condo.

The words that made Tony the most surprised though were completely and utterly unexpected. Suddenly, absolutely out of the blue. Gibbs offered up some of Kelly's old stuff for Carly. Tony didn't even think that Gibbs knew that he knew about Kelly. When Tony began to piece together a reply, a big enough thank you, Gibbs just smiled and said "don't mention it" in a way that closed the topic.

At work the next day, Tony tried to act like nothing had ever happened. Like his life hadn't been turned completely upside down. Gibbs of course was as good as his work and didn't utter a peep about last night and therefore the day went ahead just like any other.

Letting out a yawn and stretching in his chair Tony smiled widely at the smug looking Kate opposite him.

"Good night Tony?" Kate asked sarcastically, expecting some tale of Tony's conquest of some leggy blonde.

"You have no idea Kate" Tony replied with a grin, "you have no idea".

Tony had spent most of the morning mulling over whether he should tell his team the full story, but eventually had decided that it could wait. He feared that Kate and McGee would put him down and tell him he couldn't do it. Abby and Ducky he felt would support him whatever but neither were the best secret keepers and he didn't want him and his new family to become the new scuttlebutt. Therefore, after careful evaluation, Tony decided that for the time being, only him and Gibbs would know.

The week passed all too quickly. Tony spent almost every free hour at Anna's hotel, spending time with the children and getting to know them better. Tony loved the children and couldn't wait until he could leave work and head over to spend time with them but there was always a shadow hanging over the room, a shadow created by the fact that everyone in the room, even copper-curled Carly, knew that their days as a family were numbered, that the clock was ticking on Anna's life, and the life the children led.

Anna was very specific about what was to happen after her death. She had everything planned, from the funeral and her will to what schools and clubs the children could join. This of course made life much easier for Tony, but Tony dreaded to think that Anna must have had to sit down in her room and make the preparations for what would happen to her and the children she treasured above everything after she was gone. To make plans to make your child happy yet knowing you would never see them enjoy it and grow up appeared to be the cruellest thing in the world.

But until that moment Anna simply wanted that her children learnt to love the man that would look after them when she could no longer.

Elliott and Carly loved Tony from the moment he was introduced, as soon as they heard the knock on the hotel door they would jump up to run and greet him. They would sit for hours and listen while Tony regaled stories from NCIS and his college days. Elliott was interested more in books that sports, Tony knew that he and McGee would get on like a house on fire when they were introduced. Particularly Elliott loved maths, the six year old would turn over problems that made even Tony's brain tie itself in knots. Carly enjoyed pretty much everything, some days she would have a dance routine, sometimes a song to perform, but what made Tony's heart swell inside were the pictures. Pictures of a family, with Tony and Anna as giant figures in the middle, an even taller Talia on the side and three gorgeous, if often slightly unusually coloured, children holding onto their hands, written across the top of the pages, in spidery three year old scrawl, was the title of the work, the title that made Tony want to laugh, smile and cry all at the same time: My Family.

Nathan by far took the longest to warm to Tony. As the oldest he had the biggest grasp of his mothers situation and realised that Tony's arrival meant his mothers departure was imminent. He also saw himself as the man of the family, and took it upon himself to make sure that Tony was as good as Anna said before he could let him in. Despite his initial hesitance, as the week progressed, as did Nathan and Tonys relationship, the nine year old being interested in anything involved running around, Tony endeavoured to take him over to the park to play sports, if not only to get him out of the cramped hotel room. As it turned out, Nathan was an incredible soccer player. The ball appeared to be glued to his foot as he dribbled and he could propel the ball in any direction he chose with a simple tap. When Tony first saw his skills, his jaw dropped, Tony had thought he wasn't too bad at soccer, but this kid, this kid was incredible! More than that though, as Nathan dribbled and kicked his way through the park, his face lit up in a way Tony had never seen, he appeared to have forgotten all his troubles and focused everything into controlling the round ball attached to his foot. That was the moment that Tony truly realised; he could do this.