Warnings: Slight spoilers for "False Witness"

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. Enjoy!

"Da-dee!" Kaitlin shouted, happily, when Tony showed up to pick her up from daycare. She seemed proud to show off the fact that she was no longer calling him dada.

"Hi peanut," Tony greeted her, somewhat saddened that his little girl was learning how to say his name properly. "Should we get your coat on? We have dinner plans. It's Wednesday!"

Kaitlin smiled and quickly let her father put her coat on. She knew that Wednesday meant pizza and a movie night. It was her favorite night of the week. "Roni pizza!" she exclaimed, grinning at Tony.

Tony laughed, silently. He grabbed her hat and mittens, bundled her up, and grabbed her bag. Scooping her up into his free arm, he made his way outside of the daycare into the cold. It always warmed his heart that his daughter was just as enthusiastic about movies and pizza as he was. "Let's go get some pizza," he said, buckling Kaitlin into her seat.

She clapped her hands, gleefully. Kaitlin washed away all his moodiness in just a few moments. He was still upset about Amanda's passing, it was something that was probably going to sit with him for a while. But at least his daughter was happy and healthy and at the end of the day that was all that really mattered.

He kissed her forehead and a thought came to him. Pulling out his cell phone he found the number that Zoe had left for him. Tony stroked the little girl's cheek while he waited for Zoe to answer. "What do you say to a dinner guest?" he asked his daughter, as he finally heard a click and Zoe's voice on the other end. Tony smiled. "Hey… are you busy?"

Gibbs was surprised to see a little sports car in the driveway at Tony's house. His surprise turned to absolute confusion when a woman exited the house, Tony behind her, and went to the sports car. She turned, smiling at him and hugged Tony tightly before she got into the car and drove away.

He watched from his car parked a little down the street as Tony went back inside the house and closed the door. Gibbs rubbed his temple. Was Tony seeing someone?

Jethro, that's not important, he chided himself as he put the car in drive and pulled into Tony's driveway. Shutting the car down, Gibbs got out and climbed the steps of the front porch. He knocked on the door and waited.

"Boss?" Tony questioned when he answered. "Did I miss a call out?"

"No," Gibbs said with a shake of his head. "Can I come in? It's a little cold."

"Sure," the senior field agent said, stepping aside. He let Gibbs into the house, closing the door behind him. "What's up?"

Kaitlin came waddling down the kitchen hall, a sippy cup in her hand and a big smile on her face. "Gampa Ibbs!"

Gibbs couldn't resist that little smile. He picked Kaitlin up into his arms and kissed her cheeks, making her giggle. "How was pizza and movie night?" he asked.

Tony ran his tongue over his lips. "We watched Santa Clause is Coming to Town," he answered. "I, ah, was just going to get her ready for bed."

"Okay, you do that—we can talk after," Gibbs told him, handing Kaitlin off. He chuckled as the little girl sang Christmas carols all the way up the stairs.

While Tony was upstairs getting Kailtin ready for bed, Gibbs peeked into the living room. There were signs that a woman had been there—a glass with lipstick on it—not a wine glass, the former marine noted. If Tony was seeing someone, Gibbs knew that Abby would be happy. She had been after Tony to get back out in the dating world; Tony had been clinging very tightly to the hope that Amanda was going to come back…

This thought reminded Gibbs why he was here. He needed to determine how Tony was coping with Amanda's death. Kaitlin was certainly Tony's saving grace in this instance, like she had been many times before in her young life.

Tony returned with Kaitlin, now in her pajamas and holding her favorite stuffed animal. He put her in the gated off area for her to play in the living room and turned tentative green eyes towards Gibbs. "Is this about my mood today?"

Gibbs swallowed but didn't show his anxiety on his face. "You seemed a bit cranky. McGee and Erin are worried about you."

"Blame Jerry," Tony said with a shrug. Their witness they had finally tracked down was a bit of a negative nelly.

"You were cranky before Jerry turned up," Gibbs pointed out.

"Well, I was sick the other day."

"Anthony—I know about Amanda. Ducky saw it in the paper."

Tony's eyes drifted towards his daughter, playing quietly with her pretend kitchen. His eyes clouded over with grief. "She felt guilty but she didn't think she could reach out to me. I told her, boss, I told her that she was always welcome in Katie's life. Why didn't she call?"

Gibbs took a deep breath. "I don't know, Tony. Depression… it's a dangerous thing. She was obviously dealing with a lot more than her guilt at leaving Kaitlin."

"I'm sorry if… I'm sorry if I wasn't on my game today, boss," Tony confessed.

"You were on your game—your professional one—but the personable one, the one that makes people love you… that was gone," Gibbs informed him. "Which is why McGee and Erin were so worried. Tim might roll his eyes at you when you joke and tease him, but the truth is, he prefers you that way—that's who you are. Not this… pensive guy."

"Da-dee," Kaitlin called to him, holding out a small, pink tea cup. "Tea?"

Tony took the small cup from her and smiled at her as he sipped his pretend tea. "Pensive," he said with a chuckle. "Guess that's a good way to put it… "

Gibbs watched as Kaitlin now handed her father plate after plate of pretend foods. "She was the mother of your child. Only natural to think about it because it will effect Kaitlin later in her life."

Kaitlin went to work on feeding her stuffed penguin next, singing as she went. Looking at this little girl no one would know that she did not have a mother in her life. She was happy, healthy and the center of her father's world.

"Perhaps, someday another woman will… step in and fill that role for her," Gibbs said, looking briefly at the lipstick stained glass.

"Ah, I see what you did there," Tony said with a chuckle when he noticed where Gibbs was looking. "Go on. Ask."

Gibbs floundered, slightly. "Are you… are you seeing someone?"

Tony grinned. "Why boss? Jealous?"

"DiNozzo."

"No. I'm not seeing anyone. The woman here tonight was an old friend from Philly."

"Old friend? Do you want it to be more than that?"

"Maybe. I don't know. She… she's really good with Kaitlin. "

Gibbs looked over at the little girl, still playing and singing away. Dating was a whole new ballgame when you added a small child to the mix. "Important to find a woman that will be."

Tony reached over the gate and stroked Kaitlin's soft hair. It was nice to see how Zoe got along with Kaitlin, and Gibbs was right, it was important that any woman he dated was good with his daughter. "We're a package deal," he finally said with a laugh.

Kaitlin yawned and turned her hazel eyes towards her father. Tony took her hint and lifted her up, letting her snuggle in his arms. She fell asleep quickly, her thumb in her mouth and her stuffed penguin underneath her arm.

"I guess I should get her to bed," Tony said, watching his daughter sleeping in his arms.

"If you need some time, DiNozzo…" Gibbs started to say.

Tony cut him off with a shake of his head and a smile. "No. I'm good now, boss. I swear."

Gibbs reached out and gave Tony's shoulder a squeeze before he left. He had a witness to get back to his house and his senior field agent had a little girl to get to bed. Tony went upstairs to Kaitlin's bedroom, laid her in her crib and gave her a kiss. It was amazing what spending the night with a beautiful woman, his daughter, and then talking to his surrogate father had done for him. Tomorrow was a brand new day and he was confident he was going to be able to face it.

"What's with the angry D.A?" Tony asked the next morning when he found Gail Walsh shouting at Gibbs.

"She wants Gibbs to release Jerry," Tim informed the senior field agent. "She also isn't happy Gibbs visited Hayes yesterday."

Tony grunted and put his bag down near his desk. He knew that going to Hayes, the man accused of killing a young woman in cold blood, was a bad idea, but in his moody state he had not spoken up. Apparently, there had been an attempt on Hayes life after Gibbs had left the prison the day before and Walsh was fit to be tied. Glad I turned down her advances, she'd eat my daughter for breakfast..

Tim leapt out of the way when Walsh began to pace the squad room, demanded any new information that the team had found on her case against Hayes. With a silent look, Gibbs gave Tony permission to inform the D.A. In a flash, all the information was on the screen. "We have a witness we want to question, Smitty Brown, however, we can't find him."

Walsh blew out a heavy breath of air. "I think I can help. Guess Jerry is staying with you a little while longer, Agent Gibbs."

"Oh great," Tim mumbled underneath his breath as the D.A left. "Just what we need around here—Gloomy Gus."

"What's the matter, McGee? Is he dampening your holiday spirit?" Tony asked with a little smile.

Tim frowned at his partner. "Yes! Between him and you! It doesn't feel very holiday like around here!"

Tony's shoulders slumped. "Me?"

"Yeah! You're walking around like someone died!" Tim gasped.

"McGee," Gibbs warned, quietly shaking his head. "Enough."

Looking between the other two men, Tim suddenly realized how deep he'd put his foot into his mouth. "Oh God, someone did die, didn't they?"

Tony swallowed the lump in his throat. "Yeah," he said, hoarsely. "Amanda."

Tim blinked and everything became clear. Why Tony had missed a day of work, why his partner was so downtrodden… "Kaitlin's mother," he whispered, clarifying for Erin, who was standing by silently asking.

"Yeah. She wrapped her car around a tree," Tony said, eyes filled with agony. "Suicide. She left me.. she left me a note and some things for Katie. She felt… she felt guilty."

"Why didn't she call you?" Erin asked. "You… didn't she know you would have welcomed her into Kaitlin's life?"

"Apparently not," Tony said with a heavy sigh. He shook off the feelings of sadness. "Doesn't matter right now. Right now, we have a witness to find and figure out who wants Jerry dead. We have a job to do, let's do it."