— I own only this story and any original characters. —

I changed the name of this story at least three times... Hopefully this one is "the one".

Leo

...

Leaning against the wall, a teenager with a bored look on his face listened to the cheerful chatter between the people coming and going from the stores, doing their last minute preparations; all happy smiles and faces, jolly greetings and goodbyes to one another, arms full of things the big companies brainwashed people to buy. Things that no one needed. He hated this time of the year with passion. It was wasteful, money and feelings alike. Fake. For some, it was also that time of the year to pretend to be generous, a good person, so everyone could see. His father was one of them; the rich, powerful man everyone spoke highly of, at least among the high society.

Supposedly he was one of them, the rich and fortunate, and yet here he was once again, trying to escape the 'better life' others so envied. Green grass and all that. Maybe he would wish for this life too, if he had been born among the 'common people'—his father's words—and didn't know any better.

He lit a cigarette. Smoking was a nasty habit and he mostly did it because he knew how much it infuriated his father, the man who himself could do whatever he wanted; drink and party, waste money, fool around with women and whatever else his sick mind could think of. It was hard to keep up with it sometimes.

Seeing a fully tattooed man walking by, the teen chuckled. Maybe he should get a tattoo next. That would surely give the old man a heart attack. He could already hear the screaming, 'Junior! You are disgracing the family name! ' Yeah. That would make the day. Maybe then he could be finally free from the DiNozzo name.

His gaze wandered to the street musician playing a happy tune with his guitar and singing merrily. He couldn't help but wonder if he was the only one hearing the sadness and loneliness behind the smile. Maybe because he was used to doing just that, covering up his sadness and pain with big smiles, sometimes even arrogance, when he felt like getting beat up by some strangers. Pulling his jacket tighter around himself, he wondered if the man had a place to go to for the night. It was already freezing and, according to the weather forecast, would only get worse. For the sake of that man, he really hoped it wouldn't.

Digging around his pocket, he pulled out his old and worn wallet. Not the kind his father approved of, but he loved it, mostly because the old man hated it so much. Walking past the man, he dropped money in the hat on the ground. From the corner of his eye he could see it holding some coins and... a hamburger wrapper.

Feeling moody and more than a little angered by what he'd seen, he now walked with a scowl that had anyone cared enough to look, they would've stayed far off his radar.

By the time he finally stopped, he was numb from cold. There were less people around and he knew he should go back home if he didn't want to freeze to death. He'd much rather stay out than face yet another party with his drunk father and friends. If it weren't so cold, he could easily spend the night wandering on the streets. Maybe he still would.

As he was lighting another cigarette, he saw a child, no older than ten, maybe. Her clothes could not be keeping her warm; the slightly torn summer dress barely covered her pale knees, the summer jacket was rather useless in the cold winter night, and a pair of sneakers on her bare feet. Her bottom lip looked like she'd been biting it constantly. As he watched, she did it again, shivering and clearly trying to hold back tears.

The cigarette now forgotten in his mouth, he frowned. Completely frozen to the spot, he watched as the people walked by, no one paying any attention to the young child who was practically begging for attention. He shivered and was reminded just how cold it was, and he was dressed appropriately. Then he became angry; all those adults walking around with their family, or to their family waiting at home, and no one stopped to even ask if she was okay.

What about that nicely dressed preacher, with his nice little collar, preaching about love and charity—and would you mind donating money for those poor children in Africa?—all the while standing not too far from the child in obvious distress and need of help. In fact, when the girl went to him and said something, he told her not to bother him since he's got important work to do. The man was probably one of those who walked around bragging about all the good they've done, God knows where, while forgetting about the people in need in their own neighborhood.

If there was one thing the teen hated, it was hypocrites, and right now he was positively seething. Hopeful that at least one of these adults walking by would stop and do the right thing, but unable to leave it up to the fate, he observed some more.

There walked a young woman in her designer shoes, dressed in her designer clothes and carrying her designer handbag, reeking to high heavens of some ridiculously expensive perfume. For all that she liked to act rich, she came off as a cheap knockoff. Dropping a few coins in the box of a guy wearing the red cross vest, she probably thought it made her a good person or something. Seeing the child, she wrinkled her nose and walked away faster.

Couple of teenagers walked by, laughing at some trash reality TV show they had seen the day before.

The observation ended when a businessman ran through the shrinking crowd of people, almost running over the girl. That's when the teen finally snapped. Walking to the man, he grabbed him by the arm and yanked back before he had a chance to keep going. "What is wrong with you!" he yelled, getting not only the man's but everyone's attention.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you! Let go of me, you hooligan, or I'll call the cops! I'm busy!"

The teen saw red. Holding his cigarette in his other hand, he pointed toward the wide-eyed girl, now staring at them. "Apologize to her!"

"What? Why?" The man was genuinely confused and the teen momentarily so taken aback by it that his hold on the man's arm loosened, enough for the man to get free and escape from the scene.

"Kids these days..." one of the people was heard muttering, but after that the city life was back to how it was before. As if nothing had happened. The world kept moving around the two kids now staring at each other.

Seeing how the child was shivering from cold, and maybe even fear, the tall teenager crouched down so he would be less threatening. He was surprised how instead of being scared of him, she reached out her hand and removed the cigarette from between his lips, dropping it in the snow. "It's bad for your health," she stated solemnly.

All he could do was stare and then admire her guts, which she obviously had. "I guess you're right... You look cold," he said and then took off his jacket and put it on the girl who seemed to disappear inside the thing.

"It's too big," she said with a small smile and he chuckled.

"Are you lost? Where are your parents?"

Her smile vanished and her lower lip started wobbling as she moved her gaze down.

"Hey... It's okay. I'll help you find them. What do you say?" he said and then the horrible thought came to him. What if she didn't have any parents?

"Thank you," she whispered and took his hand in hers. He was alarmed by just how cold her hand felt.

"You know, you shouldn't trust strangers so easily, kid. No one ever give you the 'stranger danger' talk?"

"It's okay. I know I can trust you."

"Why is that?"

"My gut tells me so."

He chuckled again. The kid was funny. "Your gut, huh? All right... Let's abandon the ice age for someplace warm and something to eat. We'll start looking for your family tomorrow morning. How does that sound?"

"Okay."

He hesitated, until she wrapped her arms around his neck. Almost shaking his head at the trust, he raised the girl up into his arms and started walking away from the huge shopping center, which wasn't quite as busy as it had been a moment ago. The scenery was about to change even further, as that's when the promised snowfall started. "What's your name, kid?" he asked, realizing he couldn't just keep calling her 'kid'.

"Kelly."

"Kelly, huh? That's a nice name. I'm Tony."

...

...

Tony was careful not to be seen by anyone as he made his way toward his room. The isolated location worked in his favor, both for the privacy and the quiet from the racked coming from the other side of the big house. Father had taken an early start with his party. Entering his room, he closed the door and was glad that the noise didn't reach this part of the building.

Although he had tried keeping Kelly awake, the child had finally fallen asleep on the way and he was once again alarmed by how cold she felt. Laying her on his huge canopy bed, Tony took out his phone and called their family doctor. He was worried and couldn't risk doing something wrong. "Come on, Kells. Wake up. I didn't save you just so you can die on me now," he said softly, while getting all the nearby blankets for her.

He had just finished preparing a hot bath in the adjoined bathroom, when a servant brought the doctor in the room. Despite his usual distaste at the mere sight of said man, he felt such relief seeing someone who actually knew what to do.

...

...

Kelly sighed and moved as her nice, long dream started to fade away. She didn't want to wake up when it felt so nice and warm and soft, almost as if she was back home... The thought made her sob quietly. She missed mom and dad. She wondered if they missed her too. It felt like forever since the bad man had stolen her from home, and when she managed to escape, only to find herself completely lost and far away from anything familiar.

She cried for a while, but then decided that as the daughter of a badass marine, she shouldn't be a crybaby.

Finally opening her eyes, Kelly sat up and gasped at what she saw. Was she still dreaming? It was like something out of a fairytale, the huge room she was in; a room fit for a princess. Or a prince, she added when she noticed the person lightly snoring in the comfy looking chair next to the bed. He really did look like a prince from her fairytale books. Her savior. She smiled when she remembered how he had come to her rescue. She was her daddy's little girl and was sure she could trust her gut feeling, knowing he was a good person.

Crawling closer to the sleeping teen, Kelly wondered why he was sleeping in the chair. The bed was big enough for them both. It was big enough for them and her mom and dad. She noticed that she was wearing a big T-shirt and shorts, which had to be some boy's clothes. Someone much bigger than she was.

"Kelly?" Tony was slowly blinking his sleepy eyes open. When he saw her awake, he smiled tiredly and looked relieved. "You're finally awake."

"Of course I'm awake. Did I sleep long time?"

"A very long time... I was worried, even though the doctor said you would be fine with some rest." Tony sighed as he leaned closer, to check her temperature with his hand, but then a loud noise broke the serious moment and he grinned. "Seems like you could use some food. The doctor did also mention something about nutrients."

Kelly blushed. "Yes please."

Tony held out his hand toward her, which she didn't take, but instead wrapped her arms around his neck. Holding her, he stood up. "You really do trust me too easily."

"You feel safe. You feel..."

"I feel?"

"You feel the same my daddy does."

"Oh... Uh. Well, I can be your temporary seventeen-year-old brother until we find your dad, okay?"

She'd always wanted a brother, or a sister, but a brother was fine too. "Okay."

As Tony walked through the silent house, Kelly held her head against his shoulder and stared at the rooms they went through, taking it all in. To her, it was like being inside a castle.

...

...

"Teresa," Tony said when he entered the warm kitchen, complete contrast after the cold hallways and long corridors of the building.

The elderly woman working in the kitchen turned around and smiled when she saw him. "Antonio, you are up early," she said. "Who is this young lady?"

Tony put Kelly down on the chair behind the kitchen table, where she listened with wide eyes as Tony and Teresa talked in Spanish.

"I found her on the street. Couldn't leave her there or she would've frozen to death."

"Of course you couldn't. Poor thing."

"I was wondering if we could have something to eat? For her, really. After that, I'm going to try and find her parents or anyone who knows her."

"But of course, dear child." Teresa nodded and started pulling things out of the fridge and cabinets.

"Don't forget we're only two people... One of us being just a child, who might not be able to eat too much right now," Tony tried to say, but that didn't stop her. Shaking his head, he turned to Kelly and smiled. "This is Teresa; she's a nice lady and will take good care of you while I'm gone, which won't be long, I promise. She doesn't speak a word in English, but she'll understand what you say. Now, I need to make a few phone calls. Don't leave the kitchen while I'm gone."

Tony's last sight of the two was Kelly looking adorably confused, while Teresa talked in Spanish, ignoring the whole language barrier thing. Honestly, that's how Tony had learned his Spanish. Not a word of English from her for as long as he could remember. Catching her twinkling eyes, he wondered once again if she could in fact speak English just fine...

While sneaking back toward his room, Tony froze. Closing his eyes he took a deep breath. Oh no... Not now.

"Junior. Where were you last night?" The man speaking was his old man, Anthony DiNozzo Senior. He was standing at the door of one of the guest rooms, looking as if he'd partied hard last night.

"Father..." Tony turned around to face his father, who was obviously still a little under the influence of alcohol, which he so loved. More than his own son. The man loved everything more than his son.

"People kept asking about you, can't imagine why. Do you have any idea how embarrassed I was?" Senior was furious and with the volume of his voice raising, it was never a good sign for Tony. Stepping closer to his son, the man's face was starting to take a slightly red tone. "Answer me!"

"I went for a walk," Tony answered tonelessly.

"A walk!" Senior screamed and Tony hoped it wouldn't be heard in the kitchen. They were far enough, right?

"Yes, a walk. I needed some fresh air. It happens when I'm around you and your friends during one of your drinking parties. The stench is horrible." Tony knew he was pretty much asking for it and so the punch in the face didn't come as a surprise. He didn't fall down only because he had been prepared for it.

"I'll teach you some respect, you little—!"

"Anthony?" It was a woman's voice coming from the room. She sounded uncertain and slightly fearful. She should be. Once drunk enough, Senior could raise his hand against anyone, men or women. Children.

Senior pointed his finger at his son and hissed, "I will deal with you later!"

Tony took a deep breath. For a change he was grateful for his father's random string of girlfriends. It had saved him from more yelling and from getting another black eye or worse. And kept him from saying something that would have made the man even angrier.

"I hope I won't scare Kelly with this," he muttered, carefully touching his face around the eye. He didn't need a mirror to know he'd be soon having a black eye. Wondering why he didn't take his phone with him in the first place, he hurried to his room.

...

...

"Oh, Antonio. Antonio, Antonio..." Teresa bemoaned when she saw the beginning of a black eye as he entered the kitchen. "What was it this time? And don't lie to me. The truth; was it your father again?"

Tony grinned sheepishly. "I slipped on the empty bottles on the floor. Maria is going to have a heart attack when she comes to clean up the mess."

With hands on her hips and eyes narrowed, Teresa didn't look amused. "Antonio," she stressed.

Ignoring her, Tony sat behind the table and smiled. "Was the food good?"

Kelly stared at Tony with wide eyes. "You're hurt."

"This?" Tony gingerly touched his eye and barely stopped himself from flinching. "It's nothing. I got into a fist fight with the door. You would not believe how often it happens. I'm pretty clumsy for a big boy like me."

Kelly narrowed her eyes and Tony tilted his head at the way the kid stared at him. He felt uncomfortable. "Are you done eating?" he finally asked and Kelly nodded. Without any further word exchange, she held out her arms and Tony felt his heart swell at it. Swallowing down the lump forming in his throat, he stood up and lifted her into his arms. "Let's get going then. A friend of mine promised to help us find your family."

Teresa wasn't happy. "Antonio. Where do you think you're going? Your breakfast."

"Sorry, Terri, don't have time." Tony shrugged and took a couple of pastries with him.

Teresa shook his head as Tony left before she could force him to sit down. "Will take care of everyone else..."

...

...

After he had dressed Kelly warmly in his old clothes, Tony was about to take her out the same way they came in, but just as he moved toward his bedroom door, his hearing picked up the telltale sound of his father's footsteps; heavy with intent that almost never ended well.

Momentarily frozen, Tony shook off the ever-present fear as it was now more important than ever to get Kelly out of the house safely. It was one thing for Senior to show his true nature to him, but there was no way he would subject her to it.

"Let's play a game," he whispered, trying to act nonchalant.

As if understanding that something wasn't right, Kelly stared at him with a tiny frown. "A game?"

"Yeah. A game where you stay very quiet and hug me as tightly as you can. Don't let go, no matter what. Can you do that? We're going out the fun way."

Glancing at the door, probably also hearing the footsteps now, Kelly nodded.

"Good girl." Tony rushed to open the window, glancing at the escape route. He was used to sneaking out that way, but this time he had someone else with him so he had no room for error. Third floor wasn't really that high for him alone, but for the two of them... There was no time; he could hear the footsteps stopping behind the door. Helping Kelly on his back for a piggyback ride, he whispered, "As tightly as you can, like a koala. Don't look down."

A moment later, the door opened to an empty room and an open window.

...

...

He couldn't believe he had done it. Sure, he'd done foolish things before, but this was a whole new level. He had stolen his father's car. Sure, he saw it as 'borrowing', but Senior would not care. He was so seriously screwed...

Tony glanced at his silent companion who hadn't spoken a word since they left the house, hours ago. "Talk to me, kid."

Kelly looked at him, the look on her face far too serious and knowing for a child of her age. "Why did we have to run? Is... Did your dad hurt you?"

He had no idea what to say. He could easily lie, but...

"It's okay. I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to. I had a friend at school once... His dad wasn't very nice either."

Tony cleared his throat. "It's fine. Not really a secret. It's more like a secret that everyone knows, but no one likes to talk about. My father just got a little angry. I wasn't being a very good boy and so he punished me." Honesty was good, right? He wasn't sure how one was meant to be around kids.

"My dad and mom never hurt me, even when I am being a really bad girl."

Tony didn't know what to say. Honestly, it wasn't like he had anything to compare to.

"I don't like your dad," Kelly said after a pause. She sounded upset, maybe even angry.

Tony smiled faintly. "I don't like him either. Don't worry, you won't see him ever again."

"But what about you?"

The smile vanished. "He's my father."

For the rest of the drive, Kelly kept giving him sad looks.

Some time later, Tony stopped the car in front of a police station. He was glad to have a friend who was a cop, even though that friendship started when the man arrested him a few years ago, after he'd ran away from home and was caught trying out drugs with his new 'friends'. Thankfully it was only that one time and he had never done anything so stupid again... No thanks to his father, but every bit of thanks to the cop who was like some long-lost uncle to him, or an older brother.

"All right, Kelly. We are going to meet my very good friend."