AN: So I wasn't going to write a sequel due to complete lack of ideas but I've got something, so I'll give it a chance. Thanks for all the reviews for Kind of a Long Story, I'm glad you all liked it and I'm hoping the sequel will be just as good. Oh and for all the actually case related stuff in this story you should know that the only experience I have is a high school forensics class that I haven't finished yet. So excuse all inaccuracies as poetic license if you please. One last thing, in order to not abandon this story I'll be posting updates every Tuesday.

Hannah Finch was only six years old. She was a tiny little girl even for her age. Her waist length blonde hair was in knotted tangles. The light pink dress she was wearing was covered in dirt and blood. Her tiny frame was covered in bruises, indicating that she suffered before she died, although a medical examiner was still to confirm that they hadn't occurred post-mortem.

She had been kidnapped on January third. Her body had been found on a playground one week later. Hidden under new fallen snow, the young girl's body had been uncovered by someone's dog out for a walk. Had that not happened the body may have remained unfound until the snow melted. Her family would have thought her to still be alive, they would still have hope.

It was barely six in the morning, the sun had yet to rise. The man and his dog who found the body sat far away from the apparent chaos at the crime scene, waiting to be interviewed. Fluffy snow fell over the entire scene, the beginnings of a blizzard from the looks of it. The playground sat in the middle of a circle of houses, all well within walking distance. The family of the deceased lived in one those houses. They stood at their door still dressed in pajamas, listening as the local LEO told them that their daughter was dead. Usually a job for NCIS, who was handling a case, but protocol was broken on this occasion when the family had seen the flashing police lights outside their house and thought their child, had been brought home. Not wanting to let their hopes climb to high, the LEO broke the news.

Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo was watching as Hannah Finch's parents had all remaining hope shattered. The father, and also the reason that NCIS was present, Gunnery Sergeant Aaron Finch looked like a man out for blood. He wanted revenge for his little girl that much was obvious. He didn't want justice. He wanted to kill whoever had hurt his daughter. Anthony DiNozzo may not understand that feeling entirely, his own daughter safe at home with the babysitter, but Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs certainly did.

The entire NCIS team seemed frozen in place as they watched Gunnery Sergeant Finch and his wife receive the news, only to be snapped out of their thoughts by hastily given orders from Gibbs, "Kate bag and tag, McGee talk to the people who found the body, DiNozzo photos." And like a well-oiled machine the group springs into action, each moving towards their respective tasks. Well, all but one. Tony DiNozzo couldn't help but stare at the scene in front of him, the little girl covered in dirt and blood and snow. Only one thought was in his mind. It could have been Alyssa. It could've been his own daughter.

"DiNozzo get to work" Gibbs snaps sharply, his voice reflecting the strain that cases involving children put on the whole team. Since DiNozzo had started working at NCIS they had only a handful of cases involving kids, most of them kidnappings, all of them resulting in a happy family being reunited. This was entirely new territory.

Gibbs' voice yanks Tony out of his thoughts; he responds to Gibbs with a simple "Yes Boss" and then gets to work photographing the crime scene. As he works, Tony is glad for the cold; the slight tremor in his hands can be excused as shivering, nobody would think to look any closer, and while the weather really made handling this case hell, the last thing he wanted was McGee or Kate thinking he couldn't handle himself at a crime scene.

A few moments of watching Tony work and Gibbs knows he's going to have to keep a close eye on his agent during this case, it had obviously hit home for him and really Gibbs couldn't blame him but the last thing he needed was for his agent to do something rash because he took the case to personally, and as he could already tell, Tony was taking this case very personally.

Gibbs' musings are interrupted by Dr. Donald Mallard, better known as Ducky, who already had his preliminary findings on the body. "Usually you would've asked about the cause and time of death by now" Ducky notes, seeing Gibbs' preoccupation.

"Well, I'm asking now. What do you got?" Gibbs says, in his usual gruff fashion.

"Died somewhere between eight and nine o'clock P.M. yesterday. Cause of death is asphyxiation" Ducky answers, not even starting one of his 'this reminds me of a time' stories, he knew everyone was already on edge and just wanting straight answers sans stories to accompany them. "I'll know more once I get her back to autopsy".

"Thanks Duck" Gibbs replies tersely.

"Jethro, I do advise you keep a close eye on Anthony during this case…I do believe it's becoming rather personal to him" Ducky says, unknowingly echoing Gibbs' previous thoughts. Gibbs was glad that Tony also had Ducky looking out for him but at the same time he was also concerned that DiNozzo wasn't hiding how much this case bothered him. Usually the man was all smoke and mirrors, especially with personal matters such as these.

"I was thinking the same thing" Gibbs answers, glancing over once more at Tony.

The team made short work of the crime scene; there wasn't much to be found besides the body, which was clearly dropped there after being killed elsewhere. Evidence of any kind was sparse, the killer had been very careful to not leave anything behind. Already, everyone could tell this was going to be a long hard case.

Ducky and Palmer had already left with the body and were headed back to NCIS to perform the autopsy. The rest of the team had just finished their respective assignments and were packing up their gear getting ready to leave. As they did so Gibbs noticed that Tony was uncharacteristically silent, usually he was the one trying to pick everyone else up during rough cases such as these and his behavior today was so different than the usual Tony DiNozzo that Gibbs was starting to get worried about his agent.

"Kate you're driving back, take McGee, Tony you're with me" Gibbs says and tosses Kate the keys to the van.

Kate catches the keys, nearly dropping them in the snow a few times before she actually gets a good grip on them. She turns to McGee and gives him a questioning look, wondering if he knew anything about Gibbs' sudden change of plans, but gets only a shrug in return. When she looks to Tony she sees that he isn't looking at her but is instead is in the middle of what looks like a very heated argument with Gibbs, of course, both Gibbs and Tony seems to have mastered non-verbal communication and the aforementioned argument is more glares and angry expressions than actual words.

Gibbs notices that Kate is watching Tony and himself and snaps at her and McGee "What are you two still doing here?" The comment sends them running towards the NCIS van just to avoid the accompanying glare.

Taking advantage of Gibbs' momentary distraction Tony hurries to Gibbs' car, the last thing he needed was to be arguing with his boss in front of local LEOs and grieving parents. He knew Gibbs had something to say to him and he knew he wasn't going to get out of it, but he certainly wasn't going to do it at the crime scene.

Only a few seconds later Gibbs gets in the car and to Tony's surprise doesn't immediately start yelling at DiNozzo. In fact, the first five minutes of the drive are spent in total silence and the one time where Tony attempted to turn the radio on he was quickly stopped by a glare from Gibbs. Eventually, Tony is the one to break the silence.

"Does it ever get any easier Boss?" Tony asks in a voice that is such a far cry from the agent's normally loud, confident voice that Gibbs is surprised. This case was really getting to Tony. And it was getting to Gibbs as well, he wouldn't say it to anyone but the only thing he could think about when he saw the little girl's body was Kelly. Cases like these brought all sorts of painful memories back for him, and Gibbs knew, even for people who had never lost a child, that these cases never got any better. If anything the only got worse, knowing that no matter how much you did people kept dying, and there would always be another case, and another body. And every so often they sucked as bad as this one did.

"No" Is Gibbs' simple answer delivered in typical Gibbs style, short and to the point.

There is a loud sigh from Tony's side of the car, and the younger agent says resignedly "Fair enough" before sinking down in his seat just a little.

"You're not going to stop worrying about her DiNozzo" Gibbs says honestly, knowing the feeling from personal experience. He never stopped worrying about Kelly, sometimes it was just easier to deal with than others. He knew that cases like these would definitely make it harder for Tony. "But you do need to keep your head on straight. You're a good agent but if you're not thinking clearly I'll bench you on this one". Of course he understood what Tony was thinking, but he didn't want it affecting his work. He didn't want his agent or someone else getting hurt in the field. Gibbs knew Tony could keep his act together; he just needed a little push.

"I won't let it interfere with the case" Tony says with determination, he needed to catch the killer and being benched certainly wasn't going to help that. There are a few more minutes of silence in the car before Tony pipes up with "Finch…As is Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird".

Well, it wasn't quite a movie reference but it was progress.

AN: I thought I should let you all know that at one point or another we will cover why Tony kept his kid a secret, along with some more details about his bat shit insane ex-wife. Some more Grandpa Gibbs, perhaps a little Tony whump, just for good measure, and of course there will be lots of Alyssa. Just not in this chapter. I hope you liked it, reviews are a great thing.