Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or the characters; I own Leah, Jack, and Grace.

Warnings: Cute, fluff, Daddy-Tony

A/N: Just been feeling the need for some fluff, and just been feeling like spending some time in this verse with the DiNozzo kids. I hope you enjoy it! If you haven't already started reading "The Other Side", I hope you do, it's the first story in the continuation of the verse with Tony, Leah and Jack (and eventually baby Grace).

An Afternoon with Daddy

If Kate Todd could only see him now—what would she say?

Anthony DiNozzo chuckled at this thought as he walked through the National Zoo, pushing a baby stroller. Walks were the only thing that would help newborn baby Grace sleep, Jack wanted to see the zoo animals, and his wife needed to take a nap herself. So, Tony had compromised—he had taken Jack to the zoo right before Grace's nap time. The baby had immediately fallen asleep once she was in the stroller and walking, which was allowing a lot of time for Tony and Jack to explore the zoo. He'd never really pictured himself as a dad, but when he did, this is what Tony pictured—taking his kids to the zoo on a sunny afternoon.

Kate had never been able to picture the thirty-two year old bachelor as a dad; she had died even before Tony had made the transition to wanting a committed relationship. Surely she would be shocked to know that he was happily married with two children.

"Dada, where tigers live?" Jack asked, his deep blue eyes watching the majestic cats from a safe distance. "In D.C?"

"No, buddy, the jungle," Tony answered, ruffling his son's hair. Jack scrunched his nose up in confusion. "Well, these tigers live here, at the zoo, but normally they live in the jungle."

"We go to jungle?"

"Humans really shouldn't visit the jungle, Jack. It's dangerous."

Jack's face grew serious and for a moment Tony thought he was going to throw a tantrum, wake his sister up, and cause a scene, but instead he replied, "Mama say you job dan-jer-us."

Tony glanced at his sleeping daughter, and then at the little boy who clung to his hand, gazing up at him with sweet, innocent eyes. Where had Jack heard Leah say that? Any conversations they had about his job were well after their children were asleep, or when Jack was playing in the other room. He got out of the crib again or he's getting good at eaves dropping. "Want to go see the monkeys next?" he asked, changing the subject.

Fortunately, Jack was still too young to see through that tactic and happily agreed. Tony picked him up, shifted him to one hip, and pushed the stroller through the crowd. His job, the dangers of it had been a hot topic between Tony and Leah as of late. Given everything they'd been through in the last year alone… options for what Tony could do instead of being a federal agent had been tossed around.

She always came back to the same conclusion though—Tony was good at what he did, damn good, and there were plenty of people in the world that he still needed to help.

Jack smiled at him and pointed out the monkeys. He tried to wake Grace up to see them, but the baby just sighed in her sleep. "She missing it."

"We'll take her to the zoo when she gets older," Tony replied, grinning. He kissed his son's temple. "Are you having fun?"

"Uh-huh," Jack said with a nod.

"Good. I'm glad."

"We see Mama soon?"

Tony chuckled and kissed the little boy's soft hair one more time. "Yes, Mama just needed some rest," he said.

Grace began to get fussy, meaning it was time to find a spot to give her a bottle, and then perhaps, head home. Leah would have gotten a nice nap in by now. Tony steered the stroller towards a bench, set Jack down, making sure the boy had a snack of his own, before he proceeded to give Grace her bottle.

Really, what would Kate Todd think of him now, if she could see him feeding a baby? What would she say?