17 Years Old

"Yes, this is the car I want. It's for my daughter." Tony said to the man on the phone. "She's 17 and going off to college soon…" Tony paused, feeling the familiar sinking in his heart. His little girl was going off to college in the fall and Tony and Kate were already making arrangements to make her as comfortable as possible whether she chose to live in a dorm or an apartment. Every time Tony looked at Emma he couldn't help but think of the past 17 years. From learning how to crawl to dance lessons, to her first loose tooth and her soccer games. Tony closed his eyes and tried to focus on the conversation. "Yes, I'll be over in a while to look at it. Thank you." Tony hung up and sat down on the bed. Kate walked out of the shower wearing a towel around her. "What's up sweetie?" she asked seeing Tony staring out the window with a far off look in his eyes. He looked over at Kate and held her hips in his hands, pulling her down on the bed with him. He laid them down and shifted Kate so she was laying in his arms. "Oh, I was just calling that guy about the car for Emma." He said quietly. Kate nodded silently and titled her head up to look at her husband. Lately, the two of them had been busy getting Em ready for college. She was already accepted into Georgetown University so she wasn't going to be far but it still felt like a piece of them was going to be missing soon. Kate and Emma went to look at apartments near campus last month but Emma was almost sure she wanted to be in a dorm at least for the first year.

"I want to be part of all the college experiences." She told them. "And living in a dorm is a college experience." Tony was nervous about letting his little girl experience ALL the college experiences especially the ones he took part in. "I'm not going to tell you not to drink, because most college students drink no matter what age they are. Just make sure you drink responsibly and with friends you know will have your six if you get in a bad situation." Kate told her. Emma always nodded her head at them. She knew they were getting sad and over-protective by her leaving soon and she decided to let them lecture her all they wanted. She made sure to hug her parents every chance she got and she spent more time with Brooke. On the weekends they would go to the mall or go get lunch together. Brooke was 13 now and starting to show an interest in boys, which Tony tried to sabotage every chance he got. It was bad enough when Emma started an interest in boys and Tony didn't think he could handle it again with Brooke. So whenever she started talking about this guy in her class he changed the subject as soon as he could. Kate was more prepared with Brooke than she was with Emma so she knew how to talk to her and how to chastise Tony whenever he got too over-protective. "Give her room to breathe!" Kate had scolded him when someone named Cody had called one evening for Brooke and Tony tried to spy on her conversations. "It's none of your business what she's saying to him." She told him as she turned on the TV to prevent Tony's spying. Tony pouted and turned back to his dinner.

Tony ran his hands over Kate's body and watched delighted when she shivered in his arms and scooted closer. Her leg slipped through the opening in the towel and Tony made a noise of approval as he rubbed her silky thigh. He was about to pull her in for a kiss when Tazz pushed the door open. "Hey old man." Kate said to him as she sat up and petted him. Tazz was now 8 years old and was very much like Tony: He was still very much like a puppy despite his age, but every now and then you could see the years in him. Tazz jumped up on the bed and stepped on Kate's towel making it fall off. "Hey! No undressing her." Tony teasingly scolded him as he helped Kate get her towel back on. "That's my job." He winked at Kate who was heading back to the bathroom to get dressed. Tony's smile faded and he turned back to Tazz who had a goofy grin on his face. "Now see you spoiled my chance to get lucky." he hissed at the dog.

"Stop being mean to my baby!" he heard Kate yell at him.

Later that evening, the Dinozzo's and the NCIS team met up at the park for a barbeque. Kate spied Tony sitting on the grass watching Emma swinging on the swing with Abby and McGee's 4 month old daughter, Sarah, on her lap. She went over to him and at down next to him. "Hey honey." She greeted him. Tony looked up and smiled as he pulled his Katie into his lap. He buried his face in her soft hair as the scent of raspberries and citrus surrounded him. Kate wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him sweetly. "What are you thinking about?" she asked. Tony motioned to the swings. "Emma. She's leaving soon. What happened to the time? It seemed like only yesterday she was running around the house in nothing but her diapers and refusing to eat her vegetables…" he reminisced. Kate nodded and watched as Brooke and went to join Em and Sarah. "They're growing up." She said.

"Who's growing up?" Abby asked. Tony and Kate looked up to see Gibbs, Ziva, Abby, McGee, Jenny, Ducky and Jimmy join them. The adults looked at the children and Kate said quietly, "The children. Emma's going off to college and Brooke's going to be a Sophomore in high school in the fall. We were just remembering when they were little." Gibbs smiled and said, "Remember when Em was 5 and Brooke was 1 and Emma ran away from home to this park?" Everyone laughed and Tony pointed to the slid, "Yeah! We found her under that slide!" the team laughed together as they remembered that night. "And Emma found Tazz here 7 years ago. He was just a year old." Kate said.

"Where is Tazz?" Ziva asked. They all looked around and sighed when they saw him with Steven, Abby and McGee's son. Steven was now 4 and he and Tazz were partners-in-crime. The adults spotted the golden retriever with Steven as they dug up the flowers looking for caterpillars. Shaking their heads, they turned back to each other. "It's been a long time." Gibbs said softly as they looked at each other, carefully noticing the years in each other. It had been a long time since they had all met. Almost 20 years now. Kate took Tony's hand in hers and rubbed her soft fingers over his rough callused hands. Tony bent his head down and sweetly pressed his lips to her neck. "I love you sweetie." He whispered in her ear, sending shivers down her spine. Kate turned her head and caught his lips in hers. They gently massaged their lips together and completely lost themselves in each other. Kate buried her face in the crook if his neck and relaxed. Tony tightened his arms around her body as she relaxed and the couple looked out over their family. The rest of the team and their kids were all playing a game of tackle football now. Tony watched amused as Brooke ran down the grassy field with the football with Tazz close on her heels. Tazz caught Brooke with his front paws and tripped her making her fall into the grass. They grinned as Tazz pulled his typical stunt and sat his whole body over hers. Brooke grunted and attempted to push the playful dog off her. Kate laughed as they watched the two struggle with each other. "Yup, our family is quite the bunch." She grinned up at her husband. Tony watched as they got Tazz off her and then resume to chase the dog as he grabbed the ball and run off with it. "Yes they are." He agreed as he kissed her.

Four months later, Kate was sitting on the couch reading her magazine as Tony helped Emma get her stuff in her new car. Setting the magazine down, she got up to watch from the window. Kate felt her heart break as she watched Em get prepared to leave. Her little girl was leaving for college in two hours and Kate was trying her hardest not to cry. She let her mind wander to the first time she held Emma at the crime scene 17 years ago. The memory of her bright blue eyes and little fuzzy tufts of hair were still engraved in her memory. She remembered the first time Emma said, "Mommy" and she almost broke down in tears. "Hey baby." She heard Tony come up behind her, his strong arms circling her body in his. Kate turned and hugged him close to her. "I don't want her to leave." She whispered. "Am I being selfish?" she tilted her head up to look at Tony. Tony smiled gently at her and kissed her nose. "No, you're not being selfish. I don't want her to go either but she has to grow up and move out sometime." Kate nodded in agreement and the two looked out the window to see Brooke help her sister pack her shoes in the car. Tazz was bounding around their heels "trying" to help.

"Ok, mom and dad! I have everything ready. I'm going to head out." Emma said as she and Brooke came in. Tony and Kate felt their hearts sink but they tried to cover it up and smiled at their little girl. Tony handed her his American Express to a bank account he and Kate hand opened for her when she was two. "It has enough money to get you by for quite a while." Kate said watching her eyes light up. "Do I get one when I move out?" Brooke asked. Tony nodded at her and they laughed at Brooke's little happy dance. Emma looked at her parents and felt her eyes fill with tears. "I love you all so much." She whispered as Tony and Kate and Brooke wrapped her up in their arms. The family stayed like that for a while till Emma wiggled out of the arms and looked at her family. "I've got to go." She reminded them. Tony and Kate nodded and walked her out to the car. Emma got in and buckled up before looking out the window once more. Her mom, dad, sister and dog stood on the curb waving at her. She smiled at them and pulled out of the driveway. "Bye Emma!" they waved to her. "Bye guys." She whispered as she drove off to start a new chapter of her life.

She wasn't really leaving behind her parents and sister. She'll see them all again. Emma smiled to herself as she turned the corner. "Look out world. Here I come." She said aloud as she cranked up the stereo.

The End.