A/N: Hello everyone! I'm going to start my next NCIS story. I am still working on For Better Or For Worse, and this story is in no way related to that one. I've just been thinking a lot about this idea, and I really wanted to give this story a try! So, here's chapter one; let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any original characters. I own those whom I create!

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Emily DiNozzo woke up on Christmas morning to the sound of her alarm clock. It rang 5:30am, and she quickly turned it off and got out of bed. She wrapped herself in her robe and walked from her bedroom, downstairs, and into the kitchen of her house. She knew she would have to wake her kids up in a half hour to get them ready for the drive ahead, so she decided to enjoy her thirty minutes of silence by brewing and sipping a hot cup of coffee. While the strong smell filled her nostrils, Emily closed her eyes and enjoyed the sweet sound of silence. All that she heard was the ticking of the clock on the wall behind her. Emily sat at the kitchen table with her coffee and sipped it while looking out the window at the freshly fallen snow. Memories instantly flooded her brain as they always did when she was alone. Amidst the white snowflakes and the brittle tree branches, she clearly saw herself and Derek sixteen long years ago. A young couple in love. They had just moved to Pittsburgh from DC because Derek took a job offer. Emily had been hesitant to leave behind their families and take such a risk, but Derek had been persistent. In the end, without Emily's mother's approval, the couple had ended up in Pittsburgh.

"You're only nineteen years old," Emily's mother had said. "You are making a mistake!"

Of course, Emily had ignored her mother and said she was wrong. She and Derek were in love. Derek, three years Emily's senior, had promised that after making the move, he would become stable in his new job and they would buy a house, start a family, and live the American dream. It had sounded perfect to Emily; almost too good to be true. Sadly, at nineteen years old, most people fail to realize that when something seems too good to be true, it usually is.

Sure, everything was okay for a while. Derek was working a lot, so they were not in trouble financially. They had even put a deposit on a house. It seemed like their becoming a family was the only promise that Derek was having a problem keeping. He had yet to propose, and Emily was beginning to wonder if he ever would. She had gotten a new ray of hope when she discovered she was pregnant with their first child. It was a cold December evening when Emily told Derek, which is why winter brings back so many memories. Derek had acted happy with the news and had stood by Emily throughout the pregnancy and the birth of their daughter Raya. The three of them were becoming a family, though Derek had still not made the commitment permanent with a proposal. Two years later, Emily became pregnant again and had their son Collin. Now a family of four, Derek was no closer to marrying Emily than he had been when they left DC, and Emily was beginning to lose faith that they would ever say their vows. Sure enough, as time went on, Derek spent less and less time at home or with the kids and Emily's responsibilities grew overwhelmingly. She was practically a single mother with a boyfriend who came and went as he pleased. The time finally came when Raya was four and Collin was two. Derek told Emily that he was unhappy with their situation and he had met someone else which is why he had not been around home a lot. Derek left his girlfriend and children and hadn't been back since. It hadn't been long before Derek signed away his parental rights to the children and Emily changed their last names to her own, DiNozzo. Raya and Collin had lived the rest of their lives without seeing their dad and with very few memories of him.

Coming out of her thoughts, Emily noticed it was nearly six o'clock and was time to get Raya and Collin out of bed. She went back upstairs to retrieve her children, and fifteen minutes later after a large amount of griping and complaining about the earliness, Emily and her children were sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast.

"I don't understand why we have to be up this early," Collin complained as he aimlessly stirred his cereal.

"It's a long drive to DC," Emily replied. Raya let out a long dramatic sigh.

"What I don't understand is why we even have to make this stupid drive," she whined. "Why can't Grandma just move to Pittsburgh?"

"Raya, we go over this every time we go to visit her," Emily began in a rather annoyed tone. "She has lived in DC for over forty years. It's her home. Plus, she wants to be buried next to your grandpa when her time comes. He's really all she had here."

"Well he doesn't seem all that special to her. She never talks about him," Raya continued bitterly. "And it's weird when you call him my grandpa. I never even met him." Emily felt a pang of hurt in her stomach from her daughter's bitter words. She knew Raya was a teenager, but sometimes she was rude when it simply was uncalled for.

"I never met him either," Emily said. "And if I did, I don't remember. Your grandma didn't ever tell me much. She said the stories were too painful to relive. The way she always made him sound, though, he was a great man."

"Still doesn't seem that special," Raya muttered into her cereal.

"Well he must have been very special to her. She never married after he died," Emily pointed out.

"Then why is her last name David and yours is DiNozzo?" Raya asked rudely. Emily felt her cheeks turning red as her anger built up.

"Because she and my father were never married," she replied. Raya snorted and looked Emily coldly in the eyes.

"Guess that runs in the family," she spat. Emily felt her fury burst throughout her body and couldn't even think of what to say to her daughter. Raya stood from the table, appearing satisfied with herself. "I'm going to go get dressed."

"Put your bowl in the sink," Emily instructed shortly, stifling her anger. Raya rolled her eyes and walked upstairs, ignoring her mother. Emily sighed and took care of Raya's bowl as well as her own. She couldn't understand why Raya could be so hateful sometimes. Emily knew that she herself was never as disrespectful as Raya. Emily's mother would never have stood for that type of behavior.

"Are you almost finished?" Emily asked as she turned back to face Collin who was now just using his spoon to play with his cereal. He nodded and left to get dressed as well. Emily washed the breakfast dishes and went upstairs to get ready for the trip to DC herself.

Emily, Raya, and Collin had previously packed for the trip. They were only staying overnight because Emily had to return afterward to go back to work. Being a single mom, she couldn't afford to take an actual vacation to be with her mother over Christmas. She really missed her mom and wished that Raya and Collin had had a chance to grow up with their grandmother, but Emily had been insistent on remaining in Pittsburgh after Derek had left. She wanted to prove to her mother that she could make it on her own with her children. Aside from Raya's attitude, Emily believed she was doing a decent job and was proud of herself for what she had accomplished by staying in Pittsburgh. However, she still could never get rid of the desire to remain in DC whenever she visited her mother.

"Are you ready?" Emily called down the hallway to her children. They both answered from their rooms and shortly afterward they were loading up the car for the drive. Raya insisted on sitting in the backseat so she could stretch out, so Collin sat in front.

"Alright," Emily began, turning in the drivers seat to fact both of her children. "You know how important these visits are for me and for your grandmother. I know you don't particularly enjoy going, but please be on your best behavior while we're at your grandma's house."

"Whatever," Raya scoffed and rolled her eyes. Collin nodded his head. With her childrens' responses, Emily exited the driveway and began the drive to DC.

Hours later, Ziva David was sitting in a recliner in her living room awaiting the arrival of her daughter and grandchildren. Holidays were Ziva's favorite time of the year because she was reunited with the most important people in her life. She was so proud of Emily for working to provide for Raya and Collin on her own. Ziva had always known that Derek was no good for her daughter, but Emily had been stubborn. Ziva couldn't blame her; both of Emily's parents were rather stubborn themselves. Finally, Ziva saw Emily's car pull up out front through her window, and Ziva walked to the front door and opened it. She watched as Emily, Raya, and Collin got out of the car and she was in awe. Emily was beautiful. Her hair was long and dark, and her complexion was a bit lighter than Ziva's. Ziva's favorite of Emily's features was her eyes because they were the same eyes of Emily's father. They even sparkled the same. Raya also had long dark hair but she strongly resembled her father Derek. Collin, however, was a mini version of Emily's father himself. Ziva watched her family come up to the house and greeted them each with a big hug, blocking out the man she was just thinking of.

"Merry Christmas!" Ziva exclaimed to them, and they each returned the greeting. "Come on inside, I bet you are all hungry." Emily and her children accepted the offer and followed Ziva to the kitchen where they were greeted with the smell of turkey, mashed potatoes, and corn. As they ate, Ziva was using her time to catch up on her grandkids' lives; she was very interested in what they were involved with. Ziva also picked up on some tension between Emily and Raya, but she decided not to bring it up; Raya was always giving Emily problems.

"Thanks for the food, Grandma," Collin said sweetly when he had finished eating.

"You are very welcome," Ziva smiled at him. "Raya, Collin, why don't you two go on into the living room while your mother and I do the dishes. When we come in, we'll open presents." Raya and Collin obeyed and left the room.

"So, how was your drive?" Ziva began casually. Emily chuckled and leaned against the back of her chair.

"It was alright," she replied.

"Emily, do not lie to me," Ziva warned. "What is wrong with you and Raya?"

"She has attitude, Mom," Emily shrugged. "She always has attitude."

"But it's Christmas," Ziva said as she piled the dishes on the counter. "You would think this would be the one day you two could just get along." Emily sighed, wishing her mother was correct.

"We got into an argument this morning," she admitted as she walked over next to Ziva who had begun washing the dishes. Emily picked up a towel and dried them as her mother washed.

"About?" Ziva asked.

"It's...complicated," Emily replied. Ziva gave her a confused look, secretly asking her to elaborate.

"Mom," Emily began, "I really think that maybe you should tell Raya and Collin about their grandfather."

"Wow," Ziva sighed, laying down the dish that was in her hand. She was stunned by Emily's suggestion. "I was not expecting that."

"Well, it's just that they ask me questions about him and...I don't know how to answer them," Emily explained. There was a long silence. "You never told me."

"I know," Ziva said finally, picking up a plate to wash. She was quiet again, and Emily waited before speaking.

"Is there a reason for that?" she finally asked. "Did he do something bad?"

"No," Ziva answered quickly. "It is just that talking about what happened with your father is very difficult for me. In fact, I have never actually told the story."

"Well, Mom, maybe it's time that you do," Emily said gently. "The kids and I want to know, and I think we deserve to." Ziva looked into her daughter's eyes and knew that she was right. Emily's father was a wonderful man, and Ziva had to deal with the pain and tell the story. She owed it to her daughter and grandchildren.

"Okay," she relented. Emily smiled in relief at her mother's answer.

"Thank you," she said. Ziva nodded and finished the dishes.

"Is it time for presents?" Collin asked excitedly as Ziva and Emily entered the room. He was almost fourteen, but he was still just as excited about Christmas presents as he was ten years ago. Emily and Ziva couldn't help Collin's joy bringing a smile to both of their faces.

"Actually, we are going to wait a bit for that," Ziva said. Collin's face fell slightly.

"Why?" Raya asked with a bit of attitude present in her voice. Emily and Ziva both shot her a stern look.

"I do not understand why your mother puts up with that attitude, but I will not," Ziva said firmly. "And neither would your grandfather." Raya was shocked by what her grandmother added.

"Why did you randomly bring him up?" Raya asked, still with attitude. Ziva sat back in her recliner and Emily sat on the couch next to Collin.

"Raya, Collin, I know that you do not know much about your grandpa," Ziva began. "And your mother doesn't know much about him either. Up until now, I have not talked about him to you because it is just not easy for me to. But, you two are both old enough now, and your mother deserved to know the story long ago. So, if you would like, I am going to tell you the story of your grandfather."

"What do you mean the story of our grandfather?" Raya asked. Ziva smiled as thousands of memories filled her mind instantly.

"The type of person he was, his job, our relationship, and...his death," Ziva replied softly, still thinking of her time with him and how it was cut short.

"I want to know," Collin said when his sister didn't speak.

"Okay. Let's go back thirty-six years," Ziva smiled as she began her story. There was no turning back. "His name was Anthony DiNozzo."

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A/N: There's chapter one :) This story will mostly be told in Ziva's flashback now. I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! Please remember to review!