Family is family

Family is family: Prologue

The case was one of the hardest ones Tony has worked on in a long time, and it brought back a lot of long buried memories and nights of drinking himself into oblivion so he could forget what he went through.

The case was the murder of a 12 year old boy, the son of a Commander naval officer. It was obvious that the little boy was being neglected by his father, as it was a common occurrence with children who had parents deployed, and with parents who just didn't give a crap about their children. It was also obvious that the boy was being abused by his father, something that Tony DiNozzo knew all too well and that made him growl audibly when he saw the hand print on the little boy's cheek. He was lucky that Gibbs had Kate talk to the 'distraught' father otherwise, the father would be in handcuffs and unable to defend himself as Tony beat him, possibly to death and nothing, not even Gibbs would be able to stop him. He was glad that no one noticed how the colour drained from his face when they saw the body or the slap on the boys cheek or the growl that left his throat or the glare he was sending the Commander because he would have to unwillingly, tell Gibbs and Kate what was wrong and have to put up with their endless questions and their sympathetic 'oh the puppy got kicked' looks.

He knew that if he wanted to solve this case without spilling his most kept secret coming out, he'd have to control his emotions and not let his face betray what he's feeling, and if that means not being Tony DiNozzo to ensure his secret stays secret, then so be it. And if anyone does question what he's acting unlike himself, he can just say the case is getting to him, yeah that line always works, at least it did when he was a cop and had a hard case. He was certain by the time this case was over, his secret would still be his.

He hoped. 

Gibbs knew that this wouldn't be an easy case for him or his team, it never is when a child is murdered but he hadn't expected for Tony to take it so hard. He hadn't expected the colour from tony's face to drain when they saw the boy's body, or to hear the growl that left his agent's throat when he thought no one could hear him when they found the hand print on the 12 year old's cheek, or to keep throwing the boy's father, who was being interviewed by Kate, evil glares that kill even Gibbs, most likely thinking how he could kill the Commander without leaving a trace of forensic evidence. Gibbs was glad he had Kate interview the Commander because he was almost certain that he'd be pulling Tony off an unconscious Navy personnel and having to arrest his agent for attacking a Naval officer, followed by hours of negotiating with the Commander to not press charges against his agents.

He would have to keep a close eye on DiNozzo as they worked this case, he wouldn't put it past his Special Agent to do something drastic in order to get through this case without breaking down or losing his job. He always suspected something was bothering DiNozzo, and this case just magnified his suspicions. He would need to talk to Tony about what was bothering him after this case was over because it's clear to Gibbs that DiNozzo can't shoulder whatever was going on with him alone anymore.

DiNozzo was family, and Jethro Gibbs didn't let his family go through stuff on their own, whether they wanted help or not, he'd get DiNozzo to open up even if it killed the older man.

Tony DiNozzo was family, it was as simple as that.

A\N: This is my first multi-chapter story in a while and my first NCIS story ever. I'll update as much as I can but I've got my new internship starting on the 5th, so please be patient.

I'm only on season 1 of NCIS so I don't know all the characters just yet but I read a lot of NCIS fanfiction so I know quite a few of them, please don't judge me. Just for future reference, I'm a full fledged TIVA fan, so look out for future stories from them and tony, Gibbs father/son ones.