When Tony's eyes opened in the morning, he knew he was alone in bed. He could smell coffee and cinnamon wafting upstairs and he would be willing to bet that Jethro was downstairs puttering around the kitchen making breakfast. And probably humming to himself as he did it.

As Tony slipped on a t-shirt and brushed his teeth, he thought about their short conversation about kids from the night before and he realized that it was a conversation they needed to have in much more detail. Lately they had been having more and more little conversations about the future, their future. Jethro had talked about retiring for good and how that would allow them to formalize their relationship. There was also an opportunity for him to get out of the field and move over to a training role, sharing his experience and knowledge with new agents, a move that would also allow them to formalize their relationship since Tony would no longer report to him. But in all their little conversations they had never really discussed children, never talked about having a family together. And as Tony thought about how Jethro was with Betsy, and how he was with any of the other kids Tony had seen him with, he knew that no man ever deserved a child of his own more than Jethro. And if he admitted it to himself, Tony also had more than an inkling of desire to be called "dad".

When Tony made way to the kitchen and saw the spread that Jethro had on the table the sheepish little grin he gave Tony when their eyes met simply confirmed Tony's decision about that conversation, yeah, he thought to himself, they definitely needed to continue that discussion. Breakfast for them normally consisted of coffee, and maybe some quick toast and eggs, not the poured juice and milk, and the french toast, and the bacon and eggs that were gracing the table this morning.

Tony noticed that Betsy was inhaling breakfast almost as fast has she had inhaled supper and he felt a flicker of rage again that her parents would just toss her out without a thought. But he tamped it down and gave Betsy a smile as he headed for the coffee pot.

She was dressed in her own turtleneck and pants, but had kept Jethro's big baggy sweatshirt. She had admitted to Tony after her shower last night that she was sure that she'd never feel warm again. The two nights outside in below freezing weather had been brutal.

They ate a big, leisurely breakfast, then Tony got dressed so they could go deal with her parents. Tony was really hoping that this went well, for Betsy and the baby mostly, but also that Jethro didn't completely lose his temper and do something that they would all regret.

---------------

All three of them were quiet in the car on the way over to her parents on the other side of the city. And when they parked in front of the house Tony could tell that Betsy was scared. And somehow he was expecting what Jethro said next to Betsy as he turned around in the driver's seat, "We're gonna go talk to your folks. I don't know how this is all going to turn out, but I don't want you to worry. If I can't make your father see reason, we will figure something out. You are not alone and you have someplace warm and safe to stay if it comes down to that. Okay?"

She was chewing on her bottom lip, but she she gave him a little nod that earned her a playful little wink from Jethro that actually made her smile a little.

As they made their way up the walk, the front door opened and a short, stocky man emerged to stand with his arms crossed over his chest, his entire demeanor was adversarial. Tony groaned inwardly, knowing that this was just not going to go well. He subtly handed Betsy his cell phone and said sideways through gritted teeth, "If this gets ugly, call speed dial number 4." Ducky.

Gibbs flashed his id, "Special Agent Gibbs, NCIS."

The man snorted, "Whatever she's done now isn't my problem, I kicked her out four days ago."

Gibbs was really struggling to maintain his temper and swallowed back a sarcastic reply, instead saying, "Actually, Mr. Fontana, you kicking her out is what we need to talk about. May we come inside?"

"No."

The irritation building in Gibbs had to be released in some way or else he was just going to deck Betsy's father, so he let the sarcasm flow, "Fine. Then we'll just stand here on your front porch in front of all your neighbors and you can explain to me how you justify kicking your pregnant, seventeen year old daughter out on the street in the middle of March with no money and no place to go."

It was only Tony's quick hand on Gibbs' wrist that kept him from knocking Fontana's teeth down his throat when he said, "I figured the little whore would run to whichever boyfriend of hers got her drunk and knocked her up at that Halloween party. Let him take responsibility for her."

Surprisingly it was Betsy that found her voice to yell at her father even as the tears streamed down her face from his cruel words, "I told you it wasn't like that. It wasn't my fault. I don't know who the father is."

Tony was trying to figure that statement out, she hadn't told them anything about the baby's father last night, it just hadn't been relevant to their conversation. He squeezed Jethro's wrist before letting it go and asked Betsy, "What do you mean you don't know who the father is?" He had a sneaking suspicion he wasn't going to like what she had to say, and he was right.

Betsy took a deep breath and locked her eyes on Tony's, "I offered to be a designated driver on Halloween for a couple of friends that wanted to go to this party at some guy's house. There was this kid in a mask that was running around with these fancy cupcake things that he said his mom made for the party. He wasn't acting drunk or stupid or anything really but before I could say no he stuffed half of one in my mouth. It was really dry and I couldn't stop choking and he got me a bottled water. I didn't even think I just drank it. And that was the last thing I remember until I woke up the next morning. There were people passed out everywhere and I just grabbed my clothes and went home." She turned towards her father and said sadly, "I was a virgin until then, Dad, whether you believe me or not."

Tony's eyes met Gibbs' and he said flatly, "Sounds like Rohypnol."

Gibbs turned back to Fontana, his expression stony as he pointed behind him to Betsy, "What she just described was a sexual assault. Someone slipped her a rophy and raped her. Didn't you listen to what she tried to tell you before you jumped to conclusions?"

"She shouldn't have been there in the first place. I didn't raise her to be out partying and drinking with boys. How do I this isn't just some story she cooked up? I'm not buying it. And I'm not having a whore under my roof."

Tony caught Gibbs' wrist again, barely. And he said through gritted teeth to Fontana, "Mr. Fontana, if you call her that again, I won't stop him a third time. And trust me, you really don't want that."

"What I want is all three of you off my property, now." He focused on Betsy, "Your mother packed up your room, it's on the back porch in boxes. You want any of it, you take it now or else it's going out with the trash on Monday." And without another word he turned and went back in the house.

Gibbs was fuming. Tony tried to remember the last time he had ever seen Gibbs this angry and he couldn't, and that was a little scary. And he thought for just a second that Gibbs was going to follow Fontana into the house. But all it took was one deep racking sob from behind them to switch the gears in Gibbs who turned sharply, and without a word, pulled a heartbroken and sobbing Betsy into a tight hug. As he murmured soothing things as he stroked her hair, his eyes were fixed on Tony. And Tony could see the fury still burning down deep in them. Deciding that Gibbs had Betsy well in hand, he said lightly, "I'll go get the boxes and meet you at the car."

Tony's own rage was simmering as he made his way to the back porch. He could see the two big boxes and sighed. He was just about to bend down to pick them up when the back door quietly opened and Mrs. Fontana slipped outside. She was a bone thin woman, with a what Tony could only describe as a haunted expression on her face. She was also sporting a black eye that appeared to be a couple days old that she was unsuccessfully trying to cover up with makeup. When her eyes met Tony's he could see the overwhelming sadness in them and he said quietly, "We can help you. You can press charges."

She shook her head and whispered, "It's too late for me. But help her. Please? It's not too late for her, or my grandchild. And give her this? It was my mothers." She put her hand into her pocket and pulled out a little gold locket that she quickly pressed into Tony's hand before she slipped back into the house without another word.

Tony sighed again, feeling even worse about the situation. He tucked the locked away safely in his pocket and hesitated only a second before slipping one of his business cards in the screen door. He hoped for her sake and Betsy's that she would call. But his gut was telling him that she wouldn't.

He carried the boxes to the car, and was glad to see that Gibbs had gotten Betsy inside where it was warmer. Gibbs popped the trunk from inside and he put the boxes in and closed it behind them. He allowed himself one last look towards the house and he thought he saw someone peeking out of the curtains upstairs. But the thin fingers quickly let the curtains fall and Tony got in the car.

---------------

It was a quiet ride back to their house, both Gibbs and Tony trying to figure out what to do now that they had effectively taken in a pregnant teenager. Betsy was trying hard not to just keep crying, she didn't know what to do. And her father calling her a whore in front of Tony and Jethro and the entire neighborhood had hurt more than anything. She had always prided herself on being a "good girl", someone with pride and respect for herself, and to be called a whore like that by her own father broke her heart.

When they pulled in the driveway and got out, Jethro said to her, "Why don't you go on in and wash your face and chill out, we'll get the boxes."

She nodded gratefully and went inside. Tony's mind was a million miles away as he watched her go and he said distractedly, "She needs a bigger coat."

Jethro sighed, "Yeah. And some maternity clothes too, those pants she's got on aren't gonna cut it much longer."

Tony turned to face Jethro and asked, "We just got ourselves a kid without even trying, didn't we?"

Jethro shrugged, and added, "Two kids."

Tony winced at that a little, "I wonder if she's seen a doctor at all for the baby."

"I don't know. I doubt it though. And I also doubt that she got any sort of counseling for the sexual assault either. God, I wanted to strangle her father." Gibbs said as he scrubbed his face with his hands.

Tony teased, "Couldn't tell."

Gibbs looked at Tony, his expression serious and he asked, "This is all sort of happening fast, Tony. We didn't really get a chance to talk about any of this. Are you okay with all this?"

Tony dropped the frat boy act and answered honestly, "You and I both knew going over there today that this might happen, even if we didn't actually talk about it. I think the three of us all need to sit down and have a long talk about things, we need to know what she wants to do, you know, with herself, with the baby. We can't make those decisions for her. And then we'll figure it out from there. Making it up as we go along is what we do best."

Jethro gave him the sheepish little smile that Tony loved so much and agreed, "Yes, it is."

As they each grabbed a box out of the trunk and headed for the house a particularly frigid blast of wind whipped through and Tony frowned and said under his breath, "And I'm buying her a coat tomorrow."

---------------

tbc...