"This is exactly like The Deep End of the Ocean."

"You mean the one with Michelle Pfeiffer? The one where her son is kidnapped and she reunites with him ten years later?"

Tony circles his arm around my waist seeing as we're the only two in the bullpen. "God, you're basically my soulmate."

"We should watch it again."

"So you can cry again?"

"Ass."

He pushes me away from him just as Gibbs and McGee walk in, the latter being dressed in his Young Scouts uniform.

"Seriously, Probie. I don't make enough fun of you?"

"Knock it off, DiNozzo."

"Everything points to the father." I display his driver's license on the monitor. "Brian Matthews, a native of the D.C. area, nineteen when he married Lisa, his high school sweetheart. Two short months later, Carson Matthews was born."

"Good old shotgun wedding."

"Six weeks after giving birth, Lisa drowned. Her death was ruled accidental."

"Matthews took it hard and ended up losing his crowd. Then, he started hanging with the wrong crowd."

"Dead wife's mother sued him for full custody of Carson and won."

"Explains why he took Carson and ran." McGee rests his hands at his waist.

"Somebody just earned their detective badge." Tony mockingly congratulates.

"You talk to the grandmother?"

"She died over a year ago from a heart attack."

"Brian Matthews became Brian Taylor, ended up living in Franklin where he and Carson started a new life."

"He's now married to Lieutenant Elaine Taylor, who works for the Naval Procurement in anti-fraud."

McGee and Gibbs leave to talk to Elaine while Tony and I search through Carson's bedroom, leaving Ziva and Abby alone with the minor.

"Tony. . .Carson is literally the child version of you."

"What do you mean?"

He examines the racecar bed Carson owns.

"You think this comes in a king?"

"I'm not going to let you pick a race car bed for our future home."

The words slip out before I can think about what I'm saying. With narrowed eyes, Tony turns around to face me.

"Future home, huh?" A giddy grin grows on his face.

"You can't make fun of me, Tony." I nudge him by his chest. "I'm your girlfriend."

"I think it's cute, honestly. How soon do you want to move in together?"

"Uh, how about next month from never?"

That night, I finally get to meet the infamous Carson Taylor, whom everyone knows is a replica of Tony.

"Metro's hand-delivering the cold case files, so they should be arriving soon."

"Metro? Hand-delivering?"

"Did I do something wrong?"

"Eva, they're gonna stay involved in the case. Why else would they hand deliver the files?"

"To see your pretty face, DiNozzo."

Three of Metro P.D.'s detectives arrive with a single box of case files, and the one in the front drops it on Tony's desk.

"It's been a long time." He extends a hand.

"Not long enough, Collins." Tony greets him with a fake smile. "Eva, meet Detective Collins from the cold case squad. He and I worked a couple homicides when I was in Baltimore P.D.. Collins, Special Agent Evaline Giudice."

"Pleasure to meet you, Evaline. You can call me Marshall." The detective daintily kisses the top of my hand.

"Uh-huh." My tongue presses against the inside of my cheek. "And you can call me Agent Giudice, Detective Collins."

Tony stands up from his desk. "Coffee, anyone?"

"I'll come help you." I remove my hand from his uncomfortable grip.

"Playing hard to get with him, Ev?"

"You think I'd waste time on talking to a douchebag like him?"

"That's my girl."

Gibbs returns with his cup of coffee for the night, visiting Carson in the basement so he can talk to his mother.

Meanwhile, the N.C.I.S. team collaborates with Metro P.D. to discuss the details of a murder cold case from 1998, which we all believe involves Brian Taylor.

Gibbs sends me and Tony to venture into the Black Ridge Woods to search for the man in question and bring him back.

"So, this Detective Collins. . ." My gaze shifts to the side of his face. "How long has he been getting on your nerves?"

"What?" He barely glances away from the road.

I let my fingers run through his short hair. "Besides being your girlfriend, I've known you for over four years. Very little annoys you."

"Keep doing that, sweetheart." He hums into my touch.

"Answer, Tony."

"He's always been so. . .arrogant. Thinking he's so much better than everyone because he's a detective."

"Well, he isn't a senior agent at a top agency, is he?"

"You know I love you, don't you?"

"You never fail to remind me."

By early morning, we reach the national park. Following the trail mapped out by Abby and McGee, the two of us charge into the base camp. . .only to not find Taylor.

Almost exactly on time, Gibbs calls to let us know Carson had warned his dad about our surprise visit to the camp, and he ran off.

"Whatever you say, Jenny." I hang up the satellite phone.

"City slickers saw a deer." Tony leaves the campers with their finally lit bonfire. "Apparently, it was a big one."

"Jenny wants us to keep our ground here so McGee can track Taylor's coordinates."

"If he doesn't?"

"There's a search team coming, too."

"What about our courageous frontiersmen?" He looks back at the batch of non-outdoorsy men.

"They get to leave when the search team arrives."

"Lucky them."

"But until then. . ." My lips curve in a gentle smirk. "You and I get some alone time."

Night falls in the dark woods as the search team leads us through the thick woods. Fog swings low on the grass, making it harder for us to see.

"Giudice speaking."

"Taylor's phone was just activated, Eva. We're tracking it now."

"Thanks for the heads up. Could have used it a while ago."

"You sound tired, Eva."

"Yeah, well, you would be, too, if you were running on zero sleep."

We cross through a clearing where a vehicle drives through. Tony searches the vehicle for Taylor, but he only finds a satellite phone.

Gibbs calls in the next morning after Taylor contacted him through a payphone in the north end of the Rock Creek Park.

"Pair up and spread out." He orders in command.

"We'll take east of the creek, the rest is yours." Tony mutters to Collins before pulling me along with him. "Behind me at all times."

"Tony —"

"No questions asked."

With guns in hand, we creep through a clearing in the woods before Ziva contacts us with a recent revelation of the case: Collins is the true killer.

"A candy bar and three quarters." Carson drops the items onto my desk. "You play a mean game of poker, Agent G."

"I'm still surprised to hear an eight-year-old say the word poker." A soundless chuckle leaves my lips.

"Maybe next time we play strip poker." He wiggles his brows suggestively.

I narrow my eyes teasingly. "I don't think so, C."

Soon, Carson's reunited with his parents in front of the elevator, the others watch the loving family from a distance.

"There's something about that kid. . ."