"All Good Things...(Chapters 11 & 12)"
Chapter Eleven---
Tony sat at his desk at NCIS staring at one of Gibbs' medals that he kept in his desk drawer. His eyes glazed over with emotion and remembrance.
"Geez DiNozzo, why don't ya just marry the damn thing." a familiar voice said from across the bullpen.
Tony looked up to discover what he believed to be his boss sitting in Ziva's desk chair.
"S-sorry Boss. I was just looking." Tony said, swallowing a lump in his throat.
"Why the hell does everyone keep calling me that?" Gibbs swore, shaking his head.
Tony looked somewhat confused by the statement, but shook it off after a second or two of dwelling on it.
"What were you thinkin' about?" Gibbs asked, folding his hands behind his head and leaning back in the desk chair.
"Well actually--I was thinkin' about my first day on the job here--at NCIS." Tony said with a grin.
Gibbs grinned too--Tony figured that he remembered that particular day as well.
"I was so nervous I spilled coffee all over you at the crime scene." Tony said with a slight chuckle. "That was the first *Gibbs Slap* I ever got." he added.
Gibbs laughed along with him, and then there was a silence that fell over the bullpen that seemed to last forever--sort of.
Tny averted his eyes away just for a second, and when he looked back at Ziva's desk--Gibbs was gone.
"Boss?" Tony whispered quietly, his eyes darting around the room.
Suddenly he felt something smack him in the back of the head, and as he reached back to rub the sore spot he heard a familiar voice whisper in his ear.
"Remember," the voice whispered softly in his ear.
A tear rolled down Tony's cheek as he sat there silently for a brief moment.
"Read you loud and clear--Boss," Tony whispered.
"Agent DiNozzo!" Vance's voice cut through the silence suddenly.
Tony stood and up and looked around finally spotting Director Vance standing right outside the door to MTAC.
"Yes sir?" Tony called back.
"Come here. We need to talk!" Vance called down to Tony.
"Be right there." Tony said, and then watched as Vance disappeared into MTAC.
Tony set the medal carefully back in his bottom desk drawer and closed the drawer, and then locked it.
Tony stepped into MTAC, closing the door behind himself, and found Director Vance sitting in one of the seats facing the big viewing screen.
Vance looked up at Tony as the younger man walked by.
"Have a seat," Vance said, around his toothpick.
Tony nodded and did as he was told. The two of them sat silently for a few moments before either one spoke.
"With Gibbs gone the position of *Team Leader* is up for grabs." Vance said plainly.
Immediately Tony was appalled at the way Vance spoke about Gibbs. Just his tone was unbearable. But he did not call him on it--not yet anyway.
"Yeah. So." Tony replied quietly.
"I've looked over your record," Vance said, looking over at Tony, and then glancing back towards the viewing screen. "It seems to me you've got a couple of options."
Tony considered this for a moment before speaking up.
"Okay. I'm listening."
"Option 1: You get assigned a new team, based overseas, and a higher pay raise." Vance started.
"Option 2?" Tony asked, clearly not amused.
"Second option," Vance shrugged. "Stay here, take over Gibbs' old position, and keep the same pay status."
Tony was about to speak up again, but Vance cut him off.
"Or, there's your third option." Vance said, rather plainly. "You can do as you've always done--and leave."
Now that statement cut through Tony right to the bone, and left speechless for a few minutes. Once the shock subsided, anger bubbled up from deep inside him.
"So what's it gonna be Special Agent DiNozzo?" Vance asked.
Tony jumped up from his seat, quickly, and brought himself to stand right in front of Vance.
"With all due respect, Director, I don't much care for your tone." Tony said angrily. "And to answer your question," Tony said lowering his voice but not his anger. "I made a promise to a *friend*--and I sure as hell plan on keeping that promise."
Before Vance could say anything else Tony stalked off out of MTAC letting the door sort of slam on his way out.
Chapter 12---
When Tony rounded the corner of the bullpen he found McGee hobbling towards him on crutches. Tony stopped and leaned over against his own desk drawing in a deep breath and then letting it out again.
"Meeting with Vance?" McGee asked.
"Yeah," Tony replied quietly.
The two men stood silently for a moment. Then Tony straightened up and reached out a hand and laid it on McGee's shoulder.
"How're you feelin'?" he asked the younger agent.
"Honestly, I've felt better." McGee replied, letting out a sigh.
"I know." Tony replied.
"How are you holdin' up?" McGee asked.
"As well as any of us are I suppose." Tony replied in a low voice.
"Spoke to the others yet?" Tony asked.
"Nope." McGee replied, rebalancing himself on his crutches.
Suddenly they heard the elevator ping. They turned to see who would step off and saw Abby emerge from the elevator car. Abby walked over and first hugged McGee, carefully, and then wrapped her arms around Tony embracing him in a warm hug. Tony returned the hug gently. A few seconds later Ziva appeared, having taken the stairs up to the squad room.
"Where've you been?" Tony asked, pulling away from Abby.
Ziva's eyes were still red and moist when she faced Tony.
"Here." She said quietly, holding up Gibbs' house keys. "I took them when you were not looking." she admitted.
Tony hugged her, and whispered into her ear that it was alright.
The group swapped conversational pieces until a few minutes later when Ducky stepped off of the elevator carrying two paper sacks.
"Ducky." Tony said, as the aging M.E. approached them. "Whatcha got there--in the sacks?" he asked.
Ducky smiled as he set the two sacks down on top of Ziva's desk.
"I thought it only fitting that we toast a glass to our fallen *Friend*." Ducky said, as he pulled 5 small glasses from the first sack, and a bottle of Jack from the second sack.
Ducky began to pour whiskey into each glass, handing them out to each member of the team as he did so, until everyone had one.
"Jethro's favorite." Ducky mused swirling the liquid in his glass. "To Jethro Gibbs." Ducky sai, raising his glass.
The rest of the team followed suit, their glasses clanging against one another as they did so.
"To Gibbs," they all said quietly, and then tipped up their glasses and drank.
The next day felt somewhat as dreary as the previous day had, but things were about to change--little did they know.
Ziva and McGee sat at their respective desks in the squad room at NCIS when Tony walked in wearing one of his suits and carrying a cup of coffee in one hand.
Tony walked around behind Gibbs' desk, unlocked the top right-hand drawer and pulled out the Sig and badge and laid them on top of the desk. He pulled a set of keys out of the top middle drawer as well.
"David. Car." Tony said, tossing the car keys across the bullpen.
Ziva caught the keys with one hand, and a confused expression crossed her face.
"Tony, are you feeling okay?" she asked.
"Got a call." Tony informed them. "Dead Marine was found this morning in a hotel just off of the beltway."
"McGee, you're staying here." Tony said suddenly, rounding on the younger agent.
"But Tony, I-" McGee started to say out of protest.
"You'll just slow us down." Tony added. "Don't worry, Ziva and I can handle it."
Tony strapped on the sidearm and badge, picked up his coffee cup, and walked around towards the elevator.
"Coming--Officer David?" Tony asked as he walked by Ziva's desk.
Ziva and McGee exchanged troubled glances across the bullpen.
"Is it just me or is Tony acting like-" McGee started to say.
"Gibbs?" Ziva finished for him, as she quickly gathered up her gear.
............The End?............
Author's Chapter Notes:
Tony has a *Big* decision to make.