I'm staring out into the night,
Trying to hide the pain.
I'm going to the place where love
And feeling good don't ever cost a thing.
And the pain you feel's a different kind of pain.

The letter to Director Vance arrived six weeks after Tony left for his mission in Mexico. It was postmarked the week prior.

To Whom It May Concern,

I've decided to leave NCIS. I am truly thankful for everything I've learned and the experiences that I've had. I know that the decision is rather sudden, but I've decided to follow my heart and have fallen in love with someone from my past. Please accept my resignation effective today.

Sincerely,

Former Special Agent Tony DiNozzo

P.S. You should consider making McGee the lead agent. I taught him everything he knows and he taught me a lot that I didn't know.

Fast forward eight years in the future.

The scene opens on an extremely well kept house. There isn't anything out of place. We see toys in the toy box and folded towels sitting on the couch. On the couch is the body of a dead woman. We can hear the sound of a baby crying somewhere in the distance and the doorbell is ringing.

Tony DiNozzo arrives home about twenty minutes later. He was called by his neighbor. It was her day for the carpool and she always made sure that their two oldest children were safely inside before driving to the next house. She grew concerned when his wife hadn't answered the door. So, she called Tony who rushed home to see why his wife wasn't answering the door.

He walked inside and immediately knew that something was seriously wrong. Their youngest child was screaming upstairs. Tony called out to his wife, "Jeanne? Honey! Where are you?"

He was greeted with dead silence. He walked into the family room and saw her lying on the couch. He immediately knew that she wasn't merely sleeping. He felt all of the blood drain from his body. He couldn't move for at least ten seconds. He was brought out of his daze by the ringing of his cell phone. He saw that it was his neighbor, "Hey Sarah. No. Can you keep them at your house for awhile? Something's happened to Jeanne. I don't know."

He hung up the phone and called nine-one-one. The police arrived shortly after and took her body to the medical examiner's office.

They had moved to a small town in southern Louisiana and thought that they were safe there. He worked for the sheriff's department and they had a happy, if not quiet life together, at least until today. Today, all of his happily ever afters were gone forever, although, if he was really honest with himself, he hadn't been happy for some time. Ever since their last baby had been born, there had been turmoil in the DiNozzo household.

Jeanne had been depressed lately. She hadn't been happy staying home with their children. She'd want to resume her career, but Tony didn't think that they should be in daycare. It was a constant battle in their household.

The ME determined that she committed suicide.

Six Months Later

Tony looked out the window of his new house. He hoped that they would be happy here and that they could put their past behind them. Tony had put feelers out and he got a job working for Virginia sheriff's office. He was working in homicide. He'd reconnected with McGee and Abby had come by to see him.

She'd been thrilled to meet his children. She'd laughed and said, "I can't believe you have three little DiNozzo's!"

Tony had smiled at her, "Me either. I never thought I wanted children, but when Sara was born, it seemed like I was a natural. I thought that Jeanne liked being a parent too, but I guess you never know someone. Even after eight years of marriage."

Abby got a sad look on her face, "She must have been incredibly sad Tony. I couldn't imagine my life without my kids."

Tony smiled, "I guess so, but I just wish she would've told me before they were born. It's been tough on Sara and Stephen. They don't understand where their mommy is. I've tried explaining it to them, but heaven is a foreign concept when you're five. Then there's Samantha, she was barely three months old when she lost her mom. She won't ever remember her. I just don't understand any of this Abs. How could she…"

Abby hugged him tightly and whispered, "We're here for you Tony. Me and Timmy. If you need anything, just call."

Tony nodded and hugged her back. She left soon afterwards and Tony went to sit down on the couch. His old friends had been stopping by all day. He was tired and was getting ready to go upstairs when the doorbell rang again. He sighed and went to answer the door. He opened it and said, "I'm really tired and… Ziva… What are you doing here?"

Should I continue? I'm not sure... Reviews are love...