We are still working on The Best Laid Plans, and an update can be expected by the week's end, but this whole idea hit us like a ton of bricks and we absolutely had to start writing it. It picks up after the Tony/Gibbs showdown in Dead Reflection and takes off running from there, and then we'll jump ahead a few months, and do what we enjoy doing best- creating absurdly unrealistic circumstances and letting shit go down.

The first few chapters will focus on the weeks following Dead Reflection, and will use snippets of finale spoilers, and then we 180 and go somewhere else entirely.

Part 1

"My team, my rules."

"You are going to have some choices to make."

"You're afraid of Gibbs. I'm not."

Tony slumped against the wall of the elevator, already exhausted from this chess game he seemed to be playing with Gibbs. And E.J. He almost considered adding Ziva to the list, but he was too entrenched in other battles to confront the emotional black hole that continued to define his relationship with his partner.

The elevator door opened, and Tony sent a quick prayer that it wasn't Palmer or Abby, because one sympathetic "What's wrong?" would have him spilling his guts. His prayers were answered, but the elevator Gods certainly had a sick sense of humor, because it was Gibbs who stepped inside the suddenly very small steel box.

Somewhere between the parking lot and the evidence garage, Tony surrendered his sanity and stopped the elevator.

With a sigh and a sip from his coffee cup, Gibbs turned around, still silent, but looking very much like he expected his Senior Field Agent to do this.

"Why are you exempt from your own code?" Tony finally asked.

"Didn't know I was." Gibbs said calmly.

"You broke rule number 12." Tony pointed out. He was generally agitated, and the Zen like calm Gibbs was exuding was starting to downright infuriate him. "And we all know, you were alone and in the field, and you have a million other excuses, but the point is that we all know about you and Jenny!"

An unrecognizable expression flashed across Gibbs' face before he settled back into his usual stoic mask. "That was different." He told Tony in a tone laced with finality, as if that statement required no explanation.

"Because it was you. And your rules only apply to everyone else!" Tony snapped loudly.

"You can't keep doing this with E.J." Gibbs said simply, still pissing Tony off with his non-reaction.

Tony laughed humorlessly and rolled his eyes so far back into his head Gibbs hoped they'd get stuck there. "Is this because she's threatening your dominance?" Tony taunted, frustration replacing better judgment.

"It's because she's not worth it!" Gibbs exclaimed, his voice rising to Tony's agitated volume. That was the reaction Tony had been baiting. "Jenny was worth it. E.J. always has an agenda. E.J. is not worth it."

"So I can break your rules if I find a nice redhead you deem to be worth it?" Tony shouted. "I can get a waiver if you pick the girl? Come on Gibbs, E.J. is as worth it as anyone." He cringed at how hollow that sounded, and hoped Gibbs wouldn't notice, but when he met his eyes, there was a hint of a triumphant, I told you so smirk on the boss' face.

Gibbs held Tony's gaze for a long time, looking very much like he wanted to say something, but seemed to think better of it, and instead started the elevator again. He got off at autopsy, muttering something Tony couldn't quite make out, and was pretty sure he didn't want to hear anyway. He wandered into the bullpen to find it strangely empty. Stopping short in front of the window, he gazed out across the river to the Capitol and frowned.

Gibbs, NCIS, his job, his life. It dawned on him he was risking a lot for this thing with E.J. but who the hell was Gibbs, whose middle name was practically 'Alimony payments' to say she wasn't worth it? He stared out the window turning this over in his head, trying to convince himself he could happy with E.J., even though she'd always be second best, but the thought only caused him to laugh at himself.

He'd gotten so pathetic it was actually comical. Like he wasn't wholeheartedly aware there was only one person worth risking everything to be with, and he'd stared across the office at her almost every day for five years.

It would always come back to Ziva, and the torturous paradox of wanting her desperately, and needing her more. The bleakness of the summer she was gone still haunted him, and the mere thought of not having her in his life caused his chest to tighten with panic and his heart to pound. He wanted more with her, he wanted everything with her, but he was too afraid he'd manage to fuck it up and lose her entirely to take the chance.

Tony's sweaty palms hit the rail in front of him as he struggled with the weight of consciously processing in his head what he'd been ignoring for as long as he could remember. The illusion that made it bearable was officially shattered, and as much as might have wanted to bang his head against a wall or cry, he laughed out loud again. Sleeping with one agent, in love with another who happened to be his partner, and completely frozen when it came to doing something about it.

"Yes, Anthony, you are fucked." he muttered to himself.

"Hell of a way to start the morning." E.J. said as she sidled up to him and positioned herself close enough that they were touching. Her proximity immediately annoyed him; that place of just touching was usually reserved for Ziva.

"It's been a strange day." he told her without betraying emotion.

E.J. eyed him strangely. "It's not even eight AM." she pointed out.

Tony's eyes returned to the view from the window, and when he snapped back into the moment, Gibbs, and McGee had materialized at their desks.

"MTAC." Gibbs grunted. He was halfway up the stairs when he turned around and looked at Tony. "Bring Ziva when she gets here."

"Shouldn't there be some kind of rule against being late?" E.J. quipped to Tony.

Tony sighed inwardly and waited, until sure enough, Gibbs snapped back at her. "I don't think you need to be at all concerned with my rules, Agent Barrett."

This time, E.J. waited until he had disappeared into MTAC before giving Tony a shrug and a smirk. "At least he can still hear."

Tony shot her a look, and she rolled her eyes in response. "Oh come on, Tony," she chided, "I told you I wasn't afraid of him."

"E.J..." he started, wondering where he was going with this, and seriously doubting that in the haze of this emotional cluster fuck was a frame of mind in which he should make any decisions, when Ziva's voice stopped him.

"Where is everyone?"

"Waiting for us in MTAC."

Ziva paused for a moment, sensing she had walked into something between them, but chose to ignore it. "Did our invitation get lost in the mail?"

"Arrived by courier this morning," Tony told her without missing a beat, "I was waiting to roll out the red carpet for you."

E.J. blinked at the change in his demeanor. "Ziva, he'll be a minute." she said, her eyes fixed on Tony.

Overcoming all of her natural instincts that were telling her to hit Barrett in the face, Ziva nodded and started up the stairs.

"DiNozzo, what's going on?" she heard Barrett hiss. Ziva's pace slowed; this was something she was dying to know as well.

Tony didn't answer, at least not that she could hear, and she couldn't stop herself from turning around at the top of the stairs. His eyes were trained on her, and there was a very strange expression on his face, one that looked vaguely familiar, but she hadn't seen in a long time.

"Sorry," he muttered to E.J. before jogging after Ziva.

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