He stands under the hot water letting let jet spray massage his sore muscles. It doesn't take long for him to feel better and relaxed. After drying off he puts on soft warm sweats before heading into the kitchen to make some tea.
While his laptop is running through its starting programs he sips his tea then taps his chest as he feels the tightness start to loosen up.
To call it a bad week would be an understatement, knocked on his ass by the flu, the late winter snow storm didn't help either. All on top of his team being their usual selves, snarky, selfish, and, acting superior. It was never ending, working with people who think you're not worth their time or who think you aren't capable of doing the job you were hired for without their supervision.
He is good at what he does, he knows he is a cop at heart, a good cop. That one thing will never change, it is something that just comes naturally to him. A complete opposite of his father, That in its self is a great thing, something to be proud of.
He quickly scans the news before moving on to his email. Spam gets deleted, he doesn't have to worry about work email his personal account is not connected to his work account. Junk email and little blue pills ads that get passed his filters get deleted as a mater of course. Seeing an email from a friend in New Mexico he grins and opens it.
Tony - Have you thought about it? Come on Tony we need you here. You my friend are a better cop than some Fed. You'll be the boss it's a ten man unit. Think of the title captain of detectives Anthony DiNozzo. You'll be working under me Tony. Let me know I really need an answer -Julio
Closing the email Tony sits back and thinks long and hard. Does he really want to stay at NCIS for the rest of his working life. Taking orders from Gibbs, being disrespected by Tim and Ziva. Having to deal with a over grown spoiled brat of a lab rat who wears blinders in as far as Gibbs is concerned. Director Leon Vance a man who thinks that being a cop on its way out just like the dinosaurs. Then there is Ducky and his sidekick Jimmy, they have never treated him badly.
Or he can move to a mid-sized city and go back to being a cop. It would be warm, a new start, with a fresh team. With luck he could find himself again not have to always be on guard.
He still had a week left of his sick leave, he could go to New Mexico look around and make a decision. To stay at NCIS or leave and get a fresh start.
Sitting on the plane for the ride home he felt so much better like a weight had been lifted off of him. He closed his eyes and remembered.
Julio, scrawny old Julio met him at the airport, excepted he wasn't scrawny anymore. They had become friends from the first day they met at the police academy. They had a lot in common both young, handsome, smart, they found out that they each spoke Spanish because of a swear. Julio swore because he had gotten a demerit for not having his shoes polished. Tony laughed then showed him how to shine the shoes like he was taught at the military academy he was sent to as a child. That is all it took for them to become friends They hit the books as a team and practiced hand to hand, tackling, and how to put hand cuffs on quickly. It worked out some how, once they graduated Julio was assigned to another station. It didn't matter they called and got together when they could, moaning and groaning about being a rookie cop.
Years had passed but they never lost touched. Tony would call, Julio world call. When Julio got married Tony was there. When Tony got Y-Pestis Julio called him he even offered to come up and help him get back on his feet. Or come stay with him and his wife and children until he was better.
The decision was made the moment he walked into the squad room with Julio. It was the way the detectives interacted, no one-upmanship they worked in pairs or in threes. No big plasma, growling, or head slaps. Just cops doing their jobs getting the criminals off of the streets.
He walked with Julio from desk to desk introducing Tony to the detectives, seven men, three women, a good mix. Julio picked up a case file that was being worked on, he handed it to Tony. He didn't have to wait longer than five minutes for Tony to read the file and make a few suggestion.
"What do you think?" Julio asks later that night as he offers him more coffee.
"Where do I sign and I'll need a place to live."
Handing him the cream Julio asks him. " House or apartment?"
A month that is when he is due start work, two weeks to give notice and two weeks to move. He knew he wouldn't need that much time. He could pack everything and send it on ahead ,Julio would make sure that the rental pod was kept safe until the closing of his new house.
There was no trepidation at all as he made his way to Director Vance's office early on a Monday morning. He came straight to the point the was offered another job in New Mexico, that working in the cold weather was a factor in his leaving. But he missed being a cop. Simple as that, he wanted to do something other than chase Marines and Naval personal for the rest of his life. Besides he was tired of undercover work, not being told all of the facts and being used.
Vance was no fool but he knew there was more to his leaving. But he respected Tony enough not to push it. The only thing Tony asked was to let him be the one to tell the team that he was leaving. He would tell them all at once on his last day. He didn't need or want the drama or the ridicule from any of them. It was a simple request and Vance approved it.
He didn't take his things home from his desk, Tim or Ziva would notice and questions would be asked. So he bid his time, he stayed late and got caught up on all of the paperwork. Not one form or requested file from another department was left unfinished.
He waited until Gibbs was on his last coffee run of the day. It almost four-forty-five in the afternoon on his last Friday that he emptied out his pack-pack he put everything that belonged to NCIS in the drawers and everything that belonged to him in the back-pack. Then sent a text to Abby, Ducky and Jimmy asking them to come up to the bullpen at five o'clock.
When Gibbs came back he was ready, he looked up only to see Director Vance start to walk across the mezzanine toward the stairs.
"Director?"
"Gibbs." is the reply simple and to the point.
Abby comes bouncing into the bullpen like demanding all the attention as was, and always be her want. "Gibbs, Gibbs, I'm here so is Ducky and Jimmy. Tony sent us a text saying you wanted to see us."
"Abigail my dear, you're mistaken the text did not say Gibbs wanted us. It only asks that we come to the bullpen at five O'clock."
"Don't be silly Ducky, Tony can't asks us to do anything like that it had to come from Gibbs the Boss-man."
"I didn't send for you Abby." Gibbs tells her as he looks at Tony.
"No, I did." Tony tells her.
He steps out from behind his desk with his pack-back over his shoulder and walks closer to the Director. "Director, I believe these belong to you." Tony says as he hands him his badge, ID and weapon.
"What's going on DiNozzo." Gibbs growls.
"I resigned two weeks ago. I didn't want to leave without saying good-bye. I figured it would be just easier to say good-bye to all of you at once."
"You can't go. You belong to Gibbs team. He won't let you. Gibbs tell him he can't go." Abby yells, she walks up to Tony and slaps him hard.
"Thank you Abby." Tony tells her as he removes her hands and moves away from her reach. "Did you really think that I belong to Gibbs? He is my boss and my friend. But this is my life, not yours, and not his. It is my life to live and I will live it the way I choose to. Understand?"
"You can't go, he won't let you." Abby huffs.
Ziva reaction is just like he expected a sneer and a dismissive comment. "You'll be back, your new team will tire of you and you'll crawl back here looking for your old job.
"I thank you for your vote of confidence Agent David." he looks at Tim. "You want to add anything to that Agent McGee?"
"I'll see you when I see you, Tony." Tim says then walks closer to Ziva.
"I'm sorry Ducky. I'll never forget you. I do have a parting gift for you." Tony silently hands the older man a small stapler better suited for a child than a medical examiner.
Ducky looks at the Mighty mouse stapler in his open palm, closing his fingers he looks at the man who gave him so much and asked for nothing in return. "You'll keep in touch and write?"
"Of course Ducky, anything for you."
"Black lung." Tony says seriously as he hands Jimmy a mug, a simple ceramic mug he knows Jimmy has always liked.
"Thanks Tony." Jimmy says softly as he holds the mug close to his chest.
He turns and looks at his boss last, clearing his throat he schools his features. "I put your medals in Ziva's file cabinet bottom drawer. That way you can't melt them down for finishing parts for your boat. Remember she can kill you with a paperclip."
Gibbs doesn't say anything in return, he just glares.
"Anthony by dear boy, when do you leave and where is your new home to be?"
"New Mexico Ducky. I'm leaving now, driving in fact, the long drive will do me good."
"What about packing and everything else."
"All done Ducky."
"Your new job, what does it entail?"
"Police detective, just a cop. It's what I'm good at, Ducky."
"You will fail. No one wants to work with a frat boy, all play and no work. You'll need to learn Spanish, unless you believe you can get by with your smile." Ziva bitterly tells him
"You get what you expect in this life Agent David, you expected a joker, frat boy. I gave you that. As for Spanish I know it already as well as Italian. Keeping things like that a secret is what makes people like you and Tim underestimate and undervalue me. That is the last lesson that I will teach you."
Tony steps closer to Gibbs and offers his hand only to be glared down.
"You see Gibbs, you did teach me one thing it is better to burn your bridges all at once by saying good-bye like this. It proves three things I'm not hiding, I'm not running and I'm not a coward that has to sneak off without a word to anyone. It's been fun, but it's time I got off of this ride."
Gibbs just watches as Tony walks out for the last time without ever saying a word to the man who became his trusted friend.
"He will be back in what , six months. Yes?" Ziva asks.
"Don't count on it, Ziver. He won't come back."
"Gibbs my office." Vance orders just as he leaves the bullpen.
"What is it Leon?" Gibbs asks not really in any mood to deal with the director.
Leon hands him a folder. "I did a little snooping. DiNozzo is not going to be just any cop as he put it. He is going to be a captain, running a squad of ten detectives. He was headhunted by the chief of police. I just thought you should know."
"Are you surprised Leon?"
"I guess I am." Vance admits.
"Thanks Leon, he did it then, didn't he?"
"Yeah Gibbs our frat-boy did us proud."
"Gibbs one last thing, about your team."
"I know, I'll fix it. The price was too high this time." Gibbs tells Vance softly.
It took some doing on Tony's part three years worth of letters. One letter each week he never gave up. Gibbs in time wrote back keeping him updated on Jackson and his god-daughter. On the mutual friends they had made in the various agencies. Any news about Ducky and Jimmy was always welcome Gibbs knew just how much Tony liked and missed them. He never wrote about Tim or Ziva and Tony never asked about them either.
He had an open invitation from the first letter that Tony sent to him. And in every subsequent letter that he received as well. The last few line were always the same. Barbeque grill by the back door, beer in the fridge, coffee maker on the counter and fresh sheets on the bed, You know where I keep the extra key.
Thinking back Gibbs came to realize just how mistaken he had been about the dynamics of his team. Tim and Ziva each fighting for the SFA spot neither one of them ready for that kind of responsibility at all. So he brought in a no nonsense agent from California a former cop just like DiNozzo. Except this agent never wore masks what you see is what you get. He made both Tim and Ziva tow the line and he never let then get away with anything at all.
Hanging up his desk phone Gibbs tells McGee to put the news on the plasma. He waited and schooled his features as the news report came on about a serial killer that had plagued the tri-city area in New Mexico for over two months. The task-force led by a former federal agent, apprehend the suspect four days after the task force was formed. The former agent apologized to the families of the victims for not finding the suspect sooner. He also made it clear that it was a group effort the officers from the different police departments from the three cities worked as a team and it was an honor for him to lead it.
Gibbs looked at Tim then at Ziva he saw the same expression on each of their faces. One of guilt they had managed to drive away a good agent and a better friend.
It was Tony's latest letter that finally made him go to New Mexico. A photograph of Tony standing with a beautiful woman. Each holding a corner of a large white poster board sign. It was the nine simple words that were written on the poster board that made the decision for him. I need a best man. Up for the challenge?
Never one to back down from any challenge in his life, Gibbs packed a bag then booked a flight.