Fulfilment
Tony's final hour has come and he reflects on a life well lived around his friends.
Gosh it's been a while. This is a oneshot I wrote last night and I'm quite pleased with how it turned out.
May prove to be a bit of a tearjerker for some, but I suppose that comes with the territory.
I should point out that I fortunately have a very limited knowledge of cancer and the intricacies of how it acts, so what little information is given is based purely on second-hand experiences. I take full responsibility for any errors and any clarification would be very much appreciated.
~Angela
"Tony, your dying words are going to be, 'I've seen this film.'" – Ziva (Hiatus Part 1)
Tony lay in his hospital bed, old, frail, bald, yet still remarkably handsome. Seemingly more machine than man, he awaited a visit from his two best friends. The now elderly trio had suffered many a hardship over their fifty-odd years of friendship, along with many joyous occasions too. Nevertheless, they continued to remain well-acquainted and supportive of one another through all they endured: Gibbs being shot after refusing to wear a bulletproof vest as he saved an eight year old girl from a treacherous hostage situation. The girl survived the ordeal, but their fearless leader didn't make it. Ziva's wedding to Bernard and the births of their four children. Each child with a middle name as a fitting tribute to the honourable dead: Leah Rivka, Ruth Tali, Alexander Jethro and Taylor Jennifer. Ducky's retirement party where Jimmy got a little drunk and accidentally locked himself in one of the body drawers in Autopsy. McGee's long-awaited marriage to Abby. The tragic car accident that claimed the bubbly scientist's right leg. Tony's eventual permanent promotion to team leader and McGee's quick rise up the bureaucratic ladder to become director for NCIS. Each of their retirements and the gradual losses of their friends and associates. In the end they were the three who survived – the last ones standing. Tony's reflection session came to an end when he spotted two figures standing in the doorway. A tall, chubbier man with blindingly white hair forming an incomplete ring around his head, stretching from ear to ear. He also sported an equally fair, well-trimmed beard. Time had clearly been kind to the woman next to him. Her once chocolate brown locks now tinted a desirable dark grey, but still maintained all the volume and bounce of youth. Wrinkles sparsely donned her face, most indicative of a vast amount of time spend smiling in her adult years. The pair walked over to Tony and greeted him warmly. The woman kissed him on the cheek as the man embraced him in a brief one-armed hug.
"Jeez, McGnome," he said, pausing every few words to breathe in through his oxygen mask, "you're looking more and," inhale, "more like a lawn ornament," inhale, "every day. Just shrink a," inhale, "couple of feet and," inhale, "get one of those pointy red hats," inhale, "and the staff here might," inhale, "accidentally put you out in the," inhale, "garden by the flamingos."
His visitors smiled.
"He loses his hair, his muscle, his lady-pulling abilities, but the one thing he just has to keep is his sense of humour." McGee grinned to Ziva as she perched herself on the bed.
"How are you, Tony?" She asked thoughtfully.
"Been better. Still not quite," inhale, "as bad as the plague." inhale, "I got a new," inhale, "nurse the other day." inhale, "She didn't believe I," inhale, "caught the pneumonic plague." inhale, "She's a pretty little thing."
"Tony, you are eighty-seven years old." Ziva chuckled. "Do you not think you are a little too old to be hitting on the nurses?"
"Never too old for," inhale, "love, Ziva."
"Peering up the nurses' skirts while they change your IV bags does not count."
"Hey Tony?" McGee interjected. "Why'd you get a new nurse? I thought you were sticking with Susanna?"
"She proved to be," inhale, "insufficiently qualified."
"What do you mean 'insufficiently qualified'?" He asked, poorly disguised worry evident in the younger man's voice. "I thought she was the best lung cancer nurse this side of the country?"
"She is."
"Don't tell me the cancer's become more aggressive."
"Well," inhale, "yes and no." He answered vaguely.
"Tony." Ziva picked p his hand in hers. "What is going on? Why did you insist that we both be here?"
Tony's eyes darted between his two friends. His former colleagues and teammates. His old flame and his old protégé.
"The oncologist said that," inhale, "the cancer got into my bloodstream," inhale, "and they found a tumour in my," inhale, "brain. It's inoperable."
Tiny tears trickled from the corner of Ziva's right eye and she tightened her grip on Tony's fragile hand.
"How long did they give you?" McGee choked through the swelling in his throat.
"He said death is," inhale, "imminent. It's a doozy," inhale, "of a lump. They reckon it's," inhale, "fifty percent bigger than," inhale, "a golf ball."
McGee moved around the bed and stood by Tony and Ziva. His placed his hand over where she held his and gave them both a gentle squeeze.
"Yannow, I think," inhale, "I've seen this in a film before." Tony closed his eyes and relaxed into to bed. "Thanks guys." He whispered hoarsely before falling limp.
Ziva glanced down at where she held him, unnerved by the lack of the pulsating rhythm beneath her fingertips. She looked up at McGee and saw him looking straight back at her. She stood up from the bed and latched onto him, burying her face in his shoulder. They stood that way until Ziva's racking sobs subsided and McGee's eyes had mostly dried. They were about to separate before his knees gave way when one last convulsion shook Ziva, it was different to the previous ones. She pulled away to see McGee's questioning stare and began to smile, only increasing her friend's cluelessness.
"Did you hear Tony's last words, McGee?" She sniffed. "'I've seen this film.'"
He smiled back at her and pulled Ziva into one more hug before gently kissing her on the top of her head.
Queries? Comments? Criticism?
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