Summary: Tony has an encounter with an intoxicated driver on his way home from work, but will he make it home safely?
Author's Notes: I am Tony DiNozzo's keeper. *Gets headslapped* Huh? Was I dreaming again? ...Okay, fine- NCIS and Tony DiNozzo don't belong to me, and I do not own the rights to them sadly. ;) I just like playing with them. ;) ...All ideas belong to Angel Estrada at Stokes Fanficz, so please don't plagerize! ...Oh yeah, and this is completely un-beta'd. :) *** I started writing this 'song fic' back in September of 2008. It was inspired by Darius Rucker's "I Hope They Get To Me In Time". (All lyrics in this fic are property of Darius Rucker and I don't own any rights to them, nor do I profit from them). I was very hesitant to post this fic (It's still not completed), but I figured I'd give it a go. Rated T for traumatic scenes. Feedback (As well as Con-Crit) is very much welcomed. :)
"I'll see you tomorrow, Boss," Tony smiled as he waved good-bye.
Gibbs returned the gesture. "Good-night, DiNozzo," he nodded, raising the cup of steaming black liquid to his lips, eyeing Tony from above the rim.
Gibbs said good-night. It wasn't his usual good-night via a nod either. He verbalized it. Tony couldn't expunge the goofy grin from his face as he walked towards the elevator, finally accomplishing his goal of getting a verbal acknowledgement from the man he most admired as he finished his duties for the day. Gibbs didn't believe in good-byes, or good-nights for that matter, never wanting to hear them for fear that they'd be someone's last words. Tonight was different. It just felt right.
"No, I'm serious, Nick," he chuckled, looking in all directions before switching lanes. "Yeah, she totally slipped me her number last night." Typical Anthony DiNozzo. "Oh, no doubt. We'll both be there. See you at seven." Tony flipped his phone shut and turned on his new favorite CD, allowing it to play from the last track he'd stopped on.
"I'm eight years old- Daddy's cuttin' my hair- Aqua Velva on his hands-
Mama's in the kitchen- Got fried green tomatoes poppin' in the pan-
I see a home run- A goal line- Holding my friend gettin' baptized-
I see her beautiful face under that veil as she's walking down the aisle…"
Tony had a half hour drive, sometimes an hour, depending on traffic. He couldn't wait to get home though, that's for sure. His best friend from Ohio State was in town, and his parents were out of town, which meant he was housesitting. Honestly, it was more like his house was watching him. Tony had been the first person Nick had called. They were known for their frat parties back in the day, the practical jokes they played on the underclassmen, the girls… Oh yeah, the girls. That was Tony's favorite part. He was looking forward to one girl in particular.
He hadn't dated since Jeanne, hadn't even looked, but while picking up dinner a week earlier, he'd met Brandi. Brandi had shoulder-length, dark brown hair. She was athletic, average build. She and Tony had met at her work place previously, but she didn't have the courage to spike up a conversation until last night, when she decided to hand him her number. That's when he invited her to Nick's party. He'd be picking her up at eighteen-hundred hours.
The drive was like any normal drive. Of course, tonight had to be the night that traffic was backed up bumper to bumper, the night he had to get home early. Five hours later, it was twenty-one hundred hours, and Tony was stuck in the same spot he'd been stuck in five hours earlier. The CD kept repeating itself and he'd already phoned Brandi and Nick multiple times, mainly for his own sanity.
"I'm so sorry, Brandi," he told her honestly, "I promise I'll make it up to you. Promise. DiNozzos don't make promises they don't intend to keep." He smiled on the other end of the phone, and she knew it.
After another half hour, traffic began flowing normally again. Apparently, there'd been a jumper on the bridge, holding himself hostage. Thankfully, local authorities were able to talk him down. Motorists weren't too thrilled either way.
As Tony turned off the major road and onto a street much less traveled and not far from his home, he shook his head disappointedly. He hadn't planned for his night to be anything like it was. Of course, the street lights on this road had to be burned out, too. The only light illuminating his drive was that of the moon.
It wasn't a minute later, Tony looked ahead as headlights other than his own cast some light on the street in front of him.
"…I could see the headlights swerve, so I cut the wheel to the right-
Last thing I saw was that bottle turned up as he crossed that center line…"
Tony's vehicle landed in a neighboring yard just a street over from his house. He breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that he'd avoided injury. That's when he heard tires screeching, glass shattering, and his world went black.