N.B.: sadly, I owe nothing of NCIS!
- This story is written with the help, suggestions, corrections and support of ncismom. Thank you :)
I hope you like it.
" Family "
* chapter 1 *
There was a lot of said for shutting down one of the largest and depraved criminal organizations on American soil, but unfortunately great victory comes with great loss. The assigment had taken its roll on the members of Leroy Jethro Gibbs' team and the high profile case had challenged them both personally and profesionally. The physical and mental boundaries of each team member had been stretched beyond their limits and the after shock of the case had forced many changes in the dynamics in everyone involved.
Months of undercover work had created an unspoken tension between Gibbs and Tony. They had been forced to infiltrate the mob and DiNozzo's cover had been deeper than Gibbs. The team leader had been worried about his senior agent and how his mission was affecting him. Gibbs had approached Director Vance about pulling him out, but the Director's hands had been tied. The marine had then become more determined to complete the assigment, knowing that with every passing day, DiNozzo was being pulled deeper and deeper into the organization.
They had finally managed to successfully shut down the syndicate. Because of the strain of the assigment, Vance had been ordered disband the team and reassign the them. For different reasons, not all members of Gibbs' team could stay at NCIS so they opted to take different directions for their lives.
Even after all these years, Director Leon Vance couldn't help but think about that fateful day when he had called them in his office and provided them with the news.
They knew what was coming even before going into Director's office and, even though they hated that idea, they knew that it was for the best.
They had each made their chioces and now over four years later, the Director found himself wondering how the former team members were faring.
The last time the team members had seen, they had promised to keep in touch but after few months they had realized that it would have been too painful. Eventually, the phone calls and email became infriquent untill they had stopped completely.
Ducky had retired and was now living in a small cottage on the Chesapeake Bay. He had his books , his new two Corgis and above all, the memories of his days with his NCIS family. Gibbs, his best friend and the kids: Anthony, Abigail, Timothy, Ziva and Jimmy. His grandchildren. He missed them and had tried to keep up with them over the years, but that was easier said then done.
Gibbs had also retired and was now living in Stillwater with his father. He helped his dad with his store and sometimes he helped the town's carpenter. He missed his days with NCIS, but the case had reaped too many consequences and he couldn't work without his team. Vance had offered him a new assigment in Europe, but he felt too old and too tired to accept.
Ziva was the Agent Afloat on the USS Ronald Reagan and everyday she was regaled a story about Tony during his days on the ship. She missed her dysfunctional family so much and felt utterly alone. Tony was right. One can be alone in a city of six thousand people.
McGee now worked for OSP in Los Angeles, and although he really loved his job and all those super Hi-Tech toys, he couldn't stop thinking about his friends. Everyday he found himself thinking about all the times that they had spent together working, laughing and risking their lives for one another.
Abby worked for the CSI Dept in New York. Her lab was silent. She no longer had the pigtails or the dog collars; those things were just for her family. She talked to them everyday, or actually she talked to their photos pasted on the walls of her lab. She was a different woman and she didn't like this new Abby, but she couldn't do anything to change the situation.
Jimmy still worked for NCIS, but it wasn't the same. He missed all his friends especially Dr. Mallard and his stories. It was so painful going into his Auotpsy Room everyday, knowing that they would have never come in asking, "What do 'ya got, Palmer ?" or "What are you doing Autopsy Gremlin?".
But, the team member who had changed the most was Tony.
He hadn't accepted the assingment in Bahrain that Vance had offered him. So, in about four and half years hTony had definitely left his life at NCIS behind and had returned to the Baltimore Police Department and was second in command in Homicide.
He had reunied with an old girlfriend from his college days and they had been blessed with a son. However, after just 11 months of marriage, she had left him for another man and had moved to Seattle taking their son with them. Tony had fought with all his strength to have custody of his son, but thanks to his ex-wife's manipulative skills and the sinister and ruthless lawyer she had retained, he had lost. The judge refused to give him custody because of his job and had granted him visitation.
So he had watched Michael, his precious blonde little boy, who had his eyes, his smile and his face, leave Baltimore with a woman that Tony was never sure he loved in first place and a complete stranger.
Tony had married Morgan because he had desperately wanted a family, someone to love and who loved him; a safe haven to return to every night. She had seemed to be the right woman, but in hindsight, everything had been wrong. The problems had started just after the first month of marriag, when he had found out that she betrayed him by sleeping around during their engagment time and the first months of their marriage.
She had stopped only when she was pregnant and Tony had hoped that a child would have solve all their problems. He hadn't even considered the possibility that the child couldn't have been his, but tests had proven that Michael belonged to him.
When Michael was just 2 month old Tony had seen her in a bar with another man. They were kissing and drinking a lot, the fact that she was still nursing obviously didn't matter to her. That had been the final blow!
After the failure of his marriage, Tony would have called Gibbs, but he found he couldn't admit another failure to his former mentor. Despite former marine's reassurances, he still felt guilty for Jenny's death.
He really needed Gibbs' help but like his former boss, he wasn't very good at asking for help.
Although Tony had joint custody, he was only able to see Michael twice a month when he flew to Seattle. That had worked perfectly until Morgan moved again to go to live with another man. She didn't call Tony to give him her new address or any other way to contact her; Morgan had simply disappeared with their son. At that time, Michael was just 14 months.
Tony had used all his skills and resources; he had called all his friends at every US Federal Agencies and he had even hired two private investigators, but he had never found his son.
Michael Anthony DiNozzo was officialy on Amber Alert for a little less than 3 years now.
TBC...
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See you on the next chapter...