Title: Any Dream Will Do
Author: Special Agent Meg
Rating: G
Disclaimers: I don't own any of them (although I dream about them enough to deserve a bit of an interest in Gibbs g )

Summary: Current events bring back an old memory for Tony

Any Dream Will Do

"Is that thing loaded?" Kate gestured to the watergun sitting on Tony's desk and he chuckled.

"Not yet. I picked this up on my lunch break; didn't think it would look good to fill it at work."

"So what's it for?"

"Olympic basketball is on tonight. I'm draping a clear sheet of plastic over my TV and firing the water gun any time the commentators say something stupid."

Kate burst out laughing. "That's good, I'll have to remember that one." They walked towards the elevator.

"So, you caught any of the Olympics yet, Kate?"

"Some. I saw Carly Patterson win gold in gymnastics." They stepped inside the elevator and pressed the parking garage button. "You know, I used to dream of going to the Olympics," Kate said wistfully.

"You did?' Tony said in surprise. Kate shrugged, self-consciously.

"What kid hasn't?"

"I guess that's true. Which sport?'

"Diving. I watched the diving and dreamed of doing that one day." Kate grinned. "That dream died the first time I tried diving and was too scared to jump off the diving board." They both laughed.

"What about you? Ever dream of going to the Olympics?'

Tony's voice was quiet. "Like you said, what kid hasn't?" The elevator door opened and quickly he stepped out. "Night, Kate."

Kate's words flashed back to Tony as he sat in front of his TV that evening. He hadn't just dreamed of going to the Olympics. Nobody at NCIS knew it that he knew of, but he'd been close enough to taste it.

Tony tried to block the thought from his head, but the memories still kept pushing through. They were there in every shot that was made, every pass that was caught, every step of the shoes across the course. And then it happened. One player leapt for the basket and came down awkwardly on his right leg. Tony watched the man fall to the ground, clutching his knee in agony, listened to the commentators analysing the replay.

"His right leg is still straight when he lands and it bends back the wrong way." One of the commentators was nearly going into a frenzy. "And when you do that, the ligament right behind your knee tears...and that's it, it's over. Patrick Johnson's Olympics is over."

"Same thing that happened to Tony DiNozzo back in 1996," the other commentator added. "I was in the practice gym when that one happened, 2 days before the Opening Ceremonies—" Tony shut the TV off, unable to listen any further. Tears trickled down his cheeks.

The phone rang and Tony groaned, deciding to let the machine take it. He listened as it rang four times before his mother's voice came over the line.

"Hey, Tony, I was just thinking about you, thought I'd give you a call."

Tony picked up the phone. "Let me guess, you were watching the Olympics."

"You saw it, huh?"

"Yeah."

They sat in silence for a few moments. "Watching that guy just brought it all back," Tony said finally. "And then the commentators..."

"I know." His mother's voice was soft.

"All I could think was, at least that guy got a chance to play. His knee didn't blow until an actual game." Tony's voice cracked with emotion. "All I needed was a few more days."

"Oh, Tony."

"And, I know, I was really lucky. Most kids don't make it that far. I mean, I made the team, I got to stay in the Village, I had an Olympic experience – even if it came with sewage backup."

"Tony, not in the bathtub!" his mother cracked and they both started laughing. "That was the day of your injury right?"

"Yeah, we were just coming back to the room before practice after spending hours looking for giant Izzy dolls."

"How many of those stupid mascots did you get?"

"Three. And I'm trying to lug them into the bathroom and can't see in front of me 'cause they're so freakin' big, and just before I set them down Mike Connolly hollers, 'Tony, not in the bathtub.' And I drop one of the dumb things right into a pile of crap!" Tony was laughing and crying at the same time.

"I still wish I'd been there," Renee DiNozzo said, her voice cracking with laughter.

"You know the guys cleaned the thing up and gave it to me at the hospital?"

"I didn't realize it was the same one!" Renee gasped. "Oh yeah. First thing I saw when I woke up after the knee surgery is 4-foot Izzy in a Haz-Mat Suit.

They talked for about a half-hour, reliving memories of Tony's basketball career. Finally, Tony said, "I'm really glad you called tonight, Mom."

"Me too."

Tony drifted off to sleep that night with a smile on his face and those memorable words echoing through his head.

"Tony, not in the bathtub!"

THE END