Hi! I was inspired to write this story after "Baltimore" last night! It made my top ten list… but they all make my top ten, so I guess it's really not- oh, you know what I mean!
Tony felt… well, he didn't know. There was so much he was feeling, so much he wanted to say. Somehow, Tony found himself in his car-parked in Gibbs' driveway. He barely remembered driving and yet somehow he automatically ended up in his boss' driveway. There was nothing else to do but go inside. So Tony dragged himself out of the car and down into the basement.
Gibbs looked up from his boat. "I didn't think you'd show up."
"Nice to see you too, Boss." He grabbed a stool and a half-empty bottle of Bourbon.
Gibbs picked up a glass full of screws and tipped it over. "You still have to drive home."
Tony obediently took the glass and filled it with the amber liquid. He looked around the room, taking in his surroundings. It didn't look any different than last time-or the time before that. He wanted to talk, but for some reason, no words came out.
"Aw, hell DiNozzo just spit it out." Gibbs said, almost reading his senior field agent's mind.
"How did you… never mind." Tony knew better than to question his boss' uncanny ability.
Gibbs almost smiled. "You okay, Tony?" He knew it was a matter of pride with DiNozzo. If he didn't start the conversation, they would sit in silence all night.
"I will be." Tony said quietly.
Gibbs waited; he knew this conversation wasn't over yet.
"I don't know who to trust anymore. My old boss, I worked with him for years. Never thought he would…"
"I know the feeling." Gibbs said his eyes in a faraway place.
"And Danny, he's dead. We hadn't talked in years… never gonna talk now."
Gibbs looked up to see Tony take another sip of Bourbon. "That's enough, DiNozzo."
Tony put the glass down shakily. "I don't know what I feel anymore, Boss."
"Betrayal. That's what I'd feel… what I have felt."
Tony was silent. He looked down at the floor, trying to remember the good times, but the bad ones seemed to surface too. His time at Baltimore seemed like more of a bad dream than reality.
"I really screwed up my life, didn't I?"
Gibbs put his tools down abruptly and faced his agent.