Rating: K
Disclaimer: NCIS doesn't belong to me but I do borrow the characters from time to time. Unfortunately I make no money from this obsession.
Series Summary: When the new Director Leon Vance states to Gibbs at the end of the season six episode Agent Afloat that Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo's deployment as Agent Afloat wasn't a punishment following Jenny Shepard's death, I have to admit that I didn't believe him. I kept waiting for the writers to reveal what was behind the deployment if it wasn't meant as a punishment but like many other issues, it was never addressed again. Even though I believe that his action was punitive, I began to wonder what other possible explanations could there be to explain why Vance sent Tony away like that and I began to come up with several scenarios which are the result of my fertile imagination. I have to say that they are obviously AU and also more than a little tongue-in- cheek but I hope you'll enjoy reading them. Each one is a stand alone story and I also chose to experiment somewhat with writing styles. Let me know what you think :)
A/N This first piece is very heavy on dialogue. A huge thank-you to Arress for offering to beta these pieces that have been sitting around on my computer for a while now. She wrestled my punctuation into submission and made some helpful suggestions that have hopefully improve readability. Any errors are obviously my bad :)
Agent Anthony Afloat
Operation Atonement
The stillness in Autopsy was disturbed as two men entered the domain of cool steel and fluorescent lighting and began their clandestine meeting in the early hours of the morning. The time and place had been chosen because it was deemed to be the place that had the least chance of being discovered by anyone else at NCIS.
"I hope that we are doing the right thing, Doctor. If he ever finds out what's going on, then you do know what he'll do. It could mean the end of your friendship and he will rampage and consume everything in his wake," the new Director warned Dr. Donald Mallard, otherwise affectionately known to his friends as Ducky.
"Yes, Leon, but I made promises to her as my patient, and as an upholder of the Hippocratic Oath, I cannot divulge medical or personal information, even at the cost of a friendship. I don't have a choice. I have to accede to my patient's wishes on that point."
Ducky crossed to where he kept his tea-making utensils and filled his electric jug, before switching it on. It had been a long night and at his age, he found that exhaustion got deep into his bones and a cup of his favourite tea, would be most bracing. He raised a questioning eyebrow at the new director, who nodded at the unspoken inquiry about joining him. Ducky opened his tea-caddy after carefully warming the teapot, adding one spoon for each of them and one for the pot before pouring almost boiling water over the top of the tea leaves and placing a tea-cosy on the teapot to keep it hot and allow it to steep. Director Vance watched the intricate tea making ritual, fascinated before returning to their previous discussion.
"Okay, Doctor, I see that, but I'm really not sure that we have made the right choice about which of these agents is better suited to protecting her. I think that a female agent such as Ziva David would be a better choice for a number of reasons, from personal to professional. I know that we've organised medical care with your assistance, but it won't be around the clock. What if she has personal care issues that need to be dealt with?"
"Leon, that is not going to be an issue, I assure you. Surely, you've read Tony's file? His mother regularly abused alcohol and prescription pills. She had numerous bouts of acute pancreatitis before she was diagnosed with cancer of the liver. Who do you think cleaned up her vomitus and emptied her bed pans or changed her when she soiled herself?"
"Doctor... Ducky, come on; you can't be serious. He was a child of nine when she got cancer. How could he care for his mother, and why would he, even if he could?" Vance was equal parts skeptical and scornful. After all, this was not one of his favourite agents that they were talking about.
"The how, my dear Director, is simple. His father has far more money than is seemingly possible, and like most of the obscenely rich, he is far more concerned with appearances and reputation than pesky issues such as family, morals or ethical behaviour. He brought in a private physician and used one of his wife's trusted maids to care for her at home. He wouldn't allow her to go to a hospital. He also made the boy help to nurse her because he knew he could bully him into staying silent. Anthony was used to performing personal aspects of care even before she became ill due to her over-indulgences." Ducky paused before continuing. "Although it is all there, if you read between the lines in his background check. I trust that what I say here is confidential?"
The new Director simply nodded, too shocked to reply verbally.
"And as to the why, it is simple really. He loved her unconditionally even though she was a drunk and a drug addict, and a mean one at that!" Ducky paused again before proceeding. "He also confessed to me that he took care of an ex-girlfriend he met at college who developed a drug addiction and contracted AIDS. He is no stranger to care-giving, Leon, and for that matter, he also knows his way around the female body rather more than most," he quipped to lighten the atmosphere.
The Director was beginning to look as if Ducky had been delivering physical punches to his jaw, rather than sharing information about an agent that Vance had dismissed as a superficial, preening dandy who acted as if he was God's gift to women. Ducky poured two cups of orange pekoe tea into china mugs and handed one to the director, who breathed in the fragrant brew before sipping the beverage gratefully.
"Are you sure, Ducky?" They had to be talking about a totally different person. He prided himself on his ability to analyse people, based upon their personnel files and interviews.
Ducky smiled sympathetically at the newly minted Director and decided to toss him a bone. "He is possibly the most complex individual that has been my honour to know, but he is a chameleon like none other. His talent for obfuscation is admirable for one that works so much under the radar, but the simple truth is, my friend, that he has been undercover most of his life. Starting in his childhood and adolescence, he was undercover long before he joined the constabulary or NCIS. Most people never bother to see beyond the brash and superficial exterior that he portrays, but if you take the time to win his trust, he is a very different individual. Well worth the effort, though."
Vance was too shell-shocked to deal with the fact that Ducky was telling him he had been played by one of his agents; an agent that he despised no less, so he moved to a less emotive topic.
"Based on your medical report, Doctor, the combination of her injuries incurred during the fire-fight and the progressively degenerative disease means her last few months will be very difficult. Don't you think that she needs a friend to support her? Jenny and Ziva were pretty close when they worked together in Europe."
Ducky frowned at the denseness of the man, but steeled himself to reply civilly to the newest Director of NCIS. "Leon, while they might be good friends, Ziva isn't good at dealing with emotions, her own or other people's. She also isn't good at being around people who are ill either, because she hates to see people that she cares about when they are weak and vulnerable. With her childhood and indoctrination, illness and disability scare her and she deals with it by becoming angry and cold.
"Her partner, on the other hand, is the glue that holds everyone together. He is a protector and good at reading people and responds intuitively when someone is hurting. Apart from all that, Anthony and Jennifer became very close friends during and after Jethro's little sabbatical."
Vance raised his eyebrows, wondering what exactly the good doctor was insinuating, but Ducky smiled wryly and shook his head. "I meant in a platonic sense, Leon. He would never go there, because it would feel like he was betraying his mentor, but she did confess that she might have considered pursuing him if she hadn't been hoping for a reconciliation with Jethro. Sadly, it never came to pass for them, but I think that she would appreciate the somewhat tenuous link to her former lover through the presence of his protégé during her last days. He is also extremely good company, as I can attest, and a fair to middling chess partner. He even plays a passably good hand of bridge. Mother always enjoys his visits, even if she insists he is the Italian furniture mover," he grinned fondly.
Vance wondered if the smile was for his mother or the furniture mover, but he was still not certain that Ducky's plan was going to work.
Ducky's patience was wearing thin, so he decided to tackle the issues still left unspoken. "Going undercover is his specialty. He has the expertise to play the rich younger husband. His mother was English and he is accustomed to dealing with the upper classes, so will fit right in with the role we have created in Kent, under the supervision of my old friend and colleague, Dr Benton Hamilton-White. Benton's patients are all well healed, upper crust types and they will both be able to easily blend in, in clear sight among them. If she is still in danger from any remaining Russians with a score to settle, Anthony will take a bullet for her if need be, but his best protection is his ability to fit in and hide in plain sight.
"Trust me; they will fit in better than your alternative cover story of two lesbians would. It simply wouldn't fly in stodgy English upper class society, especially one between foreigners, without causing one hell of a lot of gossip and curiosity. Anthony, on the other hand, is part English and will have no trouble fitting in. He even does a passably decent upper class accent, courtesy of summers spent with his mother's family. It works perfectly, Leon."
Director Vance was being swayed by the doctor's arguments, but he still had one concern and it was a biggie. "How do we explain his absence for such a long time, Doctor?"
"Tell our friend that you are assigning Anthony as Agent Afloat, Leon. You're already planning on breaking up the team," Ducky suggested.
"Yes, but what happens when our friend tries to contact him when he is supposed to be deployed and he's not there? He's going to go ballistic and won't rest until he finds out the truth. You know what he's like when he thinks he's being left out of the loop."
"I am confident that Jethro will not try to contact him, Leon."
"I don't see how you can be so sure of that, Ducky. They are pretty tight I understand," Director Vance argued.
Ducky smiled sadly and said," Leon, our friend is angry with him still. I've known Gibbs for a very long time. I know how he thinks and how he reacts. He is fairly easy to anticipate once you get to know him. I knew that he would never look inside the body bag, even though he fully intended to when he entered Autopsy."
"Well, that may be so, Ducky, but I happen to know that he doesn't blame either of them for her death. I was there when he told both DiNozzo and David that it wasn't their fault, that she had made up her mind to go out in a blaze of glory, and when she made up her mind there was no way to change it," the Director objected.
"Ah, yes, I see... Well, I was also there when he told his protégé after he found out he was working an undercover operation trying to catch Rene Benoit that he had nothing to apologise for. That he was following the orders of Madame Director; and also again when we thought he had been blown up while courting the lovely Doctor Benoit, and yet he refused to allow the poor lad time off for a dental appointment. He had been working two jobs for months on end and had been in agony with an abscessed tooth that he hadn't been able to see to while he was undercover.
"The implicit message was that he couldn't trust him because he had used dentist appointments as an excuse to cover his absences when he was working for the Director. Then there was that malicious employment of such a skilled investigator's time and effort when they were trying to find a kidnapped baby, just after we watched his beloved mustang car being blown up and we all thought he was dead."
Vance frowned, "I'm sorry, Doctor, but I'm not familiar with that detail of the case."
"Well, the murdered girl, Heidi, I believe her name was, lovely young thing, whose baby was removed from her womb, was in fact a grifter. Although it would be more accurate to say that she was reformed grifter, I suppose. Our friend made the poor lad call up all her previous marks, and there were a lot of them, on the pretext of finding someone with a motive. Even once it became clear that none of her marks were suspects, our Gunny refused to let him off the task until he had called every single one of them," Ducky stated with a glower.
"The lad was heartbroken about losing his beautiful lover and eaten up with guilt over the deception he was forced to perpetrate on the team. It was rather malicious behaviour for someone who had told him that he had nothing to apologise for. His young protégé was no fool, and he knew that actions spoke louder than words and that he was being punished and humiliated as payback for his deception. Perhaps he truly believed that he wasn't angry about being deceived, but I would have to disagree. Jethro is exceptionally skilled at self-denial."
"Lucky that he had you to come to, Ducky," Vance commented rather tightly because he felt that the senior field agent had been pretty screwed by his superior, the former Director, and then apparently his team leader had decided to dole out some unjustified retribution by adding more salt into the wounds it would seem.
"Um... I believe you have gotten hold of the wrong end of the stick, Director. The lad did not come down and whine to me. It was actually our MIT wunderkind who took great delight in regaling me with the tales of his colleague's humiliation. The boy would never be so disloyal to his mentor, despite the punishment," he finished heatedly. Ducky saw the puzzlement in Vance's eyes and offered, "Well, all of the team, not just Jethro, felt like they had lost face because Anthony was able to work undercover without any of them having a clue. They were less than gracious after they found out that they had been duped.
"Anyway, even if our friend thinks he doesn't blame the lad for the director's death, he is not being honest with himself and our very special agent knows it, too. Gibbs won't try and contact him while he is on assignment. I would like to be as sure of winning the lottery as I am in this case," he concluded sadly.
After hearing what Ducky had to say, Vance was inclined to agree and if he did discover that the Agent Afloat assignment was a ruse, they would just have to deal with it then. He agreed that this was probably the best solution all round, but he still thought that there was something that the ME had held back about why he had come up with this plan for his patient and friend.
Seeing Vance's quizzical look, Ducky sighed before admitting, "All right, Director, there is one more reason why I want to do this for my friends. I've known the former director for some time and I know that she was very wrong to use the lad to further her own personal agenda like that. I'm afraid that as her death loomed large, she also began to recognise that and suffer a great deal of guilt for the irreparable pain she had wrought for our pair of young lovers, especially our chameleon agent, who has had more than his fair share of heartache and loss in his young life; she is inordinately fond of him.
"Similarly, I know that the lad is indulging in a severe case of self flagellation over the Director's injuries. Finding out that she is dying has made him feel guilty for his justified anger at her gross misuse of power in using him so badly, and his alacrity in taking her order to stand down at face value. In short, he feels that it is his fault, that he should have disobeyed her direct orders and saved her from being so grievously wounded.
"I would like for Jennifer and Anthony to have the opportunity to make their peace before she passes on, Leon. They both need the resolution, but Anthony, even though he has no reason to, still feels the need to seek atonement. Give him that opportunity please, Director. NCIS owes him no less for all his sacrifices."
Vance patted the elderly ME on the shoulder and said, "Let's make it happen, Dr Mallard," before striding out of Ducky's domain to begin preparations.
Three months later
Three men and a lone female gathered together around the simple but elegant casket as Jenna Samuels was being laid to rest in a picturesque cemetery in the county of Kent, England. Leon Vance, the new Director of the Naval Criminal Investigative Agency, Dr Donald Mallard ME, Officer Ziva David of Mossad and Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo aka Antony Samuels, bade farewell to their friend and colleague, Jenny Shepard.
Her four protectors had gathered together to send her off on her final journey and each was sad that at the end of her life, the one person she really loved and regretted walking away from fifteen years ago, was not there, too. The last several weeks had been difficult for the once vibrant and feisty former Director of NCIS and now, finally, she was at peace.
Ducky studied Anthony carefully and could see just how difficult these last months had been on him, too. He had dark shadows under his eyes which bespoke of many sleepless nights, and he had lost a considerable amount of weight during their sojourn in England. He watched his friend's strained face before laying his hand gently on Tony's upper arm, impeccably clad in a Savile Row suit. Anthony had shed his beloved Italian designer garb in keeping with the cover story that he was a rich Brit burying his wife after a long illness.
Ducky couldn't help thinking about their mutual friend, and knew that Anthony was also wishing that he was here, too. Although he was sad that Gibbs never got to be there for her at the end, Jenny was adamant that he not be told. She didn't want his final memories of her to be of an invalid who could barely lift her head off the pillow.
Ducky smiled at Tony and asked fondly," How are you holding up, dear boy?"
Tony realised just how much he had missed the elderly ME these past months. He looked him in the eyes and confessed, "It was pretty tough at times, Ducky. She didn't have an easy time of it and I can understand why she didn't want a lot of people around her at the end. I also think that I'm a bit less angry about the whole business with The Frog. Finding out she was dying must have made her pretty desperate; not that I can forgive her for what she did to Jeanne and me, but I can understand why she did it, I suppose."
He paused pensively before continuing. "Anyway, she was such a proud and independent person and it was a cruel death. I think I know why she wanted to go out by gunfight like Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," he offered tiredly. "I'm so glad that you were here at the end, Ducky," he said. "I know she appreciated it and I did, too. Does Jethro suspect anything?"
"No, Anthony, he thinks I am visiting my old Alma Mater to accept an Honorary Degree. The Director is here consulting with our sister intelligence agencies. Luckily, Ziva was also able to get away for Jenny's funeral without suspicion. Gibbs did contact her after the bombing in Morocco, but working for Mossad means that he can't track her movements."
Tony stared at Ducky for a moment before asking the question that had been on his mind for a while, now that Jenny was finally gone. "Has... has Gibbs tried to call me at on the USS Ronald Reagan, Ducky?"
Ducky smiled a little sadly and shook his head. He would not insult his young friend by lying. He watched as Anthony's face fell slightly.
"It's okay, Duck. I know he hasn't forgiven me for Jen or even for the whole Le Grenouille fiasco or Jeanne. I understand, I really do... I don't deserve it... I know," he spoke softly. "Thanks for being here for me always, Ducky. I don't know what I'd do without you and Abbs.
"You should see the amazing postcards she has been sending me since I left Washington. I hate lying to her so much," he rambled, reminding Ducky of dear Abigail, who could talk without taking a breath. "Why do you always make me turn into a babbling idiot, Duck?" Tony grinned half fondly, part exasperated that he had let his mouth run off around the equally garrulous doctor.
Ducky watched him as he moved across and hugged Ziva and thanked her for coming. He leaned forward to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"So, Ziva, I hear that you're heading back to NCIS tomorrow. Can you do something for me? Look after them and glue Probie's fingers to the keyboard? Hug Abby extra hard for me, and watch Gibbs' six, 'cause he is gotta be hurting over Langer right now."
Ziva smiled at her partner and said, "It won't be long until Gibbs gets you transferred back Tony and you can do it all yourself."
Tony smiled back at her, but Ducky was used to decoding many of Anthony's smiles and understood that he was dubious about that prospect.
Later That Day
Ducky and Director Vance watched as the green countryside slid away as they approached the outskirts of London, on their way to Heathrow Airport. Both men were pensive as they considered the past three months and how it had concluded with the passing of a former Federal Agent and Agency Director.
"Well, Doctor, I have to admit that your crazy scheme worked out well. I didn't think that would be the case," Vance mused tiredly.
"Yes, Jenny is at rest now and although it wasn't how she wanted to go out, I think that she got to mend some fences with young Anthony, and I think that he feels like he has atoned for her being injured. She said he was a great comfort these past weeks."
"He looks like crap, Doctor," Vance stated. "That's why I told him to take a week off to see his family and to get some sleep. Then he's to rendezvous with the USS Seahawk for duty."
"Why isn't he coming back to Washington, Leon? McGee and Ziva are being transferred back to the team, so why are you sending Anthony out as an Agent Afloat? He needs to be back with his family so we can help him deal with the last few months. I know this isn't your typical undercover mission, but he will still need to decompress, and I know that he missed the team a great deal," Ducky protested heatedly." A bout of depression is a likely scenario given the situation and his recent history."
The director nodded in agreement. "I offered to transfer him back to the team, Ducky, but he said that Gibbs still hasn't forgiven him and he suggested the deployment. He isn't ready to come back yet, and frankly with the background you supplied, and the fact that Gibbs hasn't requested his return yet, I don't think that putting him back into a hostile work environment would be in his best interests either.
"I happen to know that Ms. Scuito has been on Gibbs' case from the get-go about getting DiNozzo reassigned to Washington, and despite the fact that he usually refuses her nothing, he hasn't budged on this." He glowered a bit because Ducky's analysis regarding Gibbs' denial of his anger towards DiNozzo had proved to be absolutely correct.
"DiNozzo has had a great deal of stress in the last year and I think that a new challenge might keep him from brooding too much, Doctor. And given the dry nature of a Navy vessel, I think it is a safe alternative to coming back if Gibbs is still pissed at him." He paused before continuing, "I don't want to see him lose himself, drowning his guilt in a bottle of Scotch."
Ducky wasn't so sure he agreed with the Director, but then he remembered how difficult it had been for Anthony after the team found out about Jeanne Benoit. Perhaps if the team spent some time without him, they would come to realise exactly how much Anthony contributed to the team and how he protected them from the worst excesses of Jethro, he mused. Ducky resolved that he and Abby wouldn't fill the emotional void and emotional support system that Anthony provided for his team mates and would leave them to their own devices.
They needed a good wake-up call, especially young Timothy, who had been fawned over by the nerdish cyber-crimes staff while he had been holed up in the basement, and he had become convinced of his invincibility and superiority. Being in the sniper sites of Jethro without the buffer of Anthony's presence would hopefully bring him back down to earth a bit.
Leon Vance could still feel Ducky's concerns about DiNozzo. "I intend to speed up this process as much as I can, Ducky. I don't want him festering out there on his own either," he assured the ME.
"What do you intend to do, Director?"
"In a few weeks I intend to insist that Gibbs fill the role of Senior Field Agent on the team and give him the choice of several highly qualified candidates. Then when he rejects them all and demands DiNozzo, I'm going to refuse his request. The way he feels about me will make him even more determined to get DiNozzo back once I say no, so I'm going to make it damned hard," he smirked. "Maybe then, if he has to fight for him, he might just appreciate him more. I get the feeling that lately he has begun to take him for granted."
Ducky regarded Leon Vance with a combination of admiration and surprise before chuckling mightily. "My dear Director, how deliciously Machiavellian of you; I am in the presence of greatness," Ducky chortled, amused by the prospect of witnessing the ensuing mêlée. "Congratulations, dear boy, it is brilliant!"