A/N: This is my first fic, so go easy on me please. Review would be greatly appreciated.
He was beginning to feel restless.
His feet were starting to burn from walking on the same ground for too long, and his hands were itching to touch something new.
Every morning, he would wake up and think of a good excuse to stay. Some reason to stick around just a little bit longer. But each time, it got harder and harder.
Some mornings, it would be 'Probie is still to much of a probie' or 'Ziva still needs help making sense of America's weird traditions and it's even weirder idiosyncrasies.'
If he was feeling extra hopeful, it was 'Gibbs needs me.' The man would never say as much, but he had a feeling that Gibbs was at least somewhat grateful for his presence on the team. He tried not to use that excuse too often, though, because he didn't know how right he was, if he was right at all.
Abby knew. He knew Abby knew. Abby knew he knew she knew.
They never spoke about it, though. He tried hiding it, and it worked on most people, but Abby always seemed to notice the uncertainty in his eyes, the doubt that lay just beneath the surface. Lately, she had been giving him more hugs than usual. She even went so far as to take the elevator up to the bullpen, when she had a spare moment, to visit with him. Usually it was during lunch; they would share a pizza and talk about normal, everyday things: the current weather, the bar they went to last Friday, how good (or bad) the pizza tasted.
The day after his two year anniversary of working at NCIS, he walked off the elevator to find Abby seated at his desk. With a big smile, she said to him, 'It's good to see you today, Tony.' She then got up, gave him a great, big bear hug, and headed off to her lab. Kate and McGee gave him an odd look after she left. Gibbs wasn't there at the time, but he could imagine him quirking an eyebrow.
After work, she caught up with him and asked him out for a drink or two. He said yes, of course, and the two headed off to some bar he couldn't remember the name of now. They stayed out all night and had more than two drinks, but not enough to make them start stumbling and slurring. When they were getting ready to leave, she pulled on his arm to get his attention and told him a joke about his two year warranty, the same one everyone told, and they laughed. Once they got their laughter contained, he walked her out to her car. Before getting in, she looked at him with completely sober eyes and said 'Really, Tony, it was good to see you today. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow.'
And that was it, that was all he needed. She gave him enough fuel to keep going for a while longer. She noticed and she cared, but that was where the problem was. He was now four years into his two warranty, and Abby was still the only one that took even a few minutes out of their day to ask simple questions like 'How's life?' or 'How are you?' And, sure, Abby was full and lively, but she couldn't sustain him forever. He needed more, and he wasn't sure he was getting it from where he was at anymore.
He could continue with the B's, if he wanted. Boston, Baton Rouge, Buffalo. Or he could start with a different letter; the D's, maybe. Detroit, Dallas, Denver.
For now, though, he would keep going until he didn't think he could go anymore. He would continue to wake up, think of some excuse, some reason to stay, and hope tomorrow wasn't the day he ran out of reasons.