Gone

A decade later Gibbs finds Tony after he left. Set after Bury Your Dead Tony went after Jeanne after being fed up with the team.

Safe for all readers

DiNozzo didn't come into work the next day or the next. Gibbs wasn't worried, every night Tony would show up in Gibb's basement seeming to know when the older man was home. They didn't talk much, not much was needed to say. Gibb's knew Tony was hurting and needed someone nearby, even if he didn't talk about it. It was the fifth day when Jethro became worried.

Tony still didn't show up to work and that night he didn't occupy his space in the basement to work on the boat. Gibbs looked for him when he came into the office the next day but all he found was an e-mail telling him and Shepard that he was taking two weeks off. Tony had the time on the books so Gibbs couldn't fault him but he didn't know what to do without the nightly contact.

Two weeks after the sprinkler had doused Tony twice and as his team watched as he burned the letter from Jeanne, Gibbs entered Tony's apartment.

'Just to check' Gibbs told himself. He had told the rest of the team not to worry, that Tony was just taking some much needed time off and they all agreed it was for the best, but he could still see the worry in their eyes.

Gibbs knocked twice and waited for Tony to open the door. It was ten at night and he reasoned the kid should be home on a Wednesday night but there was no sound coming from inside. He silently let himself into the apartment and was shocked to see the place empty. It looked as if Tony had never lived there. All of his pictures, movies, entertainment equipment, and plants were gone. All that was left were holes in the walls where things had once hung. Then Gibbs got mad, he stormed through the small apartment looking for any sign of DiNozzo but found none. Overwhelming sadness engulfed him then, he hadn't realized it had gotten this bad. Ever since the explosion, his coma, the memory loss and his leaving things hadn't been the same between him and his senior agent. Gibbs put it down to Tony feeling chafed under his command again after leading the team for months. But it was more than that, since Jeanne had entered the picture, intentionally or not, Tony had found a reason to look outside of work for companionship and realize he could be happy even when he wasn't at work. He had found someone else who appreciated him and showed it more often then an aloof ex-marine.

Gibbs called Ziva to ask for the directions to Jeanne's place. He had a gut feeling he would find the same thing he found at Tony's. When Ziva and Tony had first gone to Jeanne's place after she had found out about Tony they said only clothes and personal items were gone but when he entered, it was completely cleaned out, like Tony's place. Now he knew what Tony had been doing during the day when he wasn't coming to work.

When Gibbs got to work the next morning he found what he hoped he never would. Tony's badge and service weapon were on his desk along with 2 letters, one for him and one for the director. He opened his letter with a vicious growl.

Special Agent Gibbs,

This is my official letter of resignation. I feel I have accomplished everything I came to do. I thank you for the opportunity.

Anthony DiNozzo

Underneath was another letter.

Boss,

I know you don't understand why I am leaving and probably never will but this is something I have to do. I'm going after Jeanne and asking her to take me back. Please don't try to find me; this is something I have to do alone. I can't thank you enough for offering me everything 7 years ago, I am a changed man because of you, I hope a better man. I hope to see you again.

Tony

P.S. Tell the team they can now raid my desk.

Gibb's stared at the letter for a long time, when he finally looked up he realized the rest of the team were already there watching him. He stood slowly.

"McGee, you're my new senior agent, find someone to be our fourth." He said before walking upstairs to deliver the director's letter.

10 years later

Gibbs stood outside a white suburban house, complete with a white picket fence and blue shutters. This was the last place he expected to find his old agent. A couple walked by with their terrier speaking French so rapidly Gibbs couldn't catch even the few words he knew.

He summoned up his courage and knocked on the large door.

A woman with blue eyes and dark hair opened the door, she was obviously pregnant and far along at that. She smiled to greet the older man but stopped as she took a closer look.

"Jethro Gibbs?" She asked, she had never met the man but had heard enough about him from her husband. This was almost like meeting her father-in-law. Which excited her because she had never met any of her husband's family.

The older man nodded.

Jeanne smiled. "I'm Jeanne Beniot-DiNozzo, its nice to finally meet you. Come in, Tony's not home at the moment but I expect him shortly. How was your trip here?" She asked as she took his smaller bag inside.

"It's very nice to meet you, I wasn't sure this was the right place. France was the last place I expected DiNozzo to settle down, if anywhere I would think Spain."

Jeanne nodded. "Tony loves Spain, it's usually where we vacation. He likes it here as well and picked up French quickly."

They stood in the foyer awkwardly until Jeanne motioned him upstairs.

"Your room is all ready. Tony started working on it after we finished Olivia's room, about 7 years ago. We bought the house 8 years ago and I think he's been waiting for a visit ever since."

Gibbs was awestruck at the room Jeanne showed him too. It was done in dark wood paneling on the bottom half the top half of the walls were ocean blue. The queen bed had a striped comforter, done in whites and blues. The pictures on the walls consisted of ships old and new. There was a small dresser, nightstand, and an old steamer trunk arranged around the bed. Two doors led off the room one to the closet and another to a small but efficient bathroom.

Gibbs placed his things on the bed as he continued to look around. Tony had obviously spent a lot of time in here decorating and it couldn't have been cheap but Jeanne didn't seem to mind. She stood taking in his reaction with a pleased look on her face."

"I hope you don't mind but this is the bedroom closest to the nursery, so in another month or so it may be it a bit louder. But it has a great view and gets a lot of light in the morning. I mean, it also depends on how long your staying, if you'll even be here when the baby comes." Jeanne tried to amend, she didn't mean it to sound like they expected him to move in, which was exactly what they were hoping for.

Gibbs smile and just shook his head no to show that he didn't mind about the nursery. Truth was, he wasn't even sure how long he was staying. Jeanne continued.

"Tony's and my bedroom is all the way down the hall, opposite side and Olivia's and James rooms are in the middle. Then the nursery and your room, there's another bathroom between Olivia's and James rooms."

"Olivia and James?" Gibbs had to ask.

"Our children, Olivia is eight and James is four. They are both at school but Tony will be picking them up soon. Why don't you get settled and I'll go down and make some tea. Come down when you're ready, I'm sure you have a lot of questions."

Gibbs nodded then began unpacking his few belongings. He pulled out his cane that he sometimes needed when his knee would act up, old age was starting to creep up on him and he hated it. The cane had been a gift from Ducky who had passed two years before. He missed his old friend. He went through the rest of his belongings, most of which Abby had packed, she seemed to know what he needed and not. McGee had driven him to the airport while Abby cried. She made him promise that he would come back no matter what he found.

Gibbs slowly made his way downstairs; he could smell coffee in the air and decided to move quicker. He walked back through the foyer, through a living room and into a spacious kitchen. He was very impressed with the house, as he had seen so far, it was large but homey. Jeanne smiled at him and poured a large mug of coffee then poured herself a small mug of tea.

"Ask away," she offered.

Gibbs didn't know where to begin, he sat for a moment with his rich coffee and thought.

"You said you two bought the house eight years ago but you've been gone for ten, what did you do before that?"

"When I left I didn't tell Tony where I was going but he knew, I had talked about it for a long time but it never seemed like the right time, then all of the sudden it was. I went to Africa as part of Doctors Without Borders; I choose to work in Dafur. Tony chased me down, I have no idea how, he said it was 'old fashioned police work' but there he was. He joined in with the few of us and helped set up new clinics, treat the refugees and build new houses. He learned how to triage and anything else we needed. The locals loved him; he would do anything. Towards the end of the first year he became sick, pneumonia, he told me about the plague and it got a lot worse before it got better but he did recover but it took a long time before he was back to what he was before. During that time I became pregnant, we decided we didn't want to have the babies there in Dafur; the fighting was especially bad at the time. But every time we tried to leave something would hold us back, Tony would get sick again, I was sick, the border would closer, whatever. The babies came early. We named them Olivia and Jet. Jet only lived 3 days, he was underdeveloped, his lungs couldn't support him and we didn't have the proper equipment. Tony buried him behind our hut the night he died. It was a hard time on all of us." Jeanne stopped for a moment for a breather; she refilled both their cups.

"We finally left Africa when Olivia was 2 months old, we came here and bought the house. And before you ask we bought it with our own money, believe me, were still paying it off and have a long way to go. Neither of us wanted help from our fathers, though they both offered."

Gibbs had to stop her there.

"Tony's talked to his father?" He couldn't believe it, Tony had not once in the seven years he had known him talked to his father, Tony seemed to hate his father and the feeling seemed mutual.

"Yes, well after we married and Papa found out and he knew for sure who Tony was he contacted Antonio. We found out the two had done business together from time to time; we didn't want to know anymore then that. I never met Antonio but Tony went to meet him and it didn't go well. That was 7 years ago and we haven't heard from him since."

"What do you two do...for work?"

"Well, once this little ones out, I'll go back to work at the local hospital, I'm head of General Surgery. Tony works for the American Embassy. In short, if any American citizen gets in trouble they usually call Tony to investigate, to see if the tourist was taken for a scam or if they were the ones instigating anything. They trust Tony to find out the truth good or bad. It's a part time gig most of the time; sometimes he'll be gone for days. Otherwise he coaches local teams, any team- basketball, football, rugby, water polo, whatever is needed. The kids love him, as does our local school. When we moved here and I wanted to go back to work, Tony offered to stay home. He did and when James was born four years later he picked where he left off with Olivia, he's already expressed excitement at staying home with this little one when they come. He's slowed down a lot and I think he likes it. The investigating keeps him busy but not busy enough so he can't pursue other things, he has a good balance."

At that moment they heard a car door slam and feet running towards the front door. Then Tony's voice calling out:

"Hey, no running in the house and who's going to help me carry the pizza in? I don't give free rides!"

Tony and Gibbs meet for the first time in 10 years.

Good/bad? It's something floating around in my head. Just something different cause Tony is treated like crap and I think he deserves better. :)