10 Letters: A compilation of 10 letters / e-mails that Anthony DiNozzo Sr. writes to his son at various points in his life.
The concept comes from the 10 Letters Community on Dreamwidth. The prompt table I selected was 'Situations'. Each letter / e-mail will correspond with one of the situations in the table.
Prompt: #1 - Trapped
Summary: Senior writes this letter while staying at the Adams House hotel during the episode Flesh and Blood, shortly after his rather uncomfortable conversation with Tony in the lobby bar. He intends to leave it on Tony's desk if he can't bring himself to 'confess the charade', as Tony put it. But then along comes his benefactor, 'Al' (or so he thinks!) and the letter is tossed.
January 13, 2010
Junior,
I was hoping you wouldn't have to read this letter. After all, I came out here because I figured you deserved to hear it straight, face to face. But if you're reading this, it means I lost my nerve. Believe it or not, I do still care what you think of me, and some of the things you said to me today were pretty hard to take. I'm not used to you being so direct with me – I guess Gibbs is rubbing off on you. Not too thrilled about that...
Anyway, you could call this visit a pre-emptive strike. We've got some busy-bodies in our family, and I wanted you to hear this from me, not your nosy cousin Gio. I'm sure he'll soon be sending out e-mails to every DiNozzo in his address book, sharing all the juicy details. But for all I know, maybe you've already figured it out for yourself - you're sharp, just like your old man. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it? Ha ha!
Well, enough jokes. The fact is, I've hit a bit of a rough patch. I haven't been able to close a deal in quite awhile, and my investments really took a beating when the market went south awhile back. It's nothing serious – I'm not collecting food stamps or anything like that. But I might have to sell some of my properties in order to stay afloat until I can turn things around.
I've been here before, Junior. I know this is temporary, so don't believe what you hear when the rumors start, ok? I'm not asking for any handouts, either – I can stand on my own two feet. It's true that I've never come quite this close to the edge, but I've got connections. I'll figure it out. I'd tell you not to worry about me, but I don't suppose you would anyway.
I worry about you, all the time. That probably comes as a surprise to you, but it's true. I love you, Anthony.
Dad