Disclaimer: Still not mine.
Tony sighed. Driving home from headquarters, Tony's mood was dismal. He had had a bad day. It all started off with a morning argument with his newest "girlfriend" Amber. Wait, it wasn't Amber...Tiffany?...no, Brandi. That was her name, Brandi. He seriously doubted he would see her again. It was because of the argument, and the fact that traffic was a pain in the ass, that he was late to work...and Gibbs is never happy when that happens. Gibbs had been very moody lately...more than usual it seemed like.
The team's most recent case was closed that afternoon. A Marine, Lieutenant Matthew Howard, had been found dead near home three days earlier. Their investigation had proven that it was his father, former Marine Commander Thomas Howard, who had killed the Lieutenant. Apparently, Matthew wanted out of the Corps and his father would not allow it. An argument ensued that got out of hand, resulting in the Commander killing his son.
When the team went out for the arrest, the Commander was less that willing to come in quietly. In a nutshell, Tony was hit in the jaw, shot at, and hurt his shoulder and collar bone when he tackled Thomas to prevent him from shooting Gibbs.
Tony's stomach was writhing. It sickened him to think that a father was capable of killing his own son. Fathers were supposed to love, care for, and nurture their children. The interrogation was tough. Tony was disgusted to be in the same room as the bastard. Then again, Tony never really had a high opinion of fathers...thanks to his own.
Tony was never physically abused...often. There were the rare occasions where his father would hit him when he did something wrong, but on the whole, Tony's father wasn't around enough to hit him. That was the problem. Tony's father was never around...he was always in Geneva or Tokyo on business. The most unsettling thing was...whenever Tony's father was in town and at home, Tony always seemed to be ignored. His older brother seemed to get all his father's attention.
Tony tightened his grip on the steering wheel as the memories of his childhood flooded back. It was his father's idea to push Tony so hard into sports. Tony's private high schoolhad the "privilege" (according to his father) of having a DiNozzo on at least two of their champion sports teams every year. For Tony...it was football and basketball. He was good too! Tony always led each respective team with the most touchdown receptions, and three-point shots. However, after all the pushing Mr. DiNozzo made to get Tony on those teams...he never came to see him play in any of the games, save once.
The only time Mr. DiNozzo ever saw him play was a basketball game in Tony's senior year, and the only thing he commented on was the fact that there was someone who got more rebounds than Tony. It was then Tony realized that the only thing his father was conerned with was the family reputation...not supporting his youngest son.
After graduating from Ohio State Suma Cum Laude, Mr. DiNozzo expected...well, demanded...that Tony enter into the family business. Tony had other plans. Despite majoring in Phys Ed, Tony had developed an intense interest in law enforcement. He was in need of one more credit in his senior year and the only available class had been Criminology. He signed up for it begrudgingly, but he soon found himself fascinated. He excelled in the class and when he graduated, he had the highest grade in the class, and an offer to try out for the Peoria police department. Tony wanted to go...he knew that was where he belonged.
When Tony told his father of his plans, Mr. DiNozzo was livid. When he realized that his son intended on leaving for Illinois and that he would not budge from his position, he immediately went to the family laywer and had Tony expunged from his will and Tony's share of the inheritance. Not only that, but Tony's fathermanaged to turn the entire DiNozzo family against him, making Tony an outcast, the black sheep of the family.
It hurt Tony deeply. He had always been the top athelete, nearly top in his class, personable, and popular with all the necessary people to ensure his status...Tony would never understand why his father never cared. Tony did everthing expected of him and more, and whenever he looked in his father's eyes, he saw disdain. Like Tony was something disgusting from the bottom of his shoe. Sure, he was hurt at first, and for several years Tony tried to regain (hell, it was more like "acheive for the first time") his father's approval. But after years of cold shoulders, Tony came to a powerful realization.
He didn't need it. Tony had gotten pretty damn far along in his life without his father there, and he didn't see how having him there could improve his life anymore than it was then. He had a great job, a good, steady paycheck, a great apartment in Pennslyvania (after transferring to the Philadelphia police department), and plenty of friends. He didn't need his father, nor did he want to have him in his life.
There was another thing that was adding to Tony's bad day. Father's Day was two days away, and he would be spending it alone once again. He had to admit though...Tony did wish he had a way to celebrate Father's Day. He wished he had someone to get a gift for or send a card to. Someone who protected him, made him feel like he belonged, made him feel like he was worth something. Like part of the team...
And then it hit him. If there were a light bulb above Tony's head, it would have been shining bright. He saw a red, neon sign for the local WalGreens and Tony immediately turned into the parking lot.