Chapter 4

Tony was wiping tears of laughter away when Jack Gibbs walked into the diner. "I can't believe Gibbs did that!"

"Angie May was absolutely furious! Took all four of those boys to get the car back out of the bushes."

"Thought I'd find you here. Hello, Agnes." Jack nodded politely at Mrs. Pringle. "Got a call for you, Tony."

"For me?"

"Yep. Seems like you gave the mayor my phone number rather than your cell. Horace said you've got the job."

"Really? They made a decision that quickly?"

Jack pulled a chair up to the small table. "The only question is if you've changed your mind about accepting it."

Tony took a deep breath. "No. No, I definitely want this." He stood up, smiling brightly. "Jack, I'm moving to Stillwater!"

The older man laughed. "Go on with you. I'm sure Horace has a foot high of papers for you to read and sign."

Tony swooped down to give Mrs. Pringle a kiss on the cheek before throwing down some money to pay his bill, walking quickly out the door to start his new life.

It was close to three hours before he came back to the General Store, the smile still on his face. "You weren't kidding, Jack. I think I signed more papers for this job than I did going to work for Gibbs."

"All done?"

"Yeah. I still have two weeks to find a place here, close up my apartment in D.C., and get everything moved."

"I know most of the places available in the area. What are you looking for, Tony?" Jack handed the younger man a bottle of cola, cold from the ice filled cooler.

"Thanks, Jack. As to the place, I'm not too fussy, but I do need a room large enough for my piano."

"A piano? Hmm, I think you might want to check out the Pierce house. The daughter has been wanting to sell it for months now, but no one wants a place in the middle of town. There's a music room that might suit you. It only has one bedroom and no garage."

"Sounds like a possibility. Can you see if she'll be willing to show it to me today? If it works out, I'll be on the road tomorrow to close everything up."

"I'll give Maribelle a call."

By the time Tony was ready to start preparing dinner for himself and Jack, he was the proud owner of a small house previously owned by the local music teacher. Although in town, the house was set back from the street, a small flower-filled yard that would be easy to take care of and still made a pleasant oasis with a swing hanging from the porch overhang. The bedroom was a decent size that would take his single bed and dresser without problems. The bathroom was on-suite with a modern shower and claw-footed tub. An open kitchen and dining room was separated from the music room, large enough to place both his piano and couch.

A quick phone call had set up an appointment to meet the moving company in two days to arrange shipment of his belongings. It was fast, ably added by the assistance of Carl Lewis, the councilmember who was also the bank president. A decent mortgage, a bank account, and help setting up his phone and utilities. Tony had to admit that there were definite advantages to moving to a small town.

"How long will you be gone?" Jack asked, helping himself to seconds of the DiNozzo famous homemade lasagna.

"I should be able to get everything wrapped up there within a week at most." Tony grimaced. "I still have to let Abby know that I'm really not coming back this time."

"That isn't going to go well, that little girl adores you."

"Yeah, Abs doesn't take change well. She was upset when we all submitted our resignations, but because it was for Gibbs she understood. Plus I think she was convinced that once things died down, we'd be back."

"Will the others return if things do settle down?"

"I don't honestly know. I think I heard that Ziva might be heading back to Israel. Tim will probably come back if Vance offers him the chance. And I know the Director considers McGee to be the future of NCIS. Gibbs and I are dinosaurs, according to him."

"If you and my son are dinosaurs, I have to wonder what I'd be?"

Tony laughed. "It isn't age, Jack, it's how we work our cases. Technology is all the rage nowadays. I won't say that computers and the like aren't helpful, but you still have to talk to people, look them in the eye, see how they react to certain questions. At least that's how it works for us."

"Your director is an idiot," Jack pronounced.

"Nah, I've come to respect that he probably is right. The world is changing, Jack, and I'm not sure I like the changes. Maybe I'm just getting old."

"I imagine it is more a disgust with the way some people operate more than a question of age."

Green eyes filled with weariness, Tony shrugged. "Things got pretty bad over the last few years."

"Seems like my son let his upbringing override his commonsense. That might be my fault, teaching him that women were a different breed and needed protecting. I may have liked Miss Ziva David, but she was never a woman who needed protection."

"He had reason to trust her, Jack, reasons that aren't mine to share."

"No excuse. He let her murder that man, the one she believed was responsible for her father's death. I'm not saying that I entirely disagree with the sentiment, but Leroy also allowed her to drag you and McGee into her trouble. And that wasn't right. Especially since it seems that she was wrong. From what I've heard from both him and you, not to mention what I could read between the lines, she's been out of control for a few years now."

"I should've done something about it myself, but..."

"But you trusted my son to know what the hell he was doing."

"Moot point now, Jack. Gibbs is off doing something top secret, the investigation into his actions is stalled, and I've got a new job. At this point in my life, I really don't care what Ziva is up to. I've had enough of that drama. I just want to go back to being what I want to be, a cop. And thanks to you, that is what I'm going to do."

Tony got to his feet, starting to clear the table off.

"Leave it, son. I'll take care of it. You've got a long drive back to D.C., why don't you head up to bed?"

"I can get this."

"You cooked, I'll clean." Jack laughed. "Besides, if I know anything about a certain Miss Abigail Scuito, you are in for quite a storm of tears and recriminations when you break the news to her."

"Thanks for that thought, Jack. You're a mean man. I'm beginning to understand where your son gets it from." After putting the dishes back onto the table, Tony put his hand on the back of his chair. "Jack, you mentioned something about Gibbs trying to protect us when I first spoke to you on the phone. What did you mean by that?"

"I don't know anything really, but I know my son. That investigation might have been aimed at Leroy, but you were all in danger of getting caught up in it as collateral damage. There is no way he would allow that."

"Do you think that is why he agreed to whatever they want him to do? And wouldn't tell me, tell us what it was?"

"That'd be my guess. I know you've had problems with his, what did you call it, Lone Ranger tendencies in the past."

"Usually when Mike Franks was around, but there were a few other times as well."

"Like when you had to save him and that young woman who was Kelly's friend from drowning?"

"You know about that?"

"I know more than you or my son might think."

"It is something that damned fool would do. He is always forgetting that we're a team."

"I think it is more a case of him trying to protect his people, like a good Marine does. And like a good friend and partner does. You can be angry with him for it, son, but I also think you understand it as well."

His mouth twisted in annoyed acknowledgement, Tony decided to give it up for the night. "I might allow that, but I'd still like to kick him in the ass for it."

"I'd like to see you do it." Jack leaned over, slapping Tony on the arm. "Get some sleep."

"Okay, okay. Good night, Jack."