Many thanks for all your reviews, guys!

RL is savagely attacking me again; but I'm gonna do my best to keep on updating. Hopefully the chapters won't be too far apart.

More clues for you here, DABF…

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Chapter 4: Dreams and Observations

Sigma team were worked hard over the next few weeks. They had physical training every morning, skills workshops in the afternoons and lectures on strategy and procedure in the evenings. More out of habit than anything, Tony observed all he could of his teammates and drew conclusions on what he thought of their skills and backgrounds.

One was precisely what he had first appeared. Tony would put his money on army, with his excellent hand to hand fighting skills, expertise in demolition and that military blind obedience to authority.

Two was a little more interesting. He was a medic, calm and patient, who rarely said a word but always came up with something sensible. And he was absolutely determined to be all that he could be. To Tony, that said SEAL, because the man didn't have the bark of a Marine. Still waters run deep, he thought with half a smile; Two definitely had more to him than it appeared.

Three was again different. He was clever; cunning might be a better word; and an excellent sniper. Tony had to go with Special Forces and leave it at that; Three gave nothing away about himself.

Tony often felt those ferrety eyes upon him; clearly, Three was trying to figure Tony out too. He definitely didn't fit into this group; Tony's main skills lay in observation and extracting information, as well as a strong talent for fitting in anywhere he went.

Sigma Five proved to be physically weak but very intelligent; and as Tony had guessed, he was a computer geek on a par with McGee. He'd almost immediately dubbed the boy Fiver, after the Watership Down character; his nose twitched when he was nervous, which was almost all the time. Only when he had a computer in front of him did Five become confident and certain.

Tony liked him; not really because Five had any particular charm, but he reminded him of McGee and therefore of home. He tried to give the kid what help he could; mostly by deflecting Tao's yelling onto himself. One and Three treated Five with barely disguised contempt and Two barely took notice of any of them.

Every morning after breakfast, the team were forced to run an assault course. Fiver's lack of height and strength gave him a distinct disadvantage; he was by far the slowest. Fortunately for Tony, excessive muscle was a problem for One and Two; the strain of lifting their vast bulk and squeezing through narrow gaps slowed them considerably. Only the wiry Three outperformed him; Tony let him. What was the point in killing himself in the morning when they had classes scheduled in until dark?

Even so, towards the end when he was tiring, the only thing that kept Tony going was picturing Gibbs in front of him, that rare half smile on his face.

In the afternoons, Sigma team were assigned to weapons and equipment training; target practice, bomb making and defusing, computer hacking, hand to hand combat, surveillance techniques. Tony performed best in the latter; he was well versed in undercover work. His firing range scores were second only to Three's with a rifle and better with a handgun.

Their evening classes were about as much fun as an NCIS sexual harassment lecture. Tony absorbed all that was said almost unconsciously while he practiced sleeping with his eyes open.

It was only when he lay down in his sleeping bag at night that Tony could allow himself to think about his past life. Among the sounds of One's faint snores, he could remember his friends, imagine that they were with him; that he'd never been forced into this harsh, repetitive existence. It always soothed him to think of them; he could drift from daydreams to true sleep with a smile on his face.

Sometimes he imagined running, escaping back home to show up on the doorstep of NCIS. He tried to picture their reactions…

The doors of the elevator opened and Tony stepped out, still clothed in his camo uniform. A smile crossed his face as the familiar scents of coffee and cleaning fluid filled his nose; the aroma was, to Tony, the most beautiful perfume in the world. The smell of home.

As always, the bullpen was alive with activity; but no one seemed to notice his presence. He grinned. Oh, I can't wait to see their faces.

As stealthily as he could, Tony snuck up to the desks used by Gibbs' team, peering over the cubicle divider to see inside.

Kate was sitting at her desk, leaning her head on her hand and staring at his empty one. Boy, is she in for a big surprise. McGee was also there, typing rapidly as usual. They both looked tired. Maybe they've just come off a long case.

"I can't believe Tony's dad didn't even come to the funeral," said Kate. "I mean, I knew they didn't exactly get along, but that's pretty bad."

A very old pain stabbed though Tony. Yeah, sounds about right, he thought bitterly. Probably clashed with one of his shareholder meetings.

"Abby told me they haven't talked since his mom died," McGee replied soberly. "Apparently he thought it was Tony's fault."

Aww, Abbs! I'm hardly cold in my fictional grave and you're spilling everything I ever swore you to secrecy over? Damn, this is gonna be embarrassing. Better jump out before things get any worse.

Tony rounded the partition. "Been hacking into my personnel files, Probie?" He asked, eyebrow raised, a la Gibbs.

Neither of his friends appeared to notice him.

"He was twelve!" Kate protested. "How could it be his fault? I mean, he was pretty annoying; but that could hardly have driven her to suicide."

"Uh, hello! I am here! Back from the dead? Is anyone gonna notice me anytime soon?" Tony waved a hand in front of McGee's face; he didn't even blink.

"Who's commiting suicide?" Asked Gibbs, breezing in with a tray of coffees; he handed one to each of his remaining team members.

"Boss!" Tony's first reaction was relief; whatever the hell was going on here, Gibbs could sort it out. Gibbs wouldn't let him down.

"Thanks, Gibbs," said Kate, taking a sip. "We were just talking about Tony."

The older man grinned. "DiNozzo's dead and he's still stopping you working. You done translating those crappy handwritten notes he left behind, Tim?"

"Yes, boss; all ready for the new agent to arrive tomorrow."

"New agent? What are you talking about? I'm right here!" Tony was starting to panic. In desperation, he got right up in Gibbs' face and knocked the coffee out of his hands.

Or tried to. To his horror, Tony's hand passed right through the cup and Gibbs.

"What the hell is this? Am I a ghost or what? I'm not dead!"

Just then, Ducky and Abby hurried in.

"Duck! Abbs! You can see me, right?" Said Tony, in desperation, moving to intercept them.

The pair didn't even slow. Abby walked clean through Tony to reach Gibbs.

Tony bolted upright in his sleeping bag, gasping for breath, heart hammering in his chest. The tent was pitch black around him; One grunted and shifted in his sleep.

Carefully, Tony lay back down. He'd never felt less like sleeping in his life.

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I know the dream sequence was a cliché, but I liked the symmetry with LY. Review?