A/N: Thanks so much to everyone reading, reviewing, and/or PMing! You guys are fantastic!
And apologies for a bit of a housekeeping chapter, Tony has some changes to make before we can get back to the pack.

Chapter Four

Later that evening, Jacob, a lawyer and new senator's aide who'd gotten his undergraduate degree from Ohio State, knocked on Tony's apartment door. He'd answered the Craig's list ad to buy and move out Tony's 52" flat screen TV & entertainment unit. As he introduced his brother Lloyd and best friend Julio brought along to help with the move, Jacob enthused, "Wow, Tony I love your place! And thanks for selling me this glorious TV - I can't wait to watch my movies on it! Hey, you sure a check is ok? I can always get cash or a money order if you'd rather?"

"No man, like I texted you earlier, you're a fellow Buckeye! And... in addition to that... I checked you out, federal agent remember? I've never used Craig's list to sell stuff before, just wanted to make sure I wasn't inviting an ax murderer in, you know?" Tony smiled a little sheepishly.

"Oh I get it, believe me. I was kind of glad these guys were free to come with me, same reason Bud!" Jacob said with relief.

Julio, standing near the open doorway to the bedroom, said, "Dude, I don't mean to be weird or anything, but are you maybe thinking about selling your bedroom stuff? Cause I'm moving into Jacob's extra room at the end of the month from a furnished place, was going to need to buy furniture anyway."

"I'd be thrilled to sell all of it, everything except the mattress - gotta keep that. But the box springs, all the furniture? Yours if you've got the money. Just to warn you, might be on the expensive side. I usually buy quality, never mind the cost," he said with a smile thinking these guys were a little young to have so much disposable income. The smile turned to a slight grimace as he realized he used to buy quality, now he actually needed to mind the cost very much.

"Normally I'd cut you guys a good deal, but I really need the cash right now; already had to charge some monthly bills to my credit card and that drives me nuts - need to pay that off pronto. Have to get what I can back in the bank, you know?"

Julio nodded, "Sure man, totally understand. I was saving up even before I got a new job cooking for a 5 star restaurant though. Big wigs in D.C. pay well for good chefs, so I'm golden... and this would be perfect for me. Think what you want for it, ok?"

"Yeah, while you guys are loading up I'll check online and give you my asking price."

Twenty minutes later Tony sat with his laptop at the kitchen table finishing yet another cup of coffee while researching a fair price and weighing the fact he had a willing buyer on hand. He started to overhear some whispers from the men swaddling the large TV in bubble wrap for transport; "Just ask already! What could it hurt?" "We'd like your old furniture Lloyd, especially if it's free - just go ahead and ask. You know Annie likes this style." "But she'd flip if I decided without her..."

Not looking over, Tony raised his voice, "Guys, I have stupendous hearing. By all means Lloyd, bow to the peer pressure and just ask whatever it is, the suspense is killing me."

"Yeah, ah, was just wondering if you might consider selling your living room furniture too? My wife and I have been shopping for something nice, and she likes this leather and dark wood style. I've got a major problem paying new furniture prices, but if you're selling used, well, this stuff looks great. It'd be perfect, except you'd be left with almost nothing in your apartment. I'm starting to feel like we're robbing you blind here."

"No, that... that feels entirely different. I'm perfectly agreeable to selling almost anything you guys want to pay for. Can't tell you how much I'd rather have a cushion in my bank account than under my butt in the living room." After the men laughed, Tony offered, "You want to send some pics through your phone to your wife first?"

"Oh thank god, yes, I have to do that. She's picky beyond belief sometimes. Thanks man, I'll work on that while these two finish up moving the flat screen down to the truck."

"I told you bro, this is perfect. We've even got the truck for two days, so Annie can sleep on it. You know she'll have to sleep on it first." Jacob elbowed his brother and a mild shove match ensued.

Julio turned to Tony, who had stood up to hand him an itemized sheet with a total price written at the bottom. It included a clear inventory list of all bedroom furniture, dresser, lamps, etc. with prices by each. Smiling as he considered the total, Julio nodded his head and said, "I can do this. It's like paying for an interior decorator at the same time; you're going to save me from using Lloyd's ugly old lamps even. You got a deal man."

As they shook on it, Julio worried a little about this man they didn't even know an hour ago. Despite radiating 'friendly, solid, good guy' vibes, he also seemed very closed off and his eyes seemed sad and cold. Still, this was D.C., and 'federal agent' might translate to 'super secret spy guy', so who knows what this man really did for a living. But, no matter what, he was gonna be a super secret spy guy with no freaking furniture soon. "Hey man, you told Jacob you're not moving, so… some dirtbag really screw you over so bad you got to sell everything?"

Plunged deep in thought, Tony whispered to himself wonderingly, "Dirtbag..." From easy amiability, Tony seemed to freeze up, his gaze lost in the pattern of the Oriental rug beneath their feet. Is he really one of them? I've arrested God knows how many dirtbags, killed so many, usually with my gun, rarely with a knife… never with my bare hands… No, don't go there…

DiNozzo's frozen silence continued well beyond a comfortable conversational lull, and the three friends looked at each other in concern. "Dude, you ok?" Julio asked as he lightly touched the agent's arm.

Tony's sudden inhale, smile, and exuberant response was like a light being switched on, "Very much so, beyond awesome, and the TV unit alone already helped me pay the rent this month. Now with your and possibly Lloyd's contributions, I'm getting better every day!"

Julio, a little uncertain and feeling bad for apparently upsetting their newfound friend said, "Hey, how about I'll order some pizza dinner for us all and we can figure out logistics? If Annie likes the snaps, she might still want to see everything in person. If you want, maybe she could bring over some of Jacob's empty moving boxes for you to put your clothes and whatnot in temporarily?"

Tony laid an arm sideways across Julio's shoulders and shook him briefly, "Man, you had me at pizza. Sounds great. I'll get to work on prices for this furniture in case she's interested."

Down at the truck, the three men rested a moment, catching their breath after loading the entertainment unit. Julio turned to Lloyd, a registered marriage counselor, and asked, "I know you hate it when we ask you psychiatrist stuff man, but do you think Tony's ok?"

"Argh, this is why I hate it when you ask me this stuff!" he said, rolling his eyes and laughing. "In the extensive 40-odd minutes I've known him, I can say definitively - almost nothing! Of course he's ok to a point, he's fully functional and appears to be dealing with whatever happened to him rationally. Yes, the phase out was a little odd behavior, could have been a dissociative episode, but it also could have been the guy's just exhausted, or could have been a focusing method that's actually helpful in his line of work."

Lloyd shrugged his shoulders as he pulled out his phone, "Can't say for sure Julio. Oh, but I can say thank God she liked the pictures! This could save me thousands. Let's go figure out if she can come over tonight or if he'd rather do it tomorrow. Guy does look beat, might like an early night."

Friday Morning

After a night spent emptying drawers and organizing his belongings into boxes, Tony had short rations for sleep. Still, he at least felt a little more like himself in the morning. Finding old pop tarts in the back of a cabinet oddly put him in a great mood. "Two years out of date? Who cares!" as he munched happily. It was a good omen for the rest of the day, which was remarkably busy. First he helped the guys move all the bedroom furniture, riding with them to help unload too… since he felt guilty that his elevator had chosen to break down again overnight. Then they came back and moved all the living room furniture, even down to the Oriental rug. Lloyd's wife, the oft-mentioned Annie, had liked what she'd seen the night before, and showed back up at Tony's apartment just in time to help the second delivery - the extra set of hands was welcome by then.

On returning to his echoing apt, he called Gloria to ask if she could come over to clean on a special day. Maybe that would make it look less… vacant. Two luxuries he wasn't willing to give up; his beloved mattress, and the friendly retiree who lived on the 4th floor that cleaned for him. He'd have to include a little bonus in her pay, since her work had made for an easier sell. She's going to be surprised when she sees why I said it'll take her half the time now!

Before he even pocketed the phone, he answered a call from Ziva. She asked him to come over that night and teach her how to make pasta from scratch. "I have all the materials for linguini Tony, and extra meat sauce from the last time I cooked lasagna in my freezer. We could have dinner after 'class', yes?"

Tony couldn't fail to notice this was a clever attempt to feed and/or distract him. His hackled rose slightly since he was pretty sure she knew how to make pasta from scratch. Shoot, they both probably bought boxed pasta normally, not a huge difference in taste for all the time that from-scratch needed. And honestly, today was such a busy day that he was already well distracted from… things he wasn't thinking about.

Still, he appreciated her subterfuge; made it easier to smooth down his hackles. He turned her down fondly, "Can we do it some other time Zi? It sounds great, but I've got some stuff to get done tonight. Thanks anyway." With money in the bank again finally, he might even get to the grocery store tonight.

"I will hold you to this Tony, and you may have to bring over Citizen Kane again. I still do not understand the Rosebud thing. Good afternoon Tony."

He shook his head with a small smile, and headed to his closet. Winnowing down his wardrobe to only seven suits was painful, but he managed it, inspired by Billie Holiday playing loudly from his computer in the kitchen. And you need to cut down on the dry cleaning bills anyway, remember? He gathered the eight suits and dozen ties he intended to sell, wondering how he ended up with so many extra. So many quality gorgeous gorgeous suits that just looked so good on him and made him feel so… well, guess that answers that question. He smiled as he pocketed the three large checks to go deposit in his new bank account. Turning off the computer as he headed out the door he saluted Billie yet again. 'God Bless the child that's got his own' indeed.