SHOUT OUTS/ANSWERS

Long Live Brucas (Ch 2-3): Thanks, I thought so too. Thanks, glad you like how Kate is doing. I hope this delivers on showing Kate and Tony simply working together.

DS2010: Thanks. Glad you liked it.

AUTHOR'S NOTE/DISCLAIMER

Belongs to Donald P. Bellisario. Just to put it out there, if I think a scene is written to make Tony look dumb, foolish, or like a buffoon, I will rewrite it to make it fit with his cop background. Also, there may be hints of his past in some scenes.

PUERTO RICO

"U.S.S Foster left Roosevelt Roads two days ago en route to Norfolk," Gibbs told them. "This is her position now. The body was found in the Bahamas," he continued, pointing to a location on the screen. Wait, did he just say…? Tony wondered.

"Roosevelt Roads?" Tony he asked.

"Yeah," Gibbs confirmed.
"That's Puerto Rico," Tony recalled.

"Yeah," Gibbs confirmed again. What is with him? he wondered. He didn't usually get so excited about locations. And he was excited even though he was obviously trying to hold it in.

"I love Puerto Rico. It's a beautiful country," he stated. I really should go back someday, he thought. However, there was the little matter of money.

"You been there a lot?" Kate queried. He never told me that, she thought to himself. In fact, there was a lot her husband had never told her about his childhood. Not that he didn't trust her. No, it was more like he was embarrassed by what had happened to him. Though he hadn't told her much, the little he had told her about his childhood alluded to abuse, and the last thing she wanted to do was make him relive painful memories.

"Only once actually. After high school graduation. It was…Rene's gift to me," he responded. Rene again. Who is this guy? Kate mused. Tony had talked about him before but she hadn't ever actually met the guy. Who's Rene? Gibbs wondered. During the two years the younger man had been with him, he heard the occasional reference to the man, but Tony would never explain who he was. "Off topic. Sorry, Boss," he apologized and the older man went on.

NEVER GETS EASIER

"Are these interviews always that difficult?" Kate queried. I feel so drained, she thought to herself. How had Tony done it without breaking down?

"Yeah. Especially if it's a victim's mother or father. Siblings, cousins, aunts, or uncles are a little easier, but not by much," Tony answered. I feel like I want to sleep for a week, he thought to himself. It was the one part of the job that he absolutely hated. "They do take a lot out of you. It's why Danny and I started taking turns with the notifications," he continued and Kate nodded. He didn't talk about his former partner much. Not that she could blame him. He had been hurt when he had found out that he was dirty.

"Does it get easier?" she asked.

"Never," he answered.

"That's not very encouraging."

"Yeah, well, it's the part of the job that I absolutely hate." Tony pulled Kate close and she leaned into him, taking comfort in his warmth.