Author's note: This story is almost over! :( Its so fun writing these stories, and I can't wait to share the Alice series with you. Until then, for one of the last times for this story, please like, comment, follow, etc! You guys are great! Thanks!

Tony's POV

NCIS Building

I've only been "alive" for two days (although I never did die), and already everything is falling back into place.

When I headed to Autopsy, The Autopsy Gremlin was there, and Ducky wasn't.

"Miss me, Jimmy?" I happily asked in greeting.

He looked up, and I saw a smile start to appear, but then something weird happened.

A tear fell, and his already grief-stricken face looked even more depressed. His tired eyes fogged up his glasses.

He looked like a wreck.

"He's not real, Jimmy. You know that. He died. You gotta move on and stop seeing him everywhere you look." Jim whispered to himself.

I frowned. I personally felt like crying then.

My "death" caused my NCIS family so much misery. The whole time that I was with that doctor, I pleaded for just a single phone call, a letter, some sorta secret message, anything. I just needed them to know that I was alright. I'm not the best guy in the world; I'm extremely annoying, in fact. Somehow, however, they have willingly stuck by me for years, and I just couldn't stand the thought of them being in pain for even a second.

"If you talk to them, you could be discovered, Anthony. Then Ziva will kill you. They will never see you again. They'll never heal. I know that it hurts, but you've gotta wait." The doctor would always assure me.

Every time, I would hesitantly agree, but it got harder and harder.

Jimmy's reaction was exactly what I was afraid of.

I watched Jimmy work on the body in front of him, now sloppily grazing the flesh and muscle, instead of the solid motion he usually does when Ducky's not around. I begged myself to come up with a way to prove to him that I am alive.

I just wouldn't listen to myself.

So, I stood. Watching. Watching Jimmy mumble and cry to himself, mourning a loss that didn't happen, oblivious to the fact that the man that he desperately wanted to see was standing right in front of him, crying equally as hard.

"I'm hear, Autopsy Gremlin. I'm alright. A doctor hid me from Ziva. I'm alive."

Jimmy slammed the scalpel down.

"No, he's not, Jimmy! Stop it! You know that he didn't make it."

Jim started sobbing.

"I miss him." Jim whispered.

Not knowing what else to do, I walked over and just hugged him.

"I'm alright, Jimmy. I'm okay." I assured.

Suddenly, realization hit him. One moment, he looked so sad, then the next, he smiled a smile so big, and then he tightened the hug.

"Tony!" He whispered.

I smiled, and he started crying again, but this time with joy.

It felt so good to be here for him now.

"The body that you're working on really helps lighten the mood, doesn't it, Jimmy?"

He laughed, and then broke the hug.

"I know that its not you, but my mind kept telling me the whole time that its you."

I look down at the body.

"That's an old lady, Autopsy Gremlin."

That was two days ago.

Today, I'm with Tim. He seems, off.

We just sat in silence on his couch, watching a movie, but we just aren't actually paying attention to it.

I grab the remote and turn the TV off.

"I was watching that." Tim mumbled.

"What was happening in the movie, then?" I ask.

I missed teasing him like this.

"Uh, the archeologist was taking that gold thing from the boobytrapped cave."

I roll my eyes and chuckle.

"Wrong movie, Elf Lord." I correct.

"Which movie is that, though?" Tim asks.

I stare in disbelief.

"You're kidding, right? Its Indiana Jones. A great movie starring Harrison Ford as Indiana Jones, an archeologist."

Tim nods.

"I never got that scene. I mean, I understand that he wanted to find that artifact for a museum, even though I know that he just wanted the money, but you can't blame him. You have any idea how much that would sell for? Wait, of course not. You're Tony. Anyway, I don't get it from a scientific perspective. All of those gadgets used to kill Indi ran with no source of power. Come to think of it, the whole place had all of those gadgets and chambers, all running on nothing."

I put my arm on his shoulder.

"Its called a movie, Tim. Its fiction."

"I know. Its just factually impossible, as far as I know. Still a great series, though."

I look at him and nod.

"So, what's the McProblem, McGee?"

Tim sighs.

"Abby and I are engaged."

"Huh?" I ask, caught off guard. I was expecting something like "There's this girl that I like, but she doesn't like me back." This? I wasn't expecting them to be ENGAGED! I didn't even know that they're dating.

"Abby and I are engaged, Tony. Just a little before we broke up, I proposed to Abby. We were planning a special party to tell you, but I figured out that she cheated on me when we were almost done setting it up."

Wow.

"She cheated on you, Tim?"

Tim nods.

"Oh. You can't trust her now?'

"No. I can't. I've tried so hard to forgive and forget, but I just can't stop picturing her with that guy. I always pictured her as a great, responsible girl who would never hurt me, but now," He drifts off.

I stare in sympathy, and Tim sighs.

"Guess that that girl just doesn't exist. Maybe, maybe marriage and kids just aren't right for me."

I look at my younger brother as he sits there in pain. The poor guy just wants a girl who he can trust and love. He deserves that woman so much.

"Tim, I'm sorry about Abby. Do you still want to be engaged to her?" I ask.

Tim just sighs and thinks for a while before responding.

"I don't know. I mean, I love her. I really do. She's so, different. I love that. Everyday with her is an adventure, and I just can't let that go. On the other hand, I don't know. She is the kinda girl who just seems like a great friend. Someone you can lean on and trust a little, but not make any commitments with."

Tim pauses for a second and then continues.

"I spent the past few days thinking that you were dead. Those days were the hardest that I have ever been forced to endure. It made me realize something. It made me realize that life is short and tragic. You don't have time to sit and wait for what you desperately want to come. You have to come to it. She's there. I've got her. I feel that if I just get over it, I'll be happy. I don't want to die alone, Tony."

Sympathy for Tim is all that I feel. I forget about my love for Alice. I forget about my excitement for just being alive. I forget about the hate that I feel for Abby at the moment that'll probably go away. Eventually. Now, all I know is that I love this younger and extraordinary man sitting next to me like the baby brother that I've always wanted.

"Tim, you won't be happy if you just settle for anything less than perfect. You deserve perfect, and she is out there. You've just gotta wait. I did, and now I've found the perfect girl. Alice. Finding her and winning her was a bumpy rode, and there literally blood loss as I got to it. My first love left me on the day of our wedding. The second, a girl that I loved with all my heart, was shot in the head right next to me. Third was blown up by terrorists. Fourth, well, she tried to kill me. I loved her so much. She just can't except the fact that her boyfriend is dead. I would've loved to take her in and protect her, but she let me down. She thinks that I'm dead, and all that she feels about that is happiness. Now, all that I feel for her is hate. After all of that, I found the one, and when you do, you'll know. Your perfect girl is out there, Tim. You've just gotta find her."

Tim takes a few seconds to process that. Then, he leans in and hugs me.

"I missed you, Tony. Please, never leave us again."

I allow a single tear to drop.

"Never, kid."

"Thank you, Tony."

TONY'S POV

'S GRAVE SITE

I tighten my grip on the roses that I brought for my mom. It's been a while since I visited her.

Like always, I allow myself to cry, something I do quite rarely. Like she did when she was alive, mom always comforts me.

"I dodged a lot of bullets this week, mom. Okay, bad choice of words, because the one bullet aimed towards me found a nice home in my chest. I'm not quite sure how I'm alive. Don't know why I'm not in your arms again. For a while there, I thought that I was done. Thought that it was time to come back to you, Paula, and Kate, and never leave. Guess that I was wrong. I think that I know why I'm still here, mom. You knew that it's not over for me yet. It's because the one that I truly love is back, isn't it? The girl that I was made for. I never loved any woman as much as I loved you, until now. Mom, I just wanted to say thank you. For everything. When you were alive, you were the best mom I could've ever asked for. You still are. You always will be. You've guided me and protected me, and now you've found a great woman to take your place. Well, mom, no one could ever take your place. You're my mother, and I love you. You've introduced me to this beautiful and amazing woman, and I will stick by her side until she pushes me away. Knowing how smart you are, I'm sure that the woman that you chose will never leave, though, won't she?"

I just stand for a little while. I stare down at her grave. I choke through the tears,

"Thank you, mom. I love you."

Mom is the first woman to have broken my heart. She died. Then Kate and Paula left, too.

I forgive them all, because it all led to now, the best time of my life.

I get to fall in love with Allison Marie Foster all over again.

Suddenly, I feel like a little kid again. The little kid that found his dead mom.

"Take a bath!" One kid yelled at me.

"Yeah, and get new clothes some time!" Another yells.

Riding on the bus to my home, to my mama, is torture. The kids just don't understand. They don't understand that this is how abused and neglected kids look.

Dad beats mama and I all the time. I hear them screaming all the time. I flinch, and then I cry when I hear the sound of bone hitting bone. It hurts hearing mama being beaten, knowing that I can't do anything.

Mama says that we're gonna run away today. Run away from dad, away from the torture that our lives are. Mama will protect me.

The bus stops at my stop. I race off, ignoring the teasing of the other kids.

"Mama!" I yell, unable to control the excitement. She's the only person who loves me, and seeing her, it makes life okay. Better than okay. Seeing mama's smile makes me forget about all the physical and emotional pain I endure everyday.

I walk around our house, calling for mama. It frightens me, having her not answer. Since I started kindergarten, dad would be at the bar, and mama would be waiting for me in the kitchen with a snack. Now, I can't find her.

As I make my way up the stairs, I hear rattling, and my mother screaming. I run up the stairs.

"MAMA!" I scream.

"No, Anthony, don't come up here!" She screams back.

More terrified shrieking.

"You've better come up here if you wanna see your mother alive again, Anthony." A deep and unfamiliar male voice yells."

Mama shrieks some more.

"NO, ANTHONY! STAY AWAY" I hear her muffled scream.

Then a gunshot.

Ignoring all my instinct, all common sense, I run up the last two steps faster than I ever have in my whole life. I trip, and then I hear the sound of glass breaking.

I barge into mama and dad's room, and I stare at the horrifying scene.

Mama with a single gunshot wound on her right temple, with blood seeping out.

"MAMA!" I scream again, but this time through sobs.

That was so many years ago, but I remember that day, that feeling, like it just happened a minute ago. I'd say the usual phrase "Like it was yesterday", but it's even clearer than that.

My mom's killer was a man that dad conned. He told dad that if he didn't pay up, mom would die. He didn't lie.

The man shot mom, and then jumped out the window. He crashed through glass, and then fell four stories down. Yeah. He died.

"I miss you, mom."

I put the flowers down, and then I turn around, and I see Alice, in the parking lot (it's a small cemetery). She's leaning on the hood of her car, silently waiting, with a tear rolling down her face.

I walk to her.

"You're here."

She nods.

"Sorry if you wanted to be alone. I had Tim track you. Wanted to see you, and to let you know that I'm here for you. I always will be. You're right, Tony. I will never leave you again, and I'll never push you away."

I walk over and hug her.

She kisses me, and I kiss back.

"Wanna hang out, Tony?" Alice asks.

"Yeah. I wanna meet your daughter."

She laughs.

"Alright. It's a date with my daughter. If you break her heart, though, I'll kill you. " Alice replies sarcastically.

"Cute, Al. Very cute."

"Aw. You remembered my nickname, Tone."

I stare into her eyes.

"I took the bus here, so I don't have a car."

Alice smiles.

"Then get in mine, Sunshine."

"Sunshine?"

"I don't know. Just get in." She replies, laughing.

I smile, and then I look back at mom's grave. She found the one for me. I'm finally with the one for me.

"Thanks, mom." I thank, getting into Alice's car.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, we're almost done, unless you guys want it to end here? If you guys think that this is a good stopping point, just let me know, and I'll make a quick epilogue to rap this story up. Please like, comment, follow, etc. Thanks!