Chapter 8:

"Boss?" Tony whimpered through the silence. His body was burning, aching with pain after the ants had chewed him to pieces a few minutes ago. Gibbs hadn't said a word to Tony, nor had he tried to help him. He had simply sat there and stared at Jenny.

When he didn't respond, Tony chewed on his lower lip. He took a few steady breaths before he murmured softly, "Boss...I'm really sorry." He swallowed a few times, before finsihing, "I didn't...I didn't mean to shoot her I just--!"

"It's your own damn fault she's dead, DiNozzo. If you hadn't been taking those damn frickin pills..." Gibbs stopped, feeling his anger boil. He wanted to wait until he was out of this place and could pound some sense into Tony. Literally. He wanted the boy to understand that because of his stupid recklessness, he had killed one of their own. He had killed their director and Gibbs' lover. How the hell could someone do such a thing?!

"Y-You knew...About those?" Tony asked weakly, feeling his heart in his throat. "I..." He couldn't think of anything else to say. He had thought he had kept those a secret. But they were the only thing that helped Tony with the pain that he felt; mentally and emotionally. It killed him inside that Gibbs knew. Of course Gibbs knew. Why would Tony think any different?

As they sat there, Gibbs responded sourly, "Don't expect any damn sympathy when we're out of this. You've got three hours to get all of your stuff and get out of my house."

Tony nodded, taking a deep breath. He clenched his teeth together as he stared into empty space and began regretting a lot of things that he had been doing. Suddenly, the pain didn't seem so bad anymore. He nodded again and felt his eyes watering. However, he held back the tears, knwoing that he deserved every ounce of hate that Gibbs was spewing. Tony had screwed up big time and this time, it wasn't because he was going crazy. This time, it wasn't because he was in shock or in fear. This time, it was because of Tony's recklessness' and his horrible choices.

Suddenly, the door opened and a frantic Ziva rush in. She began freeing Tony and then rushed over to Gibbs, getting him loose as well. When they were standing, Gibbs rushed towards Jenny, picked her up, and rushed from the room, more than happy that he could get out of there and away from Tony. Ziva glanced at Tony before rushing after Gibbs, Tony behind her, and saying quickly, "Gibbs, we only have four minutes left!" Gibbs didn't respond as he flew through the hallways and down a flight of stairs. Tony was having trouble keeping up with them, but didn't say anything as he rushed behind them.

"Keep up, Special Agent." Gibbs snapped. Ziva jumped slightly at the harshness of his words and she glanced back at the lagging Tony. She frowned sadly and watched as he began picking up his pace. She whispered softly, "Tony...It...It wasn't your fault..." Tony didn't respond as Ziva looked at Gibbs and said with alarm, "The children! Gibbs, he's trying to blow up the kids at the school as well!" Gibbs slammed open a door and began loading Jenny into the back of the sedan. He looked at Ziva and snapped, "Drive, Ziva!" He rushed towards the school as Tony and Ziva both got into the car.

Gibbs began yelling for people to get down, watching them hit the ground and heard Ziva swerving off as fast as she could. He put himself over a few children just in time to hear a rather large BOOM!

He heard the building behind him explode into pieces and watched as a few flaming pieces landed next to him. Gibbs panted heavily as he looked back at the building and he took one deep breath, grateful that he would be able to give Jenny a proper burial. She deserved that much...

NCIS BUILDING...

Donald "Ducky" Mallard whistled slightly as he flipped through a few pages in his report lying in front of him. He was sitting at his desk calmly, unaware of the events that had happened outside of the NCIS building. All he knew was that he had finally been able to get some of Tony's bloodwork and was examining it thoroughly. Something had seemed strange about the boy, so he had insisted on taking some of his blood. After some bribing about his old records and a few boring lectures, Tony finally agreed to give him some of his blood.

However, what he was seeing was not good. Sighing, Ducky was about to flip the page when he heard the doors open behind him. Spinning around him, he smiled and began saying, "Good after--....Oh my." He murmured the last bit, watching as Gibbs played Jenny gently on one of the metallic tables. He closed her eyes for her and stood over her, looking over her body and wondering what to do. Was it the right thing to say to Tony? Should he have treated Tony the way he had? Of course. Tony had been an idiot. A stupid, stupid kid who knew he was doing the wrong thing, but thought he'd be fine.

Funny how that had worked out.

"Jethro," Ducky murmured, walking over to his dear friend. "What...What happened to her?" Gibbs didn't respond at first, until he heard the doors open again and he heard Ziva's voice say softly, "She was shot, Ducky." Gibbs sneered as he snapped, "Frickin DiNozzo shot her." He looked up at Ducky and watched as the man frowned, asking, "Why did--?"

"Damn idiot was taking pills he didn't need." Gibbs growled, looking at Ziva. "Where the hell is that bastard?!" Ziva stared at Gibbs as she thought about telling him or not. She then sighed slightly and turned towards the door, watching as Tony walked in. His arms were covered in bandages, no doubt his legs and torso were as well, but he didn't seem to be to beat down by the ants. However, he looked straight at Gibbs and croaked, "Right here...Boss."

Gibbs smiled as he walked over to Tony and stared him in the eyes. "Give 'em to me." He snapped angrily. Tony didn't understand at first, but then quickly grabbed his pills and handed them over to Gibbs. Gibbs looked down at his watch and then up at Tony, saying, "You've got two hours, DiNozzo!" He stormed from the room as Tony simply sat there. He smiled softly and watched as Ducky began working on Jenny. Ziva grabbed Tony's arm and pulled him out of the room. She looked at Tony and whispered softly, "Tony, give him some time! Gibbs will surely heat up to you soon!"

Tony was too aggravated, annoyed, depressed, and scared to correct Ziva. He simply took her hands off his arm and kissed her softly on the lips. When he pulled away, he whispered softly, "I know how to end this. Don't worry." With those words, he walked into the elevator and sighed heavily. Pressing a button, he watched as his view on Ziva vanished.

Making it to the bullpen, Tony began removing his gun and badge. He looked through his drawers and began tossing things into the garbage. He then ripped out one of the drawers and placed it onto his desk. Looking up, he watched as Gibbs began filling out his report. He sighed heavily and tossed his badge and gun into the drawer full of Gibbs' awards. Walking over to Gibbs' desk, he set the drawer on the side of his desk, grabbed his jacket, and walked over to the elevator. He looked at Gibbs before taking a deep breath and stepping into the elevator; dredging every step he took.

Gibbs didn't look up at the drawer, too pissed off to even acknowledge Tony's presence. He hadn't even realized that Abby had come to pick up Tony's gun to use in some "experiment" for her. So, when the phone rang, he hadn't realized that it had been at least an hour and a half. Sighing angrily, he leaned back in his chair and began thinking of Jenny. He felt awful. He had been so close, yet he hadn't been able to save her. He should've taken the damn pills away from Tony when he had the chance!

Finally, Gibbs answered the phone and growled, "Gibbs."

"Jethro!" Ducky's voice said frantically on the other end. "You have to come down here immediately!" Gibbs slammed the phone, fearing there was something wrong with Jenny's body, and rushed down to the basement. Once there, he came into the room and looked at Ducky, asking, "What is it, Duck?" Ducky stared at Gibbs with sad, desperate eyes as he looked at Jenny and pointed to her head wound. "Jethro," he began, placing his hands on the table and saying calmly, "A single bullet was fired from Anthony's gun." Gibbs literally cringed at the name of Jenny's killer and growled, "I know. He killed her."

Ducky looked at Gibbs and said quickly, "Not his bullet." Gibbs froze, staring at Ducky with wide, confused, and suddenly shocked eyes. "What?" "It was not his bullet, Jethro." Ducky stated again and handed him a piece of paper. "Abby tried to match the bullets, but none of dear Anthony's bullets match up." He then flipped the page for Gibbs and pointed to something on the paper, saying with sorrow, "Jethro...Our little Anthony was actually supposed to be on those pills. They were really helping him to recuperate. Of course, we didn't know this, but I called his doctor and he told me that it was actually a good thing he hadn't taken himself off the pills. He had needed them! The hallucinations were caused by Anthony's pills, his drugs, being drugged! Anthony was drugged without even knowing it, Jethro!"

In a matter of seconds, Gibbs dropped the clipboard and rushed from the room. He felt sick to his stomach now. This was exactly what the bastard Arein wanted. He wanted everything to end this way, for Tony to think he was going crazy, for Gibbs to think Tony shot Jenny. But why? What was his reson?

That didn't seem to matter Gibbs now. All that mattered to him was finding Tony and saving him from himself. He knew Tony by now and knew that he would do something stupid. Knew that he would do something reckless and out of the blue...Something very Tony.

However, what was even worse was how awful Gibbs felt for saying the things he had said, thinking the things that he had. He had truly believed that Tony was beginning to betray him. How could he think that? After all him and the boy had been put through, after all the years of working together! He wanted to headslap him self until he was black and blue. How could he have let things come to this?!

Another twenty minutes, and Gibbs had made it to his house. He had never drove that fast in his entire life, but that didn't matter as he rushed to the door and slammed it open. He began running through the house, checking every room for any sign of Tony. However, when he came to the bathroom, he felt like he had just stepped into a hallucination. Where Tony's things had once been, his cleaning products, were now gone, leaving Gibbs a shiny, new-looking sink. The same went for the living room; it was completely spotless.

Another Year

Has Come and Gone again

Look around

And think where have you been

Gibbs nodded a few times as he sat down against the wall of the hallway and thought, running a hand through his hair. He felt so lost and hopeless and grabbed his phone. He stared back up at the bathrooom, before dialing in Tony's phone number.

Trace the Lines

On your face tonight

And don't forget

That this will pass in time

Ziva sighed as she lay on her couch, staring at her television. After hearing about Tony quitting, she had rushed home to think about everything. Watching what was on, she felt a tear roll down her cheek and a smile place itself onto her lips. She wiped the tear away quickly and looked at the clock. She then looked up at the televison, showing Magnum P.I. and before she knew it, she was crying into her pillow. She was ashamed at the way she was acting and she didn't dare look up, knowing that the show would remind her of Tony. She was beginning to think what was going through his head and why he had done the things he did, but she would never know.

It's cold out this morning

You should be getting into bed

Can't believe its that time

Of year again

Tony sighed heavily as he looked at the room before him. He had just paid for the room for a night and then planned on taking his Mustang and driving as far away as he could from Washington D.C. and the others. Admitted, he would miss Ziva, Abby, Ducky, McGee...And even Gibbs. He knew that what he had done would never be forgiven and he knew that Gibbs and him would never be the same. Tony had felt as though Gibbs was his father, and now that was gone...And it was Tony's fault.

Curled up tight

A darker shade of white

Thinking Back could be here for a while

Tony thought back to the look on Gibbs' face when he had stepped into the autopsy room. He could still see the pain and anger etched on his face when he told Tony that he had shot Jenny. However, he began thinking about maybe living a normal life with no more kidnappings and no more torture. Maybe he could finally smile and live on.

Its cold out this morning

And it's getting harder to pretend

Can't believe it's that time of year again

Tony plopped himself down onto the bed, sitting on the edge, and placed his head into his hands. He felt like breaking down and crying, calling someone and asking for guidance. However, he knew that was impossible and all he could do was lay back on his bed and slowly hope that one day, his life would turn around. He hoped that someday, something great would happen and everything would turn around.

He had extreme doubts.

Can you believe the life you led?

Did you achieve the goals you set?

Did you lose your mind?

Well and then

Is there a reason you own them

It is a season that won't end

Can't believe it That time of year again

When Tony heard his cellphone ring, he blinked and reached for it. He stopped when he saw the caller ID: Gibbs. He felt fear take over him and pain, feeling like he was walking on air. He rolled over onto his right side and closed his eyes tightly, trying to ignore the sounds. When the phone kept ringing over and over and over again, Tony reached over and shut the thing off. He then took a deep breath and relaxed. After a while, he finally felt asleep and hoped, prayed, and wished that everything would change and it would change fast.

Another year

Has come and gone again

Look around

and wonder what happened

Gibbs sighed as he slammed the phone shut and stared at the bathroom. He stood up and made his way over to the kitchen. He took a deep breath and stared at everything around him. He could almost hear Tony whining for some food or complaining about some sort of crap. It had been Hell being with Tony so long, but every now and then, Tony would keep quiet and keep to himself.

Gibbs had been so close to helping the poor boy realize just how much he was loved, just how much he deserved to be happy. And now...Now he had ruined it. He had ruined everything, destroyed everything he had worked so hard to build.

Taking a deep breath, Gibbs picked up his phone and dialed a number. Waiting, he heard someoen answer and he began talking softly.

"Hey...I need help tracking down an agent of mine. Think you can help out?"

"Leroy Jethro Gibbs wants help from me? Really? Now that's surprising!"

"Not in the mood, Ryan. Can you do it?"

"Sure. Name; first and last."

"Anthony DiNozzo."

There was a sligth pause before Ryan chuckled, replying, "Well, Jethro, you'll never believe where he is. About...Two hours away from where you are; local hotel. Oh and did you hear the news?"

"No, " Gibbs snapped, rushing to his car. "What?"

"Well, the good news is that I'm going to be your director now. The bad news, well, the bad news is that, according to what I have here, there have been recent terrorist attacks striking a few buildings."

"Yeah and you don't think I know that?!" Gibbs snapped, slamming on the gas.

"Oh so you do. But did you know that this group is being led by a man named Arein?"

"Ryan."

"I'm not done! You'll never believe who his partner in crime is! He's actually being held in custody right now for questioning!"

"Who, Ryan?!"

"Eli David."