Entering the house wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. He didn't get thrown into some painful memory lane; he merely saw and heard them coming from a distance, like some echo of what he once knew and remembered as clearly as a daylight. It scared him how he could barely remember the faces of those he'd lost and loved so dearly. Didn't matter how many times he kept looking at their photos.

Following the couple, Tony stopped on the way to look at the big family picture on the wall. Kelly sure had grown up.

"That's our daughter," Shannon spoke when she saw Tony looking at the picture.

"Where is she?"

"She's in college now. Hard to believe she's all grown up. I think Jethro is in denial. She'll always be his little girl, no matter how hard she may rebel against it sometimes. Come on now. Let's eat. You could use some more meat on your bones. Doesn't anyone feed you?"

He didn't bother mentioning that he was barely out of the hospital, after being stuck in there for a good while, not that he normally had much time for cooking. "Sure..."


Having finished taking his much needed shower, Gibbs walked toward the kitchen where both his wife and the Detective were. For some reason the kid had insisted that he at least helped clean the table and washed the dishes. Hearing the two of them talk, he stopped to listen out of habit.

Putting away the last plate, Tony sat on a chair. "So... Tell me about this... this other Tony. Who was he?"

Shannon looked sad. "Ah, that poor child. I barely even knew him. He was the younger brother of the Agent who was protecting me and Kelly, almost ten years ago. My daughter and I almost died, but then the young Agent, Tony and the girl who was with them were killed instead. It was a case of wrong place, wrong time."

"How did they die?"

Shannon shook his head. "I don't remember much, but I think they were all shot to death. Ah. No, wait. Tony died in the car crash... At least it was a quick death for them, so that's some comfort, but no child should ever have to die so violently."

"How do you know?"

"Mike Franks—my husband's former boss—told us. When I woke up in a hospital bed and found out that two kids were dead because of me, I was devastated. I don't think Kelly ever got truly over it either."

"I'm sorry to hear that..." Tony stood up. He'd heard enough. Mike Franks, again. "It was nice meeting you, ma'am."

"Shannon. It was very nice meeting you too, Tony. And thank you for your help."

"It was the least I could do." Tony smiled sadly when he realized suddenly that after almost ten years he finally got to eat the food made by Shannon. Last time they never got that far. Come to think of it, many things were never done or finished after that fateful day.

Leaving the kitchen, Tony went straight to the front door where Gibbs was already putting his coat on. "You really need to stop that eavesdropping habit of yours," Tony said out of the blue. He could see from the flash of surprise and shame on the man's face that Gibbs was so busted...

Rather than apologizing, Gibbs wanted answers. "Do I know you?"

"What kind of question is that? Of course you do. We are working together. For now."

"Have we met before? Before Baltimore." Gibbs felt like a bear with a very big splinter when DiNozzo had the audacity to give him that innocent look and a shrug.

"Can't say we have. I don't think I'd be forgetting a bastard like you."

"Don't smart ass me. Do you know my wife?"

"No. Never met before. She's lovely, both of your girls are, from what I can tell. You're a blessed man, Gibbs." When Tony saw that Gibbs was thinking about the next words, he escaped in his car, leaving the other man staring after him for a while until Gibbs finally gave up and slowly got in his own car.

While they were driving, Gibbs' mind was going back and forth between all the pieces of the puzzle he had. Then there was also his own gut feelings. He was now more sure than ever that they had met before. The question was when, how and where? And why couldn't he remember? A flash of memory made Gibbs hit the brakes, nearly causing Tony to crash with his car, as they had both been speeding. Suddenly flooded with memory after memory, Gibbs just sat in his car in the middle of the street, frozen, as he started remembering.

He pulled the trigger and the wide-eyed boy with his startling green eyes barely jumped away in time,
falling in the middle of the remains of his boat, which he had destroyed in his fury.
"You made them get in that car! You hurt them! You did it!"

Throwing the car door open, Gibbs jumped out and saw that Tony was already standing outside, looking confused and wary. "Gibbs? What's wrong? Did something happen?"

Gibbs didn't answer, but instead he walked straight to the Detective and then took bruising hold of Tony's arm, yanking him closer.

"What are you doing?" Tony swallowed, trying to pull his arm free, but the strong Marine grip didn't loosen. Next thing he knew, Gibbs had other painfully strong hold on his chin as he turned Tony's head from one side to another, studying his face with intense look of concentration. Tony kept averting his gaze until Gibbs had enough.

"Look at me!" Gibbs finally barked, and Tony did; his wide green eyes met the old man's shock filled eyes. "I remember. I remember you."