Notes: Well, folks, we have finally come to the last chapter of "Unreachable." Thanks to all who have read, reviewed, favorited, etc. I hope you have all enjoyed it! There will be more Tony stories to come!

~One week later~

Tony was released from the hospital a week after the MCRT had taken down Nzmiro and his team. He insisted on crutches, rather than a wheelchair, insisting he would be all right. Gibbs was there to pick him up. He waited silently in the hall for Tony to dress, and helped him down to the car when he was ready to go.

The ride to Gibbs' house was silent. While he was usually very talkative, Tony didn't feel much like having a conversation with anyone at the moment, especially Gibbs. Neither of them minded the silence.

After what seemed like forever, they pulled into Gibbs' driveway. Tony had dozed off on the ride back. The doctor said he might be tired from the painkillers they'd been giving him at the hospital. Gibbs got out of the car and went around to the trunk. He took out Tony's overnight bag, and his crutches, and slammed the trunk shut. He saw Tony jerk awake through the back window. He went around to the passenger side and opened the door.

"We're here," he said simply. Tony reached out for his crutches. Gibbs helped him get vertical, and he immediately leaned on the crutches. He followed Gibbs into the house. "Have a seat," Gibbs said, walking past the living room into the hallway. He deposited Tony's bag in his spare bedroom, and went back to join Tony in the living room. Gibbs found him lying down on the couch, asleep. Quietly, he went over and pulled the blanket from the back of the couch, and draped it over Tony. He propped the fallen crutches on the coffee table, within Tony's reach.

Figuring Tony would be asleep for a while, he went to turn the coffee pot on, and headed out to the garage, where his latest project was waiting for him. Tony's car was up on blocks, and there were tools and parts strewn all around the two car garage. It'd been a long time since he'd tried to fix a car, but this car was worth fixing. He'd had a friend help him with the body work. The front end had taken forever for the two of them to straighten out. Gibbs had to practically deplete his emergency bank account to pay for the necessary parts. Now, there were just parts to replace. He went to his workbench and opened up his ratchet set, and set to work.

NCISNCISNCIS

Tony yawned and sat up on the couch. He must have been out of it on the way home. He didn't even remember getting out of the car and coming into the house. He stretched and grabbed his crutches, so he could wander. He crutched into the kitchen, where he was assailed by the smell of fresh coffee. Smiling, he poured himself a cup and leaned against the counter while he took a sip. Only Gibbs would have coffee this strong. As he sipped it, he heard a clang coming from the direction of the garage door. Curious, he went over and opened the door. His jaw dropped when he stepped into the garage. There was his car, up on blocks. The body looked like new – almost. The panels Gibbs had managed to get were junkyard scraps. The car would need to be painted again. He looked down as Gibbs slid out from underneath the car.

"You're awake, and you've found the coffee," he said, pushing himself to his feet.

"My car—how did you—Ducky said it was totaled!"

Gibbs wiped his hands with a rag from his workbench, and turned to face Tony.

"You wouldn't have been out there if it weren't for me and McGee breaking into your credit card statements. I was in the wrong for asking him to do that. I know how much you love this car, so I called in a couple of favors with a mechanic friend of mine."

"I—thanks, Boss. Really. This is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."

"You're welcome, DiNozzo."

Tony contemplated hugging Gibbs, but decided it'd be too awkward.

"You hungry, Tony?" Gibbs asked suddenly.

"Famished, actually," Tony admitted.

"I need a break. What do you say we grill up a couple of steaks?"

"Sounds like a plan!"

Gibbs clapped him on the back and helped him back into the house to prepare dinner.

NCISNCISNCIS

Tony went back to work a week later, on desk duty. It was hard for him to sit there while his teammates were out following leads. Tim showed him a few technical things, so Tony could help out from his desk, rather than work on cold cases. As he let his latest credit card search run, his desk phone rang.

"DiNozzo."

"Agent DiNozzo, I'd like to see you in my office, please."

"On my way, Director." Tony hung up and picked up his crutches. He took the elevator up to the balcony level, and hobbled into Vance's office. Paula waved him in. The door was already open a crack, so Tony pushed it with his crutch to allow himself access. Vance was sitting behind his desk, hands folded on the desk.

"Have a seat."

Tony sat down, letting his casted leg lay straight in front of him.

"I'd like to discuss recent events with you, if you are up to it."

"All right."

"First and foremost, I am going to ignore the fact that you hit Special Agent Gibbs in the squad room over a month ago, and promptly went AWOL. I understand you were under duress, due to the death of your father, and the events that followed."

"Thank you, Director."

"How has your recovery been coming along?" Vance asked, in a slightly normal, conversational tone.

"I get the plaster cast off next week. They'll fit me with a walking cast for a couple of weeks, just to be sure everything is completely healed."

"I'm glad to hear it."

There was an awkward silence for a few moments. Vance then reached for an envelope that had been sitting next to the phone.

"I have something for you, Agent DiNozzo." He handed it across the desk. Tony reached out and took it. He slowly opened the envelope, and gaped at what he pulled out.

"There are two checks here…for $25,000."

"Shortly after your accident, Ms. Sciuto came to me, requesting that we try to help you out of the financial situation that your Father left you with. I agreed that if she could raise $25,000, I would put in the request to let NCIS pick up the rest."

"How the hell did she do it?" Tony asked, still in shock.

"I'm not sure. She never told me what she did. Ms. Sciuto can be very resourceful."

"I don't know what to say, Director. I never would have expected this. I—thank you, very much." Tony held out his hand, and Vance stood up and shook it warmly.

"You're more than welcome, Tony. You don't deserve what happened to you. No one deserves that. Your Father may have had good intentions mailing you that information, but he destroyed lives in the process."

Tony lowered his gaze to his hands, which he'd folded in his lap. He thought of his Uncle Jack and Aunt Lucy. They'd died because of his father's selfish business practices. Even after death, his father knew how to ruin others.

"Are you all right?" Vance asked.

"Yeah. I'll be all right." Tony pushed himself up. "I'd better get back downstairs and finish up those searches for Gibbs."

"If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask," Vance said, holding out a hand. Tony shook it, and turned and hobbled out of the office.

Instead of going to the squad room, Tony took the elevator to Abby's lab. He hobbled through the doors as they swooshed open. Abby turned around at the sound of her doors, and beamed at the sight of Tony.

"Hey Tony! How are you feeling!"

Tony didn't say anything. He hobbled to her, and when he was right in front of her, dropped his crutches. He pulled Abby into a tight hug. Abby wrapped her arms around his waist and returned the hug. When he finally let her go, he looked at her with tears in his eyes.

"Thank you."

"What are friends for, Tony?" she said, wiping a tear from his cheek. He enveloped her in another hug, tears streaming down his face and dripping onto her lab coat. No other words were spoken.

Note: I'll be adding an epilogue, but this is officially the end. Hope you've enjoyed the ride!