AN: Thank you so much for the detailed reviews I love hearing what you all think, your interpretations and your experiences. For this chapter I decided to use Catholic language, based on my short experience, that faith seems to be quite integral to the Italian culture, and to deny that seems foolhardy. However, because not everyone is familiar with Catholic customs I will quickly attempt to explain the ritual that is referenced in the story. For those who are unfamiliar, Catholics have what they call Confession or Reconciliation, and in this sacrament they confess their sins to God through a priest. As long as they are sorry for their sins, they are forgiven after confessing, and performing a "penance". A penance is determined by the priest after it is completed the person is completely forgiven.

AN2: Another quick change to the format of this chapter is that I will have the Italian posted next to the text. I felt in the past that I wanted the audience to feel the same as Gibbs, and since he doesn't understand the language, neither should the audience, but the layout of this chapter is a bit different, so I'm making the exception. Most of the Italian however will be listed above as usual.

Warning: Language and sensitive material.

All of the Italian was graciously provided by thunderincrimson, thank you again!!

Survival Italian:

La famiglia: The family

Cosa: What

Non mi credi: You don't believe me

Guardami: Look at me

Dillo: Say it

Bene: Good, fine, okay

Per favore: Please

Basta: Enough

Pietro: Peter

Non è stata colpa mia!: It wasn't my fault!

Tu non sei mio figlio!: You are not my son!

Vaffanculo: Go fuck yourself.

Fanculo: Fuck

Vai a cagare: Piss off (lit: go to shit)

Andate tutti a 'fanculo!: You all can go fuck yourselves.

And with that exciting vocabulary I hope this chapter delivers to expectations.

(Gibbs)

I received a call from McGee saying that things were getting out of hand; apparently certain relatives were fed up with DiNozzo not answering calls and instead came to Dominic's house and refused to leave. I excused myself from the meeting and rushed home after confirmation from McGee that whatever was happening was going to end in a blood bath. McGee reported that the conversation quickly turned to Italian, and he had no idea what was happening other than the fact that people were not happy and DiNozzo wasn't giving into whatever the family wanted. I pull up to the driveway and can hear the screaming from the house. I rush in and find over fifteen different family members including Elena and Peter. The room itself is partitioned into two groups, each group holding off a different member: one holding Peter DiNozzo and the other backing Tony. DiNozzo, my DiNozzo, is standing, which is stupid on his part to strain his body, or at least he's trying to and is leaning on the back of the couch. He's furious. His face is beet red, and his knuckles white from gripping the couch. Dominic is hovering close by but has enough distance between them to give Tony some room. Peter DiNozzo is screaming and seems to be as livid as his son.

Peter also seems to have the floor for now. "I had no choice, I can't expect you to possibly understand position I was in."

For the first time when I look into DiNozzo's eyes I see his father. They are hard and calculating and I can't place my senior agent. This is new territory for me. I quietly move to the side of the room and let it play out.

"I" Tony says angrily, "am not a card to be played."

"So what did you propose that I do" his father bites, "Did you want your aunt to die? Did you want that? Or perhaps my business to collapse and the livelihoods of my employees to go down the drain. It's fitting seeing as how you are always thinking about yourself."

"I only think about myself" Tony says eerily calm, "Just about myself huh?"

"Hey" Dominic says, "Let's all stop for now, ma I told you this was a bad idea."

"We all need to get this out in the open" Louisa responds.

"He can't even stand" Dominic cries, "Uncle Peter, leave him alone, he's not well. This is not the time for this."

"It's true" Peter says ignoring Dominic all together, "You have always been a selfish boy."

Tony looks down and then right back into his father's eyes.

"Fine" he says lowly and in one quick moment, his shirt has been torn off and thrown across the room. Well there's the proof to the saying that a picture's worth a thousand words. There are gasps within the room, and murmurs, but the only reaction I watch is Peter's and despite his hardened jaded features and his training to not react in a negotiation, he can't help but widen his eyes and take a step back. Good. See what you did to your own flesh and blood. See what your son sacrificed. For crying out loud at least acknowledge it.

"I almofst died" Tony says quietly, "I was stuck in that cell for two hours. They tortured me dad. Of course I should be thankful they had planned a nice slow death because it gave my team enough time to clear me. I protected this family, and dad, when I did it, only I took the fall."

His father has no words, hell no one has any words. An older hardened woman steps forward. She isn't attractive and I immediately recognize her nose like that beak boy Frankie from the funeral. This must be Donna Brunelli.

"Anthony" she says quietly breaking the silence in the room, "I am so sorry."

"No you're not" Tony says back flippantly, "And neither is he."

"Alright that's enough" Elena says stepping forward, "Why don't we all just take a break."

"Why don't you all just get the hell out" Tony repeats back.

"That's enough Anthony" Raymond says.

"Hey" Tony says defensively, "No one made you come over here. I mean not only weren't you invited, you're also unwanted."

"Tony" Raymond says tiredly, "Let's just all sit down and calm down. Everyone's temper is high so why don't we all take a breather and come back."

"Uncle Ray" Tony says, "You're not hearing me. I am not doing this with you people."

Angelo, who is crying, approaches Tony by the couch. He seems to be trying to coax Tony to sit down or to do something, but Tony is having none of it.

"Smettila di piangere! Cos'è, ora che sei vecchio e solo sei dispiaciuto? Troppo tardi!" (Stop your crying! What, now that you are old and alone, now you're sorry? Too late!)

"Anthony" Louisa screams, "That is my father, that is your grandfather, you don't talk like that to him, do you understand me?"

"He's just as guilty" Tony says, "He knew! Where was he? Yeah the tears are a nice effect but when it's all said and done he made the same damn decision like the rest of you. He was in on it."

"Anthony" Peter screams, "you selfish stupid prick. I know you like to fancy yourself thinking that you are some hotshot, but I got news for you, you're just another Yankee from the Island. You think you're something special, but reality check Anthony, you're not. You're just like us so get off your damn high horse and wake the hell up. You think the life you made for yourself holds substance? Our replacements in your life, I saw them, you think they respect you? You think you mean something to them? Your coworkers, they couldn't touch the food, our food, your food, and they couldn't understand our conversations, and they couldn't keep up. We were nothing more than a bunch of garlic eaters, that's how they saw us, and that's how they see you. They looked at us with disgust like we were something right out of a movie. I heard one of them even remark they couldn't believe that you set foot in a church, because they didn't know you were Catholic. You hide your identity, your culture, your religion, your speech, hell, your language, and you keep it all buried in the back of your mind, but you can't escape who you are. This is who you are, and you have an obligation to la famiglia, regardless of the fact you want to pretend you don't. Your aunt is a woman Tony, and Italians protect their women. The idea that we wouldn't act accordingly and sacrifice you a male, a healthy young man, so she wouldn't suffer the torments of those animals is unthinkable, and I am once again deeply ashamed."

I feel my blood boiling and continue to remind myself that I have no place here and I need to let DiNozzo handle this as he sees fit. Tony registers it and looks down once again. He breathes in deeply and lets it go and when he comes up I see a new flicker in his eye. He's not fighting this fight, and something has changed.

"Yeah okay dad" he says without emotion, almost even empathetically, "But that's not why you did it. If you had come to me and asked me, I would have done it."

Over my dead body you would have.

His father scoffs and Tony's eyebrow shoots up.

"Cosa" Tony asks, "Non mi credi?" Tony sweeps his arms wide open, "Well then take another look! Come on dad, look at me! Guardami! Maybe I should pull my pants down to complete the show! I would have done anything to help Aunt Donna. But that wasn't the setting of the game now was it? I wasn't supposed to be consulted, I wasn't supposed to be asked, I was supposed to be punished. You finally found something that would forgive my sins. This was supposed to purge my soul."

The room is silent and I don't think anyone knows the footing of this particular dance.

"What are you talking about" Peter asks.

"Come on dad" Tony goads him on, "You enjoyed doing this. I know you did. This whole scenario was just the perfect excuse to satiate your inner need for me to pay."

I, and the participants in the room are unaware of what is happening but Peter DiNozzo sure as hell knows what his son is talking about; his body is taut and his face tauter. The two look like two animals ready to kill one another.

"You know what though dad" Tony says real quietly, and then to a whisper, "I'm not giving you my confession."

The elder DiNozzo's eyes harden and smolder. Well that struck a chord. I look over at McGee who is pleading with me to do something. I shake my head. We have no right to intervene.

"You son of a bitch" Peter grits out.

"Say it" Tony screams, "Just come out and once and for all and say it!"

Peter DiNozzo is standing still but his eyes are raging just like Tony's. He's snarling and is ready to snap at any minute. I stay silent. If it escalates I'll step in, but as of now I have no business taking any active part in this family feud. This is between Tony and his father.

"Come on Dad" Tony spits out disgustedly, "Why don't you just say what you and I already know. Come on, why don't you let everyone in the family really know why you can't stand the sight of me. Come on padre! Let's stop the bullshit and lies and just be honest with one another. Say it! Dillo! You want this to be about la famiglia? Bene! Tell them why it was so fucking easy for you to offer me up. I deserved it right? For what I did to her? This was my fucking penance!"

"Antonio" I hear Angelo begging, "Per favore! Pietro, basta!"

"Come on Dad" Tony says relentlessly, "Just fucking say it, you fucking ass!"

"Hey" Louisa steps in, "That is your father, you show him his respect!"

Tony ignores her and keeps his eyes locked with his father's.

"Say it! I deserved this! I am guilty! I have sinned! Right dad? I don't deserve happiness now, I didn't deserve it then, and I never deserved her!"

"Don't you talk about her" Peter finally screams breaking his silence. His brother in law Raymond steps in closer as to prevent a shaking Peter from lunging at his son. Peter doesn't notice and keeps screaming, "Don't you talk about her!"

"I have every right to talk about her! She wasn't yours!"

My eyes dart over to McGee who is standing nervously in the corner, and then to Dominic who looks tired but equally as frightened and uneased by the situation. Half of the family in the room is looking down and trying to avoid the scene, while the other half is trying to calm down the two feuding DiNozzo's. I will not say anything, but I will not let Peter touch his son.

"Come on dad" Tony sneers, "How much longer do I have to pay for her death?"

"It was your fault!" Peter screams at the top of his lungs.

"It was a car accident!" Tony screams back matching his father.

"You put her in that car! You did it! You took her away from me, just like you always did!"

"I was a child."

"You didn't love her" Peter screams back, "You don't even remember her!"

"I was nine" Tony shrieks, "I was fucking nine years old! Of course I don't remember her!"

"She was your mother!"

"She's dead! She's been dead! Get over it!"

"You" Peter stutters, "You son of a bitch!"

"Son of a bitch?" Tony screams, "Son of a bitch? You do realize that's mom right?"

Peter DiNozzo starts screaming in Italian and looks like he's about to have a heart attack.

"You fucking smart ass" he screams finally coming back to English, "If she could hear the way you talk! All she ever did was love you! She died trying to make you happy!"

"She humiliated me" Tony says trying to control his voice, "She mortified me with those clothes! She didn't give a damn, it was all about how she could show me off!"

Which would explain why clothing is so damn important to him today.

"Tony" Dominic says stopping him, "Hey-"

"No" Tony shoots right back, "I am not going to feel guilty or selfish that I didn't want to wear that outfit that evening. Just because she's dead doesn't make her a saint! I don't have good memories of my mother, and I'm not going to honor and mourn someone who I can't even remember! And I'm sure as hell not going to keep paying for some perceived transgression! I didn't do anything!"

Peter DiNozzo face could not possibly be any redder.

"You ungrateful brat! She's dead and you don't even care! You worthless spoiled piece of shit! You were the only thing she had to live for, she loved you more than life itself and that is what you say? You couldn't just wear what she wanted you to wear! You couldn't just do as you were told! No, not my Anthony, my Anthony couldn't wear what his mother had picked out for him. It didn't matter that she had spent all week on the clothing and that she had agonized over every detail of your outfit, one simple dismissal from you and her whole world turned upside down. You made her get into that car to find a new outfit for that party and then she died! It was your fault! If you had just done what you were told she would still be alive today, you selfish prick!"

"I'm not sorry" Tony screams, "And I will not keep paying for something I didn't do! I didn't make that car crash."

"Do you know what she said" Peter spits, "on her deathbed? The last thing she said before she died? Do you know what it was?"

"You know I don't."

"It was about you" Peter says with putrid hatred, "It was to take care of Antonio, and to make sure that he knew that mommy loved him very much! That was it! Nothing about me, nothing about how I was supposed to go on, just about her precious baby boy."

Tony is silent for three seconds until clarity dawns on his features.

"Are you jealous of me" he asks dangerously, "You're jealous that my mother had the audacity to love me? Is that it? That's why you hate me? All these years I just thought you blamed me for her death, but you're actually jealous!"

"She picked you over me" Peter screams, "You! It was always about you! And all I ever did was love my wife, all my life, we were high school sweethearts, we went through everything together. We took each other off the brink of suicide, you don't understand, you don't know! You have no idea what she meant to me, and you, you just got over it! I mourned her death for years, and you couldn't be bothered." Peter DiNozzo stops screaming and starts sobbing.

"Peter" Luisa screams, "That's enough!"

Yeah Peter that's enough. You're killing your son, you ass. Said son is silent but his eyes are exploding with passion.

"She was all I had" Peter screams through his tears, "And you just took her away! She loved you more and I was suffering and mourning her death and you just got over it! I remember it like it was yesterday. When you were twelve, you didn't even remember her birthday!"

"So you cut me off" Tony shrieks, "That's what you do? That's the rational thought process?"

"You forgot about her! You deserve this and more" Peter screams back and now he's being physically restrained by Raymond.

"I didn't deserve this" Tony screams, "I never deserved any of it! I get that now, I didn't growing up, but I get it now and I will not let you taint my life anymore. I didn't forget about her, I grew up. I wasn't going to spend my entire childhood, and subsequent years mourning a woman I didn't know. I'm sorry dad, but I wasn't going to live in the past my whole damn life. You made my life hell back then, but you can't do it anymore. You have control because I give it to you, so let me aver it now once and for all that I am done. I do not feel guilty and it was not my fault, and nothing you can say can possibly change that."

"You want to talk about growing up" Peter yells, "Fine! Let's talk. I worked my ass off all day to give my Rosie's child the best of everything, and you threw it in my face."

"You never did jack shit with me! All you did was pass me off from one aid to the next. So yeah dad, I didn't appreciate it. Any opportunity to get rid of me you took advantage of. There were times I really needed you dad and you left me alone."

"I couldn't even look at you" Peter spits out, "Every time I would look at you all I could see was Rosie. You had her damn eyes, and every time you reminded me of her I remembered that she cared more for you and that you couldn't even bother to remember her birthday. You knew it was your fault, you knew you weren't worth anything to anyone so you left. You are a coward! Every night I would pray that God would somehow fix you or just take you away from me."

"You prayed for me to die dad" Tony asks, "That's wonderful. That's just fucking wonderful. I thought I hit an all time low when you tried to use me as a bargaining trip with the fucking mafia, but no, not you, you always find ways to top yourself!"

This is getting out of hand. I'm going to have to step in damn it all.

"Alright that's enough" some male relative says, "Everyone that is enough. You are all saying things that you don't mean."

Didn't expect Tony to fight back did you? You people finally pushed him one last time and he snapped. This whole elaborate scheme with the Falone family was the straw that broke the camel's back and no one really knows how to entertain DiNozzo's fury. Well good, they should be scared. I'm pretty damn sure that when they all marched into the house they thought they could just bully him into their way thinking and making everything okay. I don't think any of them really realized what exactly happened in that cell and what exactly Elena and Peter had planned. I don't think any of them realize that Tony is not the testosterone ridden eighteen year old that left for college.

"What don't I mean?" Tony cries, "I mean everything I fucking said, and I was fucking right. Let's recap, my father, mio padre, not only blames me for my mother's death, and is not only jealous that my mother thought of me last before dying, but yes ladies and gentlemen, he even prayed to God that I would die. That's wonderful. If I fucking kill myself by the end of this, you stay the fuck away from my funeral."

"You are worthless" his father states, "You always have been, and you always will be. Your mother only loved you because she had to. Your mother, she picked me, and got stuck with you!"

"Go to hell" Tony says dangerously, "You go fuck yourself, you hear me?"

"You killed my Rosie! You worthless piece of-"

Tony lunges for his father, but is intercepted by Dominic and Peter tries to jump over Raymond's grip. The two would kill each other if not for the Leone family. However, because they can't reach each other they have resorted to screaming. The Leones are separating the two and trying desperately to get them into separate rooms. I go to aid Dominic. Enough is enough.

"Alright Tony" Dominic says soothingly, "Alright buddy. That's enough family for now okay pal? Let's go for a walk."

"Hey DiNozzo" I tell him joining Dominic at his side helping to push Tony in the opposite direction, "I think that's a good idea, you and your cousin go for a walk."

"I hated you" Peter is screaming, "You gave up on your mother!"

"Okay Tony" Dominic says as we move Tony away "He don't mean it, you don't mind him, he's just old and mad. You know he don't mean it. Try and keep your head okay?"

"I used to sob at night" Tony screams ignoring both of us, "Every fucking night for a fucking year! And you heard me! I know you did, and you never came in to comfort me! I had just lost my mother! Where the hell were you? Why couldn't we share our grief?"

"Yeah I heard you. You wanted your mother! I couldn't give you a mother! What the hell did you want from me?"

"A father" Tony shrieks.

The yelling has gotten louder as the crowd has physically distanced the two of them.

"Well I wanted a son" Peter screams back, "You are not my son! You are not my Rosie's child! You disgrace! Tu non sei mio figlio! Tu non sei mio figlio! You hear me Anthony, Tu non sei mio figlio! You killed her, you killed the only good thing in my life!"

"I didn't do anything! I'm not sorry! I'm not fucking sorry! It's not my fucking fault! Non è la mia colpa! Non è la mia colpa! And better yet, I hate her! I hate that she made you this person, and I hate that she left me with you! I hate that she humiliated me, and I hate that she made old and bitter when I was nine!"

"È tua madre!" (She's is your mother!)

"È morta!" (She is dead!)

"Oh, fanculo! You want to know why it was so easy for me to come to that decision Anthony? Because you have sinned and you owed this family! You owed me! You owed my Rosie! You have done me wrong!"

"Vaffanculo" Tony screams, "Non è stata colpa mia! Non è stata colpa mia!"

"Vorrei che non fossi mai nato!" (I wish you were never born!)

Angelo is crying and screaming in Italian but once again Tony is not responding to it.

"Non m'interessa! Ora piangi ed è fantastico, ma questo non risolve niente, dov'eri allora?" (I dont' care! You cry now and that's wonderful but it resolves nothing, where were you then?)

"Anthony" Louisa screams.

We are as far as the room will allow us, and Tony is backed into a corner. I try to soothe him but he will not be consoled. He absently swats off me and Dominic's ministrations and keeps screaming for all its worth.

"Oh vai a cagare!" he tells her, "Where was he? He chose to ignore it! I was nine years old and without my mom and he never once stopped to tell his son that maybe, just maybe beating his kid wasn't the best idea! He made his bed and now he has to lie in it just like everyone else! Fuck you, and fuck him too! No one ever once helped me out! No one ever once told me to give a damn about myself and that I didn't deserve what I got. Andate tutti a 'fanculo! I'm done! I should have never come back here. Next time the precious morons of the family need some help don't you fucking call me. Don't you ever fucking call me! Elena, you bitch, you just wait, your time will come. What you spit up comes back down. The hell with all of you. I'm done."

And with that he shrugs off Dominic and myself, walks to the patio and slams the door.