AN: Thank you for the reviews, and tremendous thanks to thunderincrimson who has gone above and beyond for me and graciously fixed all the Italian translations. I am so excited to have this new addition and am so thankful! Life has been stressful lately so to have someone just go out of their way to truly brightened my day. I hope you all enjoy the Italian translations as much as I do, I know the native Italian speakers will and won't have to keep wincing at the dreadful translations that spitted out. Thank you again thunderincrimson!!!
This should be wrapping in two more chapters or so. Thank you to all of you that have stuck by me and the story. This should be the last of the angsty chapters.
After pocketing his next dose of medicine, I go to the patio outside. I open the door and duck as a broken outside lamp comes swirling at my head. Tony doesn't seem to notice my presence and picks something else up and throws it for all its worth. He picks up another chair and just keeps smashing down on the ground, and again, and then again, and I can see his stitches tearing but I won't dare interrupt him. Not yet. Something has to give here. He could barely stand before but now that he is fueled with adrenaline he has a new sense of equilibrium and like hell he's not going to take advantage of it. The chair is finally broken until he has one long lean end of it and goes to smash it against a glass table. I charge him and we both fall onto the ground. The last thing he needs right now is embedded glass in his skin.
I look at him and realize he's livid and this time his anger won't be subsided by a movie. I resign myself to knowing that this has to end in an emergency room trip and there is nothing I can do to stop this. Fine. I might as well be able to control parts of it. He's panting heavily and looking at me questioningly. I pin him and push him into the ground. You need to hit something? Fine. Hit me. He struggles to get up but I keep him in pinned. He grunts and looks right into my eyes. His eyes are dancing and questioning me.
I give a flick of my head. Come on DiNozzo, let's see what you got.
Understanding ignites in his eyes and he proceeds to throw me off. I get up quick to block his next attack which is a series of punches. I duck each of them and grab him from behind and throw him. He grunts but quickly pushes himself off of the ground. He comes at me wildly again, and we continue to spar. His movements are wide and sloppy considering the pain he's in and I don't take advantage of it. Hell, all I do is stop him a bit. I won't hit him or attack back because there's no point to that. I'll just give him some resistance.
He keeps charging me and I continue to block myself until we have finally made it so far back into the yard that the trees obscure the house. It's nice and quiet back here and there is a shed and a rotting basketball court. It's actually wonderful and it gives us the privacy that we need.
He's throwing the same punches and pulling the same maneuvers which only proves how incredibly angry he is. The real DiNozzo's thought process is sharp and quick and it reacts to its environment and opponent. This is just pure rage. I've sparred with him before, nothing quite as intense and angered filled as this, but I do know his body and his limitations and I sure as hell know that those damn stitches are popping. I'm trying to make it easy for him and his body but he's having none of it. His eyes are insane and I can only imagine what he must be thinking.
And all of sudden I'm loosing my footing and he's too damn quick, he's just too damn mad. He somehow gets my back to the brick shed and goes to punch, and he'd get it too but at the last minute he punches the wall next to me and avoids hitting me. Well damn DiNozzo. Remind me to tell you about your father next time we're in a tight spot and I need Hercules. It should also be noted that even as incredibly angry as he is he wouldn't give me the knock out punch. He has character and the fact that his father just so blatantly attacked it makes my stomach boil. And now I'm mad. I'm mad at the whole damn thing and I'm so fucking mad that I let us come up to New York to begin with.
He's holding his hand which is bleeding and walking away. No DiNozzo, fight doesn't end here. I go over to him and push him down onto his knees. Come on, that all you got? He eyes me from the ground but quickly recovers and sets in with a series of jabs.
I throw him one more time and this time he doesn't get up. He pounds the ground and just lays there gripping the soil for all its worth. I quickly go to assess to see if he's okay and if we pulled anything but his abrupt stop does seem to be deliberate. I walk closer to him to get a look but before I know he's sweeping me onto the ground. Good DiNozzo, that I didn't see. Within seconds he's pinning me, and seconds more I him. We continue to go back and forth wrestling for control. This fight is better suited than the sparring because it's less violent in my opinion. DiNozzo usually doesn't opt for any floor fighting because his strength is movement, and I easily trump anyone on the floor, but his spirit is angry and so here we are. I let him get two or three pins before he finally yells at me.
"Enough with this basic shit." he tells me.
Fine. I pin him within three new turns and there is no way in hell he's getting out of this especially in his state. Apparently however that's what he wanted. He works our bodies to try and escape from it but I won't give. He however seems to be pleased with the current development and we scoot across the ground staining our clothes. Or in his case his back and pants. It's fitting I guess. DiNozzo has always loved puzzles. His mind likes to figure out how to escape problems. When he first learned about Tetris I would loose him for hours. On surveillance he would pocket the game in his phone and play it to the point where I wanted to kill him. If McGee hadn't showed him how to silence the game I know I would currently be looking for a new senior field agent.
DiNozzo finds a way to reposition his leg within my twining but I quickly defend against it leaving open my chest for attack. DiNozzo takes advantage of it, and the little shit almost got out of my grip. That was actually a pretty brilliant move. We scuffle a bit more but my grip proves to be too concrete. He bangs his head against the soil.
"Okay" he says dejectedly, "I give."
"No" I tell him back, "You almost had it."
He looks at me funny but shakes his head.
"Nah" he says, "You'd only give it to me."
"You ever know me to just give it to someone?"
He makes a face.
"Any hints?"
"You were on the right track before."
He replays it in his head and tries again, but I'm prepared this time and I easily counter the attack. However, I feel myself being turned as I played right into whatever he wanted, but I quickly reassert dominance and turn us back.
"That was good DiNozzo" I tell him, "If you were stronger you might have gotten that."
He's panting but smiling.
"When I'm better I want a rematch."
I smile down at him.
"I'm going to hold you to that."
I get off him and help him sit up. He winces on his way up and I realize that he must be in pain. I take a seat next to him.
"Can I see the stitching?" I ask him.
He doesn't answer me but is examining his fingers. They're…wet. He's crying.
"Gibbs" he asks scared, "The hell?"
The kid is actually terrified. And hell I am a bit too. I understand it though; this is a release from the stress his body has been under, it's just unnerving to see this on DiNozzo.
"DiNozzo" I tell him, "It's alright."
"The hell is this" he screams at me.
He's looking at his tears like they could strike back at him. I don't imagine me telling him that he's having an emotional breakdown going over to well so I settle for humoring him.
"Tony" I tell him, "It's alright."
"No" he screams hysterically, "This is not alright! I don't do this!"
"Hey" I tell him, "Hey look at me."
He swallows but complies breaking the trance of staring at his fingers.
"Those drugs" I tell him, "They make you emotional and screw with your chemistry. The adrenaline is wearing off and your body is responding to it. That's okay, you just let it run its course. Don't fight it, alright DiNozzo? Just go with it. Your body is upset so let it be. You fight this, and you're going to be hurling."
He nods his head clinging onto my words like a lifeline. No one likes to loose control of their body, but for some reason his crying is what is throwing him over the edge, not loosing control of his thought process, or his movements, but his crying.
"This is so fucked up" he tells me through the tears. "I was supposed to visit for a funeral."
"I know Tony" I tell him.
"I thought that if I came back up we could all be a family again. I wouldn't have to keep celebrating Christmas in front of my television."
And now he's wincing and he's getting angry at himself for letting his insecurities slip.
"Tony" I say quietly, "Don't fight it. It's okay. Nothing you say leaves this backyard."
He's ignoring me and getting the shakes. Of course DiNozzo is such a stubborn ass that he just has to go against the grain, only this time, he's going against himself. Tears are streaming down his face now and he's paling. Damn his father, and damn his aunt for being such a busy body. He can't walk without assistance and is on drugs just to breathe without pain, but hey, all that be damned in the name of settling a family feud. They should have never been allowed through the front door.
"Tony" I say a bit loudly, "Hey, you alright?"
He shakes his head no.
"DiNozzo" I say sternly, "Listen to me, you have to go with the flow here. Your body is trying to tell you that it's exhausted and emotionally spent. It wasn't prepared for an all out dueling session. You just calm down now okay? That's all you have to do."
"Alright hey" I say and scoot over and wrap my arm around him. "It's alright, just calm down okay? Listen to me, it's going to pass. Just let it run its course."
He's letting me stay within his space which is a huge red flag in my book. DiNozzo usually can't handle this kind of intimacy and consolation. He's shaking beneath me and blinking furiously as in an attempt to stop his tears but his body isn't having any of it. With my other hand I rub his arm.
"DiNozzo" I tell him gently, "You're body is in shock. It's gone through a lot in these last few days and it's just overwhelmed that's all this is."
He's shaking and he's not calming, damn it. He's angry, scared and mortified. His cheeks are burning and I can't find the words or actions to appease him.
"Hey" I tell him, "You listening to me? This is okay. This here is okay. Stop fighting yourself, you have nothing to be embarrassed about."
He shakes his head no.
"Words DiNozzo" I tell him gently, "Let's hear it."
His breathing is quickening so I tighten my grip.
"I'm sorry" he whispers.
"Hey" I say rubbing his arm, "You have nothing to apologize for. This is okay."
And all of a sudden there's a shadow from behind and I see McGee making his way over to us. Tony doesn't seem to have spotted him and if I can help it, he won't. DiNozzo won't survive having McGee see him like this. Since he's being unusually tactile and I decide to risk the chance that he'll punch me. I sit on my knees and quickly push Tony's head into my neck and hold him there. He immediately freezes so I strengthen my grip on him.
"It's alright" I whisper to him.
His body relaxes slightly, and I take advantage of the time I have. I snap and McGee's head shoots up staring at us in awe. I forcefully point back to the house. McGee is frozen so I point again. Damn it McGee, go. He blinks violently but quietly turns around before Tony can spot him in the distance.
I rub Tony's back.
"It's going to be alright" I tell him, "Everything is going to be fine."
I get the resistance I was expecting and he breaks out of my embrace. I settle for holding his arms which he lets me. I have ideas as to why DiNozzo is uncomfortable with intimacy and I would love to explore each one but the opportunity has never presented itself. He's not like Abby, and so I can't comfort him the same way I do her. I wish sometimes though he just made it easier.
He takes a deep shaky breath in an attempt to calm himself.
"You alright" I ask him.
"It's not stopping."
"Tony" I say exasperatedly, "Are you hearing me here? You can't stop it. This is your body responding to this hell hole of a visit to New York. You have to ride this out, stop fighting it. Everything is okay."
"I've been through worse than this."
"Yeah but this is personal. It's a different hit."
And your body is supposed to be resting after being through hell which makes everything ten times worse.
"No" he says screaming, "It's not okay! He did this to me! He always does this to me, and I always just bend over and fucking take it like his little bitch."
"DiNozzo calm down" I tell him.
"I can't" he screams, "I can't calm down! I did right by him! I have always done right by him even when I hated him, and Gibbs I had every reason under the sun to hate him. You don't know what he put me through, you have no idea what he put me through growing up. All those damn mind games just to prove he was a better human being than me, that he was smarter, that he was stronger, that he was more capable, that he was-"
He's getting hysterical and he's loosing his breathing tempo.
"DiNozzo" I say sternly, "Calm down."
He pushes me off of him and I scoot over the side. He wants space and I have no right to not give it to him.
"It's not fair" he screams, "It's just not fair. I didn't deserve this Gibbs! He's been punishing me my whole damn life for something I had no control over! For my mother, for my easy upbringing, for the fact that I like movies!"
He's hysterical now.
"Okay so calm down and tell me about it. I'm not going anywhere."
"I love movies boss" he tells me, "And he hated them. He hated anything that didn't serve a purpose. When I was fifteen I had this awesome collection and he just trashed it one night."
His shaking has intensified and with every word his breathing quickens.
"Why would he do that" he begs me, "Why would he touch them? It had nothing to do with him!"
He brings his hands to his head and starts rocking slightly.
"DiNozzo you have to calm down."
One hand drops to his chest. Damn it all the kid is having a panic attack.
"He just went out of his way to attack the one thing that was mine. He knew I loved that thing, and he just smashed all of them. Told me I didn't deserve them and that everything had always been handed to me on a plate. Who does that!?"
"DiNozzo" I bark, "I am not going to say it again, you have to calm down."
And he can't catch his breath, and shit he's hyperventilating. I quickly scan the contents of the shed and find nothing that could help me. Yeah Jethro, like there is just going to be a brown bag waiting for you. Well fuck. I wipe my hands on my jeans real quickly to get rid of whatever dirt has found their way there and sit behind DiNozzo. I spread legs on both side of his and cup his face with my hands. I readjust my hand positioning to make sure I'm covering his mouth and nose. DiNozzo instinctively goes to fight me, but I push back harder and put my mouth to his ear.
"Stop DiNozzo" I tell him, "It's me. You're having a panic attack and I'm going to ride you through it. Just breathe, in and out. Easy now. Take it easy. Just focus on breathing."
His arms stop flailing and he grips my wrist for support.
"Easy" I tell him, "Just breathe. This is the easy part. Just breathe nice and simple now. You got it kid, just keep doing that."
His hand tightens around my wrist. Kelly used to asthma and I remember how scared she used to be when she couldn't breathe. I can't imagine anything more terrifying than not sucking in air fast enough. His body is calming itself and responds accordingly .Finally his breathing resumes and I remove my hands. I move to sit beside him, and the two of us just sit for a while. There is nothing to say and there is no action that can be taken other than what we are doing right now and just decompressing.
All DiNozzo ever wanted in his life was to be in Peter DiNozzo's good graces, and I know that damn well despite all the anger he's displaying that need will still be there come tomorrow. The right thing, by DiNozzo is to reconcile with his father. I'm angry suddenly because I don't want DiNozzo to be anywhere near that man again, but I heard how his father was talking about DiNozzo when he wasn't in his room. Tony should hear that too.
"Let's go for a ride" I tell him.
He nods his consent and the two of us walk to the cars. He starts shivering but he's too angry and too proud to go back into the house. That's fine, I got you DiNozzo. I walk up next to him and in one quick movement my jacket is on him, and he doesn't debate me. I climb into the driver's seat and he the passenger's. I pull the car out and good luck McGee because right now I need to be exactly where I am. We drive in silence until finally we make it to a beach.
"McGee told me it was a pretty view" I offer.
He nods and looks down. He's gritting his teeth and his eyes are a dark deep green.
"I'm sorry" he finally chokes out, "That you had to be here for all of this."
I shrug, "DiNozzo, I got your six, you've had mine your fair share."
He's humiliated beyond belief for what happened, and I don't think that anything I'll say will change that. When its all said and done DiNozzo has only ever really listened to himself. I like to fancy myself into thinking that I can control my people, but the truth of the matter is he has too much spirit to prescribe himself to my way of thinking. Well it's worth a shot anyway.
"DiNozzo" I tell him sharply, "This is ridiculous. There are certain things in life that you can't control regardless of the fact that you like to think that you can. You have nothing to be ashamed for. And you especially having nothing to be ashamed for in front of me. You do remember that I am the same person that you stayed with for six hours on the bathroom floor while I was puking and sobbing on my daughter's birthday after drinking my weight in Jack? You remember that right?"
I hit his head to make sure he's paying attention.
"Hey, you remember?"
He glares at me but nods anyway. He doesn't want to be consoled and he won't hear whatever the hell I have to say anyway.
"It's not just that" he says quietly, "it's all of it. They're embarrassing and it was private and it should have stayed private and I'm sorry. He's just such an ass."
And despite his acrid tone, I can tell he's hurting deeply after that fight. Okay so if he won't listen to reason…
"I got a story for you" I tell him.
"No boss" he pleads, "I can't talk about this."
"That's okay" I reassure him, "You don't have to talk. You just listen. Can you do that?"
And yeah I'm really asking, because if it was me I think I would just want to be left alone until I died of natural causes. His head stays down and he won't meet my eyes but I get a quiet defeated "yeah" so I continue.
"Do you remember the Lee case?"
His head shoots up, clearly this wasn't what he was expecting.
"Yeah of course boss" he says, "That was our first major case. That was before Kate and everyone. People stopped being such a dick to me after that, and you got that medal for exceptional field work."
I nod my affirmation.
"That night" I say, "After we were done celebrating at the office party, I went home and I was going to off myself."
His face contorts.
"What" he asks me, "Why?"
"Because grief changes people" I say.
His eyes harden, "Gibbs" he warns me.
"No DiNozzo" I say gently, "This is about me."
He sighs but doesn't protest it.
"Anyway" I continue, "Here I had just done something amazing, with you might I add, and everything was getting back on track until I realized that that was it. That was the one of the highlights of my career, and I had no one at home to celebrate with. My wife and child were dead, so what the hell was the point. I was done. I couldn't do it anymore. I was safer depressed because it was consistent but one happy successful occasion pushed me into a corner with my gun in my mouth."
He's frozen and he's looking at me like he can't imagine where this is going.
"I didn't kill myself" I tell him flatly.
He nods too shocked to say anything.
"But the point is grief destroys souls" I tell him, "And that people don't always say what they mean, or do what they should."
Tony looks at me funnily.
"Why are you defending him?"
I lean my head against the headrest.
"Because I know you" I sigh. I sit up and look at him. "I know how much you wanted things to work out. Look Tony, I don't know if the two of you will ever be able to be in the same room together again, but you should know that he cares for you."
He looks down. He's quiet and I can see him mulling something over in his head. Finally he looks in me in the eye and damn it all does he look dangerous.
"Do you know what they did to me?"
It takes me two seconds to realize he's not talking about his family but the prisoners. I make a "so-so" sign with my hand. I know what the medical reports said.
"They fucking beat the shit out of me and when they were done with using me as a punching bag they went onto…"
He quiets himself.
"DiNozzo" I say quietly and shake my head no. It's not necessary that he kills himself to try and tell me. He doesn't need to explain how horrific it was, I unlike others, believe him. He catches his breath and continues.
"Anyway" he says, "When it was all said and done they fucking jerked off on me while I lied in their urine. Doesn't that fucking count for fucking anything? The made me-"
He stops himself, but blinks away the memory and resumes.
"They did things to me."
He stops himself again and takes in a deep breath.
"Dehumanizing things, Gibbs."
He glances to see my reaction. I just nod my understanding. He's looking for condemnation and judgment because that's normal when a person has been victimized in such a manner but I won't give it to him. I won't validate those feelings of self-hatred, and hopefully that will register with him somewhere. And on a side note, I will have to devote more time to tracking down his assailants and ways to punish them.
"But hey" he says throwing his hands up in the air, "No, I'm ungrateful and spoiled, and a coward. A fucking coward he called me! Me! Because that was the easy way out, because that was the cowardly thing to do because-"
"You are not a coward" I scream and pound the steering wheel for all its worth. And shit where the hell did that come from? DiNozzo looks as shocked as I am. So apparently that's what that feeling was in my stomach-anger. I knew I didn't feel well but I couldn't place it because I kept obsessing over DiNozzo's side whose stitches might or might not be popping. I breathe in deeply. I need to calm myself down, but I can't. Coward. He called him a coward. Out of all the things Tony has been called since our visit to New York, guido, Sicilian nigger, WOP, traitor, dirty, mafia, criminal, and animal, coward is the one that produces that flame-like intensity within my stomach.
"Your father" is a pompous dick I want to say, but I can't because he's still DiNozzo's father and only Tony is allowed to insult him, so I settle for, "was wrong."
"He was jealous" he says incredulously, "I can't even fathom-"
"Tony" I say cutting him off, "It was never about you. Just trust me on that. It was never about you. The man is not well, and he did you wrong. No one is debating that and you don't have to prove your case to me. I'm not excusing what he did, but I am saying that for your own peace of mind just know that he loves you."
He glares at me.
"And how do you know this" he asks me, "Your gut?"
"Better" I tell him, "He told me."
"Boss" Tony groans and slams his head against the headrest He can't handle the idea that his father gave a damn, or that anyone does so I'll let him have the time he needs and dictate the course of the conversation.
"What did he say" Tony asks finally.
"That every time he looks at you" and Tony cringes, so I take his chin and make sure he's looking at him, "He sees his Rosie."
Tony glares at me and I let him go, "Yeah boss I got that."
"No DiNozzo" I say, "You didn't. Not all of it. Every time he looks at you, he sees his Rosie and his heart aches for her but you too, because he loves you and he knows he did you wrong."
"He just told you this" Tony asks.
"He's dying kid" I say gently.
Tony sighs and sinks his head into his arms.
"I think I knew that" he says quietly. He doesn't seem ready to talk anytime soon, so fine, I'll sit and wait it out with him. He has no idea what to do or where to go, and he's just done. I hate seeing him like this. His fire is gone and he looks tired.
"I know I didn't have a hard life boss, I know that, I had the world at my fingertips, but…"
"DiNozzo" I tell him, "You're allowed to feel. Don't compare your pains to the pains of the world, that's not how it works. You're entitled to your feelings. You've been through hell."
I shouldn't have to validate his feelings but I'm not going to push that.
"It's just that it was hard sometimes." he says, "He was impossible. Nothing pleased him and you never knew what was going to set him off and as I got older I just stopped caring. I wouldn't come home for weeks at a time. He just could never get over her death."
"Some things people don't ever get over."
"He made me hate her" he says quietly, "I hate what he became, and I blamed her for it. I'm so mad at my father's jealously but I never realized my own. I've been jealous of my dead mother for years now. I don't know why I never saw it before, but I have been. She was the only one that he could love. And now what kind of person does that make me? I'm just like him. Hell fuck it all, I am him!"
I smack the back of his head. I'm not dignifying that with words.
He ignores me. Time for a different approach.
"He marveled at your intelligence" I say.
Tony looks at me.
"He said I was smart" he asks.
"He was in awe of it. That and your personality. The way you worked that room Tony was magnificent, even he thought so."
Tony is incredulous.
"He thinks I'm smart? All he ever told me was how stupid I was. I didn't do too great in school Gibbs."
I know. I checked on his records. He was about a B minus student in college, and barely passed high school. I dug further to see how the hell he got accepted to Ohio State with grades like that and learned that his principal and faculty of the school wrote raving reviews. He got an interview and wowed the pants off of whoever made the final decision. Tony is simply charming.
"Grades aren't everything, and they sure as hell aren't a determination of intelligence. You understand complexities. You see things that other people don't and you capitalize on them. That's the reason you work for me, and that's the reason your father was delighted to see you in action at the police station."
"Delighted boss?"
"He was laughing at your antics."
Tony smiles.
"So I'm smart huh?"
"Don't push it."
He shivers and I realize he still doesn't have a shirt on. I'm not going to push it though. He has a jacket and we're in the car so that's fine for now.
"What would you do?"
"What I would do and what you should do are two very different things."
"Gibbs" he says imploring me, "Please."
I sigh, okay fine. "I don't think you should write it off."
"You were there! You can't talk to that! I don't owe him anything, and that is definitely not what you would do!"
"Not for him" I quietly, "For you, for your own damn peace of mind. He means too much to you and whether or not you want to admit it, you want to be in his good graces."
"Would you be disappointed if I didn't?
I take his chin again, "Hey" I tell him firmly, "You don't ever disappoint me."
In a millionth of a second his eyes might have watered but just as quick as it appeared, it's gone.
"This is so fucked up" Tony finally says, "I was supposed to come up here for a fucking funeral, and the next thing I know I'm taking seven different pills a day so I don't collapse from pain."
"It's life" I tell him.
"It sucks" he responds.
I spot some blood trickling down his stomach. I can't even imagine how much pain his ribs must be in. He's not feeling it right now because of the adrenaline and the anger but when he comes down its going to smart something awful. I start the car back up and decide it's time to go the emergency room. I'm sure he knows that's where he's going.
"Hey Gibbs" he asks nervously half way through the ride, "Why did you change your mind?"
"About what" I ask him absently.
"That night" he tells me, "After the Lee case."
I smile to myself.
"You called me" I tell him.
Recognition dawns in his eyes and looks away pleasantly pleased.
The dumb ass was drunk off his ass, which was fitting since he hadn't slept in a week and needed a ride home, and I just couldn't kill myself when my agent needed a ride home. No one liked him and people made fun of him because he was the new kid in town, just like my Kelly was the new kid in school oh so many times. I couldn't leave him alone. He didn't have any friends, just like Kelly, all he had was me, and I just couldn't leave him, and then I snapped out of my funk and didn't have to kill myself for that day anymore. It wasn't that I was magically cured from my depression, I don't think I'll ever be, but there was a light somewhere. Someone needed me and I don't abandon people, I don't abandon DiNozzo. It was that night that he became more to than just another co-worker and not because he inadvertently saved my life but because I could so easily see him being my Kelly. He became my family. I knew then it was unhealthy to use Tony to replace my daughter and wife, but I couldn't stop myself. He just brought it out of me.
I ruffle his hair and we continue on in silence. He won't question me on it because he doesn't want to embarrass me because that's just the kind of guy that DiNozzo is.
"You saved my life" I tell him quietly.
He looks down embarrassed so I leave it at that.
"Hey DiNozzo" I tell him, "I know it doesn't need to be said, but I'm going to say it anyway."
He looks at me and then comprehension dawns on him. We always did speak the same language.
"Gibbs" he says tiredly, "Don't. You don't have to."
"Yeah, yeah I do. Just let it be known that I nor anyone else thinks that you're just some Yankee. You got that? We come from different places, but I never once thought that."
He smiles.
"Gibbs, I know."
"I thought other things, but never that."
The two of us share a smile.
"You know what I first thought when-Gibbs!"
And all of sudden there is a blinding light, my body being jolted, a crash, horns blaring, Tony yelling "oh shit" and that's it folks. I'm leaving the ring for this round.