After a break from classes but not work Tony used his free time to create a database for his thesis. He started to find articles, readings and cases he could use to help support his argument so that if he got too busy in the future he had the resources. He read and created notes on them. He highlighted important information and quotes he would reference. He also took the time to write out multiple of his own experiences undercover in gangs.

He met with his advisor to talk about his idea for his thesis and got the approval to go forward with it. He ended up sharing stories with him for almost three hours before he went back to his apartment. He also signed up for his classes for the semester. He decided his elective of organized crime so he can learn more about it from the class prospective. He would use the articles, readings, and facts from class in his paper as an interesting comparison. His Spring Semester looks like:

SOC 6231: Data Analysis

SOC 6259: Criminology

Elective (SOC 6264 Organized Crime)

He was excited for the new semester to begin and already texted his friends from the program to see who he had classes with. He knew a couple of the guys were with the FBI. He also spent the time to reread David Rossi's book Evil Never Rests and took some notes on it. He found some great articles that he even used to talk with the guys in organized crime with. They were able to give him some more people to talk to. His FBI friends also gave him a couple people to talk to.

Cases continued and Tony tried to use his new skills to help which lead to him finding some of the leads faster than ever. Tony decided not to tell Jenny when he saw how close she seemed to be with their Mossad Liaison Ziva David. He still did not trust her and she clearly did not like him based on him being excluded from the team dinner she made for everyone. When he later talked to Ducky about it he found out she told everyone Tony was busy and could not go. Gibbs did not think much about it because he assumed that he had class.

Tony started a study group again that met at the local small bookstore. He found the little hole in the wall type shop very relaxing and they had a wide array of books including some textbooks for students at the local universities. It was a great spot to relax and study, especially after a long case.

Tony excelled in his organized crime course to the point where one of his papers was submitted to a scholarly journal about the effects of organized crime on local communities. He was hesitant about this as he still does undercover work so he decided to publish under his mothers maiden name of Paddinton. As he is legally a paddington he had no problems with doing this however it would help him stay safe if he is required under cover again.

Tony continued to struggle to work with Ziva but was able to get closer to Gibbs and somewhat McGee through their cases. Tony worked on being more mature around McGee but he still kept his playboy mask up around Ziva. He would not let his guard down around her and she never bothered to look past the assumptions she made on her dossier created for Ari. She saw what she wanted to see and while that annoyed him a great deal it also shows where she lacks skills. She claims to be an expert but yet she cannot see past the mask. She is also constantly breaking into houses and the only one who can get her to stop. She complains about how it is not how they do it in Mossad but yet does not grasp the concept that she is at NCIS meaning she needs to follow the rules and regulations there.

Tony even tried filing official reprimands about her breaking regulations but they were dismissed. The new Director is friends with Mossad Director Eli David, Ziva's father, and is working to keep a relationship between the nations. The problem is his daughter is breaking US laws which cannot happen. He decided that he would start taking detailed notes of everything to keep locked in his desk just in case. He had to convince Gibbs that he needed to control her or their cases would get thrown out of court leading to the team's conviction rate decreasing. He knows people get stuck on closure rates but conviction rates are just as important.

The data analysis class was harder at the beginning than Tony had imagined based on his past experience. He has been collecting and sorting data for cases his whole career but with new technology and programs he had to learn he felt a little behind. His friend from the FBI really helped him by sitting with him in the bookstore and teaching him how to use the databases.

This semester ended with a bang when quite literally his boss was caught in an explosion causing him to lose years of his memory. He was there to support his boss the best he could but he knew when he decided to resign after his warnings of a terrorist attack are disregarded, causing the death of the Navy SEALs aboard the Cape Fear and 19 civilians he would be traveling to find his memories and mourne his family again. Tony was one of the only ones who knew about his wife and daughter before.

Grade wise Tony graduated with another 4.0 GPA and his name being recognized by a couple of the professors. He was asked to give a guest lecture over the break between spring and fall to the summer session of classes in organized crime. He tried his best to keep going and even going as far as to reach out to Fornell as a friendly safe and to vent. Even Abby is giving him trouble about not being Gibbs and not doing enough to get him back. He can not wait for the semester to start again so he has an escape.