A/N - Sorry this took so long. I just wanted to make sure to get it right.
His father's voice fairly exploded over the phone line, "What the hell kind of sick twisted joke is this supposed to be? I get a call from a hospital in Hawaii saying they need my authorization to treat my son, and then I get a facsimile of a hotel bill with my name on it and a message to call this number. Who is this and what's your game?"
Tony could picture his father sitting at his desk in their den, it's surfaced so polished you could see yourself in it. He'd made the mistake of getting a fingerprint on it once. His punishment had been to polish it himself once a day for two weeks. He'd hated the scent of lemon ever since.
Magnum sat calmly during his father's tirade. He didn't seem to be affected at all by the man's strident tone. When he finished, Magnum calmly leaned forward and winked at Tony before he spoke.
"This is Mr. DiNozzo I take it?" he asked.
"Yes, this is Anthony DiNozzo and I don't know what kind of a sick fu…"
"Ah, ah, Mr. DiNozzo, watch your language. You never know who's listening," Magnum stopped him before he could launch into his next tirade. "Let me ask you a question, sir, do you know where your son is?"
There was a long pause on the line. Tony could almost hear his father's mind work as he tried to figure out Magnum's angle, what he wanted. Tony had never known h is father to not know every factor of a deal he was working on. This must be new for him, to not have all the facts. It gave Tony a small measure of courage that he knew things his father didn't.
"What does my son have to do with this?"
Tony could hear the calculation in his father's voice, and uncertainty. His mental gears were turning and he was trying to figure out what was going on and what it was going to cost him.
"Your son has everything to do with this, sir. I ask you again, where is he? Do you know?"
"He's here at home with me and his mother, where he should be." Tony had never heard his father to sound unsure of anything, until now. He heard a whisper in the background, his father was probably sending his assistant to check on his son's whereabouts. He grinned because he knew the assistant was going to have to come back and tell his father that young Anthony wasn't in his son at all. In fact wasn't in the house anywhere to be found.
Magnum shared his grin before continuing, "I really don't want to disagree with you, Mr. DiNozzo, but Tony is here with me in Hawaii. He's fine by the way, in case you were wondering why the hospital needed to treat him. That was his room service bill the hotel sent you by facsimile." Having closed his trap neatly round the elder DiNozzo, Magnum leaned back in satisfaction, "What would people say if they knew you had abandoned your son? Really, Mr. DiNozzo."
"Who am I speaking to?" It was a tactic of his father's, when the other side scored a point to change the direction of the game, see if he could gain the upper hand. It was a game he was very good at.
Still Magnum didn't appear to be worried. "My name is Thomas Magnum, Mr. DiNozzo. I'm a Private Investigator here in Hawaii."
"Well, Mr. Magnum, maybe you think you've found an easy mark in me, but you are sadly mistaken. If you think you're getting any money from this…"
Magnum's mouth thinned, Tony could see he was getting angry, "I'm sorry, sir, you misunderstand me. I don't want your money."
"Well then, what do you want?" There was suspicion in his father's tone now. He didn't trust people he couldn't buy.
"I want what's best for your son. What about you?"
The question was out there. Tony leaned forward, hanging on every word.
"He's my son, Mr. Magnum, what do you think?" It wasn't an answer. Tony knew it, and Magnum knew it.
Magnum leaned back in his chair, the cold steel in his eyes belying the easy tone he was using.
"I think, Mr. DiNozzo, that you don't care about your son. He's just another thing to you, like your house or your car. A possession that you can show off so the world will see how successful you are. You brought him to Hawaii, but you forgot that, didn't you?" Magnum's voice was cold now to match his eyes. He was spitting the words out and Tony's father wasn't denying any of it.
Tony just wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. As much as he knew all the words were true, it still hurt to have Magnum say them.
Magnum continued on his own tirade, angry on Tony's behalf, "When you went home, your son wasn't even in your mind. What's the matter, Mr. DiNozzo, were you in the middle of a difficult takeover? A business matter not go the way you wanted? Did you lose some of your precious money? So you just left for home to take care of business and you didn't even remember your son."
There was a pause, Tony knew his father was gathering himself for his next move, "Mr. Magnum, you're going to have a difficult time getting anything to hold up in court. But perhaps we could come to some equitable arrangement to make this unpleasant business go away."
There was no denial, Tony had thought his father would at least deny forgetting him. Magnum covered his cold hand with one of his large ones and gave a gentle squeeze.
"Mr. DiNozzo, I don't want your money," Magnum said quietly.
"Then what do you want?" suspicion flowed through the line.
Tony waited breathless to hear just what it was that Magnum wanted.
"I should tell you, sir, that the Naval Investigative Service as well as the Hawaii police know about this. I've gathered statements from several of the employees here at the Maui Hilton that will testify that you did indeed abandon your son here."
Tony gazed at Magnum with a questioning look. When did he have time to do all that? Magnum just quirked an eyebrow and raised a 'don't tell' finger to his lips. He didn't have any evidence, Tony realized, it was a bluff against his father. Tony felt a thrill of awe that anyone would try such a thing, and Magnum was doing a really good job at it.
"Mr. Magnum, I'm a rich and influential man, you're going to have a difficult time making your case." There was the creak of leather on the other end of the line as if the man was shifting uncomfortably.
"I realize that, sir, and Tony is really the only who would suffer from a lengthy and protracted court case. He'd be taken from your home and made a ward of the court. I think that would be worse than the situation he has now."
Tony gulped at the thought. He thought he'd get to live with Magnum or Mrs. Brown and Christ, but the thought of living with strangers was a frightening one.
"I provide my son has everything he needs – a home, food, clothes, a good education."
Magnum mouthed, 'we've got him now,' and gave Tony a thumbs up, "Oh, sure, he has everything he needs, except parents who love and care for him."
"Love is highly overrated, Mr. Magnum. I ask you again, what do you want?" There was a tinkle of ice hitting the sides of a glass.
Tony held his breath as he, more than his father, waited for Magnum's answer.
"I want summers in Hawaii."
Tony gaped at Magnum then, mouth open and eyes shining. It was less than he wanted, but more than he hoped.
"I beg your pardon?" Tony heard the sharp sound of glass hitting wood and the slosh of his father's favorite drink.
"You heard me, Mr. DiNozzo. You're absolutely right, I'd never get a court to take him out of your home, but I could make life difficult for you, send what I know to your business rivals, let them run with it."
"That would be…. inconvenient."
"Exactly. So, you get Tony for nine months of the year. You send him to a good school, make sure he gets a good education and then he comes to Hawaii for the summer. I'll make sure he learns everything else he needs to know."
"Such as larceny and blackmail," sarcasm was something his father knew well.
"Among other things," Magnum did it better.
There was a lengthy pause and Tony could barely sit still. Summers in Hawaii with Magnum and Chris sounded like the best thing he could ever have. He could get through nine months at home if he had that to look forward to every year.
There was a heavy sigh on the other end of the line, and the creak of a chair being shifted, "Very well, Mr. Magnum, you will have your summers. I predict you'll grow bored after a summer or two."
"We'll see."
"I'll send my assistant to get Anthony tomorrow…"
"About that, Mr. DiNozzo. Don't bother. You promised Tony a week in Hawaii and that's what he's going to get. I'm going to show him Hawaii the proper way and then I will bring him home in a week. I'll send you the bill." With that Magnum punched the button that ended the call.
Tony sat hardly daring to breathe, he stared in amazement at Magnum not knowing what to say or do. Magnum took care of that. He picked up his plate with the sandwich on it and headed for the television. He punched the switch, turning it on, and settled on the couch with his food and the remote. He looked over at Tony and raised a questioning eyebrow.
"So, Tony, it's getting late," he said casually, as if he hadn't just cowed Tony's father in a battle of wills. "What do you say to a movie? There's a great WWII flick on tonight – The Great Escape, you'll love it…"
Tony scrambled from his chair and moved to sit next to Magnum on the couch. It took him a second to find a comfortable position, but pretty soon he was all snugged in under Magnum's arm, a blanket tucked around him. They ordered more room service and settled in to watch the movie.
Tony fell asleep that night with his head on Magnum's arm, the flicker of the movie lulling him to sleep.
Tony opened the door of his apartment, and flipped on the lightswitch bathing the room in a golden glow. His home wasn't fancy, but it was his refuge from the stress and pressure of his job, the TV and sound system state of the art. He ignored it all for the comforts of the sofa.
He sank into it, letting himself relax finally. It had been a tough case bringing a lot of his own wounds to the surface. Not that he'd ever let his team know, or let it affect it his job, but he really had been afraid that the kid had been abandoned by his father. Tony knew all too well what that felt like.
But unlike him, the kid had steadfast faith in his father. He'd maintained that his father would never leave him down and he'd been right. While Tony was glad that was the case, he was also a little envious. He sometimes wished he'd had a father who took his kid to the park and ate cotton candy. But it was no use wishing 'what if,' his life was his life. He'd had some great friends to help him compensate for the lack of a caring father and loving home life.
He glanced up at the clock. It was dark outside and the clock's hands reflected that reality. Tony sighed wearily. Gibbs would expect them all at the office on time the next day. They would be cut no slack just because they'd just worked 48 hours straight to rescue their guy. A job well done only meant that they had the satisfaction of knowing that this was one time that the bad guys didn't win.
He shut his eyes and let himself float for a minute, imagining himself in Hawaii. It would still be morning there, the sun soft and the water warm. He could smell the scent of Hawaii if he concentrated hard enough, it always made him think green whenever he was there.
Coming to a decision, he leaned over and snagged the phone, hitting the speed dial. Briefly he heard the phone ring. It was always answered by the third ring. He smiled when he heard the voice,
"Thomas Magnum."
"Hey, Magnum, how's Hawaii?" He asked. He didn't tell the other man who was calling, he didn't have to. Thomas always knew.
"It's paradise, Tony, you coming out soon?" The other man answered.
Tony settled into the cushions, his feet on the table in front of him. You didn't just call Thomas Magnum and talk for a minute.
"I've got some time off coming up. Maybe, I'll see. How's Lilly?"
"She's in college now, can you believe it? So, what's up, Tony?"
Tony smiled, Magnum always knew when there was something wrong. He said it was 'his little voice.' He felt better just from hearing his voice.
"Just a tough case, Magnum."
"Aren't they all? Tell me about it."
Tony began to tell him about finding the boy alone in the park. The time on the clock ticked on as Tony and Magnum talked, but he didn't notice or care. For just a little while he was that kid again who'd finally found a place to belong.
The End
Yes, this is the end of this adventure. It's been a blast! I'm already starting to have little plot bunnies biting me in the ankles, so who knows what will happen next? I sure don't!
I'll be finding a beta and editing this before I post it at my website and the NCIS fiction resource, so any other comments and suggestions are welcome. Thanks for sticking with me!
Have a great holiday and a safe and happy New Year. Hopefully I'll see you all again in 2006!