Chapter nine

Tony woke up around eleven. Boy, had he been tired. He looked at his clock and was not in the least surprised that it was already this late. He was glad he didn't have a hangover; he hadn't been drinking that much last night. He decided he had to get up even if he could stay in bed all day, but he had to get a few things done. Maybe introduce himself to his neighbors, he had neglected to do so and thought it was only polite to do it. His father had told him that he had talked to nearly everyone around here and that they were all very nice and friendly. Otherwise, he would just get ready for his first day at the police academy.

He got up and had breakfast. He hadn't been able to enjoy a real nice, slow breakfast yesterday and thought it prudent to have one now. He made himself a cup of coffee, some toast, bacon and scrambled eggs. He decided to have a slow start into the day and put on a movie to watch while he ate his breakfast. He enjoyed this. Being able to do what he wanted, when he wanted. 'Yep, it was definitely time to move out, Anthony.', he thought to himself.

He was glad he had seized the opportunity to do this and to change his life and of course that his father was this supportive.

When the movie had ended, Tony got up and went to take a shower. He enjoyed the hot water running down his body, relaxing his muscles.

After getting dressed he went outside to introduce himself to his neighbors. As he closed the door, he noticed a note was taped to it. He took it off the door and, deciding to read it later, put it on the table in the living room.

Tony went up to the house next door, rang the bell and introduced himself to the pair living there. They were friendly and told him that he had chosen a great neighborhood. Tony said he hadn't had the time to really enjoy it yet as he just moved here this week. They said that he wouldn't regret it, but that he had to be aware that his neighbor on the other side was a bit grumpy at times and that Tony shouldn't let it get to him, that was just how he was. But he was a very nice man, according to them. Tony promised to keep that in mind when he went over there and introduced himself.

As he was walking down the street after some more introductions an older woman walked up to him.

"Hello there, young man, who are you? Are you lost?", she asked him.

"On no, Ma'am. I'm not lost. I'm just getting to know my new neighbors. I moved in into that house this week and haven't had time to introduce myself properly.", he gestured vaguely into the directions of his house, "Do you live here too?", Tony questioned.

"Oh, but isn't that were Mr. DiNozzo lives? I live across the street, I'm Rosy.", she said, and Tony was confused for a short moment before he realized that his father probably had introduced himself to her and hadn't bothered to tell her that his son would move here and not him.

"I'm Anthony DiNozzo, but you can call me Tony.", he said and winked at her." The guy you have met, is my father, he checked out the house and, in the end, chose it for me.", Tony told her.

R osy smiled at him and told him that she had indeed thought that his father would move here. She told him that now that she had met him, he would need to come and have tea with her. Tony wanted to decline the offer, but she wouldn't ease up. So, Tony had no choice and went with her and was then told to sit in the garden while she got everything ready. Tony looked around, this was nice, the garden was full of flowers. It was beautiful, so many different colors and smells.

Rosy came back with tea and biscuits and Tony wondered if she had everything ready to be able to immediately serve her guests, because that was awfully fast.
Tony realized quickly that Rosy loved to gossip about everyone and everything and that meant she knew everything that was going on around the neighborhood.

"So Tony, have you met our dear Jethro yet?", she suddenly asked.
Tony wondered why she would ask about one person in specific but dismissed the thought immediately.
"No, I haven't actually. Where does he live?"

"He lives just next door from you, but I'm not surprised, he never really is home, always busy, you now. He is a federal agent with NCIS, and he practically lives at that office of his.", Rosy told him.

"I've not met him yet. I was busy the past few days too, but maybe I'll meet him later."

"Yes, yes, you do that", Rosy told him and secretly thought that she would like to be a fly on the wall for that meeting. She knew that Jethro liked women and men and Tony was a fine specimen of a men. Jethro would surely like him and maybe then he wouldn't be so lonely anymore. She thought about it, and then decided to let the two men meet without her interference and if they didn't get together, she would help them see that they would be good for each other. Tony was a lovely guy, polite, friendly with good humor and outgoing personality. Much like Shannon had been and Rosy just knew that these two men were meant to be together.

When Tony finally was allowed to go, he felt as if he had told Rosy his entire life story. He hadn't of course, he was good at talking and not really saying anything but still, he had let some things slip, he hadn't wanted to tell her. She was good, he thought to himself and them chuckled because he had the feeling, she had a goal and that was why she had asked so many questions about him. It could, of course, be her natural curiosity but Tony didn't really believe that.

Tony was a very social person, but he had heard that Jethro Gibbs wasn't, from more than one person today and he wasn't sure if he was up for talking if he didn't really get a response. So, he decided, he would meet this mysterious federal agent Jethro Gibbs later.

Tony sat down heavily on his couch and couldn't believe how much that had exhausted him. Rosy had talked a lot and wanted to know even more. As he sat there, he noticed the note laying on the table. He opened and read it.

Dear neighbor,

I listened to you playing the piano the last two nights and I must confess I was disappointed that you didn't play today. I really like your playing and would like to request a piece I'd very much appreciate to hear you playing: 'Le carnaval des animaux' by Saint-Saëns.

If you can play that, I would be very glad if you would.

Y our neighbor

Tony considered that and wondered if that was the Jethro Gibbs everyone was talking about. He was puzzled what the "L" was standing for though, he hadn't heard anyone calling him anything different than Jethro or Gibbs. Maybe it was a different Gibbs, but what were the odds? And besides he wrote that he was able to hear his piano playing and who else could be than his immediate neighbor, right? Tony was very curious to meet this Gibbs-guy. He pondered the request for a moment; he certainly was able to play it and he was sure he had the sheet music laying somewhere around here.

He went to search for them and when he found them, he immediately sat down in front of the piano and played the first few notes to get his fingers to remember the best way to play it.

H e soon found the right rhythm, felt himself relaxing and then got lost in the music. It was a nice and happy piece and Tony hoped his neighbor was home and heard it. If not, Tony would gladly play it again. He thought it was nice that he could bring joy to someone he hadn't even met yet through his music. From what he heard Jethro Gibbs was a deeply troubled man and Rosy had let some things slip that made Tony's heart ache. Something about a wife and a daughter getting killed in a car accident and Tony certainly could sympathize with the pain. He just couldn't imagine how a father and husband felt if he just lost the two most important people in his life. So Tony was glad that Gibbs enjoyed his playing and if he could somehow help him with his music that was a bonus.

Tony's father had liked to listen to his playing too. He said it helped with the pain of losing his wife because Tony had learned how to play from his mother, and these were good memories and his father liked to remember that. The pain didn't go away of course but listening to his playing had helped his father to get through the grief. And if Tony could help the other man, he would gladly do so, even if he didn't know him. But that would soon change.

When he finished the piece, Tony decided to just play it again on the off chance that Gibbs hadn't heard it the first time and was now home to listen to it.

After he finished the second time, Tony played a few different pieces he knew well. He let his mind drift to the next day. He hoped the people were nice and dedicated. He promised himself that he wouldn't let that influence his performance though. He wanted to become the best police officer there was, and then become the best detective he could be.

He promised himself he would do everything to the best of his abilities and when he couldn't do something at first, he would practice till he could do it all.

Tony got up from his piano and then went into the kitchen to cook dinner for himself. As a child he had often been in the kitchen and watched as the cook made some delicious food and when the cook had been fed up with all the questions Tony would ask, he had told him to just come over there and help him. And so, Tony had learned how to cook and was now a pretty decent cook. He was able to make a mean lasagna and that was what he decided to make today.

While he ate his dinner, he put in another movie and watched it, but he found he couldn't really concentrate on it. He kept thinking about the next day and about his neighbor that was a mystery to him. Everyone had told him that he could be grumpy and short tempered on days but that he was also a very nice man, always helpful and a very good listener.
Tony thought that maybe the job made Gibbs grumpy. Rosy had said that he was a federal agent investigating crimes in the navy and Tony was sure that that could be a very hard and demanding job. He imagined that Gibbs was a very driven man and from what he heard he was a hard ass. Tony honestly couldn't wait to meet the man, he sounded intriguing and like someone Tony could imagine working for.

But that was neither now nor here, so Tony tried to concentrate on the movie and when that didn't work, he decided to play some more piano. That relaxed him again and he let his mind process all the things it wouldn't stop thinking about.
When he came out of his haze, he realized that he felt relaxed and calm and was actually a bit tired. So, he got ready for bed and when he lay in his bed, he did indeed fell asleep quite quickly.