It was Sunday morning, and the courtroom was empty, except for a few people. Tony was sitting in the front row with Gibbs. He was glad that his boss was with him, because he was a ball of nerves at that point, and he really felt uncomfortable. He just wanted the day to end already.

"Tony, calm down," said Gibbs softly. "Nothing will happen here, I promise."

Tony nodded. He could see a few armed security guards and a couple of bailiffs in the room. Matt was sitting next to the prosecutor in front of him. The defence lawyer was sitting at his table, to the side of the prosecutor, reading a piece of paper. Tony could see a smug look on his face, and it made him feel sick.

"Bailiff, bring in the defendant," said the judge after he shuffled his papers.

A moment later, Senior walked in, glaring at everyone, and sat down with his lawyer. He was looking smug too.

The judge cleared his throat, then said, "Mr DiNozzo, you wish to make a statement about why you should be released from prison, is that correct?"

"It is, your honour."

"Very well, make your statement, and I will take it into account when making my decision."

Senior stood up. "I haven't done anything wrong. I've been imprisoned based on lies told by my son. I believe that it is unfair that I am in jail, for absolutely no reason at all, and he is running around, free as a bird, telling lies to everyone around him. He should be the one in trouble, not me."

"Is that all?"

"Yes, your honour." Senior sat down, smirking.

"Mr Johnson," the judge said to the prosecutor. "I believe that you have a few things to say also?"

"I do. I also have someone who wishes to make a victim impact statement."

"Very well. They may do that after you have said what you need to say."

Johnson stood up and looked at the defence table for a minute. "We have Anthony DiNozzo, junior's medical records here. It shows a number of visits to the ER as a child. Each visit has photos attached, showing bruises in odd places for a simple accident. The file states that he had a broken arm at one point that wasn't medically fixed, as well as a broken leg, that was broken twice in the same place. That was only fixed after the second break, when the child was brought in to the ER by a nanny. He was ten at the time. We have statements here from several staff members employed by Anthony DiNozzo, senior, both past and present, that state the senior DiNozzo physically abused his son most days until the child was sent to military school at the age of twelve. We have a statement here from the junior DiNozzo himself that talks, in detail, about the abuse he suffered, both physical and sexual. We have surveillance footage of the senior DiNozzo beating his son in the front yard of a federal agent's home, as well as a statement from a woman that witnessed Mr DiNozzo hit his son inside the same home. We have a medical report from the junior DiNozzo's doctor that states the injuries sustained after the front yard attack, as well as a statement that the younger DiNozzo made an outcry statement to his doctor about a confrontation that turned into a fight with his father, resulting in several more injuries to his stomach, most of which were internal."

"Okay. Anything more?"

"We have plenty more evidence of the senior DiNozzo's abusive behaviour towards his son, which we will happily give to you should you want to see it."

"Maybe later. Is your witness ready?"

"Yes." Johnson turned to Tony and beckoned him forward, making room between himself and Matt for Tony to stand there. "This is Anthony DiNozzo, junior. He prefers to be called Tony."

"Tony, are you ready to make your statement?" the judge asked, his tone completely different now. It was much softer, and there was a clear look of admiration on his face.

Tony nodded. "Yes, your honour."

"Very well. You may begin when you are ready."

Tony took a deep breath. He was shaking, the paper in his hand almost falling to the floor. He was terrified right then, and couldn't look at anybody other than the judge. "I have been trying so hard to forget," Tony said, finally turning to look at his dad. "I've tried to forget what you did to me, tried to put it behind me so that I could move on. I tried so hard. But it isn't possible to forget. Little things make memories and flashbacks occur. I have constant nightmares that drain me physically and emotionally. I trusted you. You are my father, you're meant to protect me. So why didn't you? Why did you hurt me? I was nine years old. You abused me for three years, took away my childhood, if you can call it that. You made me do things no child should ever have to do. You made me stand in front of your friends, completely naked, just so they could decide if they wanted to molest me and rape me. You let them do it too. How can you do that to a child? How can you do that to your own son? Do you not see what you've done to me? Of course you haven't, because if you had, you wouldn't have done it again. You wouldn't have come back into my life, the life that I had finally made for myself, where I have friends and people that love and care about me. You wouldn't have punched me hard enough to cause bruising to my organs. You wouldn't have dislocated my shoulder or given me a concussion. And I wouldn't be here now, making this statement. I wouldn't be having trouble at work because cases remind me of what you did to me. I wouldn't have to see a therapist to work through all of this. I wouldn't be stuck living a life that I don't want to live. It's all your fault, and I hope that you pay for what you did. You don't deserve to be out in the world, free to do whatever you want."

Tony dropped his paper onto the table next to Matt. He could feel tears burning his eyes as he fought to control them. He could feel tears that had slid down his face while he was talking. He was shaking more now, fear and hurt and anger coursing through his body. Memories were surfacing that he couldn't stop at that point. He was scared.

"Thank you, Tony," said the judge gently. "You can sit down."

Tony shot back to his seat. He felt Gibbs' hand on his arm. It was warm and reassuring. Tony relaxed a little, and allowed his tears to flow freely.

"Anthony DiNozzo, senior, I have made my decision," the judge said after a few minutes of silence. "Stand up."

Senior and his lawyer both stood. It was clear that they were worried about the verdict.

"Mr DiNozzo, I don't need any more information. Your appeal has been heard, and after hearing it, I have decided that your sentence stands. You will serve out the original sentence of twenty years in prison, and you will also be required to pay a sum of ten thousand dollars to your son within the next two years to compensate for the damage you caused. Once you are out of prison, you will be served with a restraining order to the effect that you will not be allowed within five hundred feet of your son. You are not to call or otherwise contact your son while in prison and once you are out. Do you understand?"

"Yes," said Senior angrily.

"Good. Furthermore, I would like to express my deepest sympathies to you, Tony, and my apologies for everything you have been through. I pray that you will find peace. Thank you for being brave and for making your statement today. This court is adjourned." The judge stood up once the bailiff had led Senior away. He was disgusted by the man's behaviour, and he felt truly sorry for Tony.