Disclaimer: I do not own anything, the characters all belong to the creator of the show. I just own the idea and the plot for this story. As well as my OCs AJ Gibbs, his wife Amber and his kids, as well as Jason DiNozzo, his wife Maria and their kids. They are mine as well as Mia and Gabriel DiNozzo.
A/N: This is my first NCIS fic and also my first SYOC so be nice. Things get a little heavy towards the middle and end, definitely into character bashing territory. Tonys' friends aren't so nice to him, and he's not so nice to them back. If you don't like it don't read it it's as simple as that. Now onwards into the first chapter.
Also I'm writing this latter half really earlier in the morning so any spelling or grammatical errors are due to lack of sleep.
Goodbye Washington Hello Hawaii
Chapter 1
Gibbs was a man of habit. He had a routine, that he followed daily. That routine was disrupted when his son AJ had made the long trek from Camp Pendleton, California all the way to his Casa de Gibbs. It was the beginning of June the beginning of the kids Summer vacation so the timing really couldn't be any better. Though it really wasn't AJ wasn't married anymore, his kids Jacob, Lucas, and Kimberly didn't have a mom anymore. Though he was trying to stay as positive as possible. If he was being honest being a single father and an Active Duty Marine was less then favorable.
That's actually why AJ was here to update his dear old dad on what was going on in his life. AJ preferred doing this face to face then, over video conference, plus his dads' phone didn't have that capability. He still had a flip phone for crying out loud, it was 2016. AJs' relationship with his dad was complicated. It had been ever since his younger sister Kelly and his mom Shannon were murdered in 1991. He was eighteen at the time, and in the middle of Basic Recruit Training at MCRD San Diego.
He'd been allowed emergency leave of course, that day wasn't a good day at all for AJ, not only was his mom and little sister dead, but his dad had been injured down range and was in a coma. He was in the eighth week of training only five weeks left. He was granted a total of ten days instead of five because it wasn't just a funeral he had to attend. He had to see his dad too, ensure him that he'd make it through, and he'd see him graduate.
You'd think all of that would bring the two closer together, but that was complete opposite. His dad had woken up nine days after AJ had left to go back to Basic Training. Luckily for AJ wasn't recycled, he was just put back in a different platoon that was in the same week that he was when he left. Yeah it sucked that he didn't graduate with the other recruits he had gotten to know in the eight weeks he was there. That's how it worked in the military. Embrace the suck and all that.
AJ had done three years of ROTC in high school and graduated boot camp as a Lance Corporal. His dad took time off, saw him graduate, and then it was AJs' ten-day boot leave. Those ten days what were supposed to be happy and joyous were probably the worst ten days of his life. His dad was already emotionally stunted, and now it just seemed even worse. They eventually got through it, and AJ went off to SOI at Camp Pendleton, and his dad went back to work at NIS.
They were all the other had in terms of immediate family. There was the occasional phone call and email, but they were both pretty busy.
Now years later, they were still, busy knew the importance of family, and what it meant more than ever, after Grandpa Jackson died two years ago. His dad was the only one listed on his immediate family list, for long term care in his family care plan for his kids. Maria DiNozzo, Jason DiNozzos' wife was put down for short term care as Jason and AJ were stationed together at Camp Pendleton.
Life father like son, AJ wasn't one for long winded explanations. When he'd arrived at his dads' place duffel bags in hand, and kids looking miserable, all he had said was that Amber had left him. All she really wanted was his money. He was an a Master Gunnery Sergeant (E-9), the highest he could go on the enlisted side. She never loved the kids she had given birth too. She never fit in with the other Marine wives on base, either. Didn't go to half the functions or the support groups. She just wasn't fit at all for the military life style. She thought it was going to be just like the movies, but it wasn't like that at all. Yes, she cared for the kids by means of giving them the basics that they needed to survive. If it weren't for the DiNozzos' the Gibbs' children wouldn't have half the things they did.
If it were up to her she'd have run out on AJ and the kids a lot sooner than she had. She had to wait for him to get high enough up to be able to get the money she wanted. That didn't end up happening in the end. It was after he'd come back from a short-term training mission, AJ had come home to divorce papers three months ago.
When it came down to it, she couldn't handle the life of a military wife. The deployments, the loneliness, the kids and their emotions of missing dad. It wasn't what she wanted. So, she'd left, gone through the process to get a divorce and get out of being a military spouse. By doing that she also didn't get any of the benefits, she wasn't in DEERs, she didn't get healthcare or any of that stuff. I guess that was a plus for AJ he only had to think of his kids and not his greedy money grubby ex-wife. She'd essentially given up her rights as a mother, by giving AJ full parental custody of their children. AJ didn't know where Amber was now, and to be quite honest he didn't give a damn where she was. Now that may seem harsh, but that's how AJ felt.
Just like that AJ was a single father, and an Active Duty Marine. Deployable at any time to anywhere across the globe. It was summer and AJ wasn't going to let his marital issues effect his kids' summer with their 'Grandpa Gibbs.' Gibbs would never admit it aloud, but he loved having his grandkids visit him. It gave him new vigor and filled his house with life again. It gave him a real-life vision of what Kelly would have been like in the form of his sons' youngest and only daughter Kim. Gibbs was by no means replacing Kelly with his sons' daughter he could never do that, it was just, they were so similar. Both tomboys and not afraid to get down and dirty with the boys. Kim was ten years old two years older than Kelly was when she died.
Gibbs had even done a little remodeling it was about time too, that's what AJ had said. Kelly and Shannon would never be forgotten. A room may hold memories, but that was it. They were memories and AJ and his kids didn't deserve to be held hostage as it were in Gibbs' memories. AJ had grown up in that house too, there were memories for him too, but he didn't want to be reminded of his dead mother and sister every time he walked into the house. That was main reason for the remodel. He let Kim, decorate the room however she wanted. Gibbs only had three rooms in his house, so AJ took the couch or his dads' recliner most nights or just kipped out on the floor, in a sleeping bag. He honestly didn't mind. Gibbs slept in the Master bedroom, Kim slept in Kelly's old room and the boys, Jake and Luke slept in their dad's old room.
"AJ I'm headed off to work, you good here with the kids?" Gibbs asked his son as he poured his coffee into a thermos. AJ looked up from the newspaper he was reading. Yes, his dad still got the damn newspaper, he's old fashioned like that.
"Yeah, I'm good, we've got the rental car remember." AJ reminded his dad.
"Right, then I guess I'll see you at quittin' time around 1700 that is if we don't catch a case." Gibbs explained.
"Yep, see you then dad." AJ took a swig of his coffee from one of his dads' USMC mugs. Gibbs nodded once and proceeded to collect his wallet, badge, keys, and gun. AJ waited until he heard the roar of the old blue pick up pull out of the driveway, before he dialed the number in his contact list. The other end of the line was picked up after the first ring.
"Hey JD, the trips' still on, isn't it?" AJ asked his best friend, without any preamble.
"Far as I know, Tony hasn't called or told me otherwise." Jason replied.
"Okay, just wanted to make sure. We'll FaceTime later yeah."
"Yeah we're all good to go on my end."
"Perfect." AJ ended the call and put his phone down.
Tony had left the office pretty quickly, earlier that morning after he deposited the letters on his former teammates and boss' desks. He had to pick up both Mia and Gabe from their last day of the sports camp they were at for the past two weeks. He was nervous of how his kids' would handle the news especially Mia. She and his late wife Isabelle were close like any mother and daughter, and her death affected Mia a lot.
Gabe himself was only six, when Isabelle lost her fight to breast cancer. They'd tried everything chemo, radiation the whole nine yards. Even a new experimental drug. But it was all for naught, the cancer was just too aggressive. Tony didn't have any more time to think on that fact before, a small boy with his same hair color and his wifes' eyes ran up to his car. A 2016 Red Ford Mustang, with single black racing stripe.
"Hey dad, I totally kicked butt in the soccer game you should have seen it. It was so awesome." Gabe exclaimed as he clambered into the back of the car with all his stuff.
"Hey Gabe, sounds like you had a blast. Where's your sister?" Tony asked his son.
"She's a girl dad she's probably on her phone, she was pretty p'oed when the counselors took them away during the day." Gabe informed his dad smartly. "When am I getting a cooler phone, this crappy touch screen phone sucks, I want an I-phone."
"Gabriel." Tony warned gently.
"Sorry dad, oh look there's the spaz now." Gabe redirected his fathers' attention. Tony let the comment slide, and looked over towards his only daughter. She looked upset, this did not bode well for Tony at all. Tony took a deep breath and smiled out at his daughter.
"Hey kiddo how was camp?" Tony asked hesitantly.
"I hate camp, I hate people, I don't ever want to go again." Mia exclaimed her duffel being thrust harshly down by her feet. Tony was about to ask what was wrong when his phone buzzed. He looked at his watch. 0930 right on time for the boss man to be getting in. He also saw he had missed calls from both McGee and Ziva. Along with a dozen texts from Abby all with varying degrees of intensity and worry.
'Okay, I'll open that can of worms later'. Tony thought to himself. Tony started up his car and drove away from the summer camp. "Hey listen guys, I'm running late for work so, I'm dropping you off with Mrs. Ramirez from across the street, it'll only be for a few hours, I promise, and then you can tell me all about your camp experiences." Tony said leaving no room for argument in Mia's case.
"Ah dad, Mrs. Ramirez is old and smells like cats." Gabe whined.
"Gabe shut up it's only for a few hours geez, and you call me a spaz." Mia grumbled. Tonys' grip tightened on the steering wheel. It was times like this that he really missed Izzy. She was always good with defusing the kids' fights.
"You're both going, and you're going to be nice and respectful, it's for two hours three tops. And that's final." Tony explained letting a tinge of his authoritarian voice came out.
"Yes, sir." Both of his kids' chorused. They knew that was dads' serious SEAL voice.
The kids now dropped off, with the promise of whatever they wanted for dinner Tony rode the elevator up to the bullpen. He knew he was late, like two hours late, he hadn't anticipated the traffic. He got to the bullpen to find it empty. 'Must have caught a case.' He thought to himself. He went down to autopsy and both Ducky and Jimmy were gone. He made his way to Abbys' lab and there was no music blasting either, he ventured further into the lab and no sign of the goth forensic scientist.
He checked his phone again but there were no new messages. They were all about 'hey Tony you're late where are you.' But none further than that. Normally if he was late to work Gibbs would call, and tell him the location of the scene and he'd meet them there. 'Huh guess they really don't care.' He thought a bit bitterly. 'Well if they're not gonna call me, I might as well get to that unfinished business.'
Tony walked over to his desk and unlocked the third bottom drawer full of the seven Navy Civilian Meritorious Service awards. That he'd accepted on Gibbs' behalf. He took all seven of them, and walked to Gibbs' desk unlocked his bottom drawer and placed the medals within the drawer. Tony also took the transfer documents from another desk drawer and placed them on Gibbs' desk. Tony needed to make a coffee run, so he decided to do that, instead of the crappy break room coffee. He actually went out and bought a decent cup about fifteen minutes away from the Navy Yard.
The elevator dings on the right floor to permit Tony to exit, and he heard very distinct voices. Abby for sure, she's the loudest. Tim, Ziva and Gibbs are also there. Tony held back next to another bullpen and listened.
"He's gone Gibbs, why'd he leave, he can't leave, we're family, family doesn't leave family." Abby was ranting.
"This means I get promoted now right boss, I'll be the new Senior Field Agent now that Tonys' transferred?" McGee queried.
"What kind of man leaves his own team like this, if he was Mossad, this would not be acceptable." Ziva voiced her opinion.
"He was a frat boy, he was never really cut out to be an Agent." Tim said. All Tim was thinking about was his new position as SFA. That hurt Tony slightly, Tony was totally more qualified then McGeek with his MIT degree. They just didn't know it.
Gibbs still hadn't said anything, and that worried Tony slightly. The Navy SEAL and Marine had had their differences in the beginning, but they were able to get over them. Still when Gibbs had yet to see how truly valuable Tony was, that's when he'd thought about at least changing teams in the building. Charleston was retiring and would need a new Supervisory Special Agent for his team. It had really all come to a head last year when Tony and finally let them all know at least some of the truth, that he was a Navy SEAL, and he had two kids. They still couldn't see past the cover he'd set up with Hetty all those years ago. It was standard operating procedure for all OSP Special Agents of NCIS.
That he'd lied to them. Lying was a part of his job. He'd done it numerous times back in L.A. to strangers and women and some men that he'd meet after work. It was easy for him, second nature. "He broke my number one rule Gibbs and that is not okay, what's my number one rule Gibbs, don't lie to Abby that's what it is." Abby rambled on. Tim and Ziva both still voiced their distaste and disdain for the way Tony was leaving the team. It was unprofessional in Zivas' eyes.
The straw that really broke the camels' back for Tony was in the middle of last year around this time actually. Tony had come back from a SEAL retreat, they called it with his SEAL buddies, injured of course. But he was still thinking of work and he hadn't thought his injuries to be that bad neither had Rodriguez their field medic. Just a few bruised ribs. Nothing major.
Abby being her usual bubbly over enthusiastic hugging self, had hugged Tony, and sent him immediately crumpling to the ground. Long story short Abby had hurt Tony pretty bad, and in the end of it Gibbs sided with Abby when the whole mess was over and ordered Tony not to tell Vance or to press charges against Abby. Vance had gotten wind of the incident anyway and wanted to reprimand Abby for technically violating the sexual harassment rules in the workplace. They'd just had a seminar about it three weeks prior. Tony was not the favorite Agent and he never would be from that moment forward, he realized. If possible he was even more ostracized by his so called 'family' after that.
Tony had heard enough, and decided right then, that it was time for no more Mr. Nice Tony. He'd still been 'playing' the fool, the joker, the class clown for too long. Well not anymore. Just telling his team about the real him, that he was a SEAL and that he had two kids, wasn't enough. He had to show them, and show them he would.
Tony stood up from his crouched position behind a desk into the bullpen over from where his team was. He casually walked over to them like he hadn't been eavesdropping at all. It actually kind of reminded him of when he first came to work here, six years ago. But that was a story for another time.
"I mean what he did, with Abby last year that was just" McGee started.
"She's the one that hugged me without my permission McDork." Tony exclaimed gruffly. "I ended up in the hospital for three weeks. My SEAL buddies were livid. I get grounded by one of my overzealous team members. Yeah that went over really well with them, you know they said I should have left after that or get a transfer somewhere anywhere, where Abby wasn't."
"Tony I" Tim began.
Before either man could respond, Abby walked over to Tony high heeled stiletto boots and all and slapped him hard across the face. Her eyes filled with angry tears at his tone and she raised her other hand to try again. Tears began to trickle down her face when he caught that one too.
"How could you do this?" She demanded. "How can you just abandon your family?"
Tony looked at her incredulously before tipping his head back slightly with a hysterical laugh bubbling to the surface. "Abandon my family Abbs, really?" He pushed her hands away and she took a step back with the movement.
"Well what would you call it?" She demanded, sounding angry again, arms crossed. McGee was standing somewhat off the to the side by his desk, watching the scene with wide eyes.
Tony looked back at her, still reeling from the slap he'd received. He was so writing her up after this. "I'd call it leaving for a better opportunity, one with some goddamn respect is what I'd call it."
"But you can't do this, Tony! You can't abandon us, you can't abandon Gibbs. He needs you!" He started to interject, but she talked over the top of him and he clenched his jaw instead. "And to what? To move to Hawaii? That's so selfish!" Her foot stomped slightly with the last word.
'How did she know where I was getting transferred I hadn't told anyone, but Jimmy and Ducky in their letters.' Tony thought to himself.
"Selfish?" He repeated, finally able to speak. His brow raised as she responded.
"Yes! Gibbs needs you, you can't just leave."
"Actually, I can. See, you seem to have forgotten I have two kids at home Abigail, two kids that need me, you know children, who have mouths I need to feed and need clothes to wear, other human beings I am responsible for. Quite frankly I don't give a damn if Gibbs needs me he doesn't really. You just want to keep us all together, well Abby I think it's time you grow up people move apart and leave each other it's called being an adult. And I am not abandoning anyone. I accepted a promotion that is based in Hawaii- no, please, hold your congratulations." His voice was darkly sarcastic.
"Tony that's really big we didn't know that."
"It was in the letters I left you all to read, but I guess you couldn't even give me that decency, could you?" Tony asked sarcastically.
Ziva tried to voice her own opinion, but Tony shut her down. "Save it Agent Dah-Veed. I don't care what the hell any of you has to say." Tony replied. "Don't even try apologizing for all the things you said. You maybe be sorry you said them, but you're not sorry I heard them."
Tony rounded on Gibbs now. "And not one word from you Jethro, you didn't defend me at all. I'm not asking to be defended, now I don't need to be defended by the likes of you, but a little backup would have been nice. I thought there was more to you Gunny."
"DiNozzo." Gibbs started.
"No Jethro, I know we had our differences, but I knew the minute I walked in here you always favored the girls, or even little Timmy here, because he was smarter, then me. Or he liked to think he knew a lot of stuff I didn't well that's not true he's not the only one with a Masters' degree. And not in that computer science shit either."
"You know that's not true, I never favored anyone." Gibbs tried explaining.
"Wow, I can't believe you, you remember my third year here, November two days before Veterans days' that Thursday, we had the four-day weekend. Friday Saturday Sunday and Monday, I didn't show up to work the following week until the following Thursday." Tony stopped a lump in his throat. It was still hard to talk about even four years later reliving that moment.
"I do, but what's that have to do with favoritism."
"I tell you what, Tim didn't come in that Thursday, because he'd gotten sick, but I show up 30 minutes late, not an hour thirty minutes, and you-" Tony had to stop to breathe, take a breath. "You gave me an earful about tardiness and being late. You want to know why I was late that day or why I didn't show up til that Thursday. I was consoling my two children over the loss of their dead mother. They hadn't gone to school in three days, they were grieving, I was grieving, like a human being." Tony explained, voice tight and constricted.
Gibbs was truly speechless. Abby gasped covering her mouth with her hands. Tim and Ziva looked distant. Gibbs slowly walked over to Tony and put a hand tentatively on his former SFA's shoulder and whispered the word "I'm sorry." Somehow in his mind Tony knew Gibbs meant it. Even though that was breaking a rule saying sorry or apologizing was a sign of weakness. Well not in this case. It was sympathy. But Tony didn't want their sympathy or their pity.
Tony wanted to leave, wanted to storm out like a child and run to his car, but he had one more nail in the coffin to drive his point home. About how shitty his 'former' teammates had treated him.
Tony shrugged off Gibbs' hand. "We can't imagine how hard it was for you Tony. Honest." Tim said.
"That's right you can't. Here's another aspect of my life you can't understand Tim. Probably never will even though your own brother Trent is a Navy SEAL too. I'm not some frat boy party animal, I'm a decorated war hero, may I remind you, I've seen and done things you couldn't even imagine." Tony exclaimed his voice rising slightly. Tony never liked to toot his own horn much if at all. But he was trying to make point here. "You can't get it out of your damned head, I'm just a beat cop, slacker, who only has a Phys. Ed. Degree, well news' flash Tim that's not true. It was all a cover I'd set up with Henrietta Lang when I first started working with NCIS, it's was standard operating procedure for all OSP Special Agents."
Tim was slack jawed. Mouth open like a cod fish. Tony never called him Tim, always Timmy, Probie, or some god-awful nickname related to his last name. McDork, McGeek, McSquared, McNosy etc.
"You think of your brother as a hero?" Tony asked. Tim shook his head yes. "I bet you celebrate with him on veterans day. Down a cold one with him if he's free. Fly down to California or he comes up here on the long weekend. You'll never respect me like that though, like you do him. You've all known I was a SEAL for a whole year and yet you still treat me the same as the day I first walked in here. That is just one of the few reasons, I'm leaving."
Abby opened her mouth to say something, but Tony cut her off. "Yes, I'm still leaving, even if Director Vance hadn't offered me the promotion, I can't trust any of you to have my back especially someone who pointed a loaded gun at my face." Tony reminded Ziva of that night in the apartment.
Gibbs was about to say something, when Tonys' phone rang. He plucked it out of his pocket and looked at the time and cursed. "Shit." He answered the phone, not even bothering to turn away for privacy. "Hello, yes this is he, are they alright, where are they? Yes, do whatever you have to, I know the address, yes I'll be there right away." Tony snapped his phone shut shoved passed Ziva none to gently to get to his go bag that he must have left in his haste to leave earlier this morning. He ran full sprint toward the elevators. The shouts and exclamations of his team for him to stop falling on deaf here's as the quiet slightly suffocating walls of the elevator enclosed around him.
Gibbs and co. were about to run after him, but a Director Vances' voice stopped them. "Gibbs my office now." Vance ordered, leaving no room for argument in his tone. "You too McGee, David, don't think I don't see you Ms. Scuito." Vance exclaimed as he watched Abby try and sneak off.
Once inside Vances' office he orders them all to sit down. Gibbs doesn't. "Sit down Jethro." Gibbs does so begrudgingly.
"We need to go to the hospital and be with Tony" Abby said frantically. "He needs us." 'Wow that's real ironic and kick in the teeth to Tony.' Leon thought to himself as not only moments ago. Ms. Scuito was berating her teammate for leaving them.
"She's right Leon." Gibbs added.
"I've already informed Dr. Mallard and Mr. Palmer they are on their way there now" Leon said.
"You four are going nowhere, and don't think I didn't see you slap Agent DiNozzo Ms. Scuito you will be going to a mandatory month long sensitivity and etiquette in the work place seminar, if you so wish to continue being employed with this agency is that clear." Leon stated firmly.
Abby shook her head yes. "I need an answer Ms. Scuito."
"Yes, Director."
"Good now, I believe I told you Agent Gibbs, you and your team weren't going anywhere sit down."
"Oh, yeah Leon and who's going to stop us, you?" questioned Gibbs.
"No but these men will."
As if on cue three security guards walked into Leon's office.
"Now, I believe, we have some talking to do."
"But Tony," Abby tried to speak.
"No buts- Ms. Scuito, after the little stunt you pulled in the bullpen you four are the last four people that Tony wants to see right now." 'Did the Director just call DiNozzo, Tony he'd never done that before.' Gibbs thought. It looked like he didn't really now his SFA at all, clearly. If the two were on a first name basis.
Well that's chapter 1, tell me what you thought. Hit that review button down below and comment.
