Due to the circumstances Tony and Ziva were allowed to spend the night in AJ's room. The climbed into their son's bed and contorted themselves around his tubes and wires. They clung to AJ and to each other. Marley and Lily were sleeping over as well. They were sharing the couch in the special room AJ had been moved to. Normally children were not allowed to stay the night in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit and children under twelve were strictly forbidden. Unless of course they were patients, but given the circumstances an exception was made. This would likely be the families last night together. Sadly they would not have time for bonding and final memories. AJ had not woken since before the brain bleed and he never would wake up, again. His body and brain were simply too weak. Instead the family had sat up for a while sharing stories and just enjoying AJ.

AJ was brought home at ten o'clock in the morning. He was brought home in an ambulance. Ziva made his final ride with him. While Tony drove the girls home. They brought AJ back to his bedroom and laid him on the bed. The paramedics carefully removed his breathing tube and gave him his final dose of morphine. After offering their sympathies, the paramedics left the family to say goodbye in private. Nobody spoke. They all just climbed into AJ's bed and got close to him. The family had half an hour together before AJ, left the world behind. There was no final seizure or gasp for air. He did not open his eyes or offer any signs of a final goodbye. He just went completely limp and Tony could no longer feel his son's heart beat. The family was in a great deal of pain but it came as a relief that AJ was finally free. Once it was confirmed that AJ was passed. The girls silently left their parents to mourn. Tony broke down in tears and Ziva clung to the body of her son. Sometime later Tony worked up the nerves to call the funeral home and an hour later the hearse arrived to take AJ away. They put him in a bag, placed him on a gurney, and hauled him away. Tony and Ziva clung to each other and sobbed as their son was taken away from them forever.

"Goodbye my son." Ziva sobbed, as the hearse drove away.

"I loved him. Did he know how much I loved him?" Tony questioned.

"He knew, oh Tony. The way his eyes lit up when he saw you. I am his mother, I gave him life and he never looked at me like that." Ziva assured.

"What do we do now?" Tony asked.

"We hold on to each other and do our best to move on." Ziva replied.

"What if one of us can't?" Tony asked.

"What?" Ziva asked.

"What if one of us is hurting in another way and really can't cope?" Tony questioned.

"Is somebody feeling that way?" Ziva asked.

"No just a hypothetical." Tony lied.

Ziva David could not believe her pain. She could not believe that her son was dead. He had fought so hard for so long and now he was just gone. It was a raw and crushing feeling. She wanted to cry but all she could do was shake. She stood alone in what had been AJ's room. They would be coming to take his supplies away in the morning and it would be almost as if he had never existed, but he had existed. He had lived and he had loved. Now he was just gone and she was lost. After a while she'd had enough of starring at AJ's empty room. She went up to her room, grabbed her laptop, and logged into the Facebook page she had made for AJ. With a heavy heart, she began to type.

"It is with great sadness That I announce that AJ left us this morning at eleven forty five. He fell ill on Monday and was admitted to the hospital. It was supposed to be a short and simple stay. He only appeared to have a stomach virus. Unfortunately Monday night he had a drastic downturn and was rushed to the ICU. Early Tuesday morning he suffered a brain bleed. He was in surgery for ten hours but the bleed could not be stopped. The bleed affected the same areas as the initial brain injury. Soon after we were told his heart and kidneys were failing. Last night we made the agonizing decision to bring him home to die. We were transported to our home this morning and AJ was taken off life-support. He died in the arms of Tony, his sisters, and I. Thank you to all who followed us on this journey. I was never expecting to make this post but AJ's body gave out. He is free now and the pain is now gone. Please respect our privacy and I will try to maintain the page. Goodbye and thank you. Ziva D, Mother of AJ.

Tears were freely falling from, Tony's cheeks. AJ was gone, his boy was dead. The past year and a half of AJ's life had been nothing but pain and suffering. Now he was free. There would be no more hospitalizations, procedures, or therapies. He could now run free and play again. He had left behind the prison his body had become. Still Tony's heart was breaking. AJ was only ten years old. He was just shy of his eighth birthday when the explosion happened. The past year a half had been nothing but pain and complications, but AJ had never given up. He did not lose the battle. He had fought so hard but in the end he just could fight no longer. He had fought harder than anyone Tony had ever known, and now he was free. There was a degree of comfort in knowing that, but not enough to ease Tony's pain. The memory of the explosion played over and over. Tony found himself praying that he would die himself. The way he saw it, death was the only end to his pain.

A/N: So much devastation for the DiNozzo family. AJ is free but Tony's battle is just beginning new chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.