EPILOGUE

AN: A big thank you to all of you who wanted a continuance on the story. I will try to give you an epilogue worth reading. Thanks to queenbee1711 for suggesting the rivalry. It fit very well into the story.

It wasn't hard for anybody to see that Tony was excelling as Team Leader. Even Abby, who had, at first, been upset with Tony for leaving Gibbs, had to admit, grudgingly, that the move had been good for him.

The only people, it seemed who had not been surprised by Tony's success with his team had been Gibbs and Morrow. Even Ducky had had a few doubts, but they were not really about Tony's ability. They were about how his new team would take him, given his, agency wide, reputation. But he was a competent, patient leader. He still joked, he was still Tony. But he had been allowed to spread his wings a little. He was now in a job that really suited him. And if he were truly honest with himself, he was a lot happier than he could ever have been on Gibbs' team.

Not that he didn't love being on Gibbs' team. And Gibbs had taught him a lot. He knew he owed his ability to do the job so well, in large part, to what Gibbs had taught him. But with Gibbs at the helm, he would always only ever be SFA, and now, he realized. He made a pretty darn good TL.

Tony's team was about three cubicle spaces away from Gibbs on the same floor. The team didn't move with the addition of its new leader. They just cleaned out Chris's desk and put Tony's stuff in. He was moved in in less than an hour. The difficult part would be his team. He had seen the looks on their faces when Morrow had introduced him as their new Team Leader. He knew a lot of the member from previous collaborations between Gibbs's and Harriston's teams, which meant he knew pretty they probably would not take him seriously at first. He spent the night before his big move going over each members personnel file, making notes for himself on things he had questions about and things he could do to help his teammates do their jobs better.

Tony's new team consisted of a former Marine; Beau Martin, Leo Antonelli; a former Las Vegas cop, and Beverly Dennis, a newbie to law enforcement and to NCIS. Martin could only be described as an 'NFL with a crew cut.' He was couple inches shorter than Tony, but outweighed him in muscle, by about 60 pounds. He had black hair and blue eyes. And, even at his age, in his early 40s, he could have passed for a male model. And while he looked mean, tough, and hard to get along with, he was probably one of the nicest guys you'd ever met. He and Tony hit it off very well. They had the same sort of humor about them.

Leo Antonelli, short for Leonardo, was a former Las Vegas cop for 15 years. He looked every bit the mobster, which made him perfect for the undercover work he did for them. Nobody ever mistook him for the good guy. He took early retirement from the force, and then joined NCIS. He, now, was not sure how to take his new boss. He had heard of Anthony DiNozzo, of course, everybody had. He was not sure DiNozzo's brand of leadership was something he could go along with. But Morrow had given Tony the promotion. And he had worked under Gibbs for a while. And absolutely everybody knew Gibbs's reputation, so maybe, just maybe, it would be okay. Leo decided he would, at least, give the kid a chance. It took Antonelli just a little time to warm up to Tony. At first he found Tony's humor a little off-putting. But he soon realized its place; it helped to ease the tension on tough cases. And it helped give the team members a way to release the pressures of the job in a healthy manner.

Dennis had just joined Harrison's team before he retired. She was very new to everything. She had, of course, gained field status. She had passed her psych evals and her weapons training. She now, only had to find a way to get along with the new boss. She was just getting used to Chris. She liked his method of teaching, and she was not at all sure what she could learn from a person with a reputation like Tony's. But she found that Tony was a very patient person. She soon found his reputation, to be just that, pretty much larger than the man himself. And the person she got to know, the person under all that, was a really decent guy.

The team jelled quickly with Tony at the helm. And for those watching from the outside, and many were watching, if for no other reason to see and place bets on the exact day and time Tony would crash and burn. Things seemed to be going well, and his team seemed to be liking him and actually learning from him. His probie, Bevery Dennis, seemed to have taken to Tony almost instantly. She was on her way to becoming a very competent agent.

"I'm not sure why you two are looking so surprised. You were just like Agent Dennis." Gibbs said, as he watched Kate and Tim one day watching and listening to Tony's team from their bullpen.

Both Kate and Tim turned to look at him.

"You two were like her when you started here. Who do you think made you the agents you are today? It wasn't me." Gibbs turned and walked away before either agent could respond. He wanted to give them something to think about.

Kate opened her mouth to speak.

"You were just like Dennis, Kate brand new to fieldwork. Who showed you the ins and outs of the job, Kate?" Gibbs paused. "Tony did. And he did a damned good job, too. Or neither of you would still be on my team."

"But he was so…." Tim started.

"He was the best agent I've ever worked with." Gibbs interjected. "And I had to lose him because my two junior agents don't know how to 'play well with others.'"

"You make us sound like children." Kate stated.

"Quit acting like children." Gibbs snapped.

"We were…." Tim started.

"You were acting like spoiled brats who were not getting their way." Gibbs retorted, his irritation showing. "Now you see what Tony's really like. You see how he helped you. But it's too little, too late."

Kate and Tim just looked at Gibbs.

"Look, I don't ever say this much…ever, but you two need to hear it. Tony is the reason you are still on my team. HE is the reason you are the agents you are today, the reason you've done so well. Think about it, I don't have that kind of patience to work with you. He did."

Gibbs paused for just a moment before continuing. "I'd let things slide a little, with both of you. Things that, if I had been doing right by Tony, you both would have been written up for."

Gibbs shook his head as they opened their mouths to protest.

"I allowed the disrespect to continue, so you two assumed it was okay, that you had permission." Gibbs stated. "I was wrong for not ripping both of you new ones after you muttered the first utterance. That is all on me. I let it go too far."

Kate and Tim were speechless, astonished by Gibbs's admission.

They heard the conversation drifting over from Tony's team.

"It was great, right?" Tony asked Leo, as Leo gave him back the key.

Agent Antonelli smiled as he answered. "I forgot places that beautiful existed in nature. The cabin was awesome. The wife loved it." He paused. "And I really don't see how you can call a place that big a cabin. But, yeah, it was amazing. Thanks for letting us use it."

"…and the fishing?"

Leo nodded again. "…biggest large-mouth bass I've ever seen. We had fish about almost every night.

"What cabin? Tony has a cabin?" Kate asked after eaves dropping on the conversation.

Gibbs nodded. "Tony's granddad's cabin near Martha's Vineyard. It's huge, too big to be called a cabin…4 bedrooms, three baths, and a Jacuzzi."

Kate and Tim fell silent. They couldn't help but wonder why they never got invited to or even heard about this cabin.

"Tony would have invited you." Gibbs said, reading their minds. "We've all been there…Abby, Ducky, Jimmy…long weekends and everything."

Tim and Kate felt very left out.

"Why wouldn't he…?" Tim started.

"…because Kate, you would make smart remarks about the family fortune. And you, Tim, would call it his frat boy, chick pad. Do you see…?" Gibbs asked.

Both Tim and Kate nodded. They did understand. And they both did always seem to connect everything Tony did or said back to the money, frat boys or women. And it was never flattering or nice.

They listened again to the conversation in Tony's bullpen.

"Unfortunately, it's evaluation time." Tony paused. "Chris left that delightful little task for me to do." He murmured. "So that means we're off field duty for a couple of days till the psych and weapons evals are completed."

Martin, Antonelli, and Dennis all groaned, Tony grinned. "If it makes you feel any better, I have to jump through the same hoops you guys do. And after that…you get to evaluate me." Tony said, giving each member of his team a booklet of evaluation questions. "You get to tell Morrow if I'm a good boss or not. And I want you guys to be completely honest." Tony said. "I won't see or even touch these things before Morrow reads them. Then he will call me into his office and go over them with me. You'll send them up to his office as soon as you finish."

The next day found Tony and his team out on the shooting range. Tony's was helping Dennis with her stance when Kate, Tim, and Gibbs noticed them. They readied their weapons and Tony continued to help his probie, unaware of their presence.

Kate went there, she thought it. She couldn't help herself. She decided she would step up and take a shot just as Agent Dennis took hers. Kate knew she was a better shot, and she doubted Tony's help would give Agent Dennis an advantage.

Beverly's first couple shots had not been good. They had gone off the mark, a lot. And both she and Tony contributed it to her nervousness. She calmed herself and tried again. This time, the shots were better. But, then…after Tony showed her some of the techniques he had learned in the police academy, she improved 100%. She hit all her targets, almost dead center.

"Excellent Beverly," Tony replied after checking the targets. "…I think you're going to only improve. This is a big step, a huge confidence builder for young agents, knowing the proper ways of handling their weapons…once you feel confident there. All the rest seems to fall into place."

Beverly admitted. "I do feel a lot better with it. I was just…."

Tony smiled and shook his head. "We all are, at first. But you've done great." Tony glanced over at the small group of agents a few feet away. "I think Agent Todd wants a challenge." He looked at Beverly. "Show her you're up to it."

Beverly nodded as she stepped up and took her place. She went over things, in her mind, just as Tony had taught her. She then pulled the trigger.

TBC