Disclaimer: do I look like the kind of girl who owes a TV show as great as NCIS? Or a TV show at all? Right.

A/N: I'm staring at my screen for minutes to find a nice author's note, but it isn't really coming I guess :P

Well, another chapter, completely Tony-centric. I keep trying to add humor into it, hope that they aren't useless attempts. Laika wasn't fond of one, but my beta-reader (NcisRulz. There aren't enough ways to say thank you, really) thought it was. I leave it up to you :) Hope you like this chapter, leave a review if you do. Or if you don't. Either way: enjoy!

Race the dog

'Are you sure you are ready to go home?' Gibbs asked again. He looked at his senior field agent. No, former senior field agent he reminded himself again. He tried to look through Tony's smile and usual I-am-fine-posture.

'I'm sure Boss, really. The last three days have opened my eyes I guess. If I keep feeling sorry for myself things never change. I still don't like my wheels and I will never like them. But for now it is the way things are and who knows what will change in the future? I know that a depression isn't over so soon as this, but I promised that I would call if I need to. And I will do that. Besides, I've got Laika now. She has already proven she won't take crap from me,' Tony's eyes wandered over to Laika. She was lying on the floor on a pillow, her eyes closed, but when she heard her name one ear popped up a bit.

Sometime the other day there had been a moment Tony had become furious. He had yelled at Gibbs that he didn't know what it was like to be in a chair, that he always acted like he knew everything and that he should back off. Laika had looked at him, a curious look in her eyes. She looked at Gibbs, who didn't say a thing. Tony ranted about being an adult and knowing how to take care of himself. Laika apparently had enough of it and started howling. Tony stopped talking. Laika stopped howling. Tony opened his mouth again, but Laika beat him to it: she barked one time.

'What!'

'I'm guessing, that she doesn't want to hear you talk like that,' Gibbs answered. A short bark was Laika's answer. 'And I have to agree with her. I don't think I know everything, but Tony, I just don't think that killing yourself would make things better. And I know on a certain level what you are going through,'

'What, you sat in a wheelchair and tried to kill yourself?'

Gibbs looked him directly in the eyes without saying a word.

'You . . . tried to . . .' Tony's voice trailed off. He couldn't apprehend the meaning of it. His Boss. His mentor. The man he had more respect for than for anyone in the world, had once been in a point where life didn't seem worth living anymore.

'But why?'

'I've lost the people I loved the most. Couldn't deal with it. I went to the beach, had the gun in my hands. Sat there for hours,'

'What stopped you?'

'Don't know for sure. Somehow I felt that if I did that, I would betray my . . . loved ones. They would never approve of what I was about to do. I couldn't do that to them. I'm glad I never did it,'

They sat together in silence. Laika was laying on Gibbs' feet. Gibbs bent over and stroked her on her head. His face was composed as ever, but somehow Tony knew not to pry further. It was more information about his personal life than Gibbs had ever told him before.

'Boss. I'm sor . . . I mean, I can't promise I will never feel mad and frustrated again. But I will not yell like that again,'

One short nod. End of discussion.

'So, when is that interview of yours tomorrow?'

Laika danced up and down next to Tony, who tried to get her under control.

'Don't . . . no. Laika, no!' Laika pulled at her leash, trying to get herself free. 'I know you're excited, but if you pull like that we will fall and I will go flat and that's not very funny,' Laika barked and sat down, her tongue hanging out of her mouth. Tony could swear she was grinning.

'Okay, let's make a deal here, right? After this interview I will let you walk around free but right now you've got two options: walking next to me with the leash, or walking next to me without. Either way, you have to behave like a good dog otherwise I'm leaving you outside. Got that?'

Laika laid down, one paw over her nose and howled softly. Tony couldn't help but laugh.

'Yeah, and I thought I could pout. Come on, let's go,' Laika walked beside him an exemplary dog while Tony made his way to a large building not far from his apartment. People were walking in and out hastily, beneath a big large sign that stated ZNN.

'Are you ready for it Laika?' A lick on his face was the only answer he got. 'Yeah, I'm nervous too,' Tony sighed. Laika barked, and walked a few feet ahead as if she was trying to encourage him. Five minutes later Tony and Laika entered the building of one of the largest television networks Tony knew.

'Can I help you sir?'

'I hope so,' Tony gave his trademark smile to the receptionist behind the desk. 'My name is Anthony DiNozzo and I've got an appointment with Sam Jones.'

'I will let him know that you are here,' the receptionist gestured to a row of chairs where he could wait.

A few minutes later an older man came into the lobby. He looked like he could lose a few pounds, Tony thought.

'Mister DiNozzo?'

'Yes sir, that's me,'

'Very well, why don't you follow me,' Tony followed with Laika. Sam Jones looked at the dog with a strange look on his face.

'I'm afraid that your dog has to wait outside Mister DiNozzo,'

'She will not,' Tony smiled friendly. 'Laika is very well trained and she helps me around a lot,' Sam looked at Laika again, who waited quietly next to Tony. Sam's eyes travelled down to Tony's wheels and he nodded shortly.

'Can you tell me why you want to work with us?' Sam sat behind his desk; in front of him lay a file with information about DiNozzo. He wondered how much was true. Tony sat relaxed in his chair, Laika right next to him. The office wasn't very big but it was nice. The carpet was deep blue, the walls were hung with articles and photos. On the left side of the room a large window offered a look downtown.

'I am not going to lie. I need a job. I've worked for NCIS for over five years, and I loved that job. But now I'm in this chair I can't do it anymore. At least not the way I wanted to. Working for ZNN is not my dream job, but it was appealing to me that I will be working with news as close to the fire as this,'

'You know that working here can be stressful?'

'Sir, I don't want to be condescending here, but I'm doubting that working for ZNN will gain the same stress levels as seeing your partner trying to deactivate a bomb while the timer is down to ten seconds – especially with the job I'm here for,'

'I can see that,' Sam smiled. The file in front of him hadn't lied. DiNozzo was honest and knew he was going to work way below his skills. 'I'm guessing that we are done then. If you follow me, I will show you the post office of ZNN,'

'Thank you, sir. Can I ask one question though?' Sam looked at him. 'Was that file of me really necessary? I mean, I'm going to deliver packages through the building. A file seems a bit overrated, don't you think?'

'Let's just say that when I know that a former member from the team of Gibbs' comes here to get a job, my curiosity gets the better of me,' Sam smiled. He didn't ask how Tony knew about the file. After all, he was a trained investigator.

'You know Gibbs?'

'We've had some interesting . . . conversations,' for a second Sam remembered the moments that he had talked with Gibbs, who was pissed because reporters disturbed his crime scene or were asking stupid questions.

Tony gave a big smile. 'I'm very sorry to hear that,' Sam chuckled. He liked DiNozzo already.

Together they got to the small post office on the first floor of the building. Sam opened the door and they were almost blast away with very loud music. With the rhythm of the music a woman and a guy were going through a large pile of envelopes and packages that lay on the table in the middle of the room.

Sam walked to the stereo set in a corner and pushed the stop button.

'How can you work with that noise?' asked Sam.

'Hey Sam! The music helps us concentrate,'

'It makes you deaf you mean. Anyhow, I want you to meet your new co-worker, this is Tony. Tony, meet Sandra and Ricardo. Our internal mail delivery people,'

'Hey Tony, nice to meet you,' Sandra said cheerful. Ricardo nodded and gave a short wave.

'If you guys show him around a bit, tell him what to do, I've got another appointment,' Sam left in a hurry, leaving Tony with his new colleagues.

'Dude, what happened with you?' Ricardo nodded to Tony's wheelchair. Tony swallowed. Well, at least they were straight forward. He was about to answer when Sandra punched Ricardo on his shoulder.

'Ricky, you can't ask stuff like that,' she hissed.

'What, it's not that we can ignore it,' Ricardo hissed back. Tony smiled a bit. They reminded him of Abby and McGee. Somehow that made it easier, but on the other hand it hurt more than he cared to admit.

'It's okay Sandra,' he said. 'It's not a very big secret. I caught a bullet at my last job, severed the spinal cord,' he gave a short explanation. Their eyes widened with shock, but before they could ask more questions Tony decided to talk about his new job.

'So, what am I going to do here? Sam told me I have to deliver packages through the building?'

'Ehm, yeah,' Sandra nodded. 'It's pretty easy, the building is separated in three parts: floor one to three, four to six and seven to nine. Every week you have another part where you deliver. The packages are usually already categorized – except when someone' her eyes darted to Ricardo 'falls over the bags or something so that everything is spread out on the floor and we have to start over,'

'Does that happen often?' Tony laughed.

'No, thank heaven it doesn't. Sorting is a bitch,' Sandra sighed.

'But when everything goes to plan, we deliver the packages in the morning and in the afternoon we fetch the internal mail and deliver that as fast as possible,'

'That makes sense. What are those things?'

'Oh yeah, you'd like a tour?' Ricardo leapt up. He pointed out the cabinet on the left side. 'This is where new mail comes in during the day. Every floor has a shelf, every shelf is divided into the offices on that floor. Here,' he walked to the far side of the small post office, 'is the copier and printer and a computer. We still don't really know what that is doing here because we never use them. Next to the computer is the week schedule. It's also the planner to indicate if you need a day off or something. If you want a day off you have to schedule it a week in front. Oh and here is the coffee machine and the fridge. We are lucky, most floors have to share one or two fridges, we don't need to share with others. So, what do you want to do next? Help sorting or starting delivering on the first floor?' He gestured from the large pile of mail to a bag with packages and envelopes.

Before Tony could answer that question Ricardo and Sandra started bickering over what was the best way to get to know the building. All the time Laika had sat under a table, watching every movement that the three people made. Tony looked at her, and she already recognized the sparkle in his eyes. What was her new boss about to do?

Without making a sound Tony went over to the bag with mail. Carefully he hoisted it up onto his lap, and he nudged with his head towards the door. Laika got up and followed him quietly, leaving the two bickering people behind.

'You know, I think we will manage to find our way in this building. Let's see . . . this package is addressed to an André Cover, apparently working on the second floor . . .' Tony looked at Laika who was walking right beside him. 'If a girl gets laid by him, she could literally say she went 'undercover'' he grinned, while searching for the elevator. Laika didn't look up at him.

'What? Not funny? Hmm, I thought so, really,' They went into the elevator, with a dozen other people.

It took Tony less than one week to become completely, utterly and undeniably bored with his new job. His new colleagues were fine people. They were easy to talk with, fun to hang around with and they didn't ask nosy questions he didn't want to answer. The people he delivered the mail to were mostly reasonably kind, but very busy. There were a few reporters in the building he had really talked to. The moment Tony had found out they covered news about government agencies he had decided to warm up a connection. It was the best way to stay informed as quick as possible: he couldn't let go of NCIS completely.

Every day he went home, and he ate and cleaned up the mess he had left when he went out to work. He walked with Laika, sometimes playing with her. He had learned to read her like she was a human. He found out she had moods, opinions and certain hobbies. He even found out that she really was fond of his leftover pizza and hated dry food. The biggest surprise was that she liked beer. After spilling some on the floor, due to a painful encounter with a table, she was quicker than light to lick it up.

'You can't do that too often, Laika,' Tony sighed. Laika looked at him innocently. 'Come on, what would Gibbs say if he saw you drunk? He would slap me silly, that's right! Why can't you just hate beer like any good sober dog would...' Tony fell silent and thought of something. He went to his kitchen, and got a beer from the fridge. He poured some of it in Laika's water bowl and placed it in front of her. Five minutes later the beer was gone and Laika was looking up at Tony expectantly: she wanted more.

'Well, I guess you found yourself a new treat girl. Malt beer it is,' Tony grinned. 'But believe me, if I ever, and I mean ever, catch you with an alcoholic beverage, I will never play catch with you again. Got that?'

'Woof!'

'Good girl. Now let's watch this movie,' Tony reached for the DVD case but Laika beat him to it. She took it in her mouth, and walked away with it.

'What, it's not good enough or something?' Laika stood in front of his door, looking back to see if he was coming.

'You want to go outside with it? You want to take my Special Edition of The Italian Job outside?' Tony looked bewildered. What on earth was she up to? 'I am not going to open that door for you Laika. Forget it. I just want to watch...'

Laika opened the door and left his apartment. Tony grabbed a coat and followed her, closing the door behind him.

'Why did I have to teach her how to open doors... Laika! Wait up!' He wheeled at top speed to the elevators, seeing Laika running down the stairs.

'That's cheating!' Tony yelled down the stairs. He raced into the elevator and tried to look it down harder. When he got out he saw Laika waiting outside.

'If I find dents in that casing, I'm going to kill you!' Laika ran down the street, turned left and took off. Tony followed her as fast as possible. Every time he thought he lost her, she would stand somewhere as if she was waiting for him. They turned a right, through a park. Tony now really got into it. He wheeled faster and faster, cutting off the edges of the path he was following. Laika left the small park, took a right and crossed a street. Tony shot a quick glance to both sides and crossed the street too. Suddenly he recognized the neighborhood. He knew where Laika was going, and even better: he knew a short cut.

He turned right instead of following Laika again. If he was correct, there would be a small set of stairs behind the block. The moment he took the corner and saw the stairs two things hit him: the stairs were bigger than he remembered. And how the hell was he suppose to go down them? He knew Laika had to run up and down a hill before she could reach the right street. The only problem to take the stairs was that if he lost balance he would fall. Hard. And even though he didn't feel a thing in his legs, the idea off falling down the stairs wasn't very attractive. But losing this race from Laika would be too embarrassing.

Tony took a deep breath and looked down the stairs. Ten steps. Ten possible fatal steps. The positive side of it was that he wouldn't need his chair anymore. Oh come on DiNozzo, you always liked taking a risk or two. Another deep breath and off he went.

Tony started balancing himself on two wheels. Carefully he rolled forwards, down to the step. He almost lost balance, but gained it with one swift pull on the breaks. The second step went more fluently, he recognized the right way to balance when he was standing on a step and when he landed on one. Along the way down a wide grin spread on his face. He knew he had learned how to do wheelies for a reason! He hopped down the last one, and looked back up the stairs he just took. A familiar face was looking down on him.

'Laika! I thought you were over there. This was a race remember?' Laika ran down the stairs and dropped his DVD case on his lap. It was almost spotless, a bit wet from her saliva but that was it.

'Good girl, not even a scratch,' Tony smiled. 'But you know that you are really not getting the point of racing? You are supposed to try and win from me, not to follow me around,'

Laika licked his face, and waggled with her tail a bit.

'Oh I get it. You thought that I would break my neck, didn't you?'

'Woof!'

'Well, I wasn't planning to do so. But thanks anyway for having my six. No, I'm guessing that you didn't really want to race then did you?'

Another bark was the response, and Laika walked a few steps ahead.

'Alright, I'm coming already. Does Ziva even know we are going to watch a movie at her place? Does she even have an elevator in her building, because going down the stairs is easier than going up. I'm not even sure if it's possible to go up a stairs on wheels,' Tony talked on, while Laika walked further away.

'Maybe we should call her? Oh wait, I left my cell phone at home because someone decided to take off in a hurry,' he looked up and saw he was talking to himself.

'Hey, Laika. Wait up!'