AN: Sorry about the delay. I was intending to post one a day starting 24 Dec but I've had a few problems logging into the site. Anyway, to make up for it I'm posting three today and then the rest as planned. Fingers crossed.

Title: The man they loved to hate. Author: SA3466996. Rating: T, PG-13. Category: Angst. Genre: Gen. Pairing: None. Character(s): DiNozzo. Summary: DiNozzo tries to figure out his role within the extended team. Spoilers: S7.03 The Inside Man. Disclaimer: NCIS characters belong to Bellisario, CBS and Paramount. No copyright infringement intended.

AN: Based on 'Creep' by Radiohead (4:21). 301 words

Tony always knew the right time to get out of a situation. He'd moved on a lot. Sometimes because he'd wanted to - like when he got a promotion, when he fancied a change or when someone had made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Other times he was pushed. Felt like he didn't belong; had run his course and couldn't understand where he fit in. He'd been trying to understand where he fit in to the extended team for the past six months. Perhaps he never should have left the Sea Hawk. While he hadn't exactly enjoyed life afloat, at least he knew how he fit in. Being the man everybody loved to hate wasn't exactly what he'd joined NCIS for. Nevertheless, it was a role. He'd felt special; known what he was there for and done what he was there for. Most importantly, on a day-to-day basis, he hadn't been used as a pawn in other people's political chess wars. He'd been his own boss, managed his own workload and hadn't felt like he was biding time until something happened or someone screwed someone over and he was needed as the fall guy.

Felt a lot like that now. What was it with Gibbs lately? How come getting him and McGee out of trouble with the local LEOs was beyond Gibbs's pay cheque? Yet the same man had allowed him to put his neck on the line and travel half way across the world to catch the terrorist he'd thought had been responsible for killing Ziva. He knew he wasn't indispensable but did Gibbs really think so little of him that he couldn't make a call? Why d'he have to let Vance handle it?

Would they really miss him if he left?

Well they were about to find out.