A/N: WOW!!! I have had my sneaky little ninja niece and rotten nephew all night and when I logged in to my email account I was OVERWHELMED with alerts and some reviews! I was so excited!! So I am updating chapter 2 and writing 3 and 4 while the kids are asleep and will try to post them before they wake up!!! REVIEWS ARE LOVE!
It was very unusual for Agent Anthony Dinozzo to be on time let alone be early but today he was just that. Early. But he had come to talk to the director before the rest of the team got there.
He knocked on the door to her office and heard her yell "Come in Agent Dinozzo." He walked in with a quizzical look on his face. "Cynthia called and told me you were on your way in." He nodded. Made sense. "So you have already come to a decision? I thought you would have taken all 72 hours. Especially since your were so adamant about making sure Gibbs was okay."
"Well Jenny that was yesterday. A lot of things were said yesterday that made my decision for me. I want the job in Rota. When do I leave?"
"Okay. Congratulations Tony. I can give you a couple of weeks to pack and get things organized…"
"No need ma'am. I would like to leave as soon as possible if you don't mind." He didn't want to be here any longer than absolutely necessary.
"Okay." She looked at him suspiciously but didn't question it. She knew something must have happened yesterday with him and the team. They had been giving him a hard time about being demoted back to senior field agent but she had always intended to promote Tony and give him his own team even if Gibbs hadn't left. "Well we can leave Friday then."
"We Jen?" Why would she be going?
"Yes we Tony. I would like to make sure you get settled in okay and meet your new team. Plus I have some things to attend to while we are there. Now would you like me to be the one to tell the team or would you like to do it yourself?"
"I would like to tell Abby and Ducky. The rest of the team I will let you tell. But can I tell Abby and Ducky first ma'am?" He asked. He didn't really care if the rest of the team didn't find out until he was already on a plane Friday morning. He just knew he had to be the one to tell Abby. She deserved it. She was the only one to give him a chance at being leader. Well other than Ducky. He knew she would be happy he was getting his own team. Just not happy about him moving across the ocean.
"Of course. Just let me know when you want me to tell the other three." She said. Now she knew something had happened. It was definitely a good thing she gave him the promotion. Nobody deserved to be teased about being demoted. Sure Tony teased and made fun of them all the time but it was childish fun it was not something as serious as this. That was not very funny to her. Luckily Agent Bryan had decided to retire so she could give his position to Tony. He deserved it after all the hard work he did while Gibbs was away. He logged more hours and did more work than Gibbs ever did to try and prove he deserved the job. And he did. He more than proved it.
"Thank you Jenny." With that he turned and left her office.
As he walked down the stairs he saw Ziva and Mcgee were already in the bullpen. They looked up as he walked into the bullpen. They looked surprised to see him there already.
"What did you do Tony?" Mcgee asked teasingly.
"What makes you think I did anything Mcgeek?" Tony asked rather harshly.
"Two days in a row Tony you have been called in to the director's office. I just assumed you were in trouble."
"Well you assumed wrong. And you know the old saying about making assumptions Mcdork."
"I do not know this saying." Ziva said. She could sense Tony was upset about something. They had gotten very close this summer. She hoped it didn't have something to do with that girl he had been dating.
"Assuming makes an ass out of you." He said glaring at her. "Where's Gibbs?"
"Not here yet." She said confused. He was being an ass himself and she didn't understand why.
"Great. I am going down to talk to Abby." He stalked off to the elevator.
Mcgee and Ziva just looked at each other. "What is his problem?" Ziva finally asked.
"No idea."
Director Shepard had been watching from the catwalk. She just shook her head they didn't have any idea how much they had hurt him. Now they will never get the chance to make things better.