Deanna just wanted to return home but it was against protocol to let someone into a crime scene.
"I promise I will not touch the crime scene. I just want to lay down in mine and Tony's bed please." Deanna begged.
Gibbs caved. She had been through so much tonight he could at least give her that. McGee took Deanna home. It was like she was in a daze the during the car ride. McGee was worried about her.
"Tony was a great man." McGee said trying to hold back from crying.
"I could have saved him Tim. It's all my fault he's dead." Deanna cried.
"Don't say that! There was nothing you could have done different."
"If I would have called 911 than maybe he would still be alive."
"You didn't call 911?"
"No I panicked I didn't know what to do. I saw Tony get shot. I went rushing over to him and there was already a growing pool of blood. I knew Gibbs could help so I called him. I didn't know Tony was going to die. If I had known, I would have called 911 or I would have tried loading him into our car and took him to Bethesda myself. I knew he had been shot, I just didn't know it shredded his heart." With that Deanna went silent.
Going back into their house without Tony was almost more than Deanna could handle. She had a heavy feeling that weighed her down. Could she actually go back into their bedroom without breaking down? She looked at the piano in which he would sit at and could almost see him playing and smiling back at her. There was so many thoughts going through her head. Why did the earth still move, how could she carry on? She walked into the bedroom and seen the pool of blood. She desperately wanted to clean it up. If it wasn't there, then maybe he would still be alive. Against protocol she went and laid down in the bed that Tony had bought to surprise her after she was first brought to Washington. Being mentally and physically exhausted she fell asleep fast, but it wasn't long before she woke up. Feeling like it was all just a bad dream, she reached over onto Tony's side in vain.
"Tony….." she whispered before the pain of remembering he was gone sat back in. How she desperately wanted to put her arms around his neck. That night she held on to her nightgown that was covered in his blood and cried herself to sleep.
The next morning Abby's phone rang early. To her surprise it was Ziva.
"Hey I'm back in Washington, how's Tony doing?" Ziva asked
"We lost him Ziva." Abby said with tears.
"Are you serious? I didn't even get to say goodbye."
"Ducky will be getting Tony's body around 9 this morning and I think he said he would start the autopsy around 11 if you would like to go in and see him."
"I should have been there for him." Ziva said beating herself up for not being there when Tony passed. "I will meet you at headquarters a little before 9."
Ziva met with Abby done in the lab just before 9 a.m. She couldn't believe Tony was gone but then again there was a lot of things Tony had done that she couldn't believe. Until she seen the body how did she know he was dead. Abby gave her a hug the minute she seen her.
"I am so sorry Ziva, I wish you could have come back on better terms." Abby cried.
"I wish I could have come back and made my life here with Tony. Tali broke my heart this morning. When we walked into Tony's old apartment, Tali went running through the house asking where Abba was." Ziva said wiping tears from her eyes. "Can you please take me to him Abby."
Abby put her arm around Ziva and they went to autopsy. Ducky had just arrived back from Bethesda with Tony's body. Ziva could tell the older man had been crying. It wasn't every day that you had to work on a friend. He looked up and halfway smiled when he seen Ziva.
"My dear it is good to see you." Ducky said and went over and gave her a hug.
"Thanks Ducky it's good to see you too. Can I please see him?" She asked through tears.
"Yes my dear." Ducky said. He walked over to Tony's body and unzipped the body bag.
Tony opened his eyes and looked at Ziva "Did ya miss me?" he asked.
Ziva screamed and stepped back. Was this some prank to get her back at headquarters? She took another look inside the body bag only to realize her mind was playing tricks on her. It really was Tony but he really was dead. She could see his bullet wounds and his pale face. She leaned down and kissed him. How she had longed to feel his embrace again.
"Who done this to him?" Ziva asked.
"We will be running a full investigation." Abby answered.
"How is the rest of the team coping?"
"They are managing. The one that is having the hardest time with it is his wife."
"His wife? Tony got married?" Ziva spat. "Tony DiNozzo you son of a…."
"Ziva! He's dead. There's nothing you can do about it now." Abby said trying to calm Ziva down.
"When did they get married?"
"About a year ago. They have two children, twins, a boy and a girl."
"So Tali isn't the only child he loved. I can't believe he would just forget about us."
"He never forgot about you Ziva." Ducky popped up and responded. "He loved you. He wanted to bring you back here. But after the two of you broke up, he found it hard to move on. Then he met Deanna and his life was finally starting to come together."
"Promise me you won't let the rest of the team know I'm here." Ziva said.
"Where are you going?" Abby questioned.
"I will be at Tony's old apartment if you need me." She answered storming out.
Gibbs gathered his team together after Ducky finished the autopsy. Kate and McGee had come back with evidence to be run for the investigation and Abby had prints.
"Ducky what did you find?" Gibbs questioned.
"Well it definitely wasn't suicide. It was murder. With the way he was shot, it was at point blank range. I agree with what Dr. Pitt said at the hospital. I don't see how in the world Tony ever made it into the ambulance. By looking at his heart it was shredded. He should have been dead before anyone could have gotten to him."
"And the only one with him that night was Deanna." Abby popped up. "I pulled phone records and you might find this interesting. She never called 911. She wanted Tony to die. I think it was for a life insurance policy."
"Deanna wouldn't do something like that. She loved Tony. Insurance policy or not, she wouldn't kill him in cold blood." Kate defended.
"No, she didn't call 911. I did." Gibbs said rubbing his eyes. "She called me. She panicked because she was in shock."
"Gibbs she's an agent we don't panic at the first sight of blood. She should have been the one to call 911 then call you. What is she trying to hide?" Abby said trying to convince the other agents.
It made since to Kate and McGee, why wouldn't she call 911? They just couldn't picture her doing anything to Tony, she was in too much shock.
"I think for now we need to worry about being there for Deanna and not accusing her of something she didn't do. We will continue the investigation after the funeral." Gibbs said.
"But Gibbs?" Abbs exclaimed.
"No Abby…you are all dismissed."
Abby slipped off to go see Ziva.
"I honestly believe his wife was the one that done it!" Abby exclaimed.
"But what if she's not? We are both agents. Why would we want to kill one of our own and especially the man that we love?" Ziva asked.
"Unless we set her up. Make it look like she did it to get his benefits and move back to Oklahoma."
"You're seriously going to frame one of our own? Don't get me wrong I may not like her because she stole Tony away but would we really want to throw her in prison and let the real killer go free?"
"If it meant that you and Tali got all the benefits and his will would you do it?"
"How can I help?"
Deanna sat at home and rocked on the couch. Everywhere she looked things reminded her of Tony. It was about to drive her insane. She wouldn't eat and she wouldn't move off of the couch. McGee, Kate and Gibbs went over to check on her. Much to their surprise the door was left unlocked. They walked in and found her on the couch. Her face and eyes red from crying. She was still holding her blood stained nightgown.
"It's the last thing I have of him. If I could just take the blood that's in the bedroom and put it back in him he would still be alive. Wouldn't he Gibbs?" She looked up and asked.
Gibbs got down on his knees and looked Deanna in the face.
"You and I both know it doesn't work like that. I wish it did. We miss him too."
Kate sat down on the couch and put her arm around Deanna. Little did Deanna know that her fellow agents were about to interrogate her.
"Is there anything that happened anything at all that you may not have told us?" Gibbs asked.
"No I can still see it very vividly."
"Can you walk us through what happened last night please." McGee asked.
"We had just got the twins laid down to go to sleep for the night. We made it back to our bedroom and laid down. Around 11 there was a sound almost like knocking on the sliding patio door. Tony thought it was just a tree limb and was going to go move it. I got up to go to the bathroom. I heard him say something and I figured he was talking to me. As I came back into the bedroom I heard the gun shots ring out. I saw him struggle to stay up and then he fell and hit the floor hard. I rushed over to him and there was already a growing pool of blood. I wasn't sure where all the blood was coming from. Blood has never bothered me before but seeing the man you love bleeding and fighting for his life you panic. I didn't know what to do so I called Gibbs." Deanna managed to tell them before she broke down again. "And now he's gone."
Kate looked at McGee and nodded her head. She knew that Deanna was telling the truth. There was no way Deanna could have killed Tony.
"Ducky is releasing the body to the funeral home in just about an hour. Would you like to see him before then?" Gibbs asked.
"Please." Deanna managed through the tears.
As they walked out to the car Kate looked at McGee "She's telling the truth."
"I know. I just wonder who actually did this and who would want Tony dead." McGee responded.
Gibbs informed Ducky that they were on their way to autopsy with Deanna. He stood over Tony's body and began to talk to him.
"Anthony, who done this to you? Whoever it was wanted you dead that's for sure. You were a really good agent. That Ziva loves you and so does Deanna. My having to women after your heart would tear my heart up too." Ducky told Tony's body.
Seeing Tony for the first time since he died was harder on Deanna then she thought it would be. She was with him when he took his last breath but to see him down in autopsy and on one of Ducky's tables was too much for her. She walked over to his body and held his hand. She looked down to see he still had his wedding ring on. It tore her apart. She attempted to give him one last hug and a kiss before she completely broke down. She was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Gibbs was afraid they would have to put her in a mental ward before all this was over.
"Would you like to go upstairs and gather the things from his desk?" McGee asked with Gibbs and Kate giving him a death glare.
"I don't know if I can even face the bullpen little on his desk at the moment." Deanna cried. "I just want to stay with Tony."
Ducky allowed her to ride with himself and Tony's body over to the funeral home. Letting go was going to be extremely hard. Once they got to the funeral home Deanna wasn't allowed to go back with the director. Ducky tried to comfort her. She didn't want to let go of Tony's hand. It was almost like having to say goodbye all over again.
Ziva is back! What will her and Abby cook up? Plus, the team says goodbye to their very special agent Tony at his funeral, how will Deanna be able to handle it? New Chapter up soon! Please review!
