A/N:

To one of the guest reviewers: Calm down! :) Well, first of all, the reason I didn't add this sequel as a chapter to the original story is that I didn't want to ruin that ending! I liked it a lot, too and there's no need to read this one if you want that ending! Besides, I never said things are going to get back to normal miraculously! Did I? Just because Tony might stay with his old team, doesn't mean he'll act the same way he did before things went sour! And like you read in the first chapter (If you did read that chapter!) forgiving and forgetting are two different things.

* Oh, this reminded me of one of the reviews I got for the last chapter of 'Irreversible Step' and I'd like to address it here and I hope whoever posted it, would read this one. She'd mentioned that it's not like Tony to hold a grudge and I want to say that:
This is not about holding a grudge, it's about giving up; having had enough; finally standing up for himself! That's different because Tony's not holding a grudge against his team; if he wanted to do that, he'd have done so years ago and he's not waiting for an opportunity to get revenge or hurt them! He's just going to stop letting them walk all over him. That's it. I felt I needed to say this. :)

Now back to the story at hand!
You guys! Why do you need to know about the undercover mission?!:D It's called secret for a reason! I'm kidding, but on a serious note, it wasn't the point of this story... And I apologize for not adding anything about it. But that doesn't make this story an alternate ending to 'Irreversible step' as it happens long time after that and is a continuation of what's happened there.

And I think it was clear that it was a mission for NCIS, I mean Vance was in the loop and the operators were Tony and Callen! That must say something!
As for Tony's resignation, he just left the team and the letter was for Gibbs! He hasn't left NCIS! I'm sorry if that wasn't clear.

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Despite what Tony had told him about his mission being almost over, it took another seven weeks for Gibbs to hear anything about Tony again.

At first, when he came back from visiting Tony, he was happy. He'd smile every now and then and the changes in his behavior were so obvious that Ducky had outright asked him if he'd seen Tony; because what else could change his mood like that? Gibbs, of course, had just smiled and said that he had no idea what Ducky was talking about. But the old ME had just chuckled while shaking his head, knowing the actual answer to his question.

After a while, though, when the time passed and he didn't hear anything from the currently undercover agent, he once again got worried and went back to his sour mood.

He couldn't decide which one of the scenarios in his head was the worst one, the one in which the mission was over and Tony had decided that he wasn't ready to deal with his old team and had once again disappeared with no word? Or the one in which the mission had stretched out. He didn't even want to think about the third option, in which the mission had gone wrong and something terrible had happened.

The only consolation was that Tony had promised to call him and ready to deal with them or not, Tony wouldn't break his promise.

And if anything had happened, someone would've informed him. Either Callen, or someone from his team in L.A or even Vance. He just knew someone would let him know if things had gone wrong and something had happened to Tony; because he couldn't exactly trust his gut feeling as he was too worried about so many possible scenarios.

That was why he'd opted to go with the second scenario, believing that the only reason there was still no news, was because the mission wasn't over yet. And although it wasn't a pleasant thought, it, at least, was much better than the alternatives.

So he decided to wait a while longer before going to Vance and demanding some answers. After all, Vance wasn't too happy with him at the moment; not that he cared or anything, but if he wanted to get some answers later, he had to behave for a while.

Vance had been outraged when he'd found out that Gibbs had used his so-called vacation to visit Tony. He'd called Gibbs to his office and had made it completely clear what he thought of Gibbs 'selfish, rookie mistake'! He'd even threatened the ex-marine with a formal reprimand, but they both knew those things meant nothing to Gibbs.

But at least the Lead Agent had had the decency to feel and look disturbed for risking Tony's life and mission by rushing to his place without thinking or talking to Vance first.

Vance had made him talk about how he'd found out about DiNozzo's whereabouts, and when he heard that an old friend of Gibbs who was also a cop had seen Tony and had informed Gibbs, he ordered Tony and Callen to change their place and lay lower for a while.

Gibbs' visit had certainly slowed down everything.

Vance had also made Gibbs deal with the LEOs to make sure they wouldn't approach DiNozzo or Callen.

There was nothing else he could do at that moment and they all just hoped that Gibbs' visit hadn't ruined everything.

So, when things kept going as usual, they all breathed a bit easier, thanking their lucky stars that Tony had such a firm hold of the situation.

That had been six week ago.

Finally seven week after Gibbs' visit with Tony, on a Thursday night, Gibbs' phone rang and when he answered it, Tony was on the line, asking him if his invitation was still standing.

Dammit; he'd pretty much begged the younger man to forget those stupid words that had left his mouth that day in the bullpen; he'd almost begged for his forgiveness, and he still called first, sounding hesitant, before showing up at his place.

Well, at least the stupid mission was over and he could have his boy where he could always have an eye on him and he'd know what was happening to him. Or it'd be so if Tony decided to stay. With everything that had happened lately, he preferred not to count his chickens before they hatched.

Tony showed up at his doorstep a couple of hours after the call and it was almost midnight when he knocked on the door.

After the phone call, it didn't surprise Gibbs that Tony hadn't just entered the house; it was like the younger man was giving him a last chance to take his invitation back. He went and opened the door, looking composed and stoic, but the sight that greeted him did what the knock on the door hadn't done; it shocked him into silence.

Tony was leaning heavily on a cane and had an arm, which was in a large cast, carefully around his ribs. And he looked so pale and spent that as cliché as it might sound, he was the very definition of death warmed over.

"What the hell?" Gibbs finally blurted out and automatically went forward and helped Tony in the house, feeling even more concerned when Tony didn't resist his help and actually leaned against him.

"What happened to you? Where the hell is Callen?"

"Don't kill him." Tony grunted as he slowly lowered himself onto the couch. "He was actually a great help. And he's back in L.A. We came to the conclusion that it was better if he went back to his own team."

"What the hell happened and just how long ago was the mission over?"

"Umm, it's been a few days."

"Then why didn't anybody inform me?"

"I guess Vance wanted to get back at you." Tony chuckled.

Gibbs had to fight the urge to say something nasty out loud. "What happened?" He asked instead.

"Well, I can't go into details but at the end, things got a tad bit ugly." Tony sighed once the throbbing in his side subsided. "Callen was shot in the shoulder trying to get me out of there." He added to clarify the huge role his temporary partner had played in his survival.

"And you?"

"No permanent Damage."

"DiNozzo." Gibbs growled.

"Hmm, you sound like your old self this time."

Gibbs smirked, well aware of what his, hopefully, soon to be SFA again was doing. "You can't avoid that question. Just answer it so we can move on."

"Fine." Tony growled. "Two gunshot wounds to the thigh. A broken arm and a couple of cracked ribs from falling down the stairs and a bullet to the side. The last one was more like a gouge, though. Just needed some stitches. "

"How long were you in the hospital?" Gibbs asked and tried to hide his concern over the list of Tony's injuries, knowing the younger man didn't like a fuss.

"Hmm. About three days, I guess." Tony yawned.

"You were discharged?"

"Surprisingly, yes." Tony grinned proudly, and then sobered. "Sorry for bothering you at this hour. I just... Well, I couldn't find my keys and wallet and didn't realize it until I was at the airport. I had a few bucks in my pocket, but it wasn't enough for me to check into a hotel." He said awkwardly.

Gibbs stared at him for a few seconds and felt a pang of guilt in his chest. "You're lucky then." He said, once again trying not to show his feelings at hearing Tony's words. "I would've shot you if I found out that you'd gone to a hotel instead of coming here."

Tony's smile was crooked but it was a smile nonetheless. "Thanks, I guess."

"You should've called me before landing; I would've come to the airport. And I'll shoot Callen for leaving you like this and for not letting me know what has happened."

"I asked him not to." Tony sounded firm, like he knew Gibbs could get what he meant and so he should leave that matter alone.

And Gibbs did get it and even though it was hard not to make Tony talk, he had to respect his friend's wish. "Lie down. I'll get you some pillows and a blanket."

"Thanks. Don't think I could make it upstairs."

"You need painkillers?"

"Not now. Maybe in a couple of hours."

Gibbs nodded and disappeared up the stairs.

Some minutes later, Tony had a glass of water with the bottle of his painkiller on the coffee table and was happily resting against the pillows that Gibbs had fetched him.

Sleep didn't seem to be around, though.

As tired as he was, there were so many thing on his mind that Tony couldn't calm down enough to go to sleep.

So he just lay there and stared at the ceiling, thinking about the house he was once again resting in. He'd thought that he'd never see the inside of it again. At least not willingly and yet, he had to admit that he hadn't felt this comfortable in close to a year and that said a lot with the amount of pain that was radiating from every inch of his body at that moment.

That thought scared him more than anything, though; because he couldn't go back to where he was before all this.

He really did want to believe Gibbs and move on, but it was hard when he remembered more than just one occasion when he'd been dressed down for no reason and the comments Gibbs had thrown his way knowing they'd hurt.
But then again, he'd been able to forgive his father and that man had done things way worse than Gibbs had; he wouldn't forget what his father had done and he would never let his old man in completely, but in comparison, it shouldn't be hard at all to forget Gibbs' mistakes and he knew he himself didn't make it easy for the others; he knew he'd made many mistakes.

The only thing was that it would always hurt a lot worse when the blow came from an unexpected source, from someone you trusted with your everything. And that was why he was determined not to let anyone, not even Gibbs, use him and see him as the comic relief again.

Enough was enough.

"The painkiller might actually help you sleep, you know?" Gibbs' voice startled him a bit and he winced as he jolted his healing ribs and side. He hadn't come out of undercover mode completely and letting his guard down was a bit hard; hearing unexpected noises was even worse.

"Didn't mean to startle you." Gibbs grimaced in sympathy.

"It's alright." Tony tried to reassure. "And I will take a Vicodin in a few."

Gibbs nodded his head. "So, have you decided whether you want to come back to the team or not?" He asked when he saw that the younger man wasn't going to get sleep any time soon. He really needed to know the answer to that question or he wouldn't be able to sleep, himself.

"Huh?" Tony blinked in confusion. "Oh. Umm, I... Yes, I will if-"

"Good." Gibbs' happy voice cut him off.

And Tony fought the urge to laugh at the joy in the older man's voice. It felt great to know he was actually wanted. Well, maybe he could settle down again.

After all, Gibbs had done a lot of good things for him and if he was so fed up that he couldn't forget the mistakes, he was still a fair person. He'd never forget the favors that people had done him.

He supposed he could hide a few scars and some hurt feelings; because those scars wouldn't just go away, really. And somehow, it felt like the Lead Agent was genuine in his effort and he was showing so many feelings that Tony hadn't seen in over twelve years of working with him.

"I'll arrange things tomorrow and you can come back to work whenever you are ready to sit behind a desk. Desk duty until you can run around again."

"Of course."

"One more thing." Gibbs seemed hesitant.

"What?" Tony frowned.

"Ziva's gone." He needed to inform his Senior Field Agent beforehand.

"What?" Tony's eyes widened. "I thought you said-"

"No. Not dead gone. Gone as in she's resigned and has gone back to Israel."

Tony's eyebrow rose this time. "Huh. Why?"

"I guess she couldn't take the pressure that your absence had caused. Or maybe she had an epiphany. Who knows?"

Tony snorted. "Yeah. Right." He dug deep down to feel a little bit of remorse at hearing that news, but found out that there was none. He felt nothing about her permanent leave. "Wait." he suddenly frowned. "So it's been just you and McGee?"

"Of course not. A two man team is not something I can have with just anybody. We've had different TADs sitting at Ziva's desk."

"Hmm." Tony looked up at the ceiling. "So things really have changed." He said and thought that maybe now McGee would act less hostile and be less wicked, because if he was honest with himself, everything had started to get messy when Ziva had joined the team.

She used to be his teammate and he'd always have her back, but there were times that he doubted Ziva had his.

Of course, it wasn't all on Ziva; McGee had always had the tendency to feel superior, but he could put him in his place. That wouldn't be a problem anymore. He knew how to treat him now and he would make sure that the junior agent and any added member to the team knew that he was their superior and they had to respect him and his position.

Friends, no more!

He wouldn't let them walk all over him again and if he did it right this time, he might actually be able to feel less suffocated around them.

He'd do his job and enjoy it and he'd make sure everyone knew where he was standing with the team and somehow he knew that this time Gibbs would have his back all the way; because if the older man forgot it again after a while, then Tony would really leave. He had some standing job offers he wouldn't mind considering.

"That's what I told you." Gibbs' response brought him out of his thoughts. "And once you come back, everything will finally fall into place."

Tony looked Gibbs in the eyes and realized that he didn't hate the idea of getting up and going to the Navy Yard every morning anymore. He, of course, would keep his distance to prevent getting hurt, again, but at least it didn't feel like a torture anymore. "Thanks, I guess." He said quietly.

It was a rare and very strange sight, but when Gibbs smiled, his smile was wide and bright. "No, Tony. Thank you."

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... The END ...

A/N: On a final note, yes, Gibbs IS OOC, but this is a fiction, sometimes a total bastard Gibbs is not what we want or we wouldn't write or read fics. Right?! ;)

Thanks for all the faves and alerts; I really appreciate your support. Thank you SO much. And thanks to those anonymous reviewers whose reviews I couldn't answer individually.

Hope you've enjoyed this short sequel.

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All mistakes are mine.

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