A/N: To the Guest who left a review about the story's happy endings; umm, honey, did you actually read chapter 7 before leaving that review? Cuz I'm pretty sure what I wrote is far from a happy ending and I'm absolutely sure in that chapter Tony just declared that he's leaving the team! That's why I don't get why you said you couldn't take it that in my stories Tony always stays, no matter what! I mean I didn't do it this time... But well, in any case, I need to thank you for sticking with this story for so long. I really appreciate it. :)

Gibbs needed to clear his head; this was too much for him, so without any words, he stood up from his seat and left the room.

Tony stared at the older man's back as he left the room, knowing that as much Gibbs wanted to show he was OK talking openly or expressing his feelings, this was way out of his comfort zone; he wasn't feeling very comfortable pouring out his heart, either, but he'd reached his limits and for once, he had to show his anger; because at that moment, that seemed to be all he could do.

So if Gibbs didn't want to accept his reasoning or didn't want to face him again after hearing those things, then so be it. He was going to leave the team and he was going to let them know he wasn't being a brat, running away from home when things didn't go his way; he needed them to know that he had good reasons for what he was doing. He didn't care if they turned their backs on him and closed every signle door because he couldn't stay and take their BS anymore; he had chosen to leave, so he'd live with its consequences, no matter how bitter they were.

Grabbing a magazine from the bedside table, he started to flip through the pages but couldn't find anything interesting; after some minutes, he was finally about to give up and just try to get some sleep when Gibbs' voice startled him.

Well, at least the older man hadn't run back to the solace of his basement and they could finish their talk.

"There's nothing I can do to change your mind, is there?" The ex-marine sounded resigned as he leaned his shoulder against the wall next to the door; a fresh cup of coffee in his hand.

Tony studied him for a few seconds before answering, "Only if you can convince me that everything I just said is not true."

Gibbs remained silent; cursing himself quietly for the things that he had failed to notice sooner, when it still mattered.

"So you agree."

"When you died in front of my eyes..." Gibbs swallowed and looked up at the ceiling for a few seconds. "Let's just say it opened my eyes. It was worse than watching it happening on every single screen of the MTAC." He clenched his jaw for a second as he remembered the other time he'd thought he'd lost his SFA; that time his concern had soon been replaced by anger and once again he'd aimed it at the wrong person; the only person who shouldn't have been the target... This time, though-... This time it was worse; this time he'd been sure Tony had died and he'd lived with that thought for days and he'd been so distraught that there was no way he'd let the anger win again. "I'd do anything to keep you here; I wish there was something, but-"

"But you understand why I need to leave? That I'm not running away?"

Gibbs nodded. He couldn't pretend he didn't; that'd only mean he was dense. He was feeling ashamed that his action and words over the years had made things so hard for his best agent and what was worse was that with those actions, he'd taken another family from Tony and had made him believe that he could never have one. He was the one who'd screwed up the most. Royally. "I've been trying to find a reason for the way I've been acting; but I can't even convince myself. So-" he shook his head, showing that he totally understood what mistakes he'd made and what he had let the others do by following his lead. He really couldn't come up with a solid reason why he'd been treating Tony like crap, or why he was so adamant that he kept every source of happiness out of his own life; it was like he believed he didn't deserve to be happy again, and because of that he needed to keep Tony at arm's length or he'd bring smile and happiness to his home and his life... And by pushing Tony away, he'd hurt the younger man over and over again.

He couldn't tell who he was trying to punish there; Tony for still being able to smile after going through so many rough things throughout his life, or himself, for tasting happiness again after losing his girls.

Taking a sip of his coffee, he silently pushed those thoughts down. "When did you get that job offer? Where's your next stop?" He finally asked, knowing that if he couldn't change the past, he should at least work on the future.

"First time was about two months ago, after that joint undercover operation with DEA."

Gibbs cursed under his breath and said, "I knew I should've fought harder against that operation."

Tony gave a tiny smile. "They want me for undercover operations, mostly. But I guess I'll have my fair share of normal cases as well and apparently there'll be lots of consulting and teaching till I can get my clean bill of health, which obviously won't happen anytime soon." He added dejectedly. "I think I'll be sent to California. They've mentioned my Spanish beside my undercover skills."

"California?" Gibbs' face fell visibly. That was way too far away; he was hoping that the younger man would at least stay nearby; that way he could find a way to fix a few things.

It was far and Tony knew Gibbs wasn't one to use the phone, so if he went, that'd probably be it for them; unless Gibbs was really willing to maintain the so called semi-friendship between them.

"You'll have a team to have your back?"

At that, Tony almost rolled his eyes. "Yes. I'm gonna be the supervising agent, as well as being responsible for training some new recruits." He explained further, knowing what kind of questions the ex-marine would have.

"You know way too much about this job; have you considered it before this... Whole thing?" Gibbs couldn't help but ask.

"I've given it some thoughts before," Tony nodded, "but I turned it down the first time." He added.

"So?" Gibbs asked with a raised eyebrow; his voice not betraying his internal conflict; on the inside, the knowledge of how badly he'd failed, hit him again, harder, this time. DiNozzo had once turned down that offer, which meant if it hadn't been for that figurative last straw that they'd so cruelly added to the figurative camel's back, Tony'd forget about that job offer and would stay with them, and they'd still be a team, because the truth was that their team was never whole and never a perfect one without DiNozzo there; after all, whenever he wasn't there for a long period of time; they all felt like something huge was missing.

Tony's sigh put a halt to Gibbs' train of thought. "I was told the job was mine if I changed my mind; they said that they were willing to create an extra team if I took charge of it. Last week I gave them a call and they said the offer was still on the table."

"They really want you, don't they?"

"I sure hope so." Tony shrugged with his right shoulder.

"You'll be careful there, you hear me? And-" The older agent paused. "Watch your back. Don't trust anyone."

Tony could clearly hear the unsaid part behind those words, the 'Don't trust anyone like you trusted us; because we failed.'

"I don't regret working for you, Gibbs." He needed to let his... now ex-boss know that. "I've learned a lot from you and I still trust you with my back." But it'd end there. He added silently; although he knew the older agent had a pretty good idea how he really felt.

"I was proud to have you work with me." Gibbs' voice was calm and warm. "And like I said, I've never trusted anyone else like I trust you; that will never change; and I have a lot of respect for you; I should've never made you think otherwise; I'm sorry for not showing it when it meant something and... for ruining another family for you." He sighed, trying not to think about future. "You're the one that makes the MCRT a real team."

Tony was quiet. He narrowed his eyes and fought the urge to follow his routine and placate his once mentor, telling him that it was alright and he was fine; he really couldn't do that; not after showing the older man the depth of his hurt. Not when everything wasn't really fine and alright.

"Wherever you go, you'd better keep in touch, DiNozzo or else..." Gibbs's voice had regained some of its usual strength and hardness.

"I'm not the technophobe here, Gibbs." Tone shot back, even though he knew he wouldn't pick up the phone and call Gibbs if the older man didn't try to stay in touch.

Gibbs nodded determinedly. "I'll visit."

Tony blinked; once, twice. "That...That'd mean... A lot." To say Tony was shocked to hear those words would be an understatement; he smiled genuinely for the first time, because it did mean a lot; he was a bit skeptical but now that he'd talked to Gibbs, he felt like a huge burden had been taken off his chest. He still needed to talk to Abby, Ducky and Palmer, but he knew he could make them see things his way and he knew they'd all support him and they could visit him, as well. Gibbs had been his worst fear, but the older man had been surprisingly supportive.

A comfortable silence fell upon them as both men started to plan things ahead.

Gibbs studied his agents and thought about the past few days and then about the past few years of his life. Well, twelve years were certainly more than just a few years and when Gibbs thought about it, he realized that he'd become used to depending on Tony from day one and he'd become so used to his presence that imagining him working elsewhere unsettled him more than he liked to admit.
During the years, there had been occasions that DiNozzo had been away from the team for months; so Gibbs knew what it'd be like not to have the younger agent around; that was why he'd always fought so hard to either bring him back to the team or keep him there. He just tended to forget it from time to time and this time it'd cost him greatly. There was no coming back this time, but maybe it wasn't the end of everything; maybe he could still do something about it.

He might not be able to convince Tony to stay, but maybe... He opened his mouth to say something, but realized that Tony'd already dozed off.

Walking to the window, he stared at the grey sky; weighing his options.

Maybe... Just maybe there was a way to repair some of the damage that'd been done.

He suddenly knew what he needed to do; he knew how he could keep at least a semblance of what he'd gotten so used to over the years. Nodding his head, he silently made up his mind, knowing what he was going to do was a good course of action and his only option considering what he wanted deep down.

He needed to resign from the MCRT like he'd said he would if DiNozzo didn't come back to it.

He knew he could get Vance to give him a position in their LA office, but he knew the team there was already good and didn't need a leader; so he thought he could become a consultant; that way he'd still have a job he liked and he could be closer to the loyal man he'd been considering a son, or a younger brother for years. Besides, LA was the perfect place to build a boat; and if he resigned he didn't want to stay in DC and Mexico was out of the question now that Mike was dead.

Of course, he wouldn't burn all the bridges; he wouldn't sell his house in D.C. with so many memories in there; no, he'd keep it and he knew, every now and then, he'd come back to spend some time in that place to be closer to his beloved girls; but he knew he could move to LA and he knew it was what he really needed.

Abby and Ducky probably wouldn't be too thrilled to see both Tony and him gone at once, but he was sure they could understand and would be happy to know Tony wouldn't be all alone by himself.

All things aside, deep down, he could already feel the joy of that decision. For the first time in years, he didn't feel like he was under tons of pressure. He might be addicted to his job, but he could do with a lighter pace and he already had too many regrets there.

It was definitely time to move on.

Yes, he was actually pleased and he thought he was glad the younger man had decided to accept that job offer; he preferred to have him as friend and definitely an alive one, than an upset, withdrawn agent who hated his life and everything about it and didn't even care if he died or not.

Now, he just had to find the right time to announce his decision. He didn't think he'd need more time to go through his options, but he'd wait a while longer before telling everyone what he was going to do. That way he could observe how the situation unfolded and would know how and when to formulate a plan.

They still had a lot to work on and he was glad Tony had talked about everything that had gone wrong; he now had a chance to fix things and although he wasn't going to be exactly Tony's neighbor if he went to live in LA, the fact that they could be in the same Time Zone was comforting enough.

They could find a way to make things work out and by doing that, he'd teach the junior agents on the team one last lesson. He knew it was too little too late, like Tony'd implied earlier; but now that he'd failed to get that message across in the first place, he had to do it at the end; hoping that those two would change their behaviors and realize that what they'd been doing throughout the years hadn't been right.

He'd teach them that they shouldn't underestimate and disrespect a fellow agent, let alone a superior one; but more importantly, he'd teach them that they shouldn't take anything or anyone for granted.

At that moment, rule number eight was the most important one. That and rule number 51. Sometimes you're wrong... And it takes a real man to see his mistakes and to own up to them; and Gibbs liked to think he was a real man.

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... TBC ...

A/N: The story is almost over; there's just an epilogue left; it might end up being a long one-chapter epilogue or a two-chapter one. I haven't decided yet, but in the meantime, you let me know what you think of this chapter, huh?

Oh, and I promise you that things are not suddenly honky-dory! Some important things are gonna be addressed in the epilogue.

Thanks for your support. :)

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All mistakes are mine.

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