Tony's road to recovery was long and fraught with difficulty. He ended up having emergency surgery the night Valarie confessed her feelings. For the next two weeks he fluctuated between recovering and near death. Finally he stabilized woke and was transferred to rehab. Once he was cleared for travel he was transferred to a facility in Indiana. Valarie remained by his side through every step. At some point during his recovery he revealed to her that while he was recovering from the brain injury. Somebody kept telling him that Tali had died. He heard Valarie talking but the way she made it sound. He assumed she was making him choose between Tali and her. Of course he was wanting to go back to his daughter and that was why he struggled so much. Now ten years had gone by and life was very different all around.
Every single one of the horrible four was dealt hefty sentences. Ducky ended up spending his final days locked away in a federal prison. He was sentenced to ten years in prison but died after eight. All of his money went to the care Tony needed on his road to recovery. The money Tony did not use went to various charities though on Valarie and the DiNozzo children knew the names. The last thing Tony wanted was for one of them to get out and try to take back the money.
Gibbs was sentenced to thirty years. Meaning he would die exactly as Ducky had, in a cold and dark cell. He tried to get out on emotional distress after Ducky died but he was still seven years away from being eligible for parole and his therapist found no change in mental state. Rumor was that he attacked a guard and that took away his parole and tacked another ten years to his sentence. Assuming he lived that long.
Abby earned herself a life sentence when the police discovered toxic chemicals in Tali's sippy cup. Chemicals that could only be found in a forensics lab. Tali was not injured by the cup as the home had been deemed a crime scene before the girl could drink from it. Not enough for a life sentence but Abby went psycho in the court room. She sent four people to the hospital and put the bailiff in Intensive Care for three days. She didn't even get a chance for parole and she would never walk out of the prison's gates. She would for sure leave in a body bag.
McGee was the only one of the four who had a chance of leaving prison, with life left in him. Either as a living being or with good years left in his life. His sentence was twenty five years but he was eligible for parole after fifteen. Not that he would have many people waiting for him if he did. Delilah had left in and married a man she met in physical therapy. They had adopted a set of twins with varying degrees of Cerebral Palsy and Delilah had written McGee of completely. Penelope had died from a stroke about a year after McGee was sentenced. McGee's mother was murdered by her fiancee less than a month after the last time McGee saw her. Sarah was struggling with her brother's actions and on the fence over whether of not she would forgive him when he was released. Between losing her mother and grandmother within months of each other and her brother disgracing himself. She had fallen into alcoholism and drug abuse. She got pregnant the year before and now had a mercifully healthy five month old son. She had been clean since learning of he pregnancy but she was always on the verge of falling back into the addiction. McGee was the only of the four who had Valarie and Tony's sympathy.
For two years Ed Slater lived with MS. His mind went not long after he moved to the nursing home. Grief induced dementia was the diagnosis he received. For two years he sat in a wheelchair unaware and talking to his daughter as if she were right there. In the second year a particularly harsh winter fell on DC and Ed's nursing home lost power in a storm. When the back up generator failed. The residents were transferred to other facilities. The van was on spot short and Ed gave up his seat to a man who was due to welcome a grandson. A nurse drove Ed in her vehicle but her heat failed and the short drive to the hospital. Was enough for Ed to develop pneumonia. He died that very night. Tony and Valarie flew to Florida for his funeral. They were the only ones he would have wanted at his service. Though the others sure tried. His death was not a sad occasion. He was finally back with the family he loved and missed every day.
Rachel Cranston moved home to Indiana shortly after getting Tony settled. She opened a practice in her home town and reconnected with her high school sweetheart. Via surrogacy they welcomed a healthy daughter five years after the move. Two years later they adopted a son from America. They were currently in the process of adopting a set of siblings from Uganda.
Leon Vance retired from NCIS shortly after the trial. He remained in DC until both children had completed high school. The day Jared moved off to college. The former director returned to Chicago. He married a retired Naval Officer. They were currently helping Kayla raise her young son and Jared had just gotten engaged.
Tobias Fornell remained with the FBI until Emily graduated from high school. After retirement Tobias moved to the middle of no where. He never remarried but had a handful of serious relationships. Emily got married just after graduating college. She had a daughter who was the light of Tobais' life.
It did not take long for Tony and Valarie to work out their relationship. They were engaged after a year and married within another. Valarie adopted Tali the day that they were married. Given their ages and a few other factors. They were not counting on children of their own. They considered adoption but with Tony's health issues and Valarie's past. They knew it would not be an easy road. So they opted to just love Tali. That was good enough for them. Until the fateful day Valarie went to the gynecologist for a routine appointment. That night she received the life changing call. She was pregnant. Eight months later Tony and her welcomed healthy twins Levi and Aubrey. That was five years ago. Tali adored being a big sister and the twins were perfect mixtures of both parents.
Tony's heart took him out of law enforcement but Rachel encouraged him to go to school. He studied to be a counselor and now worked with people suffering from PTSD. The accident left him with a hell of a case and that made him relate to his patients.
Valarie went back to school as well. She became a trauma nurse and spent her days helping people fighting the same battle Tony once had.
Tony and Valarie's relationship was far from perfect. They almost broke up twice during their marriage and Valarie did move out one of those times. They worked everything out and were now stronger than ever.
The accident never left Tony's mind. He did fight PTSD and survivor's guilt. Things did get easier but the effects were still there. He had nightmares almost every night for years and even now they came on a regular basis. Valarie was always there for him. Even when things were bad she was there for himafter nightmares. She was his rock. Valarie and Rachel were the only reasons that he continued to fight. Through he did let several friends back into his life.
A/N: Well that's it. What do you think? Did I do it justice? Thanks to all who read, followed, favorited, and reviewed. Please leave one final review.