What's Best for Tony Ch 4/7
Title: What's Best for Tony
Fandom: NCIS
Season: Season 3 AU
Raiting: T (to be safe)
Pairing: None planned so far
Summary: Sometimes, you have to do what's right for you, regardless of how anyone else feels. When Tony finds out he was purposely left out of a team dinner, a fact which the whole team laughs about in his face, he decides to do what's best for himself. This time, there's nothing to run away from, but maybe he'll eventually find something to run to. AU-tag to end of 3.12 Boxed In.
Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or make any profit from this.
A/N: For the purposes of this story, the Enterprise is in the Mediterranean. Also, I know Tony hated being afloat in Season 6, but this time it's of his own choice and there are different circumstances.
The below quote was said by Saphira in the novel Eragon by Christopher Paolini.
"Find peace in where and what you are."
Tony found life at sea to be somewhat peaceful. Sure he sometimes felt claustrophobic, sure not everyone liked him, but his job was fairly laid back. There'd been a few pranks that got out of hand, some fights he'd had to break up, petty thefts, but there were no murders, no kidnappings, nothing that required him to put in eighteen-hour days. It was a massive change of pace to the life he'd been living since he became a cop, but with everything he'd been through, he needed the calm. He'd been on the Enterprise for three and a half months now and he was more than recovered from the plague. He'd been on a strict exercise regimen since he'd recovered that helped him build up his lung capacity. With all his downtime on the ship, he spent five hours a day in the gym, three in the morning, and two at night. He was now in the best shape he'd been in since his college ball days. He was also free to just be himself for once in his life. He didn't need to hide his skills or his intelligence and he wore his glasses more often than his contacts.
Another new thing he'd done in his downtime was keeping a journal. He'd started once Stan left and he was the sole agent on the ship. Sometimes he wrote about his day or his nightmares, sometimes he wrote about Kate, sometimes he'd write poetry. He'd also taken to drawing. It was different then the sketching he'd do at a crime scene, but it helped him calm and focus his mind when his thoughts got out of control. Both practices were better therapy then seeing a shrink, he felt. They'd helped his mind recover from the past year. He no longer had nightmares about blue lights, waking up gasping for breath. He no longer had nightmares about Kate, waking up to the feel of her blood on his face. Now when he dreamt about his former partner, they were happy, full of teasing and smiles. Tony knew that he would always miss her. No one could ever replace her in his heart, but while he continued to say a novena and light a candle for her regularly, he had recovered from the loss. He was finally able to mourn properly and heal.
The ringing of the phone interrupted both his thoughts and his latest email to Abby. He'd already sent off his daily email to Gibbs and Ducky. It was ironic, but since he'd left, he'd become closer to all three of them. He found it was much easier to write about his thoughts and feelings than to admit to them out loud.
"Agent DiNozzo," he said as he picked up the phone.
"There's a video call for you in the communications room sir."
"I'm on my way," Tony said before he hung up. He grabbed his weapon and secured his office, heading up to the comm. room. When he arrived, he found the captain waiting there, but otherwise the room was empty. Once Tony entered, the captain closed the door, turning the room into a SCIF. He didn't say anything, just walked over to the control panel and turned the video on. Since the room was secure, they used the speaker to communicate instead of headphones.
"Agent DiNozzo, Captain Carson," Director Shepard said as she came up on the screen.
"Director. What can we do for you?" Tony asked.
"There was an...accident. The MCRT had an assignment and part of that assignment involved Agent Gibbs communicating with a deep cover agent onboard a ship. I won't go into the particulars of the assignment right now. Suffice it to say that things didn't go as planned. Agent Gibbs was led away from the designated meeting room and there was an explosion. He survived, but he's currently at Portsmouth General in a coma."
Tony paled significantly as he nearly fell over. The captain grabbed his arm when he started to go down and helped him into a chair. "Is-is he going to be alright?"
"He's stable, but still in critical condition. The rest of the MCRT is investigating this. I agreed it'd be better for them to do it then bring in another team. Agent Burley currently has the lead, but he specifically requested I bring you back to lead the team. I know this is hard," Jenny said in a soft voice. "This has been hard on everyone, but I need to know if you can do this. I need to know if you can lead the MCRT, not only in this investigation, but temporarily until Gibbs is healed and ready to take it back."
Tony sat there, absorbing everything he was told, but he was having a hard time processing it. What went so wrong that Gibbs had been injured so badly? Where was the rest of the team? Was he truly ready to dive headfirst back into the deep end?
"I'll be back."
"You better be," Gibbs said. "I depend on you."
Those were the last words Gibbs said to him before he left for the Enterprise. He took a deep breath. He could do this. He had to do this. Although they'd had their rough patches, he knew his boss always had his six and vice versa. He was ready.
"I can do this Director. Have Stan email me both the details of their assignment and everything they have so far. I'll review it on my way back."
"I have a COD on stand-by. It'll take you to the base in Naples," the captain said.
"The SecNav is there at a conference. He's offered his Gulfstream to fly you home. This case is a top priority. It'll be ready to go in 3 hours. That should give you enough time to pack your belongings and get to the base. I'll have Agent Burley fax over everything they have to our office there," Jenny continued. "Agent Jackson is going to hop the COD back to the ship and remain as Agent Afloat until we have this case solved. We'll figure out what to do after that."
"Yes ma'am," both Tony and the captain said. They cut the transmission and stood facing each other. "You're a good agent Tony. We're going to miss you."
"I'll miss you too Cap. You've been a good friend. I'll get a hold of you in a couple weeks when we have a plan of action."
"No problem. Go on and get packed. COD's ready to go whenever you are."
A/N: Just a quickie that took on a life of it's own. I actually had a different opening written, but when I started typing it up, this came out instead.
For those of you who don't know: COD stands for Carrier Onboard Delivery.
Fandom: NCIS
Season: Season 3 AU
Raiting: T (to be safe)
Pairing: None planned so far
Summary: Sometimes, you have to do what's right for you, regardless of how anyone else feels. When Tony finds out he was purposely left out of a team dinner, a fact which the whole team laughs about in his face, he decides to do what's best for himself. This time, there's nothing to run away from, but maybe he'll eventually find something to run to. AU-tag to end of 3.12 Boxed In.
Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or make any profit from this.
A/N: For the purposes of this story, the Enterprise is in the Mediterranean. Also, I know Tony hated being afloat in Season 6, but this time it's of his own choice and there are different circumstances.
The below quote was said by Saphira in the novel Eragon by Christopher Paolini.
"Find peace in where and what you are."
Tony found life at sea to be somewhat peaceful. Sure he sometimes felt claustrophobic, sure not everyone liked him, but his job was fairly laid back. There'd been a few pranks that got out of hand, some fights he'd had to break up, petty thefts, but there were no murders, no kidnappings, nothing that required him to put in eighteen-hour days. It was a massive change of pace to the life he'd been living since he became a cop, but with everything he'd been through, he needed the calm. He'd been on the Enterprise for three and a half months now and he was more than recovered from the plague. He'd been on a strict exercise regimen since he'd recovered that helped him build up his lung capacity. With all his downtime on the ship, he spent five hours a day in the gym, three in the morning, and two at night. He was now in the best shape he'd been in since his college ball days. He was also free to just be himself for once in his life. He didn't need to hide his skills or his intelligence and he wore his glasses more often than his contacts.
Another new thing he'd done in his downtime was keeping a journal. He'd started once Stan left and he was the sole agent on the ship. Sometimes he wrote about his day or his nightmares, sometimes he wrote about Kate, sometimes he'd write poetry. He'd also taken to drawing. It was different then the sketching he'd do at a crime scene, but it helped him calm and focus his mind when his thoughts got out of control. Both practices were better therapy then seeing a shrink, he felt. They'd helped his mind recover from the past year. He no longer had nightmares about blue lights, waking up gasping for breath. He no longer had nightmares about Kate, waking up to the feel of her blood on his face. Now when he dreamt about his former partner, they were happy, full of teasing and smiles. Tony knew that he would always miss her. No one could ever replace her in his heart, but while he continued to say a novena and light a candle for her regularly, he had recovered from the loss. He was finally able to mourn properly and heal.
The ringing of the phone interrupted both his thoughts and his latest email to Abby. He'd already sent off his daily email to Gibbs and Ducky. It was ironic, but since he'd left, he'd become closer to all three of them. He found it was much easier to write about his thoughts and feelings than to admit to them out loud.
"Agent DiNozzo," he said as he picked up the phone.
"There's a video call for you in the communications room sir."
"I'm on my way," Tony said before he hung up. He grabbed his weapon and secured his office, heading up to the comm. room. When he arrived, he found the captain waiting there, but otherwise the room was empty. Once Tony entered, the captain closed the door, turning the room into a SCIF. He didn't say anything, just walked over to the control panel and turned the video on. Since the room was secure, they used the speaker to communicate instead of headphones.
"Agent DiNozzo, Captain Carson," Director Shepard said as she came up on the screen.
"Director. What can we do for you?" Tony asked.
"There was an...accident. The MCRT had an assignment and part of that assignment involved Agent Gibbs communicating with a deep cover agent onboard a ship. I won't go into the particulars of the assignment right now. Suffice it to say that things didn't go as planned. Agent Gibbs was led away from the designated meeting room and there was an explosion. He survived, but he's currently at Portsmouth General in a coma."
Tony paled significantly as he nearly fell over. The captain grabbed his arm when he started to go down and helped him into a chair. "Is-is he going to be alright?"
"He's stable, but still in critical condition. The rest of the MCRT is investigating this. I agreed it'd be better for them to do it then bring in another team. Agent Burley currently has the lead, but he specifically requested I bring you back to lead the team. I know this is hard," Jenny said in a soft voice. "This has been hard on everyone, but I need to know if you can do this. I need to know if you can lead the MCRT, not only in this investigation, but temporarily until Gibbs is healed and ready to take it back."
Tony sat there, absorbing everything he was told, but he was having a hard time processing it. What went so wrong that Gibbs had been injured so badly? Where was the rest of the team? Was he truly ready to dive headfirst back into the deep end?
"I'll be back."
"You better be," Gibbs said. "I depend on you."
Those were the last words Gibbs said to him before he left for the Enterprise. He took a deep breath. He could do this. He had to do this. Although they'd had their rough patches, he knew his boss always had his six and vice versa. He was ready.
"I can do this Director. Have Stan email me both the details of their assignment and everything they have so far. I'll review it on my way back."
"I have a COD on stand-by. It'll take you to the base in Naples," the captain said.
"The SecNav is there at a conference. He's offered his Gulfstream to fly you home. This case is a top priority. It'll be ready to go in 3 hours. That should give you enough time to pack your belongings and get to the base. I'll have Agent Burley fax over everything they have to our office there," Jenny continued. "Agent Jackson is going to hop the COD back to the ship and remain as Agent Afloat until we have this case solved. We'll figure out what to do after that."
"Yes ma'am," both Tony and the captain said. They cut the transmission and stood facing each other. "You're a good agent Tony. We're going to miss you."
"I'll miss you too Cap. You've been a good friend. I'll get a hold of you in a couple weeks when we have a plan of action."
"No problem. Go on and get packed. COD's ready to go whenever you are."
A/N: Just a quickie that took on a life of it's own. I actually had a different opening written, but when I started typing it up, this came out instead.
For those of you who don't know: COD stands for Carrier Onboard Delivery.