[NCIS: Drabble] "The Last Scene" [PG]
Title: The Last Scene
Author: Ami Ven
Rating: PG
Word Count: 400
Prompt: ncisdrabble100 special challenge #004 'inspired by'
Character(s): Tim McGee, Tony DiNozzo, L.J. Gibbs
Warning(s): future-set character death
Summary: The last book in the L.J. Tibbs series by Thom E. Gemcity stayed on the bestseller list for eight months.
The Last Scene
The last book in the L.J. Tibbs series by Thom E. Gemcity stayed on the bestseller list for eight months. The critics loved it. They used phrases like “heart-wrenching emotional ride,” and “destined to become one of the genre’s classics.”
McGee didn’t listen to a word of it. He’d already gotten the only review that actually mattered.
This book was unlike anything he’d written before. He’d finished the entire thing in less than a week, during which he hardly ate and barely slept, but with each click of a typewriter key, his heart felt a little less weighted down. By the time he gathered the pages and clipped them together, he felt almost as though everything might be all right again, someday. He put the manuscript in a big envelope and left it on Tony’s doorstep with a note, I won’t publish this unless you say so.
Two days later, McGee opened his door to find Tony standing on the other side, dressed in jeans and an Ohio State t-shirt, carrying the manuscript carefully in both hands.
“This is amazing, Tim,” he said softly, not a trace of his usual teasing. “Why wouldn’t you publish this?”
“It’s not my story this time,” said McGee. “This one is yours.”
Tony shook his head. “You have to publish it. Because… because we shouldn’t be the only ones who remember him.”
“Yeah,” McGee said, voice suddenly tight. “I- yeah.”
Suddenly, Tony had dropped the manuscript onto McGee’s desk and pulled his partner into a rough hug. McGee held on just as tightly.
Amazingly, the hail of bullets had not killed Tibbs immediately. Racing across the warehouse, Tommy landed hard on his knees beside him, taking in Tibbs’s gunshot wounds with wide eyes, frantically trying to stop the bleeding.
“Help’s on the way, boss,” he said.
“Not close enough,” murmured Tibbs. He fumbled at his belt, then pressed his blood-smeared badge into Tommy’s hand. “Take care of them.”
“No, boss,” the younger man protested, even as his fingers closed around still-warm metal. “I can’t-”
“You can,” Tibbs said firmly. He reached up to rest one hand on the side of Tommy’s face. “You will.”
“Boss…”
Tibbs managed a smile. “I’ve always been proud of you, Tommy,” he said, and his eyes slid closed.
Lisa and McGregor arrived moments later, to find them in the same position, with Tommy still holding the blood-stained badge.
THE END
Current Mood:
mellow
Author: Ami Ven
Rating: PG
Word Count: 400
Prompt: ncisdrabble100 special challenge #004 'inspired by'
Character(s): Tim McGee, Tony DiNozzo, L.J. Gibbs
Warning(s): future-set character death
Summary: The last book in the L.J. Tibbs series by Thom E. Gemcity stayed on the bestseller list for eight months.
The Last Scene
The last book in the L.J. Tibbs series by Thom E. Gemcity stayed on the bestseller list for eight months. The critics loved it. They used phrases like “heart-wrenching emotional ride,” and “destined to become one of the genre’s classics.”
McGee didn’t listen to a word of it. He’d already gotten the only review that actually mattered.
This book was unlike anything he’d written before. He’d finished the entire thing in less than a week, during which he hardly ate and barely slept, but with each click of a typewriter key, his heart felt a little less weighted down. By the time he gathered the pages and clipped them together, he felt almost as though everything might be all right again, someday. He put the manuscript in a big envelope and left it on Tony’s doorstep with a note, I won’t publish this unless you say so.
Two days later, McGee opened his door to find Tony standing on the other side, dressed in jeans and an Ohio State t-shirt, carrying the manuscript carefully in both hands.
“This is amazing, Tim,” he said softly, not a trace of his usual teasing. “Why wouldn’t you publish this?”
“It’s not my story this time,” said McGee. “This one is yours.”
Tony shook his head. “You have to publish it. Because… because we shouldn’t be the only ones who remember him.”
“Yeah,” McGee said, voice suddenly tight. “I- yeah.”
Suddenly, Tony had dropped the manuscript onto McGee’s desk and pulled his partner into a rough hug. McGee held on just as tightly.
Amazingly, the hail of bullets had not killed Tibbs immediately. Racing across the warehouse, Tommy landed hard on his knees beside him, taking in Tibbs’s gunshot wounds with wide eyes, frantically trying to stop the bleeding.
“Help’s on the way, boss,” he said.
“Not close enough,” murmured Tibbs. He fumbled at his belt, then pressed his blood-smeared badge into Tommy’s hand. “Take care of them.”
“No, boss,” the younger man protested, even as his fingers closed around still-warm metal. “I can’t-”
“You can,” Tibbs said firmly. He reached up to rest one hand on the side of Tommy’s face. “You will.”
“Boss…”
Tibbs managed a smile. “I’ve always been proud of you, Tommy,” he said, and his eyes slid closed.
Lisa and McGregor arrived moments later, to find them in the same position, with Tommy still holding the blood-stained badge.
THE END
Current Mood:
mellow