I own nothing from NCIS and make no money from this story! If I did own them there would be some wicked story lines! LOL! But for now I shall merely play with them and return them very sated!

A huge thanks goes to my most excellent Beta-Amy- without whom this would not be as polished! Kudos to her for her great work and wanting to work with a nut like me! Trust me! And I lover her all the more for it! She is the best!

Come by my facebook page- always a riot! Sometimes great eye candy as well! Facebook./gibbsandtonysbabe Always happy to have you drop by!

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This has been an intensely personal story for me to write. On the one hand it has been a bit cathartic and allowed me to cut the edge off a couple of demons...but on the other hand I had to bring my betrayl to the surface and feel it all over again. Not sure there is a win/win column, but in the end I believe there is a light. I see it and over the years it does get a bit bigger and a bit brighter and in the end that is a good thing. I was able to express a great deal of my pain through Tony and trust me I felt every word. It is really hard to say goodbye here...it is so personal I have hesitated posting the end. I want to thank you all for going along on this journey with me and for letting me share my pain through Tony. For all of you who have sent encouraging words I can't thank you enough. They meant the world to me and I appreciate you all more than you know.

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Fornell looked at Jethro while pouring them each a cup of coffee. "Tony going to be out for awhile?"

"Yep. Abs took him shopping. Something about Tony needing clothes that represented the new 'awesome Tony' or something like that." Seeing the puzzled look on his friend's face Jethro shrugged. "Don't ask me. I don't have a clue."

Fornell shook his head as he sipped his coffee. "As long as he's happy."

Gibbs smiled. "That he is. Come along way Tobias, proud of him."

"Never doubted he would get there. How's the new team?"

"Better than I could have imagined." Gibbs pursed his lips as he tried to explain. "At first I was worried that Tony wouldn't find people that he felt even the first inkling of trust with, hell, who could blame him?"

"I let Tony guide this ship, gave my opinion when asked and let him ferret out whatever was going to make him comfortable. Never doubted that he would make the right choices, but I'll admit it was hard as hell to watch from the sidelines."

"I can imagine. You had your own concerns after the fiasco with the previous team and Tony."

"I did. Didn't want to make any of the same mistakes." He sat silent for a moment before shaking off the memories of that whole incident. "To answer your question, the team is great. Dorny and yes, Tony has managed to get me to call him that, has progressed beyond what I would have thought him capable."

"His skills are right there with McGee's. Tony encouraged him to take a few courses and that was it. Cassie practically ran to be on his team." Jethro chuckled. "Make no mistake Tobias, it's his team. Dorny and Cassie are fierce in protecting him. God help anyone that even tries to touch Tony."

"That went a long way in helping close the gap on trust. He feels their belief in him, his skills, and their partnership. You can see it in their interactions and his body language. It didn't happen from day one...the first case where Tony had to take someone other than me with him, he was tense and on edge. But they both were expecting that and did what any partner would do - showed him through actions."

"And honestly, I couldn't imagine a better team. The way the three of them work together to put the puzzle together is seamless. Seriously, Tobias, I feel like a blind ass. Yea...we solved cases before and sure we had a high solve rate...but this - this is totally different."

"Don't beat yourself up Jethro. It's done and we've all learned a thing or two. That will never happen again. I get it. It's different because there are no hidden agendas or hidden disrespect or disdain. Just accept it and move on."

"Working on that."

"I got something that will help with that." Grinning, Fornell pulled a large envelope out of his pocket. Opening it, he removed a large stack of photos.

"Got a progress report on Thing One and Two. Seems our bit of old school revenge is working quite well. The pictures tell their own story." Laying out the pictures of McGee and Ziva from the beginning of their incarceration to the present, the change was evident.

"Damn!"

"Pretty impressive. After those firsts incidents I made sure that they were instructed to use no hands on intimidation. It has only been looks, a few whispered words and the guards never see or hear anything. They have truly been mind-fucked Jethro." Tobias grinned. "Look at the pictures...it's all right there. The shadows under their eyes, the unease in their stance. Hell you can almost see them twitching."

"They deserve it. Deserve far more than that. Part of me wishes it could have been more physical...but the pictures clearly show the strain."

"Miss Mossad has lost her air of arrogance that's for sure. You know she called Eli and begged him to help her."

Jethro nodded. "Eli called Tony. Wanted to reassure him that that wasn't going to happen."

"Wow. Well that was apparently when Thing 2 started her decline. The fact that her delusions of being whisked away to plot and act out her revenge-" Tobias turned towards Jethro, his face contorted in anger. "And I have no doubt that she would have done just that. Gone after Tony and you too, more than likely."

"Was prepared for that Tobias...knew that if she was able to somehow gain her freedom that she would be gunning for Tony. Just as I know she would never have laid a hand on him." His blue eyes narrowed. "Never would have gotten the chance."

Taking a deep breath, he turned his thoughts back towards the pictures. "How the hell did you get these?" His fingers moved through the pile as he looked.

"Warden remembers Tony when he was a detective." Fornell chuckled. "Liked the young, cocky, and affable detective. He also hates that fact that fellow law enforcers didn't have their partner's back. Figured it was the least he could do when I approached him with our plan."

"He, as you know, talked to the Warden that had to deal with Miss Mossad and she was more than happy to lend a hand. Kinda humorous when you figure she hadn't had to deal with her for very long, but then again…"

"Have to admit Tobias these pictures...they tell a story. We need to thank the Wardens and find an appropriate way to thank Thing One and Two's tormentors without causing a riot."

"Wardens took care of that. Simple really; once a month the involved inmates are allowed a meal in private of their choosing. Nothing over the top or any huge special treatment that could cause issues. It's been working for the past nine months without any problems."

Jethro looked skeptical. "They only want a meal?"

Fornell shrugged. "Let's just suffice it to say they are paying it forward. Long story Jethro."

"Fine."

"Still don't want to tell Tony?"

"No. He made his peace and has moved forward and though this is retribution for what was done to him...I will admit that it is more for me." He took a deep breath as he clinched his fists, "There was so little I could do after the fact. I needed to know that they got a taste of what it feels like to have no one watching out for them."

"No need to explain it to me Jethro. I wanted to rip them apart. I can name a long list of people that would have loved to have seen the two of them drawn and quartered. But it's done, you can let it go. They will never know peace and by the time they see the light of day you will have had had the ultimate revenge. Don't carry this with you."

"Waxing all poetic Tobias."

"On occasion Jethro. But seriously; it's done and over. Tony survived and you two finally got your shit together. You both will have the last word."

"How do you figure?"

"Revenge is a life well lived. All you need to do is live it."

Gibbs looked at Fornell as if he had lost his mind. "When the hell did you start channeling Ducky?"

Fornell just grinned and shrugged as he gathered up the photos and quietly left.

Gibbs sat lost in thought, struck by the words. Damn if he wasn't right. It was time for him to let go as Tony had done and get down to the living. That was sage advice and something he could do. Grinning as he stood picking up the mugs and brought them to the sink. Now all he needed was Tony home; he had a few things to say to the man that didn't require any words to be spoken but lips were definitely gonna be involved.