Chapter 40

"SKY TRAIN"

2155 hours, 5 June 2000, Unit Locker room, Unit Compound, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

It had been a very rough 8 months for Lieutenant Colonel Anthony "Tony" Dominick DiNozzo aka "Movie Buff". Three had finished Paratrooper training and had been assigned to The 82nd Airborne Division, at Fort Bragg. But that had only been for a few weeks before Three began his Ranger training, which took him 6 more months back at Fort Benning. He had hoped and prayed that Three would return home to celebrate his 17th Birthday, but Three had called him and told him he had "other plans". Tony unfortunately understood that. For the past 10 years, he had missed almost all of Three's Birthdays.

Kate was now officially a member of The United States Secret Service, and consequently was now living in Washington D.C. Tony missed his wife very much. Deep down he wished she had never taken the job, but he knew he had no right to stop her. For 17 years she had been by his side, as he loyal and loving wife. After they had graduated college, she hadn't done anything besides being a housewife and mother. Every night, Tony would pray that Kate would continue to be loyal to him.

And then there was Liat. Liat was still in Israel. She had spent the past 8 months searching for wherever Eli David had had his people stash the SS-7. and in that 8 month period, she had come up with nothing. Liat was now of the opinion that Eli had stashed the missile somewhere outside of Israel. This was good and bad. Good, because once it was located, Tony and his Team could go in and get it. But at the same time, Liat would have to expand her search parameters from just Israel to the entire globe. Despite having only been in Tony's life for just over a year and a half, Liat had truly impacted him. she had become his daughter. When she had come to The States for her brother's graduation, she had also become an Operator. She had gotten her Unit tattoo and her 22. Caliber Hi-Standard Pistol. She was his daughter, his hija, hit bat. No matter what language you spoke, she was family, and he missed her very much.

What all that added up to was simple; Tony was alone. It was 10 o'clock at night, and he was sitting, alone, in the Unit locker room enjoying, or at least pretending to enjoy, a cold bottle of Killan's Irish Red Beer. He was deep in his thoughts, and didn't even notice when Malachi walked in. Malachi grabbed a Coors Lite from the fridge and sat down across the table from Tony. Mal popped the cap off the beer and took a long pull. Then he set the bottle down on the table and flicked the bottle cap right in Tony's face. When the cap hit his face, Tony looked up. "You ok Top?" Mal asked him. Tony let out a long sigh.

"Yeah, I guess" he said, as he took another swig of the Killan's.

"You don't sound it" Mal replied. "Missing your Family?" he asked.

"I just really miss Kate ya know" said Tony.

"Do you trust her?" Mal asked, referring to Kate's fidelity.

"Of course" in a tone that suggested he was so sure.

"Do you really think she'd cheat on you?" Mal asked

"I hope not, but truthfully, I can't say that I would blame her. We were only married because she was pregnant, and I haven't exactly been the greatest husband" complained Tony. "When Meg married Chester, she knew what she was getting into". I brought Kate into this" sulked Tony.

"Do you think Kate regrets marrying you?" Mal asked.

"I think sometimes she would rather have married someone who was in a safer job" said Tony.

"Wouldn't have that problem with Ziva" Malachi mumbled under his breath.

"What?" questioned Tony.

"Nothing" answered Malachi rather quickly.

"I heard what you said Mal" retorted Tony. "What does Ziva David have to do with any of this?" Tony asked.

"Oh come on, I saw your face the 1st time you saw Ziva, back in 1991, on the runway in Haifa" said Malachi with a smile.

"As I recall, she nearly ran the 2 of us over" joked Tony.

"What's sad is, that's very true" replied Malachi with a smile. "But still, I remember the look of sheer love on your face" said Mal as he poked his finger into Tony's chest. "Plus, there's that little promise you made to Ziva back in Peru when you thought me and Chester couldn't hear you" said Mal.

"I have no idea what you are talking about Brotha" said Tony as he took a long pull of his beer. FUCK me he thought to himself, he had been sure that no one heard him that night.

"Oh really? So you didn't say 'Ziva, I know you can't possibly hear this, but I want you to know, I will kill Michael Rivkin for what he did to you. I promise' you didn't say that?" Mal asked.

"Maybe I did, so what?" Tony asked.

"Every one of us has a million reasons to kill Michael Rivkin. Yet, you chose that specific one. Why?" Mal asked. Before Tony could respond, Mal continued. "I'll tell you why, because you, my Brotha, are in love with Ziva David" said mal with a huge grin.

"I am not" Tony denied.

"Oh really" countered Mal. "Tony, how many women have you slept with?" Mal asked him.

"One. I've only slept with the women I love." Replied Tony.

"And who is that?" asked Mal quickly, hoping his plan would work.

"Ziva" answered Tony just as quickly. A look of shocked appeared on his face once he had realized what he had said. "Kate, I mean Kate, I mean Kate, I mean Kate" Tony repeated.

"I knew it" Mal said as he jumped out of his seat. "I knew it, I knew it. You are in love with another woman. You are in love with Ziva David" said Malachi with a humongous smile on his face.

"Shut up you asshole, if Chester hears you I'll never hear the end about it" warned Tony.

"Ah, don't worry about it, He and the kid are off doing 'Selection'" said Mal. Despite the fact that Billy had now been in The Unit for 3 years now, and had also been promoted to 1st Lieutenant, Captain Bauer, Tony and Malachi still called him "The Kid". "Ya know, I've always known you were in love with her. I knew it. It was that look in your eyes when you first saw Ziva. It was a combination of fear of being run over and that of love" bragged Mal. "Don't worry, I won't say anything to your wife. I know you still love Kate very much" Mal reassured him. "But you know who you should tell" said Mal.

"A Psychiatrist?" said Tony, being completely serious.

"Ziva" said Mal with a smile.

"Yeah, ok, sure. Because I'm sure she'd fall right back in love with the guy who's spent the past 2 years trying to kill her father" said Tony as he finished his beer and stood up to get another one.

"Tali doesn't have a problem with it" Mal pointed out.

"True, but Tals knows the whole story, and plus, she doesn't really consider herself part of The David Family anymore. She's a Colleton, through and through" said Tony as he sat back down, another Killan's Irish Red in his hand.

"Well, I still think that one day you're going to end up with Ziva" said Mal as he leaned back in his chair and put his feet up on the table.

"I think that you should stop reading those romance novels Tali keeps in her desk" said Tony. Mal shot forward and spit out his mouth full of beer. Tony bound over laughing.

"How did you know about that?" Mal asked.

"I didn't… till now" said Tony with a smile.

"You son of a bitch" said Mal as he wiped the beer from his face.

"Speaking of Tals, you ever gonna tell her how you feel?" Tony asked.

"She's one of my best friends nothing more" said Mal, trying not to get tricked again.

"Bullshit" said Tony. "If you can sit there and prod me about Ziva, then I gonna do the same thing to you about Tali" said Tony as he took a swig of his beer.

"Tali and me will never happen" said Mal as he took a long pull of his beer.

"Why not?" asked Tony. "She's obviously into you too" he pointed out.

"She's Tom's daughter" countered Mal.

"So? Tom Colleton isn't our CO anymore" countered Tony right back.

"Still, it isn't right. For 5 years Tom had our backs, not matter what shenanigans" Mal paused when Tony gave him a look. "That's right, shenanigans" said Mal. "No matter what Tom had our backs. I wouldn't be right to go after his Daughter" said Mal, and his grin quickly disappeared.

"Look at you Mr. Chivalry, you keep that up, and you might actually give Israelis a good name" joked Tony.

"Fuck you too Bro" said Mal. Tony responded by raising his beer.

"Here's to Ziva" Tony said. Mal raised his bottle to.

"And to Tali" Mal continued.

"The Women we Love" Tony said.

"But can never have" Mal finished. The 2 men clinked there bottles together and drank em down.

2030 hours, 6 June 2000, McMurphy's Tavern, Washington D.C

Colonel Edward James "EJ" Barrett was sitting alone at McMurphy's, nursing his 2 beer of the night. It had been a good night thus far. For the past 9 months, The Colonel had been in a romantic relationship with a Navy psychiatrist named Lieutenant Commander Jordan Parker. She was a stunning blonde and she had the perfect body. The night had gone well; Colonel Barrett had finally introduced Jordan to his daughter, Erica Jane "EJ". They had really hit it off. The night was going great until they bumped into Jordan ex-boyfriend, Navy Commander Harmon Rabb Jr. and his new girlfriend, Renee Petersen. EJ had tried to be civil about it, until Harm made a remark about Jordan being a whore. That did not go over to well with EJ, and he leveled Harm with a left hook. Thankfully, EJ's daughter had already gone back to her dorm at Georgetown University and hadn't witnessed her father beating the crap out of a Navy Lawyer. EJ hadn't hit Harm to impress Jordan; he did it because he was in Love with Jordan, and nobody was going to speak to her that way.

Either way, Jordan wasn't happy and had stormed off. When EJ had tried to catch up to her, she had told him "I need to be alone for a while". EJ had obliged her and gave her some space. And that's how EJ had ended up alone. He was deep in thought when someone tapped him on the shoulder.

"Buy ya a beer Soldier?" asked a pretty brunette, who was dressed in a suit.

"For you Mrs. DiNozzo… I mean Agent DiNozzo, anything" smiled Colonel Barrett when he saw Tony's wife. Kate sat down next to him.

"No date? Last time I spoke with Tony he told me you were seeing Lieutenant Commander Parker" she asked.

"We ran into her ex-boyfriend, and long story short, me and him got into a fight, and Jordan stormed off" explained EJ.

"That's cute" said Kate as she took a sip on the martini she ordered. "Well look at it this way, Commander Rabb is 36, and you're 45. You still kicked his ass" said Kate with a smile. "West Point Class of 76' vs. Annapolis Class of 85' 'Ding ding'" she said, mimicking a ring bell.

"Funny, funny like a crutch" said Colonel Barrett.

"What does that even mean?" Kate asked.

"I actually have no idea" replied Barrett as they both broke into laughter. Kate downed the rest of her martini. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a woman, a Navy Lieutenant Commander standing by the end of the bar. Kate looked over to her and nodded.

"I believe that pretty young thing at the end of the bar is looking for a mate" said Kate as she stood up and slapped EJ on the back. EJ looked over to the end of the bar and saw Jordan standing there. EJ stood up and walked over to her.

"Hey" he said as he walked over to her. She was still dressed in her uniform, as was Colonel Barrett.

"Hey" she replied softly.

"I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have hit Harm, I over reacted" said EJ, trying to apologize. She placed a finger over his lips.

"Don't apologize. You were just sticking up for me" she said as she went up on her toes and kissed him on the lips.

"I love you Jordan" said EJ as she looked into her eyes, where tears were beginning to build.

"I love you too Edward James Barrett" she replied with a smile. She ran her hand through EJ's hair, which had a hint of grayness too it. He grabbed her hand and they intertwined their fingers as they walked out of the bar into the warm night air. They walked down the street for a dew minutes in a comfortable silence. Finally Jordan spoke. "I really am sorry for over reacting before. It's just, the reason I left harm was because he chose his career over me, and when I saw you hit him, it reminded me that you are no different" she said. Jordan didn't know details of EJ's job, but she knew what his title was, Delta Force Commander. She knew what they did. Thankfully, she also knew that as Delta's Commander, EJ didn't go out into the field much. EJ stopped in his tracks and grabbed both of Jordan's hands.

"Jordie, my men are my responsibility, they need a CO who will have their back. It took me a very long time to gain their trust, and I won't break it. I'm asking you not to make me choose. I love being Delta's CO, and I also love you with all my heart. I ask you not to choose, because if you do, I'd choose you" he said, with a tear in his eye.

"I never asked Harm to choose, he just up and left. And I promise you, I will never ask you to choose between me and Delta Force" she promised him.

"Jordie, after my wife died, I truly never thought I'd fall in love again. For 15 years I have been alone. Sure, I've had Erica, but every night I would come home to an empty bed, and no one to share it with" he paused and swallowed, tears welling up in his eyes. "That all changed when I met you. I love Jordan Parker" he said as he pulled her close. Their lips crashed together and EJ felt Jordan smile against his lips.

2145 hours, June 6 2000, Martin Residence, Base Housing, Fort Bragg, North Carolina

It was dark when newly promoted Master Sergeant Chester Martin pulled his black 1997 Dodge Ram pickup truck into his driveway. He had been down at Fort McClellan in Alabama, running "Selection" for the past two weeks along with 1st Lieutenant Hazard. He grabbed his duffle from the truck bed and threw it over his shoulder. He dropped the bag on the floor as when he walked through his front door. he found his wife curled up on sofa, reading a book. "Oh god I missed you" he said as he hugged her tightly, pulling her off the sofa.

"I missed you too" she replied before pulling her husband of almost 4 years into a passionate kiss. After they finally broke for air, she asked "Did he pass?" she asked, being intentionally vague, but Chester knew what she meant. He gave her a huge smile.

"The little bastard passed with flying fucking colors" he proudly informed her. "John Hirsch used to say 'Rangers, Navy Seals, Force Recon, Green Berets, all them are designed so only 1% will pass. Only the best will past. But Delta, our tests are design so that no one can pass. The best of the best'. No matter what we threw at the kid, he kept going and came back for more. Reminds me of his father" said Chester.

"Does he even know?" she asked.

"He has absolutely now idea" said Chester.

"Well guess what?" asked Meg with a smile.

"What?" replied Chester.

"I'm Pregnant" she said, with a huge smile.

"Like with a baby?" he asked.

"That's usually how it works" she replied, laughing. "You're gonna be a father" she said, pulling him into a tight hug. Tears of joy flowed down both of there faces.

0745 hours, 7 June 2000, Tactical Operations Center, Unit Compound, Fort Bragg, North Carolina.

It was supposed to be Tony's day off when Colonel Barrett had called him at 0630 and given him 75 mikes to shower, shave, throw on his Class-A Dress Uniform and get his butt down to the T.O.C. "Stupid…" he couldn't think of any words. "Why am I here?" he grumbled as he walked through the door.

"Shut up and sit down" moaned Chester who was already sitting in the chair next to Tali's desk. Tony sat down next to him, giving him a quick head slap.

"What was that for?" Chester asked, rubbing the back of his head.

"That stupid look on your face" said Tony.

"What stupid look?" asked Chester, looking for clarification.

"Oh wait, never mind it just your face" said Tony with a smile on his face as Colonel Barrett walked into the room. "Ah, our fearless leader returns"

"DiNozzo, shut up, you already knew I was here" said Barrett.

"Shutting Up…Sir!" said Tony as he threw the Colonel a crappy salute. Colonel Barrett flipped him off in return.

"So you're probably all wondering why I've called you all in this morning" said Barrett as he leaned against the table. "Well, I'll let Ironman explain it to you all, since he was the one running 'Selection'" said The Colonel. Chester stood up and walked to the center of the room. Everyone's eyes were on him. The Men of Alpha Team: Tony, Malachi and Billy. The Colonel, Tali and Bridget. And the boys of Bravo: Captain Bauer, Cole and Staff Sergeant Weston. Chester cleared his throat.

"As you guys" he paused when he saw the look Tali was giving him. "And Ladies know, me and Hitman have spent the past 2 weeks down at Fort McClellan. And believe it or not, we did have someone pass" he said with a huge grin. "We got him his 22. Caliber pistol and his Tattoo, which was actually difficult, seeing as he isn't old enough to get one on his own" he said as his grin got widen. He watched as Tony's eyes widened.

"Before he was in the Unit, he was previously a member of The 82nd Airborne, The "Sky Train Boys", so me and Hitman gave him the call sign 'Sky Train'" explained Chester as Billy stood up.

"Sergeant, Front and Center!" Billy ordered. A young Sergeant walked into the room.

"Oh Shit" Tony muttered. The young Sergeant snapped to attention and saluted.

"Sergeant Anthony Dominick DiNozzo III, reporting as ordered, Sir!"

END PART ONE

Staring

Michael Weatherly as Anthony "Tony" Dominick DiNozzo Jr. "Movie Buff"

Sasha Alexander as Caitlin "Kate" DiNozzo

Taylor Handley as Anthony "Three" Dominick DiNozzo III "Sky Train"

Sarai Givaty as Liat Mariella DiNozzo "Golden Girl"

TJ Ramani as Malachi Ben Gidon "Blue Star"

Gary Sinise as Thomas Colleton "Marshlands"

Mark Harmon as Leroy Jeathro "Gunny" Gibbs

Trevor St. John as Chester Martin "Ironman"

David James Elliott as Harmon Rabb Jr.

Katie Holmes as Tali Colleton "Freedom"

Nicole Steinwendell as Bridget Sullivan "Red Cap"

Susanna Thompson as Hollis Mann

Merik Tadros as Michael Rivkin

Michael Nouri as Eli David

Cote de Pablo as Ziva David

Tracy Needham as Megan Martin

Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer "Bandit"

Johnny Strong as Randall Shugart "Bravo 0-3"

Catherine Bell as Sarah MacKenzie

Sarah Hope as Terri Bauer

Michael O'Neil as Ron Cheale "RC"

Rick Rude as William Kearns "Drag Strip"

Andrew Howard as Terrance Clarkin "Terranova"

Wes Chatham as Billy Hazard "Hitman"

Muse Watson as Mike Franks

John M. Jackson as Albert Jeathro Chegwidden

Scott Wolf as Jonathan Cole "Phantom"

Greg Kinnear as Irving Morrell

Chuck Norris as Scott McCoy

Robert Patrick as Merton Bell

Steven Culp as Clayton Webb

Max Martini as Edward James "EJ" Barrett "Ex-Caliber"

David McCallum as Donald "Ducky" Mallard

Lauren Holly as Jennifer Shepard

Stay tuned my loyal readers for the Part II- entitled

"28 Seconds: Strength & Honor"

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