Prologue

The oxygen mask over his mouth was only one sign that the meeting didn't go as well as he anticipated that it would. Of course, the IV unit pumping whatever into his left arm and the heart monitor were also unavoidable signs that all wasn't well in the world of Anthony D DiNozzo. He scanned the hospital room stopping on the lone figure of Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, who sat in an uncomfortable chair with a coffee in his right hand and his eyes closed getting some sleep. A slight smile cracked Tony's face.

As if he had some sort of DiNozzo radar, Gibbs opened his eyes and looked at the now awake younger man. He stretched his neck to the right then the left then he stood up and walked over to be beside the bed.

With his right hand, Tony reached up and pulled off the oxygen mask.

"What happened, Boss?" he asked taking in gulps of oxygen in between each word.

"You were shot, Tony, a bullet through your lungs," Gibbs said.

He was going to lie to his agent, though he wasn't sure Tony was ready to hear everything. From the man's tone and his appearance, Tony knew there was more that Gibbs wanted to say to him, but he was holding back. His Pacific Ocean green eyes stared into the steel blue eyes of his boss.

"Boss… what's… wrong… with… me?" he asked.

Gibbs reached over the oxygen mask and gently placed it back over Tony's face. Tony started to breathing normally again. He needed the oxygen.

"Agent Cade is dead. Agent Barrett left a blood trail, but we don't have her body, and then you were shot, too. What happened, DiNozzo?" he asked softly.

Instinctively, Tony reached up and touched his head. He had a good-sized welt on it from hitting the pavement face first. The welt hurt. Tony pulled his mask off again.

"Don't… know… what… happened. Showed… up… for meet. Can't… remember… more… than that. Can't… remember… shooting," he said.

Gibbs shook his head and put the oxygen mask back on him.

"We'll find out what happened to you. Don't worry," he said.

Tony nodded in the affirmative. He trusted that Gibbs would find out that truth. Hell, he trusted Gibbs more than he did his own father. He trusted Gibbs with his life. The man had let him down a few times, but nothing in comparison to Anthony DiNozzo Senior.

"Rest, Tony, just rest. We'll deal with everything later," said Gibbs.

"'Kay, boss," he said through the mask then drifted off to sleep.

NCIS

"You doing much better, Tony," said Dr. Brad Pitt, who stood in front of the hospital bed reading the chart.

"Much better, Brad. That doesn't say much, does it?" smiled Tony. "You know you can't lie to me. We've been through too much together when it comes to my lungs."

"To be honest, Tony, your lungs didn't need a bullet through them. They were bad enough to begin with because of that bout with Y Pestis. Your lung capacity was at seventy percent to start. Now with this trauma to them, you've probably lost another ten or fifteen percent of their capacity," Brad sighed.

Tony felt a cold wave of reality wash over him. The last time he had to qualify as a field agent, he barely made the seven-minute mile. He could help but chuckle to himself. A seven-minute mile. There was a time when he ran the mile in five minute and forty-three seconds. He was fast; he was an athlete. Now, he struggled to breathe on cold days.

"What are you trying to tell me?" he asked.

"You won't qualify anytime soon to get back in the field. I'm telling you as a friend either to take a desk job or a disability and leave the job," Brad said.

"You mean that I should cash in my chips because the game is over," Tony said with a smile, trying to show some bravado because that was all he had at the moment. "There's nothing that can be done."

"I've therapies and some ideas but…," Brad stopped. "In a month I'm transferring out to Pearl Harbor. My wife is from Hawaii and she wants me to take this posting. She misses her home."

"I don't blame her. I miss Hawaii and I've never even been there," smiled Tony.

"I can recommend a good doctor for you. Your new physician would be better off discussing therapies and new treatments with you than me," said Brad.

"I want you, Brad. I trust you," said Tony. "You've been there since the beginning. I don't trust anyone else, but you."

"Then you'll have to be out in Hawaii. I think I can fit a retired NCIS agent who was forced into retirement because of a bullet through the lungs onto my list of patients and no one will argue," said Brad.

"And if I took a disability and followed you out to Hawaii then what would you recommend for me to do?" asked Tony.

"Enzymes to combat the scaring and the fibrosis to start with. Also, you'll have to start taking Penicillamine and Colchicine. After taking that nice cocktail of pills everyday then I'd recommend some physical therapies. I think swimming would be the first step for you. We start slow with a few laps of the pool and build it up. I also like a few homeopathic therapies, such drinking eucalyptus tea, and using a steam inhaler with the oil of eucalyptus. I think we can gain back some of the lung capacity. If nothing else, I know we can stop from losing anymore," Brad explained.

"How long with the pills, teas, inhaler, and swimming do you think it would take for me to get my lungs back in shape for field duty?" asked Tony.

Brad smiled. He knew that things never went easy with Tony. Tony refused to believe his body had physical limitations. He was the aging joke who still believed he could overcome all the odds if he tried hard enough.

"Six month, maybe a year and you might qualify. Might qualify," smiled Brad.

"That long," said Tony.

"Yeah, that long, Tony," said Brad. "We are looking at change your habits and forcing you into a discipline lifestyle that you haven't had since college."

Brad looked at his patient, who leaned back in his bed and thought about what he had just heard. NCIS was Tony's life. If he was being honest about it, he'd say his team was his family. Vance wouldn't let him leave for six months to trains to get back into the field. He now had two choices: follow Brad to Hawaii and try to find a new life, or stay here in DC and struggle with a new doctor to make it back in three months because Vance wouldn't give him more than that to qualify for the field. It looked like an easy choice, but no choice was really easy. Tony sighed.

"Well, Magnum P.I. was my favorite show," he smiled his I won't be defeated grin.

"Good call, Tony," said Brad. "Together I think we can get your lungs in better shape, but you are going to have to listen to me."

"I swear, Brad, I'll switch from pizza with pepperoni to pizza with pineapple," Tony said.

Brad rolled his eyes and sighed, "You aren't going to make this easy, are you?"

There was nothing easy about this. He'll be leaving his surrogate family behind. Abby was the sister he never had and Tim was like a little brother in some ways. Of course, Ducky was the sagacious grandfather, Jimmy was the geeky cousin, who he couldn't help but like, and then there was Gibbs. He sometimes wondered what his life would have been like if Gibbs had been his father rather than Senior. Finally, there was Ziva David. She was his idea of unrequited love, a woman he had very deep feelings for but never shared those feelings with her for many, complicated reasons. He'd have to leave them all behind.

"Nothing easy about this, Brad, but I'll put in for a disability tomorrow," he said.

"And I'll sign off on it," said Brad.

NCIS

Brad and his wife Ally left for Pearl a week ago. Tony was now out of the hospital. His apartment was up for sale along with some of the antiques. He had contacted his cousin Colin Paddington, a relative on his mother's side, about staying on his estate in Hawaii until he found a place of his own. Colin owned a gated estate on the beach in Loa Ridge. His side of the family had owned the property for almost one hundred and fifty years. Colin's father was his mother's baby brother.

Colin agreed to let Tony stay permanently in the servant bungalow on the estate. With Tony's background, he was able to write it off as a live-in security expert, which amused Tony to no end. In some ways that was the same job Magnum P.I. had, though he wouldn't have the cherry red Ferrari.

Colin told him that he might spend a month, sometimes two, at the estate, otherwise it was up kept by the a grounds manager and he'd allow people to stay at the seven bedroom, eight bathrooms, mansion for business and personal reason, though not too often. The estate was going to be Colin's retirement property. It further amused Tony that the grounds manager, who lived in the estate, was a sixty year old former Scotland Yard DCI. It appeared that his cousin had an affinity for trusting former cops.

Getting dressed in an Armani beige summer suit with a pair of brown suede shoes, a white cotton shirt, no tie, and a pair of classis Ray Ban men's brown colored Wayfarer sunglasses, Tony arrived at NCIS to sign his disability and retirement papers. Vance had put more effort into trying to convince into taking a desk job and stay with NCIS than Tony thought he would. Since he let Gibbs know his situation, he had cut himself off from his surrogate family. It was just a little too painful for him deal with them. He knew Gibbs understood how hard this was for him.

He skipped taking the elevator to the third floor and took it to the mezzanine with the thought of sneaking in and out without being seen by anyone in the bullpen. Vance had wanted to see him before he signed the papers. The elevator doors opened and he walked along the wall so as not to be noticed from down below. He could see Ziva at her desk, Tim now seated at Tony's old desk, and a new agent seated at Tim's desk. Gibbs knew he couldn't wait for him this time, so he replaced him. It had been two months. Gibbs had his head down and looked busy. They all looked busy.

He reached Cynthia's desk. She offered a sympathetic smile.

"I'll tell the Director you are here," she said.

"Thanks, Cynthia," he said taking off his sunglasses.

She got on the phone and let Vance know he was there. After she hung up, she told him to go into the office. Entering Vance's office, he noticed his personnel file sitting on conference table. Vance got up from his desk and offered Tony his right hand to shake. They shook hands.

"Agent DiNozzo," said Vance.

"Not for much longer," said Tony.

"Sit down at the conference table," said Vance.

Tony sat at the table, as did Vance. He placed his left hand on Tony's file.

"I know that you and I have had a rough relationship, but I actually do hate to lose you, DiNozzo," said Vance.

"Thank you, sir," said Tony.

"You've lost weight," said Vance.

"A bullet through one of your lungs can be an effective diet," said Tony with a smirk.

"How are the lungs doing?" he asked.

"I haven't pushed them, but so far so good," he said.

"I spoke to Dr. Pitt and he believes he can help with your lungs. He sounds optimistic, which gave me an idea. I thought as a retired agent you might be open to consult with the MCR Teams at Pearl on occasion. I'm not thrilled with their closure rates. Gibbs has always extolled your out of the box thinking and I thought on occasion with difficult cases you could offer your insight and opinion to the team or teams as a consultant," said Vance.

Tony's face broke into a wide grin. He didn't expect this, but he liked the idea. His days as a field agent were over but he still could be useful.

"I would love that, sir," said Tony.

"Well, I have some paperwork for you to fill out then," smiled Vance.

A half hour later Vance escorted him out onto the walk. Tony put his sunglasses on as he looked down at the bullpen.

"Are you going to say goodbye?" asked Vance.

"I'd rather not," said Tony.

"You and Gibbs are more alike than I realized," said Vance.

"I've always had trouble with goodbyes," he said.

He noticed that Ziva looked up. Her dark eyes caught him. Tony took a deep breath and released it. I hate goodbyes. He turned and offered Vance his hand. They shook hands.

"Thank you, Director. If you need me you know where to find me," he said.

"I'll be in touch, DiNozzo," said Vance.

Tony started walking towards the elevator. He pressed the button and waited for it to arrive. When the doors opened, he was relieved to see the elevator was empty. He got on it and pressed the ground level. The door shut. Leaning against the back of the elevator, he was feeling a sense of relief that he got away without talking to anyone. The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Ziva was standing there.

He looked at her. Her hair was down and curly not straightened. He loved when she looked this way, slightly wild and untamed. Her dark chocolate eyes were glaring at him. She stepped onto the elevator, pressed a button, then she pressed the emergency stop.

"I almost got away," he said.

"Why haven't you returned any of our calls?" she said with anger in her voice.

"I don't do goodbyes well," he said.

"That's not excuse. You don't think we deserve a goodbye," she growled.

"Ziva, I don't want to say goodbye, but I have to," Tony said.

"You owe us more than just disappearing from our lives," she said.

Instinctively, he reached out with his right hand and touched her cheek. With his thumb, he ran it gently along her lower lip. Ziva blushed.

"I've been replaced, Zi," he said. "I've got nothing left to offer. I can't protect your six any longer."

"You mean more to us, to me, then that," she said.

"I wish that were true," he said softly.

He hand moved to the back of her neck. Pulling her close to him, he captured her lips with his own. Immediately, he could feel the heat between them. She parted her lips and he devoured her mother. She tasted like cinnamon and wildfire. The kiss deepened even more as their tongues warred for supremacy. Finally, out of breath and feeling lightheaded, he ended the kiss. Ziva was speechless. He reached over and released the emergency break. The door opened. Tony could see that her eyes were no longer angry but were smoldering. He placed his hands on her upper arms and leaned in so he could whisper in her ear.

"I love you, Ziva David, and I more than likely always will. I hope Ray makes you happy," he said whispered in her ear.

With those words said, he moved her out of the elevator then he reached over and pressed the button for the doors to shut. They shut with her looking at him with a mix of sadness and confusion. Tony took a deep breath.

"Clark Gable couldn't have done it better," he said with a sad smile.