WOW - excellent aftermath of a catastrophic event. It will be interesting to see how TPTB "retire" Gibbs.

what a great story!

A lot of things were settled among the team with Gibbs death. I'm glad Tony got the rules especially the last one.

Gahhh! Excellent ending for Gibbs, going out but taking the bad guy with him, always loved Dr. Cranston, nice to see her again. Glad to see you kept the team together.

This was lovely. Sad, and it made me cry, but the way it all played out was very satisfying. I liked that you addressed all the slights and truly hurtful things that the team had said or done to Tony, and in the end they were closer and will hopefully support each other like a team should, and like Tony has always done for them.
Also, Vance finally realizing Tony's worth was a nice moment.
I always liked Rachel Cranston, and you captured her ability to gently push the team in the right direction very well. Nice to know that McGee and Ziva were capable and willing to hold themselves accountable for their less than kind actions, and chose to right those wrongs.
Gibbs note to Tony really touched me, and hit just the right emotional tone, while keeping Gibbs in character. This whole scene, from Tony entering Gibbs' house, to the team coming, was wonderfully done.
And I love the idea of each team member taking something from the house. Tony finding the box with the rules was perfect, and I have to think that this is exactly what Gibbs would have wanted to give Tony.
Thank you, I enjoyed this.

I'm glad "Doctor Kate's Sister" was included in the boat burning (but I still hope Tony left or got to create his own team from scratch - one that wouldn't think of him as their co-worker).
Thanks for leaving it open-ended for reader imagination.

BuckeyFan00000

I don't trust McGee and David being able to follow Tony in an on-going basis. Yes, this is years after Gibbs Mexican sabbatical but their behavior right up to present day [story wise] shows the opposite. If anything, at least with Ziva, her disdain of Tony got worse after the team found her alive in Somalia. Calling him "Dead Weight" comes to mind.

Belated question: Did the show ever tell us that the others knew Ziva killed Ari? It doesn't ring a bell with me.

Your story. This beginning is reminding me of a question I've long had: Why would Tony, as Team Lead, have to keep Tim and Ziva - or any other agents that he didn't pick?
He should be allowed to chose who works for him, start fresh. Tim could be reassigned as Agent Afloat. Ziva, with her language skills could be reassigned to the foreign desk.

Now onward to chapter 2.

BuckeyeFan00000

AWESOME STORY! wow... just enjoyed each and every bit. I adored Rachel on the show and you put her to excellent use.

Oh... I kinda hoped Tony would buy the house.

Nicely done.

Lovely, bittersweet story.

It's sad that it took Mike Franks' death to teach Gibbs that rule, and even then he found it hard to follow.

I'm glad that Tony was able to realize that people change over time, and that he needs these particular people as much as they need him.

And I love the idea of ceremonially burning the boat. (Not to mention the wonderful last line!)

Handled very well, and well written. A pleasure to read.
I agree that Tony deserves a lot more credit than most people seem to give him (in the show and in other stories). You did this well while making it believable.

Cool ending. I'm happy they've found common ground in coming to terms with Gibbs' death. And I like that the "rest of the story" is not so spelled out. I hope you'll be back soon with a new story.

The problem as I see it is: people who live in the fanfiction world love their area NCIS, Harry Potter etc. FF get's personal and almost real. If the author is any good, the reader feels to be apart of the action, their your friends and when they hurt you hurt or hate. If the producers ever take this route, you should be hired to write the program. It ended exactly the only way it should, with reactions as they should happen. There would not be a dry eye in the house and everyone would hate you for being such a talented writer who was able to make us FEEL when something incredibly important was torn from us.

Thanks for a great "what if" story. Your writing style is so easy to read and your insight into the characters is spot-on. Please write more soon...

Beautifully written, very thoughtful piece, even if it did break my heart. Thank you.