A/N: Thank you, everyone for your kind words and your comments; glad you liked this turn of events. Let me know what you think of this last chapter.

WARNING: There's some Ziva bashing ahead!

So I went for the long epilogue, hope you enjoy it.

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.. Epilogue ..

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It'd been a couple of months since Tony'd officially started his new job as the Supervisory Agent of a Five-man team in San Diego.

Long physical therapy sessions to get back on his feet, plus the process of resigning from NCIS and starting at DEA had taken him almost three months and for almost one month after that, he still didn't have his usual stamina and had to take it easy. You don't come back from the brink of death that easily and even though Tony had once done that after his bout with the plague and had found it much easier, this time he didn't bounce back that gracefully and he could understand why; first of all, this time around, he was much older than when he came back from the plague and second of all, back then, he'd been completely healthy before he confronted the ancient disease and had to just fight its aftermath. Now, he already had scarred lungs and as bad as a bullet to the lung was, a bullet to the heart was much worse; add staying in a coma for 17 days to it and you'd know why Tony didn't lose his hope when it took him months to get back in form.

Besides, he'd been so busy with resigning from NCIS that he barely noticed how hard it'd been for him, at first, to do the simplest things.

That whole resigning thing had turned out to be way harder than he'd thought.

Of course, he'd always known that it wouldn't be like the other times that he'd left a place; those other times, he hadn't stayed for 12 years and he hadn't made so many friends. He'd always been able to just leave and never look back, but with NCIS, it was different.

Just as he'd anticipated, both Abby and Ducky got shocked and upset when they heard of his decision about leaving them; Jimmy was baffled, as well, but he'd understood and only made Tony promise that he'd visit and while Ducky finally understood his reasoning and accepted his decision, albeit a bit sadly, Abby went into denial. She kept saying that Tony wasn't in his right mind and had to wait and think more; she even asked Gibbs to stop him and when she realized that Gibbs was actually going to let Tony go, she stopped talking to the older agent altogether.

Surprisingly, even Vance didn't want to accept Tony's resignation. He even went as far as promising him his own team in near future just to keep the younger man with them. At the surprised look on Tony's face, the Director explained that they'd come a long way since he started as the director of the agency and now he knew why Gibbs always fought so hard to keep the younger agent with them; he'd admitted that now he did see DiNozzo as one of their best agents and informed him that the SecNav wasn't happy with Tony's decision, either.

Those things had caused Tony's resolve to waver for a while and during those days, he'd happily clung to the pain radiating from his chest and his painful physical therapies to clear his head.

He'd given things some more thought, but at the end, he figured that the reasons he'd given Gibbs were still there and there was no way for him to come back to the team and forget about everything. He really needed to leave before they could break him.

So, at the end, nothing had worked to keep him there, but Vance had gone and surprised him again, telling him that if he ever wanted to rejoin them, the door was open.

Ducky and Tony had both talked to Abby and had made her see that just because he was leaving, didn't mean they would never see each other again; Ducky, privately, had also told her that if she didn't respect Tony's decision or if she started to act like a child and accused him of breaking the team or such things, she'd never see or hear from him again; and that advice had apparently come just in time, because Abby's next move was going to be the exact same thing. So, since she'd been left with no other choices, she'd reluctantly accepted the situation and had started to plan all their upcoming visits ahead.

The interesting part of resigning from NCIS hadn't been any of those things, though. It was the junior agent's reactions. They both might've been malice on occasions and mean in their behavior, but neither of them ever thought that Tony would actually leave. In fact, nobody thought that Tony DiNozzo would ever leave NCIS. The ex-cop had been through so much with them; taking many things from everyone and had never shown any sign of wishing to leave, making everyone certain that the current SFA of the MCRT would be the last one to leave that agency; but to everyone's utter shock the unthinkable eventually happened.

Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo had apparently finally reached his breaking point and couldn't take it anymore; he'd finally accepted a job offer from another agency and was leaving them.

What shook McGee and Ziva more than the others was the fact that Tony wasn't just quitting, he was resigning to join another agency; he actually had offers from other agencies and they'd never heard about them and here they thought they knew Tony so well and thought there wasn't a thing Tony didn't share with them.

So, the news came as a shock to them and both found themselves dumbfounded.

For days they didn't say a thing and it was McGee who approached Tony first to discuss the situation. He wanted to know if he was the reason the other agent was leaving and he was surprised when Tony said he was part of it. He'd really expected Tony to deny it and come up with a lame reason or something and even though deep down he knew he must've been partially accountable for the whole thing, he hadn't expected for Tony to say it to his face and it was at that moment that he realized it was over; that they weren't friends anymore and Tony didn't see a reason to hide the truth from him to protect him and his feelings; and he was man enough to know he mostly had himself to blame for that broken friendship. Their conversation hadn't lasted long; they hadn't even gotten to the living room before it was over, but before dejectedly leaving Tony's place, he'd asked if they could fix things or if Tony needed to leave so bad, they could, at least, meet again later; Tony's answer had been a 'no' to fixing things and a 'we'll see' to starting over.

And that had been McGee's clue to leave to give the man he'd gotten used to see as an annoying older brother and had started to take for granted years ago, some space and time.

Ziva's approach was less remorseful and more contemptuous and demanding which had annoyed Tony to no end, causing him to practically throw her out of his place and ending up with a bad chest pain for hours afterwards.

Later, she texted him, saying she hadn't meant to be so harsh and asked if she could come over again, to which Tony just said 'No' and finished everything.

He couldn't help thinking that it was mostly Ziva's fault that everything had gone to hell in a handbasket; after she joined the team, somehow, somewhere along the way, things started to spiral out of control and Tony felt bad for thinking, just for a second, that she was poison, but even though he dismissed that thought quickly -it just wasn't like him to think poorly of those people he knew, no matter how cruel they'd been to him- he kinda felt it was the best word to describe the Israeli woman.

So, that was how the process of saying his goodbyes and finishing his unfinished works before leaving, went and after months things were finally making sense again.

During the whole time, Gibbs had tried to not meddle in Tony's business and had focused his energy on showing the junior agents of his team what they were going to lose.

Throughout all the cases that they'd worked on, he kept pointing out that if DiNozzo were there, he would've figured whatever point the others were missing. He even once made McGee call Tony and ask for his output on the case, which with Tony being the fresh pair of eyes and all actually helped. On another occasion when Gibbs had been extra pissed, McGee went to Tony to ask for help, pleading with him to do something and once again the former Senior Field Agent had stepped in and took care of the angry Gibbs and he even gave Tim a few tips to solve the case; after years, everyone knew that if Tony wanted to focus all his energy and attention on something, say a case, with or without computer skills, he'd manage to find something useful to solve the problem and he'd do it in a way that the others would have very little to do.

After almost three months, he was well enough to travel, so he left DC for San Diego and the following Monday, which was two days after his arrival, he met his new team for the first time. During his last three months at NCIS, he'd decided to be less friendly with his new team and definitely less open; he didn't need for the history to repeat itself. He'd found a chance to start over and he wasn't going to miss that chance.

During those two days he'd received 6 calls from Abby; two from Ducky and surprisingly two from Gibbs. It'd amazed him how they were willing to keep in touch and he vowed with himself that he wouldn't be the one to put an end to it, either.

And that kept him going crazy at first, helping him to find a state of mind that was secure and peaceful again; because at first, no matter what he told himself, he kept missing his old team, his old carefree masks and his old place. He missed Gibbs' place and he even missed the orange walls of the Navy Yard; but his new team were good and competent people and they actually knew how to show respect and yet be friendly.

After just a couple of days, Tony realized that he still needed to train them all, as one of them was completely green and two others weren't that seasoned, either. Even the last agent on his team, his 2IC, needed tips and they all definitely needed guidance; so between trying to find creative ways to build a great team; learning about all the protocols in the DEA offices and everything else; he gradually got over what he was missing.

Until he was cleared for field duty, he led his team from his office -he actually had a private office and even his team had a separated area from the others-; he also taught in different classes, the methods of processing a scene, ways of thinking outside the box and being a creative thinker -as it was vital for an undercover agent- and solving cases as quickly as possible.

It wasn't until a finally quiet weekend that he realized that he hadn't talked to his friends from NCIS in about two weeks.

Grabbing his phone, he first called Abby, but her phone was turned off; when he got the same result with both Gibbs and Ducky, he started to get worried. He didn't want to call Tim, but his concern won over his hurt feelings and he convinced himself that at least calling McGee wouldn't be as bad as calling Ziva. His former Probie had actually called him once and had awkwardly asked him how things were on his side.

So, he just prayed that McGee would answer his phone.

His prayers were answered when McGee's tired voice came from the other side. "Hello?"

"Tim?"

"Tony?" Tim sounded hesitant, like he couldn't believe Tony'd actually called him. "Is everything alright?"

Tony sighed. "I wanted to ask you the same question. Why is everybody's phone off? What's going on up there?"

Tim was quiet for so long that Tony was forced to call his name again.

"You don't know." McGee finally stated and Tony felt his stomach drop.

"Don't know what? Tim, what the hell is going on?" He got up from his seat on the couch and grabbed his laptop to quickly book a flight to DC; he needed to be there if anything had happened.

Tim had apparently heard the anxiety in Tony's voice, because he quickly said, "Oh no. Nothing bad has happened. Well, it's bad; but for us. I mean it's just worse; it became bad when you decided to leave, but now it's just worse. I hope it's good for you, though. I think it'll be; and you deserve it. I'm sorry, Tony; you know that, right? I think I never realized what we were doing; what I was do-"

"McGee." Tony finally barked, putting a pause to Tim's 'we-screwed-up' speech. "You're sounding like Abby. What's going on?"

"Gibbs quit."

Tony was sure he'd heard wrong.

"Umm, you still there?"

"What did you just say?"

"I asked if you were still-"

Tony rolled his eyes. "Before that. About Gibbs."

"Oh, I said he quit."

Tony was once again baffled. "Why in the hell would he do that? What's happened there?"

"What do you mean what's happened?" Tim sounded genuinely confused. "You left."

"What does it have anything to do with this?" Tony was getting impatient.

"Um, sorry. Yes. You don't know. We found out a little while back, but I thought you knew. I mean I figured Gibbs has told you. Or Abby or Ducky could've said something to you."

"I've been too busy lately and now no one answers their phones. Are you going to actually give me a straight answer now?" Tony rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger as he felt a headache starting to build behind his eyes. As a souvenir of his latest ordeal, headaches hit him more often and harder, these days.

"Umm, well, he quit because you've left."

That couldn't be true. "Tim-"

"Really. He said so himself. He said he'd been wrong in his methods and that we all have made mistakes. Not that it's not true." The younger agent added quietly. "But he was talking to Vance about how he'd told him that he wouldn't come back if you weren't there."

'WOW!' Tony was befuddled. Could it really be true? Did Gibbs really leave because he had? He couldn't decide whether he should feel upset or proud and happy. On the one hand, he never wanted to ruin things for his old team and seriously, Gibbs wasn't one to retire, what was he going to do now? It was worrying him; on the other hand, well, he couldn't lie to himself, it was strangely reassuring to know his departure had affected his old boss like that.

"Tony?"

"What happens now?" He asked quietly.

"He didn't quit from NCIS. Just from the team. He's just coming your way to work there."

"What?" Two minutes ago, Tony hadn't thought he could get more shocked, but clearly he'd been wrong.

"Oh, umm, we don't know the details, but I've heard that he's taken a consulting job in our LA office. So, to me it looks like he wants to be close to you." McGee sounded weird and if Tony wasn't so busy trying to digest what he'd heard, he would've noticed the hint of sadness mixed with amusement in the younger man's voice.

"WOW." Tony blurted quietly. "That why he's not answering his phone?"

"Well, they must've turned their cells off while on the plane; or I don't know maybe just have forgotten to turn them on; or wanted to surprise you; which I guess I just ruined."

"They?"

"Gibbs, Abby and Ducky." Tony could see McGee shrugging over the phone. "They refused to let him go alone; said this way they could all come and see you, too. It's been a few months." He sighed. "I... I wanted to come, too... But-... Well, we're working on a case and you've said that-" He trailed off.

Tony sighed, too. He didn't mind seeing the younger man, but he wasn't sure what they'd talk about if they ever met. "I didn't mean I'd never want to see you again, Tim. I just-"

"Yeah, I know." Tim said quickly, "Anyway, you can imagine that neither Ducky nor Abby took it well that Gibbs was leaving, too. Especially Abby; at least Ducky kept a low key and just wanted to make sure Gibbs wasn't acting hastily. Abby... Well, you can imagine what she'd do hearing something like that. We still haven't recovered from losing you. After you left, things were a lot harder. Even Ziva had to admit it. Wish we'd seen it before you left."

Tony was quiet; because it still hurt to think he'd lost yet another family. "We all made mistakes."

"Some more than the others." Tim replied.

Tony remained quiet; he still didn't know which one of his mistakes had been so bad to evoke that kind of treatment from the very people he considered family.

McGee went on, "Well, this is it, I guess. We're having a new team leader; she's crazy; really." He sounded annoyed. "Or maybe we've just gotten used to you and Gibbs and can't take anything else; or maybe she's heard something about us and just wants to make sure we know our place because she's especially hard on Ziva. She's a former marine, as well. Crazy, huh? Keeps making us feel like a couple of probies, again even though I'm her SFA."

"Congrats."

"Don't know why, but not really happy about it. Not what I wanted; but then again, I've just realized that I've never known what I really wanted here."

Seemed like Tim had a lot to talk about, but the doorbell was ringing and Tony had to cut his conversation short. "Look, Tim. I gotta go now. Someone's at the door. Umm, why don't we... Well-"

"Can I call you?"

"Umm, sure." Tony replied hesitantly.

"Thanks, Tony." Tim sounded sincere.

"Will talk to you later."

"I'll call. Thanks again. Bye."

Tony sighed and pushed himself away from the wall he'd leaned against and walked to the door to see who his visitor was. Even though he knew about Gibbs' departure, he was still surprised to find Gibbs and company standing at his door.

"Tonyyyyyyyyyy." Abby threw herself at him and squeezed him so hard that he was sure his healed ribs cracked again.

Ducky smiled at him. "It's good to see you again, my boy. Sorry I missed your call."

Tony smiled back. "Well, I did get worried for a while there; but Tim made a few things clear." He eyed Gibbs as he said those words.

"You called McGee?" Abby pulled back with surprise.

"None of you would answer your phones; I didn't have a choice, did I?" He shrugged and ushered them inside. "And I heard some pretty interesting stories." He was again looking at Gibbs.

Gibbs shrugged and sat on Tony's couch. "It was time I left; you weren't there to have my back."

Tony raised his eyebrows. "Not the first time and the others would do a perfect job at that."

"Didn't mean I had to like it. My fault you left; I couldn't stay around." Gibbs' answers were as curt as ever.

Abby and Ducky were quiet; and Ducky felt that the two men needed to talk, so he quietly took Abby's arm and they walked to the backyard of Tony's house.

Tony watched them leave and made a mental note to thank them for being so understanding. "Gibbs, I never wanted to break your team."

"It was your team, too. And we were the reason you had to start over in a new place; I was the reason you lost another family. We broke the team, not you."

"And you think your quitting fixes everything?" He didn't mean to sound so resigned or so annoyed, but he suddenly realized that he still wasn't exactly over losing everything he'd build over the years.

Gibbs didn't say anything in return.

"Gibbs, you didn't have to quit over this. We're still in touch, no need for you to leave everything behind to come here. I told you I'll come visit; it's not like I've cut off contact between us. I told you before that I'd like for us to stay friends if you want that, too. So, no need for you to be here; unless you think I can't do my job here and you need to make sure I won't screw up again." By the time he was done, Tony sound cold and irritated.

Gibbs took a deep breath and pinned his former agent with a hard glare. "I did hope I could fix a few things by coming here, but I mainly left DC because it was the right time to do so, DiNozzo. You didn't screw up last time and you know I have every faith in you. I know you'll do a perfect job; it's not a secret what I think of your performance as an agent. And I didn't quit NCIS; I still have a job and I won't live here in San Diego; I'll be in LA. It'll take over two hours of driving to come and see you. Any other comment?" Gibbs had to admit to himself that Tony's words had hurt him and it was obvious in his tone.

"Just a little over one hour with your driving." Tony pointed out quietly after some silent moment.

A smirk found its way to Gibbs' mouth. "I won't regret my decision; I can promise you that." He finally said, sounding calmer than a few seconds ago; he knew part of Tony's anger was because he thought Gibbs would regret leaving DC later and knowing DiNozzo, he probably thought that he'd be blamed for it. "This is not a decision made lightly. I've put a lot of thought into it; I actually have been thinking about it since you told me you were leaving, in that hospital room." He paused as he remembered those days and felt that pain like it'd happened yesterday. "And as you see Abby and Ducky have come to the same conclusion when I gave them my reasons."

"Well, at least they didn't quit, too. That'd be too weird. This is just a vacation for them, right?"

"Yeah, they're just hanging around for a short while and then they have to go back to D.C. " The older man replied. "I haven't run away, this time, Tony. I still have my house in D.C. and everyone knows where I am." He added as he could see lines of doubts on Tony's face. "I just want to be close by and I'd like to see you around your new team one day."

Tony was quiet for a few moments, but he finally sighed. "Well, that's not gonna happen unless you find a way to share a case with DEA here." He grinned.

"Or you could invite them over so we can all meet." Abby said excitedly; Tony wasn't sure when she and Ducky had come back inside.

"No." Tony shook his head vehemently and everyone knew why he was so adamant; he didn't want his new team to know too much about him and his past to be able to hurt him later; but more importantly he didn't want his old team and friends to know the new people in his life; he wasn't quite ready to share everything with them again.

"OK." Abby nodded her head slowly, understanding Tony's reluctance to opening up to new people and sharing personal stuff with them; she didn't want to open old wounds, so she kept quiet; she might miss both Tony and Gibbs at NCIS, but she, at least, knew where they were and was allowed to contact them as much as she wanted to; she didn't want that privilege taken away just by being pushy.

"But we're always here for you, my dear boy." Ducky said as he sat down next to the younger man and patted his knee.

'Literally.' Gibbs said with his eyes as he held Tony's gaze.

Tony smiled thankfully and leaned back on the couch; thinking that maybe he hadn't lost everything he'd built over the years; maybe it wasn't a completely fresh start and maybe it was actually better this way; they could be a family, or at least friends, without the stress of the job and its misunderstandings. They could rely on each other the way a real family did and the fact that Gibbs was willing to leave things behind to come and be close to him meant so much that Tony suddenly felt his chest didn't feel so tight anymore and it was then that he realized that it wasn't those bullets and the physical pain that had caused the tightness in his chest for months; it was the sadness over losing his family and if he could have a fresh start with his friends, people he considered family, even if it was just to some extent, then he had no reason to be scared or sad. He could breathe more easily and he could let go of the pain and hurt.

They still could find a way to make things work.

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... The END ...

A/N: OK, that's it; hope you've enjoyed this ride. Thanks for reading.

Also thanks for all your comments, faves and alerts. They really mean a lot to me.

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All mistakes are mine.

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