I kind of wanted it to sound like Tony was narrating his own life. Like a movie. Or like Scrubs. Mmmm. Scrubs.

&

In terms of how I wanted to die, this was definitely pretty damn low on the list. Something exciting and heroic, like I Am Legend or The Wicker Man, not a dogfight in my partner's apartment with her long-time boyfriend, busting up her furniture and being come at with a giant shard of glass. A giant shard of glass that was just moments ago lodged into Rivkin's side. Somehow, in my head, I never expected him to be able to bleed. He wasn't entirely human from my perspective. Damn, my arm hurts. I can't explain it, but the way he snapped it basically clean in half sort of reminded me of Ziva. No. No, that's what she's capable of, not who she is. Not Ziva. Never Ziva. God, I almost forgot she's the reason I came here. Five minutes ago I was here to talk to her (or maybe talk her out of something, I can't even remember), and know I'm crawling away from a bleeding maniac. And why? Because I had to bait fortune and keep digging into things I shouldn't even care about. Because the minute I knew he was in Ziva's life, I just automatically assumed that a faceless, nameless man I didn't even know was up to no good. Why? Good question, me. I don't know. It doesn't make sense. Just like my arm being broken doesn't make sense, and that giant wound in Rivkin's side doesn't make sense, and that broken picture lying on the ground of that happy little family makes no sense at all. It's surreal. Three seconds ago my arm was working just fine, a normal man shouldn't even be walking in a state like that, and only one of those smiling children in that picture is alive; although a lot of good that does me. Only when I really, really need her is she not here.

No... No this can't be happening. I am definitely not dying. Gibbs wouldn't let me die. Ziva wouldn't let me die. Any second now, one of them is going to bust through that door, point their weapon at Rivkin and I'll be home free. That's how it works. That's how it always works. There's no way they'd let me die here... there's no way he'll really kill me...

Oh, but there is. It only takes me a few more seconds to realize no one is coming. No one knows I'm here. There's not going to be any flashy, last-minute, jump-in-and-save-Tony rescue. He's not two feet away now. He's really, actually going to kill me. I'm going to die here. In Ziva's apartment.

No. There's no way. There's no way to avoid this. I have my gun. There's only one thing to do now: Survive. It's him, or it's me.

I choose me.

Three bullets suddenly appear in Rivkin's chest. I don't know how they got there. There's a gun in my hand, yes, and there's a dead man lying next to me, yes, but there's no way I shot him. No way.

There's the door bang. Too little too late. My gun still in front of me, I turn to the potential enemy and...

Oh.

Well, this must look pretty bad.

&

Only four days 'til "Aliyah". Mark your calendars, bitches.