And here it is, the final chapter. For all the reviewers who have been with me from the start, and you know who you are, I sincerely say thank you for making this writing experience enjoyable. It's been fun. I hope everyone who reads enjoys this.

The three weeks felt like an eternity for Leroy Jethro Gibbs to be away from the Navy Yard, but truth be told, they were the most refreshing weeks of his life.

After spending the better part of three weeks in Europe reliving old adventures with Dr. Mallard – all of course the ME's idea two weeks prior to their trip – and getting to enjoy his time aboard instead of focusing on work, he could say he was indeed refreshed and ready to begin working again.

He got off the elevator and made his normal trip to the bullpen before slowing down three feet from Tony's desk. His senior field agent was already in the office, working on paperwork it looked like and he was enamored with it to say the least. And the fact that Tony was wearing a dress shirt and no tie with jeans meant that something was different since Mondays were the days Tony displayed a new suit or wore one of his designer ones.

Gibbs took in the sight and began walking again.

"Something happen at your apartment while I was gone, DiNozzo?"

Tony didn't look up from his paperwork as he replied. "No, nothing wrong Boss. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was expecting some dust to line the furniture and baseboards when I returned. Plus, I remember having a whole lot more than a drop of bourbon left in the bottle in the basement."

Tony still didn't look up, only thinking, 'Damn, Abby, why'd you have to go and drink Gibbs' bourbon? And why did you drag me over to his house on a Saturday to clean?'

"You know, Boss, maybe you should look into that ghost thing," Tony said, finally looking up at his boss. "You know the movie 'Ghost Busters,' with Bill Murray and Dan Aykroyd, that might actually be true. I thought I saw those guys come by my apartment complex over the weekend and do some work in the apartment across from me …"

"DiNozzo, I don't care that you stayed at my house," Gibbs interrupted, not wanting Tony to go into a full-fledge play-by-play of the ghost extermination. "That's why the front door is unlocked."

Tony didn't acknowledge as he finalized the report from the Baltimore case and closed the folder. He got up and dropped the folder on Gibbs' desk, along with a request form for time off. It was time he finally got a chance to get away from the office.

"You only want two weeks off, DiNozzo? After being here by yourself for three?"

"I only need two. Besides, Abby should be up here shortly with her request as well. We're going on a trip together. Not sure where yet, but we'll figure that out before we leave later this afternoon. Might be a lengthy road trip, at the best."

"And this?"

"Oh, yeah, that's the case I worked last week. Wasn't a big deal at all."

"Tony, don't you ever say any case isn't a big deal," Abby interjected as she joined the two in the bullpen. She handed Gibbs her form requesting time off and looked back at Tony. "Guessing you're going to make him read it to find out what happened?"

"I guess," Tony said, brushing it off. "No sense in staying here any longer since we've got to hit the road to get started on our adventure to wherever that may be. Besides, I think I owe you an additional dinner to the dinner and movie night I already promised you."

"Oh! You remembered! Wait, why do I get an additional dinner?"

"For that thing you did with the taser," Tony said, flashing his patented smile at Abby. She immediately lit up and Gibbs rolled his eyes.

"I don't want to know," Gibbs flatly said. With that, Abby grabbed Tony's arm and both walked to the elevator where McGee and Ziva were stepping out to go to the bullpen.

"Where do you think you two are going," McGee asked, curious to why Abby was with Tony after spending three weeks with him. He thought Abby would probably want to be as far away from him as possible if he annoyed her as much as Tony annoyed himself and Ziva.

"Well, it's good to see you too after three weeks, McGrumpy. Welcome back to D.C. from Hollywood," Tony said.

"Hello Tony," Ziva said, trying to ease the tension. "You and Abby seem to be going somewhere?"

"We are. Tony and I are taking two weeks off and going on a road trip to wherever we want. It's going to be a blast!"

"Road trip," McGee and Ziva both said in a more questioning manner than a statement.

"Yes. Now, if you two probies don't mind, the hard working two of this foursome is heading out. See you later," Tony said as both he and Abby got onto the elevator and watched McGee and Ziva's shocked expressions as the elevator doors closed.

"Boss, are you seriously going to let Tony and Abby go on a road trip together? I mean, who knows what could …" McGee said before receiving the famous Gibbs stare in return.

"McGee, grow up. They were both here three weeks without us. I'm sure we can manage without them for two weeks. Besides, it looks like Tony did just find without us," Gibbs said as he closed the file Tony gave him on the Baltimore case.

"Yeah, sitting at his desk and looking at cold case files isn't the hardest thing to do," McGee said before looking at the completed reports on his desk.

"Did Tony finish your reports too," Ziva asked as she scanned through the few outstanding reports she had left to complete when she left for Tel Aviv with Ray.

"He did. Boss, what was that you were looking through?"

"Just a case DiNozzo handled the past week in Baltimore. He didn't make a big deal out of it."

"Was it something simple." Ziva asked, more sarcasm in her voice than wonder.

"Yeah, I bet he went up there to work the case as an excuse to see his friends from the Baltimore PD," McGee added.

"He solved two murders and took down an entire Mafia family in three days," Gibbs said with some pride in his voice.

McGee and Ziva's faces were frozen in shock. Both of their mouths were gaped open and it looked like at any moment their jaws were going to fall down to the desks.

"What? You two make it seem like DiNozzo can't do anything on his own," Gibbs said as he went up the flight of stairs to see the director.

Ziva was the first to come out of her state of shock a few minutes after Gibbs had left.

"Well, Tony is a capable investigator. I guess it must have been extremely easy to apprehend the Mafia leader …"

"Uh, Ziva, this is America. Mafia leaders don't usually do the dirty work," McGee said, thinking he was correcting her about the case Tony solved.

"Well, we could always look at the file over there, McGee," Ziva said, pointing to the closed file on Gibbs' desk.

Without saying a word, both went over to Gibbs' desk and retreated to McGee's, beginning to read Tony's journey back to Baltimore and realizing how much he was capable of accomplishing when no one else was watching.

Enclosed with the report were commendations from Major Majors of the Baltimore PD and Director Vance. They both cited Tony with outstanding detective work, thoroughness and an uncanny ability to connect clues where many might have overlooked.

McGee and Ziva exchanged glances at each other as they read through Tony's report of how the two murders were solved and linked together; unearthing two moles, one in the Baltimore PD and the other in NCIS; breaking Nicky Carson in interrogation in almost record time; orchestrating a string to capture each member of the Rocci Mafia and ultimately capturing the leader, Billy Rocci, with a little help from Abby.

Gibbs stood next to the director outside of MTAC overlooking the bullpen and he could imagine the looks they had on their faces. Gibbs was smiling inside, proud of what his senior field agent had accomplished, but staying poised on the outside so he didn't appear to be gloating in front of the director.

"Your boy proved me wrong, Agent Gibbs. I have to admit, he has a way of impressing me when I least expect it."

"Ya think," was all Gibbs had to say as he skipped down the steps back to a surprised team in the bullpen.

"What do you think their reactions were like," Abby asked Tony as he looked forward through the window at the open road. The two were on the Interstate heading south to Florida. They narrowed it down to Orlando, Daytona Beach and Miami as acceptable destinations for about a week and a half of relaxing, partying and enjoying the feeling of not being employees of a federal agency.

"Whose reaction? That driver I just cut off about 30 miles back there? Look Abby, he had it coming. He didn't even use his turn signal when he swerved in front of me."

"No, silly, I meant Gibbs and Ziva and McGee when they find out what all you did in Baltimore. You have to admit, I don't even think Gibbs thought you had that in you."

Tony sighed, hoping Abby would drop the topic once she heard him brush it off with Gibbs in the bullpen. He didn't think much of it and hadn't even told her about the commendations from the Baltimore PD and Vance. He was still kind of shocked about Vance heaping praise on him, but hell, he'll take it. Whether he admitted it or not was another thing for another day.

"Like I told Gibbs in the bullpen, it wasn't a big deal. He probably understands since he would have felt the same way for doing the same thing for one of his old Marine buddies. They're my brothers, Abby, and I would do anything for them."

Abby smiled at him and began staring at the Interstate ahead of her. She realized that was Tony's way of politely telling her that he wasn't focused on the case and she began getting lost in her thoughts of what she was going to do with her time off.

Tony was relaxed as he drove. For the first time in 11 years, the burden he carried from the Rocci Mafia undercover operation wasn't going to weigh him down. The thoughts of what Jim Rocci had possibly ordered his best men, Charlie and Marcellus, to do to him wouldn't haunt him in his sleep anymore.

He was finally free. Free from wondering what his former coworkers in Baltimore felt of him taking down their former major. Free from all the thoughts and images that had kept up him up at night from his undercover stint, even several years after he left Baltimore. As much as he hated the reason for going back there to begin with - a dead detective, who was also a friend - he was glad he went back to Baltimore.

"Abby, you know what movie this reminds me of … "