Chapter 5

Ducky took a year and toured the world. He spent the most time, nearly 4 months in Italy, touring the country, eating true Italian foods and learning to speak the language. It was the most meaningful and poignant part of his whole trip. He decided to take Tony's advice. He had written a dairy of his time in Italy. He turned it into a book called Notes to a Friend. He dedicated the book in Tony's memory. In his later books, of which there were three. He mentioned Tony as a major inspiration for the written word.

Gibbs went to one of the tailor shops Tony often mentioned. He bought a suit. An expensive suit. And when all was said and done, the tailoring, the Gucci shoes, and the cashmere socks. The suit cost only pennies less than what had been a week's salary. Tony had been right though. He had already worn it to a couple weddings and a few funerals. Also, when Tony's one year anniversary memorial came around, he was proud to stand by Tony's grave in his tailored suit. It turned out though, he could not give up his boats. But instead of building them, he bought himself one and a boat slip to keep it in. Which he used Tony's money to pay for. He spent his retirement years sailing on the boat, which he named Anthony.

Tim bought a suit at another shop that Tony had mentioned. He decided to forego the shoes. He spent what would be HIS current weekly salary. He then decided to go and buy shoes. None of his looked quite right or did the suit justice. He then decided to buy the car of his 16-year-old dreams. Tim hated that he had only had it such a short time before he wrecked it. And he knew Tony would have loved it. He put on the leather jacket and then slipped behind the wheel for his first drive as owner. Tim kept his job in Cyberville. He became what Tony would have termed Head Geek or Geek-in-Chief. At any rate he became head of the department after only 3 short years. Tim eventually married, but they never had children. They instead opted to raise a family of rescue dogs. Abby was a black bulldog with a studded collar. Jethro was a German shepherd. Tony was a golden retriever. Ducky was a Scottish terrier. Ziva was a tri-colored collie, and Jimmy was a black lab.

Jimmy bought the condo of his dreams. The first thing he did when he moved in was to put up his American Pie poster. The American Pie mug had a special place on his kitchen counter. He continued to work at the Virginia Crime Lab. He became the head M.E. after only about 5 years. He was the youngest person to do so. He and Brianna married. Two years later they had a baby girl, whom they named Antonia Marie Palmer.

Ziva continued with the FBI. She kept Tony's striped shirt in her bottom drawer for years. She kept the bottle of cologne in the back of her lingerie drawer. When her husband-to-be asked about the items, she told him all about Tony. And he understood, he was also an FBI agent and understood what it was like to lose a partner. Ziva had taken several pictures of Tony over the years of their partnership. Most were of them working in the field. But she had also managed to snap a few in the office. When he died, she had been so glad she had saved them. She allowed the team to look through the pictures and take their favorites, making reprints as necessary. She took the pictures she liked the most and made a small collage, which she hung in her living room. A few years after Tony's death Ziva gave birth to a baby boy. She named him Anthony Donald. A couple years later she gave birth to baby girl whom she named Timara Jay.

Abby eventually returned to her forensics background, taking a job with the Baltimore PD Ballistics Lab. She kept Tony's striped shirt in the back of her closet. She kept his bottle of cologne in a box in the top her of closet. She also kept a picture of Tony up in her lab, she was the only full-time employee there. She always smiled when she looked at it. It reminded her of the good times and great people she had worked with at NCIS. Abby later married, to an officer from Baltimore. He found the shirt and the cologne. Abby didn't need to explain after she told him who they had belonged to. Tony had been a well respected and loved detective in Baltimore. Abby and her husband ended up having twin boys, which they named Anthony Jethro and Timothy Donald.

The anniversary of Tony's death and his birthday was always remembered. On his birthday they all gathered at Tony's favorite restaurant and celebrated his life. On the anniversary of his death, they held their own personal memorial, at his gravesite. Eight years later another celebration and memorial was added to the list. Ducky passed away in his sleep. He had reached his eighth decade and was still active. He was enjoying life and had actually planned to go back to Italy, one more time. He had been thinking about another book. Gibbs passed away from a heart attack 15 years after Ducky's death. He had insisted on making his own boat repairs, and he didn't know when to take a rest. They continued the tradition with the celebrations and the memorials, just adding one more to the list. As the years progressed the 'family' had become larger. The members of Team Gibbs got married and had children of their own. The children learned of their namesakes and joined in the celebrations and the remembrances.

Even in the years after their parent's deaths the gatherings continued. The children, over the years, had become friends. They had loved hearing the stories told about their namesakes, primarily Tony. But they really loved all the stories.

They all had come to have a great appreciation for a man they had never met. But someone they all felt they knew.

THE END