Epilogue

One month later...

Tim was sitting at his desk, typing. It had been a long time since he'd felt like writing. It was something he'd been getting back to, and with his desk, he liked sitting there whether he was writing or not.

After hearing the news from Alex, Tim had shared it out to his family, to Matt and Judith, to Ducky, and to his friends in DC. They'd insisted on celebrating, and Tim had been okay with that. He'd invited them all down to Norfolk and they'd gone out and partied...sort of. It was dinner, but it was a very lively dinner.

Then, it had been back to work. There was a lot to do to get Norfolk ready to have an MCRT again, and Tim was determined to get everything right.

But now, he was in a contemplative mood as he sat at his desk. He stopped typing and ran his fingers over the perfectly smooth surface. His jazz was playing softly on his record player, and Jethro was lying on his doggie bed, panting contentedly.

It had been a nice evening.

His contemplation was interrupted by a knock on the door. Surprised, Tim walked over, looked through the peephole and smiled. He opened the door.

"Hey, Ducky. What brings you here?"

"Today is a special, Timothy."

"It is?"

Tim stepped aside and let Ducky come in.

"Yes. It is."

"What is it?"

Ducky sat down on the couch.

"It's the anniversary of the day you chose to get your life back. The day you admitted that you weren't happy the way you were and that you wanted more."

"It is? I hadn't really thought about it."

"I have. Many times. I remember that night when you were sitting on my front porch, in a daze, unaware of where you were, asking to be kept safe. I can't tell you how many times I have be grateful that you came to me, that, instead of anywhere else you could have gone, you chose to come to my home and ask for help."

"Are you sure of that, Ducky? I gave you no end of grief."

"And no end of joy, Timothy."

Tim shifted uncomfortably. Ducky seemed to notice.

"I have been privileged to help you regain your life. Once lost, the only positive would be to see it come back again. You have recovered beyond any estimate I could have made. I never would have guessed that the possibility of your full recovery, such as I see here, was anything but remote. I look at you now and I would not guess how far you fell because you have risen to such heights."

Tim felt his throat tighten a little.

"If I have, Ducky, it's because of you. Those times when I fell, I couldn't have got out of those...depths without help, and you were always there to help me. You never gave up, even when I did. If you're grateful to have been there, I'm grateful that you were there because I have it all back again, not in the same way that I thought I would, but I have my job back. I have my friends back. I have myself. I have myself, Ducky. I'm not afraid of that, and that means so much. Whatever happens next, I feel like I can handle it."

"And that is the greatest reward of all," Ducky said firmly.

Tim nodded. He looked around at the life he'd built from the ashes of his old life. He knew who he was.

...and he was happy.

FINIS!

A/N: This may have been the hardest story to end that I've ever written. Not only was it hard to end this story, but it was also hard to end the series. I got Tim to the place I wanted him to be, but the story could go on forever. I may revisit it, but right now, this is the end of the series. Thanks for coming along for this crazy ride! It ended up being much longer than I had planned.