A/N: This is the last chapter and I hope you enjoy it! I suppose you all know how I feel about extending stories with no good reasons, so I'm not gonna repeat myself! :D
One more time I should thank you all for all your support! I'm truly overwhelmed! You guys ROCK! :) Thank you.
All mistakes are mine. Sorry for them.
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BTW, I was thinking and I realized that this story can't really take place during season 7 or 8, there's no way Ziva and McGee would apologize for hurting Tony back then! They were just too mean and disrespectful! At least they're a little friendlier, this season! Thank God for changes!
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The next day passed with no more confrontation as they were busy dealing with a case from early morning. The case was complicated and they didn't have any time for their usual banter.
McGee and Ziva felt better when they saw Tony looking more like himself, even though they didn't find the chance to comment on him being clean shaven.
It was their first case since Tony's return and having to deal with Tony's replacement for two agonizing months, they were greatly thankful for having Tony back. Even though he wasn't his usual talkative self, his skills had helped them go through everything much easier.
It was around 8 pm when they all dragged their tired bodies to their places.
Tony went straight to the bathroom to take a long hot shower. He still felt extremely happy for being able to take a shower in his home; he hadn't missed anything more than his own bathroom; not even his bed!
After wrapping a towel around his waist, he stepped out of the bathroom and almost jumped out of his skin when he found Abby standing in the middle of his living room, staring at his scarred chest with wide eyes.
"To- Tony." She whispered in shock.
"What the hell?" Tony exclaimed.
"I... I wanted to see you. I needed to... To talk to you." she stammered.
"The door was locked."
"Ziva picked it."
It was just then that he realized Abby wasn't the only one in the room with him; Ziva was standing in a corner, matching Abby in wide eyes.
"The lock is there for a reason." He stated angrily.
"What's happened to you, Tony?" Abby asked in a low voice, her eyes showing her concern and sadness.
Looking down at his chest, Tony didn't give any straight answers. "Job happened." He said and walked towards his bedroom. "I'd have said make yourself comfortable, but you already have." He threw over his shoulder and slammed the door shut behind him.
It took him about 15 minutes to get dressed and finally leave his room and if it wasn't for Ziva stopping her, Abby would've knocked and called and entered Tony's room a hundred times.
"O thank God, you're still here." He mumbled sarcastically when he saw them sitting on his couch.
"You want us to leave?" Ziva asked.
"I wanted you to respect my privacy and knock before invading my personal space."
"We knocked. You did not answer."
"Which normally doesn't mean that you can let yourself in."
Abby dropped her gaze as Ziva nodded. "You are right. Sorry. We will just leave."
"Stay." Tony ordered. "You've seen what I didn't want you to, anyway." He shrugged. "Coffee?"
"Yes, please." Ziva answered.
Tony went to the Kitchen to prepare coffee and came back with a bottle of beer for Abby.
"What happened to your chest and back, Tony?" Abby pushed.
"Drop it, Abby. Please. I don't feel like talking about it. There was an accident on the ship, but I'm fine now." He didn't say that it wasn't really an accident and didn't go to any details. "So, what brought you two here? Should I wait for McGee, too? I kinda freaked out today by your endless glances."
Abby could see how hard it was for Tony to talk about his scars, so she just decided to let it slide. "Um, he wanted to come, but he was kinda... Umm, he wasn't feeling good. Food poisoning or something."
Tony raised his eyebrows. "And you're here? Shouldn't you be there for him?"
Ziva waved her hand as if to dismiss the idea. "He will be fine by tomorrow morning. You know that he has a sensitive stomach."
Tony grinned and shook his head.
"Tony?"
"Yes?"
"You have not forgiven us, no?"
Tony looked at her and frowned. "For your prank? Of course I did, Ziva. It was nothing."
"You've been back for two days and you still haven't called McGee any nicknames, haven't cracked a joke or haven't pulled any pranks." Abby pulled Tony's hand so he'd sit beside her on the couch. "So, what's going on?"
"Nothing's going on." He sounded a little bit annoyed. "I'm respecting your feelings and space and you're complaining? I don't really know what to do around you."
Ziva moved and sat on the other side of Tony. "We did not mean any of those things we said to you, Tony."
"You've already said that once, Ziva. You haven't come all this way to repeat it, have you?"
"Tony-"
"I'm fine." He insisted.
"No, you are not. You have taken our words to soul."
"To heart."
"Ah, you admitted."
"No, I didn't. I just corrected your mistake." He rolled his eyes. "Which I probably shouldn't have. Sorry." He almost mumbled next.
"You see, you're angry." Abby jumped in.
"I'm not angry, but whatever, you wanna know what my problem is; fine. I'll tell you. The problem is I think I've gone too far with you. Well, I'm not sure about you, Abby; I mean I never really did anything to you. Or did I?"
Abby shook her head fiercely.
Tony nodded. "The problem is I think I'm the only one to blame for where I am, for-"
"For where you are? What do you mean by that?" Ziva couldn't resist asking.
"You may not have meant what you said that day, but you meant it every other time you said the same words. 'None of your business, Tony.' 'Mind you own business, Tony.' 'Why is Gibbs keeping him around?' Name it." He sighed and rubbed his eyes. "That wasn't the first time I've heard those words and it wasn't your first time showing how little you think of me or how worthless you think I am. I've had enough time to think about it all and I realized that this is my own fault. Maybe it's really time I act more my age. That's what you've always wanted me to do, isn't it?"
"That is not true, Tony." Ziva protested.
"No? Haven't you thought of yourself as my superior? Hasn't Tim? Haven't you ever felt that you're better than me so why should you listen to my orders? Haven't you ever nagged about me being an overgrown kid?"
"Tony-"
"Look, I'm not mad or anything and I'm not questioning your loyalty. I think you'll have my back out there and that's enough. Let's work together here and then you'll have the chance to see a glimpse of the real me. Who knows, you might like it."
"Tony, I... We like you whatever you do or however your act, but we're missing the old you. I've never thought of you as an overgrown kid; I know the real you and I always could understand why you did what you did. We regret our action. That last day was-..." Abby paused. "Tony I can't go through that again. None of us can. I don't want you to leave. Please, Tony."
"Who said I'm leaving?" Tony blinked in confusion.
"They told me that you said you weren't sure you if wanted to come back or not and now that you're back, you're nothing like your old self and you had a beard and yes you've shaved it but I still think you wouldn't have if Gibbs hadn't made you. But hey, you looked good even with a beard; did I tell you that, yesterday? Because it's true, not that I want you to let your beard grow again because you look ... Well, you look- "
"Older?" Tony helped, having a wide smile at Abby's rambling. He had missed this, even if he wouldn't admit it aloud.
"Yes. No... Ah, that wasn't the point." She pouted. "The point is we didn't mean to hurt you and for you changing your behavior like this, it just means that you're upset and I'll never ever forgive myself for hurting you and for -"
Tony finally placed his hand over Abby's mouth.
"I'm not mad, I'll write it down for you if it makes you feel better and I especially can't get upset with you. So forget it, OK? I wanted to order a Pizza. You wanna join me?"
"What should we do to prove to you that we regret what we did?"
"I believe you, Ziva. I do. I just want some respect. That's all. I don't mind pranks and jokes, but contrary to popular beliefs, I'm not an idiot. I can say when people mean what they say."
"I never thought that you were an idiot. We want to be your friends."
"You are. I wouldn't have asked you to stay for dinner otherwise." He grabbed his phone to call for a Pizza.
"Just not like before."
"Yeah, you could say so."
"You are not gonna goof around anymore?"
Tony just looked at her.
"You are not going to be another Gibbs, no? Please Tony, one is more than enough."
"Oh, but that'd be reaaaaally cool. I mean imagine, having the two of them in one room and while everyone else talks, they'd just look at each other and make decisions and we all should wonder what just happened and that's the coolest way to communicate. I mean they already do that sometimes and if they do it all the time, that'd be just so much cooler."
"Well, I do not find it exciting. We do not need another Gibbs."
"I'm not Gibbs... And you all made sure I knew it by repeating it a million times when he was in Mexico."
Ziva and Abby were shocked but couldn't help feeling ashamed and looking down.
"It is deeper than just a few months." Ziva pondered aloud.
Tony shook his head and dialed a number to order their dinner. "Let's have some dinner." He stood up and walked to the kitchen, leaving Ziva and Abby with their thoughts.
It wasn't until several weeks later that Gibbs finally had had enough and decided to have a talk with Ducky about Tony. As he'd expected, Ducky had just verbalized his own thoughts.
Tony was doing much better and his radiant smiles were back, but that was just about it. There were still no jokes, no pranks and especially no movie references.
He would still deflect Gibbs' anger when it was needed, but not with inappropriate jokes or comments. He just seemed to always have something new on their current case or he would come up with some ideas; they had no clue how he did it.
But what worried Gibbs was that he knew this was costing the younger man a great deal. He was hurting inside and he wouldn't let anyone in.
"I think young Anthony is trying to keep people at arm's length. I cannot blame him, though. He probably thinks that people won't be able to hurt him if he doesn't let them get close."
"It's not like DiNozzo. He needs to let it out."
"Not true. He's always been an introvert. The difference is that, these days, he doesn't use the same mask to deflect the attention he receives."
Gibbs thought about it and realized that it was true. But Tony used to talk to him more in the past. Recently, he'd rarely show up at Gibbs' place and it was only when Gibbs had invited him.
The problem was that Gibbs wasn't really the sharing kind of guy and dealing with a mute Tony was a dilemma for him. "He used to talk more."
"You just need to earn his trust back. I'm sure he'll open up to you again. Just be there when he needs the support."
"Hell, Duck, it took him years the first time around."
"Too bad we betrayed his trust, then." The old ME sighed.
Tony chose the exact moment to enter the autopsy and he instantly felt that something was up. "Ah, um... Bad time?" He looked at the other two. "I just wanted to tell you that we have Miss Wilson in interrogation #1, Boss."
"Let's go." Gibbs said as he walked out with him.
Inside the elevator he hit the switch to stop the car and turned to Tony. "We were talking about you." He wasn't one to hide the truth and especially not when he wanted to earn Tony's trust back.
"Gee, thanks, Boss. I feel much better." Tony leaned against the wall.
"Everyone's worried. Ducky was telling me why he thinks you're keeping your distance."
Tony raised his eyebrows to show he was curious.
Gibbs shrugged. "He thinks you've been hurt way too many times. You're just reacting and keeping your distance so you wouldn't get hurt again."
Tony stared at Gibbs with a slight frown, he couldn't believe that his boss was actually telling him everything, but more importantly he was surprised to see that they were so worried and had realized how he really felt.
Gibbs slapped him to the back of the head. "Don't give me that surprised look."
"Umm, OK?"
"My door is always open, you know that, right?"
Tony was quiet for a few seconds, but then he nodded and sighed "I know, Boss. Thanks."
Gibbs nodded. "Let's get back to work." He started the elevator. "You gonna put your old mask back on, any time soon?"
"Thought you wanted me to grow up." Tony glanced at Gibbs and turned his gaze back to the door.
"That's part of the game." Gibbs said matter-of-factly.
"Then I think you gotta find another role in this game. Don't think I can act like a goofball for a while. I'm too tired."
Gibbs nodded his understanding, glad for the little honesty Tony was offering. "I'll find another reason to slap you." He stated at last.
And finally that brought a chuckle out of his SFA. "I know you will, Boss. I wouldn't expect anything else."
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-The End-
Please let me know what you think! :)
I'm open to new ideas; let me know if you've anything on your mind! ;D
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