Driving through the open gates of his property, Tony enjoyed the fact that he no longer had bodyguards following him all the way home. In fact, he now only had one and by the end of the week he would be free. Unless something else went wrong... Even this moment of freedom had been allowed with the greatest reluctance.

Parking the car in the garage, Tony rested his head against the seat.

The last months had been hectic. In many ways more than his days as a field Agent. The amount of responsibility that he now held in his hands and on his shoulders as the Director, it was sometimes almost too much. There were times when he felt like calling Tom Morrow, to apologize how difficult it must've been having team Gibbs under his 'command'. But on the other hand—and he wouldn't be caught admitting it to anyone—today, for the first time, he had enjoyed the work.

They were his agents, his responsibility. While he was giving Gibbs and his team a chance to improve, both as a team and individuals, but as long as he was sitting on the big seat, there would be no other agents like Gibbs allowed. Thankfully, the man himself would be soon forced to retire. Tony was aware that he needed to draw some new, much easier to understand guidelines of accepting new agents, and other employees in general. Too many past mistakes had proven just how much room they had for improvement. For example, not allowing foreign spies get anywhere near their secrets... And how had no one on the outside put an end to it either? Spy or no spy, the whole case with Ziva was incredibly embarrassing, the more they had learned. It was a wonder they had avoided some kind of nationwide scandal. The things the people never knew... Sometimes he envied them for their ignorance.

Although Ziva David was no longer their problem, Tony had a strong feeling they would hear from her again, one way or another. Call it a gut feeling or whatever, but he wouldn't stop looking over his shoulder, just in case.

The thing Tony did like about his new position, was that he could prevent agents from using the agency for their personal gain. At the end of the day he was still a cop with a fancier title, and if there was one thing he hated, it was cases being thrown out because someone couldn't follow the right procedures. And sure, from time to time there was no other choice, that's just life and you do what you gotta do—and it wasn't like he enjoyed certain ridiculous rules that much either—but when you start thinking it's only your right and special privilege to walk above the law, while condemning others who do the same... That's when the real problems begin.

Gibbs and some others might yet find out they hated him after all... Tony shuddered and realized how this was going to be one of the worst things about being a Director. Not so much the having to order people around and make the big decisions, but having to put aside the friendships and personal feelings while doing the job, knowing that more than one person wasn't going to understand and was going to be upset with him... He absolutely dreaded that part.

Shaking his head at the amount of headache waiting for him in the near future, Tony left his car and entered the house. His 'not a mansion' was perhaps a bit extravagant indeed, but that's what happens when you trust and allow your friends to choose things for you. At least it was secure, to the point of it getting annoying at times. As if the house alarms, with their top-notch security systems and prison walls and gates weren't bad enough, the security guards roaming in the area, ready to jump anyone even slightly suspicious was a whole another level of overkill. All that was missing was watchtowers and guards with their sniper rifles, taking out anyone suspicious in the area. Gibbs wouldn't probably last a minute...

One of these days he'd get the Initials for this. They still had the pending 'revenge' waiting for them...

Walking in the grand living room, Tony stopped short at the passionate scene playing in front of him and made a face. "You two sicken me. Get a room."

Aaron and Lacy pulled away from each other with twin looks of amusement. The day they had decided to give it a try, the terror 'twins' became a sickeningly sweet couple. A real gag-worthy super couple. Not that Tony had been watching many Telenovelas. None whatsoever...

"Don't be jealous." Aaron smirked. "We need to find you a woman. Then you'll stop making U-turns every time I happen to be smooching with my woman."

Lacy smacked his arm, as she always did when the big man called her 'his woman'. "It's true, you're always running away."

"I don't run," Tony denied. It simply made him oddly uncomfortable seeing those two together. Outwardly, they were the complete polar opposites, the bulldog and his geeky girl, but once you actually saw the two interacting together... Well, it was a sight to behold. Also, romantic relationships were still somewhat a sore spot for Tony since his last one, which didn't really even count, what with the whole 'classified' thing. His Initials didn't know about it, however, and what kind of friend would he be if he denied their happiness because he was having some difficulties.

"My sister has been asking about you again," Lacy teased and Tony, who had been making his way toward the sweets on the coffee table, did a complete U-turn and walked away with hurried steps.

"I'm not listening."

"We really do need to find him a woman," Aaron muttered and Lacy hummed in agreement.

"I can still hear you!" Tony called from the next room, where he kept his grand piano.

Since Tony's promotion, Aaron catching a bullet and Sam quitting her job to become a full-time mom for her child to be, the three had migrated almost without any thought to their former leader, which meant that for the last week or two, Tony's big house had been occupied by the Initials. He wouldn't admit it, but he liked coming to a home that actually felt like one.

Before Tony could sit down to play the piano, Aaron appeared behind him. "So, when will we meet your former team?"

"When I deem it proper." Tony turned around and raised his eyebrows meaningfully. "When I feel like I can trust that you won't go into bulldog mode and start yapping your big mouth when you ought to keep it closed."

Aaron feigned hurt. "I'm a nice man. I would never do anything to hurt their precious feelings. Ask anyone." He flopped down on the armchair too small for him. "They treating you good?" he asked neutrally, which Tony wasn't fooled by.

"I truly regret those two hours I left you alone with Jimbo..." Tony mumbled. Then he shook his head. "They've been just fine. I guess being their Director kind of helps with that." It was harder to keep friendships and work separate, but that was a work in progress anyway.

Aaron didn't look convinced. "I'll believe it when I see it, amigo."

"You don't even know them. You've never met."

"I've heard things. And I did meet Gibbs once, although, I doubt the old fox remembers me. He was all growly and barking his orders at some- oh... That was you?"

Tony stared at him. "That was you?" Now he really did have to sit down. "You stole our case from us! It's your fault he was thrice the bastard from usual. Usual back in those days anyway."

Aaron winced. "Sorry."

Tony shook his head at the apology. "You were much... lighter then." He gave a look at the man's biceps. "Both your skin and the rest of you. And you had way more hair. Way more... In fact, after you managed to piss off Gibbs, he mentioned something about giving you a buzz cut." He glanced at the man's head. "The irony."

"Well, you know." Aaron shrugged. "Rota. Lots of sun and working out. And then later, undercover. The hairstyle kind of got stuck with me. Small world."

"Very small..."

"You two done with your male bonding?" Lacy asked from the doorway. "Well, you keep doing that. Sammy-girl and I are going for some female bonding, shopping and spending few hours wherever our feet take us."

Shopping for those two probably meant geeky things for Lacy and baby items for Sam. Their Vegas trip wasn't 'oops' for just Tony, but also their youngest who did the good old, get drunk and get married to a stranger in Vegas. To Elvis of all people. Well, if only, but since the real Elvis was long dead... Now she was happily divorced and pregnant.

"Have fun." Aaron smiled, but then he walked to Lacy, starting another lengthy make-out session.

"And that's my cue," Tony muttered and left the room quickly.

"We need to find him a woman." Lacy shook her head and Aaron agreed heartily.

...

...

Few days later found Tony sitting in his new big comfy Director's chair, spinning it around until he was dizzy. It didn't help with his thinking, but neither did sitting still like a good and proper Director of the NCIS probably should. But hey, he was alone and it was his business if he wished to turn his office chair into a carousel.

They weren't happy, which didn't surprise him, but the angry response was still exhausting. Of course, that angry response came mainly from Gibbs and Abby. Others were anything from mildly annoyed to irritated. There were few who were quite happy from the get-go.

As the former field Agent and former member of team Gibbs, Tony had learned first-hand what worked and what didn't, and what you should never do, which was why he was the perfect person to start making changes that others might not even think about. It was for the sake of his agents, their cases and people involved, and NCIS as a whole.

It was now mandatory that all his agents, especially the older team leads and SFAs, went through refresher courses like 'How to lead ' and 'Workplace abuse and how to prevent it '. Not to mention many others, which were basically a reminder of how to do the job, since apparently certain people needed that reminder.

Any new agents had to be approved by him, to make sure those agents were fit for a job like theirs. No more secret spies, if he could prevent that. No Gibbs 2.0. and not anyone who only got the job because the boss happened to like them. Same thing with firing those agents. It all had to go through him first, until he figured out a better system, to ease some of that extra work, and because of the case of Jenny and her little personal games...

Mental health was also a thing close to his heart, which was why Tony was looking through options of what would work best for them. So far he had already put it down in writing that after a certain number of days and hours, the agents were forced to take some time off to rest. The only exception was some big crisis where they simply had no other options. Having your agents burn out and becoming depressed while doing the regular cases, wasn't going to help them nor did it help solving those cases. Mistakes were more likely to happen when they were too tired to think straight.

Food and bathroom breaks were something that neither the team leader nor the case could demand to be skipped, and you could go for coffee runs only so many times before it got in the way of the work and health.

Gibbs had been furious when he read the first version of the many new rules, which most people thought were reasonable enough, even if some did moan at the few changes. Tony was still waiting for the moment when his former boss would storm into his office and the shouting match would begin. Thank God for busy cases... It gave him some time to mentally prepare himself.

Surprisingly, McGee had only frowned when he read his copy, read it again, and then sighed. Perhaps these years had humbled him down some and he was much easier to work with now. Hopefully. However, Tony was dreading that day when it became clear to the former probie that he was never going to become SFA again. The truth was, while McGee did know how to do his computery things and knew it well enough, you needed more to be a leader of any kind, including SFA. His only chance to prove himself worthy of such a position had already been wasted during the Gibbs' hiatus. Even if Tony had covered it for him, others hadn't, as he later found out.

Now Abby, she had already come to scream at him for giving her a personal assistant and then rules. Those rules being things like no food and drinks in the lab, along with some others that should've been obvious, without having to be personally written down for her. He also ordered a few 'refresher' courses for her. Needless to say, she'd been livid and in tears at the 'unfairness' of the whole situation. 'How could you do this to me, Tony! I trusted you!' were among the things she had screamed at him. It was a good thing indeed he hadn't mentioned that the assistant was there not only to assist her, but to keep an eye on her. Much as he loved Abby, she—like Gibbs—had her own, not always the most lawful, ways of doing things that endangered their cases, both future and past.

The days had been long and Tony felt like he too was going to need that mandatory break. He wasn't there really, not yet, but he was drained.

Going to his coffee machine, another thought came to him, and he started wondering about the possibilities of that. Better coffee for his agents. Sure, it would cost more money, but it should prevent the too many and too long trips away from work to get that better coffee elsewhere. It was something to think about... Shaking his head to try and stop thinking about work for a few minutes, Tony poured himself coffee, sat on his desk and looked at the outside world from the windows.

He was still nervous, unsure what his own boss would say once he was done with the final version of the new rules. Was he doing the right thing or were people like Gibbs and Abby right? Was he going too far? Time would tell. Maybe it was just his old insecurities peeking through again. It was likely this place that did it. It probably was something he had to bring up during his next meeting with his shrink.

It had been after few years away from this place that, for the first time in his life, Tony had started looking for someone to talk to. And yes, that someone was a shrink of all people. As much as he had started to see things the way they were, he knew he still needed an outsider's ears and advice to help him further. And so, after many trials and errors, Tony finally found a man who, although not much older than he, had been just what he needed and not your typical shrink either, but one who actually knew what he was talking about. They still met once a month, sometimes through video calls, when Tony's work prevented the actual face-to-face meeting. It had become one of those things that helped him keep his head on straight, whenever something tried to unscrew it again.

Just as Tony was almost getting to that relaxed state of mind, his secretary informed that a certain Agent demanded to see him. With the coffee now forgotten, he told her to let the man in. Oh goody, here we come... Tony mentally sighed and plastered a smile on his face, just as the door slammed open.

Gibbs was huffing and puffing. "DiNozzo." Somehow he still remembered to close the door behind him.

"How's the case going, Agent?" Tony asked calmly. He was using the professional title as some kind of attempt to remind Gibbs where they were. It wouldn't do much with someone like Gibbs, but he had to at least try.

Gibbs ignored him and held out the copy of the first version of the new rules and requirements. "What's this?"

"If there's some specific part that's unclear—"

"Not that!" Gibbs snapped. "I— We don't need this kind of crap in here! Anger management courses? Workplace abuse? How to treat the government property? It goes on and on like that! What were you drinking when you came up with these?"

Tony almost rolled his eyes. "Do I really have to explain myself? Look, I don't have much of a choice. No, really, I don't. We are living in some difficult times and every expense must be carefully monitored. Things happen and that's especially true in our profession. But Gibbs, let's be honest, you use up cars and numerous other government property way more than anyone else. That's a huge red flag there. Even those who wouldn't have cared before, they are going to start noticing and doing something about it if we don't. Some are already thinking about it, if not planning. You're not getting any younger, nor are you as popular as you might think. People were scared of you, but that was before. The younger ones are either too arrogant for their own good or simply don't get so easily intimidated." Tony barely stopped himself from saying, 'intimidated by an old man '. "You can only get so far with your old ways. I'm looking out for your ass here." Tony shook his head when Gibbs opened his mouth. "As for the rest of those... Do I really need to explain myself? If so, then you need those special classes even more than I thought you would."

"Tony..."

"Right now it's Director, Jethro," Tony said almost mockingly. "I don't know if you believe me right now, but I never wanted to have to do any of this, but I suppose I have no other choice, being in this kind of position. Do you have any idea how many of your cases have been thrown out because of how you've handled some of them? The numbers don't look good. Simply solving them isn't enough. We're living in times where our freedom to move and do things is already as limited as it is. Even the punishments don't always fit the crime anymore and there's nothing we can do about it. Everything is becoming even more monitored and even the rules have rules. We don't need to give more excuses to make our work even harder. Choosing our battles is hard, but that's what we need to do, instead of giving them more ammo for the smallest things."

Gibbs was scowling, but kept his mouth shut when Tony gave him a cup of coffee, which was a sure way to calm him down. "So that's it then," he finally said.

"No. These rules? This is part one. The trial period, if you will. Once we've figured out the things that work and what doesn't, there will be the final version. But yes, most on that paper will stay in one form or another. It's a lot of work, among other things I must do, so I would appreciate if you don't make it harder. Truly."

Gibbs finally looked at him. "You look terrible."

"Thanks."

Gibbs studied him some more and whatever he saw there, it made him nod tersely, and then he left without another word.

"That went well," Tony muttered.

...

...

"Abby." It was few hours later on that same day. Tony was standing in the lab, which was currently being drowned by some loud music while Abby ignored him. All in all it was like a scene straight out of some teenager's personal drama, where the whole world was against them and they hated everyone. "Abby!" he tried one last time, but finally gave up and left the lab with a suffering sigh of a parent. This was going to become a major problem if he couldn't even control one lab goth...

McGee, who had been following him there, to bring Abby some evidence from their case, winced and rushed after Tony. "I'm sorry."

"What for? Why, did you tell her to do this?"

"No, but..."

"Then there's no reason to apologize."

"What are you going to do now? I mean, her being this way and you are the Director. She can't..."

Tony pursed his lips and glanced over his shoulder as he pressed the button for the elevator. "Well. If she acts like a spoiled brat, then she will be treated like one."

McGee's eyes widened almost comically. "You're not going to..?"

"Watch me. And that doesn't mean taking her over my knee and spanking her, although, it would be fitting. But it's probably one of her many kinks, and in this wonderful age we live in, I would probably be the one getting in trouble for that." Studying McGee's flushed face for a while, Tony snorted. "Get your mind out of the gutter, McSpanky. I have standards."

"Right... I mean," McGee was stuttering and trying to wipe away the mental images.

"So tell me about your case. I'm bored," Tony said and as they entered the elevator. He felt odd sense of loss and melancholy as the younger man started explaining the case of some strangled Marine and his lost feet.

While you couldn't exactly call the relationship between the two men perfect, nor ideal, they were slowly working on creating something resembling a friendship of some kind. They even went out for a couple of drinks once. It was hard to tell how things would be in the future, but they were trying. Although, Tony mused, it was amusing and slightly uncomfortable how McGee was behaving like a puppy, eager to please him now that he was the Director. It was going to take some working on that part first... Respect for his position was one thing, but the younger man was taking things a bit too far at times. But still, for now it was going better than some of the other relationships.

...

...

"How are things going?" Jimmy asked when he joined Tony in the small diner not far from work. It was the end of another long and stressful day and the two friends tried to relax before going home.

"She's very... I don't know. Childish. Immature. I don't think I have the right word for it." Tony shook his head. He had finally 'benched' Abby, after her blatant disrespect toward him and a few others who didn't agree with her, when she even refused to work with those people. When she finally did, she didn't put much weight nor importance of getting those results done and delivered as soon as possible. Meanwhile, team Gibbs was always number one on her list. While having favorites among agents wasn't bad per se, it should have never followed her to work.

"How did she take it?"

"Had to call the security to escort her out. I'll give her a week and then I'll talk to her, to see if she has any future with us." Tony grimaced. "I'd hate if she doesn't learn her lesson after this. If she ruins her career in such a manner as this, no one will want to work with her anymore. Not anyone worthwhile."

Jimmy hesitated. "Maybe you could ask—?"

"No. I'm not going to bring this up with him. He loves her too much for her own good." Tony sighed. "Either way, there's now a nasty mark in her files. Can't give her any special privileges over others." He looked at his friend with no small amount of uncertainty. "Jimbo... You don't think that maybe..?"

"Don't even go there. You're doing the right thing; don't let them make you think otherwise." Jimmy studied Tony worriedly. "You've only been back for months and you're already showing signs of almost regressing... I don't want to see you where you where before you left."

Tony nodded and looked down at his half-eaten sandwich. "I know. I've been meaning to bring that up with Jonathan when we meet next time." That gave him pause, when it suddenly hit that he was on a first name basis with his shrink and it didn't even bother him.

Jimmy relaxed, but only some. "That's good. It's... Yes, it's good. But still, be careful, all right?"

Tony smiled weakly. "Always."

...

...

Looking at the address again, Gibbs frowned. He had been invited to Tony's place for the first time, to talk over some things, but now he was either lost or the younger man had given the wrong address. He found himself in the middle of somewhat posh neighborhood. The security was something else, and frankly, their own security system at the Navy Yard could take a few lessons... Before even getting inside the area, Gibbs had been stopped several times by some security guys. Each time he had to show them his ID, state why he was there and then wait as they confirmed it. One time he almost went through a pat-down, when he'd tried his infamous glare on them.

Cursing DiNozzo, and hoping this wasn't some kind of revenge, Gibbs walked to the sturdy, but elegant, iron gates. He couldn't see the house. Irritated, he smacked the button next to the camera.

"Yes? Who is it?" The voice was unfamiliar, but Gibbs assumed it was probably just another security guard.

"Gibbs. I'm looking for DiNozzo. Is this the right place? Is he there?"

Silence. "Oh. No. I mean yes. This is the place. Hold on a minute. The thing needs the code and I don't always remember it right..."

Few minutes later the gates opened and Gibbs marched back to his car and drove in. The gates closed soon after.

Driving past the few trees, he finally saw the house. It was upper-class, but he had to admit that it was a thing of beauty, made of white stone, with some fine looking wood for details. It was big enough for a family and Gibbs wondered if it wasn't lonely for one man to live in. Unless Tony was hiding a family from him as well.

The front door opened before Gibbs had time to ring the doorbell. Instead of Tony, there stood a big man, tall and muscular, blocking the way in. He was giving Gibbs a hard stare. "So you're the one, huh?"

Gibbs narrowed his eyes. "And you are—?" Something hit his face, throwing him backward on the ground.

The man blew at his fist. "Sorry." He didn't look it. "Had to get it out of my system. Get in. Tony is in the shower, but he'll be out soon."

Gibbs sat on the ground, holding his bleeding nose, disheveled and confused. After a moment of gathering his scattered thoughts, he stood up warily and followed the man inside the house. "Who are you?" he demanded. "And what was that for?"

The big man grinned from ear to ear and gave Gibbs a roll of toilet paper. "For your nose."

Gibbs grunted. Snatching it, he tried to stop the bleeding, while still glaring for the answers.

The man sat down heavily on the chair, which creaked under his weight. From the looks of it, they were in some kind of living room. "I'm Aaron. Aaron Arland." He looked expectant. For what, Gibbs had no idea. "You really don't remember me, huh? Not that it matters... I'm his friend. I was Tony's Senior Field Agent, back in Rota."

Gibbs ignored the sharp pang at the realization that this was one of those 'better' teammates of Tony's, who had been mentioned far too many times to his liking. "What are you doing here?" he mumbled through the paper.

"Did you miss the part where I said I'm his friend?" Aaron shook his head, then smiled again as he looked at something over Gibbs' shoulder. "Tony! Your guest is here."

Wearing some fluffy bathrobe and fluffy slippers, Tony moved closer with a frown. "What did you do to him, Aaron?"

Aaron shrugged. "Had some unfinished business."

"Unfinished business?"

"Well, there's our first meeting all those years ago, and also..." Aaron looked at him meaningfully and Tony flushed.

"Oh. Well, I hope you didn't pull any of your stitches with that move or anything... You can go pick up the girls now."

Aaron didn't make a move. He had a stubborn look on his face as he crossed arms over his chest.

"Aaron... It'll be fine. I'll be fine, I promise," Tony said so quietly, Gibbs almost missed the words.

Pursing his lips for a moment, the big man finally breathed out softly and stood up. "You call me if anything happens, okay? I mean that." Aaron turned around, narrowed his eyes at Gibbs, then left, his slow steps giving away his reluctance to leave.

"So," Tony started when they were finally alone, he and Gibbs.

"So," Gibbs agreed, still covering his nose with the rolled-up paper.

Biting his lip, to keep from either laughing or frowning, Tony moved closer and pushed the older man to sit down on the chair previously occupied by Aaron. "Let me help you with that."

...

It took a while, but eventually they managed to stop the bleeding. Gibbs still wasn't happy. "Do all your guests get greeted with a punch in the nose?"

"Nah. That's just Aaron," Tony said with fondness. They had moved in the kitchen, where he cooked for them. He had changed his bathrobe into some casual clothes. "He's... protective. And so are the other two, just so you've been warned."

"The other two?"

"Rest of my Initials. Lacy and Sam."

"Initials?"

Tony grinned. "Yeah. It's because of their names. Aaron Arland, my former SFA, and Lacy Lamb, my former computer genius. Those two are a couple now." Tony rolled his eyes at the look he received from Gibbs. "And no, I had no rule 12 for my team, although they didn't start dating until only recently. Then there's our Sam, Sam S. Sheffield. She's my youngest and now soon to be a mother. I guess we're kind of..." Tony looked hesitant. "We're a family. Friends. Aaron calls us his wolf pack."

"We were a family too once, weren't we?" Gibbs said quietly.

Tony tasted the sauce. "No. Not like this anyway. I thought so once, but then I met the Initials and... It was a match made in heaven. They forced their way into my life, annoying as they can be sometimes. And don't you dare repeat this to the,m or I'll never hear the end of it, but they broke through my defenses, picked up my pieces and put me back together. I owe them much. Although..." He grimaced. "I'm still mad at them for joining their forces with the SecNav and tricking me into becoming the Director."

"How does that work?" Gibbs looked at the plate that was set before him, his mouth watering at the sight and smell of it. Yet another thing he hadn't known about his former SFA. The man could apparently cook and do it well. Must be the Italian in him.

Tony sat down with his own plate. "Vegas, booze and momentary lack of judgment. Take your pick. Didn't we already go there once..? Anyway. I guess I can sort of understand them since I was constantly being used for some secret missions, and returning each time more battered than before. They were getting worried. Plus, apparently the higher-ups wanted some new blood as the Director. For some reason they chose me." Tony dug in and they ate in silence, while Gibbs was pondering at his words.

"What secret missions?"

"Gibbs. Eat."

Gibbs raised his brows at that and wondered how his former SFA had gotten much more... bossy. It was in the way the man held himself and delivered certain commands, with authority and no-nonsense attitude.

...

"About these new rules," Tony finally said as they were sitting in the grand living room, Gibbs with his good coffee and he with some good wine. "I hope you'll understand one day why these things are needed. I said it before and I'm saying it again; I'm doing it for you. For all of you. It would be so much easier to give up and fire you, and trust me, there are many reasons I could do it. But I... I care about you and I know how much this job means to you."

Gibbs stared at his hands and frowned.

"And no, you don't have to like it. I get it. Trust me, I do. But it is what it is." Tony smiled slightly. "At least you're taking it better than Abby."

Gibbs looked up. "I'll talk to her."

"Really?" Tony looked surprised. "Thank you."

Gibbs let his gaze wander around the big room. In his mind's eye he could see their team gathered together in there, but he mentally shook that picture away. It was all in the past now and even his current team wasn't much of a one; simply people working together. Even McGee had been mentally pulling himself away from it. Tony had been their heart and glue. Their 'superglue', Gibbs thought with some fond amusement. Once Tony was gone, so was the team.

"I have a housekeeper," Tony said, just as Gibbs was starting to wonder how time-consuming it had to be to take care of a house this big, especially next to his job. And what about the outdoors? Everything looked far too neat and... pretty. "And a gardener."

Gibbs stared. "Of course you do." He looked around at the expensive-looking furniture and paintings on the walls.

"How can I afford this?" Tony said again before Gibbs could ask. "That's my business, but let's just say that there's more than one source of income. Being the Director doesn't hurt, but one of my frat brothers knows how to invest money wisely, while another helps me find good bargains when buying a home. Then there's the lawyer brother, who makes sure I've got my ass covered for other things. I got this for much cheaper than you'd think." Tony grinned and leaned closer. "They say this place is haunted by a guy who was murdered few decades ago. Imagine my disappointment when I found out the man is still very much alive somewhere in the jungle, and that there are no ghosts. I thought it'd be cool to own a haunted house."

"Of course you would..." Gibbs muttered, but with a fond look in his eyes.

Through the open windows, they heard a car arrive. The Initials had finally returned.

"So... I've been thinking. Now that both my former teams and friends are around, I'll arrange a small get together. What do you think?" Tony didn't mention that Abby was a big question mark. There was a high possibility that she wouldn't be invited, unless she learned to behave.

Touching his nose, Gibbs flinched. "It's... I'll be there."

...

...

It was few weeks later when they all finally had a short break, and so Tony invited them to his place, even Abby. Despite the environment, the food was cooked outside on the grill and, instead of wine, they had beer and coffee for Gibbs the coffeeholic.

He was starting to regret it. Over one hour behind them and this was the best they could do? What had he been thinking?

There was a clear separation between his old and new life. The Initials stood among themselves, with Jimmy migrating there with them. Gibbs stood on the other side of the big back yard, talking quietly with Ducky. Abby was sticking close them, now and then glancing warily and almost jealously toward the Initials who were much closer to Tony than she was. But at least she was trying.

Gibbs and everyone had talked to her for days, trying to make her see reason, but it was hard. She hated the new rules even more than Gibbs, who had shocked her by calming down and dealing with it. He'd even stopped his growling each and every time the rules came up. He did do it occasionally, but only when he was in a bad mood to begin with. That both Gibbs and McGee could do it, was what finally forced her to try. In the end the fear of losing everything had been bigger than her anger.

McGee had been star-struck in more ways than one. First, there was the house and place where Tony lived, then he found out that not only was Lacy something of a genius in his own field, but he also had known her online. She'd beaten him more than once in one of those games of his, and even at his own work in real life. But rather than feeling bitter over it, as he might have in the past, he was very close to being in love.

"And here I thought she'd turn out to be your nemesis... Close your mouth, McCrush, before you catch flies." Tony looked amused as he once again caught McGee staring at Lacy. "If I were you, I would stop, unless you wish for her boyfriend to catch you looking at his woman."

McGee's face fell. "Boyfriend?"

"See that guy over there? Aaron. That's the one."

The former probie swallowed heavily and took a step back, when he saw his competitor.

Tony looked at him with sympathy. "You're not the only one feeling that way. I wouldn't risk it either; he's got a mean punch. I've never been punched by him, but seen others who were." He lowered his voice. "Including Gibbs."

McGee was shocked. "Seriously? Is that why he was away from work?"

"That's why. You didn't hear it from me." Tony left him then, leaving the younger man staring at his boss with a thoughtful look on his face, but when Gibbs noticed, he looked away quickly.

Standing somewhere between the two groups of people, looking from one side to the other, Tony finally had enough. "All right, that's enough! I arranged this so you could all meet and get to know one another! You don't have to become friends, but please, at least pretend for one evening that you're happy to be here."

The Initials looked guilty and Aaron was first to move to him. "I'm sorry, partner. We didn't think it through, even though we're the ones who were pushing you so we could meet them. For your sake, we'll try. I'll try."

"Like I said, you don't have to become friends. Just..." Tony frowned unhappily.

"I got it."

After that, both groups gave it a try. And yes, there wouldn't be formed any new friendships, although the Initials did rather like Ducky, who was more than happy to have new ears for his many stories.

...

"Hey, we agreed to come. You didn't make a mistake," Gibbs said when he walked next to Tony, having avoided doing that while one of the Initials had been with him, since it had been clear after their first meeting that he was pretty much their least favorite person. "We did."

"You sure about that?"

"Yes. We'll work on it. I'm sure we'll find some common ground to..." Gibbs studied Tony and nodded. "I suppose we already have one."

"What is it?"

"You."

...

...

All things considered, it was something of a miracle that it took nearly half a year after his promotion before Tony saw the man. Frankly, knowing the old man as well as he did, he'd almost expected to see his mug almost as soon as his promotion became more widely known. But as it was, he'd been granted close to six months of peace and quiet.

Tony stared as Anthony DiNozzo Senior strolled into his office like he owned the place.

"Son."

"Dad. What are you doing here?" Tony forced a polite smile on his face, while praying that the man would leave. What did he want anyway? Nothing good, he knew that much. If only he had realized who his surprise 'visitor' was before opening the door. Now it was too late.

"So it's true," Senior said, ignoring the question as he looked around with a critical eye. "I suppose this is a small upgrade from before. In fact, I need a favor."

Tony closed his eyes and took a deep steady breath. When he opened them, his expression was blank. "I see."

Senior sat down and frowned. Probably because the chair wasn't comfortable enough for his spoiled ass. "I have a friend."

Oh no... Tony moaned internally. Senior had no friends. He didn't want to hear this.

"Lately the business hasn't been good, but now I have an opportunity to get back on my feet. For that I need your help. My... friend." Senior couldn't even sound sincere, however he seemed to try, despite being a conman. Or maybe his son simply was the only one able to see him for who he was. "He is in some trouble with the law. I need you to—"

"No," Tony interrupted sharply, not willing to hear another word. Did the man seriously think he would use his position to probably wipe clean someone's records, or get them out of jail, or God knows what else?

Senior narrowed his eyes. "Did you say no?"

"That's exactly what I said."

"You ungrateful little bastard." Senior stood up and grabbed his son by the collar violently. "I feed you and give you the roof on top of your head, and this is how you thank me!?"

Tony's head was instantly filled with childhood flashbacks. "You hardly did any of that, even with all the money you had."

"Hey!" Gibbs stood by the door, holding a box. "Let go of him!"

Senior let go and turned around with a sneer. "This is between me and my son."

"Your son?" Gibbs looked at Tony again, who avoided his eyes. Gibbs looked furious as he grabbed the old man by his collar and dragged him out of there.

Leaning his forehead against his desk, Tony wrapped his hands over his head, listening to the loud voice of his old man, cussing and threatening with lawsuits, and then complete silence. Great. This had been one of those things he'd preferred to never let Gibbs, or anyone, to know about.

"Tony..."

Tony looked up and saw that Gibbs was back and the door was closed this time. "My dad?"

"Left him with the security. Told them he's banned from entering this place again."

"Thanks." Tony laughed softly, bitterly. "Great dad, huh?"

"Tony... It's... You're not him. Sharing the name or blood means nothing if the heart isn't there. You're your own man and clearly a much better one too. I'm..." Gibbs swallowed. "I'm proud of you."

Tony stared, and was it just him or did his cheeks feel hot? Trying to distract the other man from noticing, or at least mentioning it, Tony finally looked at the box, which Gibbs was still holding. He realized it was that same box he had left behind on the man's desk, all those years ago. "Gibbs... That's..."

Gibbs held out the box for him to take.

"Why?"

"They're yours. Always have been." When Tony didn't take it, Gibbs put the box on the desk.

"Gibbs..."

"Yours." Gibbs hesitated. "When you were gone... They became something of a crutch for me. It felt like, as long as I held on to this, you would one day return. Now that you're back, I have no need of them anymore." He narrowed his eyes. "You are back, aren't you? For good."

Tony made a small movement with his shoulders, faintly resembling a shrug. "None of us can predict the future, you know it better than most people. Don't make me promise something I might not be able to keep."

"Tony..."

"I mean it. I'm not in a hurry to go anywhere right now, but I don't know how I might feel tomorrow or a year from now. Or what if one day something makes that decision for us."

"Then... Take these as a sign that you're back for as long as it's possible. As a... As a sign of our friendship and rebuilding of trust." Gibbs looked hopeful.

Tony stared at the box. Finally, he took the box and the men shared a look of rare understanding.

— The End —