A/N: We have come to the end. A huge thank you to those who have taken the time to read and review this story. Your feedback is always appreciated. I wish the show's writers had been able to give Tony a better send off than they did, but they lost their way years ago, long before Michael left. I hope those of you let down by how things ended, whether you shipped Tibbs or not, feel a little better after reading this. I feel better after having written it.

In MY world, there was never Tiva, so … no kid. Also, Senior only got a brief and not totally flattering scene in this story because I wanted to give Tony (and Gibbs) a chance to tell him off.

Warning: The very end is a bit cliche and a little sappy, but sometimes I can't help myself.

Disclaimer: As always, I do not own any recognizable places or characters. I'm just borrowing them for a short while. I am making no money from this work of fiction, and no copyright infringement is intended.

EPILOGUE:

It was a picture perfect spring day. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping; it was about as cliche as it could get. Tony rapped on the door and cleared his throat. Seated in his butter soft black leather chair, Gibbs looked up from the file on his large walnut desk and smiled. He took off and tossed aside his reading glasses and waved Tony inside, then rounded the desk to greet his favorite distraction.

Stepping over the threshold, Tony took a minute to take in the unfamiliar surroundings. The last time he had seen Gibbs' office it was empty with bare, stark white walls and old worn carpet. What a difference a fresh coat of paint, new carpeting, and stylish but functional furniture, all on a generous government-funded budget could make. Tony had taken point on selecting the color palette, choosing rich shades of ecru, blue and gray mindful of Gibbs' understated style. No more blinding orange walls!

Mini-blind covered windows overlooking a sea of desks flanked both sides of the solid walnut door. It was the same basic layout as the offices at the BAU in the building across the Quantico compound. Tony grinned proudly at the door's gold nameplate, with Asst. Director L.J. Gibbs engraved on it.

It wasn't one of the larger corner offices, but it suited Gibbs' needs just fine. He would have balked at a complete waste of space like the huge office suite Vance had back at the Navy Yard. There was no outer office or private bathroom. Gibbs had been assigned a secretary, but he was damned if he could remember her name or even where her desk was located. It was probably out among the cluster of desks in the "squad room" outside and a set of steps below his door.

To the right was a seating area with a sofa, two upholstered arm chairs flanking a coffee table, and two end-tables with dark blue ceramic lamps completed the set. To the left were two large windows looking out over a bustling courtyard four stories below. A small table was centered between the windows. The focal point of the room was Gibbs' gleaming walnut desk with matching credenza and hutch behind it.

Adorning the walls were several pictures and portraits of friends, family, their former team, and a few of Gibbs' Marine brothers taking while they were deployed during Desert Storm. There was a large 11x14 of Gibbs and Jackson leaning against the Challenger hanging above the couch. It was probably Tony's favorite picture of the two of them. Gibbs had his arm around his dad and he was beaming; genuine Gibbs smiles were rare. McGee had taken the photo before the team left Stillwater after a case there years ago. He had it blown up and framed as an office warming gift. Tony had a few father and son candids of the Gibbs men that he took on the sly over the years, but they were part of his private collection. On the corner of Gibbs' desk in a place of honor was a sterling silver framed 8 x 10 of Tony sitting on the hearth of Ducky's fireplace.

Tony had made copies of some of his team photos that Gibbs had admired, but he was most proud of the old photos of Gibbs with Shannon and Kelly that he had framed. It was probably a good thing Tony had given them to Gibbs in private. Bringing a few tears to Gibbs' eyes in a public setting might have gotten Tony smacked into next week. He discovered the old photos during a weekend spent cleaning out Gibbs' attic. They now adorned the shelves of the hutch behind the desk.

"Wow Gibbs, this turned out really nice. You got walls, windows, and a door! And look, now you've even got your own personal coffee maker!" Tony announced with a chuckle, pushing the heavy door shut with his foot. He presented a Keurig to Gibbs, who threw his head back and laughed.

Gibbs pecked him on the lips, then unpacked the Keurig and plugged it in. It fit nicely on the table beneath the windows where a leafy green plant would normally reside. Tony slung the plastic bag hanging from his arm onto the desk.

"Thank you. I was about to go in search of a decent cup of coffee."

Tony shrugged.

"Well, I thought about bringing booze so you could set up a little bar, but then I figured that would just attract Fornell and then neither of you would ever get anything done. Decided coffee was probably a safer bet. And with this thing, you'll get fresh, strong, Marine-quality coffee any time you want."

Tony removed the water reservoir and handed it to Gibbs.

"What the hell am I supposed to do with this?" Gibbs asks.

Tony rolled his eyes.

"Go fill it up with water up to that line right there," Tony instructed, indicating the fill line.

While Gibbs went in search of water, Tony pulled two large mugs from the bag he carried in along with a 24-count box of Green Mountain Dark Roast K-cups and a box of assorted flavored ones.

When Gibbs returned, Tony demonstrated how to use the machine and together they produced two steaming mugs of hot, fresh coffee; Jamaican dark roast for Gibbs and hazelnut creme for Tony. Coffees in hand, they moved to the sofa. Tony resisted the urge to put his feet up on the polished coffee table.

"So, how's it going? Missing the Navy Yard yet?" Tony asked before taking a sip.

Gibbs shrugged.

"I don't know. It's just not the same. When they announced we were moving out here I thought everyone would be on board. Now, I'm overseeing people I don't know. And, I'm having to build a whole MCRT from scratch. I'm stuck here behind a damned desk all day, or in boring meetings instead of being out there in the field where I belong," he answered, sounding as sad as he did bitter about recent changes.

"I know, but you've known Rick for years. He'll carry on your badass ways with the new MCRT you guys put together. Besides, now that you're gonna be the head honcho we can sneak away for long lunches and stuff. My office is just across the way, and there are plenty of secret places where we can meet," Tony suggested with a teasing waggle of his eyebrows.

Not getting the desired response, Tony sat his coffee down and moved closer to Gibbs. His tone turned somber.

"Look, Jethro, I know this isn't what you wanted, but at least now I don't have to worry about you getting shot or blown up again. And now that you're a big deal with a car and a driver, I don't have to worry about you driving like an idiot and getting in another wreck."

Gibbs nodded. He didn't like it, but like any good soldier he'd learn to live with it.

Recovery from his accident had been lengthy. Gibbs was not a patient man and he hated the idea of taking time to rest and heal. Lounging around and being sidelined for months brought back memories of his long convalescence following The Calling debacle and Tony running away.

A few setbacks during months of exhaustive physical therapy had taken their toll. Despite doing everything asked of him and making good progress, none of his doctors would consider clearing him for field duty. He was as mentally sharp and tough as ever, but the physical demands of the job had taken their toll. It took having Tony by his side, Cyril Taft in his head, and Ducky keeping close a close and cautious eye on him to get him through the worst of it. Gibbs even relented and allowed McGee, Ellie, and Abby to drop by to keep him company. He was learning to let people care for him.

As much as Gibbs hated the politics that went with it, taking a promotion made sense since he was fast approaching the mandatory retirement age for field agents. With Vance stepping down by the end of July, Gibbs was being groomed to take over as NCIS Director. His current official title was "Assistant Director/Director Pro Tempore, Naval Criminal Investigative Service." His unofficial, and preferred title, was simply "Boss".

Vance decided to stay on and help with the transition. He and Gibbs worked closely on the formation of a new MCRT that would be headed up by former Green Beret Rick Balboa. Rick's NCIS Special Assignments Team, which he referred to as the Babysitter Squad, would be disbanding. His team had been tasked with providing security for visiting dignitaries and their families. Rick begged Gibbs for a shot at running the MCRT.

"Gibbs, I swear to God if I have to babysit one more uptight, candyass ambassador at a rubber chicken dinner I will shoot myself," was Rick's best pitch. It worked.

Rick was well-respected and well-liked at NCIS. He was a big man with a big heart; jovial and tough as nails. His service record was impeccable and tales of his bravery on the battlefield and secret ops rivaled Gibbs'. Gibbs had no doubt that Rick, with his skills and temperament, was just the man to lead the new MCRT. He based his assertion on the fact that Rick's team had been called in to provide logistical and tactical support on joint NCIS/FBI ops more than once.

Vance planned to take a month off to go on vacation with his kids and his rumoured girlfriend of over a year before starting his new job as Under Secretary of Homeland Security for Management. Basically he'd have a lot of the same responsibilities - general administration, finance, and personnel - as he'd had as NCIS Director, without having to make tough decisions that might get people killed. He had enough of that running ops at NCIS, and he did not want any more deaths on his conscience.

The last couple of months had been a whirlwind of professional and personal changes. It seemed that everyone in their circle had taken NCIS' move from the Navy Yard to Quantico as their own chance to make some changes.

McGee transferred to the Defense Department to work more closely with Delilah. He was hired on as a Senior Analyst. Perks of the job were a sizable bump in pay, regular hours, weekends and holidays off without being on call, and no none shooting at him. With a new baby on the way, McGee's priorities had shifted.

Bishop was recruited back to the NSA to head up a task force. She hated the idea of "spying" on US citizens, but some dodgy communications channels had been opened up between some current Cabinet members and some questionable foreign government officials. It was her job to sift through emails, texts, intercepted phone calls, and other data to identify all of the major players. After a break once her divorce from Jake was finalized, Ellie had started seeing an architect named Dave. At their first meeting Tony and Gibbs decided that he seemed like a nice enough guy. He was young, well-educated, kind of a yuppie but he treated Ellie like a queen. However, that didn't stop Gibbs from asking McGee to run a thorough background check on him.

Ducky officially retired and decided to travel the world and become a man of leisure. Gibbs was crushed when Ducky announced over glasses of single malt in the basement that it was long past time for him to retire.

"I've earned it, Jethro. It is time for me to step aside, and there is really nothing keeping me here. Except for you dear friends I have no family to speak of, and there is a whole grand world out there to be explored while I am still able. I've taught Mr. Palmer everything I know, and he will no doubt continue to carry on in my absence. But you can rest assured that I will always be just a phone call away should you or he require my assistance, or if you just need a friendly ear to bend."

Palmer decided to stay on as head ME. He was torn between replacing his irreplaceable mentor and leaving to pursue other options. He had a standing offer to join Breena's dad, Ed, at his mortuary. He had even briefly considered going into practice as an MD to help the living. Ducky helped him reach a decision over a bottomless pot of tea after a long day in Autopsy.

"Mr. Palmer, you are more than ready to take the reins. I have faith in you, my dear boy. Over these many years together I have watched you grow from a rather timid but studious assistant into a responsible professional of the highest caliber. I feel that you are more than capable of carrying on without me. It is your time now, Mr. Palmer, and it is time for me to step aside."

Abby surprised everyone by taking a teaching position at the FBI Academy where she would be teaching all areas of forensics. For years private sector headhunters had tried their best to poach her away for jobs that paid a hell of a lot more money, but for Abby it has always been about the science, not the money. She wanted to pass that work ethic and her love and respect for science on to her students. She juggled preparing lesson plans with training her replacement at NCIS. Not putting in hellish hours on case work also afforded her time to focus on her charitable pet projects and scientific research. One of the perks of her new job allowed her access to the FBI's state of the art lab and all of its resources.

On a personal level, things couldn't be better. Tony and Gibbs made it work and were growing closer. As promised, they figured things out together. Once the shock of them coming out to those closest to them wore off, there was no pressure. They didn't have to pretend or hide; they were free to just be. Even Tony's dad surprised them by becoming a more frequent visitor. He confessed he would likely never understand their relationship, but he could accept it. If other acquaintances or colleagues found out about them, so be it. They were happy and in love, and they were not about to hide it from anyone.

Gibbs finished his coffee and smiled at Tony.

"You have any luck house hunting today?" he asked.

Tony shrugged and handed Gibbs a feature sheet the realtor had given him. He ran down the highlights.

"Yeah, I think I found the perfect place out in Stafford off of 95. It's not too far from here. It's newer. Big brick place on about two acres. Four big bedrooms, three and a half bathrooms, a huge kitchen, unfinished basement, oversized garage, and best of all, a swimming pool. Great big deck with built in firepit and there's one of those grills with all the brick around it. It's an outdoor kitchen, really. There's timber all around so we'll have a ton of privacy. There's enough room for all of our stuff, and there's a big shop building for you. Not cheap, though, not by a long shot. They're asking $1.2 ... million. You wanna go look at it with me? The realtor said she can meet us there anytime today. Just need to call her back."

Gibbs nodded. Tony thought for sure sticker shock would kick in, but Gibbs didn't seem distressed by the price tag.

"Sure. Give her a call and let's go see it."

Tony bit his lip. Was Gibbs playing him or was he serious?

"Really? You mean it? I mean, your house is paid for, but I still have several years left on my mortgage. I get that it makes sense for both of us to move closer, even though neither of us has that bad of a commute. But selling our places and buying a new place together? You sure about this? We're talking a lot of money here, Gibbs."

Gibbs sighed. This was not their first discussion about living together and money. He appreciated all of Tony's arguments about not giving up the house he bought with Shannon before Kelly came along, and all of the family-centric memories. He countered that he would always have those good memories of the all too short time he had with them, but he would also always be reminded of his three subsequent failed marriages.

"Those were dark times. Three huge mistakes that took everything from me. Not just money; they took my hope of ever finding happiness again. Then, thank God, you came back. It's time now, Tony. It's time to put all of those ghosts to rest, the good and the bad, and make a new start … with you."

Tony couldn't really argue with that, and showed Gibbs just how much it meant to him later that night in bed.

"You weren't kidding!" Gibbs exclaimed as Tony pulled his car to a stop next to an unfamiliar red Mercedes convertible.

A long private asphalt drive curved from the highway up to the house. Off to their left was a large out building.

Tony caught Gibbs grinning.

"There's your shop. It has power and it's heated. Also, you would actually be able to get boats out without having to bust them up into little pieces," Tony said with a chuckle.

Anna Thorson met them and extended her hand.

"Mr. DiNozzo. Good to see you again so soon. Glad you called. And this is ….?"

Tony flushed.

"Oh, I'm sorry, and please just call me Tony. Ms. Anna Thorson, this is Jethro. Jethro Gibbs."

Gibbs shook her hand and ignored her questioning look. She knew the answer anyway.

"Okay, Tony. I have to make a few calls, so why don't you and Jethro makes yourselves at home and have a look around. I'll be right inside if you have any questions," Anna offered with a predatory smile.

Tony played tour guide for the next forty minutes. Gibbs was pretty well sold on the house after seeing his future workshop, but he was not about to deny Tony a chance to plead his case.

There was already a plan in place for each room. Tony knew just how each room would look with their stuff in them and kept up running commentary as he dragged Gibbs from room to room. His excitement was contagious. Gibbs knew he'd never deny Tony this dream house.

The house was two stories. The front door opened to a spacious entryway. To the left was a formal dining room, and to the right a formal living room. Straight ahead was a wide, winding staircase leading to a huge master suite and three additional bedrooms.

Tony wasn't kidding about the kitchen. It would make any gourmet chef envious. It was perfect for Tony, who loved to cook and bake. Gibbs took in a panoramic view of his surroundings. The house seemed to go on forever.

A small breakfast nook was adjacent to the kitchen and opened up into a cozy family room. There were plenty of built in shelves to house all of Tony's DVDs and there was an empty space where his big screen TV would reside. A large stone, wood fireplace took up most of one wall. Off of the family room was a 20-foot x 20-foot screened-in porch.

In the other direction off of the kitchen, a short hallway lead to what looked like a home office and a half bath. To the left was a door out to the oversized three-car garage. To the right was a mud room/laundry room that opened out to an enormous cedar deck surrounding Tony's favorite part - the L-shaped swimming pool.

"Oh man, you have got to check out this pool!" Tony exclaimed, grabbing Gibbs' hand and pulling him toward the door. "And there's a hot tub!" He was positively bouncing with excitement. Gibbs snorted and shook his head.

Anna looked through the kitchen casement windows at the pair of men and knew she had a sale. She wasn't at all surprised that they were a couple. They looked good together. It was a shame that two such good-looking men were off the market, but Anna could just tell that they were happy and completely in love. She hoped that someday her boyfriend, Clay, would look at her they way Jethro looked at Tony.

Not only did Anna get the sellers to accept Tony and Gibbs' offer of $980,000, she also agreed to find buyers for their places. The condos in Tony's building were in high demand, and she would have no trouble at all finding a young family to buy Gibbs' house. It was in an established neighborhood close to schools and a big family-friendly park. Tony agreed to take point on getting Gibbs' house polished up and ready to show.

"A coat of paint inside and polishing the woodwork should do it. Maybe tear up the old carpet and get the wood floors refinished?" Tony suggested getting Anna's nod of approval after completing a cursory walkthrough of the house.

Discussing the logistics of closing on the new house, Tony went from giddy to forlorn in a matter of seconds. He dropped down on the couch next to Gibbs with a defeated sigh as the reality of the situation set in. Okay, their offer had been accepted but how the hell were they going to pay for it? It was a great idea in the abstract, but Tony still had mortgage payments on his condo, and who knew how long it would take to sell it and Gibbs' house to get the down payment money they would need. Words like escrow, closing, tax proration, earnest money, contingencies, bounced around in his head. Tony was ready to throw in the towel as his dream appeared to be dying on the vine. In no way was he prepared for the bomb Gibbs was about to drop. He stood to make his apologies for wasting Anna's time, but Gibbs grabbed his wrist and yanked him back down.

"Tony, just sit. Um, you see, I, uh … I already talked to my bank. It's all set. All we have to do is sign the papers. The mortgage is pre-approved. Neither of us may ever get to retire, but at least we - you and I - will have a great house; it will be our home, together. They'll also give us a short-term bridge loan to cover the down payment until our places sell."

"Jethro, are you serious? Oh my God!" Tony exclaimed before throwing his arms around Gibbs' neck.

Anna smiled. Yep, it was obvious that Jethro was a man who would do anything to make his Tony happy.

Tony was still beaming and bouncing with excitement when they walked Anna out to her car. Anna shook their hands and handed Gibbs her card.

"Congratulations, gentlemen! Give me a few days and we'll get your places listed. I'll need to do more thorough walkthroughs and get appraisals, but don't you worry. I will take care of everything. Best I can say is plan on closing around the middle of June."

She climbed behind the wheel of her Mercedes and Gibbs shut her door. They waved as she backed out of Gibbs' driveway.

A week later, a remodeling crew took over Gibbs' house to paint and refinish all of the woodwork and the floors. Tony and Gibbs accepted offers on their respective places days apart. They would close on both sales just days before the bridge loan on their new house came due. It was time to start packing!

Gibbs walked into the spacious dining room carrying a big bag of Chinese takeout to find Tony hunched over piles of paperwork spread out on the dining room table. Since work was not allowed at the dinner table, Gibbs herded Tony to the smaller kitchen table.

Brow deeply furrowed Tony seemed distracted all during dinner, prompting Gibbs to ask, "Tone, you okay?"

Tony moved some noodles around on his plate.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just thinking," he replied.

"About what?" Gibbs asked as he stuffed a forkful of orange duck into his mouth.

"Just stuff."

Gibbs dropped his fork on his plate and fixed Tony with a perturbed glare. For a guy who could ramble on for hours about everything and nothing, Tony had a tendency to keep really important things to himself.

Seeing the look leveled at him, Tony held his hands up in surrender.

"Okay, look … all of those papers in the other room. It's my, um, estate plan."

Gibbs' eyebrows shot up.

"Your what?"

Tony swallowed hard. He was pretty sure Gibbs was not going to be very receptive to his plan.

"My estate plan. It's been bugging me for a while, even before we bought this house. Gibbs, what if something happens to me? We both have dangerous jobs, you know. How would you pay for this place on your own? Huh? Who would I leave everything to? Look, right now I don't have a Will or anything so everything I have, everything I own, by law, would go to my dad, and I do not want that to happen. We both know he'd just blow it. I want everything, my bank accounts, retirement, trust fund, my car, all of that stuff; I want it all to go to … you."

Gibbs jumped up out of his chair and began pacing.

"Tony, I do not want your money! I don't need it and I don't want it!"

Tony stood and grasped both of Gibbs' hands and looked into his eyes.

"I know you don't. I know my half of the house would automatically go to you anyway since we're joint owners, but I just need to name beneficiaries on my other assets. My life insurance alone would pay off this house. I was thinking of naming you as beneficiary first, then McGee's kids. I mean, we're not married and I don't see that changing any time soon, and it's not like I'm going to have any kids of my own so why not help set up college funds for McGee's twins? Whadya think? Oh, and I want to name you Executor of my estate. I trust you to do the right thing because you always take care of everyone," Tony said with a warm smile.

Gibbs stared at Tony for a minute then sighed; this was not an argument he could win. He returned to his seat and resumed eating. Tony joined him, nervously picking at his food. After a few minutes, Gibbs spoke up.

"Okay, fine. But it's gonna go both ways. If you name me as your beneficiary, then I get to name you. I'll even put McGee's kids down too, if that's what you want. That's the only way I'll agree," Gibbs stated.

Tony beamed at Gibbs and leaned across the table to seal the deal with a kiss.

"You got it! I have a million forms to fill out and sign, then I have to meet with my lawyer on Friday to sign my Will."

By close of business Friday, Tony's estate plan was finalized and Gibbs had an appointment to meet with Tony's attorney the following week.

Traffic on US 50E was light despite the upcoming holiday. There were definite advantages of hitting the road for a vacation getaway on a Thursday. It was a leisurely drive to Bethany Beach and Gibbs only bent the speed limit a little bit. Tony was uncharacteristically quiet and stared out the window most of the trip.

Gibbs turned onto Atlantic Avenue and into the Addy Sea's parking lot. He pulled to a stop in a parking spot and cut the engine. Turning in his seat to face Tony, he cleared his throat.

"You having second thoughts about coming back here?" he asked.

That got Tony's attention. He looked at Gibbs and saw something flash in his eyes, something he couldn't quite define.

"No! I was just thinking. Can't believe it was a year ago. I was living here and I thought everyone back home had forgotten all about me. I was happy I guess. Then you showed up out of the blue, I realized I wasn't as happy as I thought, and now here we are a year later," Tony replied.

"Any regrets?"

Tony's eyes went wide.

"Of course not. You?"

Gibbs reached over and gave Tony's hand a firm squeeze.

"I've always had regrets where you're concerned, Tony, but not this, not us. I guess my only regret now is that it took me so long to get my head out of my ass. I drove you away, and I'll always regret that. I'm just grateful that you came home."

Tony beamed at Gibbs.

"And I'm grateful that Fornell told you where to find me. You know, I was all ready to tell you to go to hell. Glad I didn't, though," Tony stated with a warm smile.

It was nearing noon when they checked in. It was the same room that Tony had once called home. After getting their bags from the car, they decided to take a walk on the beach before heading to the familiar Turtle Beach Cafe for lunch.

After lunch they strolled along the boardwalk hand in hand. Even for a weekday afternoon, it was bustling with excitement. Red, white, and blue bunting, streamers, and American flags were springing up everywhere again in anticipation of the pending July 4th weekend festivities. Everything looked the same, but it felt different being there.

Several local shop owners greeted Tony like he was the prodigal son returning home. They greeted him with warm hugs and handshakes. Gibbs smiled and was surprised to see that Tony looked taken aback by the attention. He wasn't surprised at all. Tony had obviously left quite an impression on the locals, who had treated him as one of their own from the minute he arrived in town.

Tony pulled Gibbs into the arcade to see if any of his high scores remained after a year. He was shocked to find he was still on the leaderboard, but Robbie had finally bested him at the motorcycle racing game. Gibbs pulled out his wallet and fished out a crisp dollar bill. He offered it to Tony to exchange for quarters.

"You gonna let some little kid beat your high score?" he asked with a grin.

Tony laughed.

"Nah, let him have it. He earned it," Tony replied with a chuckle.

They spent the next few days taking in the sights and sampling the local cuisine. Seafood shacks were everywhere and cold local microbrews were on tap. Tony sprang for Jet Ski rentals on Friday and Gibbs rented a catamaran for an afternoon of sailing on Saturday. The days had been about having fun, while the nights were about romance. They were both worn out and a bit sunburned by the time Sunday the Fourth rolled around.

After the parade, a community play, and a jazz band concert, it was time for the main event: fireworks! Tony spread out a beach blanket while Gibbs fetched a couple of cold bottles of beer from a nearby vendor.

Sitting on the beach under a sky full of brilliant colors was so familiar yet brand new. Several times during the show Gibbs caught Tony staring at him.

"What?" Gibbs eventually barked.

Tony replied with a sly grin.

"Just remembering our first kiss. We were sitting right over there," Tony replied, pointing to a young couple sitting about 20 feet away.

They two men joined hands and smiled at each other for a moment or two. Tony raised a questioning eyebrow.

Gibbs took that as his cue, leaned forward, and pressed a ghost of a kiss on Tony's lips. Tony blushed as he was taken back to that first magical kiss.

They tuned out the choruses of "oohs" and "ahhs" from the huge crowd as more mortars exploded above them in a spectacular array of colors, while a group of squealing kids ran circles around them while brandishing sparklers.