This a somewhat confusing story. Tony is not allowed to be normal or happy normal, he has to be Gibbs idea of normal, which all things considered isn't normal. Some people are marrying kind of people, but it doesn't make them abnormal. Tony's busy with other things and he tries to fit in "normal" conception ideas to others and that's why he's miserable because he's trying to be something he isn't. He puts himself down because he can't meet other's standards instead of just being himself.

Great job; an excellent character study of Tony and of Gibbs.

Great character study of Tony, you have a great grasp on his character. Also, you describing his sleeping as a dead carp may be my favorite line ever.

Full of painful insight...

There are so many post-bomb stories floating around, but this is probably the most powerful, painful and complex one I've seen yet. I'm so glad there was hope at the end - we knew it was in them, but it would be too easy for Gibbs and for DiNozzo, each in their own way, to pass the point of no return after events like that.

Very moving; very well done. If only the show would have put in a fifth of this effort!

Thanks for sharing-

Such awesome writing! I love your style! Fantastic line - 'Enough night stands to stock an Ikea'! Love the use of police codes thru the story too. Good lord your Ziva/Gibbs conversation was perfect, loved her way of expressing concern, and not giving up and letting Gibbs get last word, doing right by Tony, great parting shot from her. And Ned's perspective was great too, why aren't there more N/T stories? ;) McGee being Tony's buddy was well placed too, naturally sad that Tony's lonely enough to really talk and have a friend in Tim only because he's so low. The tough-guy warm and fuzzy make-up scene in the elevator is perfect, the kind of make up Gibbs would be happy to get away with.
Well done all round!

An excellent conclusion to a complex fic; it concludes things without really concluding them, if you know what I mean. Sort of the way real life works. It's bleak but not entirely without hope.

Regardless, thank you for sharing this fic with us! I've very much enjoyed reading it.

P.S. I sort of know what you mean about Tony/Dorneget. I've never really gotten a gay or bi vibe off of Tony (at least, not since Season One when the characters were still being formulated), but it's fun to see the two characters interact.

I admire your writing ability but to be honest I didn't like your story much. It was interesting but you have a very bleak view of the characters. Personally I think DiNozzo is much stronger than you portray him and Gibbs is a lot more insightful. With that said your a good writer and thanks for sharing.

Wow. That was intense. But I really liked it. It was subtle yet brutal and I love the unspoken complexity of this. I would love to see this in real life but unfortuantly, this being NCIS, we never will. Oh well. That's why I have these stories. Well done. Realistic and honest. I like it a lot.

Tony was born in 71. In one of the earlier episodes Kate said how old he was and it was in 71. I think the writers forgot about that because they said 68. All of the actors except for Sean's character McGee and Cote's character Ziva are younger than the actors age. Pauley's character Abby is supposed to be in her early 30's and in real life she's older. The same with Michael and Mark's ages

Can you please put Tiva in the summary part of the story? I was reading this and didn't know it was going to be Tiva. It would give those that like Tiva to read this and the others that don't to stay away from this fic. I am one of those that don't like Tiva. Why would you put an abuse victim with their abuser. Because that is what Ziva did in Tel Aviv. She pushed an already hurt Tony to the ground and pulled a gun on him. It's like saying that it's alright for abuse victims to go back to their abusers. Abusers never stop. Would you want Tony to come in to NCIS with a black eye, or a bruised face?

Another excellent chapter, unflinching in its raw emotional honesty. And I'm glad that Ziva is going to have a talk with Gibbs.

Despite the fact I vehemently dislike Tiva, I cannot help but continue reading because I absolutely love your writing style. I love the abrupt jumps, changes, shifts between time and scene. It keeps my brain engaged and involved. I love your phrasings, the plays on words and the life your words house. So much so that I have pre-forgiven the tiva train inevitably heading toward the station. :)

Wow... deep dark hole... is there light.. maybe.

HEHEHE you nailed Jethro the dog, ball in mouth judging.

Wow. Still loving this. So horribly real; real people, really messed up. Love McGee's shocking daydream, love that Gibbs realized what he's done to Tony and that he's thinking it's justified. Love how messed up Tony is, and amazed that Ziva might be about to do something about it. Looking forward to update!