Ok, first of all, I am so sorry this took so long, it was not my intention to take so damn long. But, you don't have to worry about that anymore because THIS IS THE LAST CHAPTER! Yes, it was a long road, but it has finally happened. And I want to thank everybody for making it this far. It wasn't easy, but we made it. Hopefully it was at least a fun ride.

As always, because this is the last chapter, there will not be an ending author's note, but I did include the poem, For the Gate of the Courtesans by Henri de Regnier (translated by Jethro Bithell) for anyone who's interested. Also, there is going to be no sequel to this story, so you can breathe easy, this story is completely finished. And I hate to say it, but I will be going on a temporary hiatus from fanfiction for a while as I work on my original stories. And I think that's it. Congratulations for making it to the end.

30

Tom gazed at the night sky. His office had a wonderful view. Despite everything that had gone on for the last ten days, watching the lights dance across the city made him think that everything was still alright. He needed to believe that after tonight.

The new Secretary of the Navy, Davenport, was sitting across from him, just watching the back of his chair while he watched the night. Tom was surprised that they had managed to find a new Secnav so quickly. Davenport claimed that he was just filling in until they found a permanent replacement, but Tom had known Davenport for years. He was the permanent replacement.

"Rough couple of weeks, huh?" Davenport finally said after almost fifteen minutes of silence.

With a sad smile, Tom turned his chair back around to finally face his new boss. Davenport was one of the good ones. That was probably why he had been chosen, because he hadn't participated in it, let alone known the ring had even existed.

"Hard to believe something like this even existed." It made him proud of his people. His agents were the ones that had brought this Ring crumbling down. Not the FBI, Homeland Security, or Interpol. It had been NCIS.

Davenport leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. "Well, I hate to break it to you, Tom, but it's not over yet."

That confused the Director. "I don't understand. We ended it. We got the ringleader, Daddy Warbucks is dead—"

"And there are still people out there who are still suffering," Secnav cut him off.

Damn, he thought. He almost forgot about that. If they already had a slave, a so-called 'Dependent,' then they might not have been at the auction tonight. He didn't know how far this spread, and he didn't know what was going to happen now. "What are you saying, Sir?"

Davenport gave him a sad smile. "Homeland Security will handle the rest of the case. They'll prosecute those involved and track down the rest of the people."

Tom started to argue. His agency had been the ones to blow this thing wide open. Homeland Security wasn't even involved. But Davenport cut him off again. "They're setting up a special task force. They are more equipped to handle this mess than we are."

"Damn it, Phil, my people were the ones to stop this. I almost lost too many agents because of this, we should be the ones to have the task force."

Davenport looked at his curiously. "You seem adamant about this, Tom. Are you more invested in this than you're letting on?"

Tom was furious with the accusation. "They kidnapped one of my men. This was blown up, because of my men. And you want to take us out of the loop?" He wasn't going to tell Davenport about his affair with Agent DiNozzo. It wasn't any of his damn business.

The two men were silent for a while, just sizing each other up. Tom was scowling, he was furious with the new Secnav. He wasn't involved in this ring at all, he wasn't the one who had to see the toll it put on his people. And now he was trying to take it away, give it to somebody else. And the fact that he just kept smirking pissed him off even more.

"Homeland Security needs somebody to run the task force. An Assistant Director. Somebody who knows the situation. Your name came up."

Tom was immediately floored. He hadn't expected a job offer. He wanted to be on this investigation, he owed it to his people. But he wasn't expecting this.

He shook his head. "Assistant Director?" He was already head of an Agency, could he really take a paycut?

Davenport shrugged. "It's the only way to keep you on this case. It's Homeland's jurisdiction now. But if you want it, the job's yours."

Tom thought about it for a while. After all the grief this case caused his people, he should stay on, try and help them deal with it. But at the same time, after what he did to Agent DiNozzo, how could he? He caused him more pain than he ever intended, whether intentional or not. The young man shouldn't have to see his face every day. He was his boss, somebody who he should have been able to trust, and he took advantage of him. Maybe it would be better to just walk away. And if he took this job at Homeland, then he could make sure that nobody else ever went through what Agent DiNozzo did. He couldn't think of a better way to redeem himself.

He leaned back in his chair and sighed heavily. "I'm going to need to find a replacement before I go."

It didn't take him long to make up his mind, but then, he knew the moment he heard about the offer that he was going to take it. He wasn't going to stop until every bastard involved in the ring was brought to justice. Or dead, he preferred that option, but he kept it to himself.

Davenport nodded as he got up to take his leave. "Take your time."

Now that he was alone, Tom let out a sigh of relief. This was the right thing to do, he knew that. He couldn't expect Agent DiNozzo to want to work under him anymore, and he shouldn't have to. Jethro would need time to forgive him too, Tom knew that his friend had feelings for the boy. And if he stayed, he wouldn't be able to keep the two of them together. There were rules about that. But if he was gone, he would take that knowledge with him.

This was the only option, he knew. And he was ok with that.

Laughing and double past my double glass.

Tony heard Gibbs come to life under him. He froze for a second, unsure how the older man was going to respond to him doodling all over his back. But Gibbs just turned his head with a sleepy smile on his face. "What are you doin'?"

Tony tried to stutter out an answer, but before he could form words, Gibbs saw the marker in his hand. He jumped to his feet and ran to the bathroom. Tony sat on the bed with the blanket partially covering up his nudity and waited for the shouts of anger.

He kept his head down. After a second, he heard footsteps patter back into the room. After an agonizingly long silence, Gibbs finally spoke. "'Property of Anthony DiNozzo?'"

Still with his head between his knees, Tony nodded.

"Why?"

He shrugged.

He heard the footsteps move closer, and then the bed dipped and he felt warm, strong arms wrap around him. His head shot up, nearly knocking into Gibbs' nose. The older man pulled his head away just in time with a laugh.

Tony ignored that. There were more important issues at hand. "You're not mad?"

Gibbs shrugged. "I'm bothered. Not by you, but," he pulled his head down and sighed heavily, "we shouldn't have done that."

Tony shook his head, confused. "You said you loved me."

"I do. That's why that shouldn't have happened."

The younger man was still confused. Usually, when people were in love, they had sex, didn't they? Granted, his experience with love was limited, but he knew that much.

Gibbs wiped a hand across his face. "Tony, we just got you back. Sex should have been the last thing we did after that."

Tony just realized the space his boss put between them. Hadn't he just been right next to him?

He scooted closer until he was touching the older man again. "I'm glad we did that. I never… felt that good before."

Gibbs smiled. "It's called an orgasm, Tony."

"Yeah, well, I never had one before. In the ring, they taught us how to come on demand, but I never, just enjoyed sex before. And I won't regret that." He scrunched his face up as the embarrassing memory came up. "But I do regret hurting you."

Gibbs shook his head. "You didn't hurt me, Tony."

"I got a little rough there at the end."

Gibbs shrugged. "It wasn't anything I couldn't handle." He reached forward and put his hand on Tony's knee. "I just…" he sighed heavily again. "I don't want you to think I'm using you."

Tony took a deep breath. "So, you wanna move slowly?'

He nodded. "Yeah. That a problem?"

"Nobody's ever said that to me before. It's weird." When he saw the look on Gibbs face, he quickly added, "not a bad weird. I mean, it's good. It's different."

Gibbs cut him off before he could keep rambling. "Tony. It's not a bad thing. I'm just surprised."

"About what?"

Gibbs pulled Tony closer until the younger man was practically on top of him and pulled them down onto the bed. "How nobody before ever realized what a catch you are." He kissed the top of Tony's head. "And I'm glad to belong to you."

Tony smiled as he wrapped his arms around his new… he didn't even know what to call him. He was still his boss, but this was definitely more intimate. Boyfriend? Lover? Partner? He didn't really know. He did know that Gibbs loved him though.

Gibbs eventually fell back to sleep. Tony listened as his breathing evened out. A smile came to his mouth. He wasn't sure he loved Gibbs back, or even if he knew what love meant. But he could pretend for a while, if it made Gibbs happy. And who knew? Maybe eventually, he'd grow to care for the older man just as much.

He at least wanted to try.

IF to the town thou come some morning, to
Join the sweet, frivolous, futile sisters who
Bestow their love and sell their beauty, wait
Before thou enter my returnless gate,
Whose folding-doors are mirrors; there descry
Thy coming self, thou who art tempted by
The gold, it may be, and the banquet's hum,
Thou from a vast and distant country come,
Thou who still pure, and innocently bare,
Smilest, with autumn's russet in thy hair,
And summer's fruits upon thy breast embossed,
And thy soft skin like fabled sea-caves mossed,
And in thy warmest flesh's secret fold
The form of rosy shells the seas have rolled,
And beauty of dawn and shadow, and the scent
Of flowers and gardens, woods and sea-weed blent!
Tarry, ere the ineffable alms thou bring
Of being both the autumn and the spring
To those who far from dawn and harvests live.
Listen, thou mayest yet return, but if
Thou must, I open, glad to see thee pass,
Laughing and double past my double glass.

5