It Happened: NCIS

Chapter 2

Tony's POV:

The fall didn't knock anything out of me. Especially, when I saw who was waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. I thought the fall effected my vision, or worse my brain. I thought I was seeing things because my emotions are high. The longer I stare at him, I see that it's him. It really is him.

I get up slowly and don't say anything. I just stare at him to make sure it's really him.

"Hey, Tony." He speaks and that's when I lose it.

"Are you kidding me!" I lunge towards him, but Gibbs stops me from getting close to him. I know it's him because of his red hoodie. Or maybe I'm so angry that all I'm seeing is red.

"Stop it DiNozzo!" Gibbs is pushing me into the corner. I see the person, who I thought I lost, is backing away from me. Oh, no. He's not getting off that easy.

"Is this some kind of sick joke? Are you insane?"

"Tony, please let us explain. Or him explain."

I ignore what he's saying. I've been feeling all types of emotions since he's been "gone" and all I want to do is hit him

"We've been crying over you! Every single one of us didn't think we would be able to make it to the funeral because of the way we feel about you!"

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs pins me up against the wall, and I think it knocks some sense into my head. He leaves me there for a minute while I catch my breath and look at Gibbs. "Are you calm?"

I shake my head and force his hands off of me. I walk towards him and he backs away a bit, until he realizes I'm not going to hurt him, even though I wanted to a few seconds ago.

"Really, Probie?"

He sighs and wraps his arms around me. I don't want to hug him back. I'm so mad at him. I thought he was gone forever, and yet I find him here in Gibbs basement over a week after the funeral. I hug him back anyway because I remember all the feelings I've been going through ever since we "lost" him.

I shove him off of me when I think of Melissa and what she's been going through.

"DiNozzo." Gibbs snarls at me.

"Does Melissa know about this?"

"No." They say simultaneously. Tim looks the floor when I mention her name. What the hell is going on over here?

I scuff. "Good, because you want to know what she's been doing ever since this happened? She's been trying to take care of all of us instead of it being the other way around. She isn't focused on how she's feeling. She's trying to make everyone else feel better!"

"DiNozzo!" Gibbs shouts for about the hundredth time since I've got here, but I am completely over it.

"Don't yell at me! You knew about this the whole time and you had the nerve to say what you did at the hospital to her? What the he-"

"What did he say to her?" Probie asks.

I don't break eye contact with Gibbs. I'm too upset to let this go. "When Melissa walked through those hospital doors, the look on her face said it all. We all knew what it meant and went to comfort each other immediately, except you." I stare right into Gibbs eyes. "He said that he told her something like this would happen when she got involved with you."

Gibbs doesn't say anything. He doesn't take responsibility, but he doesn't deny it either. I know Probie knows that it's true.

"He had to do that." I hear him say and my blood goes back to boiling.

"What? You're defending him?"

"Because you don't know what's going on."

"Then, tell me!" I turn to look at him again. "Isn't that why you brought me here in the first place?"

Gibbs gives me the side eye and walks over to stand next to Tim. I don't mind it because I know he could give me something worse, but he can't blame me for the way I'm acting. I just found out the person that I cared about the most in my life is actually alive and not six feet under.

"This explains the closed casket at the funeral." Gibbs gives me that look again. "Alright, that's my last one."

Gibbs sighs and looks over at Tim. I can tell he isn't going to say anything. I can tell by his body language this wasn't isn't idea. Not only that, but he isn't happy with the idea.

"DiNozzo, you're aware that McGee killed the leader of a gang, correct?"

"Yes."

"Are you also aware that Ziva killed one of their men, and we have one arrested for questioning to give us information?"

"Yes, because you won't let me see him." I look at Tim and he smiles a little but takes it back because he knows how much pain we all have been in since this hoax.

"But you don't know is that since he shot a gang leader, they don't care abut us anymore, they care about killing him."

I shake my head. That makes sense, it's what we all have to deal with when we get involved in a case like this. "That's why you made your own Witness Protection Program in your basement?"

"I thought it would be a better idea than to have him in a random state and not be himself and know what's going on with his wife."

"His widow, you mean."

"Tony." Probie says. Okay, I admit that one went too far, but I'm not apologizing for it. She's been hurting too much, and I won't be the one to tell them that I've been neglecting seeing her, because if I see her this way again, I don't think I'll be able to control any of my emotions.

I sigh, out of frustration. "So, you mean I'm the only one who knows about this."

They shake their heads. "Why me?"

"Because you made me a promise Tony." Probie starts to say. "You said you would take care of her if anything happened to me."

"I know what I said." I've been neglecting my duties. Even though, he's alive and standing right in front of me, I feel bad that I haven't been keeping my promise.

"Why can't she know about this?"

"You know why." Gibbs starts to speak, not that I want to hear this from him at the moment. "If she knows he's alive then she won't be able to stay away, and they might find out where he is, and we'll have to actually put him into a Protection Program. We can't let them find out he's alive, or we won't be able to catch them."

"Once, we get all of them, he can come out your basement?"

"Yes."

"I'm the only one who knows huh?"

"Yup." Gibbs starts walking towards me. "You have to act like you don't know any of this. You have to mourn the same way you have been. When we all get back to work, we have to do the same thing we always do."

"When will she be back at work?"

"When I say so." Of course, it's on his say so. "In order for him to stay here, this secret doesn't leave this house."

"Yes, sir." I say as I start making my way up the stairs. I've had enough of this. I'm dizzy from all the emotions I've been feeling ever since I got his stupid voicemail to come over here. I'm about to walk out the door, until a voice stops me.

"I'm really sorry Tony." I hear my little brother say.

"I'm sorry too." He doesn't know what I'm sorry for, but he doesn't have to.

The goal now, is to catch these guys as soon as possible. That way they can reunite, and maybe I'll see Melissa be upset and hit him a few times. That's something I'd like to see.

Until then, I have to mourn him like normal. It's easy because the person I saw in the basement, isn't the person who left us that horrible day.