They are just sucking up to tony because he might being leaving the second he stays they will turn on him again

None of this changes how McGee and David turned on him after Gibbs left for Mexico. They were unprofessional, disrespectful, and can't be trusted not to repeat that behavior in the future.

Dont know why ziva and mcgee act so shocked they wanted to get rud of him to its why they constantly put him down and say they are better hate how you seem to only put the blame on gibbs he actually plays a smaller part then those 2 dick heads

Disclaimer: I realize that this story was written and published many years ago, so the following constructive criticism may no longer be applicable. I just to share that, in this chapter and others, I have found the shifts between present and past tense, sometimes with the same sentence, very distracting. I think the logical side of my brain is seeking consistency and then I start trying to substitutes what I *think* should be there...which then detracts from the excellent thoughts, speech and/or actions you've given to a character. My guess is that, especially when inspiration is striking hard and fast, you're writing very quickly and, at that moment, everthing *is* happening in present tense...but, when left that way in the finished work, it leaves the reader with a somewhat disjointed feeling.

You have so many great premises working in this story: a great case fic, enjoyable (and believable OCs...and, of course, plenty of angst and introspection by our favorite Very Special Agent. I offer the above because I hate the idea of having those things marred or diminished due to readers becoming frustrated with, or distracted by, the shifts in tense.

Addressing your author's note at the beginning of this chapter, I think that "leant" and "learnt" are far more commonly used in U.K. English than they are in U.S. English and, as such, they read as a bit foreign to those of us in the States. We would more typically say "leaned" and "learned" on this side of the pond. Just my two cents...

I'm also a bit perplexed as to why some readers were disappointed that it wasn't Tony who took the bullet. From my perspective, this is very much a Tony-centric piece, exploring his time at NCIS and, in particular, his feelings regarding the events and situations that caused him to reach the point at which he felt resigning was his only option. Having Tony be the one shot would, to me, seem negate the premise of the story as it would seem to provide substantiation for his feelings regarding trust in the field...and likely cement his decision to leave. Also, you've had Tony thinking and talking several times about what could happen if he was focused on and wondering about the motives of others, rather than on a suspect...and you kind of flipped that on its head with the previous chapter. While not a lack of trust per se, Tony *was* comparing real life action with the way things happen in movies and didn't realize immediately that Gibbs had been hit...and that sets the stage perfectly for tons of introspection and the self-doubt and self-flagellation at which Tony excels and you showed us here. I'm not saying that anyone else's POV is wrong; this is just my opinion, based on my take away from the story this far.

Thoroughly AWESOME!

Tony stayed? well this was a waste of time reading found in tony leaving search and 24 chapters later he ends up staying what a waste of time this was

Dean wants to stay? Ugh i found this in searching tony Leaves yet it doesn't sound like his gonna be leaving now sounds pointless having all this about tony wanting to leave when now apparently he Doesn't want to leave

Hooe he doesn't stay i love tony but they dont treat him right and only now his wanting to leave are they acting like they care if they cared they wouldn't need to apologise and fight for him to stay in the first place

Great story, thank you for sharing it.

I wish you Tony would leave...these apologies shouldnt matter. It's too late

Read this again good story.I do love a capable leader post more ncis Tony stories.I miss them and your wonderful writing

Awesome...Loved it. Thank you for this great story.

What a wild ride! Had me tearing up, laughing, and concerned at so many different parts. Well worth the time spent to read through it. IMO you really nailed the Gibbs and DiNozzo relationship. :)

really enjoyed your story