McGee could not believe how much had changed in just a matter of a few short hours.

His apartment had blown up. According to the morning newscast they’d seen from the hospital waiting room investigators had already determined the source of the carbon monoxide gas leak to be a faulty water heater in his apartment. They’d concluded that it was from natural wear and tear, had found no evidence of tampering. It was only an unfortunate coincidence that the propane heater that warmed the hallways similarly had chosen that morning to leak gas. They’d found no evidence of his door being rigged, but figured that turning the lock had caused a tiny spark that had ignited the gas.

The man that had been the bane of his existence during the past 48 hours had turned out not to be a friend of Abby’s or an actor, but the missing winner of his Gemcity contest. While he, Abby, Gibbs, and Ducky had waited at the hospital with DiNozzo’s wife, Ellen, they’d begun to piece together the events of the past couple days.

It had started, Gibbs informed them, when Director David had accidentally struck Anthony DiNozzo with his car when the man had inadvertently run out into the street, directly in front of it. Each of the times Tony had tried to confront him, David had been afraid that the man was seeking retribution or revenge of some sort.

Ducky medically hypothesized that Anthony must have struck his head during the accident and likely had suffered a form of retrograde amnesia. That, combined with a psychological need to ‘escape’ from the problems of his ‘real life’ and what his wife described as an obsession with the Gemcity novels, had led the man to believe that he was in fact, Agent Tommy DeLuca.

From the notes that FBI Agent Sacks had made of his investigation, they gleaned that DiNozzo, in the midst of his delusion, had honestly believed that he was in danger and that he’d needed to “burn” the DiNozzo identity--and had even gone to great lengths to try and set up false trails in case someone did try to track him down. He’d even left his credit cards to be “stolen” and subsequently used, creating false leads.

It had only been pure luck that DiNozzo’s delusion had stuck as long as it had. If the casting for the Deep Six movie hadn’t been going on, neither Abby nor Tim would have mistaken him for an actor. Abby would never have sent him to McGee’s, or helped him to acquire an NCIS ID once she thought he’d landed the role. If they’d sat down and compared notes at any time, Tim would have realized that “Tommy” wasn’t actually a friend of Abby’s. If Gibbs had been in the office instead of stuck at the Embassy, he would have received Sacks’ fax earlier and would have recognized DiNozzo from his picture. If Wallace Jones, the new parking lot security officer had been familiar with the Gemcity novels, or Mike in the main office hadn’t been…but all of these things along with Tony’s intimate knowledge of the characters and his natural charm and keen observation skills had all worked together to keep the fantasy alive.

Unfortunately it seemed that when the delusion was broken it was a little too overwhelming for DiNozzo to handle and he’d passed out. To make matters worse, he’d struck his head again when he’d fallen. Which led them to where they now waited for word of his condition.

“So what’s he really like?” Abby asked Ellen, needing to break the uncomfortable silence. Without waiting for an answer, she continued babbling. “It must be absolutely crazy living with him. Is he always like that? I mean does he always act so fearless and forward like that? It must be really fun trying to figure out what he’s going to do next--“

“He’s…he’s Tony,” Ellen meekly answered, unsure of what else to say. “I mean, he’s…a gym teacher.”

Abby cocked her head as she looked at Tony’s wife, trying to decipher her answer. “Yeah, I can see it, he’s all athletic and everything. You know he actually dragged both me and McGee away from a fire? At the same time? That’s pretty strong, right?”

Ellen shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, I guess…”

“And he’s a really good dancer…OH! But he didn’t know he was married, I’m sure, and it wasn’t like we did anything more than dancing. It didn’t mean anything or anything I mean he even danced with McGee! And Director David a little bit--"

“Family of Anthony DiNozzo?” a voice called and Ellen sprang to her feet, eager to distance herself from the odd Goth woman that her husband had inexplicably aligned himself with during his escapades.

“I’m his wife,” she announced as she approached the doctor.

“Everything seems to have checked out okay,” the doctor announced. “And he’s asking to see…you,” his gaze moved from Ellen to Abby. Ellen’s mouth dropped open slightly and McGee gulped as he saw the fury in her eyes. It seemed that DiNozzo was going to be in for it when his wife did get a hold of him. “And…are you Special Agent McGee?” the doctor asked, looking to him.

“Um. Yeah. I’m McGee.”

“He’s asked for you as well.”

McGee glanced guiltily at Ellen before quickly moving past her to follow Abby into Tony’s hospital room.

Tim was startled by how different the man looked. Gone was the confident, animated “Tommy” he’d come to know; he’d been replaced by Tony, who appeared nervous and if it was at all possible…shy? The man barely looked up as he and Abby came into the room before his eyes fell to the bed sheet.

“Thanks for um…staying,” Tony awkwardly expressed his gratitude. His cheeks began to pink with embarrassment as he added, “And well…everything.”

“Hey, it’s okay!” Abby eagerly assured him. “It was fun! Well…except for the whole gas leak and explosion thing…”

Tony chuckled slightly and smiled bashfully. “Yeah. I’m just sorry…God, I can’t believe all the things I did to you…” he glanced up at McGee, a look of agony flickering across his features. “I’m just so sorry for everything. You must hate me…”

McGee felt all remains of the residual anger fade and he smiled. “It wasn’t so bad,” he told a white lie. He could tell that Tomm--Tony knew better, but he smiled faintly anyway. “And hey. You totally saved my life. Abby’s, too,” he reminded, feeling better as the smile on Tony’s face turned more genuine.

“I’m just so sorry that my...” Tony motioned to his now-bandaged head, “got mixed up in your reality. Gibbs mad?”

McGee grinned. “He’s always mad. But I’ll give him some coffee and he’ll perk up. As much as he perks anyway.”

“Yeah, I figured that…from the books.” Tony’s smile faded and he looked back down at the bed sheet and began absently picking at a loose thread.  “Anyway, sounds like they’re going to release me in a little while here and Ellen…well she’s already got us booked on a flight this afternoon. I…” he trailed off, his eyes growing distant again.

“ Sorry we didn’t get a chance to do any of that contest stuff.” He couldn’t believe he was about to suggest it, but, “We could reschedule. You should come back when you’re feeling better.” Abby lit up and nodded enthusiastically.

Only a ghost of a smile graced Tony’s lips as he nodded, knowing that in all likelihood it would never happen. He’d nearly destroyed his marriage by coming the first time. Plus…he was fairly certain that McGee was only offering out of some sort of misplaced guilt. He remembered it all. How he’d come in and totally put the agent through hell. He remembered the way McGee had finally blown his temper, and he couldn’t say he blamed him. Tim had been more than patient with him. “For what it’s worth…I really do want to thank you.  I know I wasn’t exactly the best houseguest,” he couldn’t help but grin self-depreciatingly, “but…I haven’t had so much fun in a long time.”

“Fun?!” McGee protested, though his teasing was quite evident.

Tony chuckled. “For me anyway,” he relented, stifling a yawn.

“Well, we better let you get a little rest before they throw you out in the street--like I should have done…”

Abby scowled exaggeratedly and reached over to punch him in the arm, but Tony only laughed. She grinned back at him. “You take care of yourself.  And you better come back and see us, Mister,” she added, poking him a couple times for emphasis before she leaned forward and gave him a tight hug. For a few moments, she ignored the sound of someone--Ellen--clearing her throat from the doorway, signaling that it was time for them to leave. “Here’s my number,” she added as she snatched a pen from the bedside and quickly scrawled it on the back of his hand.

“For the record,” McGee stated as he pulled Abby away, “you are far and above the best Agent Tommy I met this week. I don’t suppose you do any acting…?” At Tony’s sheepish denial, he let out a sigh that was only partially faked. That meant he was back to the drawing board and would have to sit through meeting at least a few more insufferable Tommy-wannabes. “If you change your mind, please let me know. I could probably get you a screen test…” Tim trailed off as he glanced at Ellen and saw the unhappy look she was giving him. “Um. Yeah. Anyway, I’ll contact you. We’ll reschedule, fly you and Ellen out some time this fall?” He winced as he saw the overly fake smile Ellen gave him as a response.

“Definitely,” Tony answered, though the tone of his voice suggested otherwise.

“Later,” McGee called as he prodded Abby past him and out of the room, feeling more than a little unnerved by the clear distaste Ellen had for them both.

“Yeah. Later,” Tony called softly after them.  He was relieved as a few moments later his doctor returned to the exam room with his discharge papers. He knew he was going to have to face Ellen sooner or later, but at the moment he was thankful it would have to be ‘later’.

It turned out to be much later. By the time the doctor had given him his discharge instructions and completed all necessary paperwork, FBI Agent Sacks had arrived and was requesting a statement from him. As he recounted his tale, he could tell that Sacks wasn’t completely buying it, but he stuck to his story and repeated it as many times as the agent insisted on hearing it. For a short time he was convinced that he would have to postpone his flight home, was actually hoping for the excuse, but in the end Sacks finally dismissed him. With a promise to contact him should they require further discussion.

“I told you this was a bad idea,” Ellen reminded him as she pushed the hospital-mandated wheel chair out to her waiting car.

“I know,” he replied with a small sigh.

“You should have waited until we could save up and go in a couple years,” she rebuked him as she eased into traffic.

“Mmm.”

“I knew you’d only get into trouble going by yourself,” she proclaimed as they returned her rental car.

He stayed silent as he carried her bags to the baggage counter.

“We can make this work,” Ellen reasoned as they sat in the pre-boarding area. “I mean, it’s not like you actually cheated. I can’t imagine that you were actually interested in a girl like that. I mean…can you imagine?”

Actually, he could. He really, really could. He smiled faintly as he found himself seriously considering it. Abby was fun and she’d let him be himself…well…she’d let him be Tommy. She hadn’t nagged him to behave or put him down for not being smart. She’d quite willingly played along with his admittedly over-the-top stunts. Truth be told, Abby had been more of a friend to him after knowing him mere minutes than his own wife had been in the past couple years. And while she didn’t exactly look like a woman he’d ever have foreseen himself being with, he couldn’t deny that she was unexpectedly very appealing.

“Well,” Ellen sighed as their flight boarding was announced. “At least you’ve got this silly secret agent stuff out of your system now.” She handed her boarding pass to the attendant. After it was checked off and handed back to her, she stepped past the desk and turned to wait for him. He started to hold his own out when she concluded, “We can go home and forget this ever happened.”

He pulled his boarding pass back. “No.”

Ellen gaped at him. “No? What do you mean no?”

“I mean no. I don’t want to forget it, El,” he said softly, his eyes rising to meet hers. “And no…I’m not going back with you.”

“You’re not coming home,” she repeated back to him in disbelief.

He shook his head. “It’s not home, Ellen. It hasn’t been for a long time.”

“But--"

“Are you happy, Ellen?” he asked. When she didn’t immediately respond, he continued. “Do you love me?”

“Of course I--" she began to protest indignantly.

“No,” he gently cut her off. “Not the idea of a doting loving husband. Not the man who cleans your house and fixes you dinner…but me. I love the ‘silly’ special agent stuff. I love adventure. And excitement. That’s who I am, Ellen. This week…this week I remembered what it was like to have fun. Are you having fun?”

“Life isn’t just about fun, Tony,” Ellen reprimanded him sharply. “Some of us have to work--"

“Do you really think I don’t work? I am responsible, El. I know you don’t approve of my job, but it is work. And I’m good at it. I would never be happy sitting at a desk.

“So what…you’re just going to end our marriage here? At an airport?”

He felt his spirits rising at the prospect and knew without a doubt that he was making the right decision. He couldn’t stop the grin that spread across his face as he replied, “Yeah. I think I am.”

He could feel the weight of her stare as he turned and walked away, never once looking back.

He didn’t know where he was going, and although it was a little bit scary, the possibilities also excited him. He could go back to Ohio, back to being a coach and a teacher, but he didn’t have to. He could see if there were any openings on the Peoria police force. Or he could check out Boston or perhaps Baltimore…or maybe stay here in DC; look up Abby and McGee.

He didn’t know where he was going, but for the moment he didn’t care.

His future was wide open.