The Favored Scar

[donutsweeper]

Title: The Favored Scar
Pairing/Warning/Rating: NCIS fandom, no pairings, rated G
Word Count: 300
Summary:  Tony has many scars, but one is particularly special to him.
Author's Note:  Written for ncisdrabble100 drabble challenge: shot

Tony brushed his thumb along the small scar just behind his ear.  Covered by hair as it was, he knew it was barely noticeable.  And no one would ever suspect what it meant to him.

It happened on a sweltering summer day, high humidity with no breeze to speak of, the type of weather his father always dubbed ‘perfect, just perfect’ for one of his reenactments.  Of course, he wasn’t the one lugging around the poo bucket.  One minute Tony was doing his best not to breathe through his nose and the next there was a tremendous bang and it was all he could do to breathe at all.

Words and smells and throbbing pain swirled around him- it was like he was looking through a fun house mirror- the world was there, but out of focus, stretched and tinged grey. 

“Anthony?”  His father was kneeling next to him.  The man seemed to be shouting, but the words were fading in and out.  “Anthony.... shot... that idiot... ambulance... Anthony, please....”  All Tony knew was that through all the confusion and pain his father was there, actually there, and holding his hand tightly in a vice-like grip.

The grip remained.  It was there when the dizziness became too much and Tony shut his eyes.  It was there when the ambulance arrived and the pain got worse as he was poked and prodded by the paramedics.  And it was there when something sharp pricked his arm and he fell asleep.

When he’d woken up in the hospital his father was on the phone, ignoring him, everything back to normal for their less than stellar relationship.  But Tony would always have the scar from that bullet burn to remember that moment when his father became his dad, if only for a few minutes.

Comments

[the-dark-side.livejournal.com]

Exactly. I mean, would Gibbs really have left an idiot in charge?

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

The fact that Kate in particular, a profiler for heaven's sakes, didn't get it really annoyed me. And it also bugs me when they all get in their digs. I wanted to slap Tim so much this season how he kept harping on Tony about the undercover op. Umm, he was ordered not to tell. Get over it

[the-dark-side.livejournal.com]

Seriously. It makes Tony that much more awesome for putting up with them all.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

That's why I'm a sucker for all the fics where Tony quits or is about to quit and the team realizes what schmucks they've been

[the-dark-side.livejournal.com]

They'd be lost without him. In fact, I almost wish they'd just bring him and Gibbs back together and just forget about the rest of them.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

Well, throw in Abby and Ducky and I'd agree with you. (although I do sort of like Tim)

[the-dark-side.livejournal.com]

Definitely. (Tim does have his moments, I'll admit that)

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

I wish Kate and Ziva weren't written so scattershot when it came to Tony though. It makes it hard to get a handle on their characterization

[the-dark-side.livejournal.com]

Definitely. A bit of consistency is always nice.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

of course, this is the show that can't settle on Gibbs's ex-wives names, so maybe we're expecting too much

[the-dark-side.livejournal.com]

Probably. One can hold out a tiny bit of hope, though...right?

I somehow managed to type that with a straight face.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

I'm so proud. I doubt I could have managed it

[the-dark-side.livejournal.com]

It was a close call at the end, there. I'm getting better at the whole "postponing the burst of hysterical laughter" thing.

[donutsweeper.livejournal.com]

as long as the laughter is still there, eventually, it works for me!

[the-dark-side.livejournal.com]

It usually is.