Author's Quick Note: My apologies for the delay. I know I keep saying that, but I do really mean it. Unlike Gibbs, I don't consider it a sign of weakness, but rather of strength. There was a slight writer's block when it came to this chapter. I know much of it is because I am knee deep in tax returns. I prepare federal tax returns and we are in the middle of our busy season, so I had problems focusing.

Chapter 9

Chris Townsend looked back at their new sheriff as he followed Bubba Wright out to their respective patrol cars. As he opened his car door, he asked Bubba what he thought about DiNozzo.

"Big city fed. He won't stick around long."

"Fed? Where d'ya hear that?"

"About six years ago, before you moved to town, a bunch of feds came here, looking to arrest Chuck Winslow for murder. DiNozzo was one of them."

"Winslow?" Chris whistled at that. Everyone knew Winslow had been the real power in town, although the mine closure had people rumbling that maybe it was time for a change. "Since he's still around, I assume that didn't pan out."

"Turned out the son-in-law was the actual murderer. Or so they said."

"Emily's ex?"

"Yep. Seems the victim was Winslow's bastard son. At least that's what Ed told me."

"If Sheriff DiNozzo was a big city fed, why the hell would he come work in a small town like Stillwater? He's not exactly old enough to be looking for an after retirement job. And he looks like he's in good shape, so it isn't that he was so badly injured that he had to resign."

Bubba's eyes squinted as he considered that. "Good question, Chris. Might be something to look into."

"Can't say I'm upset about getting rid of these twelve hour shifts," commented Chris before climbing into his patrol car.

"I hear that." With a wave, Bubba drove off.

~NCIS~

Tony spent the morning going through his new office, cleaning out the trash that Ed had accumulated and organizing the paperwork he found stashed all over. He had a cardboard box waiting nearby for any personal items the former sheriff might wish to have back. Tony was disturbed by the number of case files and incident reports he came across, unsecured documents. Definitely something to discuss with everyone.

"Sheriff?"

"Deputy LaFont, what can I do for you?"

"Were you serious about hiring more people?"

"I was. Please, have a seat. Do you know someone, already trained, wanting to move here?"

"My brother's fiancé is looking for a smaller department in this area. Tanisha is a corporal with the Pennsylvania State Police, but she's stationed so far away that she can only see Greg every month or so."

"Greg lives in Stillwater?"

"Yes, sir. He works at the lumber yard."

"Have Tanisha…what's her last name?"

"Washington."

"Have Corporal Washington email me her resume." Tony jotted his email address on a scrap of paper he found on the desktop. "If she has any questions, have her call me. I don't suppose you know anyone who'd like to work here as a general clerk slash secretary, would you?"

"I might. What are your preferences? Female?"

"Competent and hardworking. Trustworthy. Gender isn't important."

A genuine smile began to cross LaFont's face, giving Tony a good indication of what life was like for the female officer. He was determined to change that, not only by scheduling LaFont back on active patrol duty, but letting everyone know it wasn't a question of gender in any job function. It would always be competency in the job.

Tony began reaching out to friends on the various police departments he had either worked on or with during his eighteen years in law enforcement. He was hoping to find at least one more potential deputy. And, depending how things went with his existing crew, he might have to replace one or more of them. Although Tony was hoping it wouldn't come to that, he wanted contingency plans in place.

It was late afternoon before he completed a new schedule, read through the papers he had found everywhere, and checked his email to find Washington's resume in his in-box. He liked what he saw, but needed to speak with her in person as well as talking to her immediate supervisor before making a decision to hire her. He still needed to do some ride-alongs and speak one-on-one with his people to get a feel for their strengths and weaknesses.

Tony searched for their personnel files. Unable to find them in any of the office file cabinets, he headed out into the main area to speak with Effie Mae. If she ran true to form, she would know everything there was to know about the department and the community.

~NCIS~

Three weeks later, Tony let himself into his dark house, stopping just as he closed the door. He put his hand on the butt of his gun, but a moment later he let it go. "Good way to get yourself shot."

"By you?" came the question from the darkness.

"By a concerned neighbor or one of my people." Tony took his gun off, locking it in his gun safe. "Coffee ready?"

"Yep."

"Hungry? I have some leftovers I was planning to heat up. There's enough for two."

"I could eat."

"Set the table. I'll be there as soon as I change." Tony paused. "Good to see you, boss."

"Not your boss any longer, Tony," Gibbs observed.

"Jethro, you've been my boss for a lot of years. It's gonna take me time to get out of the habit of calling you that."

By the time Tony made it back to the kitchen, Gibbs had not only set the table, but put the lasagna in the oven to reheat along with a couple of slices of garlic bread. "Salad? I think you have enough fixings in the fridge to put one together for the two of us."

"Probably should. Whenever I don't eat some greens, I can almost hear Ducky lecturing me."

Gibbs laughed. "I know the feeling."

Soon enough the two men were seated at the small dining room table. Food was their primary focus, their conversation casual and far away from either NCIS, Tony's new job, or what Gibbs had been up to since disappearing from the bullpen.

Scraping the plate of the last bit of the homemade lasagna from his plate, Gibbs finally sat back with a contented sigh. "So, you took Ed's place."

"I'm sure you already knew that. Go on, ask away. I'll put some more coffee on for later."

"You look younger, more relaxed than you have in years. Seems like this job suits you," Gibbs said, almost sadly. "You're not coming back either, are you?"

"No, I'm not, Jethro. This has been good for me. Not as exciting as NCIS, although it is busier here than I would ever have expected. I-80 has become a pretty important drug highway, so we've been helping the state cops discourage that traffic through random stops. The mine closure has put a lot of people out of work, so domestics were on the rise, but it looks like we may be expanding the lumber business here, so quite a few people are taking advantage of free classes to change their job focus."

"You've been pretty busy. How are your deputies? Reliable?" Jethro started clearing the table of dirty dishes.

"I would say so. They are pretty good people. Still have an eye on Bubba Wright. He was pretty close buddies with Ed, so I'm not too sure where his loyalties are, but no real problems as yet."

"Dad said you met Mrs. Pringle."

Tony heard the unspoken question. "Yes, she's been telling stories about you, but she's not the only one. Remember Effie Mae Venable?"

Gibbs thought for a moment, then shook his head.

"Jilly's grandmother?"

"She's still alive?"

Tony snorted. "Alive and kicking. She's our part-time receptionist. Comes in once her soaps are over to answer the phone, lecture any kids we might have to bring in."

"Damn," Gibbs said softly. "I'll need to avoid her if I come visit you at the office. Jilly and I dated a couple of times. Mrs. Venable did not approve."

"So I heard once she realized I was that young man who worked for that shady Leroy Gibbs."

The two men worked quietly side-by-side washing and drying the dishes as Tony didn't have a dishwasher in his small home. Once they were done, they moved to the combination music and sitting room where Tony's couch and two comfortable chairs waited.

"So, Jethro, are you done with your super secret mission?"

"Yeah, finally. You heard about the bombing that killed Jarvis."

"I did. I didn't like the slimy bastard, but I'm sorry that so many other people were hurt. I saw that Morrow was injured as well. Is he okay?"

Gibbs nodded. "He will be. It was touch and go for a while."

Tony put some Sinatra on for background music as they both relaxed. "I assume NCIS has hired you back on?"

"I've received the offer."

Tony turned to look at his former boss. "What does that mean?"

"You know I only have a year before I'm out on my ass."

"Sure. Or at least, I know it was coming up soon."

"Don't give me that bull. I know you snooped into my files shortly after we started working together, back when you were still with Baltimore PD. Don't deny it. No matter how many times you jabbed at me for my age when Kate was working with us, you already knew to the day, month and year when I was born. As well as about my girls and what happened to them. Just like you knew I was from Stillwater when the Ethan Lacombe case came up."

Tony shrugged. "I figured if you wanted anyone else to know, you'd tell them. I only did a quick look while with Baltimore. I didn't snoop deeper until you offered me the job. I needed to know who I would be working with."

"I can definitely understand that, Tony."

"So what will you do once you are forced out?"

Gibbs smiled. "That's to be determined. I might consider moving back home. Dad's not getting any younger and I worry about him being alone."

"Back to Stillwater?"

"If I wouldn't cause you any trouble."

The effervescent grin on Tony's face quickly answered that concern. "Trouble? Hell, no. I'd love it, Jethro!"

"I actually have a cabin up near Harvey's Lake. I'd probably move in there. It would be close enough to keep up with Dad without cramping his style."

"That's…I love that idea!"

Gibbs decided to change the emotionally charged subject. "So, tell me about your deputies."