Title: Five Kinds of Tired
Author:
kaylashay81
Rating: FR13
Disclaimer: I'm not Bellesario or CBS, so I don't claim to own them.
Word Count: 5 x 100
Challenge:
ncisdrabble100; Challenge #89 - Tired
SPOILERS: 05x18 Judgement Day
Crossposted:
ncisdrabble100;
ncisfanfic;
tonydinozzo
Summary: Tiredness can come from many sources...
He learned early in life to keep watch, but stay silent. If he allowed himself to fall asleep on nights that his father had one too many drinks in the study, he would regret it in the morning when he saw his mother’s bruised face. He learned to stay awake and watch his father. The slightest move the man made towards his mother would be interrupted by his “no good son”. His bruises were never as obvious as hers, but he could remember each and every one of them. His job as protector was tiring, but better him than her.
Once he was away from his father and the life he hated, he found a whole new reason to stay up at night. There were parties and college girls, many college girls. He felt the strain the next day as he struggled to make it to class or pushed himself on the field in practice. Apparently old habits died hard and his early life made him a night owl. He settled into a routine that involved little sleep, plenty of tiredness and loads of fun. College was the best days of his life until that football injury destroyed it all.
He became a cop. It wasn’t something he ever thought of before the injury, but after he chance for a pro career went to hell he had to find something to do. It was the excitement factor that called him to it. He never gave thought to all the other things it would entail. He saw things that disgusted him. He had partners that hated him on principle just because he came from money. Most of all, it was tiring. Thoughts of the people he couldn’t help, the ones that got away, the shit he saw; it was so tiring.
He thought he knew what working until you dropped was from all the cities he bounced to over the years, but he found himself in a whole new league with Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The man didn’t stop when he was on the job and he expected those around to keep up or get out of his way. He silently thanked his father in some macabre way for preparing him for sleepless nights at the hands of a bastard from an early age. He survived his father and Gibbs was a pushover compared to that. Strangely, he started to like it.
Seven years and he was finally beginning to feel burned out. Seven years of pushing himself to meet standards higher than anyone should expect him to reach. Things were out of hand and he was screwing up left and right. At first he thought it was a coincident, but the death of Jenny on the back of the fiasco with Jeanne was the sign he needed. He was tired and making stupid, rookie mistakes. He knew he should just quit instead of going to the Reagan. But tired as he was, he didn’t want Gibbs’ disappointment. He couldn’t quit NCIS.
Author:
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
Rating: FR13
Disclaimer: I'm not Bellesario or CBS, so I don't claim to own them.
Word Count: 5 x 100
Challenge:
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
SPOILERS: 05x18 Judgement Day
Crossposted:
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
Summary: Tiredness can come from many sources...
He learned early in life to keep watch, but stay silent. If he allowed himself to fall asleep on nights that his father had one too many drinks in the study, he would regret it in the morning when he saw his mother’s bruised face. He learned to stay awake and watch his father. The slightest move the man made towards his mother would be interrupted by his “no good son”. His bruises were never as obvious as hers, but he could remember each and every one of them. His job as protector was tiring, but better him than her.
Once he was away from his father and the life he hated, he found a whole new reason to stay up at night. There were parties and college girls, many college girls. He felt the strain the next day as he struggled to make it to class or pushed himself on the field in practice. Apparently old habits died hard and his early life made him a night owl. He settled into a routine that involved little sleep, plenty of tiredness and loads of fun. College was the best days of his life until that football injury destroyed it all.
He became a cop. It wasn’t something he ever thought of before the injury, but after he chance for a pro career went to hell he had to find something to do. It was the excitement factor that called him to it. He never gave thought to all the other things it would entail. He saw things that disgusted him. He had partners that hated him on principle just because he came from money. Most of all, it was tiring. Thoughts of the people he couldn’t help, the ones that got away, the shit he saw; it was so tiring.
He thought he knew what working until you dropped was from all the cities he bounced to over the years, but he found himself in a whole new league with Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The man didn’t stop when he was on the job and he expected those around to keep up or get out of his way. He silently thanked his father in some macabre way for preparing him for sleepless nights at the hands of a bastard from an early age. He survived his father and Gibbs was a pushover compared to that. Strangely, he started to like it.
Seven years and he was finally beginning to feel burned out. Seven years of pushing himself to meet standards higher than anyone should expect him to reach. Things were out of hand and he was screwing up left and right. At first he thought it was a coincident, but the death of Jenny on the back of the fiasco with Jeanne was the sign he needed. He was tired and making stupid, rookie mistakes. He knew he should just quit instead of going to the Reagan. But tired as he was, he didn’t want Gibbs’ disappointment. He couldn’t quit NCIS.
And YOU + Tony + Donut = Awesome and Perfect Icon for YOU!! :-)
Thats right, you've written kid!tony before! *sigh* I loved your story with his teacher
I'm still toying with writing a Sentinel crossover that will start out with kid!Tony in Hawaii. :-)
please
...And the rest, well, again...so very Tony. His loyalty to Gibbs being too important, he can't quit NCIS...he's just going to wait it out until Gibbs fixes things, because no doubt Tony believes he can.
Nice
I always enjoy these up close looks at what motivates a character. How they became who they are.
And I really liked this practical explanation for the mistakes Tony made over this past season. Being tired does that to you---affects your judgment and ability to think things through.
Re: Nice
You have a good point. Maybe the time on the Regan will be good for Tony - let him get some rest, renew his energy, and come back a better agent for having had the "break".
Hopefully he won't be ship bound for too long.
Agreed. Maybe a couple weeks. Just a short "vacation".
Glad you liked!
Again, sorry to be so persnickety.
Yay for lots of college girls!! Yum, college!Tony is just awesome. *is jealous for the many, many college girls that got to wear out Tony* Being tired from parties and girls (or boys in my case) is never a bad thing.
Good job going back to Tony's past and touching on his job as a cop. The endless hours, the cases that just keep piling up, everything about it...it would be very tiring. But someone has to do it, and Tony was a good man for the job.
Who would have ever guessed that Tony's bastard of a father would be good for something? And yes, I imagine that Gibbs was a walk in the park compared to his father.
Awww, and the last one just broke my heart. No Tony!! You can't quit!! But perhaps he was right, perhaps he needs a break, but wow - we need Tony, must have Tony!!