NCIS, Tony, Sad Fic,

For once the poor victim wasn’t left at Rock Creek, but at the wetlands of West Virginia. A young sailor, not even out of his teens yet, and dead already. Yet not in combat.
Waders on, the rangers had the body out of the muddy water, what was left of him after the animals had him. DNA would have to id him as his fingertips and nose were gone as were his eyes and gentiles. A water beetle had made a nest on his tongue that would need to be removed but gave them an idea of how long he had been under by how old the eggs were.

It took them two weeks to narrow things down to a drunken fight with a man who thought the kid was eyeing his girl. Poor kid never even knew what hit him. He had been a foster kid who had signed up as soon as he had aged out of the system, and now his country would be burying him for another man’s drunken stupidity.

It was cases like this that ate at Tony in the dark of the night and all but drove him to his favorite pub. There he took over the piano just to play while being around living humans. Most of them regulars, who gave him the room he needed while still being there when he needed them.
The tip glass is always going to pay a round for everyone before last call so the regulars always chipped in.
After one his “Night’s Out,” he would come in wearing his clothing armor and proclaim loudly about the latest girl who was with him. Usually, one of the regulars or waitresses who were there for him. This always added to his reputation as a Lady’s Man, but who was he to say otherwise when he only sought comfort.

As far as he was concerned it was better than passing out under the frame of a boat, he would end up burning in the yard to get his anger out by pyromania.

He was the Piano Man, who played after kid’s burials, God help him to keep from doing that rather than eating his gun.

He was the Piano Man, and today was the kid’s burial, and he going to play until closing tonight to get the kid’s face out of his mind tonight.

Fin
7/20/2026