Love the story. Especially when tony said, "... this is a trail ride... right now, inhale, smell, listen, feel the sunshine ..." Tony is smart and he has wisdom.

I really liked this story, with all the different characters and the deep thinking for all the team members. And I really like that both in this story and in Sideways and Forwards, Gibbs is still missing his thoughts because of the bomb. It gives opportunity for lots of different stories. And many have made stories about the following months after that particular incident.

If you had not mentioned this story in your reaction to my question about writing I probably wouldnt have read this. So thank you! Read the last few chapters when I couldnt sleep sunday night. Was a good way to make me sleepy enough.
Bye

Oh I loved this, so glad Gibbs came to his senses!

I love Doris, theres nothing like rideing a horse to take you away from it all. I miss rideing. This story was really good keep it up.

I agree, it does seem a little rushed, but then again, it also came to a perfectly logical conclusion - once you hit the climax of a story, any story, it can be rather difficult to wrap the denouement without dragging it out or making it feel rushed. Only experience can bridge that chasm between a wrap-segment that's too long and one that's too short.

All-in-all, well done - and I'm willing to overlook most of the Britisms (one of my other fandoms is Harry Potter, and well, I get *spanked* for my Americanisms so I suppose it's not really that big of a deal). But I stand firm about treacle - it simply isn't something you can find in the US. You have a better chance of finding Pocky sticks or Turkish Delight or honey straws than treacle (trust me - I've traveled the continental 48 extensively, by car).

And now my brain's going to naughty places... I don't know whether to hit you or thank you!

Purr. Fantastic thing about South by Southwest was seeing Tony and Gibbs both on horseback.

Hmm... Here's hoping Gibbs is, well... *Gibbs* soon.

Yay! McGeek's coming around and finally realizing things ain't all that fantastic.

Ya know what? I just remembered that Tony's mom was presumably a Brit, so it's entirely possible he makes his own treacle. And I'm right there with you on hating how abruptly Gibbs came back and shoveled Tony aside like all his efforts meant absolutely nothing.

Fantastic start - just a few Britisms that you might consider correcting: Generally speaking, the US doesn't have dandelion/burdock soda - you might want to try root beer, cream soda, or even Pepsi or Coke. The part of a convertible that can be raised or lowered depending on weather is simply referred to as the 'top' (so he'd put the top up for winter, and the top down for sunny summer days). The only region wherein treacle is found in the States is the eastern seaboard, and even then, it's really rare (as in 'my great-grandma used to make this for my grandma' rare). Common horse-treats here would be the old standbys of apples, carrots, sugar cubes, or even peppermints (the hard lozenge-style candies that look like a cross-section of a candy cane). Less commonly, you could go with graham crackers, or even peanut butter (my neighbor had a horse that would follow you around like a puppy if you happened to have peanut butter on graham crackers).

Great chapter!

Good!

Ah, sweet ending!

Everything feels 'back to normal' again; you've seamlessly woven Tony's secret weekend jaunts into the overall narrative of this particular part of the series. Congratulations on that. I can absolutely imagine that some sort of re-adjustment phase went on when Gibbs returned (it *had* to have gone on, right?) and it looks like 'Weekends With Doris'.

(Now if only the Show had been this in-depth with its exploration of the complex nature of Gibbs' relationship with his SFA and with his team...)

Deepest apologies for taking such a long time to return to this to see it through to the end.

Wonderful heart-to-heart between Gibbs and Tony. I really buy the explanation for Gibbs' behaviour towards poor Tony, and it's nice to see the resentment and misunderstandings and everything sliding away.

Now, Tony's health had better not have just taken a turn for the worse... On to Chapter 8!