Tony held the warm cup of tea, in his hands. The still near boiling liquid was the only thing keeping his trembling body warm. After a long day of digging through a dumpster in near freezing temperatures he had gotten caught in a freezing rain storm coming into his building. His hopes for a hot shower had been dashed when he saw notice pinned to every door, informing the residents that the hot water was out and wouldn't be repaired until morning. He had considered just skipping a shower and then he smelled himself. His shower was short and he had put on his warmest pajamas and even his bathrobe but it just wasn't cutting it. His body refused to warm itself even with the heat on. He had been freezing in head quarters even though Vance was fighting a cold and had the building set for Antarctica type weather. His car heater was pretty strong too and even that didn't warm him. On top of all that he had a tightness in his chest and felt just plain awful. He prayed that he was not coming down with anything. That was the last thing he needed. Getting sick was a pain in the ass before the plague but now it was a walk through hell. It took him weeks to get over what had once taken him days. His teammates wouldn't make it any easier. Ever since recovering from being shot, Gibbs had pretty much hated him and everybody was on Gibbs's side. McGee saw him as a jackass and felt that he should be the Senior Field Agent and ever since her divorce. Bishop had been reverted back to the fourth grade mentality of hating everything with a penis. Especially him. For whatever reason Tony was the enemy. Needless to say he was beyond miserable. His neighbor Ellen was a God send. She had invited him over for tea and cookies. With her boys away for the night and her daughter with grandma. She was desperate for a little company.
"Are you feeling any warmer?" Ellen asked.
"Not really" Tony replied, trying to hold in a cough.
"Do you want me to boil water for you? I will need to male it warm for Stella's bath." Ellen offered.
"No worry about Stella, I am fine." Tony replied.
"It's no trouble at all." Ellen replied.
"Thanks for the offer but it's fine really." Tony replied
"Are you alright, Tony? You seem upset. Did something happen?" Ellen asked.
"Bad day at work." Tony replied.
"Can you talk about it?" Ellen asked.
"Yeah we were looking for evidence in dumpsters around Quantico all day and you know how cold it was. I tried to get McGee and Bishop to help me but they were acting like I need to do everything if I want to be Senior Field Agent." Tony explained.
"Did you tell Gibbs?" Ellen asked.
"Yeah and he said that I need a thicker skin." Tony replied.
"Tony you need to take to HR about this." Ellen commented.
"What's the point? Everybody takes Gibbs's side all the time? I am just a jackass with a few too many sexual harassment complaints against me." Tony explained.
"Well is their anybody you can confide in?" Ellen asked.
"No even Jimmy agrees with Gibbs this time. I am public enemy number one." Tony remarked.
"That's not true. Just because your co-workers are being idiots and your boss is in clear need of therapy. Does not mean that the entire world hates you." Ellen explained.
"Right not everybody just the people I spend most of my life with any my father." Tony retorted.
"Oh Tony" Ellen sighed.
"I ju...ju ahhheheheheuhhe" Tony coughed.
"Tony are you alright?" Ellen asked.
"I'm fine" Tony wheezed.
"Are you sure? Because you sound terrible." Ellen remarked, reaching for Tony's forehead.
"I'm fine!" Tony repeated.
"Tony you are burning up." Ellen remarked.
"It's nothing" Tony replied.
"Tony I have four children and a husband who is more like a fifth child. I know when people are sick. I am going to get my thermometer." Ellen insisted.
Tony waited until Ellen was out of the room before balling up on the couch, resting his head on his arms. His head was throbbing and this room was too God dammed bright. His stomach felt like it was filled with rocks and he felt like he was standing on a boat in the middle of a category five hurricane. Actually that's about how his entire body felt. Ellen was only gone about three minutes but Tony was already falling asleep when she returned.
"Tony open your mouth." Ellen instructed.
"No" Tony argued.
"OK but neither you nor Mack would appreciate me doing it the other way." Ellen joked.
"Fine" Tony sighed opening his mouth.
"Oh My God! One hundred and four point five!" Ellen gasped.
"Must be wrong." Tony remarked, weakly.
"Men" Ellen retorted, rolling her eyes.
Before Tony had a chance to react or fight back, his stomach let out a violent groan. He knew what was going to happen before he got the taste of the leftover Chinese food he had eaten for lunch in his mouth. He bolted upright but he was too dizzy. He collapsed against the couch, his head hitting the soft back so hard that it felt as if he had hit a brick wall. He tried to sit up but he was too weak and that's how he ended up projectile vomiting all over Ellen and her brand new couch.
"Oh Tony" Ellen said sympathetically.
"I'm sorry" Tony apologized.
"It's no big deal." Ellen assured.
"But your new couch." Tony replied.
"Like I said I have four kids, one of whom is an infant, and I had hypermesis gravidarum with the last two. On top of that my husband gets motion sickness in the minivan but worships Roller Coasters. I am used to vomit. Actually I'm surprised that this couch has gone this long without getting puked on." Ellen explained.
"Everything hurts." Tony sniffed.
"Come on Tony, I am going to take you home." Ellen replied.
"I don't want to trouble you." Tony replied.
"Tony it's just fine. Mack is with Charlie and Brandon at the boy scout camp-out and Danny is at my dad's house for a special backyard camp-out because he is two weeks below the age cutoff for this camp-out." Ellen explained.
"What about Stella?" Tony asked.
"She is going to be with my mom at the Grandma/Granddaughter book club meeting for another hour at least." Ellen explained.
"You need to enjoy your alone time." Tony argued.
"I haven't been able to enjoy alone time for more than fifteen minutes in ten years." Ellen explained.
"Ellen I hate to ask this but..." Tony started.
"You need me to help you to the bathroom?" Ellen guessed.
"Sorry" Tony apologized.
"Four kids, Tony. Stop apologizing." Ellen reminded.
"You're too good to be true." Tony murmured weakly.
Tony was amazed by Ellen's patience. She ran with him as dead weight into the bathroom and stood by his side while he turned her bathroom into a third world country. By the time it was finally over his throat was raw and that wasn't even the only part that was raw. He tried to stand and ended up taking a header into the tile floor, landing in the puke pile he created before Ellen could get a bucket to him. That's when the coughing started. Violent coughs that rivaled his battle with the plague. He tried to catch his breath but the more he tried, the more he coughed. The coughing made his headache and stomachache worse. It was unbearable and that's when he started to cry.
"Ow" Tony sniffed.
"That's it, you are too sick to be on your own. You can sleep in me and Mack's bed. Stella and I will make do in the boy's room." Ellen insisted.
"I can't put you out. Besides Stella is too small for a bed." Tony argued.
"Stella can sleep in the pack and play, and I will curl up on the bunk-bed." Ellen explained.
"I don't deserve this." Tony sniffed.
Ellen got Tony cleaned up and brought him a pair of fresh pajamas from his apartment. She carried him into her and Mack's room and tucked him into bed. It was a king sized Serta memory foam. AKA pure luxury. Times like this Tony seriously regretted having that old twin. Ellen propped him up on the pillows and put a cool rag over his forehead. He was so jealous of Stella and the boys. Ellen was the mother he had always wanted and Mack was the father he had dreamed of. Another coughing fit took over his body and Ellen had to hold him up. He got sick again and Ellen dived under him with the bucket.
"Try to get some sleep." Ellen whispered.
"I'll try" Tony murmured.
"Let me know if you need to go to the ER." Ellen replied.
"I'll be fine by morning." Tony insisted.
Little did Tony know that he would not be fine by the next morning. Sure he would be feeling a little better. Well enough to walk down the hall to his own apartment and try to go to work but still pretty terrible. His rally would still be pure misery and it would be extremely short lived. He would be severely ill again very soon. This illness would not be something he could come back from. That night he spent lying in misery in Ellen's apartment was the beginning of the end. His co-workers would suddenly start to care again but it would not be worth it. He would end up teaching Ellen's boys the children he loved more than he could explain, a lesson that would break all of their hearts. Of course none of that was on his mind that night. All he was thinking about on that Tuesday night was how lucky he was to have Ellen in his life. Because times like this he really needed a family and his "family" had all but written it off. Not giving the future two seconds of thought, he closed his eyes and drifted off into a fitful and miserable sleep.
A/N: What do you think so far? As you have been warned this is a deathfic so either stop reading here or be warned. New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.