AN: Dwayne does not belong to me! He belongs to my friend of the same name whose birthday is today!

He looked across the row of tiny flames, the orange-yellow teardrops of fire dancing upon the wicks of the multi-colored candles. Beads of wax were already beginning to run down the sides, dripping on to the frosting of the cake. He was glad that the number of candles on the cake didn't correspond to the number of years in his life. It wasn't only because he feared that having so many candles lit would set off the sprinklers, but also that he didn't want to be reminded that he was 31-years-old and still alone. He hadn't a wife or a girlfriend or even a friend with benefits (Abby had closed that gate long ago). The only thing he had to look forward to every night when he went home was a tiny apartment and a dog who probably wouldn't show so much affection if Tim didn't feed him.

"Blow out your candles!" Abby urged. "Make a wish!"

"You don't still believe in that birthday wish stuff, do you, Abbs?"

"Tony, look who you are talking to," Ziva said.

"Guys!" Abby scolded. "Shush and let McGee make his wish."

"Abby, I don't really have a wish," he lied.

"Not a single wish?"

"He's lying," Tony scoffed. "He's probably just too embarrassed to admit what it is."

"He is not supposed to tell us what it is anyway," Ziva pointed out, "so it makes no difference what his wish is."

Tim sighed, nodding his head. "Fine, I'll make a wish," he said, if only to satisfy them. He looked at the miniature bonfire of candles and closed his eyes. In his mind, he thought I wish I had someone to call my own. Then he opened his mouth, and blew.

"Good job!" Abby squealed, pulling Tim into a hug. The candles which had been alit seconds earlier now had naked, burnt wicks with wisps of smoke swirling above them. "That means you'll get your wish!"

"Ah, he just got lucky," Tony teased.

"Isn't it always about luck?"

"Not always, Ziva. Some of us have birthday candle blowing skills."

Ziva raised an eyebrow at Tony's comment. "You mean having a big mouth and being full of hot air?"

While Tony and Ziva bickered and Abby went about cutting pieces of cake for everyone, Tim sat watching the smoldering candles, silently praying that, for once, his birthday wish would come true.

"Jethro," Tim called out wearily as he entered his apartment, "if you want to go for a walk we're gonna have to do it now!"

Tim's mood had grown increasingly dour throughout the day, despite it being his birthday. With every "Happy birthday" he'd received from his co-workers, he'd become more anxious and more certain that they were all looking at him and pitying him for his solitude.

"Jethro?" he said uncertainly as he neared the German Shepherd. The dog was lying on his stomach, head resting between his paws. "You okay?"

"It's fine," a voice called from the doorway of Tim's bedroom. "I gave him a nice belly rub and he fell asleep."

Tim stumbled backward when he heard the foreign voice, drawing his gun and pointing it at the intruder. "Who are you?"

The man was a bit shorter than Tim with a muscular build, soft brown hair, and brown eyes. He was wearing a button-up blue and white striped shirt, blue jeans, and black dress shoes. He smiled, despite the fact that he was staring down the barrel of Tim's gun; it was a sweet smile and Tim almost lowered the gun.

"I'm Dwayne," the man said.

"What are you doing here?"

Dwayne laughed. "You wished me here."

Tim furrowed his brow. Was this guy insane? "What are you talking about? I never wished for you."

"You don't remember this afternoon when you blew out the candles on your birthday cake?" Dwayne asked. "Your wish was for 'someone to call your own.'"

Dumbstruck, Tim's gun dropped from its position, dangling in his hands. He hadn't spoken his wish aloud, so how could anyone – especially a complete stranger – know his wish? He almost wanted to pinch himself and make sure he wasn't dreaming. "How…how do you know my wish?"

"Because I was sent here to fulfill it. I couldn't do that if I didn't know what it was, now could I?" Dwayne asked, a bemused smile on his lips.

"But that doesn't make any sense! You couldn't have possibly known my wish!"

"I know you like to think about things logically, Timothy, but not everything works that way. Some things go beyond logic and science and just can't be explained."

"So…you just go wherever you're told to fulfill birthday wishes?"

"Well, yes, though, based on your wish, this is going to be a permanent job for me. At least, for this life."

Tim raised his eyebrows. "You've had more than one life?"

"Of course," Dwayne said. "I spend each life helping to fulfill the birthday wishes of those who live their lives as good people."

"Who sends you?"

Dwayne pointed up. "Our higher being."

"And you have no problem with this? You have no problem with spending each life making other people happy?"

"I volunteered for it. At the end of each life, I'm given the option of going to my eternal reward, or spending another hundred years helping others. Personally, I find this more fulfilling than anything I have ever experienced."

Tim inexplicably found himself believing Dwayne's explanation. After all, who could possibly make that up? He spends each life selflessly helping others, working for the big man upstairs. Still, some things just weren't making sense.

"But you're a man," Tim pointed out.

"You're just noticing that?"

"Why would I be sent a man for a soul mate? Ah, I mean no offense, but I'm not gay."

Dwayne cocked his head to the side, studying Tim. His eyes moved softly up and down his body, resting intently on his face. "I can't really answer that," he said finally. "But you're the one who made the wish. He matches up all based on what each person is looking for in a mate, so you must have some thing in your subconscious that caused Him to send me and not a person of the female persuasion."

Tim's cheeks grew red and he had to look away. Was it because he knew that his eyes would betray his thoughts? Was he afraid of Dwayne seeing that he had in fact been looking more and more at men, finding himself admiring the masculine physiques of other men in locker rooms at the gym? Was he afraid of remembering how he had sometimes felt when Tony was close behind him, feeling the older man's body near his? Was he afraid of facing his own subconscious, afraid of what he would find there?

"Have you ever thought that maybe the reason you've had so much trouble with relationships in the past was because you've been trying to hide a part of you by seeing people you knew just weren't the right ones?" Dwayne asked, his voice pulling Tim from his thinking.

"That's ridiculous," Tim mumbled without much conviction.

"Is it?"

Tim opted to avoid the question by switching to a new topic. "What if I decide you're not my type or that I want someone else? Are you simply stuck here?"

"Of course not! The moment my presence isn't actually fulfilling a wish, I'm transported back to await my next assignment. If you decide I'm not the one for you, I'll be gone."

"But how do you even know that you would like me? Or do you simply have no say in that?"

Now it was Dwayne's turn to look away shyly. "Well…I've kind of, sort of…you know…been watching you…"

"You spy on me?"

"It's not spying if you work for Him. We prefer to think of it as guarding."

"So that's what this is? You're attracted to me, so you came down here and tried to convince me I'm gay?" Tim was flattered at the thought of it, though he wouldn't admit that to Dwayne.

"No!" Dwayne insisted. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't volunteer for this, but even if I were the only person who wanted it, He would never send me down here unless He was certain it was the best match. I was sent here because you wished for me. The fact that I already was attracted to you was only an added bonus."

Dwayne gently took Tim's hands in his own. "I understand you may not be ready to face this. Believe me, I understand it all too well," he said softly. "If you don't want me here, only say the words and I will be gone."

Tim looked away. "I need time to think about this."

"You have to know what you want before you can make a wish."

"I…I thought I did know. I guess I have things I need to work through," he admitted.

Dwayne nodded and gave Tim a simple kiss on his cheek. "I'll be going then."

"Wait!" Tim heard himself call out. When Dwayne turned around, it took Tim a moment to actually say anything. "Ah…uh…well, it's just that…what if I decide that I do want this? Do I have to wait for an entire year until my next birthday?"

"Well, it's technically still your birthday until midnight, so you have six hours. In that time, you'll need to blow out candles on a cake and make the wish."

"And…and you'll come back?"

Dwayne smiled softly. "Yes, Tim. I'll come back. I promise." And then he was gone.

This was shaping up to be a far stranger birthday than any Tim had ever had. It wasn't only that an attractive young man had shown up to fulfill his birthday wish, but also the way it had forced him to examine his feelings. He couldn't sidestep the issue with only six hours to spare unless he wanted to wait an entire year to make the wish; even then, Dwayne may not have been the one sent to him.

Was it possible that he had fallen so quickly? Or was he simply happy to have someone who was interested in him?

Tim sighed, leaning back, catching sight of Jethro. The dog was looking at him, wondering why his owner looked so worrisome. "What do you think, boy?" Jethro didn't answer. "How about you bark once for yes and twice for no?" Again, the dog made no sound. It looked like it would be up to Tim.

"Okay, so let's go about this logically. On the pro side, I did wish for a companion, and Dwayne is definitely attractive...uh, you know, in a manly sort of way. On the con side, I barely know him and…well…he's a he. And…well, that's getting me nowhere."

I know you like to think about things logically, Timothy, but not everything works that way

Dwayne's words rang in his mind and Tim knew he would have to look at this differently. He was so used to applying logic to decisions, using his brain rather than his heart. This was a different kind of decision, though, and his answer couldn't be found in a text book or through a mathematic formula; he had to look inside of himself and trust his own instincts.

And he had his answer.

"Come on, boy," he said, riling Jethro up. "We've got to get some things done."

His first stop was the kitchen, which he already knew was poorly stocked. There was no birthday cake sitting inside his refrigerator, but Dwayne had only said it needed to be a cake. A look in the freezer found frozen pancakes from Lord only knew how long ago. He pulled them out, yanking them out of the cellophane, and popped a stack of four into the microwave. Hopefully that would be close enough to a cake to work.

He didn't have any birthday candles, but he did have a few candles stored away for power outages. They were thick and tall, but they were going to have to do. He shoved them into the spongey pancakes, even using maple syrup to try and spell out "Happy Birthday," and lit them.

The clock on his microwave read 11:57pm. Without a second thought, Tim turned to the candles, closed his eyes and whispered, "I wish for him." And he blew his candles out.