This story is a continuation of season 8 episode 15: Defiance. / I'm not a doctor, so some of the medical stuff might be wrong. I tried to make it realistic, but sometimes I fail. / I don't know if I'm going to take this any further, but if someone wants me to I would be happy to. I'm going to leave it "not completed" until I know if you guys are interested. / This is my first fanfic ever, so please review! / Sadly, I do not own NCIS. I ask Santa every year, but no luck so far. / Enjoy!
- BLOOD DRIVE -
Tony strutted into the bullpen to see Ziva talking on his phone.
"Oh! Okay, I will tell him."
"Get off my phone!" Tony joked. "Tell me what?
Ziva turned and smiled at him. "Abby is on her way up with the Red Cross nurse."
This sent Tony into a nervous frenzy. "Boss, I forgot, I have this dentist appointment…" He remembered back to the conversation he had earlier with Abby.
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"Not funny."
Tony looked up from his computer to see Abby standing over him.
"Are you here to scold me?" he asked nervously.
"Yes, and not about that," she responded, glancing at the distorted picture on the wall. Tony quickly took it down and bustled around the office in a weak attempt to distract Abby.
"Tony, you skipped the blood drive again," she continued. "You're the only one on Team Gibbs that hasn't donated!"
Tony quickly busied himself collecting his things. "Well, I was up all night guarding the Belgravian brat and I only got a couple hours of sleep, now I gotta go and I gotta relieve Ziva… I'm a busy guy, Abbs! I'll do it tomorrow, I promise. Tomorrow morning." Abby continued to glare.
"What?"
"I don't understand. You donated your sperm when you were in college…"
"Yes, it's a much more pleasurable delivery system."
"Tony, what is wrong?"
"Nothing!"
"Tony…"
Fine, Tony thought, sighing. "Ever since I was in the hospital," he started. Lowering his voice a bit, he made sure no one was listening and then continued, "I've been terrified of needles." Abby looked at him with a combination of sympathy and bewilderment in her eyes. Tony? Afraid?
"I gotta go," Tony said, rushing off.
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"…And I have to validate my new parking ID," he continued, when an unfamiliar pair of boots stopped in his field of vision. He looked up slowly to see a pretty girl with long brown hair and a friendly smile.
"Tony, I want you to meet Samantha," Abby began.
"Hi, Tony." Samantha's voice had a comforting feel to it.
"Samantha's specialty is working with people like you, who suffer from trypanophobia."
"The fear of needles," the nurse explained. "If you want to give blood, I could try to help you."
"Yeah, okay…" Tony was still a bit dazed from the minor panic attack he had just suffered when he realized there was no escape. "Try away." Abby pushed him towards Samantha and the two of them started towards the elevator.
"It's not so much a fear, actually," Tony explained to the nurse. "I had an incident a few years ago where I had bubonic uh… pneumonic plague, really. I was in the hospital for a while and… well… I had an IV and they took blood, and, um…"
Samantha put a hand on his shoulder as they entered the elevator. "It sounds like you had a traumatic experience with needles. That's one of the many reasons people develop a phobia like yours."
The elevator dinged as they reached their stop. Samantha led Tony down the hallway to a small conference room where the blood drive was set up. There were a few chairs and a table in the middle neatly supporting some medical supplies. Tony swallowed and tried not to think too much about it.
"First of all, it helps most patients to take an anti-anxiety medication before we begin the procedure. Hopefully this will make you less worried." Samantha offered him a pill and a paper cup of water. Tony took the pill and gave Samantha a nervous smile.
"Sit down," she offered, pulling up a chair. She leaned against the table next to him as she talked.
"Tony, let's talk about your experiences in the past. Tell me what happened at the hospital."
Tony sighed. "Well, I had pneumonia and my lungs were damaged, so they were doing a lot of tests…" He rubbed his forearms, which felt sore just thinking of the constant needle pricks.
Samantha nodded sympathetically as she gathered some various supplies and opened an antiseptic pad. Tony shivered a bit as he smelled the familiar scent of rubbing alcohol.
"Smell is one of the strongest memory links," she explained. "Does the antiseptic remind you of the hospital?"
Tony nodded.
"How are you feeling?" Tony blushed as he realized that a little alcohol pad was making him nervous enough that Samantha could see.
"I'm fine," Tony lied. He wasn't fine. The smell brought him back to the isolation room, where he had been poked and prodded for days.
"Do you mind if I clean your arm?" Samantha asked gently.
"Go ahead," he said, forcing a smile. Her breasts brushed up a bit against his shoulder as her gloved hands rubbed the antiseptic into his skin. Tony wondered if it was intentional.
"Tony, are you ready to start?" He was surprised to look up and see that Samantha was still wearing her lavender sweater. Perhaps he had only imagined her taking it off to reveal skimpy black lace… She held a needle in her hand.
"Um, n-no, wait just a minute," he stuttered.
"It's okay, Tony," she smiled. "There's no rush. It's just that sometimes it's better to get it over with. You want to donate blood, right?"
Tony nodded and took a deep breath. DiNozzos aren't afraid, he thought.
"I'm just going to tie this around your arm." She held a red band, which she gently knotted around his bicep. He watched as his veins slowly became more visible.
"Here," she said, placing something in his hand. "Squeeze this." Tony looked down at the stress ball, which was heart-shaped. How cute, he thought. The Red Cross gives out squeezy heart things.
"Are you ready?" she asked again.
"Wait! D-don't I have to fill out a form or something first?" Tony scrambled to buy himself some time. Samantha laughed.
"Nice try, Abby filled it out for you. You're A positive, right?" she asked, gesturing toward an empty blood bag on the table labeled 'A+'. "It's okay. You can just tell me that you're not ready yet and we can wait."
"No, um, I think I'm ready." DiNozzos aren't afraid.
"You're very brave, Tony." Samantha smiled and began to feel for a vein with her index finger.
Tony's heart pounded in his chest.
"Take a deep breath… Ready?"
"Yes," Tony squeaked. He could tell that Samantha was suppressing a giggle.
Samantha was very gentle with the needle. Well, as gentle as possible when you're stabbing someone, he thought. Tony tried not to watch the blood that moved through the tube and filled the blood bag.
"Just keep breathing," Samantha coaxed. "How are you doing?"
"I'm okay."
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The next thing he knew, Samantha was pulling out the needle and putting a band-aid on his arm.
"Is… is it over?" Tony asked.
"Yep, you did great," Samantha responded. "Were you with me the whole time?" Tony blushed at the thought of passing out.
"Yes, of course I was, I was just, um, relaxing like… like you told me to."
Samantha smiled. "Here, drink this," she said, handing him a juice box. "It's normal to feel tired after giving blood."
"A juice box?" Tony asked. "No, I'm okay." He stood up, but Samantha pushed him back down.
"Stay sitting down for a little while so you don't get dizzy. We wouldn't want you to pass out, would we?" she teased. "And finish your juice. Then you can go."
Tony reluctantly sipped the apple juice and stood up. Samantha tossed him another juice box.
"Here, take one for the road." She walked over and placed a sticker on his shirt. It said 'I donated' and it featured a blood drop with a smiling face. "You were very brave today."
"Thanks for helping me… Abby would have sucked my blood herself if I didn't donate."
"Maybe I'll see you at the blood drive next year," Samantha said with a smile.
Tony smiled as he walked towards the elevator. Maybe. He stepped inside and pressed the button.