NCIS Special Agent Anthony Dinozzo Junior had the plague. Who the hell got the plague these days? His father never came around. As he struggled for every breath, the one person who stood by him was none other than Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

Agent Gibbs did something during those near fatal hours that he had never done before. Leroy Jethro Gibbs sang to him. He wasn't lucid during those near fatal moment, but it all came rushing back. "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger..." kept him alive. He was not quite out of the woods yet; he was released into Gibbs' care. "Boss, why does my father hate me? Why isn't he there for me," the sickly Senior Field Agent said to his boss.

"Tony, he doesn't know what he's missing out on. After Kelly died, I realized that there's a distinct difference between fathers and dads. Fathers care about just providing the bare necessities for their children, and dads care about that and so much more. Dads love their children for better or worse. You are my son in everything but blood because I love you no matter how annoyingly stupid you can be. I love you no matter how many contaminated envelopes you open. I love you unconditionally just like your dad should but doesn't. What doesn't kill you makes you stronger."

The sickly young agent started crying rivers of tears. "I was just about to give up because when you're near death and practically comatose, you don't tend to think straight. I was thinking that I'd have nothing left if I chose to live. Even after Shannon and Kelly told me to hang on because as Shannon put it, 'Jethro lost one kid. Don't make him lose another,' I was gonna let go. Then, you sang that snippet from Kelly Clarkson's song, and I started thinking that I would miss you too damn much. You," he was cut off by a warm embrace that made him cry harder.

"Are my little man," the older man finished rubbing soothing circles into his son's back.