A/N: I'm overwhelmed by the positive response this story has been given by you all. i decided to make a universe out of it. Now, don't expect all kind of stories to suddenly pop up. But I promise this is not the only episode I'll write about with Spencer and Tony as cousins.
Now onward with the story.
Disclaimer: still not the owner of CM or NCIS, sorry guys, because otherwise there would have been crossover episodes ages ago
The group sitting at the round cafeteria table was an eclectic one. No one who came by understood what ground they had to sit together, with such a mixture of despondency and relief permeating their body language. Several people casted confused looks to the group who sat in silence, sipping their preferred beverages. But they had a few things in common: for one, they all were somehow employed by a federal agency, a nice divide between NCIS and FBI, and secondly, they all were fearful for the life of the same person.
Everyone was sitting at the table that morning, safe for Ducky who had opted to watch over Tony. To their relief, and reluctantly admitted surprise, Tony had made it through the night. Dr Pitt had taken another badge of blood for testing just before they left. He had said that he hoped that his body was making antibodies against the pestilence bacteria. But even if it were so, Tony would by no means be out of the woods. It was clear that he had caught a very heavy pneumonia.
Ducky had ordered everyone to go to the cafeteria and get some breakfast. He had Jethro's number, as he had sat with a stern expression that broke no argument. He had solemnly promised to call if Tony's status changed for better or worse. Since Tony had not reached any lucid consciousness that night, they knew they had time to take a small break. As they had left the area, Hotchner had added himself to the group and was quickly updated how his agent's cousin was faring.
Abby had trouble sitting still, in her fear and nervousness; she had splurged on CafPow all night. She couldn't bear the silence any longer. Bouncing on the caffeine dose in her body, she turned to Reid.
"Spencer, tell us a story about Tony," she ordered the FBI agent. "Oh, oh, I know! Let's all share stories about how we first met him. That would be fun, right? I mean everyone he has met was a fun one, I bet."
It was clear that Abby was close to breaking point, so they all agreed with a smile on their face.
"So who goes first?" Abby asked the table.
Kate decided to bite the bullet, and cleared her throat.
"I first met him with Gibbs when I was still working for the Secret Service," she smiled wistfully.
"You were with the Secret Service?" Morgan interrupted with raised eyebrows.
"Yes, Morgan," she spoke irritated. "I was on the President's security detail. There was the death of a Navy Officer on board while we were up in Air Force One. Trap was his name, and it was his first time one Air Force One. It was scary, because it looked like poisoning and he had just had dinner with the President."
Hotchner looked at the attractive female agent on the other side of the table. He had never heard about this scare.
"We landed in Wichita, Kansas," Kate once more saw the local sheriff holding off the FBI and Secret Service troops as they stood there in the plane.
"The local coroner refused to move the body or do anything really, until the ME had examined the body. He just neglected to tell Agent Fornell and his cronies that it wasn't his ME he was waiting for, but Ducky."
Gibbs snorted at this. "Damn straight. Tony had to book us commercial, since there were no priority flights he managed to get."
"Priority Flights?" JJ asked, looking at the NCIS agents.
"Military flights, Agent Jereau," McGee explained. "If they're going out, NCIS can always hitch a ride with them. Not the most comfortable though."
"Tony's always complaining that you guys don't have your own Gulfstream like we do," Reid spoke softly.
"So," Kate continued. "Finally, in walks the ME, followed by Gibbs here and Tony. You should have seen Fornell's face as he started to rant at the sheriff. And he just greeted Ducky and asked about the lobster he owed him."
McGee and Abby smiled at this, knowing that their favourite Scotsman had friends everywhere.
"I don't know how they did it, saying that FBI had jurisdiction and all, but Tony just closed the hatch door and they told the pilot they were ready for lift of."
Spencer smiled at this. "Yes, the wiles of Tony and Gibbs as a two-men team. I can imagine you caused your director enough headaches."
Gibbs smirked at this. "Tom is good when he's kept on his toes."
The group chuckled softly at this.
"So, I stood there as the protection detail who was detailed to stay with the body and the investigation. I thought I was smart, and snarked at Tony when he started sketching the scene, thinking that the photographs taken would be enough."
The entire table snorted at that, knowing how naïve that had been of her.
"So, he grabs a magazine of the side table. It had a woman in bikini on the front. Asks me if I could state her exact measurements of the photo."
"That is one way of getting the point across," Emily snorted.
"Hey, never said he was conventional. But you have to admit, his methods give results," Gibbs remarked.
"I worked the case with them, at the end I had to resign due to a personal indiscretion. After all was said and done, Gibbs here told me that if I tried that on his team he would fire me before I could resign," Kate concluded her story.
Abby smiled at the story. "I remember that case, it was with the snake poison, right?"
Gibbs and Kate nodded. McGee looked melancholic.
"First time I met you was in Norfolk," he spoke. "With the acid barrel."
Kate snorted. "You were hurling, McGee."
"Yeah, first crime scene and it was a body mutilated because it was stuffed in an acid barrel."
The FBI agents turned to the NCIS team, demanding elaboration. Kate took it upon her to explain. "Environmental terrorist. Whale fanatic. Killed a man and dipped him in acid to make it impossible for us to identify him. So he could sneak onboard and kill an entire crew."
"But you did, right?" Hotch asked them.
"Yeah, we managed to ID the victim as a submariner, and therefore could break the case," Kate reassured the SSA. "But the fun part was Tony's hazing."
"How so," Morgan asked.
"He baited McGee here, commenting how the crime scene needed to remain controlled by NCIS until Gibbs cleared it. McGee here stayed at the crime scene all night."
Morgan laughed at this. "It's clear the man has a PD background."
"What do you mean?" McGee wondered.
"Stuff like that?" Morgan waved vaguely with his hand. "Classic rookie hazing. And since Pretty Boy told me he had been in three different departments, you can be damn sure he has been hazed thoroughly. It's part seeing if they can handle pressure, part hardening the rookies so they stand their ground with the rougher parts of the job."
McGee reflected on that. It was true, he had been hurling because of the scene down in Norfolk, stuttering and being genuinely afraid of Gibbs. Now he only had a small stutter when he was nervously subjugated by one of Gibbs more voracious glares. He'd never realized that all the pranks and jokes and teasing of Tony was designed to toughen him up.
"Only now realizing it, huh?" Morgan lifted his eyebrow at both him and Kate, who also had a dawning understanding written all over her face.
"What about you, Agent Gibbs?" Emily decided to take the heat of the two agents who only now seemed to understand their teammate's behaviour. Even though she mentally slapped her forehead in exasperation with the two, with Tony as ill as he was she decided to give them a break.
"Yeah Gibbs, how did Tony started to work for you?" Kate spoke up. "When I asked him, he only said that he smiled at you."
"Well he did," Gibbs grunted. "But he also tackled me to the ground, shoved his gun in my face and called me a dirt bag."
Silence reigned over the table.
"He called you a dirt bag?" Kate exclaimed.
"Well, he was a homicide detective in Baltimore at the time and I was running away after he saw me with a suspect in a murder investigation. And I ran away," Gibbs elaborated in his own way.
Morgan was the first one to connect the dots. "Ah, let me guess. Undercover, you needed street creds. So you didn't inform Baltimore about the op and let them arrest you."
"Though, he was on me a block earlier than I expected," Gibbs grumbled. "After that case, he was ready to move on. So I took him to NCIS."
Reid looked at him with that, telling Gibbs that he knew the entire story. He was grateful that Gibbs decided not to hangout Tony's dirty laundry. It had been very hard for his cousin, coming to terms with the fact that his partner had been a dirty cop. Gibbs had given him a life line out of there, and he had taken it with both hands.
"What about you, Abby?" JJ asked the Goth scientist. "Did you meet him on the same case as Gibbs?"
"No, no," Abby shook her head wildly. "I met him just after he finished FLETC. Though, you know, he didn't need to do all the courses there. Cause, you know, he was an awesome detective before he became our very own Very Special Agent. But, I kinda hated him at the beginning."
"Abby?" McGee looked at here with wide eyes. She and Tony had always been close, as far as he knew.
"Yeah, you know it was only a few months after Stan had left. I wanted him back, but he had an ulcer after five years with Gibbs," Abby coloured red. "I thought that he was just a temporary thing, but he made pretty clear early on that he wanted to stay as long as possible. I did not like that one bit."
"You were horrible to him, Abs," Gibbs noted without judgment.
"I know, Gibbs!" Abby wailed.
"What changed?" Emily asked her.
"He saved our fearless leader from a certain death," Abby spoke proudly about her best friend.
Kate and McGee looked at her, pleading for further explanation.
"Okay, so there was another perp with a gun that they hadn't uncovered that had Gibbs in his lock form the side. Then the moment he wanted to fire: BAM! Tony sandbagged Gibbs to the ground, getting shot in the arm in the process. Didn't even blink and shot first the one than the other in the knees. Gibbs and he quickly cuffed them, only then Tony said that maybe he would need a bandage or two."
Abby looked at Spencer. "It was also the first time I met Spencer. Gibbs as well."
Spencer smiled at the Goth "It was two months later Gibbs and I convinced Tony to add him as next of kin and emergency contact, for if I was out of state for my job."
"What about you, Pretty Boy?" Morgan looked at his friend. "You have anymore stories about your cousin."
Spencer Reid smiled, thinking about all the ill-advised adventures they had been through on Tony's urging.
"Well, there was the one Las Vegas trip he had me convinced to take with him," he started hesitantly. "His car broke down about two hours outside of the city limits. We had no cell reception; there was some trouble with the outer tower or something like that. So he decided to do as they did in the movie, drink from the cacti. It resulted in both his hands filled with needles."
Everyone burst out in laughter hearing that story. Abby shook her hand, her clear laugh rising above the rest.
"When was this?" she managed to bring out.
"Just before he went undercover for the Macaluso op," Spencer told her.
Just as Morgan wanted to ask more about that, the group was shaken out of there little bubble of normality by Gibbs' phone.
"Gibbs," he answered in his normal way. "Yeah … We're on our way Duck."
He nodded to Spencer. "Blood works are back."
Spencer jumped up and together they led the group back to Tony. Waiting for them were Pitt and Ducky.
"And?" Gibbs demanded.
"WBC count shows that Tony's body is fighting the plague. The rest of the blood work suggests that he is winning." Ducky translated everything that Pitt told him before they had come up again.
"So, he's going to survive this?" Abby's face was tense and fearful.
"He's by no means out of the danger zone," Ducky explained. "Because of the Y-pestis his lungs are severely weakened and damaged. Our Anthony attracted a very severe pneumonia as a result of this. It is still very possible that the pneumonia will kill him Abby. But he has conquered the plague, meaning that the bacteria will no longer further weaken our boy's lungs."
"So the first battle is won?" Hotchner asked, seeing that Spencer was not capable to ask the questions to the doctors.
"Yes, my dear boy, the first battle is won," Ducky agreed with relief colouring the man's voice.