Okay, so it only took me five days to update this, which is pretty awesome since I'm lazy. And on a more random note, I think Charlie's complete insanity has finally completely rubbed off on me, because I found myself laying on a hardwood floor singing showtunes earlier today...thanks a lot, Charlie. And I'm actually still singing showtunes as I type this. For example, I am singing Gee, Officer Krupke right now. I know you probably don't care, but I'm just typing whatever comes to mind at this moment.

And I'm gonna give a shout out to...CriminalMindsLove1, Deans Addiction, and combat crazy for guessing my quote correctly. My quote was said by Sheldon Cooper from the amazing show The Big Bang Theory. You guys are awesome!

It's strange how a person can feel so alone but is never truly alone. Ethan trudged through the snow beside Tony and Gibbs. Tony had been very close to Xhail, and Gibbs seemed shaken by her death for some reason unknown to Ethan. But they didn't matter, nothing they were feeling could sum up to the way he felt. Gibbs was doing his best to comfort Tony and Ethan but they kept pushing him away.

Ethan decided he hated Tony. He should have been the one with his sister during the last moments of her life, not Tony. He spared a glance at Gibbs, who was growing weaker by the second, and Ethan doubted he'd live to see the end of the trip. Ethan honestly didn't care, he was done feeling sad when people died.

"What's that?" someone yelled.

Gibbs looked up to see a rather large cabin sitting on top of a hill. It looked empty and probably had no phones to call for help, but it was also a sign to say they were getting close to civilization. People broke away from the group and sprinted for it. They began banging on the door, calling for help and they eventually broke the door down. Tony stayed with Gibbs while he slowly limped towards the cabin.

The inside of the cabin was nicely decorated. Two king sized beds sat in one corner and a large couch and assorted Laz-E-Boys say sat in front of a large window. People had made their way into the kitchen and were cracking open cans of food they had found. Gibbs and Tony were handed two cans of tomato paste that they began eating with their fingers. It was the greatest thing they had ever tasted.

Blackness came over Tony's vision and when it cleared, he found himself lying on one of the beds with Corinne placing a wet washcloth on his forehead. He tried to sit up, but was stopped by Corinne's gentle hands.

"You are sick," Corinne told him. "You need to rest, you have whatever that little girl had."

"I forgot Daniel told me you were a nurse," Tony said.

"I'm pretty sure you're going to be okay, her body wasn't strong enough to fight it off."

"Where's Gibbs?" Tony asked, getting scared.

"He went out with Rod, Daniel, and a few others to get firewood," Corinne said, getting a strange look on her face.

"Have you-"

"Taken a look at his infection? Yes."

"And?"

"I'm surprised he can still walk," Corinne said. "But that will change soon. He doesn't have much time, and on top of that he has whatever you and Ethan have."

Tony turned his head to the side and saw Ethan lying fast asleep on the other bed. Seeing him lying there just confirmed his fear that Landon had given them something to make them sick. Then Tony felt angry. Angry at Gibbs for risking his life just to get some stupid firewood.

The door opened and Daniel, Rod, a few others, and finally Gibbs came in with a bundle of wood in his arms. Tony tried to sit up, but Corinne stopped him again. Gibbs sat the wood near the fireplace and began making his way towards Tony. Tony could see how stiff Gibbs was, he was trying to mask his pain. Gibbs sat down on the edge of the bed and stared into space for a minute. Then he said, "DiNozzo, I swear if you got the plague again, I'm going to skin you alive."

Tony was quiet for a moment, then he burst into fits of laughter. All his anger at Gibbs had been forgotten. Tony couldn't remember the last time he had laughed and actually meant it. Gibbs gave a half smile, and then he grimaced in pain. His hand shot to his side and he clamped his eyes shut.

"Boss?" Tony asked.

Gibbs didn't answer, he just kept his eyes shut tight. His breathing was rapid. Tony sat up and Corinne didn't stop him. He placed a hand on Gibbs's shoulder and felt how he shook.

"Agent Gibbs?" Corinne asked worriedly.

Gibbs gave a small nod to show he was listening.

"Is it one big pain or short jabs?"

"I don't know," Gibbs said through gritted teeth.

Gibbs sat like that for a couple of minutes. Tony was worried about him, he really wanted to hit the road because Corinne's warning had scared him. They needed to get Gibbs help, and fast. Gibbs took a shuddering breath, sat up straight, and opened his eyes.

"It's gone," Gibbs lied, standing up. "I think it's time for everyone to hit the hay, I'll take night watch."

Everyone agreed with that statement and found somewhere to crash. About six people were crammed on each bed. Most people gave up and settled for the floor. Tony took the couch and Gibbs sat in an arm chair.

Sleep came over Gibbs no matter how much he fought it. When he opened his eyes, a figure stood before him. For a moment he though it was Tony, but then light hit the person's face. Landon was covered in dried blood and Gibbs's knife was still stuck in his chest. He smiled insanely at Gibbs.

"Hello, Leroy," he said.

Gibbs didn't understand how Landon was still alive, but never the less, he was. He almost expected him to stop and tell him that it was all a joke, but he didn't. Instead, Landon wrapped his hands around Gibbs's neck and squeezed as head as he could. Gibbs tried to pry his hand off but his efforts were useless.

"There's a bomb in here, Leroy," Landon said. "Too bad you'll be dead before you can warn anybody."

"Help," Gibbs choked out so quietly that Landon couldn't even hear him.

Gibbs's eyes fell on Tony. He had no clue what was going on. Gibbs could only hope they got out before the bomb went off. Then his eyes focused on the knife in Landon's chest. With the last of his strength, Gibbs ripped the knife out and cut Landon's arm. Then he knew no more.

Tony woke before the sun had risen. He sat up and stretched. He saw Gibbs had fallen asleep sometime in the night. Then he saw the bloody knife lying on the ground. Quicker than The Flash, Tony was shaking Gibbs and trying to wake him up.

"Boss, wake up!" Tony screamed. "Come on, Gibbs!"

The commotion woke up many people. Tony frantically shook Gibbs, losing more hope every second that went by that Gibbs didn't wake up. Tony dropped to his knees and put his face in his hands. Then came the most beautiful thing he had ever heard.

"DiNozzo, get up before I smack you," Gibbs rasped.

Tony jumped up. "Boss! Are you alright? What happened?"

Gibbs shook the question off and stood up despite his body's protests. Blood rushed to his head and he had to hold onto Tony to keep himself from passing out. Tony caught sight of the bruise on Gibbs's neck, but stayed quiet. Gibbs remembered Landon being there, then he remembered the bomb.

"Everyone out!" he shouted. "There's a bomb in here!"

Everyone jumped to their feet and sprinted for the door. Tony tried to help Gibbs, but he was being stubborn and refused the help. Everyone made it out and stood a good hundred yard away and waited for the explosion. It was then that Tony and Gibbs noticed Ethan was missing from the group. Gibbs began to head for the cabin when he was stopped by Tony.

"I'll go," he said.

Tony ran into the cabin. He picked up Gibbs's knife and hastily shoved it into his belt loop with his knife. Then he realized Gibbs had stabbed Landon with his knife. Landon had been there. Tony found Ethan asleep on the bed. He quickly scooped him up and ran for the exit. As soon as he was out the door, the cabin blew up behind up. Tony was thrown forward due the blast. In mid air, he turned his back to the ground to protect Ethan.

"You okay?" Tony asked.

Ethan nodded shakily.

The group of people gathered around them and helped them up, and they were quickly on their way. Tony stopped when he saw blood in the snow. He called Gibbs over and the two followed it to find a body. A body with sandy hair and soulless, and now unseeing, blue eyes. Landon was finally dead. He had bled out from his wounds.

Ethan walked beside Tony, feeling guilty for hating him. Tony had risked his life saving someone who hated him. That was a true hero. Ethan decided he was okay, but he would, without hesitation, trade all these people for his sister back.

Tony shivered, disturbing thoughts would not stay out of his head. He pulled his coat closer to his body, willing them to go away.

"What's wrong, DiNozzo?" Gibbs grunted.

Tony debated on whether or not to tell Gibbs. Then he decided to.

"Boss, if I had let you go in, you'd be dead," Tony said.

"'If' being the key word," Gibbs replied.

"'If' almost happened."

"But it didn't," Gibbs said, smacking Tony on the back of the head.

Tony still couldn't shake the though that they had narrowly escaped Death. Death always plans to collect.

No, Landon was not immortal...Charlie didn't even know why he was still alive. I'm pretty sure its cuz the knife was keeping all the blood in, which prevented him from bleeding out. And that is why he survived until Gibbs pulled the knife out. And on an even more random note, I am now singing the Time Warp. And I'm also doing the dance in my head. And again, I don't give a crap if you don't care. I'm just typing what I feel like typing. And now for my quote: (which I want to thank CriminalMindsLove1 for giving me this quote)

"Without rules, we all might as well be up in a tree flinging our crap at each other."