"Tony! No!" Abby lunged at Tony and tried to knock the gun from his hand. The gunshot split the air and instead of tearing through Dante's chest into his heart it pierced a hole in the strong black leather of his wing.

Dante wrenched his teeth out of Tim's neck and looking up through the vicious rain, hissed angrily at the interruption. Tim screamed again as instead of the gentle tender extraction followed by Dante's healing touch he felt physical pain as blood gushed freely from the deep holes in his neck. Dante's eyes whirled blue fire as Tim's blood once again coursed through his veins and he angrily raised his hand and flung Tony aside slamming him down on the concrete several meters away.

"Dante! No!" Abby cried out through the rain terrified now that Tony would be the one hurt. She had been concerned that something was going on that McGee wasn't telling her about and she had reluctantly followed him up onto the rooftop. When she had seen Tony step towards the Vampire and his charge with his gun balanced in his hands she knew what it must look like.

"Abby. Run!" Tony was bruised but was already staggering to his feet, his eyes quickly assessing desperately how he could get McGee and now Abby away from this creature. Tony's eyes lit on the metallic gleam of his SIG lying on the wet concrete a few meters between him and the vampire. Could he make it in time? Suddenly Dante turned lightening fast and with just a glance the gun vanished over the edge of the building, swallowed by the black night.

The man and vampire glared at each other waiting for the next move.

"Dante! Please don't hurt him. He doesn't know. He thinks your trying to hurt McGee! Dante? Remember me? It's Abby?"

Abby begged the Vampire before her terrified that in the extreme of the moment someone would get hurt. Abby was truly frightened. Gone before her was the laughing playful man she had met who had teased McGee and asked her to protect him. Instead she faced a powerful creature who gripped McGee's body protectively in his strong claws with wild eyes and fresh blood mingling with the rain running down his face. She wasn't even sure that the Vampire recognized her as his eyes flashed like the storm above when suddenly McGee stirred in his arms and whispered.

"Dante? What's wrong?"

Tim clapped his hand over the source of his pain, his neck and awkwardly staggered to his feet looking wildly about him.

"Oh McGee!" Abby looked horrified as she took in the sight of a pale Tim standing soaking wet and trembling, blood pouring over his fingers and down his chest staining his shirt. He was looking around slightly bewildered trying to take in the scene that now included Tony and Abby as well as Dante.

They hadn't been there a moment ago had they? Tim couldn't remember. He had felt amazing and had been blissfully happy and then suddenly all he could feel was pain and cold and wetness. Tim trembled and considered the effort of sitting down before he faced the embarrassment of falling down.

Abby suddenly felt a righteous anger building in her that overcame her fear. How could he do that to McGee? How could he say he cared for him and then hurt him like that?

"Dante? Is that how you look after your Companion? No wonder he does not come to you! He is in pain and bleeding. Heal him or fix him or whatever it is you do right now or I will ……do something dreadful to you!"

Abby drew herself up to her full impressive height and glared angrily at the Vampire who still knelt on the ground, his fangs bared at her in a snarl and his mighty wings shining with the rain.

Dante blinked at Abby's rage and suddenly all the swirling rampaging emotions that had just been freshly been awoken in him finally settled into one shining point.

Timothy.

Dante powerfully stood and swept his weak dazed companion back into his arms and reburied his fangs into his neck. Tim's eyes rolled back into his head and he sagged into Dante's arms as the Vampire lovingly swept his Companions body with his magic warming and healing him. This time as he withdrew he tenderly licked the wounds closed and Tim shivered with restrained desire instead of the cold.

Tim sighed out Dante's name as he felt the familiar shimmer of power caress him and he slowly felt all the pain and sadness ebb away like a retreating tide. He looked up into the dark night and watched as the storm clouds seemed to soften around the edges turning from black to dark grey. The pounding rain lessoned to a heavy drizzle as Tim smiled at Dante and tenderly wiped the blood from his face.

"That's better." Abby watched with interest as McGee blinked at her with no signs of the wounds to his neck he had worn moment earlier. Dante cradled him tenderly in his arms his scorching blue eyes now only on his Companion whom he seemed to have nearly lost one to many times this evening.

"Um hello? Would anyone care to tell me WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?" Tony shouted through the rain from where he stood cradling his bruised shoulder.

"Oh right Tony…umm yes well um Dante this is Tony. I'm sure you have heard of him. Tony this is Dante. Dante is McGee's Vampiric lover." Abby smiled helpfully wiping the rain from her face.

Tony blinked before shouting back at her. "I'm sorry I don't think I heard you correctly Abby. Could you say that again?"

Abby looked down at McGee and was pleased to see he was looking healthier by the minute. In fact he was already back to his McGeeish self enough to blush at being seen in Dante's arms.

"Ahhh ok this might be complicated and I'm getting sick of shouting over this wind not to mention being freezing cold and wet so how about we take this down to my lab?"

*******************************************************************

Abby handed out some towels to dry everyone with. Tony rubbed the towel through his hair and regularly took alarmed peeks at Dante and Tim where they stood on the far side of the lab.

"Dante!" Abby tsk tsked at the large wet dirty drag marks his immense and very wet wings had left on her once pristine lab floor.

Dante smiled apologetically and shook himself like a large dog showering the lab with water before flicking his wings with a large snap and folding them up so they towered above his head.

"There is that better?" Dante smiled pleasantly and Abby frowned at him.

"Not really no. Now there is water not just on the floor but everywhere. How am I supposed to explain that to the cleaners? Can't you just …you know be fully human for a while?"

Dante was no longer listening to her though. Once again he had snaked his arms around Tim's trim waist and was contemplating the delightful texture and scent of his beloved companion's hair.

Gossamer.

Tim felt pleasantly relaxed and in many ways somehow better than he had in weeks. The touch of Dante's strong cool body behind him seemed to warm him although he was sure he looked a sight soaking wet and still wearing his macabre blood stained shirt.

You could always take it off?

Dante pleasantly suggested and Tim gave him a 'behave yourself' glare. Dante smiled and Tim gave up any pretense at defense and leaned back into his strong embrace with a sigh. Dante proceeded to nibble his ear playfully.

"Uh HEM" Tony stared at McGee and the thing wrapped around him, cleared his throat and gestured his head meaningfully at Abby.

"Oh yes right ok explanations"

Abby bit her lip and tried to foist off the explanation to either McGee or Dante but they seemed completely oblivious to anyone else.

Abby couldn't help smiling. Well whatever had been going on that had kept McGee and Dante apart appeared to have worked itself out up on the rooftop and she was glad. She had been really worried for McGee lately as he moped around sad eyed and pouty. There was one thing McGee could do and that was sad. Those puppy dog eyes of his could break your heart when they wanted to.

"Ok well like I said. Um Dante as you have probably guessed is a Vampire."

"A vampire?'

"Yes Tony. A Vampire. Actually it's good that you know. The other day in the alley when McGee got hurt? Well that was because you two stumbled into another Vampires patch. McGee lured him away as he was going to kill you as a warning to other Vampires and Dante got there just in time to save McGee. THAT'S why McGee kept blacking out because Dante's was trying to call for him and why McGee needed to get out of the hospital and was acting all weird. He couldn't just tell you what actually happened. So you actually should thank Dante and McGee for saving your life."

Tony pulled a face as he tried to absorb all the information at once and Abby continued her enthusiastic ramblings.

"Oh that would have been so bad. You might have hurt Dante up on the roof when he was the one that essentially saved you and by you hurting Dante then you would have really been hurting McGee who we know you were only trying to save because he is linked with Dante. Understand Tony?"

"Huh?"

Abby frowned at what seemed like a perfectly logical explanation to her.

"Oh by the way Dante you are alright aren't you?' Abby turned to Dante who melodramatically spread out one wing and poked his finger through the hole the bullet had left in the tough leather.

"I have suffered worse insults" he sniffed.

"Oh your marvelous wing!" Tim found himself rather shocked at the concept that Dante could receive any damage at all and Dante gathered him close in his arms and soothed him as Tim stared at the hole. Dante tucked his wing away and reassured his companion that he would be fine. A mere scratch.

Abby frowned at Tony "You really should check if they are friend or foe before just shooting people Tony"

"Ah Abby he was draining McGee's blood remember? Generally not considered something friendly? What was with THAT anyway?" Tony shuddered as he remembered the look on Dante's face in that instant as he looked up angry and blood stained.

Abby enthusiastically launched back into her explanation.

"Ok Vampires are real, blah blah stalk the city and McGee is….here is where it gets a bit tricky but he is Dante's Companion."

Tony raised an eyebrow "Companion? And just what does that mean? And before that do I really want to know?"

Abby laughed 'Well I'm a little vague on that myself but from what I can gather Dante shares McGee's emotions and in exchange Dante shares his experiences and some of his strengths with McGee. I think."

Tony frowned and paced up and down for a few steps turning his head every now and then to watch the bonded companions as they leaned together in silent communication.

Tony suddenly stopped and smiled. "Huh so it looks like I was right Probie. I don't know why you didn't admit it before. You're gay and that's ok by me"

At that comment Tim's eyes snapped open and he glared angrily at Tony "I am NOT gay Tony."

"Uh I would beg to differ Probie" Tony gestured to Dante's hand that was slowly drifting down McGee's chest and Tim slapped it away with a flush.

"We are bonded together Tony. It's hard to explain. But Vampires don' have sex.."

Abby cleared her throat. "Yes you do. I heard you remember? And it sure as hell sounded like sex. Fantastic mind blowing sex actually."

Tim's face blazed up in a rosy flush and Tony gaped at Abby.

"uhhh You heard them? Ok I don't think I want to know."

Tim stumbled trying to explain "Ok whatever but I'm not attracted to the masculine part of Dante it's the …"

Tim faltered as he realized what he was about to say.

Abby grinned 'Yes Timothy? What were you about to say?"

"The demonic part of me?" Dante finished with a mischievous leer as he pulled his Companion closer and nuzzled his neck while Tim looked like he would prefer he dropped into the fiery pits of hell at that moment rather than face his two friends.

"Oh Timmy. You are SO BAD!" Abby crowed while Tony looked at his mild mannered friend with astonishment. Dante continued to adore his companion stroking and gently touching and generally drowning himself in the sensation that was Timothy McGee. It had been too long since he had felt mortal lust flaring through his veins. The clean scent of soap and cologne. The clever hands. The long sensitive neck.

Finest silk…

"Would you stop that?" Tim was growing frustrated and embarrassed. "My hair is not like finest silk"

"What? He didn't say anything and I sure as hell don't think your hair is like silk? Baby soft maybe…." Tony mused.

Tim huffed and Dante smirked.

"We can communicate mind to mind. Sometimes. We both need to be open to it though."

"Really? That's pretty cool. Ok like what am I'm thinking now?" Tony leered and stared at Tim with a smirk.

"Don't be disgusting Tony. And no I can't read your mind. Simply spending too many years listening to you tells me what's on your mind."

"Well I think it's romantic. I mean you can sense each other and share your thoughts and feelings. And Dante can heal McGee which I personally think is a pretty handy trick for a Federal Agent to have. "

Tony screwed up his nose "And what if one of you has had a really crappy day? Or wants a break? Can you tell the other one to just go away for a while?"

Dante decided to join in the conversation. "Vampires are relatively rare although not as rare as you might think. Vampires with Companions are rarer still. Few Vampires survive to an age where they desire to seek one out. And there are different sorts of Companions just as there are different sorts of marriages in your world. Some are short term, some are for convenience, some are happier than others."

"And you two?" Abby asked genuinely curious.

Dante's eyes turned rather intense again. "We are bonded together far stronger than I would have thought possible and grow more bound together by the day. In both body and soul we have changed each other in ways I do not fully understand. I do not believe that one would survive without the other."

Tim turned and looked into Dante's blue eyes and gripped his hand tightly in his.

"So it is for life then."

Dante smiled and pulled his beloved boy in for a passionate kiss.

"For life"

"Urgh" Tony made a gagging sound "Please Probie enough with the kissing already"

"Tony!" Abby smacked him hard on the arm "Don't be rude. McGee is a perfectly good kisser. Excellent in fact."

Dante pulled away from Tim and raised an eyebrow at Abby.

"What? Do you disagree?" Abby grinned at the vampire teasingly.

Tony threw his hands up in the air. "Ok people…….and vampire ………..while this has been very …interesting …….and sort of horrible and scary and sort of gross as well we really need to get moving because Gibbs is going to come looking for us and we need to find Dwight before someone else comes to an icky end.

"Ah" Tim chewed on his lip and snuck a look sideways at Dante.

"And what does Ah mean McGee?" Tony looked suspiciously at his friend who tonight seemed full of surprises.

"Well ahhhh I happen to know there is no rush on Dwight. He ahhhh isn't going anywhere." Tim stumbled unsure how to explain.

"And the reason you know Dwight isn't going anywhere is?" Tony narrowed his eyes at McGee.

"I ate him" Dante answered calmly

"I'm sorry?" Tony enquired politely for the second time that evening. "I don't think I heard you correctly"

Tim huffed in exasperation "Dante killed him. He read my mind and I refused to go to him because we needed to capture Dwight. So Dante tracked him down and …..ate him so there would be no more interference."

Tony blinked and pulling up a stool sat down while Abby looked at McGee with a worried look on her face.

"And how are you going to explain THAT to Gibbs? Sorry Boss but my immortal Boyfriend wanted to get my attention so he killed the suspect?"

"He ate him?" Tony looked at McGee and then Dante slightly horrified and Dante bristled under the scrutiny.

"He was a killer and he was planning to kill again. I was swift and I did not torture him unlike the way he played with his victims. It is a good thing he is dead. When you finally caught him he would have been in jail for the rest of his life and there he would probably have died a violent and painful death.

"But you ate him?" Tony seemed to have a hard time wrapping his mind around that reality.

Dante looked at Tony disdainfully "I am a vampire. I kill for blood. It wasn't like I did it because I enjoyed the taste of him. He tasted terrible. Bitter and twisted like his soul. Not like my Timothy"

Dante eyed Tim hungrily with a curious spark in his eye and Tony shivered before clapping his hands over his ears.

"La la la la la la I don't want to hear what McGee tastes like ok? It's just …..wrong."

Tim turned to Dante over Tony's continuous la la la la la ing "Yes it is wrong. And you will not kill another suspect or even a witness in a case again will you?"

Dante sighed "Fine. I will not knowingly kill a suspect or witness in your investigation again. I wouldn't have done it tonight except I was desperate for your attention and could truly see no other way. I will not promise not to kill either to live or to defend myself though. It is who I am."

Tim nodded accepting the truth of what Dante said. It was who he was. Tim could feel Dante's touch in his mind as the immortal sought reassurance from him, his abandonment still echoing painfully through his heightened emotions. Tim smiled and made sweet promises with his eyes to make his abandonment up the immortal.

"Ok I can accept that. And Abby is witness."

Abby nodded solemnly to give the moment a sense of occasion.

"La la la la la la "

"Tony!" Tim called to his friend in growing frustration

"What I can't hear you discussing any of this …la la la la la "

"Shut up! That is very annoying"

"Fine." Tony stopped and glared at Dante. "I can't believe you ate him. Gibbs is going to be so pissed."

Abby looked thoughtful. "So what do we do? Anonymous tip about a dead body? Random violent mugging? Mob hit? What? Its going to need to be good to get Gibbs to drop the case otherwise he will continue on to find Dwight's killer in case its linked to these current murders. He's like a bloodhound that way."

The two agents and one forensic scientist turned and glared at the Vampire.

"You have seriously created work for us here do you realize?"

Dante had the grace to attempt to look shame faced but failed miserably.

Tony frowned and muttering to himself set to work concocting a plan to explain the death of Ian Dwight.

"I can't believe he ATE him. Way to go Probie."

( I hope everyone had a good Christmas. I will try and get another update done but then Im away in New Zealand for two weeks. Do not be disheartened as i and the story shall return. Don't worry i am building to something here...just taking me a while to get there as screwing with Tony is to much fun. Thanks for reading and do please review. Precious)