(Thank you for the reviews. Glad your still reading. Acheron Blake? I hope I have spelt that right. Thanks. Your comments prompted this chapter. Warning: There is a suggestion of child abuse of one of the characters in this chapter. It isn't specific or detailed in any way but if that effects you don't read. Precious)

"Ok so we are all in agreement that we think this is the best plan? A random violent opportunistic mugging?"

Tim looked at Tony and Abby who nodded.

"Well anything else leads to other scenarios which Gibbs would want to investigate so we need it to be a very dead end. A dead as a door nail dead end" Abby stated factually.

Tim looked thoughtful before turning around and catching Dante rather morosely studying the bullet hole in his wing. Tim smiled. The vampire might have reassured him that he had come to no harm and that it hadn't even hurt but that didn't mean that the vampire's vanity wasn't affected.

"Dante? Hey it's fine. It will make you look tough in front of the other vampires."

Dante scowled and tucked his wing away and Tim knew he was a bit embarrassed at being caught out.

"Dante, I need you to go back to Dwight's body and steal his wallet. Take his phone, watch, rings, anything that might help him be identified. It needs to look like he stumbled into a bad situation, he challenged it and ended up dead."

Dante swept into a deep mocking bow.

"Oh yes most beloved companion. I shall lower myself to become a thief if it pleases you. Is there anything else I can do for you Masterful Mortals? I shall scurry to do your bidding as the helpless immortal that I am. You every wish is my command."

Tim rolled his eyes and then turned a rather dark look on Dante.

"Don't make me get started on why we need to do this in the first place."

Dante shrugged and conceded the point.

"You could get me a Caf Pow on you way back? I am a little empty." Abby grinned delightfully and Dante's returning glare only made her laugh.

"Oh and don't get caught" Tim cautioned worriedly "The last thing we need is witness statements to deal with as well"

"Don't get caught?" This time Dante looked truly offended. "Don't get caught? I can slip past time itself let alone steal a wallet from a corpse in an alley. Do you think me nothing more than some amateur magician? I can …" With an angry mutter Dante vanished.

Abby looked at Tim. "Ouch. I think you really ticked him off with that."

Tony looked at where the Vampire had just been a second ago. "Did he just vanish?"

Tim sighed "Yeah. It won't take him long. He is very fast when he wants to be."

"Okay…but still……"

Tony pulled out his phone

"Ziva? Yeah…can you do me a favor? I need you to stall Gibbs for a while..as long as you can. I don't know just keep him busy. I'm down in the lab with McGee and Abby and we're working on something. If Gibbs looks like he's coming down can you give us a heads up? Great thanks. I owe you one…"

Tony paused and saw this team mates smiling innocently at him and he turned away.

"Ahhh yeah we will talk about that later…I've got to go now…..Ok bye"

Tony snapped his phone shut "Ziva's going to give us a heads up if Gibbs looks like he's heading down. What?"

Abby and McGee looked at each other and shrugged smiling "Nothing"

Tony looked thoughtfully at McGee "You know as weird as this night is it has explained a few things. You have been acting a bit hinky lately and I couldn't put my finger on what it was. But this whole vampire thing sots of explains it."

Tim frowned "What do you mean hinky? I haven't been acting hinky..have I?"

Abby just shrugged but Tony nodded "Oh yes you have. For a start you are much stronger than you were. Remember when we were in the gym and we were doing weights? I was putting on twice the weight you would normally do and you were doing it easy. You were counting the reps but not the weight."

"Really? I haven't really noticed but I suppose that could be right. I'm pretty sure my eyesight at night is better than it was. A couple of times I haven't needed to turn the light on in my apartment when I have come home because I can see were everything is anyway. And I know my sense of smell is much stronger than it was"

Tony cocked his head "Wait. When you were interviewing Bradford you said you could smell old blood on him. I thought you were doing it to freak him out but you could actually smell it couldn't you?"

Tim nodded "Yup. I could sort of see splashes of blood on his face too. Like a sort of vision and I could see women's hair and there were different types. That's how I knew there was another woman as I knew we hadn't seen a victim with blond hair yet."

Tony nodded "Huh and you started getting this sort of stuff since you and the Vampire….connected or whatever it is you do?"

Tim sat down onto one of the lab stool s and looked thoughtful.

"Yeah although I asked Dante about some of it and he doesn't think it has to do with being his Companion. He seems to think its something about me …that was sort of dormant and once touched by his magic I suppose you would call it, it woke up."

Abby scrunched up her face "And what the hell does that mean?"

Tim shrugged "I don't know. I don't think Dante really does either. It's just that whatever we have going for us goes way beyond what he has heard about a companion relationship. Not that there is information on wikkapedia about it or anything."

"So…" Tony sat down on a stool next to McGee "Have you had anymore visions since Bradford?"

Tim frowned as he recalled all the strange flashes he had been getting.

"Yeah actually. Not all the time it just seems to be when something is really strong or it really affects someone but most of them don't make sense to me. I have seen a older woman sliding her hand over a stereo speaker to sense the vibrations and then there was a foreign marketplace and when I was standing next to you Tony in Observation I kept getting this image of a young dark haired boy. He was crying and huddled in a corner. I think someone was trying to hurt him as he had his arms raised up as if to protect himself from a beating. But I don't know any kids that age. What do you think it could be?"

Tim turned back to find Tony looking at him in horror and even Abby had stilled into a focused silence.

"Tony? Tony are you alright?" Tim turned and reached for his friend in concern and Tony pushed back of the stool and stood breathing harshly.

"How could you KNOW that? I have never told anyone about that?" Tony's eyes looked a bit panic stricken as he turned from looking at Tim to Abby who smiled sadly at him.

"It's ok Tony. I already know he ….hurt you. It's ok."

"Wait? What? That was YOU?" Tim couldn't help the surprise and anguish as he realized that the young boy he had seen wasn't someone he should know now but was actually Tony as he was in the past.

Tony was panting trying to calm himself. "Its ok…It's ok…. Its …I'm fine. It's just I …….thought I could…forget about him if I just forgot about everything……."

Tony looked up and blinked rapidly trying to stop the tears leaking out of his eyes and Abby reached out and pulled her friend into a hug. Tim looked on horrified that his innocent words could have triggered such an extreme reaction in his confident friend. Tony was beaten? Once? No more than that. Tim closed his eyes and concentrated on what he had seen.

A young boy huddled in a corner trying to fend off blows from someone older, larger. Someone of authority.

"No please! No tonight…no. I don't want to. I'll tell them. I'll tell them what you do"

"Anthony please. No one will believe you. You know that. You always have your stories. Always looking for attention. Come on now. You know if you fight it only makes it worse."

Tim's eyes snapped open and he looked at Tony in horror.

"Oh my god Tony. I'm so sorry. I never realized."

Tony just scrunched up his eyes and Abby continued to run her hands up and down Tony's back. A moment later Tony's harsh whisper started up.

"He was my father's assistant. He ran everything and made sure nothing went wrong when my father went away. He …..would stay in the house……to keep an eye on me."

Tony's voice was bitter and he wouldn't look Tim in the eye.

"I used to run to just get out of the house, to get strong and fit so he couldn't….hurt me. Found out I was pretty good at it. As soon as I was old enough I left. I went to collage on a PHS Ed major and then I joined law enforcement. I couldn't even charge him or confront him. He died in a car accident not long after I left for collage. The so called innocent victim of a drunk driver."

"Oh Tony I'm so ……"

Tony raised his hand and cut Tim off.

"Please don't. It's ok really. You just caught me by surprise. In a sad way the bastard made me who I am. I wouldn't have become a cop and I probably would have followed my father into business instead. Could you see me doing International Finance instead of playing basketball?"

Tony smiled sadly and brushed the tears from his eyes and Tim tried to smile back. If Tony needed him to be ok about this then he would do what he could,

Tony blew out a deep breath and then resumed his seat on the stool beside Tim.

"Ok so where were we? Right Probie has visions." Tony smiled at Tim and then he paused and cocked his head at Abby.

"Wait…..wait a minute. You said you knew? How did you know? I have never told anyone? Did McGee say something that tipped you off?"

Suddenly Abby looked very nervous and both men turned to look at her.

"Ahhh well you see…..McGee might not be the only one with certain ……abilities"

Tony ran his hands over his face and glared at the two of them.

"Right. Ok. Spill seriously this night could not get any weirder so just bring it on"

Tony looked expectantly up at Abby who was nervously twisting her pigtail between her fingers.

"Ok I have always had very vivid dreams. But I thought that was what it was like with everyone. As I got older I kind of figured out that I could ….feel certain things about people's emotion states through their dreams. It is particularly strong with those that I care about and those that I spend the most time with. You guys. Sometime I can even see what you're dreaming. Your nightmares…"

"Fantasies?" Tony looked a bit alarmed at this concept and Abby grinned.

"Oh don't worry Tony. I have seen it all. If only Kate could have seen some of the stuff you were thinking about. Phew"

Tim smirked and Abby turned an arch look at him.

"Don't look so smug McGee. Mister Kate as a leather wearing dominatrix. Not so Boy Scout in your head are you?"

Tim blushed furiously and Tony turned to stare at him "Really Kate in leather?"

Tim opened his mouth in an attempt to explain and gave up. He decided that shifting the attention was the best thing.

"I think Abby was explaining?"

Tony laughed at the prim tone McGee had managed to acquire.

"I kind of thought I was a bit of a freak but when McGee introduced me to Dante after driving him home from the hospital he told me that there have been others. Dream Walkers he calls them. I mean there isn't enough to make a live journal community out of them but they have been around for like forever. It's a bit of a vague ability so it's easy to hide. I mean it's not like I can fly or see through walls or anything."

Tony looked thoughtful "So when you called me all worried about McGee and you just knew he was in trouble and something was wrong?"

Tim nodded "That was when I was first spending time with Dante. He was showing me some of his pasts. Amazing. He ….Ok maybe that's enough for tonight I will tell you the rest later. Anyway Abby could sense that he was different even through the dream state."

Tony scrubbed at his face with his hands "Ok ok let me get this straight in my head…….McGee is a Companion to a vampire who has increased sight, strength, smell and god knows what else plus some random visions on the side and Abby is a …"

"Dream Walker" Abby smiled and patted him on the back. He really was taking all this very well.

"That's how I knew when you had hooked up with Ziva. Your nightmares stopped and both your dreams were all warm and snuggly"

Tony's head popped up and he looked at the two of them shaking his head.

"Oh no me and Ziva? I don't think so…."

Tim smirked "Oh please don't try and deny it Tony. I could smell her all over you"

"Really?" Tony looked a bit alarmed and Tim nodded

"Sandalwood and pomegranate isn't exactly your scent of choice."

Tony looked at his two friends "So how long have you known?"

Abby and McGee shrugged "Weeks" "Ages"

Tony didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"Ok so this is a good thing…I think. At least I don't have to worry about telling you guys because you already know. No one else knows right? I mean you haven't told Gibbs? Please don't tell me Gibbs is actually a shape changer who turns into Silver Fox when no ones looking?"

Tony looked up at them his face enquiring and honestly worried and Tim and Abby laughed.

"No Tony. You are fine. Gibbs doesn't know about you and Ziva and to my knowledge he isn't a shape changer either."

Tony smiled 'Ok Phew…..you know just checking. After tonight."

Suddenly Dante appeared back in the corner of the lab still with a disgruntled look on his face. He walked over and tossed a wallet, watch, a gaudy gold ring and an expensive phone onto the table.

"There. That was all he had on him. And No I didn't get caught"

Tim turned to Dante caught his face in his hands and smiled at him.

"Thank you"

Dante tried to hide the smile that rose onto his face at his companion's simple praise.

Tony looked at the vampire and shook his head.

"You know Dante? I think you are the most normal one of us here"

Dante seemed to have recovered his good humor and he smirked at Tony "Are you saying normal is a good thing?"

Tony grinned cheekily back at the vampire "You know you really should try wearing leather. I believe McGee here has a thing for it"

"Tony!" Tim was aghast and Abby simply laughed.

Dante cocked his head and looked at Tim intensely for a second then he brushed his hands in front of him and his outfit vanished to be replaced with chunky leather boots, black tight leather pants, a black t shit and a full length leather coat.

"How's that?" Dante smirked while Tim was making a strangled noise in his throat.

Tony grinned "Nice. Very Matrix. Good choice for the probster."

Abby clapped her hands. "Ok people lets stop ogling the pretty and totally hot vampire. Who wants to make the anonymous call about the body?"

Dante smiled "All taken care off. I place a suggestion in the mind of an early morning jogger that should she should try a different route today. It will take her right past the body and that way none of us can be implicated. It will take some days for the city morgue to identify him by which time the crime scene will be so compromised even your Gibbs will have nothing to work with."

Abby smiled "Oh sneaky. I like that."

Dante bowed gallantly to her.

Tony clapped his hands together and tried to look official.

"Alright people we need to get back to normal. Its late enough now that I think even Gibbs will send us home. Dante nice to meet you. Please don't eat me. Abby please make sure McGee keeps his leather wearing fantasies to himself and try not to invade my thoughts…particularly late on a Saturday night. It will creep me out if I think you can tell what I'm up to."

Abby shooed them out of her lab with a smile. Dante leaned in to give Tim a scorching kiss while Tony wasn't watching and Tim found his hand drifting up the back of Dante's leather pants to settle on his ass.

"Probie! Come on" Tim heard Tony calling him from the lift and with a sigh he released the vampire and trailed after his Senior Agent. Dante swept Abby another bow before he too vanished.

Abby looked around her lab and went to turn her music back up

"Well that was interesting"