STILL DON'T OWN ANYTHING, WELL BESIDE THE STUFF THAT I DO OWN. WHICH THE TWO SHOWS ARE NOT ANY PART OF

Morgan and JJ stared at the young genius, demanding full explanation. Reid sighed and buried his head in his hands.

"Oh no, Reid," JJ intervened. "You need to talk about this. Really."

Reid looked up and stared at her with hard eyes, shocking her with his fierce glare. "I really don't JJ. You just need to know, there is a difference. I need to get to the hospital, see him."

"Come on, Reid," Morgan replied, not taking his eyes off the road. "You can't expect us to be not curious. We never knew you had a cousin, let alone that he lived in DC or that he was a federal agent. So please, will you tell us about him?"

The pleading look he had in his eyes that Reid could see in the inside mirror made him cave. He knew Morgan and JJ were only concerned about him. But he had this irrational feeling that if they knew about Tony, he would be taken away from him. He shook his head, he was not one to cave to his irrational tendencies.

"Tony is my cousin from my father's side of the family. My mother was introduced to my father by his mother. They were friends ever since my mother had gone on a tour of literature, and met up with his mother back in England. His mother fell in love with this American Italian business man, and on her wedding day introduced her best friend to his family. My father was a first cousin to Anthony DiNozzo, and the rest is history. He always came over during breaks, especially after his eight birthday. He and his father don't talk anymore, so he always fled to the only sane house in the United States that had DiNozzo blood living under its roof, as he used to say."

Reid smiled involuntarily as he remembered the much repeated rants about DiNozzo insanity. He would be the first to acknowledge that his cousin could be called that. He took out his wallet and picked out a photo, handing it to JJ.

JJ took it and looked at it in shock. The picture was recent, judging by Reid's haircut. He was sitting at a random bar with a very good looking man who looked a couple of years older than him, dressed in a suit that would make Rossi drool. A big infectious grin was plastered all over the stranger's face, green eyes alight with mischief. And next to him was Reid, only this was a Reid she had never seen before. No indications of nervousness, but a relaxed smile sported on his face and a fresh beer with a shot glass in his hands. Looking closer, she saw the same characteristics come back a bit. The same form of the eyebrows, the way one corner of the mouth lifted a bit more than the other.

"When was this taken?" JJ surprised herself with the steadiness of her voice.

"October 28th, 2003,"Reid answered automatically. "It was to celebrate Tony's two year mark at NCIS. And he wanted to tell all about the mummy case they had caught in the days before."

"You're close?" Morgan asked, and couldn't help the little undertone of reluctance that crept into that question.

Reid lifted his eyebrow, clueing Morgan in that he had caught the tone but wasn't in the mood to immediately confront him about it.

"As you know," Reid started slowly. "I was not the most popular kid in high school. Now Tony, he was the perfect jock. Except that he really was more than that. One day when I was eight, the varsity team had a surprise for me. Only Tony also had a surprise by showing up out of nowhere. He took on half of the football team and won. Of course, his own coach ripped him a new one as he told me, but he also said it was totally worth it. Nobody messed with his little cousin, especially not some jocks," Reid agitatedly rubbed his brow. "He was the one that helped me clean out the house after I got my mother admitted. He stood there waiting against his car when I stepped out after they took her. I never told him about it, by that time he was working in Peoria as a cop. He just took a few personal days and drove from Peoria to Las Vegas to be there for me. He still checked up on me even during his time in Philadelphia and Baltimore."

"Hold on, hold on," Morgan cut in. "Are you telling me that your cousin is Detective Anthony DiNozzo?"

"Well, he was a detective for a while, but right now he is Senior Field Agent for the Major Crime Response Team at NCIS," Reid was confused.

"NO, no," Morgan cut in again. "I mean, he was Detective DiNozzo who worked Baltimore Vice and Homicide. The guy who went undercover and made the Macaluso case?"

"Oh," Reid blinked. "Yes, that was him."

"Damn," Morgan whistled lowly between his teeth. He had heard about that op and had been impressed. To be undercover in an Italian mob family for six months, to become like a son to the Head of the Famiglia, that took some skills. Every copper worth his salt had heard about that case and the young Detective DiNozzo who had been the uc agent.

"What is it Morgan?" JJ asked curious.

"His cousin is a bit of a legend, that's what. Every cop on the east knows about the Macaluso case. It was a big time mob boss in Baltimore. They had a young detective go undercover, and he was good. He was very good, got right into the inner circle, he was called family. He made the entire case in a six months op."

JJ stared at Morgan as he was practically gushing about Reid's cousin. "Be sure to ask him for an autograph or picture, Morgan."

Morgan glared at her in response, but didn't snark back at her as he caught the exit for Bethesda. Reid was silent in the back, before he started spouting off random facts about Tony.

"You know that there is not a movie in existence that Tony doesn't know anything about? He's a real movie buff. He's also the only one who's always there when I finish a degree. Afterwards he takes me out for dinner. The first time he was in college, and he was broke living only on an athletic scholarship. So he took me to this disgusting diner and celebrated with me over a dinner of a shared slice of apple pie."

JJ glanced at the genius in the back, who was looking lost. She hadn't known this morning that Spencer had someone who supported him unconditionally at all, now she could see that he didn't know how to survive if Tony DiNozzo wouldn't make it.

It was silent inside the car as it made its way around the parking lot. Morgan hadn't turn of the engine or Reid was out of the car making his way towards the entrance. JJ and Morgan had to scramble to catch up with him.

By the time they did catch up with him, he had already ferreted out where Tony was from the receptionist and on his way to the elevators. All three of them stepped into one, no one daring to speak at this moment.

The doors opened finally at the seventh floor. Reid made his way through the labyrinth of hospital hall ways, apparently having gotten the instructions from the receptionist down stairs. Two white doors with ominous warnings appeared at the end of the hall way. Spencer opened them without hesitation, Morgan and JJ following him ready to support their friend and colleague in any way.

Reid froze as he look at the visage in front of him. There was a big glass box, with blue UV-lights hanging in there. And on the bed closest to the door was Tony. With him was a female, wearing the same pyjamas as his cousin was wearing. She was also wearing mouth protection, clueing Reid in that she wasn't infected. He couldn't think anything else when his eyes fell on the fading figure of his once strong cousin, he didn't hear the exclamations of his team mates. He could only stand still now he was faced with a reality he refused to accept up until this very moment.

JJ and Morgan were shocked. They had seen the strong man in the picture, the man in the bed was only a mockery.

"O My God," JJ breathed, reality sinking in with her as well.

Tony DiNozzo was dying rather rapidly, and there was nothing anyone could do to stop it.