A/N: Just a quick note to say thank you to all the positive feedback you gave me. It really is astonishing. I started this off as a quick pick-me up writing exercise and decided to publish it. trying to get familial interactions better. It grew out to be something more.

I STILL DON'T OWN THE SHOWS OR THEIR CHARACTERS

Morgan and JJ were watching silently as Spencer took his cousin's partner out of the room. The woman still had silent tears tracking her face, but didn't seem to notice or care. Spencer's face was scrunched up in an effort not to succumb to the fear and well of emotions that was threatening to burst out in screaming and crying. He needed to stay strong for his cousin, sure that if he would not put on an about face, Tony would be more focused on him than fighting this goddamned disease.

Morgan and JJ nodded to their friend, signaling they wouldn't leave Tony alone for one second. They turned back to look at the NCIS Agent, who was lying on his back gasping shallow breaths.

As they looked on, they could see him lifting his arm, making some signal to the on duty nurse. The nurse smiled and flipped a switch. A few seconds passed and Tony managed to turn his head to them.

"Watch," Tony had to stop to let loose another bout of coughing. "Watch over the squirt, all of your team, okay? Or I'll swear I'll be haunting your ass until even Jennifer Love Hewitt would be committed to an institution."

Morgan felt a lump appear in his throat. The look in the man's eyes told him he was dead serious. He mentally winced at his thoughts. But he could completely understand the sentiment. From the little Spencer had told them in the car ride over, the one thing Tony had always done in his life was looking out for his cousin. Derek was realistic enough to know that Tony would probably die. He'd be the same, probably; trying to make sure there are people to look out for those he cared about most.

JJ was outright crying as she nodded solemnly as answer to Tony's request. She took a shuddering breath, trying to stem the flow of tears. This was hitting her harder then she could have believed. The look in DiNozzo's eyes was cutting straight through her. She could tell that he was terrified of dying, something she had not seen when Spencer had been in the room with him. She remembered Derek telling in the car he was a master in undercover work, something she could completely understand now she could see the difference in even his eyes. Nothing of the strength and mischief he had managed during Spencer's stay was even remotely visible in them.

As they made their wordless promise, they saw a peaceful smile appear on his face. It was clear this was something that had sat heavy on his shoulders. Slowly, Tony's eyes were closing, his breathing became shallower and the alarms sounded blaring.

Derek uncrossed his arms and stepped forward, basically congealing himself with the glass separating him from the other agent. The nurse and doctor ran into the room, almost throwing themselves against the second set of doors in their haste to get to the man.

"Oh God," JJ breathed horrified.

They saw the two working feverously over Tony, injecting something in his IV and keeping an eye on the monitors almost demanding them to show results.

"It's not working, Emma peddles!" Dr. Pitt cried out.

She was next to him in an instant, divesting Tony from his shirt and putting the pads on his chest.

"Charge to 200," The doctor commanded.

"Clear!"

In the middle of the chaos, the two FBI agents didn't notice a whole contingent of people entering the room. They turned around as they heard the horrified gasp behind them. Abby had her hands clapped over her mouth, horrified to see her best friend lying on the bed like that. There was a whole melee of other people with them. They could see Prentiss had paled dramatically, as she took in the sight of the very sick man in the hospital bed. A young man with blue eyes and a rounded face looked on as if he couldn't belief what he was seeing.

On the left of them, was a group of two men and one woman. The woman, with tinted skin and wearing a tight dress, was gripping the ends of her hair as if she was ready to tear it out just to get a handle on the situation. There was a small, older man who was wearing a bowtie that looked particularly grave behind his glasses.

And then there was the last one. He was tall and his grey hair was styled into the typical marine buzz cut. His face was drawn in harsh lines, his lips nothing more than a horizontal line and his blue eyes fixated with burning intensity on the hospital bed before them. His hands were balled in fists, trying to stop himself from hitting something to make way for the desperate anger that was slowly taking over, accompanied with a bone-deep fear.

Abby threw herself at the man, who automatically drew her into his arms, still staring over the dark hair at his SFA in the bed.

"Gibbs, this can't be happening," Abby gasped as if the man could fix the situation at hand with his will power.

Emily had slowly made her way to her two colleagues. JJ tried to smile, but managed only a small twitch of the corner of her mouth in greeting.

"What happened," Emily demanded in a low whisper, trying not to interrupt the people who were waiting in fear. "And where's Reid?"

"He took Kate to the cafeteria for some coffee," Morgan answered her in a robotic tone. "Was glared into submission by his cousin."

The three couldn't stop their eyes turning to the chaos around the NCIS agent that was still not stable in his bed. The medical personnel was working feverously, hoping to stabilize the agent in the bed.

An agonizing five minutes later, the alarms stopped their blaring and the doctor stepped away from the bed, wiping the back of his hand across his forehead. The crisis was averted, for now. But it was clear that Tony's condition was deteriorating rapidly.

"You will not die," Gibbs whispered to no one. It was clear that it was to be an order, but somehow the man had resorted to begging.

Behind them, two familiar faces reentered the room. Reid paled as he saw the doctor walking out of the box with a grave expression, the nurse was looking like she was ready to burst out in tears. As he took a quick glance around him he saw Abby's tears and JJ's horrified frozen expression. He knew something had happened.

Then his eye fell on his cousin's boss. Never had he seen the man in such a state, not even when they thought that Tony had hurt himself severely after being tossed out of an airplane with an incompletely put-on parachute. This, more than anything, impressed on Spencer that Tony had come close, very close to dying.

"Gibbs?" he croaked, asking what happened to the man.

Gibbs, still embracing Abby, turned his head to see Tony's cousin standing there like a lost little puppy. He sighed, no matter how attached he had become to his SFA, like a son really, this must be much worse for Spencer Reid. The man who had always protected him, supported him, was now lying defenseless in a bed.

"We had a bit of a scare, Spence," he informed the man as gently as he could. "Tony was gone for a minute there."

Reid paled dramatically, and if not for Morgan he would surely sank through his knees on the spot. His mind was refusing to understand what was happening. Tony couldn't be dying, he would not leave him! Besides, Tony had always told him that if he'd die before his retirement, it would be in some cool move that involved explosions and all.

"What happened?" he asked once more.

It was Morgan who answered him. "Just after you and Agent Todd left, he was just slipping."

Reid knew his friend better than anyone, and knew that he was leaving something out. He looked over at JJ and saw that she wasn't meeting his eye, instead looking at his cousin on the other side of the glass.

"JJ?" he asked her.

She looked at him for a moment, before averting her gaze once more. Okay, now he knew for sure that something had happened in the moments before his cousin got in medical distress. He didn't speak, but kept on staring at her willing her with his eyes to tell him what had happened.

"He asked, no demanded really," she stammered, suddenly being the focus of everyone's attention. "That the team would look after you, he made some comment about Jennifer Love Hewitt if we didn't."

Abby snorted, breaking the tension. "Ghost Whisperer. Let me guess; if you wouldn't he would haunt your asses until even she couldn't handle it anymore."

Morgan and JJ nodded silently at her.

"Figures," she mumbled.

The silence was filled with quiet sobs of Cassie Yates and Kate. Gibbs was clenching his jaw, his hands curled into rigid fists.

"Like hell he is," he suddenly burst out and let go of Abby.

Before anyone could stop him, he had entered the room, grabbed a facial mask and made his way to his Agent.

The rest looked on as he bent over the bed so his mouth was at Tony's ear. He whispered something and they saw Tony move miniscule. To the upmost shock of the entire BAU, bar Spencer, Gibbs bopped Tony softly on the top of his head. They looked on as Tony's eyes opened. Gibbs raised his voice, and they could hear him.

"I said, you will not die. Got me?" Gibbs was using a soft version of his drill sergeant tone.

"I – I got you, boss," Tony managed to choke out.

"Good," he replied. "Now, I'm not going anywhere and Spence isn't going anywhere. Abby will have to be killed before anyone can move her. You will not let them, and me, down. Got it?"

"Got'ya boss."

And as they looked on, Gibbs grabbed a hand that was lying listlessly on the blanket and took it in his own.

The message was clear, Tony couldn't give up without having to deal with a severely pissed-off Leroy Jethro Gibbs.