Yeah, I know. Took a while to update, but sorry; (have to use the four-letter word here, but, …I was BUSY.) Just a warning, if you don't like swearing, there is swearing.

The ambulance stopped with a screech, only feet away from where Tony was crouched over Timothy, still applying pressure to the area on his stomach that was too bloody to detect where exactly the wound was. The headlights of the vehicle were blinding but extinguished just before he heard the doors open, the streetlights supplying ample light. Tony's heart rate sped up as he watched the paramedics barrel out of the vehicle, their steps loud on the pavement. They expertly began to assess the situation as Tony stood by, eagerly blurting out what little information he knew about their current patient.

"Uh…He has stab wounds to the abdomen; he was thrown from a moving vehicle-"
"This will be a scoop-and-go, Jack! Name?" yelled one of the EMTs; he was middle-aged with salt and pepper hair. He continued his assessments without even glancing towards Tony, kneeling beside Timothy while he checked his airway. "Airway…Clear! I said name...detectives?!" Salt and pepper looked from Tony to Danny then back to Tony again.

Tony detected his obvious impatience and couldn't blame him. He didn't know why he felt so frazzled. He stepped closer, hovering over them as he stuttered, unable to keep up with their admirable speed and competence. "Uh…His name is Timothy!"

"Timothy? Can you hear me?" Salt and pepper patted Timothy's cheek.

Danny stood next to Tony and nudged him. "Well…It's Timmy…actually. At least that was what we called him when he was six. That was the last time I've seen him. We were at one of our other cousin's, uh…Melinda's birthday-"

Tony watched Jack; keenly focused on the stethoscope against Timothy's chest, listening.

Danny continued, "-party. Her mom had rented a bounce house, and-"

"Heart rate, 120!"

"I'm much older than Timmy but I went in the house anyway." Tony had barely been listening to his partner but when he realized he was babbling in his ear he glared at him with enough anger in his eyes to persuade him to abruptly stop.

Tony spoke to the backs of the paramedics, "I feel that we all should agree on calling him, Tim. He's much older than six-"

"Probably about eighteen, nineteen now." agreed Danny. "But, I don't really know."

Tony cautiously knelt by one of the paramedics, not wanting to interfere with his work. "Will he be okay?" The medics continued to tune him out as they followed through with their process.

The other paramedic, Jack, an older man with a head-full of thick, snowy-colored hair began to lift Tim's stretcher. "Good chance he could go into hypovolemic shock, let's jet!"

Salt and Pepper had already started an IV. "I agree."

Tony grabbed Salt and Pepper's arm, "I said…Will he be okay?"

The paramedic glanced at Tony's wounded arm. "You were shot?"

"Yeah…But-"
"Come with us." The paramedic resumed past him to load Tim into the ambulance.

Tony wanted to protest and explain that his partner could take him to the hospital; they'd be right behind them. Then there was the fact it'd be crowded in the ambulance, they usually weren't meant for two patients; plus, the kid could possibly die during the trip. Tony didn't think he had the cojones to handle that one.

But deep down he wanted to stay with him. Tony caught one more glimpse of Tim's young…lifeless face as salt and pepper held the door open for him. He didn't hesitate. He snatched Tim's wallet from Danny's hand then climbed in and took a seat on a gurney across from the kid. As the doors shut, the ambulance took off. Tony could see Danny's confused expression through the doors' windows, standing on the sidewalk, dumbfounded. He kept his eyes on him till he was no longer in sight.

An EMT sat in the front driving allowing salt and pepper and Jack to work on Tim. Jack was now cutting off Tim's shirt. Tony saw him hesitate then lean in closer, studying the stab wound. "Well…Hell. Stan. Look at this."

"What! What is it?" asked Tony as he crowded the two medics.

Salt and pepper who was actually Stan, though Tony preferred salt and pepper, gaped, momentarily to where Jack was referring to. He then glanced towards Tony. "Did one of you cops place this here?"

Under all the sticky, red blood was a… credit card? "Why's that there?" asked Tony.
"The kid must have put it there to help slow the bleeding." Jack turned to address Tony as he affixed a clean bandage over the card to Tim's abdomen. "It's a first aide tactic in sealing a wound. It works better with tape but he clearly didn't have any. He's one resourceful, smart kid…and my guess is, he really wants to live." Tony eyed Tim's wallet in his hand. That would explain the surface's tackiness.

"His pulse is dropping!" Stan yelled.

"Man, he lost a lot of blood. And we're almost all out of any reserves."
Tony was digging through Tim's wallet. "He held up a Red Cross Donor ID card. "His blood type is A! Do you have anymore A, Jack?"

Jack's brick wall exterior dropped for a moment as he cracked a smile at Tony. Tony blushed when he realized through Jack's smile how eager he must look, making him feel…Dumb. Tony frowned when the man's smile quickly vanished.

"Uh…No sorry." Jack sighed, "Hey…Kid. What type are you?"

Tony didn't hear Jack, as he was deep in thought, looking at Tim. He felt the man's eyes on him and looked up; a sinking feeling filled his stomach that didn't stop till it reached his feet. "Uh…Me?" he gulped.
"Yeah…You know…Blood." Stan supported his partner's question by waving a hand sarcastically over Tim's bloody torso to emphasize his point.

"O. I'm…Uh, O. Blood type O. Yes…O. That's me." Tony weakly smiled; knowing he was a universal blood donor. His blood type could be given to anyone, with any blood type. He grew extremely nervous…

"He's in V fib, Stan." said Jack.

"Shit." Tony and Stan mumbled in unison. Tony felt bad he hesitated for even the one moment; agonizing if he should donate his precious blood to the dying man as Jack was already releasing the straps from around Tim's chest then preparing the paddles.

"What exactly is V fib, Jack?" Tony's eyes widened, almost falling off his gurney, getting closer to Tim and not liking the looks of where this was all going.

"It's his heart-"
"I'll do it! I'll donate my blood!" Tony raised his hand, then waved it back and forth.
"Clear!" Tim's body strained and arched against the shock of the paddles. All three men held their breath, viewing the monitor. The return of a beep initiated a united sigh.

"Okay, he's back with us for now." said Stan.

"We don't usually do this…tapping blood from a stranger." said Jack, staring at Stan, "But if we don't he's gonna die."

Tony was confident now that Tim's heartbeat had returned. He looked at it as a second chance to redeem himself. "I don't usually do this either but, can I lay down for this? I'm liable to…Uh, faint." Tony was already lying back, earnestly holding out his exposed arm towards the paramedics, his eyes shut tight.

"Okay." Jack started prepping Tony for the transfusion, tying a tube around his arm. "Tell me what you know about this case so far."

Tony had the feeling Jack was trying to distract him, picking up on his uncertainty. "We were on a stakeout…car drove by and dumped him off on the street. Noticed the blood…lifted his shirt and saw the stab wounds-"
"Wound. Just one."
"Oh." Tony's eyes widened when a needle appeared within his view. "Holy, sweet mother of-" Tony's eyes rolled back inside his head.

"Uh…Oops." Jack looked at Stan, concerned.

"Well, whatdya do now, Jack? What happened to the poor guy?"

"It was the sight of the needle."

"Not a fan from the looks of it." Stan had to smile. "He's a good guy to put himself out there like that for a complete stranger being that afraid of needles."

"It's weird…But somethin' tells me this won't be a onetime encounter for these two."
Stan looked at Jack, his brows furrowed but kept his main focus on Tim, monitoring his vitals. He shrugged, "You always have been intuitive, Jack."

***
Tony was sitting on a table in an examination room in the emergency room. He stared at an opposite wall, dazed and deep in thought. He was shirtless, waiting for the nurse to return with a certain bandage size. At first, she had assured him he would only need about four stitches, but the thought of another needle caused him to beg for her to just apply a butterfly bandage. "Okay, sweetie." The nurse had patted his cheek. "Just wait right here while I go get some more. This room is out of them. Be right back, darling." He blinked his eyes with charm, knowing his long eyelashes had played their part well.

Now Tony had quiet time to think and when he replayed what had happened, he felt that it had all been a vivid, crazy-ass dream; like he was caught up in some, strange parallel universe. The paramedics were, no doubt, professional, moving so fast that he had felt dizzy and disconnected; unable to keep up with their questions then the consequential actions they performed in front of him, to save Tim, were astounding; he thought for sure the kid was a goner. Just for the fact there had been so much blood.

Tony thought about the last couple of hours; the stakeout and the conversation with Danny. Witnessing the kid being thrown from the car and Danny's strange reaction to the whole incident then the shock to learn he was Danny's cousin. They had lost Tim on the ride to the hospital but when Tony woke, here in the hospital, Jack had stopped by to tell him Tim was stable, and his blood had increased Tim's chances for survival. Jack had lightly punched his arm and told him he had done a good thing and he was proud of him. Tony was tongue-tied and didn't answer but just smiled as Jack walked through the exit, heading back out into the night.

As Tony watched Jack leave, that particular "sticky note" that he had filed away earlier now reappeared. Now, they were officially blood brothers…Or did it count if Tim was now carrying his blood and not the other way around? Nah…their lives were now bonded…a long-lasting agreement sealed with blood. He pressed his lips together, tensely, knowing he couldn't even say that about Danny. How could he feel closer to this kid than he did to his own partner?

Speaking of the devil, Danny poked his redhead in through the doorway, "Yoa! Pyzano! Do you get to keep the arm?" He sauntered in, giving Tony a playful shove on his uninjured arm. Tony tried to cover his grimace, hating whenever his partner did the Italian accent; he looked ridiculous.

"Hey watch it! That shoulder isn't much better. I had to give blood from that arm!"
"Really? My little cousin was all tanked out?"
Tony shook his head with mild disgust. Was he really that callous toward his own family? "How is he?"
Danny just shrugged, "How should I know? I was checking on you first."
"What's with you? I thought my family was messed up…But you didn't even know your own cousin till you read his id?"
"His father is an asshole. I just figure he must be one, too. I never kept in touch. Believe me…That little six-year-old has grown. He looks really different. Same face, though."

"I'd bet you my entire Cary Grant DVD collection you're wrong about that. I bet you he's a good guy-"
A man with dark hair with silver edges and strong blue eyes poked his head into Tony's room.

"Detectives DiNozzo and Price?" He kept his gaze on Tony, his expression filled with intrigue, confusing Tony.

"Uh…Yeah. Do I know you?" asked Tony.
The older man flashed his credentials, "NCIS. Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs." Gibbs held out a hand as they all greeted one another. He pocketed his badge as he filled them in. "I'm investigating the kid that was brought in, Timothy McGee. I'm here to determine if this an NCIS case-"

"NCIS?" asked Danny. "What? Is Timmy Navy?"

"Would you stop calling him, Timmy? He's not six anymore!" Tony took a deep, exasperated breath, as Gibbs and Danny raised their eye brows sharing a glance.
Gibbs ignored Tony's frustration, his voice remaining low and calm. "He was a member of our internship program. He just completed it and was living in DC, temporarily. The hospital called me, said I was the closest person they could get. He has no family in the area."
"Wait. But, couldn't they just come and see him? He did almost die!" said Tony.

"Apparently not. When they called his father, he claimed he was too busy with work….Or something to that affect. His mother is out of the country."

Danny mumbled towards Tony, "See? What did I tell you; asshole." Tony nudged his partner, for what Gibbs' probably considered a vague, rude comment directed towards himself. Danny shrugged looking at Gibbs, "Sorry. I'm Timmy's…Uh, I mean, Tim's cousin. I remember his father being a real jerk."
"Wait. You're his cousin? Don't you think that odd that he was stabbed and deposited right in front of your stakeout?" asked Gibbs.

"Oh. So you've been briefed. No. I think it's just one of those weird coincidences-" said Danny.
"I don't believe in coincidences."
Danny gulped, speechless and Tony smirked.

"So, how did the hospital get your name?" asked Tony.

Gibbs smiled, "Well, it's funny. Tim did such a good job with the internship I wanted to give him something. We have these stupid fake certificates we use whenever we're on a case when kids are involved; we reward them for their bravery. I gave one to Tim and he must have folded it up and kept it in his wallet." The Special Agent shrugged, "I don't usually take a liking to the interns but Tim made a mark. So, I guess I wanted to check up on him, too… while I'm here."

"Really? You don't seem like the warm, fuzzy type." said Tony.

"You'll have to excuse my partner, Special Agent Gibbs. Detective DiNozzo had to front Tim some of his blood and I think they sucked it from his brain instead of his arm."

Tony had his gaze fixed on Gibbs but the man's steely stare was not showing offensiveness but appreciation. He held out his hand. "Thanks, DiNozzo. I'm sure Tim will be grateful when he hears that."

A warm smile spread over Tony's lips as he grasped the man's warm, calloused hand, "I believe that he will." Tony made sure to sneer at Danny.

"But wait," Tony's eyes squinted, "You're based in Washington, what's Tim doing in Baltimore?"

"That's why I'm here. To find out."