Tony was slumped in a chair, his feet resting on the edge of Tim's bed. He was wide awake and on watch detail after Gibbs' attack in the stairwell. Apparently the suspect had beamed Gibbs in the head with the door that exited onto the ground floor once he must have realized Gibbs had been following him. Gibbs had told Tony he had seen it coming but it was too late for him to be able to react. Tony had to smile at the frustration the man displayed afterwards; cursing up a storm that made even Tony blush.

Gibbs claimed he did not get a good enough look at his assailant to give a detailed facial composite so Tony worked on a sketch as he kept his late night vigil, recalling the man's face when he saw him earlier at the nurse's station. He had to admit he didn't think it'd help…the man had a plain face, no outstanding features or characteristics. The most distinctive feature about the man was the dark, blue jumpsuit.

Tony held his breath when Tim began to mumble; he was still asleep, his head turning from side to side, stuck in a bad dream. Tony didn't know the nightmare protocol; wake them up? Let them ride it out? So he decided to patiently wait as he leaned forward, resting his hand on Tim's arm. The young man seemed to calm as his lids slightly opened; Tony leaned in closer. Now was his chance to finally meet this kid that Gibbs held high regard towards and who he had risked his life for.

"Hey Tim? How are yah?"

Tim's eyes searched the room, confused until they rested on Tony's face.

"Do you know where you are?" asked Tony.

Tim didn't answer, his face showing the expectation that Tony would for him.

"The hospital. Do you remember why you're here?" Tony watched Tim's brows furrow, just as they had when he was asleep earlier. A joke had calmed him last time but that would probably be out of the question at this point. He didn't know how much he should reveal to Tim; how much he had gone through to land here. Maybe it'd be too traumatic for his present state…

"My…stomach hurts. Did…I have an appendectomy? You don't look like a doctor but are you mine?"
"Uh…You want to know if you had your…appendix removed. Well, actually someone did almost remove it for you but I don't think they are licensed for that kind of thing. But you did a good job holding all your guts in place, the paramedics were impressed-"

"Wait. You were there…In the street. Why were we in the…" Tim's words trailed off then a light bulb seemed to go off, "You lied down in front of me when they were shooting at us," He searched Tony's face, letting the memories sink in.

Tony shrugged, "Well, it's part of the job."

"Thanks…Just the same."

Tony smiled then watched as the previous night's events flooded back to Tim, he felt so bad for the kid. Tim sunk his head deep into his pillow staring at the ceiling. His eyes blankly flashed at different parts of the room as if watching a program unfold; his own 'This is Your Life' and, boy; does it suck…

"You don't have to try to remember everything right now,Tim."

"I was taken, when I was at my place. I…don't know who they were …It was a few guys. They blindfolded me-"

"Hey, we're going to find out. Special Agent Gibbs has been here to check on you-"
"Gibbs? He was here?" Tony could see a glint of gratitude shine through his confused frame of mind.

"Oh yeah…He told me…I lost a lot of blood but…I'd be okay."

"You're gonna be fine…and we're looking into who did this."

"Do I know your name yet?"
"No we haven't been formally introduced." Tony offered his hand, "I'm-"
And just like that, Tim had fallen back to sleep. Tony smiled with a snort. "Hey…No hurry."

/

Tony sat his desk staring at the screen of his computer. "Are you sure you didn't get their license number?"

"Of course I'm sure. How could I not be sure about something like that?" said Danny.
"Maybe I could refresh your memory-" Danny glared at Tony from across the desks.

"Yeah, yeah. You're right. It's just that it seems so weird how all this happened. It must tie in with why we were there."
"How do you figure?"
"He's your cousin!"
"Coincidence. And I don't care what that Gibbs guy says." said Danny.

Tony wanted to ask Danny if he visited Tim yet but was sick of asking the same question over and over and getting the same pathetic excuses.

Tony straightened up in his chair, alert and focused on his partner, "Any trace evidence…Paint chips at the crime scene?"
"The car Tim's captors drove didn't hit anything so, no." Danny didn't make eye contact with his partner.

"Any statements from witnesses?" asked Tony.
Danny rested his elbows on his desk and finally met Tony's gaze. "No witnesses. I even poked around when you were on protection detail. No one saw anything but it was dark and late so it's understandable."

"Uh, huh."

"Did Forensics match the tire treads yet?" asked Tony.
"They were inconclusive."
"What? Really? Did they use that…Brushy thingy? Or that jello stuff?"

"They used the brushy thingy and I don't know if they used that Gellatin lifter. But, nada." Danny shrugged. "It's a high traffic area, what can I say?" He went back to his paperwork.

"How was he as a kid growing up, did he get into any kinds of trouble?"
"Who?" Danny looked up.
"Tim."

"From what I heard he was a good student, sounded pretty boring to me. He was in wrestling…Got in a car accident when he got his license…ah, something about not knowing how to work the windshield wipers…Lame excuse." said Danny.

"Windshield wipers can be confusing. I always have a problem finding the lights when I'm in a new car-"
"For me it's working the gas cap…Sometimes there's a lever you have to pull and I can never find it."

"Uh, huh." said Tony staring across the room, concentrating.

"Well, I'm heading over to the vending machines. You want anything?" asked Danny.

Tony had to break his train of concentration to answer him, "Uh, no… thanks."

Danny nodded then left his seat headed towards the break room. Tony looked at his screen, manipulating a baseball in his hand, one that he kept on his desk that he used to keep his hands active and help him concentrate whenever he was on a tough case.

"We got nuthin'." He whispered. "How can we have nuthin'?"

/

Tony exited the elevator onto the third floor, where Tim had been moved once he had been declared 'out of the woods' by his doctor. Tony patted his jacket pocket to make sure he had remembered the package for Tim. Hearing the crinkle from the wrapper he smiled. When Tim had first woken, he could feel the awkwardness and shyness exuding from the kid, but over time Tony knew he had gotten to him with his jokes and telling him about the impressive basketball records he had achieved in college. Tony felt the need to take Tim under his wing; knowing he had no one in the area to watch out for him; his cousin had only been around once.

Tony didn't need to read the room numbers to find where he was going but recognized Tim's room by the security cop stationed outside his door. The man was seated and… sleeping. Tony could feel heat rise to his face as he approached the officer, his last steps quiet and sneaky. He stood over him with disgust etched deeply in his face then slammed his open palm over the man's head, smiling when the man jumped, almost toppling to the floor in shock.

"Oh sorry...Am I keeping you up?" Tony was nose to nose with the overweight, dark-haired man guessing he had onions for breakfast. He glared intently as he inattentively removed a small notebook from his back pocket, glancing over the officer's name tag. "Officer DoodlePants?"

"Uh...No sir, I mean, if you want sir...But most call me Officer DuelPont."

Tony scratched his pen messily, "Uh, huh...Like what I thought… DoodlePants. You can expect a call from your superior. I hope you like scrubbing toilets." Tony showed no mercy, his voice sharp and accusatory as he stared at the sweating man until he entered Tim's room.

He found Tim sitting at the edge of his bed in his jeans and hospital gown, struggling to put on his sneakers.

"Whoa, whoa. Timmy! What do you think you're doing?"
Tim grunted then looked up, "Ahh…Tony. Hi. I'm freaking out. The meds finally wore off and I just remembered that I have no medical insurance-"
"Wait. Aren't you a student? Don't all students have insurance?"
"Yeah...I mean, I don't know, but my father has coverage and forgot to reenlist me. I know; a minor detail. But the fact remains I can't stay here."
"But, but, you're…Hurt. You can't leave. Where will you go? Did you forget you're under police protection?"
Tim shrugged, "I don't have a choice-"

'Hey. Yes you do. You can stay with me. I can protect you…Plus, you'll have some where to stay while we sort this all out." Tony wagged his eyebrows at the young man, a big grin covering his face as he stepped closer. "It'll be fun. Oh!" Tony pulled the small package out of his pocket, "I brought you Nutterbutters."

Tim looked up at Tony, grinning, "Thanks…But, ah…I dunno. Shouldn't I be staying with my cousin? I don't want to put you out. You have a girlfriend."
"It's my job Tim. Besides, your cousin's getting his apartment fumigated for rats. And, you'd be better off with me than King Tut out there." Tony pointed his head towards Tim's door.

"King who?" asked Tim.

"DiNozzo will be better than this fruitcake, Tim." The boys looked to see Gibbs entering the room, as he too, referred to the cop stationed outside Tim's door.

"What's he doing now?" Tony stared at Gibbs, his mouth hanging open.

"Playing tic-tac-toe with himself." He shook his head. "Yeah Tim. Go with Tony. But tell me why you have to leave."

"No insurance." answered Tony for Tim.

"Oh." Gibbs automatically crouched near Tim and started to help him with his shoes. "Go 'head, slide your foot in."

Tim grimaced.

"Hurts pretty bad, does it Tim?" asked Tony.
"Only anything involving moving." said Tim with a smile. He winced, "I'm sorry, but I'll need to get my stuff at my place."

"Sure. That won't be a problem. We'll head over right from here."

Tony's enthusiasm brought a smile to Gibbs' face. "Looking forward to some 'manly time' I see."

Tony shrugged. "My goldfish, Zoe has been lonely. She could use some company when I'm at work during the day."

"Goldfish, huh?" Gibbs smirked.

"Thanks, Tony. I really appreciate all you've done for me. I'll make sure to make it up to you."
"Don't worry about it Timmy." He tapped his shoulder with his fist.

Tim gave him an appreciative, crooked grin; his eyelids heavy.

"Now let's get a shirt on you." said Tony as he walked to the drawer by Tim's bed to look for his clothes.

"Uh, I think my shirt's ruined; too much blood and rips…"

"Yeah, no shirts in here. Hey, you can wear my shirt. I'm wearing a t-shirt underneath."
"Oh…Okay."
Tim weakly raised his arms to reach towards the back of his neck. "Uh, I need help with the string…I tried to take it off but got it stuck into a knot."
Gibbs gave it a closer look, "I see you did." He pulled a pocketknife out of his back pocket. "Boys. Rule number nine. Never go anywhere without a knife." He cut through the string and the gown fell from Tim's shoulders.

"Resourceful guy. Hey, Tim. Whatyda say we invite him over for some lessons on life?"

Tim gave Tony a shy, toothy smile, "Sounds like fun."

Gibbs crouched, again, to finish tying Tim's shoes "Count me in since I plan to check in on you two. You need to keep me updated, all right DiNozzo? Have you been watchin' your back?" He tilted his eyes to look at Tony.

"Oh yeah…No problem there…Fearless leader."

"Yeah…Well…" Gibbs trailed off as he stood.

Tony had undone his buttons and was removing his long-sleeved shirt. "Here. Arms up so we can get this on you." Tony could see the deep, red color blossom in Tim's cheeks, so red he could almost feel the heat. He figured he wasn't used to getting this much attention from others.

/

When they arrived at Tim's apartment he insisted on accompanying Tony inside; it would be too difficult for Tony to blindly pack his things and Tim said the drugs that he was now on were working miracles; he was feeling no pain.

The apartment was located on the first floor of a quaint, brick townhouse with nicely landscaped shrubs and flowerbeds surrounding the building.

Tim tried his key but his dexterity was affected by the drugs so Tony took over. "You know, I usually walk around my place in my underwear, I hope that won't be a problem-" Tony was solely focused on Tim to watch his response.

Tim's eyes widened, "Tony! Wait! Shouldn't you be securing the area? There is a possibility for potential-" Just as Tony swung open the door, a fist connected to his face.

"Tony!"

He swayed on his feet, holding his nose trying to see through the tears of pain.

TBC