Hi,

Just a quick note; not sure if everyone is familiar with Twinkies and Wonder Bread…They were a couple of the staple foods I grew up on. Twinkies: crème- filled golden cakes and Wonder Bread: White, doughy bread great for making bologna sandwiches. Really healthy; huh? I want to say thanks for all the reviews, Follows, Faves and PMs and the reviews I can't answer, love to read them

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A shriek seemed to pull him away from the multiplying, black and fuzzy dots that threatened to fill his vision. Tony felt arms around his waist holding him upright then Tim breathing with effort in his ear before he yelled his name, "Tony!"

Tony cringed from the sharpness of Tim's voice.

"I got you." Tim grunted and Tony could tell he was having a tough time keeping him upright. They almost tumbled over each other's feet before Tony took the effort to secure his stance while pulling up his shoulders as he regained his bearings.

His vision was blurry, filled with pain-induced tears as he rapidly blinked, but otherwise his senses were resuming to normalcy. "Tim, I'm okay. You can let go." Tim seemed to use Tony for leverage as he also, righted himself.

"Tim?"

"Yes?"

"What the hell just happened?" Tony found his way into the apartment cautiously grabbing walls and furniture for support as he searched for somewhere to sit; Tim was guiding him; his hands warm on his shoulders and neck. Tony let out a sigh of relief when he saw the stool Tim had steered him to.

"I think...It was Erin...My girlfriend. She ran; she looked scared. I hope she's not climbing out a window-"
"That was a chick that hit me?! What the hell does she have to be scared about with that right hook?" Tony winced as he squeezed his eyes shut tilting his head back to wait for the pain to minimize.

"Hey, I'll get you ice...Or something. I don't know if I own anything frozen…right now." Tony peeked at Tim, his eyes now clear. Tim was by his side, his hand on Tony's shoulder, anxiously looking at him, "Sorry about that, she can seem meek but is very protective. She's all feisty, then some. You'd be smart not to mess with her."

"Hmm-mmmm. I'm getting that...Kinda." said Tony.

"Erin?!" Tim called out as he simultaneously walked to his refrigerator; only a few steps away. The door was covered with magnets and post-it's that were filled with illegible, scrawled notes that Tony squinted at but gave up trying to read. He looked around the part of the apartment that he could see from where he sat; he was in a light-filled kitchenette, sun pouring in from the windows. There was a tea kettle on the small stove and a pink pig, cookie jar on the counter, otherwise it was bare of any other kinds of kitchen items. The counters and floor, were pristine. He turned and behind him was an open area with a card table and two folding chairs positioned in front of a picture window with a wilted plant on the nook in front of the window.

A curled and staled, half eaten peanut butter and jelly sandwich sat neglected on a plate; a half cup of lumpy and what Tony guessed, extremely sour milk beside it. Tony hated the thought the kid was abducted right in the middle of his lonely, cheap dinner. He must have been dutifully eating his meal while receiving a knock at the door; then, wham!

"Uh, I have frozen...Bread."

Tony accepted the loaf with a look of distaste and doubt on his face. He glanced at the loaf as he awkwardly held it in his hands, reading the label, "Wonder bread? Doesn't this stuff have a shelf life of a Twinkie? Something like thirty years? Why would you feel the need to freeze-" Tony looked at Tim accusingly then saw how hurt he look, his eyes cast to the floor. Tony swallowed, as if trying to take back the harsh words he hit him with and put them back where they came from. He tapped Tim's shoulder, "Uh…Thanks kid. I'm thankful you had somethin'."

"Don't worry Tim, he's just grumpy 'cause a girl got the best of him."' Gibbs was standing in the doorway.

"Whatya doin' here?" asked Tony; his brows furrowed; not liking the fact Gibbs had him pegged.

"I've been there for the last few moments. What were you thinkin,' DiNozzo? Secure the area…" Gibbs hit the back of one hand against the open palm of the other. "You knew Tim's place could be a potential threat."

Tony sighed leaning his head back to place the bread on his forehead. The frozen bread actually felt good. "I was…Distracted." he mumbled. Before he knew it Gibbs was by his side, a handkerchief blotting at his nose. It hurt when he made contact but he was grateful for the man's concern and gruff bedside manner.

"Is it broken?" asked Gibbs.

"Nah. It just stung like the dickens." Tony noticed his voice was weak when he spoke so cleared it. "So…You just happened to be in neighborhood?" Tony flashed Gibbs a glance filled with sarcasm.

"When I saw you two leaving the hospital the same time I was, I decided it'd be a good idea to follow. I suppose I was right." Tony couldn't help but smile at the man's smug expression.

A petite, slender girl with dark, smooth hair and a porcelain complexion entered the kitchen. Her eyes were big, dark and scared as she darted over the men standing in Tim's apartment.

"Erin?"

She looked at Tim, a hand on her hip."Tim? Where were you?" Erin grabbed Tim by the front of his shirt, pulling him in front of her. It was almost comical the way Tim and his big, tall stature complied with the small woman's demanding, rough demeanor. She was assertive and strong-willed; Tony would give her that.

Tony and Gibbs watched as Erin's face softened looking into Tim's eyes. She started to cry then embraced him with fervor. Tony cracked a smile then noticed Gibbs had, too as they exchanged a glance of pride towards the kid.

"You dog, Tim. Why didn't you tell us about her?"

Tim pulled away from Erin to acknowledge them, shrugging and blushing profusely. Before he could get his mouth to work and answer Tony, Erin had pulled him back to gain his full attention. "Why didn't you call? I was worried! I came here to find a half-eaten meal, the place a mess-" Tony glanced over the apartment and from what he could see was dumbfounded…Mess? "-and you were gone for days, not answering my calls-"

"Erin, I was abducted-"
"You were what? Are you hurt?" She immediately ran her hands over his body but Tony could see Tim was flustered and tried to turn away.

"He was kidnapped-" added Tony trying to help.
"Kidnapped?! Tim? What is going on? And who are they?" She jabbed her thumb towards Tony and Gibbs.

Tony reached over, offering a hand to shake, holding up his badge with the other. "I'm Detective Anthony DiNozzo," He directed his lower jaw to Gibbs, "-and this is Special Agent Gibbs. He has a lot of first names so I'd suggest just, plain, Gibbs-" Tony realized the woman was not listening to him but had her eyes solely on Tim. She kept grabbing his chin so he would keep from looking at the floor. He stammered and stuttered and couldn't seem to explain the reason for his disappearance so he finally lifted his shirt to expose the bandage on his stomach for his answer.

"Tim! Oh baby!"

Erin crouched to study the bandage and Tony could see it was stained with fresh blood. "Tim? Did you reopen it when you were holding me up?" Tony asked. Either that, or it was when Erin hugged him, he thought to himself.

Erin pulled Tim's shirt back down; they were in their own little world and hadn't heard Tony's question. Erin carefully hugged Tim. "Oh, Tim. I'm so sorry for yelling at you."

Tony would make sure he checked the wound for Tim later. He was coming to the assumption Tim wasn't the type to complain.

She pulled away from him, a stern look in her eyes, as she glared towards Tony and Gibbs. "Who did this to him?" Tony widened his eyes, feeling the avenging hate in her five, spitting, little words from across the room. He almost felt bad for Tim's assailants…They were dead where they stood.

Tony glanced again at Gibbs and they shared a smile. Tony didn't know what Gibbs was feeling but right now, for himself…he felt proud of Tim…He did good; this one was a keeper. Tony already knew he liked her…Her fiery approach and the protective concern for Tim was covetable. A thought occurred to him and he glanced towards Gibbs' ring finger; he was surprised to see he wore a gold band; a man who seemed to work around the clock. Tony could see Gibbs was now playing with his ring; twisting it with his thumb. He finally stopped and made a fist. Was he envying Tim's relationship or just wishing he was home right now spending some 'quality time' with the missus?

"That's what we're working on to find out Miss…" said Gibbs.

"Kendall. I'm Erin Kendall. Sorry, about my behavior. I was concerned over Tim not answering my calls…Then when I stopped by to find his half-eaten meal…" She shook her head, tongue-tied, "When you entered, I have to admit, I freaked! I'm sorry, uh, Tony is it?"

"It's fine, Miss Kendall." Tony and Erin shook hands." Where did you learn to punch like that?"

"I have three older brothers."
"Aaahh." Tony smiled.

Gibbs withdrew his weapon glancing at Tony. "I know this is after the thought, but I'm going to make a sweep through the apartment. I'll be back in a bit. Tim? I want to ask you some more questions. I know you've been on some strong meds and things are still foggy but let's give it another try, okay? Then I gotta head back." Tim nodded as Gibbs gently patted Tim's side, leaving the room.

Erin earnestly looked at Tony, "Now what happens?"
"We're here to pick up some stuff-" Tony walked over to the window and picked up the wilted plant, "-then Tim is heading over… to…uhh. Well some place. I can't disclose because he will be placed under protective custody. You understand, right?" Tony said with a knowing shrug.
"But wait, I have to see him-"
"Sorry, no can do." said Tony.

"But, but…That's not fair." Erin crossed her arms with a "hmphf." causing Tony to look at her from the corner of his eye, startled.

Tim placed a hand on her shoulder, "I promise, this won't take long. These guys are good, I'm sure they're close to cracking this case, Erin. Right Tony?"

"Uh…Yeah, sure, kid." said Tony.

Gibbs entered the room placing his cell into his coat pocket. "Gotta call. We got a match on our BOLO-"
"Blue jumpsuit?" asked Tony.

"Yeah. But, dead. I'll go check it out then get back to yah." He pointed at Tim, "And we'll talk."

Tim gave Gibbs a quick, agreeable nod.

"Was he still wearing the blue jumpsuit?" Tony called after Gibbs, his nose scrunched with disgust.

"Yup." Gibbs nodded then left.

"Ewww, that was a while ago…Stinky." Tony whispered to himself.