Tony felt horrible. He had been having stomach pain for nearly a week now, and he couldn't figure out where it had come from. He knew it couldn't be appendicitis- he had had his appendix removed shortly after starting at NCIS when he had ended up in hospital after a suspect had beaten him to within an inch of his life. He just had a check-up the month before, and his doctor had said that he was healthy and doing a great job in staying fit.

"DiNozzo, are you listening?" Gibbs growled in his ear.

Tony looked up and shook his head. "Sorry, boss. What did you say?"

"Nothing. Let's go, you're with me for training today."

"What are we doing?"

"Boxing bags. You can start."

Tony quickly put his gloves on and headed over to the line of punching bags. He could sense Gibbs behind him for a moment as he decided on his course of action, then saw his boss move to steady the bag for him.

"Thanks, boss," said Tony as he got into position.

Gibbs just nodded. He was watching Tony with concern. All week, the younger agent had seemed off, completely unlike himself. At first, it hadn't been too much of a problem, but after two days, he had started acting oddly. The icing on the cake had been when Tony had refused to eat any pizza the night before. Gibbs had offered to order him something different, but Tony had said he wasn't hungry and that he would get something later. He didn't eat at all, and he had been there all night long with Gibbs and Kate. It was getting to the point where Gibbs wasn't sure who Tony was anymore.

"DiNozzo, throw in some kicks every now and then," Gibbs advised as he readjusted his position behind the bag.

Tony didn't acknowledge Gibbs, but after a few more punches, he kicked the bag. He was struggling to keep himself on his feet, which was strange, and was sweating more than he would normally after a relatively easy workout. He threw in a couple more kicks, then lost his balance. He fell hard, hitting the ground beneath him with an audible thud.

"DiNozzo! Tony? Hey, are you alright?"

Tony looked up to find Gibbs kneeling over him, worry clearly etched on his face. With a smile, he sat up and attempted to nod.

"Tony, take it easy. That was a hard fall," said Gibbs. He lifted Tony up and sat him against the wall. "You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah. I must have slipped. I'm fine boss." In truth, Tony wasn't fine. His head was sore and his vision was blurred. He wasn't going to admit that to Gibbs though.

"I'll get you some water. Stay there." Gibbs left and returned a minute later with Tony's water bottle. "Here. You're done for the day." Gibbs handed the bottle over and grabbed a towel, wiping the sweat from Tony's face. He took off Tony's boxing gloves and threw them to the side, then quickly grabbed Tony's hand.

"Boss? What are you doing?" Tony asked after drinking water.

"Making sure you're alright." Actually, Gibbs was checking Tony's pulse. He just didn't want Tony to know that, so he made sure that he pretended to check Tony's hands for injuries too.

"I'm fine." Tony felt slightly better, but he knew he was far from fine.

"Okay," Gibbs said finally. "Go and shower, we'll be up in the bull pen in ten minutes."

Tony slowly got up and headed out of the gym.

Half an hour later, the three agents were at their desks, working on a cold case. The room was warm, or at least Tony thought it was, and he was getting overheated. He had already taken his jacket off and rolled his sleeves up, but it wasn't helping.

"Boss, I'm going for coffee. Want anything?" Tony asked.

"Get me a coffee," said Gibbs without looking up.

"Kate? Want anything?"

"A coffee sounds good." Kate thanked Tony as he passed by her.

A few minutes later, Tony was outside in the cool air. The breeze, while making most people cold, was helping him feel better. For the moment, anyway. As Tony headed back to the NCIS building with the three coffees, he started feeling lightheaded and sick. Before he knew it, he was on the ground, the coffees spilling out of their cups beside him. He heard people running towards him, but his vision had blurred again, so he couldn't make them out.

"DiNozzo? DiNozzo!"

The voice was muffled, but Tony could easily tell that it was Gibbs. He'd know that voice anywhere.

"Gibbs," Tony mumbled.

"Tony, stay with me, alright? An ambulance is on the way, but I want you to stay awake."

"Sorry, Gibbs. The coffee is gone," Tony said softly as his eyes slowly closed.

"Forget the coffee, Tony. Just keep your eyes open. Focus on me, talk to me. What was the last movie you watched?" Gibbs knew Tony could never resist talking about a movie. He could talk for hours on end.

"Movie?"

"Yeah, Tony. What movie?"

"Uh, Finding Nemo."

"That cartoon movie about a lost fish?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

"Took my neighbour's kid to see it on Saturday."

"Since when do you spend time with kids?"

"Not sure." Tony's eyes closed again.

"DiNozzo, open your eyes. Can you hear the sirens? The ambulance is nearly here."

"Tired…"

"I know. You can sleep later. Tell me about Finding Nemo. Is it a good movie?"

"Yeah. Funny."

"Funny, how?"

"Dory… she's forgetful."

"That isn't funny, Tony."

"It is. For a fish."

"Do you think it's something I should see?" Gibbs was grasping at straws now. Tony wasn't giving him anything to work with.

"You would like it too. Marlin is like you."

"How?"

"He's grumpy." Tony grinned, but it was an odd look. The grin seemed lopsided and somewhat dopey.

"Thanks, DiNozzo." Gibbs smiled. "Just stay awake. Tell me more about my grumpy counterpart."

"He's a clownfish." Tony forced his eyes open as the sirens got closer. "Don't want to go to hospital, boss."

"You don't have a choice, Tony. You aren't well, I'm sure of it."

"Just tired."

"This is more than being tired. You will let the medics look after you. I will be right next to you."

"Promise?"

"I promise." While most people saw Gibbs as frightening and mean, Tony had always seen him as a friend and confidante. Gibbs knew a lot about Tony, more than he had ever admitted out loud, and he had vowed before Tony had even started working on his team to protect the younger man at all costs. He and Tony knew each other too well sometimes, but it made for a better relationship.

"Agent Gibbs, we need you to move please," said one of the medics.

Gibbs moved out of the way, but stayed where Tony could see him.

"Agent DiNozzo, can you try sitting up please?"

Tony nodded. He pulled himself upright, but was immediately dizzy and fell backwards. The female medic caught him and gently laid him on the ground again.

"Okay, that's alright. Let's get you checked out, then we'll take you to the hospital," she soothed, gently stroking his hair. "You're going to be fine."

"I want to sleep," whispered Tony.

"I know, but you need to wait, alright? Can you do that for me?"

"Okay. What's your name?"

"Amelia. What can I call you?"

"Tony. Amelia is a pretty name."

Gibbs snorted beside Tony, trying to hold back a laugh.

"Thank you." Amelia glanced at Gibbs curiously. "Tony is a nice name too."

Tony grinned the odd grin again. He hadn't noticed the second medic working until an IV needle was put into his left arm. Immediately, Tony felt fear creeping up on him and he pulled his arm away from the medic.

"Okay, Tony, it's alright," said Amelia softly. She held his arm still so that the male medic could finish connecting the IV. "You're okay. It's just a needle, that's all."

Tony shook his head. "Don't…" he begged.

Gibbs took Tony's right hand and squeezed it to get his agent's attention. "Tony, don't worry. It's only a needle. They know what they're doing, and they won't hurt you." He looked at Amelia. "Needles scare him. He's had quite a number of bad experiences with them."

Amelia nodded. "We'll let the doctor know when we reach the hospital. They'll still need to use needles, but they might be able to numb the area or give him a sedative."

"I want to ride with him."

"I'm sorry, Agent Gibbs, but he's an adult. You can't come in the ambulance," the male medic said.

"Gibbs? Don't leave me. Don't let them take me," said Tony, and Gibbs swore he could see tears in his agent's eyes.

"I'm not leaving, Tony. I promise." Gibbs held Tony's hand tightly, trying reassure him. "Got it? I'm not leaving him alone," Gibbs said to the medics.

"Of course," said Amelia, who was the senior of the two partners. "You can ride in back with me."

"Amelia…"

"No arguments, Jason. Tony is scared. If we don't let Agent Gibbs come, we aren't going to get Tony to cooperate with us. Agent Gibbs is coming, end of story." Amelia sighed. She didn't like Jason- he was always strict and rude to people, patients included, and he never let people come in the ambulance to calm down the patient. It made her job much harder. "We need to go. Tony, Agent Gibbs is right here, okay? He's coming with us, and I promise he will stay with you."

Tony turned his watery eyes on Amelia. "Are you staying too?"

"Of course I am. How are you going to get to the hospital without me?"

A grin spread across Tony's face. "Thank you."