"So your wife left the house where the party was 2 blocks away, alone and never came home?" said Tony
"Yes…is there anything you can do? I just really want her home…" The husband looked at Tony with an almost pleading look. It was all Tony could do not to let on his scepticism; in cases like these the chances were not on the girls chances.
"We are doing all we can sir. All our best agents are on this case" Tony gave an encouraging look trying to make the guy feel better. He knew that words would never be a comfort though; if this had happened to him and Kate…It just didn't bare thinking about.
"We're going to try an retrace her steps last night, what was the address of the party again?" said McGee.
"Here" The husband quickly scribbled down the address and handed it to McGee. "Thanks so much. All I want is for her to come home; to be safe…" He broke of unable to say anymore.
"We are doing all we can. Here's my card and call us if anything however small comes up" Tony hesitated with his next line…"If this is an abduction, you might receive a ransom call…if you do let us know immediately" Tony put an encouraging hand on the man's shoulder and then both him and McGee left him in peace. Once they were out the front door, it was McGee who spoke first.
"I couldn't bare it if Abby went missing"
"Lets just not talk about it," said Tony unwilling to start thinking about what it would be like without Kate. "I don't think it would be nice for anyone". They both started to follow the directions they had been given and they were silent as they walked. This time it was Tony's turn to speak first. They'd just turned a corner when he saw something glinting by the side of the sidewalk.
"Look, over there. I think it's a phone" McGee walked over and looked.
"Yeah, I'll bag and Tag it" He pulled a camera out of his bag, quickly snapped, pulled on some gloves and then picked up the phone. "Phone book has the husbands number. I think this is the vics"
"She's not dead yet McGee"
"I know Tony, I didn't mean it like that" Tony didn't answer back and carried on looking around. "There's nothing else here. Either this isn't where she disappeared or if she was taken; our abductor is good" The latter was best not thought about. Cases like these where hard enough. "Ok take some more pics and then we should head back to NCIS"
***
Kate sat at her desk and watched Gibbs writing. She remembered the first time she had ever met him upon air force one. The first time she saw him, he was pretending to be Ducky's assistant but she had seen through it. His silver hair was neatly cut and his voice showed authoritativeness. There had been something about him; he was like a caged tiger who even through his cage could instate fear in the hearts of all who challenged him. When he had tied to take over the investigation, she had tried her best to retain power but it had been no use. The moment Special agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs had stepped foot on that plane, there had been only one boss. Him. Gibbs was no M'E's assistant. When she had shook his hand, on those stairs, all she had felt was pure power. His grip was strong and there was something in his eyes that said ‘Trust me' Kate had remembered that look, it made her felt safe and right from that moment, he had had her trust. She looked at him now and she felt exactly the same. In some ways he was the perfect father figure, but in others he was the perfect man. She loved Tony and that was that, but Gibbs would always be somewhere in her heart.
***
Kate was lying back in her chair when a loud ringing sang out across the bullpen. Kate jumped in her chair and her eyelids groggily opened. She looked around and saw the phone vibrating on its stand.
"Damn it" croaked Kate "I fell asleep" She rubbed her eyes and leant forwards to pick up the phone. "Y'ello Kate DiNo..I mean Todd. Kate Todd speaking…". She was now totally awake and blood rushed to her face, ‘how could I have said that? Stupid stupid stupid! Oh my God what if it was Tony on the phone?'. She waited with baited breath…
"Kate?…Its me Abs" Kate let out a whoosh of relief. She'd been dreaming of herself and Tony, and what it would be like to be married. For her stubbornness against moving in, Kate was surprised at how she had enjoyed being married to Tony in her dream. It was stupid really how one little ring could mean so much.
"Oh Abs its only you" she couldn't help but smile knowing that crisis had been averted.
"What do you mean ‘only' me?…"
"Its just…just that…well…" Kate heard laughing through the phone.
"I'm playing with you Kate, its alright!" Kate laughed nervously, she had forgot that the last conversation she'd had with Abby had not ended on a good note. Both of the girls started talking at the same time, both muttering the same thing,
"I'm Sorry"
"I'm Sorry" They both went into nervous giggling and the ice was now officially broken.
"I'm so sorry for being mean to you Kate" said Abby "I totally get where you are coming from and I should have been a better friend"
"You're a great friend Abs and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. You hear me girl?"
"I hear you" said Abby laughing slightly.
"You were right Abs, I'm just stalling. The truth is that I love Tony and I was just afraid. I've never loved anybody this much before, and now I might have lost him for good…"
"Never gonna happen Kate, that boy breathes off you. You are his soul, he's always gonna love you"
"That's sweet Abs and I really hope so…God, I hope I haven't messed things up…"
"Don't worry Kate, it'll be ok. Listen to Abby" Kate laughed.
"I always do Abs, don't worry"
***
Tony stepped out of the elevator. He had left McGee downstairs with Abby and the phone they had found earlier. He wasn't exactly sure how much analysing of evidence would be going on however. McGee was never off his stupid phone now that he had MSN, it was like him and Abby were joined at the hip. Not like him and Kate. He gave her her space but recently it had felt like he'd given her too much, especially since she'd turned him down. He'd reacted badly to that and he hated how he was now pushing her away. McGee was right, he was an idiot and he was going to have to fix it. Tony strode up to the desk where Kate was sitting. She was sketching in her pad. She looked up at him and opened her mouth to talk but he motioned for her to stay quiet. She did as she was told and Tony gently removed the sketchpad from her hands and brought her to her feet. He put both of his hands on her cheeks and pushed his lips against hers, pulling her into a deep kiss. He felt her relax her body and he moved his arms to surround her and support her in his arms. They were now in an intimate clinch and neither was prepared to let go. They carried on like this in their own little world, undisturbed by surroundings for about 5 minutes until a loud cough brought them back down to earth. They moved apart but so that their bodies were still touching. It turned out that they had conjured up themselves a small audience.
"Shows over guys" said Tony as the crowd dispersed and both him and Kate turned to face Gibbs who was standing to their left. Kate slipped her hand into Tony's and he gripped it tightly.
"Evidence Tony. Now"
"McGee and Abby are working on it now Boss"
"Not good enough Tony. I want this case cleared up fast. If there's nothing left for you to do here go home and get some rest. I want you here bright and early tomorrow to work on this case. We don't need you two in here creating a scene." Kate and Tony frantically grabbed their things and then moved towards the elevator.
"On our way Boss" and they both scurried out like a couple of teenagers that had been caught in the act. Gibbs was left standing alone in the bullpen, a slight smile on his face. Sometimes breaking rule 12 was worth it. Seeing Tony and Kate together sometimes reminded him of himself and Shannon, all those years ago. ‘God how he missed her…'
***
Author's Chapter Notes:
Apologies