Chapter 35
AUTHOR’S NOTE: Thanks so much for your reviews and your ‘strong’ opinions. I love it. It is so much fun provoking such emotion. Enjoy!
Tony and Kate were sitting in the car watching their suspect. Surveillance was always boring, not matter who you watched or how long you watched. But with Tony not talking, the waiting was endless.
Kate kept glancing over at Tony. But he had the binoculars up to his eyes and didn’t seem to notice. Finally Kate couldn’t stand it any longer….”Talk to me, Tony.”
Tony took the glasses down and looked at her. “About what Agent Todd? You read the file, you know as much as I do.” Tony paused. “You gonna quiz me or something?”
Kate shook her head in frustration. “Does everything always have to be about work?”
“Yep.” Tony replied, staring out the window.
“It didn’t used to be.” Kate replied.
“Things change.” Tony stared at a person walking across the street. She looked similar in height and hair color, but she was not the person they were looking for. “You wanted professionalism….”
“Yeah, Tony…a little more professional…a little more...” Kate replied. “…not this.”
“You got what you asked for.”
Kate let her irritation show. “No…I didn’t. I didn’t ask for this. I wanted a little change, just a little. You…you went off the deep end.”
Tony, who had been staring out the window, now turned his full attention on her. “No, Agent Todd…what I did was leave NCIS for a year, a whole year, to…to figure things out, because, in all honesty, I was this close to quitting.” Tony put his thumb and index finger so close together you could barely see any light between them.
Kate didn’t know what to say. She had no idea.
“I was going to give it all up. The disrespect….” Tony shook his head.
“The disrespect?” Kate asked, astonished. “I’m supposed to respect you…when you act the way you do?” Kate crossed her arms over her chest and huffed out a breath.
Tony raised his voice and Kate could read the challenge in his voice. “Have I ever been disrespectful to you? Can you name one time, just one?”
Kate sat quietly thinking.
Tony nodded. “That’s right, you can’t. It never happened. I’ve snooped in your purse. I’ve answered your phone. I admit that. But did you ever hear me say anything? Did I ever use anything I found against you?”
Kate sheepishly shook her head.
Tony was clearly very angry now. He crossed his arms over his chest and went back to his surveillance. The air was tense and stayed that way for several minutes until Kate spoke again.
“Tony,” Kate sighed. “…I’m not trying to pick a fight with you. I, I just don’t understand how someone who is obviously as intelligent and as talented as you are plays down those qualities. I mean you are great with your patients. And I had no idea you could sing. You have an amazing voice. I…I just….”
Tony didn’t speak so Kate continued.
“I spent the time you were gone missing you, believe it or not. I had a hard time doing your job. And at least part of Gibbs’ work, I suspect. I had no idea about our job. And I really had no idea Gibbs had you doing so much for him too. I did profile you, Tony, up to a point. You probably thought I didn’t bother, but I really did. I tried. I…I kept hitting a wall after a certain point. And I asked Abby about you. I asked Ducky. I even tried talking to Gibbs. But…but they were… not comfortable telling me things. They told me I should try to ask you. But every time I tried, you turned it into a joke. Or you changed the subject…. And…” Kate sighed. “…I got frustrated and I quit.”
“You didn’t need to know my life history to respect me.” Tony said. “You don’t need to know a damned thing about me to do that.”
“Tony…I….”
“How I act when I’m in the office is not the same way I act out in the field. I am a pro out there, under fire. You know that. Gibbs would not have kept me around if I was not. I step up when it matters. THAT’s what you need to respect.” Tony replied.
Kate opened her mouth to speak, but Tony continued.
“And when you came on board, I got the job of training you, Kate. Would you have rather Gibbs done that? Would you still be here? Working at NCIS? I doubt it.” Tony explained. “I trained you because Gibbs doesn’t have the time or the patience for that stuff.” Tony paused. “You didn’t know how to work a crime scene, collect evidence, interview witnesses. Just imagine how it would have been if Gibbs had trained you to do that, him, with his pleasant, friendly, affable ways.”
Kate shuttered at the thought.
“You were too…serious, too uptight to do this job.” Tony paused. “A Secret Service thing, I guess. You can’t work with dead bodies all day and be like that. You need an…outlet. Our banter was that outlet. I would do things to irritate you and….”
It suddenly dawned on Kate, and she nodded. “I took it too far. I don’t know what to say. And you’re right. I was way, way too serious for this job. Being in Secret Service, everything is serious. I mean…that’s the nature of the job. And then I met you…. And I didn’t know what to think. I mean, there’s Gibbs, Ducky…and you. All so different, it’s so strange, and yet, it works so well.”
Kate fell silent for a moment.
“And I am sorry. I’m sorry I didn’t see what you were doing. I am glad I had you teach me the ropes and NOT Gibbs. That would have been a disaster. And you’re right, I would have just quit after a day or two.” Kate looked at her partner, as if she was really seeing him for the first time. “I get it now. I need to respect Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo, but I need to ‘appreciate’ Tony DiNozzo.”
And there it was…that smile. And those eyes, just sparkling. She had had no idea, until then, how much she had missed it.
TBC
END NOTES: I hope this chapter didn’t end too…cutsie for you. I wanted to kind of wrap things up with Kate so I could move on to Tim.
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