Tony stepped out of the restaurant to find that it was pouring down rain outside. He glanced around for Kate, knowing for a fact that Danny had been her ride for the night, but he didn't see her anywhere. Oh no, an angry Kate had walked off somewhere, or maybe she had gotten a cab. He turned to the Valet attendant.
"Did you see a beautiful woman, expensive red dress, brunette with brown eyes, get into a cab or something?" he asked the young man while holding out his claim ticket for his car.
"Yes sir, but she didn't get into a cab. She took off that way." He pointed off to his right down the sidewalk and Tony grimaced visibly. Yeah, she was mad and she was walking… in the rain. Tony slipped quickly into his car, tipping the attendant before slamming the door shut and driving off in search of his partner.
He found her about a block away as she trudged down the street, her eyes staring straight ahead, the dress dripping wet and her hair falling into her face. Rain was pouring down in sheets and the truck in front of him splashed a large puddle of water right next to her, soaking her to the bone. Bastard! He thought as he pulled up slowly next to her and rolled down the window on the passenger side.
"Get in the car, Kate," he called to her. She ignored him and continued to walk down the street, oblivious to everything around her. He tried again, "Damnit Kate, get in the car now!"
"No, Tony. I deserve this, for trusting him." She refused to look at him or the car, her mind made up that she was walking home.
"No you don't, now get your ass in the car." He kept pace with her, as she wasn't showing any signs of stopping. When she suddenly turned to him, he slammed on the brakes and ignored the honking cars behind him. He flipped on the hazard lights and stared at her, waiting for her to make a move.
"This is so fitting, you know?" she began. "I open my heart to someone and they manage to destroy it time and time again. I deserve to be dumped, belittled and rained on! I let him get under my skin and he poisoned me, like they all do, Tony. So I'm going home alone again. I'm walking to my home and I am never going to come out. And I will let the rain destroy me while I do it."
"And you're ruining that expensive dress at the same time," he quipped. She looked down at her dress and sighed quietly. Tossing her head back she howled silently at the rain clouds that continued to pour over her. He felt so sorry for her at that moment. "Get in the car, Kate. Let me take you home."
She made no move, so Tony decided that enough was enough. "If you don't get your ass in this car right now, I will come out there and force you in it."
"You and what army, Tony," she growled, but realized that he wasn't kidding and made her way over to the curb as he reached out and opened the door for her. She took in the interior and wailed. "I don't want to ruin the seats, Tony!"
"I don't care, I'll get it cleaned later," he replied. "Now get in the damn car."
She did so, and after making sure that the entire dress was in the car, slammed the door shut. She shivered slightly and Tony pulled his overcoat from the backseat, draping it over her shoulders before leaning over to grab the seatbelt and secure her in it. He flipped the heat on full blast before turning off the hazard lights and pulling off into traffic again. After a few moments, Kate noticed that they were not going to her apartment and she glared at Tony.
"Where are we going?" she asked him, her voice dripping with sarcasm.
"My place," he replied coolly. "It's closer than yours and you need to get out of that wet dress quickly before you catch a cold."
"Tony, that's an old wives…Achoo!" she sneezed through her comment and Tony raised an eyebrow at her. She stayed silent for the rest of the ride.
When they had reached his apartment building, he grabbed an umbrella from the backseat and unlocked his door to get out. "Wait for me," he admonished her. She nodded quietly.
Once he had gotten out of the car, he ran to her side with the umbrella opened and held the door for her to climb out. He shut the door behind her and wrapped an arm around her to lead her up the stairs to his home. She remained mute the entire time as he opened the outer door and ushered her in out of the rain. They walked up to the second floor and Tony let go of her shoulders long enough to get the key into the lock of his door, opening it and nudging her to enter ahead of him. As he put the wet umbrella into a stand by the door, Kate stood in the middle of the floor and had her first real look around Tony's place. She looked down at her feet and noticed the hardwood floors.
"Tony, the floor," she began and Tony looked down at her feet as well.
"Don't move," he replied as he went down the hall towards his bedroom. Within moments he was back with a towel and something else draped over his arm. "Ok, off with the shoes."
She complied by kicking off the heels she was wearing and shoving them over to the side. He held up what looked like a terry cloth robe before her. "Now take off the dress."
"What?" The explosiveness with which she asked this was enough to make Tony smile. Kate was still in there, she was just frozen for a moment.
"Turn around so I can unzip it, then you are taking it off." When she hesitated still, he continued. "I promise not to look."
She eyed him warily as she turned slowly before him, moving her hair back away from her back so that he could take hold of the zipper and pull it down. He did so and noticed that the zipper went down quite a ways before stopping just above her buttocks. He swallowed quietly, hoping she didn't hear him, and then held the robe a little higher. "Ok, slip it off right there."
She did so, and as it hit the floor she was suddenly enveloped in a great big warm hug as Tony wrapped the warm robe around her shoulders. She sighed for a moment, relishing the warm strong arms that were holding her so comfortably. When his arms began to uncurl from around her, she slipped hers into the sleeves of the robe and turned around, holding it firmly around her body. Tony took the sash and tied it around her to help hold the robe in place, and then grabbed her upper arms; lifting her cleanly and depositing her out of the puddle and onto a dry towel he had dropped to his right. She never had a moment to protest before she was released and Tony was picking up her ruined dress from the floor.
"If you want, you can slip your under garment off as well. I know that wet clothes can be uncomfortable." He tried to hide the smirk that was threatening to show.
She contemplated his statement for a moment, then turned away from him and slipped out of her bikini underwear. She turned suddenly, shoving it into the pile of clothing in his hands before turning away from him again. He smiled as he walked away with her clothes and left her standing in the middle of the room alone. She looked around again, helplessly, not knowing what to do with herself. She didn't have to wait long for Tony to return, a pair of fuzzy slippers in hand. He handed them to her.
"I had bought these for an old girlfriend, but I never got the chance to give them to her. She broke up with me before I could." He shrugged his shoulders once. "They should fit your feet. Hers were small like yours."
Kate had been totally thrown off by this entire episode, not expecting Tony to take such good care of her, in his home. A robe, warm slippers, taking care of her wet clothing… What was she to think but that this was a side of Tony she had never known could exist? She put on the slippers and let him lead her to the couch, where he wrapped a large blanket around her before she sat down. Taking another towel, he carefully pulled the pins holding her hair up and let the wet locks flop down, and then he began to towel dry her hair very carefully. Within moments she was beginning to fall asleep and she fought the urge to yawn as she succumbed to the soft touches that he was bestowing on her as he cared for her.
"Kate?" he called lightly, checking to make sure she was all right.
"Hmm." She lazily looked up at him as he stopped with the towel on her hair and gazed into her eyes.
"You're ok, right?" He stared at her intently for a moment. She shivered slightly under that gaze and couldn't seem to tear her eyes away from his. He misinterpreted this as her being cold and so he quickly came over to sit beside her, taking her into his arms and laying her head on his chest. His chin came to rest on the top of her head and he held her close. Kate wasn't sure what she should do. On the one hand, she felt so safe in his arms; on the other hand her mind was screaming that Gibbs would kill them. Then the other thought came to her.
She had been hurt by Danny. During this entire time she had forgotten that fact. She realized that here, in Tony's arms, she could possibly… quite possibly, let it all go. By the time that thought had flitted through her mind, it was too late as she indeed let go. She began to sob on Tony's chest as he rubbed her back with one hand, the other hand smoothing back her hair from her face. He crooned to her soothingly as she released it all to him, every tear and sob letting him know that she finally trusted him. Neither of them moved for several long moments, until she shifted quietly in his arms. He let her go a small bit, to give her a chance to look up at him.
"Why did he do it, Tony?" she asked. He didn't have a real answer to that, so he gave her what he could.
"He was a bastard, Kate, and didn't know what he had in front of him." Again his mouth was moving before he could make it stop. She didn't need to hear this; she had to know already just how wonderful she was. But then he remembered she didn't know at all what she was, what she did to men, what she did to him. He sighed loudly as he tried to find the right words to say to her to make her understand. There were none, so he gave up with a helpless shrug of his shoulders again.
"Kate, men like that just have no idea what to do when something as wonderful as you falls into their laps." He smiled at her wistfully as her eyebrows drew together in a curious expression. "You are someone beautiful, strong, resilient and wonderful. And I hate to say it, but there are some men that can't handle that. They want to try and control it, or run from it. But there is no controlling you. You have a fire in you that, well frankly, it scares most men to death."
"Maybe I shouldn't be so sure of myself?" she asked him quietly, trying to sort it all out and coming to all the wrong conclusions. "Am I that untouchable, Tony?"
"No! God, Kate no… That is the last thing you are. You just need to find the right man. One who isn't afraid to look you in the eye and say…" he faltered a bit before finally saying what he had always wanted to say. "Kate Todd, you are brilliant and beautiful… And I love you."
She gazed into his eyes as he said this. He hoped that she was finally getting the message, that most men weren't worthy of her. He also hoped that she would find him the one that was worthy. Her Knight in, though not shining, then at least slightly tarnished armor, who could sweep her off her feet and protect her heart. She swallowed uncomfortably.
"Tony… Do you have any idea where I might find… someone like that?" she asked uncomfortably. He stared deep into her eyes, deep into her soul before answering, not with words, but with his lips upon hers. His soft kiss wasn't pressuring, but questioning as he waited for her to respond. She seemed to be holding back, analyzing all of her feelings about this moment, and he was content to simply hold her, to wait. He pulled back slightly to give her the minutes that he knew she needed.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Tony has waited long enough for the woman he desires
Chapter End Notes:
Thanks in large part to Gibbsgirl, MiddleAgedCrazy (MAC) and Rinne for encouraging and Beta work of this story.
I started this at LiveJournal, took it to ff.net and fosff.net, and am now leaving it here for archive purposes.
I started this at LiveJournal, took it to ff.net and fosff.net, and am now leaving it here for archive purposes.