Pairing: TATE
A/N: Once again I find myself posting after midnight… 2.30 in the morning actually to be exact but I had to get this out of my system. It's just a short little thing but hopefully it'll be appreciated anyways. Read and tell me what you think (I've had mighty trouble just uploading this... something's hinky with the site again... obviously (which is an awesome song by McFly btw) ).
Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or its characters. Sadly, I don't even own the DVD yet since it isn't out here yet.
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"I swear Tony if you drop me now….!"
He could feel the sun burning his neck and tried to focus on her and her face and not the rocky ground at least 600 feet below them.
"You'll be flat as a pancake… yeah I know"
Anger flashed in her eyes.
"Pull me back up now!"
He grinned at her even though he felt like crying… or throwing up. Pull it together DiNozzo you're not the one dangling over the edge with no one but… you… to save your ass.
"Have you been gaining weight Katie?"
"That's it! Let go of me. I can't take more of this." She pursed her lips and looked as stubborn as a 3 year old.
Tony frowned. "So dropping 600 feet is better than spending some more time with me?" he pretended to be hurt. "That just makes me feel so lousy Katie."
She rolled her eyes also trying not to think about the 600 feet that separated her from the ground. "Oh no, I love spending quality time with you DiNozzo," her words dripped with sarcasm "and there's not much that can top that but being crushed down there would!"
Tony laughed at her and tried getting a better grip on her wrist without dropping her.
"Quality time?" He groaned slightly as he placed his other hand even further down on her arm. "Me laying here looking down at you and you hanging here naked. That would be spending quality time together dear"
Her eyes darkened with anger again and she was just about to spill some witty come back when one of her shoes fell off and fell through the air.
"Tony!" she hissed, panic now evident in her voice.
He scrunched his face up as he tried supporting himself on his elbows.
"This would be so much easier if you'd be still for one second Kate!" he tried to once again get up on his elbows and as Kate, now close to hyperventilating, stopped moving around as much as she could he succeeded. He felt a little better now, not flat on his stomach. Maybe he could sort this whole thing out after all…
Kate wasn't heavy at all and Tony knew he would be able to pull her over the edge again if only he had something to support himself with. He needed a free arm but he couldn't pull her up with just one arm. No what he really needed was back up. As he lay pressed against the ground he could feel his cell phone in his pocket. If only he could call Gibbs… or McGee… or… heck, even Palmer would do right now…but there was no way he could hold Kate up with only one hand long enough for him to reach for the cell and place the call.
He could see his knuckles turning white as he tightened his grip on her arm. Her nails dug into his skin as her free hand clung to his.
A light breeze moved some of her hair into her face and Tony wanted to tuck in behind her ear but he couldn't do that. She looked up at him and as her breathing slowed he was almost sure he saw something new in her eyes… not anger… not even fear, but sadness.
It always seemed to come down to her and Tony for some weird reason. He annoyed the hell out of her but when he wasn't around she missed him. He could make her so mad but when he made her smile she felt warmer than ever. She knew some people in the office wondered how many close calls it would take for the two of them to do something about those sparks… about the tension, about the need to look out for each other and always be close to the other person. She now knew why she hadn't really been wondering. She had always figured that it would take them one close call too many and had settled with that but as she felt nothing but air beneath her feet and she could see the strained look on Tony's face she couldn't help but wonder why they where so stupid… why they just didn't acknowledge what they had together… what they could have.
"Why haven't we-"
Tony hurried up and cut her off.
"I'll get you up."
She momentary closed her eyes.
"Maybe this time… but what about tomorrow? And what about the day after that Tony?"
Tony couldn't believe what he was hearing. Had she given up on him… on herself… on them? Of course officially there was no 'them' to begin with but he knew that both of them knew that there was one. There was something untitled… something that was unspoken of between them. Something he knew they took for granted. With our jobs we can't do that, he thought as he once again tried to get a better grip on her arm. But this is not the time to confess anything… I get her through this, then we cross that bridge.
"I'll be there Kate, holding you up, tomorrow. The day after that… when it's time to fall; I'll fall with you."
She rolled her eyes at him.
"Gee Tony, that's reassuring considering I'm hanging off a cliff and you're laying on the edge."
He smiled at her. It was one on those million dollar smiles that could melt girl like a Popsicle in the desert… well any girl but Kate, she would throw something at him if she could. As charming as that smile was to her, she knew there was so much more to him.
"It's not our time to fall today." he winked at her. "We haven't confessed yet. Not to ourselves and not to each other. Now please trust me… I'll get you up"
She gave him a small nod.
He spoke again, a new idea popping into his head.
"When I say so I want you to let go of my hand with your free hand and reach for your cell phone."
She looked disbelievingly at him.
"What? You'll drop me!"
"No Kate, I won't. I told you… trust me. I won't let you fall. We have things to say, things to explain… Rules to break" he smiled at her again. "Now listen to me…"
Kate had to squint in the sunlight as she looked up at him. The sun had travelled higher on the sky and she couldn't keep herself from wondering how long she'd been hanging there now. Surely someone would look for them eventually, right? She also wondered why Gibbs hadn't called to check up on them yet? Can't have been that long then I guess, she thought.
"…take the phone press speed dial for Gibbs and then replace the phone in your pocket without closing it… okay? Can you do that?"
She took a deep breath. Yes, she could do that. She nodded.
"Good." Tony was proud of her. He was proud of himself for making some kind of attempt at planning something. He had no idea if she was strong enough to hold on to him with only one hand but one thing he did know. He would never let his partner fall. She was too good an agent to die like this and he cared too much about her to just let her fall. There was no way he was going to walk down this stupid mountain and back to the car on his own.
He used his elbows and legs to crawl backwards as many inches as he possibly could. He brought a knee up underneath himself to have something to help pull himself back with and he took a deep breath. "Now" he simply said holding on to her arm with both his hands as hard as he could.
With a whimper and her eyes closed Kate let go of Tony's hand and reached down to her pocket. She felt him tighten his grip on her as she was just dangling in one arm now and her mind raced, repeating his instructions for her in her head, again and again. Her fingers fumbled but she got a grip on her phone. She carefully flipped it open and without looking down pressed '1'.
"You're doing great" Tony told her through clenched teeth and she hurried to put the phone back in her pocket.
"Now what?" She asked Tony, replacing her hand on his.
Tony, relieved that Kate was now holding on to him with both hands again and that she'd succeeded in doing what he told her to, gave her a small smile.
"Now we tell him to get his ass up here"
They weren't able to hear if Gibbs had picked up or not so all they could do was call out for their boss and hopefully he'd hear them and understand that something wasn't right.
"Gibbs!" Kate called. "We need help!"
Gibbs knew their location since he was the one who sent them there in the first place but even if he heard them it would take him at least 20 minutes to get there.
Tony rolled his eyes.
"More like back up Boss…!"
Kate glared at him.
"Oh no, he means help alright!" she called.
"Back up… a second opinion" Tony shot back at her.
"A second opinion to decide what? That I must have fallen off a cliff?" She yelled at him in frustration.
The phone and call for help… I mean back up… eh… second opinion… or was it help after all… anyways, it was long forgotten.
"You didn't really fall it was more of a plunge and I have it under control. I could use a few extra hands though, that's all"
"Aaarrgh! I can't believe you! I'm tired and I can't hold on much longer and I… I want you to just let me go Tony… I don't care if I never got to tell you-"
"You'll tell him" it was a new voice. Not Kate's and not Tony's or his imagination though Tony wasn't sure of that at first.
That's lame… I want my boss to show up so badly that I hear his voice in my head… and I'm not even breaking any rules!
It wasn't until Gibbs came to stand next to Tony that he realized that he was actually there.
"I've never been this glad to see your cheap shoes in my entire life, Boss" Tony grinned not being able to see more than that from his position on the ground.
Gibbs ignored his comment and bent down to help Tony get Kate over the edge. Tony used his knee under him to pull back. He got up on both knees, and with the extra strength of Gibbs a shaking but relieved Kate stood on solid ground.
Tony stood up and dusted the sand from his pants.
""I have it under control…"" Kate muttered, quoting Tony, trying to straighten her clothes.
He looked up at her. "Hey! I did have it under control… unlike someone else… you almost told me you loved me back there Todd! He beamed and she was disgusted with him again.
"In your dreams!" she spat back at him and Gibbs felt the urge to smack both of them.
Gibbs was glad that he'd decided to go check on his two agents on the mountain in person instead of calling because just when he was about to start climbing the narrow path up to them he received one of the most incoherent phone calls he'd ever received in his life. He pretty quickly understood that he needed to hurry. He was also glad that both his agents seemed to be fine but did they have to fight over everything?
He liked his rules. He even relied on them… they were necessary but sometimes the answer lay in breaking a rule or two and if these two didn't get past his rule #12 soon he'd go crazy. Kate would always be Kate and Tony he would always be Tony so he knew he would never get rid of their constant bickering and bantering but Gibbs if anyone knew what it was like to all of a sudden realize that you didn't have all that time you thought you had with someone. He knew what it was like to love on the inside and realizing that you should have acted on that feeling a lot more often than you did.
He watched as Kate kicked Tony with her shoeless foot and then watched Tony throw a handful of sand in her hair.
Before the fight would get out of hand Gibbs shook his thoughts out of his head and broke up their little party.
"Tony, pick her up. We're heading back as I'm guessing you didn't find anything useful up here…"
"Yes, Boss" Tony nodded and threw Kate over his shoulder.
"Gibbs!" she moaned and pounded hard on poor Tony's back with clenched fists as he smacked her ass.
Gibbs fought the urge to smile as he fell behind watching Tony bounce happily down the trail with Kate helplessly slung over his shoulder.
"You'll tell him…" Gibbs whispered repeating what he'd told her when he first found them. "One day, you'll tell him what he already knows..."
The EndOoooOOoooOOooOooOOooOOooOO
I remember how pissed I used to get when boys would throw sand in my hair… I thought mum was crazy when she told me it was because they liked me… turns out mothers are quite wise.
Well that was that. I hope you liked it. If not, tell me why.
Thank you for reading and as always, feel free to tell me anything and everything in a review.
Happy Midsummer! (If you sleep with 7 different flowers under your pillow tonight you'll dream about the person you'll marry. It's a Swedish midsummer tradition. Try it out ;) )
/Malin