Who Knew?

A Tate (Tony DiNozzo/Kate Todd) fic-lette
by KateofTate

Even if you've already read it, I'd appreciate it if you'd review - if I get enough feedback, it might become a multi-chapter instead of just a one-shot.
Edit: Feb. 12 - changed to First Person to match Chapter Two.

'Ah, good to be back,' I thought, walking out of the elevator and to my desk. 'Three weeks is too long to be out.' I ignored Tony's idiotic grin at first, passing it off as Tony being Tony. But, as always, he was much harder to ignore once he opened his mouth.

"So, who was it?" he asked, smirking.

"Wow, Tony. You actually waited until I sat down before you started asking stupid questions. Highly unusual," I replied.

"Hey, I'm not that bad," he said, offended. "But still, who was it?"

"Who was what, Tony?" I asked hoarsely.

"Who gave you mono?" Tony asked again, smugly.

"You honestly expect me to tell you?" I questioned, both amused and annoyed.

"Well, yeah, I was hoping you would. I guess if you won't, I'll just have to keep asking."

I sighed. I knew he would keep asking, but there was no way I'd tell him. "Fine. Go ahead. You won't get anything out of it, though."

"Fine, I will keep asking. And I bet I will get something."

"Yeah, sure. Whatever, Tony." I popped a hard candy into my mouth and began sucking on it.

"I thought you had something against sugar," Tony observed. "You sure were complaining about the sugar in my nutrition bar."

I nearly choked on the candy in my mouth. He remembered the nutrition bar? "That was at least a month ago, Tony," I answered shortly, bending over to rummage in my desk for something, anything, so my hair would cover my newly-flushed face. "And the candy actually has less sugar in it than most cough drops I could find."

"Really? A month?" He seemed a bit embarrassed by the time that had passed since the mentioned incident. "What'd you do with it, anyway?"

"Threw it away, of course. Those things are disgusting and full of sugar, and that one had your spit on it. Yuck."

"Oh, come on, Kate. What's so bad about my spit?"

"Well, it's spit, and it's yours. What isn't bad about it?" I vaguely wondered whom I was trying to convince: him, or myself.

"You know, Katie, I resent that comment."

"I'm Katie all of a sudden, am I? Well, I don't particularly appreciate the name change."

"All right then, Katie, take back the comment about my spit and I'll change your name back," he replied with the grin.

"Fine, Tony. I take it back."

"All right, Kate." He turned suddenly back to his computer screen as Gibbs walked back in with his coffee. "Hey, Boss. What took you so long?"

Gibbs threw him a light glare as he sat down at his own desk. "Welcome back, Kate. Nothing in particular to do today – probably not a bad thing. You're going to have a lot of reading to do." He gestured at my computer, and I wondered vaguely why I'd have to read so much. I really shouldn't have, but I did.

I turned back to my computer and pulled up my e-mail inbox. As messages began pouring in, I turned my head back to Gibbs and muttered, "Thanks for the warning." After a quick glance back at the screen, I turned again, this time to Tony, and asked, "Didn't you guys have anything to do while I was gone?" Nearly 150 emails sat in my inbox, most of them from Tony and, judging by the subject lines, completely pointless. Scanning the first one ,I asked, "Tony, did you really have to email me forty-three times a day just to say you – " Kate paused a moment, and laughed slightly. " – wanted some reinforcement? Or," I moved to the next e-mail, "you were getting lonely?"I was surprised at this one. "I'm going to guess you didn't mean after-hours, unless something happened to that blonde, what's-her-name."

"Oh, speaking of spit-swapping, was it Harrison that gave you mono?"

"No, Tony," I answered, struggling to hide my amusement at his preoccupation with my sickness.

"Was that a really-no, or a Tony-was-right-but-I-won't-admit-it-no?"

"Really-no." As I read a third e-mail, I commented, "I don't count dandelions as flowers anyway."

"What?" Tony asked me, confused.

"You threatened to bring me a dandelion if I didn't get better soon, as of last Thursday. As you wrote, 'I'd bring you flowers to help you get better soon, but the only thing in my budget is a dandelion. And I'd have to deliver them.' But I don't count dandelions as flowers, so it's a good thing you didn't bother."

"Funny, I don't remember sending that to you."

"Do you remember writing it?"I teased.

"Ha-ha. No, I don't," Tony answered sarcastically.

"Maybe you shouldn't send me six e-mails a day, every day, for three weeks, then," I suggested, turning back to my e-mail. But at a quiet half-chuckle from Gibbs, I looked backup to see Tony diligently studying his trash can as though there was nothing more interesting in the office. I smiled to myself and returned to the several dozen messages awaiting me as Tony decided his own e-mail, presumably with some e-mail from Alexa or Andrea or whatever her name was, held more attraction than the trash face coloured again as I realized I was fighting off jealousy over Tony's routine e-mails to a girlfriend.

By the end of the week, I had readjusted to my normal routine of life instead of my recent lazing around the house, not allowed to do anything more physical than clean out my closets or trip headlong into the fridge over a stray cheese grater (I hadn't even known I had a cheese grater.). That Friday morning, I walked into the office to find Gibbs on the phone. "All right, then," he said into the receiver and hung up. To my surprise, he chuckled slightly. "Well, Kate," he said, looking up at me, "Looks like DiNozzo won't be at work for a little while. It seems he's come down with mono.