Title: Trust
Disclaimer: I don't own any part of NCIS and am not seeking to gain any sort of monetary profit off of posting this story. NCIS is owned and produced by CBS Television Studios, Belisarius Productions, and all of the people associated with those organizations.
Author's Note: This is my first fanfic, and this story is femslash. (Which will transpire in later chapters.) If you aren't into that sort of thing, don't read it and don't comment.
Rating: Rated T for coarse language and for romance in later chapters.
Alternate universe that defies the boundaries of time and logic, Kate/Ziva.
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Chapter 1: Left Out
Director Morrow's transfer to the Department of Homeland Security didn't make MTAC any more enjoyable—or tolerable, even.
"Jethro, from what you have told me and what I have gathered from other sources, it is not safe for Ms. Todd to go with you on tha—"
"I know, Jen." Gibbs sighed and rolled his eyes once again at the new Director's obvious attempt to sound more official as she snapped at him in irate tones, trying her best to establish her structural superiority over the rest of NCIS. She was doing a pretty good job of it, considering it was only two days after her promotion.
"Then don't let her go on the mission. I can't afford to lose an agent, Jethro."
"She wants to go."
"Ari Haswari has a disturbing obsession with her. Until you can deal with him, keep her within NCIS headquarters during operation hours and have someone accompany her home."
"Fine, I'll give her something else to do. Paperwork or something." Gibbs moved toward the door, but stopped when Director Jenny spoke.
"Jethro, be careful. Haswari is dangerous." Her voice had softened, a tone of concern replacing her now-typical overemphasized sternness. Gibbs nodded in recognition. "And Jethro," Jenny added, her voice growing severe again, "Don't give me that look; Paris was a long time ago. This is a strictly business relationship."
Gibbs smiled faintly. "I know it was. You're the one who keeps bringing it up. If this is only a business relationship, you shouldn't call me Jethro."
The Director sighed in exasperation, and raised her voice to respond. "You know that has nothing to do with—" Gibbs had already left.
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Was it really only this morning that Kate had vowed for the umpteenth time not to let DiNozzo's childish behavior get to her again? Chastising herself in her usual manner, she grabbed her sketch pad from Tony's desk—now covered with multiple water ring stains where Tony had decided it would make a great coaster—dropped it into the bottom drawer and slammed it shut, sending another glare his way. Tony raised his arms and made an immature face, obviously failing to acknowledge or take responsibility for the childishness of his actions.
"C'mon Kate it's just a cover, your cute little drawings are fine!"
Cute little drawings? What the hell was that? Kate spent a lot of time on those sketches and for Tony to minimize that effort by—She stopped her mental rant from continuing any further and breathed in sharply, but couldn't stop herself from snapping at Tony. "That's an expensive book, DiNozzo! It's not a place for you to put your stupid soda all over when you've lost your coaster for the twentieth time!"
"Soda? It's not just soda. It's Pepsi, Kate," replied Tony, pointing to the plastic bottle in his hand, "and Pepsi is America's drink."
"It's pure sugar somehow liquefied and dyed dark brown, DiNozzo."
"God bless our country," Tony sniffed. "What haven't you contributed to the world, America?"
Furious, Kate yanked the bottle from Tony's hands, unscrewed the cap, and proceeded to pour the rest of its carbonated contents onto his head. McGee turned around in his chair and let out a loud laugh as Tony stiffened and shot Kate a particularly nasty glare.
"Quiet Probie! That wasn't nice, Todd."
"Don't touch my sketchbook, DiNozzo."
Gibbs briskly strode through the bullpen and grabbed the gun on his desk. "Gear up! We're going to take out Ari! Nice look, DiNozzo."
"Thank you, boss."
A highly amused Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "Is wearing your drink the fashion these days?"
Tony clenched his fists and spoke through his teeth. "Agent Todd thinks so."
"I'm sure you deserved it, DiNozzo."
Kate grabbed what she needed from her desk and prepared to walk out with Tony and McGee, but stopped abruptly, avoiding a near-collision when Gibbs stepped in front of her. He spoke, his usual stern tone failing to mask a vague hint of concern in his voice.
"You don't need to go with us this time, Kate."
Kate looked up at Gibbs with a gleam of irritation and hurt in her eyes. "Why not? I want to help—"
"The Director has given me direct orders to keep you under NCIS protection until Ari is accounted for."
"NCIS doesn't need to be this over-protective, Gibbs. There are plenty of other people who would want any of us dead."
"Yeah, well none of them are Ari. Look through this paperwork while we're gone."
Gibbs dropped a heavy stack of manila folders onto Kate's desk, and turned toward Tony and McGee, who were watching in silence by the window. Kate made eye contact with Tony, giving him a weak smile. He actually seemed disappointed, maybe even sad, that she wasn't coming along with them. Before walking away, he paused and opened his mouth to speak, only to look down and blink for a few seconds. Furrowing his brow, he turned away and followed McGee and Gibbs. Kate was surprised to feel her heart sink slightly. There were times when Tony was a better friend to her than she wanted to admit, and she almost started to regret the whole soda incident just minutes earlier. Almost. It still felt so good to get back at Tony for ruining the cover of her book, definitely worth it. As the three moved toward the elevator, DiNozzo looked back and shouted to Kate.
"Kate! You owe me a 7up!"
Kate rolled her eyes irately. Tony's moment of sympathy was apparently over. "I thought you said Pepsi was America's drink!"
"I lied! It better be here when I get back, that Pepsi cost me a dollar and twenty-five cents, Kate! A dollar twenty five!"
Kate had stopped looking at DiNozzo seconds before, but could still hear Gibbs' slap as the three entered the elevator, and a muffled "Thank you, boss" from Tony. If there was one thing she feared the most, other than perhaps death, it was feeling useless. Kate felt completely useless at that moment. She was angry at Ari, Gibbs, The Director, Ari, Tony, Ari, maybe even McGee, and Ari. Ari, Ari, Ari—what the hell was his problem? Agent Todd couldn't wait until he was dead, and she could continue on with her life that felt more and more like it was put on hold. She could have closure, and wouldn't have to think about the incident at autopsy or the kidnapping. Kate laughed at herself bitterly. His eyes looked kind? What kind of justification was that? Ari should have died that day, and it was her fault that she didn't. Kate groaned and looked at the folders on her desk. It would probably be helpful to start work on them, as agonizingly boring as paperwork was. It would be a welcome distraction, and she began to wish that there was more of it. Kate felt a surge of apathy—maybe later, in a few minutes or something. When she was sure that no one else was around, NCIS Special Agent Caitlin Todd slumped down in her chair, holding her head in her hands.
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End of chapter 1. Apologies for it being so short, my initial first chapter switched viewpoints four times and I figured it best to split that into two or three chapters. I have the plot mapped out, I just have yet to write much of it. I'm doing the editing on chapter two, and I will likely be finished with it sometime this week. Expect an improvement in writing quality as time goes on.
Feel free to review, I would be very appreciative.