Summary: It's what I wanted to write to give Kate more of a background. I started out wanted to write a short little thing but it grew, bare with me I may just have a different way of thinking. Reviews: just tell me what you think, good or bad.
"Kate!"
Tony shouts for the fourth time. She finally looks up at him.
"What?"
Tony smiles and grabs his keys; Kate grabs her purse and follows Tony to the elevator.
"Were you planning to sleep here?"
Gibbs said sarcastically, he hits the button for the garage and the doors shut. Kate glances at her watch and shakes her head finally realizing that she could have left hours ago.
"Bye."
They all walk out of the elevator and they all head in different directions, each to their own car.
Kate walks through her door and pushes the button on her answering machine. The same voice as always echoes off the walls of her apartment.
"You have to call back sometime, we're you're family, you can't just leave us in the dark."
Kate rolls her eyes and pushes the delete button on the machine. There were four more messages left, each one from the same person with the same plea.
"I should really change my number."
Kate mumbles to herself and she walks over to the cabinet were she held her drinks. She had moved so far away so she wouldn't have to go home for the holidays or be bothered by her so called family. She had had enough of them when she left and she promised herself she would never return. She grabs a bottle of vodka and pours some, into the only glass she has close by. The pictures that took up the empty space on her tables and her nightstand were of paradise; they pictured the surf and the sun. The only picture frame that held a picture of a person in it was on her nightstand. He hadn't even been part of her life until a few months after she left. He had been there for her until he was killed; the picture is the only thing she has of him. She looks over at her TV and takes the last sip of her drink and walks to her bedroom. She jumps on her bed and closes her eyes.
"Come on, come on."
Tony is talking to the phone as he sits at his desk, his cup of coffee getting colder by the second. Gibbs walks in and notices Kate's empty desk.
"That better be her on the other end."
Gibbs says, his cup of coffee in his hand and his jacket in the other. Tony just smiles and turns around in his chair still whispering to the phone.
"Damn."
Tony turns around in his chair and looks up something on his computer.
"Well?"
Gibbs says trying to get Tony to talk. Instead Tony dials the phone again.
"Kate."
She's groggy and walking to the elevator.
"Where are you?"
Tony says as he looks over at Gibbs.
"God you're starting to sound like Gibbs."
She laughs a little and the ding of the elevator is heard through the phone.
"I'm coming."
Tony hangs up and grabs his now cold cup of coffee off his desk.
"She's on the elevator."
Gibbs nods and walks to the directors' office.
"A little late getting up?"
Kate just smiles at Tony. Gibbs walks back to his desk and sits down. All three of them are sitting at their own desk looking preoccupied. The bullpen is humming with conversations, Kate's phone rings and she picks it up.
"Kate."
"Are you Kate Todd?"
The man on the other end sounds official and her face gets a confused look on it.
"Yes."
Kate answers with a little suspicion in her voice.
"I'm sorry I have to tell you this but your parents have been in a car accident."
Kate sat in her chair and kept listening.
"They didn't make it, and your sister is on a plane right now and asked us if we would inform you of this."
Kate nods and turns around in her chair. Gibbs and Tony look over at her and wonder why she's so quiet. She continues to sit and listen to the person on the phone; she slumps more and more each second. Kate finally said goodbye and hung up and rubs her eyes as if she had just woken up.
"You okay Kate?"
Gibbs asks actually sounds concerned. Kate looks up surprised and smiles at him.
"Of course."
She finally answers.
"Good."
Gibbs says, looking back at the file he had been reading, Tony also went back to his work but Kate just sits at her desk and stares off into the distance.
"Ah, Kate?"
Tony says the sun in setting outside and the bullpen is emptying.
"Yeah?"
"You leaving soon?"
Tony asks as he finds his keys and starts for the elevator.
"Yeah, I'll see you Monday."
Tony nods and smiles. As he walks to the elevator he glances back at Kate, she had her head on her desk, as Tony walks into the elevator he had a worried look on his face.
She listens as the bullpen slowly quiets, each agent leaving when they are done. Kate finally looks up and grabs her purse, she runs for the elevator, she goes in and finally gets to the garage, which is empty except for the few cars that were left.
"Hey Gibbs."
Tony is walking down the stairs to the boat Gibbs is working on.
"DiNozzo."
He continues with his boat and doesn't look up.
"What do you want?"
Tony smiles.
"Kate seemed a little distracted today."
Gibbs laughs a little and shakes his head.
"Your point is?"
Gibbs seems a little preoccupied and blew on the spot that he had just sanded.
"Well I think something might be wrong."
Tony said and sits down on the last step and runs his fingers though his hair.
"I'm sure she's fine."
Tony nods and smiles, he sits there for a few seconds only getting when Gibbs looked over at him. He waves goodbye to Gibbs and walks back up the stairs.
Kate is sitting on her couch with a bottle of vodka in front of her. When she got home her answering machine was empty, her apartment was silent except for the occasional sipping sound. The news of her parents saddened her more than she had thought it would. She sits on the couch wanting to forget all about what the phone call was about.
The weekend went by fast and by noontime on Monday Kate is still sitting on the couch, only now an empty bottle of vodka sits in front of her. Looking around the room there are many other empty bottles around, whiskey, bourbon, and scotch is what a few of the bottles states had been in them. The phone is off the hook and the cell phone that she had carried around with her is drowned in the glass of champagne that is in front of her. All the blinds are closed and just slivers of light are shinning through them. A groan comes from the couch and Kate opens her eyes just a little. Her head is pounding and she heads for her medicine cabinet grabs the first thing she can and downs four Advil and almost crawls back to the couch and lies down, falling asleep instantly.
TBC