Calling Kate, a ncis fanfic

A/N: This is based on Prina69's fic, Messages. In her authors note she mentioned that this was the original idea, but it changed itself. I asked and got permission to write this fic and I had fun with it. A little Gabby at the end, but nothing too shippy. This is my first NCIS story.

Calling Kate

"Hey, I'm not here right now, leave a message after the beep, but I hope you knew how to do that already"

"Hey Abby, It's Kate, Just calling randomly even though it's kind of pointless because I could easily just go and visit you upstairs, I guess this is just a way so that I wont get in trouble. . . Yes, Tony I'm on the phone leaving a message at Abby's house . . . fine, Abby Tony says hi, and I see Gibbs coming so I think I'm gonna hang up soon. . . You think we got Ari? Yes! Oh, right. . . Abby, I got to go I'll see you later."

Abby still hated that as soon as Kate had hung up she went off and got killed. She should have at least had the decency to say "Good-bye forever," if she was going to come back in Ducky's truck.

Then she kicked herself. Kate hadn't known that she was about to die and if she had she would have taken the time to come up to Abby's lab and give her a good-bye hug.

Why did some of their cases remind Abby so much of Kate?

The Civil War case was explainable, it was the first case they worked with a certain Ziva David who replaced Kate. Abby had been furious that they had replaced Kate so soon and took it out on Ziva only to go home and listen to the message ten times.

"You saved that?" It was Tony who had heard only the back end of the recorded message, but still knew exactly what it was.

Abby looked up at him with tears in her eyes—she cried every time she heard it--and nodded.

Tony smiled knowingly. Everyone had something that reminded them of Kate, this was Abby's.

He turned to leave without his results, one thing on his mind, the picture that he had never erased from blackmailing her. He still had it saved on his computer, and after the funeral he was glad that he never erased it.

Same old Tony.

"She was a good friend," McGee said. "To everyone."

Abby nodded, she reached to push play again, but McGee reached it first, pressing play so that they listened to the message again in silence.

"Abigail, it's so quiet down here, what's going on?" Ducky stepped into Abby's lab, not hearing the message at all.

Abby did her best to glare at him when she had tears in her eyes, and pressed play on the recorder.

They listened to the message. Ducky nodded, he understood. He turned to leave Abby be.

"She was a good friend, wasn't she?" It was Ziva who had come up behind Abby silently.

Abby's first instinct was to bite back with a smart remark, but she stopped. It wasn't Ziva's fault that she was called in to take Kate's place.

Abby pressed play again and listened to the message, she was getting better and better at fighting off the tears.

When the message played out Abby nodded.

"One of the best."

Ziva nodded and turned to leave.

"Listen, Ziva, I haven't been that nice to you and I'd just like to say sorry."

Ziva nodded, "Apology accepted," she said simply.

"Friends?" asked Abby, she put her hand out to shake.

"Friends," Ziva said and held out her hand to shake, but instead Abby gave her a friendlyhug.

"Abby," said Gibbs quietly.

Abby looked up and tried to smile at her boss, but couldn't.

Gibbs stepped up and pressed play on the recorder. Abby looked up at him, her eyes sad, but dry. For a minute they were both silent, listening to the tape.

Gibbs didn't want to break the silence so he signed /It's ok to cry Abby/

Abby looked at him as if pleading him not to make her have this conversation. /No it's not, not anymore/

Tears threatened to spill over Abby's eyelids and she fought to keep them in.

Gibbs made the symbol for "My girl," and put it up against Abby's cheek, and leaned down to kiss her other one.

When he stood up she finally lost it, sobbing, and letting her tears soak into Gibbs' sports coat.

"She was my best friend Gibbs, why her, why not me?" Gibbs held her while she cried. After a minute, when Abby had calmed a bit, he did his best to explain.

"Because, if it were you, then I would have lost it," he said softly into her ear.

This brought on a fresh round of tears because she still didn't understand.

"It's late Abs, come on, I'll take you home," he said. Abby was too tired to object and gathered her things to go home.

She pressed play on the recorder one more time and left, switching the light off as she went.

A/N: I've actually now posted this twice, the first time my edited bits didn't go through, the first time I got 3 reviews from Housecat, Thought, and Prina69. Thx so much for the reviews.