Note: These may not all be in chronological order since, after all, when you tell a story, you're more likely to end up skipping around then telling everything straight through.
Day of Kate's funeral….
The funeral was over. It had been a bright, sunny day which, in retrospect, did not seem fair. It should've been gray and cold; more like how he felt. The team wouldn't be flying back to DC until the next day so, in the spirit of the day, Tony went to a bar to have a drink – or six.
Sitting at the bar, nursing a whiskey neat, Tony started to think – really think – about what had just happened. Things were never going to be the same. It wasn't just about work, although that was a big part of it. He'd have to look across at that empty desk, or even worse, at someone else sitting at her desk, every day until he retired. What if he never gets over it? What if it gets to be too much? Kate wasn't just a colleague. She was a partner, a friend; a best friend. And he never told her how much she meant to him.
He was on his second whiskey, thoughts circling like vultures in his brain, when a strangely familiar looking brunette waltzed up to the boor and ordered the same drink he had. She was dressed from head to toe in black, and it was obvious she had, at one point, been crying. Her makeup had been re-touched, but the hints of red eye and puffiness still existed. She looked sad. She looked gorgeous. She looked…like someone he knew.
"Excuse me," he said gently, not wanting to startle her. "Aren't you Kylie? Kate Todd's sister?"
The woman looked at him. She squinted her eyes slightly, as if trying to place him. They then widened again when she realized this man was in fact familiar. "Yes. Umm, Tony right? Kate's partner at your agency?"
"NCIS. Yeah, that's me. I'm so sorry for your loss."
Kylie nodded. She had heard that a lot recently. "Your loss too, I suspect. Kate talked a lot about you."
Tony looked surprised. "She did? What did she say?"
"That she worked with an egotistical, sexually obsessed man with no morals and/or dignity."
Tony looked startled. Then slightly smiled. "That sounds like Kate."
Kylie got her drink, sipped it, and set it back down. "So, when do you go back to DC? Tonight?"
Tony shook his head. "No. Tomorrow. Are you going back to Miami?"
"Actually, I was considering moving to DC."
"Really? Why is that?"
"Well, someone has to clean out Kate's apartment and I figured it was time I got a new change of scenery anyways. Miami is great and all, but, I miss being able to wear gloves," Kylie said.
Tony smiled slightly. "You'll get plenty of that in DC, that's for sure."
"You really cared for my sister, didn't you?"
Tony was silent for a minute. He barely knew this woman, and yet, he was going to divulge his most secret of secret feelings to her? Well, it sure seemed to be going in that direction. "Yeah. I did. She was my best friend, and I never told her."
"I'm sure she knew. Kate was very good at reading people. I was never able to get away with anything when we were younger. She'd always tell when I was lying. Of course, then she would go and tell my parents which would never end up well for me but… That's what sisters are for, I guess."
Tony finished his whiskey and, instead of ordering a third, paid his tab and also paid for Kylie's drink. "It was lovely talking to you, Kylie," he said. "If and when you move to DC, give me a call. I know it can be hard to move to a new city when you don't know anyone." Tony wrote his name and phone number on a cocktail napkin, and watched her look at it before she slipped it in her purse.
"Thank you, Tony," she said. "I'm sure we will get along famously. Salute." Kylie finished her drink, and ordered another.
Tony watched as she turned around, staring blankly into the mirror behind the bar. She looked so lost and scared. He knew that feeling. He had been there before. So, instead of leaving, which he probably should have…he sat down, and ordered another whiskey. And the two of them sat in silence for the next two rounds.