Tony awoke a little while later to the sound of new footsteps. Blearily, he opened his eyes and looked around. Kate was standing beside the dining room table, wearing jeans and a maroon t-shirt and having a quiet conversation with Gibbs. He blinked and realized he'd never seen her in jeans before. The ones she wore hugged her figure in all the right places without being too tight. He couldn't help but admire the best view he'd seen in weeks.
In a rush, he remembered all the things he wanted to think about. He hadn't felt up to doing much of any anything, let alone thinking after having spent most of the last few weeks sleeping and coughing. He closed his eyes, sorry to lose the view, but he wasn't ready to face Kate. Fortunately, neither noticed him. Well, Gibbs probably did but the man had eyes in the back and sides of his head.
He pretended to be asleep and let his mind drift. Kate had stayed with him while they waited for the disease to take effect. They had kept up their usual banter until he'd doubled over with coughing and pain and blood. After that, everything was a blur of pain, the sensation of drowning and believing he would die. After Gibbs ordered him not to, it was a blur of pain and coughing and gasping for breath, and determination to live.
The realization that she wasn't infected, but stayed with him anyway gripped his heart. She could've been exposed and died, too. She should not have stayed with him for even a minute…but she had.
Up to that point, he would've sworn that Kate had no use for him. She hated his 'womanizer' attitude. She thought he was juvenile, uncultured, and crass. He'd been certain she chalked him up to a waste of space.
So, why had she stayed with him? Did she just feel obligated because he got sick? Even as he had the thought, he couldn't imagine Kate doing anything she didn't want to do unless Gibbs ordered her to, and even then, she'd make it very clear that she didn't want to, even as she did it. No. There was more to it than that, he just wasn't sure what it was.
He heard Gibbs leave and listened to Kate doing something in the kitchen. He didn't open his eyes. He wanted her to believe he was still asleep, at least for a little while longer.
Why was she here now? Was it because she cared or Gibbs made her? Gibbs had said she was really glad he was better. Okay, maybe she liked him well enough that she didn't wish death on him. That was good…he could work with that. Of course, he never thought she'd be happy if he died, never really gave it any thought before. He supposed she would just get over it quickly. After what Gibbs said though, he wasn't sure.
Most likely she was just doing this as a favor to Gibbs so he wouldn't worry. Even if Kate didn't like him very much, Gibbs did. He'd proven that many times over. Tony sighed quietly. He'd always cared about her. In some ways, she was the kind of woman he wished he could settle down with, get married, spend a lifetime with. She was steady, strong, dependable. She was the type who would probably make a good wife, and given how much she dated, obviously didn't want to be alone. Unfortunately, women like her often found him wanting. She was way out of his league, and way too uptight. Sometimes it was really annoying how uptight she was. She'd never just kick back and relax with him, no matter how much he wanted her to.
Or would she? She had taken part in a wet t-shirt contest, so she obviously had a party girl side that she had gone to great lengths to hide. But why? Was she just drunk at the time? She didn't look drunk in that picture, but it was a moment frozen in time. It wasn't like he could tell for certain. He wondered how hard she would hit him if he asked. He quickly dismissed the idea, pretty sure his body couldn't cope with any further insults.