Author's Note: Thank you so much for reading this story, and thank you especially to the people who have reviewed. Also this is a little AU most of the things that happen in the episode Twilight will still happen here but some like McGee and Kate's conversation about Tony just won't fit. I hope that this isn't too weird.

Chapter Two

"What!" Kate turned back to the people in the room. Seeing that the Mossad agent's explanation had caused Ducky to stand and look horrified.

"Surely Jennifer you cannot be serious." His tone was one that Kate had only heard once before when he was reprimanding a police officer for contaminating a crime scene.

"Well not literally kill her Ducky, but fake her death, which is why you are part of this meeting." Jenny said looking pleadingly at the doctor until he took a seat. Before turning back to Kate who still stood beside the door. "Let Ziva explain Agent Todd, please."

"I think that she had better."

"I know my brother, if he can he will try and kill Agent Todd in front of Gibbs and as many other team members as possible, which means that he will most likely try when you go and stop the attack."

"You two seem to be placing a lot of faith on us stopping this attack." Kate mumbled to herself, but didn't interrupt the Mossad agent.

"So I secretly go to your location where we pretend to kill you. Then you are free to work with us to stop Ari."

At the mentioning of their full plan Kate could feel the blood draining from her face. She half ran half stumbled back to her seat. How could this be happening? First Ari was back in country, then the news that he was after Gibbs. Well that wasn't all that surprising, considering the mutual hostilities and exchanged bullets of the last year. But then this woman decided that she could just waltz into NCIS headquarters and suggest this plan like they were discussing nothing more important then the weather. This day was just getting worse and worse. Not only was this whole thing crazy there seemed to be a massive logical error.

"Why don't you just kill Ari yourself? You have already determined at least partially where he will be, why go through all the trouble of some elaborate ruse when a simple bullet would solve everyone's problem." If looks could kill there would surly be one less Israeli operative in the world.

Beside her Ducky seemed to have calmed down enough, or at least was better at controlling his emotions. For his voice was strangely flat. "Caitlin does have a very valid point. Why don't we just eliminate the bastard for good?" Though his question was directed towards the Director it was Jenny who answered.

"Ducky we did of course consider this possibility but for the time being at least, Ari Haswari is our only link to this Al Qeada cell, they could have more then one attack planned. Eliminating Ari does not solve this problem and we loose any predictability that we might have over the situation. This is why no one on the team besides you and Agent Todd can know. We can't have anyone act in a way that we wouldn't expect." The last part was said sadly like she didn't the future Director couldn't believe that she was planning out how people would react to death.

"Agent Todd I am afraid that this discussion has already taken too long, your presence will surly been missed from your team." The Director said leaving no room for debate as he stood, his new position casting a formidable shadow over the others still seated before his desk. "I need to know if you will do this. Further plans must be made, and I need you at your post to ensure that we do in fact fall into this trap that Ari is setting."

Again a frenzy of thoughts ran through her head. It would be so easy to say that no she could not do what he asked; that is was against her morals, her beliefs to fake her own death. But she was a federal agent, it was her duty to protect her country, it was what she had been trained to do and if this was how she would carry out her duty then it was the way that it had to be.

"I'll do it." This time she rose from her chair slowly, nodding to the Director who had told her to return to work but to say nothing about what had been discussed. Acknowledging Ducky asking her to come and see him later with a hand on his shoulder. She walked slowly out of the Director's office, her steps lacking their usual confidence, until she was standing near the rail that overlooked the bullpen. Tony was following Gibbs' orders and was currently lying behind his desk. McGee being typical McGee was busy at work. Gibbs was nowhere to be found, though while they were working a case this was not all that unusual.

It was then that everything seemed to hit her a second time. She was for all intents and purposes going to die. Her mother, father, and brothers were going to think that she really was dead. That their baby girl, the one with so much potential had had everything taken away because she would always do her duty first.

And what of her coworkers at NCIS who on most days seemed almost more like family then her real family back in Indiana did. How would they handle her death? She couldn't imagine loosing someone who she worked with so closely, but to then have to investigate that person's death would just rub salt into an open wound.

Though such a grief was not the normal one-way street that a death typically brought. She would have to deal with her own loss. There would be no more Tony to bicker with. No more McGee to tease, or Abby to hang out with. And Gibbs there would be no more Gibbs, just as her loss would cause him the most pain, his loss would be the hardest for her to bear. She could feel tears forming at the corner of her eyes just thinking about what taking this assignment was going to take from her.

Furiously she wiped at her face, the Director was right she had work to do. Taking a deep breath she walked down the stairs hoping that her acting skills were better then she had always thought they were.

"Where have you been?" Tony called softly from his horizontal position before she had even made it to her desk. Rule number seven flashed through her head before she answered.

"There were some problems with my tax returns. Apparently my transition from the Secret Service to NCIS didn't go as smoothly as I had initially thought." She said pulling her computer out of hibernation as she sat. Tony seemed to buy this, and McGee didn't even look up from his work. So far so good, tears weren't streaming down her face, and her neck and ears didn't seem to feel any warmer then normal, meaning that she probably wasn't blushing. If she didn't secretly know that Ari was back in country and sometime soon she was going to fake her own death there would have been perfect order in the world. It was too bad that things never ever turned out perfect.

--

She hated to admit it but she was secretly proud of the team. Less then an hour after she had been in the Director's office they had already figured out, on their own that someone was trying to kill them. Things appeared to be moving along just like they normally did, which is why she was currently sitting and eating Chinese with McGee, and worrying because Tony wasn't joining them. Of course she kept such worry to herself, much like she kept the information that she held to herself.

When Gibbs left her worry intensified. Making it harder to keep it under wraps, which is why she was strangely grateful to Fornell who had told them that Ari was back in town and was trying to kill Gibbs. Now she didn't have to try and hide her concern. When he didn't come back after twenty minutes, her worry intensified. So when Fornell went into MTAC she followed. When the Director had informed her that she was going to be in charge of Gibbs's protection detail she was relieved at least she would be able to ensure that he survived long enough to take out Ari and his terrorist cell.

When Gibbs had refused her protection, and had told them that he would stay at headquarters she couldn't help but smile for such an action was such a Gibbs thing to do. Telling them to go away, to go and get some sleep, was such a Gibbs thing to do. Even when he had to know that they weren't really going to go anywhere. It was things like this that had drawn her to him, right from the very beginning, from their initial head-butting meeting on Air Force One. Taking one last look at her boss who was busily working at his desk, she pushed her keyboard back into place and headed to the elevator.

--

Autopsy was almost fully dark when Kate stepped off the elevator. She could see Ducky working on some sort of device at his desk. Pale light streamed from his desk lamp making his movements into sinister shadows. Kate walked into the room happy that she could stick to the shadows, almost as if keeping out of the light would allow her to hide this mission more completely.

Coming to stand beside the medical examiner she was surprised by how the harsh lighting showed the lines and wrinkles on his face. She knew that he wasn't young, and even speculated that he was in fact 64 years old. But the present situation seemed to have aged him more; he was no longer a jovial man who loved to impart his stories on to his co-workers. No, that man was gone, in his place was the man who was going to willingly destroy a man who was the closest thing that he had to a best friend. Destroy the two men who he most times thought of as his sons, and the woman who though she may be a little odd was the closest thing that he had to a daughter.

He looked up at her, trying to gage her state of mind. She stuck to the shadows. His voice when he spoke was somber. "They tell me that his principle way of execution is a kill shot through the forehead." He pointed to the sack between his hands before continuing. "This contains a small explosive charge, which is wired into a radio device that you will be able to activate, when you need to."

Rising from his chair he gestured for her to take his place, before he pulled a pair of scissors from his desk. He moved her hair aside gently, preparing to clear a small patch at the back of her head. He paused looking down at her questioningly. "Caitlin are you certain that you want to go through with this?"

When she answered her voice told of a confidence that she didn't feel. "Yes, let's get this over with Ducky." At her assurance the doctor resumed his work.

The scraping sound of scissors filled the room, and she closed her eyes feeling rather then seeing the hair that fell brushing against her arm. Ducky's hand squeezed her shoulder, trying to impart strength, a gesture that she welcomed. Opening her eyes she saw that he had picked up a small metal plate.

"I am attaching this to your skin so that it will shield you from the charge. Then I will attach the sack to the plate. Once the explosive is required to detonate the sack will look remarkably like an exit wound, complete with blood and gore. No one who isn't a doctor or medical professional will be able to tell the difference."

She let him continue his explanation of the exact process, but let her mind wander. She was sure that he knew he had tuned him out but didn't seem to mind. Keeping her head still she allowed her hand to wander to the cross that hung round her neck. Silently she traced its smooth contours, feeling the silver that was so much a part of her. Sure there was plenty of things about her Catholic faith that she didn't quite follow the way she should. Like the no sex before marriage thing, or the fact that she had been on the pill for years now, though even with all that or maybe because of that she was still extremely faithful.

Ducky's hands had stilled on her head, his hands slowly and carefully moving the hair that he had displaced over the device he had attached. "Ensure that you don't lay on your back while you sleep, Caitlin." His words like the hands that placed the radio transmitter into my free hand were soft.

I stood nodding once as I rejoined the shadows, one hand still fingering my necklace. I was almost to the door when the thought came to me, and I turned back towards the medical examiner. "Ducky?" I asked hardly recognizing the voice that spoke as my own. His eyes locked with mine as I went on. "Once I'm gone, could you give my cross to Gibbs?"

"Of course my dear." He said with a small smile, a smile that definitely didn't reach his eyes. "Now you had best get going, you still have a terrorist plot to stop." With that he turned back to his desk and I continued my journey towards the elevator, the autopsy doors closing slowly behind me.