Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.

Hey everyone. Sorry it's been so long between posts but welcome to exam week. Not to mention the fact that I kinda lost inspiration for this story. That being said, I'm sorry if the ending isn't that good. It's all I could come up with.

Dr. Mallard couldn't help but smile as he watched Agent DiNozzo sit on Caitlin's couch, bouncing his foot nervously.

"Maybe we should check on her."

"Anthony, you need to calm down. Caitlin is fine."

Two minutes barely passed before Tony spoke again.

"What if she's not okay? What if she's slipped into a coma or something?"

Ducky sighed and put down his book of crossword puzzles.

"Tony, patience is a virtue, one that you could stand to gain an ounce or two of. However, if you must check on Caitlin, I ask that you do so quietly so as not to wake her."

Looking like a kid on Christmas, Tony leapt up. With Ducky's permission, Tony walked down the hallway and peeked through the door. Kate was snoring softly.

"And?" Ducky asked as Tony returned to the living room.

"She's sleeping."

Tony sat again.

"What did I tell you, Anthony?"

The minutes seemed to tick by painfully slowly for Tony. He and Kate didn't exactly have the same idea of what to do in their (few) off hours and he was bored. Kate didn't even get ESPN.

"Tony." Ducky didn't look up from his book. "You're tapping you foot again."

Tony let his eye travel to his knee and forced himself to stop the up and down motion.

"I think I'll just go check on her again."

Without waiting for Ducky to say anything, Tony again travelled down the hallway and looked in on Kate, who was still snoring. He returned to the living room.

This happened twice more before Ducky finally put his book down.

"You know, Anthony, you remind me of a friend of mine. He and his wife had just brought home their first child – a darling baby named Laura – and he was such a nervous father that he kept checking on the baby every few minutes. It got to be so bad that he developed anxiety over leaving his child."

Tony chuckled.

"You think I'm being over-protective of Kate?"

Ducky raised an eyebrow.

"You seem awfully concerned about her condition. Do you think, perhaps, you're reacting to seeing her hurt?"

"I'm not following."

"You and Kate are colleagues, but I think you have also come to be friends. You spend most of your time together. Is it possible that you've come to care about her well-being?"

"It's possible, I guess."

Tony paused for a moment.

"I never thought I'd feel this way about her, Ducky."

"And how do you feel?"

"Like I have to be there for her. She's got no family here and when she called me, I felt like I had to make sure she was okay."

"So you see her like family?"

Tony pondered for a minute.

"I guess so. We certainly argue enough to be family."

Ducky chuckled before becoming serious.

"One thing I have learned about Jethro's team, Anthony, is that it has always been very close. They laugh together, they cry together, and like you've come to find out, they care about each other."

Tony smiled and stood up.

"I think I'll go check on her one more time."

Ducky smiled at the young agent as he watched him walk down the hall. Tony opened the door a crack and saw Kate move in response to the light so he entered.

"Hey."

"Hi." Kate reached over and switched on the lamp.

"How do you feel?"

"Better." Kate smiled at Tony.

"Fever gone?"

Tony laid a hand on Kate's forehead and was relieved to find her fever had broken.

"You don't have to stay with me, Tony. I'm fine."

"It's time Duck and I be getting back to work anyways. Do you need anything before we leave?"

Kate shook her head.

"Well, I guess we'll see you tomorrow or the day after."

Tony awkwardly walked to the door and was about to leave when Kate spoke up.

"Tony."

Tony turned around and looked at his smiling co-worker.

"Thanks for being my emergency contact."

"Anytime, Kate."

Review?

Thanks for reading Emergency Contact! Keep a watch out for another NCIS fanfic I'm working on surrounding the episode SWAK.

Happy reading and writing!

StoryLover18