When she later lied in her bed, she decided not to tell anyone what Tony had told her. Especially after he added that he had never told anybody about his feelings for Kate. And even though Annie was shipping them after all the stories Kate had told her about her career as an NCIS agent, she was still shocked to out of sudden hear at least one of them admitting it.
Well, he probably hadn't told her, if he knew that Kate was still alive and that Annie had to do with her.
But something that was way more important than love was the fact that the NCIS team only had a bullet. No fingerprints. No weapon. Just a body and the bullet that had killed it. Annie didn't think that they would find out, who had murderer Ray. But was it really what she wanted? Would her life, their all lifes, be better then? Or was it the most stupid thing that could happen? Was it worth the risk? Well, she thought, whatever is going to happen, I can't change it.
The latest days have been weird. And everyday he would find himself in the Jenkins Bar. It was weird, that he told her. Because he was still thinking that he had seen Kate in the forest, when they found the body. And he was still thinking that Annie looked like her. But about the first thing: It was impossible. He must've seen it because he wanted to. Doesn't that happen? He could go to Rachel, Kate's sister. She was psychologist, so she could tell him. But that would be weirder, and stupid. And to his second thought: That's possible. Of course it was clear: Annie had the same eye and hair color Kate had, but a lot of people had that! And else? Maybe it was just coincidence. Who knew? It didn't matter, because a fact was: Kate was dead. And Tony had never heard that anyone ever got back to life, except for Jesus, but Jesus was an exception. And why was he even thinking about it? He was wasting his time. He better be working on the case than thinking about someone he missed more than anything.
Thinking about it, he never admitted that he missed Kate. Yes, he never said the opposite, but he never told anybody how he really felt. All the pain. The dreams of her, her smile, her beautiful eyes.
The times he went into his bathroom, remembering the case where they had to stay at one's family house and he brushed his teeth while she was under the shower, singing. When she realized that Tony was in the bathroom, too, she hit him with a sponge.
He remembered when they once went to a college, looking for a murderer, they argued about something, standing really close, and while she was talking, she kept starring at his lips. As is, I wanna kiss you.
Why didn't she?
Or why didn't he?
Was it rule number 12?
Or was he afraid to be turned down by the one and only?
Whatever it was, he suddenly went from sadness to anger.
He was mad at himself, mad for not doing any of those things. Now, when he realized what he had missed, it was too late.
They didn't come any further in the case at all. No new evidence, still haven't found the weapon.
It wasn't like he didn't want to close the case, but he didn't mind that the end of this one was coming soon, because he liked seeing Annie. Not in a crazy way, he wasn't in love with her (geez, that'd be too crazy!), but she reminded him of Kate, and he wanted to figure out in what way.
Two things were sure. A: She wasn't, couldn't be Kate's daughter (Kate was dead, clearly, and even if, Annie was so old, that if she's been Kate's daughter, Tony would've known.) and B: She wasn't Kate's sister as well (Therefore she was too young). So what exactly was it, that reminded him of her, and why?
Days passed, and Annie seemed to enjoy talking to Tony as much as he did. Or maybe he first noticed it now.
"So, still haven't found the weapon?"
"No, the murderer was a damn genius, that's for sure", Tony said, taking a break from his cheeseburger.
"But why is it so important to find the weapon anyways? I mean, can't you find the murderer without a weapon?"
"Yes, actually. But then again: With what? There's not enough evidence to find anything. We have the body and the bullet, that's how it is", Tony explained, to make sure that she understood how they seriously had two things only.
"Then how about checking his phone? Any strange calls, or maybe someone who called him like thousand times in a row?"
"Well, he didn't carry his phone, and we didn't have the chance to visit his home yet."
"Still not? Aren't you guys working on this since almost two weeks? If I was you, going into his home was one of the first things."
"Do you have a key for it?"
"Yes."
"Then how would you like to be my assistant today", Tony asked, smiling.
"Sure, if I get paid for it", Annie said, winking.
"Dream on, girl. So, when will you close the bar?"
Annie took a look on her cell phone.
"Forget it, the bar opens until two a.m., no way I'll be breaking into a dead marine's house by then!"
"Then how about tomorrow morning? Let's say... at ten?"
"The bar is closed tomorrow, so sure."
"Good, tomorrow it is."
The next day, Annie has been waiting outside the house for whole fifteen minutes, until Tony had finally shown up.
"What took you so long", she asked when he arrived.
"Work, Annie. And then I told Ziva I had to do some business, and then I drove here. So, do you have the key?"
Instead of answering, Annie walked up to the door, unlocking it with the key.
Stepping inside, Tony looked around.
"Why is he having an own house? I mean, wouldn't an apartment be enough for one person, especially since he's a marine?"
"It was his parents house. They died and he moved in here. He used to have an apartment until three years ago", Annie shortly explained.
"So... where will his cell phone be?"
"I don't know, just look around. You can also check the caller list on his phone."
"On it", he said, then he went to the telephone, while Annie looked for the cell phone.
After finding it, they sat down on the couch and went through the caller lists.
And logically they wore gloves, even though this wasn't a crime scene.
"So, was he dating someone?"
"No, in all the time I know him, he hadn't gone out with anybody at all."
"That's strange", Tony said, thinking about how it would be for him, not to date anyone anymore.
"For him, it wasn't."
"Why not? Some religious thing?"
"No. He just didn't feel to."
"Hmm..." Tony just said, still going through the caller list.
"Have you found anything, yet?", Annie asked, stopping to go through the caller list from Ray's cell phone.
"Well, nothing. Just yours. It's like the list only says 'Jenkins'. So, no strange callers on here. What about the cell phone?"
"Nothing", she said, throwing her head back.
"So now what, detective?", Tony asked.
"Ha, ha. Really funny", she said ironically. "Okay, you know what Tony? We won't find a thing in here, let's quit it."
"You sure? Yesterday you seemed like there wasn't something you wanted more than finding his murderer, and now you just wanna quit?"
"Actually, I don't think his murderer was here! He hasn't been here much, anyways. If he wasn't out of the country or elsewhere busy with the job, he's often been in the bar or just at my place", she explained.
"So, where should we look, then? At yours?"
"You're not gonna set a single toe into my house", she said smirking and challenging.
"What about the bar?"
Annie set out a laugh, "You've got to be kidding me! There are like a hundred people each day, except on the weekends, what do you think will you find there?"
"Other places? Some hobby he had where he had to go somewhere? Maybe the gym? Or a forest where he was jogging through?"
"Like the one where I found him you mean?"
Tony gave an I'm sorry look for saying that. "Sorry. But... yes. Was he always there?"
"No, he never went jogging, and he never went into the forest! I have no clue what he was doing there!"
"That's not making it any better", Tony realized.