Disclaimer is back in chapter one.
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"Caitlin? What are you doing in here?"
"Hey, Ducky. Just staying away from Tony," she said wiping tears away.
"Why?" Ducky asked, showing evident concern.
She didn't say anything.
"He told us about you two. How long have you been together?"
"For about four months. And that whole time, he never said anything. We always managed to stay away from his house. Tony lied to me, Ducky. He kept a secret from me," Kate cried.
"He just told me why. Go talk to him. I don't blame him for keeping this from us," Ducky said.
"Nope. We're done. I can't. I'm going home. If Gibbs asks, say I'm sick or something. I'll see you later."
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"Did you have fun today?"
"Daddy that was so much fun! But I never got to meet Kate. Was she home sick today?"
Tony sighed. "I think so. We're going to go visit her."
Tony pulled his car in to the parking lot of Kate's apartment complex. Tony and Kit got out and made their way to Kate's door.
Tony knocked on Kate's door a couple of times and waited for her to answer.
After several minutes of nothing, he knocked again. "Kate, please. Talk to me."
She opened the door.
"Why should I talk to you?" Kate asked bitterly.
"There's someone who wants to meet you."
Kate stepped aside to let them in.
"Kate, this is Kit. Kit, this is my friend, Kate," Tony introduced them.
"Nice to meet you," Kit said timidly.
"Nice to meet you, too," Kate said.
"Can I talk to you?" Tony asked her.
"Why?"
"I want to explain. Please, give me a chance," Tony pleaded.
"Fine."
"Kit, why don't you go color at the table," Tony told her.
"Okay," she said. She ran off.
Tony and Kate went to sit down on her couch.
"Alright. Explain."
He sighed. Tony took a second to gather himself and began.
"About eight years ago, when I was in Baltimore, I started dating this girl named Grace. We worked together. She was my partner. Things got serious and a little more than a year later, I proposed and we got married. And then she got pregnant. It was a very high risk pregnancy. She miscarried a couple of times before and when we got as far along in the pregnancy as we did, it was exciting. We had names picked out, we bought clothes and diapers and all that other stuff. And when she went into labor, something went wrong. I never understood exactly what had happened. Kit was born on our second anniversary. That's the same day…um…Grace…died. The doctors said there was nothing they could do. They made me leave the room before she was born. I had to stay in the waiting area. It seemed like hours until the doctor came out and told me. I cried for days. I had no idea what to do. I had to have my mother come stay with me for awhile so she could teach me. I was so dumb when I came to babies. And now, the older she gets, the more she acts like Grace and the harder it is not to think about Grace. When I started at NCIS, I wanted to keep a safe distance from my co-workers. And when I realized there were no women on the team I was assigned, I let myself open up and get to know people more. Except Abby. I was really bitter towards her when I started here. And then when you joined…my whole plan went to pieces. Then things happened and we started dating and I had kept Kit a secret so long…I just kept it up. I'm sorry. I should have told you."
Kate said nothing. It was silent except for the sound of Kit drawing a picture and humming a little song.
"Say something," Tony prompted.
"I'm sorry, too," Kate said crying.
Tony couldn't believe his ears. He got off the couch. He walked over to the table and looked down at his daughter.
"Come on, peanut. Let's go."
"But, Daddy…"
"You can finish your picture when we get home. Let's go."
"But, Daddy!" Kit whined.
"Katharine, not now. Please."
"Okay," she said reluctantly, "Bye, Kate!"
"Bye," Kate said through her tears.
Tony walked out, saying nothing to soothe a crying Kate.
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AN: There's only one more chapter!
