Hey!

Wow! Great reviews for the last chapter! So I'm gonna try to give you a great chapter…

It's more fluff than plot I guess – but I hope you enjoy it anyways.

Please R&R!

Tiana xXx

Everything moved slowly after that. One second, Tony was looking into her deep brown eyes, and the next they were shut, and weren't opening again.

They will open he urged mentally. After a minute, he yelled to Gibbs what had happened, before turning back, wanting to see Kate's eyes looking back at him. Unfortunately, it never happened.

Gently, with a shaking hand, he checked her pulse. He didn't know what to expect. After a moment, Tony started to panic. He was checking her neck for a beat, but he couldn't find one. Taking a deep breath to calm himself, he reassured himself that he was just looking in the wrong place. He slipped his hand down to her wrist, using his knowledge from college to find her pulse by following her thumb down. Once again, he held his breath to steady his own pulse as if it would interfere with hers, if there was one.

Of course there is…

Tony physically relaxed when he was able to count the weak beats of his partner's blood passing under his fingers.

She's just asleep he told himself, although he knew it was a bit more than that.

The only thing that made him turn away from her was Gibbs' voice instructing what he assumed to be the EMTs where the injured party was. An arm came from his side to take over the pressure that he had on her shoulder, while someone else pulled him away from her.

He fought to stay with her, but Gibbs' logic that him moving would mean Kate getting he best that she could from the medics caused him to shift in an instant, but never removing his eyes off of her.

Somewhere from being in that room and in the ambulance with Kate, Tony had gotten rid of his bullet proof vest, hating the heaviness of it that represented more than safety. Like responsibility, carefulness, and right then, grief.

Ari had known that she had been wearing a vest. That's why he shot her from the side. Like a coward. At least, that was what Tony had concluded while he had waited for them to move Kate.

The EMT with the two of them in the back of the emergency vehicle asked Tony about his cut as she finally sat down after checking everything on Kate.

'It's nothing.' He repeated his words to her now.

'It looks pretty deep. It might need a stitch or two.' The lady replied. She was chirpy, but not in the overly kind which would have pissed him off.

'Later.' Was all he said.

'Is the blood Agent Todd's?'

'Yeah.' The lady nodded before carrying on with the monitor checking as they got nearer to Bethesda.

Tony sat with Kate's hand in his, held tightly to let her know, on the unconscious level, that he was there. The medics had explained how the loss of blood had knocked her out and how they wouldn't know the full extent of the damage until they get to the hospital.

As he sat, it was only then that he realised the significance of that the bullet was in the right shoulder. And that she was right handed. Putting the two together wasn't good.

She has to get better. Otherwise, she might lose her job Tony thought.

--

Behind the ambulance, and in front, were agents in black SUVs and cars to make sure that it got to the hospital safely. Gibbs was in the car bringing up the rear, thinking the same thing as Tony was.

He knew how much damage a shot to the shoulder could do, and he was worried.

Gibbs had let Abby know about the call being from Ari and had sent McGee to stay and help her at NCSI until he got there. He expected the argument from her when she heard about her best mate to go to see Kate, but he stood his ground.

'Ari is out there. He's got to Kate now, and there is no telling who else he'll be after. So you'll sty there until I say so, ok?' he hadn't waited for a reply as the medics had loaded Kate into the vehicle.

As Tony was already on her protection, he ordered him to stay with her. Not like he could have persuaded him otherwise.

The drive to Bethesda wasn't as long as he thought it would be. But as he approached, and the Feds checked the area and the building out, he realised that he had to tell them about the pictures of them.

--

6 hours later, and Tony sat in Kate's room, alone at last. Well, alone as he could be with two Agents on guard outside the room and one inside.

As soon as they had arrived at the hospital, the doctor's had rushed Kate into a Trauma Bay, not allowing any of them to see her. Gibbs had tried to get the doctor to let them through, arguing about how she needed special protection. But before anything could have been done, she had to go into surgery to get the bullet out.

The surgery had taken a little over an hour, but it had seemed like a day and a half to both Tony and Gibbs who had waited. Once she had been wheeled out and into her own special room, checked over by the nurses and doctors; they had been let in to see her.

It was another hour before Gibbs had left, instructing the Agents not to let anyone in unless they knew them and identified them. He had given Tony instructions to never leave Kate's side, not like he would have anyway. Telling him that he would let his agent know on any progress, just as he had to report back to him about Kate, Gibbs had left.

Now he sat in the hard chair once again, just like 2 months ago. With a grip on her hand, Tony was reassured with the fact that the bullet shot wasn't as bad as her previous broken rib was.

The doctor who performed the surgery on her had explained that the previous recent exposure to anaesthetic meant that Kate was likely to come around this time more quickly.

There was nothing for Tony to do or to focus on in there. The guard on the inside didn't seem like the talking type, and Tony really wasn't up for talking anyways, unless it was to Kate herself. He wouldn't mind talking to her while she was unconscious, but the agent made him self-conscious, so he didn't.

The sound of rain suddenly registered in his mind. He looked over his shoulder before realising that Kate had been placed into a room with no windows, for obvious reasons. Tony didn't know where the sound of the rain falling and bouncing off of the building was coming from, but he liked it. It was rather soothing for him. Rain brought him some good times, he remembered.

:: Flashback ::

It was a day that he wasn't going to forget for a long time. Although he had been getting in trouble all day for being on his phone, Tony really wanted to know where his car had got to. Unfortunately, when he did finally find out it was on the news. And he saw it crash.

Kate had to laugh along with the others, it was just too funny. Especially at the look on her partner's face.

When Gibbs had let them go about 30 minutes later, she had ended up in the elevator with just Tony. He was in a mood, but then again, she couldn't blame him. As they exited the metal box downstairs, she noticed that it was raining and she saw Tony frown.

There was a little thing inside of her that ached for him. She felt pity for him, along with some other feelings that she wouldn't admit.

'You need a lift, Tony?' she asked him from next to him. He just looked at her before turning to the rain once again and then back to her. He shrugged.

'Only cos my clothes are too valuable to get wet.' He said casually.

'Uh-huh. Sure.' She laughed as he smiled to her in a 'thank you' way.

Half way along the journey home and the weather had taken a turn for the worse. It had started to thunder, with lightning shooting down soon after each mega-boom. Kate sighed; she hated storms.

'Hey…' she thought about it carefully, not wanting to mess her words up unintentionally, 'would you mind staying at mine tonight?' Tony looked over at her and smirked. Kate groaned inwardly.

So much for not messing it up.

'That depends. What's the reason why?' he asked, with an underlying tone of suggestive content.

'The fact that it's lightening and I'm not going to drive another second more than I need to.' She said matter-of-factly.

'Oh. Fine then.' He mockingly sighed, making Kate laugh.

'Good. But you do anything to piss me off, and I'm chucking you out. Car or no car, rain or no rain. Clear?'

'Clear as a wet white shir-' Tony stopped is metaphor when Kate gave him a quick glare. 'Crystal.'

'That's all you had to say.'

--

As they entered her apartment, they were soaked to the bone with the run they had made from the car to the door.

Laughing so much that her sides killed, Kate dumped her bag on the floor next to the door as Tony followed suite. They both took off their coats and Kate took them to hang somewhere where they could dry.

'I'm gonna take a shower. You can use the bathroom if you want one too.' Kate informed him. Tony just grinned at her.

'But, Katie, aren't you gonna be in the bathroom?' he asked, cocking his head to the side, grinning suggestively. Kate rolled her eyes as she walked down the hall to her room, switching on all the lights that she passed.

'I'll be using my en suite. You can use the main one.' She pointed out, grabbing a couple of towels from the closet and placing them in his arms.

'Now, where's the fun in that?' he pouted.

'I'm sure we'll survive.' She whispered to him before shoving him into the bathroom and turning back to her room. Tony yelled after her, telling her that she'd be missing out.

You have no idea… Kate thought to herself as she stepped into her own slightly lukewarm shower.

--

At 9pm, Tony dragged Kate to her sofa from the kitchen to watch some movie that he knew was going to be on.

'Tony! I really don't wanna watch a movie with you if you're gonna talk through it.' She complained. She was only half joking. The half of her was being serious. If she had to sit on the same couch as him, she knew that contact was inevitable, and then she might no longer be held responsible for her actions.

'I won't talk through it. I promise. Scout's honour!' he put two fingers to his temple in a saluting style.

'There was no way that you were a Scout.' Kate argued as she settled on her couch, her legs under her.

'And why not?' he argued back.

'Were you?' she countered. Tony shushed her.

'No talking. Movie's on.' He smirked as she rolled her eyes.

--

'That was-' Kate didn't know what she was going to say. Instead she yawned.

'It was good.' Tony commented. Kate had her head on his shoulder, but he had been too conscious of it to make a move and place his arm around her shoulders.

'Whatever.' She replied, too tried to care. It was just past 11pm, and it had been long day.

'Maybe we should get you into bed…' he said, knowing it would get a response from her, although he had meant it innocently.

'Tony!' she sat up straight to see his smirking face.

'Uh-uh. Someone's not being the Catholic School girl they use to be, tut, tut, tut.' He laughed.

'That's because it came out of your mouth, Tony.' Kate retorted. Tony scoffed.

'You're the one who thought I was making an innuendo!' he replied.

'Do you even know what that word means?' she asked, an eyebrow raised.

'Of course I do! What do you think I am? Stupid?' Kate opened her mouth to speak, but Tony beat her to it. 'Don't answer that.' Kate smirked

'You know, you're kinda like 'Zoolander'.' She teased.

'You tryna say I'm a good looking super model with a great sense of humour, Katie?' Tony smiled his smile as Kate couldn't help but smile back teasingly.

'More like you're an idiot.' She pointed out.

'But I still look good, right?'

'Shame about the humour.' Kate argued. Tony held a hand on his heart.

'I didn't know you felt that way.' He pouted, acting sad.

'You have no idea how I feel.' The words were out of her mouth before she could stop them.

As soon as she realised what she had said, Kate turned away from him in sheer embarrassment. She wished that could blame the alcohol speaking, but she hadn't had any that night. The only thing that she could blame was Tony himself, being so close to her right then.

'Really? And how is it that you feel?' Tony had caught on. His voice was low and seductive. He had been momentarily shocked by her words, but had gotten over it fast. He didn't want to jump to false conclusions.

What Kate didn't answer, Tony turned on the couch to face her. He placed his arm along the back of it so that he could casually touch her cheek to get a response from her.

He felt her lean into his hand for a second before looking up at him.

Kate hadn't realised the closeness of the two of them until now when she looked into his devil-may-care blue eyes.

'Do you really have to ask?' Kate whispered to him. He didn't reply, but instead pulled her closer to him. His lips brushed her forehead before lowering to her temple and then finally to her lips.

It was brief and sweet. No passion in it, no tongue, just a statement of understanding. When they pulled apart to look at each other, each saw what they wanted in each other's eyes.

This time when they met, it was passionate. Too passionate. If neither one of them had been kissed. In all honesty, this single kiss didn't compare to any other for either of them.

Kate pulled back with her hands on his chest, shaking her head.

'What is it?' Tony asked. His voice was slow and a bit husk. Kate smiled, but then covered it with concern.

'I don't wanna do this if I'm gonna end up like another one of your bimbos.' She admitted. Tony was taken aback for a moment. In the silence, he could hear the thundering still going on.

When Tony didn't respond back immediately, Kate started to get up, but a tug on her wrist as she stood made her turn around once again.

'Hey, you won't.' he gently pulled her back. He hated the fact hat she tried to resist, but he finally got her to sit right next to him. 'Trust me, you won't.' he paused to see the words sink in to her. 'I mean, half of those bimbos are blonde and can't work a gun. Just that would scare me to leave you.' Tony joked.

Typical Kate thought.

'Promise?'

'I promise.' He swore. Kate nodded and allowed him to kiss her once again. It was just like the previous one, but this time she had no dread. No feelings expect for happiness and passion.

'Let's move.' She murmured interrupting the kiss. Kate stood up, pulling him with her by the hand down the hallway to her room.

--

The morning sunlight woke her up. She was facing the windows, on which the drapes were slightly open.

Suddenly, all of the memories of the night before came to her and what was clear in the moonlight now became messed up in the sunlight.

Kate turned a bit, but it was quite hard to with two arms around her waist and a leg draped possessively, and protectively, on her own legs. She ran a hand up one of the arms around her, loving the feel of them.

Her movements woke Tony up from his slumber. The first thing he saw was Kate's hair, and then her bare shoulders. He leaned in to kiss it, loving the fact that he could.

'Morning.' He mumbled into her shoulder.

'Morning.' Kate replied. They laid like that for a minute or 5 before Kate turned onto her back, causing Tony to prop himself up on his elbow.

'Hey.' He smiled at her, causing her to smile back, although it was forced. 'What is it?' he asked, panicked slightly, though he didn't show it.

'You don't regret it?' she asked.

'I'm still here, aren't I?' he placed his other hand on the other side of her face so that he could lean over her. 'Do you?'

'No…' she pulled him down for a kiss, loving that fact hat she could just do that. 'Although…' she began when he pulled away.

'Although…?' Tony asked her, narrowing his eyes.

'We have to go slow.' She told him. Tony got confused. It wasn't fair on him; it was too early and he was in bed with the woman of his dreams.

'Slow?'

'Yeah… like no repeats of last night until… oh I dunno… the 3rd or 5th date. This, of course means, going out on a date first.' Kate explained.

'Why?' Tony asked, sounding like a 5 year old.

'Cos most of your relationships start with sex, and basically end that way too. And I've got to admit… mine don't have much of a reputation either.'

'Fine. No sex. I can do that.' He nodded to himself to make it more of a statement. 'So I guess kissing is out of the question too, huh?'

'Well… I guess we could count last night as the 1st date.' She told him innocently.

'Good. Cos I'll need something to keep me going for the next week.' He said, kissing her once again. It was still a novelty for them.

'A week?' Kate asked when they broke apart.

'Yeah, a week. One date a night. Therefore, a week until the 5th date. Unless you wanna do it more traditionally and keep it once a week?'

'Screw traditional.' Kate said hurriedly, causing them both to laugh.

Tony kissed her once more before leaning back and lying on the bed next to her just to see her face and to remember just how beautiful she is.

: End Flashback :

Tony now sat looking at the same face 8 months later, although now she was in hospital and he couldn't kiss her or hold her to keep her from harm. Her face was still as beautiful, and she looked as if she was sleeping, if it wasn't for the passing looks of pain that had suddenly came across her face. And then for the rapid blinking of her eyes.

'Kate?' Tony suddenly called out to her, realising what it meant. 'C'mon honey, open your eyes for me.' He gently coaxed her.

'Tony?' was the first word out of Kate's mouth. Although if didn't really come out. She more like mouthed it for him to read.

'I'm right here.' He assured her.

'Where…?' she couldn't finish the sentence. All her effort was going into opening her eyes.

'You're in hospital. Everything's going to be ok. Just relax.' He added when he saw panic rise to her face. It was more reassurance for himself as well as for her. Everything's going to be ok.'

I thought I'd throw in how they had gotten together seeing as I hadn't before hand.

Btw – I was just wondering whether I should introduce Ziva in, or just another OC agent for the 'replacement' of Kate?

Please R&R!

Tiana xXx