Disclaimer: I own nothing but a few DVDs.

A/N: A very big Thank You goes to my wonderful beta Arress. She does a really great job. Without her this story would be really awkward to read at times.

A/N 2: Also a great Thank You for all of your reviews and to everyone who follows or clicked favorite. You are great.

Warnings: Gibbs and Tony are OOC. There will be slash in later chapters, so if this offends you, please don't read any further.

I really like feedback, so please tell me what you think. Thanks ;)

Chapter 11

When Kate looked back at the last week, she had to admit, it could have been worse. Monday hadn't been bad at all, at least from her point of view. They had a case over the weekend and had solved it Sunday afternoon, so the only thing to do had been to write the reports. All the time they had stayed in the bull pen, they had had fun. Tony had bragged about a date he had the night before and when it had gotten too much for her to bear, she had put a stop to it by reminding Tony about Voss. And that little incident had defined the rest of the week.

She had already thought about Tony's reaction, and tried to be extra nice to him on Tuesday, but the moment Gibbs had entered the squad room, everything went to hell. First, he had told them they would work on cold cases, and all Kate could do was to bite her tongue and just say nothing. But when Gibbs had told them there would be a session later that morning in the conference room, she had had enough. The moment he had left, she had started to complain, more to herself than anybody, but DiNozzo must've heard her because he had told her to get over it and start working. That had been the moment her mood had gone sour, and because of his tone she followed the order without thinking from the moment the words left his mouth.

That had been her problem for the rest of the day. She had followed his order and in the aftermath hated herself for it, because let's face it, since when had she to follow orders from anyone except Gibbs? She had pushed herself into such a bad mood over the next few hours that when the session had finally started, she had lashed out. She had mocked and belittled DiNozzo, and to make things even worse, she had questioned Gibbs. Not even when McGee had said something had she stopped to think about what she had done. No, she had just lashed out again. The whole time when Tony had spoken she tried to think about something to say, but had come up with nothing but stunned silence. She didn't want to believe even half of what Tony had said, and she had made the promise to herself to prove him wrong, just because she wanted to.

The only things that had had an impact in her thinking the whole time they were in the room was Gibbs' speech about him not wanting her as SFA and this was her last chance. She had known in that moment that something had gone wrong. And that hadn't even been the worst thing that day. She could handle men with a superiority complex. No, what had been the worst thing was to be kicked out of the lab.

She had thought that Abby would be supportive, but that hadn't been the case. Sure, Abby had helped her to get back her equilibrium somewhat, but that's as far as it had gone. In the end, she had been told to just go and think about the things she wanted out of the people she worked with and out of NCIS in general.

Kate had gone back to the bull pen and had silently worked, or tried to work, on her cold case, but hadn't been able to concentrate much. Tony had worked just as silently, but he had found a lead by quitting time. Sure, she hadn't concentrated on her case much, but the things she had read had made her wonder just why on earth she had gotten that particular case. Even Gibbs had let it go cold because he couldn't find a lead on it. Why he had thought she would find something had been beyond her. After Tony had left for the evening, she had had time to read it more throughout and had come to the conclusion that there must have been a mistake about the case, because to her it had been murder-suicide. The more she read everything the cops had written and then what Gibbs and DiNozzo had written, she had come to the same conclusion the police had. The younger brother had murdered his brother and the fiancée from his brother and then had shot himself. Why Gibbs thought there had to be more she didn't understand.

All Wednesday morning, she had debated with herself to ask Abby for help, but had decided not to. But when she hadn't found anything by the afternoon, she had gone down to the lab. She had told the Goth that she had tried to make amends with Tony and Gibbs, but that she had to solve the case and that she would really appreciate Abby's help. So, Abby had told her everything she had found, basically everything that was written in the file. As thankful as Kate had felt about Abby's help, that didn't do much to solve the case.

When she hadn't found anything on the case by Thursday evening, she had swallowed her pride and asked Tony for help. She had seen his face. He had looked stunned about her approach. She had felt smug about it, but when he said he would look at it first thing the next morning, the feeling of relief had gotten stronger than the smugness. With the hope that she could eventually solve the case, she had gone home that night.

She hadn't been prepared in the least for the shock she had gotten the next morning. Instead of ideas of what she could try, she had found a case file on her desk. And it had held the whole case, not just the cold part, but the resolution of it as well. First she had been glad to be able to make sense of the whole case, but the more she read about it, the more anger she had felt. Why would they set her up in such a mean way? Why pretend the case had went cold, when they had actually solved it? She hadn't understood any of it.

She had been well aware of the looks Tony had shot her occasionally, but didn't react to them. The notion to just lash out at him had gotten stronger by the minute, and when she thought she couldn't stand it any longer, she had grabbed everything and had went to see Abby. Because no matter how angry she felt, she knew one thing for certain; if she lashed out at Tony, she would have been gone faster than she thought possible.

After a short explanation and Abby's permission, she had hidden in Abby's office for almost an hour. She had gone over the case and compared her notes to the final report. When it occurred to her that Abby must've been in on the whole set up, she again had wanted to lash out, and this time it would have been towards Abby. But before she did something extremely stupid, she had asked Abby if they could talk and had been slightly thankful that she had agreed. Sure, she had been angry, but it had just been on the surface. Deep down Kate had just been very confused.

The talk could have been worse in Kate's eyes. She hadn't lashed out at her friend and had listened instead. Abby had told her just how Tony had made the connection between everything on the case. The little tidbits, that didn't add up with the 'murderer', the circumstantial evidence that there had been a fourth person, the partial fingerprints. Everything the friend, who should have been there, had told the cops. That Kate, by the way, had swallowed as the truth as well. No, she didn't double check everything the cops had gathered as evidence; after all, they should know their jobs, shouldn't they? And so on. When Abby was finished with telling her about the case, Kate had felt really dumb. She had missed so much in the file that Gibbs had given her. In hindsight, she had seen it right in the little bit she had gotten, but nothing Tony had checked out had occurred to her. She had taken everything at face value, even the cops' assumption about the murder-suicide.

By the end of her stay at the lab, she had felt ashamed as well. Why she ever thought she was better than DiNozzo she no longer knew. She didn't even live up to her profiler training. And that had made her feel drained. After a moment of debating with herself about it, she had sent Gibbs a text asking permission to go home and to take the file with her. She had known Tony wanted to talk about everything and teach her a lesson or two dozen, but she just couldn't face him right now. She didn't really think he would say 'I told you so', but nonetheless she needed some time.

To her great relief, Gibbs had let her go, but he had also given her a warning. They would talk first thing Monday morning, and she'd better be there, because the talk would determine if she remained on the team, if at all. So, she went home.

The rest of Friday had gone by without further problems. She had gone to the grocery store to stock up for the weekend and had asked her sister for a visit. As luck would have it, Rachel had time on Sunday, because Saturday she had to attend a seminar on drug addiction that she couldn't miss.

On Saturday, Kate had tried to distract herself with chores and exercise, but in the end she had stayed up until past midnight studying the case and trying to make sense of her own errors in judgment, and not just about the case, but also about Tony. When she finally noticed the late hour, she had thankfully gone to bed. She could finally stop thinking and maybe the next day her sister could help her make sense of all that happened.

Sunday hadn't been that boring in a long time for Kate. She had gotten up a lot earlier than she wanted to, and even when she had done everything she needed to do as slow as possible, it didn't help much. Rachel wouldn't come by until the afternoon, and for now Kate didn't know what to do with herself. The urge to go over the case again was there, but she didn't give into it. She had already read everything and nearly knew it by heart. In the end, she settled on her couch with a book and read till her sister was due to arrive.

When Rachel finally got there, Kate was more than happy. Her book wasn't enthralling enough to keep her mind from wandering around in circles, and in the end she had thought about the last week and the case again.

At first they talked about the family and everything that had occurred in Rachel's life recently while they had coffee and a few goodies Rachel had brought. Kate wasn't that eager to talk about everything anymore, because the thought that Rachel would side with DiNozzo again wasn't that pleasant. But in the end she had to talk, and Rachel made sure she would.

"So, Kate, what happened that you wanted to see me on one of your rare Sundays off?"

At first, Kate didn't know how to start, but after a little debate with herself, she started with the Voss case. Everything that happened seemed to have started with the kiss. She told Rachel everything about the teasing, Tony's talk with her and his request for her to stop it, then the cold case and set up, and even her talks with Abby. At the end she felt a little better, but also drained again.

"So, you see, Rach, everything is going down around me. My job isn't safe anymore, just because Tony can't stand to be teased." With that she fell silent. She really hoped her sister would understand.

Rachel had watched Kate the entire time she spoke, and she had seen how stressed her little sister was. But how she could help her, Rachel didn't know. Every time they spoke about Tony DiNozzo in the past, Kate would block her by saying, she hadn't met him, so she wouldn't know.

"Okay, so, let me get this straight. You teased Tony about kissing the murderer of his friend every time he talked about his private life and when he asked you to stop because it hurt him, you teased him again. You even promised Abby that you wouldn't bring it up again, but you did anyway. Tell me, Kate, do you really think that's funny? Because I have to tell you, that isn't the case at all. You not only hurt a friend, but you found a weak spot on your superior and used it to mock him. You should really be glad that you aren't unemployed by now."

Kate looked at her sister and tried to see if she really meant what she said. When she saw her seriousness, Kate answered. "No, I didn't mock a superior, I teased Tony. I would never speak to Gibbs like that. And it wasn't about kissing a murderer, but a man. Don't you see it? Every Monday morning the first thing I hear is how good his weekend had been. How many woman he met and so on. I just wanted him to shut up. And bringing up Voss was a sure way to do it. And at the time it was funny, and even a few of the other agents laughed. So, why is it a problem at all?"

"Kate, you mocked your superior and when he told you in private to stop it, you didn't listen at all. What do you think he should've done? It would have been within his rights to reprimand or even fire you. And by the way, not just Gibbs is your boss, Tony is also. You told me yourself, he is Gibbs' SFA. That makes him your superior, like it or not."

When Kate didn't say anything, Rachel spoke again. "What's happened to you, Kate? Ever since you started with NCIS, you've complained about DiNozzo. What did he do that you don't like him or at least respect him? Is he a bad person or agent? Did he treat you wrong? Tell me, Kate, what did he do for you to forget not only your education but your upbringing as well."

For a moment Kate was plain stunned. She didn't forget her upbringing, did she? And why should she acknowledge Tony's superior position?

"You can't be serious, Rach! Tony is in no way superior to me. He doesn't take anything seriously. He always brags about this or that girl, he fools around the whole time and he never does any work. But in the end, he has everything Gibbs needs or wants, every time. He makes me so angry sometimes. I work hard the whole day to achieve something, and he always has the answers. He plays with his cell phone the whole time. He plays pranks on other agents. He wants to know everything. But he is SFA. He makes me really angry with his chauvinistic remarks and teasing me, but when I can tease him and have the chance to get one over him, the cavalry comes to his rescue. It's not fair! Why can he do whatever he wants and still be the perfect agent with all the answers? Why does everyone else have to work so hard for answers, but he just seems to know? It makes me so mad, you know? My position as the probie on the MCRT should have been temporary, but if I can believe Gibbs, this will never change. I mean my probationary time is over, but I'm still just the junior agent. I should've become SFA for Gibbs, but he prefers Tony. Why can't he see that I'm the better choice?" At the end Kate was shouting, again. This seemed to be almost normal. Every time she spoke about Tony, she got mad. And the look Rachel gave her didn't help any. She looked as if Kate had grown an extra head. And when she finally spoke it didn't help at all.

"Wow, Kate. You have a really big problem, little sis. You're jealous of his life, not only as an agent, but about his achievements as well. Do you really think he doesn't do anything at all? Why would Gibbs want him if that's the case? You told me yourself, they were a two-man team before you joined them, and it worked. Ducky told you that, right? Gibbs wanted you on his team and he got you. But why should he want you as the SFA? You don't have that much knowledge about field work. Sure, you've been in the Secret Service and you protected the president, but you went to a crime scene in high heels. You didn't know a thing about the work of NCIS. The status of 'agent' didn't prepare you to be an investigator. You're still learning. Tony, on the other hand, has been in law enforcement for how long? Almost three years for Gibbs, and he had been a police detective before that. Maybe he would never protect the president the right way, but he certainly is a very good investigator, and your mentor. You told me yourself, he has spoken about everything he did the moment he did it, when you started. So, he taught you everything you have to know and showed it to you at the same time. That is a great form of teaching. That is the way you learn the fastest, so you can be an asset to the team. What's wrong with being the junior agent for the team? It's the best team in the whole agency. And you should be proud to be a part of that."

Kate looked a long time at her sister and thought about everything she had said. Kate wanted to be angry with her because she hadn't seen it Kate's way, but she couldn't. Rachel was right. She was on the MCRT, the best team at NCIS, and Gibbs had picked her even though he had known about her mistake with her boyfriend. When she thought back to the beginning, she remembered the amused glances the men had shot her. She made so many rookie mistakes; the inappropriate footwear at a crime scene was just the first of them. She had never really thought about just where her knowledge came from, but now she remembered everything Tony told and showed her. Gibbs rarely made the time to teach her something new. Everything she knew about field work had come from the SFA, and she hadn't even noticed it.

When she thought further about what Rachel had told her about the jealousy part, she wanted to deny it, but again, she couldn't. Everything Tony did went well, and if he made a mistake, he always knew how to fix it. And then she remembered something she had heard from him. He has an eidetic memory. That's why it seems that he knows and can do everything. He simply never forgets once he learns something. A tiny little part of her wanted to be jealous, but she ignored it. Maybe that's why he has the time to play the pranks, goof off and just plain have fun the whole day.

By the time she reached this conclusion, she was really curious. She so wanted to ask Tony about it, but then for that to be possible, she had to stay at the team and be the best junior agent she could be. She would have to learn to not only show respect for her superiors, but really mean it, and the best way to learn how was to actually watch and listen.

"You know, Rachel, you're right. I have been awful the last few weeks. And I have to change it. I don't want to leave the team because I love the work I do. And I like the people, not only Abby, Ducky and Gibbs, but Tony as well. But how do I do it?"

Kate didn't mean for Rachel to answer that, because it had been a rhetorical question, but she did it anyway. And it was exactly what she thought also.

"You know how, Kate. Do what Gibbs told you to do and show respect for Tony's superior position, or even better, the man himself. Learn everything you can from both of them. See this week as a teaching lesson, and also learn from it. And the next time you want to tease Tony, make sure it's funny and not just mean." That got her a small smile from Kate, because there was one thing she knew for sure, the next weeks, maybe even months, would be really hard and she had only herself to thank for it.

"You're right again, sis. Thanks anyway. I'm really glad you're here. Maybe I had to hear it from you to finally see my mistakes. Beginning tomorrow, I will be the best agent I can be and follow the chain of command to the T. And maybe someday Tony and I can be friends and not just colleagues, because even with everything that went wrong in the past, I really like him."

Rachel smiled at that. "That's good, Kate. I hope everything will pan out for you, because let's face it, the men on your team are great, and I would really like to meet them one day." When Rachel looked at the time, she spoke again. "I have to go now, little sis. It's late and my first appointment is really early tomorrow."

With that she got up and went for the door with Kate in her wake, who was still lost in thought. They both said their goodbyes and promised to talk soon.

When Kate went to bed that night, she had to admit that her sister had been right once again. And tomorrow was a new day, and she would see to it that it would be good. Sure, there was the talk about the case and everything that occurred the past week, but she knew now just how to handle everything. She just hoped it wasn't too late.

TBC

.

A/N: I know you all wanted to know what happens on Monday. It's in the next chapter, I promise :)