A/N: The events in this chapter taking place in Europe are fictional, none of it really happened.
Special thanks to Mandi for taking the time to beta this! Thanks to nettesmaedel189 for pointing out the mistake I made with the time zones. And thanks to everyone who has been reading and / or reviewing so far!

Chapter 12: Hero, Part 1

"Tony!" Kate shouted from the bathroom.

"What is it, love?" Tony asked sweetly. He didn't know what made Kate's voice sound so agitated, but he thought it wise not to give her any more reason to shout at him.

When he reached the bathroom, Kate pointed into the sink and made a disgusted face. "What is this?" she asked.

Tony looked into it and saw a rim of shaving cream and shaved-off stubbles on the white surface.

"Would it be such a problem to rinse the sink when you know that I'll be in here after you?"

Tony pulled a face, but Kate wasn't finished yet. "And this," she said, holding up a tube of toothpaste, "is really annoying. You're always squeezing it from the top and it's impossible to get anything out of it later."

"Geez, Kate, this is my bathroom. I can clean it whenever I want. If it was at your place you could complain, but here…"

"You're doing it at my place too!" Kate shouted.

"I am not! I am always rinsing the sink - and the shower - after I use them."

"And what about the toilet seat?"

"Aw, come on, now you're being silly!"

"Silly? Coming from a man who was pissed off yesterday because I put a DVD into the wrong case?"

"That's not silly! How am I supposed to find my DVDs if they're in the wrong case?"

"And how am I supposed to use a sink that's so dirty?"

"You don't have to touch the sink to wash your face, do you? And if you find it so disgusting, why don't you just rinse it yourself?"

"Because I'm not the one who left stubbles all over it! And I'm not your cleaning woman!"

"At least a cleaning woman wouldn't touch my DVDs!"

"But she'd throw your dirty magazines away!"

Tony burst out laughing. It wasn't an angry, humorless laugh - it was real. He knew it was inappropriate considering the situation, but he couldn't help it.

"What?" Kate asked, expecting something mean. But the longer she watched Tony, the more she felt the urge to start laughing herself. She tried not to, but the grin crept on her face anyway and seconds later she was laughing too.

Tony came to her, reached for her face and pulled her to him for a kiss. Kate's hands grabbed the collar of his shirt as she opened her mouth to Tony's imploring tongue. He spun her around, backing her up against the wall next to the door and pressed her into it with his body. Kate wrapped her arms around his neck and Tony brought his hands down to the back of her thighs to lift her up and pin her against the wall. Kate gasped and ripped her mouth away from his, panting heavily.

"I won't touch your DVDs if you promise to rinse the sink after you use it," she said, one hand playing with the hair at the back of his neck.

"DVDs and magazines," Tony said.

Kate raised one eyebrow, but nodded. "Done."

Tony leaned in and carefully took her bottom lip between his teeth. He gently sucked it then brushed his tongue over it before taking her mouth with his, muffling the gasp that escaped her.

"Tony…" Kate managed to get out, but Tony didn't react. He pushed her harder against the wall with his hips and her hand fisted in his hair. But she didn't have time for this now.

"Tony," she said again, breaking out of the kiss and placing her right index finger over his lips. "I can't be late for work today. You know that I have to catch a plane."

"But you still have time. Don't you?" He brought his lips so close to hers that there wasn't even an inch between their faces. "And you'll be gone for so long," he complained.

"I know," Kate said, running her fingers through his hair. She wished he'd let her down - it was awfully difficult to think straight while he had her in this position.

Kate was going to leave today to accompany the vice-president on a ten-day trip through Europe. They'd stay in France, Germany and finally attend a conference in Spain on the 21st of February. It was her first long trip since she had started working for the vice-president and Tony knew she was excited about it. But she'd be gone so long!

"Let me down, please," she said gently, and with a deep sigh, Tony let her slide down to the floor.

"Ten days is not that long," she said. "And seriously, after last night you shouldn't be complaining."

Tony grinned like the Cheshire cat and kissed the side of her neck. It was true; they had kept each other awake all night, not even trying to get any rest until 4 a.m. Kate had said she didn't want anything for Valentine's Day, but she hadn't complained when Tony had been waiting for her with a romantic dinner at home yesterday.

"I'm not complaining," he whispered, his breath hot on her skin, smiling when he felt her shudder. "But I'd still like to continue."

Kate rested her hands on his cheeks and touched her forehead to his. "While I'm gone," she said, "you could use your lonely nights to think of things you'd like to do on the night I get back."

"Yeah…" Tony said, already sounding thoughtful.

Kate placed a short kiss on his lips then threw him out of the bathroom so she could finally get ready.


Over the next week, Tony developed a habit of being early for work. He'd get up between 6:30 and 7 a.m. and have a cup of coffee while he waited for Kate to call, which she usually did at a quarter past seven. They'd talk for ten minutes until she had to get back to work and Tony would also leave for work. Sleeping in was totally boring when Kate wasn't there. Strange, before he'd met Kate he'd never needed a reason to stay in bed in the morning. The softness of the mattress and the warm blankets had been enough to not make him want to get up. But compared to the feeling of Kate's warm body next to his, the bed itself just didn't seem as appealing any more.

In the evenings he often zipped through the news channels until he found programs that talked about the vice-president's visit to Europe. He identified Kate a couple of times among the other Secret Service agents. She looked really hot in her black suit and sunglasses.

He knew that, by now, the visits to France and Germany were almost over. On the following day they'd fly to Spain and attend a conference over the next three days, starting tomorrow afternoon. And then she'd come back.

The next morning, a bored Abby came into the bullpen. "Hey Tony," she greeted him, taking Agent Brewster's empty chair to sit down in front of Tony's desk. "Any news on Kate?"

"Not this morning," he said. "She should be arriving at the conference any time now - I guess she didn't have time to call before that."

"How late is it over there now?"

"Middle of the afternoon, I think. Is Spain one or two time zones away from Germany?"

"It's the same time zone," Gibbs said, walking into the bullpen and sitting down behind his desk. "Hey, Abs."

"Hey, Gibbs," she said cheerfully. "No new cases?"

Gibbs smirked. "Aren't you busy enough?"

Abby pulled a face and wanted to answer, but didn't when she saw Director Morrow appear on the stairs in the middle of the office. He stopped when he was standing on the platform in the middle and looked down on his agents with a very serious expression on his face.

"May I have your attention, ladies and gentleman," he said loudly. The conversations around the office immediately ceased as everybody looked up to the director.

"News just arrived over government channels concerning the vice-president," the director started. "As you know, the vice-president is currently in Madrid, Spain, where he was supposed to take part in a conference today."

Tony slowly leaned forward in his chair. What was this about?

Morrow continued: "We were informed that half-an-hour ago there was an attempt on the vice-president's life." Worried whispers started around the bullpen, but Morrow lifted his hands in a calming gesture. "The vice-president is unharmed. A shooter was in the crowd in front of the governmental building and took several shots, but thanks to the agents from the Secret Service the vice-president was kept out of the line of fire. Sadly enough, the attempt cost an agent's life. Another was wounded."

Tony shot up from his chair. "What was the name of the agent, the agent who died?" he blurted out, his voice hardly under control. He felt like all the blood had suddenly drained from his brain. There was total blankness inside his head, only leaving one thought: It can't be Kate!

"The name of the agent was not mentioned in the report," Director Morrow answered.

"Was it a man or a woman?" Abby asked.

"I am sorry, but I don't have any further information on the identity of the agent," Director Morrow said. "The vice-president will soon return to the United States. The conference has been cancelled until the motives of the shooter have been determined."

When the director climbed back up the stairs, Abby turned around to face Tony and jumped when she saw how pale he'd gone. He was still standing between his chair and his desk and was staring at the place where the director had been standing seconds before. Fighting down her own worry she walked around the table and pulled Tony into a hug. "It wasn't her, Tony," she whispered. "She's okay, I know it." She felt how Tony's arms closed around her back. He was holding her so tightly it hurt, but she didn't pull back. "It's okay," she whispered to him, patting his shoulder. "It's okay."

But suddenly Tony let her go. "I have to call her!" he exclaimed, already dialing her number on his cell.

"Abby, what's this about?" Gibbs asked. He had approached Tony's desk and his gaze was wandering between Tony and Abby.

Abby stepped closer to Gibbs so she didn't have to talk too loudly and said: "Tony's girlfriend Kate - my best friend - is one of the agents protecting the vice-president. She was there with him, in Madrid."

Gibbs nodded, just when Tony let out a frustrated scream. "She's not answering her phone! I was sent to voicemail." Then he started talking into the phone, telling Kate to call him back as soon as she heard this.

"I'm sure that she doesn't have time to answer her phone right now," Gibbs said. "She must be busy getting the vice-president onto his plane safely."

"Yeah," Tony said, sounding hopeful. "Yeah, that must be it." He ran a hand through his hair and looked around the office as if unsure what to do next. His eyes fell upon the large screen on the wall where a news program was constantly running.

"Couldn't we find out the name over news channels?" Tony asked. "Abby, couldn't you hack in? I mean…"

But Gibbs intervened. "The Secret Service is not going to release the name before the family has been informed. It will be awhile before the news gets the information."

"The family?" Tony asked. He hadn't even thought of the Todds yet. Should he call them to find out if they knew anything? But he'd risk worrying them. What should he do?

"Tony," Abby said in a calming voice, walking over to him again and putting her arm around his shoulders. She was terribly afraid herself, but she knew it was nothing compared to what Tony must be going through. Tony and Kate were so close; she had never seen a relationship like theirs before.

"There are so many agents over there with the vice-president," Abby said. "The chances are minimal that it was Kate who…"

"There aren't that many agents who protect the vice-president directly," Tony replied. "Only a handful that are really close enough to him to protect him from a bullet." Suddenly his knees went weak and he had to sit down. In his mind he saw Kate jumping into the line of fire, taking a bullet that was meant for someone else. The terrible thing was that he knew she'd do it without hesitation.

Subconsciously he took out his cell phone again and dialed her number. After six rings, he was sent into voicemail and ended the call without leaving another message.

"Tony?" Abby put a hand on his shoulder and he looked up into her face. "Tony, do you want me to take you home?" she asked.

"No." He shook his head. "I don't want to go home." If any new information were released he'd know about it sooner if he stayed at the office. Inn addition to that, he didn't think that he could face his empty apartment now.

Gibbs' gaze met Abby's and he saw the pleading in her eyes. She was really worried about her friend, Kate, and about Tony. "I'll go and talk to the director," Gibbs said and walked over to the stairs.

Tony buried his face in his hands and forced himself to take several deep breaths. He had to calm down. It was not in the least like him to lose his composure like that. Abby was right in principle. There were many other agents apart from Kate. It could have hit anyone. But no matter how reasonable he tried to be, all he could think about was that he might never see Kate alive again. What would he do? It was impossible for him to imagine a life without her.

When Gibbs returned he was shaking his head. "The director tried to get a name from the Secret Service, but they shut down completely. No information gets out right now."

Suddenly Abby jumped up from Tony's desk. "Tony! Don't you know someone else who's working for the Secret Service? I mean, when you organized the Christmas surprise for Kate you talked to someone who…"

"Jean!" Tony exclaimed, immediately reaching for his phone. Kate's friend, Jean, from the staff office who'd helped him get Christmas Eve off for Kate. She'd know what had happened.

Jean answered her phone after the second ring and Tony immediately started to talk: "Jean, this is Tony DiNozzo, Kate Todd's boyfriend. Do you remember me? We talked on the phone before Christmas…"

"Yes, Tony, of course I remember." She sounded very professional, not like the last time when they had talked.

"Jean, please, you have to help me. I know that one of the agents protecting the vice-president was shot today. I have to know if Kate is alright. Please! She isn't answering her phone and I don't know who else to talk to. Jean?"

"Tony, I understand that you're worried," she said, a bit friendlier now. "But I can't tell you anything. First of all, I don't have the name myself. I don't know who was shot or wounded today. And if I had it, I wouldn't be allowed to tell you, I'm sorry."

"No, Jean, please. Can't you find out? Or contact the plane they're on and ask. Or…please, Jean, I need your help!" He was really begging now.

"I am sorry," she said, still calm and professional. "I can't help you. But I hope that Kate is alright."

"No, no, don't…" But she had already ended the call.

"Damn it!" Tony shouted, fighting against the overwhelming urge to throw his desk over. Abby tried to calm him down, but he pushed her away and stormed through the bullpen, down the corridor that led to the interrogation rooms. Halfway down the corridor he stopped and slammed his fist into a wall. A stinging pain shot through his hand and up his arm as he screamed, half in pain, half in frustration. He couldn't lose Kate, he couldn't!

Abby found him five minutes later sitting on the floor of the corridor, leaning against the wall. She called Ducky and told him to come up and have a look at Tony's hand. At first, Tony didn't want any help, but then he let the doctor look at his sore knuckles. He didn't even wince while Ducky examined his hand.

"It's not broken," Ducky said when he had finished. "But it will definitely hurt for several days."

"Tony, are you really sure that you don't want me to take you home?" Abby asked again.

Tony shook his head determinedly. So Abby followed him back to his desk and watched him sit down behind it and bury his face in his hands.

Gibbs came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe you should go down to your lab again," he suggested. "I'll keep an eye on him."

With a sigh, Abby nodded. She knew she couldn't do anything up here and Tony didn't want her help right now. "Will you call me as soon as there is any news?" she asked.

Gibbs nodded.

Tony hadn't heard a word of their short exchange. He was too far gone in his thoughts. He was thinking of the last night he had spent with Kate. What a night it had been! And then that silly argument in the bathroom - he was so glad they had sorted that out right away. Had he told her he loved her before she had left for the airport? He couldn't remember. Why couldn't he remember? What else had he said to her that morning? What had he forgotten to say to her? There were so many things he wanted to tell her.

He clenched his hurt hand into a fist because the pain was soothing. It also brought tears to his eyes, but he didn't care.

Tony took his cell phone out again and looked at it. He dialed Kate's number and waited. When he was sent to voicemail, he ended the call and dialed again. Voicemail. He dialed again. He did it again and again. If Kate had her cell phone with her she'd have to answer it at some point - even if it took hours. If she didn't have it with her - or couldn't answer it for reasons Tony didn't want to think about - there had to be someone near enough who would be wondering why a cell phone was ringing for hours on end and would maybe answer it.

Half an hour passed. Tony must have dialed Kate's number sixty times by now. When suddenly a click on the other end of the line signaled that someone had taken the call, Tony was so surprised that at first he didn't know what to do. Then he came back to his senses - and his power of speech - and called Kate's name. "Kate? Kate, are you okay?"

But it wasn't Kate who answered. Tony heard a deep male voice that asked him: "Who's there?"

Tony was so shocked that it wasn't Kate who'd answered that he almost dropped his cell. No! Where was she? Why wasn't she answering?

"Hello?" he said again, his voice shaking. "This is Tony DiNozzo, NCIS. Where's Kate Todd? Is she okay?"

"She can't answer the phone right now," the male voice said coldly. "Whatever business the NCIS has with her, it will have to wait until later."

"No wait!" Tony exclaimed, before the other could end the call. "This is not about business. It's private…I…We were informed that a Secret Service agent died in the line of duty. I'm Kate's boyfriend. Please, please, sir, I need to know if she's okay."

"I'm sorry, Agent DiNozzo, but I can't release any information to you."

"Why can't she answer her phone?" Tony asked, close to tears now. "Please! Was she hurt? You have to tell me - just say that she's alive." Something had to be wrong otherwise she would have answered her phone herself. Tony's entire body was shaking with tension. He couldn't think straight. "Sir…" he tried again. "Are you Agent Jordan or Bailey? Please! Is she alive? Just say yes or no."

"I'm Agent Jordan," the other man answered. "And it wasn't Agent Todd who died. She's alive."

When Tony let out the breath he had been holding, it sounded like a sob. "Thank god!" he whispered, relief washing through him and making his body go numb. He had difficulty holding the phone up to his ear.

"Can I talk to her?" he wanted to know.

"That's not possible right now," Agent Jordan said, in a more friendly tone. "Agent Todd suffered a gunshot wound to her right arm. She's okay, but she was in pain, so the doctor sedated her."

"She's hurt?" Tony repeated, worry returning.

"It's only a flesh wound," Agent Jordan said. "She'll be fine."

"Okay…" Tony muttered, his voice trailing off. "Are you on your way back?"

"Yes. And I'll make sure that Agent Todd gets home safely - I'll personally take her. That young lady did an amazing job back there."

"Thank you," Tony whispered, too numb to speak louder. "Would you mind calling me when you're on your way?"

"Kate will call you," Agent Jordan said, causing a small smile to appear on Tony's face.

"Thank you," he repeated.

"You're welcome," Agent Jordan said then he ended the call.

Tony sank back in his chair, the hand with the cell phone dropping down into his lap. Suddenly he felt like crying.

"Is she okay?" Gibbs asked from his desk where he had overheard Tony's end of the conversation.

Tony looked at Gibbs for a couple of seconds then he nodded. "She was hurt, but they say she'll be fine. They're bringing her back home."

"Then you should go and wait for her at home," Gibbs suggested.

Tony immediately got up from his chair, holding on to the table because his knees were still weak. "Thank you, boss," he said. "I might have to take a couple of days off - Kate could need my help at home."

Gibbs didn't look very happy, but he still nodded and dismissed Tony with a wave of his hand.

"I'll go down to Abby and tell her that Kate is alright," Tony said, grabbing his things and leaving the office.


Tony waited in his apartment for Kate to call, longing to hear her voice. But the flight was long and it was already late in the afternoon when his cell phone rang and he saw her name on the display.

"Kate?" he asked hopefully.

"Yes, it's me," she answered.

Tony collapsed onto his couch in relief, a huge smile appearing on his face. "Sweetie, are you okay?" he wanted to know. "How's the wound?"

"It's hurting," she admitted, and Tony noticed how weak her voice sounded.

"Have you already landed?" Tony asked. "Do you need me to pick you up?"

"No, thank you. I'm already in a car with Agent Jordan. He's taking me home."

"Tell him to take you to my place," Tony said. "I can look after you."

"Okay," she said silently. The fact that she wasn't trying to argue told Tony everything he needed to know about the state she was in.

"I love you, Kate," he said. "I was so worried."

"Thank you," she whispered, her voice shaking. "I'll see you soon, okay?"

"I'm waiting for you."

As soon as they had ended the call, Tony walked over to the window and looked down onto the street. He had to wait for 45 minutes until he saw a black government car turning onto his street. He was out the door within seconds and took the stairs to the ground floor, three at a time. When he reached the sidewalk outside of the building, the car had already pulled up and a man in his fifties, dressed in a black suit, was just about to help Kate out of the car. She had to hold on to the man's arm with her left hand and struggled to get up from the seat. Tony saw that she was wearing her right arm in a sling. The jacket of her suit was draped around her shoulders, but he could still see some bloodstains on her white blouse.

He rushed over to her, calling her name, and as soon as Kate saw him she took a couple of careful steps towards him, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. When Tony reached her, he took her face in his hands and caught her lips in a kiss that turned out to be more passionate than he had intended. But the moment their lips touched all the emotions of the day bubbled up inside of him again. The fear of losing her and the horror he'd felt at the thought of maybe having to spend his life without her came back full blast and he tried to get a hold on his emotions by putting them into the kiss.

When he let go of her, Kate immediately stepped into his open arms and sank into him, burying her face in his chest. Tony carefully wrapped an arm around her, tangling the fingers of his other hand in her hair. When he kissed the top of her head, he had tears in his eyes. "I've got you," he whispered into her hair. "It's okay."

The man Tony took for Agent Jordan carried Kate's suitcase up the steps to the front door. He was also carrying a small bag that he gave to Tony. "There are pain killers and antibiotics in there," he explained. "Agent Todd is supposed to see a doctor tomorrow. You can take her to a hospital or to headquarters."

"I will," Tony said. "Thank you."

Jordan nodded and smiled at Kate, who had let go of Tony by now and was only leaning against his side. "Take care!" he told her before getting back into the car and driving away.

Kate slipped her hand into Tony's and rested her head on his shoulder tiredly while she watched the car leaving.

"Are you okay?" Tony whispered into her hair.

"The painkillers make me feel dizzy," she mumbled, her voice slightly blurred.

"Come on then," Tony said, rubbing Kate's back with his free hand. "Let's go upstairs; it's cold out here." Tony would have carried her, but he was afraid he'd hurt her arm and so he only put an arm around her back and led her up the stairs. They were silent during the elevator ride, but their hands were tightly clasped all the time.

Tony set the suitcase down inside his living room and dropped the bag next to it before turning around to face Kate, who had taken a couple of steps into his apartment. When he had waited for her before, there had been a hundred things in his head that he wanted to tell her. Now that she was there with him he couldn't think of any of it anymore. Looking at her made his heart beat faster. She looked so terribly small and delicate, standing in the middle of his living room with her arm in a sling. He walked over to her, stepping in front of her, and with a gentle hand under her chin he tilted her face up so she'd look at him. She was very pale, almost grey in the face, and Tony got so worried that his throat tightened. He gently cupped her face with both hands and looked her in the eyes.

"Are you okay?" he whispered. "Do you want to talk about what happened?"

But Kate only shook her head and took a step forward to bury her face in the crook of his neck. Tony wrapped his arms around her, very careful not to touch her wounded arm. "Later," she whispered almost inaudibly. "I can't talk about it now."

"That's okay," Tony said, kissing her hair. "I think we should get you into bed, sweetie."

Kate nodded and he led her into the bedroom where he made her sit down on the bed while he looked for the T-shirt she liked to wear instead of pajamas. When he'd found it in his closet, he realized that there wasn't a chance she could put it on with her wounded arm. So he took one of his older button-down shirts and carried it over to the bed.

Kate thanked him quietly, but when she looked at him he could see the self-consciousness in her eyes.

"What is it?" he asked gently, stroking her hair with one hand.

"I can't do it on my own," she admitted. "Can you help me? Help me get undressed?"

Tony smiled when he realized that even in her wounded state Kate still didn't like the idea to depend on others - or to be a burden for others - he wasn't sure which one it was right now.

"Of course," he said, stroking her cheek, and kissed her lightly on the lips. First he took the jacket off her shoulders and was shocked to see how much blood there really was on her blouse. Her right side was drenched in red. The right arm of her blouse had been cut open and he could see the bandage around her upper arm. Carefully he loosened the sling from around her neck so that he could help her out of her blouse. Kate let out a whimper when she tried to move her arm.

Tony winced at the sound of pain and was very careful when he unbuttoned her blouse. When he had finally managed to get her into his shirt and had readjusted the sling, he let out the breath he'd been holding and relaxed a bit. Kate was now even paler than before.

"I'm so sorry" he said contritely. "Did it hurt a lot?"

Kate lifted her left hand to his face and stroked his cheek then pulled him to her and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "You are the best nurse ever," she told him, managing a convincing smile.

Tony's face lit up at her words. But he wasn't done yet. So he made her lie back on the bed and placed his hands on her hips for a moment before opening the button and zipper of her dress pants and slowly sliding them down her legs. When he was done he lightly trailed his fingers over her hips and when he saw her smile, he leaned down and placed a kiss just below her navel.

Kate chuckled and that sound made him so happy that a huge grin appeared on his face. He placed one hand on the side of her neck and when Kate looked at him, he leaned down to kiss her lips.

"Do you need anything else?" he finally asked her. "One of your pills?"

Kate shook her head.

"Okay," Tony whispered, brushing his lips over her temple. "Then I'll let you sleep now."

"No!" Kate grabbed his hand and held on to it. "Stay with me," she almost pleaded.

"Of course," he said, stroking her hair lovingly. He helped her under the covers and slipped in beside her, letting her rest her head on his arm.

Tony turned onto his side and draped his free arm over her stomach. He needed the feeling of being able to protect her - and he wanted her to feel protected. What had happened today must have been a terrible experience for her. In his relief to learn that she was still alive he had completely forgotten that there was another agent who had lost his life. It could have been a friend of hers.

"Kate?" he whispered into her hair.

"Hmm?"

"I'm there for you whenever you want to talk. But if you don't want to talk that's okay too."

"Thank you," she whispered, running her hand over his arm.

It was silent in the room for another minute, but then Tony spoke again: "Kate?"

"Yeah?" she asked sleepily.

"I was terribly scared today," Tony admitted silently. "I could've lost you."

"I know," she whispered. "I'm sorry."

"I love you."

"I love you too," she answered, her words already heavy with sleep.

tbc …