Chapter 34
(**flashback**)
'She'll be okay, right?'
Tony asked the Doctor, truthfully.
Tony and Kate...
Kate was laying in her bed, unable to sleep.
I lied.
Kate thought.
Why? Why tell him I'm infected too?
She continued.
Gosh, I don't have feelings for him, he's still a slob, like always.
Her head was filled with thoughts like this thoughts. She was really asking herself, why did she decide to stay with him?
Maybe it's because he's dying.
She thought.
What if I do have feelings for him? Nah.
She saw the Doctor coming in her way. Great. He's gonna ask questions now.
„Come on Kate, tell me" Brad said.
„What? I've got nothing to tell you" Kate crossed her arms.
„Why are you doing this Kate?" He continued.
„Damned if I know. But there. I'm still doing it. And you're not telling him. Not Tony" She looked to the other side. Brad sighed.
„Kate. It's too late. Dr. Mallard is already informed that you're not infected" Brad put his hand on her shoulder.
„Ducky will understand. Gibbs is the problem here" She looked back at Brad. Gibbs will ask questions. It'll be horrible. Well done, Kate. You just made your life a lot worse.
"Oh, come on. Tony is the problem" Brad said, which shocked Kate.
"Excuse me?" She shrugged of his hand from her shoulder.
"Yes, he can infect you!" Brad said. Kate calmed down.
"Oh. And then why don't you tell me what are this UV lights for? Just for patient morale? Tony was right" Kate retorted.
"Kate, this one is genetically altered. Antibiotics won't work. You cannot stay here Do you realize the meaning of that?" Brad tried to assure her, but she was getting more stubborn.
"That the vaccine in Tony's arm is completely useless?" She said back.
"Kate" He warned.
"So, why do you do it?" She continued. He let out a sigh again.
"It doesn't hurt. And it gives him hope" He said.
"Hey, Katie! Tell Brad about that Wet T-Shirt contest you've won!" Tony's voice forced them to stop.
"And why don't you tell your Emma about the time you tongued a trans-sexual?" She smiled.
"That never happened" He said, dead serious to Emma, who couldn't stop laughing. Tony coughed. It wasn't normal coughing, it was far more serious. When he coughed, Kate looked at him. She had sadness in her eyes. Watching someone close to you die-not good.
"Thanks for passing me the cold, Kate" He was fighting for his breath after the uncontrollable coughing. Kate was still gazing at him, with worry.
A drop of blood was leaking from the side of his mouth. He didn't notice, so Emma quickly wiped it off and folded the tissue so he couldn't see the blood. Kate saw it as well. She knew he was near the final stage.
Gibbs and McGee…
After finding the suspect, Gibbs and McGee arrive at the company Hanna Lowell is working in. She's the suspect.
"How are you going to handle this?" McGee asked.
"Delicate approach. Show the warrant and shove a Sig Sauer in her face" Gibbs says sarcastically.
"But, boss! She was arrested more times than Jesse Jackson!" McGee tried.
"Okay, then easier way. Shoot her and chase whoever gave her the bug" Gibbs says, sticking to his sarcasm.
"Um, boss. You can't just kill her like that" McGee said.
"I said shoot, not kill. But I can easily do that, as well" Gibbs replied. McGee sighed.
"Tony has less than a day left, boss. It will take days to interrogate all of this people!" McGee complained.
"Stop whining already! You know where's her office?" Gibbs turned to him.
"Uh, well she's the boss here. Probably on the top floor" McGee says. A guard chases after McGee and Gibbs.
"Um, boss? A cop is chasing us" McGee says in a hurry.
"Don't care" Gibbs says and continues walking.
"HEY! Excuse me! You have to check-in! Appointment?" He says.
"Warrant" Gibbs says. Both McGee and Gibbs show their badges and turn around.
"Security alert" Gibbs could hear the guard repeating that, but he didn't care. They finally enter her office.
"Well, It was about time" She got up and shook hands with them. "I did leave enough of the cookie crumbs" She joked.
"Lady, cookie crumbs weren't the only thing you left" Gibbs said.
"I'm sorry, but NCIS left me no choice when you protected the Academy like that" She said.
"The DNA tests showed that…" McGee got cut off by Hannah.
"Come on. We all know how easy is to dope DNA tests" She overlapped McGee's words.
"You really love dramatic acts" Gibbs added.
"They are effective" Hannah replied.
"Effect of this one will be jail for life" Gibbs snaps.
"That long, huh?" She responded.
"You're dying" McGee suddenly said.
"Yes. That makes my custody extremely improbable" She smiles.
"The post office zapped the plague right trough the lead swak. No one was infected" Gibbs lied.
"I don't believe you" Hannah said.
"You don't have to. You're arrested for a biological attack on Federal Agency. Arrest her, McGee" Gibbs ordered.
"Yes, sir. You have right to remain silent. If you give up that right…" McGee put handcuffs on her hands.
"I did it by myself! I stole the Y Pestis! Dr. Pandy doesn't know anything about it" She said. As soon as she said that, Gibbs ran out of the office to the receptionist.
"Where's Doctor Pandy's lab?" He asked.
"North wing, ground floor, B-L-Alpha. But you need authorization to enter the North Wing!" She yelled at Gibbs who was already gone.
"Someone was infected" Hannah muttered when McGee took her out of the room.
Tony and Kate…
Tony is coughing even worse now. To Kate, is harder and harder to watch him.
"Okay, Tiny, you need to lay down on your back and take a deep breath" Brad repeated.
"I don't think I can, Doc. Emma can do it for me, she has such healthy lungs" He joked.
"Is he always like this?" Emma giggled.
"Unfortunately, yes. He was always like that. His jokes are juvenile, sexist and raunchy…" Kate said as she watched him barely breathe.
"…Funny?" Emma added. Kate looked at her and Emma just tilted her head like trying to convince Kate.
"Yeah, he can be funny sometimes" Kate confesses.