[Aftermath]
3rd Person POV:
The three of them stared blankly, hoping, praying that it was all just a bad dream. After a moment Claire snapped out of it. It wasn't a dream; this nightmare was her reality. Kate was dead. Claire suddenly felt the pressure of Tony's arm around her. All she wanted to do was break down and curl into his embrace, but she couldn't. Right now, she had another crime scene to take care of and there was no way she was going to have anything mess this up. She owed it to Kate. Claire composed herself, wiping away the stray tears and stood up. She didn't notice that Tony's eyes followed her with a hurt expression.
"What now, Gibbs?" she asked, struggling to keep her composer. Gibbs looked at her in a dazed fashion. She wasn't the only one having a hard time absorbing what had just happened.
"I'll call Ducky. You, Tony, and McGee make sure the area is clear and search for Ari's position." He told her, not looking up. Claire nodded and immediately took off towards the door. Tony followed, watching her closely. Without a word, they started making their way down the stairs, guns at the ready to shoot down any threat. And Claire was more than willing to have some target practice. Tony trailed quietly behind her, scanning the warehouse but also analyzing her actions. She was aggressive and cold which was very unlike her. Once they made it to the bottom level Claire stashed her gun in her jacket, but remained silent as she marched her way towards the door. Tony couldn't stand it anymore. He reached out and grabbed her arm, swinging her around to face him. Her hardened stare bore into him as he searched her face to get a feel on how she was going to react. Her sudden coldness was a new one for him.
"Claire we need to talk about this." He started cautiously. Claire huffed, avoiding his gaze and face. She was hyper aware of the blood splatter that was decorating both of their faces and she struggled to look at it. It was just another reminder of what had just happened.
"No, we need to get to that roof top. We need to get to Ari before he disappears." She protested and tried to pull away but Tony held fast.
"We both now that he's long gone by now." He told her gently. Claire didn't turn her head. She knew he was right. They both stood there in silence for a moment, Tony waiting for her to do something…..anything.
"Claire…..talk to me." Tony finally asked, ducking his head to try and grab her attention. She swallowed and turned to face him, her eyes wavering.
"Not now, we have a job to do." She argued weakly. Tony sighed, knowing he wasn't going to get anything out of her in this state. He reluctantly let go of her arm and nodded. Satisfied, she headed towards the door. Tony following her, both of them putting on indifferent expression just to get through the task ahead of them. When they walked outside McGee was waiting for them, a nervous expression on his features.
"So Kates?..." he trailed off as he saw the two stoic expressions. Nobody had said it out loud for him to hear over the headset, but he wanted to confirm that gut feeling.
"She's dead." Claire told him, softening her tone a little. McGee swallowed thickly. He couldn't imagine how they felt since they saw it happen. The group stared at each other for a moment, all of them trying to get back to a sense of normalcy. Tony stepped up.
"Ok, let's set up a search on those buildings over there." Tony gestured to the warehouses in the distance. Claire and McGee nodded and the three headed off, desperately trying to ignore the sound of sirens heading their way. Claire glanced up a she noticed the sky begin to darken. It looked like a storm was coming. She couldn't help but bitterly muse at how fitting it was for the current mood.
Hours later they had set up a laser system to determine where the shot came from. As they started to walk over towards the building, the heavens finally opened and the rain started to pour down on the agents. They all walked on, their hats covering their eyes. This weather wasn't going to deter them from giving their teammate, their family, the justice she deserved. Claire could feel her clothes sticking to her body as they finally made it to the door of the warehouse where the shots were thought to have come from. Kicking it in McGee and Tony took the lead, guns raised while she trailed behind to cover their backs. The building was empty, not even a sign of anyone having been there. They spotted a service elevator off to the side and too emotionally exhausted to take multiple flights of stairs, Claire lead the way towards it. Reaching the top level, the agents walked in silence out onto the roof. The rain continued to pour down on the team as they urgently scanned the surface for any sign of Ari. Claire walked over to a ledge, where she had a perfect view of the rooftop where the murder happened. It was a perfect setup. She swallowed her painful thoughts and glanced around her. Something gold caught her eye and she leaned down to get a better look at it. Bullet casings.
"I've found it!" she called out reaching into her jacket to pull out some evidence containers. Tony and McGee hurried over to her and started helping. Ari hadn't cleaned up his mess which was good news for them. She thought it was odd that there was more than one casing but didn't dwell on it. This was just one step closer to closure for Kate's death. That's all she could ask for right now. Tony and McGee stood up, knowing that there wasn't anything else to be found. Ari wouldn't leave much behind. However, they also noticed that Claire wasn't leaving. Tony sighed, knowing that she wouldn't stop. She was hurting.
"You go ahead Probie, we'll meet you down at the car." Tony mumbled to Tim. McGee nodded in understanding and headed back into the warehouse with one last glance back at his teamates. Tony squinted as he glanced up at the rain that was still pouring down, no sign of it stopping anytime soon.
"Are you trying to catch pneumonia or something?" Tony weakly joked, trying to lighten her mood. Claire glanced over at him blankly but didn't stop her searching.
"Just trying to do my job Tony." She answered hollowly. Tony put his hands on his hips, knowing that this wasn't going to be easy.
"Claire, there's nothing else here. Let's head back to the office." He walked over to where she was kneeling. Claire stubbornly shook her head, not trusting her voice. She had to find something else, anything else. If she went back to the office, then it would become even more official. She just couldn't face it right now.
"Claire, stop." Tony gently pulled her up, holding her shoulders carefully. She couldn't look him in the eye for fear that she would break down. His expression softened. Without another word, he pulled her into a hug, wrapping his arms securely around her. Claire stiffened in defiance for a moment but her emotions won out and she returned the gesture, burying her face into the crook of his neck. She desperately tried to keep her tears back, momentarily thankful that the rain would cover up any that leaked out. Tony remained silent and repositioned his head to lean on top of hers. Neither one of them spoke as the rain continued to soak them both.
"I'm scared Tony." Claire eventually mumbled out. Tony leaned his head closer to her so he could hear better. He didn't say anything knowing the second he did, she would close back up again.
"I don't want to go back and see her empty desk. It will just confirm everything. I don't know if I can handle that. I need to stay strong for her, Tony. She needs us to do our job without any emotions getting in the way." Claire confessed, just taking the moment to vent. Tony closed his eyes, holding her tighter against him to keep out the cold chill that was setting in.
"I know, but it'll be ok. We'll do our jobs, get that bastard back, and then we can properly mourn after all of this is over. OK?" Tony told her, tilting his head down to look at her face. Claire nodded and took in another deep breath. They could cry later. Right now, Kate needed them to have a clear head. Tony smiled down at her and Claire returned it tightly.
"Now let's get out of the rain. You look like a drowned rat." Tony quipped. Claire rolled her eyes but couldn't stop the small smile that broke out across her face. She still had Tony and the rest of her team. They would make it through this. Without another word the two of them headed over towards the door and made their way down to meet McGee at the car.