Tony arrived at the courthouse shortly before the session was due to convene. He found Gibbs sitting on a bench in the hallway, chatting with one of the lawyers. Gibbs' posture was one of determination, the lawyer's one of fury.

"Hey, Boss. I'm here, so..." Tony trailed off as both men fixed their eyes on him.

"Nice of you to show, Agent DiNozzo," said the lawyer, in sarcastic tones. He stood and extended his hand. "James Dunbar, for the prosecution. Now if only Agent Todd had the same level of professionalism."

Tony bit down on the half dozen sarcastic comments that leapt to his tongue. Instead, in his most intimidating cop voice, he said, "Agent Todd is currently undergoing emergency surgery at Memorial Hospital. If Agent Gibbs didn't clearly communicate the severity of Agent Todd's medical issues, it was out of respect for her. We protect our own on this team." The gleam in his eye dared the lawyer to press the point.

Backpedaling, Dunbar covered. "No, I'm sorry. Agent Gibbs merely said it was a personal medical issue. He did not mention surgery. Will she be fit to testify later?"

Gibbs stood to backup Tony and keep the matter appearing team-oriented. "Agent Todd will let us know when her doctor has cleared her for duty. That includes testimony. She is aware of the pressing need for her appearance here; I'm sure she will do her best to be available as soon as possible."

"Well, I suppose that's all I can ask. Thank you, gentlemen. If you'll go down the hall, there is a room for the witnesses. You are not allowed to speak to anyone inside that room, you are also not allowed to speak to anyone you may meet in that room should you run into them elsewhere in the building. Is that clear?"

"We have done this before, Mr. Dunbar," Gibbs said tiredly as he and Tony headed off down the hall.

As soon as they were out of earshot of the pesky lawyer, Gibbs asked, "So how's Kate this morning?"

"She was fine when I left her, but they hadn't taken her into surgery yet. I hope they call me first, I really want to get back over there." Tony sounded like a subdued version of himself.

"She'll be fine, Tony. Don't worry." Gibbs did not deliver the reassuring pat on the shoulder that would have accompanied the words had they been issued by a lesser man. Simply hearing them from Gibbs was more reassurance than most agents ever received. Knowing the worth of the gift, Tony nodded his head, but said nothing, allowing the words to remain between them, untarnished.

Reaching the witness room, they entered and found seats. Gibbs promptly slid into a semi-reclined position and fell asleep. Tony, on the other hand, commenced fidgeting. After roughly a hundred years, or thirty minutes, he'd driven away everyone sitting near him, save for his somnolent superior. He was starting to wonder if he could whittle one of the chairs into something even though he couldn't whittle worth a damn, when the door opened and a bailiff stuck his head in.

"Gibbs!"

Gibbs snapped to attention and made his way out of the room. The rest of the room watched him go, then turned their eyes on him. He flashed one of his killer grins and then sat on his hands.

It was a good forty nerve-wracking minutes later when the bailiff opened the door and barked at the remaining occupants.

"DiNozzo!"

Tony stood up gratefully and he swore he could hear a sigh of relief from the rest of the potential witnesses as he exited the room. He followed the court officer down the hall and was ushered into the courtroom. He moved to the front, was sworn in and seated. Thus began an hour of question after question as both the prosecution and the defense tried to score points with his testimony. He was calm and collected on the stand, answering the inquiries with ease, while the attorneys wrangled back and forth on direct and cross, redirect and recross. At some undisclosed point, both lawyers decided they were done fighting over him and turned their backs on him.

"Nothing further, Your Honor." Dunbar sat down, looking at his notes.

"I have nothing else at this time, although I reserve the right to recall this witness at a later time." The defense attorney also sat and conferred with his client. Tony glanced over and noticed that Larry looked thinner since they'd seen him last.

"Witness is excused." He stood and made his way back up the aisle in the courtroom, choosing to exit, rather than stay and watch. He found Gibbs in the hall, a cup of coffee in each hand.

"That bad?" he asked as he approached.

"Huh? No, this one's for you. Figured you could use it." Gibbs extended the full cup to his partner.

"Thanks, Boss. Listen, do you mind if I..." He paused and took a healthy hit off the cup.

"Go. Call me and let me know how she's doing, okay?" Gibbs watched as the younger man was already in motion.

"Sure thing," he threw over his shoulder as he picked up speed and headed for the parking lot.

Tony had just climbed into his car when his cell phone rang. Glancing at the unfamiliar number on the caller ID, he answered it.

"DiNozzo."

"Tony? This is Dr. Haines, Kate's doctor."

"Yes, Doctor. Is she all right?" He could feel his heart skip a beat.

"She's fine, Tony. Everything went well. We've just moved her into Recovery; she's going to be out of it for a while, still." The doctor's voice was pleasant and comforting, easing Tony's worries.

"Good. I'm on my way back over there now. When you say everything went fine; um, does that mean..." He hated the fact that guys were not properly equipped to talk about feminine anatomy.

"We were able to remove the pregnancy with no apparent damage to the tube. I don't think there'll even be any scarring to worry about. Kate was a very lucky woman with this. If she wakes up before you get here, I'll let her know you're on your way."

"Thank you, Doctor." Tony hung up, feeling relieved that this hadn't caused any permanent damage to Kate. They'd been honest with each other from the very start of this relationship; they were friends, good friends and they always wanted to keep that. But somehow, in the crazy way they fell in love, they'd discovered there was a lot more in this relationship that was precious. Neither one of them knew how long this would last, they weren't pretending to have all the answers.

Maybe someday Kate would have children, and maybe he would be the father. Or maybe he wouldn't. That was a decision for another day. But if he'd helped to cause something that would have harmed her chances for that dream someday, he never would have forgiven himself.

Now, though it was time to go and be there for her. Time to tell her how much he loved her, and how much he wanted her in his life.

16-Dec-04 I'm adding this in to address a possible misunderstanding. Those of you who read my work know that I try very hard to make sure my stories are accurate. Also I try not to put myself in them, I enjoy watching the characters more than being them. However, this story is based on personal experience. I will admit to giving Kate all the emotional stress from my first pregnancy, but the physical pain and symptoms, her trip to the doctor and the hospital are straight out of my life. Obviously, I made adjustments to set the story in her framework as the character and I lead vastly different lives, but the rest is accurate. For my friends who are reading this, you will be happy to know I did indeed go on to have a second child with no complications from my ectopic. As the title says, These Things Happen. Feel free to e-mail me anytime, you guys. And for those of you who know where I hang out, come and join the chats.