(AN: I must apologize for the lateness of this chapter, it's my fault really. I kind of got busy and then let everything slide. I must also apologize for how bad this is. I will admit that while I'm an avid fan of the show, I haven't seen many episodes. This is also a totally different style of writing for me in 2 ways: 1.) this isn't as dark as I normally write and 2.) I typically do more character driven stories, rather than case driven. So, this is a change for me. (Me is ForensicFreak, btw. I write for CSI, incase anyone's interested. The first part with Abby and Gibbs was written by cheesm)
Anyways, on to the story!

Gibbs cell rang in his pocket. Glancing up, he saw Abby absorbed in eating her breakfast.

"Answer it", she mumbled through a mouthful of pancakes.

'Whoever it is better have a damned good reason for calling', he thought.

"Gibbs", he answered.

"Uh, hello, Agent Gibbs. We- have a problem."

Gibbs sighed. "McGee, we have a lot of problems right now."

"Uh, Ducky told me to call. It's about Tony."

Gibbs stiffened. "What happened?"

"It's not so much what happened as-" Ducky muttered at McGee and snatched the phone away.

"He's not physically hurt, Jethro." Gibbs deeply sighed.

"So what's wrong? Did he break down?"

Abby quizzically looked up.

"No, that's just it. He isn't reacting at all. His eyes were swollen, but that was all."

Gibbs pursed his lips. "Where is he now?"

"He went to Caitlyn's home to find out what happened."

Gibbs was silent for a moment. "I'll get him when it's time. He needs something to do; keep him close to her."

"He's trying to salvage a severed thread. Is that really prudent-"

Gibbs cut him off. "Ducky, he needs this to move on. Just let him work it out on his own."

"Alright. How's Abigail?"

"Better," Gibbs carefully replied. "We're eating breakfast."

"You know Jethro, 'we' means more than one. You should be eating also. I'll be in touch." Before Gibbs could comment, he heard the dialtone on the other end of the line.

Gibbs snorted in amusement before turning back to Abby. He grabbed a plate and took 2 of the pancakes off the plate in front of him, taking Ducky's advice.

Tony let himself into Kate's apartment after finding a spare key under the doormat. He checked the door for signs of forced entry, looking for any clues as to what had happened. Not finding anything, he moved further into the apartment. Tony grabbed the tape recorder from his equipment bag and got started on the walk-thru.

"Kitchen, pantry door open." He walked over to it and pushed it all the way open. "Nothing unusual. Cereal, dry pasta, baking goods, canned tuna... lots of tuna." He shook his head, unsure of why she had such a large amount of tuna. "Large jar of peanut butter. Nothing misplaced, or broken."

He moved on to the refridgerator. "'Fridge. Nothing out of the ordinary. Styrofoam containers containing... homecooked meals. No more than a few days old."

Tony moved out of the kitchen and towards her bedroom. "Bedroom. Door open, top dresser drawer ajar." He moved closer to see if it might yeild any clues. Flushing bright red at what he saw, he cleared his throat as he pulled out a very skimpy pair of black satin underwear. "Underwear drawer. Nothing of interest." Tony turned the tape recorder off and set it down on the bed, giving up on finding anything helpful in the apartment. As he put his finding away, he felt something plastic-y beneath his fingers. Pushing away various undergarments, he discovered a large bag of M&Ms. Tony gave a small smile. Covering the candy back up, he closed the drawer.

A wave of drowsiness overcame Tony as he sank to the floor beside Kate's bed. He closed his eyes, telling himself he'd just rest his eyes for a few moments before going back to work.

===

Everything was dark, very dark. And cold. Suddenly a hand came out of the darkness and slapped someone. The blood dripped from their lip... it happened again. Everything went back to dark.

===

Tony moved restlessly in his sleep, trying to get more comfortable as his mind played more dark images.

===

They were sitting outside, under a large tree on a farm. Murmured voices, then a shout and a gunshot. Everything went black again.

===

Tony jumped as he heard a gunshot in his mind. He turned ghostly pale and swallowed slowly as he realized who the person in his dreams was: Kate.

Still shaken up by his dream, Tony grabbed his gear and started to leave when he heard a soft mewling and scratching sound coming from the kitchen. Walking towards the kitchen, he looked in and saw a skinny tabby cat on the window sill, meowing quietly. He went over to the window and opened it, grabbing the cat.

"Hey there, little guy. Where'd you come from?" His only response was a deep rumbling from the cat's chest. "I bet you're hungry, aren't ya? Let's see what we can find for you to eat..." Remembering the canned tuna in Kate's pantry, Tony opened the pantry door. Feeling the cat trying to get out of his arms, he set it down on the floor while he opened the can. Setting the can on the floor, he sat down to rub the cat's ears as it ate.

He'd never figured Kate to be a cat-person; she seemed more of a dog-lover to him. Since there was nothing to suggest the cat lived in Kate's apartment, Tony figured that she must have taken pity of the poor stray and fed it, perhaps occassionally letting it in during the winter so it wouldn't freeze. When the cat finished eating, she climbed onto his lap and rubbed against his chest. Tony couldn't help the smile that crossed his features as he thought of what Kate would think of him, sitting in her kitchen and playing with her stray cat.

Glancing at his watch, he knew he should be leaving soon if he wanted to get back to work in time to see what Abby's analysis of the hay found in Kate's hair was. He picked up the cat, and set her back outside. "I've gotta go now, buddy... but I'll come back later to check on you. I promise."

Walking back to the door, he took one last look around before shutting and looking the door behind him.

(To be continued...)