AN: I promise I'll get my other fics updated soon. Chapter 5 of Let's Pretend is like, 4 times as long, so you'll have a lot to read when I do update. Jennifer has the next chapter of American Nightmare, so harass her. I'd post it now, but I don't have it with me. Please be patient as my baby has frenchfried, and I can only get online about once a week from a friend's house.  I'm just as sad as you are. Hehe. But really. Oh, and for future notice, never say, "My baby frenchfried" in front of your homeschool group. They'll just look at you in horrified silence, wondering how they missed that you had a baby and why you dunnked it in a fry vat. At least, that's the expressions they gave me. :D On to the story…


An innocent man was dead. More child than man, and she'd killed him; a child. Gibbs' words hollowly resounded in her head.

'It was suicide by cop, Kate. Get over it.'

She'd taken a life. It was expected in her occupation, and she'd shot people before. But they had all been guilty. And now, so was she. MURDER It was a mortal sin, and the death of that boy was killer her.

Normally when she was stressed, Kate would to the shooting range to soothe her anger and frustrations. Now, she was struggling to even look at her weapon. So Kate locked the Sig in her desk and headed toward the elevator.


Ducky and Jimmy were gone when she reached the morgue. The body cooler seemed to be a league away as her footsteps echoed sharply in the room. Finally reaching the drawer she'd been searching for, Kate tugged it open. And thanked God that the child's eyes were closed. She beheld the body, even more childlike in death than in it's tormented life. She could see the bullet wound in his chest, not yet scarred by Ducky's scalpel.

Reaching out her arm to touch it, her fingers hovered over the 9 millimeter hole for a moment. But she retracted them, choosing instead to lock her arms around her abdomen and lean back against the fridge. Choosing only to stare at him, rather than further taint his body.

Hanging her head, she screamed. "Son of a bitch!"

Suddenly, Kate stood up and taking a final look at her mistake, closed the drawer. If she couldn't rid her guilt at the range, she'd try the headquarters gym.


It had taken her all of seven minutes to get her bag and change clothes, roughly pulling them on, and slinging the bag into a corner of the locker room when she was finished.

She left the bag on the locker floor and determinedly made her way to the boxing bags. As late as it was, she was along in the gym. Wasting no time, Kate strapped the gloves on. After a few light punches, she planted her left foot and spun 360 degrees. The sound of her roundhouse kick slamming into the bag carried throughout the gym.

TBC
AN: Sorry. This is all I have time to type right now. I promise it's a TATE and the next chapter will have Tony in it. Don't worry; it's already completed. Aren't y'all proud of me?