Kate sat down in the hospital's waiting room and pulled out her cell phone. She dialed Gibbs' cell phone number.
"Kate?" Gibbs didn't wait for her response. "How's DiNozzo?" He sounded as concerned as Kate had ever heard him.
"Well, he's getting fixed up now. The doctor said the cuts weren't serious, just deep, and he should be able to go home this evening. He may need stitches, but he'll be as good as new in no time at all."
Gibbs gave an inward sigh of relief. "Good."
"So Gibbs, what'd you find out about our attacker?"
"Well, from what McGee could give me, his name is Terence Hodges and he's a pusher with a fairly big clientele here in the city." Gibbs said.
"Have you interrogated him yet?" Kate asked. Gibbs' interrogations were...interesting. He usually got what he wanted.
"Yes, I've interrogated him, and according to him, the dead sailor, Able Seaman David Harris, is the middle man in some kind of drug smuggling ring. For some reason Harris tried to pass off some cheap powdered drug as heroin, and Hodges caught him at it. Harris says that he killed him, and searched the house, figuring that Harris hid the real stuff somewhere."
"Why didn't he take off? That seems a little…stupid."
"Well, the cops scared him off when they searched the house, but he came back to search for them again when the cops went to interview the neighbor. I don't think he heard you and DiNozzo coming until it was too late. He kept searching because that would have been a big stash, worth a couple hundred thousand dollars."
Kate was shocked. "That much?"
"Yeah. He didn't want to lose that much money, I guess, and that's when you and DiNozzo broke up his little party and unknowingly cornered him."
"So what do we know about-"
Gibbs interrupted. "About the drugs? I've got McGee on it, if he would get his ass moving. I sent him out to keep working the scene. As soon as he brings back evidence, I'll get Abby on it."
"Ok, let me know if you find anything, boss. I'm going to drop Tony off at his apartment and then I'll be in later."
Kate slipped her cell phone into her handbag with a small sigh. Too much stress for one day…I should go check on Tony. At the thought of him, her fingers went unconsciously to her lips as she replayed the kiss. A smile played across her face as she thought fondly of her partner. She almost wondered if the whole morning had been a dream. It just seemed very surreal. She could remember every detail. The wind gently brushing by her hair, the sunlight warming her face, and the gentle pressure of Tony's hands and arms around her. She snapped back to reality. Back to now.
She got up, stretched, and walked back to the ER. Tony was sitting on a bed, grimacing and whining. Kate saw why. A nurse was plying a needle and thread to his side. She caught his eye and gave him a mock grimace. "Aww, poor Tony," she grinned.
"Yes, poor Tony!" He exclaimed in mock outrage. "This nurse here is making even more holes in me!" The nurse raised her head to glare at him. "Aaaahhhhhh…I mean…this nice nurse…is…um…helping me…in some form…I think…maybe…"
Kate laughed. "Tony, something tells me you should quite while you're ahead. I wonder what McGee will say if I tell him that you're being a such a wuss about a couple of stitches…" she teased.
He gave her a tired, oh-so-charming grin that just melted her on the spot. She walked over to him and kissed him gently on the forehead, intertwining her fingers with his.
The nurse finished up her stitching. "I'll be right back with your discharge papers, so you can leave," she said, and glared at Tony as she left.
"Tony, when will you learn not to be such a difficult patient?" She smiled fondly at him.
"Never." He hugged her softly as she ran her fingers over his strong chest. They sat there in silence, content just to be in each other's company.
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TBC…PLEASE REVIEW! Much more Tony-ness coming up…This chapter is as sappy as the romance is going to get…unless I get a lot of reviews that like sappy romance…well, you know the drill… RR!
