After the food was served and they had exhausted what little the could talk about in public concerning work, Abby asked the question that they had all been wanting to ask since leaving NCIS.
"So, anyone know who Tony went to meet?"
Abby's gaze was directed at Kate, which made sense because she was closest to him, even if just because their desks were located only feet apart, but Kate didn't have any answers. "Sorry. Your guess is as good as mine. But something tells me that this isn't a normal bimbo-run for him. He would be bragging about something like that, not keeping it a secret."
"Maybe it's an old honey," Abby hypothesized.
"High school sweetheart?" Kate asked.
"She broke his heart, driving him to lead a life of bed hopping and flirtation, never allowing himself to get close enough to get hurt," Abby said dramatically. Kate scoffed. "What? It could happen," Abby said innocently.
Feeling that it was a good time to jump in—before Kate and Abby got too far into their imaginary world—McGee spoke up. "I heard him rambling in Italian the other day," McGee said casually.
"And this isn't the first thing you say the next time we see each other?" Abby asked, her hand to her heart like she was mortally wounded by the Probie's inability to grasp the concept of gossip. "What did he say? Who did he talk to? Do you think he was talking to this mystery woman?" she asked in a rush.
McGee moved his chair a little closer to Kate to get away from Abby.
"Nu-uh, Tim, not gonna work," Kate said. "While I'm not exactly salivating over the topic like Abby, I'm more than a little curious about what's going on with Tony right now. So spill."
"I didn't understand much. My Italian is weak at best," McGee confessed. "But he said something about picking her, I'm assuming the 'mystery woman'," he said, air quotes surrounding the last two words, "at Dulles. I didn't catch a date or time, though, so maybe this is totally unrelated."
"Do you remember any other things that he said? Even if you don't know what they mean?" Abby asked.
McGee frowned and tried to remember what Tony had said. "Something about vecchia carretta and giradischi. That's all I can remember."
"Jalopy and record player," Kate mused. Abby raised an eyebrow at her. "What? Is it wrong for me to know Italian?" she asked.
"No, it's just something I didn't know about you," Abby said.
"My dad owned an Italian restaurant when I was little and the manager would teach me when I came in after school because between three and five it was practically dead," Kate said. "Anyway, nothing you remember helps any, McGee. You're sure you didn't catch a name or something like that?"
"Sorry," McGee said.
"Damn. Guess we'll have to wait to find out," Abby said, clearly displeased by the notion.
They finished up their meals and Kate drove them back to NCIS so that Abby could pick up her car and McGee could catch his bus, even though both Abby and Kate offered to drive him straight home.
By the time Kate got home she was too tired to do anything but flop down on the couch and flip on the TV, needing some brainless comedy to lull her to sleep and take her mind off of who Tony was meeting and why it was bothering her so much that she didn't know.
Taking shameful advantage of his badge and Federal clearance Tony got past security and was waiting at the gate hen the plane began offloading. She was in first class and was one of the first people to come through the doors, standing tall despite the fact that she barely reached five-two, wearing a long forest green coat over a black pantsuit and flats.
"Anthony!" she cried happily when she spotted Tony.
"Nonna," Tony grinned, going over to the elderly woman and embracing her tightly. She didn't even come up to his shoulders but she still hugged him as tightly as she did when he would crawl up on her lap to get away from his demanding father and his emotionally distant mother.
"How was your flight?" Tony asked in Italian.
"Long and bumpy," Nonna replied, her Italian falling from her lips like bullets from an automatic rifle. "You are too thin, Anthony. Are you not eating?"
"I'm eating," Tony said, rolling his eyes.
"I'll have to fatten you up," Nonna said as if Tony hadn't spoken. Tony didn't reply, knowing that there was no argument that he could make without getting hit with her purse, so he took her carry-on from her and slipped his arm around her shoulder, leading her through the security doors and out to the main terminal where they could collect her luggage.
The next morning Kate got to work over half an hour late, having missed her alarm because she'd fallen asleep on the couch. There was a note taped to her computer screen from Gibbs. There had been a murder and the team was on site. She was supposed to pull files on the victim and then wait.
Pulling the files took five minutes and once that was accomplished she started going through them, making notes of things that could be pertinent to the case. It would have been a hell of a lot easier if she knew how the victim died but she made notes of anything that could be considered a red flag and then kept going until she had everything from the Lieutenant's duty station to his one run in with JAG a few years earlier to his pre-school teacher's name memorized. She was just about to go on a coffee run when Tony and McGee stepped off the elevator, both covered in mud and neither looking pleased.
"Nice of you to show up, Kate," Tony said as he tracked mud over to his desk.
"Janitorial is going to kill you two," Kate said as she grabbed some towels out of the gym bag she kept behind her desk and tossed them to her co-workers.
"Where the hell were you? I called you when you didn't show this morning and I just kept getting your voicemail," Tony said.
Kate was struck by the true concern that she could see in his eyes, despite the fact that he looked like he was ready to strangle her. She had a feeling that was just for McGee's benefit, though. "Sorry. I fell asleep on the couch and slept through my alarm. My phone died on my way home last night and I didn't think to charge it. And I guess I turned the ringer off again," Kate said sheepishly.
McGee stormed off to get changed or possibly to grouse to Abby and Tony dropped the anger façade. "Kate, god knows I'm not the poster boy for promptness and responsibility, but even I make sure my phone is charged and my ringer is on no matter what. Gibbs called me at four in the morning and told me to find you because we had a case and he couldn't get you on the phone. If I didn't have to get to the scene I was going to go busting down your door."
"That's very sweet and only a little overly Cro-Magnon of you, Tony, and I'm sorry I worried you, but, as you can see, I'm fine. Honest. I was just exhausted yesterday and I barely made it to the couch before I fell asleep," Kate said honestly. "But, not that I'm saying the impulse isn't sweet, because, really, I appreciate that you care enough to 'bust down my door', but, if you ever feel the need to check on me or anything like that, just use the key I gave you, okay? I have enough problems with my neighbours without having a crazed man with a gun kicking down my door at four in the morning."
Tony nodded. "Deal," he said. He knew that her neighbours hated the hours she kept and the multiple visits by gun-wielding co-workers and enemies alike, and Tony didn't want to do anything that made life more difficult for Kate. "You're sure you're okay?" he asked.
"I've got a sore back from my couch, but other than that I'm fine," Kate said. She bit her lip. "How mad was Gibbs?"
"Violently," Gibbs said from behind Kate. Kate jumped. She hated it when he did that. It was funny when he did it to Tony or McGee, but when it happened to her she hated it. "Excuses?" he questioned.
"None you'd find valid," Kate said. She wasn't going to let Gibbs intimidate her.
"I'd like to hear 'em anyway," Gibbs said.
"I missed Tony's calls and I slept through my alarm," Kate said.
Gibbs tossed an empty coffee cup in the trash can beside Kate's desk. "When'd you get in?"
"Forty minutes ago," Kate said. "I pulled the files you wanted. Other than one encounter with JAG a few years ago for fraternization the Lieutenant's record is spotless."
"What happened with that charge?" Tony asked.
"Nothing. There was no case. The woman involved, a Petty Officer Jamison, turned out to be his half-sister. There are no regs against family spending time together, even if one is enlisted and one is an officer, so the charge was dropped," Kate said.
Gibbs walked off and Kate turned back to Tony. "Someone hated the Lieutenant, Kate. This guy wasn't just killed. Someone ripped him apart," Tony said softly.
"Literally?" Kate asked. Tony nodded and bile rose in Kate's throat. "Okay, why don't you get cleaned up and I'll take your camera to the lab for development."
"Thanks," Tony said, handing her his backpack. It, too, was covered in mud, but not quite to the extent of its owner. "I'll meet you in the break room once you're done with the photo geeks. Give you a rundown of what happened to our vic."
"Thank you," Kate said, looking from the backpack to Tony to the muddy footprints left behind by both Tony and McGee.
"And I'll explain the mud, too," he promised.