Chapter 4
Farnell flew through the air to land with a crash near the stairs up to the kitchen, he sat dazed for a moment then his hand went to his jaw and rubbed it ruefully
"I could arrest you for assaulting a federal officer" he said wincing slightly at the pain talking caused, wiggling his lower jaw slightly to check for damage.
Gibbs inclined his head in agreement his eyes hard and cold
"You could try" he said carefully, his tone neutral and all the more deadly for it
Farnell pushed himself up using the stair railing as support, then looked down at his trench coat covered in sawdust and dirt
"Don't you ever clean the damn floor" he muttered crossing back to Gibbs, hands raised slightly as he neared him "I'll let you have that one" he told his old friend and nemesis
Gibbs said nothing just stared at Farnell as if they were in an interrogation room, Farnell sighed recognising the look; this was not going to be easy he thought to himself.
"Look no one expected you to drop the case, and no one expected you to quit, but we can't have you work the case officially but you cant go it alone either Gibbs" he said softly, Farnell paused expecting Gibbs to say something but he remained silent, not moving a muscle his eyes just watching Farnell and assessing.
"For Gods sake Gibbs go back to work" Farnell said in frustration taking a large swig from the bottle of JD, wincing as the alcohol burnt the cut in his lip
"No" Gibbs said calmly, his eyes betraying nothing
"No?" Farnell asked on a gasp as the JD he had just swigged went down the wrong way, burning his throat "What the hell do you mean no?" he coughed, not catching the amused gleam in Gibbs' eye that was masked as quickly as it had arived
"I mean no" he replied in that steady tone that carried more steel than a sergeant's bellow. Farnell looked at Gibbs his eyes narrowed
"You can't have the case Gibbs" he warned knowing from old that Gibbs wanted his own way or no way
"Then I don't come back to work, and I still get Ari" Gibbs replied finally moving, to take a sip of his drink
"No you don't, you get 10 to 20 for murder and whatever else I can throw at you" Farnell said angrily, hating that Gibbs could remain so calm when this was a subject he obviously felt deeply about, Farnell knew he himself felt badly about Kate's death and wanted Ari dead, so it had to be worse for Gibbs, so much worse and yet at this time you would never know.
Gibbs just shrugged and crossed to his boat, picking up a sanding plane and calmly setting to work, not betraying how much it was costing him to remain so calm and collected when all he wanted to do was pound Farnell into the middle of next week.
Farnell watched him, his eyes narrowed, looking for some sign that Gibbs would weaken, calling on all his training and experience in the FBI to spot that Gibbs was bluffing, but he could see no sign of it, he crossed over and snatched the plane out of Gibbs' hand and slammed it down
"Fine but you work with me on this, at all times" he snarled at Gibbs "You answer to me" he repeated his eyes hard and angry
Gibbs allowed himself a feint smile, which was more in the eyes than the lips and inclined his head slightly before picking up the plane again and sanding the already smooth wood
"See you tomorrow" was all he said.
…………………………………………
Tony stood at the graveside a single white rose in his hands, the grave had been turfed over and the most of the flowers from the funeral had been removed, her gleaming white headstone had been erected and stood in perfect alignment with all the others at Arlington.
Tony bent slowly and placed the rose at the base of the headstone, shocked to see his hand shaking, he stood for a moment before dropping to kneel in the damp grass, his legs not able to support him. He wiped his face, scrubbing slightly as if trying to rub away something, as if trying to rub away the memory of her blood on his face and hands. He jerked back as his hand encountered something wet and warm, his eyes large and afraid as if sure when he looked at his hand it would be red, relieved to see that it was just his own tears, shocked slightly that it was unaware he had been crying.
"Why Kate?" he whispered "Why you?" he paused as if waiting for her response but all he heard was the whisper of the wind in the trees and the feint sound of another funeral taking place not far from where he knelt.
"Gibbs quit" he said, his voice cracking, his mind unable to comprehend that Gibbs would quit, but knowing in his heart that Gibbs meant it. "He did it for you, for him" he corrected "you wouldn't want him to quit would you Katie" he said softly, his body shivering slightly in the damp cold air
"Its all gone" he whispered in despair feeling like a lost child whose parents had left him all alone. Without Kate and Gibbs he was alone he thought sadly.
Tony stood and brushed his trousers down
"These cost me a 100 bucks Katie girl" he whispered "And I bet there ruined now" his voice catching again, wishing she was able to make some comment about the cost of his clothes and how he always told everyone, knowing she never would again.
"Abby went to see Gibbs" he laughed shakily "She's braver than me Kate, but not braver than you" he looked up at the clouds, the sky darkening as the sun slowly began its journey downwards "I cant let him do it" he said "not on his own" Tony looked down once more at Kate's grave and smiled sadly
"Goodbye Kate" he whispered not bothering to wipe the tears that flowed freely down his face, with that he turned and walked away, fighting the urge to look back.
He never saw the figure watching him from the trees in the distance.