Kate shot up from lying on her bed. Sleep left her quickly, as she widened her eyes and rushed out of her room. She was almost down the hallway, her mouth open to answer Gibbs' call, when Ari's hands wrapped around her mouth, and pulled her close to him. She lifted her elbow, but the cold metal of a gun head pressed into her temple.
She froze, cursing Ari and praising her friends for finding her in her head. He was backing her up slowly back into his room, when Tony's figure appeared at the other end of the hall.
"Do not move, Agent DiNozzo, or I will shoot her." Ari called down, still moving towards his bedroom.
Tony held his gun firmly in his hands. His anger finally was released from where he had kept it in the back of his mind. He opened his mouth to give Ari a death threat, but a glint of sunlight reflected off Gibbs' gun caught his attention. Looking through the corner of his eye at his boss, Tony nodded slowly, as Gibbs mimed him going around the back way.
Gibbs disappeared through the kicked in front door and Tony turned his attention back onto Kate and Ari. "Let her go, and I won't shoot you in the head." Tony said, through gritted teeth.
Tony could see the smirk on Ari's face, as he spoke. "Agent DiNozzo, you won't risk her life, will you?"
Tony's gaze hardened on him and his finger tightened against the trigger.
Ari finally backed up fully into the bedroom. Kicking the door closed, he gave Tony a farewell look. As the door closed, Kate's hope faded, but then burst back. Gibbs was the one who called. Not Tony. Kate's mind worked in overdrive, as Ari moved her towards the window. He kept the gun to her head firmly, as he popped out the screen. He grabbed her wrist and yanked her up onto the chair he was standing on. She caught her balance, just as he pushed her out the window, and onto the ground, keeping his hand on her wrist at all times.
Ari stood and turned around, his gun drawn. The barrel of Gibbs' gun stared back at him and Gibbs stared down the barrel of Ari's gun. Kate winced, as Ari's grip on her wrist tightened.
Gibbs glared at Ari. "Let go of my agent."
Ari smirked back at him. "Touchy, aren't we Special Agent Gibbs?"
Gibbs' hand tightened around the trigger and his eyes darted from Kate, to Ari. "She's one of the best. I'm not about to let her go."
Ari's eyebrows rose and he yanked Kate towards him. Kate swore in pain from his twisting her wrist. "That is exactly why I need her. She's one of the best."
A click from behind Ari's head startled him. "I'll say it again. Let. Her. Go." Tony said. His voice was laced with guilt, anger, and frustration.
Ari's gaze moved from the corner of his eye, back to Gibbs, who was smirking at him. "If I were you, I'd do what he says." He replied, warningly.
Sirens were heard down the road faintly, growing louder with each second that past by. A smirk hovered on Kate's face, while Ari silently dropped his gun. Tony moved quickly, and shot him in the leg, causing him to cry out in pain, buckle over and let Kate go. She pulled away from him, and rubbed her wrist as she watched. Gibbs handcuffed Ari roughly, and read him his rights, while Tony moved over beside Kate. They both watched, as Gibbs forced him to walk on his wounded leg.
The sirens were now in the driveway, as two ambulances and a few squad cars whipped into the driveway. "Kate?" Tony asked faintly.
Kate broke from her trance, and looked up at him. "Yea Tony?"
Their eyes met, and he asked her, just as quietly. "Did he… hurt you?"
She paused, lost in all the emotions behind his eyes, before answering him. There were so many ways to answer that one question. So many that could hide her real feelings, but only one that could tell him what she really felt. "I –"
"Kate!"
Both of them looked up at McGee. "Kate, are you okay?" McGee asked, stopping short.
Kate's moment of slight weakness was gone, just like that. She put her brave face back on, and she frowned at McGee. "Probie, are you suggesting that I can't look out for myself?"
As McGee stood there, trying to come up with an answer that would earn him brownie points with her, she pushed past him, and headed over to Gibbs.
Gibbs looked up from giving the officer instructions for what to do with Ari. He walked away, mid-sentence, and headed over to Kate. "You need to go to that ambulance." He pointed over to the one that wasn't looking after Ari's bullet wound.
Kate straightened up, and pulled open Gibbs' car door. "I'm fine. I just want to go home." She replied, with all the strength she could muster.
Gibbs gave her his 'do it now' look, and she sighed. "Gibbs. I'm fine. Let's just get my statement, so I can go home."
Gibbs slammed his car door back shut, and pointed over to the ambulance again. "Agent Todd, I refuse to take your statement, until you get your ass over to that van."
Kate gave him her dirtiest look she dared, before turning on her heel and walking over to the van. Once her back was turned, she let out a slight smile, glad that things would be back to normal in no time. Soon, no one would be asking her any more questions, about how she felt. She was perfectly fine with locking everything up.
She was used to it by now.