Thanks shirik for your truthful feedback. I am quite impatient and that is hurting my story. I'm glad I read it just before I posted chapter 4. I changed a few things so this story will be longer than maybe five chapters.
About Tony's injuries. I was vague and my intention was to write that he wasn't severely injured. He could walk but it hurt a bit because of his one broken rib. A bit like SWAK/Twilight where it didn't take so long for Tony to come back to work.
I'll try to work on writing good TATE moments. I know that's why you all are reading this story. Although they are probably not in this chapter.
………………………………………………………………………………………………
………..One month later…….
Abby had been an unwillingly involved spectator to the office drama for a month now. Now the tension had been built up for a month without anyone wanting to tell the other one the truth afraid of making it worse. They knew better but did that help? The first week Abby tried to help out she quickly gave up. The revelation that Gibbs knew about Tony's decision didn't make it easier for her. It wasn't her problem and she confronted Tony and Kate about the fact that Gibbs knew. Their reaction surprised her. They still didn't want to talk to Gibbs about it especially since the uncertainty about if Tony would get the job or not was still big. Abby felt the team grew apart for every day which passed but no one wanted to do anything about it and why should she be the icebreaker. When McGee one day came to her asking what was going on Abby felt she should tell him. She did just that but the others felt she had no right in telling him. She regretted it at first but now she thought that the others would never fill him in and that would hurt McGee more. Being left out of something in a team like this wasn't good especially for such a long time as it had been. With everything going on Kate still confided in Abby. It was important for Kate and Abby to keep their friendship even if the friendship was now put through difficult tests. Abby knew one thing the rest in the team didn't know. Kate and Tony were together everyday so they would get a chance to really get to know each other before several big decisions had to be made. They practically lived together in Tony's apartment since the first few days he was home resting and Kate stayed with him during that time. She just didn't manage to move out and Tony wanted her to stay to explore their feelings for each other. Today they had to take the consequences of that decision. Today everyone had to take the consequences of everyone's decisions including Abby's own.
………………At the office………..
Abby had once again thought about the situation but she promised herself it was for the last time. This wasn't her mess. She had her private life and so did the rest in the team. It was that she was going to focus on not others' private lives. She looked at Tony who stood in the middle of the floor. At least Gibbs had known for a few days what was going on she thought.
………………..
"It's just an interview. Ok, it is in New York. I don't know if I'll even like the place." Tony told them.
"Yeah, you will. You don't have to try to cheer us up." McGee told him.
"I never thought…Well this isn't goodbye. You'll see me on Monday again. Friday, Saturday and Sunday will go so fast that you will ask yourself on Monday what happened to the weekend. "Tony told them trying to get them to think about something else. It was who he was. Kate knew it too. She hated saying goodbye to him but this time she knew he would come back. They had their private goodbye in the morning. Now it was their "work" goodbye.
Tony looked at Kate and walked up to her desk. She was sitting down and he thought she looked both beautiful and sad at the same time. It hurt him so much for leaving her. Much more than he could imagine.
"The offer still stands. I love you." Tony told her before turning around.
"I love you too." Kate said but she didn't look up as he walked away. He walked away on a Thursday but would he walk back in her life on Monday?
…………….
After the elevator doors had closed Abby walked up to Kate.
"What offer?" Abby wondered.
"He gave me plane ticket so I can fly to New York tomorrow evening. I don't know what to do. If I go what will that send for signals to him? If I don't go will I lose him? It's a lot of pressure. It's like he wants me to make a decision now. I can't. I won't. We had a fight over it yesterday when he told me about his plan. It was our first fight. I think we both hated it so much but he was the first to apologize this morning. He said he didn't want to pressure me into anything and this weekend would only be a fun weekend with no strings attached. Still I don't know if I can trust him. I know he'll save my life if needed to but I don't know if he wants to save what we have. I feel silly for feeling that way." Kate explained.
"Have you told him that?"
"I tried but it didn't work. He didn't want to argue again. I don't know what's wrong with him. I don't know what to do." Kate said sadly.
"Ever tried to see it from his point of view? Maybe he feels you are pressuring him. Pressuring him to stay." Abby asked.
"I've thought about that and I've clearly said to him I don't want to do that." Kate said to her friend.
"Unintentionally maybe you did…You don't know how he feels about it if you don't ask him."
"It isn't my fault. I've tried to make him talk the last couple of days and instead he gives me a plane ticket. That's a reason to not go with him." Kate explained feeling lost, lonely and so much more.
"I can't tell you what to do. So are you going to Tony's after work?"
"Yeah…Where else would I go since most of my things are there?" Kate answered.
The answer told Abby so much more than Kate ever realised.
"I need to swing by apartment but then I'll come to you. It was a while just the two of us spent some time together." Abby told her.
"You're right. I like that idea." Kate said now having a little smile on her face.
"Good."
…………….The next day……………..
"I'm so sorry about talking so long with Tony last night." Kate told her friend. It was the thousandth time she had apologized.
"You needed to talk and I watched TV so time went quite fast. It was only a half an hour or so you were gone." Abby told her trying once again to make her feel better.
"More like 45 minutes but thanks for being so cool with it. I had a great time last night. Thanks for coming over. You're a good friend." Kate said appreciating her friend's nice efforts.
"It was nothing. That's what friends are for. I needed last night just as much as you." Abby told her.
"You know you can talk to me anytime. I'm here for you. I'm sorry if I've been too occupied with my problems and not seeing yours. I'm glad that your relationship with your boyfriend is going better now. Everyone has some rough times in their relationship but they are meant to get through." Kate told her.
"I know someone who can apply that to her own relationship." Abby told her. Just before Kate could answer her cell phone rang. She saw who it was.
"It's Tony." She said before walking away to a corner to be alone. She didn't want the whole office to hear their conversation.
………..A while later………..
"So what did he say?" Abby asked when she came back.
"That it is ok if I don't come." Kate replied calmly. Abby took it as a sign they hadn't fought.
"Has he done the interview?" Abby asked curious.
"No. He's doing it in a half an hour. He promised to call as soon as it was over." Kate told her.
"I see you are smiling. That's a good sign." Abby said noticing how relaxed she felt now. It was a drastic change to how she was when they came to work this morning.
"Yes." Kate said smiling some more.
"You two are always talking. Is any work ever getting done?" Gibbs asked the two of them.
"Yes, boss." Kate told him.
"I'm on my way." Abby replied. She knew Kate and her would talk much more later on.
………………..
Gibbs didn't want agent Todd and agent Dinozzo to leave but he knew that was inevitable. If they wouldn't leave now they would leave when they started a family. He didn't know what to say to make them stay. Could he say anything to make them change their minds?
He didn't know what to do.
………….Back in New York……..
Tony sat outside the room inside the FBI building. It felt strange being here. Tony felt out of place. He missed NCIS already.
"You can go in now." Someone told him. A few seconds later he sat down on chair with four other persons there.
"I see you applied for a job here. Are you up for it?" one of them asked. He thought it was strange no one introduced themselves.
"Yes, I am." Tony answered feeling that something was not right.
"You got a recommendation from our agent Blunt. How do you know him?" another man asked.
"What's going on here?" Tony asked.
"I think we have the right to ask you the same. How do you know him?" the same man asked again now having a threatening voice.
"I have no idea who he is." Tony answered. He only said what he was instructed to say even if it meant lying.
"Right…We've checked you out! We know what you are up to. Either you work with us or you're under arrest!" a third man said.
"I have no idea on what you are talking about." Tony said calmly.
Everyone watched how Tony reacted and they were quiet for a little while.
"I think you've passed the first test…I'm agent Malone, this is agent Lopez, Taubenfeld and James. You're not here for just an interview. You got the job if you still want it but first you have to do something for us." Agent Malone explained.
"You're involved in our case and we suspect you know much more than you've told anyone. Does your boss know?" Malone continued.
"They all think I'm here for an interview." Tony explained.
"Including your girlfriend?" agent James asked.
"Yes. Just leave her out of it." Tony told them meaning what he said. He was pretty mad at them but tried to act calm. Tony quickly realised what was going on.
"If we thought they would have killed you we would have stopped it. They never kill anyone until they've finished their jobs." Agent Taubenfeld told him.
"I wish I knew it before they kidnapped me. I applied for this job before Blunt even contacted me. I don't want to get this job because of a case you are working on. Then I rather go back to the job I have now." Tony told them. All he ever wanted felt so out of reach right now. Even a simple job interview wasn't simple enough.
"Blunt works for them. That's why I know they've called you eight times and Blunt has talked to you four. We know what they have told you. We know their methods. The one thing we don't know is if anybody else here works for them." Malone then told him.
"So Blunt is a bad guy?" Tony asked shocked.
"He came to us the first time they threatened him and since that day he has worked undercover. Not everyone here has the guts to do so. Not since they killed one of our agents. Everyone has families to think about. I know you have too." Agent Lopez told him.
"If you suggest what I think you are suggesting then the answer is no. If I don't mess with them then they won't mess with me. If taking this job means they will be in my life then no thanks. I'm happy where I am now. I think that is all." Tony said before going up from his seat.
Then he heard a door open and a man stepped in.
"I'm agent Jake Blunt. Nice to finally meet you." He said walking up to Tony.
"Hi! I just told your colleagues I'm not interested. The same thing I told you three weeks ago."
"They know you are in New York. Your kidnappers are in a much bigger network than you could ever imagine." Blunt told him.
"Al Queda?" Tony asked.
"A similar one with lots of money, smart people and information…I suggest you should wear a wire during your stay here." Blunt told him.
Tony felt he couldn't say no anymore. He had no choice. It wouldn't hurt since he was going to be in New York all alone. They all then left the office to go to another room to talk some more.
…………After the interview……….
Tony stood outside the FBI building and wondered what the heck he had agreed to. This dream job didn't seem as a dream job anymore. Then someone bumped into him. Soon that person grabbed his arm and now he was standing next to the wall. There were so many people walking on the street that what happened went unnoticed by everyone.
"I know you've talked to Blunt. He will recommend you. You'll get the job. We'll give you further instructions soon. Have your phone on." The man said to him. Before Tony could say anything the man had disappeared into the crowd.
Soon his phone rang. He wondered if it was Blunt who had heard everything. How could he keep having the wire on when he still didn't trust Blunt? Maybe Blunt was double crossing the FBI too? Just like Ari is doing? Being so messed up that you don't even know who you are working for anymore. Tony didn't want to answer it but it kept ringing and ringing. He picked it up from his pocket and answered.
"It's me. What took you so long? Are you still in the interview? It took forever for you to call me so I thought you had forgotten." Kate wondered. She waited for an answer but it didn't come.
"Are you there?" Kate asked raising her voice a little in case he didn't hear her.
"I'm here. The interview went fine. I'm just walking around in the city. I think I'll get the job." Tony told her wondering how her reaction would be.
"That's great. I just wanted to say I've changed my mind. I'm coming tonight. I hope you can pick me up." Kate told him feeling quite happy about seeing him again.
"Ohh…" Tony said. This morning he would have been ecstatic over this news but now he was far from it. Also she was happy about him getting the job. Why was she suddenly so happy, Tony wondered?
"You don't seem to be as enthusiastic about it as I hoped. Is something wrong?" Kate asked wondering if he wanted to break up with her because of his new job. She had jumped to conclusions since she waited so long for him to call her back.
"I am. I'll pick you up. Why don't I call you from the hotel where there is a lot less noise?" Tony suggested.
"Ok. Can't wait to talk to you and also see you. I've missed you." Kate told him.
"I've missed you too. Bye" Tony said before hanging up abruptly. Kate didn't get the chance to say goodbye but she was going to talk to him soon and that was all that mattered.
Tony knew he had to go back in and talk to them again. This mission could go badly and he didn't want Kate to suffer because of it. Tony really felt he could need Gibbs right now. If only he could tell him and maybe even Kate.
…………At NCIS………
"I guess it was a long interview. He didn't sound like himself. He said he'll call later." Kate told Abby.
"The selection process is probably different there than here." Abby told her.
"I still think Gibbs method is probably the best." Kate told her.
"I agree." Abby told her.
"Are you still talking? We're trying to find some people here!" Gibbs said referring to them who kidnapped Tony. It had been a hard case to crack and they didn't know how to find more clues. Gibbs had wondered why they were so well at covering up and dusting up their tracks.
Before he could yell at them some more his cell phone rang. He hated his phone so much right now.
……………Later that day at the airport in New York…………….
Kate walked slowly but as soon as she saw Tony she couldn't stop herself from almost running. Tony started to walk faster too but there were a lot of people there waiting for their loves ones too. Soon they were in front of each other.
"I've missed you so much." Kate told him.
"I wasn't gone so long." Tony said with a big smile on his face.
"Long enough." Kate said while putting down her bags.
"I missed you too." Tony said before kissing her. Then he hugged her tightly. He knew he loved her so much and it hurt like hell that he didn't know how this weekend would go.
"The hotel is great. You will love it. We can order room service as soon as we get there." Tony told her while picking up her bags.
"I'm starving. I think we'll have a lot of fun this weekend. Just the two of us." Kate said happy not aware of the drama which was unfolding.
On one side of the room Tony could see one of the FBI agents he had met today. On the other side he could see the man who bumped into him outside FBI. Tony was just glad those two were unaware of each other because then all hell would break lose.
……………At their hotel room………….
"Caitlin Todd. I love you." Tony said as they were both sitting on the bed. Kate wondered what he was going to say. It must be too soon to propose. That serious hadn't they've become or did Tony think that? Kate knew she had to prepare herself for the worst and for the best.
"I know. I love you too."
"That's why it is so hard to say this." Tony told her.
Kate then just felt he would break up with her. She could tell it in his voice.
"I think we are serious. Really serious. Do you feel the same?" Tony asked her.
A sigh of relief came out of her but now she didn't know what to say. She had to think for a little while.
"I want us to be." Kate replied.
"We're on the same page then. I think we will have a great weekend together." Tony told her before kissing her. He had wanted to tell her but it was so hard. Jeopardizing her life wasn't worth it. Now he only wanted to make this the best weekend they'll ever have together because he was pretty sure they couldn't be together anymore no matter how much both of them wanted them to be.