………..Thursday the 18th of December……….

Abby watched her co-worker slowly walk to the door. Since they came home Kate had stayed over quite a lot. Maximum five days Kate had been alone in Tony's apartment. The memories kept crawling back to her and on the really bad days Abby had just gone and picked her up as soon as she had called so she could stay over at Abby's. Kate took Tony's disappearance really hard. At work she did her best during the circumstances but it was maybe because her mind had something to preoccupy itself with. When work was over the dark reality hit her. Everyone was mourning in their own way. Tony's desk was empty and Gibb's boss had pressured him into getting a replacement. As much as Gibbs had tried to put it off he knew sooner or later he had to do it. Because of Kate he had decided to wait until after Christmas in doing so. There wasn't so much work anyway which indicated he didn't need to hurry up with finding a replacement.

"Kate. Are you ok?" Abby asked her. She wondered since Kate had had nightmares a few times and looked sick lately.

"I think this is a good day. Let's just move on." Kate said as she opened the door. Moving on hadn't been so easy. Everyone had tried to comfort her but the first days after coming home she always wondered if it was Tony or the FBI calling every time the phone rang. Would she get some news or would she not get some news? Kate had now slowly started to accept that Tony possibly was dead. She just wanted a grave to go to so she could talk to him and tell him everything she didn't get the chance to tell him.

"I'm only a few feet away at work so just come over whenever you want." Abby told her while they were walking to the car.

"You don't have to say it every day. I know." Kate replied.

………….. At work…………..

Abby and Kate walked into the room as usual. Kate did the same thing she had done since they came back. Avoiding Tony's desk and trying not to look at it. Abby and McGee cleared his desk a week ago when Kate said she just couldn't do it. When she had to go home with the box she cried a little. When she and Abby went to Tony's apartment and Kate opened the box floods of tears ran down Kate's face. Abby noticed that her condition deteriorated for every day. She had begged Kate to talk to someone but she wasn't up for it. Just going to work was a big enough accomplishment for now Kate thought.

"Hey…I need some help with phoning some people. Want to do it?" McGee asked her. He had been really nice and reserved towards her since they came back. A little scared of making her cry after hearing what Abby told him about her fragile emotional state.

"I'll be right back." Kate said quickly going towards Abby's room.

"Did I do something wrong?" McGee asked not expecting an answer. It was a rhetorical question.

"No…Haven't you notice she has always gone to Abby the first half hour of work since we came back? You're a NCIS agent. You have to notice things a lot more." Gibbs told him. He was worried about Kate too. This was one of the reasons he had rule number 12.

"I'm working on it boss." McGee said to him.

………..

Kate went to Abby's lab and shut off the music.

"What's wrong?" Abby asked her.

"I'm late and Tony is dead." Kate quickly said. Gathering her thoughts was hard enough so saying things the right way was quite impossible for her.

Abby looked at her quite shocked. This was the first time Kate had said Tony is dead.

Abby went up to her and hugged her.

"I know. I'm so sorry. We'll help you through this." Abby then said while still hugging her.

"Abby…My period is late…Maybe it is because I've been through a lot of stress and my body is reacting in this way…" Kate told her. Abby let go of her.

"Or you're pregnant…OMG…" Abby said even more shocked.

"I can't raise a baby on my own and he's dead. Do you know how strange it feels knowing you may carry a dead person's baby? The last thing I might have of him inside of me?" Kate explained to her.

"You're not alone. You can stay at my place for as long as you want. I love babies." Abby quickly told her to make her feel better.

"I can't do that. Anyway I've been thinking about this for the past two days and…I don't know if I should be happy or sad…I know everyone else especially Tony's family would be really happy but I'm not feeling so happy. How can I become a mother when I can't even take care of myself?" Kate wondered looking sadder by the second.

"You'll be a great mother. Now we're going to a store to buy two pregnancy tests and to see if you are pregnant or not. We need to deal with it straight away." Abby told her. Then she grabbed her arm and they left the room.

…………..

"We're going out for a while. We'll be back soon." Abby told Gibbs and McGee when they were on their way to the elevator.

…….An hour later……….

Abby sat at Kate's desk waiting for her to emerge from the bathroom.

"Abby, what's going on?" Gibbs asked her.

"She has accepted Tony is dead." Abby answered before she got cut off.

"Then why is she in the bathroom?" Gibbs asked again.

"Because she thinks she is pregnant. We're trying to confirm it as we speak." Abby explained.

The two men got a bit shocked and hadn't anything good to say.

Then Kate emerged and Abby went to her. They both then entered the bathroom to look at both tests.

"Abby, tell me. I can't look at them." Kate told her. Abby looked at the tests and read the packages. She double checked and triple checked. She wanted to be sure before she told Kate.

"You're pregnant. Congratulations." Abby told Kate before giving her a hug.

"I am?" Kate said stunned. She hadn't wanted to believe it. Now she had to.

"Tony gave you a great Christmas present. The best you could ever get." Abby told her.

They let go of each other and Kate went up to the tests to see which colour they had. She then looked at the packages and yes indeed she was pregnant.

"He always knew what to give me. Tony always gave me great things. Thank you. I love you." Kate said while watching up at the ceiling.

"I'm sure he heard you." Abby told her.

……….

Then they went out to the rest.

"I'm pregnant." Kate told them.

"Congratulations." Gibbs and McGee said immediately.

"Thank you." Kate said before taking her seat.

"You'll get desk duty starting from now." Gibbs then told her. He knew that for Tony he could at least make sure she was alright and nothing would ever happen to her and the baby.

"I'm moving in with Abby. You'll have to update your telephone books now." Kate told them.

"Not a problem. Why don't you call your and Tony's family? I'm sure they want to hear the news." Gibbs said. He could also be very nice sometimes.

"I will." Kate answered.

…………Monday 22nd of December………..

"Back at work again." Kate said as she sat down at her seat.

"You seem happier today." McGee noticed.

"Been to the doctor's and I'm fine. The baby is fine too. Everyone is happy because of the baby. After everything they finally feel they have something to look forward to." Kate explained.

"A lot of pressure on you and the baby too. I said you should take it easy." Abby told her. She was still worried for Kate. The weekend hadn't been that easy for her.

"I already said she will be the godmother so that's why she is acting like this." Kate said with a smile.

"If I didn't know you better I would say you sound as fake happy as Tony did sometimes." Abby stated.

"Oh, the baby is affecting how I act." Kate said referring to one Charmed episode which Abby of course knew about. Both laughed a little. Of course Kate was still mourning but she had started to feel slightly better and she didn't know if it was because of the baby or all the support she had got from her own and Tony's family.

Gibbs and McGee didn't say a thing just observed. The office atmosphere had for the first time become slightly better since they came back.

………An hour later……..

Everyone was busy working trying to get as much done before Christmas. People were coming and going. Gibbs, McGee and Kate were all deep concentrated either in their paper work or what was on the computer. A guy had walked up and stopped in the middle of their office area. No one noticed it at first but Gibbs saw in the corner of his eye how a man had stood still for quite some time. He lifted up his head and he immediately thought he saw a ghost. It must have been. Was he daydreaming?

"Tony?" Gibbs asked while slowly standing up. When McGee and Kate heard Gibbs they lifted up their heads too. They couldn't believe their eyes. Just then Ducky and Abby were walking up to them. No one could believe it.

Kate slowly got up and walked to him. She touched his arm to see if it was him. It was.

Then instead of saying something Tony bent down on one knee. He was so happy over being granted the chance to come back to his own life. He never thought this day would come. Tony had missed them so much and had thought a few times why he should still be alive if life would only be an agony?

"Caitlin Todd will you marry me?"

Kate started to cry. She couldn't take it. He was there. Actually there.

"Am I dreaming?" Kate said after a while.

"No, you're not. Can I put it on your finger?" Tony asked.

"Yes." Kate answered still crying.

Tony then got up and kissed her. He then showed her his own ring.

"Tony…I'm pregnant." Kate then told him.

"I've been gone a little while and you're pregnant? Who is the father?" Tony joked.

"He's back!" Abby said feeling really privileged being able to see this special moment.

"I'm also staying at NCIS. There is no better place than this place." Tony said while holding Kate.

After Tony and Kate were finished with their reunion everyone hugged Tony and was so happy over the fact that he was back. The whole day Tony had to explain how the FBI had followed the car he was in so they could stop him from being murdered and then how they hid him for almost three weeks. They couldn't let him or Blunt contact anyone before everyone in the network were arrested. Now that they were arrested he could go home. Tony also explained how he wouldn't be charged of any crime and how the network murdered the man in the warehouse. Tony had held the weapon but couldn't fire. It was beneath himself. He then gave the weapon to the other guy and told him to kill him instead. Then the other guy shot their hostage and Tony had to dump the body and weapon if he didn't want Kate and the team dead.

…………….

Three months later they got married and had a beautiful baby daughter.

………………

THE END

I wonder if I managed to fool you a bit believing Tony was really dead.