This chapter is separate from the first chapter but continues from it. There will be no more after this chapter.
…………………………………………………………………………………
The doctors and nurses worked on Tony and Kate to get their hearts start beating again. Everyone in the staff had got attached to them because of the unusual circumstances. They thought it was romantic and couldn't help but feel sorry for them. They didn't want them to die and each person did their best to make them stay alive. The minutes passed by and the awful sound wouldn't stop. The sound of a flat line on a monitor but now there were two flat lines and two awful sounds. No one wanted to hear it but the medical personnel couldn't keep on doing it forever.
"Time of deaths pronounced at 10. 47 AM…" the doctor said. Then he turned around and looked at the families and friends.
……………………………………………………..
Kate and Tony didn't know where they were. It was all white. Just like in the movies when they explained how heaven looked like.
"Tony…We're here…It's really over…" Kate said sadly. She didn't want it to be over.
"I know. I'm so sorry for not being able to rescue you. If it was only me who died not you." Tony told her.
"It should be the other way around. If it was only me not you." Kate told him.
"You should stop thinking about the past and listen to me." A high voice said behind them.
Kate and Tony turned around. They saw three big gates and a man behind a big pedestal.
"Who are you?" Tony asked him.
"I'm the gatekeeper and welcome to the gates Caitlin and Anthony. I've been expecting you." He told them.
"I have so many questions and they all start with the word why." Kate told him.
"I'm not here to give you answers. God works in mysterious ways. I'm just following orders. I think you understand me." The gatekeeper told them.
"We're still going to ask them." Tony told him.
"Why did we stay in coma so long and see what happened to our bodies? Why did we have to die? Why was it so important to be together until the end?" Kate asked him.
"As I said he works in mysterious ways. It was just your time. He has many reasons for deciding why people should die at a special time. If I did know I wouldn't tell you. This is hard enough. I've met millions of people and I'm here just to help you get through the gates." The gatekeeper further explained.
"It's not enough. Tell us what those reasons can be?" Tony demanded.
…………………………..At the hospital……………………
"I'm so sorry. We did all we could." The doctor explained to them. So many thoughts were going through everybody's mind. Ducky couldn't help but feel people's stare at him. He was their next stop. He wondered if he really should do it. He saw them die and agreeing on doing autopsies on them…If he did it he knew he would do a thorough job but they knew who the killer was and what killed them. This was the first time he considered not doing two autopsies. If only someone else could make the decision for him.
Abby had stopped crying. She couldn't believe it. Her heart broke down into million of pieces. She stood there in shock. Her dreams of them waking up never came true. She hated her dreams and feelings. She wanted to get away and not see this anymore.
Gibbs stood there like a stone. McGee observed him and the others but mostly him. McGee couldn't believe it and just wanted to make them wake up. He said a silent pray hoping their spirits were at a better place.
Gibbs' face had stayed the same through the whole ordeal. It didn't stop him from feeling complete loss. He knew he would never forgive himself. He lost two agents. Gibbs felt it was his fault.
………………………..Back at the gates……..
"Here at the gates I don't answers such questions." The gatekeeper told them.
"Then you better do that if you want us to go through the gates." Kate yelled at him. She was fed up with the whole situation. It had been dragged out for too long.
"Listen to her. She knows what she is saying and I totally agree. I want to hear it too." Tony told him harshly.
"Sometimes he wants you to learn something in your lives down there and when your time is up and you haven't done it then you come here. Sometimes it is a chain of events which can help get people to be better persons and if a few people die in the chain then so be it. I don't know why you came here. Maybe there are other reasons then the ones I stated. Maybe God will decide to tell them to you one day." The gatekeeper explained.
"I'm mad at him. I don't want to be here." Kate said after a while taking everything in.
"That's why I'm here. It's painful going through the gates. I'm here to help you. There are three gates and you have to choose one of them. Take one of these three cards and the number you get will tell us which gate you will go through." The gatekeeper told them. He showed no emotions and just acted like this was his job but it must be the one of the hardest jobs anyone could have both Tony and Kate thought at the same time.
"Tony, you thought what I thought." Kate told him.
"I know. I felt it too. Why is it so gatekeeper?" Tony asked.
"Similar thoughts between two persons who died at the same time can be felt up here. Caitlin and Anthony take your cards." The gatekeeper said while stretching out his hand.
Kate took one card and Tony the other one. They looked at each other instead of looking what the cards say.
"Why can't we go through the same gate?" Kate and Tony said at the same time.
"I knew you would ask that. I don't decide what the cards say. What do they say Caitlin and Anthony?" he asked them.
They turned the cards around and they were blank. Suddenly a number appeared. They showed them to each other before showing them to the gatekeeper.
"That was his decision. Caitlin and Anthony are you ready because your gate will open soon?" the gatekeeper asked them.
"No…Tell him he has to give us an answer to why we had to die." Tony told him.
"Caitlin and Anthony…The past can't be changed. Accept it and move on." The gatekeeper answered.
"Why do you call us by our full names? It seems too formal! We're Kate and Tony and I can't move on without answers." Kate told him.
"You both had fatal injuries. If you survived do you really think you could handle living with severe injuries for the rest of your lives? You both probably got severe brain damages and other injuries. So being deaf, blind, paralysed, having a weak heart, failing kidney, having to sit in a wheelchair for the rest of your life with tubes if you're lucky, lay in a bed with tubes for the rest of your lives or maybe be in coma for 50 years…I took one look at both of you and I knew neither of you are ready for that. Maybe that was the reason you came here. You didn't learn the right things down there like knowing how to handle things the right way and do the right things. He did his best but both of you didn't want to learn. Ever wondered why you were in coma for so long. I said this part of the procedure was very painful and if you don't go through the gates right now it will be much more painful. I'm sorry but the finale decision has been made and you lost your chance to convince him to do otherwise." The gatekeeper told him.
The cold hard truth hurt them so much that it was indescribable. Caitlin and Anthony heard the gates open. Gate number 2 was their gate.
"Will we see each other again?" Kate asked him.
"Heaven is big and if he wants you together then you will one day see each other again but at first you will be separated. This is journey you need to do alone." The gatekeeper replied.
Tony took Kate's hand.
"Goodbye and I hope you will remember me. I love you." Tony told her.
"Goodbye and I hope you will remember me. I love you." Kate told him.
They slowly walked closer to their gate and the light kept getting brighter.
……………………………At the hospital……………………………….
The nurses were ready to take off the tubes so everyone could see them as they usually look like and say their last goodbyes. Suddenly Abby felt something and she started to go to their room.
"Abby, what are you doing? They were coming to get us when they were ready!" McGee told her while trying to stop her. He didn't want her to be alone.
"Something is happening. I can feel it." Abby told them while starting to run. McGee went after her and so did Gibbs.
When Abby came she heard the monitors. They were beating.
"They're alive. Please save them." Abby told the nurses. Soon every available nurse and doctor in the ward came to their room. The activity of the room had never been this high before. Kate and Tony had to go through all sorts of tests the rest of the day. The families and friends were at the hospital the whole day until the got some answers.
………..During the afternoon………….
"I can't explain what happened. No one can. It's a miracle. All the tests seem fine. Like they had never been injured at all. We just have to wait and see. If they could come back to life then they can surely wake up too. I'm just not sure what they will wake up to. They can still have severe injuries even if the tests don't show that." The doctor explained to them.
"We can wait." Gibbs told him.
……………………..Two weeks later……………
"Doctor, what are the chances of them waking up?" Abby asked him. She had called everyday since that day to see if there had been any improvement.
"Nothing has changed. It is very positive both of them can breathe on their own. The respirators are right there beside them if anything happens but it's been three days and so far nothing has happened. Their condition is stable." The doctor explained.
"So it is more likely they will stay in a coma for the rest of their lives?" Abby asked him.
"I can't answer that question. We just have to take it one day at a time." The doctor answered.
"So it is looking more likely then? Thanks doctor. I'll talk to you tomorrow." Abby said before hanging up. The answer didn't make her happier or made it easier to work but she had too. Then she went to Gibbs and McGee to tell them the news.
…………………….At the office…………..
It had been two months now and their desks were still empty. Looking at them hurt everyone. Someone higher up had even suggested taking the desks away until everything got back to normal. They didn't want the memories to haunt them anymore and it was a nice thought but Gibbs, McGee and Abby all protested so they stayed put.
"Nothing has changed." Abby told them.
"I understand." Gibbs told her. It was the same answer as yesterday and the day before but no one had the strength to say something else.
…………………Later that night……………………
"Where am I?" Kate then said.
"Caitlin, you're here too?" Tony asked her.
"Anthony…You're here…Where are we?" Kate asked him.
"It's dark in the room but in the hallway it is lit. I can see nurses so we're at a hospital." Tony explained to her.
"I can't see a thing. OMG Anthony…I'm blind." Kate told him.
Tony decided to see if something was wrong with him. He put his hands on his face and slowly went down on his body. He felt the scars on his chest and then his hands went down to his legs. Tony felt his hands touching his legs but his legs couldn't feel his hands. He tried to move them but he couldn't.
"Caitlin…I'm paralysed. I can move my upper body but not my legs." Tony explained to them.
"I want a doctor to come and check us out now. It's just like the gatekeeper said." Kate said frightened.
"I want a doctor too…Wait…You dreamed about the gatekeeper too?" Tony asked her.
"Anthony…Do you remember what I remember?" Kate asked him.
"Caitlin I do." Tony answered.
"I do too Anthony…Why do I keep calling you Anthony?" Kate asked him.
Tony wondered that too and tried to say her nick names.
"I can only call you Caitlin. I don't know why but I can't say your nick names." Tony explained.
"I can only say Anthony."
"He messed us up." Tony then told her.
…………………….
"You're awake." The doctor said when she turned on the lights.
"Yes, we are. I'm blind and Anthony paralysed. Find out what's wrong with us." Kate told the doctor. Then the doctor left the room.
"I want her to come back." Tony told Kate.
Then the doctor came back.
"You wanted something?" the doctor asked them.
"Some water." Tony told her. Then she left again.
"Wait, I want her to come back again." Kate then said.
The doctor came back a second time.
"Don't call our families and friends. We want to find out what's wrong before we tell them we're awake." Kate told the doctor. The doctor left again.
"Anthony, we can make them do things." Kate told him.
"I know Caitlin. What's going on here?" Tony asked but knowing he wouldn't get any answers.
Then so many doctors and nurses came into their room watching them talking. They explained to them what had happened during their stay at the hospital and everyone explained this was another miracle.
…………………
"How much is the clock?" Tony asked.
"12. 45 am. It's now Wednesday." One of the nurses replied.
"The tests need to be done now. Let's go." The doctor told them.
……………….Two hours later…………….
Kate and Tony had done so many tests and they sat in their wheelchairs with two nurses pushing them. They waited for the elevator so they could be taken back to their rooms.
"Can you leave us alone for a while?" Tony asked them knowing what he could do with his ability.
"You can take the elevator up and go on a break." Kate then said.
As soon as the elevator came the nurses did as they were told.
"So it's only us now." Tony told her.
"I know. What are we going to do now?" Kate asked him.
"Can you come closer? Like walking to me." Tony told her.
"I'll try." Kate said slowly standing up.
"Good thing my arms are still working. Take my hands." Tony told her.
Kate took his hands after she had reached out for them and he took them. Then she pushed her wheelchair away because it was standing in the way. After that she moved closer to him.
"Ok, so please bend down so I can put my hands on your face." Tony told her.
Kate did as she was told. When his hands were on her face he pulled her closer to him.
"You look beautiful. Don't let your blindness stop you. You can still do so much." Tony told her.
"You too. Just because you can't walk doesn't mean you're not Tony." Kate told him.
"Just much less Anthony than you are less Caitlin." Tony told her.
Then Kate put her hands on his legs and her hands moved up on his body so she could make sure where he was.
Then they came closer and closer and suddenly they kissed.
"You know where we have to go now!" Tony told her.
"I know. So if I push your wheelchair you will tell me where to go." Kate told him.
"Of course." Tony told her.
Kate pushed the button and wheeled him in the elevator when it came.
………………….Two hours later……………
"You lost them. They woke up and you lost them. How can you lose them? You said Kate is blind and Tony paralysed. How hard can it be to find them?" Gibbs asked very angry.
"I don't know. Everyone has looked for them. They are gone." The doctor explained to him.
McGee and Abby where there too. As soon as they had got the call they had hurried to the hospital.
"I want to talk to them who last saw them and look at the surveillance tapes." Gibbs ordered.
"Sure but we've talked to them too. They can't explain their actions." The doctor told them.
…………………….
The team went to the room where the tapes could be viewed and the two nurses who last saw them were there too.
"Did they say something unusual? Something which can tell us where they are." Gibbs asked them.
"They said the other ones name a lot. Caitlin and Anthony. The talked about miracles, their ability and the gatekeeper. We didn't listen so much because we didn't understand what they were talking about." One of the nurses said.
"I heard them mention God a few times." The other nurse said.
"Has anyone looked in the chapel?" Gibbs asked.
"Several times. They are not there." The doctor said.
"Let's see the tapes." Gibbs then said. One person pressed play and everyone watched the sequence.
"Ok, so now they are alone…Then Kate gets up, takes his hands…If we only could hear what they are saying…" Gibbs said.
"She pushes away her wheelchair, gets closer to him…Bend down and she feels where he is…Then they kiss…" Abby said shocked about what happened in the end.
Gibbs didn't know what to say.
"Is that normal?" Gibbs asked as he continued to watch them get in the elevator.
"With them nothing is normal." Abby then concluded.
Then they saw how they went out from the elevator and that was the end.
"Surely you must have other cameras?" Gibbs asked them.
"We do but they are not on them. We don't know why but they aren't there." The doctor explained.
"Which level did they go off at?" Gibbs asked.
"Ground level where the exit is. No one has seen them. The police know they can be out there somewhere." The doctor explained.
"Then we have to search the ground level again." Gibbs said.
"I'm going to the chapel." Abby said.
"I'm going with you." McGee told Abby.
"I can start there too." Gibbs told everyone.
……………………….
"We have to ask why we're alive." Tony told her.
"Maybe we learned our lesson before we went through the gates." Kate told him.
"I hope so." Tony told her.
"Anthony…It's getting brighter again just like up there…" Kate told him.
"Caitlin…No….He can't take us now." Tony said worried.
"I don't think it's that…I'm starting to see again…Can you move your legs?" Kate asked him.
Tony then saw he could move his toes.
"It's time. Now you are ready! I said going through the gates is really painful." The gatekeeper said as he suddenly appeared.
"No…You tricked us…How could you?" Kate yelled at him.
"You will not remember what has happened the last two months. It isn't good for you when you move on." The gatekeeper told them. Then a bright light filled the room. Tony and Kate stood up and then they were thrown across the room.
……………..
When Gibbs, Abby and Tony found them in the chapel they were laying down.
"Kate, Tony…Please be alive…" Abby pleaded kneeling down beside them.
"Uhhh…Where is Anthony?" Kate asked.
"Caitlin…Uhh…" Tony asked.
Then they slowly started to get up.
"You can see…You can stand…" Abby said even more shocked.
"Caitlin…I…" Tony told her. He knew he loved her and she now knew it.
"Anthony…I know." Kate said knowing what he meant.
Then something happened and they forgot everything but still felt the same. Their ability was gone too.
"Kate…I love you."
"Tony, I love you too."