Chapter Six
"Gibbs get down here now!" Abby threatened over the phone. Few seconds later, Gibbs came through the sliding door panting, a KAF POW spilling along the rim of the glass. "What's going on Abs?" Completely ignoring the drink now on her table, she sped through the information. "Kate's in trouble. See, her old, old boyfriend had a rare medical condition." Gibbs's eyes lit up. Abby continued on. "She killed him because of a bunch of reasons but I can't go into detail now cuz we got no time and she swore me to secrecy. Anyways, they took his body back to the clinic thing and reconstructed his body to form Landon. Brandon is still his blood brother though." "How did you find out?" "Well first, I'm a scientist so, second DNA never lies and third we got a sample from on of the victims." Abby shook. "Gibbs." "She'll be fine." Gibbs gave Abby a kiss on the check and walked off.
Soft music hummed from the huge speaker on the stage. "Kate? Wanna dance?" Tony mumbled like a shy 13 year old on his first date. The dimples in his cheeks becoming deeper as his 100 watt smile glowed showing his perfect white pearly teeth. He reached out his right hand and delicately took Kate's palm in his. The warmth of his hand shooed up her arms causing goose bumps to appear on her arms. The two slow danced around the stage, the wind squeezing through the little bit space between them. Kate's medium brown hair tickled his neck, as he rested his chin on the top of her head. They both hummed along the delightful melody of the reminiscing music. A loud thunder claps reverberation rang out from the dark sky just as a lightening bolt glowed, showing a think outline of the graying clouds. Kate's head rested on Tony's chest, the rhythmic sound of his heartbeat echoing into her head, etching the nights moon permantly into her mind.
A hand tapped lightly on Tony's shoulder, reacting him to come out of the quiet mood that had previously entranced him. "Might I have the honor of butting in and dancing with your beautiful wife?" Landon, interrupted, coldness in his voice that did not disguise his disdain for Tony. "Sure." He replied cautiously. "I'll go grab a drink." Side-stepping and regrettably letting go off Kate's hand, he gave a 'I'll-be-watching-him' look. Kate nodded. Landon slipped his hands around her waist completely oblivious to the daring looks Tony gave him. The icy tingle ran up and down her spine screaming to get away from this man. Slowly, they began dancing around in circles gracefully among the other partiers. Landon seemed to be showing off to the world about the beautiful girl he had in his arms.
At the table, Tony's heart leaped when he saw Landon's hand running up and the small of Kate's back, and Kate moving to the beat of the music alongside Landon. Without realizing it, Tony's hand shot out and grabbed the can of beer sitting on the table. The warm surge of the liquor pouring down his throat, in the heavy corrosive way, burned every muscle in his body. The only medicine to work against the power love. Gulping down the can and tossing it aimlessly to the ground, he heaved a sigh of relief. Then the cycle started again and again, till his head was spinning around a thousand miles per hour and the only thing he could focus on were Kate and Landon dancing around. Landon spinning Kate on her heels. Landon holding Kate close to him. Landon being in love with Kate. Not Tony. He was out of the picture. The can in his hand crushed as the pain finally sank in. He NEEDED Kate. Leaning against the table for support, he glared at Landon. "What was the look in his eyes every time he saw her? It's like he's seen her somewhere before or something." Tony thought.
All Kate could think about was the warm touch of Tony's hand on her back and the sweet sensation of his lips on hers. Not about the cold distant numbness, Landon touch gave her. She completely ignored the ecstatic glee resting in his eyes. Her heart grew heavy each time she heard about Tony's latest "catch" or about his new girlfriend. Her brown eyes scanned the dark horizon, searching for the one person who made her life worth living. Finally, she saw him swaying in the wind. Something was wrong. Kate wriggled out of Landon's arms. Just as he was about to grab her, she ran out towards Tony and caught him just before he fell on the cold wet grass. In almost two seconds, Landon was next to her once again. He took her tiny fingers and wrapped his through them tightly. "I though you loved me. You said you did on the night of the party. If you said you loved me, why are you falling for him?" A look of shock came across Kate's innocent face. "What?" Kate screamed. "It's me Katie. It's Rick." Kate shoved his hand off her shoulder and backed up. "NO! You're not Rick. Rick's dead. I know he is because I killed him." Kate sobbed through tears. "Did you even bother to take my body away? You just left me there. Well, they took me back and gave me a heart transplant. Everything I knew about you earlier was wiped out of my mind. Then I saw pictures and slowly I gained it all back." A look of sorrow and fear crossed her face. Confusion drowned her mind and realization invaded her eyes.
A groan come Tony's liquefied lips that were enveloped with the sweet encasement of beer. "Then, what was the point of killing all those other people? You just killed innocent people." Kate asked trying to get Tony off the floor but was not succeeding with the swaying of his body. "That was the only thing that I knew would get you to investigate these murders. That way I could see you. Now I've got my chance and you can't escape this time. You can't escape the truth and you know it better than I do." He reached his shaking hand toward her, but she pulled back in revulsion. "GET AWAY FROM ME. YOUR NOT RICK. YOU'RE SOMEONE ELSE!" Kate dragged Tony's body up and walked awkwardly toward the house they rented.
The next morning, Tony woke up with a dreaded headache and a horrible stomach ache. He twisted around in his bed and found Kate trembling in her sleep. He uneasily got up and staggered towards the couch in which Kate collapsed in the previous night. "CINDY!" He yelled despite the murderous nuisance it gave him. Kate jumped up and fell over the chair. Tony, startled as well at her reaction, flinched back too. "What was that for?" Kate whimpered. "You were trembling. You had a dream about last night didn't you?" Tony whispered. Kate's brown eyes widened and her lip started the quiver. "Granted I was drunk last night, but I still heard every word about what happened. So he really is Rick except all reved up?" "I don't want to talk about it." Kate shrieked. She walked up to the bathroom door, but Tony blocked her way. "Tony I used to protect the president. Don't mess with me right now." Tony sited his hands on her shoulders. "That doesn't matter right now. Is he really Rick?" "YES!" "So why are you so scared?" "Because of how he makes me feel. It's like all my training vanishes and I'm just a helpless person. And I hate that." "Kate. Look at me." Kate glanced up right into glowing green eyes. "I promise. He's not gonna get you. I'll make sure of that. Okay…I love you and I won't let him hurt you. I love you that much." At that moment, Kate forgot everything that ever happened and she just dispersed into his arms. "I love you too Tony."
The phone shrilled off the hook. Tony picked it up. "Jake. How's it going? Is everything all right? We overheard what happened last night. Is Kate okay?" The voice on the other end bellowed in worry. "Abby. Just calm down. Everything is fine. We're okay." Tony cautiously worded his sentences. "I heard. It's about time ya'll confessed your love to each other, but hey Gibbs wants to talk to you." A screeching sound was followed by Gibbs's familiar father figure voice. "Put Kate on." Tony reluctantly handed the phone to Kate. "Kate we're gonna pull you off the assignment. It's getting too emotional for you." Gibbs started. "NO! I'll be fine. I promise. I can do this. I'm positive. Daddy." She added quickly. "All right. I'll talk to you later. Be careful." With that he hung up the phone. She glanced at Tony for moral support. Tony wrapped his arms around Kate. "Let's do this. We're gonna bring him down! WOHOO!" He cheered putting a smile on Kate's face in the process. He looked down at her with loving eyes. They were finally together.