Kate's Message
Disclaimer: I own no rights to NCIS or any of the characters. None. Nada. Not a bit. Nothing.
"What's happening?" Kate thought, as she felt herself moving up and away from everything around her.
She could see Gibbs and Tony, still standing on the roof where, moments earlier, they had stopped Ari from blowing up a ship full of returning service men. But this was all wrong. Why was she floating? What was going on? Looking again at the scene below her, she could see her body lying on the roof at her partners' feet.
"Oh, my God," she breathed, and reached toward her still form. "No; I'm not…" she stopped, watching Gibbs reach down and check for a pulse on her neck.
Dead? How could she be dead? She'd taken one bullet to her body armour, but she'd stood up, had been okay and talking to Tony and Gibbs. But another shot had rung out, and now she was floating. Clearly, this was not supposed to happen.
"Tony!" Kate tried to scream, but she knew that her friends would not hear her…
Kate didn't exactly know where she was, but the next moment, she was standing, as well as an out-of-body spirit could, in front of a small antique store on what appeared to be a town square. Somehow, she knew that in the shop, she could find help. Walking up to the door, she grasped the handle, but her hand went right through the metal.
"Damn," she whispered, and then realized she could simply walk through the closed door.
Inside, the store was packed with antiques of all kinds: furniture, books, clothing, and jewelry.
"Wow," Kate whispered, walking over to stand in front of a large oval mirror.
She was a little unsettled that her reflection wasn't staring back at her, and she wondered if ghosts were supposed to have reflections. Looking around, she noticed an attractive black lady standing behind the counter, counting money in the cash register. Kate walked over to where the woman was, oblivious to her.
"Excuse me," Kate said, but the woman didn't respond.
"Hey," she raised her voice, waving a hand in front of the woman's face. Still no response.
"She can't see you," a voice behind her said, and Kate turned, coming face to face with another woman.
Attractive, with medium-length hair, Melinda Gordon was watching Kate closely. This was the woman Kate was supposed to visit. How she knew that, she had no clue, but obviously, Melinda could see Kate. The first woman looked up.
"Is there someone here?" She asked, and Melinda nodded.
"What do you think?" She answered with a half-smile, and the first woman sighed, resuming her work.
Melinda turned back to Kate, her face curious and friendly, yet cautious.
"Who are you?" she asked, looking at the badge on Kate's jacket.
"Special Agent Kate Todd," the ghost-Kate replied, and Melinda nodded.
"FBI?" she asked, and Kate shook her head.
"NCIS," she responded, looking again at the other woman. Melinda gestured toward the counter.
"That's Andrea; she can't see you," she explained, and Kate sighed.
"I have no idea why I'm here, or how I knew to come to you," she said, and frowned. "Do you?"
Melinda smiled a warm, sweet smile just as the door to the shop opened, and a customer walked in. Kate could see that this person was not a ghost, and she wished she wasn't. Melinda jerked her head toward the back of the store, and walked away. Kate followed.
"Do you need something?" Melinda asked, and Kate raised her eyebrow.
"We could start with being alive again," she said, and Melinda shrugged.
"I can't help you there, but you must need something, if you've not crossed over," she explained, and Kate looked skeptically at the younger woman.
"Crossed over?" she asked, but then it dawned on her. "You mean, 'gone on' or whatever; don't you?" she questioned, and Melinda nodded.
Kate scanned the back room of the store quickly, wishing she had time to explore the antiques this Melinda had in her possession. Kate wondered if 'possession' were a good term to use, considering the circumstances.
"I need to talk to Tony," she began, and stopped. Melinda frowned.
"Who's Tony?" she asked, and Kate sighed again, a deep heavy sigh of regret.
"My partner; we were on an assignment, and I was shot and killed. I died at his feet. I need to tell him not to blame himself. I know he will, and I don't want him to."
Melinda thought a moment, and then looked again at Kate.
"Where is he?" she asked, and Kate smiled.
"NCIS headquarters in Virginia. Are we…" she looked around hopefully. "Are you anywhere near Virginia?"
Melinda's face fell; she'd dealt with some tough ghosts in her time, and gone to some interesting places in order to help them, but Virginia was a long, long way away. Kate saw the disappointment in Melinda's face.
"Look, all I want to do is tell Tony that I'm fine; that he's…" she stopped, feeling her throat working as she realized exactly what the consequences of being dead were.
Melinda saw the sadness pass across Kate's pretty face. All at once, she knew in her heart that she had to help this ghost; there was something in her eyes that silently begged her to help.
"I think I can drive there in two days," Melinda said, smiling a reassuring smile.
Kate was ecstatic; she didn't like being dead; she rather liked being able to talk to people without an interpreter, but like it or no, this was the best she could do.
"Thank you!" Kate breathed, and was gone before Melinda could say another word.
CHAPTER 2
Tony DiNozzo sat silently in the empty autopsy area. Kate's funeral was tomorrow, and he dreaded it with everything in him. The cold, empty feeling of loss was so overpowering, he felt physically sick. It was his fault Kate was dead; he should've known Ari would fire again. Yet, he'd stood by and let her die. He didn't think he'd ever get the image of Kate's lifeless body lying at his feet out of his mind, nor the empty eyes that stared past the bullet hole in her forehead. He'd come to autopsy with Tim McGee, to tell Kate goodbye one more time. They'd viewed her body together, and Tony had nearly lost it when Probie started to tear up. Now that he was alone, Tony let his grief show, and he angrily wiped the tears from his face.
"Dammit, Kate," he whispered as the phone on the desk rang, "why couldn't it be me?"
Footsteps echoed in the room as someone entered, and Tony turned to see Dr. "Ducky" Mallard, the medical examiner, walking toward him.
"Someone here to see you, Anthony," Ducky said, using Tony's full name as was his habit.
Numbly, Tony nodded and walked to the elevator. On the short ride up to the squad room, Tony inhaled deeply several times. He didn't want everyone to know how much he was hurting over Kate's loss. Especially Ziva; the new member of the NCIS team. The doors to the elevator swished open, and Tony walked to his desk, frowning at the petite, dark haired woman standing with Gibbs. Seeing him, Gibbs gestured to him, and the woman turned.
"Agent DiNozzo," Gibbs greeted, "this is Melinda Gordon; she needs to speak with you." Giving Tony a pointed look, Gibbs returned to his desk.
"Melinda Gordon?" Tony repeated, and the woman nodded. "Do I know you?" He asked, and she smiled a small, nervous smile.
"Is there somewhere we can talk?" she asked, and Tony led her wordlessly to the break room.
Once there, Melinda turned, looking directly at Tony. He leaned up against the wall, and crossed his arms over his chest. Taking a deep breath, Melinda decided to jump right in. If Tony had the gift she did, he would be able to see that Kate was standing right next to her.
"I've got a message for you," she began, trying hard not to look at Kate, who was waving her hand in a signal to hurry Melinda along.
Tony grinned his mischievous, playful grin, and Kate frowned. Knowing Tony's reputation about women, Kate walked over and gave the agent a slap to the back of the head. Tony gasped, reaching up to rub his head. Melinda frowned, shaking her head at Kate, who seemed suddenly embarrassed.
"So, what's this message?" Tony asked, turning to see if his boss had walked in the room. Seeing no one, he turned back to Melinda.
"Do you know a Special Agent Todd?" she asked, and Tony's face darkened.
"If you're looking for her," he said, his voice hollow, "you're about two days too late. She was killed on assignment."
'Oh, lord here we go,' thought Melinda, and took a deep breath. She crossed her fingers, hoping this Tony would not think she was out of her mind. Most people thought she had a screw loose when she told them that she had the ability to talk with their dead loved ones. She'd become cautious about helping any ghost that came to her, because she'd grown tired of the accusations of fraud and deception.
"I know," she began, and Tony raised an eyebrow. Melinda smiled hopefully.
"Kate wanted you to know something," she said, and Tony frowned.
"What the hell are you talking about?" he asked, and shifted away from the wall.
Melinda felt the familiar nervousness return as she explained her 'gift'. Kate glanced from Melinda to Tony, hoping he'd take her seriously. If not, she thought, she'd give him another head-slap. Tony was laughing incredulously.
"What?" he asked, "are you telling me Kate came to you, and you can see her?" he asked, his face suddenly turning stony. "Who the hell are you?" he asked, and Kate raised her hand.
"No!" Melinda commanded sharply, causing both Kate and Tony to look up guiltily.
"No?" Tony asked, and Melinda shrugged apologetically.
"I didn't want her to hit you again," she explained, and saw the recognition dawn in Tony's eyes.
"She's here?" he asked, and Melinda nodded.
"She slapped you on the head a moment ago," she explained, trying not to laugh at the sudden absurdity of it all.
"Gibbs does that; he calls them 'love taps'," Tony explained, and frowned.
"How did you know about that?" He asked suddenly, and Melinda shrugged.
"I just saw her do it to you," she said, "How could I have known? You've never met me."
Understanding dawned on Tony's face and he looked around to make sure they were alone.
"She's here, isn't she?" He asked again, "you can see her." Melinda nodded.
"Kate wants to let you know that you're not to blame yourself for this," Melinda began, and Kate nodded, watching Tony carefully.
Suddenly, the agent didn't know what to do or where to look. He glanced at the floor, the ceiling, and, to Kate's chagrin, right through her.
"He can't see my underwear, can he?" She asked in alarm, and Melinda shook her head slightly.
Tony looked back at Melinda, not knowing why he was believing her, but suddenly needing to believe that Kate was still with him. His eyes began to water, and he covered his hand with his mouth, feigning a cough. Melinda's face was full of sympathy, and Kate spoke up, not wanting the scene to get too mushy.
"Tell him," she began, walking over and stroking Tony's cheek with her hand, "tell him that he's not to blame himself, and…" she paused, her own eyes filling with tears.
Melinda always hated this part; she cried at the drop of a hat, and while she was glad that the people she was helping were getting peace, it still touched her heart to watch them say their final thoughts to each other. She knew she looked rather silly at times, crying at apparently nothing, but that came with the 'job'.
"She says for you not to blame yourself," Melinda said, and looked again at Kate, waiting for her to finish.
Kate smiled, wondering what Tony would think of her—or rather, Melinda's—next words.
"Tell him I know how he feels about me, and that I loved him, too." She finished, and nodded to Melinda.
Clearing her throat, Melinda looked directly at Tony, who was trying hard to control his emotions.
"She knows how you feel about her, and she says she loved you, too."
Tony's jaw dropped, and he looked incredulously at Melinda, before sitting down in the nearest chair.
"My God," he stammered, "I want so badly to tell her that," he said, "but I never got the chance."
"You've got the chance now," Melinda whispered gently, and Tony nodded.
He felt a little stupid, talking to what looked to him like the smooth wall of the break room, but it really didn't matter. If this Melinda chick was for real, then he was damn well going to tell Kate his feelings. The proof for Tony had been when Melinda mentioned the head-slap. Tony had felt it as plain as if Gibbs—or Kate—were standing right there.
"Okay," he began, clearing his throat again, "I never told you I really do love you," he said, and Kate smiled a sad, sweet smile.
"That's it," Tony said, "I love you, and I want you to know that right now. I wish I had've said it when you were alive."
Melinda was openly crying, and Kate let her own tears go as she leaned down and kissed Tony gently on the cheek. Tony raised his hand and touched his face as a gentle breath of air passed by. Nodding his head, he looked at Melinda.
"I thought you were a fake," he began, "but I think I felt her just now." Melinda nodded.
"You did," she said, and noticed Kate looking toward the window.
"Do you see something?" she asked, and Kate nodded.
"A bright light," she began, and started walking.
"It's time for her to go," Melinda told Tony, and he nodded in understanding.
"Goodbye, Kate," he whispered, and she turned one last time.
"Behave yourself, Tony," she said, and blew him a kiss. "Remember me."
With those final words she was gone, and Melinda nodded at Tony.
"That's it," she said, "I need to get back home. Thank you for believing me," she smiled, and held her hand out to Tony.
"I can't tell you how I'm feeling right now, but thank you for doing this," he said, and shook her hand.
Melinda took her leave, and Tony lingered in the break room, staring out the window at the lengthening afternoon shadows.
He could still feel her presence, but somehow, Tony knew that Kate was all right and they were both at peace.