1A/N: I am so sorry I told ya'll that this chapter would be up last week but I left my computer at my dad's house after I had left and had to wait to get it back labor day weekend. With all that has been going on in the United States I have been a bit distracted. I hope any of you who were in the path of Katrina are okay, and I have all of you who were affected by it in any way in my prayers.
Ch. 11: One and a Half Weeks Undercover
Tony and Kate had both laid pretty low since Kate had searched Mike's apartment and found the money and the picture on his dresser. They were still waiting on verification from Gibbs about Mike and Matt's pasts'. Tony continued to work at the construction site with Mike, although he kept the conversations about sports and drinking, two things that Tony knew would be good conversational material. But after work Tony tried to not bug Mike, or even Matt that much. Luckily for Tony and Kate, Matt had to go out of town for about 4 days so Kate didn't have to worry about him hitting on her or asking her out to dinner, and Tony didn't have to worry about seeing them together.
Unfortunately Tony still had to contend with Becky. He went out with her a couple times while Matt was away, but he made sure he did nothing more, and he tried to explain to her that he was interested in someone else and that he didn't feel that way about her. He tried to tell her that he liked hanging out with her, but nothing more than that. She told him that was fine, but she still told him that her offer would always be there, no matter what. And for some reason that still made the whole situation uncomfortable for him. And unfortunately for him, Kate still would not have a normal conversation with him. They would discuss work related stuff, but nothing personal, okay they talked about the kids every once and awhile, but nothing to do with their relationship. Tony even tried to revert back to eleven years ago when he was trying to get her to go out with him for the first time. That's right, he started leaving her song lyrics about how he felt about the whole situation to try and get her to understand how he felt, and how sorry he was, but he hadn't gotten any response from Kate.
He began the day after Gibbs had told the both of them to lie low. He found a song that he thought explained how he felt about her and he slipped it under her door that morning around 6 AM, because he figured she would not be up yet. The first song he left her was
You Are So Beautiful
You are so beautiful, yes
You are to me
You are so beautiful
You are to me
Can't you see? Can't you see?
You are everything I hoped for
And you are everything I need
And you are so beautiful to me
You are so wonderfulSo wonderful to me
You are so wonderful, baby
Can't you see, can't you see, baby
You're everything I hoped for and
You're everything, yeah everything
God knows you're everything to me
You are so wonderful
You are so wonderful
So beautiful, so beautiful
You are so beautiful
To me
Tony waited all day for work to end so that he could see if Kate had responded in any way to the song he had left her. Unfortunately when he got back to his apartment there was nothing under his door and not a single missed call, let alone any messages on his machine. Even though she didn't respond to that song he still decided to leave another note, but this time he wasn't going to leave one entire song, he was going to leave pieces of songs that he thought fit their relationship. Then the day after that he would leave another entire song. He thought it might be best to not try to force her into hating him completely, so he didn't want to seem like he was coming on to strong, even though he was sorry about the things he said and did.
So that night he composed a note that involved different lyrics from different songs, which he thought explained how he really felt about their relationship and her. So the next morning he got up at the same time and slipped this note under her door,
Lord knows that I'm not perfect but I sure do try
And I see that man I can be in your eyes
Well there are times I still get lost in yesterday
But you put the past behind me and you light my way
When it comes to love,
I may not know the rules.
But there's one thing I know,
my heart belongs to you, just you
Hey now, hey now, don't dream it's over,
Hey now, hey now,
When the world comes in, it comes,
It comes to build a wall between us, we know they won't win
I thought I knew what the real thing was
But nothing shakes me like your love does
I've been hypnotized
Now I realize
Every road I've been down
The only truth that I've found
There's only one thing I can't live without,
You
Hey now, hey now, don't dream it's over,
Hey now hey now,
When the world comes in, it comes,
It comes to build a wall between us, we know they won't win
Every time I feel I'm drifting off course
You're my compass, my one true north
In a mixed up world
You make sense to me girl
I can feel the change,
the change you made in me.
But will I ever see, all the things you see in me!
After work that day he came home and once again found nothing under his door and no new messages on his machine. Usually he would get some kind of response from Kate, even if she was pissed at him and wanted him to stop what she calls 'nonsense'. So Tony took the fact that she hadn't responded at all as a good sign. Because possibly, just possibly she might be enjoying the little notes she was getting, and all he needed to do was find that perfect song or note to leave her and she just might forget everything that had happened over the last week. The only problem was he only had a couple days left before Matt returned and Tony knew he would try to woo Kate again.
The only thing was, that night things went from bad to worse when Becky came over to Tony's and asked him if he wanted to go out for dinner. Tony made sure it was just a friendly dinner to which she convinced him that it was. But after dinner it was still fairly early so Tony invited Becky into his apartment for a couple of drinks and then they decided to watch a movie. They picked out a movie and put it in, but neither one of them realized how tired they actually were until they woke up the next morning at 7:45 together on the couch. Tony nearly jumped out of his skin when he woke up and saw Becky asleep on his shoulder, and his arm around her. He about knocked her off the couch when he jumped up.
"Holy crap Tony, what's the deal?" Becky asked, sleepily as she stretched.
"We must have fallen asleep during the movie" Tony said, worried.
"So?" Becky stated, confused.
"So, it's almost 8 AM and I am going to be late for work" Tony said, even though he was thinking of how much more trouble he would be in if Kate found out about this.
"O my gosh, I'm going to be late for work" Becky said jumping up off of the couch. Her and Tony both grabbed a couple of things and headed for the door.
Of course just as they stepped out of Tony's apartment, Kate was leaving hers to head to work. Tony stepped out and saw Kate staring at him and Becky and she looked like she might cry.
"Well I have to change before I go to work. I had fun last night Tony, thanks." Becky told him as she unlocked her door and went inside.
Kate locked her door and began walking as fast as she could down the hall.
"Kate, Kate wait" Tony yelled after her, not really caring if anybody else in the hall heard him, "Kate it's not what you think. We fell asleep."
"I'm sure you did Tony" she shouted as she ran down the stairs.
Tony finally caught up with her and grabbed her by the arm only to get elbowed in the stomach, much harder than when she was just playing around with him.
"Don't touch me" she shouted after she had elbowed him, and continued walking to her car.
"Kate" Tony piped out as he was holding his ribs and running after her. But she ignored him and took her keys out and began to unlock her car door just as Tony got to her. She reached to open the door when Tony kicked it shut.
"What the hell do you think you are doing DiNozzo" she yelled at him as she turned around, "Why can't you just leave me alone. You are going to blow our cover."
"I don't really care anymore Kate. All I care about is you and me, and getting you to know that nothing happened between me and Becky" He told her, still holding her door shut.
"Tony what do you expect me to think when I see the both of you come out of your apartment running late, and both of you have on the same clothes as you did last night?" she questioned him, tears forming in her eyes.
"Kate why on earth would I want someone like her, when I have you" he told her
"Oh gee Tony I don't know. I mean she is only your typical big breasted, leggy blonde that you were always attracted to before you married me. So of course when I see the two of you together I am jealous, because I wonder why wouldn't you cheat on my with someone who looks like that." She said fighting back the tears. She was determined not to cry in front of him.
"Kate I would never ever intentionally cheat on you. But do you think it is easy for me to see you with Matt. I mean he is always touching you and flirting with you, and you seem to enjoy it." Tony said, his voice raised, to clearly show that he did not approve.
"Oh please Tony, out of the two of us, I think we both know who would do the actual cheating. I mean you have already done it once, and we hadn't even been married for six months." Kate said sternly.
"Kate how many times do I have to apologize for that. It wasn't on purpose. Okay maybe it was, but I didn't mean to upset you. I had to do it, it was part of my undercover job." Tony said angrily.
"Yeah well you enjoyed it a little too much" Kate snapped back.
"You know what, right now I don't really care what you think. How do you feel about that?" Tony shouted at her
Kate's reflexes as he yelled at her automatically had her reach up and slap him across the face.
"O my gosh Tony, I am so sorry." Kate said as she reached up to touch Tony's cheek, but his hand reached up and grabbed her wrist.
"I don't want your sympathy, or your apology because I probably deserved that. But this is what I still think about us" Tony said as he jerked her towards him by her wrist and into his body and kissed her.
Kate kissed him back until she realized what had just happened. Then she shoved him away from her, hard. "Tony this is ridiculous. We are both still mad at each other for one reason or another and you kissing me doesn't change that."
"Fine if that's the way you feel. Maybe it isn't worth fixing" Tony said as he turned around and headed to his own car, leaving a bewildered Kate standing at her car, wondering if he really meant what he had just said.
As Tony and Kate both went their separate ways to work Kate wondered if Tony really meant what he had said. It was clear they were both mad at each other for certain reasons and they really needed to sit down and talk about everything. The problem was right now Kate didn't really want to talk to Tony, she didn't want to have anything to do with him. She wanted to be left alone and think things over by herself before her and Tony sat down and had a conversation together.
Tony on the other hand just wanted to be forgiven and make up with Kate so things could go back to normal. The problem was after the first incidence they had had when he cheated on Kate right after they were married had caused serious problems and he knew he had screwed up once again, even though this time he hadn't actually cheated on her. He knew he had to give her some space now, and think about things himself before the two of them could sit down and have a somewhat decent conversation without one of them losing their temper and completely shutting the other person out.
Tony decided not to leave her any more songs right now and instead decided to give her the space that they both needed. So the next two days he did nothing but leave her alone, and she did the same.
By then Matt had returned and Tony greeted him when he got home from work.
"Hi Matt, how was your trip?" Tony asked him
"Hey Tony. It was alright. I would have much rather have been here spending time with Kate." he answered back with a smile.
"I bet you would have." Tony responded
"Hey we should all get together and go out for some drinks tonight." Matt suggested
"Yeah that would be good. Do you think your brother might want to join us?"
"I don't know. I was just thinking me, Kate, you and Becky"
"Oh, okay that's cool"
"Okay well you check with Becky and I'll check with Kate, and we can meet up here around 11"
"Okay sounds good, see ya then"
A few hours later, they all met up downstairs and walked down the street to the bar. Tony couldn't help but catch a glance at Kate every once and awhile. Tony thought she looked so beautiful, even though she was just wearing jeans and a dressy shirt. She had her hair up and she was actually smiling. But Tony could tell it was not a real smile, it was her smile she put up in disguise. But as they sat at a table drinking beer and talking about things Tony began to regret ever agreeing to go undercover. He wasn't really listening to the conversation at hand, but rather he was thinking about his kids, and the family he used to know, and if it would ever be the same again.
At one time Becky had gotten up to go to the bathroom and Matt had gotten up to order some more drinks, and that left Tony and Kate alone at the table. Here is where Tony seemed to push Kate over the line.
"So Kate are you enjoying yourself tonight?"
"Actually I am Tony, are you?"
"Well I would probably be enjoying myself a little more if it were me on the date with you, but I guess Becky will do."
"Well it sure looks like you are enjoying yourself a little more than you say."
"Oh this coming from my wife, who happens to be flirting with Matt and enjoying it, yet again."
"Tony will you just grow up. I am not the one falling asleep with the opposite sex, but believe me it's definitely not because I can't."
"Oh really"
"Yeah"
"So are you challenging me?" Tony questioned
"Oh please"
"What? If it were a challenge, I think you and I both know that I would win"
"Well that's just great Tony, real mature."
"I figured you didn't have the guts to go through with it"
"Excuse me"
"Well Kate, you have always played it safe when it came to this kind of stuff"
"Oh yeah, marrying you, having four kids with you, and working for Gibbs is really playing it safe."
"It's fine Kate I understand the way you feel. I mean I know that you would never kiss another guy, let alone have an affair."
"That's right Tony because I actually believe that when you commit to something, you actually commit to it."
"Kate it's fine really, I always knew I wouldn't have to worry about you with other men. I mean that is why I never really cared when other men would flirt with you, because even if you flirted back I knew that is as far as it would go. So I have never cared that other men have looked at you because I know that they are just jealous because they know you were taken and you would never choose any of them over me, and seriously who could blame them, I mean look at me."
"We'll see about that Tony"
"Oh yeah"
"Yeah" Kate stated just as Matt arrived back at the table with another round of drinks.
Tony knew that what Kate had just said meant there was definitely trouble brewing. Because that was definitely not the first time she had said something like that since they had been undercover. And he knew whatever was going to happen in the future he was definitely responsible for it, and he was already beginning to get a little nervous about what the future might hold.
When they got back to the apartment building Kate said goodnight to Matt downstairs and then walked up with Tony and Becky. Tony said goodnight to Becky before they even got to their doors and all three went inside their own apartments without saying much else.
The next day when Tony got off of work, he stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few necessities before heading back to the apartment. When he got back to the apartment building, he was walking down the hall to his apartment he saw Becky coming his way and then Matt passed him going towards Kate's apartment.
"Hey Tony" Becky said, as she stopped to talk to him.
"Hi Becky" he answered as he watched Matt knock on Kate's door. He saw her come out dressed in a little black spaghetti strap dress that came just past her knee, with a slit up the left side of her thigh.Tony's jaw almost dropped when he saw her. What the hell was she doing wearing that dress and looking that sexy and going somewhere with Matt. She spotted him staring at her and she raised her eyebrows and smirked at him.
Becky caught Tony staring at Kate and so she asked him,
"Would you like to go to dinner tonight?"
Just as Kate and Matt passed by them Tony smiled and answered"I would love to go to dinner Becky"
"Great well let me just go change and you get ready and we can go to this great little Italian place down the street."
"That's where we are going" Matt said as him and Kate passed Tony and Becky, "You should meet up with us when you get there. We can make it a double date."
"Oh well we don't want you to have to wait for us to eat" Becky replied
"Oh it's not a problem, we will just do some dancing while we wait for you two." Matt replied, his arm around Kate's waist. That and the whole dancing thing made Tony nervous and sick. He should be the only one with his arm around her waist, and he should be the only one dancing with her, especially considering how hot she looked.
"Well it shouldn't take me too long to get ready so you two can go ahead and order and we will be there ASAP" Tony responded.
"Well you two take your time I mean have you not seen how beautiful she looks. I will probably be the envy of every guy in the restaurant"
"Matt stop it" Kate said, blushing
"I don't doubt it" Tony said under his breath
"What was that?" Matt questioned
"Nothing" Tony answered, taking one last look at Kate before saying, "Okay well we can chit chat all we want when we get to the restaurant so I'm going to get ready and we will meet you guys there."
"Alright see you there" Matt answered, escorting Kate to the stairwell by the small of her back.
Tony saw that and it made him even more jealous. He immediately went to get ready and him and Becky made it to the restaurant only fifteen minutes after Kate and Matt. When they walked into the restaurant Tony immediately spotted Kate on the dance floor with Matt. He had his arm around her waist and his hand was dangerously close to slipping past her waist and onto her butt, and he noticed Matt was holding her extremely close and whispering in her ear. Tony watched as she leaned her head back and laughed, her hair swaying behind her. She was not supposed to laugh like that unless she was with him.
They all spotted each other and went to sit at their table.
"Well I see you were enjoying yourselves." Tony stated, smiling smugly at Kate.
"Actually we were, Kate is a wonderful dancer" Matt responded, turning to smile at Kate.
"Yes I could see that" Tony replied.
They made it through dinner, however every time Matt complimented Kate, Tony would compliment Becky. Then they decided to dance and Matt held Kate very close and so Tony held Becky as close as possible. The weird thing was Tony wasn't even paying attention to Becky. It didn't even dawn on him at how beautiful she looked because he hadn't noticed. The only thing he had noticed was Kate, and how beautiful she looked and how jealous he was that Matt was the one who was actually on a date with her.
Kate had noticed when Tony and Becky walked into the restaurant and she couldn't help but notice how handsome Tony looked. I mean yeah she got to see him dressed nice for work pretty much every day. But she rarely got to see him look like this. He was wearing black slacks and a white long sleeve shirt with a black tie. She didn't really know why she was acting this way with Matt. I mean yeah he was attractive, but she was still in love with Tony. She just had a problem forgiving him for the things he had said. He knew not to talk to her like that because it made her even more upset. And it was very difficult to see him with Becky. She was going to prove to him tonight that she could do whatever she wanted, just like he told her he could do.
Finally the night came to an end and when they got to the apartment tony and Matt both escorted their dates upstairs. However before they made it upstairs Matt stopped at his apartment and asked Kate if she wanted to go inside to which Tony raised his eyebrows and nearly jumped the guy right there. Luckily Kate said she was really tired so he nodded and they all headed up the stairs.
When they got to the third floor Matt and Kate stopped outside her door. While Tony and Becky stopped outside Becky's door. Tony stepped in front of her door so that he had his back to her door and could see Kate and Matt. He could hear Becky talking to him, but all he was concentrating on was Kate. He watched as Matt leaned in to kiss Kate and watched in horror as Kate kissed him back. So Tony reacted in the only possible way he could think of at that moment and kissed Becky. Of course she kissed him back and Tony pushed her towards his apartment. He pushed her up against his door kissing her while fumbling for his keys. He looked to his left to see Kate looking at him while Matt was kissing her neck. And he watched as Kate wrapped her left leg around Matt's leg, and Tony was shocked and pissed that Kate was reveling in such a game, at least he hoped it was a game. He watched as he stuck his key in his apartment door and Becky started kissing his neck. He watched Matts right hand wander down to her leg that was wrapped around his own. He watched as Matt began to caress Kate's thigh as he began to kiss her again. Matt finally got the door open and Tony watched him push Kate through the door and then Tony opened his own door. He picked Becky up and carried her inside to his couch. He laid down on top of her and she began to unbutton his shirt. He was kissing her when all of the sudden he got an image of Kate in his mind and then the image flashed to his kids and he jumped up off of the couch.
"Tony what's wrong?" Becky asked breathlessly.
"Nothing. I just. I don't think now is the right time for this." Tony said, walking into his kitchen to get a drink.
"Tony you can't just start kissing me and feeling me up and then say you aren't in the mood anymore." Becky replied, getting up off of the couch and walking towards him.
"I'm really sorry Becky, but I really don't think this is a good idea, at least right now."
"C'mon Tony. It's obvious you want me. And I know that you might be trying to get you neighbor a little jealous, but she is obviously enjoying herself a lot more than we are."
"What are you talking about?"
"C'mon Tony, what do you think they are doing next door. I mean he was all over her tonight." Becky responded, grabbing Tony's still unbuttoned shirt and pulling him towards her.
Meanwhile
Gibbs and McGee are listening to what is going on in both apartments and they are both stunned.
"Umm Boss, I think I should stop listening to Kate."
"Why"
"Because I think Tony has distracted her. If you know what I mean."
"Kate has someone in her apartment?" Gibbs asked, a bit alarmed.
"Yeah but they knocked over some stuff and they were making out and stuff so I'm pretty sure it is Tony."
"I don't think so McGee."
"Why do you say that"
"Because Tony is in his apartment with some woman, and they were definitely doing more than talking while ago" Gibbs said angrily.
"Umm maybe we should stop listening Boss"
"I don't believe him. I told him if he ever broke her heart, or did something stupid like this I would kill him."
"But Boss, Kate has someone in her apartment also" McGee stated, looking at Gibbs.
"I bet they had some kind of fight and now they are in competition with each other. Idiots." Gibbs practically shouted, "What the hell are they thinking. And have they not checked their messages. I am not their personal messenger."
"Maybe-"
"Start calling both of their cell phones until they answer it" Gibbs shouted at him.
Meanwhile
At Kate's apartment she and Matt had made it as far as the couch before she ended up on top of him. She was straddling him when he flipped her over and began kissing her even harder. Then he began kissing her neck and his hand wandered down to her thigh, yet again as he began to rub her thigh and push her dress up. But Kate grabbed his hand and tried to push him off of her.
"Matt stop" Kate said, out of breath.
"What" he asked in between kissing her neck.
"Stop" Kate said as she pushed him up off of her.
"Kate, what's wrong, did I do something?" he asked as he watched her get up off the couch.
"No, I just don't think this is a good idea. I mean at least not tonight" she told him standing by the kitchen table, "I'm really sorry, it's just I want to get to know you better before we jump in bed."
"It's okay, I mean maybe I read things wrong tonight, but I saw you steal a glance at Tony a few times. And I definitely saw him eyeing you more than a few times, but I don't blame him. You're a beautiful woman, but maybe we could go out again, if you aren't too interested in Tony that is."
"I would love to go out with you again, maybe next week or something." she said with a slight smile.
"Okay well then I will see you around, and we can discuss that future date." Matt said with a smile as he got up and walked to the door.
"I'll be waiting" Kate replied, as she opened the door. Matt leaned down and kissed her on the cheek before he left.
After he left Kate was walking to her bedroom when she saw her answering machine blinking. She pressed the button to listen to the message.
"Hey you need to check you cell phones messages ASAP" Kate recognized the voice as Gibbs, and she immediately took her phone out of her purse and saw that she had ten missed calls. She scrolled through the list to see the last seven calls were from McGee. The next two were from Gibbs and the first one was a number she didn't recognize.
She called her voice mail and had four new messages. The first one was from Jackie, their babysitter, saying one of the kids had been in an accident and they were at the hospital. That already had Kate heading for the door. The second message was from Gibbs saying he had just gotten a call from Jackie saying she was looking for her and Tony because Anthony had been hurt and that her and Tony needed to get to the hospital ASAP. Gibbs also said he was going to head over to the hospital as soon as he could. The last two messages were from McGee. Just as she stepped out of her apartment she saw Tony and Becky coming out of his.
"Goodnight Becky. I'm sorry about everything" Tony told her as he turned to lock his door.
"Goodnight Tony" she replied as she entered her own apartment.
Tony and Kate both walked as fast as they could down the hall.
"Did you get the message?" Kate asked quietly, as they got to the staircase.
"Yeah, I just hope everything is alright" he stated as they ran down the stairs and out of the apartment building to their cars.
They both drove their own cars to the hospital so they wouldn't blow their cover. They had both called Gibbs on the way to the hospital and he told them he would meet them back up at the hospital because he needed to talk to them.
When they got to the hospital they both ran inside and went straight to the information desk where they had to wait on the nurse to look up the boys information.
"You know Tony we would have been here a lot sooner if you hadn't been so obviously trying to make me jealous."
"Excuse me. But you were the one looking all slutty tonight and making out with none other than a different form of me." Tony responded pissed off.
"Well I wouldn't have had to make out with him if you wouldn't have been so obviously hot for the blonde. I mean did it not occur to you that it would upset me. And as for the dress you seemed to enjoy it last month when we were supposed to be the ones going dancing. You told me I looked beautiful." Kate added, obvious tears forming in her eyes.
"Yeah well you looked like a slut tonight" Tony said angrily, causing Kate to slap him once again before she started to let the tears fall, "Kate I didn't really mean it, the only reason I kissed Becky tonight was because Matt was all over you and you didn't do anything to stop it" Tony said the hurt showing on his face.
"So you were jealous?" Kate questioned
"No, why would I be. I mean you're my wife and I can kiss you anytime I want, no matter how slutty you look" he stated
"Tony, why can't you just have a heart for once tonight. Why do you have to be such an ass. And don't plan on kissing me ever again. I just want-"
"Mr. And Mrs. DiNozzo" the nurse said, breaking up the arguement.
"Yes" Tony answered, turning away from Kate to look at the nurse.
"Your son is in room 321"
"Is he alright?" Kate asked, wiping some tears away.
"You'll have to discuss that with his doctor. He's up there right now"
Tony and Kate both turned to walk to the elevator and Tony tried to place his hand on the small of her back and she jerked away from him.
"Kate"
"I don't want you to touch me or talk to me, I wouldn't want anybody to think you are here with a hooker."
"Kate that's not fair. It's not what I meant."
"I just want to go see my son, so shut up"
"Our son, Kate"
"Oh I'm sorry were you the one in labor with him for fifteen hours before you popped out an 8lb, 19 inch baby. No I didn't think so."
"Kate"
"Leave me alone" she told him, stepping to the opposite side of the elevator.
When they got to the third floor the doors opened and Kate elbowed Tony as hard as she could in the ribs, to get out the doors first.
"Geeze Kate, now who's being the ass" Tony commented, catching his breath.
Kate just ignored him as she went down the hall and found Anthony's room. She didn't even wait for Tony to catch up before she went in. She walked through the door and saw her baby lying in a hospital bed, his head bandaged up and his eyes closed. Then she saw his wrist with a cast on it. She saw the doctor checking him our and before she even made it all the way to his bed Tony came up behind her and was speechless. He reached up and put his hand n Kate's shoulder and surprisingly she didn't pull away.
The doctor saw them and smiled before saying,
"You must be the parent's"
Tony stepped forward and said, "Yes, I'm Tony and this is my wife Kate"
"Is he okay, I mean what happened?" Kate asked as she walked over to the bed and sat down carefully next to her four year old son.
"I'm not sure of all the details, but basically he was trying to jump something on his bike and didn't make it and he split the back of his head open and sprained his wrist very badly. It's amazing he didn't break it."
"O my God" Kate responded, touching her son's face, to which he stirred a little bit.
"Is he going to be okay?" Tony asked, walking around to the other side of the bed.
"Well he has a concussion so we are going to keep him overnight. But he should heal up nicely. Oh and I had to shave his head in order to stitch him up."
"Okay. Were there three other kids here with a woman who brought him in?" Kate asked
"Yeah, I believe they went down to the cafeteria"
"Thank you"
Kate leaned down and kissed Anthony on the cheek as the doctor left.
"Hey sweetie, mommy and daddy are here now. It's gonna be okay" she said to him, tears in her eyes.
At hearing her voice Anthony stirred and slowly opened his eyes and looked up at her,
"Mommy"
"Yeah baby, I'm here"
"I am too sport" Tony said, patting Anthony's leg, as he turned to look up at his father.
"Daddy"
"Yep, we are both here" Tony said
"How are you doing baby?" Kate asked him
"It hurts"
"What does?"
"My hand and my head" he answered, looking sadly up at his mother.
It was evident to Kate how much pain he was in and it tore her apart. All she wanted to do was pick him up and rock him back and forth until he was asleep.
"I'm so sorry baby"
Anthony looked up at her and said,
"Will you lay with me?"
"Of course" she answered, moving to lay down beside him. She carefully slipped her arm under him to help him get closer to her and he turned his head toward her so that he was leaning against her shoulder. Then she took her free left hand and picked up his right hand since it didn't have a cast on it.
Tony just watched until Anthony took his hand out of Kate's and reached for Tony's. Tony scooted a little closer to him and picked up his tiny little hand in his own and held it. And within minutes Anthony was sound asleep.
Tony watched as Kate slowly drifted off to sleep. He sat there thinking about what an idiot he had been, telling her she looked like a slut instead of just admitting he was jealous. Because it was his fault they were in this predicament since he had pretty much told her he didn't care if she did flirt with other men because he knew she would never take it any further than that. He knew he had pushed her over the edge when he told her that he would definitely win a competition if they were both to see how many people of the opposite sex they could attract. He had pretty much told her it didn't bother him whenever she admitted that another man was attractive, even though deep inside it really bothered him, but he could never come out and tell her that, which was stupid. As he was thinking about this and a few minutes before Kate fell completely asleep, they were interrupted by their other three children coming into the room.
"Mommy"
"Daddy"
All of the children nearly shouted running towards them.
"Shhh, keep it down" Tony told them as him and Kate carefully got up and walked to their children.
"Mommy" Kaylee said, as Kate reached down and picked her up.
"Hi baby" she responded kissing her cheek.
"Hey mom" Kayden said hugging his mom.
"Hey handsome" she replied, while hugging him back with her free hand.
"Daddy I missed you" Annie replied hugging him.
"I missed you too munchkin, lets go out of the room so we don't wake you brother, okay"
"Kay" she responded, taking his hand and leading him out of the room, followed by Kate who was still holding Kaylee with one arm and her other arm around Kayden, who had his arm around her waist.
When they got outside the room Kate put Kaylee down so she could hug Annie and Tony hugged the other two.
"Mom you look pretty. Were you and dad eating somewhere?" Kayden asked
"You could say that" she answered
"Actually we went dancing with some friends" Tony replied, "And let me say your mother turned a lot of heads."
"I am so sorry about this" Jackie, their babysitter, said, interrupting the family reunion.
"What happened?" Kate asked, looking at her.
Before Jackie could answer Gibbs came down the hallway, "Hey how's Anthony doing now?" he asked looking at everyone.
"They gave him some pain medicine and he has to stay overnight, but he is better than earlier" Jackie answered
"Well I'm glad he's doing somewhat better. Now you two with me, now." Gibbs ordered, looking sternly at Kate and Tony.
"But Boss, we're-" Tony began but was immediately cut off by Gibbs.
"You can get back to your family after we talk. Now unless you want them to hear what I'm about to tell you, you better move it." Gibbs barked, making everyone jump, including the kids.
Kate and Tony followed Gibbs down the hallway where they found an empty room. Gibbs shut the door once all three of them were inside.
"What the hell is wrong with you two? Are you in competition to see who can get laid the most while you are undercover?"
"It wasn't like that" Kate began, but stopped as soon as Gibbs looked angrily at her.
"I don't know what the hell you two are fighting about this time, but it is obviously something big or Kate wouldn't have been entertaining another man in her apartment while you were entertaining another woman in yours." Gibbs stated, looking at Tony.
"I also know there is a 99.9 percent chance that the fight is Tony's fault whether he wants to admit it or not. But right now I don't care. What I do care about is whether or not the two people you were entertaining have anything to do with the case."
"Well I had dinner with Mike's brother Matt and-"
"Was it Matt or Mike in your apartment?" Gibbs asked, looking sternly at Kate.
"Matt because I was trying to find out more information about Mike."
"The hell you were Kate. Do you really think he is going to believe that." Tony added
"Shut up DiNozzo, I wasn't talking to you." Gibbs shouted at him.
"Kate I expected something like this from Tony but not you" Gibbs told her, "And you" he said turning to look at Tony, "Does the girl in your apartment have anything to do with the case?"
"Well uh"
"DiNozzo"
"Not really, she is just my neighbor. And technically Mike's neighbor, so-"
Once again Tony was cut off by Gibbs, "I don't care DiNozzo. But you two better fix whatever happened and get back to solving the case before somebody in your building figures out that you two idiots are NCIS agents."
"Gibbs" Kate asked as he was about to leave.
"What"
"Is it alright if I stay the night with Anthony"
"Fine but you two get back to the apartment building before anyone realizes you are both gone."
"Yes sir" Kate answered, following Gibbs out of the room with Tony trailing behind.
As they walked back down the hall, Tony and Kate were greeted by Annie and Kayden,
"Anthony's awake" Annie told her parents
"And he's asking for you guys" Kayden added
Just as Kayden said that the nurse came over the loudspeaker and announced that visiting hours would be over in ten minutes.
Gibbs looked at Tony and Kate and said, "I'll send Kaylee and Jackie out and sit with Anthony while you tell them goodbye."
A few seconds later Kaylee and Jackie came out of the room and Kaylee ran to her dad, who scooped her up in his arms and kissed her on the cheek.
"Well guys you need to get home and get to bed, cause you've got school in the morning." Kate commented, causing sad expressions to appear on the three children's faces.
"But mom" Annie complained
"No buts young lady"
"Mom, when are you and dad coming home?" Kayden asked, his big brown eyes looking up at the same brown eyes of his mother.
"I don't know Kade" she told him, giving him one last hug, "Oh Jackie, what exactly happened to Anthony?"
"Well I was inside getting dinner ready for them and I knew that Annie, Anthony, and Kaylee were outside riding their bikes. All of the sudden I heard screaming and when Kayden and I got outside Anthony was on the ground crying and there was blood everywhere."
"Wait, so how did he get hurt?" Tony asked, with Kaylee still in his arms.
"Them and some other kids from the neighborhood built a 4 ft. ramp on the sidewalk and someone dared Anthony to jump it and he did, only he didn't land it."
"You let them ride their bikes without helmets?" Kate asked angrily
"No they were all wearing their helmets when they went outside."
Kate looked down at Annie and asked, "Who dared him to jump it, and don't you dare lie to me."
"Well he dared me first" Annie responded, not making eye contact with her mother.
"Who did?" Kate asked more sternly.
"Mom I don't want to tattle" she answered
"Answer her now Annie" Tony told her.
"Kenny" Annie replied quietly, looking up slowly at her mother.
"The Kenny Matthews you are always getting into trouble with at school?" Kate asked her oldest daughter.
"Yeah"
"He was calling Anthony a big baby" Kaylee stated, giving Annie a very disapproving look for a six year old, "I told him not to do it"
"Annie, did you jump it?" Tony asked, stepping closer to his eight year old.
"Yeah" she answered, not looking up at him.
"Were you wearing your helmet?" he questioned her again.
"No"
"Antimony Caitlin DiNozzo, how many times have your mother and I told you that you must wear a helmet when your riding your bike. Do you know how much worse Anthony could have been hurt, and how much you could have been hurt. One of you could have died." Tony practically shouted at her.
"Tony" Kate yelled at him, as she stepped closer to Annie and gave her a hug, "We make you wear your helmet because we love you and we don't want you to get hurt,"
"I'm sorry mom"
"I know babe"
"I'm sorry kiddo, but now you know what happens when you don't wear helmets, right?"Tony asked her, with more control over his voice now.
"Yes daddy" she answered, tears forming in her eyes.
"I'm guessing you landed the jump?" he asked with a smile.
"Yeah" she answered, slowly looking up at him
"Nice" he responded, holding his hand out for a high five, which she slapped, while smiling.
"TONY" Kate yelled at him, "Don't encourage her. Did you forget our four year old is lying in a hospital bed because he was doing what his big sister did."
"Kate"
"Shut up DiNozzo" she yelled at him, obviously pissed off.
"Ooo Mom said shut up" Annie commented, while Kayden was a little scared because of how mad his mom was. And he might only be nine years old, but he knew something didn't seem right between his parents.
"Mommy don't be mad" Kaylee said, getting down from her fathers arms and walking over to her mother who was now sitting in a chair. " I told God not to take him and he didn't."
"What" Kate questioned the little girl, who was probably the most sensitive member of the family.
"I told Anthony I wasn't going to let God take him away like he took Kevin. Then I told God not to take him. I held his hand till they took me away." she told her mother
Kate looked into her six year olds bright green eyes and couldn't help but smile.
"She's right about that. She wouldn't let go of Anthony the whole time. They finally had to pry her lose when they got here. She cried until we got to see him and she could make sure he was okay. Then she climbed up in bed with him and they laid there until we went downstairs." Jackie told Kate.
"Did you really sweetheart?" Kate asked, looking at an almost exact reflection of herself at that age.
Kaylee nodded and responded, "I didn't want him to go where Kevin went"
"Oh baby" Kate said wrapping her arms around Kaylee. She was referring to her five year old cousin who had died last year of leukemia.
"I helped him right?" Kaylee asked letting go of her mother.
"Yeah you did" Kate answered, getting a smile from Kaylee.
"Okay we better go kids" Jackie told them
"Oh and mommy" Kaylee said, "I wore my helmet the whole time" she smiled at her mom.
Kate laughed as she picked her six year old up and tickled her before carrying her over to where Jackie was, "That's a good girl"
Tony and Kate hugged and kissed the kids goodbye before heading back into Anthony's room. When Tony and Kate stepped back into Anthony's room they weren't prepared for what they saw. They stopped in the doorway and watched as Gibbs sat beside Anthony reading him a story as Anthony carefully examined a model plane that Gibbs had built and brought for him to have, because he knew how much Anthony loved to fly. It always shocked Tony and Kate both whenever they saw Gibbs like this, because they were used to seeing the rough, in charge Gibbs. But in situations and times like this they were reminded of Gibbs' softer side. Tony and Kate both knew how much Gibbs loved their kids, and Tony would constantly tease him about it, but Gibbs would always deny it and referred to them as 'accidents waiting to happen'. But it was evident in times like this how much Gibbs did care about them.
Tony finally stepped into the room completely so that Gibbs could see him. Gibbs then stood up from the bed and bent down to whisper something to Anthony, which made him grin, and then kissed him on the top of the head before walking over to Tony and Kate.
"Don't forget what I told you about being back before anyone notices your gone."
"Okay Boss" Tony replied as Gibbs walked out the door and down the hall.
"Daddy" Anthony spoke up.
"Yeah buddy" Tony replied, walking over to Anthony
"I'm sorry" he said, looking up at his dad
"I know you are bud" Tony responded, giving his son a hug.
Kate smiled as she watched the interchange between the two. Then she walked over to Anthony and laid down next to him.
"Am I gonna die?" Anthony asked, looking up at his dad.
"Of course not buddy" Tony answered, a little shocked.
"Sweetie, why do you think that?" Kate asked
"Kaylee cried and said she wouldn't let God take me away"
"Oh baby, she was just scared because you were hurt" Kate told her young son, "She didn't understand and she was scared. She loves you a lot"
"So I'm not gonna die"
"No buddy, not anytime soon" Tony replied
"Good. I mean I'm not scared of dying, but I don't think I'm ready."
"Neither are we sweetheart" Kate replied, pulling her son closer to her, "I love you buddy"
"I love you too mommy" he replied then turned to his dad and said, "I love you too daddy"
"And I love you too sport" he replied giving his son a high five.
"Does your head still hurt?" Kate asked, looking down at her son.
"Yeah" he answered leaning onto his mom.
"I'm sorry baby" she replied, kissing the top of his head. That's when she realized his head had been shaved and he was now sporting the buzz look. She remembered the doctor had said something about it, but at the time it didn't sink in. All of his beautiful soft blonde hair that had grown out past his ears over the last year was now gone. And she would bet anything that when they unwrapped all of the bandages he was going to look more like Tony than ever.
Tony was watching Kate and Anthony as Anthony squirmed around trying to make himself comfortable.
"Did Gibbs give you this cool plane?" Tony asked him to try and keep his mind off of the pain.
"Yeah. He said I could do anything."
"He's right. You can be anything you want to be, if you just follow your dreams." Tony told him, but all he got in return was a bewildered look from Anthony.
"Sorry bud, you'll understand as you get older."
"Hey Anthony, what did Uncle Gibbs say to you before he left?" Kate asked
This caused Anthony to get that huge, charming DiNozzo smile as he replied, "He said with my haircut I look just like daddy"
Kate couldn't help but smile, as Tony responded to the comment by saying, "Oh really"
"Uh huh. He said I have your spirit."
"Oh yeah. Well then I guess the girls better watch out." Tony joked with him.
"Eww, daddy, girls have cooties" Anthony replied
"Believe me son, you won't always think that" Tony smiled down at him.
Kate just rolled her eyes at the two of them and prayed that Anthony turned out to be like the married Tony and not the single Tony.
"Okay baby, why don't you try and get some rest" Kate told her son.
"You aren't going are you?" Anthony questioned
"No way buddy, we are staying here all night." Tony answered
"Promise?"
"Promise" Kate replied
Anthony then looked a little relieved and snuggled closer to Kate before he fell asleep. Tony just sat there watching them. He thought about everything he would have missed out on if he hadn't met Kate and everything he would miss out on if he ever hurt her so badly that she wouldn't take him back. He sat there watching them until he knew Kate was asleep and then he relaxed a little as he devised a plan at winning her heart, yet again.
A/N: Like I said sorry for the delay. The next chapter probably won't be up until late next week or early the week after that. I have a lot of events and prior engagements this week that I can't get out of. So until next time. Please review.