The clock read 9:23pm as the two NCIS agents were driving out of the mountains. Kate complained of a headache, unable to pin the cause on Tony's incessant references to movie plots or the witness's unwillingness to give up any information. Not to mention Tony's unwillingness to slow down was making matters worse. The last of the winter snow glistened on the pine tree branches on either side of the road in front of the headlights, a subtle warning of ice on the road but Kate's head was too foggy to let her partner know.
"Kate…" Tony began, his voice sounding as if it were miles away, "Earth to Katie..."
The mention of that nickname was enough to send her over the edge for the day. Unable to hide the harshness in her tone she snapped, "What?"
"Didn't his wife remind you of Uma Thurman in Kill Bill?" he asked, before sighing wistfully, as if he desired such a woman.
"God…Tony…" her speech coming out horse, "can't you think of anything other than movies?"
"Well what do you suggest we talk about?" Tony retorted, unwilling to allow her to dump her stress on him.
"Well…how about how you're trying to be like Gibbs all the time in his absence?" Kate said, now becoming nervous about Tony's speed down this icy road. So she didn't know it was actually icy, but she could tell he couldn't care less about his surroundings.
"What?" Tony exclaimed in disbelief.
"Tony…don't act so surprised…I saw the way you were trying to copy Gibbs' technique at the interrogation, and right now your driving skills are reminding me of his as well," Kate said, rolling her eyes.
"You think that you could've interrogated him better?" he asked trying not to sound surprised.
Kate tried not to laugh, "Well…if you had given me a chance to even talk to him…I probably could've."
"I thought you'd be more comfortable dealing with the woman…Kate," he said, doing his best to sound sincere.
"What because I'm a woman, Tony? That's really mature," Kate snapped at her partner.
"Well…Gibbs did say I'm one of his strongest agents, I just thought with that title I should be responsible for the interrogation," he explained. He paused briefly after seeing his partner's irritated expression,"…and like I said, I thought you'd be more comfortable with her, and she with you."
"Again…just because I'm a woman? Wouldn't Ms. Kill Bill be better suited for you? After all you are the one who can charm just about any woman…" Kate said, beginning to rub her temple.
"You make it seem like you're jealous…are you Kate?" Tony asked, unable to stop teasing her.
"Tony…" her tone had such harshness it even surprised her, "could we just drop it? My head is killing me."
"Sure…" he said his own tone and body language signifying defeat and surrender. Unwilling to push his partner anymore, teasing was only fun if she was having fun too, which she clearly wasn't. They continued in silence for a few minutes, each of them not knowing what to say to the other; both unwilling to apologize first.
"Hey…Kate?" Tony ventured, all he got was a slight sound in response. He glanced at his partner, her eyes were shut and she had two fingers against her right temple.
Irritated at his lack of explanation for interrupting the comfortable silence, she spoke, "What is it, Tony?"
"Sorry…I didn't mean to…" suddenly he was aware he didn't know what he was saying sorry for, "never mind…"
They drove on, winding down the Virginia Mountains; just as they were about to leave the forested area the car swerved suddenly. Tony jumped at the sudden movement, but it was already too late. Tony had over corrected the car's movement. He felt his control of the car slip away, within seconds the tension in the car doubled.
"TONY!" Kate yelled; panic filling her voice as they skidded toward the pine tree. A sudden sharp jolt threw them forcefully against their seatbelts and into the blackness of the airbags.
Tony looked around, the world coming back into focus. He felt sore, every muscle in his body ached; especially his head. He glanced around the car, suddenly remembering Kate was with him. He put his hand on her shoulder, relieved to feel that she was still breathing. He shook her gently and felt fear and panic rise in the pit of his stomach when she didn't make a sound; her body weight was simply responding to his movement. Now all he could do was wait; for help, for Kate to wake up. As he thought about her, suddenly he wasn't so sure that she would. He knew she would, if she didn't, he'd make her. "At least she is definitely breathing…" he thought to himself. He knew that they couldn't stay in the car all night; it would get much too cold. He would keep driving, but the car was not going to be moved with such bad weather. He grimaced with pain as he reached behind him thanking his karma that he had a sweatshirt in the car. Trying to think fast, he pulled out his cell phone, cursing silently when he saw there was no reception. Without heat and without help, Tony knew it might be up to him to get them through the night.