While he waited in his desk, Tony could feel nothing but shock and relief. Ari was dead. He was finally out of their lives and Kate had a little justice. His eyes fell shut. Soon they would have to endure the funeral. He wasn't looking forward to it. It meant she was finally gone. Finally out of this world. In a good prospective, it gave everyone closure. Justice was finally upon them. He was drawn from his thoughts when the elevator doors opened once again. Abby stepped off. She looked satisfied, but at the same time, she had a figure of discontent to her image.
"Abs!" he exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. "Did you hear the news?" With a disgruntled expression, she stalked over to him and swift as a fox, slapped him across the face.
"Jerk!" she shouted before heading back to the elevator. A laugh erupted from behind him.
"What did you do now DiNozzo?" Gibbs chuckled. Tony groaned as he rubbed his cheek and turned to his boss. With a shrug, he murmured.
"I have no idea. Honest." Again, the elevator doors opened. This time, Candice stepped off. She looked beautiful. Her long hair was tied back in a clip. The shirt she wore was ruffled and pink; it was matched with a short denim skirt and tall back boots. A smile illuminated her young face.
"Good morning gentlemen," she greeted with a flirtatious smile. "Anthony."
"G – good morning Agent Klyne," McGee stuttered from behind Gibbs. When Tony took in a deep breath, he caught the scent of Candice's perfume. Wildflower. She knew it drove him nuts. What was she up to? When he lowered his gaze to the floor, he caught sight of a ring on her left finger. The band was white gold with a large sapphire between two smaller diamonds. His breath escaped him. What was she doing? Suddenly it all made sense. Abby's reaction to her story…Without thinking, he gently took her hand and looked up to her.
"What in the world?" he asked in a huskier tone than anticipated. She looked to her hand and tore it away from him.
"It's a beautiful ring," she smiled. "I wouldn't let it rot in the dark of my storage locker because of its history." With a chuckle, she swung around and headed for the elevator. Tony could feel his coworker's eyes on his back. With a forced smile, he turned around.
"So, did you get the news?" he asked Timothy. He nodded.
"Great news. But what was that all about?" he asked as he pointed to the closing doors of the elevator.
"Nothing," he snapped before returning to his seat. Gibbs walked past him with a coffee in tow.
"Well, we may have brought Ari down, but we still have more work to do. McGee, I want you on the paper work right away. I don't need to hear anything from the director on this one. Tony, go talk to Ducky and give him the good news so he can begin funeral preparations," Gibbs ordered.
"Yes sir," the boys replied in unison, Tony was somewhat less enthusiastic.
"Oh, and Tony," his boss started as the elevator doors began to close. "No detours to Abby's lab." The menacing laugh that escaped his throat sent chills up Tony's spine.
"Yes boss," he muttered beneath his breath.
With a deep breath, Tony exited the elevator and headed for Ducky's lab. Kate was no longer on the table in front of him. Instead, there were four covered bodies spread through out the room.
"Good Afternoon, Tony," the Coroner greeted. Tony offered a forced smile.
"I have some news, courtesy of Gibbs."
"Really? And what would that be?" Ducky asked, without looking up from the body he was dissecting. Tony's stomach did a flip flop.
"Ari's dead," he said calmly. Ducky glanced up.
"What happened?" he asked anxiously.
"Boss won't say, just that we need not worry about him anymore," Tony told him. Ducky let out a sigh of relief. There was a long pause, before Tony spoke up again. "What are you working on now?" he asked.
"Quadruple murder. Awful," the doctor told him. Tony nodded but before another word could escape his throat, Ducky continued. "I had a little bird in my lab earlier." Tony stared at him, confused. "Abigail… She told me of… What happened."
"What happened?" Tony was more baffled.
"You and Miss Klyne. But don't worry, Agent DiNozzo, I don't think anythgn less of you." Tony's eyes widened.
"What? You found out? From Abby?"
"Yes, she was down here this morning collecting evidence from my bodies. She told me all about it." Tony steamed and swung around. Without another word, he stalked up to the office. In the desk across from his, sat Candice. She wore a smirk on her dark, beautiful face. For a moment, he studied her from afar and tried to remember why he would take off on such a wonderful woman… He shook his head and kept on moving. That wasn't the point right now.
"You told her!" he shouted as he slammed his hands down on her desk. Her beautiful face hardened.
"Yah, and what are you gonna do about it? Untell her?" she snapped back. A sigh of frustration slipped from his lips. Anger flooded his veins. He'd left her in the dust, now everyone was going to know. Of course, everyone would take her side of the story and he would be the bad guy.
"What do you want from me?" he asked coldly. Those icy blue-grey eyes stared right through his soul. Their breathing was both rapid, and the moment tense.
"An apology," she muttered as she tore her gaze from him and turned around. She crossed her arms and he took in a deep breath.
"That was years ago? Can't you just let it go?" he snapped. Her jaw fell opened and she swung back to meet his gaze.
"You! You waited till our wedding day, then you left me at the alter, pregnant!" she shouted. After the last word rolled off her lips, she hand clapped over her mouth. Tony stared at her. Silence engulfed the both of them.
"P- Pregnant?" he stuttered. Her icy grey eyes fell shut and she buried her face in her palms. "W- What?" Just the thought of what he'd done made him feel sick to his stomach. If he'd known she was- he gulped. She raised her head and stared at him with fury in her eyes.
"Yah, I was pregnant. I wasn't going to tell you until after our honeymoon," she said as she rose to her feet.
"And-?" he didn't know what else to say. "The baby?" She shook head.
"No need to worry Anthony. There isn't a little DiNozzo running around out there," she said smugly, "I never had the baby," she sounded almost tearful, but showed no signs of crying.
"You-?" She cut him off.
"I had a miscarriage," she confessed. She turned away and wouldn't look him in the eye any longer.
"Candi, I-" he didn't know what to say. If only he'd known… He didn't leave her because he didn't love her… He'd left her out of fear and selfishness. As much as he tried to tell himself 'if only he'd known' he still would have left. Anthony DiNozzo was selfish then. His eyes fell shut; and he still was.
A whimper broke him from his thoughts. Glancing up, he found her burying her face in her palms. She was crying. Maybe all of this did get her emotional. That could explain the ring, and her crude behavior toward him. Without thinking anymore, he stepped over to her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She cried into his shoulder for a few minutes before pulling away.
"Maybe I should apologize," she murmured as she wiped her tears away. He shook his head.
"No, you're right, I do owe you an apology. I should have never done what I did and it was stupid. But you were the one that always told me: 'If it's in the past, it's not worth revisiting'." She nodded.
"You're right, and it's silly for me to cry over it now. That was years ago, and I had my cry then. I've moved on," she said softly, staring into his eyes. He felt his heart speed up as they leaned closer. When he thought they were going to kiss, a smug grin formed on her face. "And I've outgrown you." Without another word, she left the desk and headed for the elevator. When the doors opened, Gibbs stepped off. The boss studied Candi for a minute before wrapping a comforting arm around her shoulders.
"Candice, me and you are going to the crime scene of our quadruple murder. And DiNozzo. You are going to fins McGee and Ziva and go to the Roseland Internet Café on Main Street," he ordered. Tony could do nothing but stare for a moment. Eventually, it sank in, and he agreed.
"Right on it boss," he said cooperatively as he boarded the elevator. While the doors closed, he banged his head against the side wall. "I'm such an idiot!" he told himself. "How on earth-?" He could think of nothing now but his conversation with Agent Klyne. Though, she had been right. The past is meant to be left behind. Still, he couldn't help but wonder what could have happened.
The entire drive downtown, all Tony could think about were his past problems: What had happened with Candi, Losing Kate to a terrorist and not to mention the problems that occurred on a daily basis at the office. By now, everyone would now what he did; he could feel McGee's eyes staring through the back of his head. Ziva's dark, mysterious glare had his feeling nervous. Deciding to break the tension, he spoke up.
"So…" he began shakily. Ziva cut him off.
"What did you do?" he asked. He stared at her with wide eyes.
"Yah Tony, what happened?" McGee echoed. Tony took in a deep breath and shook his head. Maybe they didn't know.
"I don't know what you're talking about," he declared tersely.
"You and Candice were having an argument earlier. What about?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest. His brow narrowed and he snarled.
"None of your business," he snapped. Ziva chuckled.
"Sounds pretty serious…" her voice trailed off into a teasing tone as they pulled up next to the Internet Café.
"None of your business," he repeated. Now he was becoming upset and well aware of the intrusion of privacy. "That's between me and Candi." Ziva grinned.
"And apparently Agent Gibbs," she relayed before jumped out of the vehicle. Tony stared at her empty seat before turned off the vehicle. For a moment he contemplated what she'd said, then discarded it.
"She looked pretty upset," McGee pointed out as he slammed his door. Tony narrowed his brow in confusion before pointing to Ziva.
"Ziva? She doesn't look all that upset to me," he said. Timothy rolled his eyes.
"Not Ziva! Candice!" he muttered. "She looked pretty distraught while they were leaving this afternoon." Tony shook his head.
"Stay out of it," he snapped. "As I told you, it's between me and Candi. Now mind your own business, and do your job, Probie."