One short moment

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything

Summary: Sequel to "Demons of the past", about a month after Gibbs tells the team about his son, Kate gets a call at work. When she disappears, her colleagues start to wonder…

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3- Finding her

Gibbs knew why he had decided to spend the night at the office. For one thing he wanted to catch up on some reports, but besides that he wanted to be there in case Kate came back. Her behavior that afternoon had not only surprised him greatly, it also had him rather worried. He had thought that she trusted him. The phone on his desk started ringing and he picked it up. "Gibbs." There was just silence for a moment, but he could hear someone breathing. "Kate?" He tried and felt relieved when he heard her voice. On the other hand he realized how tired she sounded and his gut feeling told him that something was very wrong.

When the line went dead again, he made a decision. Picking up the information Abby had printed out for him, he got into his car. The city of Winston-Salem was about 350 miles from Washington, not quite a short trip. He made it in just under 4 hours and pulled into the parking lot. He had never been to this part of North Carolina, but hospitals always looked alike. The guard at the front door eyed him suspiciously. "Sir, visiting hours are only until 8 pm. If it´s not an emergency, I have to ask you to come back tomorrow morning." He said and received a gaze that would have even Dinozzo seeking cover.

"This is an emergency and don´t call me sir." Gibbs told him, but the man didn´t move. Only when he pulled out his badge and gun, the doors opened for him and a rather confused nurse ducked behind her desk. "Caitlin Todd." He barked at her and she looked at him with questionmarks in her eyes. "Where do I find Miss Caitlin Todd?" He repeated the question a bit slower and tried to calm his breathing.

"Sir, if you´re not immediate family, I can´t tell you any personal information." She said and swallowed when she saw the look on his face. "Uhm...I take it then you are..." She looked at the gun he was still holding in his hand. "Third floor, ward B. Ask for Emily Todd. She´s with her." The nurse finally told him and he put his gun away.

"Thank you." He said and headed for the staircase. Somehow, he didn´t feel like waiting for the elevator. His mind was racing as he jumped two or three stairs at once, almost knocking over a young doctor who happened to stand close to the door when he pulled it open. "Where can I find Emily Todd?" He asked and was lead to a plain door at the end of the hallway.

He just stood there for a few seconds and tried to picture what was going on behind that door. Kate had never mentioned anyone named Emily in her family. Maybe she had a sister going by that name, but never mentioned it. Maybe a niece. He knew she had a sister, but he remembered something about her telling him that her sister had been in a car crash. Gibbs opened the door and found himself in a semi-dark room. The only light came from a small light on a nightstand and some monitors. He closed the door behind him and looked around for a moment. There were two beds, the first one was occupied, the second one hadn´t been used.A figure was half sitting, half lying next to the bed. He took a step into the room and recognized his missing agent asleep next to the bed.

He wasn´t sure what to do now. He had found Kate, but he wasn´t sure what to make of this. She was not aware of his presence yet. Taking another step, he could see her face in the dim light now. Her mascara was smeared and black streaks lead down her face. She must have cried a lot recently. He got a soft cover from the second bed and put it over her shoulders. She stirred briefly, but didn´t wake up. Knowing Kate, he realized that she was completely exhausted. Otherwise he would have had her gun on his head already. Her reflexes were top of the notch there normally.

He at down on the second bed and watched the scene in front of him. In the first bed lay a girl, no older than 10 years, if he had to take a guess, probably even younger. She had long brown hair that fanned out over the pillow. With all those machines, she looked fragile and lost somehow. His attention returned to the room when Kate suddenly shot up with an outcry. The cover fell off her shoulders, but she didn´t seem to have noticed him yet. Her breathing calmed down after a moment and she pulled a strand of hair from the girls face. "Kate?" He asked softly and she almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of his voice.

He watched her shoulders tightning and slowly got up. She didn´t turn around yet. "What you doing here?" She finally asked and again he noticed the strain that lay in her voice.

Putting his hands onto her shoulders, he felt her shaking slightly. "I was worried about you." That was the truth more or less. He was curious about all of this, but knew that he shouldn´t ask her about it right now. She would tell him when she was ready. "Is there anywhere to get some coffee?" He asked, mainly to say anything, but also to get out of this room for a moment.

Kate nodded and got up, leading him to a small break room at the other end of the hall. She didn´t say anything and just slumped down onto a chair when they got there. He got two cups of coffee and sat down as well, looking at her more closely. "You should be sleeping, Kate. You look awful."

She managed a smile. "You came here to tell me that?" It was an attempt tosound a bit cheeful, but she failed miserably. Their eyes met and she noticed that he was really worried about her -not as her boss, but as a friend. Kate remembered the one night at his house when he had told her about his son. She remembered how he had allowed himself to cry in front of her and suddenly wondered why she was still trying to hide from him.

Gibbs reached out and put his hand on her arm. "Whenever you´re ready to talk about it, I´m there." He said and she looked up, tears in her eyes once again. He pulled his chair over until he sat right next to her and pulled her into an embrace. "What happened, Kate?"