Hopefully you'll like the way it came out.
Hugs and kisses to everyone that has reviewed this. I appreciate the support, I really do. A special thank you to midnight-sk8r who keeps giving me these amazing ego boosts.
Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS or any of its characters. If I did I wouldn't be writing fanfiction, I would be busy playing with them and showing them off to my friends.
Through Troubled Nights Chapter 7: A Porcelain Angel Finds Its WingsTony wasn't sure if it was his own or Kate's nightmare that woke him up. He really didn't care. His own heart was racing and Kate was whimpering next to him. He wasn't sure about what he'd dreamt but he knew it had not been a happy dream. He reached out and grabbed the glass of water on the nightstand.
He felt the cool water run down his throat and was happy to lose the taste of sand in his mouth. He glanced at his alarm clock and realized that Gibbs surely would call them in two or three hours. I should go back to sleep, he thought but he was hot and uncomfortable in his t-shirt. Will have to lose that…
Kate mumbled in her sleep and after throwing his shirt on the floor next to the bed Tony gathered her in his arms careful not to hurt her.
He closed his eyes and smelled her hair. Sleep, Tony… he thought, sleep… god she smells good… sleep… sleep it is… I can feel her every curve and- no! Not now… sleep! Go to…I could totally reach under her shirt without waking her, right? "Please Gibbs, slap me!"
"That's disturbing DiNozzo… do you always talk about Gibbs in bed… and I guess more importantly do you always want him to slap you around in bed?" Kate mumbled against his now naked chest.
His eyes widened but he soon calmed after registering what had just happened. Crap, I woke her up… oh well…
"I don't mind a little bit of spanking-" what am I doing? "I mean… no… but yes, but no!"
Kate rolled her eyes. She looked up at him and scooted back, immediately regretting it as she now felt cold.
"Can't sleep?" she asked. God, when did he lose his shirt? Don't stare… do not stare!
Tony sighed. "I keep dreaming about this Mitchell guy that you mentioned… I suppose he was the one whacking me unconscious back there?"
She stayed silent for what seemed like an hour to Tony before she spoke.
"… sweetheart"
"What?" he narrowed his eyes at her, confused.
"You called me sweetheart…"
He remembered and gave her a small smile. "I'll call you whatever you want me to call you if only you tell me about this Mitchell-person, Katie!"
She groaned at this and he wasn't sure if it was because of the notorious nickname or the mention of Mitchell. He could suddenly feel her move around under the covers as she untangled herself from sheets and pillows.
"I need… air" she got out of bed and quickly disappeared out the door. Tony would have followed her just as quickly if it weren't for the throbbing in his head that was making its way back. He groaned as he sat up in bed feeling about as in shape as a 90 year old. I bet this is what it feels like being Gibbs.
"Kate?" He meant to call out for her but ended up whispering her name instead.
He swung his legs over the edge and slowly stood up. He grabbed his head shocked at how much it hurt. He felt the bump. Beautiful… just beautiful…
He found Kate on his balcony. She'd left the door open for him and the curtains were moving with the light breeze. There she stood, glowing like she was made out of porcelain in the moonlight, white drapes flopping in the wind around her. Her hair was tousled and her clothes crumpled.
She did not flinch or react in any way as he placed his hand on her back standing beside her. She knew he'd come after her.
"You were right" she said watching the night traffic below them.
"I have my moments…" he said not really understanding what she was getting at but if she wanted to say that he, Tony DiNozzo was right which meant that she was wrong, then he was not about to argue with that or question it. It happened way too rarely. "I guess"
She rolled her eyes at him, knowing that he was completely lost. "I thought that I was protecting the ones I love by not telling you guys what happened and who did… this… to me. You were right… I should have told you."
It was the first time that she had really acknowledged that she had been hurt by someone else, that even though she'd lost control over her own body that control had been taken from her. She had not given Mitchell the opportunity to do anything to her… he had taken it.
"Kate-"
"No Tony, just hear me out. Please let me finish… I thought that by not saying anything I was making sure that I was the only one being harmed. I was wrong."
He wanted to cry or tell her that she didn't have to continue, tell her that he understood, that he knew what she was about to say. That would be a lie. He didn't have a clue but he knew how much she hated the sentence "I was wrong" and he hated hearing her using it now… Telling me that I'm right and leaving it at that would have been great, he thought gripping the railing so hard his knuckles turned white.
"He got the opportunity to hurt you Tony, because I didn't warn you about him. I didn't even tell you about whom we were hiding from when you were assigned to look after me tonight. I thought I could handle this on my own without realising that I have a team watching my back whether I ask them to or not. I'll eventually be able forgive myself for what I let happen to me but I'll never be able to forgive myself for you being hurt. I tried to protect the ones I love and because of that one of them was hurt"
It took Tony a while to process what Kate had just said. One of them? He glanced at her from where he stood next to her on the balcony. 'Them' as in the ones she loves?, he thought, his mind racing and his blood rushing in his veins. I'm one of the people she loves? She… loves… me?
Kate could practically hear his mind working and he had a distant look in his eyes that told her that he was analysing something. She was pretty sure she knew what it was. The silence felt unbearable to Kate and when he still did not speak for another 5 minutes she spelled it out for him.
"Tony, I know we do… what we do and all and yes I do think you're a skirt chasing pig but I trust you with my life and you're the most charming pig I've ever met." she gave him a small, tired smile. "I love having you in my life."
Tony smiled back at her. Close enough…
"Wow!" He said.
She looked at him and did her best to look annoyed.
"What? Is it that weird that I consider you one of my loved ones?"
"No, it's just cool that I'm more charming than Babe. That is one charming pig. People love him… and he did save all of those sheep when the wolf came and still I'm a more charming pig? I'm flattered to say the least."
Kate nudged him in the ribs with her elbow.
"Ough! Okay okay, not that kind of pig, huh?… Seriously though, I'm happy you're letting me be a part of your life and I kind of wish that I could have an even bigger role in your life in a near future…?"
Kate played with the hem of her shirt, staring at her cold, naked feet.
Tony continued knowing that he could be completely shot down any second but he had to take the chance. "I love that you're in my life as well and I hope that you're feeling just as well as I do that we have something more than just a brother-sister bond or a partner bond between us."
Kate cleared her throat. "I wouldn't have kissed you otherwise Tony".
A bit relived that her tone seemed a bit lighter Tony grinned at her forgetting about his insecurities and chance taking. I never take chances with women, he thought, don't need to. No one can resist me. Maybe Kate has realized that as well… finally…
"About that, lets do that again sometime, preferably when this nut job is behind bars, my head's not bleeding and oh, lets not wear any clothes!"
Kate rolled her eyes and playfully hit him on the arm. They both stayed silent for a few minutes just breathing in the morning air and watched the traffic below them. Tony was the first to speak.
"So… we have a deal?"
Kate smiled. "More kissing? I could live with that."
Tony smiled back at her before getting serious again. "First you have some more talking to do though, Kate."
She nodded and walked inside again. He followed. The two of them settled on his couch this time. Tony left the balcony door open. If he could keep her from feeling suffocated in any way he would.
"Mitchell and I only went out a couple of times. He didn't really do it for me but wasn't half as bad as others I've been seeing… at least that's what I thought. One heck of profiler, huh?" her voice was drained of emotion and she stared in to space.
Suddenly her eyes widened and she shot up from where she had been seated. "My sister!"
Tony was confused and the sudden movement made him dizzy. I need to take something for this headache! He reminded himself.
"Your sister?"
Kate spun around so that she was facing him. "My sister and my niece! I can't believe I didn't think of them… Tony, he threatened to hurt them if I told anyone about what he did. He had a photo of them, said he knew where they were."
Tony groaned and got up from the couch.
"Bad… bad." he muttered. "You have a sister and niece in town?"
Kate walked back and forth in a panicked state. She supported her tilted head with one of her hands as she gesticulated wildly with the other hand.
"They haven't lived here for that long. When she got divorced she wanted to start over in a new place. I guess we thought we'd spend some time together but with her having a young child and me working all the time… well it just hasn't been happening. I haven't seen her face to face in… years."
Tony tried to follow her with his eyes but found himself close to throwing up within seconds. "Kate…"
She continued her pacing and ramblings.
"He could have them right now… He saw you… no actually he knocked you to the floor. He knows I told you. He's probably figured out I work with you which means he knows that Gibbs knows… oh God Tony they could be dead by now and-"
"Kate!" Tony barked, doing his best to keep his voice steady. "Stand still! You're making me dizzy and nauseous. I'll call Gibbs. We'll take care of this. I'm sure they're fine."
Kate stopped in her tracks realizing that panic did not help them right now. Neither did a sick Tony. She took a deep breath to calm herself.
"You're all pale are you sure you're okay?" Kate walked over to him and sat down next to him on the couch. She touched his cheek with a trembling hand. "You sure you don't need a doctor?"
He stood, slowly. He went back to the bedroom leaving Kate without an answer, alone on the couch.
He re-entered the living room a minute later, cell phone in hand.
"I'm okay Kate. Now lets make sure your sister is too. Do you have her number?"
She nodded. Yes she did, somewhere in her PDA.
"Call her. Tell her that someone's coming over picking her and…?"
"Megan"
"Picking her and Megan up. I'll call Gibbs."
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The two young Agents looked at each other.
"W-we didn't know you wanted us to bring coffee, sir."
Gibbs glared at them.
"Do I look like a man that wants to work this early in the morning without coffee?"
The one that had stayed quiet before now spoke.
"No, sir."
"So tell me again, why didn't you bring me coffee then?"
"We didn't kno-"
Gibbs cut him off.
"Shut up! Go find me whatever this guy used to hit DiNozzo. Now! And don't "sir" me!"
"Yes, sir" they spoke in unison. Upon realizing their mistake they once again looked at each other and then pale as sheets hurried down the hall.
"Boss?"
Gibbs turned around to find McGee with a fresh cup of coffee for him and an obviously caffeine high Abby bouncing up and down.
"Where do you want us Boss-man?" She asked scanning the hallway suddenly happy to have something to do. All this waiting around gave her too much time to think about Kate.
Gibbs accepted the coffee from McGee and rubbed his hand over his tired face. "McGee, I need you to re-do whatever Dumb and Dumber does," he gestured towards the two Agents that hovered a bit further down the hall, trying to find what they believed would be a bat or something. "and Abby we need to know if that blood on the carpet is Tony's and once we get our hands on what was used to hit DiNozzo I need you to get something off of it. Anything. Kate's not talking yet but we can't let that slow us down. She'll have to pull herself together soon though."
With a sample from the carpet and photos and prints collected Abby needed her lab and Gibbs who was done interviewing the few people living on the first floor that actually opened their doors at this early hour decided to come with her.
They were just about to leave the building when McGee came running, followed by the two Agents that Gibbs had brought from the headquarters to help out. He had regretted bringing them the second they arrived.
"Gibbs… I think we got it!" He was excited and Gibbs gave him a small smile.
"Well?"
Agent Smith… or was it Gates? Gibbs couldn't really tell them apart, they both looked equally stupid. Well one of them held a plastic bag that indeed held a steel pipe.
McGee snatched the bag from him and handed it to Gibbs.
"It has some blood on it, not much but some."
Gibbs nodded.
"Right. That's good. None of the neighbours saw anything. Lets head back. I need you to help me get into Todd's computer McGee."
Tim glanced at Abby and then back at Gibbs.
"Her computer? … But-"
"It wasn't a question it was an order McGee. Now, Chip 'n Dale you stay here and see if you can get anything else out of the neighbours, also check if you can find any tyre tracks or anything. We need to find this guy."
Agents Smith and Gates nodded without saying anything. They'd only met Special Agent Gibbs an hour ago and knew that everything they'd heard about him before hand was true.
"I'll send someone else over to check on you later" joined by Abby and McGee, Gibbs turned and left with photos, bloody carpet, prints and the newfound pipe.
"Chip 'n Dale?" McGee questioned as they got in the car.
"Probie is taken" Gibbs stated.
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By the time Mitchell reached his destination the sun was on its way up and he knew he didn't have much time to get settled before the few neighbours in the area would get suspicious. They knew who he was so he was no stranger sneaking around but still, why would he show up at this hour if there wasn't trouble?
There was trouble. Some of it carefully planned and some not planned at all. He had left clues behind for Kate and her team he just hadn't counted on having to do it in such a hurry.
Getting his things inside the little house he thought about the things he'd wanted to do before changing houses. He'd come to Kate's earlier last night to make sure she understood what he was capable of and to make sure she hadn't told anyone. He had so much more in store for her and all of his plans, well many of them would now have to be postponed, since she'd sent that guy after him.
He set up his laptop and closed the drapes. You and your team will show up at my apartment within an hour and you'll find a little present I left behind for you, and then I'll know where you are at all times. You go visit your sister… I'll know. You stay at a friend's house, I'll know.
He made his way into the kitchen and found a Coke in the fridge. This is my way to protect you Kate. To show you the power the man has in a relationship…
He felt a bit rushed after having fled his own apartment with his sprained ankle but he was pleased still. He had threatened Kate and now he would get the chance to show her that he was capable of it. You'll see that the only option, the right thing to do, is to listen to me Kate. You'll see.
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Abby went downstairs with her evidence and McGee sat down at Kate's desk.
"Couldn't we just ask her Boss?" Tim asked not really wanting to hack into her computer and phone records.
"Yes we could. Now do it. I want-" His phone cut him off.
"Gibbs. Yes?"
"Hey it's Tony. I got through to Kate. He threatened her sister and her niece. That's why she didn't say anything. I got a name Boss and Kate was at his place, she knows where he lives. He still has her car. We should pick it up."
Gibbs sighed with relief. They got a name and an address. That could definitely help.
"Bring her here. I want Ducky to look the two of you over before you go anywhere. Lets hope this guy is stupid enough to actually return home. What did you say about her sister?"
"Mitchell Devon, that's our guy, said he'd go after her sister Ally and her niece Megan if she told anyone. She's talking to her sister now to make sure they're alright. Someone should go pick them up. We might know where he lives but he's out there somewhere Boss."
"You get Kate here. I'll take care of the sister and niece. You have an address?"
"Yeah, hang on…"
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Kate flipped her cell shut and leaned against the wall, eyes closed. Tony, who had long ago ended his conversation with Gibbs, took an asprin and walked over to her.
"Everything okay?" He asked placing a hand on her shoulder.
She shook her head, no.
"I can't believe I brought her and Megan into this mess… " She opened her eyes and looked up at him. He stepped closer to her and her hands travelled up his chest, landing on his broad shoulders. Their faces were no mere inches apart and she could feel his warm breath on her face. Her eyes locked with his and once again she knew they were connected in that way that only the two of them could be. That wasn't anything new. They had always been able to communicate in silence… they used to call it their partner bond, sometimes even brother-sister bond but now they knew that it was more than that.
Deep down they had always known but tonight Kate was brave enough to accept it and Tony was ready to take that last step. On the balcony they had agreed in words… now, as she looked into his eyes, their souls agreed.
She brought on of her hands through his ruffled hair until she found it. The bump.
"I can't believe my mess became your mess…"
"Our mess" he whispered before placing his mouth on hers.
She wanted to let it all go as her tongue danced with his. Her knees felt weak and she knew she'd fall to the floor any second now… but Tony would be there with his strong arms to catch her. He would support her… just like he would in any situation and she knew that. She let him deepen the kiss to let him know that she trusted him. He brought his arms around her before ending the kiss with one of his trademark smiles.
She knew and he knew.
Kate Todd had confessed to herself that she wouldn't be able to do this without help, his help. She had confessed that she needed him and her world had not fallen apart. She'd let him know that she trusted him to help her through this and he was still there. He wasn't laughing, he wasn't teasing her. He was still holding her in his arms and he wasn't planning on letting go.
Kate suddenly felt stronger than she had in weeks. They would get through this. Mitchell may have hurt her, may have taken her control from her but she was not broken and she would take that control back.
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Ally Todd would normally have appreciated a phone call from her sister. She would have loved to hear what she was up to and make plans for some coffee together. It would be good for Megan too to get to know her aunt, Ally was sure... but not four in the morning.
In fact, Ally did not appreciate anything but sleep at four in the morning and Kate's story about some lunatic that had threatened to get back at her through her and Megan sounded a bit… unrealistic.
"I can't believe she got me out of bed…" she mumbled as she dressed her half-asleep and confused daughter.
"Where are we going mommy?"
"Aunt Kate needs us to go with her to work this morning, love."
"It's night…" Megan rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and tucked her teddy bear under her arm.
"We'll tell Kate that when we see her" Ally gave her daughter a small smile.
A car came to a screeching halt outside on the street and Ally froze and hurried over to the window. She peeked out but couldn't see anything. Ally felt a bit paranoid as what had seemed unrealistic minutes before all of a sudden seemed very realistic.
"Go get your jacket, honey" she called back to Megan still trying to see who was outside. "Hurry up now!"
Megan nodded and was just about to do what she was told when someone pounded on the door. She sensed her mothers fear, her lip quivered and tears threatened to fall.
"M-mommy?"
Ally silently ushered her daughter back into the bedroom and after grabbing a kitchen knife went to open the door.
She took a deep breath and found herself face to face with a man. The gun in his hand was all it took for Ally to let the knife scatter to the floor. Her eyes widened and the air got caught in her throat as she backed away from the door, a feeling of panic rising in her chest.
"Who are you?"
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The way I've planned it, there should be another 3(-ish) chapters to this.
Chip 'n Dale are called Piff and Puff in Swedish by the way… in case anyone was sitting there thinking "Gee… I wonder what they're called in Sweden… is it the same as here?" (I bet there were loads of you thinking this exact thing). Oh and Dumb and Dumber are called Dum and Dummare. (If anyone actually was wondering about this, like for real, let me know and I'll send you a basket of muffins).
Again, I'm sorry for the delay. I promise I'll get the next chapter up quicker. I just have to look it over a couple more times.
Tell me what you think (and about anything else that's on your mind) in a review.
Thank you for reading and reviewing.
/Malin