A Dare, Or Something More Sinister?

Rating: T

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS... I'm just taking the characters for a spin!

Author's Notes: Thank-you all for the reviews, I'm glad you all like it... as always a few more wouldn't go unnoticed! Please!

Happy New Year to all! Hope you all had a good xmas

And of course, again a humungous thank-you to Kate for her terrific work and inspiration!

Kate stood up and looked at the approaching nurse expectantly. The nurse gave a small smile and continued walking. Kate watched her retreating back and sat down again next to Tony with a thump. Tony opened his eyes and looked over at Kate, his eyes asking a silent question, lifting his head from the back of the seat. Kate shook her head and let out a small breath, looking down. Tony sighed and briefly closed his eyes. He looked back at Kate and put his hand on her knee, to stop it from bouncing up and down. She looked down at his hand, then back up to his eyes and saw the concern in them. They sat in silence for a while, lost in their own thoughts and pulling comfort from each other.

Tony watched as Kate hunched forwards and put her head in her hands. Without saying a word, he put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her back to lean against his chest and wrapped his arms around her.

"He looked so…terrible" Kate said softly into his chest, "So tired, and cold, and … did you see the gash on the back of his head?"

Tony nodded and stared into the distance, "Yeah" he replied distantly, "And it's my fault". He felt her head move, and looked down to see Kate looking back up at him, frowning.

"What! Don't be ridiculous, Tony" she said, "This is not your fault"

"Yeah, it is" he said and looked away, "If it wasn't for me, he would have been on top of his game and seen it coming"

"What the hell are you talking about?" she asked

"Kate, he's going through withdrawals, from coffee. Remember the bet I had with him." He explained, "He would have been slow reacting, distracted, withdrawn"

"Bullshit, Tony!" Kate said, reaching up and turning his head to face her. She looked into his eyes, "For a start, he accepted the bet, knowing full-well what would happen. This is not your fault!"

Tony gave a small attempt at a smile, but failed miserably. Kate sighed and put her head back on his chest. "You know, Kate, when we get back, you should tell him how you feel." Tony said, "And that's an order"

"I don't take orders from you, Tony. Besides, he doesn't return the feelings" Kate replied

Tony made a small choking sound, "What? Yes he does. He watches you when he thinks nobody is watching him, his behavior changes around you, he flirts with you…"

"Tony, you flirt with me" Kate reminded him

"Yeah, but our relationship is different, we both know that. You're kinda like a sister that I love to piss off…or something. Anyway, you're missing my point" Tony replied

"He just sees me as a colleague, Tony, just another woman" Kate said

Tony smiled, "Actually, no he doesn't, he said as much to me". Kate looked up at him with a questioning look. "We were on a stake-out a few months ago. The one with the serial murderer who dumped the body on popular running paths."

"Yeah, I remember" Kate said, waiting for him to go on

"I asked him about his ex-wives and why he doesn't date much anymore" Tony said

"He's married to his job, and doesn't have time" Kate interjected

"Yeah, well, he said that. And that most women are terrified of him. When I told him that you weren't terrified of him, he responded, and I quote, 'Kate isn't like most women'" Kate gasped, "I wanted to continue the conversation further, but our suspect made a move"

Kate was about to respond when she felt Tony's body tense and saw him looking over her shoulder. She turned around and saw a man in scrubs approaching them. She untangled herself from Tony's arms and stood to greet the man. She heard Tony stand behind her and felt his hands on her shoulders.

"Agent Todd?" the man asked looking at Kate, who merely nodded. "I'm Dr Holland; I'm the surgeon who operated on Agent Gibbs."

"How is he?" Tony asked

"Hard to say at this stage. The damage to the back of his head is quite extensive, but the surgery was a success" Dr Holland replied

"Any complications?" Tony asked

The doctor sighed, "I really can't go into any details. Doctor-patient confidentiality, I'm sure you understand" he looked from Tony's face to Kate's and continued, "Look, all I can tell you is that he has severe head trauma and severe hyperthermia, along with minor cuts and abrasions." He paused, "And that we are giving him the best care we can"

"That's not good enough" Tony said, removing his hands from their place on Kate's shoulders and moved around to stand in-front of Kate, as if protecting her and faced the doctor. He moved into the man's personal space and looked down at him with a glare that would have made Gibbs proud. "You will tell me what I want to hear" he commanded the smaller man, "And I want details"

The doctor became noticeably uncomfortable and shifted under Tony's gaze, he held back for a second, not giving anything away, then looked around the waiting room.

"Is there somewhere we can go, a bit more private than here?" Kate asked, seeing the man's anticipation.

The man nodded and glanced back at Tony, before walking off. Tony followed him, then turned to Kate, "Ah, I think it would be best if you wait here" Tony told her. Kate began to refuse, but Tony interrupted her, "Kate, it wasn't a question! Stay here, I'll tell you everything when I get back." His voice softened, "This could be hard to hear", with that, Tony turned and followed the doctor.

"He's dead"

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that"

"Were you close?"

"No, never really liked the man. But I'm not the one who slit his throat" Brown took a sip of his coffee

He looked up from the notes he was writing, raising his eyebrows, realizing he hadn't told Brown how he had died. He glanced back down. "Where were you last night between the hours of 2330 and 0400?"

"In my freezer"

"Doing what?"

"Removing food that the other chefs require for today. I'm head chef, the only person with access to the freezer" Brown took another sip of his coffee and headed to his desk

"Can anyone vouch for your where-abouts during that time frame?"

"Nope. Absolutely none. Unless you include the dead cows in the freezer."

Gibbs made a humming sound, "Then we have ourselves a problem".

He heard something scrape along the desk and looked up in time to see a heavy object thrown at him. Gibbs quickly moved to the side and watched it go passed as Brown spear-tackled the ex-marine. They fell on the bed and tumbled to the floor as both men struggled to get the upper hand. They exchanged blows and rolled around, Brown gained the upper hand and got to his feet, kicking Gibbs hard in the stomach, causing him to double over, winded. He saw Brown walk across to where the heavy object had landed and got to his feet, ignoring his protesting muscles. He ran head first into the younger man and tackled him to the ground, knocking the man's head against the ground. Brown stopped moving and continued to lay still, seemingly unconscious. He got to his feet and made his way to the door, trying to get his breathe up enough to call somebody over. He leaned against the door frame and took several deep breaths. He didn't hear Brown get to his feet and pick up the heavy object, nor did he feel it when the object made contact with his head or feel the floor as he fell onto it. And he certainly didn't hear it when Brown said to his unconscious body, "No, you have yourself a problem".

That's it for chapter 19... I hope you like it! Please review, please!