AN: You guys are awesome! Thanks for all the reviews! They helped me write this instead of my stupid humanities paper. If you guys want it, chapter six is on the way (as long as my profs don't decide to bury me under assignments). Please review and let me know if I should keep going with this.

Chapter 5

Almost instantly nurses and doctors rushed to the room. It seemed like everyone wanted to see the next scene in this amazing romance unfold before their very eyes. They all wanted to see Sleeping Beauty wake up. They wanted a reason to believe in fairy tales. Most crowded just outside the door as Dr. Foster forced Kate's family to take a step back and squeezed in next to Kate. She knew better than to ask Tony to move while she checked Kate's vitals.

Tony, wearing his trademark smile, still clutched Kate's hand in his. He was murmuring encouraging words while softly stroking her hair. He watched as Dr. Foster checked the readings on all the machines and shined a light in Kate's eyes hoping to see her pupils react. When the doctor slowly straightened, Tony tore his eyes away from Kate and turned his expectant gaze to Dr. Foster.

The doctor didn't know what to do. She knew that Special Agent DiNozzo may have imagined the entire thing, felt something just because he wanted to. Even if what he felt was real, it didn't necessarily mean anything. It could simply been a slight muscle twitch which was not uncommon in comatose patients. But she wanted to believe him. She wanted to put aside her scientific medical knowledge and go with the hopeful look in his eyes. Maybe it was real and it meant Kate was waking up, but she had no evidence to back that up. Still, she couldn't crush his hopes like that. She just couldn't bring herself to do it. Love and hope are two very powerful emotions. Together, maybe they could bring Kate back.

Now came the tricky part. How was she going to word her answer? She had to be very careful here. She couldn't lie, but she couldn't tell him it meant absolutely nothing even if he hadn't imagined it. She took a deep breath before answering the question on everyone's mind.

"Her pupils still aren't responding. However, that doesn't mean she didn't squeeze your hand. No one is quite sure what happens when a person is in a coma. It's possible that some muscle movement may be a prelude to waking up. However, there's no way to say for sure until she actually wakes up. Buzz the nurses' station as soon as it happens again. In the meantime, I'd like to order another scan for this afternoon. I'll be back to check on her later."

Tony's smile faltered, but he wouldn't give up hope. He'd felt it. He knew she was coming back. It didn't matter what the doctors said. None of them knew Kate. She'd squeezed his hand to let him know she was there, just like he'd been doing to her for the past two days. She was letting him know she heard him.

Her family continued to hover over her and Tony didn't get another chance to talk to her in private. He still never let go of her hand and kept praying that she'd squeeze it again. It was almost time for the CT scan. Tony sat beside her bed softly brushing the fingers of his free hand up and down her arm. Her mom, Sue, held Kate's other hand. Both were hoping for the tiniest twitch, but nothing had happened yet.

Finally, Tony couldn't take it anymore. Talking to Kate had worked before. He had to try it again. He didn't care that her family was listening. It wasn't like his love was a secret. Once again, he leaned down to whisper in her ear while still gently holding her hand.

"Come on Katie, you can do this. Squeeze my hand again. Let me know you're alright. Wake up for me. Wake up so we can start our lives. Together. Once you wake up you will never close your eyes again without me next to you, without me holding you in my arms. I promise. I never want to be anywhere but by your side, for the rest of my life. I want to give you everything you've ever wanted and more. You just have to wake up and I promise everything will be better than you've ever imagined. You'll make my dreams come true and I'll spend the rest of my life making sure yours do too, 'cause my only dream is to be with you."

Just like before, he places a feather-light kiss on her temple. He pulls back and waits, praying that his love is enough to bring her back. His gaze stays fixed to her face, making sure that he'll be the first thing she sees when she opens her eyes. He doesn't see Sue across the bed silently wiping the tears from her eyes. She couldn't make out every word but the few she heard were enough to let her know that her daughter was in the best hands in the world.

The movement was so slight he almost missed it. He could swear her eyes had moved just like they did when she was dreaming. He held his breath, hoping it would happen again. This time it was completely clear. She'd almost blinked. He jumped to his feet and leaned over Kate's face, totally startling her mother and the rest of her family.

"That's it! Open your eyes! C'mon Katie, you can do this. Just open your eyes. I'm here, just open your eyes!" He was frantic. This was it. He could feel it. He kept stroking her cheek, begging her to open her eyes.

Kate's family were all on their feet, alternately staring at Kate and then Tony. Sue pressed the call button and a single nurse entered. She picked up the phone and paged Dr. Foster and almost instantly half the hospital staff appeared in the doorway. Dr. Foster came running in through the crowd but came to an abrupt stop next to the nurse. Despite her medical training she had the distinct feeling that she shouldn't interfere, that she should let Tony handle it. He was the one Kate was responding to and she couldn't get in the way of that. She watched with the rest of the spectators as Kate blinked once…twice…then, finally, opened her eyes.

It was Tony. She'd known it would be him, she'd just been hoping it hadn't all been a dream. She'd had dreams like that before and always woke up disappointed that he wasn't in bed next to her. As soon as she opened her eyes she saw his amazing smile. She saw happiness, relief, and, most of all, love in his eyes. She reached up to touch his cheek.

"You're real." She said, somewhat breathlessly. She'd had to make sure. Her reward was an even bigger smile.

"And you're awake." He said it softly as if he could hardly believe it himself, like he was afraid to break the spell. "You had me scared. I thought I might have lost you on that rooftop. I thought I might have lost my chance."

"Your chance? What chance?" She too spoke in hushed tones. No one in the room moved. They barely breathed. Not like either one of them noticed anything. Every fiber of her being was focused on the man above her.

"This chance." The whispered words barely escaped his lips before they captured hers. The kiss was slow and tender but amazingly powerful. It was a promise of things to come and proof of the power of love. It was two finally admitting that they were one.

It seemed to last for hours before they finally broke apart and everyone in the room finally let out the breath none of them knew they'd been holding. Tony gently tucked Kate's hair behind her ear as they stared into each other's eyes.

"I love you." They spoke in unison, each needing to say those three little words more than anything in the world. They both smiled even wider.

It all seemed so perfect that Tony was almost afraid he might wake up. He felt whole for the first time, like everything in the world was finally right. How could it not be when Caitlyn Todd was in love with him?

"It's about time." A familiar voice reminded the pair that they weren't alone. Tony couldn't wipe the smile off his face as he turned to see his boss standing next to Dr. Foster with Abby and McGee beside him. Gibbs made no attempt to hide his smile and McGee and Abby were positively beaming.

He turned back to Kate and started to apologize for all the time they'd wasted when they could have been together and to promise her forever. He opened his mouth to speak but she held her hand to his mouth to silence him.

"Shh…I already know." She removed her hand and replaced it with her lips. He closed his eyes and let himself enjoy the one thing he'd always wanted but never thought he would get.