Thought I'd update this one after tonites episode. If you havent seen it yet, dont read this chapter, SPOILERS!
Tony walked up to Kate's grave. It had been months since he'd been here. He was so busy with work, he never had time anymore. And if that hadn't made him feel guilty enough what he had done only a few days ago definitely had.

"Hey Kate." He said softly, kneeling beside the head stone. "Sorry I haven't been around for a while. Been busy, ya know, with work and all."

He ran his fingers over where her name was carved into the stone and smiled sadly. He needed to be here, needed her to know and need to apologize.

"I'm so sorry Kate." Tony was starting to tear up. "I'm sorry. Um, two days ago, the team was called in for a hostage crisis in a high school. I mean, it was great; I got to take control of the situation. Well, ok, the only reason I was in charge was because Gibbs had gone into the classroom and become a hostage himself, but that's beside the point. This poor kid, he was being used as a puppet to get to his mother. Only thing is, everyone thought that she was dead."

He sighed and fought back the tears welling up behind his eyes.

"We didn't find out about that until Gibbs had already gone into the room, so I had to find someway of telling him with out tipping off the kid. So……so I said that you were working on finding her. I'm sorry, I'm sorry I used your name as a cue. I shouldn't have, I should have found some other way to tell him, it wasn't right. Your death was something very serious; I should never have lightened the severity of it by doing that. I'm sorry Kate, I really am. I'm so sorry."

Tony continued to fight back the tears that threatened to fall. That decision had torn open the wound of her death all over again and he couldn't deal with it again. He knelt there for a while, letting a few tears fall, letting his body shake with the sobs.

"I'm sorry." He whispered again. He jumped when he suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He spun around to see who it was. "Gibbs?"

"I think she'd be ok with it, DiNozzo. If it saved someone's life I think she'd be happy."

"Wha….what are you doing here?"

"What, did you think you were the only person that ever came to visit her? I come here a lot. Conversations with the dead. If it helps Ducky, why not everyone else too?"

"You've lost people you were close to right?" Gibbs nodded. "Does the pain ever go away?"

"Not really, but you learn to live with it." Gibbs answered. He started to walk away but turned after a few steps. "You ever make me call you 'boss' again, DiNozzo, and I swear I'll kill you." With that he turned and left, leaving Tony to mourn the loss everyone was feeling all over again since that hostage situation.


Hope you liked it. And damn, that was one good episode tonight wasnt it? Yay for Tony growing up. lol, please R&R, thanx.