Disclaimer: My imaginary lawyer in my head informs me that I do not, in fact, own NCIS, its characters or storylines. Apparently, that's wishful thinking on my part. Did I mention how much I hate my imaginary lawyer?

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far. Individual responses at the end of this chapter. Now, on with the plot…

It seemed that Tony's feet were very much in the 'Keep DiNozzo alive' camp. They neatly side-stepped Kate's charge at the last minute, leaving her nowhere to go but straight into the wall. The speed with which she was moving being sufficient to knock her out, only her outstretched arms saved her from serious injury.

"Tony!" exclaimed a confused Abby, on opening her eyes. "What did you do?"

Tony elected not to answer, but shot her a sarcastic look as he knelt by Kate's head, brushing her fringe from her face and gently feeling along her arms for any signs of a break. Her eyes fluttered open and he leaned in to check for any uneven dilation of their pupils.

"You have nice eyes," a drowsy sounding Kate commented.

That brought a Cheshire cat-like smile onto Tony's face and caused Abby's eyebrows to shoot to the far reaches of her forehead.

"Tell me you heard her say what I think she said," Tony was looking like a small child in a candy store.

Abby whacked him up the backside of his head before saying; "Yes Tony, I heard. But the time for teasing and humiliation is not now."

Although it didn't seem possible, Tony's smile widened further as he realised that Kate's words could be used in perpetuity to mock her.

As Kate groggily tried to get up she had a vague feeling pushing at the back of her consciousness that there was something important she was forgetting. In her concentration on retrieving this information she forgot that she was in the process of standing up and would have fallen had it not been for a pair of arms that quickly encircled her in support.

"Kate?"

"Yeah?" she smiled innocently at him.

"You ok?" DiNozzo had the same expression of worry on his face that appeared whenever Gibbs appeared at an extremely inopportune moment.

Kate was smiling goofily at him and she hadn't slapped away his arms which were currently resting lightly on her hips. All in all it was freaking out Tony. And Abby. Both of them shared a look, silently acknowledging the hinkiness of Kate's behaviour.

"Hey Kate," Abby said in a bright, loud voice, generally reserved for use with very young children, the demented or techno-illiterates on a par with Gibbs, "how 'bout we pay Ducky a visit?"

"Ducky!" Kate exclaimed, "Quack, quack!" she made to waddle ungracefully towards the door.

Tony released his arms from around her, only to have to rush to scoop her up as she pitched forward. He shook his head as she laughed coquettishly and snuggled into his hold. He grinned as she informed him he had 'strong arms'. His grin grew broader as he shouldered open the doors and she told him in a stage-whisper loud enough for the whole gym to hear that he 'smelled good too'.

Walking behind them Abby slapped her forehead. Kate was really going to hate herself when she came back to reality.

The next chapter won't be up until next weekend (as I'm effectively without access to a PC until then). Until then, I'd appreciate any feedback on this chapter and the story in general.

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed thus far, I'm so chuffed by the response to this!

Ally-Rae2008: thanks for the review, sorry I denied you wrestling, but hey, I felt the need to build up a little more tension… don't hate me – I promise you some Kate/Tony physical interaction soon!

Shirik: my, you're bossy… see, I updated, but you'll have to wait a little for the next parts.

Theoretical: agree with you on the lying in maths and just what is a 'spork'?

Dragula: there shall be plenty of clobbering going on, but probably when you least expect it…

Weing1: sorry, you'll have to wait 'til the next chapter for any damage to be done to Tony (but don't worry, nothing too serious)

CelticPuzzleStrangerRangerGrl: wow! You have the best penname! What's the story behind it?

StrawberryBlondeHazelEyes: there most definitely shall be some #cough# Tate. Violence is but a prelude to mushy fluff

acer-sigma: you give the man too much credit, at least for now… Don't worry, Tony does have a plan, he just doesn't know it yet.

fairyprincessbeaniebaby: you too have a very cool penname. Erm, have to say that I'm being a little dense, so I'm not sure what you were asking me, hopefully you liked this chapter!

RubyTrinity: thanks so much. Sorry, but you'll have to wait at least another chapter before the real fighting starts…

iceicekatie: thanks, hope you still like the direction of the story.

Gibbsgirl: omg! Can't believe you've reviewed me. I love your fanfic, especially 'Falling for you'. swoons

TATE foreva: thanks for coming back and reviewing again, much appreciated. :o)