Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS…never will. If I did, Kate would have NOT died. Nowhere near that kind of storyline ever. So basically, my story is in denial for Kate is very much alive in my story. No, I'm not making any money off of this, however, if CBS is interested in paying me, then I'll gladly accept.

Ship: Tate

Spoilers: None really. Post-Twilight…except for Kate dying. And in ways, somewhat AU.

Summary: The playful side of Tony and Kate show during the sleepover at NCIS…and more.

Chapter 5:

The next morning, Kate awoke to the heat of sunshine on her face. Sighing she rolled over to face her clock. When she saw the time, she blinked once before shooting out of bed, rushing around her room.

Choosing an outfit for the day, she rushed across the hall into the bathroom, not realizing Tony had just finished taking a shower. "Tony!" she said surprised. "I forgot you were here," she said sheepishly as she discreetly checked him out in the towel he wore.

Tony smirked as he used another towel to rub his wet hair with. "See something you like?"

Kate blushed and tried to glare at him. "That's for me to know," she tossed at him. She backed out of the room, shutting the door as she did so. "Hurry up!" she ordered. "We're running late!"

Tony opened the door again, this time dressed from the waist down. "Well, I'll go put on my shirt and then we can be on our way," he informed her. "Shower quick!"

Kate darted into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. As she started her shower, she shed her clothes and jumped in, not bothering to check the temperature. She squealed at the sudden stream of cold water that hit her.

"Damn it Tony!" she yelled. "You used all my hot water!" She took the fastest shower known to man all the while her teeth chattering. Wrapping her fleece robe around her, she flung the door open and hurried into her room in hopes of getting warm again.

Tony laughed to himself from the kitchen where he prepared their coffees in travel mugs. Emptying two packets of Splenda and adding a creamer to Kate's coffee, he placed the lid securely on hers and proceeded to make his.

Rushing around her room, Kate quickly dressed while trying to put her makeup on at the same time. Hurrying back into the bathroom to dry her hair, she gave up when she glanced at the watch on her wrist and saw that she had five minutes left before they really needed to leave.

"Tony, come on. We need to go," she said, grabbing her purse from the hall table. She flung open her door and impatiently waited for Tony to come out so she could lock up.

"Kate," he said, "calm down. I already called Gibbs and he told us that we had a little leeway." He handed her coffee over. "Take a sip and you'll feel better."

Kate glared at him, but did as he said. She took a deep breath before speaking. "Thanks Tony." She rolled her eyes. "Damn you for winning me over. Now I can't stay mad at you."

Tony grinned and stole a quick kiss. "Good. That's all part of the plan." He shut her door and snatched her keys from her, locking the door then slipping the keys back into her hand. "Come on."

Shaking her head with a smile, Kate followed him down the steps as they headed into the parking lot and over to her car. "Why is Gibbs being nice to us?"

"I have no idea," he shrugged, getting in on the passenger side. "But let's not take advantage of it, he'll figure it out."

She laughed as she started her car and backed out into the street. As they drove to headquarters, they talked about their plans for the rest of the week. Tony decided he should go home that night so he could do laundry and clean up his place.

Kate protested, not wanting to be away from him. "How about I come with you and help you do all that?" she offered, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.

He looked over at her in surprise. "You would want to do laundry and clean with me?"

Kate shrugged. "Sure, it could be fun." She pulled into her usual parking space and shut the car off. Pulling her keys out, she looked at him.

"Okay," he grinned. "Let's go back to your place first though. I left my overnight bag there."

Kate smiled as they got out and headed into the building, flashing their badges at the security guards and headed to the elevators. Upon arrival in the bullpen, they found it suspiciously quiet.

They looked at each other and shrugged as they sat at their desk. Kate pulled her work backpack into her lap and checked everything inside, relieved to see that she had put clean clothes in it last week. Dropping the bag behind her chair, she swiveled to face her computer.

"I'm surprised McGee's not even here yet," Tony remarked as he clicked a few things on his computer. He glanced over at Kate and caught her staring at him. "What?" he asked with a smile.

Kate shrugged with a smile. "Nothing, I just find you to be oh so cute," she said playfully. She stuck her tongue out then proceeded to pull a file in front of her and started working on it.

Tony grinned and turned his attention back to his computer, catching up on some reports and such. Before they knew it, the bullpen was soon alive with the buzzing sounds of activity.

"How long have you guys been here?" McGee wondered, making his way to his desk. He plopped down in his chair and faced them.

Kate and Tony looked at each other then back at McGee. "About an hour or so?" Kate answered, glancing over at Tony.

"Yeah, I think it's only been an hour," he confirmed. He looked all around the entire room before asking his next question. "Where's Gibbs?"

"I have no idea," McGee shrugged. He stood up and moved to stand next to Tony's desk. "I'm gonna go see if Abby is here." With that he left the room and headed downstairs to Abby's lair.

Tony and Kate stopped working and decided to go grab some coffee. They stood but sat back down when they saw Gibbs coming down from MTAC. Tony glanced at Kate before turning his gaze back to watch as Gibbs and a redheaded woman walked down the staircase.

"Who's that?" Kate mouthed to Tony as they watched the two head over to Gibbs' desk.

Tony shrugged and swiveled slightly to watch Gibbs and his mystery guest.

Gibbs chuckled at something the redhead said and turned to face his agents. "DiNozzo, Kate, this is our new director, Jen Sheppard. Jen, these are two of my best agents, Tony DiNozzo and Kate Todd." He gestured to each, respectively.

Tony and Kate smiled at the new director before turning their gaze back to Gibbs' who looked out of character with a smile on his face. Shaking their heads, the two of them continued to work on paperwork of cases they had solved but hadn't had time to complete.

McGee returned from his visit with Abby and was also introduced to Director Sheppard. As Gibbs and Jen left, McGee was also unnerved by the smile that graced their boss's face. McGee sat at his desk and copied what Kate and Tony had been doing for the past hour and a half.

The morning soon faded into late afternoon and still no case to be heard of yet. "Do you think anything is going to happen today?" McGee wondered from his desk.

"Who knows probie?" Tony answered, leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed. "But let's not jinx it."

Kate sighed and rested her head in her hand. "I'm so bored!" she complained. "And Gibbs has only shown his face twice since introducing us today. What's with that?"

Both men shrugged, knowing she didn't expect an actual answer.

Just then, they heard the elevators ding. All three became alert and pretended to work on something when they heard someone laughing at them. "Did you guys think I was Gibbs?" Abby grinned.

They sighed. "Hey Abbs!" Kate greeted. "Sit with me and tell me something new with you."

Abby's face lit up always glad to have a casual conversation with her best friend, rather than one that involved a case. Abby pulled up a chair and soon the two girls were engrossed in a girly conversation to which Tony and McGee tuned out.