6

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 7

"Do you see our target?" Kate asked into her comms. She glanced down and checked her gun.

"Negative. He has moved out of my line of sight," Tony's soothing voice responded. "What about you?"

Kate searched her surroundings and finally spotted the creep doing laps in his pool. "Affirmative. He's in the pool." She stealthily crept closer for a better view. "Looks like it's just him, I don't see any goons."

Tony searched his area as well and didn't see anyone either. "Same here. I'm coming towards you, so don't move," he warned.

Kate stayed put and watched the guy through squinted eyes. She was analyzing his movements and noticed he didn't seem paranoid about anything yet. She felt Tony come up behind her. "I don't think he's worried about anything tonight," she whispered.

Tony moved to her right and replied softly, "Well, we were charming and the perfect guests the other night." He grinned sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

"Still, if I hadn't played the flirting wife, you wouldn't have found all that evidence in his basement!" she stated firmly.

"True," he acquiesced. "But what I stumbled on was disgusting. I think it was his latest couple before zoning in on us." He changed positions and glanced over at their neighbor. "Looks like he's done for the night."

Kate looked over and nodded. "How should we go about this?" she asked, watching as the guy got out of his pool and grabbed the towel, wrapping it around his body.

Tony sat there for a moment, analyzing their advantages. "I think we need to wait before we attack. Gibbs said we couldn't do anything until he comes after us. Maybe he's planning to get us tonight," he answered. "He thinks we're oblivious and naïve."

"Okay," Kate agreed. "We'd better get back home though." She stood and stealthily walked back the way she had come. Tony followed her, moving ever so quietly.

Once they reached their back door, they waited until their neighbor went inside before dashing into their house. Glancing at the clock, Tony noticed it was 11:00. "I think we'd better hurry and get to bed before he makes his presence known."

Kate unconsciously shivered. "Yeah," she said distractedly. She could feel someone watching them but when she glanced out the kitchen window, all she could see was the beach and a few random people still walking around in the moonlight.

"You okay?" Tony asked, returning from locking the house up and turning off the downstairs lights. He came up to her and placed a hand on the small of her back.

Kate shook her head. "I felt someone watching us. But when I looked out, I didn't see anyone." She turned to face him and gave a small smile. "Let's just go to bed." She took his hand in hers and led him out of the kitchen, flicking off the light as they went.

Once upstairs, they changed and quickly got under the covers. "How long do you think we have?" she whispered from the pillow next to his.

Tony rolled over to face her. "From the other cases we studied, I would say he makes a move between midnight and four in the morning," he responded.

"So why do you think he had that couple in his basement?" she wondered, moving closer to him. She felt jittery thinking of the man that lived next door.

He shrugged and reached for her. "I don't know Kate. But we need to pretend to be asleep before he comes." He pulled her close so her head was tucked under his chin and rubbed a hand soothingly up and down her back. "Don't worry. We have our cameras on and the minute there's trouble, our backup will be here to help us take him down."

Kate let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. "You're right. I don't know why I'm acting like a chicken. I used to protect the President for crying out loud!" She closed her eyes and said goodnight, letting Tony's heartbeat soothe her to a state of pseudo-sleep.

Tony felt her relax against him and smiled. He used to only dream of the days when he would hold Caitlin Todd in his arms and now it was coming true. He let his thoughts wander until he heard a noise around 1:15 am. He gently shook Kate awake and put his finger to her lips, indicating she needed to stay quiet.

She nodded and reached for her gun that she had placed under her pillow. She watched as Tony did the same but they remained in their position. They listened a few more moments when they heard light steps on the stairs and their bedroom door creak open. Kate pretended to stretch and roll over in her sleep as she pressed the silent alarm that connected them to Gibbs and the backup team.

Tony pretended to spoon against her in his sleep and carefully cracked an eye to see the position of their attacker. He had frozen in the doorway as they had moved in their 'sleep.' The moment they stopped moving and relaxed again, he crept forward some more, wetting a cloth with chloroform – his MO.

He made his way to Kate's side first but was surprised when she yelled, "FREEZE!" and pointed a gun at his head. Tony was quick to move too, jumping out of bed and coming up behind the man.

He dropped the bottle and tried to throw the rag at Kate's face, while lunging for the gun in her hands. He failed when Tony knocked him out with the butt of his gun.

"That was too close," Kate said, getting out of bed to check the man's pulse. Seeing that he was still alive, she got to her feet and called Gibbs to send in backup.

Tony kept his gun trained on the man and the minute he started groaning and trying to sit up, Tony cuffed him and sat him on the bed. "So, do you get off by killing married couples or something?" he asked gruffly.

The man refused to answer, instead staring hard at Tony through cold eyes. "You'll never find out," he sneered. He glanced over at Kate who had come to stand next to Tony with her arms crossed over her chest. "Although, I would've really enjoyed myself this time," he leered.

Trying not to let him get to her, Kate elbowed him in the face. As he howled with pain, she smirked and glanced at the doorway to see Gibbs standing there. "Hey Gibbs, ready to take him back to D.C.?"

Tony turned and grinned lazily. "Hey Boss. Here's your man!"

Gibbs came up to them and glanced down at the man who was clutching his nose. "Good work," he said, maintaining a straight face. He jerked the man up and sent him downstairs with three other agents. "You guys okay?" he asked, his gaze landing on Kate.

She nodded. "Absolutely. Tony and I handled him well," she said, smiling at Tony who winked in return. She looked back at Gibbs. "Really. We're fine," she said.

Gibbs nodded. "Pack your stuff and be on the afternoon flight tomorrow," he directed. With that he left the room and led the other agents out. He ordered them next door to search the man's house. As the team did their routine searches, he heard yelling from the team that had headed for the basement.

When they came back outside, they explained what they saw to Gibbs who went to investigate the situation himself. He shook his head as he surveyed the mess before him. Glancing up at the steps, he gave orders to clean up. The agents moved quickly and Gibbs went back upstairs to call the coroner to come and retrieve the bodies.

Inside, Kate was too wound up to go back to sleep so she and Tony had begun packing the things they had brought with them and their gear. "Sure has been an interesting six weeks," she commented, folding some of her shirts.

Tony chuckled from the bathroom, where he was packing items they wouldn't need for tomorrow. He left the essentials out for the morning though. "Yeah. We've gotten closer and caught the creep that we've been after." He tossed the bathroom stuff into his suitcase. "So, do you think we can establish what we have?"

"You mean, as a relationship?" Kate asked with a smile. "I think we can," she said coyly. She winked and zipped up the suitcase she had finished packing. "But," she started firmly, "we can't let this interfere with work. Gibbs will eat us alive if he finds us doing anything more than flirting."

Tony laughed. "Yes ma'am," he teased. He came around to her side and brought her into a gentle hug. "This is going to be fun."

She looked up at him seriously. "Tony, you promised that I'm not just going to be another girl to add to your victory list." She searched his eyes.

He looked down at her and nodded. "I did promise, and I'm going to keep that promise. I think we're pretty much in this for the long run," he smiled.

She returned his smile and squeezed him quickly. "Now get back to packing so we can leave. Can you believe it's already December?" she said, letting him go and moving to pack up some gear.

"Nope. Christmas is around the corner!" he said cheerfully. He watched for a moment as she tucked the gear into its designated boxes. "What are your plans for Christmas?" he asked shyly.

She glanced up at him while continuing her work. "I think I'll be going home to Indiana to spend it with my family. Why?"

"Oh, I was just wondering," he said, setting his completed suitcase next to the one that contained his clothes.

"What are you doing?" she asked, sitting on the bed and tucking one leg underneath her.

He came to sit next to her. "Well, this year my family is spread out so nothing." He turned to sit cross-legged so he faced her. "My parents are going to be on a cruise; my sister and her husband are flitting off to Vale or something; and my brother is still in Africa somewhere."

"Is he still on that dig?" Kate asked curiously. When he nodded, she remained silent for a minute, thinking. "Tony," she said, gathering his attention, "how would you like to come home with me for Christmas?"

Tony's face lit up like a Christmas tree. "Really? You'd let me come?"

Kate chuckled. "Sure, just don't embarrass me in front of my family!" she said, waggling a finger in his face.

He grabbed it and kissed it. "Never. Thank you so much!" he said sincerely. She smiled and pulled him in for a sweet kiss.

"You're very welcome," she said, running her hand through his hair. "Now, I think we should get some sleep. I'm feeling better," she said.

Tony nodded and quickly went downstairs to check the house. Seeing that the door was still unlocked he fixed that and ran back upstairs. Shutting their bedroom door and latching it, he quickly joined Kate back in the nice, cozy bed.