A/N: Wow! I can't believe all of the reviews I have been getting for this one. I finally updated, but I have been very busy lately. But school is out in one week, so then I should be able to update for frequently. I hope you enjoy this chapter. Keep those reviews coming!
Emily—
Disclaimer: Nope, still not mine.
Edited 12/18/07. Hopefully, the dialogue is now a bit less wooden, and the grammar not so bad. Perhaps one day, I will really do an in-depth edit. This will have to do for now.
Kate raced into her home, her heart pounding. Rita met her in the front hallway. The worry was visible on the older woman's face.
"I'm so sorry Kate, I didn't mean to disturb you. Its just Ally is so very sick and I didn't know what to do…" Kate shushed the older woman.
"Thank you for calling me. What are her symptoms?" she asked as she made her way to her daughter's room.
"Vomiting, very high fever, trouble breathing, shaking," Rita replied. Kate nodded as she entered Ally's room. Her daughter lay in her bed, a pail by her side and sweat shining on her face.
"Mommy," she moaned weakly. Kate turned to Rita.
"Okay, can you get my car ready for her?"
"I'll just hold her and go with you, if that's okay."
"Yes, thank you." She scooped up her small daughter.
"What happened to your friend?" asked Rita, curious. Kate blushed.
"He's uh, still in there. Please don't tell him that she is my daughter or his daughter yet."
Rita rolled her eyes. "Kate, you can't honestly believe that man isn't going to figure it out…"
"I'm going to tell him tonight! But I want to make sure Ally is okay before I break the news to him." They were heading out the door now. Kate picked up her pace, reaching the car before Rita.
Tony watched as Kate and another woman emerged from the house. In her arms, Kate cradled what looked to be a small child. As she got closer, he could see it was a girl. He couldn't make out any features of the girl, but he saw that Kate was panicked. She handed the girl to the older woman and opened the door and slid into the drivers seat.
"What's going on Kate?" he asked.
"We need to get to the hospital. I'll tell you everything later. I promise."
Hearing the note of pleading in her voice, he decided to drop it. He wondered what she had been trying to hide. Was it that she was raising a child for someone? Was she living with that woman? He had to smile at that ridiculous thought. She liked men, and had made it perfectly clear when she slept with him. He winced as she swerved around a corner, barely missing the curb. Funny, she didn't seem to be such an awful driver earlier.
The car came to a screeching halt as she pulled up in front of the emergency room. She got out and opened the back seat door to get the little girl. Tony followed her and the older woman into the ER.
Kate rushed into the ER and made her way up to the check in room.
"My daughter is very sick," she gasped. The nurse looked at her, unimpressed.
"Take a number."
Kate glared at her. She pulled out her badge, identifying her as a NCIS investigator. "NCIS. I work with the government." That was all she really needed to say, for the nurse quickly called for a doctor.
From his seat in the crowded room, Tony could see Kate whip out her badge and show it to the lady. The little girl was whisked away and Kate was handed a bunch of papers to fill out. She took a seat on the other side of the room. Tony got up and moved over to her.
"Hey."
She glanced up. "Hey."
"So, what happened over there?" Kate sighed.
"Tony, can we wait to talk until after I am done with this paperwork?"
"You're stalling."
She rolled her eyes. "I'm busy."
"I'm going to call McGee, and tell him that he'll have to go in without me. I am not leaving until I get answers." Kate just shared at him, shocked at his insistence.
"All right. Just let me do this."
He nodded and walked over to where the older lady stood, nervously pacing. She looked up at him.
"Ahh, so you must be Miss Todd's friend," she said. "I'm Rita. I help look after Ally."
"Why does Ally live with Kate?" Tony asked. Rita shook her head.
"I'm sorry, I can't answer that," she said. "It was nice to meet you. I need to talk to Kate." She walked away before he could say anything.
"Kate?"
Kate looked up. "Rita."
"She looks just like him," commented Rita, her voice low.
"I know she does." There was silence for a moment.
"He's asking about her."
Kate sighed. "I know, I'm going to tell him when I finish…"
Rita plucked the papers from her hands. "Papers can wait. You need to talk to him now." Kate glared at her but got up and headed towards Tony. But before she reached him, the doctor called for her.
"Kate Todd?" She walked over to him.
"Yes."
"Are you Ally's mother?"
"Yes?"
He glanced over at Tony. "Don't you think her Father would like to hear this too?"
Tony looked at him. "Sorry, I'm not her Father…"
The doctor looked at him, perplexed, but caught the look Kate gave him and smiled apologetically.
"Sorry. I wanted to inform you that your daughter is going to be all right. We gave her some antibiotics that should help the fever. But we would like to keep her overnight, just to be sure. I'm sure it was nothing, but I'd still like to run a few tests, just to make sure."
"Thank you so much," said Kate. She felt a hand on her arm and looked up at Tony.
"Can we talk now?" he asked.
"Yes," she said after a pause.
"Why were you so intent on keeping that little girl a secret from me? If you were raising a child for someone, I wouldn't have minded…"
Kate pressed a finger to his lips. "Tony, I think you have misunderstood everything. That little girl, Ally, she is not just some child I am raising." She took a deep breath. "Tony, she's my daughter."
Authors Note: Sorry to leave you hanging with Tony's response. The next chapter should be up within the next two weeks hopefully. I am really busy, but reviews inspire me to write. So, review!
Emily--
