October 14, 2008
"HASWARI!" Gibbs screamed as his agent made his way into the house.
"What the hell is your agent doing?" Fornell asked, approaching Gibbs. "He's gonna get himself killed!"
"Kate!" Gibbs shouted. She had been frozen in place, clearly terrified for Ari. Gibbs's shout got her attention and she turned to face him. "You're with me. We're going around back to cover him. Tony, Ziva, you stay here with Fornell."
"On it, boss!" Tony affirmed while Kate moved to Gibbs's side.
"You're gonna need this," Gibbs told Kate, handing her a bulletproof vest. She grabbed it and put it on, and Gibbs put one on as well.
"Watch yourself, Gibbs," Fornell said as the team leader and Kate started towards the back of the house.
Gibbs simply nodded in response.
"What the hell just happened?" McGee spoke over the comms. He and Michelle were back in MTAC, watching the scene unfold from there.
"My brother is being an idiot, is what is happening, McGee!" Ziva spat. "I cannot believe he just went in there without backup or a vest! He just handed me his gun and went without telling any of us his plan."
"Gibbs and Kate are entering the back of the house now. We'll get him out, Ziva," Michelle said, trying to reassure her.
Ziva started pacing back and forth, while Tony looked on concerned. No way in hell would they be losing an agent today, especially not Ziva's brother.
For the last several days, the MCRT had been working a joint case with the FBI, leading them to again deal with Agent Fornell and his team. Things seemed to be going okay until they got a call that their suspect had a gun pointed at a civilian, holding them hostage. Their suspect was in withdrawal from opioids and was likely unstable, so both teams had been coordinating at the house, trying to figure out how to talk him down safely. Ari, however, had gotten tired of waiting. As a Mossad agent, he had a lot of experience with hostage negotiation, so he figured this was something he could handle.
He wanted to be as non-threatening as possible, so he took his gun out of its clip and handed it to his sister, who gave him a strange look. He then approached the house, hearing several people shouting for him to stop, but he ignored them as he entered the house.
"Charlie?" He called out cautiously, trying to get the attention of their suspect.
"Who's there? Show yourself!" Charlie shouted.
Ari turned the corner into the kitchen and there Charlie was, with his gun pointed at the homeowner, a young woman they had identified as Megan Gordon. It was a case of wrong place, wrong time. Megan wasn't supposed to be home for another hour, but her boss sent her home early. When she had arrived home, Charlie was already in the house and he grabbed her.
"Charlie?" Ari said again quietly. "My name is Ari. I'm unarmed." He put his hands up higher in the air and spun around slightly so that Charlie could see. Please, God, let this work.
"I don't believe you!" Charlie yelled, pushing Megan forward and continuing to point the gun at her. "Search him!"
Megan sobbed, but moved forward slowly and began to lightly pat Ari down. "He doesn't have anything," she sniffled when she was finished.
"What are you still doing over there then! Get back here!" Charlie yelled.
Megan sobbed again and walked back over to Charlie, who forced her on her knees, pointing the gun at her head.
"Now, what do you want?" Charlie asked Ari.
"Charlie," Ari paused. "I need you to let the girl go. She hasn't done anything wrong."
"I don't think so," Charlie retorted. "I need her for leverage. And she's got a Dilaudid prescription that I'm gonna need her to keep filling for me." Charlie took said prescription out of his pocket and popped two pills in his mouth.
Megan sniffled. "But those were for my dad and he's-"
"SHUT UP!" Charlie screamed as he smacked her across the head with the gun. She collapsed to the floor and Ari tried to move closer.
"DON'T MOVE!" Charlie screamed again, this time at Ari.
Shit. He stepped back slightly and saw Kate and Gibbs approaching his position out of the corner of his eye. I just need to get this guy to drop the gun and they can come in and take him down. "Okay, Charlie, okay. What else do you need? What can we get you so that no one else gets hurt?"
"What I need," Charlie grinned devilishly, "is for you to be gone." Charlie raised the gun and pointed it directly Ari.
Ari's eyes widened as Charlie cocked the gun. Suddenly, Kate jumped out from where her and Gibbs has been hiding, directly in the line of fire.
"No!" She shouted as she jumped in front of Ari and a shot went off. Gibbs immediately turned the corner and shot Charlie in the shoulder as soon as he saw that Megan was clear.
"Shooter is down," Gibbs said into his comm as he walked over and kicked the gun out of Charlie's grasp. Agents from both agencies stormed the room.
"We got him, Gibbs," Fornell said as Charlie groaned. "Get up, scumbag," Fornell directed at the gunman as he cuffed him and took him outside.
After seeing that some other FBI agents were taking care of Megan, Gibbs turned to his own agents. "Are you two okay?" He asked, approaching them.
Kate groaned in pain. "I'll be a little sore tomorrow, but I'll be fine," she admitted, sitting up. She then punched Ari on the shoulder.
"Ow! What was that for?" He exclaimed, rubbing the spot where he had just been punched.
"For being an idiot! What the hell is wrong with you? Coming in here without a vest? I can't believe you!" She stood up and gave him a head-slap for good measure and then stormed off as best as she could, passing Tony and Ziva on their way in.
Ziva walked to her brother and helped him up. She smiled slightly and then slapped him across the face. "Do not ever do that again!" She shouted and then left in a similar fashion to Kate.
"I deserved that," Ari said, resigned.
Tony nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you're gonna have to do a lot to make it up to them, man."
"And I'll deal with you later," Gibbs said, glaring at Ari before he too walked out.
Tony gave Ari a slightly sympathetic look. "Yikes, that's gonna be a tough one for you, buddy. Kate, Ziva, and Gibbs are mad?" Tony paused, looking Ari up and down. "You're toast."
"Oh, Michelle will be mad, too, no doubt," Ari said as he went to leave the house. "She is my partner, after all."
Tony fell in step with Ari as they exited. "Wow, you're really screwed them. Good luck with that," Tony patted Ari lightly on the shoulder and went to find Ziva and Kate.
Ari groaned. "Shit, he's right," he said to himself. "I'm totally screwed." He sighed and closed his eyes for a second, mentally preparing himself for the wrath of his sister, his partner, his boss, and his...well he wasn't sure what he and Kate were, but it was something. I'm really in for it now. He opened his eyes again and took a deep breath before walking into the law enforcement circus in front of him.
After receiving a thorough chewing out from Gibbs, a lecture from Michelle and Ziva, and a heartbreaking look from Kate, Ari was at his desk, staring into space. At the time, he thought he was doing the right thing, but looking back at the day's events, he knew he had done something stupid. All the most important people in his life were on him about risking death to prove he could do something. And they were right somewhat. His team had become a family to him, and he just wanted to prove he was a valuable part of it. He didn't think about how his actions would affect the rest of the team. Hell, even Abby, who had taken a while to warm up to him and Ziva, gave him a hug when the team returned to the bullpen. Now, here he was, alone at his desk to wallow in his thoughts.
"Hey, Ari."
Oh, I forgot McGee was here. Ari looked up. "You're not going to lecture me too, are you?"
McGee shook his head, smiling slightly. "I think you've gotten enough of that today." He and Ari both fell silent for a moment. "You had us worried there, though. Especially Kate."
Ari sat up straighter at McGee's words. "Kate did look pretty upset with me. My sister, too. I have a feeling I am going to be getting the silent treatment from both of them for a while."
McGee nodded in understanding. "Kate must have been pretty rattled. She did jump in front of a bullet to save your life, after all. Kind of weird when you realize you saved hers in pretty much the same way when you guys met."
Shit. He's right. Kate saved my life, just like I saved hers.
When Ari didn't answer aloud, McGee got up to leave. "Well, have a good weekend. Get some rest," he said as he walked out.
"Yeah, thanks Tim," Ari managed to get out.
She saved my life. I saved her life.
"Whoa."
A week had passed since Ari stupidly risked his life and Kate hadn't gotten a good night's sleep since. It didn't help that Palmer made her listen to not one, but two Jonas Brothers albums over the weekend and a bunch of the songs were reminding her of Ari. Especially "When You Look Me in the Eyes," which had been stuck in her head all morning.
"When you look me in the eyes, tell me that you love me. Everything's alright, when you're right here by my side…" she sang to herself sleepily as she plopped down at her desk.
"What is that you are singing?" Ziva asked.
Kate jumped slightly. Shit. Didn't realize anybody else was here. "Oh, just something Jimmy had me listen to over the weekend," she sighed and cupped her hands over her face.
"Did he make you listen to the, uh, what were they called, the Jonas Brothers? The American boy band?" Ziva snapped her fingers as she tried to think of the name.
"You, too, huh?" Kate asked, smiling slightly and peeking her face out to look at Ziva briefly before burying her head in her hands once more.
Kate heard Ziva approach her desk. "Kate are you alright?" she asked, voice laced with concern.
Kate looked up at her friend. "Yeah, I'm fine, just been having trouble sleeping."
"And I as well," Ziva said, nodding slightly. "I am still upset at Ari. He stupidly risked his life. We have already lost our sister; I could not bear to lose him too." She looked at Kate with sad eyes.
Kate reached out and grabbed Ziva's hand. "God, I'm so sorry, Ziva. I can't imagine that." She took a deep breath. "To be honest, I'm still mad at him as well."
"You care for him deeply, yes?" Ziva questioned.
"Of course, I do," Kate answered quickly. "We all do."
Ziva smiled knowingly. "Yes, but you feel more for him, do you not?"
Kate blushed. "Should have known you would have picked up on that. He doesn't know does he?"
Ziva laughed. "No. Ari is as sharp as I am, maybe even more so, but when it comes to matters of the heart, he is clueless." Ziva patted Kate's hand reassuringly. "But I believe he also cares deeply for you. I am not sure if he knows it himself, but I am his sister. I know what he is thinking most of the time."
Kate smiled and squeezed Ziva's hand before letting go. "Thank you, Ziva."
"Would you like to go visit Abby? I am sure she can cheer us up," Ziva offered.
Kate stood up. "That sounds like a great idea, Ziva. Lead the way!"
They smiled at each other once again and headed toward Abby's Lab.
Honestly, girl time is just what I need. Why do the men in our lives always have to be so reckless…?
Another Week Later
"Ziva!" Ari called as he stormed into his sister's apartment.
"!אוי" Ziva shouted back from her place on the couch. "?אתה מנסה לשבור את הדלת שלי"
"לא," Ari responded, walking up to her.
"So," Ziva said, putting down the book she was reading. "What has you storming into my apartment at 10PM?"
"She still will not speak to me," Ari said, plopping down on the couch next to his sister.
"מגיע לך," Ziva sneered. "You are lucky I am speaking to you. However, I cannot afford to be mad at you forever. You mean too much to me." She patted his cheek lightly.
"אחותי הקטנה," Ari smiled slightly. "I appreciate that. You mean as much to me. But-" he paused – "so does she," he admitted, bowing his head down and avoiding eye contact.
"Ah-ha!" Ziva said loudly, dropping her hands from her brother's face to instead point at him accusingly. "I knew it! You are skilled in many things but hiding your feelings for her is not one of them."
Ari groaned and put his head in his hands. "Who knows then? Does she know?"
"She does not," Ziva lied, smirking. "But I, Michelle, Abby, and Jimmy know."
Ari looked up again. "Abby and Jimmy?"
"Jimmy is becoming much more observant," Ziva smiled softly. "I think we are beginning to rub off on him. And to answer the next question you are going to ask, no I do not know if Gibbs knows, but I would not be surprised if he does."
"I am screwed, then," Ari replied simply, laying down on the couch with his feet in Ziva's lap.
After a few moments, Ziva chuckled and got up, gently moving Ari's feet off her lap and onto the place she had been sitting. She grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and threw it over him. "You are staying here tonight then?"
Ari looked at his watch. "I suppose it is quite late."
Ziva locked the front door and then walked into her bedroom but stopped in the doorway and turned around. "You need to talk to her, Ari."
Ari sighed as he got comfortable on the couch. "I know. I will, I promise."
Ziva looked at him doubtfully but smiled softly again as she flicked the lights off. "לילה טוב, Ari."
Ari smiled back. "חלומות מתוקים, Ziva."
And Yet Another Week Later
Three weeks had passed since the incident and Kate was only just now talking to Ari again. What could she say? She had been so incredibly angry at his stupidly heroic actions. What if she had lost him? She could admit to herself now that it would destroy her. If he was gone, she didn't know what she would do.
She had been giving him the silent treatment so he would realize the gravity of his actions, but she figured three weeks was enough punishment. Ziva, Abby, and Michelle had agreed. At this point, they all knew about her feelings for Ari and were just waiting for her to make a move, as Ziva claimed Ari never would – "I know my brother, he is too stubborn for his own good," she had said.
And so, she was here at his place to talk to him. No use continuing to hide her feelings, and it was either this or be forced to listen to another Jonas Brothers album at Jimmy and Michelle's, who were hosting a game night she had been invited to.
She absolutely did not want to admit to Jimmy that she was starting to enjoy their music.
As she was about to knock on Ari's door, it opened, and there he was.
"How'd you know I was here?" she asked, bringing her hand down slowly.
"Gibbs's gut," he joked, opening the door wider to let her in.
She rolled her eyes good-naturedly before walking past him into his apartment. She had never been here but was not surprised to see how neat and well-decorated it was. Artwork and family pictures adorned the walls. She noticed how his and Ziva's father was absent, which made sense based on what Ziva had mentioned to her in the past. Their relationship with their father was less than amicable and Ari had never been very close with him.
After a few minutes of silence, Ari spoke again. "Well, are you going to say what you came here to say or not?"
Kate looked at him and crossed her arms. "And what exactly do you think I'm here to say?"
"I think you're here to finally say how angry you are with me," Ari said, stepping a little closer to her. "How my actions could have gotten me killed. And I understand that, believe me, but I stand by them. I saved that woman."
This set Kate off. "I know that," she spat, uncrossing her arms and taking a step forward. "You saved that woman, but what about you? Did you even think about how your actions could affect the others around you? Ziva, Michelle, Gibbs – yes maybe you thought about them. But what about me? Do you realize what your death would have done to me?"
Ari's shoulders sagged. "No," he said softly.
She closed the gap between them and put her hands on his shoulders. "It would have wrecked me, that's what," she said angrily, her eyes filling with tears. "And that's what I'm here to say, for your information. I'm tired of pretending that I don't feel like my body is on fire whenever I'm around you, I'm tired of pretending like I don't think about you constantly, and I'm tired of pretending that the day you saved my life changed me forever." Her tears were falling freely now. "I knew I was doomed to fall in love with you. I didn't want to, but I did. And here we are three years later and I'm putting all my cards on the table. I'm in love with you, Ari. There, I said it out loud," she admitted, taking a deep breath.
Ari smiled, bringing his hands up to cup her cheeks. "Caitlin Todd, you do realize that three weeks ago, you saved my life as well?"
She sniffled. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I owed you," she chuckled.
He kissed her softly then, caressing her cheeks with his thumbs.
"I realized then," he said after they parted, "that I loved you more than anyone I've ever loved before. You're it for me, if you'll have me." He sighed and leaned his forehead against hers.
"I would love that," she replied before kissing him again. They kissed languidly for a few minutes before Ari broke them apart again.
"Do you want to stay? You can take my bed and I'll sleep on the couch," he offered.
"That's very gentlemanly of you, but considering the conversation we just had, I think we can share," she laughed, patting him on the chest lightly. "Lead the way?"
"Of course," he said, before grabbing her hand and leading her to the bedroom.
As they settled in for the night, Kate couldn't help but think how happy she was, here in Ari's arms.
This was way better than the Jonas Brothers.