Disclaimer: Same as always, don't own any of the characters from the show, etc.

A/N: Sorry I took so long to get this out, it's just I've got exams and I really can't dedicate as much time to this as I'd like. Exams are horrible, so when they're over I can spend as much time as I like on this! Yay! Thanks for sticking by me readers, you're the best! I'll be doing some flashback scenes with Kate in them soon, and I'll bring Ziva in later, just to make Tony's life even harder. Poor guy, I'm really hard on him, aren't I? lol! Well anyway, you'll see everyone asap, and there'll soon be a very good explanation as to why Tony's acting like he is, and why Gibbs refuses to tell Tony anything! Grumpy old Gibbs! Hehehe.

Shutting up now. R&R

Chapter 5

Tony rubbed his arm where the IV cord had been. It hurt like hell and he regretted yanking it out like he did. He scooped up his backpack and shoved his belongings inside, heading out of the room.

Tony rounded the corner without looking and almost bowled over a young redheaded nurse, the same nurse that let Gibbs in before visiting hours. He apologised to her quickly, hoping that she wouldn't ask him too many questions. She was just about to hurry off when she looked at Tony's arm, his shirt sleeve stained with blood.

"What happened here?" she asked him. She put down the bundle of folders she was carrying and examined Tony's arm. Tony winced as she prodded him. "You're a patient, aren't you? Please tell me you didn't rip the IV out yourself…"

Tony grinned, hoping she'd just leave him the hell alone, "Ahhh… well, you see, I wasn't really in the mood to hang around here waiting for a doctor…" He looked at her nametag - Nurse Olivia Ingham. He thought that name sounded familiar, but couldn't really pin point it…

Nurse Ingham, who was still holding his arm, squeezed it tighter when she realised he was looking at her chest. "Hey!" Tony protested as she squeezed even harder.

"Quit it, okay?" she told him sternly. She had quite a grip for such a petite woman, he thought. Tony tried to explain himself, "Hey I was just… your nametag, you see…"

"Hmph, don't even bother, I know your type."

Tony laughed, "My type?" he repeated, "No, seriously, have we met?" She gave him a look, "Trust me, I'd remember you."

Tony turned his head to the side in thought. "Nurse Emma! That's why I thought I recognised you – you're not replated to Navy Nurse Lt. Emma Ingham, are you?"

She looked up at him, he mouth dropped open, unsure of what to say. She grabbed his other arm and looked at the band on his wrist, "Oh no… You're that DiNozzo?"

He smiled cheekily, "Uh huh, she talked about me?" Olivia nodded, "She told me about the plague episode, nasty. You're lucky to be alive."

"So everyone keeps telling me." He replied.

Olivia looked at him, studying his face. "Emma said you were cute, she wasn't kidding."

Tony flashed her a smile as Olivia let go of his arm. She rolled her eyes and sighed as she pulled out a clipboard from amongst the pile of folders and handed it to Tony. She motioned him to sit down, "If you're going to check out let's do it the proper way, hey?" He nodded, checking boxes and signing his name at the bottom. "There ya go" he exclaimed.

Olivia checked over it and nodded silently. Tony got up and surveyed Olivia, grinning to himself. "Get out of here, Emma's already warned me about you." She tried to sound stern, the corners of her mouth tugging into a smile. Tony saluted her as she walked off, backpack slung over his shoulder. Olivia watched him go, laughing to herself as he headed towards the exit.

Tony checked over his shoulder but Olivia was gone, so he passed a corridor near the exit. He noticed a young brunette woman standing around the corner. She was looking in Tony's direction, but he thought nothing of it until she ducked out of the way when he smiled at her. He stopped and watched the space where she was standing until she appeared again. She noticed Tony looking at her and turned away anxiously. While it wasn't unusual for him to catch the attention of many women, this young nurse looked scared and vulnerable, not at all like most of the women he knew. She had long brunette hair swept back into a ponytail, tied hastily at the back. Tony couldn't help but notice that she was very pretty, with smooth skin and a petite build. He looked at her eyes, blue as the ocean, but with a depth like he had never seen before. They were kind of sad and sunken, a vastly different contrast to the magnificent blue.

He headed towards her, but she just faced the other way, desperate to avoid him. "Hey, wait up." He called. The woman ignored him and headed for the big glass doors to the nurse's station. "Wait, I just wanna talk to you."

She stopped, looking at him with those sunken eyes, "What?" she said accusingly, looking at Tony once again.

"Do I know you?" he asked. He felt like he was asking that question a lot lately.

She hesitated before answering, "I doubt it." She answered quietly, shuffling uncomfortably where she stood, casting her eyes downwards.

"Why were you watching me?"

The nurse looked at Tony, pushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "Because I need you to pass a message onto Kate."

Tony gasped inwardly, unsure if he heard what he thought he did. "Kate?" he said quietly.

"Yeah, can you do that?" she asked.

Tony felt his heart pumping harder in his chest. "Um…no, I…" he stammered. The woman looked at him, "Are you alright?" she asked.

Tony shook his head, "No, I don't think I am," he paused, "Um… who are you? How do you know Kate? And how did you know who I was?" a million questions flowed at once.

"My name's Rachel. Your friend Kate was working on…" she paused, taking a deep breath, "my daughter's case. About eight months ago. And I know you from this…"

She motioned him to sit down, pulling a photo out of her pocket at the same time. She looked at it for a second before handing it to Tony. He took it from her and examined it. What he saw made his heart drop. It was a photo of him and Kate, he had his arm around her shoulders and she was smiling, the smile lit up her face making her cheeks rosy. Her eyes shone as her beautiful dark hair hung gracefully over her shoulders. Tony had his right arm around her, gripping her shoulder tightly. He was smiling as he lent in close to Kate's face, watching her as she smiled happily. Kate didn't resist while Tony had his arm around her, the pink top that she wore complimenting the glow in her cheeks. They looked so happy together.

Tony felt his eyes well up and he rubbed his face with the sleeve of his shirt. "Where the hell did you get this?" he hissed, almost angrily. Rachel was taken a back by Tony's sudden outburst.

"She left her bag at my apartment during the investigation. I looked to see if I could find a contact number to return the bag. I didn't realise that the photo had fallen out of it until after that." She replied defensively. Tony looked down at the photo clasped in his hands. He didn't know where Kate had gotten it, let alone who had taken the photo. And she was carrying it around with her? Oh god, he thought, if only I had known… Kate, why didn't you tell me? The realisation shook Tony. Had she really felt like this about him?

"Now, please can you pass a message onto Kate?"

Tony looked up from Kate's smiling face in the photo to answer Rachel. "Um…" he began, "Kate's dead." Just hearing the words out loud hurt. He heard the words but they didn't feel like they had come out of his mouth. They didn't sound real.

"Oh my god," Rachel gasped, "How?"

Damn, why did she have to ask that? He thought to himself.

"She was shot." He put simply, hoping she wouldn't ask anymore questions. Thankfully she didn't.

"Well… I really needed to tell her something…" Rachel said slowly.

"What was it?" Tony asked, "Maybe I could help?" Rachel shook her head, "I doubt that you could help with this…"

"Try me."

Rachel looked up at Tony. His greyish-green eyes staring into hers. She had wondered about that photo, who the man in it was. He looked incredibly handsome in the picture, but face to face he was even more. Kind of alluring. Rachel felt she could trust him.

"Grace needs help, she's in trouble."

Tony's eyes widened, "You know who Grace is?" he asked the obvious question.

Rachel turned her head to the side, "You don't?" she asked.

"No. I've been trying to find out. She was important to Kate, I think." He explained. Rachel nodded, "Yes, she was…" she looked up at Tony, who's eyes flashed with impatience, "Grace was my daughter's friend…"

Rachel was cut off as her pager beeped loudly. She reached down answer it. "Damn it - Code Blue," she said, "I've got to go, but here, take this…' she handed him a card with her name and number on it, "Call me and I'll tell you what you need to know."

Tony looked at the card and opened his mouth to respond, but Rachel had already gone. He got up and headed for the exit of the hospital.

Documents, numbers, mysterious children, he thought, maybe I should have stayed home and gotten drunk, he thought with a smile. He headed for his car in the car park and pressed the button to unlock the door. He sat down inside and looked at the photo of him and Kate, in happier times. He wondered if anything would ever be right again.

Somehow, he doubted it.

A/N: reviews people!