a/n: sorry for the long wait, it's been a crazy semester. but now it's spring break and my goal is to finish this fic by the end of the week. And thanks to every one of my wonderful reviewers : )

Chapter 14

"I got it! He's parked in an alley a few blocks away." Abby turned from the screen and saw Kate already racing to the elevator. She jumped up to follow just as the elevator doors opened and Gibbs stepped out.

"Stop." Gibbs commanded, grabbing Kate before she could run past him.

"But Gibbs…" Kate started only to be silenced by Gibbs' glare.

"I already know, Kate. Tony went off on his own, like an idiot, to find Greg and now his car is parked in a back alley a few streets away. I already checked it out. He's not there."

Kate felt like her heart had just plummeted to the floor and bounced a few times before shattering into a million pieces. He wasn't there and that could only mean one thing. Greg had got him and he was hurt or dead or dying right now, and it was all because of her.

She jerked out of Gibbs' grasp and flung herself through the door to the stairwell, hearing Gibbs' footsteps echoing behind her as she raced down the steps. He caught up with her after two floors and grabbed her arm again. She struggled against his hold, pushing and pulling with all her strength but it was useless against the ex-marine.

"Let me go, Gibbs!" Kate smacked Gibbs in the chest but he didn't budge. She struggled to blink back the tears of panic that were threatening to fall and tried to reason with him. "I have to save him, Gibbs. Don't you see, this is all because of me so I'm his best shot of getting out of there alive."

"Not like this, you're not. We are his best shot of getting out of there, wherever there is, but only if we stay calm and think like NCIS agents. Now come back upstairs so we can come up with a plan. And if you try to leave again, I will handcuff you to your chair. Got it?" Gibbs glared down at her, letting her know he meant business. He wasn't about to have another one of his agents running off half-cocked.

Kate reluctantly nodded and started back up the steps. The quicker they came up with a plan, the quicker they would get to Tony and the last time that maniac would have to hurt him.

"Damn it!" Tony punched the door in frustration, then immediately clutched his hand and doubled over in pain. "Ow!" He said to himself once the pain had subsided to a dull ache. "Okay, that was probably not my best idea." He glared at the door he'd spent the past hour trying to open and then kicked it. "That's what I should have done before" he thought.

The lock had proved easy enough to jimmy open but whatever was blocking the door had refused to budge and inch, which had pissed him off. This explained his possibly broken hand. He stalked across the room, putting as much distance as possible between him and the door he'd been cursing so he could step back and consider his options. He froze when he heard a scraping sound outside the door, then forced his muscles to relax in preparation for a fight.

He moved to stand beside the door, pressing up against the wall to give himself a chance to surprise the guy. The door slowly opened and a gun was shoved through the doorway. Tony immediately lunged to grab the gun and tried to twist it out of his opponent's hands, taking both of them to the floor.

"Tony" Kate cried out as she landed underneath him on the floor. He froze above her, realizing only a second before just who he was attacking. He released the gun and smiled down at her before pushing himself up and reaching to help her stand.

He wrapped her in a hug as soon as her feet touched the floor. She relaxed into his embrace and all the words he wanted to say stuck in his throat. Instead, he whispered "Let's get out of here."

They started towards the door just as Greg stepped through it, his gun trained on Tony. "I knew you'd come, Katie. I knew you'd come to watch him die."

"Actually, she came to watch you die." Tony smirked as he saw Gibbs silently appear behind Greg.

"Shut up!" Greg sputtered, his gun trembling in anger. "I warned her what would happen if she left. And now she has to pay. Say goodbye to your boyfriend, Katie."

He started to pull the trigger but Kate was faster. She raised her gun and quickly squeezed off two shots, double tapping the heart just as she'd been trained to do. At the same time, Gibbs fired twice, going for his head like he should have done with Ari. The gun dropped from Greg's hand as he fell to the floor.

Kate stared at the crumpled heap on the floor that had tormented her for so many years. "I'd rather say goodbye to you."

"You okay?" Tony placed the hand that wasn't throbbing on her back. She nodded and he pulled her closer. "Then let's go home." He led her around the body and out the door, leaving Gibbs to deal with the aftermath.

They drove back to Tony's apartment in silence, other than Kate telling him that he needed to be checked out at the hospital. He'd told her he was fine and he was, if you didn't count his throbbing hand and the headache from hell. But he was more worried about her right now.

They parked beside Tony's apartment, the place they both thought of when Tony had said "let's go home." He knew she shouldn't be alone right now but the truth was that even if she'd been perfectly fine he still would have wanted to bring her back here. He liked having her in his apartment, which was how he'd always thought of it before. It was just an apartment, a temporary place to live. But when she was there, it was home.

He pushed those thoughts out of his mind, knowing that now wasn't the time to deal with them. They got out of the car and he slipped an arm around Kate's waist, keeping her close until the got to his apartment. She finally spoke once they got inside.

"Where's your first aid kit? We need to clean you up since you're too stubborn to go to the hospital." She tried to smile but there was nothing behind it.

"Forget about it. It's nothing." Tony shrugged her off. "You're the one who's had the rough night." He tried to nudge her towards the couch, hoping they could sit down and she'd open up to him, but she resisted.

She looked up at him and he could see her considering her options. "Fine, how 'bout we try something new and compromise. We can talk while I take care of your head. Okay?"

"Awww, but compromising is no fun." Tony pouted and resembled a five year old who didn't get his way. He started to stomp down the hall to get his first aid kit, shooting her a smile and a wink over his shoulder. Kate smiled back at him, a real smile this time. She sat down on the couch to wait for him, amazed at how little it took for Tony to make her smile.

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