A/N: the introduction to the last chapter is valid for this one as well :P

And again, I appreciate your feedback!

Enjoy!

As Tony woke up the following morning, he felt the sharp pain in his left arm. He slowly stood up and swallowed the pain killers that Kate had placed on the bedside table the previous night. As his eyes wondered around the room he noticed that there was no sign of Kate. Everything that she owned was gone. He looked down to her bed table and saw a note written on the back of a receipt: 'I'm sorry.' He noticed that the keys of his car were also gone. He let out a frustrated scream.

"FUCK!"

Gathering all his stuff and ignoring the pain in his arm as the painkillers had not kicked in yet, he walked out of the hotel, not even bothering to check out. He hopped on a taxi, heading to the car rental at the Philadelphia International Airport. As he reached the right terminal he handed the driver a $ 100 bill and ran towards the desk.

"Someone stole the car I rented yesterday. Do you have a GPS system to track it down? There are important work documents in the trunk."

The woman behind the desk looked at him almost scared.

"Sir, we have a GPS system, but I need to contact the manager first… Do you have the receipt of the rental?"

Tony was losing his patience. He didn't know at what time Kate had left the hotel, so he had no idea of how far she was. He decided to play the 'Federal Agent' card and showed the woman his badge along with the receipt of the rental.

"I am a Federal Agent. There are important documents in the car that in the wrong hands could compromise national security. I need you to track it down right now!"

The woman nodded and typed something on the keyboard of her computer, turning on the GPS device on the vehicle. It took a few moments for the computer to track the car and trace the coordinates.

Tony looked at the screen and saw that Kate was halfway through Pennsylvania. She wasn't that far, probably only 300 miles away. He assumed she had smartly respected the speed limits to avoid being pulled over while driving a stolen car.

"Is there a way I can receive the updated coordinates on my PDA?"

The woman nodded and wrote down a series of numbers and letters that Tony quickly inserted in its PDAs'. As he received the signal he grinned, taking his credit card out of his wallet.

"So… I'd like to rent a car."

He was driving as fast as he could, breaking all the laws of traffic. The dot on his PDA that indicated Kate's coordinates was blinking. He noticed that she hadn't moved for the past 30 minutes or so. He had to catch up with her. He had been driving for slightly over an hour and his left arm was starting to hurt again. Ignoring the pain, he kept driving mentally slapping himself for letting a sniper take a shot at him the previous night.

In less than three hours, he had reached the place where apparently Kate had stopped. It was a small town near Pittsburgh. He looked around the area, trying to spot the car she had run away with. He found it parked in the driveway of a small pink house. It looked like nobody lived there.

He carefully knocked on the door and when he got no answer he slowly forced his way in, using his knife. As soon as he got into the house, he felt the sharp and cold blade of a knife on his throat. Then he heard a sigh as the knife was brought away from him.

"Tony, what the hell!"

He laughed at her frustration, but then cried out in pain as she punched him on his good arm.

"What's wrong with you?! How did you track me down?"

She didn't need him to answer as she realized the mistake she had made by using his rental car, and slapped herself on the forehead.

Tony looked around and saw various pieces of newspapers, maps and headshots, pinned on the walls. He recognized at least five men that were on the FBI's most wanted list. He then looked at Kate who was still sternly glaring at him.

"Tony, why are you following me like a puppy dog? Go back to Washington."

He grinned.

"You know I've always enjoyed annoying you. This time is no exception."

She let out an exasperated scream and walked towards the kitchen, pouring a glass of water for herself and one for Tony, who gladly accepted it.

"So, whose place is this?"

"It was my aunt's. My brother sometimes comes here during spring. It's vacant for most of the year."

"So are you going to make your headquarters out of it?"

Kate shook her head.

"I just needed a place to spend the night so I could plan my next move."

"You mean our next move."

She walked towards him until they were just a few inches apart from each other.

"I meant what I said."

"Oh c'mon Katie! Everybody has a sidekick. Batman and Robin or Captain America and Bucky!"

Kate let out a small laugh against her will. She knew Tony was trying to help her but she couldn't grant her own safety, let alone his.

"Tony, please… It's something that I have to do alone."

Tony lost his playful tone, concern in his eyes.

"I can't leave you just like this, Kate."

She gave him a puzzled look as he stepped closer and looked at her straight in the eyes.

"We both know that if I let you go, you won't come out of this alive, and I cannot allow that. I'm your partner; we have each other's back."

Kate shook her head and walked away. She would have never admitted it out loud, but she couldn't resist his puppy dog eyes and she couldn't allow herself to go soft, especially not with Tony. Men like him were like quicksand to her.

Tony sensed her hesitation and followed her to the living room.

"Are you afraid I'll get killed?"

She closed her eyes as the question left his mouth, not knowing what to answer.

"You don't need to reply, I already know the answer. And you know why I know it? It's because it's the same for me. I fear the same for you."

Kate turned around to face him.

"You weren't supposed to know I was alive!"

"Well, too late for that, isn't it?"

"How did you even find me? Why now? Why after all these years?"

Tony looked at her softly. He still hadn't told her about the tape that had been sent to her family in Indiana.

"Your mother got the tape the guy made asking for ransom and called NCIS. I got the call and flew to Indiana. She asked me not to tell anybody else and I didn't. I found a lead that brought me to New Jersey. From then on, you know what happened…"

"So my family knows I'm alive?"

Tony shook his head and took another step towards her.

"No. Your mom was the only one who watched the tape. She thought it was a fake and so did I."

"Why did you even bother, then, if you all thought it was a fake?"

He sighed deeply and distractedly scratched the top of his head with his good arm.

"I flew to New Jersey because if there was even only one chance in a million that you were still alive, I wanted to be the first to know. I'm not letting you go this time. Not again."

Kate nodded, trying to ignore the closeness between their bodies and how that made her nervous. Running her hand through her hair she took a few steps back and then spoke.

"Okay. Lets try to work as a team. Consider yourself my probie."

That said, she ran up the stairs leaving Tony standing still in the living room with a smile plastered on his face. They were a team again. He enjoyed the satisfaction just standing there and smiling like an idiot for a full minute and then realized the cops might have been already on them, as he reported a stolen car.

"Kate! Pack your stuff! We have to leave!"

She emerged on the stairwell wearing just a towel and with a suspicious look on her face. Tony gulped at the sight.

"I... I reported a stolen car. I bet the cops are on their way..."

She sighed and quickly went back to her bedroom. In less than 3 minutes she was downstairs next to a still shaken up Tony, ready to leave.

"So what now, Bucky?"

"Hey, who said I'm the sidekick?"

"I do, Tony. Give me the keys. I'm driving."

R&R!!!