Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Spoilers: "Missing"

All The Elevators In Between

Chapter 12

When she woke to her alarm, she expected to feel either a warm weight under her cheek, or somewhere near her. What she found instead was a cold other half of her bed. In her sleep fogged state, she wondered briefly if she had dreamed him coming home with her, eating dinner with her, and then sleeping next to her in bed, her head pillowed on his chest. She sat up and forced her tired eyes to open. The pillow next to her held an impression. She pressed her face into it and could smell him lingering there. It wasn't a dream. He had been there. She listened carefully to the sound of her apartment. She knew it well. She heard nothing from the kitchen, or the living room and she wondered how he went anywhere since she'd driven them to her place. Suddenly the shower kicked on, making her jump. She smiled at her reaction. It was time to get up for work, so naturally he would use her shower to be prepared. She allowed herself one more moment of breathing his scent off the pillow before she got up to make the coffee they both would need to survive the morning.

Gibbs didn't say much that morning. But then he wasn't prone to talking overly much anyway. They had coffee, a light breakfast, and she stopped by his house on the way in so he could change into clean clothes. Their drive in was equally quiet. Tony had yet to arrive so Gibbs went out for coffee. Kate went down to talk to Abby, a morning ritual between them, when the time could be spared, or they didn't have a case to work.

Abby looked up expectantly when Kate entered. She was wearing a happy smile, which Kate returned. The two women went into the lab tech's office and closed the door for some private girl talk. Abby, being as curious and effervescent as usual, couldn't resist asking what had Kate in such a good mood.

"You have a smile like the cat who got the cream. Spill."

"Well, we went home together. And he stayed the entire night."

"Wow, Kate, I knew you were serious, but that's moving fast."

"We didn't have sex, Abby, get your mind out of the gutter. You've been spending too much time around Tony. We just slept in the same bed, together. We aren't ready to go there yet. Too much too soon." Abby nodded in understanding. "So how are things with you and McGee?" Kate prompted to deflect the attention away from her.

"Things are good. I like him. He's smart, and kinda funny, a little nerdy, and very straight laced. I dig it. I'm totally into the bad boy thing, but there's something about McGee that's just as good." It was Kate's turn to nod in understanding. They chatted for a few more minutes before she decided that it was time to return to the upper levels.

Kate rounded the corner and sat at her desk. She noticed Tony was typing away on his computer. He was really focused on what he was doing.

"I thought you didn't know how to type, Tony." She said, by way of a greeting.

"I'm attempting to improve myself." She scoffed for a moment. There had to be more to it than that, so she walked over to his desk and peered over his shoulder.

"That's improving yourself? Just don't let Gibbs catch you doing that." Tony clicked a few buttons on his keyboard and the game disappeared. He'd seen Gibbs' approach.

"Catch him doing what?" Kate thought fast, spewing the first thing that came to mind.

"Tony is thinking about getting his ears pierced."

"I think Kate misunderstood. I was wondering if it hurt to get your ears pierced." Tony countered.

"If you want to look like a gay pirate, be my guest." Gibbs replied. "Grab your gear, we have a case." They scrambled to grab their bags. When they were in the elevator, Kate stepped to the back, next to Gibbs, with Tony in front of them. "If that game is still on your computer tomorrow morning, I'll pierce your ears myself." Kate couldn't see Tony's face, but she had an idea as to what it looked like and did her best to stifle a laugh.

They reached the bar where Marine Gunnery Sergeant Atlas had disappeared, mostly intact. Gibbs really needed to learn to slow down his driving, otherwise they were all going to die, be seriously injured, or seriously sick. They split up after a few cursory questions to the waitress on duty. Kate got a sketch from her of the woman Atlas was meeting while Tony and Gibbs checked the outside.

"Are you and him together?" She asked suddenly, in reference to Tony.

"No, we just work together." Kate answered with a smile. "As far as I know, he's single too." The waitress hummed in appreciation.

"I'm a sucker for a man in a checkered shirt. What about you?"

"Not so much. Tony, he's a good guy, but he's not my type." The waitress eyed her. She had worked as one for so long, she was an excellent judge of preferences.

"You go for the strong, silent type. Smart, attractive, but plays everything close to the vest." Kate gave her a quick smile that said it all. They finished up their conversation, and she joined Tony and Gibbs outside.

They went over the evidence that Atlas had been taken while Tony chatted up the waitress as she'd come to take out some trash bags. Kate could tell that Gibbs was getting frustrated with Tony.

"DiNozzo!" He yelled, at his wayward agent.

"Yes, boss!" Tony called back as he jogged to join them.

"Quit playing around."

"I got her name." Kate rolled her eyes and Gibbs glared.

"The woman Atlas was with, she paid with a credit card." There were some things that Tony was excellent at. One happened to be sweet talking women while discovering information. They gathered what they'd collected and headed back to NCIS.

The woman Atlas was meeting was Caroline Powers, a reporter. She was a redhead. Gibbs decided it was best to let Kate handle her. He would be too nice. It didn't matter that he only wanted Kate, redheads were still attractive, and this one was a stunner. Kate played hardball with her. She threatened to tell her husband that she was having an affair with Atlas if she didn't cooperate. The woman spilled the beans like a ripped sack. Her information led them to a guy named Sacco, who had once mixed it up with Atlas and was now his commanding officer. They drove out to the range where Sacco was currently running drills on bomb diffusing. Unfortunately they got stuck in traffic. Kate kept herself busy making calls. Tony however refused to stop talking, which only irritate Gibbs more, on top of the impatience he was showing with the traffic.

"Why do they call it rush hour? There's no rushing involved. You just sit there. It should be called stopped hour." Gibbs glared at him, as he slurped on his icee. Tony stopped talking for a moment, but couldn't help himself. He opened his mouth to say something else, but Gibbs preempted him.

"Its called shut-up-or-I'll-shoot-you hour." Tony decided it wasn't worth it to say something else, so he slurped on his icee again. Gibbs grabbed it and threw it out the window.

"That's littering, Boss."

"So fine me." When they finally made it to the range, Sacco was of little help. His obvious dislike of Atlas made him a prime suspect, but little else. When another explosion went off, he had almost finished telling them to cover their ears. He didn't cover his own, but he was used to it. Both Kate and Tony hit deck. He just smiled and kept walking as they dusted themselves off. Kate called shotgun. She was tired of riding in the backseat, on top of which, if someone was going to be sick over Gibbs' driving, it was more likely to be Tony.

Gibbs took them down a very bumpy dirt road. She could her Tony moaning in the backseat. Gibbs tossed her his cell phone when it rang, and she spoke to Abby, while Tony hung his head out the window to avoid being sick in the car. Abby informed them of the other missing men from Atlas' company. All of them were in some way connected to Sacco. They had a list of names from the company, and had managed to track down all but one. Each of them was dead. Tony and Kate pulled an all-nighter. Gibbs came in and observed Tony sleeping in his chair, as well as the pizza box on his desk. Kate was nowhere in site.

"Hey!" He said sharply, hovering over Tony's ear.

"You're going to have to speak louder, Boss, my ears haven't stopped ringing from the explosion in the field."

"Time to wake up. Find Kate." Gibbs strode out of the bullpen and into the elevator, most likely to check in with Abby. Tony sat up properly and opened the drawer where he kept a toothbrush and a comb.

"Kate!" He said loudly. She jumped up, immediately alert.

"What?" She answered. "I feel like hell."

"You look like it too. Gibbs is here." She nodded and made a quick dash to the bathroom to clean herself up. She came out a few minutes later, looking more awake and lot fresher. She'd pulled her hair back and managed to repair the damage to her makeup. She watched Gibbs and Tony, devouring the left over pizza for breakfast.

"Ugh! How can you eat that?"

"Practice." Came Gibbs reply. "What did you find?" They lost the man they were tracking through the records. Thankfully Abby managed to pull what they couldn't. The information led them to another dead man. Tony volunteered to track Sacco in person. It would be sort of like going undercover, he'd argued. Gibbs agreed and walked out, after telling him to check in every hour, on the hour, or not to bother coming back.

"Hey, Tony?"

"Yeah, Kate?"

"Be careful."

"Aw, are you worried about me?'

"No, I just don't want to work with Gibbs alone." Tony glanced up at where their boss had disappeared and nodded. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned for him. He was taken as well, and when he woke up, he was locked in the cell with Atlas.

Kate was cursing him for getting caught. Gibbs was being a bear, more so than usual. He snapped at her. He snapped at Ducky. He was worried, she knew, but that didn't change the fact that he was taking it out on everybody around him. When they finally got the call about Sacco's car, they were out the doors in a flash. Kate held on for dear life in the car. Gibbs was determined to get there as fast as possible. He didn't want to arrive to late and find his agent dead. As much as he ragged on Tony, he didn't want to lose him. He was an integral part of their team. Kate put a hand on his thigh, her way of letting him know that she was there. He looked at her briefly, before turning his attention back to the road.

"He'll be fine. Tony is resilient." He nodded in acknowledgement of her words, but he was still insanely worried.

When they arrived at the underground sewer system, the local cop told them to wait for the dogs, so they would get lost. Gibbs just looked at him, but Kate told him they didn't get lost. As soon as they entered the tunnels and were around the first bend, they could hear Sacco yelling for Atlas. She smiled and knew that Tony was fine. She told Gibbs so.

"It must be Tony. Who else could piss people off like that?" Gibbs nodded with a tight smile. They continued down the tunnels. They stopped briefly when they heard Tony's voice. They could see him through a small grate, on the other side of the wall. He told them that Sacco was right behind him. Gibbs and Kate rushed to catch up with Tony and Atlas. Sacco got there first, but a gunshot rang out suddenly in the echoing tunnels. The waitress from the bar stalked out of the shadows. Tony couldn't see Atlas cowering behind him, but could hear his whimpers. This woman had killed all of the other members of his company. Gibbs and Kate were behind her and in position. They struck silent and quickly, managing to get the gun away from the woman and cuff her.

When they arrived back at NCIS, Tony was yammering away about Gibbs caring that he was there. Gibbs did something unexpected then.

"Tony, as far as I'm concerned, you're irreplaceable." He patted Tony on the cheek, and then headed to his own desk. McGee, who had helped them out after Tony had been taken, was still sitting at his desk. "Forget it McGee, he's still alive." Gibbs stated as he went past. Kate could barely stifle her giggles at the look on Tony's face. McGee gathered his things and got out of the other agents way. Gibbs had a devilish smile on his face; the one Kate loved seeing, as it didn't appear as often as it should. She loved it when he was playful like that. It made him even more attractive than he already was, to her. She settled into her desk chair with a sigh. She still had plenty of paperwork to do before the day was over, and thinking about the way Gibbs smiled wasn't going to get it done.