Chapter 2-Enjoy!
"McGeek! Hurry up!" Tony yelled. They frantically scrambled to set up their tent. Then DiNozzo saw Kate. She was soaking wet and pale.
"Finish this up Probie." Tony headed over to Kate, who still hadn't moved. "Are you alright?"
"Y-yeah…" she stuttered. Kate raised her trembling hand to wipe the water out of her eyes. Tony noticed her shaking.
"Are you scared of storms?"
"No, I just don't like being outside in them. In a tent!" she snapped. Keep your cool Kate-I am fine! She turned on her heels and stormed off to her tent. Tony stood, slightly confused.
"Probie, you finished?"
"Yeah. I just got the rain shield up. It's all set." He said, joining Tony at the car. They gathered their things and sleeping bags and hurried into their tent. It was dark by then so McGee hung a flashlight as they laid their sleeping bags.
Gibbs began snoring, just as Kate predicted, and the storm continued. Everyone snuggled into their sleeping bags.
"McGee, if you touch me, I swear I will kill you."
"Tony, I'm not going to touch you-why do you think that?"
"Well I have my theories on you… Why girls don't talk to you. They can tell you know." Tony flashed a grin
"Shut up Tony!" McGee said, turning to face the tent wall.
"Goodnight Kate!" Tony shout/whispered to Kate's tent.
"Sure Tony, if this can be called a 'good' night." She retorted, stifling a yawn.
Kate was startled awake. Her tent was hot and stuffy. It was still dark and she could hear the rain. Then her tent lit up and thunder cracked. She felt claustrophobic and clawed her way out of her sleeping bag and frantically searched for the zipper to open the door. She unzipped the door and climbed out, but caught her foot on the tent and fell onto her knees in the mud. She let out a small scream as she fell.
"Eww!" She moaned as she realized how wet and muddy she was. The air outside of the tent was icy. She immediately got goose bumps. Lightning flashed again and she braced for the awful boom of the thunder. She felt the rumbling in her bones. She gasped out loud and lay on her back, staring up at the black, cloudy sky, letting tears run down her eyes.
Tony woke from the boom that woke Kate. He sat up and recognized that he needed to ditch the sleeping bag that was clinging to his well muscled body. He wiggled out of it and pulled off his sticky shirt. Lighting flashed again and he saw McGee, who had apparently lost his sleeping bag in his sleep.
"I wish I had some sharpies." He mumbled. Tony froze as he heard Kate's tent unzip. He heard a scream and worriedly searched for his gun. Finding it inside of his sleeping bag, he dug it out and unzipped the tent slowly. It is pitch black.
How did I find my gun?
Lightning flashes and he sees Kate lying on the ground.
"Kate!" he says, not loud enough to wake anyone. She looks up and he sighs, going to kneel next to her. "What are you doing?" He couldn't tell if she had been crying or not because it was dark and raining.
"I-I-I…" she stammered, sitting up. "I don't like being out in storms, and I felt claustrophobic in my tent…"Tony reached for her hand but she quickly pulled it away. "I'm fine now." She said, forcing a smile.
"Okay." said Tony, a little taken aback. He offered her a hand to get up which she did accept. He could feel her shaking. "Are you sure you are alright?"
"Yeah. Fine." She replied curtly, walking away from the camp.
"Where are you going?" He called, jogging to catch up to her. "Aren't you freezing? I am."
"Bathroom, Tony. And no, I'm fine. Really." He continued yawn.
tiffling can be called 'nt ?" storm continuedheir tent. It was dark by then so McGee hung a flashlight as thewalking with her. She stopped. "Are you following me?"
"Yeah. Well, no. I'm going to the bathroom too." He said, saving himself from a lecture from the former Secret Service agent on how she can protect herself. "Is your gun on you?"
She thought for a second and replied, "Of course, we are in the presence of murderers." They continued walking.
"You don't have it."
"Yes I do!" They were almost to the bathrooms, so they could see each other by the glow of the bathroom. She noticed that Tony was only wearing a pair of dark boxers and his bare chest was gleaming from the water. She was wearing a tank and shorts that barely reached mid-thigh. She felt her cheeks turn crimson.
"Where?" he said, stepping too close for co-workers to be.
"Alright, I don't have it." She said stepping away, her cheeks burning. She turned and stalked to the bathrooms.
Tony could tell he obviously upset her. "Don't leave without me!" he ran into the men's side.
Kate stared at her reflection in the dirty mirrors. She looked horrible. Her hair was a mess. It was wet and stringy and many pieces had fallen out of her pony tail. Her eyes were a little red from crying and she had mud and leaves clinging to her everywhere. She was soaking wet and didn't have any shoes. At least Tony is in the same position.
"Kate? You didn't leave me did you?" called Tony from outside the door. She took a deep breath and opened the door. Tony grinned at her.
"Shut up." She said, trying to keep her voice even. She knew she looked ridiculous.
It was still raining as they headed for the camp, but the thunder and lightning had stopped. The breeze had picked up and Kate shivered.
"Are you cold now? Don't lie."
She glanced up at him, his eyes showed concern. "Yeah."
He gently wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer to him. He slowly rubbed the arm farthest from him. She tensed slightly but relaxed as his body heated hers.
"Better?"
"Not really. You aren't even wearing a shirt, and it's still raining." She said sharply. She did like his touch but he was Tony. Her partner that acted like an 8 year old and never seemed to do any work. But he always had information for Gibbs.
Tony squeezed her tighter for a second and released her small frame. They walked in silence back to their tents. Tony was about to comment on how he could warm her up but Kate sensed it.
"To your own tent Tony, don't even try." She whispered without looking at him. She carefully got into her tent, trying not to slip.
Tony stood for a second outside of her tent. Is she really okay? Kate never shows emotion like that, even though she tried to mask it. He was too tired to think and retired to his tent. McGee was still asleep in the position he had been in when Tony left. Tony changed his boxers and pulled a NCIS sweatshirt onto his freezing torso. Even though it was May, it was freezing. He dried his feet with the T-shirt he had been wearing before slipping back into his sleeping bag.
Kate was smart enough to bring a towel. She stripped her wet clothes and dried herself off. Tucking the towel around herself, she searched for sweats. She pulled on an old college sweatshirt, but couldn't find any long pants other than work slacks. She snatched a pair of basketball shorts that were probably Tony or McGee's and pulled them on. They had probably been in her gym locker on accident and she took them. Wrapping her hair in the towel, she got into her sleeping bag.
The rain stopped as they drifted back to sleep. It was still dark, but if you looked closely, a faint glow was beginning to show from the east as dawn approached.
Review please- Next Chapter should be up tomorrow. Thanks for reading!
