hola!

no, your eyes do not deceive you. this is an ACTUAL update, the second in one week! and it's actually on time!
thank you for the reviews, and shout outs go to LivyRox (despite being too lazy to log it ;D), Elleraymond, prince-bishop, hakunaamatataa (i love your penname.), TivaGirl, Crazy-random-reader of hogwart, TheRoseShadow21, numb3rs mystery, aspenxo, Liraeyn, chrissym453 and the guest reviewers who have all left reviews. You guys are awesome. :D

so, here we go!

disclaimer: disclaimed.

Chapter 23

"It has been confirmed that the body of Eli David, the director of Israel's Mossad has been discovered on American soil. Delegates from Israel deny having any knowledge that the director was in the country, and have not been discreet on their desire for revenge. The FBI has been handling the incident on the home front, but this could have repercussions over the world, jeopardising American relations all over the Middle East."

"Tony, have you heard this?" Kate said, pointing the clicker at one of the many screens playing the news that inhabited the squad room, as she saw Tony's figure enter. Tony quickly glanced at the reporter and read the headline before nodding.

"Yeah, Ziva found out yesterday, and then Ari was taken in for questioning," Tony said distracted, and Kate whipped her head around in surprise.
"Ari?"

"Yeah, he was taken to be questioned by the FBI, but Gibbs managed to get him out of it."

Kate didn't know whether to be insulted that all this had happened without her knowledge, or glad that she had not been pulled into the mess. Ziva had just lost her dad, and Kate was never good with emotional people. She could give hugs (she had learnt from the best. The best being Abby), but other than a few words of advice, she really didn't have much to say. Especially to Ziva, the woman who she had only just began to connect with. Kate couldn't comment on losing a father, her own was alive and well living life and enjoying retirement. It was probably best that Tony had not roped her in to help deal with Ziva.

"How is she holding up," Kate asked concerned. Just because she could not offer help, didn't mean that she didn't want Ziva to get any help.

"Surprisingly upset about it," Tony said dryly, and at Kate's curious look he sighed and elaborated, "She's a crazy ninja. She doesn't get upset."

"Her dad did just die," Kate pointed out, and Tony sent her a withering look. But the importance of Kate's words was not lost on Tony. He could tell that Kate was trying to inject some normality into his world, where Normality seemed to be sparse at that moment in time.

Tony had finished shuffling through his desk, and pulled out something that Kate couldn't see, before it got stuffed into his bag.

"I'm not staying. You and probie should be able to handle anything today," Tony said.

"I might even enjoy that silence" Kate said, and Tony rolled his eyes childishly. He nodded goodbye, and Kate watched his retreating figure leave that room. Sitting down she sighed to herself. Life never did have any dull moments…

A few moments later McGee half ran, half walked into the squad room. Looking around, he let out a visible sigh of relief, as he saw that their fearless leader was not yet there. Dumping his stuff at his desk, he sat down and turned to the desk diagonal to him.

"Where is Gibbs?" McGee said, wanting to know if their leader was in the building to witness his tardiness.

"I haven't seen him yet," Kate replied, not turning away from the screen.

"And where is Tony?" McGee asked.

Kate sighed and turned to face the probie fully. Despite the fact the man had grown in the past few years, there were times where she thought that he was just as stupid and naïve as hi had been when he started out at NCIS.

"Did you watch the news this morning?" Kate asked, and McGee looked confused at the sudden change in subject matter.

"Yes?" McGee said, more as a question than an answer.

"Did you hear about the death of the director of Mossad?"

"Yes?" McGee said again, still not following where the conversation was going.

Kate sighed. She was really going to kill this boy soon.

"You know, Director David," Kate said.

There was silence.

Suddenly a thought dawned upon McGee.

"Eli David? As in Ziva David's Eli David?!" McGee said alarmed, and Kate had to resist the urge to clap very slowly at him. For a boy genius, McGee was pretty stupid.

"Gold star to you, McGee," Kate said, turning back to the screen. There was a short silence.

"How is Ziva taking it?" McGee said quietly, and Kate felt a tug of sympathy for the man. Because he was that. He was a man, no matter how Tony and Kate treated him. He was sensitive, and he had faced all the horrors that she, Tony and Gibbs faced on an almost daily basis. But he had not yet gained the respect that the three of them had, at least not as fully. She almost felt sorry for him. And his question was valid. Ziva had just lost her father, and according to Tony, her older brother had just been interrogated by the FBI… She pulled her thoughts back as she felt them running away from her. Ari.

Abruptly Kate's hands moved to her computer, typing in letters and numbers on their own accord. McGee looked curiously at her, trying to decide whether she had gone back to work, or if she had finally lost her marbles. When Kate found what she wanted, she stood up, grabbed her coat and bag and headed towards the elevator. Then as what seemed to be a fleeting thought, she turned back to McGee.

"Cover for me?" she said, with a sweet smile that could charm men of any age, and with a flash she was gone.

McGee rolled his eyes at Kate's smile. She was such a girl, she reminded him of Sarah at times. Since the day Sarah was born, she had her big brother wrapped around her little finger. She would smile, and her big brother would help her out of whatever stupid situation she had got herself into (who accidently sets that cat on fire, then tries to hide the singled fur by cutting ALL the fur of?! His sister was insane). But somehow McGee always found himself pulled into whatever mess she had made.

But McGee wasn't as helpless as he used to be. He wasn't the stupid little kid who took the blame for his sister's mistakes. He had learned, and wasn't to be underestimated. He pulled up a programme on his computer, and typing in the IP address, he pulled up the last pages that Kate had been viewing moments before she had left. In another tab he opened up the location of her cell phone, which only confirmed his suspicions. But now that he knew where she was heading, it didn't make the situation any less bizarre. Why would she be going to Ari Haswari's house?

oooOOOooo

On the other side of town, Ari lay in bed, having been awake for the whole night. It had been late when he had got home from his interrogation at the FBI headquarters, and even later when he had flopped down on the mattress, physically cleaner and fed, but still unable to scrape the filth that clung to him from being treated like a suspect, and empty inside. Closing his eyes, he had tried to rest himself physically and emotionally, but the thoughts running riot through his head would not let him sleep. His mind was pulling up every memory he had ever shared with his father, digging back into the deepest archives of his mind. For every happy memory that he produced, for every moment he saw his father proud of him, there was a dark, haunting memory that could be seen side by side. His father had been the source of his pain for years, but had also been the source of his happiness. Every time he mastered a new skill, or took up a new discipline, it was his father who was the motivation. Even a vague acknowledgement of his achievements filled him with pride, and a hunger to receive another one. But looking back at it, Ari couldn't help but look at those memories with a critical eye. Was his father really ever proud of him, or did Eli see Ari as a nuisance, that could only be dealt with if he offered praise? Did his father see him as an asset, a weapon who when manipulated correctly could be capable of great things? If this was true, then Ari was nothing to him. Not even a half son, but an insignificant piece of his games.

There was a knock at the door that stopped these corrupting thoughts in their tracks. His first thought was that his mother was going to barge in and fling open the curtains in her usual style, not caring whether he wanted to wake up or not. He had been surprised that his mother was yet to make an appearance, but he had been occupied for the whole of yesterday (and by occupied, he meant sitting in interrogation in the FBI head quarters). But as the knocking continued, his thoughts changed. His mother had her own key to his apartment that she seldom used, but had all the same. Why would she wait for him to come to the door if she had the means of entering independently. The knocks were also more soft, but equally demanding as his mother's insistent tapping.

Pulling himself out of bed, Ari swore to himself as he flung open his bedroom door, and light from the real world was allowed to flow in. As he got to the door, he was bracing himself for the cold blast of wind that would definitely enter his already cold apartment. If this was some salesman, he was defiantly going to strangle him on sight. But when he opened the door he got a surprise.

"Kate?"

Kate dint know what had possessed her to come and see Ari. She was nothing to him. She had bumped into him once on the way to work, and heard a lot about him through Ziva. But to him, she was nothing. And yet she stood there on the icy morning cursing herself and her rash decision making. But it was too late to leave, and her stubborn attitude prevented her from leaving.

Ari stood there for a moment in surprise. Who was this? There was a rush as his hazy mind remembered seeing her once at NCIS, and catching fleeting glimpses of her around NCIS. And he had heard countless accounts of her from Ziva, who had expressed her concern for the older woman, about how she had been awkwardly sitting when their mother had invited everyone over to plan his baby sister's impending wedding.

"Kate?" Ari said, and the woman smiled at him confidently. But there was something in her eyes that was not as confident as her body language. Something that spoke of her hesitance.

There was an awkward pause as neither party knew what to do. Ari didn't seem to know what to say. Was there a guidebook somewhere that gave advice about what to do when a beautiful woman turned up on your doorstep at strange hours in the morning? Needless to say, his mother had raised a gentleman, and he was not about to kick her to the curb.

"Come in," he said, motioning to her, and Kate smiled again, this time with a more genuine look in her eyes. Ari tried to ignore the way deep creases formed in her cheeks when she smiled. Here he was, admiring this beautiful woman, who he barely knew. He blamed these feelings on the fact his mind was in turmoil, and the fact that she was definitely an attractive woman. But somewhere in the recess of his mind, he knew there was something else there…

Kate followed Ari's figure back into the house, trying to take in as many details as she could. His house was surprisingly clean and neatly organised, with very few images and photos adorning the walls. As a seasoned profiler, she couldn't help but analyse everything that she saw, from the neatly folded clean laundry to the hamper for dirty clothes.

"Would you like a coffee?" Ari said, switching on the kettle as they reached the kitchen. Kate was too busy at first to answer the question, as she stared in awe at the space. It was a large, modern looking kitchen, with all the bells and whistles. The large flat surface of the centre counter was polished marble that matched with the surfaces of every counter. It looked like a kitchen out of one of those unrealistic cooking programs, all shiny and beautiful. It was at Kate's non-answer that Ari turned around and caught her staring at his kitchen in wonder.

"I am a bit of a cooking snob," he said wryly, and Kate caught a glimpse of the man who was a brother to Ziva and Tali.

"I'm having an eye-gasm just looking at it," Kate said under her breath, and then her eyes widened comically as she realised that she had voiced her thoughts. Cringing, she closed her eyes embarrassed. However, when she had decided to risk her pride by opening her eyes, all she could see was Ari's grin grow.

"I would like to say I have that effect on all the beautiful women I meet, someone told me lying was wrong," Ari said, and Kate smiled back.

They sat opposite each other at the breakfast bar sipping their hot drinks. The previous laugh had extinguished much of the previous awkwardness, but Ari was yet to discover why Kate was here.

"As much as I enjoy your company," Ari started between sips of coffee, "is there a reason for your visit?"

Kate put her mug down at his question and tried not to sigh. She had known that this question was going to come out at some point, and yet she had not formulated an answer. Yet.

"I," she said, stretching out the sound, "was wondering how you were holding up."

Ari smiled at her, looking down at his mug.

"I am sure there are more important things for someone like you to be worried about, other than my wellbeing," he replied.

"What do you mean "someone like me"?" Kate said, trying to sound casual, but immediately getting defensive. There were far too many idiots who tried to dictate who she was, or who she was supposed to be. It was something that had started in high school, and at the time she thought that it was just something that kids did, and that they would eventually grow out of it. But as she grew up, she realised that the world still contained those people. They just were older and were more set in their ways.

"I mean a woman who is surrounded by men and who probably has to work twice as hard as any of them," Ari clarified.

Kate looked down at her drink, slightly ashamed that she had judged his motives so quickly. And then she realised that he had somehow moved the conversation away from himself and his troubles, and had managed to make her the subject of the conversation.

"So, how are you holding up?" Kate said, steering the conversation back to safer waters.

Ari looked deep into her eyes, and for a moment it looked like he was going to answer her. But suddenly there was a jangle of keys in the lock, and Ari stood up abruptly. There was a pause, as they both waited for whoever it was to reveal them self. And sure enough they did.

"Hello Kate," Rivka said, and Ari knew that the inevitable had come true. It was only a matter of time before his mother came to mother him. He had just not expected her faultless skill of picking the wrong time to show up.

"Hello, Rivka. I'm just going," Kate said hurriedly, "thank you for the coffee, Ari."

"Any time," Ari said, actually meaning it.

As Kate left, Ari turned to his mother, cursing her impeccable timing. She was giving him one of those looks, a kind of half star, half "I told you so" smile. Ari sighed.

"What are you smiling at?"

so the Kari Vs Kibbs war continues! do you guys want Kari or Kibbs to win? please drop a review to tell me what you think! :D