1 Day Earlier…

Once again, Tony woke up on his couch, back in his room. His right eye was swollen to the point that he could barely open it, but his left was well enough to observe what was going on; he glanced down at his body and winced at what he saw. Somehow, his shirt had been discarded, and deep purple bruises stood out on his stomach, arms and the bottoms of his legs. There were deep, bleeding cuts stretching down his sides, which a pair of quick hands was binding with bandages.

That quick pair of hands belonged to none other than his late friend and partner, Kate Todd, who was kneeling on the floor next to him, cleaning up blood with a cloth. Her body was also adorned with violent bruises and scratches, but not as bad as his. For a minute, all he could do was lie there and stare at her- the way her dark locks framed her face and her beautiful eyes sparkled was identical to the way they had been years ago, and made her look almost angelic; so much so that he had to reach out his fingers and run them down her arm, just to make sure that she was real and not a figment of his imagination.

Kate jumped slightly as his fingertips came to rest on her skin, looking him directly in the eye with a pitiful expression.

"Kate…" he whispered, returning her meaningful stare.

"Don't talk DiNozzo," she sighed, "you'll ruin yourself even further." He winced at her exhausted tone and the ointment she began to apply to a few of the more violent bruises on his body. "You should never have left this room- it was one huge trap so that she could have some entertainment."

"Why were you outside then?" He chuckled weakly.

"I was trying to find you and warn you before she got to you. I guess I wasn't quick enough though…"

"What are you doing here Kate?" Tony interrupted curiously, not trying to sound rude, just wanting a basic answer.

"Well, I'm currently taking care of you because you seem incapable of doing it yourself."

"That's cute," he smirked, "But I meant here, in the land of the living."

Kate's eyes slipped from his momentarily and lowered to the ground as she reluctantly braced herself to tell all. "It's a long story…"

Tony reached over and took her hand, gently lacing his fingers with hers, locking their palms together tightly. "I've got time," he whispered.


"I've been following up what you told me earlier Gibbs," Abby smiled, pacing furiously around her lab as she generally did when her mind was working. "And I came across a couple of interesting details."

Gibbs nodded quietly, "Go on then."

"According to Alfie, Sandy doesn't like to stay in the same place for more than a month at a time, right? She moves on the 28th of every month to keep a regular schedule and to prevent herself being found by law enforcement. Apparently, she leaves a mobile trail of every place that she's been, so that she can remember how far she's come. Ducky says it's a sentimental thing, but I'm not so sure: I think that it's her way of showing us where she is. Alfie says that she generally places a call at the start of the month- the 1st, and the day before she moves, the 27th."

"And?" Gibbs mused, clearly waiting for the scientist to get to the point. "Tell me you found something."

"I did," Abby grinned. "I followed up the theory that the calls were to tell us where she was, and I had this idea- where would Sandy call if she wanted us to find her? It would have to be somewhere that we knew of when we solved her dad's case years ago, somewhere that we would think to look, perhaps send agents to."

"The Watson family home," the boss stated.

Abby pointed at him triumphantly, "Exactly. I began digging through the records for the landline, looking for calls coming in from the outside twice a month- on the 1st and the 27th. I found a pattern too: the same phone would call on the 1st and 27th of the same month, but never for two months or more in a row- completely identical to Sandy's moving pattern.

"I traced back all of the calls- they all came from specific places- hotels, boarding houses, lodges, caravan parks- all places that Sandy and her family visited when they had all been together. They move in a sort of Northerly direction, from where we are right now in DC to New York, where the most recent call was placed on the first of May."

"Have you got a specific location?"

"Not yet Gibbs," the goth sighed impatiently, "but I'm working on it as fast as I can. One thing's for certain though, this is almost definitely where Tony is."


"The next thing I know," Kate announced, "I've been kidnapped, and am being moved from place to place on the 28th of every month by the seemingly innocent little blind girl that our team rescued from her own father. My life is gone, and everyone I love thinks I'm dead- I'm nothing but a punch bag for a corrupted teenager and her friends for the rest of my worthless lifetime. My family heals slowly; the team gets a new agent and moves on. You, Gibbs, Abby, you all forget about me, get on with your lives like people like you always do."

Tony, who was now propped up by the arm of the couch covered with a thin blanket reached out and placed his fingers on her cheek lightly, his other hand still holding hers. "I never forgot you Kate; I missed you every single day for the whole time that you were gone. I went to your grave every year, hell, I went 4 days ago because I had this feeling that I wouldn't be able to go on the day.

"After you died, I didn't speak for 3 days because I couldn't accept the fact that you wouldn't be there to banter with and talk to anymore. After your funeral, I went up and basically camped out on that rooftop, reliving that scene over and over againand killing myself by thinking of the possible ways I could've saved you; I came close to throwing myself over the edge a couple of times, but I didn't- what would you have thought of me if I had?

"They always say that you don't know what you have until it's gone, and I've decided that they are right: it was only after you were gone that I realised what I'd lost: a beautiful, brave woman who put me in my place like no other. Someone who cared about me so much that she stayed with me while I was dying with the plague, and refused to leave until the point that she was forced to. I lost someone who quite frankly, I couldn't live without."

Tony sat up even further, pulling himself even closer to Kate, his face now inches from hers. "I lost someone who never got to know how much I loved them, and love them to this day, someone completely irreplaceable. You."

For a second, Kate fell silent, her gaze completely drowning in his. After a moment, she leant forward and softly pressed her lips against his, her hands reaching up to cup his face as his found her waist and he kissed her back gently. The kiss started off soft, but quickly grew more intense, until they had to pull apart, both fighting for breath.

"I love you," Tony whispered to her, staring into her gleaming hazel eyes.

For a moment, everything was perfect.

"I love you too," Kate whispered back, before leaning in for another kiss.


"GIBBS GIBBS GIBBS!" Abby squealed down the phone, "I've got it- I cracked the address!"

Gibbs grabbed a scrap of paper and a pen hastily, causing McGee and Ziva to stare at him. "Where?" He demanded.

Abby gave the address- a hotel in New York that the Watson's had stayed in when they'd gone on vacation years ago. Gibbs scribbled it down frantically.

"Got it?" Abby checked.

"Yeah, I got it: that's good work Abs." Gibbs hung up the phone to address his team. "Grab your gear- we're driving to New York."


Sandy watched through her the CCTV footage as Kate and Tony lay asleep on the couch, their arms wrapped around each other protectively.

Tomorrow, this would all be over.

Tomorrow, she'd finally get closure for what had happened to her family.

Tomorrow, Agent Gibbs would pay.


A/N: I'm so sorry for not uploading in so long! This fic is near it's end now, so I hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Louise :)