So I decided to continue. All of you who told methat I should continue better review again.

Postep of Reveille. All other info; same as last chapter.

A hiss as the elevator doors opened and Tony span around. Standing there was the one person that he'd prayed would return.


She looked up from the floor and met his eyes for a second, before putting her head down and hurrying to her seat.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she snapped, not looking up from the Witness Statement form that she had already picked up from the inch-thick pile of paper that was mounting in her in-tray.

For the next half hour, they sat in silence, neither realising how much they were killing each other with their stubbornness. They both stole quick glances and sometimes long stares at the other, trying to catch the other's eye. The thick, silent air wasn't broken until Kate finished getting the story of her ordeal onto paper. When she was done, she stood up and walked towards the exit. Tony was in hot pursuit.

"Where do you think you're going?" he called after her.

"Home… for a drink… to bed… I don't know."

"And you really think that I'm going to let you walk out of here alone do you Kate?" he asked as he stepped to her side, waiting, as she was, for the elevator. "Remember how much trouble you nearly got into last time?"

The elevator doors opened halfway through Tony's comment, revealing their boss; Gibbs.

"What's this about 'trouble', Dinozzo?" he asked gruffly as he took a swig from his takeaway coffee mug.

"Nothing boss. Kate here," Tony put his arm around Kate's shoulders, as if to show Gibbs exactly who he was talking about, "was just asking me if I would come and stay with her; she doesn't want to be alone." Tony gave her an extra tight squeeze, while Kate looked disgusted.

Ignoring Gibbs' confused look, Tony stepped into the elevator, taking Kate with him.

"Rule seven," Kate muttered as the doors shut.

"Rule seven?" Tony asked, not quite catching on. A moment later: "Oh yeah. 'Always be specific when you lie'. Who said anything about lying?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "You were! 'Ooh Kate needs some company Boss; I'm going to take her home!'"

Tony looked serious. "I wasn't lying, Kate."

Kate looked him in the eye. "I'd rather be on my own."

"Oh come on Kate; you don't hate me that much. Do you?"

For the second time that evening, there was a long stretch of silence between them. This time, it was broken by the opening of the elevator doors. Kate left quickly as soon as the doors were open while Tony stood bewildered.

"Kate," he called after her. "Kate!"

By the time she reached her car, Tony had caught up with her. She felt that he deserved to know at least part of what was in her head.

She sighed before speaking.

"I don't hate you Tony. Don't you see that? That's why I don't want to come back with you."

Tony was taken aback. Is this Kate showing vulnerability of any kind?

Damn her, talking in cryptic all the time.

"What are you talking about Kate?"

"The bastard that kidnapped me… used you… against me. He said that he would kill you if I didn't help him." There was a pause while Kate wondered how to voice her thoughts. "I don't know. For some reason, I had a moment where I could see how life would be if I let him kill you. I gave in."

"Aww Kate! I never knew you cared so much!" said Tony, trying to lighten the mood a little. When he saw Kate's face however, with her tears, of embarrassment more than anything else, ready to fall, all he could do was pull her into a tight hug. It gave Kate a moment to compose herself and Tony a moment to think as well as giving them both some comfort.

After a minute or so, Kate spoke. "I don't care, you know. I was just paying you back for that time when I got drunk and you saved my ass."

Tony chuckled and Kate looked at him, smiling while wiping the last of the water off her cheeks.

"Ready to go home now?" he asked.

She nodded and didn't complain once as he steered her into the passenger seat of the car.


"Want to watch a movie?" Tony asked, almost as soon as they entered his apartment. Kate laughed. "How did I know that that would be the first thing you'd suggest?"

"You know me too well. So, movie or food or both?"

A convenient stomach rumble from Kate reminded her that it had been a long time since she had eaten anything.

"I'll take both. You make me some food and I'll choose a movie."

Tony pouted at her. "You'll choose a rubbish chick-flick or something!"

Kate sighed. "Fine. I'll make something to eat and you can choose the movie."

Ten minutes later, Tony was sitting on one end of the sofa and Kate was at the other, each with equally huge bowls of leftover pizza and potato chips, waiting for the film to start.

"I didn't realise that you could eat this stuff Kate," remarked Tony as she took a particularly large bite of cold pepperoni pizza.

"Desperate times call for desperate measures," replied Kate with a smirk. "Are we going to watch this film then?"

Over the next hour and a half, they watched the film in near silence, only moving when, after Kate complained that she was cold, Tony fetched a blanket which they shared in the middle of the sofa.

By the time the credits were rolling, both Tony and Kate were nearly asleep. They jerked from their drowsy doze when the credits rolled.

Tony slid out from under the blanket and turned the TV off, before heading back to the sofa and sliding back under the blanket, this time pulling Kate towards him by her hips.

As they lay there, Kate was struck by a sudden though and started laughing.

"What?" Tony said into her neck.

"You know Gibbs thinks we're sleeping together, don't you?"

"What!" Tony exclaimed, sitting up quickly.

"Well, when he arrived, he said "what's this about trouble?". And then you told him that you were taking me home."


Tony pondered her point for a moment.

"Well, why don't we give him reason to think such thoughts?"