Kate stood on the roof and took a breath. Nothing, her heart still hammered in her chest as if trying to burst out. She took another breath, and felt her pulse begin to slow. Closing her eyes she tried to wipe the image from her mind but it kept pushing to the forefront, the same dark shoulder length hair, brown eyes, rounded face shape, and no doubt a similar family history. It was like staring into a mirror, albeit a very morbid one.

“It’s just a very strange coincidence,” she told herself, trying to calm herself. Two dead Navy women in the same week that look like her, nothing to freak out about.

She took another breath and opened her eyes, feeling calmer and ready to return to the bullpen. Turning around she reached for the door handle but instead came into hard contact with another body. A small scream escaped her mouth and she stumbled backward before realizing it was only Tony. He grabbed her waist to keep her from falling and pulled her toward him.

“Haha! Gotcha, Katie!” he cried gleefully, then mentally kicked himself. He had come up there to see if she was alright.

She smacked his arm and wriggled away from his grip around her waist, making for the door. “That wasn’t funny, DiNozzo!”

He stepped in her path and tried to look apologetic. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

She scoffed and reached for the handle, but he got there first and pulled her hand away gently. “I just wanted to see if you were alright.”

She looked up at his face, searching for an ulterior motive, but finding none let her guard down a little. “I’m fine, just a little shook up. She just...they both just look...” she trailed off, finding her feeling of calm slowly ebbing away.

He raised his arms to her shoulders and pulled her toward him. “It’s okay,” he assured her. “It’s just a very strange coincidence.”

She tensed, still unsure of his intentions, but felt herself relax into his arms and rest her head on his shoulder at his words. They stood like that for a few minutes, his hand rubbing nonsense circles into her back while she pulled herself back together. Finally she pulled away and they stood awkwardly in front of each other.

“Uh...thanks...” she murmured, feeling calm about the case but now unsure of what was going on between them.

“No problem,” he muttered back, equally confused.

They fell silent again, neither making a move to leave or communicate.

“Kate...I...uh,” Tony started a moment later, the silence already unbearable. She stared up into his eyes expectantly; waiting for his words but instead was startled by his sudden movements. She stepped back in surprise but was caught by his arms, which slipped around her waist effortlessly and pulled her into him. His lips came down on hers and before she could figure out what was going on she was melting into his embrace and kissing him back with the same fiery intensity.

It seemed to last a lifetime, them standing there, on the roof, kissing. But in reality it was only a few minutes before they pulled away from each other, quickly, as if an electric shock had pushed them apart.

Both their minds whirred with unanswered thoughts. Kate looked at the ground, feeling herself turn scarlet with...she wasn’t quite sure what it was. When she finally looked up she found Tony a few feet away, shifting awkwardly from one foot to another and muttering quietly to himself, his hands running through his hair periodically, a nervous habit, she noted.

He looked up and noticed her watching him. His expression was slightly pained as he tried to think of something to say. He watched her face for some hint of what she was feeling; something to tell him what words should fall from his mouth. She looked shocked, confused, sad and many other things that pushed any coherent thought out of his head.

“Shit...” he finally said in a half whisper. “I...I...have to go.” He turned and pushed through the door.

She could hear his footsteps echo and then disappear before the door closed, leaving her alone on the roof again.

When she eventually returned to the bullpen only Tony was there, pretending to be engrossed with something on his computer, but she could see him watching her out of the corner of his eye. In turn, she pretended not to notice, comfortable to play this game for the rest of the day, just to avoid talking about the subject they both knew was inevitable.

Kate stared at the file on her desk, daring herself to open it and stay calm. She told herself again it was only a coincidence and flipped over the cover, reminding herself of the details of the case. Petty Officer Danielle Cohen, found dead in the women’s locker room of the fitness centre at Norfolk. And Lieutenant Andrea Peyton, found dead in her office at Norfolk. According to Ducky, both women died of strangulation, and there was severe evidence of rape involved. The team had been on this case for a week now and it was going nowhere. And of course the strange similarities each victim had to Kate were not exactly helping her concentrate.

When the first body had appeared she thought nothing of the resemblance until Ducky had mentioned it during the autopsy. It seemed to be of no importance. But when the second victim also resembled Kate she found herself on guard. She had immediately begun a background search on each victim. Age twenty-eight, Catholic, three brothers and one sister; the matching facts were endless.

“I’m overreacting,” she reminded herself again. “If there was anything to worry about Gibbs would have said something, he knows the facts just as well as you do.”

She cleared her mind and looked at interrogation transcripts. They had brought in every male Navy personnel that had a connection with the two victims but no one had cracked under Gibbs’ pressure and all the alibis were standing strong.

“He has to be Navy,” she muttered to herself before sighing loudly and rubbing her temples. It was almost nine o’clock, and they had been staring at files and evidence reports all day trying to come up with some lead.

Gibbs looked around at his team. They had been in since five this morning and besides Kate and Tony’s little foray up to the roof no one had taken any breaks. He knew Kate was upset, he’d read the Lieutenant and Petty Officer’s files, he’d seen their faces. There was no denying that there was a great resemblance and although it didn’t sit right with him there was nothing to link Kate personally to the case. So he said nothing about it, not wanting to worry her anymore. He needed her help on this case. Nothing could distract her.

“Go home,” Gibbs said out loud. His team looked up from their work, startled by the sudden voice in the room.

“What?” McGee said feebly.

“I said, go home. You’ve been here long enough and nothing’s getting done. Reading files at home is no different than reading files here.”

The three agents looked at each other warily, unsure if this was some sort of strange shared hallucination.

“Get! I want you back here at 0600!” Gibbs barked and they jumped up, quickly packing their things and the files they were examining.

“Hey Boss, aren’t you going?” Tony asked when he saw Gibbs still sitting at his desk.

“Goodnight, DiNozzo,” Gibbs muttered.

Tony shrugged and made for the elevator with McGee and Kate. As the doors opened he and Kate both moved to get on but stopped, knowing that they would have to touch in order to both get through the door at the same time. They stood and looked at each other, a silent mental battle playing out between them.

McGee stared at his colleagues, very confused. “Uh...guys? Going to get on anytime soon?”

Tony and Kate ignored him.

“Okay then, I’ll go first.” McGee pushed his way between the two stunned agents and stepped on to the elevator, breaking the tension between Tony and Kate as he went.

“Jeez Probie, Senior Agents first!” Tony said as he smacked McGee on the back of the head. Kate laughed and stepped into the elevator behind Tony. It seemed they had made a silent agreement to ignore the events on the roof, for now at least.

Kate sat on the floor of her living room, papers spread across the coffee table. Crime scene photos spilled over the edge of the table and gathered in a pile on the floor.

She picked one up and examined it closely. It showed Petty Officer Cohen lying on the floor of the Norfolk locker room. She was dressed in the standard summer white service uniform. Her short sleeve blouse was left unbuttoned and her white pencil skirt had been pushed up around her hips. Her hands had been secured behind her back with duct tape.

Kate put the photo down and picked up a similar one from Lieutenant Peyton’s crime scene. She had to be missing something. She set the photos side by side to compare and began to take notes, writing up a potential profile of the suspect based on the crime scene.

Tony paced back and forth across the lobby, muttering quietly to himself. His hands moved with his thoughts as he tried to organize them.

“Maybe she’s not there...but it’s eleven o’clock...maybe I should...” thoughts traipsed in and out, barely staying long enough to finish.

“Uh...Sir?” A voice startled him out of his daze. He looked up at the owner. “I just wanted to know if you’d like me to let Miss Todd know you’re here.”

Tony chuckled for a moment, “Miss Todd”. He wasn’t used to the “Agent” part being absent.

He then brought himself back to the current question he intended to answer this time. “No...thank you. I’ll just go up.”

A knock at the door woke Kate from her deep concentration. She looked at the clock, eleven pm, who was visiting at this hour? She looked at the mess around her, files and crime scene photos everywhere, and was almost tempted to call “Come in!” to avoid tiptoeing around the mess but her agent instincts kicked in and she warily got up and went to the door.

“Tony!” she said, an honest tone of surprise in her voice. “What are you doing here?”

He looked confused for a moment as if he couldn’t remember and then held up a file. “This!” he said triumphantly.

Kate stared at him expectantly but he said nothing more. “Is...” she urged.

“Oh...a file...” he trailed off.

“About?” He looked blank for a moment and then opened the file. “Tony! Is this actually important or did you just come over here to waste my time?” she snapped, finally exacerbated with his strange behaviour. The harsh words seemed to snap him back into his normal self.

“Ah, Kate...you know me, I take every moment available to help out with the wasting of your time. In fact I live for the wasting of Kate Todd’s time!”

“Tony!” Kate warned.

He grinned and held up the file. “But this...is not one of those moments. I think I may have found a lead on a suspect.”

“Finally,” Kate muttered and stepped back for Tony to enter the apartment.

He had never been in her place before and took a few moments to look around. It was neat, impossibly neat by his standards, though it didn’t surprise him. The hall led directly into a living room kitchen combination on the right and continued on to what he assumed were the bedrooms and bathroom. He strolled into the living room, surveying the only untidy part of the whole place.

“Still working hard I see,” he said, gesturing to the piles of papers and photos.

She nodded. “Do you want something to drink?”

“Sure, just water please.” He took a seat on the couch and rifled through the files on the coffee table. Kate joined him minutes later.

“So what’s this lead you have?” Kate inquired.

Tony opened the file he brought with him. “Seaman Robert Havener. He works in the legal office at Norfolk with Cohen and Peyton.”

Kate looked at the photo of Seaman Havener. He had dark brown hair, cut in a traditional short Navy style, brown eyes and a grim expression on his young face.

“He couldn’t be more than twenty five” she thought to herself glancing through his file, he was in fact only twenty three. “He looks vaguely familiar.” But she brushed off the thought as a trend in her thinking; everyone was looking familiar to her on this case.

“I thought we interrogated all the men who worked in the legal office. I don’t remember him.”

“We didn’t interrogate him. He only started working in the same office as the victims the other day.”

Kate shook her head. “So he wasn’t even working there when the Petty Officer and Lieutenant were murdered?”

“Yes!” Tony grinned at Kate.

“How is this a lead Tony?!”

He placed a finger over her lips and she glared at him. “Well, if it wasn’t someone the victims knew then it must have been someone they didn’t know.”

Kate rolled her eyes. “How very observant of you Tony.”

Tony mused for a second; finally starting to feel normal and happy; the conversation of the day’s earlier events hadn’t come up. He settled down, ready to actually discuss the information he’d found.

“Havener worked in the building across from the legal offices as a mail boy.”

“A mail boy?”

“He joined the Navy six months ago; you got to start at the bottom, Kate.” She nodded and he continued. “He had originally applied to work as Lieutenant Peyton’s assistant but guess who she gave the job too.”

“Petty Officer Cohen,” Kate answered. “But that’s hardly enough to murder two women over. It was just an assistant position.”

“According to his Navy record he has a history of violence. Picked a fight with three Petty Officers on his first day. He’s gotten multiple warnings but no action was taken against him.”

“Well it’s not much to go on but it’s better than nothing. We should let Gibbs know, get Havener into NCIS first thing tomorrow morning,” Kate said, reaching for the phone.

Tony’s hands caught hers before she got to the phone. “Kate?”

She sat back down and looked at him. His expression had changed from the I’m-actually-being-serious-and-doing-some-work face to one she recognized immediately.

“Tony, stop. We don’t have to talk about it.” She looked down at her hands, afraid to look up into his eyes.

“Just because we ignore it doesn’t mean it will go away.”

“Yes, it does. And besides what’s there to ignore? It was just a kiss Tony, it wasn’t like it meant anything,” Kate said as she finally managed to look up at Tony. She watched as his face fell at her words and she immediately felt guilty.

He desperately tried to reign in his emotions and put on a straight face. “Right, it was just a kiss,” he repeated her words half heartedly.

“Tony?” Kate asked carefully, placing a hand on his knee. “It was just a kiss, right? Did you think it meant more?”

Tony sighed heavily and looked at Kate, trying to put on his signature grin. “Nah Kate! I go around kissing my co-workers all the time, no big deal.”

“Seriously Tony...” Kate started but was cut off by Tony jumping up from the couch.

“Hey look at the time. I should get going.” He leapt over the piles of photos and paper and headed for the door.

“Tony, wait!” Her words stopped him in the doorway, his back to her. “I didn’t know this would mean so much to you.”

He whirled around to face her. “How could you not know?” Tony yelled, now unable to keep his emotions under control.

“Well I’m sorry if bragging about every other gorgeous woman you sleep with on a weekly basis doesn’t scream ‘I’m in love with you,’ to me!” Kate yelled back.

Tony paused for a second at Kate’s words. He’d never actually considered what his feelings for her were, only that they were there. But now having the words screamed back at him he finally recognized the feeling.

“I’m in love with you,” he whispered to himself, his realization making him forget about Kate standing only a couple feet away.

“What?” Kate said almost inaudibly. What she’d said only seconds ago had been in the heat of the moment, she too had never even considered the fact that he might actually love her.

“I love you,” Tony said, this time directed at her, and a small smiled formed on his face. He moved forward, crossing the space between them in only a few small steps, and slipped one hand around her waist while the other crept behind her neck. He pulled her in toward him and closed the gap between their lips within seconds. He was gentle this time and slower, unlike their frenzied kisses on the roof that afternoon.

Kate felt her body beginning to melt into their kiss but pulled herself together, just before the point of no return, and pushed him away. “Tony, we can’t,” she breathed.

“Why not?” he asked, taking a step toward her again.

She stepped back and looked around uncomfortably, trying hard to avoid his gaze.

“Kate?” he said when she was still silent. She shifted a little farther away from him and still said nothing. “Kate?”

He reached out and grabbed her shoulders, bringing her back to him, and lifted her chin, forcing her to look at him. “Why not?” he repeated.

“Because...because...” Kate trailed off and looked down at her feet. “I don’t love you,” she finished in a whisper.

Tony’s arms dropped from her shoulders. His smile disappeared and he stepped back a little. “No,” he said angrily.

“Excuse me,” Kate looked up, a scowl forming on her face.

“No. I don’t believe you.”

“Tony! This isn’t...”

“Look me in the eyes and tell me you don’t love me,” Tony cut her off, his angry tone quickly turning into begging.

“Tony...”Kate warned, she was not in the mood for this.

“Tell me, Kate!”

“Fine!” she yelled, her temper finally breaking. “I don’t love you! I will never love you! Whatever you think you saw in me, forget it, because it will never work between us! Is that what you wanted to hear, Tony? I don’t love you, okay?”

He looked devastated.

Unable to continue watching her partner fall to pieces right in front of her she moved backward to the couch and sat down, her head in her hands. The room was silent for the few moments it took Tony to move down the hall to the door and slam it behind him.

Tony rushed out of Kate’s apartment building and down the street to his car. He stopped at the driver’s side door and put his hands on the hood. He needed to calm down; driving while angry would not be a good idea.

Kate’s words played over and over in his head and prompted another surge of anger. He stood up straight and violently kicked the front tire of the car.

“Dammit!” he yelled.

His voice echoed down the empty DC streets. It was after midnight on a weekday and he was due at work in only six hours. Tony flung open the door and got inside. He placed his hands on the steering wheel but didn’t start the car. He had been so sure about Kate’s feelings for him.

“I’m such an idiot!” he said out loud.

He thought back to the kiss on the roof of NCIS. She hadn’t hesitated; in fact she seemed more than willing. He sighed heavily and let his head fall forward and rest on the steering wheel.

Nothing had gone how he’d imagined it. He’d thought they’d talk about the kiss and slowly but surely reveal their feelings for each other. Though he hadn’t realized until that moment upstairs that he loved her, he knew there was something between them and had been for quite some time. He thought he had felt the unspoken build on their relationship for two years and now he had finally gotten up the courage to say something about it. He had had his doubts but nothing had prepared him for the words that had actually come out of Kate’s mouth.

Again, fresh memories of the horrible fight and Kate’s harsh words flooded his mind. He felt a deep pain somewhere inside him and soon after sensed tears welling in his eyes.

“God, I’m such a hopeless romantic,” he thought disdainfully to himself but did nothing to stop the tears.

Ten floors above Tony, Kate sat frozen in the same position he’d left her in. She was silent, with her head buried in her arms, not even the sound of her slow methodical breathing breached the air.

“What have I done?” The thought played over and over in her head until she was forced to say it aloud.

“What have I done?” The sound of her own voice rung through the empty apartment, making her feel more alone than ever. Kate wiped at her face, expecting tears, but found only dry skin. She was too numb to cry.

She hadn’t meant to say the things she did to Tony. It was in panic and the only way she felt she could keep him from getting hurt.

Relationships and Kate didn’t mix well. Her last long term relationship had been with Major Kerry, and look how that had ended. In the last two years she had dated some, but nothing lasted more than a few months, and it was always her doing.

Like Tony she had been aware of the constant flame between them but had never allowed herself to indulge. There were more than enough reasons why they shouldn’t try anything but recently those reasons seemed to pale in comparison to her feelings. That is until he broken the rules of their silent fling and actually kissed her.

She had been fine with flirting disguised as insults and seductive daydreams at her desk, no one got hurt that way, and she wouldn’t get scared and run away from flirting and dreams. But he wanted more now and as much as she wanted to give in to his every whim another part of her continuously reminded that it would only end in heart break.

“This is for the better,” she assured herself.

It would have to be after all, Tony probably wouldn’t speak to her for a while so there would be no way to tell him the truth. Not that she would anyway; her reasons had returned in all their glory and would hopefully prevent any future disasters.

Kate lifted her eyes from the floor to the coffee table, finally feeling the tiniest bit better.

Her eyes came to rest on the phone, reminding her of the call she was supposed to be making to Gibbs. It was well after midnight now, but Kate knew her boss, he would no doubt still be in the office.

The phone rang once before he picked up. “Gibbs.”

“Hey, it’s Kate. Tony thinks he may have found a suspect.”

“If Tony found it how come you’re calling me?” Gibbs asked suspiciously.

“Long story. Look do you want the name or not?” Kate said, then quickly apologized, surprised at her disrespect. “Sorry, Gibbs...”

“Rule ten; never say you’re sorry...”

“...it’s a sign of weakness,” Kate finished.

“Now who’s this suspect?”

McGee slumped over his desk and groaned loudly, prompting a slew of muttered profanities from Abby, who had been leaning on him, soundly asleep.

“McGee? Abby? You guys okay?” Kate asked as she entered the bullpen.

She was neatly dressed in grey dress pants and light blue quarter sleeve v-neck sweater with a grey tank underneath. More appalling to the junior agent and forensic scientist was that Kate was awake, and seemed almost happy to be returning to work a mere eight hours after they left. The pair grunted half hearted replies to Kate’s greeting and resumed their sleeping positions.

“How about some caffeine?” Kate said, holding up a coffee and a Caf-Pow. McGee and Abby shot up suddenly and lunged for the drinks. “Wow, the things caffeine can make you do.”

“Kate?” Abby asked between gulps of Caf-Pow. “It’s five am, why are you so chipper?”

Kate smiled and held up her own large cup of coffee. “This is my fourth.” She sat down at her desk waiting for the imminent appearance of Gibbs. He had called them an hour earlier than originally agreed, eager to get started on Tony’s lead.

McGee, now fuelled with coffee, began furiously typing away at his computer trying to gain access to Norfolk’s security system so he could track Robert Havener’s movements on the base. Abby sat by him, sipping her Caf-Pow and occasionally directing McGee.

Kate sat back while her computer started up; she stared at the empty desk across from her. Tony was late as usual, and instead of coming up with the obligatory list of ways she could get on his case about it, she found herself composing an apology in her head. “What’s the point, I doubt he’ll listen to me”

A ding from the elevator pulled her away from her thoughts and she watched as Tony appeared in the bullpen. He was wearing the same things he’d worn the day before. His shirt and pants were wrinkled from sleeping in them. His hair was mussed and Kate could see where he’d nicked himself shaving. Overall he looked like hell. He shuffled over to his desk without so much as a glance at Kate and fell into the chair with a groan.

Kate watched from behind her computer monitor, trying to decide if now would be the best time to talk. She picked up the third cup of coffee she’d brought and a file and headed over to Tony.

“Hey. Coffee?” she asked, holding out the large Starbucks cup.

He glanced up at her for a split second with a look of total exhaustion and hurt. “No thanks,” he muttered and reached down to turn on his computer.

“Oh, okay. Well here’s the file you brought over last night,” she said, putting the file on his desk. When he stayed silent she walked slowly back to her own desk, feeling guiltier than ever.

The team worked quietly on gathering more information about Seaman Havener while they waited for Gibbs to appear.

“Tell me what you’ve got!” Gibbs commanded as he rounded the corner into the bullpen. It was almost six thirty am; he was more than an hour late.

“How ‘bout you tell us why you were late, Boss,” Tony countered, the first DiNozzo like thing he’d said all morning.

A quick glare and a raised hand sent Tony rattling off facts on Seaman Havener. “Twenty-three years old, joined the Navy six months ago and worked as a mail boy in the publicity office. Was promoted to be the assistant of Lieutenant Peyton’s replacement three days after Peyton was found dead and four days after Petty Officer Cohen’s murder. He has one bro...” Tony was cut off by a smart smack to the head from Gibbs.

“I read the file DiNozzo, tell me something I don’t know.”

“Is there anything you don’t know, Boss?” Tony asked carefully and received another glare.

“I know something you don’t, Gibbs,” Abby piped up, a mischievous smile playing across her lips. Gibbs looked at her expectantly. “Aw Gibbs, you don’t expect me to give it up with no promise of compensation, do you?”

“Lunch...and two Caf-Pows,” he said gruffly, appeasing the Goth.

“The fibers found at each crime scene match the color and fabric of the Standard Summer White uniform of the Navy; specifically it was a fiber from the scarf.”

Gibbs sighed audibly and Abby looked upset. “That only narrows it down to the entire population of Norfolk, Abby.”

But as Gibbs spoke, Kate’s mind turned back to the day of the interrogations. “Wait, Gibbs,” she said, interrupting him mid speech. “None of the suspects we interrogated were wearing their summer whites, and if I remember correctly, I don’t think I saw one other person at Norfolk in white besides our victims.”

“Good work, Kate,” Gibbs said as he collected some files from his desk and headed out of the bullpen. “Come on! Let’s go!”

Kate and Tony rushed after him leaving McGee and Abby in the bullpen. “I should get going too, I guess,” McGee said, and moved to get up, but was caught short by a yell from the elevator.

“Not you McGee!” Gibbs yelled as the doors shut.

“So where are we going, Boss?” Tony asked as the elevator headed down. “To Norfolk to bring this guy in?”

“Nope.”

Kate and Tony looked at Gibbs, confused.

“To his house to find more evidence?” Kate tried.

“Nope,” Gibbs said again as the elevator stopped a couple floors down from their office and opened onto the interrogation floor.

Kate and Tony looked around, still confused. “But, he’s not...” they both started in unison, then trailed off at the realization of where Gibbs had been that morning.

“Gibbs, we didn’t have enough evidence to bring Havener in,” Kate said, as they moved down the hall.

“Didn’t is the operative word here Agent Todd. I knew you’d have something by the time I got back from waking Havener up that would warrant bringing him in.”

Kate and Tony both shook their heads at the continual reminder that Gibbs didn’t play by the rules. The three agents rounded the corner and within moments had arrived at Interrogation Room Three. They stood outside the door as Gibbs downed the rest of his coffee. He threw the cup into the garbage bin next to him and started down the hall away from the interrogation room.

“I’m going to get another cup before we start this thing, watch him, see if he fits the profile,” he called back to his agents.

Kate and Tony nodded and entered the observation room. Tony strode over to the table and immediately sat down, his back to Kate. She stopped at the door, closing it behind her before standing awkwardly against it, unsure of what to do or say.

“Can we talk, maybe?” Kate said, moving toward the table.

Tony looked back at her and paused before saying anything. He wanted to talk with her, to try and at least get things back to the way they had been before, but his anger and sadness stopped him short. “We should get to work,” he said instead, getting up and walking to the glass that separated them from the suspect on the other side.

Kate sighed and followed cue. She opened Seaman Havener’s file, then peered through the window into the other room.

“Uh...Kate,” Tony said, all anger gone from his voice replaced by confusion. “Did Gibbs pick up the right guy?”

Kate looked at Tony and nodded in agreement. The man on the other side of the glass did not look like he was able to kill a fly, let alone two strong women.

Tony and Kate stared at the man dressed in Navy Whites in the interrogation room. He sat hunched over, his face planted in his trembling hands. He was thin and weak looking and even sitting down they could see he was short for his gender and age. He raised his head from his hands and seemingly stared right through the one-way mirror at Kate and Tony, though all he saw was himself. His eyes were red and swollen, like he had been crying. Kate looked at the photo of Seaman Havener and then back at the frail man across from her.

“I think this is Robert Havener, Tony.” She handed him the file and he examined the photo closely in the dim light of the observation room.

Kate was right; the photo they had of their suspect was only from the shoulders up and showed no indication of how strong he could be. His face and hair were the same as the man in the photo too; this was indeed Seaman Robert Havener.

A moment later, they watched as Gibbs entered the interrogation room and seated himself across from the Seaman.

“Is Gibbs seriously going to interrogate this guy, I don’t think he could take on a Chihuahua never mind two Naval trained women,” Kate asked, gesturing to Gibbs and his serious expression.

“He’s our only connection with the murders, we need something. Besides maybe he had an accomplice do his dirty work,” Tony answered. Kate shrugged and turned her attention to the scene in the other room.

“Are you going to tell me why I’m here?” Havener asked, his voice shaking as he spoke.

“Where were you on the night of June fourteenth and June sixteenth?” Gibbs said, ignoring the naval man’s question.

“I don’t know. Probably at home. Why are you asking? Did I do something wrong?”

“Do you live alone?”

“Yes. Look, whatever it is, I think you have the wrong guy...where am I anyway?” Havener looked around for any sign of his location.

“Do you know these women,” Gibbs asked as he threw autopsy photos of the two victims onto the table in front of Havener.

He stared at the photos for a second before becoming wide-eyed and looking back to Gibbs. “You think I have something to do with those murders on base?”

Gibbs stared fiercely back at Robert. “So you know them?”

“No! I...I don’t know them personally. I just heard about it on base.”

“You’re telling me you never met Lieutenant Peyton?”

“No...no.”

Gibbs opened the file in front of him. “Yet two months ago you applied to be her assistant in the legal office. Wasn’t there an interview?”

The Seaman swallowed the forming lump in his throat and tried to speak. “Please... I...I...have nothing to do with this!”

“Answer the question, Havener!”

“Th...there was an interview, it was done by here assistant at the time, and then we met the Lieutenant briefly. I swear I didn’t do it. I don’t even know this other woman.”

“That other woman is the person who took the job you applied for,” Gibbs said, pushing Seaman Havener further into a corner. “And what about this violent past of yours? Picking fights with senior officers on the first day. Sounds like a good start for a murderer, Havener.”

“No!...Please!...Look I had something to prove! No one thought I’d make it in the Navy, I wasn’t...I’m not tough enough. Please, there haven’t been any problems since. I applied for that job to try and get away from the guys around the base...” he trailed off meekly, feeling defeated.

Kate watched sadly from the other side of the glass as Robert’s eyes welled up, he was terrified and didn’t know what to do. Kate was sure he was innocent. “Okay, that’s enough,” she said standing up and heading for the door. “He doesn’t know anything.”

Tony scrambled after her as she moved out into the hall and to the next door. “You can’t bother Gibbs in interrogation!”

“Watch me!” She opened the door and stepped part way in. “Agent Gibbs, can I have a word?”

The frightened Seaman looked relieved as his interrogator turned his attention on someone else. Gibbs grumbled a few profanities, shot a glare at Kate and followed her out into the hall.

“Agent Todd! What have I said about interrupting me...” he started to yell but was cut off by Kate.

“He’s innocent!”

“What?”

“God Gibbs, you don’t need a profiler to tell you that that man in there couldn’t have raped and murdered two women,” Kate said, trying her best to stare down Gibbs.

“Agent Todd, you’re stepping over the line...” Gibbs warned but was cut off again by Kate.

“That’s bullshit Gibbs and you know it!”

“He has a connection with the victims and no alibi, Kate!” Gibbs yelled, taking a step forward and towering over his senior agent.

“And he’s the size of a fucking twelve year old boy! How could he have taken down the Lieutenant and Petty Officer by himself?” Kate countered, not backing down in the slightest, her rare use of a profanity emphasizing that.

Tony stood a few feet back, watching as his boss and colleague tore into each other. He did have to admit that Kate had a stronger argument; Havener really didn’t seem like the murdering type. However, he made no move to interfere. For one, he didn’t want to come between Gibbs and a good argument, and he had to admit that watching Kate all riled and ready to kill Gibbs was hot. Tony smiled inwardly to himself, no matter how upset he was with her he could never banish his office fantasies from his mind.

“He could have had an accomplice!” Gibbs continued.

“Why are you pushing this Gibbs! I know you’re not an idiot, you can see as well as anyone that this man has nothing to do with our case!”

At Kate’s words Gibbs finally conceded to her argument. He pulled her aside gently, shuffling down the hall away from Tony. “Look,” he said, then paused and ruffled his hair awkwardly. “I’m worried about you.”

Kate looked at him with disbelief. Sure the team could tell when he was concerned about one of them, but he’d never made his thoughts known so clearly before. “Gibbs, you don’t have to...”

“No, I do. I have a bad feeling about this case...our victims,” he said, and Kate nodded understanding what he meant. “I just want to find the guy before anything happens, and right now Robert Havener is as close as we’ve got. So just let me do my thing, okay?” He gently patted Kate’s shoulder and she smiled, grateful for the almost fatherly concern and relief at someone else agreeing with what her mind continued to tell her was not a coincidence.

“Okay, just don’t be so hard on the guy. I still don’t think he’s involved, but we’ll do some more research, maybe check out his place today.”

Gibbs frowned a little. “Maybe you shouldn’t go out into the field...”

“Gibbs!” Kate’s protests cut him off.

“Fine, just watch your back, Todd,” and with a final pat on the shoulder he disappeared back into the interrogation room.

Kate rejoined Tony down the hall and he grinned at her and winked. “What were you talking about with the boss?” he said with another wink.

Kate’s expression quickly turned to disgust and she elbowed Tony in the ribs. “DiNozzo!”

“Hey! I’m just saying, Kate. You and Gibbs looked pretty cozy back there,” Tony said with a laugh, then prepared for another hit.

But instead of another sharp blow to the ribs, Kate smiled up at Tony. “Hey, we’re talking,” she said happily, noticing his drastic mood change.

Tony smiled back a little. “Yea, we are.”

“Maybe we could...you know...”

“Kate, could we maybe talk about it later?” Tony asked, looking at this floor, slightly embarrassed. He wanted to clear the air between them but didn’t feel like having this conversation at work where Gibbs could walk in at any moment.

“Sure, no problem,” Kate said, then punched him hard in the arm.

“Hey! What was that for?” Tony cried, rubbing his arm lightly.

“For even suggesting there is something between me and Gibbs,” she said with a laugh and started down the hall. Tony hurried after her and they headed upstairs, finally feeling almost back to normal.

“The door is locked, Tony!” Kate said for the fifth time in the last few minutes. She sat hunched over in defeat on the porch of Seaman Havener’s house not far from Norfolk as Tony continued to fiddle with the doorknob.

“Do you have a hair pin?” He asked, examining the lock.

Kate sighed. “No! Besides you can’t pick a lock with a hair pin, Tony.”

“Fine,” he said, finally giving up and sitting down beside her. “What do you suggest we do?”

“Find an open window, like I said twenty minutes ago.” Kate got up and stood back on the front lawn, looking at the upstairs windows for a sign that one of them was open. When nothing jumped out at her, she quickly headed for the back yard. “Come on! Let’s go around back!”

Tony jumped up and followed her, grinning madly. Kate looked back and eyed him suspiciously.

“What are you so happy about?”

“Nothing...just glad I have my smart little partner to figure out what to do...” he trailed off at Kate’s glare but his Cheshire cat grin stayed in place.

The two agents made their way around the back of the house and carefully examined all the ground floor windows. When none was found open, they moved their eyes upward and spotted a wide-open window on the second floor.

“Gimme a boost,” Kate said. As she turned around to face Tony she caught his quick arm pump and mouthed “Yes!”, and finally understood what he was so happy about.

“Tony!” she yelled and smacked him on the head. “Don’t even think about it!”

“What?” Tony said, and tried his best to put on an innocent face.

“I know the moment I let you boost me up there you’ll look up my skirt!”

Tony laughed. “Aww, come on Kate, I wouldn’t do that.” Kate just glared at Tony’s response. “Okay...uh...maybe I would, but what do you propose we do about it? We need someone to get up to that window.”

“I’ll boost you up,” Kate answered.

Tony faltered, he was pretty sure Kate couldn’t lift him an inch off the ground let alone a few feet, but he didn’t want to get smacked for disagreeing with her again. “Sure,” he said apprehensively. “Or maybe we could just try that whole hair pin in the lock thing again...”

“You don’t think I can do it, do you?” Kate said.

“No...I...well...I’m not exactly light, Kate...”

Kate shook her head defiantly and kneeled down on the grass beside the house. “Come on!” she said.

Tony stood in place, looking very hesitant. He didn’t want Kate, or himself, to get hurt.

“Come on! What, you scared I’m going to show you up?” Kate said, knowing a threat like that would urge him forward.

Tony scoffed and marched over to Kate. He kicked his shoes off and placed on foot on Kate’s left shoulder.

“God Tony! Your feet stink!”

“Hey, you know we could always go back to the front if you can’t take it,” Tony said with a laugh as he wiggled his foot in her face. Despite Kate’s threat, he still didn’t want to do this.

“No! I’m fine. Let’s do this.”

“Okay, then.” Bracing himself on the side of the house Tony quickly transferred his weight into Kate’s shoulder as he raised his other foot to her right shoulder, then cringed as he waited for the inevitable fall. But all that came was a slight groan from Kate as she slowly pushed herself up to a standing position with Tony on her shoulders.

“Can you reach the window yet?” Kate asked, her voice strained under the weight she carried.

“Go left!” Tony called down to her and she shuffled left slowly.

“You really should get some foot deodorant or something, Tony, you’re feet are rancid!”

“Foot deodorant! So unmanly,” Tony said with a smirk before continuing to direct Kate toward the window. “Just a little bit more left and I can reach it.”

Kate shuffled left again as Tony reached out for the windowsill, throwing his weight on her left side. “Wait, Tony! Don’t lean so far...”

Kate didn’t finish her sentence, as seconds later both agents came crashing to the ground, Tony on top of Kate.

They lay face to face for a second, unsure of what to do, until Tony broke the silence. “Sorry, are you okay?” He said, rolling off her, standing up and holding out a hand to her. Kate winced a little but nodded and took his hand. Tony braced himself for the inevitable smack and lecture but was surprised when she apologized too.

“No, I’m sorry. It was a stupid idea. You can just give me a boost up.”

Tony nodded, too surprised by her apology to remember to be happy about the change in plans. He knelt down and Kate placed one foot on his shoulders and paused.

“Tony?” she asked.

“Yea?”

“If you so much as glance upwards you will rue the day you were born,” Kate threatened before placing her other foot on his right shoulder.

As he stood up, Tony forced himself to stare at the side of the house, knowing Kate would go through with whatever she threatened. Within minutes, he felt his shoulders lighten as she climbed through the window.

“I’ll meet you out front,” Kate called down before disappearing into the house.

The two agents carefully searched the downstairs of the house, going through opened mail, bills, and various documents, trying to find anything that could connect Havener to the victims.

“I’m going to start upstairs,” Kate said, after half an hour of searching.

Tony nodded. “Okay, I’ll be up a minute once I finish with this stuff.” He gestured to the last few papers they had found in the office. He listened as Kate’s footsteps echoed in the foyer and then faded as she headed upstairs.

He felt his body relax the moment she was gone. His guard could be let down. Since the kiss and the argument he only felt tense around Kate, unsure of what she was feeling, thinking. Although Tony knew it would hurt to talk about it, he felt a need to clear the air between then completely. Quickly, he rifled through the last few papers and then made to follow Kate’s path upstairs, intending to talk as they worked. However, his intentions were quickly diminished when a sharp scream came from above him. Instinctively, Tony drew his gun and rushed to find Kate.