Another screwed up relationship. It wasn't even a relationship. Kate hates birthdays, especially when it comes to the big round thirty. It's tomorror! TOMORROR! And her boyfriend has forgot it. Not only that, he even left her.
„Nice to leave me the day before the worst birthday of a woman's life!", she told herself while driving home. She looked forward to another lonely night followed by a lonely birthday and some more lonely nights. „And I told Abby not to come by!"
In fact, she had the naive thought that she would spent the night with Andrew, followed by breakfast in bed and a lovely day, some presents, so she would forget the number of years. „i wished I was ten again!", she said thinking of that time when everything was a lot more easy.
She got to her driveway and was surprised to see the lights on. „Thought I turned them out." She got to her door and saw movement in the living room.
She draw her gun. Who the hell is in her house? The door was still locked. Maybe they got through a window, but she saw none of them broken. The backdoor! No time to get around she had to take this way. She opened the door as silent as she could and walked slowly to the living room. She looked around the corner and saw the TV turned on. She looked again. A comic. Roadrunner. What kind of burglar take a break to watch Roadrunner? „HANDS UP OR I'LL SHOOT!", she yelled out while spinning around. Little hands showed at the couch. It was a child. Kate lowered the gun a little, but stayed read to shoot. „Hey! What are you doing in my house?", she asked a bit more calm now.
„Watching TV?!" the little girl answered slowly.
„How did you came in?"
„You asked me to be here, Kate!"
„I? I didn't... Who are you?"
The girl stood up and turned to face Kate.
„Oh , my, oh my God!"

Kate looked at the little girl in shock.
„That can't be true! You can't be..."
„You?"
„Yeah! You can't be me!"
It was amazing. This little girl looked like a smalled copy of Kate. The brown hair, the hazelnut eyes.
„I am you, Kate!"
„I must be dreaming!"
„Nope! I'm you. Actually I'm your past. I'm you when you where ten!"
„No, you're not!" Kate hat still the gun in her hand. Somebody played her a trick.
„You asked to be ten again. Well, that's impossible, but you meet me now!"
„What are you here for?" Kate was so shocked that she just accepted the situation.
„To help you to clear some things out!"
„What things?"
„Your life, actually. You're turning thirty tomorror, right?"
„Yes..."
„Bloody old, excuse my language!" the little Kate gave a sweet smile.
„What things in my life have to be cleared?"
„You're married?"
„No,but.."
„You've got children?"
„No, but..."
„You're engaged?"
„No..."
„And you really think there is nothing to clear?"
„I'm happy just the way it is!"
„Kate! I'm you! I know that you planned your wedding when you where eight! You can't pretend to be happy!"
„Well, it's not that easy when you're grown up!"
„No, not if you're blind!"
„What should that mean?"
„You'll know! I'll help you to find the right guy! I'll accompain you!"
„I can't take a child with me everywhere!"
„Don't worry, noone will see me!"
The little Kate started to walk around the room. She found a picture of the team. „Who are they?"
„My team mates! I'm a Special Agent at the NCIS!"
„Wow! But I never dreamt of being in the NCIS! I dreamt of the secret service!"
„You, I was! I changed!"
„Why?"
„Things happened. The job at the NCIS is really good! You'll like it."
„I think so, cutie cute!" she said pointing on Tony.
„He's just a team mate!"
„He looks the way I think Marco will!"
„God, Marco!"
She hadn't thought of him for a long time. He was her best friend since kindergarten. And in High School he was her boyfriend. She had all her experience with him. The first kiss, the first time...
„You still have contact with him, I suppose."
„Actually..."
Actually she hadn't. He surely was the love of her life. Maybe he even was her life. He was her best friend, boyfriend, lover, everything you need. And she thought he would become her husband, too. But he hadn't. He couldn't. He didn't even end High School.

*Flashback*
„I'm really sorry Mr. and Mrs. Bennini. It was too late. I'm really sorry." The doctor went away, his scrubs red with blood.
Kate was sitting near. She heard it. All she had from the accident where some cuts and a broken wrist. She coudln't look at Mr. Bennini when he told her. „Marco, didn't make it." She wanted to yell at him, to call him a liar. She waited for Marco to come around the corner to tell her that it was just one of his macarbre jokes. The ones she never thought were funny. He would come with one of this smirk, a cocky smile, be he didn't. He did not come laughing. In fact he never laughed again. It was the first time they drove his new car. He just had turned sixteen. They laughed, they joked. Then a crash. When she had openend hr eyes she was here. He was gone. Emergancy surgery. But he would never wake!
*end flashback*

„Kate?"
She looked up at the little girl. She had said down on her couch. This girl didn't know. This girl was suppossed to have the best time in her life in future.
„Well, I haven't talked to him for quite a time."
„Mhm, Mummy alays say that no friendship is forever! I guess, we had, will have, our reasons, right?"
„Yeah, right!"
No need to tell her she thought.

Kate got out of the elevator. She hadn't slept much because past-Kate had keep her up. She wanted to know everything about her future life. She said it's important to help her. But now, all Kate could think of was the fact that she is going to walk into the bullpen with a little girl at her side.
„Don't worry! As I said! They don't see me!"
„Yeah, great, so they see me talking to thin air!"
„No, when you're talking to me, noone will see!"
Kate looked at past-Kate.
„It's kinda magic!" The girl just shrugged and walked over to her desk.
„You're working here?"
„Yeah!" in that very moment Gibbs stormed into the bullpen, no coffee in sight. His look was freezing and he walked fast past her, not even looking at her.
„Where's DiNozzo?"
„Dunno, Gibbs!"
„Who is DiNozzo?"asked past-Kate
„He's my team mate."
„The cute one?"
„Yes...I mean...The one who reminded you on Marco..."
She looked back to Gibbs.
„Shall I go and ask Abby? McGee isn't there either!"
„Mhmm" Gibbs mumbled.
„It's not polite to mumble an answer!" past-Kate said but it came from Kate's mouth.
Gibbs looked in shock at her.
„Excuse me?"
„Nothing! I go to Abby!", she went into the elevator and pushed the down button.
„What was that?" she cried out.
„Oh well, I can interact with your friends. That's important! At least you wanted to be ten years again!"
„Yeah, but I thought I would be back in elemantary school then, and not a ten year old Special Agent! So please! Don't do that again!"
She got out into the lab and saw Abby, Tony and McGee sitting at the desk playing paper, siccor, stone. „What the hell are you doing here? Gibbs is already pissed off with you two!", Kate said her co-workers.
„Well, that's nothing yet! We have to tell him that we need a new truck..." said Tony
„And that I need a new spectroscope..." continued Abby.
„And the coffeemaschine is broken..." added Tony.
„And we have a virus in the system, so no computer is working!" completed McGee.
„Wow!" said Kate and sat beside Abby. Tony stood up. He bent down to his bag.
„Yummy!" said past-Kate again through Kate.
He turned around. „You said something?"
„No!" she breathed out and walked out of the lab as fast as possible.

„You're ten!" she screamed
„I'm precocious, you should know that!"
„God, I can't believe you did that!"
„But You must admitt, his buttom is yummy!"
„That has nothing to do with it! You can't go around and tell him that!"
Kate walked up and down in the elevator and kept yelling at the little girl.
„Sorry! It's just...*sop*... I wanna help...*sop*...and it's new for me too..."
Kate looked at her. „It's ok! Sorry, I didn't meant to..." she put a hand on the child's shoulder. Past-Kate looked up at her.
„What are we going to do now?" smiling her sweet smile again.
„We are going to Gibbs and wait for a case to come in."
„A case? With dead and everything?"
„Well yeah I guess, it depends...Just, don't say anything to, well, anybody, ok?"
The girl nodded slowly.

It just happened that they had a new case. Because of the broken truck they had to go by car. Gibbs and McGee took the one, Tony and Kate the other. A song started and Tony turned it louder.
"Could you switch it? I hate that song!", she said.
Just to tease her he started to sing
"Girls just wanna have fun ohoh, Girls just wanna have fun! Come on, Katie Girl, sing along!"

*flashback*
"Hey Katie Girl!" A gorgeous sixteen year old boy was sitting in his brand new cabrio.
"Oh my GOD! Marco, that car is incredible!" the fifteen year old Kate said when she walked out of the house.
He got out of the car and kissed his girlfriend.
"Happy birthday!"she whispered and kissed him again.
"Ok, you nasty catholic school girl, let's take a ride!" he gave her a little smack on the botton and jumped into the car.
"But not long! Mum will get home soon! And she will not be pleased!"
"When will your mother accept me?" he asked when she got in the car.
"Never!", she smiled and kissed him gently.
"Let see if this car is as good as it looks!" he joked and pushed the gas pedal. He drove onto the high way.
"Marco! Let's get home!"
"Come on, Katie! It's fun!"
"Yeah, but you haven't got your license for long! You're not used to drive that fast! Please Marco!"
A song started and he turned it louder.
"Girls just wanna have fun, come on Katie Girl, sing along!"
"Marco, watch out!"
*end flashback*

"Hey Kate! Hello, Kate! We're here!" Tony looked concernt at her.
"Yeah, yeah, let's go then!" she said.
"Why do you hate that song? I like it!"past-Kate said.
"I have my reasons!"Kate said.
"What did you remember?"
"What?"
"In the car? You had a flashback, right? What was it about?"
"Tony, he just remembered me on something, it's not important! Let's go!" she made clear that the conversation was over and past-Kate knew that she can be stolid.

TBC