Kate sat down quietly on the bumper of the ambulance. The whole sidewalk was blocked off with caution tape. Local police and NCIS members rushed around her and a doctor neatly tended to her wound, but she noticed none of it. Beside her Gibbs talked angrily on the phone.
She recalled it in a flashback. They had been on the roof, her, Tony and Gibbs. She had jumped in front of Gibbs to block a bullet. It hit her in her vest. Gibbs and Tony had helped her up. Right then, a sniper from a building to far to see, grazed her shoulder with a bullet. It had been Ari.
"You're good to go Agent Todd," said the doctor stepping back to admire his handy work. Kate looked at her trimly wrapped shoulder.
"Thank you Doctor." She stood up and stretched her back. She smiled to herself. Before she had been shaken up, but now she just felt good. Ari tried to take her out, but she won.
Gibbs turned to her. "How do you feel?"
"Fine," He smiled at her boundless confidence and bravery.
"Good," the smiled faded and he began to walk away.
"Gibbs?"
"Yeah?"
"They didn't find him did they?
"No, they found his snipers nest, but…Ari is still out there. Tony will take you home, it's been a long day. We all need some rest," He looked so sad and hopeless as he walked away. His fire and passion to kill Ari was missing. Then he surprised Kate by snapping out of it. Without turning around he yelled back, "but you better be at your desk ready to work in one hour!" Kate smiled to herself, then turned and ducked under the caution tape.
Kate's Apartment
Kate walked in to her apartment after assuring Tony that he did not need to come in. She dropped her bag on the arm chair and lay down on the couch. Her apartment was quiet. She sighed as she pulled off her high heels. She let her head fall back into the pillows. Suddenly she heard a clatter in the kitchen. She set up straight and reached for her gun. The noises in the kitchen continued followed by breaking glass and a slosh of water. Kate was terrified. She held her gun in front of her and carefully entered the kitchen. In the kitchen she found her orange tabby cat on the counter with her yellow gold fish wriggling in its mouth. He looked up at Kate with startled eyes, then innocently dropped the fish and fled the scene. Kate let out a sigh of relief the quickly filled a glass with water and put the fish in it. She then cleaned up the kitchen and went to get ready to go back to work.
NCIS Headquarters
"Hey Kate, you're late," said Tony reclining in his chair as Kate removed her coat and sat down in her chair. "Gibbs wants to go check out Ari's sniper nest.
"But the police have swept it over a hundred times, what does he want us to do?"
"Sweep it again," said Gibbs walking quickly into the pen.
"Right," mumbled Kate putting her coat back on and grabbing her bag.
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