Chapter 2
Kate opened her eyes, looking around at the stark white hospital room, confused.
"Hey," a familiar voice said next to her. "Nice to see you've joined the living."
"Tony?" she asked, trying to remember what had happened. Her voice was weak and shaky.
"Shhh, don't talk, you lost a lot of blood back there," he said.
"Where are…" she mumbled anyway.
"Gibbs went for coffee, Abby's getting flowers, McGee went to pick up lunch, and Ducky's talking to the doctors," he rattled off. Kate started to nod, but her head hurt too much.
"You know, you talk a lot in your sleep," Tony said, grinning. "Who's Rodney?" Kate's inside seemed to freeze. She had been dreaming about her hallucinations. What else had she revealed?
"Uh, some guy off a sci-fi show Abby was telling me about..." she trailed off, realizing how weird that sounded.
"Right, and you love him?" Tony asked, putting her on the spot.
"No, it was just a dream. Forget about it," she said. She was saved from further comments from Tony by the sudden arrival of
Abby and McGee. Abby was half hidden behind a large bouquet of lilies.
"You're awake!" she squealed. "I wanted to get you something black, but McGee said these would probably be better." She placed the flowers on a nearby table and rushed over to hug her. Tony grabbed the Subway bag from McGee and rifled through it.
"Glad to see you're okay," McGee said.
"Thanks," Kate said, smiling. "I'm glad to see I'm okay, too." At that moment, Gibbs walked in, his face unreadable.
"How are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm alright," she said, but he gave her a look that clearly reminded her of Rule Number Seven, "Be specific when you lie." "Okay, so I feel like crap. Did you at least get the guy?"
"Yeah, we got him," Gibbs said, "but next time, try not to get yourself shot over it."
"Sure thing, Boss," she said, smiling. The small hospital room
was quickly becoming even more crowded as Ducky entered.
"Ah, Caitlyn," the elderly ME said, seeing she was awake. "How are you feeling?"
"Alright," she replied, but after another look from Gibbs she elaborated. "Sore, and I've got an awful headache, but I've been worse." Ducky smiled.
"Well, we should let the poor dear rest," he said to the room at large.
"Right, I should get going," Abby said, giving Kate a quick hug goodbye before leaving the room with McGee, who also bade her farewell.
"Jethro, could I see you outside for a moment?" Ducky asked, and together they left the room. She was alone with Tony again.
"So what happened after you got shot?" he asked. "You were stuck in there for like an hour."
"Just a few hallucinations," Kate replied.
"What?"
"Oh, Abby showed up and tried to explain it all, something about my subconscious and how falling asleep might kill me," she explained.
"Wow," Tony said, "anyone else there?"
"Yeah, you showed up after Abby, but instead of keeping me alive, it seemed like you were trying to annoy me to death," she said, smiling.
"So it was pretty much like real life?" he asked.
"Yeah, except...never mind." She had almost spilled her secret.
"What?" he asked.
"Forget about it," she said.
"Tell me!" he demanded.
"No, well, you told me to hang on so I could tell you..." she trailed off. His eyes glinted, and immediately she knew that he had figured it out.
"So it wasn't Rodney," he said. "You like me!"
"Don't get a big head, Tony," she warned.
"I knew you liked me!" he said.
"Well, maybe a little," she joked.
"Good, cause I think I like you a little, too," he said, smiling. Gibbs reentered the room.
"What are you two talking about now?" he asked, seeing their smiles.
"Nothing," Kate lied, and then remembering his previous looks, added quickly, "Just about Tony's latest girlfriend." Gibbs smiled inwardly. Finally they admitted it to each other, he thought, reading their faces. Even I saw that one coming!
Author's Chapter Notes:
She finally wakes up. Tony is there.
Chapter End Notes:
I hope this is semi realistic, but if its not let me know!