Two Weeks Away: Chapter Four
Monday
Kate struggled with her suitcase and practically fell through her front door, trying desperately to not step on all the mail that had accumulated on the floor. Kicking it closed behind her, Kate let go of her giant piece of luggage, giving it a little vengeful kick before plopping down on one of the ottomans near her entryway. One of the wheels on her bag had broken at the airport and so she had been forced to haul it through the terminal to the taxi stand. Then, when she had arrived at the apartment building, she had discovered that the elevator had been shut down for repairs. She ended up walking up two flights dragging her suitcase behind her all the way.
The nine-hour flight across the U.S. had taxed her severely. She had already been an emotional wreck when she had boarded the plane. Saying goodbye to Kono at the airport had been difficult. The whole time they had waited for her flight she kept trying to come up with a plan that would allow her to stay, each scenario crazier than the last. When her flight had been announced Kono had walked her to the terminal, and had given her a deep passionate kiss that ended with the two of them holding each other tightly for a long moment, until the final boarding call had been announced. Then Kono had given her one final, brief kiss, and had walked away never looking back. Kate knew this because she had watched her until she was out of sight.
Her flight had been awful. She had been squished between a poor woman who was flying with her sixth-month old to meet up with her husband in D.C., and a burly salesman who kept trying to sell her life insurance. At one point Kate had feigned sleep just to get some peace, and to try to stop a headache from getting worse, although it hadn’t worked.
Now she was home.
She wanted to go into her bedroom and sleep for a million years, and maybe cry a little bit, but she couldn’t. She was starting back up with NCIS on Wednesday and that didn’t leave her much time to unpack and get ready to go back to work fulltime. Heaving a watery sigh, Kate forced herself to get up and drag her very uncooperative luggage into the bedroom. She also scooped up her mail off the floor. Finally, she wrestled the cursed bag, onto the bed and was unzipping it just as her phone started dinging. Pulling it out of her pocket, she saw that she had received a lot of messages while she had been unreachable on the plane.
Putting her phone on speaker, Kate placed it on the bed so she could listen, unpack, and look through her mail at the same time. Tony’s voice boomed out from the phone as he teased her while welcoming her back, and she smiled as he dragged poor McGee onto the call. McGee said a timid hello and hoped she had a good time. Kate just shook her head as Tony cut the other man off and called him one of his ever revolving Mc-nicknames. As the call ended Kate wondered if Tony would ever figure out that pulling pigtails was never a good way to show someone that you liked them.
The next message was from her dentist so Kate was only half listening as she went through the stack of mail. Most were advertisements and bills, until she came across a medium-sized envelope that was pale gray. As she opened the outer envelope she couldn’t help but notice the paper was thick and expensive feeling. Inside was a smaller envelope with an honest to goodness wax seal keeping it closed, with the letters G and M intertwined. Breaking the seal very carefully, Kate couldn’t help a gasp as she read the invitation. She was cordially invited to the wedding of Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard. Kate was so delighted for them, as they both deserved so much happiness and she was so glad they found theirs together. Reading the rest of the invitation, she saw it was in two weeks time and would take place in Gibbs’ backyard. Kate took the R.S.V.P. card out and filled it in. A treacherous thought had her wishing she could add Kono as her plus one, but she shook her head at her foolishness. She put the card into her purse, wanting to give it to Ducky in person when she saw him on Wednesday.
Putting the other mail aside to deal with later, Kate started in on unpacking. Grabbing the clothes, Kate dragged them to her laundry room. She had never been more thankful that she didn’t have to wash her clothes at a laundromat. After starting a load, she returned to her bedroom, and took out her shoes, intending to place them in the closet, only to stop. All of the sudden she realized one of her flats had a fair amount of sand in it. Pouring the white sand out into her hand, Kate felt her heart clench a bit at this physical reminder.
It was more than just sand, it encapsulated her entire vacation: the beach was where she had met Kono, the moonlit walk where they had their first kiss, and the perfect day when she had learned to surf had all taken place on the beach. Throwing the shoes carelessly into the closet, Kate walked back to the bed and picked up the grey envelope that had held Gibbs and Ducky’s invitation. Carefully pouring the sand inside Kate then went into the kitchen, opened the junk drawer and found her scotch tape. Sealing the envelope, Kate then went back into her bedroom, wondering if she was being too sentimental as she gave the envelope a brief kiss before placing it on her nightstand table. Maybe she was being a bit maudlin, but she didn’t care, because having that envelope propped up against her lamp where she could see it as she finished unpacking made her feel a little less alone.
~NCIS/H50~
One Week Later
“Grab your gear. We’ve got a dead marine found floating in the Potomac.”
At Gibbs’ announcement, Kate automatically started to stand up, only to check herself midway and sit back down. She hoped that no one had seen her mistake, but when McGee stopped at her desk with a sympathetic expression on his face she knew her error had been noticed.
“You’ll be back soon Ka…” Tim started to say before Tony snagged him by the back of his neck, cutting off his speech.
“Come on McCaring, sometimes less is more,” Tony said, slinging his arm around Tim’s shoulders, essentially dragging McGee towards the elevator, where Gibbs was waiting with a scowl on his face.
Kate appreciated both of the men were trying to help in their own way. Ever since she had been back, Tony had tried to act like she had never been gone and nothing had happened whatsoever, whereas Tim took the opposite approach and hovered… a lot… worry just radiating off him. Neither method had really worked to make her feel any better. She couldn’t pretend it never happened, not with her being out over a year, but neither did she want to be coddled and fussed over. These last two weeks had been an… experience. There had been a part of her that thought, erroneously, that she would just slip back into her job and it would feel natural like a well-worn pair of jeans. Instead there was a persistent sense of unreality to it. It was NCIS but it wasn’t her NCIS. It felt uncomfortable and foreign, like she was a square peg in a round hole.
Gibbs, on the other hand, seemed like he didn’t know how to treat her. Sometimes he was a brusque taskmaster like before, but then other times he would treat her almost with kids gloves. It weirded her out a bit because she never knew which Gibbs she was going to get when she walked into work that day. Since it had only been a week, she was hopeful that everyone would settle down and she would once again find her groove in NCIS.
Glancing around the now empty workroom, Kate sighed and went back to the cold case in front of her. Gibbs had her working on cold cases while she was on desk duty. After rereading her notes she had written down earlier in the week, Kate made a call to one of the witnesses. Even though the case was over five years old she was able to get a hold of the elderly neighbor and ask him a few more questions. Kate took copious notes, even though after five years the witness probably wasn’t going to remember anything new. After hanging up, Kate ran a hand through her hair in frustration; just like she had thought, he had not been able to shed any new light on the case.
Sighing once again, Kate looked at the clock on her monitor. She had been working for a couple of hours and could probably use a break. She stood and grabbed her purse, and was planning on wandering over to the coffee cart when she spied the wedding invitation still in her wallet. She winced as guilt flooded through her; she should’ve given her R.S.V.P. to Ducky almost a week ago. There was only a week left before the wedding. Trying to assuage her guilt at being a bad guest and friend, Kate decided to head down to autopsy and invite Ducky to go on her break with her.
Getting into the elevator, Kate pulled out her phone and hit the weather app, wondering if she should snag her jacket, seeing that it was going to be unseasonably warm for the end of February. She decided the blazer she had on would probably be more than okay. Next to the forecast for Washington D.C. was the forecast for Honolulu that she hadn’t been able to bring herself to delete from her phone since she got back. She saw it was going to be a very balmy seventy-nine degrees and she closed her eyes imagining the soft warm wind against her skin. Kate realized with a start that the phantom chill that she had been experiencing ever since she had woken up from her coma hadn’t bothered her once in Hawaii, or since she had been back. So maybe her brain had finally healed, or maybe it had been psychological all along. Either way, the realization brought a smile to her face.
As the elevator descended Kate wondered what Kono was doing today. Since it was Monday she was probably at work, and if it was a light day she might go to the beach to surf afterwards. Kate couldn’t help wondering if Kono thought of her at all. She had found herself reaching for her phone a few times a day, wanting to call and tell the other woman how her first week back had gone, but she always talked herself out of it, remembering how they had promised no strings attached and no long distance relationships. After all, she was the one who set the rules. How could she break them now?
When the elevator dinged Kate shoved her phone back in her purse with a bit more force than necessary and walked out, automatically pushing through the doors of autopsy. Once inside she saw it was empty. A shudder went up her spine as she stood there just inside the swinging doors. Kate’s gaze skittered off the smooth metal tables and she couldn’t help but wonder if she would have been autopsied here if she had died that day. A sickening feeling crept over her as she realized she probably would’ve. Ducky, being the conscientious person he was, would have insisted on it, rather than trusting anyone else to do it. Suddenly the morgue felt like it was closing in on her, she could picture herself lying there on the table with a bullet through the head, her eyes wide open.
Kate turned and slammed through the doors and straight into Ducky, almost knocking the older man down. She grabbed his arms at the last second and kept them both from falling over.
“Ducky, I’m so sorry…” Kate gasped out, trying to get herself back under control.
“No worries my dear,” Ducky started to say as he straightened himself up. When he looked over at her his tone changed. “Caitlin, are you all right?”
Kate smiled brightly to try to assuage his fears, but her voice trembled a bit as she said, “I’m fine. I was just wondering if I could persuade you to come get coffee with me.”
Ducky’s brows were drawn together in consternation but he said, “That sounds delightful. I think we could both use some fresh air. Just let me get my jacket.”
Shuddering at the thought of going back into autopsy, Kate said, “Okay, I’ll meet you in the lobby.” And, not waiting for an answer, she turned and walked into the main elevator and pushed the button for the ground floor, willing her breathing to slow down.
~NCIS/H50~
Kate sipped her coffee cautiously, setting it back down when it proved to be too hot still. Ducky sat across from her, cradling his cup of tea between his hands.
Thankfully, the café they were sitting in wasn’t too crowded, so they could actually hear each without having to shout.
“I am so glad you asked me to coffee this morning. I have been meaning to talk to you all week, but with work being fairly busy and the wedding coming up, I am afraid the days have slid past me,” Ducky said with regret in his voice.
Kate leaned over and squeezed his arm gently in comfort. “Don’t worry about it, Ducky. I’m fine,” she said breezily, leaning back and taking the lid off her coffee trying to speed up the cooling process.
At Ducky’s raised eyebrows, Kate knew she would have to give him more, otherwise he would worry and might take his concerns to Gibbs. “Of course this week has been an adjustment but I think I am handling it okay.”
Ducky just hummed as he took a sip of his tea.
Kate wasn’t sure if that was a negative hum or a positive one, but she thought a distraction might be in order. “I did want to ask you about Gibbs though. At times he treats me like he used to, and other times not so much. Any thoughts?”
Ducky set down his cup and sighed. “I am afraid, my dear, that Jethro is dealing with a massive amount of guilt where you are concerned.”
Kate sat up a bit straighter in shock at the news. “It wasn’t his fault Ducky, and I don’t blame him at all,” she stated putting special emphasis on the last few words. Because she didn’t blame Gibbs, it had never even crossed her mind.
“I have told him countless times that it wasn’t his fault, but you know how he is. He carries the weight of the world on his shoulders,” Ducky said. She must have looked troubled because he continued quickly, “Now don’t you worry my dear, he will soon get over it and be back to his regular self.”
Kate nodded, not wanting to stress the other man out so close to the wedding. Pulling the R.S.V.P. card from her purse, she handed it over with an apology.
Ducky waved her apology away. “We kind of surprised everyone with the announcement so we are just happy you could make it. Are you thinking of bringing anyone? Although we planned a small wedding, if you would like to you may bring along a guest. There will be plenty of room.”
Kate felt something clench in her chest at the thought of the one person she desperately wanted to bring but couldn’t. She could imagine sitting next to Kono, whispering to each other as they held hands, listening to Gibbs and Ducky exchange their vows. She shook her head, banishing the image, and heaved a heavy sigh. Looking up she met Ducky’s kind blue eyes, and almost against her will she asked, “Ducky, do you believe you can fall in love with someone after only knowing them for a week?”
Ducky gently shook his head, and said, “No, I don’t believe so, no matter what the poets say.”
Kate looked back down, twisting the coffee cup in her hands, and now it was Ducky’s turn to reach out and place a hand on her arm. When she looked up he continued in a gentler tone of voice, “However, I do believe, in such a short time you can get a good start on falling in love, that you can make a connection. I also think that feeling that strong pull to another person is a rare phenomenon indeed. But I believe real, lasting love comes from truly knowing another person. So when you do meet that someone, you must seize the opportunity, no matter the difficulties, because you never know when it could be the love of your life.”
“Like you and Gibbs,” Kate offered up with a slight smile.
Ducky, with what looked like a slight blush and a bit of a bashful smile, said, “Yes like Jethro and I.”
~NCIS/H50~
The slight March breeze that whispered through the backyard had Kate absently pulling her coat closer, not really minding the cold so she could witness the ceremony of two of her favorite people.
“By the power visited in me by the state of Virginia, you may now kiss the groom.”
Gibbs placed his hands on either side of Ducky’s face and leaned in, kissing the other man deeply. Kate and the other guests stood and cheered. She continued to clap as the men walked down the short aisle together, their hands clasped, with wide, delighted smiles on their faces.
After the grooms had passed and had gone back into the house, Kate sniffed and started to search her pockets. She usually didn’t cry at weddings but watching Gibbs and Ducky finally get their happily-ever-after brought tears to her eyes. It didn’t help that she had felt especially fragile these last few weeks, what with starting back at NCIS and it being a bigger and rougher adjustment then she had thought. But the biggest reason was how much she still missed Kono. Kate found herself missing the other woman more now than she had when she first returned to D.C. There were so many things she wanted to share with her about her day and she wanted to know how Kono’s day was going. Was she missing Kate as much? Or was Kate alone with these feelings?
Finally, in the inner pocket, she found a small packet of tissues, and pulling one out she dabbed at the tears. Kate headed back towards the house to figure out how she could help, as others started to clear the chairs off the back lawn so the tables could be set up along with a small dance floor. Crumpling up the tissue, Kate pushed it back into the inner pocket of her jacket, and when she did her fingers brushed up against a piece of paper. Absentmindedly pulling the paper out, Kate walked up the backyard stairs, unfolding it. The name signed to the bottom stopped Kate in her tracks.
“Excuse me,” came a clipped voice behind her. Kate whispered a distracted apology as she moved out of the way of the caterer, continuing to read the letter.
“Dear Kate,
I know we said this was to be just a vacation romance with no strings attached and no regrets, but as our days together draw to a close I can already feel those future regrets crowding me. The time we have spent together over the past weeks have been some of the best moments for me in a long time. I think we could have something worth fighting for, something worth all the hard work a long distance relationship takes. I have never felt so close to a person so fast. So I started to ask myself what I would regret more, taking the chance and reaching out to you, or not taking the chance at all? It didn’t take me long to make up my mind, so I wrote this note while you were sleeping and left it somewhere you would find it. Now, if you don’t feel the same please do me the favor of just throwing this note away forgetting you ever found it, and let our time together continue to be just a pleasant memory. But if you feel the same way I do, please call me and let’s see if we can make this work.
Love, Kono”
There were people streaming all around her getting the backyard ready for the reception, but Kate barely knew they were there. In a daze, she went back down the stairs dodging people carrying covered dishes of food and centerpieces. Finally rounding the corner of the house, Kate hugged the letter to her chest and forced herself to take in a deep breath and blow it out again, trying to regain control. Two thoughts kept circling through her head.
Kono was feeling the same as her.
Kono wanted to try to be together.
An almost unspeakable joy welled up within her. Pulling out her phone, Kate quickly found Kono’s contact information. She couldn’t help running her eyes over the photo she had chosen. It was a candid shot of Kono. They had just come in from another round of surfing, and Kono had looked over at her with such a soft smile on her face. Kate had chosen that picture because whenever she looked at it she felt cared for and maybe even loved. Now pressing the number, Kate nervously waited for Kono to pick up, sighing a bit in disappointment when it went to voicemail, and then panicking when it beeped and she had no idea what to say.
Finally she blurted out, “Hi Kono it’s me… although you probably know that from the caller ID. I am at a wedding…and I just found your note. Please call me back as soon as you can… I want… I want to try as well.” Kate didn’t know what else to say, and she especially didn’t want to say it to a voicemail so she quickly hung up. Rereading the note a few times more Kate carefully folded it back up and placed it safely back inside her pocket. Then glancing at her watch, she realized she had been away for too long and hurried back around the corner.
What met her eyes made her stop in her tracks. In the time she had been away they had totally transformed the backyard. What had been rows of chairs with a long aisle in-between now had groupings of tables encircling a small dance floor. And on that dance floor were Gibbs and Ducky, having their first dance to what sounded like La Vie En Rose by Louis Armstrong. Kate couldn’t help a wide smile from spreading across her face as she threaded her way to the table that held Tim, Abby, Tony, and Jimmy. Giving them all a grateful smile for saving her a seat, she sat down, placing her phone face up on the table so she wouldn’t miss Kono if she called back. She turned her attention back to the newly married couple. The two of them looked like they were in their own world as they swayed gently to the music. As the song ended, another classic song by Armstrong began to play. Kate recognized it as What a Wonderful World, one of her personal favorites, as more couples began to join them on the dance floor.
Kate turned her phone over and over in her hand, losing herself in her thoughts that ventured somewhere between a cold backyard in Washington and a sunny beach in Hawaii. Looking up from her phone, she realized that Abby and Jimmy were missing from the table. She spied them out on the dance floor together, and then it was just her, Tony, and Tim left.
Standing next to her was Tony, who held out his hand and asked, “You are looking awful pensive there Kate. Why don’t you let me take your mind off of whatever is bothering you? Will you do me the honor of dancing with me?”
Usually she would say yes, because she had to admit Tony was a great dancer, but she was afraid that she might miss Kono’s call. She offered up an apologetic smile and said, “Sorry, I think I am going to sit this one out.”
“You wound me Kate,” Tony said, withdrawing his hand and placing it over his heart with a mock frown on his face.
Kate was relieved to see he wasn’t really offended; he was just giving her a hard time. “Tim’s available. Why don’t you ask him?” Kate suggested, with a smile at Tony and a wink in Tim’s direction.
“Yeah, I am more than ready to be swept off my feet,” Tim teased.
Tony looked thrown for a second, before his charismatic smile returned and he rose to the challenge, offering his hand to the younger man. With a growing smile, Tim placed his hand in Tony’s, and he let the older man pull him out into the dance floor. Kate watched as they moved seamlessly together, slowly dancing to the soft music. She could see the exact moment when Tim relaxed in Tony’s arms, and Tony started to treat the dance less like a challenge and more like something he actually wanted to do. Kate looked on as they grew incrementally closer. Tony danced Tim slowly around the dance floor until there was barely any space between them. She couldn’t help wishing the two of them would soon realize what they felt for each other underneath all of the teasing and banter. They were family and Kate wanted them to be happy.
Kate took a sip of the punch that someone had gotten for her and checked the time on her phone; it had been around forty-five minutes since she had left Kono the voicemail, but it felt like an eternity.
“Are you having a good time?” Ducky asked kindly as he sat down next to her.
Kate turned and gave him her full attention. “I am. Congratulations! The wedding was so beautiful.”
“Thank you my dear. For being a bit last moment, it came together rather nicely,” Ducky exclaimed in a voice overflowing with happiness.
They chatted for a few more moments about the wedding and the subsequent honeymoon when Kate’s phone rang. Glancing at it, Kate saw Kono’s picture pop up with a request for a FaceTime call. Kate said apologetically, “I have to take this.”
“Of course my dear of course,” Ducky said graciously.
Kate gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and then hightailed it up the back stairs and into the house where it was quieter, before answering the phone.
As the phone connected and Kate saw Kono’s radiant face for the first time in weeks, she couldn’t help the gasp that passed her lips before she pulled herself together and managed to squeak out a, “Hi.”
Kono looked just as taken aback, as they just took in the sight of each other for a few moments.
“I am so glad you called,” Kono finally breathed out and from the look on her face Kate believed it. It was a mixture of joy and relief.
“I’m sorry, I just found your note. I wish I had found it the moment I stepped off the plane,” Kate said in a rush, her words almost tripping over themselves before she forced herself to slow down. She took a deep breath and simply said, “I’ve missed you.”
Kono seemed to almost melt at her words as she repeated them back, “I’ve missed you too.” Then she asked, “How are we going to do this?”
Kono sounded more unsure than Kate had ever heard her, and she was unsure herself but then she remembered Ducky’s advice about seizing the opportunity when love comes your way, she said, “How about we take it one call at a time and see where we end up?”
Kono bit her lip worriedly, then with a more confident nod and a soft smile, said, “I like the sound of that.”
Epilogue
This entry was originally posted at https://under-the-silk-tree.dreamwidth.org/73070.html
Kate struggled with her suitcase and practically fell through her front door, trying desperately to not step on all the mail that had accumulated on the floor. Kicking it closed behind her, Kate let go of her giant piece of luggage, giving it a little vengeful kick before plopping down on one of the ottomans near her entryway. One of the wheels on her bag had broken at the airport and so she had been forced to haul it through the terminal to the taxi stand. Then, when she had arrived at the apartment building, she had discovered that the elevator had been shut down for repairs. She ended up walking up two flights dragging her suitcase behind her all the way.
The nine-hour flight across the U.S. had taxed her severely. She had already been an emotional wreck when she had boarded the plane. Saying goodbye to Kono at the airport had been difficult. The whole time they had waited for her flight she kept trying to come up with a plan that would allow her to stay, each scenario crazier than the last. When her flight had been announced Kono had walked her to the terminal, and had given her a deep passionate kiss that ended with the two of them holding each other tightly for a long moment, until the final boarding call had been announced. Then Kono had given her one final, brief kiss, and had walked away never looking back. Kate knew this because she had watched her until she was out of sight.
Her flight had been awful. She had been squished between a poor woman who was flying with her sixth-month old to meet up with her husband in D.C., and a burly salesman who kept trying to sell her life insurance. At one point Kate had feigned sleep just to get some peace, and to try to stop a headache from getting worse, although it hadn’t worked.
Now she was home.
She wanted to go into her bedroom and sleep for a million years, and maybe cry a little bit, but she couldn’t. She was starting back up with NCIS on Wednesday and that didn’t leave her much time to unpack and get ready to go back to work fulltime. Heaving a watery sigh, Kate forced herself to get up and drag her very uncooperative luggage into the bedroom. She also scooped up her mail off the floor. Finally, she wrestled the cursed bag, onto the bed and was unzipping it just as her phone started dinging. Pulling it out of her pocket, she saw that she had received a lot of messages while she had been unreachable on the plane.
Putting her phone on speaker, Kate placed it on the bed so she could listen, unpack, and look through her mail at the same time. Tony’s voice boomed out from the phone as he teased her while welcoming her back, and she smiled as he dragged poor McGee onto the call. McGee said a timid hello and hoped she had a good time. Kate just shook her head as Tony cut the other man off and called him one of his ever revolving Mc-nicknames. As the call ended Kate wondered if Tony would ever figure out that pulling pigtails was never a good way to show someone that you liked them.
The next message was from her dentist so Kate was only half listening as she went through the stack of mail. Most were advertisements and bills, until she came across a medium-sized envelope that was pale gray. As she opened the outer envelope she couldn’t help but notice the paper was thick and expensive feeling. Inside was a smaller envelope with an honest to goodness wax seal keeping it closed, with the letters G and M intertwined. Breaking the seal very carefully, Kate couldn’t help a gasp as she read the invitation. She was cordially invited to the wedding of Leroy Jethro Gibbs and Dr. Donald “Ducky” Mallard. Kate was so delighted for them, as they both deserved so much happiness and she was so glad they found theirs together. Reading the rest of the invitation, she saw it was in two weeks time and would take place in Gibbs’ backyard. Kate took the R.S.V.P. card out and filled it in. A treacherous thought had her wishing she could add Kono as her plus one, but she shook her head at her foolishness. She put the card into her purse, wanting to give it to Ducky in person when she saw him on Wednesday.
Putting the other mail aside to deal with later, Kate started in on unpacking. Grabbing the clothes, Kate dragged them to her laundry room. She had never been more thankful that she didn’t have to wash her clothes at a laundromat. After starting a load, she returned to her bedroom, and took out her shoes, intending to place them in the closet, only to stop. All of the sudden she realized one of her flats had a fair amount of sand in it. Pouring the white sand out into her hand, Kate felt her heart clench a bit at this physical reminder.
It was more than just sand, it encapsulated her entire vacation: the beach was where she had met Kono, the moonlit walk where they had their first kiss, and the perfect day when she had learned to surf had all taken place on the beach. Throwing the shoes carelessly into the closet, Kate walked back to the bed and picked up the grey envelope that had held Gibbs and Ducky’s invitation. Carefully pouring the sand inside Kate then went into the kitchen, opened the junk drawer and found her scotch tape. Sealing the envelope, Kate then went back into her bedroom, wondering if she was being too sentimental as she gave the envelope a brief kiss before placing it on her nightstand table. Maybe she was being a bit maudlin, but she didn’t care, because having that envelope propped up against her lamp where she could see it as she finished unpacking made her feel a little less alone.
~NCIS/H50~
One Week Later
“Grab your gear. We’ve got a dead marine found floating in the Potomac.”
At Gibbs’ announcement, Kate automatically started to stand up, only to check herself midway and sit back down. She hoped that no one had seen her mistake, but when McGee stopped at her desk with a sympathetic expression on his face she knew her error had been noticed.
“You’ll be back soon Ka…” Tim started to say before Tony snagged him by the back of his neck, cutting off his speech.
“Come on McCaring, sometimes less is more,” Tony said, slinging his arm around Tim’s shoulders, essentially dragging McGee towards the elevator, where Gibbs was waiting with a scowl on his face.
Kate appreciated both of the men were trying to help in their own way. Ever since she had been back, Tony had tried to act like she had never been gone and nothing had happened whatsoever, whereas Tim took the opposite approach and hovered… a lot… worry just radiating off him. Neither method had really worked to make her feel any better. She couldn’t pretend it never happened, not with her being out over a year, but neither did she want to be coddled and fussed over. These last two weeks had been an… experience. There had been a part of her that thought, erroneously, that she would just slip back into her job and it would feel natural like a well-worn pair of jeans. Instead there was a persistent sense of unreality to it. It was NCIS but it wasn’t her NCIS. It felt uncomfortable and foreign, like she was a square peg in a round hole.
Gibbs, on the other hand, seemed like he didn’t know how to treat her. Sometimes he was a brusque taskmaster like before, but then other times he would treat her almost with kids gloves. It weirded her out a bit because she never knew which Gibbs she was going to get when she walked into work that day. Since it had only been a week, she was hopeful that everyone would settle down and she would once again find her groove in NCIS.
Glancing around the now empty workroom, Kate sighed and went back to the cold case in front of her. Gibbs had her working on cold cases while she was on desk duty. After rereading her notes she had written down earlier in the week, Kate made a call to one of the witnesses. Even though the case was over five years old she was able to get a hold of the elderly neighbor and ask him a few more questions. Kate took copious notes, even though after five years the witness probably wasn’t going to remember anything new. After hanging up, Kate ran a hand through her hair in frustration; just like she had thought, he had not been able to shed any new light on the case.
Sighing once again, Kate looked at the clock on her monitor. She had been working for a couple of hours and could probably use a break. She stood and grabbed her purse, and was planning on wandering over to the coffee cart when she spied the wedding invitation still in her wallet. She winced as guilt flooded through her; she should’ve given her R.S.V.P. to Ducky almost a week ago. There was only a week left before the wedding. Trying to assuage her guilt at being a bad guest and friend, Kate decided to head down to autopsy and invite Ducky to go on her break with her.
Getting into the elevator, Kate pulled out her phone and hit the weather app, wondering if she should snag her jacket, seeing that it was going to be unseasonably warm for the end of February. She decided the blazer she had on would probably be more than okay. Next to the forecast for Washington D.C. was the forecast for Honolulu that she hadn’t been able to bring herself to delete from her phone since she got back. She saw it was going to be a very balmy seventy-nine degrees and she closed her eyes imagining the soft warm wind against her skin. Kate realized with a start that the phantom chill that she had been experiencing ever since she had woken up from her coma hadn’t bothered her once in Hawaii, or since she had been back. So maybe her brain had finally healed, or maybe it had been psychological all along. Either way, the realization brought a smile to her face.
As the elevator descended Kate wondered what Kono was doing today. Since it was Monday she was probably at work, and if it was a light day she might go to the beach to surf afterwards. Kate couldn’t help wondering if Kono thought of her at all. She had found herself reaching for her phone a few times a day, wanting to call and tell the other woman how her first week back had gone, but she always talked herself out of it, remembering how they had promised no strings attached and no long distance relationships. After all, she was the one who set the rules. How could she break them now?
When the elevator dinged Kate shoved her phone back in her purse with a bit more force than necessary and walked out, automatically pushing through the doors of autopsy. Once inside she saw it was empty. A shudder went up her spine as she stood there just inside the swinging doors. Kate’s gaze skittered off the smooth metal tables and she couldn’t help but wonder if she would have been autopsied here if she had died that day. A sickening feeling crept over her as she realized she probably would’ve. Ducky, being the conscientious person he was, would have insisted on it, rather than trusting anyone else to do it. Suddenly the morgue felt like it was closing in on her, she could picture herself lying there on the table with a bullet through the head, her eyes wide open.
Kate turned and slammed through the doors and straight into Ducky, almost knocking the older man down. She grabbed his arms at the last second and kept them both from falling over.
“Ducky, I’m so sorry…” Kate gasped out, trying to get herself back under control.
“No worries my dear,” Ducky started to say as he straightened himself up. When he looked over at her his tone changed. “Caitlin, are you all right?”
Kate smiled brightly to try to assuage his fears, but her voice trembled a bit as she said, “I’m fine. I was just wondering if I could persuade you to come get coffee with me.”
Ducky’s brows were drawn together in consternation but he said, “That sounds delightful. I think we could both use some fresh air. Just let me get my jacket.”
Shuddering at the thought of going back into autopsy, Kate said, “Okay, I’ll meet you in the lobby.” And, not waiting for an answer, she turned and walked into the main elevator and pushed the button for the ground floor, willing her breathing to slow down.
~NCIS/H50~
Kate sipped her coffee cautiously, setting it back down when it proved to be too hot still. Ducky sat across from her, cradling his cup of tea between his hands.
Thankfully, the café they were sitting in wasn’t too crowded, so they could actually hear each without having to shout.
“I am so glad you asked me to coffee this morning. I have been meaning to talk to you all week, but with work being fairly busy and the wedding coming up, I am afraid the days have slid past me,” Ducky said with regret in his voice.
Kate leaned over and squeezed his arm gently in comfort. “Don’t worry about it, Ducky. I’m fine,” she said breezily, leaning back and taking the lid off her coffee trying to speed up the cooling process.
At Ducky’s raised eyebrows, Kate knew she would have to give him more, otherwise he would worry and might take his concerns to Gibbs. “Of course this week has been an adjustment but I think I am handling it okay.”
Ducky just hummed as he took a sip of his tea.
Kate wasn’t sure if that was a negative hum or a positive one, but she thought a distraction might be in order. “I did want to ask you about Gibbs though. At times he treats me like he used to, and other times not so much. Any thoughts?”
Ducky set down his cup and sighed. “I am afraid, my dear, that Jethro is dealing with a massive amount of guilt where you are concerned.”
Kate sat up a bit straighter in shock at the news. “It wasn’t his fault Ducky, and I don’t blame him at all,” she stated putting special emphasis on the last few words. Because she didn’t blame Gibbs, it had never even crossed her mind.
“I have told him countless times that it wasn’t his fault, but you know how he is. He carries the weight of the world on his shoulders,” Ducky said. She must have looked troubled because he continued quickly, “Now don’t you worry my dear, he will soon get over it and be back to his regular self.”
Kate nodded, not wanting to stress the other man out so close to the wedding. Pulling the R.S.V.P. card from her purse, she handed it over with an apology.
Ducky waved her apology away. “We kind of surprised everyone with the announcement so we are just happy you could make it. Are you thinking of bringing anyone? Although we planned a small wedding, if you would like to you may bring along a guest. There will be plenty of room.”
Kate felt something clench in her chest at the thought of the one person she desperately wanted to bring but couldn’t. She could imagine sitting next to Kono, whispering to each other as they held hands, listening to Gibbs and Ducky exchange their vows. She shook her head, banishing the image, and heaved a heavy sigh. Looking up she met Ducky’s kind blue eyes, and almost against her will she asked, “Ducky, do you believe you can fall in love with someone after only knowing them for a week?”
Ducky gently shook his head, and said, “No, I don’t believe so, no matter what the poets say.”
Kate looked back down, twisting the coffee cup in her hands, and now it was Ducky’s turn to reach out and place a hand on her arm. When she looked up he continued in a gentler tone of voice, “However, I do believe, in such a short time you can get a good start on falling in love, that you can make a connection. I also think that feeling that strong pull to another person is a rare phenomenon indeed. But I believe real, lasting love comes from truly knowing another person. So when you do meet that someone, you must seize the opportunity, no matter the difficulties, because you never know when it could be the love of your life.”
“Like you and Gibbs,” Kate offered up with a slight smile.
Ducky, with what looked like a slight blush and a bit of a bashful smile, said, “Yes like Jethro and I.”
~NCIS/H50~
The slight March breeze that whispered through the backyard had Kate absently pulling her coat closer, not really minding the cold so she could witness the ceremony of two of her favorite people.
“By the power visited in me by the state of Virginia, you may now kiss the groom.”
Gibbs placed his hands on either side of Ducky’s face and leaned in, kissing the other man deeply. Kate and the other guests stood and cheered. She continued to clap as the men walked down the short aisle together, their hands clasped, with wide, delighted smiles on their faces.
After the grooms had passed and had gone back into the house, Kate sniffed and started to search her pockets. She usually didn’t cry at weddings but watching Gibbs and Ducky finally get their happily-ever-after brought tears to her eyes. It didn’t help that she had felt especially fragile these last few weeks, what with starting back at NCIS and it being a bigger and rougher adjustment then she had thought. But the biggest reason was how much she still missed Kono. Kate found herself missing the other woman more now than she had when she first returned to D.C. There were so many things she wanted to share with her about her day and she wanted to know how Kono’s day was going. Was she missing Kate as much? Or was Kate alone with these feelings?
Finally, in the inner pocket, she found a small packet of tissues, and pulling one out she dabbed at the tears. Kate headed back towards the house to figure out how she could help, as others started to clear the chairs off the back lawn so the tables could be set up along with a small dance floor. Crumpling up the tissue, Kate pushed it back into the inner pocket of her jacket, and when she did her fingers brushed up against a piece of paper. Absentmindedly pulling the paper out, Kate walked up the backyard stairs, unfolding it. The name signed to the bottom stopped Kate in her tracks.
“Excuse me,” came a clipped voice behind her. Kate whispered a distracted apology as she moved out of the way of the caterer, continuing to read the letter.
“Dear Kate,
I know we said this was to be just a vacation romance with no strings attached and no regrets, but as our days together draw to a close I can already feel those future regrets crowding me. The time we have spent together over the past weeks have been some of the best moments for me in a long time. I think we could have something worth fighting for, something worth all the hard work a long distance relationship takes. I have never felt so close to a person so fast. So I started to ask myself what I would regret more, taking the chance and reaching out to you, or not taking the chance at all? It didn’t take me long to make up my mind, so I wrote this note while you were sleeping and left it somewhere you would find it. Now, if you don’t feel the same please do me the favor of just throwing this note away forgetting you ever found it, and let our time together continue to be just a pleasant memory. But if you feel the same way I do, please call me and let’s see if we can make this work.
Love, Kono”
There were people streaming all around her getting the backyard ready for the reception, but Kate barely knew they were there. In a daze, she went back down the stairs dodging people carrying covered dishes of food and centerpieces. Finally rounding the corner of the house, Kate hugged the letter to her chest and forced herself to take in a deep breath and blow it out again, trying to regain control. Two thoughts kept circling through her head.
Kono was feeling the same as her.
Kono wanted to try to be together.
An almost unspeakable joy welled up within her. Pulling out her phone, Kate quickly found Kono’s contact information. She couldn’t help running her eyes over the photo she had chosen. It was a candid shot of Kono. They had just come in from another round of surfing, and Kono had looked over at her with such a soft smile on her face. Kate had chosen that picture because whenever she looked at it she felt cared for and maybe even loved. Now pressing the number, Kate nervously waited for Kono to pick up, sighing a bit in disappointment when it went to voicemail, and then panicking when it beeped and she had no idea what to say.
Finally she blurted out, “Hi Kono it’s me… although you probably know that from the caller ID. I am at a wedding…and I just found your note. Please call me back as soon as you can… I want… I want to try as well.” Kate didn’t know what else to say, and she especially didn’t want to say it to a voicemail so she quickly hung up. Rereading the note a few times more Kate carefully folded it back up and placed it safely back inside her pocket. Then glancing at her watch, she realized she had been away for too long and hurried back around the corner.
What met her eyes made her stop in her tracks. In the time she had been away they had totally transformed the backyard. What had been rows of chairs with a long aisle in-between now had groupings of tables encircling a small dance floor. And on that dance floor were Gibbs and Ducky, having their first dance to what sounded like La Vie En Rose by Louis Armstrong. Kate couldn’t help a wide smile from spreading across her face as she threaded her way to the table that held Tim, Abby, Tony, and Jimmy. Giving them all a grateful smile for saving her a seat, she sat down, placing her phone face up on the table so she wouldn’t miss Kono if she called back. She turned her attention back to the newly married couple. The two of them looked like they were in their own world as they swayed gently to the music. As the song ended, another classic song by Armstrong began to play. Kate recognized it as What a Wonderful World, one of her personal favorites, as more couples began to join them on the dance floor.
Kate turned her phone over and over in her hand, losing herself in her thoughts that ventured somewhere between a cold backyard in Washington and a sunny beach in Hawaii. Looking up from her phone, she realized that Abby and Jimmy were missing from the table. She spied them out on the dance floor together, and then it was just her, Tony, and Tim left.
Standing next to her was Tony, who held out his hand and asked, “You are looking awful pensive there Kate. Why don’t you let me take your mind off of whatever is bothering you? Will you do me the honor of dancing with me?”
Usually she would say yes, because she had to admit Tony was a great dancer, but she was afraid that she might miss Kono’s call. She offered up an apologetic smile and said, “Sorry, I think I am going to sit this one out.”
“You wound me Kate,” Tony said, withdrawing his hand and placing it over his heart with a mock frown on his face.
Kate was relieved to see he wasn’t really offended; he was just giving her a hard time. “Tim’s available. Why don’t you ask him?” Kate suggested, with a smile at Tony and a wink in Tim’s direction.
“Yeah, I am more than ready to be swept off my feet,” Tim teased.
Tony looked thrown for a second, before his charismatic smile returned and he rose to the challenge, offering his hand to the younger man. With a growing smile, Tim placed his hand in Tony’s, and he let the older man pull him out into the dance floor. Kate watched as they moved seamlessly together, slowly dancing to the soft music. She could see the exact moment when Tim relaxed in Tony’s arms, and Tony started to treat the dance less like a challenge and more like something he actually wanted to do. Kate looked on as they grew incrementally closer. Tony danced Tim slowly around the dance floor until there was barely any space between them. She couldn’t help wishing the two of them would soon realize what they felt for each other underneath all of the teasing and banter. They were family and Kate wanted them to be happy.
Kate took a sip of the punch that someone had gotten for her and checked the time on her phone; it had been around forty-five minutes since she had left Kono the voicemail, but it felt like an eternity.
“Are you having a good time?” Ducky asked kindly as he sat down next to her.
Kate turned and gave him her full attention. “I am. Congratulations! The wedding was so beautiful.”
“Thank you my dear. For being a bit last moment, it came together rather nicely,” Ducky exclaimed in a voice overflowing with happiness.
They chatted for a few more moments about the wedding and the subsequent honeymoon when Kate’s phone rang. Glancing at it, Kate saw Kono’s picture pop up with a request for a FaceTime call. Kate said apologetically, “I have to take this.”
“Of course my dear of course,” Ducky said graciously.
Kate gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and then hightailed it up the back stairs and into the house where it was quieter, before answering the phone.
As the phone connected and Kate saw Kono’s radiant face for the first time in weeks, she couldn’t help the gasp that passed her lips before she pulled herself together and managed to squeak out a, “Hi.”
Kono looked just as taken aback, as they just took in the sight of each other for a few moments.
“I am so glad you called,” Kono finally breathed out and from the look on her face Kate believed it. It was a mixture of joy and relief.
“I’m sorry, I just found your note. I wish I had found it the moment I stepped off the plane,” Kate said in a rush, her words almost tripping over themselves before she forced herself to slow down. She took a deep breath and simply said, “I’ve missed you.”
Kono seemed to almost melt at her words as she repeated them back, “I’ve missed you too.” Then she asked, “How are we going to do this?”
Kono sounded more unsure than Kate had ever heard her, and she was unsure herself but then she remembered Ducky’s advice about seizing the opportunity when love comes your way, she said, “How about we take it one call at a time and see where we end up?”
Kono bit her lip worriedly, then with a more confident nod and a soft smile, said, “I like the sound of that.”
Epilogue
This entry was originally posted at https://under-the-silk-tree.dreamwidth.org/73070.html