Kate felt groggy when she woke up. Everything around her felt different, she sheets beneath her weren't hers, she wasn't in her bed. Everything was different. Nothing felt right. She managed to pull herself upright, despite the strange feeling that was spread throughout her body. She was in a room she didn't recognize, she wasn't in a bunker because she could see the sun shining through the window.
"Don't get up too quickly" Ari's voice from the doorway startled her.
"What did you do to me?"
"I gave you something to help you sleep. Don't worry, It'll wear off soon"
"Why doesn't that bring me any comfort?" she shot back.
"I have something to show you in the kitchen when you're ready"
"And what if I'm not ready?"
"I have armed guards. You won't get very far Caitlin and it would be such a shame if I had to have you killed" she watched as him until he disappeared out of sight. After a minute she managed to pull herself to sit on the edge of the bed, carefully standing up on her legs. She moved to the window, finding the armed guards patrolling the house. She left the bedroom and headed towards the kitchen where she could hear Ari setting the table.
"What's this?"
"Dinner" he smiled. Kate crossed the room and took the chair that he pulled out for her.
"What do you want from me?"
"I want time. In four days time you'll be taken back to NCIS, by that time I'll be long gone" he told her as he placed a salad in front of her.
"It seems that you have everything figured out"
"Everything except for you Caitlin. Tell me, what was it in my eyes that stopped you from stabbing me that day in the morgue?" Kate met his eager eyes across the table.
"I saw pain. I could see that you were hurting"
"You saw yourself reflected back. But what brings you pain Caitlin?"
"My mother. She took a handful of pills and she never woke up"
"Suicide is a catholic sin, is it not?"
"It is. We never saw it coming, I was still so little when it happened. My sister took on the role of being the mother and I was wrapped in bubble wrap by my father. Everything changed overnight. Her suicide nearly ripped us apart. It did in some ways" she admitted.
"Eli David personally ordered the missile strike that killed my mother. He wanted me to be his perfect little soldier, he thought that losing my mother would do that"
"But instead you chose to defy him in every way that you could" he nodded "Why do I have to stay here for four days?" he smiled.
"Because I need you here, and it will make agent Gibbs crazy" he smiled widely.
"We need to find her!" Gibbs yelled.
"He got away clean boss. We don't have any way of finding her" Tony argued.
"That's not good enough!" The agents around them froze at the sound of Gibbs raised voice "I'm going for coffee" he bit, charging off towards the elevator. As the elevator door closed behind him, everyone got back to work.
"I'll check on Ducky" Tony announced, heading towards the elevator when McGee's voice stopped him.
"What if we can't find her?"
"We will. There's no other option" Tony told him before he headed to the elevator.
The automatic doors opened, letting Tony enter autopsy.
"Hey Ducky, please say you have something useful otherwise Gibbs is going to blow a fuse" he sighed.
"I'm afraid I've learned nothing about our guests" Ducky frowned "You were hoping that I had something to find Caitlin?" Tony nodded, looking down at the open body in front of him "You're worried about her, aren't you?" Tony shot a look at Jimmy telling him to leave the room, which he did.
"How did you know?"
"Caitlin had the same look in her eye when you were infected with the plague, except she cried for you"
"She what?"
"She cried for you, Anthony. She stayed, despite the fact that she could've gotten infected, she stayed so that you wouldn't have to die alone" Tony's frown grew deeper.
"I know that I mess with her a lot Ducky but, I don't want to bury a friend that I care a lot about" the older man nodded.
"We have to find her Tony. We can't give up"
"I won't" he promised.
