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Apr. 27th, 2004 11:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
helsinkibabyTo those of you who know skating... Todd Eldredge is engaged. < pause for thought > My immediate reactions shame me.
Meme for penance, gakked from![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
azarsuerte -
Are there any questions you'd like to ask any of the characters from any of my fics? Post it in a comment and the character shall respond.
In the fic as penance category, I have one for Navy NCIS for the![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
firstlines1000 challenge number 23. It's a Tony/Kate post ep for Bete Noir which I saw on Friday night and promptly stayed up until half one in the morning writing this... which kinda says all you need to know about its readability anyway.
Tony sat down next to Kate. “You okay?” he asked quietly. Not that he was expecting an answer; months of working with Kate had taught him that when her jaw was set like this, wild horses wouldn’t drag a response out of her.
But that was usually when they were at work.
It had never happened in her house before.
Of course, it wasn’t the only thing that had never happened before, and that was part of what had Tony so worried.
Because Kate Todd, who scant hours ago had told him she’d never in her life had a nightmare, had just woken up screaming.
She hadn’t said a word to him, had just jumped out of bed, almost running out of the room. He’d followed her almost instantly, scrabbling around the floor for his boxers and undershirt, and when he’d reached the living room, he’d found her sitting on the couch, back rigid, eyes locked straight ahead, fingers interlaced so tightly that the knuckles were white. The only thing whiter was her face, her dry but red-rimmed eyes standing out in stark relief.
“Kate?” he said now, hand itching to touch her, knowing instinctively that it would be a bad idea. “Talk to me Katie.”
The words had an effect, just not the one he was hoping for. Her head whipped around, eyes burning into his. “Don’t call me Katie,” she snapped. “I hate it when you do that.”
He told himself she was upset, and he couldn’t blame her, but the words stung anyway, and it was a struggle not to let his hurt register on his face. “OK,” he said slowly.
“Don’t talk to me like that either… like I’m some fragile flower that you have to talk down to… I get enough of that at work, and if you think I’m-”
“Hey.” His voice was sharper, firmer, than he intended, but it stopped her mid-rant, and he didn’t soften it any when he continued. “A few hours ago, you were telling me you’ve never had a nightmare. A few minutes ago, you woke up screaming like the hounds of hell were after you. So excuse me if I’m worried about you.”
Her whole face showed her dismay. “Tony, I’m sorry…” she began, but he couldn’t help but notice she didn’t reach out to him.
“What happened in that room, Kate?” What she’d told him had been enough for him to leave his desk, cross the bullpen and sit beside her right there in plain sight, but had left him with more questions than answers.
“You know what happened.” But she shifted uncomfortably, looked away from him.
“I know that you were close enough to stab him… close enough to feel his vest…” Even saying the words turned Tony’s stomach, all the more so when Kate closed her eyes, lips twisting in a pained grimace. “How close did you get to him Katie?”
If she objected to the name, she didn’t show it. Indeed, when she spoke, Kate’s voice was barely a whisper. “He grabbed me… when I had the knife in my hand… he pulled me close to him…” A shudder coursed through her. “Close to him.” All her emphasis went on the first word, and Tony’s jaw clenched involuntarily. “I could feel his breath on my face… I thought he was going to…” Her voice broke, and she drew in a deep breath. “I could feel his body’s reaction to me…” Another shudder, and this time Tony was past caring what her reaction would be. Reaching out, he laid a hand on her back, moved it up and down. Once again, her head snapped around to him, but this time, her eyes were filled with tears rather than anger, and the look on her face broke his heart. “I was so scared Tony,” she whispered, and his arm slid across her back, gripped her shoulder and pulled her towards him.
“I know baby,” he muttered as she collapsed into his arms, letting her tears fall. Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, he used his other hand to push her hair back. “It’s ok… you’re safe now…”
He didn’t know how long he sat there, rocking her back and forth like that, muttering soothing words that he wasn’t sure she even heard. But when she spoke again, the words surprised him, still quiet, in a voice slightly muffled by tears and his chest. “Did you mean what you said before?”
“What?”
This time, she moved her head so that she could look at him. “About falling in love… that it could happen just like that… did you mean it?”
Tony swallowed hard, because he’d known that Kate would be able to decipher his coded message to her, just as Abby and Gibbs had figured out Ducky’s. It was just that he’d never told her that before, hadn’t even realised it until right at that moment, in the bullpen with Kate in front of him, just as she’d been for so long. It was just that having her entire life flash before his eyes had provided him a revelation. “Yeah,” he said now, fingers trailing across her cheek. “I kinda have some experience with that.”
Smiling slowly, she nodded. “Me too.” Laying her head back on his shoulder, one hand reached up to play with the cotton of his undershirt. “I don’t really hate it when you call me Katie.”
The words were punctuated by a yawn, and he didn’t try to stop his grin. “I figured.” He expected a smart retort, was confused by her silence, but when he looked down at her, she was fast asleep.
He knew he should bring her back to bed. Morning would come soon enough, and sleeping on a couch wouldn’t be good for either of them.
Instead, he rested his feet on the coffee table and closed his eyes. In seconds, he too was asleep.
Meme for penance, gakked from
azarsuerte -Are there any questions you'd like to ask any of the characters from any of my fics? Post it in a comment and the character shall respond.
In the fic as penance category, I have one for Navy NCIS for the
firstlines1000 challenge number 23. It's a Tony/Kate post ep for Bete Noir which I saw on Friday night and promptly stayed up until half one in the morning writing this... which kinda says all you need to know about its readability anyway. Tony sat down next to Kate. “You okay?” he asked quietly. Not that he was expecting an answer; months of working with Kate had taught him that when her jaw was set like this, wild horses wouldn’t drag a response out of her.
But that was usually when they were at work.
It had never happened in her house before.
Of course, it wasn’t the only thing that had never happened before, and that was part of what had Tony so worried.
Because Kate Todd, who scant hours ago had told him she’d never in her life had a nightmare, had just woken up screaming.
She hadn’t said a word to him, had just jumped out of bed, almost running out of the room. He’d followed her almost instantly, scrabbling around the floor for his boxers and undershirt, and when he’d reached the living room, he’d found her sitting on the couch, back rigid, eyes locked straight ahead, fingers interlaced so tightly that the knuckles were white. The only thing whiter was her face, her dry but red-rimmed eyes standing out in stark relief.
“Kate?” he said now, hand itching to touch her, knowing instinctively that it would be a bad idea. “Talk to me Katie.”
The words had an effect, just not the one he was hoping for. Her head whipped around, eyes burning into his. “Don’t call me Katie,” she snapped. “I hate it when you do that.”
He told himself she was upset, and he couldn’t blame her, but the words stung anyway, and it was a struggle not to let his hurt register on his face. “OK,” he said slowly.
“Don’t talk to me like that either… like I’m some fragile flower that you have to talk down to… I get enough of that at work, and if you think I’m-”
“Hey.” His voice was sharper, firmer, than he intended, but it stopped her mid-rant, and he didn’t soften it any when he continued. “A few hours ago, you were telling me you’ve never had a nightmare. A few minutes ago, you woke up screaming like the hounds of hell were after you. So excuse me if I’m worried about you.”
Her whole face showed her dismay. “Tony, I’m sorry…” she began, but he couldn’t help but notice she didn’t reach out to him.
“What happened in that room, Kate?” What she’d told him had been enough for him to leave his desk, cross the bullpen and sit beside her right there in plain sight, but had left him with more questions than answers.
“You know what happened.” But she shifted uncomfortably, looked away from him.
“I know that you were close enough to stab him… close enough to feel his vest…” Even saying the words turned Tony’s stomach, all the more so when Kate closed her eyes, lips twisting in a pained grimace. “How close did you get to him Katie?”
If she objected to the name, she didn’t show it. Indeed, when she spoke, Kate’s voice was barely a whisper. “He grabbed me… when I had the knife in my hand… he pulled me close to him…” A shudder coursed through her. “Close to him.” All her emphasis went on the first word, and Tony’s jaw clenched involuntarily. “I could feel his breath on my face… I thought he was going to…” Her voice broke, and she drew in a deep breath. “I could feel his body’s reaction to me…” Another shudder, and this time Tony was past caring what her reaction would be. Reaching out, he laid a hand on her back, moved it up and down. Once again, her head snapped around to him, but this time, her eyes were filled with tears rather than anger, and the look on her face broke his heart. “I was so scared Tony,” she whispered, and his arm slid across her back, gripped her shoulder and pulled her towards him.
“I know baby,” he muttered as she collapsed into his arms, letting her tears fall. Pressing a kiss to the top of her head, he used his other hand to push her hair back. “It’s ok… you’re safe now…”
He didn’t know how long he sat there, rocking her back and forth like that, muttering soothing words that he wasn’t sure she even heard. But when she spoke again, the words surprised him, still quiet, in a voice slightly muffled by tears and his chest. “Did you mean what you said before?”
“What?”
This time, she moved her head so that she could look at him. “About falling in love… that it could happen just like that… did you mean it?”
Tony swallowed hard, because he’d known that Kate would be able to decipher his coded message to her, just as Abby and Gibbs had figured out Ducky’s. It was just that he’d never told her that before, hadn’t even realised it until right at that moment, in the bullpen with Kate in front of him, just as she’d been for so long. It was just that having her entire life flash before his eyes had provided him a revelation. “Yeah,” he said now, fingers trailing across her cheek. “I kinda have some experience with that.”
Smiling slowly, she nodded. “Me too.” Laying her head back on his shoulder, one hand reached up to play with the cotton of his undershirt. “I don’t really hate it when you call me Katie.”
The words were punctuated by a yawn, and he didn’t try to stop his grin. “I figured.” He expected a smart retort, was confused by her silence, but when he looked down at her, she was fast asleep.
He knew he should bring her back to bed. Morning would come soon enough, and sleeping on a couch wouldn’t be good for either of them.
Instead, he rested his feet on the coffee table and closed his eyes. In seconds, he too was asleep.
