Title: Angel

Author: Mindy

Rating: K

Disclaimer: Absolutely they're mine, duh.

Spoilers: Kate is dead (-ish).

Summary: Tony watches the effect on Gibbs of a little girl who reminds him of someone. Kibbs/Tate undertones.

A/N: For DC!!!!

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"Kate?…"

Tony caught the expression on his boss' face before he could mask it. The mere mention of the name still brought him up short and caused his own gut to plummet. So he could imagine the considerable and excruciating effect it would've had on the older agent.

He'd spent the last year watching his cranky boss and gauging his moods using a plethora of criterion – including how many coffees he downed daily, how exhaustively he threw himself into their cases, how late he stayed in the office, how distracted he could be, how many shaving cuts he sported each morning, the dark circles about his eyes, how many times he yelled and glared and whacked them and how many Caf Pows he took to Abby.

His conclusion was glaringly simple. The man was in pain.

They were probably all aware of it to varying degrees. He had good days, bad days and worse days. But if Gibbs occasionally needed solace or reassurance, he only ever looked to Ducky, and Tony never had the chance to impart the select scraps of real support he had mentally constructed and long ago wished to share.

Gibbs probably didn't think he had it in him to understand what he was going through. And maybe he was right. He really didn't know how to help.

So he watched discreetly from the sidelines, always anxious and expectant. And the second he heard that name, he knew that the day, which had started so ordinary, had just turned into one of the 'worse' variety --for all of them.

"Katie, come down now, sweetheart."

At her fathers' subdued call, the little girl dropped gracelessly from the tree where she'd been sitting, hidden by the branches and deep green leaves. Her face was drawn as she brushed some bark off her denim overalls and headed towards them, tripping over her untied shoelaces. Tony's heart sunk further as he noted the long dark hair that hung down her back and over her forehead.

The small child was not actually the first that the team encountered. It was a fairly common name after all and they came into contact with a great number of people in their work. The world was full of Kates, it seemed to Tony sometimes. They couldn't escape them. They were only missing one in particular.

He glanced behind him at McGee who stood in the threshold of the kitchen, also watching the little girl with a sober expression. Tony folded his arms and turned back, as his boss took one tentative step towards the glass doors and little Caitlin stepped through, her manner shy and wary. Her dark eyes peered up at her father questioningly, as she clung to his leg, hiding behind him and sweeping her gaze over the uniformed strangers crowding her kitchen.

"It's okay, angel," her dad murmured, stroking her hair: "they're here to help."

Tony watched as Gibbs lowered himself down to her level, balancing on one knee and speaking quietly to the frightened child. He pointed to an embroidered patch sewn onto the front of her overalls; it had her name in different colors, followed by an orange sunflower.

"That's pretty," he commented, lightly. "Did your Mom sew that on for you, Caitlin?"

Caitlin nodded, her brown eyes wide.

"I'm here to find her, bring her home to you and your Dad," Gibbs continued slowly, his voice quiet, his face open: "...and I sure could use your help --what do you say?"

"Okay," Caitlin whispered bravely, letting go of her dad's leg as protection.

"I'm Gibbs," he replied, taking off his cap and holding out a hand.

Caitlin glanced up at her father who smiled gently. Then she turned back to Gibbs, wrapped her small hand around his thumb and shook on it.

Tony sighed as Gibbs sat down at the kitchen table with Caitlin and Robert Angelo to discuss the events leading up to Petty Officer Christina Angelo's kidnapping. He signaled to the other agents to give them some privacy and Tony slipped out with McGee, silently heading back to the master bedroom to help Ziva bag and tag.

She was examining the pills by the bedside when they both entered. Tony paced the room for a moment, attempting to expel the uneasiness from his bones. McGee slumped by the door, sighing as he took off his cap and ran a hand over his hair.

Ziva turned and eyed the two of them: "Who died?" she joked casually.

Both men looked at her dismally, then turned to look at each other. Briskly, Tony grabbed the second kit and headed for the nearby bathroom.

"Well, hopefully not Caitlin's mother," he muttered resolutely as he strode out the door again, patting McGee on the shoulder as he left.

TBC…