Fate Brought Us Together, And Now Will Tear Us Apart

Epilogue: Dies

Kate felt her heart break in two as she threw the daisy onto the freshly dug grave. She couldn’t believe it. She really couldn’t. Up until now, she had maintained that she was just living in a really bad nightmare, but not anymore. The pain she now felt proved that it could be nothing but real.

He had been so sick, but she’d still held onto that shimmer of hope that he’d pull through, that he’d get better. But it was not to be. Damnit! Why did all the men in her life have to leave? The moment she’d finally found someone to love, someone who would love her in return, it was snatched away ruthlessly. Her life seemed to be just one cruel joke after another.

In his last moments he had been surrounded by his friends, those he cared about and who cared about him. Abby had been cheerfully optimistic, telling jokes and reminiscing about times past, and the things that would not come to pass.

Gibbs held back from the rest of the group. He didn’t seem able to handle the emotion of the evening, the loss of someone he considered a friend. It wasn’t in his nature to give up hope, but what else was there to do when the end was irrevocably in sight?

After an hour Ducky, ever the grandfatherly presence on the team, had carefully suggested that they give her a moment alone with him. She was eternally grateful to Ducky for giving them that, a last and only moment together.

His breathing was becoming increasingly erratic and he was struggling to keep his eyes from falling shut.

“Kate…I need to tell…” he whispered. She had to lean closely to catch his words.

“Shhh…It’s ok, you don’t have to say anything,” she held back a sob as she looked at his ashen features. She knew there was little time left. “I want you to know, I love you Tony.” A flicker of a smile graced his face at that. “The feelings have been there for awhile, but I didn’t realize…until…and now it’s too late…” this time she couldn’t quiet the sob that came forth.

“I love you…too, have for a…while now,” the words came out fragmented and soft, but the meaning was not lost. Tony laughed silently at the irony of the situation. This was what it had taken for them to admit that they liked each other, to concede that the playful banter was just a guise for all the built up sexual tension. His death. Life really wasn’t fair. “Don’t dwell…I know you Katie, so…don’t dwell. Promise?”

“Of course, anything.”

Kate shook the thoughts from her mind, she had promised him that she wouldn’t get lost in that moment and she intended to keep her word. It would be hard, moving on, but she was lucky. She had people around her who cared and who would help her at any cost. The first step was to remember fondly, not sadly. With that thought at the forefront of her mind Kate Todd turned and walked evenly from the gravesite, leaving behind a ghost of the past, and walking towards the future he wanted for her.