Title: The Loss of a Friend

Character(s): Team, minus Kate

Pairing(s): N/A

Genre(s): Hurt/ Comfort, Angst

Episode(s): End of "Twilight"

Crossover(s): N/A

Word Count: 999

"Tony." Gibbs called back over his shoulder. The younger agent was still in a daze, staring at his colleague's dead body. "Tony!"

"Yes, Boss." He replied as he slowly took his eyes away from Kate.

"Go get McGee, and find Ari's nest. The shot came from that direction." He motioned with his still pointed gun. I'll call Ducky...and Abby." He was just as affected by this as Tony was, but, as for that very moment, he wasn't going to let it show.

"Yes, Boss." Tony started walking toward the stairway leading off the roof. He was lost in his thoughts, and didn't pay much attention to where he was going; he knew the threat had been subdued, so he didn't even have his gun out. "How can she be dead? If it was Ari, why did Kate die? He wanted Gibbs dead, not Kate. How am I going to tell McGee? How is Gibbs going to tell Ducky…and Abby? She liked Kate. Hell, we all liked her. But I think it'll affect Abby the most. What's life gonna be like without her?"

"Tony." McGee met him in the stairway. Tony didn't respond; he was still lost in his thoughts. "Tony? What's wrong?"

"Time to face reality" Tony thought as he jerked himself out of his daze.

"Where's Gibbs and Kate?" He was afraid he knew what the blood, and look of despair on Tony's face meant.

"Gibbs is fine." Tony replied flatly, as they moved toward the car.

McGee sighed in relief, but, then realized that the statement didn't include Kate. "Tony..." he started hesitantly, "What about Kate?"

Tony stopped walking and faced his fellow agent. Tim followed suit, but was worried about what that meant. Tony put his hands on McGee's shoulders, as if that would help cushion the blow of what he was about to say. He paused for a second, trying to work up the energy and courage to deliver the news to McGee. "She's dead, McGee." He said, softly, fighting his emotions.

"What? How?" McGee looked like he had just been stabbed in the gut.

"Shot." Tony pulled his hands backs from McGee's shoulders, but remained stationary. "Boss, thinks it was Ari. He wants us to find his sniper nest." He started moving toward the car again. McGee followed; it was his turn to be in a daze.

"Dr. Mallard." The familiar accent came from over the phone. Gibbs didn't want to be making the call. To call Ducky, would be admitting that Kate was really gone…but it had to be done.

"Ducky."

"Jethro. Do you have a body for me?" Ducky asked nonchalantly.

"Something like that." He sounded completely devastated.

It finally clicked that something was wrong. "What is it, Jethro?" He asked, with worry in his voice.

There was a slight pause; Gibbs had to re-gather control over his emotions, before responding. "Kate's dead, Duck."

Ducky gasped in surprise. He knew something was wrong, but he hadn't thought it was that wrong. "Give me your location; I'll send someone to pick her up, and I'll head back to NCIS."

"Hello?" Abby's voice was barely audible with all the loud noises and music in the background.

"Abby." Gibbs simply stated.

Abby inhaled, trying to brace herself for what might come next. "What's wrong, Gibbs?"

"I need you to come back in to the office." Gibbs voice was soft and filled with emotion, which was unusual for him.

"Yeah, sure, I'll be right there. But, what's wrong?" The suspense was killing her. She wasn't sure she wanted to know, but she knew she had to.

"It's Kate, Abs..." He hesitated; he didn't want to deliver this news to her, he knew how much she liked Kate. Abby remained silent, allowing Gibbs to take a moment before continuing. "She's…Abby, she's dead." He could feel her pain across the phone, as the news stabbed her, and her world as she had known it, came crashing down.

"What?! NO! Gibbs, she can't be dead." She pleaded, as if he would be able to just fix it all.

Everyone went to their respective locations in silence; all of them functioning on autopilot, allowing their brains to just check out, letting their thoughts take control.

Tony and McGee were on their search for Ari's sniper nest, searching several buildings, before finding the right one, taking photos, sketching the scene, bagging and tagging evidence: business as usual, except, it wasn't. It was different, without Kate, and it would never quite be the same again.

Gibbs drove back to headquarters, blaming himself for her death, trying to replay it in his head, trying to think of a way he could have changed it.

Ducky and Abby drove back to the office, in their respective vehicles, from their respective locations, both realizing, as the others had, that life was going to be different without her.

After they had gathered their evidence, Tony and McGee headed back to NCIS. McGee's curiosity and desire for a more complete accounting of what happened, got the best of him. "What happened? How did she...?"

"Die?" Tony was upset, and he wanted to talk about it, but at the same time, he didn't.

McGee winced; he realized he had struck a nerve, and wished he could just take it back, but Tony started, "We thought everything was Ok, that everything was over. We had gotten the bad guys without getting hurt. Business as usual." His voice was calm at first. "She was laughing. Then, she…wasn't." He struggled to keep a lid on his emotions.

"Tony, I'm…"

"You weren't there, McGee! YOU didn't get sprayed with the blood of a friend!" He didn't mean to be snapping at his colleague, so he tried to reign it in. "You didn't see her, lying there…dead." There was a slight pause. He looked over at Tim briefly, "She's dead, McGee. And nothing we do is gonna bring her back." The rest of the trip was continued in the welcomed, and much-needed silence.