It had been a long time since she had been here. In fact, she hadn't been here since the funeral. Work and her personal life had gotten in the way (to speak nothing of the sheer willpower required for her to bring herself to come). It had been a long time, and she had gotten much better at dealing with this. But as one Abigail Sciuto stood at the grave of Caitlin Todd, she couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Well, you haven't changed much," Kate said, referring to the black dress Abby was wearing and the black umbrella she was carrying. Abby always dressed this way on these sorts of occasions.

Abby wiped away a tear that had started to form and did her best to put on a smile. "I'll bet you haven't, either."

"Nope. Though I have had a lot of time for introspection," Kate replied.

"Sounds boring. How do you manage?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "Maybe to you, but I find it quite relaxing. And it's not like I have anything better to do except watch the grass grow. Speaking of which, you would not believe how fast it grows. I swear, they have to come out here and mow it at least twice a week! But enough about me. How are the others?"

"Well, everyone was really bummed out at first. Well, except Gibbs. Not that he's doesn't care or anything, because he does. It's just that he's…You know, Gibbs."

Kate laughed. "Trust me, Abby. He was 'bummed out' too." She used her fingers to emphasize the "bummed out" part. "He's just better at hiding it than the rest of us."

"Yeah, well, he was also pissed. He wanted Ari dead. Well, not that he didn't already want Ari dead, because he did, but-"

Kate cut her off. "Abby, I get the idea."

"Hmph. You're pretty impatient for a dead person," Abby pouted.

Kate smiled. "I may have all the time in the world Abby, but you don't. I imagine it was hard enough finding the time to see me as it is, knowing how busy Gibbs keeps you."

"Yeah. So, anyway, you probably already knew this, but Ari was the bastard who shot you. Gibbs wanted him dead, big time. In the end, Ziva was the one who took him down."

Kate's brow furrowed in confusion. "Who?"

Abby realized she'd gone a little too fast and became a little embarrassed. "Oh, sorry. Ziva's from Mossad. After Gibbs made it clear that he wasn't going to stop until Ari was in the ground, Ziva came here and tried to convince Gibbs that Ari wouldn't do something like that because he was actually a spy for Mossad who was infiltrating Hamas. Gibbs wouldn't buy it, of course. He convinced Ziva to help him set a trap for Ari. He took the bait, and after admitting that he really was working for Hamas and wanted to kill Gibbs so that it looked like a suicide. That's why he killed you, too, by the way. But when she heard all that, Ziva popped up and shot Ari dead." She perked up a bit at the last part.

"That must have been hard for her…" Kate mused. "Killing a man she thought was her ally."

"Oh, you don't know the half of it," Abby interjected. "He was her half-brother."

Abby had never heard of a dead person being surprised, but there it was. "Wow," Kate uttered. "And she still did it? I think I like her already."

Abby's expression took on one of guilt. "Well…You might not after I tell you that she kind of took your place after that. She's been staying here since then as a liaison. She even sits at your old desk now…Sorry…"

Abby had avoided making eye contact during that admission. The grass was much easier to look at. But she knew she had to look back eventually, and when she did she was surprised to see a knowing smile on Kate's face, as if she was privy to some secret that Abby was not.

"Abby, you say that as if I'd mind."

"You don't?"

"Of course not, Abby. Come on. I'm dead. I can't expect the world to stop on my account. Life goes on. I want you guys to be happy. If this 'Ziva' is half as good a person as you say she is, then I'm glad she's with you all. It's not like I'd want you guys moping over me day in and day out. What kind of boring life would that be?"

This cheered Abby up. "Yeah, you're right, Kate. Well, she's no you, but Ziva does bring something to the team. She really knows how to kick ass." She made a karate chop motion to demonstrate. "Plus, she's the only woman I've ever met who could intimidate Tony."

Kate's jaw dropped. "You're kidding me."

Abby's proud, cheerful smile was proof of her honesty. "Nope!"

"DiNozzo. Intimidated. By a woman?" Kate looked as if she were struggling to suppress laughter.

"Yep!" Abby beamed. The two of them simultaneously lost the battle to control themselves and burst out laughing.