Author: Joyce

Title: 24 hours

Disclaimer: The characters are not mine, go figure.

Note: I recently started watching NCIS and appreciating Tony's character. I thought it was a challenge to see if I could write him so this is the result. I've only seen the first two seasons of the show and therefore I'm not familiar with Ziva yet. I also happen the like the character of Kate, she's strong and fun to have around Tony. Therefore this story is Tony/Kate and it takes place a couple of weeks after Kate joins NCIS. I hope everyone enjoys my first steps into this new world. And also, please let me know what you think. Good or bad.

24 hours

With a big grin on his face Tony DiNozzo looked around the hotel room he was in. "Sweet..." he whispered to himself before he turned back to his companion in the room, who had a frown on her face.

"He expects us to stay here for the next 24 hours?" she asked him and he just nodded, waggling his eyebrows towards the bed.

"Gibbs!!!!" Kate Todd yelled, knowing very well that he couldn't hear her. "You can't do this to me!!!"she paused for a moment, "Ass..." she then muttered.

Tony pretended to be in shock. "Tssss, Kate, such language for a girl with Catholic values. And you're lucky that Gibbs decided not to bug us, he would have stormed into the room after hearing that. You have some nerve." She just grumbled something he couldn't make out before disappearing in the bathroom. "Set up the gear, DiNozzo," she ordered from inside.

"Need me to scrub your back?" he yelled while he did what she asked. "No!!!" was her answer and he grinned some more. "I'm gonna love the coming 24 hours..." he mumbled.

In the bathroom Kate splashed some cold water on her face, trying to suppress her irritation. It didn't help much though since the object of her irritation was singing a happy tune just a couple of feet away from her. "How can one man be so damn annoying?" she asked her reflection before she sighed. "I'm gonna hate the coming 24 hours..."

Two hours later...

"Man, this couple is boring," Tony sighed, seeing how their prime suspect was eating some pizza while watching a soap opera on tv, meanwhile his girlfriend was sitting next to him. She was chewing some bubble gum and didn't appear to be interested by the TV at all.

"Why does Gibbs think that these people murdered a marine?" the NCIS-agent asked Kate. She didn't bother to reply since she was busy dialing a familiar number on her phone.

"Hey Abs," she said with a smile once the lab tech picked up. "Can you see the feed we set up for you?"

"It couldn't be more visible or boring," came the bright reply. "How are you holding up?"

Kate glanced at Tony. "As well as can be expected," she muttered and she heard the younger woman on the phone laugh. "Brighten up, Kate. You're out on a stakeout and watching a boring couple across the street. Tony can not be the worst thing in that scenario."

She watched as the subject of their conversation stuffed some Chinese food in his mouth while smiling at her once he noticed her looking. "Nope, he's just the most disgusting thing," she told Abby before she hung up, turning to him. "Could you try to eat with your mouth closed?"

Tony pouted. "But that takes all the fun out of eating!" he exclaimed. He sighed and turned back to his binocular. "Whoa..." he then yelled, the Chinese food forgotten.

"What?" Kate asked him before she saw what their suspects were doing. " Oh man, that's gross," she said, turning away from the view before her eyes. "Cool!" Tony just said, "Very cool..."

"DiNozzo!" she almost yelled while she gave him a little hit on the back of his head. "You can't watch these two have sex. That is not part of the assignment."

"Says who?" he replied, rubbing the spot where she had hit him but not taking his eyes of the couple. "Gibbs told me to never let the suspects out of my site so I'm just doing my job. Thoroughly"

"You're a pervert," she announced. "I am not!" was his answer. "Man, the girlfriend is very bendy..." he then concluded. Kate rolled her eyes and hit him on the back of his head one last time before she made her way into the bathroom again.

"You can't hide in there all night!" she heard Tony yell. But his attention for her was short lived. "Oh man...when this investigation is over and we nail her boyfriend for murder I so want to nail her..."

She shook her head and decided to block him out, looking at her reflection in the mirror once again. "Only 22 hours to go," she tried to cheer herself up. "You can do this, Kate."

Six hours later...

Kate was dozing off, even if she was trying to fight her sleep. Next to her Tony sighed and stretched out his legs. "Don't you wish they were having sex now?" he grumbled and she was startled by his voice breaking the silence. "No," she responded and he got up and walked around the room for a while.

"What are you doing?" she asked him while keeping an eye on their suspects, who were sleeping peacefully. "Stretchting," he stated the obvious, "my legs are cramping up from sitting around on the floor or the bed while watching those people sleep. I want to sleep too, Kate!"

She had to laugh when she saw the pout he had on his face. "Only sixteen more hours to go," she tried to cheer him up and he just shook his head. "I bet you that Gibbs is sleeping as we speak," he whined, "curled up in his bed while we sit here and do his dirty work."

"The man is our boss, Tony. He is allowed to have more privileges."

The tall man just snorted and continued his walk around the room. "And we are allowed to sleep, stakeouts that last 24 hours are mad I tell ye. Mad!"

"We could take turns sleeping?" she suggested and he stopped pacing, a bright smile on his face. "Finally," he almost cheered, "you are showing some sense. Way to go, girl."

He walked to the bed with new energy when she stopped him. "I'm taking the first turn," she said with the sweetest smile that she could muster on her face. Climbing into the bed she closed her eyes happily. "Wake me up in four hours," she ordered him and Tony watched her with narrowed eyes before a grin broke out on his face.

"Sneeky, Todd," he mumbled, "very sneeky..." He resumed his position on the floor, seeing that the suspects were still sleeping and when he looked back at his now sleeping partner he had the same grin on his face. "You're some challenge, Todd," we whispered before he looked at his watch and shook his head. "Only sixteen more hours to go..."

Four hours later...

Wake up, Kate!!!!" Tony screamed at the top of his lungs and she woke up with a start, seeing the laughing face of her partner right in front of her. "Your four hours are up,"he informed her with an innocent face and she had to restrain herself from slapping him. "I hate you," she told him and he just shrugged while he pulled her out of bed and hopped in himself.

"They just woke up and the girlfriend is making breakfast in the kitchen while the guy is taking a shower. Enjoy watching the vibrant couple."

Kate yawned and looked across the street to see that Tony was right. She then narrowed her eyes and looked at her partner. "I'll get you for this, DiNozzo," she promised him but he was already sleeping. Frowning she looked at him somewhat longer. "Who knew you would actually look cute while sleeping?" she mumbled before she quickly turned around. "You need a break, Kate," she told herself. "You're going mental, talking to yourself, thinking Tony is cute. None of this is good." She looked at her watch. "Only twelve more hours to go..."

Two hours later...

Tony was peacefully sleeping Kate thought and still she felt no guilt over what she was about to do. With a slap her hand ended up on the back of his head and he was awake immediately. "Ouch," he said, sitting up and rubbing the spot where she had hit him. "Are you insane, woman?"

She smirked a little and then pointed to the window. "They have company," she informed him and that got his attention. "Finally, some action," he said brightly, all thoughts of pain and sleep suddenly forgotten.

Standing up he walked towards the window. "No way," he exclaimed and she just nodded. "His wife is in on it?"

"It seems so," Kate confirmed while watching Pamela, the wife of the murdered marine, enter the apartment. Both were silent for a while, all their concentration on the case they were working. "I can't believe this," Tony then muttered. "She's paying her! It's not him, it's her...She's the hit man... eh...woman... Pamela hired to kill her husband. Damn."

She was equally surprised, although she doubted if her boss would be in shock too. Both had assumed that the man was their prime suspect and Gibbs had done nothing to change that but she knew...He had known it and wanted to see how long it would take for them to figure it out too.

"It looks like we're nailing her for murder," she then grinned, "but maybe you want to nail her boyfriend instead, he is available now and he was pretty bendy too." He just grumbled something and she grinned some more while she grabbed her cell. "Gibbs," she said once she had dialed the number. "The wife just showed up to pay the murderer, we got them both. Can we move in now?"

"No need," was the reply and both watched in shock as the door of the apartment they were watching was kicked in with force and their boss came in. Armed and dangerous. "How the hell did he get here this fast?" Tony said with wonder and she just shook her head before turning around and starting to gather their gear while her partner was still watching the arrest taking place in front of his eyes. "He must have hid in the elevator or something," he then concluded and Kate smiled at the boyish look of admiration in his eyes.

"Let's just go, Tony," she ordered him and that got him out of his trance. "We're done!" he said with a bright smile. "We can go home, get some sleep, take a shower. I for one want to see Stakeout when I get home and pretend that you are Emilio Estevez while I am..."

He was interrupted by his cell ringing. "DiNozzo," his boss almost screamed, "get your ass to our headquarters and fill in a report with Kate. Then you can go home, not right now." Tony frowned after hanging up, looking around the hotel room suspiciously but seeing nothing out of the ordinary. "Why does he always know what I'm thinking? Did he place a bug here anyway?"

Kate laughed. "You're just that predictable, DiNozzo. Now move that butt of yours, we have a report to write."

Two hours later...

"Sleep, freedom, a shower..." Tony said with a sigh. "I'm gonna have it all."

He pressed on the button of the elevator while Kate rolled her eyes next to him. "You know," he carried on, "I thought our stakeout was great fun, didn't you?"

"Yeah, a blast was had by all," she responded sarcastically and he gave her his best smile.

"You were just lucky," he said with a touch of arrogance. "It only takes 24 hours to love me..."

With a wink he entered the elevator, waving at her before the doors closed and he was gone. She shook her head and angrily pushed on the button of the elevator again. That smile had caught her off guard she thought. Tony never got to her like that. Thinking back on the last 16 hours she suddenly smiled before there was a shocked expression on her face.

"Oh man," she whispered to herself, "He could be right...8 more hours and he would have been loveable..."

Tbc...