Disclaimer: characters aren't mine…

Summary: When Tony and Kate are captured, tortured and one feels the need to protect the other even if it meant their own life was sacrificed what will happen at the end. So, I thought I'd try my hand at a Tony and Kate story as there seems to be a lack of them at the moment, hope you all like this. Now, i do have at least four chapters of this written so far, so hopefully you lovely people wont have to wait too long between chapters, I also plan to post one chapter each friday baring any mishaps with writing the rest of it so please Enjoy!

Protecting You

Chapter 1

Waking up slowly, her vision blurry and head pounding, Kate tried to take in her surroundings. A light hung down above her on a cable, swinging gently, it was almost hypnotising.

Almost.

As the light moved back and forth and her vision cleared, she was able to make out the cold concrete walls of the room she'd found herself in. One of the first things she had noticed, was that there were no windows, feeling a little trapped without any form of natural light, she started to get a feel for her own body, and also an idea of what had led up to this point.

Nothing, damn it!

She couldn't remember anything.

Moving her hands a little she met resistance, looking down, she saw rope binding her hands to the arm rests of a professionally shaped oak chair. Biting back a small smile she could just imagine a comment that would come from her partner's mouth, it would have something to do with fetishes, she was sure….Wait, she'd been with him….where was he? Why wasn't he here?

Trying to fight down the unease that thought caused her, she shook her head to refocus on the training she'd been given. Looking around at all the details of the room and only finding a large, very sturdy door she let out a soft sigh, she wasn't getting out of here any time soon. Who was she kidding, now he was missing she couldn't give a damn about protocol. She cared for him more than a friend would, more than partners even but she couldn't tell him that, no, it was against the rules, Gibbs' rules. It would only get in the way of the job anyway.

Struggling with the bonds around her burning wrists, she tested her legs and only found them in the same position as her arms. Bound. Useless. If anyone were to come in now they could do what they wanted and she wasn't looking forward to that one bit. She was a highly trained Special Agent and an ex-secret service Agent but that didn't mean she didn't get a little bit scared, she was only human after all. An image came crashing into her mind, making the pounding worse.

"Tony!" she yelled as she just watched him drop to the floor….

But that's all she could seem to remember, she couldn't even remember whether he had been injured badly. Feeling slightly nauseous and exhausted, she forced herself not to fall back to sleep. She needed to see at least whether he was still alive or not.

Shaking her head again she focused on the room, keeping her mind busy and off the thoughts of Tony already being dead, that's when she saw the chair. It was directly opposite to hers, the design, she'd bet, would be the same as the one she sat upon. There was a light spread of dust all over the concrete slabs of the floor, this place mustn't have been used in a while she thought. Great, that meant it was going to be harder for them to be found. The only thing that seemed out of place was the scuffle marks through the dust leading towards the looming door. The unease that had taken up residence within her notched its self up to fear. Though, what she feared, she wasn't sure yet.

Without warning the door was slammed open, she tensed a little at the noise but wouldn't show her captor even a fraction of the fear she felt. He was well built, lots of muscle, a little taller than even Tony, beyond that though she couldn't tell, he wore black and a ski mask was covering his face. Before she could stop herself she asked a question that had been bugging her since she'd woken up alone in this room.

"What have you done with my partner?" That's it; keep it formal, he'll never guess anything more with that. She mentally cursed as she heard the waver in her own voice though. The man laughed deeply; it sent shards of ice racing up her spine, there was something in the laugh that scared her more than being alone in the room did.

Moving further into the room, leaving the door ajar and kicking up a little dust, the large bulk of a man leant closer to her, grabbed her chin and spoke softly into her ear.

"Your partner is provided my friends with a little," He paused as if he was actually thinking about what to say. Her profiler training screamed at her, saying he was just trying to scare her, "entertainment." The man finished and then laughed again. With the end of the statement she could have sworn that the temperature had dropped a whole degree within the dank room.

"What do you mean by entertainment?" She questioned, but couldn't keep the concern from leaking out of her voice.

Pulling back, the man started to circle around her, making sure to stay mostly in her blind spot. "You will find out soon enough."

"What do you want with us?" Her voice a little stronger, having gathered her resolve, at least she'd be seeing him soon. Only then would she decide whether to be worried or not. They could just be trying to play mind games with her, making her think the worse. Ha, well she wasn't going to fall for that she thought.

Not expecting it, she was shocked when a hand came in contact with her face. "From now on, only I will ask the questions." The man now sneered, it was as if a switch and been flipped and the guy had been pushed over some unknown edge, but she'd hardly said anything. Tasting a little blood she stared defiantly back up at the figure in front of her.

"Now, what do you know?" She remained silent; she couldn't give anything away about the case, not if her life depended on it.

"Not gonna speak, eh?" The deep voice drawled. Again she remained silent.

This time she gasped as the fist connected with the other side of her face, breathing through the pain and cursing in her head, she stared right on back through her slightly spinning vision, not giving the guy even a slither of fear.

"I will ask again. What do you know?" She smiled evenly, she could just imagine the comments Tony would come up with, I mean the question was rather…vague.

The man waited for an infinitely long moment before striking her again, her head started pounding more than it had when she had woken up, and she felt skin split on her right cheek.

Breathing heavily now, she watched as the man stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind him. The sound reverberated around the room, even causing the room it's self to shudder and shake a little.

Having been left alone again, Kate's thoughts turned back the whereabouts of Tony. She honestly didn't know what she would do if he didn't survive whatever is was they were involved in. She huffed out another breath after trying and failing to loosen the ropes around her wrists. Calming her nerves she found herself drifting on the verge of sleep, she'd just close her eyes for a few moments…

The next time she became aware of what was happening around her it was to the sound of the heavy oak door being swung open, some scuffling sounds and quiet grunts. Opening her eyes so she could see what was happening, she saw them dragging Tony behind them and could only watch as they threw him forcibly to the floor and then simply left without a backwards look.

After watching his still form for a few moments, she wondered what had been done to him for him to be so quiet and unmoving. After another moment of him just laying there, his back to her where he had been thrown, she called to him.

"Tony?" her voice was quiet at first having not used it yet after waking up. Clearing her throat she tried again. "Tony? Can you hear me?"

Nothing.

Damn it, she cursed under her breath and wished that she could move. Just to see if he was alive or not.

As far as she could see he was still, not even his chest seemed to be moving. Just…nothing, though, that could be due to her blurry vision or that is what she was blaming it on for the moment. The one thing that she could see was that his hair seemed plastered to his head as if he had gotten wet; and the white shirt that had been spotless earlier in the day, now seemed grey and there were distinct drag marks up the back of it.

After calling out to him again and again and getting no answer, she settled herself as much as she could and just waited.

Hoping that he would actually wake up.

TBC