The Space Between by Layton Colt (R)

[skripka.livejournal.com]

Fandom: NCIS
Pairing: none; gen
Author on LJ: laytoncolt
Author Website: Nixa Jane's fanfiction
Why this must be read:

The moment the episode Twilight ended, you could tell the fandom was in shock. So much so, a whole category of fic was created practically overnight--the Twilight aftermath--to fill in the space we had to wait between one season and the next. There were several approaches, but the most common one was a character study, often from the POV of another character.

Layton Colt's The Space Between gives us McGee's look at Tony's rapid descent. Each section is rawer than the preceding and the fic is not only almost poetic, but it gives you a fair approximation of what many fans were feeling at the time.

A witness slips Tony her phone number as they're getting ready to leave. She's nearly six feet tall and drop dead gorgeous, wearing a sequined outfit that leaves little to the imagination as she waits for her turn on stage.

Tony waits until they're outside before he throws it away. McGee doesn't make a crack about it. There's some unwritten rule these days that they don't make fun of each other anymore.

They hardly say anything at all.

Tony never says "Kate would…" or "Kate did…" or "If Kate was here..." He never says her name, like saying it might remind him she's gone and if he ignores it he might be able to pretend she's still around. McGee doesn't say it either, because he doesn't want to risk breaking whatever truce her death has made between the two of them—because he's already lost Kate, and Gibbs and Tony are both half-gone. He won't risk getting pushed further away then he already is, and if he needs to remember Kate he can always go see Abby.

Abby says her name all the time.

The Space Between by Layton Colt