Disclaimer: I don't own these characters. Sadly, they belong to some other people.
AN: This is the product of a much needed study break. Enjoy reading :)
"DiNozzo!" Gibbs' voice rumbled across the bullpen, preceding his presence. He had just gotten off the elevator and was now taking long strides towards their workspace. Soon enough, he was standing in front of Tony's desk and the senior field agent had to – unfortunately – put down the magazine he'd been perusing.
"Where's Kate?" he asked, addressing the question to both Tony and Tim, who looked equally dumbfounded.
"Uh, boss, she's not here," McGee supplied, glancing over Kate's desk.
"—thanks, Probie. That was real helpful," Tony scolded, shrugging an apology to Gibbs, who simply tilted his head to the side, eyes squinted – either in disbelief, or complete, inevitable judgment.
"So? Where is she?"
"Come to think of it, I haven't seen her all –" Tim tried to redeem himself, but trailed off once he met a certain trademark stare.
"We don't know, boss," Tony admitted, his gaze dropping to his Gucci shoes.
"Did you check your phone, boss?" McGee asked, slumping slightly behind his computer screen – just in case he had to take cover and duck under his desk. Anticipation, he'd learned that.
Gibbs didn't look pissed, but that was to be expected. He rarely strayed away from calmness; every outburst was in fact, an outlier. Still, when he didn't respond and took out his cell instead, Tim's jaw nearly dropped – he had not expected that.
"Has she called?" Tony casually inquired, coming to stand behind Gibbs and looking over his shoulder. He'd pay for that later.
"Yeah –" Gibbs murmured, absent-minded, fingers glued to the keypad, as he was trying to figure out – "McGee! I never know how to – " When the junior agent did not appear by his side that very instant, one could see just the tiniest crack in Gibbs' composure, personified (the vein on the side of his neck became more pronounced). "Come on, McGee! This icon, what does it mean to – "
"—you have voice mail, boss," Tim explained, matter-of-factly, taking the gadget out of Gibbs' hands and plugging in a number before handing it back to its proprietor.
As Gibbs listened, Tony and Tim exchanged a look, but were smart enough not to say anything. The message wasn't long, it appeared, and when it was over, Gibbs paced back to his desk.
He didn't miss a beat.
"Don't you have work to do? McGee? DiNozzo?"
On the way to her apartment, he listened to the message again. He might not be good with technology, but if anything, Gibbs was a damn quicklearner.
Gibbs? Hi, it's Kate. I tried calling you – Look, I can't come in today –
Gibbs swerved to the right, undoubtedly getting a few death stares from fellow drivers.
– I have to take care of – Oh no, not again – I'm sorry, I really need to go now, Gibbs.
Breaks screeching, the Dodge charger came to a stop – barely – at the traffic light that had recently turned red.
I'll hopefully see you tomorrow. Bye –
He had tried calling her back. Once during lunch, and once after they'd finished work, but to no avail. And now he was pulling up in front of her building.
It occurred to him that he might have gone overboard only when he was knocking on the door. He could have waited until the next day and then if she hadn't shown up, he could have –
"Gibbs?"
The door had opened just a crack, and a puzzled Kate looked him over. "What are you doing here?"
Gibbs' gaze travelled from her disheveled hair to the oversized sweater she was wearing – was that a stain? – before it settled on her tired eyes. "Mind if I come in?" There, answering the question with a question.
Kate suppressed a yawn, then fully opened the door, stepping to the side to let him in. It was a sign of resignation more than anything. She stumbled to the living room, and Gibbs followed her, unsure of what he was getting himself into.
Was she sick? What was going on? The answer came pretty quickly, when a sharp cry pierced the silence. Gibbs would come to know that the latter was not the status quo, but was rather tentative. Light steps thumped down the hall and then a little boy came into view, gripping tightly the paw of his teddy bear companion.
"Jamie, baby, you up already?" Kate picked him up and smoothed down his brown curls. "Does it hurt, sweetheart?" she asked, the strain in her voice, quite audible to Gibbs, who reached down for the toy the boy had dropped on the floor.
"Hurts, Katie," Jamie mumbled with a cough, before wrapping his arms around Kate's neck.
"You forgot to tell me something, Agent Todd?" Gibbs asked, but soon regretted his words, after meeting Kate's confused stare. She was not herself, alright. "Have you – have you two seen a doctor?"
Kate nodded, "He gave Jamie cough syrup, but it'll probably take time – " She rubbed a hand down the boy's back, but he still whimpered quietly. "I hope he can get some sleep." With the mention of that, Kate yawned, closing her eyes for the brevity of a moment.
"Have you?" Gibbs asked, a light frown creasing his forehead. Now it all made sense. The drifting gaze, the weary voice.
She shook her head. "My brother dropped him off yesterday. He cried the whole night. High fever," Kate said, pressing her lips to Jamie's forehead and letting out a sigh of relief. "He's better now, though. Right, sweetheart?"
Jamie nuzzled her neck in response, and one corner of Kate's mouth lifted in a half-smile.
"Anything I can do?"
Kate laughed, until tears pricked her eyes and she took in a shaky breath. "God, I'm such a mess," she whispered, and Gibbs could barely make out her words. Then she added, louder this time, "Thank you, Gibbs. Really appreciated, but I don't think – Just, go home. Take a nap on my behalf, okay?" She was rocking the little boy in place, anything to soothe him, yet she stopped when Gibbs' fingers reached her forearm.
"I mean that, Kate."
As if on cue, the little boy wriggled out of Kate's hold and Gibbs crouched down to Jamie's height, offering him his teddy bear with a smile.
"Charlie!" the toddler exclaimed, taking the plush animal from Gibbs' hands, then flashed a toothless grin his way.
Gibbs stood up only to meet resistance in Kate's eyes; he wasn't sure how much of it was actual resistance and how much of it was simply hesitation. In any case, he could deal with either one.
"We're fine, Gibbs, really – his parents called an hour ago and they're picking him up in the morning. I'll see you tomorrow, okay? I'll try not to be –"
Gibbs had to cut her off at this point and he couldn't think of a better way than to place both hands on her shoulders, which worked like magic. "Agent Todd, you need sleep. How about I take care of Jamie over here and you take a short nap?"
At this, Kate's eyes widened in surprise, which in return, made Gibbs smirk. Always fun to see her caught off guard. Partly because she almost never was, caught off guard.
"Are you serious?"
"Kate –"
"I mean, you're serious, I get it, but are you sure?" she asked, glancing over Jamie, who was now sitting on the floor and playing with Charlie.
Gibbs rubbed her shoulders tenderly to punctuate his point. "Go get some sleep, Kate," he said, as his hands slid down her arms and he loosely wrapped his fingers around her wrists. He saw her gaze drop to their hands, but then she looked up at him.
"Okay," she murmured, then left the room.
Gibbs shook his head and laughed a little before turning his attention to Jamie, whose brown eyes were flooding with tears at a constant rate. If he didn't do anything, the toddler would soon be – crying.
"Come on, little guy, let's play with Charlie," Gibbs picked Jamie up in his arms and walked to the kitchen, putting distance between them and wherever Kate was sleeping. "You want something to eat?"
When she woke up – and the only reason she woke up was because she was cold, damn it – for a moment right there, it felt like she was suspended midair, with nothing to ground her. It was a very unsettling feeling – lying in utter darkness, not knowing where she was, not knowing anything. Then some distinct memories resurfaced – Jamie. Sick. No sleep. Gibbs. Too-lazy-to-slip-under-the-blanket tired. – and by the time she hit the light switch, most of the pieces had come into place.
She looked at the clock and it was way past midnight. What a nap. Then her heart sank, anxiety creeping in. Oh God. Jamie.
Kate rushed out of the room, but stopped dead in her tracks at the sight that revealed itself in front of her. On the couch, Gibbs lay sleeping, covered by none other, but her nephew's content, snoring form. The hallway light illuminated them, and she saw Gibbs' hand support the little boy's back, holding him close. A smile curved Kate's lips on its own volition. What was she to do now?
Jamie stirred and Gibbs' eyes slipped open; Kate was quite taken aback by how in tune he was with the toddler, for such a heavy sleeper, that is. Slowly, Gibbs lifted himself up, quietly murmuring words of comfort, when the boy whimpered in his sleep. With one hand trailing a soothing path, up and down, up and down, Jamie's back, Gibbs got up and raised an eyebrow in question.
Kate nodded and led him to the bedroom, feeling only slightly uncomfortable at the thought of Gibbs being there, in her bedroom. She watched him set Jamie down with caution and tuck him in, before, oh God, before kissing his forehead. Kate was in mild shock and with good reason. All of this, that was not her grumpy boss, and she wondered at, how little, in fact, she knew him.
His hand on the small of her back reminded her to snap out of it and walk, back to the living room, back to the couch, where they settled down in silence. She liked that, the silence. It was comforting and just like the hand on her shoulder, – his hand, the one rubbing away the tension in her muscles, with fingertips lightly pressed onto fabric, onto exposed skin, inadvertently – she did not want it gone.
"Feeling better?" he asked, and damn, if she could tell what he was talking about. Still transfixed by his touch, she tucked her feet under her body, evading the question until it clicked. Oh. Sleep.
"Much," she nodded, hoping that the light was too dim for him to see the blush that crept up the side of her neck.
"So – Jamie?" Gibbs prompted and the tone of his voice felt foreign to Kate, much gentler than what she was used to.
She spoke in a hushed voice, "My brother and his wife had to attend a medical conference in DC. Jamie's nanny was sick and so they left him with me." As she was talking, she was looking at Gibbs, in his calm eyes, which – for a fleeting moment – were disturbed by some emotion, sadness. Kate did not ask, even though she wanted to. Having Gibbs initiate a conversation was enough for a night.
"Do you see him often?" he asked, his gaze focused on something to her side, and she was just about to turn around, when he tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. That pretty much left her speechless.
She felt it, they were on dangerous ground here, with no rules, not even Rule 12. But like a kid, drawn to the hot plate, Kate just kept on going, "Not as often as I'd like to."
"I guess that's kind of my fault," Gibbs shook his head, laughing.
"I guess so," she whispered, all of a sudden swept by a wave of anxiety. "Gibbs?" she bit her lip and scooted a tiny bit closer.
He looked at her and she just knew: if she kissed him, he wouldn't pull back. If she kissed him, she would taste coffee and Bourbon and Gibbs. She would feel strong muscles, right before her fingers grip a portion of fabric and pull it towards her, pull him closer. They would not stop. And so she didn't.
"Thanks for sticking around, Gibbs," she finally murmured, distracted, by images and thoughts and temptation that would wait.
"If I have to be honest, Kate, you looked like hell," Gibbs said, smirking. "I had to stay."
Bastard. Kate punched his shoulder, then asked, half-jokingly, "Then what's keeping you here now?"
It could have been complicated, an awkward response to a daring question. But Kate knew that Gibbs liked simple. At that moment, she did not mind simple; did not mind his arms wrapped around her, content with simply holding her close for long whiles. Definitely did not mind his lips pressed to her temple, his hushed voice, whispering in her ear. "What if Jamie wakes up again, Kate –"