He may have told DiNozzo to clear off, to leave Kate to her own devices after the explosion, but for some reason, he still found himself following the ambulance to Bethesda.

"Who are you?" The nurse at the desk was unimpressed by the badge he shoved in her face.

"I'm here to see Agent Caitlin Todd."

"Why?"

"Because I'm her boss."

She eyed him. "You're not her emergency contact, Agent…?"

"Gibbs. Leroy Jethro Gibbs." He held up his ID again, his fingers tapping impatiently against the wood of the desk. "I told ya, I'm her boss. And I need to see her." He sighed, watching her hesitate. "Please," he said softly, trying to disguise his own worry with irritation. It wasn't working, because he just remembered the look of her face, battered and beaten.

She smiled, even though he looked distraught, and nodded. "I understand. She's on the third floor. Room 3512. We're keeping her overnight for observation."

"Is she okay, do y'know?" he asked, staring her down with an icy glare. Inside he was reaching the verge of panic mode, but the world knew him to be unshakeable.

"She's just shaken. It was quite an explosion I heard."

"Oh yeah," he agreed. He started walking away, but turned back. "Thank you."

"You're welcome Agent Gibbs." As he walked away, she continued under her breath, "and please take care of her."

He very nearly started pacing in the elevator. The explosion had shaken him, and he was a lot sturdier than Kate was. He had no doubt she was blaming herself for the incident. Though he himself didn't want to blame her, someone had to be at fault.

Maybe it was even his fault for not discouraging her from befriending an amnesiac woman in the first place. He smiled to himself for a second, realizing that he couldn't discourage Kate from doing anything once her mind was made up. He found it oddly endearing. The smile faded as he realized it could have gotten her killed.

The elevator doors opened, and he found himself heading down the corridor. However much he hated the notion, he was a lot more worried than he'd let on to DiNozzo. It was just worry for a colleague, he told himself, but he knew it to be a lie.

He found room 3512 easily enough, but hesitated outside. He craved a coffee, late as it was, or anything to ready himself for what he had to face inside the hospital room. But no matter how long he dithered outside, she would still be in there, likely suffering.

He was a gentleman and he wasn't going to let her suffer alone.

He opened the door, and walked in, slowly enough so that she wouldn't be startled. He felt like he was approaching a wounded animal, and restrained himself so that he avoided sudden movements.

She struggled to sit up when she saw who it was, but at the same time, she was trying to tug the sheets up over her form. Her face was bruised, her cuts barely scabbed over. She was a sorry sight. "Gibbs!"

"At ease, Kate," he said, holding out a hand to stop her from getting up.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him, eyeing him nervously as he pulled a chair closer to the bed, and sat down.

"Came to keep you company. Are ya okay?"

And he knew she wasn't okay, and he couldn't resist his own damn impulses to come in and play the hero, because underneath the bastard exterior, he was a gentleman. Or he could pretend so anyway.

"Ha," she said, leaning her head back against the pillow. "I should just offer my resignation now, huh?"

"What?" he asked, surprised. He'd not been expecting this.

"I screwed up, Gibbs. I screwed up and it could have gotten the whole team killed."

"It was a mistake, Kate. Everyone makes 'em."

"You don't," she said softly, turning to look at him. He wanted quite suddenly to wrap her in his arms and protect her from the evils of the world, and knew at the same time that she wouldn't thank him for doing so.

"Katie, I'm just as prone to mistakes as you are." There was a lump in his throat, and he wasn't sure how it had gotten there.

"Yeah. Right." She laughed, a sad bitter sound from between her cracked lips. "Not the infallible Leroy Jethro Gibbs."

"Kate," he said firmly. She looked at him, brown eyes staring into blue, and he felt as though neither could tear themselves away for fear of losing their fragile connection. He grabbed her hand. "Yeah, you coulda died tonight. Your only crime was being too…"

"Naïve?" she supplied helpfully.

He smiled. "Too good."

She shook her head, though it looked like it hurt, her eyes filling with tears. "That sounded like a compliment."

"You scared the hell outta me, Katie."

"What did you just call me?" she asked, and he saw the barest glimmer of hope in her eyes.

"I do make mistakes, Katie. Especially when it comes to feelins'."

She was watching him closely and he couldn't meet her eyes. "Feelings?" she asked.

It was the hardest thing he'd ever done, raising his eyes to meet hers and blurt out the truth. "Romantic feelins'."

"Oh." She blushed, and then wrapped her arms around herself, pulling away from him. "I thought-,"

"You thought what?"

"Pull that crap at NCIS and I won't give you a chance to resign," she said softly. "You meant it."

"I did. Trust me Kate, it's not like I asked for it… it just happened."

"I never realized it was mutual."

"Well, that bomb went off tonight, and it… brought me to my senses."

She was staring at him, and then her lips curved into a hesitant smile. "Really? It knocked me senseless."

He stared at her for a second, brow furrowed. "You must be hurt. You're tellin' jokes. And as for firin' you, ya already offered your resignation once tonight. I won't ask for it again."

"Why are you here, Gibbs?" she asked. "Did you come to remind me that I'm human?"

"No shame in bein' human, Katie. Some would say it's a gift. And I came because you needed a friend tonight."

"A friend?" she asked, eyebrows raised.

He squeezed her hand. "Maybe a little more. It won't be easy-,"

"I didn't ask for easy."

"And I'm a bastard-,"

"That's what the second B is for."

"I'm really not gonna talk you outta this, am I?" he asked, staring at her with something that he might have called admiration.

"Never… Jethro. Now come here." She patted the bedspread.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, and pulled her into a gentle kiss, minding the cuts and bruises on her face. And then he pulled away. "As for nearly gettin' killed, Katie, I swear if you do somethin' that stupid again, I won't give you the chance to resign."

"Because I'll be dead," she said with a short laugh. He looked startled so she followed it with, "Perish the thought."

"Perish the thought," he agreed. "You should rest, Katie." He could see that her tenuous energy was already flagging.

"Are you going to leave?" she asked without preamble.

"No, I'm not goin' anywhere. I'll be right here when you wake up."

"Good." Her eyes were sliding closed, her hand going slack in his grasp. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.

And he settled in for his vigil by her bedside. He would be there when she woke up tomorrow morning. And they would explore their fragile new reality. Together.