This is a bit different from my other stories and hopefully it's something you who read will enjoy. I am really uncertain about the rating for this one so if it's wrong please tell me! It's especially dedicated to my readers who are following my Love For Life Story. A little present for being so patient with me since my updates on that one is so far between.
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A Bond to break
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He was watching her. She was wearing that collar again. For months every Thursday and Friday she had been wearing that collar. She tried to hide it but he always saw it. He didn't think much of it at first. Perhaps Abby had influenced her in some way. However it became more and more obvious that she was also acting different on these days. He was not the only one who had noticed. It had started to nag at him and for weeks he wondered what was going on. It really wasn't any of his business. Still, he couldn't help the gut feeling he had. Her phone rang and she picked up the receiver. Her whole body turned stiff and he knew soon she would disappear somewhere. Again he would follow her. As she hung up she got ready to go as predicted. He noticed that Tony was getting ready to follow her also. Tony stood up and looked over to him. His stare with a slight shake of his head brought Tony to a stop. Tony immediately understood and sat back down.
Gibbs got up and saw her take the stairs. He followed while trying to keep a low profile. He had followed her before but had always lost her. She was good. Not this time though. This time he wouldn't lose her. He took the stairs two steps at a time. She vanished from his view and soon he was at the door she had vanished through. He opened it carefully and quickly stepped in to the hallway. Further down the hall he heard a man's voice. He took a few more steps and waited. He could clearly hear the voice now and he knew that voice. Charlie Brennan. Nice guy and good agent.
"Have you been a good girl Caitlin?"
His strong and hard voice angered Gibbs slightly. It sounded like he was talking to a child.
"Yes, Sir."
He had never heard Kate's voice sound so weak before and it tore at his heart. There was a sound and Gibbs peeked around the corner to see that Brennan had pushed Kate up against the wall.
"Are you telling me the truth Caitlin?"
The voice was even harder now.
"Yes, Sir."
Gibbs was no fool. He knew enough about BDSM to understand what was going on. However, this feeling that Kate was not quite into it wouldn't leave him. He watched as one of Brennan's hand sneaked under her blouse and seemed to grab a breast. He saw Kate's face twist in pain. Still he didn't move. What if this was something Kate wanted and liked?
"Touch me."
Gibbs saw Kate do just that through the man's pants. Her face looked upwards though and her face seemed to show she'd rather be elsewhere. What finally triggered Gibbs was the lonely tear that escaped down her cheek. That was it. This would stop now. He moved and hurried up to them.
"What the hell do you think you are doing Agent Brennan?"
Brennan quickly stepped back from Kate who by now was staring at Gibbs with huge eyes. Soon those eyes looked away in shame.
"Agent Gibbs, it is not what it seems."
The voice was still full of confidence.
"No, then correct me." Gibbs challenged him.
"Caitlin likes this. It's what she wants."
Gibbs did not believe that as he turned to look at Kate whose eyes was staring at the floor. "Kate?" He said in a gentle tone hoping it would show he was not angry at her. "Is that true?"
Kate said nothing. There was a battle inside her and the wrong side was winning as usual. She was ashamed to even look him at him. Soon she felt fingers on her cheek guiding her face to look at him.
"Do you want to be treated like this?"
He did not look angry and his voice was sweet. Still, she couldn't say anything.
She did not need to answer him. The look on her face had said it all. Gibbs sighed as he let go of her face.
"Caitlin, I order you to tell him that you enjoy this!"
Gibbs could have struck him then for talking like that to her. He did not look away from Kate and she still said nothing. He saw a hand move and reacted right away. He grabbed a hold of Brennan's hand before he had a chance to strike Kate's face. It bothered him that Kate had not moved or made any attempt to stop Brennan but actually seemed to to fully accept the slap. Gibbs pushed Brennan away from Kate and by now the other man could clearly see his rage. "If I see or hear that are you anywhere near her again I will make your life a living hell."
Brennan gripped his sore wrist when Gibbs released it and took one last look at Kate before he started to walk away.
Gibbs turned back to Kate. "Let's talk."
She couldn't argue. "Yes, Sir." Her voice was weak.
"Don't call me that." He said in a quiet but friendly tone. He never liked being called Sir and now he hated it even more.
Kate nodded. She followed as Gibbs made his way to an empty room and once inside he closed the door behind them. He gestured for her to take a seat and soon sat down next to her.
"Was it mutual because from where I was standing it did not look like it was? It is one thing to 'play' if both have agreed to do so but if not…" His voice trailed of not wanting to finish the sentence.
Kate couldn't find her voice. She felt a light touch on her arm and looked up. His face was filled with compassion. None of the anger that Brennan had received seemed to be left for her.
"Kate, if you agreed to this then let the collar stay on." He paused a bit.
She wasn't sure where he was going with this but found she was starting to relax a bit under his touch.
"If this was not mutual then take the collar off and I'll do everything I can to keep him away from you." He hoped he sounded as sincere as he was. He stroked her arm gently while she seemed to search his face.
With trembling hands she reached up and unclasped her collar. She took it off and placed it on the table in front of her.
Gibbs let out a breath he did not know he had been holding. "Why Kate?" His voice was gentle again to show he did not blame her for this.
Kate finally found her voice and spoke in a stronger tone this time. "He approached me about going on a date. I said no. He wouldn't give up. He kept persisting and in one weak moment I said yes. From that moment on he started to work on me. Breaking me to the point where I would be his every time I wore the collar."
He really hated Brennan now. It was a good thing that the man wasn't anywhere near. "Why didn't you come to me?"
She took a deep breath. "If you found out you'd have me fired. You know, not giving me a chance to resign if I pulled the same crap on NCIS."
He remembered the moment she was talking about. That had been more for him then her as he had been attracted to Kate since the day he had met her. He never dreamt that the phrase would come back to haunt him like this. "I wouldn't have fired you. He forced you."
"He broke me Gibbs. A lot of my thoughts did not make much sense."
"Did he hurt you just now?" He had no right to ask but he wanted to know. "Can I see?" It was possible she wasn't entirely herself when she started to pull up her blouse. He stopped her. "You sure you want to show me?"
"Yes." When he removed his hand she continued and also removed the bra over her right breast.
A bright red mark was staring back at him. In a normal situation to finally see her breast would excite him but now the sight only angered him more. "Oh, Kate."
She put the bra back on and pulled the blouse down. "I've had worse." She meant it as a good thing but the moment she had said it out loud she regretted it.
He didn't even want to think what that bastard had done to her. "Come on. It's late. I'll take you home."
He stood up and as she did the same he took the collar from the table. "I'll throw this away for you."
She barely nodded as they made their way out of the room.
' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '
As they reached the bullpen Tony stood up. "Boss, Kate. What's going on?"
Neither answered him as the two went to gather their things. "Kate, did you do something naughty?"
"Dinozzo, go home." Gibbs snapped angrily at him, glad for the fact that Kate had her back towards the younger man. Gibbs had seen her flinch at his words. Tony may not know what was going on but Kate did not need his questions or teasing right now.
Tony eyed him suspiciously and then back to Kate. "Kate?" His voice changed to a most caring tone. "You ok?"
She turned and for the first time this evening gave him a small smile. "I'm ok Tony."
Her voice was steadier now than before and Gibbs knew it was for Tony's benefit. Tony did seem pleased with her response. At least he did for now.
"Good. Night, Kate. Night, Boss." Tony picked up his bag and left.
Gibbs rounded his desk and Kate filed in next to him. Together they walked to the elevator and soon they were on the way to the garage.
Kate suddenly spoke up. "You don't have to take me home."
He glanced over to her and saw she was looking at him. "Maybe not but I want to."
Kate looked away but said nothing more.
"How long has this been going on?" He shouldn't ask but he wanted to know how long this creep had been hurting his Kate. Wait, back up. His Kate? Where had that come from?
"For a little over a year." She responded.
He shook his head sadly.
"Thursday's and Friday's?" Why couldn't he just shut up? Was she not hurt enough already?
"Yes, and every other weekend."
"You deserve better than that Kate."
She sighed deeply. "I used to think so."
"That is until he began to mess with your mind." It was not a question but more of a fact.
' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' ' '
Not a word had been spoken as Gibbs had driven her home. As he opened the car door for her she stepped out and immediately her body stiffened. "He is here."
Gibbs knew right away who she meant. "It's ok, Kate. I won't let him hurt you again." He immediately regretted that he had not taken her to his house like he originally had planned.
Together they walked towards her apartment and soon Charlie Brennan stepped out of the shadows to greet them. "Agent Gibbs. Caitlin."
"I thought I told you to stay away from her." Gibbs said in a strong voice. He wasn't sure the man had heard him as Brennan seemed to be staring at Kate.
"You took the collar off?"
There was disbelief in his voice. Gibbs noticed that Kate's hand right away flew up to her throat and she looked like she was expecting another punishment. "Yes and I threw it away. It's gone and so is your reign of terror over Kate." He stepped closer to Brennan invading his personal space. "Let me make this very clear to you Agent Brennan. Stay away from her or I will make sure you pay dearly for it." Before giving the younger man a chance to respond he gently took Kate's arm and guided her away from this sorry excuse of a man.
As they reached her front door she quickly opened it and went inside as Gibbs followed. He closed the door behind them. She headed straight to the living room and sat down on the sofa. Gibbs was soon next to her. "I should have him fired."
"No, that will only make things worse for me. Please don't." She knew she was begging but she didn't care.
He didn't like this fragile Kate. He wanted the old Kate back. "Ok, how about reporting him?"
"No, just leave it."
Against his better judgment he agreed with her. "Fine but if he comes near you or even as much as looks in your direction I want to know about it."
There was a small smile on her lips as she looked at him. "You will."
He reached out a hand to touch her cheek and she shivered slightly. There was something between them and he could tell she felt it too. "You do deserve better Kate. You deserve to be loved and not used." He really shouldn't say what was on his mind but he had wanted to for so long. Now she was in a vulnerable state but he couldn't help himself. "Will you, someday, let me show you?"
She blinked. She wasn't sure if she was hearing this right.
He saw that she was confused. "Not now. You are still hurting but someday, if you are willing, I want to show you just how much I love you. How you should be loved."
She had not dared to hope that she would ever hear anything like this from him. Now when she did she suddenly had trouble finding her voice again. If she didn't talk soon he would take it as a no. "I'd like that." It was a whisper but at least it came out.
He smiled at her then. "Let me know when you are ready Kate and I will." He leaned towards her and placed a small kiss on her lips.
She withdrew. "Stay." Still it was a whisper.
Before he could say anything she took one of his hands in one of hers and as she stood up drew him with her. "Just sleep next to me in my bed. I will feel safer then." Her voice was coming back.
He understood. "I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."
~The End~