AUTHOR'S NOTE - Trust me, you do not wanna know were this came from. All I'm gonna say is that my brain works in a mysterious ways. :)
This is just a little something; a drabble, 'cause I felt like it. A little changed scene from S01E08 'Minimum Security'.
Jibbs, for those who know where to look for it.
Not beta'd.
SPOILERS - Well, nothing too big, really. As mentioned above, S01E08 'Minimum Security'
DISCLAIMER - Nope! Nuh-uh!
ENJOY!
RULE TWELVE
"What'd you find out, Kate?" – Gibbs asked, realising Tony was getting too personal.
"Sa'id's place wasn't just clean; it was sterilised," – Kate answered after a moment's hesitation. – "There were some towels, soap and a half of roll of toilet paper."
"I think Sa'id copied Paula's key without her knowing," – Tony concluded.
"And which brain is thinking that, DiNozzo?" – Gibbs said, his voice harsher than he originally intended it to be.
Tony looked like he had been slapped across the face for a moment, before getting up and looking disdainfully at Gibbs.
"I'm hitting the rack," – he said, turning his chair and all but shoving it under the table.
Kate closed her eyes briefly, unable to believe Gibbs reacted like that.
"Get this up to Abby first thing in the morning," – was all he said as he handed her Sa'id's laptop.
Kate was quiet for a moment, contemplating what to do next. Finally, she took a deep breath, making her decision.
"You know Gibbs, sometimes you can be a real – "
"Bastard?" – He finished for her, not looking up from the laptop in front of him even for a moment.
"Yes," – she affirmed, emphasising it with a nod.
"Yeah, well my gut is telling me Agent Cassidy is telling the truth," – Gibbs said, still not looking up, busying himself with shifting the papers around the desk.
"So, then what's the problem?" – Kate asked, still not understanding why Gibbs reacted the way he reacted.
Gibbs took a few moments to gather his thoughts, before replying.
"Romance between agents, Kate," – he finally looked her in the eyes, making a small pause. "– it never works."
His voice softened at the end, just a bit louder than a whisper and laced with a heavy dose of regret.
Kate now realised this was not just Gibbs giving Tony a hard time. There was more to it. Much more, if she was asked. And this urged her to go on.
"You speaking from experience?"
His eyes widened, as if daring her to probe more, but eventually he spoke again.
"You know how your parents make up all these rules so you wouldn't make the same mistakes they did?"
"So you are speaking from experience!" – Kate exclaimed, but her excitement diminished then she saw the look in his eyes.
He looked distant; lost in the memories. And, had she looked carefully enough, maybe she would have seen the ghost of a smile playing on his lips.
"So, what happened?" – She asked quietly, carefully, breaking him from his reverie.
He looked at her, his mask back on its place.
"Job happened, Kate. Job," – he replied with a heavy sigh.
- THE END -