FOR SUCH A TIME AS THIS
Written by Jeanniefan78/April
Author's Note: This was written for flootzavut/Sarah for the NFA WEE 2014 exchange. Also, this will be a bit of a sequel to the NFA Secret Santa 2013 story I wrote for her, "The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship".
Prompt: "Our life is a faint tracing on the surface of mystery." ~ Annie Dillard
"There's a mystery lurking at NCIS that has the potential to seriously disrupt the lives of one or more of the MCRT when it surfaces unexpectedly. Is it natural or supernatural? Fascinating or terrifying? Should they fear for their jobs - or their lives?"
It has been a rough few months for Kate. She received devastating news a few weeks before Christmas when her father was diagnosed with colon cancer. Although she came through some rough years with her parents when they divorced, she still couldn't help but feel some guilt over her anger with them.
Gibbs was kind enough to give her some time off to go and spend time with her father. She spent a couple of weeks with him after his surgery. It was a precious time for both of them, and neither one of them would have traded it for anything.
Feeling confident that her father was doing well enough, she returned home, only to encounter a crisis of her own.
"Oww…," Kate moans in pain, with her hand on her head, as she awaits treatment in an emergency room treatment area. She felt sure Gibbs was gonna flip out on her for not exercising better safety on that ladder.
"Excuse me, Ms. Todd," a nurse says, poking her head in the doorway. "There's an Agent Gibbs out in the waiting area."
"Send him in. And may I please have something for pain?"
"I'll check with your doctor."
"Oh man, Gibbs is gonna kill me," Kate groans.
"No, if anything, he's gonna kill me for not leaving you alone on that ladder," Tony says.
"Oh, for Pete sake, I…"
"Kate," Gibbs says, coming in briskly. "Are you alright?"
"Other than having a baseball size knot on my head and soreness all over my body, yeah, I'm great," Kate says.
"What the heck happened here?," Gibbs asks, looking back and forth between Kate and Tony.
"I got an evidence box off the shelf and I displaced another box in the process. I handed Tony the box I got off the shelf and then, climbed back up the ladder to reposition the one I displaced. It was slightly out of reach, so I stood on my tippie toes on my right foot to reach it, and I barely did, but I managed to reposition the box. Then, somehow, coming off my tippie toes and putting my left foot back down on the ladder, I missed the step, fell down off the ladder, flipped it, and I hit my lead on the shelf."
Gibbs ducked his head and sighed. "And where were you, DiNozzo?"
"Boss, I…"
"Don't blame him, Gibbs. I sent him on ahead of me out of lock-up. I'm sorry, I should've…"
"What have I told you about apologies?," he interrupts.
Kate rolls her eyes without answering. "Oww…," she groans.
"Okay, Ms. Todd," the nurse says, entering Kate's room. "I have your pain medicine."
"DiNozzo…," Gibbs says, motioning to Tony to step out outside the curtain.
"Boss, I really…"
"Just stop, DiNozzo. I know it wasn't your fault. It wasn't anyone's fault."
Tony nods. Although grateful to have Gibbs acknowledge that, he still felt somewhat responsible.
"Okay," the nurse says, sweeping the curtain aside.
Gibbs's phone rings. "Yeah…Gibbs…Alright…Thanks, McGee." He closes his phone.
"DiNozzo, go back to headquarters and get McGee. He got a BOLO back on Staff Sgt. Wilkins' car. I'm staying here with Kate."
"Got it, Boss."
"I'll be fine, Gibbs. You can go on ahead with Tony."
"Not an option, Kate."
Tony leaves and Kate prepares for the behind chewing of her life. Although she wasn't looking at Gibbs, she could feel him staring a hole right through her.
"So," she says, breaking the silence. "You gonna read me the riot act or not?"
"No," he says, calmly. "I think that bump on your head did that already."
She scoffs and he chuckles, slightly.
"Besides, it wasn't your fault. It was just an accident. I'm just glad you're okay," he says, looking at her, lovingly.
She very lightly grins and then, starts drifting off to sleep.
A little while later, she is startled awake as the doctor knocks and enters. Her blood, urine, and x-rays are all fine, but her CT scan shows a mild concussion. She is told rest will be the key and not to return to work for at least three days.
"And definitely stay off of ladders for a while."
"I will. Thank you, doctor."
Within a couple of minutes, the nurse brings in her discharge paperwork and a wheelchair. "Are you ready to go?"
"Yes, but I don't need a wheelchair. I can walk out," she says, getting up off the bed.
"Kate, play it safe. Get in the wheelchair," Gibbs says.
"Gibbs, I'm fine. I don't need a wheelchair."
"Do you want me to handcuff you, Agent Todd?"
"Yeah, I'd like to see you pull that off," she pops off.
Gibbs pulls his handcuffs out of his back pocket, holds them up to her, and gives her the Gibbs stare.
Kate glares at him.
The nurse turns her head and snickers quietly.
"Fine." She eases her way into the wheelchair with Gibbs's help.
"You really are a bull head, you know that?," she says to Gibbs as the nurse begins to wheel her out.
Gibbs grins, slightly. "I know."
So, off she goes to recover from a simple bump on the head…or so she thinks.
TBC