A/N: For clarity's sake, let me explain the timing of this one. It takes place between the cold start (nightmare sequence) of 'Reveille' and the rest of 'Reveille'. In other words, Gibbs has the dream but none of the other events of 'Reveille' have happened. Comprende?
A/N2: This story was inspired by the 'Early Edition' episode 'Run, Gary, Run'.
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He woke from the dream – nightmare – sweating profusely, his breathing ragged.
"Just a dream," he reminded himself as he grabbed a glass of water from the nightstand and downed it in one gulp. Deciding sleep was out of the question now, he dressed and drove to work. Flipping on the radio, he pressed the accelerator harder, trying futilely to erase the image in his mind.
"Good morning, Washington!" the all-to-cheery-for-this-early voice called from the radio. "It's going to be a balmy 80 degrees out there today. In the news, three people were killed in a car accident last night as the street racing trend continues..."
Gibbs tuned it out; it was just noise. The clock read 6:30 as he screeched into the NCIS parking lot. Empty, of course. Except for one car. Kate's car.
Gibbs was instantly on alert. What was she doing here this early? Remembering his nightmare, he felt a cold wave of dread wash over him. Calming himself with rationale, he decided to check her workspace before worrying.
The dread returned when he found her bag in her chair but Kate nowhere to be found. He heard a muffled roar from downstairs and his worry intensified. Fearing the worst, he dashed down to autopsy. He arrived in time to see Ari laughing as he stuffed something – someone – into a body bag. Gibbs' heart broke as he recognized the brown-red hair. He could not speak as he noted the time, his investigator's instincts overriding his emotional turmoil. 6:45.
Gibbs woke with a start. This case was really taking a toll on his sleep. Rolling out of bed, he knew he would never get back to sleep. Dressing quickly after a refreshing, reviving shower, he got in his car and turned on the radio.
"Good morning, Washington! It's going to be a balmy 80 degrees out there today." Gibbs gave the radio a strange look. This sounded familiar. "In the news, three people were killed in a car accident last night as the street racing trend continues..."
Gibbs floored the accelerator, dodging and weaving around traffic. He was not going to let it happen again.
Skidding into the parking lot, he barely noticed Kate's car as he swept downstairs into autopsy. Dashing to the doors, he found them locked and barred just as Ari completed the task. Grinning at Gibbs through the glass, he mouthed, "Say goodbye to your friend."
Gibbs saw movement in the background. Preoccupied with Ari, Kate hadn't noticed a blonde woman sneak up behind her. Suddenly aware of her presence, she whirled around, only to be felled by a bullet in her forehead. Gibbs pounded furiously at the glass. "Noooo!!"
His heart was pounding so heavily when he sat up, he half feared he would have a heart attack. Snapping on his bedside radio, he heard words that chilled his spine.
"Hey, there, early birds! Coming up at six, the tragic story of three teens killed in a street racing incident last night..."
Gibbs did not hear the rest. He was already halfway out the door, struggling with his shoes. Speeding out of his driveway, he glanced at the clock. 5:57. He still had time. Suddenly, a wailing siren jerked him from his thoughts. A police car was behind him, signaling for him to pull over. Panicking, he obliged. As the officer came around to his window, he pulled out his badge. It wasn't official business, but this was an emergency.
"License and registration, please," the officer ordered.
Gibbs cooperated hurriedly. "Officer, I'm Special Agent Jethro Gibbs, NCIS. I have an emergency. I need to get there right now." He flashed his badge, which failed to impress the officer.
"Hey, buddy. You got your job; I got mine. Now, wait here while I run your license." The officer walked back to his patrol car, leaving Gibbs to think. It was a really bad idea, but he had no choice...
With squealing tires, Gibbs shot back out to the road, aware that he was breaking several laws. Checking the clock, he was he had fifteen minutes until the doors would be locked. Pushing the car to its limit, he made it to the building in only ten. Dashing inside, he barreled into the autopsy room just as Ari was moving toward the doors. Caught off-guard, Ari went down as Gibbs tackled him. Wrestling for Ari's weapon, Gibbs had forgotten about the blonde. He heard footsteps and looked up to see the woman creeping towards Kate.
"Katie!" he yelled, taking a punch to the jaw for his distraction. Turning his attention back to his own struggle for survival, he summoned all his rage and frustration at Ari into one final blow that knocked the terrorist out cold. Grabbing Ari's weapon, Gibbs heard a gunshot and feared the worst. Turning, he saw that the shot had gone into the ceiling and caused a cloud of dust to fill the room. Coughing, he squinted through to debris for any sign of life. Another shot roared through the empty room and Gibbs raised his weapon, prepared to fire.
A silhouette became visible through the dust cloud and Gibbs tensed, unsure which woman had survived. Catching a glimpse of auburn hair, he lowered his weapon, breathing an immense sigh of relief.
"Kate, you okay?" he called.
"Yeah..." she replied shakily. "You?"
"Fine. Come on, let's get out of here."
"Hey, Gibbs," she said as they were walking. "Y'know how I knew something was up?"
"How?"
"You called me Katie," she answered softly, a question in her voice. Gibbs didn't bite.
"Yeah, I guess I did."
"How'd you know to come, anyway?"
Gibbs stopped. Smiling crookedly at her, he replied simply. "It's a long story."
A/N2: This story was inspired by the 'Early Edition' episode 'Run, Gary, Run'.
--------------
He woke from the dream – nightmare – sweating profusely, his breathing ragged.
"Just a dream," he reminded himself as he grabbed a glass of water from the nightstand and downed it in one gulp. Deciding sleep was out of the question now, he dressed and drove to work. Flipping on the radio, he pressed the accelerator harder, trying futilely to erase the image in his mind.
"Good morning, Washington!" the all-to-cheery-for-this-early voice called from the radio. "It's going to be a balmy 80 degrees out there today. In the news, three people were killed in a car accident last night as the street racing trend continues..."
Gibbs tuned it out; it was just noise. The clock read 6:30 as he screeched into the NCIS parking lot. Empty, of course. Except for one car. Kate's car.
Gibbs was instantly on alert. What was she doing here this early? Remembering his nightmare, he felt a cold wave of dread wash over him. Calming himself with rationale, he decided to check her workspace before worrying.
The dread returned when he found her bag in her chair but Kate nowhere to be found. He heard a muffled roar from downstairs and his worry intensified. Fearing the worst, he dashed down to autopsy. He arrived in time to see Ari laughing as he stuffed something – someone – into a body bag. Gibbs' heart broke as he recognized the brown-red hair. He could not speak as he noted the time, his investigator's instincts overriding his emotional turmoil. 6:45.
Gibbs woke with a start. This case was really taking a toll on his sleep. Rolling out of bed, he knew he would never get back to sleep. Dressing quickly after a refreshing, reviving shower, he got in his car and turned on the radio.
"Good morning, Washington! It's going to be a balmy 80 degrees out there today." Gibbs gave the radio a strange look. This sounded familiar. "In the news, three people were killed in a car accident last night as the street racing trend continues..."
Gibbs floored the accelerator, dodging and weaving around traffic. He was not going to let it happen again.
Skidding into the parking lot, he barely noticed Kate's car as he swept downstairs into autopsy. Dashing to the doors, he found them locked and barred just as Ari completed the task. Grinning at Gibbs through the glass, he mouthed, "Say goodbye to your friend."
Gibbs saw movement in the background. Preoccupied with Ari, Kate hadn't noticed a blonde woman sneak up behind her. Suddenly aware of her presence, she whirled around, only to be felled by a bullet in her forehead. Gibbs pounded furiously at the glass. "Noooo!!"
His heart was pounding so heavily when he sat up, he half feared he would have a heart attack. Snapping on his bedside radio, he heard words that chilled his spine.
"Hey, there, early birds! Coming up at six, the tragic story of three teens killed in a street racing incident last night..."
Gibbs did not hear the rest. He was already halfway out the door, struggling with his shoes. Speeding out of his driveway, he glanced at the clock. 5:57. He still had time. Suddenly, a wailing siren jerked him from his thoughts. A police car was behind him, signaling for him to pull over. Panicking, he obliged. As the officer came around to his window, he pulled out his badge. It wasn't official business, but this was an emergency.
"License and registration, please," the officer ordered.
Gibbs cooperated hurriedly. "Officer, I'm Special Agent Jethro Gibbs, NCIS. I have an emergency. I need to get there right now." He flashed his badge, which failed to impress the officer.
"Hey, buddy. You got your job; I got mine. Now, wait here while I run your license." The officer walked back to his patrol car, leaving Gibbs to think. It was a really bad idea, but he had no choice...
With squealing tires, Gibbs shot back out to the road, aware that he was breaking several laws. Checking the clock, he was he had fifteen minutes until the doors would be locked. Pushing the car to its limit, he made it to the building in only ten. Dashing inside, he barreled into the autopsy room just as Ari was moving toward the doors. Caught off-guard, Ari went down as Gibbs tackled him. Wrestling for Ari's weapon, Gibbs had forgotten about the blonde. He heard footsteps and looked up to see the woman creeping towards Kate.
"Katie!" he yelled, taking a punch to the jaw for his distraction. Turning his attention back to his own struggle for survival, he summoned all his rage and frustration at Ari into one final blow that knocked the terrorist out cold. Grabbing Ari's weapon, Gibbs heard a gunshot and feared the worst. Turning, he saw that the shot had gone into the ceiling and caused a cloud of dust to fill the room. Coughing, he squinted through to debris for any sign of life. Another shot roared through the empty room and Gibbs raised his weapon, prepared to fire.
A silhouette became visible through the dust cloud and Gibbs tensed, unsure which woman had survived. Catching a glimpse of auburn hair, he lowered his weapon, breathing an immense sigh of relief.
"Kate, you okay?" he called.
"Yeah..." she replied shakily. "You?"
"Fine. Come on, let's get out of here."
"Hey, Gibbs," she said as they were walking. "Y'know how I knew something was up?"
"How?"
"You called me Katie," she answered softly, a question in her voice. Gibbs didn't bite.
"Yeah, I guess I did."
"How'd you know to come, anyway?"
Gibbs stopped. Smiling crookedly at her, he replied simply. "It's a long story."