Kate quietly walked down the stairs into the basement after of course she made sure Diane was gone. Gibbs turned and looked at her. He could see the sadness in her eyes. Of course she had been listening and heard every word that had been said between the two.
"So, the only woman you ever loved or will ever love is Shannon" she stated, trying to not let her emotions get the best of her, but when you have been with a man for just over seven years hearing someone say that and for him not to deny it, it had to be true. Gibbs turned to face her, putting the watch Diane had given him on the small work bench in front of him.
She could understand why he didn't want to get married again. Marriage could ruin what they have and what they have may not be perfect, but it works. And three years ago when they had Samuel, he became the doting father and didn't run, like she was afraid he would.
"Kate, she" he tried to explain but Kate held up a hand to stop him from talking.
"She doesn't know what we have? It really seemed like she knew what she was talking about. I know you love Samuel. I can see it in your eyes and with the way you hold him and watch him sleep" she said softly, putting her hands in the back pockets of her jeans.
"But, when you look at me, it's like you are looking for something or rather someone. So I am going to ask you, Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Do you love me?" she asked almost choking on the last words. He looked at her with his blue eyes. She could see his mind ticking. He opened his mouth but he couldn't seem to get the words to come out. Kate just nodded.
"Okay. Well Samuel is asleep, he has to be at day care by 8" she said with a sniffle. Gibbs looked at her questioning.
"I can't be here with you Jethro. I love you so much and until you can tell me you love me, I can't be here" she said as she quickly wiped a tear away.
"Kate, Samuel needs his mother" he finally said.
"And he will get me. I will pick him up after work and spend time with him before bringing him home. Rachel is in DC for a while, I will stay with her" she took one last look at Gibbs before turning and heading up the stairs. She went to their bedroom and took out a suitcase and packed some clothes and make-up. She then went to Samuel's room and kissed his sleeping head.
"I love you my sweet boy" she said softly before finally leaving the house.
Gibbs heard the front door close and then slapped the back of his head. All he had to do was say three small words. He knew he loved Kate, if he didn't they wouldn't have been together for so long. But recently he has been questioning his feelings towards her. Somehow those feelings didn't seem as strong as he once thought. He sighed and decided to go to bed. He went back up the stairs and checked on Samuel before heading to the bedroom. He turned on the light and looked at the bed. It was empty. Empty brought back memories he didn't want to deal with right now. He turned off the light and headed down stairs, grabbed a pillow and blanket from the closet and went and slept on the couch.
THREE WEEKS LATER
Gibbs walked into work with the same expression on his face. He took his weapon off and put it in his draw, slamming it shut. Ziva, Tony and McGee all looked at each other and then at Gibbs.
"I take it Kate hasn't come home" Tony said, earning him a glare from Gibbs.
"Right, topic off limits" Tony said going back to work. Ziva was about to say something when Agent Balboa came into the bullpen walking right up to Gibbs' desk.
"Where is Kate?" he asked looking more then pissed off. Gibbs looked up at him.
"How would I know" he answered.
"Because you are the father of her child" he said. Gibbs stood up from his chair and leaned forward to invade Balboa's personal space. Normally the two Agents got along, but since Kate walked out on Gibbs, neither one had gotten a break. Gibbs dealing with a son who would constantly cry for his mother at night and Balboa dealing with an Agent who left work early to spend time with her son.
"Does not mean I know where you Agent is" Gibbs said. They both eyed each other.
"You know Kate better than anyone else Gibbs. You know she would never be late for work. She is two hours late" Balboa informed the other man. Gibbs did know Kate and it was very rare that she was late.
"I have called her and there is no answer. Straight to voice mail" he added. Tony, McGee and Ziva all looked at each. They all knew that wasn't like Kate. She always answered her phone, afraid it would be about Samuel.
"When was the last time you heard from her?" Gibbs asked as he picked up his phone and dialled her number.
"Yesterday afternoon when she left early to pick up Samuel" Balboa tod him. Gibbs hung up.
"Voice mail" he said then looked over at McGee.
"Trace her phone" he ordered then dialled a different number.
"Rachel. Did Kate leave for work this morning?" Gibbs asked quickly.
"No, she never came home. I thought you two must have sorted things out. I was waiting for a message but I haven't heard anything. Is everything okay?" Rachel answered. Gibbs looked up at Balboa then over at McGee.
"Go pick up Samuel from day care. I will meet you back at your place in an hour" he said then hung up, not waiting for an answer.
"Boss I got her location. Says she's two blocks from your house" McGee said looking up at him.
"McGee, go with Balboa and go through Kate's computer" he said as he grabbed his weapon from the draw.
"Boss, what can we do?" Tony asked standing up. He looked at Ziva and Tony.
"Come with me" he said then headed to the elevator, Tony and Ziva following close behind.
Gibbs sped all the way to the location McGee said Kate was. When they got there all they found was her car. They got out and checked it. It was unlocked, keys, purse and phone were all still inside.
"It wasn't a robbery. What do you think they wanted?" Tony asked.
"They got what they wanted" Gibbs said as he took his phone out to call McGee. Tony and Ziva both looked at each other. They took a few photos of the car and the bagged what was inside. Maybe they would get lucky and whoever took Kate left a finger print.
Gibbs closed his phone and sighed. He looked up and down the street. It was quiet.
"Come on" he said as he got back in the car, Tony and Ziva followed. He drove over to Rachel's. She had moved to DC a few months ago to take on a new practice.
Gibbs got out and ran up the steps. He didn't get to the door before it opened and there stood Rachel, Samuel ran out to him. Gibbs bent down to pick him up as the little boy wrapped his arms around his father's neck. Tony and Ziva got out and stood at the bottom of the front steps, wanting to give their boss his space.
"Have you heard from her?" Rachel asked as she closed her cardigan. Gibbs kissed Samuel's head.
"No. Found her car abandoned" he said softly. Samuel sat back in Gibbs' arms and looked at him.
"Where's Mummy?" he asked so innocently. He looked past his father and saw Tony and Ziva and smiled.
"Tony. Iva" he said happily. He hadn't quiet mastered his Z's yet. They both smiled and waved at the little boy. If only he knew.
"Mummy will be here later okay" Gibbs told him. He looked into his sons hazel eyes. They looked just like Kate's. He remembers when he was born. Kate made a joke about being glad his eyes weren't blue. She didn't know if she could cope with another pair of blue eyes pleading with her. He smiled at the memory and hugged his son.
"Daddy has to go back to work" he said not really wanting to let his son go.
"Nooo" the little boy said holding on to him tight.
"You stay here with Aunty Rachel. Ziva will stay with you too" he said. Ziva nodded and walked up the steps.
"You can help draw some pictures" Ziva said with a smile as Gibbs put the little boy down. Samuel grabbed Ziva's hand and dragged her inside.
"Come" he said making Gibbs and Rachel chuckle. Once they were sure he could no longer hear they got serious.
"You better find my baby sister Gibbs. You broke her heart and I have spent two weeks consoling her. Don't make me blame you for this too" she said staring at him. Gibbs nodded.
"I will find her. I promise" he said, then turned away and got back in the car with Tony. The drive back to NCIS was quiet. Tony not really sure of what to say to relieve the tension.
"Gibbs, Kate received a text at 4:58pm yesterday" Abby said as he entered her lab with a caf-pow.
"What did it say?" he asked walking over to her. She pulled it up on her computer screen.
"Meet Florence street 6pm. Come alone" she read it to him. Gibbs looked at it.
"Why?" he simply asked. Abby shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know, but I am 98% sure it has something to do with this" she said and pressed play on an audio file.
"Agent Todd. Your son is quite handsome. Be a shame if something was to happen to him. To keep that from happening you need to cooperate. Will be in touch. Oh and Agent Todd, tell anyone, especially that boyfriend of yours, your son is gone" the voice filled the quiet lab. Gibbs' jaw clenched. Abby looked at him with sad eyes.
"It was left in her voice mal. I am trying to track where the call came from, but it was a burn phone. They destroyed it after the call. And the voice was a cover, of course. But we did find a partial print on Kate's keys that isn't hers and I'm running it now" she said trying to give him some good news. Gibbs looked at her.
"You find them Abby. You find them so I can snap their necks" he said angrily and walked out of the lab. He angrily hit the elevator button and waited. The doors open and he stepped in and pressed the button for Balboa's floor. The doors closed and the longer it took the angrier he got. When they did finally open he almost ran out of them and to Balboa's desk.
"Gibbs, have you got something?" he asked standing up.
"I want everything on you current case" he ordered. Balboa looked at him confused.
"Gibbs, we haven't had a case for a week" he explained looking at Chuck.
"Then what the hell was she working on?" he asked, raising his voice.
"A few cold cases, like the rest of us. McGee didn't find anything in her emails. He went through her recent files and it was just old bank statements and autopsy reports" he explained. Gibbs stared at him while he thought. It has to be someone wanting revenge on him. That is the only other reason someone would do this. To get back at him by taking one of the people he cares most about. Then it hit him. He cares so deeply for Kate. His heart is actually aching not knowing where she is. He looked down.
"I want you two to go to the day care and question everyone there" he said and they both nodded as Gibbs left to head for his own bullpen.
Tony and McGee where working as fast as they could, even though they didn't have much to go on.
"McGee" Gibbs said as he walked into the bullpen.
"Uh, Abby sent me the information from the call and the text message. Both came from different phones. I am in the process of tracing the phone that the text message was sent from" he said quickly. Gibbs then turned to Tony.
"Uh, I am checking her bank statement for the past 24 hours. Nothing so far. She made a purchase for gas yesterday morning, then at an ice cream parlour yesterday afternoon, about 30 minutes before she received the text message" Tony told him. They didn't really have anything. Gibbs started to pace up and down the bullpen which they had never really seen him do before.
"Uh boss" McGee said quickly.
"The phone that sent Kate the text message. It's making a call" he said as he quickly tried to trace it. Then Gibbs' phone started to ring. They looked at it and he ran to answer it and put it on speaker.
"Gibbs" he answered like he always did.
"Agent Gibbs. Good to hear your voice" the same voice that left the message on Kate's phone came over the speaker.
"What do you want?" he asked. The voice laughed.
"You Agent Gibbs. I want you to suffer like you made my family suffer. You put the wrong man behind bars. You tore my family apart. My mother killed herself, my sister is in a mental hospital because of what you did. Now it's your turn to feel the hurt and destruction of someone's actions" the voice said angrily. McGee nodded at him that he had traced the phone. Tony was frozen at his desk.
"Gibbs don't listen to him. Keep Samuel safe" Kate said quickly, then there was a slap and a cry, that made them all flinch.
"Do what I say Gibbs. Or you will never see the mother of your son again" then the phone cut out. Gibbs stood there trying to figure out what to do next.
"Gibbs, he is at the dog park near 11th" McGee told him. This snapped Gibbs out of it and he grabbed his keys.
"Come on" he yelled and Tony and McGee ran after him quickly.
*
Gibbs pulled up at the park. Being just after midday there were a lot of people here. They all got out and started scanning the park.
"McGee?" Gibbs called. McGee looked at his phone.
"They should be here" he said walking towards where the dot on his phone was flashing. He then stopped.
"Right here" he said looking around.
"McGee there is nothing here" Ton said. Gibbs looked at the ground and saw something in the gutter.
"Yeah there is" he said walking over, bending down and picking up a phone.
"He was here" he said. They all looked around the park, but there was no other sign of Kate or the person who had taken her.
"My guess is he has her in a van Gibbs" McGee stated. Gibbs stood up and walked over to him.
"You think, McGee" he said angrily, handing him the mobile phone and walking back to the car.
"Gibbs, the partial print I pulled off Kate's keys and the phone belong to Thomas Ridden" she said excitedly, now they actually have a name. Gibbs looked at the man's face.
"Ridden. Alex Ridden was his father. Lieutenant who was convicted of raping and murdering two Petty Officers" he recalled the case, then looked at Abby.
"I need you to find him Abby. Look up every known address, work address anything you can on him" he ordered and she nodded.
"Why does he want Kate?" she asked softly and he sighed.
"He blames me for tearing apart his family. Now he wants me to suffer too" he said softly before walking away.
"Gibbs" Abby said making him stop and turn to face her.
"Kate told me" she said softly, the sadness still in her eyes.
"Told you what?" he asked a little confused.
"That you couldn't say it. Do you love her?" she asked, hoping to get an answer. Gibbs stared at her then turned to leave.
"Yeah" he said before he left her lab.
Gibbs entered the bullpen.
"Tony, I want everything you can get on Thomas Ridden" he ordered. Tony looked at him.
"Ridden?. Where have I heard that name before?" he asked.
"I remember. Alex Ridden. A case a few months back. He raped and murdered two Petty Officers. Apparently the daughter got bullied at school because of it" McGee said. Gibbs looked at him.
"Find out everything you can on the rest of the family. He said he blamed me for tearing his family apart" he recalled the phone conversation. Gibbs then picked up the phone to call Ziva to check on Samuel and Rachel. After talking to his son he hung up and went out for coffee.
It was nearing 3 am and they still had nothing. Well they had the suspect, but after checking all his previous known addresses and work addresses they had come up empty. They even went and check in with his sister. The doctors had told them that Thomas had visited his sister in almost two weeks.
Gibbs had fallen asleep at his desk, as had Tony and McGee. They all woke up to the ringing of Gibbs' phone at 6am.
"Yeah, Gibbs" he answered groggily.
"Gibbs, Ziva" she answered promptly.
"Ziva, everything okay?" he asked.
"Everything and everyone is okay. How about you all?" she asked, not wanting to mention any names.
"Uh, getting there. Don't tell Samuel or Rachel anything" he said as he looked at Tony and McGee.
"Of course" she said and he hung up.
"McGee" Gibbs said running his hands over his face.
"Checking phone activity and…uh boss" McGee said looking at Gibbs.
"What?" he asked not really in the mood for guessing games.
"Bola has come back for Thomas Ridden. Patrol car spotted him and a female arguing in the car park of Oak Hill cemetery in Georgetown" McGee said as he read the message. Gibbs walked over to him.
"When?" Gibbs asked.
"Uh, twenty minutes ago" he said. Gibbs got up and went back to his desk, grabbed his phone and weapon.
"Grab your gear" Gibbs ordered and the two quickly obliged and ran to the elevator with Gibbs.
"Get moving" Thomas ordered as he pushed Kate forward, her hands still tied behind her back. Kate walked through the cemetery, not entirely sure why they were here.
"What are we doing here?" she asked.
"Shut up and just keep walking" he said pushing her again. The sun was just coming up and the grounds keepers were starting to arrive, so he didn't have the gun trained on her, put it was on him. She knew that much.
"Stop. Right here" he said and grabbed her arm then threw her to the ground. She hit the ground hard with a ground. He then pulled her two her knees to face the tomb stone.
"Renee Ridden. Your mother" she stated and looked back at him. Thomas nodded.
"She killed herself because your boyfriend put my father in jail and labelled him a rapist. She couldn't take the looks and horrible gossip" he told her as he stared at the tomb stone.
"Why get back at Gibbs? Why not get back at your father? He could not prove his innocence. Isn't he the one you are really mad at?" Kate said angrily. Thomas looked at her.
"You don't know anything" he yelled at her then slapped her, making her cry out. He then reached back and pulled the gun out that was tucked in the back of his pants and aimed it at Kate.
"My father was innocent. I am going to show Agent Gibbs what it's like to feel pain, what it's like to lose someone you love" he yelled at her. Gibbs , Tony and McGee could hear him as they started to close in.
"Thomas, put the gun down" Gibbs yelled at him. Thomas looked around at the three guns that were aimed at him. It didn't seem to startle him at all. He eyed Kate again.
"Can't do that. You are going to stand there and watch me kill her" he said.
"No, can't have you do that. You shoot her, we shoot you. You can't leave your sister alone" Gibbs said as he slowly took a few steps closer to Thomas. This made him falter a little.
"She is already asking about you. Wonders when you will go and see her again" Gibbs kept talking. Thomas tried to ignore him bit he couldn't. He couldn't leave his sister alone. He was all she had left. He looked at Kate, who was staring at the ground, praying for this to be over. Thomas closed his eyes and dropped his arm, releasing the gun and putting his hands on his head. Tony and McGee moved in to cuff Thomas and take his gun away. Gibbs holstered his weapon and headed straight for Kate. He got out his knife and cut her restraints and then helped her to her feet and turned her around to look at him. Her eyes were filled with tears, her face bruised and lip bleeding.
"Jethro" she said softly, not really believing that this was all over.
"You're okay" he said as he wrapped his arms around her. She did the same, burying her head in his chest, finally letting go of the tears. Tony and McGee escorted Thomas back to NCIS, while Gibbs and Kate took a cab to the hospital first and then to Rachel's home.
Gibbs let Kate walk in first, he had already called ahead to tell Ziva everything was okay and to keep the information to herself.
Samuel was the first one to hear the front door open and he ran towards. When he saw Kate he ran faster not wanting to stop.
"Mummy" he squealed. Kate bent down and picked him up and hugged him tight while kissing his cheeks over and over again making him laugh.
"God I missed you" she told him. Rachel heard the commotion and came out from the kitchen and smiled when she saw Kate with Samuel.
"Oh sweetie" she said as she walked over and hugged her baby sister.
"I'm okay" she said with a soft smile. Samuel laughed but then really looked at Kate and pointed to her lip.
"Owie Mummy" he said staring at it. Kate nodded.
"Yes, Mummy has some owies. Can you kiss it better?" she asked and nodded and kissed her lip.
"Much better. Thank you" she smiled and kissed his cheek again. Samuel smiled and then rested his head on Kate's shoulder. Gibbs watched them and smiled.
"Come on. Let's get you two home" Gibbs said then looked at Ziva.
"Protection detail is over. Go home and get some rest" he told her. Ziva smiled and nodded.
"Of course Gibbs. Good to have you back Kate" she said, then headed for the door, but Kate stopped her, grabbing her arm.
"Thank you for everything Ziva. I appreciate it" she said.
"Say good Samuel" she then said to the little boy in her arms. Samuel waved.
"Bye Iva" he giggled. Ziva smiled.
"Good bye Samuel. I look forward to drawing with again" Ziva said and then left. Rachel then hugged Kate and kissed her cheek.
"Go home. Be with your family" she said. Kate nodded and wasn't going to argue.
Samuel didn't want to go to bed but after Kate read him three books he was out like a light. Kate didn't want to leave him, but knowing he was safe she left his room. She sighed and headed into her bedroom and was a little surprised to see Gibbs sitting on the bed.
"I would have thought you were in the basement" she said as she walked in. He looked at her.
"We need to talk" he simply stated. Kate nodded.
"We do, but can't this wait until the morning?" she asked.
"No. It needs to be said now" he stood up and walked over to her.
"Okay" she waited for him to go first. His jaw clenched as he readied himself for what he was about to say.
"I love you" he said softly.
"I couldn't say it before" he continued. Kate wanted to say so much but she thought it best to keep quiet.
"I didn't realise it before. Then you left" he said as he reached out and traced her lip softly. Kate just looked into his eyes.
"You were willing to die to protect Samuel, and me". Kate nodded.
"I would do anything to keep you both safe. As I know you would do the same" she told him softly. Gibbs nodded and wrapped his arms around her.
"I would" he said before leaning down and kissing her softly. Kate smiled and pulled back to look at him. She cupped his cheek and looked into his deep blue eyes.
"I love you so much Jethro. And I never want to replace Shannon. I get through every day thinking that she brought us together because she didn't want you to be alone" she told him softly. Gibbs kissed her again. He had never thought about it like that, but now that she had brought it up, maybe it was true.
The next morning Kate woke up to a small body climbing into bed and cuddling up to her. She opened her eyes and saw a smiling Samuel looking back up at her.
"Morning Mummy" he says in a whisper. Kate smiles and runs her hand through his light brown hair.
"Good morning sweetie" she whispers back. He climbs on top of her and rests his head on her chest, looking towards Gibbs who was on his back still asleep.
"Daddy sleeping" he said quietly and leaned up and looked at Kate and she nodded.
"We better not wake him" she said with a smile and he nodded this time. Just then a loud snore came from Gibbs making Samuel giggle. Kate couldn't help but laugh too.
"He make funny noise" Samuel said as he snored again.
"Maybe you should tell him to be quiet" Kate said with a smile. Samuel nodded and rolled over so he was lying in the small gap between his parents. He looked at his dad and then reached out to touch his cheek, but just before he made contact Gibbs rolled over and started tickling him, making him squeal.
"Daddy" he says squirming to try to get away. Kate watched on laughing at the two. Gibbs finally stopped and looked at his son.
"Good morning" he then said and looked over at Kate and smiled.
"Good morning" she replied and then looked at Samuel.
"Sweetie, didn't you have something to tell Daddy?" she asked and kissed his cheek.
"Daddy, you make noise when you sleep" he said with a grin. Gibbs smiled.
"No I don't" he denied.
"Yes. You sound like a pig" he giggled and tried to show Gibbs how he sounded. Kate and Gibbs both laughed at him.
"Okay. If you say so. Why don't you go get washed up ready for breakfast" he tells him.
"Okay" the little boy gets up and run out of the room. Gibbs then looks over at Kate with a smile.
"Morning" she says with a smile. Gibbs moves closer to her and kisses her softly.
"Morning" he repeats. Kate smiles at him and he pulls her in for a hug.
"I like this side of you" she said as she wrapped her legs with his.
"This is me being sweet" he smiled making Kate giggle.
"Well I love it. But you can be sweet without even trying" she kissed his neck. Gibbs was about to say something else but Samuel stopped him.
"Mummy, I'm hungry" he called from the doorway as he jumped up and down.
"Okay, we're coming sweetie" she said with a laugh. She kissed Gibbs one more time.
"I love you" she told him softly. He looked down into her eyes. And even though he didn't say it verbally, he saw it in his eyes. And that was good enough for her.