TITLE: Falling Through a GATE
Genre: General/Bit of fluff
Rating: FR13
A/N: Set in between SWAK and Twilight
Falling through a GATE
Kate was taken by surprise and her torch was knocked out of her hand. It hit the concrete floor and noisily rolled away. Then there was silence until there was a loud crash on the ground. The flashlight's light went out as the bulb smashed on impact.
Being rough-housed by her brothers as a kid and being a woman in the Secret Service prepared her for moments like these. Kate was now being held by the burley Marine and her shoes had problems gripping the dusty concrete of the construction site. The man's fist struck Kate's cheek with such force that it temporarily blinded her. She was struck once again… The Marine didn't second guess fighting a woman.
There was a tactic Kate used when she was against her brothers… Unfair as it was she kneed the attacker in the groin as hard as she could. Like her brothers, it stopped the offensive and she managed to swing him around and gain the upper hand. She returned a punch and knocked the Marine off balance. Finally, it seemed she had the upper hand.
Until…
The Marine lost his balance. His feet had reached the edge of the floor. Just behind him there was nothing but air. He panicked and his hands flailed out to grab onto anything they could which happened to be Kate. The irritating sound of shoes scraping against the dusty concrete could be heard as she attempted to dig her heels in to grip.
But it failed…
"Kate!" She heard Gibbs' voice call out.
'Calvary' she thought to herself. Though it was too late. The man fell and landed with a crash as he hit something metallic on the floor below. A second later, unable to stop herself, Kate went over the edge.
NCISNCISNCISNCIS
"Kate," Kate opened her eyes and blinked. The voice sounded so far away.
"Gibbs?" She called out as she tried to get up. The flashlight hurt her eyes.
"McGee… Call the paramedics. Stay down, Kate," Gibbs ordered. He looked at the gate that Kate was lying on.
Kate performed a self assessment. She thought it would be more painful truthfully. Besides a headache and aching she felt okay. "I'm right," she said.
Gibbs shook his head. They had been working one man down and eagerness at times got them into trouble. They would have done things differently in hindsight. One of those would have been all going in the same entrance instead of trying to cover everything at once.
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M-TAC, NCIS
Gibbs entered M-TAC and sat beside Director Morrow. Gibbs liked the informal meetings where they just sat next to each other and just discussed things. This was about giving the Director an update.
"How is Agent Todd?" Tom asked. He hadn't received an update.
"Bruised body, bruised ego," Gibbs responded in a straightforward manner.
Tom chuckled. Members of Team Gibbs always seemed to be trying to outdo each other. Injured or not it didn't matter. "Agent DiNozzo?" Tom asked. The young man had breached protocol by opening an unsigned envelope and endangered the whole squad room, on top of that he almost died. It couldn't be said that Agent DiNozzo did things by halves. Tom didn't have any idea on how to discipline the young man.
"Counting the days until he comes back," Gibbs said.
That wasn't surprising to the Director. Not even a near death experience would keep him away for too long. "I'm taking you off duty 'til Agent DiNozzo or Agent Todd is fit for active duty," Tom ordered.
"Sir," Gibbs argued.
"I don't think I need to explain the term 'Combat Ineffective' to you," Tom responded quickly. The last time Team Gibbs was down to two members, something was almost always going wrong.
"No, Sir," Gibbs said flatly. He knew it was pointless to argue.
"I'm sending Agent McGee over to the Stevens team for the duration… That'll be all," Tom said and waited for Gibbs to leave. The team was difficult to handle but you couldn't deal with them by conventional methods.
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Gibbs' House
Kate gingerly walked towards the door of her boss' house. Only once before she had stayed at Gibbs' place. She sighed as Gibbs walked by her carrying a couple of her bags. He led her inside.
"Sit there," Gibbs pointed to the couch.
"Unless you want me to spend the night on the living room floor… I have to get up the stairs sooner or later," Kate said.
Gibbs turned and approached her. Even though DiNozzo argued with him, he had a certain submissive quality whereas Kate was fiery and ready to argue. Gibbs figured that Kate felt she always had something to prove.
"Yes?" Kate asked nervously.
Gibbs shoved her heavy bag into her chest area. She had badly bruised ribs and recovering from a concussion and Gibbs was showing her her limitations. Kate hissed in pain and she dropped the bag.
"Stay," Gibbs ordered.
Kate sighed again as she gingerly sat down. She took the pain pill bottle out of her pocket and swallowed one down with the aid of a mouthful of water. She always marveled at Gibbs' house. The basement was the busiest part of the house. It was an assumption that only the upstairs was used for sleeping and the first floor was only like a hallway.
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MORNING
Kate didn't remember falling asleep nor did she remember going to bed. Took her a second to realize she was still on the couch and covered with a blanket. Took her another second to realize that somebody was watching her…
Watching her sleeping…
She sat up way too quickly and her whole body protested. Kate winced as she stretched to try and get the stitch out of side that had been forming.
"Need anything?" Gibbs asked.
"No," Kate said. It was meant to sound strong and sure. Instead it almost came out like a whimper. "What were you doing?" She wondered why Gibbs was sitting silently on the chair beside the couch.
Gibbs gave a minute smile and a bit of a shrug. That was even more disconcerting. "Wanted to make sure you had everything you need," Gibbs eventually said.
"I'm fine," Kate said. It was more of a response of don't ask. She made a sound that resembled a grunt and another whimper. Gibbs handed her a pill and water. She downed them without questioning what the pill was for.
"I'm making breakfast," Gibbs stood up suddenly.
Kate watched as he did so. "I don't want anything," she said. Her stomach did feel empty but the last thing she wanted was a grease-filled breakfast.
"Didn't offer," Gibbs said back.
"Good. I'm getting changed," Kate responded as she slowly climbed the stairs.
"Pajamas," Gibbs called out. "I don't want you thinking you're going anywhere today," he gave the reason.
Kate huffed angrily. She was no child and no DiNozzo. It seemed that was the only way that Gibbs knew how to deal with people. Sometimes it was pointless to argue and Kate knew sometimes you had to choose your battles.
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Afternoon
Kate sighed out of boredom. At least she had a laptop to keep her somewhat entertained. The headphones drowned out outside noises and she was engrossed in the music playing. That was until a DELING sound came through to signal an Incoming Message. It was a pitfall of being hooked to the net and listening to music.
FGS: Hey… Put up webcam, I wanna chat
She knew FGS could only be one person. She reached around and pulled the small webcam from her computer bag and plugged it in. Thank God Gibbs allowed her to bring the computer.
Abby's picture came up on the screen. "Hello," she greeted cheerfully.
Hi Abs. Kate typed in.
"I see you're lapping up being in bed all day," Abby said.
Easier than arguing about everything.
"How ya feeling?" Abby asked.
Stiff, sore and bored. Can't wait to get outta here.
"You being looked after by papabear or grumpybear?" Abby smiled broadly.
Don't make me laugh Abby. Think the painkillers are starting to wear off. You know how easy Stockholm Syndrome can come about.
Abby laughed heartily. "Sorry… I'll try and be serious. I think you mean Eurotomania. Where a patient starts obsessing about their Doctor or carer or whatever. Stockholm Syndrome is where a hostage falls for their kidnapper," Abby corrected Kate.
Exactly… Stockholm Syndrome. LOL.
"He's not that bad," Abby giggled. "I've got to go… Work's come in. Timmy told me to say hi," she added.
Say hi back. Bye.
"Bye-bye," Abby said before switching off her computer.
Kate shook her head. At least there was some connection to the outside world and wasn't trapped in a place that seemed like it belonged somewhere in the dark ages. She closed the laptop since she was beginning to feel fatigued. It was a pain being incapacitated like this.
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During the night
Kate twisted, turned and moaned once again. She fought the urge to reach for painkillers again in case it was a growing dependency. But it wasn't pain that was making her feel uncomfortable. It was obvious to her now that she felt sick. Little food, little sleep and medication had mixed into a nauseating cocktail in her stomach.
She flung the blanket, ignored the pain and made a dash to the bathroom. Halfway there she almost lost it all. In fact all she had to do was open her mouth she was certain of that and clamped her mouth shut until reaching the toilet.
Eventually there was nothing more to bring up. She rested up against the wall and waited for the nausea to pass her by.
"Drink this," Gibbs gave her a small bottle of water.
Gibbs sat on the edge of the bathtub. He wore pajama pants with no shirt. "Thanks… Being injured like this really helps the figure," Kate attempted to joke. The weight had to be coming off.
"Your figure doesn't need helping," Gibbs responded quickly and earnestly.
"Yeah," Kate laughed once.
"You have a great body, Kate," Gibbs assured her.
"Careful Gibbs. It sounds like you're giving a compliment there," Kate stood up. She accepted Gibbs' hand. Their touch lingered longer than it was comfortable. They quickly.
"You should go back to bed. You want a bucket beside you?" Gibbs asked as Kate rinsed the vomit taste out of her mouth.
"No… I feel better now," Kate said as she left the bathroom.
"Call if you need something," Gibbs headed back downstairs and sat on the chair next to the couch in the living room. He wasn't sure how long he studied the empty couch until the image of Shannon formed.
There were a lot of times when Shannon was sick and he had the chance, he looked after her needs.
You know she reminds me a lot of me. The image of Shannon said.
"I know," Gibbs looked away.
I know you're thinking stubborn but I'd say strong willed…
"Pig headed," Gibbs laughed. Shannon always described her self as strong willed and he always said it was her stubbornness.
You have feelings for her?
The question took Gibbs by surprise. It was something that Gibbs had been thinking about for quite awhile but wouldn't admit it.
Failed marriages and relationships and you think it'll happen with her?
"I don't know," Gibbs shook his head. "Ruler 12… Rule 12," he repeated to himself. Never date a coworker… Never get romantically involved with a coworker.
Never date a coworker? Isn't that just another excuse?
Gibbs scoffed. It wasn't an excuse. He didn't think it was. Hell he didn't believe it was but maybe deep down…
"You okay, Gibbs? I thought you were talking to someone," Kate had entered the room. She wondered if the Lead Agent was just talking in his sleep or on the phone.
"You're up," Gibbs said. He rubbed his eyes.
"Problem with going to sleep so early is that I find myself up during the night," Kate gave the explanation. But really she wanted to get out of bed and move around. Of course she couldn't stand around for too long.
"Can I get you anything?" He asked once again.
Kate sighed. "I take it you don't really look after women too often," she was annoyed honestly. The men in her life always had the need to wrap up her in cotton wool. "You know... I maybe a woman, Gibbs but I don't need to tell you I can rival any man," she smiled. It mightn't have been true at this point of time.
She knew there wouldn't be an apology.
Gibbs never thought him self as chauvinistic but that was becoming apparent. He did treat women differently than the men he worked with.
"I know," Gibbs responded quietly. He couldn't say that looking after her was like making up for not being there for his first family. Even though there was no changing the past, Gibbs thought it as some redemption.
There was another awkward pause. "Maybe it's just me," Gibbs said as he stood up. "Amongst the team there's always been competitiveness... I want you to know that you have nothing to prove to me," Gibbs told her.
"Then why the pampering?" Kate asked.
"Pampering?" Gibbs asked as he sat down with a drink again. He was sure the conversation was being steered into a personal direction. Then again... Everything was personal.
"Yes... Pampering. You come across as a real tough, no-nonsense ex-marine but times like these you show you are human. Such a turnaround in character," Kate stiffened up a little when Gibbs' expression turned somber. Obviously, she had hit a nerve.
"A long time ago. Someone I loved was hurt and I was away. Nothing I could've done and I told myself it would never happen again," Gibbs stated flatly.
"What?" Kate blinked a couple of times. Surely it couldn't have been what it sounded like.
Gibbs leaned forward again. "I don't know. Maybe your stubbornness has roused something in me," Gibbs genuinely smiled.
"I like to think of it as strong willed," Kate suggested.
Gibbs laughed.
"Rule 12?" Kate reminded him of his own rule.
"Off rotation... So we aren't working together... Technically," Gibbs said.
Kate giggled like a schoolgirl. It was his rules, therefore his to break. There was no room for argument there.
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NCIS Bullpen: A week and a half later
Kate was waiting at her desk early in the morning. It was great to get back to work. Sure, fooling around with Gibbs was great in more ways than one but it was just plain odd. She saw McGee placing things into his desk.
"Anything interesting happened?" Kate asked McGee.
"Not really... Oh we did make headway into this huge case that only turned out to be a computer glitch," McGee answered. "And you?" He asked back.
"Oh... It's been pretty dull. Just a bit of R & R," Kate answered. Some things would be better kept secret especially since Rule 12 was back in play.
"Gear up," Gibbs called out as he jogged down the stairs.
McGee and Kate quickly did so. Things were slowly getting back to normal. They met in the elevator.
"Nice pants, Kate," Gibbs whispered in her ear as the elevator began its descent.
The End