Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea behind this little fic.

A/N: I know I said I was going to be on leave but my incessant friends wouldn't leave me alone until I wrote something about the power cuts affecting the area we work in and insisted it have a bit of romance in it. so finally here it is for snowflake, wednesay, yumzzz and Airwik hope you guys like it

Worth the Risk

The sudden cold front that had suddenly taken the city by surprise was as unwelcome as unwanted guests when you had plans on a weekend. All it had resulted in was, more drawing of current from the electrical substation that powered the city causing it to short circuit and cut power to the entire area.

This had further resulted in the NCIS building to come to a standstill as all the computers and electrical equipment had gone out with the power loss. The main entrance doors had also been sealed shut as they worked on the electronic system leaving all those who were still inside the building stuck there until the power was restored.

The team had gathered in Abby's lab awaiting results of a blood sample Gibbs had given her to analyze from the crime scene two hours ago. Now nothing could be done, all they could do was wait and moan and groan, a task Tony seemed to be enjoying doing, making everyone else irritable.

"Great! This is so convenient, the power decides to go out the day I have a date with the hot newbie in the building," Tony whined. "Oh come on Tony I'm sure it won't last that long," Abby tried to console him. "What his date or the power cut?" Kate couldn't give up that chance; it was waiting to be taken.

McGee had resorted to sitting at Abby's computer table listening to Tony's moaning and groaning about everything that was wrong in the world – which meant mostly women, and said nothing. He figured it was the best approach to have to avoid having DiNozzo start on something else to moan about for another hour. His attention was more focused on their boss, whose behaviour seemed a bit puzzling at the moment.

Gibbs was sitting at Abby's desk facing the now switched off plasma screen, his gaze fixed intently on Kate for the past hour. Actually it could have been more than an hour, since the power had gone out when there was still a bit of natural light outside and now it was pitch black, unless you looked up and saw the stars. Gibbs had long ago given up the looking anywhere or even at anyone else. The current situation allowed him to study her without anyone having really notice his behaviour… or so he thought.

Kate was caught up in her own thoughts, tuning out DiNozzo's droning voice of complaints, moaning and groaning. She was leaning against the other side of the desk Gibbs was seated at. She was playing with the flame from one of the many candles Abby had lit to give her lab a bit of light.

"Kate! DiNozzo called from across the lab, but she was so immersed in her own world she did not hear him. "Kate" he shouted louder a second time and when she still did not look up he was forced to throw a paperclip at her, thus finally getting her attention. She turned to face him, giving him a glare Gibbs would have been proud of.

"What DiNozzo?" she was obviously not happy about the paperclip being thrown at her and being distracted from what she was doing. "Quit playing around with that flame or you're going to get burned!" he warned her as though she was a five year old child.

"DiNozzo! You only get burned if you get too close," she replied as a matter of fact, "and how close you get depends on how big a risk you're willing to take" she continued still miffed that she had been disturbed from her activity, "besides I like the thrill of seeing how far I can push until the rubber band snaps," she added.

"You don't look like someone who pushes the limit just to see other people's reactions Kate," DiNozzo said surprised at Kate's reply. "There's a lot you people don't know about me DiNozzo," she replied. "So why don't you enlighten us Kate? What was the most daring thing you've ever done?" this time it was Abby asking the questions. Gibbs and McGee said nothing each just looking at Kate.

Unconsciously, she had started playing with the flame again. "Come on Kate, aren't you going to share one of your stories with us? I would love to know what you got up to when you were younger" DiNozzo was baiting her and she knew it but she really didn't care. Besides there was nothing wrong with being a bit of a rebel in her so good life. She was always the model daughter and role model to younger kids; she figured one or two instances of rebellious behaviour couldn't hurt a bit.

"I went riding on a friend's motorcycle after being forbidden to do so by my mom, who apparently thought it was a coffin on wheels." It was the ride of a lifetime, we went racing down the streets at break neck speeds, taking sharp turns and almost falling off the bike a couple of times and just escaping having accidents by mere seconds. I felt like was invincible though that feeling didn't last long as my mom caught me getting off the damn thing as she called it"

"Wow Kate! You don't look like a woman that would ride a motorcycle – ever," McGee said from where he was sitting. Tony was speechless; clearly he did not know Kate as well as he thought he did. He always thought she never broke the rules and was always the good girl, obviously he was wrong. Abby said nothing, she just smiled and though to herself "well at least there is a bit of hope for Kate!"

When Gibbs saw she had finished speaking and she still made no attempt to leave the damn flame alone he stood up and made his way over to the other side of the desk to come up to where she was standing – her back toward him.

"Kate" he whispered, but the lab was now so quiet the other three had heard him and fully turned their attention to the two of them. They were silent all of them closely watching the scene unfold in front of them. Kate had seen him stand up and come round the desk to her and even though she knew he was behind her, his overpowering presence in her personal space caused her to inhale sharply and still she made no effort to leave the flame alone.

"Kate, DiNozzo is right, you're going to get burned, and would you pleas stop doing that with the flame, it's driving me insane," he was surprised at how easily the words came out of his mouth even though he did not intend to say it. Wanting to see his reaction to her reply, she turned around to fully face him, feisty brown eyes meeting fiery blue ones, neither pair wanting to break the eye contact.

He was more intrigued by the spark he felt when she turned to face him and initially made eye contact. Oh he was definitely pushing to see how far this would go. He knew just one touch from her would send emotions reeling and that in turn would cause a major chain reaction in the rest of his body, and he had t mentally refrain himself from touching her at all. Even though she seemed oblivious to the sudden change in atmosphere she knew he had seen the flicker in her eyes.

Now that Gibbs had all her attention on him, and neither of them were saying anything he decided to break it and try and forget about the urge to just pull her up to him and kiss her senseless. "How would you know when to stop pushing Kate?" she did not answer immediately and he took this as an opportunity to step closer to her, his shirt brushing hers. "Maybe getting all her attention focused on me was not the best idea" he thought to himself.

There was a fire raging inside him now so obviously it was a bad idea. She took a hold of his wrist and he lost all resolve to not tough her, the tactile sensations of her hand on his were sending tempestuous messages to his brain and causing all other brain function to cease functioning.

"Kate" he encouraged her, his voice barely more than a whisper, creating a tangible atmosphere between them. Still she held his gaze firmly before replying, "was it my actions that were driving you insane or is it just me that drives you nuts?" she offered him a half smile and squeezed his wrist lightly.

He knew he was going overboard with this, there was a reason he made up rule 12 in the first place. He decided on the spur of the moment he did not care about Rule 12 or anything else and threw caution to the wind. "What do you think Kate?" he did not give a clear cut answer opting for them to come to their own conclusions, even though he knew they would all undoubtedly come to the same one anyway.

He moved slightly closer, prompting her for an answer with just a look, not knowing how long this would last and therefore reveling being this close to her. "I think… you like avoiding questions that would put you in uncomfortable situations" she stood up to her full height inching closer to him, "even though you will have to answer them sooner or later."

"Ok Kate I answered your question and you still haven't answered mine." He was so close to her now, he could fell her breath on his neck and it took all his self control to keep his arms at his sides and not let them come into any contact with her body or face.

His breath caught, his usually sharp mind was now hazy like he was on some kind of drug rendering him unable to think clearly. His temperature soared as a result of the raging hormones in his body at being in such close contact with her and the adrenaline pumping as well. He had not felt like this I a very long time, and he had even forgotten what it was like to experience these feelings.

"You'll know Gibbs when your breath becomes laboured, your mind becomes fogged and clouded, your judgment is off and your body starts tingling with the different reactions to the raging hormones crashing around in it." She finally covered the oh - so – slight distance between them and brushed her lips with his.

Before he could do anything to keep her there or even deepen the kiss, the power was restored and the fluorescent lights went back on covering the lab in a bright harsh white luminance breaking the mood and the atmosphere, causing Kate to pull away from him instantly.

"Damn" he was really pushing to see how far he could go and he nearly got himself burned. He despised that the lights had gone on when they did and wished they had stayed off for just a few more minutes or that he had acted more swiftly than he did. He was willing to risk himself getting burned for Kate because he knew she was worth the risk.

She turned to Tony "there you go DiNozzo now you can still go on that date with the newbie chic," Abby and McGee sat quietly, looking at the expression on their boss's face and knowing they were not to ask any questions about what had just transpired.

Finally Kate turned back to face Gibbs a knowing smile set on her lips, well aware of what she had just started with her super sexy, oh – so – grumpy boss. "Was the risk worth it Gibbs?" she asked softly hoping the others wouldn't hear.

"Definitely Kate" he answered thinking to himself that any kind of contact beyond professional boundries with her was worth it, "and the next time the power cut will be longer and you wont have anybody to save you!' he added suggestively, before giving her an enigmatic smile and leaving the lab.

"With the look on his face I think he's waiting eagerly for another power cut" Abby said as she looked at Kate causing the brunette to blush immensely, "and he really has it bad for you Kate!" she added with a giggle.

"Ok guys that's enough I'll see you tomorrow," Kate said as she left the lab leaving no space for further questions from her teammates.

A/N 2: so there it is. Hope that you guys like it. Sorry for all the spelling and grammar mistakes they're all mine as I had no one to read this at 1 in the morning.

As usual feel free to leave your feedback like it? No? Anything?