Disclaimer: As usual I own nothing of this great creation... Still hoping though

A/N: Finally here it is just for Snowflake and Wednesday... I know you guys worked hard on this for a long time and I hope the readers enjoy it as much as I did. Don't worry guys I am in the process of writing chapter II of knight in armour... just thinking of where to take the story.


I'm Married

The tears ran down Kate's cheeks as she drove on the familiar road back toward the office. The past three hours had been torturous for her and all she needed was a bit of provocation to leave her parents' home. She had decided to spend the evening or what was left of the evening with her parents and siblings when her extended family had shown up, unannounced, a few minutes after she had pulled up in the driveway.

Kate was not one to just dislike people, but for these people there was an exception. She just did not like them no matter how hard she tried. She was almost convinced they were there to make her life a misery and as difficult as they could for her and that fuelled her dislike for them even more. The evening progressed pleasantly without any incidents and she thought she was home free when her cousin asked her about her newest boyfriend or lack thereof and when she was going to settle down as she had now reached the age to do so.

Kate was in no mood to discuss her personal life with anyone and she made mention of that but it was met with condescending remarks from everyone. It was the little bit that sent Kate over the edge and she promptly stood up, grabbed her keys and stormed out of the house.

She waited until she was in the privacy of her car, completely enveloped by the darkness before she let the first tear fall. She did not want them to see the effect their words had on her and she knew she had to get out of there before she did something she knew her parents would regret later that evening or in their lives, and she did not want that.

She turned the key in the ignition and waited for the car to warm up a bit before gunning the engine and rocketing up the street to the building she felt so eerily at home in. As she drove the tears fell faster and she flicked them away angrily. Eventually she gave up just letting them roll down her cheeks and fall onto her pants.

Upon reaching the building she decided not to park in the underground parking lot and instead parked on the road outside the main entrance of the building. She made her way forcefully into the building, knocking her shoulder into the man standing in the doorway talking intimately to who she assumed was his wife.

She did not turn back to apologize; instead she just walked on as though nothing had happened. Gibbs did not have to look twice or even guess who it was that had accidentally rammed into him. He already knew the smell of her perfume in his head. Frowning slightly he said a hurried goodbye to the redhead and re-entered the building, wondering what had happened to make his agent so upset or angry.

Taking the elevator up to their floor Gibbs saw that most of the lights had been turned off and there were still a handful of people working at the far end of the room. He walked up to his teams' desk area where he expected to see Kate sitting on her chair behind her desk, but instead found her behind her desk sitting on the floor, with her legs huddled up to her chest and her hands clasped together in front of her knees, leaning against the partition separating her desk from the one behind her.

"Hey" he said as he came up to her desk, and leaned against, and crossing his legs at the ankles, it facing her, "I thought you went home to see your parents" he continued when she did not respond to his greeting. He was once again met with a resounding silence and he wondered once again what it was that could have upset her this much.

He knew she was upset now because he could see the trail her tears had left on her cheeks. "Want to talk about it?" He offered. It was the most he could do for now as she seemed like she was incapable of talking. If he could get her to just say one word and hear her tone, he would feel better or worse, depending on how she sounded.

When for the third time his question went unanswered, he decided it was time to take matters into his own hands. Slowly he made his way to the partition board she was leaning against and sat down next to her. Going against the screaming voice in his head that this was all wrong and not to mention way against his infamous Rule 12, he placed his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him.

At first she tried to resist his pull but eventually succumbed to it, realising she was fighting a losing battle. "Well at least there was an upside to all the crap she had been the recipient of earlier that evening," she thought to herself sarcastically. When he felt her body relax and her breathing even out he broached the subject once again.

"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked his voice much softer this time and she noticed he was way more concerned than his facial expression showed. "Yeah, I'm good. I'm just having a bit of a crappy evening," she finally answered him. "Anything I can do to help?" he questioned hoping there was something he could do to get her out of this upset mood she was in.

She shook her head indicating there was nothing that he could do, but Gibbs being the marine he was, immediately formulated a plan and had decided to go ahead with it whether she liked it or not or better whether she wanted it or not. Unclasping her hands from each other, he took one in his hand and slowly stood up, expecting her to follow his lead.

When she looked up confusedly at him all he said was "well you're not going to feel any better if you sit here in the dark all by your lonesome self," and he offered the her the enigmatic smile she was so fond of. "Come on" he coaxed her gently "I don't have all evening!" and another heart fluttering smile followed. Seeing that he was trying really hard, she decided to go with him, just to see what he had come up with.

They rode the elevator down to the underground parking and led her to where his sedan was still parked. He unlocked the passenger door, walked over to the driver's side of the car, and copied her actions of getting in and making herself comfortable in the seat. "Do you have any idea of what you want to do?" he asked as he started up the engine. She shook her head and he knew she had not even thought about it. She was relying on him entirely to make her evening better as he had promised her.

"I know a quiet place just around the corner from here, and not many people go there so hopefully whoever put you in this crappy mood will not be there to undo all my hard work," he smiled at her. One side of her mouth turned up slightly and Gibbs was somewhat relieved. It was a ghost of a smile but it was there. Soon enough it would be the full, dimple-inducing smile he loved so much and for once, it would be he who put it there.

It was a fifteen-minute drive from the NCIS building to the restaurant Gibbs was talking about. He parked the car a bit of a distance away, from the entrance of the small mall so he could enjoy the feeling he got from walking with Kate to his second place of closure, the first obviously being his basement. They walked toward the restaurant at a slow pace and Gibbs had resisted his urge to place his arm around Kate's waist as they walked. She however noticed his sudden discomfort and confusion so linked her hand with his entwining her fingers with his. She looked up at him to see his reaction and for the second time that evening Gibbs saw a ghost of a smile form on her lips.

As they came up to the door of the place a waitress was already waiting to show them to their seats. She looked up at Gibbs and greeted him as usual, "Hey Jethro, How are you? Haven't seen you here in a long time. Wow the lady must be someone special since you never brought a lady here before."

She smiled at him as he acknowledged her greeting. She led them to a table in the far corner of the restaurant. These were the tables on the sidewalk of the street. From where they sat, Kate could see everything around her. She was not confined to just looking at the other patrons in the eating-house.

Kate was not familiar with the menu and neither was she hungry so she left the ordering of the food to Gibbs. He knew what was good and he knew her likes and dislikes. Kate had still not said anything since they had left NCIS HQ and Gibbs was starting to doubt his idea so he started talking again. At first, it was about the cases they were currently working on, hoping that the non-personal subject would get her talking.

He had all but given up at the thought if hearing her voice for the rest of the evening when eventually she started talking, in a soft voice. If his hearing was not as good as it was he would have not even heard she was speaking. "I really hope by the time you drop me off at my parents' all those vampires will be gone." Gibbs was shocked. Kate had never used such bad words to describe anyone before and for reasons unknown to him, Gibbs wished he could see who these people were that had inflicted so much of pain on his Kate in such a short time.

The wind was starting up and even though the waitress had closed the windows where they were, sitting Kate could still feel the cold air making its way to where she and Gibbs were sitting. Instinctively Gibbs pulled her closer into him, hoping to keep her warm, and for a few long minutes, it worked. That was until they were distracted by the arrival of their extra large cups of coffee Gibbs had ordered.

"What makes you think I'm going to drop you off at your parents' house later?" Gibbs asked her between sips of the best tasting coffee she had ever tasted. "Well I don't have a car here and I did promise them I'd stay over if we didn't have a case to work on this weekend Gibbs," she replied, "so you will have to take me or will you let me drive all the way there alone at this late hour in the evening?" she pouted.

"I could simply drive to my house with you in my car and never let your relatives see you again and I could keep you all to myself," he said suggestively with his smirk had returning to his lips and all she could do in response was shake her head. When she did not protest to his statement, all it did was send his mind into overdrive with all the possibilities that could have happened if he really did take her home with him.

Looking at his amused reaction to his response Kate simply said "in your dreams Gibbs." Gibbs who was never one to let a challenge or opportunity pass by with taking a shot at it said "No Kate! In your dreams," causing her to turn a brilliant bright shade of red. She could feel her ears and cheeks burning with slight embarrassment at his statement, knowing he was right. It was all in her dreams.

She suddenly became aware of how close she was to Gibbs and how he still had, his arm draped loosely around her waist. Her breathing became shallow and erratic and she knew she had to get out of his grip; even it was for a few painstaking minutes just so she could compose herself. Reluctantly she released herself from his grip and excused herself, walking to the bathroom to no doubt splash water on her face and try cooling her burning ears and cheeks.

In the few minutes she was gone Gibbs noticed a group of people enter the restaurant looking all loud and proud. He did not like the vibe they gave off and he wished Kate would return soon so he would have something much better to focus his attention on. He saw two women from the mew group looking around and their faces lighting up as their gazes came to a rest on him. They made their way over to his table and invited him to join them. He looked over at the rest of the group and was not impressed at all, and politely declined.

When they had heard him reject their offer, one of the women said, "Oh come on you look like you could use a bit of cheering up." It seemed she definitely did not want to take no for an answer so Gibbs had to think of a better excuse. "I'm here with a friend," he said as he glanced once more in the direction Kate had disappeared into a few minutes earlier. "It looks like the boys left you here alone, come on, join us! You really won't regret it" the woman went on.

Gibbs was tired and annoyed at the two women standing in front of him and just so that he could get rid of them he said "I'm married," and looked away from them. "That's not a problem, what your wife doesn't know won't hurt her," the other woman said. She looked slightly younger than the first, but it seemed she had the same irritating mentality. Gibbs was now officially put off by them and in response said, "Yeah I'm sure that's what other women tell your husbands'." He could not help the smile that made its way to his lips as he saw the facial reactions of the two women as they retreated to their table with their tails between their legs.

Kate retuned a few minutes after the two women had left and Gibbs had already paid the bill. He did not want to be there as long as the rowdy crowds of women were there. He led Kate out of the restaurant and strolled in the direction of the car park. "What was that all about?" Kate asked as she sensed the change in her boss's mood. "Nothing I just didn't want to be there with that group of people, I guess I cut your evening short," he said softly. Kate looked at him and saw the upset expression in his usually fiery blue eyes.

"Well we can salvage what remains of it by taking a walk around this shopping centre," she smiled and tried to lighten up his mood. He saw the smile on her face and decided if that is what was going to keep her smiling then he would do it. They walked side by side in silence for the first few minutes, before Gibbs sidled closer to her and put an arm around her waist pulling her closer to him once again. Kate in turn placed her hand in his, which was firmly holding her hip and entwined her fingers with his.

They walked for a while talking mostly about Kate and the crappy day she was having. She did not however divulge the reason of why she was so upset. All she said was that it was an ongoing family joke and she was usually the subject if it. She did not want to tell him it was because she could not have a long term relationship with any man, because then she would have to tell him the reason and she really did not want to tell him that she was very attracted to him, since he was her boss and it was way against his Rule 12.

Two hours later Kate decided it was time for her to go home and just check in, as she did not inform anyone of where she was since storming out of the house earlier. "Come on Gibbs, you can drop me off at home now," she said as they came up to his car. "I can Kate, but do I really want to?" he asked. An elfish glint had made its way to his eyes and his smirk had turned into a mischievous smile. This finally caused Kate to give him the dimple-inducing smile he was looking for, for the entire evening.

The drive to Kate's parents' house was a short one and Gibbs knew the evening was finally over. It would be a very long time before he would be able to spend time with Kate outside of office time. If only there was something, he could do to change that right now. It seemed as though there was someone listening to his thoughts, as he heard Kate groan as they pulled up into the driveway of the house.

"Damn they're still here!" she exclaimed as she saw cars still parked outside the house. "I have a suggestion. You could act as if we're busy with a case and you need stuff from there and then I could take you back to the office. Then at least your parents would know you're okay and you don't have to stay," Gibbs suggested, hoping she would listen to him. "That is a good idea," she said as she exited the car.

After what seemed like am eternity he saw her coming out of the house. He saw the amount of things she was carrying and he went to help her. After they had loaded all her stuff into the trunk of his car, she Kate went in to say her last good byes before she left. Gibbs was leaning against the sedan as he waited for her. Just as he was about to get into his car and start it up he saw a pair of headlights behind him and he heard the laughter coming from the vehicle behind him.

Before he could even look up to see who it was, he heard the irritating voice he had heard earlier that evening. "Are you following me?" the second woman from the restaurant asked him. "Nope" he replied hoping the one word answer would suggest he was not up for conversation. "I thought you said you were married, what are you doing here then? Aren't you supposed to be with your wife?" she asked in a sarcastic tone. Gibbs didn't answer her, he simply looked toward the doorframe where Kate was now standing, observing the scene in front of her.

Kate had heard the whole exchange of words and she looked at Gibbs, in confusion. She descended the stairs and made her way to where Gibbs was standing and smiled as she came to a stop next to him. "I am!" Gibbs replied and his famous smirk made its way back to his lips. "Huh?" the woman had a look of utter lack of common sense on her face.

He turned to look at Kate now slowly making her way toward him in the moonlight. "Are you ready to go?" he asked as she came to a stop a few centimeters away from him. "Ready when you are!" she replied, her eyes twinkling and her lips forming a small smile. Hoping against all hope that she would play along with his little charade, Gibbs placed one hand on her lower back and the other on her shoulder, effectively turning her to face him.

He knew this was breaking his infamous Rule 12, and that he was going to start something really dangerous, he questioned her with just a look, before he could continue with what he was doing. Kate knowing her boss as well as she did, saw the unasked question and nodded her head slightly, giving him permission for what he was about to begin.

Kate knew this was the point where everything was going to change. Whatever happened next would irrevocably change their relationship and their lives forever. She was not sure if she could handle it or even if she wanted to, just incase it did not end the way she wanted it to. Besides she had never known Gibbs to ask permission for anything or even break his rules for anyone. This was turning out to be one very altering evening for Kate. This was the point of no return and she knew it.

She was brought out of her thoughts when Gibbs pulled her closer and placed a kiss on her cheek and in the same breath said, "Hey I told your family here I was married. She asked me why am I not with my wife, and we both know why I'm not with them so I was wondering if you could play my darling wife just for a few minutes," he suggested and asked at the same time. "Just for a second?" she asked and he could hear the mirth in her voice. "Just for now," the look on his face was enough for Kate to give him anything he wanted from her.

"My dear husband, are we going to stand here like this all night or am I going to freeze to death standing here in the cold?" Kate asked just a little louder so the three women standing a few meters away from them could hear her. She looked at him to see him smiling like a teenager who just got away with something. "I'm sure this would help until we get home tonight," he replied and pulled her even closer to him.

Slowly, he traced her bottom lip with his thumb and then lowered his mouth to hers. The kiss was anything but platonic; he knew he had stepped way beyond the boundary lines of just being co-workers or even worse… boss and subordinate. It was sweet, gentle, demanding, satisfying and definitely fiery, and he did not want to stop it there, but he had to.

"Do you fell warmer now?" he asked Kate, who was flushed and breathing heavily from the encounter. "Yeah but its not going to last long!" she said, her eyes shining brightly. "We should get going or we're never going to leave from here," she said after a while and walked toward the passenger side of the car.

Gibbs in turn walked to the driver's side and was just about to follow Kate's movement and sit in the seat when he heard the question, "You're married to Kate?" He heard the disappointment in her voice and he knew he had to say something that would set her straight. What gave her the right to think Kate was not a good person or could not be a good wife. "Yep, and I wouldn't change her for anyone else," he replied and left no space for a response as he sat down in the car and closed the door.

The drive to Gibbs's house was short, they didn't know if it was because he was driving like a maniac or that their relationship had changed in the past few minutes, and both of them were thinking of what the next step was. Gibbs pulled up into his driveway and invited Kate in. Since they had already eaten dinner he decided coffee was a good idea and he needed some of his fix to think straight.

When he returned a few minutes later with two steaming mugs of the brew in his hands, he decided he wanted to show Kate his boat, since he heard Tony telling her about it but she had never seen it… yet. He led her down the basement stairs and waited for her response. "Wow" she said, breathlessly. "That's what they all tell me!" he replied. She walked up to one of the ribs and ran her finger against the wood.

He walked up to where she was standing making her turn to keep him in her view. She was leaning against the rib now and Gibbs closed the distance between their bodies. "My dear wife I'm afraid I didn't finish what I started," he said as he removed the mug from her hand and placed both of their mugs on the bench just behind him.

Slowly he kissed her again and again and he knew she was just as attracted to him as he was to her. When they parted for air, he asked her, "Still having a crappy evening?"

"Not at all" she replied pulling him in for another breath-stealing kiss


Thank you all for reading this... for all of you guys who managed to get this far...

Review on your way out and I will convey the message to my friends who had to write a piece for me, as I won a bet and my prize was for them to do this for me

thanks

hellraiser.