Disclaimer: I don't own the characters. I'm just playing.

Perfection

The morning had started off so well. She had her coffee just the way she liked. She hadn't been rushed to get to work. Traffic had been almost light on the drive into work, taking her a mere thirty minutes, instead of the usual forty-five minutes to an hour. During the drive, the radio had played song after song that she not only enjoyed, but also could sing along with. Arriving at work, coffee was waiting for her on her desk, and Tony had yet to arrive. All in all, it was a good morning.

Gibbs breezed through a few minutes later. He paused between his desk and Tony's, and looked around.

"Where are Dinozzo and McGee?" He barked.

"No idea, boss. They haven't made it in yet, I would guess."

"Lets go then, we have a case. Grab your gear." Kate nodded and as she picked up her bag and clipped on her gun, she paged and sent out a text to Tony and McGee with their location. She followed Gibbs into the elevator, then to the car. He drove like a mad man to the scene, dodging into and out of lanes. She gripped the door in a white-knuckle hold as he scooted around a corner, leaving Kate's stomach up somewhere around her throat. When they reached their destination, Kate bailed as fast as she could. Gibbs smirked at her actions. They'd been working together for a year and she still had moments where his driving scared her.

With the scene cleared, the other cops moved out, leaving Kate and Gibbs to collect the evidence. They never saw the attacker come up behind them. They were so engrossed in their work and were caught by surprise. A gun was pressed into Gibbs back, and a hand with a chloroform cloth was placed over Kate's mouth and nose. She went down like a stone and he was ordered to pick her up.

Gibbs scooped up Kate's lithe form. The gunmen marched him out to a white panel van. They got in and a driver sped off.

Twenty minutes later, Dinozzo and McGee arrived on scene. They noted the boss' car and figuring the boss and Kate were inside the house, entered expecting head slaps and to see them working on the evidence.

A thorough search of the house revealed the corpse of a staff sergeant half dressed in his uniform on the bed, and half collected evidence. There wasn't a sign of Gibbs or Kate other than the evidence bags and the backpack of Kate's gear. They called in the Director and Ducky right away.

In the van, Gibbs kept track of time they travel and the direction the driver had taken as best he could. Eventually they ended up out in a wooded area. Gibbs was ordered to collect Kate once again and remove her from the van. The kidnappers were actually fairly intelligent. They wore bodysuits and ski masks, and by keeping out of his reach, they ensured that Gibbs couldn't get the drop on them, and with his arms full of Kate, he was even more hampered.

They directed him to sit Kate up against a pole, and then sit himself next to her. They were tied with zip ties and locked into a dark room without being able to see his watch; he couldn't tell how long Kate had been unconscious. It seemed as though an eternity passed before she woke up. Her head had been leaning on his shoulder and he was sure that she had a killer headache.

"Gibbs." She groaned softly.

"Yeah Kate?"

"Where are we?"

"An old farmhouse, and hour or so outside of the city. We were kidnapped from the scene."

"I got that part. Have they said anything about what they want from us?"

"No, they haven't said a word."

"Do you think Tony and McGee know we've been taken?"

"I'm sure they do Kate, but we need to get out ourselves." Kate looked over at him, trust showing in her eyes. She wasn't sure how they would get out, but she had Gibbs and a prayer. Things could be much worse, she could be much worse; she could only have a prayer.

"So how do we go about getting loose?" She asked.

"How tight did they hand cuff you? Could you free one hand?" She wiggled her hands in an effort to get free.

"They're pretty tight. If I had something slick like oil, or soap, over my hands, I probably could work them off." Gibbs looked around for anything handy. He spotted a bottle of motor oil, just beyond the reach of his feet. As he tried to scoot toward it, the masked me returned.

"Your name?" Came a gruff voice from behind the mask. Gibbs just stared at him. "Your name." Came the flat demand again. Kate looked from Gibbs to the man and back again, as Gibbs stayed silent. She followed his lead when the man turned his attention toward her. "Your name." He intoned again, but she kept her mouth shut. The man seemed to lose his patience and backhanded Kate. She hissed in pain and shock as she righted herself. She fixed him with a glare that could frost over hell. "Your name!" He ordered. Gibbs held his stony façade as best as he could after seeing the blood dripping from the corner of her mouth. He didn't want to give their captors any ammunition to hurt them with. The man tried once more to get an answer out of them before he gave a frustrated grunt and retreated from the room.

Reacting quickly, Gibbs stretched as far as he could and managed to pinch the bottle of motor oil between his feet. He pulled it forward until it was between his knees. Kate moved around until her hands were next to him, her back to him. He leaned down and picked up the bottle with his teeth and turning his head, dropped it at Kate's fingertips. She wiggled the cap until it came loose and drenched her wrists and hands in oil. Gibbs watched both the door and her hands as she wiggled them. Slowly but surely one of her small hands slipped free of her restraints.

Both kidnappers clomped back toward the door. Kate hid the bottle of oil behind her body, and put her hands back behind her back. They didn't enter the darkened room, but stomped past. When things were silent again, Kate moved away from the pole and wiped her hands on a near by rag. She looked for a pocketknife or sharp object to free Gibbs.

"Kate." He whispered. She turned to him. "There's a knife in my right pocket." She nodded but was kind of wary of being so close to him. She had managed to conceal her feelings thus far, but in a situation like they were in, could ruin everything. "Hurry up." He barked, bringing her attention back to the present.

Kate moved to his other side as he stretched out a little to make it easier for her. She reached in carefully, her fingertips brushing his leg before she found the knife. She cut his restraints. He rubbed his wrists and stood up. They made a quick investigation of the room, finding only the door through which their captors came, as their only exit.

Gibbs examined the door and found he could see between the door and frame. Their captors paced back and forth in front of the door, passing each other in the process. He motioned Kate forward. She watched for a moment and nodded when he gestured for her to take the one behind the door. She gave the signal and they barreled out into the two men.

Kate took down the man to the left and she knocked him unconscious, she heard a shot ring out like thunder behind her. She finished and turned to see the other masked man on the ground and Gibbs clutching his arm, blood dripping under his fingers. She pulled her at her shirtsleeve, until it came loose.

"Is it a graze of did it go through?" She asked as she slipped the sleeve off.

"I think the bullet just grazed me, but we don't have time to deal with it." Came his gruff reply. She nodded and brushed his fingers aside and wrapped the sleeve around his bicep and tied it off. He offered a rough thanks and they turned back to the unconscious men on the floor. Kate ducked back into the room and came up with rope. Gibbs tied the men expertly while Kate searched for any other weapons and cell phones. She came up with knives, but no phones. So they made their way cautiously out of the old farmhouse.

It had been several hours since their capture and the sky was starting to darken. They checked the van and found a satellite phone on the seat. Kate dialed Tony.

McGee traced the call, and an hour later, Kate and Gibbs were sitting in an ambulance, on their way to the hospital, while the other agents collected the evidence. They rode in silence next to each other. Kate could feel a few remnants of the chloroform in her system and was coming down off her small adrenaline rush. Altogether it left her exhausted and sluggish. In her head the sound of the gun going off echoed through her thoughts, causing her tired body to twitch every few seconds. Gibbs looked her over when she sighed and tried to will her mind into blankness. Each time she thought she succeeded, the sound would ring in.

"Kate." Gibbs voice broke through her thoughts and she focused on his face, his piercing blue eyes drawing her gaze and holding it. "I'm alright." She nodded and his simple words pushed the memory away. The feeling of relief was so profound; she felt tears beginning to prickle in her eyes.

Gibbs observed her exhausted and emotional state. He knew she wasn't one to keep her emotions so close to the surface, but there she was with everything written in her eyes. He wrapped his uninjured arm around her shoulders, pressing her face into his chest. He placed a soft kiss on her head.

"I'm just fine, Katie." He whispered to her again. He felt her nod as the torrent of tears began. It took sometime for her breathing to even out, but she never moved from her position against his chest. She reveled in the closeness she was being allowed, slowly memorizing his scent of sawdust, coffee, and male, and enjoying the feel of his warm chest beneath her cheek.

They arrived at the hospital and were shown to a curtained room. Kate, who had only minor abrasions on her hands, sat in a chair while the nurse prodded at the wound in Gibb's arm.

"The good news is that the bullet just grazed you, however, you'll need stitches. Give me a minute to get you a local anesthetic and we'll have you patched up and on your way in a few moments." The nurse said cheerfully. Gibbs just glared at him. Kate knew that look very well. It was the one that said he was about to make a break for the door. Not that she blamed him; their nurse was just a little too cheerful for their tastes. His eyes held a question, to which she nodded her acceptance.

They rose as one and exited the hospital with as little attention as they could manage. Kate took out her returned phone and dialed Ducky's number. Apparently he had already been on his way to see them, because he pulled up seconds after he answered the phone. They piled into the car and Kate saw their nurse waving after them in the rearview mirror.

They rode in silence back to NCIS, the special moment lost in the presence of another person. They followed Ducky down to the morgue and Gibbs hopped up onto a table in anticipation of being treated. The doctor stitched up his arm and wrapped the wound in a bandage. Gibbs nodded his thanks and hopped down. Ducky took a moment to look Kate over. She brushed him aside and followed Gibbs out the door. She hadn't expected him to be just beyond the doorway and ran into him. He caught her against his body and felt something in his chest, an odd flutter of emotion that hadn't been felt since he married his first wife.

Kate's breathing sped up and she was swallowed up in the magnetic blue of his eyes, the feel of his hard body against her, and the smirk starting to quirk at his lips. She wanted to pull him down and press kisses to his lips, his cheeks, every inch of him that she could reach, but she resisted. It wasn't the place to engage in such activity.

They stepped back from one another, mutual admiration in their eyes, and walked toward the elevator.

"You did good today, Kate." She looked at him sharply.

"We got kidnapped, and you got shot. How did I do good? I'm supposed to watch your back and I didn't. How did I do good?" She asked vehemently, all trace of romantic or lustful thoughts gone from her eyes and her body language. Everything about her was stiff with rage and guilt.

"You kept your wits about you, once you were awake. You took down you guy without being shot at. You held it together until we were done. That's what I'd call good." He answered gruffly. She stares at him and then shrugged. She felt slightly better, but the guilt lingered around the edges of her mind.

"Lets go, Kate." He called to her from the elevator. She had stopped moving and he'd continued on without her. She dashed in after him. Halfway up to their floor he flipped the emergency switch on the elevator. He invaded her personal space, pressing her into the wall. She put her hands on his chest and when he pressed his lips to the corner of her mouth, before brushing them over her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck, locking him into place.

"Katie." He breathed into her ear as he pulled back only to bury his face in her hair. "Lets go home." She nodded and he reached back and flicked the switch on the elevator back on. They rode up to their level and exited. She started to gather her things, but Tony and McGee arrived and she felt the closeness between her and Gibbs ebb away. They started explaining what they had found; how the kidnappers had been hired to clear the scene of any evidence, not take them hostage. NCIS had arrived sooner than planned, and they didn't have time to dispose of the body. Gibbs and Kate had been caught up in the situation. Kate questioned how they had been so prepared to deal with hostages then, which sent the team around again on the case. By the time they actually went home for the night, everyone was severely exhausted.

Kate contemplated sleeping under her desk so as to avoid unsafe driving, but wanted a shower and clothes that didn't smell like motor oil, too much to consider it seriously. Gibbs followed her into the elevator. He leaned against the wall beside her. Every now and them her gaze would drift to him, but he stared straight ahead. She got into her car, but was surprised to see him get in as well.

"What are you doing?" She asked softly.

"Making sure you go home and get some sleep." The way he said it held amusement. She stared hard at him, seeing the desire banked in his eyes, the same as she held in her heart. They had unfinished business to attend to.

Kate led the way up to her apartment. She was too tired to be nervous, but still unsure of what to expect of him. He camped out on her couch while she went into her bedroom so she could get clean pajamas before she showered. She came out a few minutes later, clean and in pair of boxer shorts and a tank top. Gibbs just raised an eyebrow.

"I hope those aren't borrowed from someone." He said casually, glancing at her bottoms.

"No. I don't share my boxers."

"Good." He invaded her personal space, much like he had in the elevator, backing her up against the wall, breathing her air. She looked up at him, gauging him, before she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulling him into a kiss.

Her touch burned his skin. Her lips were fresh and warm against his and she tasted sweet and spicy like cinnamon. He couldn't get enough of her. He lifted her easily and she wrapper her legs around his waist, eager to be closer to him. He carried her back to her bed. He laid her gently on the bed and began his exploration of her.

They lay together in the afterglow, comfortably tangled up with each other. She felt a deep contentment in his arms. She never wanted to be apart from him. Everything in her called out to him.

"I was afraid today." He whispered to her, not willing to entirely break apart their comfortable bubble of satisfaction with his voice. She turned her head to look at him, a silent nudge for him to continue. "I was afraid that I would lose you. I didn't know if they would take you away from me, or if they would kill us. The entire situation was unpredictable and I never want to lose you."

"You wont lose me. I'll always be here." He shook his head as though she didn't understand.

"I love you, Katie. I don't want to ever lose any part of my relationship with you."

"You wont lose anything with me. I love you too, Gibbs." He looked down at her with her favorite smirk. She reached up and sealed her vow with her lips on his. It had only taken one more life or death situation to push them past their reservations and fears. She smiled into the kiss. Her day had started out so well, it was only fitting that it had ended in perfection.