Disclaimer: I own nothing

A/N: This is set somewhere in the future where Kate would still be a part of the team and Director Sheppard is still around. It is also AU. All mistakes belong to me since I didn't want to wait for a beta as this was delayed already.
I know this is a bit late, but I blame my ass of a cousin who had a virus on his computer and when I tried to fix it, wiped put my entire computer – so I had to start from scratch. Anyway I hope you guys still enjoy reading it.

New Year's Eve

Gibbs senses her presence as soon as she steps off the elevator and into the conference room that for tonight only, has been turned into a party room. It is officially New Year's Eve and he smiles as he sees everyone else in the party mood. He turns to look in her direction and he inhales deeply as he allows his gaze to roam over her. She is definitely in the mood to celebrate and the all black outfit which comprises of knee high boots, a skirt that stops just above her knees and a shirt that fits her snugly adds to the mood. Over all of that she is wearing a long black coat and Gibbs has a feeling that she could just be a comic book character heroine. And then he notices the man walking next to her and Gibbs feels his heart sink just a little bit.

Of all the team members, Abby included, Kate seems the only one who has had a somewhat successful relationship so far. One that is not in any way related to work. She's been seeing Daniel for just onto two years now, which is a long time for any of them considering their line of work, the dangers they face and the fact that no one really wants to be with person who might not be alive tomorrow. Daniel is the exception however, and he had cemented that when three months ago he had come to Gibbs asking the older man if it was okay for him to ask Kate to marry him.

While Gibbs had wanted to scream NO, he found that he simply could not and well, he had paved the way for Daniel to carry on. He didn't really want to see them together and turned to step out onto the balcony but not before Kate had seen him do so.

The night air was cold as she stepped out onto the balcony on the third floor. Granted, leaving the warm comfort of the ball room to brave the winter air outside was not the wisest of choices, but she felt as though she needed a bit of fresh air to clear her head. They had been ordered to attend the annual New Year's Eve ball the agency had thrown and despite all their protests, Director Sheppard had made up her mind and stuck to her decision of having the best team attend. Her reason was they needed to live a little, get away from the job atmosphere for just one night. The world was not going to fall apart if they took a night off.

He does not need to turn around to see it was her who had stepped out into the cold a few long minutes after he had. They had been working together long enough for him to get accustomed to her footfalls, her smell, her presence. However, he showed no sign of having heard her and continued looking over the railing; at the lights that had been put up all over the city. There was a buzz of activity as far as he could see and he smiled. It was only at this time of the year that people allowed themselves to wish for miracles, hope for the impossible on the slight off-chance that it just might happen.

"Gibbs."

The sound of her voice catches him off guard but he shows no sign of it. Instead he turns slightly away from the railing to face her. Gibbs gives her a thorough once over taking in everything about her that he can and tries to keep his heart rate stable as he does so. It takes all his willpower to grip onto the railing he is leaning against, even though it's cold and snow covered, and not walk directly up to her and envelop her in his arms. He's never seen her quite like this, all play and no work, well that's not entirely true – he has on occasion caught a glimpse of her in evening wear after having to call them in for a case and she had come directly from dinner dates with Daniel. However, that is nothing compared to what she is wearing tonight.

She's not surprised at the lack of response from him though as he is a man of few words and a lot more questions than answers. Kate continues walking until she's two feet away from him, but leaning against the railing as well. She can feel the cold seeping through her clothes, and Kate pulls her coat tighter around her body to ward it off but she soon realises it is to no avail. They stand in silence for a long few minutes, and finally Kate breaks the quiet stillness around them.

"How long have you been out here? It's freezing!"

Gibbs turns his head to look at her and is not surprised to see that she has chosen to stand a few feet away from him and he finds that he is somewhat disappointed at the distance she has put between them, both literally as well as metaphorically. Well in all fairness he was the one who had started it all almost three months ago.

"Not long enough," he replies, not looking directly at her, "and you should get back inside before you get frostbite."

Kate looks down at her hands and sure enough her fingertips have already started turning blue, but that's nothing compared to the colour of Gibbs' hands. They're almost completely cyanotic and she can see that even though he's been rubbing them together to keep them warm, it is not helping him in the least. Her instinct is to grab his hands and rub them together with her slightly warmer ones just to get the blood flowing again, but she rethinks that idea when she recalls his attitude toward her for the last two and a half months or so. She's not exactly sure what triggered it, but the mental bond they used to have, has been blocked. It's as though he has put up walls to specifically keep her out.

He watches as she takes a step away from the railing, silently hoping she would leave him without saying anything because he's almost ready to drop his newly erected walls if she so much as asks him to. He knows however, that he is not that lucky, when she stops midway and turns to face him once again.

"Gibbs," she slowly makes her way back to where he is still standing, this time however she chooses to stop directly in front of him, a hairs breadth distance separating them.

"Look, whatever it is that I've done to piss you off, I'm sorry. The New Year starts in a few minutes and I don't want to go into it with you still angry at me for reasons I don't know."

She wants to say something else but the sound of voices counting down the seconds to the New Year disrupts her train of thought and she stops. Kate does not get to day anything else because ten seconds later the sound of fireworks fill the air and the sky is coloured with bright multi-coloured lights which lasts but a few seconds, signalling the start of the new year. By the time the noise dies down enough for them to hear each other again, the speech Kate had mentally prepared has lost its momentum even in her mind and she finds she has nothing more to say to him.

An awkward silence settles around them, and possibly for the first time in a very long time, Gibbs is not sure how to deal with it. He too hates the fact that there is a rift growing between them and while he really wants to, he is powerless to stop it, not unless he wants to purposely ruin her life forever.

He is startled out of his thoughts when he feels her step up closer to him, her cool hand settling on his cheek. His eyes close involuntarily at the contact and he feels his heart rate begin to increase. Even though his face is almost frozen from him having been standing in the freezing weather for a long while, Gibbs can feel the warmth of her thumb gently brushing his cheek. His heart is now thudding beneath his ribcage and he's almost sure that in a few seconds she'll be able to hear it.

Kate is not sure what prompts her into action, but she takes a small step forward and closes the distance between herself and her boss and the next thing she is aware of is gently palming his cheek and tiptoeing just enough to place a chaste, innocent, kiss on the corner of her boss's mouth. She's reluctant to pull away from him, enjoying the little warmth emanating from his body where they are still pressed together.

"Happy new Year, Gibbs," she whispers to him before very slowly pulling away from him.

Gibbs' automatic reaction is to follow her, not breaking the contact between their bodies. He takes a step back, pulling her with him and then spins them around so her back is leaning against the railing. Before he knows it his hands have slid under her shirt, caressing her sides and back. Kate feels his cold fingers on her back and she arches her back, bringing her chest into contact with his. He nuzzles the curve where her neck meets her shoulder and Kate stops the moan that wants to escape her throat.

Then he's kissing her so thoroughly she cannot breathe, cannot think, let alone form a coherent sentence. All thoughts of 'this is sooo wrong, or he's my boss and this is against his infamous Rule 12' or even 'I am in an exclusive relationship at the moment' fly out of her mind and the only thing she can think of is that she never wants this kiss to end and that she never wants to kiss anyone but Gibbs – ever.

He pins her against the railing, not worried that the cold will seep through her coat, and allows his tongue to trace her lips before slipping into her open, welcoming mouth, hot, wet and aggressive. Her one hand snakes around the back of his neck, holding him in place, not wanting him to break the contact between their mouths while the other alternates between caressing his cheek and resting on his chest, feeling his thundering heart. His hips grind against hers causing him to growl, the rumble vibrating through his chest.

Finally the need for oxygen is too great and he unwillingly disengages his mouth from hers. They're both panting hard, their bodies on fire.

"Happy New Year, Katie," he replies to her greeting earlier.

Their bodies are still pressed together when they hear the door opening again and there's not enough time to separate themselves from each other before whoever walks out sees them. They are both relieved when they see it is Special Agent David, because while she is as curious as Tony, at least she knows that there are some things that are never meant to be discussed, and that she – unlike Tony – can keep a secret.

Ziva's expression remains stoic and she informs Kate that Daniel has been looking for her for the last twenty minutes or so. Kate nods her head and disentangles herself from her boss and follows Ziva back into the building. Gibbs waits another five minutes before he too re-enters the warmth of the building.

The scene he walks into, however, is one made up of his nightmares and it happens in slow motion. He knew this was going to happen and he thought he had come to terms with it, but clearly he has not. Daniel has already informed Gibbs of his plan and had asked permission and Gibbs had said yes, not even entertaining the thought that the younger man would actually ask her in public.

The team is gathered at their assigned table and he sees Daniel down on one knee holding up a box in Kate's direction. The team look surprised and excited and he hears Abby squeal with delight. The boys' expressions aren't as vocal as Abby and they do not look as excited as she does. Gibbs does not have to wonder about Ziva, he already knows how she feels as she grips and squeezes his hand as a sign of support. Kate on her part, says

nothing, instead her gaze moves from Daniel, to the ring to Gibbs and back to Daniel and then the ring.

Gibbs notes that Jimmy Palmer is the first to congratulate her, even though she has not said yes and the Abby, McGee, Ducky, DiNozzo and finally Ziva. Then all eyes turn to him for his reaction and he finds that he can't do anything but go up to her, hug and congratulate her as the others have done.

His face remains expressionless, nothing betraying what had just transpired between himself and Kate just ten minutes ago and he knows that this is his chance. Screw the rules and to hell with everything else – he is going to fight for her. This is a new year and he's decided he doesn't want to be alone and miserable anymore. He opens his arms, allowing her to step into them and places a platonic enough kiss on her cheek.

"Front door is open Kate," he whispers just loud enough for her to hear and then allows her to step out of his embrace.

Kate watches her boss as he gathers his coat from the chair and makes his way to the exit – no doubt waiting for her to make her choice.

Reviews are appreciated.
Thanks for reading
Happy New Year guys & All the best
Make this year yours!

Dyslexic CSI