Title: A Door Always Open
Author: S J Smith
Rating: K+
Disclaimer: If I owned any of this, I'd be a lot less worried about being unemployed.
Summary: Kate wonders about Gibbs's open door.
"Your door wasn't locked," Kate says, as she stands at the top of the staircase to the basement.
"Nope." Gibbs didn't even looking up. He'd heard the door open, after all. Sanding wood by hand doesn't make a lot of noise, and the door sticks, just a bit. He could do something about that, but he'd rather work on the boat.
Kate clip-clops down the stairs, her sensible heels hard on the wooden risers. "Why not?"
"I'll know if someone comes inside. And if it's someone I don't want here, well." He uses his chin to indicate his gun, resting on the table, less than two steps away.
"No, really, Gibbs. I mean, this isn't a bad neighborhood, but still."
The soft shush-shush of sandpaper on the wood stops as Gibbs leans his elbow against a brace. "I'll know if someone comes inside. I'm not worried about it, Kate. Neither should you."
"But," Kate says, frowning.
"But, nothing. Now, I'm guessing you have a reason for being here, and it's not my door."
She crimps her mouth, and twists her fingers, and Gibbs knows it'll take a good couple of minutes for her to come to the point. In that little space of time, he hears himself, scolding Shannon for not locking the door. She's smiling back, and shaking her head. "Oh, Gibbs," she says, "that's so you never have any trouble coming home."
~ end ~
