It's the most wonderful time of the year!!

Gibbs was sat in his basement, he'd given up on working on his boat. He sat in the dimly lit room, bourbon in hand and the hope that he could forget about the time of year…Christmas. It wasn't that he didn't like Christmas, he wasn't a Scrooge or a Grinch….he just didn't see the prospects of buying expensive gifts and visiting relatives. You can do that at anytime of the year!! Christmas just seemed to be a waste of time and money. Going to extreme lengths to find the right tree….trudging out in the cold winter snow, trying to find a tree that wasn't too big or too small, buying gifts, buying out the mall. He shook his head and took a sip of his bourbon.

'I wonder what she's up to tonight?' he thought.

'She' meaning Caitlin. She was probably at home, sat on the couch watching T.V no doubt, snuggled up against her boytoy. Not that her current man was younger than her, in fact he was about 6 years older, but it was the fact that he was younger than him. He adores Caitlin and has done for quite some time. He wasn't sure when he started to like her or even how it started. He just knew that something about her had fascinated him since the first day he met her on Airforce One. Her smile for one thing, it was a beautiful smile, he loved her lips and on more than one occasion he had found himself wondering how her lips tasted. It wasn't just her lips it was the way she said his name, it just slips from her mouth in a slight lisp…quite a sexy lisp. He wondered what it would be like to have her in his bed, or rather on top of it, and hear to hear her calling out his given name and not his surname….to hear her screaming in pleasure. That thought had gotten him into trouble more than once…he often found himself being talked to and when asked for his opinion he had no idea what to say. He found he did that with her a lot. She was a distraction…a damn good one. He'd tried so hard in the beginning to get her out of his head but it was no use, she always managed to get back in. He tried sleeping with other women, it worked at first but as he became more fascinated with her the harder it was to forget her. When he slept with other women he felt as though her was cheating on her and that soon became apparent when he shouted out her name in bed instead of the redhead he was with. She kicked him out on his backside, he ended up dressing in the street. He brought his thoughts back to the present and decided to go to bed. He swigged the last of his drink, switched off the light and headed upstairs. He sprawled out on the bed, he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

The next morning, Jethro was rudely awakened by someone forcively shaking him. He bolted upright and turned to face the intruder, grabbing their arm as he did so.

"Ow Gibbs!! You're hurting me!! Let go!!" the person practically yelled at him.

He suddenly let go as he realised it was Caitlin. "Caitlin, what the hell are you doing in my bedroom?" he asked, he had to pretend to be cross with her, it was the only way he could disguise his true feelings.

"Looking for you. Why else would I be here?" she said as she rubbed her arm.

"Most people would have called!!"

"I did call but you didn't answer, so I came to check that you were alright!" she looked at his expression he wasn't angry, he looked a little confused. She watched as his eyes wandered the room. He was looking for something.

"I must have left my cell in the basement."

"You did. It was the first place I checked. You weren't there so I came upstairs." she watched him carefully, he was still scanning the room, "You alright?" she asked.

"Yea, I'm fine." he said as he finally looked at her.

"You lost something? Or are you unfamiliar with your surroundings?" she asked jokingly.

"Neither!" he snapped.

"O-kay. You clearly don't like to joke in the morning. I'll remember that for next time."

"There won't be a 'next time'"

"I'll…um…I'll just wait downstairs for you. Do you want me to get some coffee going while you get dressed?"

"Fine." and with that she left the room and went downstairs to put the kettle on.

Jethro sat in bed and muttered to himself "Bastard!".

Kate was sat in the kitchen when he came downstairs, she sipped her coffee slowly then spoke "Your coffee's over there."

"Thanks." he replied as he walked over to retrieve his mug. "So..?" he asked.

"Oh, yea why I'm here." she started, "Well…I was gonna ask you if-" she was suddenly cut off by the phone.

Gibbs walked into the lounge and answered the phone, "Gibbs…yeah…no I'm fine…yeah she's here…bye Duck." he put the phone down and went back to the kitchen.

"You were saying."

"Yeah…um…I was wondering if you would…"

His heart was pounding in his chest, What was she gonna ask him?

"…if I could take a few days off work before Christmas eve?"

'Damn' "What for?" he asked, trying not to sound disappointed.

"Well Charlie has asked me to move in with him and we're hoping to have my things moved in before Christmas."

"That soon, huh?"

"Yeah, well we're hoping to have everything set for Christmas." she explained.

"No, I meant moving in with him."

"Excuse me? What d'ya mean?"

"I mean, you haven't been dating that long and you're rushing to move in?!" he wasn't pleased.

"That's none of your business, Gibbs!" she was shocked about what he said, after all he was one to talk. "And what about you Gibbs? You've been married 4 times and divorced 3!"

"So? What does that have to do with this?" he really wasn't happy that she brought that up.

"You're one to talk that's what!! I don't date someone, sleep with them, move in and get married within the month!!" she ranted.

Gibbs shook his head and said "You think that's how it happened, Kate?"

"D'ya know what? I don't care!! I'll take your answer as no then!!" and with that she stormed off, slamming the door as she left.

He stood in the kitchen and slapped himself hard on the back of his head . Sometimes he could be such an asshole!!