His mind is spinning the second he smells her perfume. His hands become clammy when he begins to hear her laughter throughout the crowded bar. His blood begins to boil when she walks up to the bar, only a few seats from where he is, with another man.

"I'll take a beer, what about you?" The other man asks with a possessive hand around her waist.

"Bourbon."

Gibbs feels immensely better when he hears her voice ask for their favorite drink.

"Bourbon? I would have never taken you for a bourbon girl."

"There's a lot you have yet to learn."

That's when she saw him.

She lost her breath, her heart raced, and her mind went blank with everything except for the mental image of their naked, sweaty bodies tangled together in the most beautiful and spiritual way.

"Kate, you okay?"

"Um, yes Jordan. Would you excuse me for a second."

She made her way to Gibbs and tried to swallow out all the doubt before choking on it.

"Hi." She said, her voice cheery but hesitant and worried.

"Hey." He grunted into his bourbon glass.

"How have…how've you been Jethro?"

"Fine. You?" He replied curtly.

"Damn it, Jethro. I just wanted to say hello, not start some kind of argument. Can't you just do that?"

"No. Kate, not with you I can't. Just go back to your boyfriend and leave me the hell alone will you?"

"Fuck you." She said as she turned and went back to Jordan.

"Jethro, what is wrong?" Ducky asked as he sat down beside Gibbs.

"Oh, hey Ducky. It's nothing."

"You look like you've seen a ghost. I think I should take you home."

"No, I'm fine. You just got here. Just saw someone I didn't want to see."

"If you're sure that's all."

Gibbs continued to watch Kate as she laughed with her new group of friends and boyfriend. He ordered bourbon after bourbon.

"Hey Ducky. I think I'm going to head on home. I'll see you later."

"I think I'll be heading home myself. I don't need mother worrying about me. Good night Jethro."

Gibbs waved him off and finished his bourbon, but instead of leaving, he ordered another and continued to watch his Kate.

'Stop it Jethro. You ended it with Kate. She's not yours. Get over her.'

His hand clenched so hard on his glass he heard it began to crackle. Kate was making out with the man and when they were done, she looked at Gibbs. Her eyes weren't gleaming some victorious gloat, but they were sad. She wanted him and he wouldn't let her in anymore than she had already squirmed.

He saw her sigh and take Jordan's hand, leading them out of the bar and he became pissed when Jordan winked at his friends and gave them the thumbs up and made a few more vulgar gestures behind Kate's back.

Gibbs downed the last of his bourbon and stood to run after them, that was until he realized how drunk he was. He stumbled out of the bar to see them pulling away in Kate's car. He knew her apartment wasn't far, so he began to walk, stumbling every few feet.

He could feel the eyes of strangers glaring at him for his obscene presence, but he had to get to her. He finally managed to make it to her apartment the next task was the stairs.

"Gibbs?"

"Heeyy Abbyy." Gibbs replied when a soft hand turned him around.

"What are you doing here? Kate doesn't want to see you, and you know that."

"No…Abby. I got to tell her I love'r."

"You had your chance Gibbs. You completely broke her heart. That and you're completely drunk, let me get you home." Abby pulled the phone back to her ear and sighed. "Hey Kate. I know what I just told you, but I'm going to be a little longer, I need to take someone home. I'll call you when I'm on my way."

"Abbyy. I wanna' talk to Katie."

"You can't call her that Gibbs. Let me take you home."

Abby wrapped an arm around Gibbs' waist and began to carry him to her car when the door to the apartment building opened.

"Wait. Jethro!" Kate came running out of the building to them and turned Gibbs around to face her. "Is that true, what you said? Do you really love me?"

"Katie…" He wrapped his arms around her tightly. "I've missed you."

Kate pushed him off of her.

"You're drunk, Jethro."

"Well, yeah. I watched you and that guy all night, it was hard not to."

"Abby." Kate began to speak while keeping her eyes locked on Gibbs, "Take him home for me, will ya'?"

"Katie, please! Don't-"

"Don't what, Gibbs? And you're not allowed to call me that anymore. Abby, please take him home."

"No problem Kate."

Abby opened her passenger car door.

"Katie, please." His voice was almost a whisper as he rested his worn hand on her cheek. "You don't know how sorry I am and how much I miss you."

"No Jethro! Do not even go there! You broke up with me. You walked out on me without saying a word or even telling me why. You can't handle the responsibility of a relationship, but God knows you don't want anyone else to have me!" Kate decided any rationalism was out of the window. It was her turn to make him speechless and hurt. "Well guess what Jethro, not only am I not with you but I'm already in a new relationship. I'm over you and I don't want to see you ever again!"

The pain was evident in every ounce of his being and Kate watched as she hurt him even more. She turned around and stormed back into the apartment building.

"Come on Gibbs." Abby sighed as Gibbs watched Kate's retreating figure.

Gibbs fell into the seat and leaned his head against the window. His mind was spinning but he knew she was right. He knew that he would still be with her right now had he just not been so scared.

"Abby. I love her."

Abby glanced at Gibbs for a moment and her voice became soft and caring, like a mother speaking to a misbehaving child.

"Gibbs. Her and I are both still aware of that, but what she said earlier was right. You can't expect her to deal with every time you decide to be cold and cruel. You can't pull her to you and then get mad when she does the same. She has told you everything you have wanted to know, but you almost never tell her anything."

"But that's just it! I want to show her that I've changed. I want to tell her everything. I made mistakes, and I know that. I've made more mistakes with her than anything, but I want to give her what she deserves."

"How do you know that that's not Jordan?"

"What?"

"How do you know that what Kate deserves isn't Jordan?"

"Because… It can't be fair for me to feel like I do and know she's with someone else."