Disclaimer: Nope - still only own the now almost empty pen but I have a new exam pad with 100 pages. LOL

A/N: This was written a while ago in the middle of the night and is set to the song Into the Night by Santana feat. Chad Kroeger. It will help if you read this while playing that song either in your head or the radio or wherever else you prefer...

Night out

The moonlight shone through the large glass window of the NCIS headquarters building. It was way past normal peoples' working hours and yet there was still one team who were still sitting and working in the bullpen. As they worked on the reports and profile reports, the three co-workers were deciding how to get their co-worker and boss to get out of the work environment and have a fun night out on the town.

When they could not come up with anything, they all decided disappointedly to leave him be to either stay and finish what he was doing, or go home and retire to his basement to work on his beloved boat. Kate, Tony and McGee had already left the bullpen an hour before Gibbs decided to run out for a coffee refill. He was going to ask them to stay and help him with a cold case he was working on, but when he saw Kate dressed up as if she was ready to go out on a date he reconsidered his decision and instead told the boys they could leave early as well.

Abby came bouncing out of the elevator just as Gibbs stood up from his chair to make another trip to his caffeine dealer two blocks away. He was trying without success to get the image of a sexy looking Kate all dressed up and ready for her date out of his mind for the past hour that he had been sitting at his desk. He definitely needed a refill if he was going to be spending the night here and trying to work on the cold case.

"Hey, my sliver haired fox," Abby greeted him as she came up to his desk. "I thought everyone had already left." He shook his head at her statement, "you thought wrong," he said in reply. "Oh well, since you're still here you can join me for a late drink," she said. "Abby, I really don't think this is a good time," he started to protest but the hurt look she gave him dissolved all his rejection and he duly complied with her demand.

The drive to the restaurant that turned into a club after eleven was a short one and Gibbs was grateful Abby was for once not high on all the caffeine from Redbull or the Caff-Pows, which was part of her staple diet. "What's on your mind, Gibbs?" she asked him when she saw him somewhat dazedly looking out the window. "How long it's been since I've been asked out for drinks by a woman," he replied a small smile creeping to his lips.

Finding a parking spot in the parking lot was a mission since the place was usually booked out on a Friday evening but Abby having friends in all the right places had to count for something, and soon enough they were parked at the right near the entrance of the place. As they entered the small club, the smell of alcohol and sweat hit them and Gibbs was reminded of why he did not like coming to places like this.

Abby soon spotted the rest of the team sitting at a table in the far corner of the place. Linking her arm with Gibbs so he wouldn't get lost, she steered them both in the direction of their friends. McGee and Tony were already on their second round of beers when Gibbs finally arrived at the table they were seated at. "Hey, Abby, we thought you were going to stand the Probie up," Tony grinned at her. "I'm sure you did, Tony," she replied grinning just as widely as Tony was.

A pretty brunette waitress had seen the two new arrivals at the table and walked up to Gibbs and Abby waiting to take their orders. "A root beer for me," Abby said to the smiling waitress. Gibbs was a bit slower in deciding what he wanted so the waitress waited patiently at his side, and Tony took this as an opportunity to get to know her name. "Hi, I'm Tony," he said as he held out his hand to her. "Alex," she said but made no attempt to shake his hand.

"Could I get a coffee please, Alex?" Gibbs asked politely when he saw Tony was going to start hitting on the waitress and he felt sorry for her. Alex looked at him quizzically but she said nothing, she just nodded and walked back to the bar area to get the root beer Abby wanted. She returned ten minutes later with an ice-cold bottle of root beer for Abby and a steaming mug of strong black coffee for Gibbs.

Gibbs took a sip of the coffee and enjoyed the satisfying feeling it left as it raced down his throat. He made a mental note to thank the waitress for serving him such a good mug of Java. He was trying with all his might to forget about his brunette agent but it was like attempting mission impossible, and now with the waitress uncannily resembling her it was more difficult than he imagined it would be. He thought coming here with Abby would distract him but it hadn't and he was seriously starting to doubt his decision of accompanying Abby.

Gibbs had by now drowned out the voices of his subordinates and was concentrating intently on his third consecutive mug of coffee. He was in no sociable mood at all and he knew he was putting a damper on the rest of the team's spirit but he just could not help it. "Gibbs, are you going to mope like that all night?" Abby asked when she saw him just staring unfocusedly into his mug. He looked up at her with a blank expression on his face.

"Well at least Kate is having fun!" Tony exclaimed as he pointed in the direction of their other female co-worker. Gibbs followed the direction Tony's hand was pointing in and his gaze came to a rest on the one person he was so looking forward to seeing the entire time he had been here. He mentally scolded himself at not looking around the place before sulking quietly at his end of the table. She was dancing with a tall good-looking guy and from what Gibbs could see, she was smiling but he saw the somewhat uncertain look in her eye.

"You do realise that you could be that guy dancing with her," he heard Alex talking to him as she eyed the tall man who was still dancing with Kate. He smirked as he turned to look at the young waitress, "what makes you think I want to be that man?" he asked her, surprised that she had come up with a suggestion like that, though his face showed none of the emotion he felt. "For one, it's the way you looking at her!" she exclaimed.

Seeing the look set on his face, she decided to help him put a little even though he made it quite clear he was in no need of assistance. "Okay why don't I make a deal with you?" she asked him. "I don't deal" he replied flatly. "Okay call it a bit of a challenge then, if you go up to her and have just one dance with her, all drinks on this table are on the house," she suggested. "And if I don't? he asked her calmly. "Then you'll have to call her here and have a coffee date with her, with me present," she smiled at him. It was a no win situation for him. Well at least if he went up to Kate there would be no wallflowers hanging around them listening to his every word.

Taking in a deep breath and bracing himself, he stood up from his chair, removed his jacket and shirt leaving his white T-shirt on and made his way over to where Kate was still dancing. Gibbs had found Kate in the crowd without much difficulty but trying to stay out of her line of vision was more difficult than he had anticipated. When he reached her he saw she was dancing extremely close to her partner but her hands were nowhere on his body, and he took this as an opportunity to claim what was rightfully his.

He came up behind her, standing as close to her as he could without touching her… just yet. The guy dancing across them both had a confused look on his face but he did nothing to let Kate know there was someone behind her, assuming Gibbs was just another guy who was coming to dance so he could get rid of all the alcohol in his blood system before he headed home.

Gibbs started moving to the rhythm and beat of the music and when he was sure he was in sync with the music he made his next move. He closed the distance between Kate and himself, placed his hands on her hips and pulled her backward into him with her back coming into contact with his chest. He felt her tense up immediately and he was sure if he didn't tell her who he was in the next few seconds she would turn around and use one of the defending moves he had taught her during gym practice on him.

"I didn't expect to see you here, Agent Todd," he whispered in her ear, his breath blowing gently on her neck causing her to shiver with excitement. "That is because, Special Agent Gibbs, you don't seem to socialize with anything except coffee, the paperwork on your desk and the famous boat you're building in your basement," she replied coolly. "That is not true, Kate, you forgot the bottle of bourbon next to the paint stripper in my basement," he joked with her.

Okay maybe this was not as bad an idea as he had initially thought it would be. He and Kate had been dancing for a while now and he seemed completely at ease as his hands rested on her hips. She had no problems with his hands being there and he was in no hurry to let her go just yet. He noticed that Kate was a very good dancer, but he was not bad either, as they both swayed to the beat.

As the music changed from the fast paced beat they were dancing to, to a much slower one, Kate linked her hands behind her boss's neck, bringing him closer into her. "If I didn't know any better I'd say you are enjoying this dance session, Gibbs," she said breathily as she felt him place a soft kiss on her shoulder. "Mm hmm" was the only response he could come up with at that moment as he moved from kissing her shoulder to kissing the nape of her neck and her spine.

He removed his one hand from her waist to unclasp her hands behind his neck, before he spun her around her to face him. They continued moving to the beat of the music and Gibbs was no longer doubting his decision to come here with Abby. He pulled Kate closer into him as they danced and he felt her heartbeat speed up and her breathing become erratic. He was sure if he did not have all that military training his reaction would have been the same and she would have felt it as well.

She placed her head on his shoulder and he knew all his resolve was going to crumble with her being so damn close to him. Her breath on his neck was doing nothing to help him keep his mind from taking the one step they needed to change from the boss subordinate relationship they had to something much more than that. Yet here he was, with the one woman he wanted so badly, having her in his grasp and yet still not having her at all.

He knew everything was going to change the second he felt her place a kiss on his neck just behind his ear. Her one hand was snaked around his neck and the other was resting on his chest. Both his hands were placed on her waist and he kept them there, afraid that if he moved them, he would have no control over where they settled on her body. This dance was proving to be more of a challenge for him than the one Alex had set out for him.

All his inhibitions flew out the window when he felt her hand move from his chest to his abdomen under his T-shirt. She was lazily drawing circles around his belly button, making him smile a little. She looked up at him and was about to say something when he placed a finger on her lips and shook his head. He did not want her to say anything that would make him doubt was he was doing or make her stop what she was doing.

The music changed again to a much slower song than the previous one and Kate sidled even closer into Gibbs trying to annihilate the distance between them. This was the closest thing to a date she was going to have with Gibbs and she wanted to enjoy every second of it. He was slowly losing all control to keep up the boundaries to the professional relationship they shared, but she was driving him insane with just the movement of her finger on his abdomen.

Well, if she was allowed a bit of pleasure than so was he. He lowered his head toward hers and started once again placing kisses on her shoulder to her neck, leaving a blazing trail on her skin. His hands had now mimicked hers and were placed on her hips under her shirt. His fingers were moving of their own accord and had traced the path up her sides and back down. He continued to kiss her lightly and just as his lips were on hers he stopped.

He pulled back and looked at her, asking for permission to kiss her on the lips. She had a drugged look in her eye and he knew he didn't have to ask her. She would give him permission for anything right now. Still, he asked and waited until she nodded ever so slightly and he was just about to kiss her passionately when a drunk patron knocked into him and he stumbled forward into Kate. "I'm sorry" the other guy mumbled and walked away, continuing to bump into other couples as he exited the dance floor.

The moment was broken and he knew he couldn't get it back, he was not sure he wanted to. There was no way he was going to go down that road again. He knew he was bad at relationships and three divorces were proof enough that he did not need another one. He did not intend to start something he knew he was not totally in his control and he definitely did not intend to ruin Kate's life either. For the first time in his life, Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs had a confused expression on his face.

"I gotta go," he said huskily as he untangled himself from Kate and made his way back to the table to pay for his drinks and grab his coat before he left. As he placed the notes on the table Alex came up behind him, "Hey, drinks on this table are on the house, remember?" she asked. "Sure," was all he mumbled before he grabbed his jacket and shirt and left the bar in a rush. Maybe socializing with coffee, his boat and the bourbon was a safer bet than socializing with a certain Special Agent Caitlin Todd, he thought to himself.

"Gibbs?" Kate was behind him in a second. "I can't do this, Kate, not right now," he said as though it was enough of an explanation. "You can't or you won't? she asked. "Kate," he warned. "Okay if not right now then later?" she asked him. "Maybe but I gotta go before I do something stupid," he said as he walked toward his car. "Can't you answer a simple question, Gibbs?" she asked exasperated.

He simply looked at her, a slight sparkle in his eyes, smiled his usual enigmatic smile and walked away, trying to keep the professional relationship they shared just that – professional. Kate stood in the dark parking lot, with a million thoughts running through her mind, when she was interrupted by the ringing of her cell phone. She looked at the screen, and saw her boss's name flashing brightly in the dark.

"Agent Todd" she answered as professionally as she could. If he wanted to keep the relationship that way so could she. "Front door is open Kate" was all he said and hung up on her.

You guys can decide what Kate does next...

A/N 2: Thanks again to my beta for putting up with the tedious job of sorting out my grammar and spelling mistakes. I know its a job and a half so thank you very much... it really is well appreciated.

Okay so that's all for now... review as usual... it makes me smile.

hellraiser