Disclaimer: Own nothing except the plot behind this. All recognizable characters belong to DPB and CBS.
A/N: Written after a disastrous attempt at a birthday celebration. So please just go easy on me.
No expectations
Kate sighed in frustration at the food in front of her. She could not help the action as she sat at the table trying to look as interested in the people and conversations going on around her as the others were. Her day was getting from bad to worse and it seemed like there was no cure to it, or if there was one, it was not coming her way anytime soon. So she breathed in deeply and relaxed into the backrest of her chair. This was supposed to be a party but she was not feeling chirpy and she certainly was in no mood to celebrate anything.
This was supposed to be her special day, the day she got to choose how she wanted to spend it, and at this moment, it was not going as she planned. But she knew this was going to happen when her mother had called her early that morning.
X X X
"Mom I hate having huge parties and lots of people I don't even know around me. You know I barely have time to myself with all the long hours I work and no mom I will not be entertaining your nieces and nephews at my apartment tonight. If they want to have a party, they can find a restaurant and invite me. And I might not go depending on the workload I have here," she said into the phone leaving no space for her mother to debate or try to change Kate's mind.
Everything had all started going downhill from that point on. Kate's mind was reeling with thoughts and excuses on how to avoid going to this little 'party' in her honor, but she simply could not come up with a good enough excuse. She had considered taking Tony there as a date, but reconsidered when she thought about his attention span and how he was with the ladies, and she quickly ruled him out as a possibility.
Timothy was another option, but she knew he would get too flustered and he could not lie with a straight face. She would be caught out within minutes of her arrival with him. Worst-case scenario was that if she couldn't find anyone else she would ask Tim. She would be more comfortable with him being there, than having Tony there, blurting out things about her love life or the lack thereof.
Sometime during the day the dreaded phone call had come and Kate being the wimp that she was, had accepted the invite to her own damn party. She still however did not have a date, and that posed a bit of a problem for her. She glanced at the clock on her desktop and saw that it was almost time to leave. "Better Tim than DiNozzo," she said to herself and sent the junior agent an email before she decided to chicken out and shut down her computer avoiding the whole issue altogether.
"McGee," was all she typed and she waited with baited breath for a response.
"Kate is there something you need?" he typed without even lifting up his head to look at her.
"I need to ask a favour from you, I need a bit of help on a personal matter," she typed in response.
He was caught off guard, and looked up at her before replying, "What's up?"
She waited for Tony to leave the bullpen before she continued. She would ask him this face to face, verbally. She did not want to make him feel any more nervous than he might have been feeling since she had sent that first email. It was the best way to do this. That and she did not want Tony to find out about it.
She gathered all her courage, made her way to McGee's desk, and came to a halt when she was merely a foot away and facing his desk alone. He saw the nervous look on her face and tried to smile; hoping it would give her a bit of strength to ask him what she needed him to do for her.
"McGee," she started uncertainly, "I need you to accompany me to a small dinner tonight.
The look of utter surprise took up residence on his face. "I would have asked Tony, but given his repertoire with women, I didn't think he was a suitable candidate. Look, you don't have to do anything; all you have to do is smile and look handsome. Please do this for me."
Kate, however did not notice that the subject of her sleepless nights had re-entered the bullpen and was standing behind her, listening to her conversation with the junior agent. It was a thing though, because if she had seen Gibbs there, she would have lost all her courage and simply accepted defeat on her part.
She looked at McGee, willing him to say yes, and with him regarding her as his little sister, he could hardly say no, even when he saw their boss glaring at him, with a murderous look in his eye. He did not say yes, he simply nodded his head, accepting her offer and hoped with all his little heart that Gibbs would not kill him as soon as Kate had exited the bullpen.
"Thanks," he heard the relief in her voice, but he could not say anything to her right now as his boss was still glowering at him from across his desk. "I hope I live to see tomorrow, McGee thought to himself. If looks could kill, he would swear Gibbs would have buried him six feet below three minutes ago. Kate however seemed oblivious to the exchange between the boys and continued to grab her stuff and head out.
By the time, Kate turned around and saw Gibbs he was almost in his seat, acting as though he had missed the entire conversation, and holding up a folder of a case he seemed to be extremely interested in. The silver-haired was however wondering why Kate had not come to him for help on this matter. It was not like he would have said no. in fact it was quite the opposite, he would have jumped at the chance to go on a date with one Special Agent Caitlin Todd, though he would not have admitted it to anyone
"Oh yeah and Tim here's the place and time of the dinner. I'll see you there okay," she dropped the post-it onto McGee's desk and breezed out of the bullpen and the NCIS building. Tim was just about to read the information Kate had dropped on his desk, when the pink post-it was snatched angrily from his grasp. He did not even try to contest the older man's actions. It was settled, Timothy McGee was not going to be anywhere near Caitlin Todd this evening.
"Well then I guess I'll be seeing Addison tonight after all," he confirmed as he saw the slight twinkle in his boss's eye.
McGee knew he should call Kate and tell her what had happened, but he was too chicken to do so. Yeah he was a Special Agent and he carried a gun, and the conversation would take place over the phone, but he had already been kicked in the groin by her and he was not about to give said agent another opportunity to repeat the assault. She would have to deal with Gibbs all on her own tonight.
X X X
Kate looked at her watch for the fourth time in ten minutes, and she was beginning to get concerned – McGee was never late. "Maybe he decided to bail out at the last minute… Maybe he had found a better way to spend his evening… Maybe she just was not…" her train of thought was cut short when she heard someone call her name. "Kate, what do you think?" She simply gave a blank look. She had missed the discussion that was going on and therefore she could not give an answer to whatever they had asked.
She promised herself she would look at the watch one last time and then if McGee did not pitch up she was going to murder him tomorrow at the office. She had been sitting in the company of these people for forty-five minutes already and still there was no sign of McGee. "Oh that guy has it in for him tomorrow in gym practice," she smirked to herself. He would not be expecting it and the look of sheer pain on his face would be reward enough for her, even if it were in a sadistic kind of way.
Her spirit was dampened a little however when she heard her phone start to ring. She looked at the caller ID and didn't know whether to be happy, relived or upset that it was the man of her current dreams calling her. "Todd," she said when she finally decided to answer. "You were planning on avoiding my call," it was a statement and she felt guilty immediately.
"Gibbs I …" she started to explain but was cut short by him as usual.
"Kate if you keep sulking like that, no one is going to have a good time," she could hear the humour in his voice and suddenly she was painfully aware that wherever he was, he knew how she felt.
"Come on now, put on a smile," he encouraged her, and this time it fully hit her. He could see her, but she had no idea where he was.
She looked around the place but she just could not spot him. He was too good at this marine thing of hiding and sneaking up on people. She would have to ask him to teach her how to do that, and soon so, that she could scare McGee for not showing up.
"Okay if you don't smile within the next three seconds, I am going to come over to where you're sitting and whisk you away from those boring people." Once again, it was a statement and Kate was too stunned to react within the three given seconds. She saw Gibbs stalk up to her table, a menacing look in his eye.
A/N 2: So that was part one. This will be a two parter, so hopefully the next one will be up soon.
Thanks for reading.
comments will be appreciated
hellraiser