A follow up to "Terminal Leave." It's my longest one-shot, yet, and the most Kibbs of them all. What can I say, I'm a sucker for hurt/comfort, and I think Gibbs is secretly a giant teddy bear (with lethal fighting skills…) Leave some love, reviews make me smile. I have to say, this was a lot of fun to write.
"Grab the face guard, Kate," Gibbs ordered, nodding to the bench against one wall.
She paced a semi-circle across the basement floor and shrugged off his words. "I'm a big girl, I can take it, Gibbs. Tugging the gloves into place, she pulled the straps firmly into place, slapping down the velcro.
Blue eyes stared hard at her. "It wasn't a suggestion. Put it on."
Glaring at him, she turned and stalked to the bench. She picked it up slowly, turned it over and pulled it into place. Despite her objections, she took the time to secure it properly. "I look ridiculous in this. Besides, you don't make Tony wear it. And don't say you would make McGee wear this—it's not the same. I'm not a—"
His hand lifted, and he gently nudged the foam covering part of her face. "I don't want you to accidentally break that cute nose of yours."
Kate leaned into his personal space, head tilting. "So you think my nose is cute, Gibbs?"
His own head tilted in a perfect mimic. "Do you know how annoying DiNozzo will be if he's the best looking person in the office?"
It made her smile, which annoyed her all the more, but she sighed and nodded. "Fine. Can we box now?"
He took the pads, slipped them on each hand and lifted them. "You box."
"Fine," she repeated, starting in with a fast combination from which only his good reflexes saved him. Had he been DiNozzo, he would have ended up with a broken nose. She wasn't pulling punches. Her eyes were narrowed slits of bourbon, and they were trying to sting him more than his drink of choice ever could.
"Everybody out," Gibbs called as he pulled into the parking garage. Beside him, Kate didn't stir, but he saw Tony jerk slightly.
"Probie, grab your gear," Tony barked, chuckling a little when the youngest agent jerked awake with a gasp. "Home sweet home, McGeek."
"You're such a twelve year old," Kate had grumbled from her seat, finally stirring and unbuckling her seat belt. Privately, Gibbs had been glad that Tony had been the one to wake up the woman beside him. He knew Kate could be a bear when she was awakened early from a nap. Better to have that attitude directed at someone who deserved it. After days of protection detail, they were toast, especially Kate as the agent taking point on detail. Even though they had agents in to help rotate the shifts, Kate probably hadn't managed more than a few hours of sleep each night.
"Everyone take two days. Get your stuff, get some sleep, send your reports in, and you better not set foot in the office again until Tuesday." He stepped from the car without a glance back. He took only a few moments to gather his things, and he was headed home as the others slowly collected go bags, paperwork, and checked their gear. As soon as he hit the front door, he had dropped everything, taken a shower, grabbed a quick sandwich and made a beeline for the basement. It hadn't surprised him to hear his front door open a half hour later, nor was he the least bit surprised when Kate appeared at the top of the basement steps.
"Hey," he cut in, taking a step back as she threw a blind punch. He lifted the pads, letting them nudge her shoulder, knocking her enough off balance to make her alert but not enough to end up falling on the concrete floor. "Keep your head in the game."
Her head shook slightly, and she stumbled back. Amber eyes flashed, and she lit in with a hard uppercut to the pad. "I am."
"No, you're not," Gibbs countered.
She was breathing hard and sweaty, throwing combinations at him and trying to catch him off guard. Kate was pissed, but he knew she was the angriest with herself—for not catching that stupid boyfriend before the kid made it inside the house. She always managed to be harder on herself than he ever could, and he would bet money it was the reason why she was exhausted but not sleepy.
He stepped out of her reach at the next blind fist she threw. "Don't react, Kate. Act."
"You're just trying to get under my skin," she spat back, giving him a hard look again before throwing a much more calculated one-two combination.
He caught both on the pads, shrugging. "If that's what it takes to get you to do it the right way…"
"Men," she sputtered, panting hard and throwing another hard hit to the pad.
Gibbs shifted, swinging the pad unexpectedly. It was fast, but he was pleased when her hand came up to block it.
"Testing my reflexes?" she challenged, throwing her next jab to his gut, which he intercepted. "I remember rule three—never believe what you're told."
He smirked, bringing the pad up to block again when she tried an upper cut. He almost missed the sudden crouch, and she was up before he had expected it, but he still avoided—just barely—the knee to his groin. "Low blow, Kate."
She stepped back and ripped off the gloves. "If you have something to say, spit it out, Gibbs. What's this really about?"
He reached forward, tugging loose the gloves and giving her a half second to pull off the face guard before he stepped into her personal space again. His face bent, close. "This is about you knowing how to defend yourself."
"Secret Service," she reminded him, leaning back and realizing she was against the far brick wall.
A half nod was all that was needed to let her know that he had done this on purpose—distracted her with her own anger and worked her into a corner. The fact that he would never lay a finger on her was irrelevant. Next time she might not have such a friend opponent.
"Do you have any idea how much you scare me?" he asked quietly, giving her another inch of space.
Her arms crossed over her chest, and she scowled. "I do my job."
"Risks are part of our job, but they have to be smart risks. Running in the park with an Al-Qaeda target? Going to talk to a reluctant witness without back up? Checking on the noise in a kitchen without checking the dark corners first?"
The eyes that locked his were furious. She evaded him, slipping past and into the open area of the basement. "I didn't lose a protectee. And I know those weren't my best decisions. At least I had Tony with me when we went running with Commander Shields. You know the game, Gibbs. She was going to run with or without us. It was either run or let her go alone—or let Tony tie her up and lock her in the closet. I think she could take him."
It was his turn to be angry. "It's not a joke, Katie. And for once I don't care about Tony. I'm talking about you."
"We agreed to keep things professional in the office," she snapped back, pacing the length of the floor. "Just how professional was it when you gave me that pat on the butt in the middle of the park in front of FBI, the EMT crew, and the Shields' neighbors? Or was that your way of getting your FBI admirer out of your hair?"
He was closing in on her again, and she let him. She had dug her ground in the middle of the floor, and she wasn't backing down. He loved her like this, and he hated it, too. It was fully Caitlin Todd, and he felt like screaming. "You don't get it. You scare me. You're going to meet your match someday, and—"
"And you won't be there to protect me," she threw back. "God, you're so chauvinistic."
"Do you understand what it feels like to see the scene I walked into yesterday? Car bomb and not only my team, but you standing there like that? Watching someone heading straight into the house on night vision and knowing that I'm not going to beat him to the window? You can defend yourself, but everyone has their limits. Ari shot me. In the shoulder. In NCIS. We're not as safe as we think we are, and I could … I don't know what!"
Her hands were on her hips now, jaw set. "Then smack me upside the head like you do DiNozzo!"
His hand caught her arm, closing around it gently. "I. Don't. Hit. Women. Ever."
"Rule twenty something?" she retorted.
He ground his jaw. "Some things go beyond rules. I though you knew at least that much about me."
The words alone were more than enough to chastise her. Her eyes fell immediately to the floor, jaw trembling once before she clenched it tightly. "So shake me. Chain me to your boat. Or my desk."
He sighed and let himself sink down to the bench, one hand running through his hair and leaving it as ruffled as his feelings. How had he gotten here? Sitting in his basement—his sanctuary—with a woman. After he had written off women, after deciding that at his age an old dog couldn't learn one single new trick. After knowing better. After blatantly ignoring Rule 12. "Don't tempt me, Katie."
This one got under his skin. He had known from the beginning that Rule 12 was only going to last so long. He was amazed that it had taken so many months before he had given in. Someday she was going to be his undoing. Maybe today. It was starting to be a struggle to keep his focus when they were working cases like this—when the stakes were the highest.
She dropped to the bench beside him, sitting close enough that he could feel the warmth of her skin barely an inch from his own. "What do you want me to say? That whole you're learning line was patronizing."
"You're right," he sighed. "But you've known what the second B stood for when you signed up. You don't know everything, though."
"Neither do you," she countered quietly, the angry edge finally gone from her voice.
"Nope," he agreed. He slid a hand around her waist, freezing when she hissed softly and stiffened. Before she could say a word, he took hold of the edge of her shirt, tugging it up and moving to her other side. "What did you do, Katie?"
Her head shook, and she caught his hand before the fingers could brush the bruise again. It was almost the size of his palm, dark mulberry against her side and barely dipping below the waist band of her sweat pants to grace her hip. "When you hit the deck?"
She nodded, lips pressing into a thin line. "It's not that bad."
"Any others?" He was looking carefully now, eyes roaming otherwise soft and unblemished skin.
"A small graze on my arm and shoulder." She held still, almost docile as he rolled up her sleeve and checked it, noting that it had been cleaned and had a small Band-Aid over it.
When he was satisfied that she was really okay, he rolled it down again and brushed a soft kiss against her forehead. "You didn't lose anyone, and we got our guy."
Her sigh was short, and it told him that even if she wasn't read to let it go completely, she was coming to terms with it. "Yeah," she agreed, leaning into the comfort of his hand brushing over her mussed hair. "You know… before we left on the run, Tony said she reminded him of someone. I said a female you… he said he was thinking me."
"Tony thinks about you too much," Gibbs scoffed, although he took a little pride in the comment. Tony might be a lot like him at that age, but Kate had the focus. Oh sure, eventually DiNozzo would get it together, but she had the makings of a great agent now. She was going places, and he hoped when she got there she wouldn't leave him the dust. He wasn't pushing his luck—he would take right now and whatever else she gave him. He couldn't believe he had it this bad for a woman. Experience was screaming at him, but he didn't care.
She gave him that teasing smile. "Jealous?"
"Nah, DiNozzo's got nothing on me."
Kate pressed a soft kiss to his cheek. "You got that right." She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, and he could tell the week was already catching up to her again. For a moment she looked fragile again, shaken by the intensity of this case. "Hey… you don't mind if I—"
"I know you're not asking me if you can stay like you don't already know the answer," he muttered, looking up at her and knowing it was the answer she needed. "A little late to be asking that, unless that's someone else's stuff in the top dresser drawer." When she gave him a little shrug in reply, he gave her hand a soft squeeze. "Go on and hit the showers, I'll be upstairs in a little bit," he stood, pulling her gently to her feet.
"You'll be up before I fall asleep?"
"I promise," he murmured, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. He watched her go up and heard the shower start a few minutes later. It only took him a few moments to put away his tools and make his way upstairs to the flannel sheets she had bought him when the weather turned.
He was relaxed in bed when she joined him, warm from the shower, her hair still a little wet. Her cheeks were damp, too, and it wasn't all from showering. His arm slid around her, stroking her back as she curled against his side, arm draped across as her breathing slowed. "Get some rest, Katie."
Her head nodded against his shoulder, and she gave one soft shuddery breath before taking a slow breath and relaxing into sleep.