A/N: Here's another one-shot. This takes place right after "Conspiracy Theory" (2.19). Slight spoilers for those who have not seen that episode. Hope you like. Reviews, favorites, and follows are welcomed and appreciated.
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.
Unprofessional Behavior
By GallaudetLurker
Although she looked cool and comprised on the outside, Kate Todd was freaking out.
What had she been thinking, sending that...picture to Leroy Jethro Gibbs right before she high-tailed it out of the bullpen so she would not have to see her Boss's reaction?
To be fair, it was an accident. She had meant to delete it at around the same time as Tony DiNozzo (she sent him a Photoshopped picture of him posing as a gay cowboy, courtesy of Abby), but somehow her brain malfunctioned and made her press the accursed 'send' button instead of the blessed 'delete' button. Still, it didn't alleviate the panic that was rapidly rising inside her.
She was pretty sure – positive, even – that he would think less of her now, and that was bad, really bad, given that she had labored to gain his respect over the past year-and-a-half.
All the hard work and effort, shattered in a single moment.
Kate resisted a particularly strong urge to give herself a head-slap, Gibbs-style, as she lambasted herself for being so stupid. She was a rational person who thought of everything in logical terms. She did not go far in her life – becoming a Secret Service agent tasked with protecting the President of the United States, for one thing – by being reckless. That was DiNozzo's forte, and she blamed him for this disastrous lapse in judgment.
Damn DiNozzo for somehow finding that picture on his trip to Panama City Beach, for holding it over her head as a form of blackmail, and for flustering her so much that it caused her to accidentally send that picture that may as well end her career at NCIS.
Deep inside, Kate knew she had herself to blame, given that she had decided to shake off her usually studious self for once and partake in activities that she normally shunned, such as bar-hopping with her friends, drinking all night, making out with drunken frat guys – who she normally thought were despicable pigs, to put it very lightly – and partaking in a wet T-shirt contest out of all things. And not to mention, accidentally emailing it to Gibbs!
The Hell she would admit it aloud to herself, though. Why should she blame herself for having fun on a vacation, for partaking in a ritual that college students undertook on Spring Break every year? It's not like she had the power to foresee the future, and that she would work for a federal investigative agency such as NCIS nine years after that picture was taken. It was far preferable to pin the all of the blame on DiNozzo.
It was much better, and easier, that way.
As she stormed across the largely-vacant parking lot toward her gray Honda, brainstorming several ways to kill DiNozzo in the most painful way possible, Kate found herself dreading tomorrow. Would Gibbs give her the cold shoulder? Give her the infamous 'Glare' that he usually subjected DiNozzo and occasionally McGee on a daily basis? Give her a good chewing out that would make her want to curl up in a fetal position for the rest of her life? Put her on desk duty for the rest of her career? Reassign her to another team? Ask the Director to put her in another government agency?
Kate's stomach churned as a horrible thing surfaced in her mind.
Would he...fire her for this? He did say that he would not give her a chance to resign when he'd all but offered her the job, after all. True, it was about her consorting with another co-worker, but still.
She swallowed, her throat constricting painfully, her heart beating faster, her stomach churning, nervousness coursing through her veins, the possibility of termination of employment whirling around in her mind. If that happened, she was definitely going to kill DiNozzo and hide his body in a way that it would never ever be found. Nodding to herself as to confirm her vengeance, she yanked her car door open with more force than needed and plopped down on the driver seat.
She took a couple of calming breaths.
"Oh, who am I kidding? He's definitely going to fire me!" She whimpered to herself as she banged her forehead on the steering wheel, jumping slightly from the loud honk that emanated from the car.
Thank God DiNozzo wasn't there to hear her startled yelp. She would never ever live it down (is there anything else that she could live down when it came to DiNozzo?), and she would be more compelled to exact her long-awaited and long-deserved revenge upon the wisecracking, film enthusiast of a Special Agent.
Kate snorted. As if DiNozzo was anything special.
She didn't know what she would do if Gibbs did fire her. No way was she going to go back home in Indianapolis, where her overbearing family – which included three 'psychotic' brothers – resided in, and neither was she going to swallow her pride to go live with her estranged older sister, Rachel, in Miami. As for a job, she knew she wasn't going back to the Secret Service, given her 'unprofessional behavior'– she rolled her eyes at the memory of her Secret Service supervisor William Baer's admonishing words – and she wasn't sure if she would be qualified enough for other federal government agencies such as the FBI, CIA, DIA, and so on, even although her experience in the Secret Service and now NCIS could probably testify to her qualifications.
As she inserted the keys in the ignition and turned it, feeling the car vibrate to life, Kate's thoughts turned to her co-workers, particularly her boss. If she was booted off NCIS, she wouldn't get to see them on a daily basis.
In fact, she would miss them, even DiNozzo.
She stifled a groan. Was it possible to feel pain when admitting something like that?
She would miss the largely one-sided banter between the outspoken DiNozzo and the quiet Timothy McGee, the bubbly babbling of their Goth forensics specialist Abby Sciuto, and the fascinating stories their Medical Examiner Ducky Mallard told while poring over a dead body.
More importantly, she would miss the words "Gear up!" that Gibbs usually barked at his team in the morning, his insanely reckless driving, his stern Marine demeanor, his patented 'Glare' that could reduce hardened criminals into sputtering messes – and which often sent her heart fluttering, her stomach churning, her head whirling, her face flushing slightly.
She would miss being around the silver-haired man whom she had been secretly crushing on ever since she first laid eyes upon him at Air Force One. Gibbs was a mighty bastard – she had to concede that – but he was also fiercely loyal and protective to his team, as indicated by his reaction when she had been taken hostage by Ari Haswari. It didn't help that his tough-as-nails personality and age greatly drew her to him.
She always had a thing for older men, especially one of Gibbs' caliber.
As she drove the car from the parking lot, Kate fervently hoped that she wouldn't lose her job, or barring that, that she wouldn't be treated any differently because of her mistake.
As she stood in the elevator, fidgeting slightly with her suit jacket, Kate felt her anxiety rise along with the elevator that took her to her floor, to her doom.
In a way, she felt like a cat with a long tail in a room full of rocking chairs, or more fittingly, a condemned prisoner being escorted to the waiting electric chair.
When the elevator stopped and its doors parted, Kate tried to struggle away from the tight grips of the silent, invisible guards that dragged her toward the electric chair, the chair that was currently tucked away at her desk, which was located right next to the silver-haired man who had the power of life and death over her.
Well, maybe she was laying it on a little thick, but still.
As she forced herself to put her feet in front of the other, to school her facial expression into a neutral one, Kate's heart was speeding up.
DiNozzo was at his desk, and the wide mischievous grin that spread across his face made her groan inwardly. She was definitely not looking forward to his taunts, witticisms, quips, probing questions, movie references, and to be frank, anything that ever came out of his mouth.
"…And here comes our little wet T-shirt contest winner," he drawled, and Kate gritted her teeth as she fought against the urge to strangle him, "Even although she's more dressed up than usual."
"Shut your mouth, DiNozzo," Kate growled as she put her bag into the floor next to her desk, took her jacket off, sat down on her chair, and powered up her computer. Since McGee and Gibbs hadn't arrived yet and there were relatively few agents on their floor, Kate wondered if she could get away with it if she killed DiNozzo right there and then. She could use 'crime of passion' as a convincing defense in her trial.
DiNozzo narrowed his eyes slightly in thought as he gazed at her for a moment before he got up from his desk and walked over to her desk.
"So, Kate," DiNozzo began as he leaned toward her, and Kate began to ready her shields to deflect his metaphorical missiles. "How do you think the Boss will react to the, uh, photos that we accidentally sent him last night?"
Kate sighed inwardly. This was precisely the question she had been tormenting herself with last night, the question whirling around her head preventing her from getting a restful sleep. It was a miracle that she managed to get up on time.
"Honestly? He'll kill us," Kate said truthfully, "If not for accidentally sending him these pictures, then for the fact that we acted unprofessionally. Well, moreso than usual in your case. And not to mention, it's your entire fault!"
DiNozzo raised his eyebrows, his lips twitching. "Whoa, whoa, my fault? Katie, Katie, my poor Katie, I'm not the one who made that picture or participated in that wet T-shirt contest," he smirked before continuing, "I mean, I know I look good as a cowboy, but that picture of me was downright unflattering."
"Which is the point," Kate growled, scowling at his use of her much-hated nickname.
"You wound me," DiNozzo said, putting his hand on his chest, and Kate rolled her eyes, muttering under her breath about doing something much more than wounding him.
"You should've made me look more like Chuck Norris in Walker the Texan Ranger: Reloaded. Man, that was a good film, especially the scene where Chuck Norris defeats five military helicopters with nothing but his bare hands! It sure puts Arnold Schwarzenegger to shame in his movies, except for the Terminator series – and even so, it would be a pretty close thing."
Kate rolled her eyes again, already bored by DiNozzo's film ravings.
"That scene is the epitome of all the Chuck Norris memes that are circulating around the Internet," He paused for a moment before a thought came to him. "In all honesty, I don't think the Boss will go all Chuck Norris on us for that, well, I hope that he won't anyways," DiNozzo continued. "I mean, he'll understand that they aren't meant to be taken seriously."
"Yeah, you aren't meant to be taken seriously," Kate retorted, and DiNozzo laughed mockingly.
"You're hilarious, Katie," DiNozzo deadpanned, ignoring Kate's glare. "But yeah, I think we'll be fine. I mean, that picture of you? I wouldn't be surprised if Gibbs was all over it."
Kate felt her face grow warm at the thought of Gibbs ogling at the picture, and she mentally shook it away.
"He probably deleted it," Kate said matter-of-factly as she looked at her computer monitor so he could not see her face, although a part of her hoped he saved it.
"Perhaps, perhaps not," DiNozzo remarked. "But then, Gibbs is a man, and if I was him, I'd be—"
Whap!
Kate tried to stifle her laughter as a wincing DiNozzo shot up onto his feet and turned to face Gibbs, who was giving him the 'Glare'. She also tried to calm down her heart, which had begun to speed up at the sight of the ex-Marine.
"Er, good morning, Boss!" DiNozzo stammered slightly, the back of his head still stinging, as he scurried back to his desk. "Kate and I, we were, uh, talking about professionalism at work."
Kate let out a bark of laughter. "Yeah, right."
"Got a dead sailor near a nightclub in Silver Spring. Gear up!" Gibbs said simply as he strode over to his desk and reached over to get his stuff before looking up. "Where is McGee?"
"I'm here!" The computer expert gasped as he made his way past them to his desk, slightly out of breath. Gibbs looked exasperated as he headed for the elevator.
"About time you got here, McLateness," DiNozzo sneered. "We were going to start the party without you."
Kate shook her head as she gathered her pistol, jacket, and bag before following Gibbs to the elevator. All the while, she wondered if Gibbs had indeed viewed the pictures, or whether she would be penalized or not, as he gave no indication at all of whether he had done so. The man was very difficult to read.
She didn't know whether it was a good thing or not.
The case was a fairly straightforward one. The MCRT was able to determine that the sailor had gotten into an altercation with a friend over an ex-girlfriend who was working at the nightclub, and had ended up getting shot. The perpetrator wasn't the friend as originally thought, but a regular customer who was obsessed with the ex-girlfriend.
It was one of the simpler cases, and Kate was grateful to find herself behind her desk before the day was over. Before long, her mind was wandering to Gibbs and his non-reaction. She was almost certain that he'd seen her picture, and she wondered why he hadn't said anything about that at all. Surely, he should've already berated her or fired her right on the spot, or something like that.
As she was putting the final touches on her report, Kate surreptitiously glanced over to the desk to her left, only to have her heart leap right out of her chest in surprise and shock as her hazel eyes met his bluish-gray eyes.
Taking a slow breath to calm down her heart, Kate gave him a small smile. What felt like a an eternity passed before the end of Gibbs' lips curled up in his trademark half-smile and he turned back to his computer.
As she saved the report and printed it out, Kate tried desperately to contain her blush, succeeding in doing so by the time she got up from her desk.
"Here's the report," Kate said as she put her report on his desk. Gibbs looked up at her, his eyes gazing into hers. She swallowed, reminding herself to keep breathing, at the intensity of his gaze.
Finally, he picked her report up and scanned over it before giving a brief nod.
"Good work, Katie."
Kate was surprised to find that his use of her despised nickname didn't cause any feelings of irritation or annoyance that it normally did whenever DiNozzo (especially him), McGee, her family, or anyone else used it. Instead, it caused her heart to well up, as if she was…touched or something. For some reason, it felt and sounded right when it came from him, and him alone.
Feeling like some teenage girl in front of her crush, Kate bit her lower lip, nodded, and returned to her desk.
Save for DiNozzo's incessant babbling about some movie that involved Julia Roberts as a prostitute, the bullpen was largely silent. Having finished her report, and it wasn't closing time yet, there wasn't much for Kate to do at her desk.
"Katie."
She turned to Gibbs, who was looking at her. "You can leave early."
She blinked in surprise. It wasn't too often that Gibbs let his team leave work early, preferring to work them over as much as possible, or even keep them at their desks overnight.
"You sure?" She spoke before she was aware of it, and for an instant, she was worried that it would offend him or make him change his mind.
Instead, Gibbs looked…bemused. "Positive, Katie. You've done your report, and there aren't any casework for today, so you can go home."
Kate bit her lip, feeling warmness well up in her chest. Before she could open her mouth to say something, DiNozzo piped up.
"What about us?"
Gibbs stared at him. "You finish your report?"
DiNozzo winced as he glanced at his computer monitor, his facial expression conveying that he was far from finished with his report. "No, Boss…" he mumbled.
"Then you stay and finish. Same goes for you, McGee." The aforementioned computer expert nodded his head in affirmation.
Kate couldn't help but grin smugly at DiNozzo's deflated face, and he shot her a glare. She shrugged cheekily as she picked up her keys, put her jacket on, and slung her bag over her shoulder.
"See you tomorrow. Try not stay up too late, DiNozzo," she said the last part tauntingly as she walked over to the elevator and pressed the button. She was surprised when Gibbs turned up at her side a moment later.
At Kate's raised eyebrows, Gibbs smirked slightly. "Autopsy," he said simply, and Kate nodded.
The elevator doors opened, and they stepped inside. Kate felt herself grow antsy as she subtly glanced up at him. Barely had the elevator begin to descend when Gibbs suddenly reached out and activated the emergency stop button. The elevator car slowed to a stop as it was plunged in darkness for an instant before the emergency lights came on, casting the elevator in a dim blue glow.
Kate felt her heart begin to speed up considerably as Gibbs turned to face her, his bluish-gray eyes unreadable as he gazed at her. Kate's eyes widened and her guts began coiling, not with anticipation but with dread.
So, that was why Gibbs had been silent on the picture thing as of lately – he had been saving this for the last, and what better place to do this than the privacy of the elevator? Thoughts of him chewing her out for her 'unprofessional behavior', ordering her reassigned to another team or agency, or outright firing her on the spot ran through her mind with renewed force.
Swallowing, Kate peered into Gibbs' eyes, silently inquiring. When he gave no answer, Kate mustered the courage to ask the question that had been bothering her.
"Is this about that picture?" She inwardly winced at the uncertainty and insecurity that crept into her tone. Gibbs' piercing gaze and unreadable expression didn't help matters.
Wordlessly, he stepped closer to her, and Kate involuntarily took a step away, her bag slipping from her shoulder. A couple of steps later, she found herself with her back pinned to the elevator wall, looking up at Gibbs' face, which was inches from hers.
Gibbs continued to look at her, his half-smile still on his lips. "What do ya think?" He finally spoke, and Kate swallowed.
A moment passed in uncomfortable silence as Kate opened and closed her mouth several times, but no word came out.
"Am I in trouble?" She managed to get the words out in a soft whisper.
Gibbs' eyes seemed to intensify in the dim blue lights. Before she even realized it, he leaned toward her and slammed his lips against hers in a searing kiss.
She remained frozen on the spot as his lips moved against her unmoving ones, her widened eyes staring at his closed ones. Her heart was pounding in her ears, and she felt her legs turn to jelly. A functioning part of her mind wondered if this was all a dream, a fantasy that involved her and Gibbs in an elevator.
It began to kick in that it wasn't a dream or fantasy, that Gibbs was actually kissing her in the elevator, that he'd willingly initiated the kiss. Kate began defrosting as she began to return the kiss, pouring all the feelings that she'd secretly harbored for him into it. She wrapped her arms around his neck, weaving her hands through his silver hair, and he encircled his arms around her waist, pulling her close against him.
She felt a gentle, wet pressure against her lips, and willingly parted her lips to grant him entry, reveling in the pleasure of his tongue wrestling with hers for dominance – and readily winning.
He tasted like coffee and whiskey.
She moaned into his mouth as he ran his hands down her waist to cup her backside for a moment before reaching her thigh and pulling them up. She intuitively wrapped her legs around his waist, keeping him close.
As much as she wanted to continue the mind-blowing kiss, the need for oxygen was too much, and she reluctantly broke the kiss, panting slightly as her hazel orbs connected with his stormy bluish-gray ones.
Before too long, their lips crashed once again, passion and desire blazing through them. Gibbs slowly trailed his lips from her mouth down to her neck, and she let out a whimper, craning her head back to allow his access, as he placed soft kisses on her neck, eliciting a purr from her.
"To answer your question, Katie…" he whispered, his voice husky as he slowly worked his way up her neck back to her lips. "You are in trouble, so much trouble…" he finished with another kiss that momentarily robbed her of her breath.
Kate suddenly couldn't wait to see what he had in mind.
"Man, why won't this elevator work?!" DiNozzo was grumbling as he repeatedly pressed the down button, to no avail. He and McGee had completed their reports and were leaving for home.
"That's probably because you wore it out," McGee said with a slight smirk. DiNozzo turned to the probationary agent with slightly narrowed eyes.
"As much as you'd like to believe, McSassy, I don't use the elevator that much. That's not where the real action is."
"Define 'real'," McGee muttered under his breath.
DiNozzo either didn't hear him or ignored it. "Imagine doing it in the elevator…betcha that's something you'd like to experience, huh Probie? Not that it will happen any time soon, of course, but still."
McGee rolled his eyes and shook his head as he made his way toward the nearby stairway, Tony proceeding to talk about the best elevator sex scenes in movies.