A/N: Once again I should be working on a paper for university, but I got distracted and so there is a new oneshot, which will probably be extended.
Within the Tides
"You should have come to me, Kate." The words were echoing in her head and it surely was not helping to get rid of her frustration. By now she had completely lost track of time and did not know for how long she was pummeling the punching bag. The force of her blows was fading slowly, but thinking of his words let her anger flare up again. Abby had tried to reason with her that Gibbs certainly had the best intentions and was not judging her at all. But still it felt like a complete defeat. Being the only female agent in a team had always brought challenges, especially at Secret Service, but she had been more than willing to tackle them. Nothing felt better than to prove an overbearing male colleague wrong, who thought that she needed help with almost everything. The rivalry had brought out her best, but being constantly on her toes at work had taken its toll on her private life. She had quickly learned to dodge questions about the matter and simply keep this to herself, which was getting considerably harder when she started to work with Tony DiNozzo. When she had started receiving flowers and small gifts at work his interest had been piqued to say at least. She had never intended to break down during a case, let alone right in the middle of the bullpen. But DiNozzo was bored while they were doing paperwork and his nagging questions just made her snap. After weeks of working a tough case and not getting rid of her nut job ex-boyfriend, it had been just too much to bear. In the elevator she had been ready take what Gibbs would tell her and his calm and silent attitude had infuriated her even more.
*Flashback*
She could feel his blue eyes on her, though she was vacantly staring at point on the wall right beside his shoulder. His silence was slowly unnerving her and defiance was joining her anger. If it was up to her they could spend the rest of the day in the elevator, she would not start talking anytime soon. After all this was a rather private issue. "What's wrong, Kate?"
His gentle voice and the honest concern were completely taking the wind out of her sails, throwing her off balance. Caitlin had counted on a lecture about appropriateness and braced herself for a harsh reprimand, but she had not expected this, Gibbs just was not nice, at least not to his agents. She could see that he really cared about her and it momentarily made her anger subside. "Nothing... It's personal, Gibbs. It won't interfere with work again."
The former Marine studied her intently for a few moments and when she could not hold his look anymore, her feet became extremely interesting all of a sudden. She saw his dark brown leather boots moving closer as he invaded her personal space, but she was just too tired to argue with him at the moment. "Anything to do with the gifts and the flowers?"
Her head snapped up again and she looked at him with wide eyes. She should have known that he would make the connection. After all he was a well-trained investigator and he was just Gibbs, who seemed to know about everything. Her jaw looked and her lips formed a thin line. At the same moment she knew it was enough of an answer for him. Sometimes Jethro Gibbs was reading people so well, it appeared like he was reading somebody's mind. "You should have come to me, Kate."
*End of flashback*
Though his tone was not accusing or judging it all, it felt as if he was patronizing her. She already hated it when one of her brothers did that, but coming from Gibbs it was far worse. One of the things she absolutely dreaded was that he - or any other of her male co-workers for that matter - ever saw her weak and vulnerable side. It felt like a compromising exposure. Just like when her best friend from school told everybody that she had a crush on a boy from their town. After all she was not just a grown up woman, but also a special agent and used to protect the president, so it was ridiculous that she could not get rid of a guy she had dated only a few times.
The brunette did not hear that the gym's door was opened. Once again her boss managed to sneak up on her and Kate jumped slightly when he materialized next to the punching bag. She finally stopped mauling the punching bag and it was just then that the female agent recognized that she was panting and small drops of sweat were running down her neck, while Gibbs was just studying her wordlessly again. The brunette raised an eyebrow in question and shrugged slightly when he did not say anything within the next minute. The profiler grabbed her towel and put it over neck, getting ready to leave for the day.
"Nobody would think less of you, if you asked for help." Kate was already a few steps away, but his voice stopped her. Still she did not turn around, waiting for him to go on with whatever he had to say. When he did not go on, she let out a soft sigh and sensed that he was coming closer. Finally stopping right behind her, he spoke up again. "You just have to call."
The silver-haired man briefly nudged her with his shoulder and a wave of his unique scent of coffee and sawdust washed over her. It was calming and she felt save, while her frustration was almost gone by now. Kate just nodded and watched her boss leaving the gym again. He had once asked her if it sounded that far-fetched that women were attracted to him and she had just stammered something to redirect the conversation to a safer topic. But during his short appearance today it was a clear no, it was no surprise at all.
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