On the Water By: Ardin
Disclaimer: I don't own any of it. It belongs to whoever it belongs to and that is not me.
Spoilers: General knowledge of the show.
A/N: I actually wrote this during the summer, but forgot about it during one of my moves. For everyone waiting on the next chapter of Unexpected Friday, I almost have it done so it shouldn't be too much longer.
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Kate thought the whole idea was ludicrous. But an order was an order, even Gibbs couldn't argue against this one, though he had tried – long and loud. And yet here they were: on a ship in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. On a mandatory cruise, no cell phones, laptops, or case files allowed.
It wasn't that Kate really objected to the vacation, but she would have preferred to take one of her own choosing. Instead she was on a cruise ship with 2000 other people, only a handful of whom she actually knew. Personally she felt that the team spent enough time on the water at work and that something a little drier would have suited her better. The director had a different opinion.
Which is why at the NCIS full staff meeting three weeks ago they had all been informed that any NCIS employee who had not taken a three day or longer vacation in the last six months was going on one whether they liked it or not. And to ensure that the 112 employees who fit that description would actually vacation rather than just work from home, they had all been packed on to a Caribbean cruise liner. This had, not surprisingly, included the entirety of Gibbs' team, as well as Abby and Ducky, none of whom had had more than a day off in almost a year.
And almost everyone was taking it better than Kate and Gibbs, whose workaholic personalities had not made it 30 minutes into the three week cruise before they were going nuts with boredom. And now, four days in, things were not getting any better. Kate had, only that morning, convinced herself that she could make it through the three weeks if she could just find something to do. She wasn't happy about the fact that the only things that seemed even vaguely interesting to her were for couples – dancing being at the top of the list.
Abby and McGee had disappeared very early on and had yet to reappear. Ducky had met a newly retired orthopedic surgeon on their first night and was quite content to spend much of the days by the pool and nights at the bar in deep conversation with the woman. And Tony was extremely happy with the large selection of single women onboard and was slowly but surely making his way through them. Which left Gibbs and Kate to fend for themselves.
And so they found themselves sitting together, bored, just after lunch on day four. Kate had sat herself down an hour earlier with yet another of the insipid romance novels that seemed to comprise the entirety of the ships "library," hoping against hope that she would eventually come across something worth reading. After only a few pages she'd set the book aside and turned to staring out at the never-ending ocean surrounding her. Gibbs had sat down a few minutes later, grumbling about the lack of interesting things to do.
"I thought all of these cruise ships were supposed to be floating amusement parks." He groused loudly. "All they have here is a pool - which is constantly filled with little, screaming kids - a restaurant serving mediocre food, and a bar that lacks anything decent to drink."
Kate smiled, something she wouldn't have thought possible just moments before. His presence always did make her feel better, no matter the situation. "You forgot about the so-called library whose only attribute is its ability to supply trashy romance after trashy romance. All badly written." He grinned at her last words, glancing briefly down at the book she'd discarded earlier. His grin faded as she spoke again. "And I'm tired of being hit on by guys that make Tony seem gentlemanly."
They sat in silence for a while, both content with the other's presence and more relaxed because of it. Kate snuck occasional glances over at him. As much as she disliked the circumstances, she enjoyed being able to see him outside the office, his khaki shorts and t-shirt giving him a relaxed look while still not quite removing the hard edge that she found so incredibly attractive. She could feel his eyes on her every once in a while as well and wondered what he thought of the board shorts, bikini top, and almost see-through tank top she had donned for the day.
A little boy passing by with his dad seemed to register somewhere in Gibbs and he turned questioningly to Kate.
"Did you hear how the testimony on the Pearson kidnapping case went? I showed up a little too early at the dock and the director confiscated my cell before I could find out anything." Kate smiled broadly at the memory. She had also arrived early, but had stayed in her car away from the people and had seen the director snatch the phone. Even from the distance Gibbs had looked like a teenager caught coming in late as Morrow had lectured at him.
Shaking off the remembrance she answered, "Yeah, it all went just fine. The evidence was pretty clear cut and even without Abby there to present it, they still got a full sentence out of it. I'm just worried about how they're going to do with the Monroe hearing. A lot of that evidence could be seen in the wrong light if it were presented poorly and all the ties to the two cold cases…" Her worried voice trailed off at the suddenly euphoric look in Gibbs' eyes. Tilting her head slightly to the side she shot him a questioning glance.
"I just thought of something, but it might not work." He looked out at the ocean briefly, before moving his gaze back to her. She shook her head, still not following. He smiled and, shifting closer, continued in a low, almost conspiratory, voice. "Wouldn't you feel better about having to sit around most of the day if you could work for just a few hours each afternoon?"
"Of course I would, but we don't have any new cases and even if we did we don't have the files, what are we supposed to work on? It's not like we can just fake a murder here to give us something to do."
His mischievous smile suggested that he thought they could pull that off, but shook his head and filled her in on his actually plan. "We don't have any new cases, but what about the cold cases? Surely the pair of us have read them enough times that between us we should be able to pretty much recreate all the data. Maybe a new environment would help us think about something differently and even if it doesn't work, at least we won't be stuck just sitting around." He stood abruptly and offered his hand, allowing her to decide for herself.
Grinning stupidly, she nodded and allowed herself to be hauled out of the lounger. Following his lead they went on a search for paper and pens, items that took a remarkable amount of time to locate. Gibbs eventually managed to convince a young teen that by effectively "losing" his supplies the boy wouldn't have to write his paper for summer school.
Finding a place to work also proved difficult. Every table on deck was occupied and the restaurant was filled with people despite the mid-afternoon hour. After a mutual decision that the bar would be no better, they settled on the rather cramped quarters of Gibbs' cabin. The small table didn't allow them both seating access and so after several awkward minutes they settled cross-legged on the bed. The discomfort drifted quickly away as the two threw themselves into case work.
Talking out loud as Kate scribbled furiously on a page, they managed to jot down every possible detail from one of the newer cold cases and then went to work looking for the angles. They quickly came up with any number of things that could be checked, but without computers they would just have to wait until the cruise ended to see if their work had produced any new leads.
The conversation was rapid-fire and Kate was surprised by just how comfortable and excepting they both were working like this. Gibbs had lost the boss feel after only minutes, transitioning quickly from the stern interrogator to the curious puzzle-solver.
"What about the funds in the account? That large a transf-"
"Came from the girlfriend. Loan to fix his car. Checked it last time I worked it at the office. How about the gas station tapes? Maybe Abby could recover-"
"Yeah, add it to the list. I never thought about that. Why didn't the lead investig-"
"He was retiring and they had nothing to go on. Trying to get out quick so it's shoddy work."
The conversation and ideas had begun to run dry when Kate finally glanced at her watch. Almost 2000 hours. She hadn't realized that so much time had gone by, but wasn't really surprised at her lack of observation. It had been fun, just sitting with Gibbs and working all the possibilities. If they did the same thing everyday, half the NCIS cold cases would need to be rerun when they got back. Glancing at Gibbs, she couldn't help the huge grin as she watch him. Completely absorbed in the facts on the sheet in front of him, and surrounded by any number of additional pages, he hadn't even noticed that she was no longer working. He opened his mouth to speak, but she beat him to it.
"How about we stop here for the night? I'm getting hungry and my eyes are starting to ache from trying to read the scrawl you call writing." They had traded the task of note-taking when Kate's wrist had begun to ache a few hours back. He smiled and nodded, not even bothering to defend his handwriting as they both stood up. By silent mutual agreement they both used their separate cabins to change and Gibbs met Kate outside her quarters to escort her to dinner.
Conversation at dinner was shaky at first as they tried to find something other than work to talk about. Gibbs admitted to himself that part of his difficulty was that his brain tended to shut down when he looked at her. She had changed into a more evening friendly outfit – a short black dress that showed off just enough cleavage to distract him… constantly. But just as had occurred during the day, they eventually found comfortable talking ground that carried them through the meal and long after.
"There had to have been something you liked about law school." He asked, taking a slow sip of his red wine. The drink order had surprised Kate, who had always seen him as a beer kind of guy, but it was hardly the only thing that had surprised her throughout the day and she let it go.
"There really wasn't anything. The classes were boring and the teachers long-winded. Every student there spent all their time with their noses in books, no recreation at all." Just as Gibbs had all evening, she was also finding it hard not to get distracted from the conversation by the man sitting across from her. His black dress pants, dark blue dress shirt and thin black tie managed to make him seem both elegant and dangerous at the same time. She took a sip of her own wine before continuing. "I liked my roommate that year. She was an artist and it was like the entire apartment was her own personal gallery."
He chuckled lightly and it was only when she blushed and looked away that either of them noticed just how few people still inhabited the dining room. Glancing at his watch, he finished his wine quickly and stood, looking slightly embarrassed.
"It's past midnight. We should probably…" He gestured toward the exit and, for the second time that day, offered his hand to help her up. With his hand at the small of her back he escorted her back to her cabin. After unlocking the door, she turned back to him. With a certain amount of trepidation she stood on tip-toes and gave him a gentle kiss on the cheek. With a beautiful blush and a shy smile she turned away and entered the room.
He stood shocked in the corridor, hand rising unnoticed to touch his skin where her lips had been. Coming out of his stupor, he smiled gently and laid a hand on her door for a moment before turning away. Loosening his tie he moved down the corridor to his own quarters, smiling slightly the whole way.
The next day went much the same. Both Gibbs and Kate spent the morning on their own, before meeting the team for lunch. Shortly after the midday meal they both found themselves back on Gibbs' bed, this time running through a three year old double homicide. Unlike the previous day, it had not taken any time to get comfortable with the situation, but just as had happened the day before neither of them noticed as the night progressed until it was almost 2230.
When they went down to dinner, the harassed looking waiter recognized them from the previous night and was less than polite when he informed them that the dining room closed at 11:00pm and they would have to make it quick or take it to the bar. Five minutes later found them down in the bar, in deep conversation.
Neither of them found the meal to be as good as the dining room, but the company more than made up for the fact. When they had both finished eating Gibbs yet again proved that he could surprise Kate. Jerking his head over his shoulder at the dance floor, he stood.
"Want to dance?" He apparently took her wide-mouthed shock as acceptance and he took her hand and ushered her out onto the floor.
The music that poured out of the speakers was purely instrumental. The tempo changed every few minutes as though there were a song change, but did so without any noticeable break. At the time a mid-tempo jazz piece filled the air and Gibbs spun her a few times before pulling her loosely into his arms. The temperature of the very air around them seemed to increase a few degrees as she allowed herself the pleasure of relaxing into him.
Kate had always loved dancing, ever since her first lessons as a little girl, but never before had she felt as completely settled and at peace as she did now. It was as though in Gibbs' arms was where her heart had always wanted her to be. As the floor filled slowly around them he pulled her tighter against him, trying to avoid collisions with other couples, but also just wanting to have her closer.
Her kiss last night and the look on her face afterward had filled him with hope that maybe something could come of the very obvious attraction that existed between them. Pulling her slightly closer, he wrapped his arms around her waist, allowing his fingers to rest gently on the exposed skin just above the top of her skirt. He smiled stupidly as he felt her relax entirely against him, her face buried in the crook of his neck, her slow breathing playing across his collar.
As the music transitioned into a slower piece, Gibbs faintly registered a voice over the PA telling them that it was the last dance. He pulled her as close as humanly possible, not wanting the night to end and hoping that just being with her would slow down time. As the last bars of the piece filled the air, Gibbs pulled just slightly away and pressed a gentle kiss into her hair.
Pulling away slowly he gave her a tender smile and, gesturing to the door, allowed her to precede him out. With a pervasive feeling of déjà vu, they made their way onto the deck, past the pool, and down the narrow stairway leading to their quarters. Just as they had last night they paused outside Kate's room, Gibbs offering a genuinely happy smile before Kate turned around to unlock the door. As she had done before she turned back to him, but rather than the kiss on the cheek he was expecting, she looped a hand around his neck and kissed him firmly on the mouth.
He could distinctly feel her soft lips against his and smell the intoxicating scent of her perfume as it enveloped him. And he desperately wanted to respond. To take her in his arms and never ever let go, but his brain seemed to have lost all control ability between the shock of her kissing him and the lack of understanding as to why she would do so.
Much as he had the day before, he stood in silent shock as she pulled away with a disappointed sigh. Taking his lack of movement as disinterest, she whispered a quiet goodnight and entered her cabin, closing the door behind her.
It was almost a minute later when Gibbs' brain function kicked back in and he registered the closed door in front of him. He slowly turned away and made his way down the corridor to his own room. As he closed the door behind him and removed his tie, his mind ran over the events that had just occurred.
The simple fact of the matter was that she'd kissed him. The problem was that he didn't understand why. They certainly got along well enough; the past two days had proved that conclusively. He was most definitely attracted to her, and it seemed she felt the same, but one word kept making itself known in the recesses of his brain: why? He had more than a decade on her, she was well aware of his many failed relationships, and he was a grouchy bastard when it came to getting his way. So why had she kissed him?
As he untucked his shirt and kicked off his shoes, a sudden realization struck. Only she could tell him why. Not even bothering to pull the shoes back on, he pulled his door open again and walked determinedly back down the hall. Taking a deep breath to steady himself, he knocked.
She opened immediately, seeming to have anticipated his return. The look on her face suggested that she was fully preparing herself to apologize for her behavior. When she opened her mouth to speak, he beat her to it.
"Why did you kiss me?" His voice was low and rough, and his expression removed any doubts she was having about him being interested.
Stepping slightly into the hall, so that she was standing almost against him, she answered. "I was kind of hoping you'd kiss me back."
Her candid response seemed to throw him for a second as he took a half step backward. "Oh." His confusion melted away, replaced by a heated desire that caused Kate's breath to catch. "Okay."
He moved against her quickly, his lips catching hers hungrily. Wrapping his arms possessively around her waist he deepened the kiss, pushing his tongue into the heated depths of her mouth to tangle with her own. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and her slight moan was all the confirmation he needed to push her backward into her cabin, closing the door behind them. Her last thought as the door banged shut was that maybe a cruise wasn't such a bad idea after all.
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A/N: My apologies about any inaccuracies concerning the cruise. I just had to get them stranded somewhere with little for them to do. Hope you liked, let me know.