"Gibbs, stay."
In shock he looked back at her, but she was asleep. She had to dream about him. ´Why?...No, this can not mean... But his thought was interrupted as the car began to spin . He tightened his grip on the steering wheel and tried to hold the car on the street. He failed.
As Gibbs woke again, he found himself leaning against the steering wheel. The front window was broken and the engine had stopped. He sat himself up with a groan. His head hurt like hell and some blood disturbed his view. He traced the line of his brow and found a bruise there that was obviously the cause of his headache. Than it hit him. "Kate?" No answer "Kate?" His voice trailed off as he saw her leaning against her door. He couldn't see any bruises, only a light blue mark on her cheekbone. The car had crashed into a tree at her car side and she must have hit the doors rod. He tried to shake her awake, but she didn't react. He heard her slow breathing like she would just be sleeping. He tried again. "Kate…Katie, come on, wake up for me. Katie!" Nothing. ´I need to find help. He reached for his cell, but as he found it, the net wasn't working to make a call. With Kate's cell it wasn't better. ´Damn it, why do these things never work when I really need them. Okay, what now? Again he leaned to her side and whispered "Kate, I need to find someone to help us. I'll be right back, I promise, so please stay with me. Okay? Don't give up!" With that he cupped her cheek with his palm. "Stay with me. I need you to." He stepped out and got a blanket out of the trunk of the car and covered her, so she would be warm.
Again he stepped out in the cold. ´I hate to let her alone, but I have no choice.´ He started to walk along the white street. ´At this hour and under this conditions, there will probably be no other car on the street. Why did I insist to drive home so late and in this weather?… Oh I know why, ´cause I'm a real stubborn bastard. He next town would be to far from their position to walk to. But his cell was still not working. He followed the road what felt like a lifetime. He was soaked and his feet felt already cold enough to compete with Ducky's guests at the morgue. He stopped and looked around. He felt lost and helpless. But just as he wanted to start walking again, he saw it. A small cabin stood there behind some trees on the other side of the road.
Gibbs reached the little hut. It was deserted. He tried the doorknob, but it was locked. He found a log and broke the little window next the door. He unlocked the door and got in. The place was clean. It seemed that the cabin had only one room. All the furniture was under white sheets. It had to be some kind of a summer residence. The power wasn't working. But he saw a fireplace in the middle of the living room. On the porch he had seen a lot of firewood. He went outside and got some logs to start a fire. As the fire was burning, he stepped again in the cold to get Kate.
He jogged back to their car. Now that he knew they would survive the night, he didn't feel the cold around him. As he reached the car, Kate was still unconscious. He sat again in the driver's seat. He had tried to open her door, but it was jammed. He had to drag her out of the wreck on his side. "Katie, I've found a place to stay for the night. Please Katie try to wake up." He got no response. He climbed to her side and unbuckled her seatbelt. He grabbed her by her waist and shoulder and pulled her into his lap. "If you would be conscious, you would slap me right into my face, wouldn't you?" He climbed out of the car with her in his arms. To him she felt like feather. "I'll get us out of this cold. In a week we'll laugh about all this."
He walked with her in his arms through the snow what felt like a lifetime. The wind was getting stronger and the cold became unbearable as they reached the cabin. He carried her inside and laid her on the couch near the fire. The snow had soaked them to their bones. He took back the wet blanket he had placed over her body. She had to get her out of the wet clothes that she could become warm again. Gibbs had to strip her to her undergarments. ´Oh please Kate, don't bite my head of when you wake up. "Okay let's get you undressed." He freed her from her shirt, skirt and stockings. He tried not to touch too much of her skin. Every time he felt her body it was tormenting him. In the rooms corner stood a wooden bed. Gibbs pulled it in front of the burning fire and placed her in it. He tucked the sheets around her.
Then he stepped back and did a new log on the fire. It was the first time he realized, he was soaked like Kate and the cold, he had ignored till now. He stripped off his clothes and tried to find something to wear. But all cabinets were empty. So he took one of the white sheets and pulled it around him. He was exhausted, cold and tired. He looked at Kate and saw her shaking from cold. He had to get her warm and not only her, he thought.
Gibbs climbed in the small bed to Kate. He spooned her. "This is not the way I dreamed about our first time sharing body heat, Kate." But to him it felt so right to have her in his arms. Her constant slow breathing assured him that she would be okay. He closed his eyes. ´Only a few minutes.´ Gibbs thought. But the remaining strength left him and he drifted off into a peaceful sleep with Kate in his arms.
