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The Privilege Of Being Yours


"Not as much as Gibbs" Abby had been drunk but something about her slurred drivel was hammering Kate's thoughts and quite frankly, causing a restless night. She huffed once more and turned over, glancing at the small, digital clock on her bedside table. 3:41am. She groaned in frustration and threw back her duvet. Sleepily climbing to her feet, she grabbed her keys and left.

Initially she hadn't planned to end up outside Gibbs' house. She had set a destination to nowhere and drove until she was almost out of gas. Driving always seemed to clear her head but this occasion was an exception and she couldn't shake the events of the party from her thoughts. Every inch of her body pressed against his as they danced, a dance that Gibbs himself had asked for. The subtle touches, that made her skin tingle. "You're worth it." - Gibbs' sweet words, spilled from his lips as a mere mumble. Kate made a disgruntled sound, frustrated and unable to escape her own thoughts. She opened her car door and shivered, the bitter November wind striking her bare arms.

She cursed herself when she knocked on his door. It hasn't ever been locked and yet she found herself following formalities, as if she wasn't at her boss' house in the dead of night, for reasons even she couldn't yet fathom.

Inside, Gibbs wasn't asleep either. The fruity scent of her hair was still caught in his nostrils, and he'd just about tried everything to forget what her soft skin felt like under his lips. He was sanding his boat when he heard the knock on his door. At first, he thought he was imagining it until he heard another few of the same, soft knocks. He noted the time on the small clock in his basement, and then padded up the stairs to the front door.

When he opened the door and saw her standing there his immediate reaction was to panic. He searched for any sign of injuries and found nothing but an expression on her face he couldn't quite name. She looked… lost, helpless even.

"Kate, are you okay?" His voice was gravelly, more so than usual. It was laced with lack of sleep, and the burn of bourbon still on his throat. He studied her, she looked positively - for lack of a better word - adorable. Her once neat curls were ruffled, every curve he'd imagined her to have confirmed by the dress she had worn, now hidden by an old, loose NCIS shirt, and blue plaid pyjama bottoms.

She cleared her throat. "I- I don't know why I'm here."

He wanted to laugh, but didn't. "Okay?" He replied hesitantly. "You wanna come in?"

Kate nodded and he moved to one side, allowing her to enter, shutting the door behind her.

"Actually." She paused, turning around to face him, and the door, again. "I shouldn't have come here, it's stupid, really." She reached for the door handle but he grasped her hand in his.

She averted her eyes to the floor, searching for anything to focus on to keep her gaze from gravitating toward his. That was until he placed two fingers on her chin and gently lifted her head so she was compelled to look at him. "Kate." His eyes finished his sentence for him. His beautiful, ocean eyes once again speaking the thoughts he couldn't coherently convert into words.

"The earrings-" She spoke, her breathing staggered.

"You're worth it." His voice was low.

"What does that mean, Gibbs?" She was agitated now. Agitated at how she knew what he meant from the flash in his eyes, but wanted to hear him say it. She pulled away from him and started pacing small steps in his living room.

"Your eyes." He simply said. She shot him a look, her own silent way of telling him if he didn't start making sense soon she would shoot him.

"When you're happy your eyes are greener than usual. Your eyes smile. I like it. I like that I had a part to play in it. That I, maybe, was the reason for that."

"Oh." She lowered herself down to sit on his sofa, frightened that if she didn't, her legs would betray her and she'd fall.

He watched her now. She didn't seem angry, or happy, or… well, anything. And he didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing. Kate was the one person he couldn't read, and that's what captivated him so much. He wanted to know her, really know her. Like, what she looks like when it's 6am, the sun is low in the sky and painting her naked back a sepia tone, know her. He sat beside her on the sofa, dumbfounded, unaware of what to do next.

She was avoiding looking at him again. Instead, her eyes went to his hand that was resting in the small gap between them and she reached for it, stroking her thumb over his coarse knuckles. He pulled his hand away from hers and her heart began to sink until he lifted his arm to wrap it around her shoulder and she scooted closer to him. She laid her head on his chest, and he rested his chin on the top of her head, breathing in her scent. After, they speak for hours without using any words, just a few content sighs, soft touches, and some shifted, more comfortable positions.

A few hours later, Gibbs awakened to the sound of his neighbour's lawn mower. He looked down to find Kate laying across his chest. He smiled at the sight of her, then grimaced, feeling the muscles in his back tighten. He's very used to sleeping on the sofa, but not with Kate essentially on top of him. He glanced at his watch, trying not to move too much, careful not to wake her. 6:24am. He sighed, knowing now that he has no choice but to wake her. She needs to go back to hers to get dressed, and he needs to take a shower. Despite this, he watched her sleep. Her eyelids fluttered and he wondered what her dreams look like. He stroked back her hair and used his thumb to trace the outline of her face, her jawline, her nose, her lips. He could see her bare ivory skin, stripped of all make-up, he caressed his thumb over the tiny, yet very noticeable freckles that dotted her nose and cheeks. He had never seen her like this before and he wanted to cherish every moment of it, in fear that he may never get to again.

"Stop watching me sleep." She grumbled.

He laughed out loud, even half asleep she was still bossy. "Can't help it."

She smiled, opening her eyes and blinking a few times to adjust to the light. Her mind raced; about what their previous, unspoken words meant, but she pushed the thoughts aside and chose to enjoy being close to him, not wanting to ruin the moment.

Kate stretched out her back and made a satisfied noise, but made no efforts to move from his side. She dropped her head to nuzzle the crook of his neck. "What's the time?" She asked, lazily running her index finger over his arm, tracing his sleep lines.

He placed a single kiss on the top of her head, the whole scene seemed natural, almost routine. "About 6:30." He murmured against her head.

She sighed, not wanting to move, somewhat frightened that the opportunity to cuddle up on the sofa with Gibbs was only a one-time thing. "Gibbs."

"Mhm?"

"I have to go home. I don't think arriving at work in pyjamas is really the best idea."

"Suppose you're right." They untangled themselves from each other and stood awkwardly, neither knowing what to say.

"I better." She gestured to the door.

He gave her a sharp nod, but she didn't make any efforts to leave. He glanced at her lips; God, he wanted to kiss her. But he held back the urge, she deserved the best and a sloppy, morning breath filled kiss probably wasn't that. However, he did hold her hand, and placed a simple kiss on the back of fingers. "I'll see you a bit later."

Her blush was much more noticeable against her pale, naked face. She nodded and then left.


"Ten bucks says Kate is late." Before McGee could reply Tony started talking again. "And hungover."

"Tony, I'm not betting with you again. You always cheat. I don't know how. But you do."

"No, probie, I always win."

"Cheat." McGee shot at him.

"Win." Tony hissed.

During their childlike bickering they hadn't noticed Kate rushing in until she was at her desk, and turned her computer on.

"Oooh, you're late." Tony was satisfied that for once, he'd not be the one receiving Gibbs' pre-coffee wrath.

Kate rolled her eyes at him. She sat at her desk and let out a relieved sigh. The lack of sleep and rush of the morning had left her exhausted. Gibbs came charging around the corner and passed her desk.

"You're late Kate." He barked.

"Sorry, Gibbs." Her eyes darted over to him, and he winked at her, failing to suppress the small smirk on his lips. She had to busy herself in one of her desk drawers to hide her blossoming grin; this was going to be a long day.


Two hours had passed now.

Kate was just returning to her desk after taking a short walk around the building to stretch out her legs, and her back. A morning of nothing but paperwork and Tony's insufferable jokes had Kate restless. She silently cursed Gibbs' sofa for being so uncomfortable, and hoped that next time, if ever there was one, she'd be sleeping in his bed. She chewed her lip, smiling to herself at the thought.

As if on cue, Gibbs stormed passed her desk, nonchalantly placed a cup of coffee on it and snapped his orders. "Grab your gear. We got a dead Marine, found at a building site." He was gone almost as soon as he had entered, Kate hot on his heels but with Tony, and Tim, scrambling to grab their gear in time.

Just this once, Gibbs was thankful the two team members were disorganised and slow, leaving Kate and himself alone in the elevator. It was spacious, enough room for 5, maybe even 6 people. And yet Gibbs stood by her side, his hand on the small of her back, rubbing in small circles. "You okay?"

"Yeah, good. It's just my back, I don't know how you sleep on that damn sofa all the time. Oh, and thanks for the coffee." She tried to steady her breathing, he always managed to double her heart rate, especially when his hand was trailing up and down her spine, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

"Mhm." He agreed. "Next time we should sleep in the bed."

The elevator doors opened and Kate stood dumbfounded, the doors almost closing on her before her reflexes kicked in and she squeezed out of the small gap, catching up with Gibbs at the car. Although long behind them, Tony managed to call shotgun before Kate so she rode in the back with Tim, not missing that Gibbs kept glancing at her through the rear-view mirror.

At the scene, Tim started snapping pictures and Tony interviewed the workers who had found the body.

Kate was observing the scene, rubbing her hands together in an attempt to warm them.

"What are you thinking?" She was accustomed to Gibbs sneaking up behind her, it didn't startle her anymore. She somehow sensed his presence; the smell of sandalwood and coffee betraying his usual stealth.

"Seems to me like the killer, without much success, tried to hide the body in wet cement. Hoping it would set before anyone found it but clearly, that wasn't the case." She paused. "That, or he fell in. But it's never that easy."

He nodded. "That's what my guts telling me." He strode over to the van Ducky and Palmer were just stepping out of. "What took so long, Duck?"

"I'm sorry, Jethro. Palmer's inability to hurry, accompanied by the afternoon traffic." He pulled his gloves on. "Now, what have we got here?"

"We don't know much." Tony came to stand beside a kneeling Ducky. "Construction workers found him at 0800 hours, claims they didn't touch anything, called the cops straight away."

"Time of death?"

"This unfortunate fellow seems to have met his fate only a few hours ago, I'm afraid. No identification, we'll have to get Abigail to run his fingerprints."

"Well, he doesn't appear to have any clear injuries, you think he was pushed in?" Kate queried.

"I won't know until I get him back home, Caitlin."

She agreed, "This could potentially be our crime scene, we should keep it sealed off until we know more."

"Good thinking." Gibbs flashed her a smile, which Ducky noted, but said nothing and gestured for Palmer to help him with the body.


Back in the bullpen, Abby had got a hit on the finger prints, a Jonathan Martinez, 38 years old, ex-marine known for drug abuse and violent behaviour. They had informed his wife, Angela, contrary to normal procedure, she did not cry. She seemed almost happy about it, angry at him; explaining she had found out he was back on drugs, and unfaithful to her. The team now had suspicions about her, that and Jonathan had just taken out life insurance a week before his death.

"Kate's had the profile training, she'll come with me. This is just a hunch we're following, we need someone who really knows what to look for." Gibbs explained to the team.

He continued, "DiNozzo, call around, find out everything about how he was caught with the drugs. See if we can dig up any old enemies he might've had."

"Yes, boss." Came Tony's automatic reply.

"McGee Abby's with the laptop we got from his house, but I want you to work on his cell, we might be able to find out who his current dealer is." Tim nodded and once Gibbs had finished barking his orders, he marched passed them with Kate closely behind.

Once alone in the car Gibbs let his hands wander over to rest on Kate's knee, she placed her hand on top of his and they drove like that all the way to the small coffee shop where they'd tracked Angela's cell to.

"I knew it. Kill the husband, get the money, sleep with another guy."

"Kate, I made you come to analyse, not jump to conclusions." Anyone else and that comment would have been cold, but amusement floated with his words and he nudged his hand against her knee.

"You didn't make me come!"

"Given the chance, I would." He mumbled to himself.

"I wanted to, and besides I'm more than- wait, what?"

Then he was shushing her, pointing out that the couple they were tailing were leaving the coffee shop and making a turn down a small alley. Both Kate and Gibbs excited the car, and began to follow them on foot. Whilst searching the ally, it seemed as though the couple had disappeared. Kate tried a door that led to the back of one of the stores and shook her head, silently telling him it was locked.

"Kate." He called, signalling for her to try the gate. She let out a defeated sigh when that didn't open either.

"They could have access." She suggested. "We should go back to the car, call McGee to pick up the GPS signal on her cell."

"Good work." He nodded, leading the way out of the alley and back to the car.

She smiled proudly, following him.

"Probably not the best time to do this, but we'll both most likely work late tonight, and I won't have the time without ears, or eyes." Gibbs began to speak, pausing beside the car.

She cocked her head to the side, intrigued.

"Let me take you out tonight?"

"Sure, who are you suspecting?"

He chuckled. "No, Kate." He reached over, stroked a few strands of hair behind her ear before dropping his hand to his side again, shifting his feet. "Take you out to dinner." Her silence twisted his gut and suddenly he could hear his heart hammering at his ribcage.

She gulped, searching his eyes for any sign of hesitance. She found nothing but a glimmer of hope, and the fear of rejection. "Yeah." She grinned up at him. " Yeah, that sounds great."

He couldn't hide his goofy smile. "Ok."

When she heard the unmistakable sound of screeching tires, she glanced behind him. She watched as the window rolled down and a gun poked out from it, pointing their way. "GIBBS! GUN!"

She grabbed his arm, pulling him behind her. However, her attempt to protect him was unsuccessful and his reflexes quicker than hers as he spun around when the shots rang out and forcefully pushed her behind him; thus taking the bullet for himself.