A/N: I don't really have anything specific to tell you guys about this chapter, so this is just a thank you for all of the people who have read and reviewed. And for the couple people who didn't understand the affectionate bastard thing I've had some help putting together a short explanation. Basically, it's an exceptance thing and totally not limited to the word bastard. You're saying "you ARE rude, grouchy, and a pain-in-the-ass, but I've learned to take that as part of you and except that your good qualities more than make up for those little things. It gives you character." If that's not enough for you doubters, I'm sorry, but you can blame my favorite jackass. He knows who he is.

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The elevator ride down to the parking garage was silent as both Kate and Gibbs tried to sort through their own internal monologues.

Gibbs was trying to figure out exactly why he had agreed to this little trip. Dancing had never been his thing, so much so that none of his wives had made any inroads to getting him to learn. Yet here he was, not only agreeing to, but rather insisting, that they go out dancing. His conscious mind struggled to understand why. Past relationships had proved that the attraction he felt to Kate should not have been enough to get him to take dance lessons, and that was only one of many reasons his mind tossed at him. But buried deep in his subconscious the truth prevailed: he wasn't just attracted to Kate; he was well and truly in love with her. There was no way that he could possibly stand to see her hurting like she had earlier. Telling himself to ignore the why and do the best he could to enjoy the fact; he gave her a small, genuine smile.

Kate's thinking was far less complicated. She was well aware that she was in love with Gibbs and that she had been for quite awhile. She'd pushed the feeling to the back of her heart and mind, though, thoroughly convinced that he would never feel the same way for her and not entirely convinced that it was worth risking what had become a very meaningful friendship. However, that thinking had changed when he found her in the office tonight. His obvious concern and the emotions she'd read in his eyes during their conversation earlier, had given her hope that maybe he felt something for her as well. And what had happened with Brian when he'd called to cancel had just cemented it in her mind. It hadn't been the breaking up that had upset her, but rather the cheating. She wasn't even all that surprised about the relationship ending; she'd never been able to fully commit to him since she found it impossible not to compare every other man she met to Gibbs. When Gibbs smiled down at her, she blushed and gave a small smile back. She was going to take the risk - slowly and without doing anything to scare him away - but she was going to see if something could exist between her and her enigmatic boss.

Despite the decisions that had been silently made on both sides, the car drive was almost as quiet as the elevator trip had been. All attempts at conversation seemed to fail spectacularly as they tried to find a common ground outside of work. Gibbs drove carefully, making an effort to not speed as he was so prone to doing. Every few seconds he would shoot a glance over at Kate, and each time he was amazed by just how beautiful she looked. She could feel his eyes on her at frequent intervals and couldn't help but return the glances.

It wasn't until they were only a few blocks from the dance studio that the tension was finally broken. After their eyes had met and locked briefly three or four times, each event resulting in blushes on both sides and hastily resumed face-forward postures, Kate could no longer stand the ridiculous tension and burst into laughter.

"This is stupid." Gibbs confusion just made her laugh harder and it was several seconds before she spoke again. "We are perfectly capable of having conversations at work, but the second we're out of the Navy Yard we lack the ability to connect two words together. It's insane." She giggled again and just as they were pulling into the parking lot, the full force of it all seemed to hit Gibbs.

He chuckled lightly and nodded his head in silent agreement to try harder for a bit of normalcy. Getting out, he moved to the other side of the car to assist her and as she stood to her full height their eyes locked again. Unlike in the car, though, neither made any attempt to pull their gazes away and the moment was only broken almost a minute later by the sound of another car pulling into the lot. Giving her a wide-mouthed grin, Gibbs offered his arm and escorted her up the stairs and into the studio.

Their mutual agreement to just have fun and ignore some of the weirdness of it all held throughout the evening. During the fifteen minutes before the class actually began, they found it increasingly comfortable to talk not just to each other but to the other "couples" as well. Kate was getting more and more into the idea of dancing as the seconds ticked by, but Gibbs still wondered exactly what he'd done in his last lifetime that prevented him from having agreed to take her to dinner. After mingling slightly with the 12 other people present, they found themselves chatting animatedly to the only other pair who weren't completely enraptured with their current situation.

Mark and Stacy Goldsmith were a brother and sister from the D.C. area who were taking the lessons in preparation for their parents vow renewal the next month. Neither was particularly pleased with the idea, but had agreed to make the sacrifice for their mother, who had requested they be prepared for at least one formal dance. The four of them talked comfortably together for several minutes and Kate and Stacy had just agreed to swap numbers and get together for lunch some time when the dance instructor called them all out onto the floor.

The dancing itself was not nearly as bad as Gibbs had imagined it would be. Having never had any sense of rhythm that he was aware of, he was amazed at how easily the steps came. Apparently years of unarmed combat training had given him a decent sense of coordination that passed over to dancing. Kate caught on to all of it faster than he did, but was more than willing to talk him through the more complicated bits. He was impressed that she could do so without making him feel like a child or a moron. For Gibbs though the ultimate positive in favor of the lessons was that he got to hold Kate in his arms. And when the instructor announced at the end of the evening that the second class in the series would be the next week at the same time, Gibbs willingly admitted to himself that it would be worth it to be able to continue holding her. Out loud he said nothing as they exited the studio and moved back towards his car.

"I'll take you back to the yard so that you can get your car." His words were light and he was pretty sure they betrayed none of his desire for the evening to continue.

"Actually, I took a taxi to the office, so I can just call one from here. Thanks though." She reached for her purse to find her phone, but a strong yet gentle hand on her wrist stopped the motion. Looking up into his eyes, she was slightly startled by how close he was to her.

"Let me take you home." He had meant it to come out as a simple statement, but instead his tone was almost pleading as he stroked his thumb subconsciously over the inside of her wrist. Unable to speak with his gaze and touch on her, Kate nodded lightly before averting her eyes from his. Letting go he opened the car door and helped her in before moving to his own side and starting the car.

The drive to her place was nowhere near as uncomfortable as the one to the studio had been. They found themselves easily conversing on a number of different topics and both were more than a little disappointed when Gibbs pulled up outside her apartment building. She had expected him to wish her a goodnight from the car and trust her to make it the short distance on her own, but instead he escorted her into the building, up a flight of stairs, all the way to her door.

Unlocking the door and cracking it slightly behind her, she turned back to him. "Thank you, for all of this. You really didn't have to, but I appreciate it."

"I'm probably going to regret saying this, but I actually had fun. We should, uh, maybe…" His voice trailed off. It was several start and stop attempts later before he managed to continue. "Maybe we should do it again next week." He stared determinedly down at his shoes, willing her not to laugh at him. Her steady voice brought his gaze back up.

"Yeah, maybe we should." She smiled hopefully at him and when he nodded back, they both took it as an agreement to do exactly that. She had turned part way to her door when something seemed to stop her. Rotating back to him, she hesitated for just a moment before rising to her tip-toes and giving him a light kiss on the cheek. Blushing, she hurried inside, shutting the door behind her quietly.

The grin that had appeared on Gibbs' face when she kissed him didn't dissipate as he stared at her now closed door. Reaching out a hand, he trailed it lightly down the center of the wood entrance before him. "Goodnight, Katie." Spinning around he made his way back to the car, already counting the hours until 1900 the next Thursday.

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A/N: The next chapter will be up when it's up and will contain their second dancing excursion. Can't tell you anything else since I haven't written it yet. My KIBBS Halloween fic will probably get posted before more of this. It's partway there. Please let me know what you thought.