A/N: Again I promise that the next chapter of "Complexity Kills" will be up shortly. I've written most of it and have notes for the last couple scenes so I'm hoping for tonight or tomorrow. Definitely by the weekend.
In the meantime here's more about a puppy ('cuz how can you not like them).
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The sound of her phone brought Kate out of her TV induced stupor. Seeing Gibbs' name on the screen brought an involuntary smile to her face and she muted the program she was 'watching.' As the sound of the on-screen dialogue disappeared, the noise in the apartment diminished to just the dull roar of music coming from the wall to her neighbor's place.
Throwing an exasperated look at the partition behind her, she opened her phone. Her Gibbs-induced smile widened as he didn't even give her a chance to speak before he did.
"Hey Kate, I hate to bother you on your day off." She could hear the genuine discomfort in his voice and jumped into the conversation before he could talk himself out of even having it.
"It's okay Gibbs. What's up? Do we have a case?" Already she was calculating in her mind just how long it would take for her to make it to work. His next words put a stop to that thinking.
"Ah, no. No case." She was shocked by what she thought was uncertainty in his voice, but he covered it quickly as he continued. "Are you doing anything today?"
"No, why?" Her heart sped up as the thought of spending the day with Gibbs entered her mind unbidden.
"Would you mind coming over for a little while? I have a…problem that I could use your help with."
Her curiousity had been piqued from the very beginning of the conversation and the laughing way in which he said the word problem just added to it. "Sure, I'll be there in about 20 minutes."
He mumbled only the faintest of thanks before hanging up and Kate immediately began getting ready to leave.
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Just under 20 minutes later found Kate knocking gently on his front door. She'd managed the drive remarkably well considering the continued downpour and had gotten only barely wet on the trip from her car to his porch.
He responded to her knock quickly, opening the door wide enough for her to step in. She had only just registered the relieved look on his face, but hadn't had a chance to really take in the unusual smile that graced his features, when a loud bark got her attention.
Her shock quickly wore off as her gaze drifted back and forth between Gibbs, wearing jeans and a plain white t-shirt, and the small puppy sitting at the foot of the staircase looking at her almost questioningly.
She was surprised when the small dog ran to greet her the second she had knelt to its level and she allowed it to lick happily at her fingers as she turned her attention to Gibbs.
"He's your problem?" She tried to keep the incredulousness out of her voice, but knew she had failed when his first response was a half-hearted glare. He shrugged and a smile quickly replaced the expression and she let out the small breath she had been holding in.
"Not so much him in general as the fact that I have no idea what to do with a dog."
Confusion tinged her voice as she responded, "Then why did you get one?"
His tone was exasperated and his volume slightly higher as he answered her. "I didn't. I found him this morning when I went for the paper." His tone dropped to little more than a whisper as he continued in an almost embaressed voice. "I couldn't just leave him out in the rain."
Looking up at him, she wasn't sure if the slight red tinge to his cheeks was actually a blush or just her imagination working overtime. She had always suspected that under his gruff façade he was really just a big softy, but this blew even her most sentimental expectations out of the water.
His voice returned to its early uncertainty as he spoke again. "I'm going to try to find out if he has an owner, but it's too wet right now to bother with posters. In the meantime I guess I'm stuck with him." The smile on his face suggested that he didn't really mind all that much. "And I have no real idea what I need to have or do to take care of him."
Kate had been listening intently even as the rest of her attention was focused on the affectionate pup she was petting, but she turned to look at Gibbs as he finished speaking. "Didn't you ever have a pet dog, Gibbs?"
He shrugged, "No, mom was allergic. And once I joined the Marines I was always travelling…" Another shrug as he changed threads, "I figured since you have a dog-"
"Had. Past tense. New building manager didn't want animals in the apartments so I gave her to my brother. But, yeah, I know everything you'll need to get at least through the next few days." She smiled at the mental image of the cute puppy in front of her interacting with her self-proclaimed bastard of a boss. She purposefully shifted her thoughts away from the very appealing softer side he seemed to be showing. "What will you do if you can't find an owner?"
"Keep him, I suppose. Don't think it would be too much trouble, but…I don't know." Picking up on his reluctance to continue that line of conversation, Kate reverted to his original 'problem.'
"I'll make you a list of the basic items you'll need and a couple of others that are optional since you don't know how long you'll have him. You should be able to get any of it at a local pet store." She pulled a pen and paper from her purse, earning an unhappy bark from the now 'neglected' pup as she rose to write. She had only managed to get as far as writing down the number one when his voice interuppted her.
"What do I do with him while I'm out?"
Thinking on that problem momentarily, she gave him a bright smile. "I'll give you the name of the pet store I used. It's a little out of your way but they'll let you bring him in with you."
She kept her gaze on him as he nodded distractedly and continued watching as he opened his mouth a few times to speak before blurting out, his tone full of discomfort and doubt. "Would you mind coming with me?" He held her surprised gaze for several seconds before shifting his eyes to his feet.
Kate had never seen him so uncertain of himself before and she found herself surprised by how endearing she thought the unusual emotion was. She allowed some of her affection for him to show in her voice as she responded. "Sure."
As though picking up on her affirmative reply, the dog at her feet barked exuberantly. Remembering that they planned to take the dog with them, she voiced her slight concern over that point.
"If he comes to the store we'll have to find a way to make sure he stays with us." She tried not to put too much emphasis on the 'us', either in her voice or mind. It would be only to easy, she realized, to shift into the domesticity that the day seemed to be providing. "He can't run loose around the store until you find a collar and leash after all."
She was surprised by the smile that graced his features at her concern, but the slight shock disapated as he spoke. "I don't think that will be a big problem Kate. He doesn't seem to want to do anything but follow me around." His gaze shifted to the puppy. "Right, Marine?" Again, just as had been true throughout the morning, the dog gave an answering bark.
Kate gave Gibbs an incredulous look as she gathered her purse and watched him snag a jacket from a nearby coat rack. "You named him 'Marine'?"
Gibbs shrugged as he retrieved his keys and wallet from a table near the door and gestured for her to lead the way out of the house. "It's not so much that I named him as it's what he responded to." Seeing that the dog in question appeared to have no interest in following them into the rain, Gibbs gave him a stern look and command. "Come here Marine!"
The dog immediately responded, running to him. Gibbs stooped down and scooped him up, tucking the puppy into his jacket for the short dash to Kate's car.
Kate, who had silently watched the entire adorable scene, spoke up as Gibbs turned from closing the door. "And, to think, they say it takes years for pets to start acting like their owners."
Following her down the walkway to the drive, he gave her an amused look. "And what exactly is that supposed to mean, Agent Todd?"
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A/N: I have no idea if people actually say anything like Kate's last statement, but I've noticed that it seems to be true alot of the time.
And for those who think that this is very OOC for Gibbs: try to remember just how difficult it is to be completely out of your depths. So here I'm playing that up and building on the sweet Gibbs we see with kids and Abby occasionally. Plus it's my story so...there.