Still don't own NCIS. All I own is the idea & Elena. If I owned NCIS, Kate would've killed Ari when she had the chance.
Thanks to dg101, meherm, shawdoo and Michi-Gibbs for your reviews! Cookies to you all! Even if you already had one; some of you are special enough to get two.
Also, Michi-Gibbs, I'm glad you like her name; it took me forever to choose! I was torn between Elena and Erica but I asked my friends and everyone said Elena, so that's her name.
And can I also direct you all to the banner I made for this story, as I'm really proud of it; .tumblr[-dot-]com[-forwardslash-]tumblr_lsux2tMqdV1q mlca5o1_500[-dot-]jpg
This would've been posted a couple of hours ago - I meant to edit this at college today and post it as soon as I got in but I got distracted so it didn't get edited; but now it has been done and here it is!
All That Matters
Chapter III
'I want you to stay at my place, Kate,' Gibbs said, putting down the photos.
'I don't know, Gibbs,' Kate replied, hesitantly. 'Won't it be weird?'
'I don't care,' he said. 'We need to talk and that's the easiest way to do it.'
'Okay,' Kate nodded, somewhat unwillingly.
'Thank you,' Gibbs smiled. 'You might as well go there now. Get settled in. I'll be there in a couple hours.'
-x-x-
Stepping through Gibbs' front door was like stepping back in time. Eight years had changed nothing. Kate thought about taking her bag upstairs but where to? Would Gibbs expect her to fall straight back into his bed, or should she go to the guest room first, and see what happened? Instead, she left her bag in the hallway and tried the kitchen. Maybe she could make dinner.
Gibbs really needed to go shopping. Either that or he lived on beer, bourbon and stale bread. She gave up on the idea of making dinner and, curious, headed for the basement.
The half-built frame of Gibbs' latest boat loomed up at her out of the darkness. Tears pricked her eyelids as she remembered all the nights she and Gibbs had spent down here, her watching him work on the boat, She'd loved watching him work on it, the energy and passion he devoted to it. She remembered all the times she'd jerked awake in the middle of the night, on the old couch here. Gibbs would have covered her with a blanket, and eventually have fallen asleep under the boat frame. Then it would be her turn to put a blanket over him.
She clicked on the light, blinking her tears away, and ran her hands over the smooth wood of the frame, admiring the flawless craftsmanship. That was one of the many things she liked about Gibbs - he was so good with his hands.
She glanced around the basement, taking in the workbench and the shelves, and suddenly a framed photograph on the workbench caught her eye. She moved across the basement and picked it up, a smile spreading across her face as she realised what it was. It was the exact same picture she had handed Gibbs earlier that day, the image of the two of them together. How had he got hold of it? He hadn't even realised it had been taken, she was sure.
She felt the start of tears behind her eyes and shut them tight, trying to hold back the pain. With a sigh, she put the picture down and walked over to click off the light. She crawled beneath the boat frame, lying out flat on the hard wood. It was surprisingly comfortable, for such a hard surface. She shifted slightly, yawning - a motion which surprised her; it had been a long day but she hadn't realised how tired she was. She closed her eyes against the night and let herself drift into sleep.
-x-x-
She blinked into the darkness, disoriented. She realised where she was but somebody had put a pillow under her head and covered her with a blanket. Gibbs must have come home.
'Gibbs?' she said, quietly.
'Right here, Katie.' His voice floated out of the darkness from the couch where she had so often slept.
'What time is it?' she asked, groggily.
'Eleven-thirty,' he replied. 'You should be asleep.'
'I was,' Kate said. 'Why aren't you?'
'This couch isn't long enough,' Gibbs chuckled.
'You should have gone to bed.' She scrambled out from under the boat.
'I wanted to be here when you woke up. We still have to talk.'
Kate sighed as she sat on the couch and curled herself into him. Just the feel of his warm body so close to her made her wish she hadn't wasted the last eight years.
'Why didn't you tell me, Kate?' Gibbs asked.
'I couldn't,' Kate admitted. 'I was scared about your reaction and I'd hardly had time to process it myself. And then what happened with Ari… I couldn't expose my child to that. I had to get out and I did it in the first way I thought of. Then once I left it was too late. How to you introduce somebody to the daughter they never knew they had?'
'You didn't have to be scared. It wasn't your fault.'
Kate didn't answer.
'Accidents happen, Katie,' Gibbs said.
'But we hadn't ever talked about it. I thought you didn't want any more kids. After Kelly…' she trailed off.
'Kelly is in the past. What happened to her and Shannon… it won't go away. I know that. I won't ever forget them or stop loving them but I would never let them affect us.'
'That's not what I meant,' Kate protested. 'I just mean… after Kelly you never had any more, you know? Three ex-wives and not a single child. It made me think you didn't want any more kids at all.'
'It wouldn't have been right,' Gibbs said. 'It wasn't what I wanted with them.'
Kate's eyes filled with tears. 'But you would have, with me?' she choked.
'Yes.' Gibbs' heartfelt reply almost broke her heart.
'Kate,' he said, taking her hands in his. 'I wish you'd told me,' he sighed.
'I'm sorry,' Kate said.
'I know, Katie. I know. But it doesn't change the fact that you didn't.'
He cupped her face in his palms, his blue eyes bright with tears as they held hers in his unblinking gaze.
A tear escaped Kate's eye and slid down her cheek, onto Gibbs' hand.
'I'm so sorry,' she whispered.
'Don't be,' Gibbs said. 'I'm just so glad you came back.'
Kate saw something in his eyes; he truly meant it, he was really glad she was here. She grasped the front of his tee-shirt in her fists and pulled him towards her, dragging his lips to her own and kissing him with all the force and passion she could muster. She poured eight years of pain into that one kiss, and Gibbs found himself kissing her back with a fierce intensity.
Finally, he pulled away and their eyes met again. Kate chewed her lip, uneasy, and looked away.
'Gibbs,' she began, glancing back at him. He was still looking at her, his eyes glued to her face.
'Kate,' he interrupted. 'Where's Elena now?'
She stared at him, surprised.
'Elena? She's staying with my parents for a few days, while I work out what I'm doing. If I decide I want to stay in DC, I'll go get her.'
Gibbs nodded. That was sensible. From what he knew of Kate's parents, they were good people.
'Do they know who her father is?' he asked. He couldn't help it.
'Yeah. I don't think they particularly approved of how I'd done things but I think they approve of you,' Kate smiled. 'They wanted to meet you.'
He couldn't help but smile.
'Mom was one of the reasons I came back,' she admitted. She glanced down at her lap, twisting her fingers together. 'She kept insisting that Ellie should know her Dad - and she wanted an excuse to meet you.'
Gibbs placed his hand over Kate's entwined fingers and squeezed gently.
'She's right, Katie. After this case, I'll take a couple days off and we'll go to Indiana.'
Kate shook her head. 'They're not in Indiana, Jethro. I thought it would turn out like this so Ellie and my parents came with me. They're staying in a hotel.'
'Here, in DC?' Gibbs raised an eyebrow. He couldn't deny she thought ahead.
'Yep.' She glanced up at him, chewing her lower lip nervously.
'Hm. In that case, I'll go tomorrow.'
Kate's face broke into a smile, but he could see in her eyes she was still nervous. He smiled too, then leaned down to capture her lips with his, drawing her back into a kiss. She wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him to her. Her lips opened beneath his and he let his tongue trace the shape of her teeth again, finding everything exactly as he remembered.
It was good to have her back, he decided, as he tangled his hands in her brunette curls. Better than good.
