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"She remembers! Gibbs she knows!"
Kate to Gibbs in Left For Dead, Season Two.
Jethro Gibbs saw the small ball roll out of Susan's hand and towards the floor. He braced himself for the impact, knowing that Kate was far too close and that he'd never make it in time to shield her. The intense heat hit him like a crashing wave. The sound perforated his eardrums and as the fallout settled around him all he could think of was Kate and Tony.
"DiNozzo!" Gibbs yelled as he rolled over.
"Yeah boss! I'm good!" DiNozzo said as Gibbs stood up and opened his eyes.
The dust was settling around them and both he and Tony ran towards Kate. She was curled up in a ball on the floor, just outside the immediate blast zone.
"Kate!" Jethro yelled as he sank to his knees and rolled Kate over.
"I'm fine." Kate muttered as she opened her eyes and attempted to sit up.
"No, you're not." Jethro said quickly, noting the scrapes on Kate's face and the bruises and burns on he forearms.
She had done a good job of avoiding the most dangerous part of the explosion, but she had been so close that it seemed some harm was inevitable.
"Paramedics are outside." Gibbs said as he and Tony helped Kate up.
"I'm good." Kate lied as she winced.
"Let us help you." Gibbs growled, his hand wrapped firmly around her shoulders.
"And one explosion later she's still feisty." Tony teased as they made their way towards the paramedics.
"Shut up Tony!" Gibbs and Kate scolded in one voice.
"She looks awful." Tony mused as he stood next to Gibbs watching the Paramedics wrap Kate's wrist in white gauze.
"She'll be fine." Gibbs said knowingly.
"I'm gonna head out." Tony shivered as he looked at his watch.
"Front door is unlocked." Jethro Gibbs said as Tony turned to leave.
"Yeah boss...about that...thanks but ummm, I've got this thing with Naomi tonight, and between you and me, Naomi is "I moan" backwards, so if I don't quite make it home tonight that door will still be unlocked tomorrow right?" DiNozzo chuckled to himself.
"Sure...but I swear to everything holy that if you so much as wake me up when you come in I will kill you." Gibbs said gruffly as he smacked th back of Tony's head.
"Got it boss!" Tony said as he turned and left.
"I hope you don't mind, but I think I'd like to be in my own bed tonight." Kate whispered as she pulled the blanket the paramedics had provided tighter around her shoulders.
"I wouldn't have it any other way." Gibbs said as Kate rested her head on his shoulder.
"Let's get you home." Jethro insisted as he patted Kate's shoulder.
On wobbly feet Kate stood up and with the help of Gibbs made her way to the car. She was surprised when they made their way to Ducky's house.
"Gibbs...the paramedics took care of me." Kate whined.
"They're paramedics, they do great work, but they aren't doctors." Jethro explained as he helped Kate out of the car.
"It was good of you to bring her to me Jethro." Ducky announced ten minutes later. He had used the privacy of the drawing room as a makeshift exam room.
"Her ribs are badly bruised, but not broken. She's going to have quite the time breathing properly for a few days....and these burns on her forearms...thankfully they're second degree, but she's going to have to be careful about infection. In the morning I'll call the pharmacy for an ointment she can pick up." Ducky explained as Kate smiled at both men weakly.
"And I think a bit of this might be in order." Ducky produced a small glass brown bottle from his black bag.
"What is it?" Kate asked as she took the bottle from Ducky.
Ducky looked at Jethro and chuckled. Kate was an excellent agent, but still relatively inexperienced in the ways of the world. The contents of that brown bottle had helped Jethro many times.
"Take one every three hours as needed." Ducky explained as he patted Kate's knee.
"Thanks Ducky." Kate said as she stood up slowly, measuring her breath.
"I won't hug you." Ducky said quietly as Kate and Jethro made their way out to the car.
"Jethro...this really isn't necessary." Kate fought with him, although she knew it would be a losing battle.
He had taken her back to her apartment, but he hadn't left, It was clear that he had every intention of staying the night.
"Oh, but it is." Jethro replied as he poured Kate a glass of water and handed her one of the pills Ducky had supplied.
Jethro motioned for Kate to follow him, and he led her to the bathroom. Jethro turned the shower on letting the water get hot. He gently removed Kate's clothes, careful not to disturb her injuries, and he drew in his breath sharply when he saw the large bruises that covered most of her torso. He hated to even think of how much pain she was in.
"I think I might have taken a bit of a dive." Kate said. She was sure she had been closer to the explosion, and when she had regained her consciousness she was so far away, but after the blast it was hard to tell.
"I think you took the brunt of the aftershock." Jethro said as he removed his own clothing, and helped Kate into the shower.
He stood behind her, the hot water pouring over them. Jethro ran his hands through Kate's dark hair and ran his hands over her shoulders, massaging the stress away. His hands moved lower, gently caressing her sides, his fingertips barely brushing past the bruises.
"Anything else hurt?" Jethro asked. If Kate had more injuries he needed to know right now.
"My arms" Kate whispered.
"They're going to hurt for a few days." Jethro said as he removed the wet gauze and stepped out of the shower momentarily to throw it in the wastebasket.
"Anything else?" Jethro questioned as he got back into the steamy shower.
He could tell by the way Kate was standing, but he wanted to hear her say it.
"My right hip." Kate winced as she said it.
Jethro motioned for Kate to turn and face the wall of the shower. He placed her hands on the wall and gripped her hips tightly and yanked with all of his might.
"Ow!" Kate yelled.
"Breathe out this time." Jethro instructed as he gripped harder.
Kate exhaled deeply and Jethro tugged yet again. This time he heard the noise. Kate's hip gave a satisfying crack as it settled back into place.
"Much better." Kate whispered as she turned to face Jethro.
"Good." Jethro whispered as he wrapped Kate in his arms and kissed her cheek.
"I'm not hungry." Kate crossed her arms and pouted as Jethro placed a peanut butter and jelly sandwich in front of her.
"Can't take pain meds on an empty stomach." Jethro explained as he set a glass of milk on the table.
"Fine." Kate muttered.
She was in her bathrobe, and Jethro had changed into the sweat pants and sweatshirt he always kept at Kate's apartment.
"You can go home." Kate said softly.
"I wouldn't dare think of it." Jethro reminded Kate that there was no place he'd rather be than with her.
"Let's get this taken care of." Jethro ran a hand through Kate's wet hair as she finished her sandwich.
Kate was astonished at Jethro's patience. With her help he had brushed and dried her hair for her. Then he had taken the time to carefully wrap her arms in fresh gauze and clean the burns. He had helped her into her coziest pajamas, and tucked her into bed.
"I'm glad you stayed." Kate murmured sleepily as she drifted off to sleep in Jethro's arms. Kate Todd had realized something that night, for an independent woman she was very happy to have someone taking care of her.
Jethro smiled as Kate snored, he was happy to stay.
"Wow boss! Late night? Early morning?" Tony DiNozzo questioned as he stood in the kitchen sipping orange juice directly from the carton.
In the rush to take care of Kate Jethro had forgotten he'd invited Tony to stay while his apartment was being renovated. Now he stood in Jethro's kitchen, patronizing him about his extra-curricular activities.
Jethro looked at Tony warily, as if to say "keep your mouth shut." But Tony continued babbling.
"You shouldn't have been with her." Tony commented as Jethro made his way upstairs.
He stopped dead in his tracks and returned to the kitchen.
"With who DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked angrily. He was terrified somebody would figure out his secret.
"The one that lives at the hotel, she's your ex-wife for a reason." Tony smirked as he looked at his boss.
Gibbs wordlessly exited his kitchen and headed upstairs, a wide grin plastered on his face. If Tony thought that's where Gibbs had been, than Jethro was more than happy to play along.