Disclaimer: NCIS and all things related belong to CBS and Bellisario

A/N: Oh geez, I thought I'd never finish this one but here it is so enjoy!

BLOODLINES

Chapter 3

Friday, August 27th 2004

Following the wonderful aroma of freshly brewed coffee, Gibbs strode into the kitchen and saw a young woman in a baggy T-shirt with a towel wrapped around her head, making herself busy by the counter.

The sight and the smell took him back to a different morning, when entering his own kitchen, he saw Kate preparing some breakfast dressed in the very same fashion.

Standing at the door, he took a moment just to watch her, thinking that even if they hadn't been dating long, she already looked like she belonged in his house, and his lips curled up in a warm smile.

Quietly he snuck in behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Mornin' beautiful," he said, placing a kiss on the side of her neck.

"Good morning," she replied and passed him a steamy mug.

Freeing one of his hands, he grabbed the mug, drank some and then placed it back on the counter top.

"Whatcha makin'?" he asked, his right palm traveling to her waist again.

"Eggs and toast," she said. "Didn't have much of a choice since your fridge was close to empty, as usual."

"Eggs and toast sounds great to me." In that moment he didn't care much about food.

Last night they'd both been so tired after a long week at work that sometime in between petting and kissing they just fell asleep, and now he wanted nothing more than to finally bury himself inside her.

Tentatively he ran his hands up her naked thighs and under her shirt. His fingers caressed her hips looking for a string of fabric and when they didn't find any, he realized that his old, faded NIS T-shirt was truly the only piece of clothing she had on and the thought turned him on even more.

"Gibbs, stop it!" she giggled as he kept on his sensual exploration.

"Are you sure you want me to stop?" he asked, nuzzling his nose into her fragrant hair, still damp from the shower.

"I'm gonna burn the eggs!"

"Whatever."

His hands found their way in between her thighs and Kate inhaled sharply in response to his touch. He smirked and pressing her body hard against his growing arousal, he kept on teasing her, savoring every gasp, every little whimper she made. He just loved to make her turn into a quivering mess, ready to beg him to finally take her.

He pulled her away from the counter and, in one last moment of lucidity, she turned off the gas under the already overcooked eggs before following him to the dining room.

"I want you so bad," he groaned against her neck, nibbling at the sensitive skin there.

His hands moved under her shirt to cup her perfectly round breasts and she arched her body in pleasure, a soft moan escaping her lips.

"Then take me," she whispered, flashing him an excited smile and biting her lip seductively.

He didn't have to be told twice.

"Bend over," he said motioning towards the table.

Kate eagerly complied, leaning low over the table top, and he stepped in behind her and moved his palms up her slender legs until he reached the hem of her shirt. He slipped his thumbs underneath the fabric and pulled it up, exposing her shapely butt.

"Like what you see?" asked a sultry voice that definitely wasn't Kate's.

Suddenly Gibbs snapped back into the present and realized with horror that, lost in his thoughts, he'd accidentally ended up staring at Carol Dunn's backside. Embarrassed to no end, he lowered his eyes, trying to avoid answering the question.

"Good morning!" McGee entered the kitchen distracting Carol from Gibbs for the moment.

"Good morning Agent McGee," she greeted with a smile. "Want a latte?"

"Sure, thanks," he took a seat next to his boss.

A minute later Carol served them both a cup of hot, fresh coffee and also offered them some cereal and toast, all the while sending seductive glances Gibbs's way.

The silver-haired agent did his best to keep his composure but in his mind he was headslapping himself over and over again, all the while repeating like a mantra that he would never ever daydream in public again.

§§§

After breakfast the two agents left to speak to Frank Harper.

On the drive they attempted to narrow down as much as possible Dunn's approximate time of death, since Ducky's estimates were way too vague for their purposes.

"According to the old case file, Dunn had last reported on USS Kennedy on Monday, March 1st," McGee said. "Then Carol found his house empty on Friday, March 5th. It's most likely he was killed during that timeframe."

"He could've still been alive on the 5th and on the run with Julie Harper," Gibbs observed.

"His body was found in Norfolk, so whoever killed him must've done it before they managed to leave town," McGee noted.

"Good point," Gibbs agreed. "Let's expand our initial timeframe only to Monday 8th. That's when Dunn had been officially reported missing and since the search party came up with nothing, it makes me think he must've surely been dead and down in that lake at the time."

They finally arrived at Harper's place but he wasn't home. One of his neighbors, a nosy old lady with a horde of cats, who came out of the house attracted by the sight of an unfamiliar car parked across the street, informed them Harper had already left for work.

Ten minutes later they reached Harper's logging company office building and went inside.

"May I help you?" they got welcomed by a sharp looking woman in her early forties with short, extremely bleached hair.

"Special Agents Gibbs and McGee, NCIS," Gibbs introduced them. "We'd like to speak to Mr. Harper."

The woman went to check with her boss and a minute later she led them into his office and had them take a seat.

"I'd expect people from my insurance company but Federal Agents? That's new!" Harper said from across his desk. "To what do I owe this visit?"

"We are investigating the murder of Petty Officer William Dunn," Gibbs said keeping an eye on the man's reaction.

"What does it have to do with me?" Harper asked, his face emotionless.

"We heard Dunn had a relationship with your daughter you strongly disapproved of," McGee clarified.

"That's true. That prick put all kinds of stupid ideas into Julie's head."

"Like what?" Gibbs inquired.

"The latest one? He convinced her she could join the Navy as well!" Harper scoffed "Her! A woman!"

"Many women make a successful career in the Navy."

"Oh please! A woman's place is at home, taking care of her husband, raising kids."

What a chauvinist, McGee thought, no wonder his daughter ran away.

"I'd rather she'd gotten married and given me a grandson I could leave my business to," Harper continued on his rant. "There were a few men interested in marrying her but she turned them all down and kept on hanging out with the bloody sailor!"

"When exactly did you realize Julie had run off with Petty Officer Dunn?"

"About four days after she'd disappeared. I heard at the bar that Dunn had also been missing since the same day and put two and two together."

Gibbs made some notes and then asked, "Where were you between Monday, March 1st and Sunday, March 7th?"

"Am I suspected of something?" Harper bristled.

"It's a routine question," McGee tried to placate his rising temper.

"Let's see..." Frank Harper checked his calendar. "From Monday to Wednesday I was in Richmond talking to some contractors. Here you have their names and contact information." He scribbled something on a piece of paper. "After that I didn't leave town. On Thursday and Friday I was here the whole day, Libby will confirm. Then on Saturday I figured Julie was gone. She had told me the day before that she would be working a double shift to cover for Carol Dunn, who was going to Norfolk to see her brother. When she didn't come home by the next morning I got worried and went to check in at the bar, but Susie Q told me she hadn't seen Julie since Thursday. At that point I thought something bad must've happened to her and I went to report her missing. Ask at the bar and at the Police Station for my whereabouts on that day."

"What about Sunday?" Gibbs inquired further.

"I was at church," Harper said coldly, "praying that they find my little girl."

"We'll verify all that."

"By all means, do. I've got nothing to hide."

"One more thing, could you show us the company time cards from that week?"

"Libby," he called for the secretary via intercom, "get me the time cards from March 1st to March 5th 2004."

A moment later Libby came in and showed the requested documents to Gibbs and McGee. They checked the signatures but none of them appeared to be forged. If Frank Harper had one of his men go after Dunn, he could've had them sign the time card beforehand, but there was no way to prove that.

Eventually the two agents headed out and Libby walked them to the door. On their way they asked her about her boss's alibi and she confirmed that he'd spent the entire day at the office on both March 4th and 5th.

After leaving Harper's workplace they drove to the Police Station. On their way they passed by the church and decided to make a small detour.

The reverend remembered well the Sunday right after Julie Harper's disappearance and confirmed that her father had spent most of the day at church, praying, before rejoining the search team party in the afternoon.

When Gibbs and McGee eventually arrived to the Police Station, they informed Sheriff Jackson about the situation and he let them use his office phone to make the necessary calls, and had Julie Harper's missing person report pulled out.

The date stamp indicated that Harper had filed it at 10.23 a.m. on March 6th and the Sheriff confirmed it.

"Frank rushed in sometime around ten, yelling that his little girl had disappeared," he told Gibbs. "We had him file a missing person report and then he joined in with the search party. We'd been scanning the entire area for three days but we found no trace of Julie. Then Frank came up with the idea that she could've run off with William Dunn and we passed the case to Norfolk."

"Boss," McGee came out of Jackson's office, "Harper's alibi checked out. He really was in Richmond on business on those days."

"Told you old Frank had nothing to do with Dunn's death," Sheriff Jackson declared firmly. "He's got his flaws but deep down he's a good man. He'd never harm anyone let alone commit a murder."

Gibbs really wished Jackson was right, for Julie's sake. He thanked the man for his cooperation and headed out, McGee following after him.

They decided to go get something to eat before talking to the other suspects. It was past lunchtime and their stomachs had been reminding them that they hadn't had a solid meal in over twenty four hours.

"What do you think boss?" the younger agent asked as they drove to Quinn's.

"My gut tells me he didn't do it," Gibbs said, "but he isn't completely in the clear yet."

"But boss," McGee was confused, "his alibi for each day checked out, even the one about being at church."

"Norfolk is within spitting distance from Richmond and Harper's contractors surely weren't with him at all times. He could've driven to Norfolk, killed Dunn and gotten back before anyone even noticed he had been gone."

§§§

When Tony DiNozzo stepped out of the plane into the hot Spanish air, it was almost four p.m. in Rota. Feeling slightly jet-lagged, he went straight to arrivals and instantly recognized the lovely blonde waiting for him there.

"Hello Agent DiNozzo," Paula Cassidy greeted him.

"Hola senorita!" Tony replied, staring at her with a wide grin plastered on his face.

He hadn't seen Paula in almost a year and now he couldn't tear his eyes away from her. She hadn't changed much: her hair was a bit longer but her eyes were just as blue as before and her smile just as daring.

"I missed you," he said softly.

"If you did, you would've written, and I didn't receive any e-mails," she retorted.

"Well, I figured you'd be too busy to reply. You were at sea with five thousand men."

Paula just laughed at that and then she said as seriously as possible, "Let's go Agent DiNozzo, I will show you to your temporary accommodations."

"Are they close to yours?"

"Next door."

"How convenient."

"Whatever it is that you have in mind, it's not going to happen," Paula cut Tony off. She was a few months older and wiser than the last time and knew from experience that getting romantically involved with Tony DiNozzo was hardly a good idea.

"Why not?" Tony insisted.

"If Gibbs were here, he'd smack your head off for even just thinking about it."

"Gibbs isn't here and what he doesn't know won't hurt him."

"What if he gets to know?"

"He won't, unless you tell him."

Tony crowded Paula's personal space, looking straight into her eyes, his lips curled up in a smile, and she felt her resolve to keep her distance from him slowly fade. Young, funny, easy-going and very good-looking, Tony DiNozzo was so different from the men she usually had to deal with and she'd been attracted to him since they had first met at Guantanamo Bay.

"I made some arrangements with the NCIS Team in Rota." Paula stepped back and turned her eyes away in an attempt to get their conversation back on professional grounds. "They are letting us use their offices and Special Agents Wilks and Ortega are also going to help us conduct the interviews. I narrowed down the numbers as much as possible but we're still talking about over forty people."

"Well, if you compare it to five thousand, forty doesn't seem so many."

In the next hour Tony made a stop at his quarters for a quick shower and a change of clothes and then he and Paula drove to the NCIS Office in Rota. Once there they read the two local agents into the case and Tony also informed everyone about the most recent developments.

It took the four of them several hours to finish all the interviews. Afterwards they gathered in the squad room to exchange information and then Tony and Paula thanked Wilks and Ortega for their help and left off.

On the way back Tony took the wheel and instead of going straight to their quarters he drove to the boulevard by the beach.

"What are you up to Tony?" Paula asked, alerted by the unplanned detour.

"Finally!" Tony cheered.

"Finally what?"

"You stopped calling me 'Agent DiNozzo'."

Paula just rolled her eyes at him but her lips stretched out in a smile.

"I thought I could offer you dinner," Tony finally answered her earlier question.

"Tony..." she began in a bit of a scolding tone.

"What?" he played innocent. "I'm starving, aren't you?"

Truth be told, she was rather hungry and the prospect of having dinner with the ever so charming Italian was very tempting.

"Okay, let's go!" She finally surrendered. "I know about one place where they make a fantastic paella."

Paula led them to a small restaurant by the beach. Scooping the paella, which was truly delicious, of their plates, they talked, laughed and just had a good time together.

With every passing minute, and every next sip of her Mojito, Paula felt herself relax more and more. It was so easy when she was with Tony. He could make her feel like a sixteen year old again with a just a smile. When after dinner he proposed they had a walk on the beach, she didn't protest anymore.

Walking barefoot along the sea they came across a small party on the beach. Taken by the rhythm, Tony tossed his shoes away and grabbed Paula's hand inviting her to dance.

They danced one song, then another one, getting lost in the music and in each other. At one point Tony pulled Paula's hand and she gracefully rolled in and ended up trapped in his arms. One of his hands pushed against her lower back, holding her close, the other one entangled in her silky blonde hair, and staring at her bleary-eyed he whispered, "The only thing I want right now is to kiss you."

She didn't reply, only tilted her head just slightly, lowering her eyes and parting her lips in anticipation. Tony took the hint and leaned in until their lips merged in a long, sensual kiss.

§§§

Kate sat in the booth by the window, her eyes set on the man across the table.

"Tom, I need to talk to you about last night," she said quietly fiddling with her fingers. She hated having those kinds of conversations but at this point it was inevitable.

She had had a great time with Tom during the past week, but last night's events turned everything upside down and she felt she needed to clarify a few things before the situation got out of hand.

"Don't say anything." Tom placed his hand on hers. "I know I shouldn't have kissed you just yet. From now on we'll take things slower."

"Tom, it's not just about that."

Tom Wells was everything Kate could've ever wanted: young, handsome with his hazel eyes, dark blonde hair and a muscular physique, kind, generous, caring and with a sense of humor. In another lifetime she could've easily fallen for him, but now things were different and she didn't want to give him false hopes.

At the sound of the door bell Kate perked her head up, nervously slipping her hand away. Tom turned around and saw McGee and Gibbs entering the bar, the latter throwing a quick glance their way, before following his companion to the other side of the room.

"Is this about him?" Tom asked.

"No!" Kate denied perhaps a bit too brusquely and when Tom arched his brow doubtfully she added, "Not in the way you think."

Tom just stared at her, a questioning look on his face, and Kate exhaled deeply and continued:

"I like you Tom, I really do, but after what happened between me and Gibbs I feel I'm not ready to take on a new relationship just yet."

"It's okay Kate, I understand." Tom smiled sadly.

"I'm so sorry Tom. I never meant to mislead you."

"It's not your fault. It was me who got it all wrong, perhaps because a part of me wanted to get it that way."

"Friends like before?" Kate asked almost pleadingly.

"Do you even have to ask?" Tom took her hand in his again and this time Kate didn't retract it. Her lips curled up in a wide sincere smile and Tom squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"Let's just pretend that kiss never happened," he said.

"What kiss?" she joked and they both laughed.

"I need to go back to work now," Tom said after a moment and then came up to Kate, and holding her close, he pecked her cheek. "See you later."

When Tom left Kate looked around the bar and noticed McGee sitting alone in his booth. After some hesitation she got up and walked over to him.

"Hey McGee!" she greeted with a smile. "How's the investigation going?"

"A bit slow actually," the Agent replied. "I was just about to call Tony, see if he's got anything new."

"What's the case?" Kate asked curious.

"Murder of a sailor, William Dunn, Carol the bartender's brother. We think his death could be related to the disappearance of his girlfriend, Julie, but other than that we're groping in the dark."

McGee hit a few keys, setting up a connection with Tony's laptop making use of the bar wifi signal. When he got the video feed on he heard whispers and saw two figures, one of which was most certainly female, standing in the shadow far from the eye of the camera.

"Hey Tony!" he cheered, startling the couple.

The female vanished immediately behind an open door, while the male turned on his heel and stared at the laptop in horror.

"Hey there McSpy!" he hissed, his eyes glancing all over the screen as if he was looking for something. "Where's Gibbs?" he asked skittishly.

"Relax rule-breaker!" McGee chuckled. "He's gone to talk to the bar owner."

"Got something to hide DiNozzo?" Kate laughed.

"Is that you Kate?" Tony recognized her voice.

"Hi Tony!" Kate showed up waving a hand into the camera and then returned to her seat across the table.

"Probie, did you do that thing I told you about yesterday?" Tony asked cryptically.

"Didn't have a chance yet," McGee replied.

Kate wondered for a moment what 'thing' they were talking about, but eventually she dismissed the thought, figuring that, knowing DiNozzo, it must've been something stupid and childish.

"Tony, was that Paula before?" McGee inquired.

The Italian just nodded in reply.

So much for her better judgement, McGee thought, amused.

"Who's Paula?" Kate was curious.

"She's an NCIS Agent Tony has the hots for," McGee informed her, then turned back to DiNozzo. "Something happened, didn't it?"

"Yeah," Tony beamed, " and the best part is still ahead of me."

"Gibbs is so gonna kill you when he finds out about this," Kate laughed.

"Find out about what?"

Kate turned around startled and saw Gibbs watching her intently with those unreadable blue eyes of his.

"Nothing," she said. "We were just fooling around."

Smirking under his nose, he went to sit next to McGee and passed him a coffee cup.

"Hey boss!" Seeing Gibbs appear on screen, Tony put up his best innocent face. "How was the night at Carol's?

"Fine," Gibbs cut it short.

"You slept at Carol Dunn's place?!" Kate flared.

"What, are you jealous?" Gibbs remarked, quirking his brow.

"No," Kate lied.

Hell yes, she was jealous! Well, perhaps not exactly jealous, but she didn't like the idea of Gibbs sleeping in one same house with the biggest slut in town. The fact Carol was a pretty redhead didn't help matters either.

"As far as I'm concerned," she added, "you can even sleep at the Playboy Mansion."

Gibbs fixed his eyes on her, the corner of his mouth twitching slightly and Kate fought hard not to budge.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs finally got his attention back on the screen, "what did you find?"

"Dunn was generally liked, had only minor issues with a couple other sailors but nothing worth killing for, and they all have alibis for the time of his murder."

"Learn anything about his personal life?"

"Dunn's buds told me he didn't talk much about home. The only people he ever mentioned were the sister, a guy named Terry and Julie Harper, but he never actually referred to her as his girlfriend."

"What else?"

"Well..." Tony was about to pull the ace out of his sleeve. "I may have an idea where and how Dunn was first attacked."

"You 'may have and idea'?"

"Different people gave me different versions of the story."

"What story?" Gibbs rushed, impatient.

"Apparently Dunn spent the last moments of his life drinking," Tony said. "A few sailors saw him at a bar on Friday evening."

"Boss, this rules out Frank Harper as a potential suspect," McGee interrupted. "His alibi for the weekend is foolproof."

"Yeah, I know," Gibbs nodded. His money had always been on the Tuckers anyway.

"Boss, remember those shards of glass Ducky found in Dunn's wound?" Tony called for his attention. "I think it could've been-"

"A bottle," Gibbs finished for him.

"Exactly," Tony agreed. "Listen to this boss: Dunn goes to have a drink, ends up in a bar fight, gets hit with a bottle, passes out, they think he's dead so they throw him into the lake to get rid of the body."

"Sounds like a valid theory," Kate commented, involuntarily drawing Gibbs's attention back to her.

"DiNozzo," he said, his eyes locked with Kate's, their knees touching accidentally under the table, "get back to DC asap and go hit that bar. It could be our primary crime scene."

"Here's the catch boss: the sailors were so drunk that they couldn't tell me exactly which bar they had seen Dunn at so I don't really know..." Tony had been given the Glare. "I'll find that out!"

"Yes, you will."

"There's something else boss," Tony went on. "A couple of them claim Dunn wasn't alone. They'd seen him with a woman."

"Got a description?"

"Young and beautiful, with long, red, flowing hair."

"Julie Harper," McGee said, glancing at Gibbs who gave him an acknowledging nod.

"What's most interesting, the two of them were arguing."

The three agents exchanged quizzical looks. So far they thought of Julie Harper as another victim, but now, in the light of this new development, they wondered if she might've actually been the culprit.

§§§

During her days in the Secret Service Susan Quinn had learned to be observant, the skill being crucial in her former job. Now she used it mostly to figure out early who was about to cause trouble in the bar, but today she had something, or rather someone, far more interesting to watch and study than a bunch of drunkards.

Special Agent Gibbs, as he'd introduced himself, or the blue-eyed-bastard-ex-marine, as she privately liked to call him, was nothing like what she had expected, her image of him being based on her friend's general taste in men, not an actual description. In fact, when she first noticed him at the bar the previous night, she didn't recognize him as Kate's infamous ex-boyfriend.

He was much older than she would've thought, in his early fifties rather than thirties, but still quite fit for a man his age, with salt and pepper hair and vibrant blue eyes. Albeit far from Kate's usual type, he was quite an attractive specimen of the male population and he definitely had that 'something'.

His personality was much harder to sum up.

Susan had spoken to Gibbs for the first and only time just ten minutes before, when he came by the counter to place his order and ask her some questions about Frank Harper and his daughter, and he struck her as sharp, inquisitive and impatient. Her husband, Terry, who came to know Gibbs the night before, described him as private but friendly, and simply a 'cool guy for being a Fed'. Kate always spoke of Gibbs in terms like caring, gentle, respectful and sweet, just to eventually define him a deceitful bastard. In the end Susan only concluded that the man was nothing short of complex.

As she kept on spying on him from her strategic position behind the counter, the former Secret Service agent noticed his interaction with Kate and squinted her eyes incredulously. After what he did to the poor girl, the bastard had the cheek to openly flirt with her!

Oh no, you're not gonna get away with this, Susan thought deviously. She wasn't sure how was she going to do it yet, but she would get back at Gibbs for trying to play her best friend.

§§§

A/N: Favs, follows and reviews are very appreciated. Especially the reviews. They feed my muse ;-P

Hope U enjoyed the daydream. I thought it wouldn't hurt to incorporate a couple kibbs moments from before the big break-up.

Any ideas on who may be the killer yet? Or perhaps on how Susan is going to execute her payback?