**A/N: I'm not really happy with how this chapter came out, but here it is...
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As Kate finished telling Abby about her little encounter with Gibbs, she sighed and shoved a spoonful of ice cream into her mouth, letting her eyes fall to where Tony was fast asleep. She could feel Abby's eyes on her, so she looked up and groaned at the incredulous look on her face.
"What?" Kate knew what was coming next though. Abby would ask her why she did something so incredibly stupid and Kate would feel like even more of an idiot.
Abby's mouth fell open then, still in a state of shock, revealing her chewed up marshmallow on her tongue.
"Eww, Abby! Close you're mouth, that's gross." Kate complained as she sat back into the sofa and looked straight ahead of her. Abby was quick in closing her mouth, swallowing and running off her sentence at a million miles an hour.
"Why did you run?! He kissed you!"
"I was scared, Abby! I didn't know what to do. I didn't know what to say. I just knew I had to get away from there, from him. I do really love him. I know with every fiber of my being that I do, but I'm just so confused and scared. I wasn't expecting him to do anything but yell at me and kick me out of his office then ignore me for a few weeks. Kissing me wasn't an option I had thought of."
"Well, still! Kissing him back would have been great! Considering you confessed your love for him!" Abby continued, as if she hadn't heard what Kate said. This was one of the few times where Abby could be a little melodramatic.
Kate sighed as she stuffed a marshmallow into her mouth and chewed it, her mind reeling. She should have kissed him back. She most certainly should have freaking stayed there and talked with him, even if she didn't kiss him back. Now he was going to think that—
"ABBY! Oh my GOD! What if he thinks that I really didn't mean it?! What if he thinks I regret telling him? I am so stupid." Okay, so she could be slightly melodramatic with raising her voice as well. But this was just horrible!
"Kate, you know I love you; you're my best friend, practically my sister, but I have to agree with you on that one." Abby gave a firm nod once to prove her point and Kate turned to glare at her.
"Not helping! I need to call him, before he really thinks that I made a mistake. Oh God, I hope he forgives me!" She breathed out, her eyes widening at the sudden revelation as she shot off the sofa, making a beeline for her bedroom where her phone was located. She jumped at it and snapped it open, slightly panicked when she saw the single missed call from Gibbs. He really wasn't a man to push too far.
She redialed his number, and glared at Abby who was standing at the door to her bedroom, bouncing on her heels. Kate slid across the room and shoved the door shut. "This is private, Abs!" She waited as the phone rang and rang before slowly, and sadly, she flipped it closed and curled up on her bed. Willing the world to just stop.
How had today started off so great, only to plummet to Hell?
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Gibbs picked up his phone from the passenger seat as he pulled up at a red light. His icy blue eyes landed on the familiar name and sighed. He fought to not answer the call, wanting to hear her voice. But he was also horrified of the regret that would probably come from the gorgeous brunette on the other end. He also didn't have the patience and will to do it over the phone. He needed to talk to Kate, but it was going to be face to face. Jethro had called earlier, hoping to coax her into letting him take her out somewhere where they could talk, but she hadn't answer. Fearing that she was ignoring him, he didn't called a second time.
As the light turned green, he made a left and swiftly pulled into the parking lot of Kate's apartment building. He shut off the engine and sat for a long time in silence as he stared up at the second floor, and Kate's lighted window. He had been here once before. A couple of days ago when he had driven her home after the shooting. Kate had been too shaken to drive herself, so he had taken her.
Was he making a mistake? He didn't want to just run up to Kate's door. What would she think of him then? But then why had she called him just moments ago? He loved Kate with everything he had, he would risk his own life for her, as she had done, but what if she didn't want his love after all? Had she changed her mind? Had she just been rambling on out of shock? She had been shot at only a mere 72 hours ago.
Gibbs let his head fall forward onto the steering wheel, groaning at the numerous questions filling his mind. Finally, he opened the door to his sedan and stepped out, locking his car before he chickened out and decided to get back in. He walked up the steps to the double-glass doors leading into the lobby. He looked to the left of the doors and found the apartments and their buzzers. He quickly found Kate's and pressed it down.
It was now or never.
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"Y'hola! It's Abby here in Kate's apartment! How can I help ya?" Abby chided into the speaker by Kate's front door. Kate was going to kill her when she found out that she had answered her buzzer, but since she had locked herself in her room for the past fifteen minutes, there really wasn't much else for Abby to do. "Katie-girl! I just answered your speaker-thingy!" She yelled. No sense in hiding it from her.
"Abby? It's Gibbs; Kate home? I really need to talk to her."
"Well, why didn't you just say so! 'I'm buzzing you up.' Oh yeah! She's here by the way, boss."
She let go of the button and turned to bound off towards Kate's bedroom door. "Kate, there's someone here to see you."
"Tell them to go away," came the muffled reply. Kate knew she was being childish, but she really had no more energy to deal with another person asking what was wrong. Everything was wrong. Maybe she should scream it to all of D.C. Maybe then they would take a hint. Maybe, maybe, maybe.
"Can't do that, chick. Plus, I'm about to head out. I got a call from McGee; we're going to go watch a movie... or something. Well, bye! Remember, I'm only a call away if you need me to speed on over. See you later, Kate." With that, Abby sailed down the hallway and was out the door, making sure to lock the door so Kate would have to get up to answer it.
She turned the corner and ran right into Gibbs, sending him back a couple of feet and she nearly toppled over due to her uneasy legs and heels. "Well, thanks. What a nice way to greet me! I'll remember this for a while, Gibbs." She threatened.
"Sorry, Abs. Is she okay? And home?"
"Yes, boss. She's still home. I'm pretty sure you would see her walk past you if she wasn't?"
"Is she okay?" He repeated.
Abby flinched at the thought and let her head droop to one side. "Eh, not really? You two really need to talk this out. She's just surprised and confused and... I don't know. She does love you though; very, very much. She'll tell you everything."
Abby walked past him, calmer than usual, and Jethro made the final round to Caitlin's apartment. He lightly rapped on the door and waited for Kate to answer.
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Kate pushed herself up into a sitting position before she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. Abby hadn't been lying when she said someone was coming up. She just really hoped it wasn't Tony or McGee. But mostly Tony. He was going to put her through hell tomorrow as it was. She turned the lock to her bedroom door and swung it open before she padded across the living room towards her door. She unlocked it and twisted the door handle before pulling the door towards her enough for her to peek out.
"Jethro." She breathed as she looked into her boss' blue eyes.
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R&R!