This chapter was harder to write, had to re-write some of it, but I think it works. I own none of these characters, except one little Giblet. Thanks for all the reviews thus far, hope you enjoy this one as much as the others.

"Wake-y, wake-y, eggs and bakey," came the voice, cutting into her dream.

With a grumble, Kate's eyes cracked slightly, blinking in the dim light of the bullpen at night. Her head was resting on one arm, and a blanket was wrapped around her—a blanket that she didn't remember pulling around herself before she'd fallen asleep on the stack of files. She could think of many better ways to wake up, and they all involved her bed and her husband.

"Here." Tony held out a cup, which she accepted cautiously. His hand rested on her forearm. "You getting sick, Kate?"

Her fingers slipped into her pocket, sliding out a piece of the ginger drops, slipping it in her mouth and sucking on it for a few moments. "It's been a long day," she muttered, pushing back disheveled hair and rubbing at her eyes. It gave her a few moments to be sure her stomach was settled before she leaned further back and cracked the top off of her drink. "What… is this?"

"Tea," Tony scoffed. "Gibbs sent you tea. I told him you'd want coffee, but he just gave me that look. Seriously, Kate, you're drinking tea and can't stay awake past two AM ? The only time I ever saw you drink tea was during protection detail when you were offered it."

She glared hard at him before taking a long sip of tea and standing carefully. "I assume you had a good reason for waking me up?"

He held up keys and jingled them at her. "Gibbs is on the phone with the director; I'm heading to gas up the car and load our gear." Nothing further was required from her, it seemed, because Tony was already headed to the elevator.

With a sigh, she reached down for her cell phone, muttering when she realized it was on silent. She hadn't left it on silent. Apparently someone had felt that she shouldn't be disturbed from her sleep. Behind her, she could hear the elevator ding softly as it opened, and Kate turned to watch Gibbs step out and move toward her.

"I thought you were sleeping," he said, stopping when he drew even with his desk, which she had commandeered for the night.

"Tony woke me up and said we're headed out," she replied, fighting another yawn and failing to stifle it.

Her husband's eyes narrowed. "I told him to drop off tea, not wake you up."

She shook her head dismissively. It wasn't like she could fall back to sleep right now. "What changed?" It had been a day without a new lead, and their witness list had thinned. He had come in early this morning, leaving her in bed after dropping a kiss in her hair before ordering her not to bother coming in until normal hours unless he called her sooner. She had spent the day scouring internet data bases for Elizabeth Halbrook and hadn't found much.

"I told him to leave the tea," Gibbs sighed. "Sorry, Katie. Go home, get some sleep."

Her head shook slightly in protest. "I should go, too."

"You should go home and sleep in a bed," he replied quietly, in his tone that broke no disagreements.

It was his boss voice, one that was getting on her nerves right now. It probably wasn't helping that she was extremely tired, cranky, and a little hungry. "I'm a big girl, Gibbs. You're telling me you don't want a profiler with you?"

He leaned into her personal space, in that way he knew she hated. "I'm telling you that if you weren't my wife, I would still be sending you home to sleep because you're pregnant. We're not sure what we're getting into up there. It's an all night drive."

She scowled at him. "Will you be wearing your vest?"

"It's not that serious," he dismissed, his gaze holding with hers. Although he still took risks that she didn't like, some of which included him not wearing a vest when she really wanted him to, he was always honest about this. With her. They both knew full well the risks of this job, and he had always respected her by telling the truth about what risk he was and wasn't taking.

With a short nod, she stood and took a sip of her tea. "Then let me grab my gear." Kate shouldered her backpack, double checking that she had a full water bottle, her cell phone, and its phone charger. Before she could take a step, he was blocking her way. "Gibbs," she warned, her voice taking on the same edge it had taken when they first met and he was trying to shuffle her off of Air Force One.

"I'm driving all night, Kate. You want to explain to DiNozzo why we have to stop every three hours for you to use the head? Might get awkward."

Dark hazel eyes met deep blue, and she gave him a measuring look. This protest was different. He wasn't dismissing her, only giving her one more chance to take the out, to take it gracefully. He wanted her to come with him. They still did this dance sometimes, though it was usually when the office was full. It was typically to let others see that he wasn't giving her preferential treatment, to show that she had earned her way into his trust, onto his team. Even if she wasn't officially assigned to it anymore.

"Well, he already thinks I'm coming down with something. He's gotta find out sometime. I just have to beat him to the lab when we get back so Abby doesn't kill me for not telling her first. Besides, if Tony has something to talk about all night, he won't be singing along to the radio while I try to sleep. "

He took her bag from her hands, shouldering it and leaving her with only the cup of tea. "Three minutes to use the head or you get left."

A smile played on her lips as she broke for the bathroom. "I love you, too."