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Trading Places
Summary: "If you could take her place, would you?"
A/N: I REALLY appreciate the reviews! Those are what got me to finally post this up. I know it's been a looong time, but I've had a serious case of writer's block with this story. Any suggestions on where this should go are definately welcome. I'm wavering between having this really focus on the thoughts and emotions of the characters or making it an action/drama type of thing like the show. For now, I'm going with the thoughts and emotions, so that's what these two chapters are. It's basically the same situation from both of their perspectives.
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His gaze shifted toward her desk yet again. She was still as focused on typing her report as she had been two seconds ago when he last checked. He, on the other hand, was surprised he hadn't sky rocketed out of his chair yet, with all the nervous energy in him.
While his eyes kept darting toward her desk, lest she suddenly vanish from his sight, his hands were busy multitasking between fumbling with paperclips, popping up his email window and then minimizing it again without looking, opening and closing his stationary drawer, and any other task his hands could mindlessly perform without his eyes.
Ever since they had left the hospital, he had been like a 5-year old on speed. He was hypersensitive to anything she did – every movement, every sound. At first, they had gone to his house, where she thought she could leave him to rest. Of course, that was not happening. The only thing that kept running through his mind was that moment on the rooftop: the bullet…her blood on his face. It was all he could think about – that and how to keep it from happening again. On top of that, apparently this timeline had shifted because of his trip to the hospital and he had no idea how that would effect the day's events. So far, since he had woken up in the hospital, nothing had gone the way it had the first time.
When Kate had finally realized that he was not going to rest, she decided to get him something to eat – while he stayed home. Again he protested long and hard until she finally gave up, exasperated, and asked what he wanted to do. Finally having the opportunity he was looking for, he promptly suggested that they go to NCIS. She could finish her paperwork and he could sit quietly at his desk and play games or relax some other way, he reasoned. And of course, she would be in a secure building, which would help keep his sanity intact just a little longer. After a bit of hesitation, her desire to get some of her piling paperwork out of the way finally won over, and after making it clear that he was not to engage in any work related activity while he was there, they finally made it to the bullpen. Which brought him to his current state.
A sudden pain shot through his finger, which made him yelp both in surprise and pain, causing Kate to finally look up and notice him. His hands had apparently decided to play with the stapler on his desk and tried to staple his finger. A tiny drop of bright red blood appeared on his index finger just as Kate came to stand in front of his desk.
"What happened?" The concern was apparent in her eyes.
"Uhh…" Unable to find the words to explain to her what had happened without embarrassing himself, he sheepishly held out his index finger for her to see, then looked down at the stapler that was sitting on the desk in front of him.
The look of concern in her eyes first turned to puzzlement, then to one of mirth. Her eyes crinkled and she shook as she tried to stifle her laughter. But for all her effort, she just couldn't contain it and soon enough, the sound of her laughter was echoing throughout the empty bullpen.
Though his cheeks were bright red by now from embarrassment, he couldn't keep a gigantic smile from appearing on his face. Her laughter was the most amazing sound he had ever heard and at that moment, he decided he would do anything to hear that laugh again – even if it was at his own expense.
He continued to stare at her, fascinated, while she tried in vain to compose herself. Her eyes were watering from laughing so hard, and her cheeks and nose had turned red. Laughter lines had appeared around her eyes that he had never noticed before, but that made her look all the more beautiful in that moment.
"I – I'm sorry," more laughter, "I don't," some tears slipped down her cheeks and she tried to clamp her mouth shut to keep from laughing anymore. "I don't know why I'm laughing so hard." She giggled. Kate Todd giggled.
He couldn't control himself anymore. He stood, leaned over his desk, and gently kissed her sealed lips in one swift movement. The giggles stopped abruptly and her eyes widened as shock registered on her face.