A/N: Thank you all so much for the reviews and the great coffee house ideas. If you have any other thoughts on what people do in a coffee shop besides getting coffee, let me know. In the meantime here's the next chapter. I know I said I was going to try and get both this one and the next one up, but its not happening...I hope you can all be content with just this one for another day or so.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The next week could not have been more different than the one before it. The three day weekend had given Kate and Gibbs a chance to really think about what they were doing and how much they wanted it to work. Despite independent desires for more in the relationship, both of them worried that it might be one sided and decided to continue as they were: slow.
However, despite that decision things at work changed slightly. Around the team and other agents everything was as it had always been: Gibbs was boss and Kate was his subordinate. The few times they were alone there was a very definite change. The occasional elevator ride, running into each other in the break room, or driving to a crime scene, they both noticed the relaxed interaction. Neither of them specifically mentioned the previous two Thursdays, but the memories were still there.
It was during one of these random moments in time late Thursday afternoon, when Gibbs finally said something. Kate had made her way to the break room to dump out the last few mouthfuls of cold coffee from her mug before taking off and Gibbs had followed shortly after, supposedly in search of a candy bar from the vending machine. After checking to make sure no one else was around he spoke to her back.
"Hey." He smiled as she jumped lightly, having not noticed him enter with her back to the door.
"I wish you wouldn't do that." She responded turning to him and shaking her head ruefully.
"Sorry." His voice was sincere, but his grin suggested that he was anything but sorry. He continued on without pause, his tone steady despite his anxiously beating heart. "I have a meeting with the Director at 1700 that's likely to run long. How about I pick you up at 1830 and we can get a late dinner after?"
She nodded her affirmative and was just about to speak when another agent wandered in. Finishing with her mug and putting it on the rack to dry, she headed out, pausing just long enough next to Gibbs to whisper a reply to his earlier inquiry. "I'll see you tonight."
------------------------------------------
By the time Gibbs' meeting with Director Morrow ended and he had the opportunity to run home and get quickly changed he was running several minutes late. Sprinting up the steps to Kate's floor he took just a moment to compose himself before knocking. He'd been fully prepared to offer an apology for his tardiness, but the sight of her as she opened the door effectively removed every coherent thought from his head.
Partly because he was running late and partly because he really disliked wearing ties, he'd chosen to dress more casually than the previous two times. His dress shoes and slacks were still paired with a dress shirt, but he had opted to forgo the jacket or tie and had left the top two buttons of the shirt undone. Surprisingly her appearance matched his semi-casual choices. Instead of a more formal dress she'd chosen a light blue skirt and simple white top for the evening and had changed her work heels for plain flat sandals. She'd curled her hair into loose twists and had pulled all but a few tendrils up into a ponytail.
It took him several start and stop attempts before he could form a coherent sentence as he took in her appearance. After what seemed to Kate like a lifetime he finally spoke, bringing a blush and shy smile to her face. "You look beautiful." Giving her a final once-over, he offered his arm. "Shall we?"
They arrived at the studio only just in time for the lesson to begin and were startled to discover that rather than learning new dances as they had the previous nights, the evening would be an open session, allowing them to work on what they wanted to without constant interruption from the instructor. Gibbs barely gave Kate the chance to set her purse down before he pulled her out on the floor.
Two hours later, they had just finished a disastrous run through a waltz, which Gibbs had forgotten most of the steps to, when a new arrival caught their attention. Gibbs noticed him first, almost a full minute before Kate did. He was tall, though still lacking at least a couple inches on Gibbs, with dark brown hair and eyes. He was also alone and Gibbs had immediately noticed his focus on Kate, but he ignored it until he heard Kate's shocked gasp. She turned away from him and from the view she'd had over his shoulder.
Moving swiftly around her so that he could see her, Gibbs looked down at her. His voice was worried and compassionate as he asked her what was wrong. In contrast her voice shook with a mixture of anger and confusion when she responded. "The guy that just came in? That's Brian."
"The asshole you broke up with a couple of weeks ago?" Gibbs could see just how uncomfortable the whole situation was making her, and when she nodded in answer to his question, he understood why. He took a quick glance over Kate's head at the guy. So that's the moron who decided that having Kate wasn't enough, what an idiot. The thought traveled unbidden through his mind even as he looked back down at Kate. "Do you want to go?"
His concerned voice brought her back to the events that had transpired since that night when Gibbs found her at the office and the memories put a huge smile on her face. Suddenly feeling much more comfortable with the bizarre situation she gave Gibbs a bright smile. "No, I want to stay and dance with you." The words conveniently coincided with a shift in the music to a slow, seductive piece. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Kate leaned into his body, burying her face in his chest. Taken by surprise, but not one to complain he wrapped an arm around her waist while reaching up and grasping one of her hands in his own. For the rest of the song they swayed together, each completely lost in the other until Gibbs felt a hand on his shoulder as the last notes faded away and a fast swing number took its place.
Turning, still holding loosely to Kate, Gibbs discovered that the hand belonged to Brian and was immediately struck with an almost overwhelming desire to punch him. Controlling his more irrational impulses, he raised a questioning eyebrow at the other man.
"I was hoping that I could have a dance with Kate." His face was open and honest and if Gibbs hadn't spent the last 14 years interrogating liars he might have been fooled by the expression. But underneath the polite façade Gibbs read anger and jealousy. Stepping just slightly aside so that he and Kate were shoulder-to-shoulder, he responded.
"Well, that's really up to Kate, but personally I'm hoping she tells you to go to hell." Despite the rude words, his voice was light and careless and he turned a smiling face on the woman in question. Just as easily as Gibbs could read Brian, Kate could read Gibbs. She saw that despite the easy exterior he was waiting uncertainly, as though he actually thought she would say yes. Giving him a reassuring smile she turned to Brian.
"No thanks. I want to dance the last song with the man I came with." Without waiting for either man's response she pulled Gibbs around to face her and promptly forgot about the other man, as her usually gruff boss chuckled deeply before spinning her out and falling quickly into the quick steps of the swing number.
As the last notes fell away and the instructor announced the last class for next week, Gibbs noticed that Brian had apparently not taken the hint. Slinging an unexpected and very possessive arm around Kate's shoulder, he led her quickly out of the studio. One last glance at the entrance showed the other man standing dejectedly against the door frame, finally seeming to give up.
Dinner after was a light and laughing meal at a local Chinese place. Neither Gibbs nor Kate mentioned her ex's unexpected appearance and as they sank into the friendly and relaxed conversation the incident slipped out of their minds.
As had been true the last two times, Gibbs walked Kate to her door. Waiting for her to unlock the door and turn back to him, Gibbs made a serious decision. When she was facing him again, he acted before he could talk himself out of it.
"Goodnight, Katie." His whisper filled the air just before his lips descended onto hers. The kiss was light and sweet, forceful enough to remove any possibility of it being platonic, but undemanding and tender. He made no move to deepen the kiss and pulled back after only a few seconds. "Same time next week?"
She nodded an affirmative, only slightly shaken by the welcome kiss. "It's a date. Goodnight, Jethro." The sound of his name on her lips was almost enough to undo his decision to build the relationship slowly. He shook off the urge to push her into her apartment and never let her come out again and instead gave her a large grin as she stepped through the doorway and shut the door behind her.
Scrubbing a hand down his face he let out a contented sigh before turning and heading back down the hall. He didn't think that next Thursday could possibly come fast enough.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A/N: I'll try to get the last chapter up as soon as possible, but it still may be as long as 48 more hours. Sorry. On a more positive note (at least for you guys) I have to have knee surgery on Thursday and they aren't going to let me leave the hospital for several days after so on the 15th you can expect a serious in flow of stories from me. Right now I'm up to a total of 16 NCIS plot bunnies that I want to write so...