Take 2

by Katetodd4eva

re-written parts of episode to include Gibbs and Kate's relationship.

7. Chapter 7

Truth or Consequences-
"Our team consists of 4. Tight knit group. My partner is Tim McGee. Small muscles, big brained. Heart of a lion. Together we are virtually unstoppable. Virtually. Our team leader is the fearless Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs. Former Gunnery Sergeant Marine sniper, coffee enthusiast and functional mute" Tony explains unwillingly due to the so cold "truth" serum that had just been injected into his veins.

"And the fourth member of your team?" Saleem asks casually as he watches Tony run his mouth freely. This question Tony found hard to answer.

"Transferred. For the past 4 years that slot has been filled by Mossad liaison officer Ziva David"

"Mossad?" Saleem asked not really believing it.

"Mossad" Tony clarified.

Mossad and NCIS" Saleem stated finally putting it altogether in his head.
***

JUNE

"Tony I'm not your home theatre guy" McGee said as he and Tony stepped off the elevator and made their way to the bullpen.

"Don't be redunkuless. Of course you're my home theatre guy" Tony grinned and slapped McGee on the back.

"Alright, you not getting a picture" McGee asked as he made his way over to his desk, Tony to his, dropping his bag down on the ground.

"Yeah it's just not crisp you know. It's not rich" Tony tried to explain.

"Maybe if you treated it nicely it would be more cooperative" Kate added from her behind Gibbs' desk, making both Tony and McGee look in her direction.

"I thought you were on maternity leave. Meaning you don't come to work anymore" Tony said with a smile. Kate got up with Samuel in her arms, who was clinging to the necklace around her neck.

"Yes well Gibbs' car is getting serviced so we decided to do a little car pooling. Then we thought we may as well stick around and say hi to you guys before heading down and seeing Abby" Kate explained. Samuel grinned at both the men, McGee smiling and giving him a little wave. Tony nodded and walked over to Kate and took Samuel from her.

"Hey buddy. What is she doing to your hair? Listen when you get a bit older I'm going to show you all the right products" Tony started.

"Keep your products to yourself DiNozzo" Gibbs said as he entered the bullpen with a coffee in his hand.

"Put my son down and grab your gear. We got a dead Petty Officer" he continued as he went to his desk and grabbed his things. Kate walked over to Tony and took Samuel from him.

"Another Meth overdose?" McGee asked.

"You know as much as I do" Gibbs handed Kate her hand bag and McGee got up and grabbed his things. Gibbs was saying goodbye to Samuel and Kate when Tony and McGee interrupted them.

"Hey boss, I think it's time we fill the empty chair" McGee started. Gibbs and Kate both looked at him and then at Tony.

"Oh, you do" Gibbs answered.

"Yeah we do. It's the right time. We gotta get started on those personel files that are starting to stack up on your desk" Tony added. Gibbs walked back around to his desk, grabbed the stack of files and placed them on top of the empty desk.

"Okay. You pick. After we get back" he walked back to his desk, grabbed his keys and kissed Kate on the cheek.

"Well first things first it's gotta be a woman" Tony said eagerly as he looked at the stack.

"Those are just the women" Gibbs said as he walked past and headed towards the elevator, Tony and McGee following behind. Kate and Samuel watched them go before she turned and headed to the other elevator to go and visit Abby.
***

"Might be a little easier to find a new drummer for spinal tap. Zivas not replaceable" Tony said as Saleem stood behind him.

"Yeah. The one you lost. Then why aren't you looking for her?" Saleem asked as he leaned in close to Tony.

"If I could drag her back, I'd do it in a heartbeat. But that's impossible. Ziva David is dead" Tony stated matter of factly.
***

JULY

"Been hitting a lot of dead ends" Leon Vance says as he walks into his office with Gibbs slowly following in behind him.

"Yeah well we have been one short" Gibbs states as he steps into the office.

"How goes the search for Davids replacement?" Vance asks as he walks around his desk.

"DiNozzo's got a new candidate. What about Kate?" Gibbs asks. Leon looks over at him.

"Gibbs you know that's not possible. I can't have husband and wife on the same team" he said with a sigh. Gibbs gave a shrug.

"It was worth a try. Have you heard anything from Ziva?" Gibbs asks.

"No. Two months in the dark now. But Mossad tend to operate behind a vail of secrecy" Vance explains, still going through his messages.

"You've confirmed that she's part of Mossad again?"

"Yeah, I believe so"

"But you haven't heard anything?" Gibbs asked. Vance just looked at him.

"You've got a good relationship with Director David" he elongated the name.

"You figured the subject of his daughter must have come up?"

"Mans gotta have some feelings"

"Well hes gotta be sharing them with somebody else if he does. Eli's being tight lipped about it" Vance walks out from behind his desk and over to the plasma screen on his wall.

"Like you, Leon?" Gibbs walks over and stands next to him.

"I don't have anything to share" Vance looks at Gibbs. Gibbs keeps staring at the screen in front of them.

"But you think he did it" Gibbs takes a sip of his coffee.

"And I'm tap dancing around the edges" They shared a look.

"Good luck with that" Gibbs said before finally turning and leaving the office.
*

Gibbs walked through the front door of his home. He could smell dinner cooking and hear laughter coming from the lounge room. He walked in and saw Kate sitting on the sofa with Samuel on her outstretched legs tickling him.

"Hey" he said with a small smile. Kate looked up and smiled back.

"Hey. I didn't expect you home til a little bit later" she said as she sat Samuel up and moved her legs giving Gibbs room to sit down. He walked over and sat down next to her and took Samuel into his lap.

"Yeah well I needed a break" he said with a sigh as he kissed his sons check. Samuel reached out and put his hands on Gibbs' cheeks and grinned. Kate reached her arm around him and rubbed his neck.

"Everything okay?" she asked. He gave a small shrug.

"Talk about it later" he replied as he pretended to eat the little boys hands, getting excited squeals from.

Kate turned the bathroom light off and checked in on Samuel before heading down the hall and entered their bedroom, where Gibbs was already laying in bed staring at the ceiling. She walked in and climbed in next to him and cuddled up to him, her head on his chest. He wrapped an arm around her and kissed her head making her smile.

"So are you going to tell me what's bothering you or do I have to go to Tony and McGee?" she asked. She felt him take in a deep breath and let it out before he answered.

"I asked Vance to have you back on my team" was all he said. When he didn't continue she looked up at him.

"You didn't, did you? Jethro you know we can't"

"I know, I just thought I would ask anyway. I don't want to find a replacement. Rather no one if can't have you or Ziva" he said still looking at the ceiling. Kate sat up and looked at him.

"You still haven't heard anything?" she asked softly. He just shook his head.

"You know none of this was your fault. She chose to stay behind" Gibbs finally looked at her.

"But to cut off all contact? Especially with you, Abby and Ducky?" he said. It was Kate this time who shrugged.

"She is Mossad. Her father is the Director of Mossad. If he says no contact then she has to obide by that" she reached out and stroked his cheek.

"Jethro you can't protect everyone. As much as you want to, you can't" she said softly. He sighed again and pulled her close to him and kissed her softly.

"And that's why we can't be on the same team anymore" she said softly. Gibbs grinned and kissed her again. This time for longer.

"And it's one of the many reasons why I love you" she smiled and kissed him again. This time it was deeper and more suggestive. She climbed on top of him, her hands either side of his head on the pillow, his on her thighs.

"And this is also why we can't work on the same team" she grinned and grinded her hips into his causing him to let out a small moan.

"And you're evil" he said pulling her down and kissing her deeply.
***

"Out of everyone in the world that could have found me, it had to be you" Ziva said as she looked at Tony. He looked pretty happy with himself.

"You're welcome. So you're glad to see me?" he asked.

"You should not have come" she states, shocking Tony.

"Alright then. Good catching up. I'll be going now" he said then tried to get up from the seat he was tied to with no luck.

"Oh yeah I forgot. Taken prisoner" he said with a little laugh. Ziva just stared at him.

"Are you alright, McGee?" she says still staring at Tony.

"I'm just glad you're alive" he replied from his place down on the ground.

" You thought, I was dead?" she asked.

"Oh yeah" Tony replied.

"Then why are you here?" she seemed to be confused.

"McGee, McGee didn't think you were dead" he tried.

"Tony, why are you here?" she pushed.

"Couldn't live without you I guess" he finally says.

"So you will die with me. Should have left me alone" she says softly finally breaking eye contact.

"Okay, tried. Listen you should know I've taken some kind of truth serum so if there is any questions that you want to know the answer to" Tony continues.

"I did not ask for anyone to put themselves in harms way for me. I do not deserve it"

"So what are you doing out here? Some kind of monastic experiment doing penance?"

"It was justified" she says.

"You tell Saleem everything he wants to hear and you try to save yourselves. I am ready to die" she tells them.

"That's not how it works" McGee says from the floor.

"How what works?" again she was confused.

"The plan" Tony simply said.

"You have an escape plan?" she asked. Tony grinned and winked at her.

"Tony, they have 30 men. Heavily armed. They have anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons. What do you have?" she asked seriously. He shrugged and smiled.

"Well that's where things get a little tricky"
***

SEPTEMBER

"No" Kate said as she stood with her hands on her hips.

"Kate this isn't a debate" Gibbs said as he grabbed his duffle bag.

"Jethro you can't go! What if you don't come back? What are we supposed to do then?" she asked raising her voice. He stopped and looked at her.

"When have I ever not returned?" he said with a slight grin.

"That isn't the point. You cannot guarantee yours or anyone's safety" she stated. He walked over to her, took her hands and looked her in the eyes.

"Katie, I will come home"

"Unharmed?" she asked staring into his eyes. He sighed and wrapped his arms around her tightly. She did the same, burying her face in his neck.

"Just come home alive. Please" she said softly. He nodded and kissed her head. She pulled back and looked at him.

"But this is the last time. I can't lay away at night worried sick that you are not coming home to me" she said sternly. He nodded.

"The last time" he repeated and gave her a small smile. He kissed her head once more before turning around and continuing packing. Kate ran a hand through her and sighed as she watched him. She heard Samuel start to cry from the other room.

"I'll get him" she said before leaving the room .
***

"Do you make pizza?" Tony asked Saleem, confusing him. McGee, who was still on the floor, kicked out his legs, making Saleem fall to the ground and drop his knife. McGee got up quickly and ran for it then stopped when Saleem pulled a gun out on him.

"Wait stop. There's something I haven't told you yet" Tony said. Saleem stopped.

"What is it?" he asked, gun still trained on McGee. Tony moved his chair closer to Ziva.

"I told you about the brains. I told you about the guts. I told you about the scientist, about the fearless leader. I told you about every member of the team except myself. The part I play" Tony said as Saleem got off the floor and moved over to him, gun still on McGee.

"Which is?"

"I'm the wild card. I'm the guy who looks at the reality in front of him and refuses to accept it. Like right now I should be terrified right? But I'm not, I just can't stop thinking about the movie True Lies you know the one where Arnie's strapped to the chair and full of truth serum, unpicks his cuffs and kills everybody. You have 30 seconds to live Saleem" Tony says with a smile. Saleem chuckles.

"You're still bound. You're lying"

"I can't lie. And I didn't say I was going to be the one to kill you. Remember when I told you my boss was a sniper" Tony stared into Saleems eyes and saw the realising in the terrorists eyes. He didn't even have time to react before the glass shattered and Saleem sank to the ground. A victim of Gibbs' bullet.
McGee scrambled to his feet, searched Saleems body for something to cut Tony's and his cuffs. The door swung open and another terrorist ran in gun at the ready, but before they had time to realise what was going on, another one of Gibbs' bullets had got him in the chest. McGee freed Tony, then himself before they both freed Ziva, grabbed her under each of her arms and headed for the door, McGee with Saleems pistol.
As they headed down the hall another man blocked their way, but was also shot. This time twice from somewhere off to their left. As they rounded the corner they stopped. In front of them covered in his camouflage was Gibbs.

"Let's go home".

The four Agents ode the elevator in silence. They had come straight to NCIS after getting off the plane and leaving the airport. They had showered before they boarded the plane, but still looked exhausted.

"Just another day at the office" Tony said as they neared their floor. The doors opened and Ziva peered out. Gibbs was the first to step off the elevator and was greeted by a very relieved Kate, with Samuel in her arms she hugged him tight. Gibbs wrapped his arms around the both of them. Kate pulled back to get a better look at him and noticed the abrasions and cracked lip.

"God, what happened" she asked as she gently touched his face.

"The dessert is a very dry place" was all he gave as an explanation. He took Samuel from her arms and kissed his cheek and walked over to his desk.
Vance was standing on the landing when he saw the team exit the elevator. He started applauding, making everyone else on the floor stop and applaud the team as well.
Abby was the first one to approach Ziva. She stood in front of her and smile and hugged her tight. Glad to finally see her long lost friend a live after thinking she was dead.
Kate hugged McGee and turned to Abby and Ziva. She watched them with a sad smile. The expression on Ziva's face didn't seem like she was glad to be back. She walked over to them and gave her a soft smile. Abby pulled back and let Kate hug Ziva.

"Welcome home. We all missed you" she said softly. She felt Ziva nod and reply softly.

"Me too".

Reunion-

Gibbs grabbed his tap measure and walked around his empty basement.

"Hello Gibbs" came a cheery familiar voice. He turned to look at the person walking down the stairs.

"Kate let me in. Samuel is a very happy baby" she said with a smile as she walked towards him.

"Yeah he is" he said as he continued to let out the tape measure.

"I apologise for being late. The Navy lodge I'm staying in had a surprise drill this morning so I just...its not important" she stopped talking as he walked over to the bench. He turned to face her and waited for her to continue, but she didn't.

"How are you?" he asked.

"I am fine, Gibbs. That is what I wish to speak to you about, amongst other things. First of all I, wanted to say thank you" she said as Gibbs made his way back over to her. She handed him a leather wrapped packaged, which he took and undid the string.

"Which hardly seems sufficient, considering so I.. It's called a.."

"Buck Morts Chisel" he said with a smile as he unveiled the small chisel with the wooden handle.

"That is not for rescuing me. That is for leaving me in Israel. You're probably wondering, perhaps I rigged it to explode"

"No. Just thinking this is a really nice chisel" he said with a smile. This made Ziva smile and relax a little bit.

"When ah, you left me in Israel I-I felt betrayed" Ziva paused trying to choose her words carefully.

"But I had a lot of time to think about things. Very, very long time. And you were right to leave me there"

"I know" Gibbs nodded.

"Well the point is now I know too. I had forgotten who I could trust. We were a team and I would like that again" Gibbs looked down at the chisel in his hand before finally looking back up at Ziva.

"You need to talk to the director" he told her.

"It is your blessing I came for" she almost pleaded. Before Gibbs had the chance to speak his phone rang. He turned around and walked back to the bench and answered it. Once the call was over he turned back and walked over to Ziva.

"Triple homicide. You need to talk to Leon Vance. I already told him to expect you" he gave her a small smile before walking away.

"He's not the only one you need to talk to" he said as he ran up the wooden stairs and left Ziva in the basement. He went to the bedroom and got changed.

"Kate?" he called out as he ran down the stairs grabbing his keys. Kate came out of the study and looked at him and sighed.

"You got called in?" she asked with a sigh. He nodded and walked over to her.

"Ziva is still down in the basement. Be back when I can" he said with a kiss to her cheek and running out the door. Kate sighed as she watched him go. She went back to the study and grabbed Samuel before heading down to the basement.
Ziva turned around when she heard someone coming down the stairs and smiled when she saw Kate.

"I'm sorry, I will get out of your hair" Ziva said quickly.

"You don't need to rush off. I can put on some more coffee" she said with a smile. She struggled with Samuel who tried to get out of Kate's arms and go towards Ziva. Ziva smiled and opened up her arms to the little boy and Kate let him go. Samuel reached up and touched her face.

"He has a fascination with faces at the moment" she explained to Ziva, who kissed his hands making him laugh.

"I don't mind at all" she replied with a smile. Kate smiled and watched Ziva with her son.

"You know you should really talk to Tony. He was the one who missed you most of all. Though, of course, he would never admit it to anyone" she said with a smile. Ziva finally looked at Kate, not exactly sure what to say.

"Apart from Jethro, Tony is the second person I trust with my life" Kate didn't need to say anything more. Ziva just nodded and smiled.

"I have a meeting with the director I should get to" she said with a smile as she walked over and handed Samuel back to Kate.

"Thank you Kate. I appreciate everything you have done for me" she smiled and left. Kate sighed as she watched Ziva leave. She looked down at Samuel in her arms who was sucking his thumb.

"They are worse than Daddy and I were" she kissed his cheek and went back upstairs.

Gibbs ran down the stairs to his basement.

"We need to talk" Ziva was standing on the other side leaning against one of the wooden pillars. Gibbs walked over to the bench, grabbed the old chair and moved it over towards her.

"Sit down" he instructed as he went a grabbed the wooden beams for himself to sit down on. Ziva made her way over to the chair and sat down infront of him.

"When I came and saw you and said I wanted back, you said it was the directors call. But I sensed your hesitation. I sense it now. Even though I thought I made myself clear" she got up and started to pace.

"I understand what you did in Israel" she started but Gibbs cut her off.

"Your brother Ari" he said, his voice rough. This made Ziva stop.

"You know what happened that night. It was here"

"I want to hear it from you". Kate was putting things away in the kitchen when she heard voices coming from the basement. She stopped and walked towards the door quietly.

"You had orders to kill your brother to earn my trust"

"Yes"

"That's a problem"

"You don't understand" she tried to explain but again Gibbs cut her off.

"You're damn right I don't understand" he raised his voice and stood up.

"When I volunteered for that mission"

"You killed your own brother, Ziva" he stood in front of her.

"It was because I hoped my father was wrong about Ari and I did not want someone else blatantly following orders. I wanted to protect him Gibbs" she explained.

"You lied to me"

"No when I told you Air was innocent I believed it. But yes, I would of lied to you. He was my brother. And you were nothing" they stared at each other.

"But I was wrong about Ari. And you. When I pulled the trigger to save your life, I was not following orders . I mean how could you even think..." she paused.

"He was my brother. And now he is gone. Eli is all but dead to me. And the closest thing I have to a father, is accusing me" she stopped.

"Okay" Gibbs said, not really knowing what else to say. Ziva nodded and took a deep breath and let it out and smiled.

"I should be going. I'm keeping you from your family" she turned and grabbed her jacket off the bench and headed up the stairs.

"Hey, don't be late" Gibbs called back to her making her stop and look at him. He looked at her and gave her a nod. She smiled and continued up the stairs.
Kate had quickly gone back to putting the groceries away when Ziva came up from the basement.

"Kate I'm so sorry about barging in. I will leave you three to it. Good night" she said quickly. Kate smiled.

"Good night Ziva" Kate said as she watched the woman leave. She closed the fridge and went down to check on Gibbs. He was sitting down on the beams when she saw him. He looked up at her.

"How much of that did you hear?" he knew she had been listening at some point.

"I heard enough. Do you blame her for what Ari did?" she asked as she walked over to him. He gave her an odd look.

"To me, and please correct me if I'm wrong, it seems that you blame her for what Ari put us through. Jethro, Ari did what he did and she was sent here to put a stop to it. But now we know she wanted the evidence first and that she got" she crossed her arms over her chest. He stared at her.

"No I don't blame her. But I do see his deceitful eyes when I look at her. After everything that has happened she questions our loyalty. It should be us that questions her" he stated.

"And did you just get your questions answered?" she asked raising and eyebrow. Gibbs shook his head.

"Why are you of all people defending her? It's her brother that almost killed you, do I need to remind you of that?" he got up and walked over to her and stood in front of her. Standing over her like he would a murder suspect he wanted to intimidate. Kate put her hands on her hips and stared into her eyes.

"She wasn't the one to pull the trigger. She wasn't the one who organise everything and SHE was not the one to kidnap me or slap me across the face. Yes at first I didn't trust her but she has earned my trust. Her time with us has made her a good person, or a better person I'm not sure which. She now thinks before she acts and you of all people should be able to see that" Gibbs didn't say anything. She sighed and took his hands in hers.

"Leroy Jethro Gibbs, I am not going anywhere. I am here because of you and because of her. I'm sorry if my trust issues don't go as deep as yours" Gibbs looked as their joined hands and sighed. He knew she was right. She almost always was. Though he would never admit that out loud. He looked up at her and smiled softly and started to undo the first few buttons of her blouse. She watched him quizzically.

"Jethro right now isn't the" she paused when she felt his thumb run over the faint scar under her clavicle.

"You're right. She gave me you" he leaned in and kissed the scar softly. Kate ran a hand through his hair and smiled.

"I'm going to start dinner shortly. You stay down here as long as you need to" she told him as he kissed her cheek. He nodded and she turned to head back up the stairs, doing the buttons of her blouse back up. She was half way up the stairs when he called out to her.

"Hey bring back down a beer" he grinned. She laughed and saluted him.

"Aye aye boss" he laughed and shook his head and sat back down on the beams.

Conde of Conduct-

"Look at him Jethro. Isn't he the cutest little pumpkin you have ever seen?" she asked grinning from ear to ear as she put the little green hat on Samuels head. Gibbs turned to look at his son sitting on the bed in a round pumpkin suit. He laughed and shook his head.

"Kate, do we really have to do Halloween? You know what it's like. All the crazies come out" he walked over and took the green hat off his son and fixed his hair. Kate frowned.

"Yes I know, but it doesn't mean we can't dress him up. Look he loves it" she smiled as she watched Samuel play with his puffy costume. Gibbs couldn't help but laugh.

"Fine. Costumes but nothing else" he nodded and handed her back the hat. Kate grinned.

"You know he isn't the only one who has a costume" this caught Gibbs' attention and he looked back at Kate.

"No. I am not wearing some skeleton or zombie thing" he quickly said making Kate laugh.

"I wasn't talking about you" she grinned and put the hat back on Samuel and picked him up.

"Let's just hope you don't get a case" she left the bedroom leaving Gibbs standing there grinning.
**

"Keep snickering while I'm over here breaking the case" Tony says a little annoyed at Ziva. Gibbs walks into the bullpen, Kate following with Samuel in her arms.

"Everyone is breaking the case" Gibbs hands Ziva, Tony and then McGee a large coffee take-away cup.

"You brought us coffee?" Tony asks taking it with a sceptical look.

"Nope" Gibbs hands his to Kate and takes Samuel from her and kisses his cheek.

"It's apple cider" Kate tells them as she watches them all sniff the contents before taking a sip.

"Yep. Happy Halloween" Gibbs bounces Samuel on his hip and they all raise their cups in a toast and take a sip. Samuel laughs and claps happily causing everyone to smile. That's when Tony noticed it.

"Is he wearing a skull bow tie?" he asked studying the little boys neck. Kate smiles and nods.

"That he is. A Halloween gift from Abby and Ducky. I think its adorable" she beamed as she took a sip of Gibbs' cider.

"Makes him look very handsome" Ziva agreed with a smile.

"Breaks over" Gibbs says as he kisses Samuels cheek once more and hands him back to Kate and takes his cider from her and goes to stand between Ziva and McGee so he can look at the monitor.

"Run it" he told them and McGee hit the play button on the footage.

"We are still scouring the vide from the kids" McGee informed him as Kate stepped closer to get a better look at it.

"I can see why you hate Halloween" she said softly earning a look from Gibbs. She smiled and shrugged.

"Multiple neighbours have filed complaints against Corby" Ziva continued.

"But only one has filed multiple complaints. Ted Rodgers who lives across the street" Tony now added with a weird expression on his face.

"I still think the wife...wow this has got some back bite. A little peppery, a hint of clove" Gibbs walked over to him and snatched the cup of cider from his hand.

"Rodgers" he turned and took Ziva's cup from her hand.

"You two, go" he threw both cups in the bin as the two turned and grabbed their things to leave.

"Good bye handsome" Ziva said as she tickled Samuels side and followed Tony to the elevator. Kate smiled and turned to face Gibbs.

"I guess we shall leave you guys to it" she smiled and walked over to his desk. He nodded and played with Samuels foot.

"I'll see you at home" he stated.

"Bye Tim" she turned and gave him a smile. He raised his cup in response.

"Bye guys. And I think the tie is adorable" he added making Kate grin.

"Thanks" she turned and left the bullpen.
**

Kate had put Samuel to bed early and turned off the main lights in the house, leaving only the lamps on to give off enough light for when Gibbs got home. She was lighting candles in the bedroom when she heard the front door open and close and footsteps heading up the stairs. She quickly lit the last few candles before making sure her costume was sitting right and waited. Gibbs stood in the doorway looking at the bedroom.

"Candles?" he asked, and then his gaze fell on Kate. She was leaning against the dresser on the opposite side of the room with a grin. She was wearing an extremely short and very tight white nurse "lab coat" that had a zipper up the front of it, just stopping under her boobs. Her hair was tied back and she wore a head band that had the medical plus sign on it. Red boots matched the red bra he could see at the top of the dress. He just stared.

"Just trying to set the mood" she said sweetly. Gibbs took a few steps towards her.

"I thought Halloween costumes were supposed to be scary, not sexy" he smirked, not taking his eyes off her. She pushed off the dresser and walked towards him.

"Yes, well some people are scared of nurses" she stopped in front of him and grinned.

"They can let you live or die. Especially if they don't check your vital signs properly" in the boots she was almost the same height as him. Almost. Gibbs grinned.

"Are you going to take my vital signs?" he stood up straighter, still not taking his eyes off her. Kate stared up into his eyes, reached out and placed her hand on his groin. She instantly felt his hardening dick.

"Well, I would say you have very strong pulse. But I still think I should do a full body evaluation just to make sure" she pushed Gibbs back onto the bed and climbed on top of him. Gibbs had never been one for the role play thing, but it was clearly a Kate thing. And who was he to stop her from doing something that she liked. Happy wife, Happy life.

Outlaws and Inlaws-

Kate groaned as she heard the horrible shrill of Gibbs' mobile ring. He too groaned as he rolled over and picked it up in a gruff voice.

"Yep. Be there" he said before hanging up and rubbing a hand over his face. Kate rolled over to face him.

"Work?" she asked groggily and he groaned a response. She leaned up to check the glowing red lights on the clock and sighed.

"It's 12am. Cant it wait until a more reasonable time?" she asked laying back down. Gibbs sat up with another groan, rubbing his eyes and yawned.

"Have to go to San Diego with Vance and Ducky" this got Kate's attention.

"Why San Diego? If Ducky is going that means someone is dead" she stated staring at his back. She saw his silhouette nod.

"Dead bodies on my boat in their harbour. That's all I know" he stood up and stretched, turned to face her.

"Go back to sleep. Call you later" he leaned down and kissed her head and got ready to leave.
***

" I am the American dream" Tony stated with a grin. McGee rolled his eyes and was saved by his phone ringing.

"Oh thank god. Agent McGee" he answered quickly.

"Two dead bodies McGee. Photo's coming your way. Tell Abby to clear the decks" It was Gibbs.

"Okay, what am I looking at boss?"

"I don't know yet" was the reply before Gibbs hung up.
*

Gibbs walked down to the dock where the small boat was tied up, Ducky onboard checking the bodies. Vance was standing next to a small brunette getting her side of the story.

"Agent Cortez. If you didn't know that this boat loaded with dead bodies belonged to an NCIS Agent, how do you think it ended up rolling in here?" Vance asked, glancing over at Gibbs who hadn't said a word yet.

"I'd speculate given the currents it came from the south. Somewhere in Mexico possibly. As for who might have set it on its course, I wouldn't think to guess" Cortez replied looking at Vance.

"Usually light the thing on fire for a Viking funeral" Vance walked over to Gibbs.

"You know any Vikings living in Mexico?" Gibbs smirked but still didn't say anything.

"I would say it's more of a Wild West feel to it" Ducky said from still on the boat.

"Insulted already. Glad I made the trip" Gibbs said with still a grin on his face.

"You've only taken one vacation this year Jethro"

"Sailed the Gulf route to Mexico right? One way plane ticket back" Vance added. All eyes were on Gibbs.

"Did I have the fish or did I have the lasagne?" he looked at Vance. Vance just stared back.

"I left him with the boat. He trailered it to the West Coast. It was a gift. For my Goddaughter" he explained.

"This is how he repays you?" Vance asked.

"I got no idea what's going on here. Do you guys already know who the killer is?" Agent Cortez asked looking from one to the other.

"Agent Cortez, get in contact with the Federalis. Clear a path. We're headed south of the boarder" Vance walked past him followed by Cortez. Gibbs shook his head, sighed and pulled out him phone.

"Hey honey, you get there alright?" Kate answered cheerily.

"Yeah, we here" was all he said. Kate paused.

"Jethro, what is it now?" she asked with a sigh.

"We have to go to Mexico. It's Mike's boat" he stated and waited for her reaction again.

"What? He wasn't on it was it?" Gibbs couldn't help but smile a little at the fact that she was worried about his old boss and friend.

"No. None where him. Vance seems to think he was the shooter though" Gibbs explained.

"And you don't believe it?" she asked, noting something in his voice.

"I don't know what I believe. Call you when I can" he said.

"Okay. Be safe. Love you" Kate replied, making Gibbs smile again.

"You too" he closed his phone and headed towards the others.
***

Gibbs was down in his basement, he took a picture of him and Mike fishing off the cork board and looked at it. He smiled at the memory. He heard the front door open and close. He then heard voices other then Kate's. He thought it odd and ran up the stairs and in the living room stood Amira and Layla next to Kate. He smiled and walked over to them.

"Look who's here" Kate said with a soft smile. Gibbs took Amira and kissed her cheek.

"Hello Amira. Welcome to my home" he then kissed Layla on the cheek.

"Don't worry he is right behind us" Gibbs nodded and looked at Kate.

"Come, you can put her down in here. Would you like something to eat or drink?" Kate asked as Gibbs handed Amira back and showed her into the kitchen. The front door closed again and Gibbs turned to see Mike standing there with bags in his hands.

"You guna stand there glaring at me probie, or you guna give me a hand with these bags. Or you guna shoot me?" Mike said staring at him.

"No, I thought I would ask you a few questions first, then I may shoot you" Mike dropped the bags next to him.

"Alright"

"I need some answers Mike"

"Alright!" he raised his voice. Gibbs walked towards him.

"Keep, your voice down" he looked into the kitchen to check on the girls.

"Those two men you killed, why were they after you?"

"Damn probie, I was hoping you could tell me" Mike looked at him and Gibbs sighed. Kate come out from the kitchen and carefully approached them. She gave Mike a small smile.

"Hi" she said softly.

"Hey Darling" he replied gruffly. Kate turned to Gibbs.

"I'm going to move Samuel into our bed and Amira can have his room" she looked to Mike.

"You and Layla can have the spare room. Let me take your bags up" she said and made to grab the bags but Mike stopped her.

"You don't have to do that" he looked at Gibbs, who just nodded

"It's no trouble at all" Kate picked up the few bags that they had and took them upstairs. Mike and Gibbs both moved to the dining room. They said good night to Layla and Amira. Gibbs took a seat at the table as Mike got two glasses and the bottle of scotch from the cupboard.

"Saturday I popped into the cantina for a mascale. Bartender Eddie, tells me a couple of guys been asking around. Look for a gringo and two girls" he turned one of the chairs around and sat down, then grabbed the bottle of scotch.

"Claims he did his best to lead them astray" he poured some scotch into the glasses.

"You didn't know them?" Gibbs asked as he took the glass from mike.

"I've never seen either of their faces before they showed up on my beach Monday afternoon" Mike took a sip of his drink. Gibbs hadn't touched his.

"But you were ready for them"

"I knew what they wanted. I could see the cannons tucked in their backs" Mike grabbed a cigarette packet from his jacket pocket. Gibbs shook his head.

"Don't even think about it" Gibbs said straight away. Mike sighed and put them back in his pocket.

"I didn't feel great using Amira's boat like that, but I couldn't risk investigated by strangers or worse even, the Federalis" he took another sip of his drink. Gibbs watched him.

"So you stirred up the Navy"

"You guna be investigated, better it be by a friend" he nodded.

"Thanks for the honour" he replied with a small smile.

"You don't sound too grateful" this made them both laugh. Gibbs sat more forward in his chair and move his cup out of the way.

"You know, Mike. I'm used to shells and bodies and cover ups as your big finale. Something starts off like this, I don't want to think about the count"

"You can't pin all them past capers on me probie. Not all them messes were mine" Mike said getting defensive.

"Where was Layla and Amira?"

"You don't think I would start throwing shots with my daughter in law and granddaughter safely tucked away do you? I'm not a child"

"You definitely are not"

"You calling me old?" Mike grinned.

"I'm saying there comes a time to hang up your spurs" Mike knew Gibbs was right.

"Well I don't need you or anybody to tell me when that is, I'll know 'cause I'll be dead" he said taking another sip from his scotch.

"I hate when you talk like that" neither of them had noticed Layla walk in and hear the last of their conversation.

"I wouldn't do anything to put my girls into danger. That's why I brought them here and if you can't find out who's after me and why then I've got no choice but to"

"Mike do not say it" Layla said softly.

"Aren't I allowed to say anything?" Layla just smiled at him and looked over at Gibbs.

"He's threatening to leave us. He says it's the only way to keep us safe is to stay away"

"When Liam died, I made a promise to my son and to myself. I protect my family" Mike told them.

"Well from here on you leave it to the professionals" Gibbs picked up his cup and took a sip. Layla and Mike exchanged a look.

Gibbs finally walked into the bedroom and closed the door behind him. He saw Kate laying on her side with Samuel tucked into her side. She looked up at him and smiled softly.

"How are they?" she asked softly as she played with Samuels hair. Gibbs nodded.

"In bed. Mike took the couch" he pulled off his shoes and then his jumper and made his way over to the bed and carefully laid down on the other side of Samuel. Kate looked at him.

"Did he tell you what happened?" he nodded but didn't say anything.

"And you believe what he said?" she persisted. Gibbs looked up at her.

"Kate" he sighed and looked down at Samuel.

"He was protecting his family. Just like I would have done" Gibbs looked back over at Kate.

"I want you to go to Rachel's until this is over" he said softly.

"What? Why?" she was confused.

"This is not our fight. I do not want you to be in the middle of this" he explained. Kate shook her head.

"You know me. I can handle" Gibbs cut her off.

"Kate just do it" he pushed. Kate sighed and looked down at Samuel. As much as she wanted to stay and help, she knew Gibbs was right.

"Fine. We will leave in the morning" she agreed. Gibbs nodded and reached over and ran a hand up and down Kate's leg.

"Thank you" he said softly.
***

Kate arrived home a few days later. Layla, Mike and Amira had already gone back to Mexico.

"We're back" she called out as she walked through the front door, dropping bags and fixing Samuel on her hip. Gibbs ran down the stairs with a smile.

"Hey" he went and took Samuel from Kate and kissed her softly.

"Someone missed you" she smiled. Gibbs kissed his cheek.

"I missed him too" he smiled. Kate laughed.

"I was talking about me" she grinned and kissed him then picked up the bags and took them upstairs. Gibbs followed her.

"So they weren't after Mike at all?" Kate asked as she started unpacking the bags. Gibbs nodded.

"And Layla know her way around a gun?" she put the dirty clothes in a pile. Gibbs tickled Samuel making him squeal with laughter.

"Yep. We have someone coming to fix the front window tomorrow" he said casually making Kate look at him.

"What the hell happened to it?" she asked her hands on her hips. Gibbs just shrugged.

"Flash bang went through it" he looked at her with a smile. She rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Of course it did. Anything else I need to know?" she eyed him. Gibbs shook his head.

"Nope" he smiled and walked over to her and looked at her, making Kate worry.

"What?" she asked cautiously.

"You're family won't hire a hitman to rescue you and Samuel, will they?" he asked seriously. Kate grinned and rested her hands on his chest.

"Jet, my family love the fact that you were brave enough to marry me. You helped give them a grandson and most of all they know you would protect us with your life" she leaned up and kissed him.

"Plus, they aren't some ring leader of a middle eastern tribe" Gibbs smiled and nodded.

"Well thank god for that"

Ignition-

Kate got out of the car, grabbed Samuels bag and waited for Gibbs. He got Samuel out of the car, closed the door and locked the car. Kate followed him to the front door of the day care centre.

"Are you okay?" he asked as they got close to the door. Kate just nodded. Once inside they were met by a young and very bubbly child care worker. Her name tag said Sarah. After introducing each other and Samuel, Kate gave her his bag.

"You have nothing to worry about. All the kids here are lovely and very friendly. Samuel will be just fine" she said a little too eagerly. Kate smiled and nodded and looked at Gibbs, who kissed Samuel's cheek and handed him over to Sarah. Samuel instantly played with Sarah necklace.

"Sorry, he currently has a fascination with jewellery and faces" Kate quickly told her. Sarah just smiled and nodded.

"That's perfectly fine" the smile never leaving her face.

"One or both of us will be picking him up" Gibbs told her and Sarah nodded.

"If you think you will be late just ring and let us know" she told them. Kate said her goodbye and was lead out by Gibbs. He looked over at her.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she nodded and then shook her head and burst into tears. Gibbs stopped and pulled her to him and kissed her head.

"Hey, he's going to be fine" he told her. She nodded and pulled back and smiled.

"I know. It's just, we haven't been apart since he was born. 10 months of being together every day" she wiped her eyes. He looked at her.

"Are you sure you want to go back to work?" he asked as he helped wipe away her tears.

"I want to go back. I need to go back" she smiled.

"Just harder than I thought" she grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

"Let's go. Don't want to be late on my first day back" she smiled and Gibbs lead her back to the car and drove them to work.
***

Gibbs was standing against the wall in the interrogation room as McGee conducted the interview with the Jetpack maker. They were interrupted by Ziva opening the door.

"M Allison Hart, attorney for Victor Tilman" she said standing aside to let the well dressed brunette into the room.

"Well this looks cosy. Have you read my client his rights?" she asked walking towards to the table. Ziva left them alone, closing the door behind her. Gibbs and McGee both stared at her.

"Uh, he hasn't been charged with a crime" McGee said a little confused at the new comer. She put her brief case on the table and looked from her client, back to McGee.

"Then release him" McGee just stared at her.

"Charge him or release him, what's the confusion?" she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Where you planning to interrogate him without an attorney present until he incriminated himself in some way that you find beneficial for your investigation" Tilman sat back in his chair, crossed his arms over his chest and watched McGee get attacked by his lawyer.

"He didn't ask for a lawyer"

"You didn't offer" she stood her ground. Gibbs kept watch, still standing by the wall. Victor Tilman leaned forward and went to speak when Allison Hart put a hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"You've already violated my clients right to his privacy. His financial records were accessed today" Allison walked behind her client, hand running over the back of his chair and her gaze now fixed on Gibbs. He still hadn't said a word.

"You had no proper authorisation" she turned and leaned on the desk, her attention now back on McGee.

"And I have reason to believe you're the source. Maybe you're the one who should be charged with a crime" the room went silent. Tilman looked at Allison and then back at McGee who then looked over at Gibbs who only raised his eyes, waiting to see what McGee would do next. He could see McGee had no answer and was stuck at what to do or say. Gibbs pushed himself away from the wall and walked behind Allison and Tilman.

"McGee" he said and McGee grabbed the files that were on the desk and got up himself.

"Let's go Tilman". Gibbs opened the door and McGee was the first one out of the room. It was almost like he couldn't get out of there fast enough. Tilman stood up from his chair, shared a thankful look with Allison and left the room. Gibbs closed the door after him.

"Miss Hart" he finally turned around to face the brunette who seemed pretty happy with what she had just pulledoff.

"Your client, hiding behind a lawyer. It makes me wonder why?"

"I can see your mind is spinning Mr Gibbs, but once the hamster gains some traction on the wheel, you figure out the questions you want to ask, you feel free to contact me directly. Not my client" she smiled as she went to pick up her briefcase. Gibbs took a few steps closer to hear, almost seeming to be checking her out.

"Were you ever a red head? 'Cause it sure feels like I know you". Allison looked at him.

"No. But I know you. I know you take any short cut to a conviction"

"Really? Doesn't sound like me"

"You look the other way when your team hacks privileged information. When they break into a police in-pound lot and steal evidence and when they start a bar fight. Just out of curiosity, do you have any respect at all for the law?" she stepped closer to him, never taking her eyes of his. Gibbs finally stood back, turned and opened the door for her.

"You and your client are free to go, Miss Hart". Allison walked past him and looked at him once more.

"I know" she finally left the interrogation room, leaving Gibbs by himself.

Tony and Ziva look at each other then back into the interrogation room from their places inside the observation room.

"What was that about?" Ziva asked looking at Tony who just shrugged in return.

"I have no idea, but I certainly want to find out".
***

Kate stepped off the elevator reading the file in her head as she made her way into Abby's lab.

"Hey Abs" she said, still not looking up.

"Hey you. What are you doing here?" came Abby's reply. Kate looked up and saw the blown up jetpack on the table, a lawyers profile on the computer and LCD screen.

"I came to see if the blood results were back yet. What's all this?" she point to the charred pieces. Abby shrugged.

"Oh you know, just a jetpack" she smiled as she walked over to her printer and grabbed the few sheets of paper from it and handed them to Kate. She stood staring at her with a smile.

"Thanks" Kate looked at her friend. Something was definitely going on.

"Abby, is there something you want to tell me?" Abby shook her head, smile still plastered on her face.

"Nope all good" her voice cracked a little. Kate looked past her and eyed the screen.

"Who is M Allison Hart?" she nodded towards it and tried to make her way towards it to read it properly. Abby quickly stood in her way.

"No one" she quickly said. Kate rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Abby what is going on? You know you are a horrible liar" she crossed her arms over her chest. Abby sighed and her smile faded.

"She is a lawyer for two of Gibbs' suspects" Kate nodded.

"Okay, and why couldn't you just come out with that? Why the big secret?". Abby looked away and then back at Kate trying to find the right words.

"It's just. Tony and Ziva said something about the way they were interacting. They said it seemed like they knew each other. Like they had some sort of history" Abby explained. She looked back up at Kate who nodded.

"And has anybody thought to ask Gibbs or this Allison Hart what it might be?" she raid an eyebrow. Abby shook her head.

"So this is only speculation?" Kate asked again and this time Abby nodded her head, making Kate laugh.

"I thought you of all people would have known by now to go straight to the source and not listen to gossip. Especially not from Tony and Ziva" she continued to laugh as she left Abby's lab. But while she waited for the elevator to arrive, a wave of uneasiness washed over her. She knew Gibbs has a long history with lawyers.
***

Kate was waiting for Gibbs to come home. Samuel had gone to bed hours ago and she was sitting in the living room reading a book. She heard his car pull up and waited for him to come inside. The front door closed and she put her book mark in the book and put it down on the coffee table.

"Working late, again?" she asked as he walked in. Her voice made him stop, turn and look at her. He nodded and made his way into the living room and sat down next to her.

"Yeah" he finally said with a slight smile. Kate looked over at him.

"M Allison Hart. Who is she to you?" she asked, watching his face closely. He shrugged again.

"Lawyer of two possible suspects" he looked down at his hands.

"Jethro" she started but he cut her off.

"And just tonight, found out she is tied to Col. " he said with a sigh. Kate ran a hand through her hair and relaxed a little.

"Col. Who ordered the abduction of Layla and Amira?" she asked and got a nod in reply. Gibbs finally looked at her.

"How did you know about Hart?" he asked. It was now Kate's turn to shrug.

"I saw her picture in Abby's lab and" she paused not sure if she should continue.

"And what?" he prompted her. She sighed and took a deep breath.

"Abby told me that Tony and Ziva thought you two seemed to know each other" it then dawned on Gibbs what had gone through Kate's mind and he smiled.

"And you thought me and this Hart woman had some kind of history that went beyond...professional?" he grinned as he looked at her. Kate blushed a little and nodded. Gibbs laughed and shook his head.

"When you say it out loud like that, I understand how ridiculous it sounds" she sits back on the couch and rubs her face. Gibbs does the same and looks at her.

"What are you worried about?" he asked her softly. She looked over at him not exactly sure how to answer him. Her silence was more of an answer then words ever could give him. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her to him and kissed her head.

"I'm not going anywhere" she smiled and cuddled into his side.

"Neither am I" she said as she leaned up and kissed his cheek.

Flesh and Blood

Kate was going through credit card statements when her phone started ringing. Without looking at it she picked it up.

"Kate Gibbs" she answered still scrolling through the pages.

"Kate, have you heard?" Abby's excited voice came through the phone.

"Heard what?" she asked.

"Tony's father is here?" this made Kate stop what she was doing.

"What?"

"Tony's father. Anthony DiNozzo Snr is in the building" she said again. Kate was at a loss for words.

"I know right. I haven't met him yet but McGee says he is just like Tony. Or rather Tony is like him" Abby kept talking. She was about to reply when she saw Gibbs stand in front of her desk.

"Uh Abs, I have to go, but I will talk to you later" she quickly hung up and looked up at her husband.

"I need you" he said quickly making her smile and raise an eyebrow. Gibbs rolled his eyes.

"Professionally. I need you to observe an interview" he explained.

"It wouldn't happen to be Tony Snr, would it?" she smiled sweetly at him and he eyed her.

"Abby?" Kate nodded with a smile.

"So, can I borrow you or not?" he asked a little impatient. Kate looked at her computer, saved what she had so far, grabbed her phone and got up.

"Lead the way handsome" she grinned.
***

Kate stood in the observation room, Abby standing next to her. They both stared at the man in front of them.

"Maybe Tony didn't have a mother. Maybe he was cloned" Abby said turning towards Kate, making her laugh.

"There is a strong resemblance" Kate replied as they watched Tony Snr fix his tie and jacket. Gibbs entering the interrogation room took their attention and they quietly watched the interactions between the two men.

"Have you ever been to the Rooftop Grill?" Anthony asked Gibbs with a little too much enthusiasm.

"No" this seemed to shock Anthony.

"They have the best rib eye in town" he went on to explain.

"He's right about that" Kate commented, making Abby look over at her.

"You've been?" Kate nodded.

"But not with Gibbs?" Abby seemed a little confused as to who else Kate would go to such a nice restaurant with.

"Dwayne" she smiled at the memory. A light bulb went off in Abby's head and she grinned.

"Ah, the one you left at your doorstep because he had coriander in his teeth" she laughed and Kate nodded.

"Well seems like you and Gibbs need a date night" Abby suggested as they both turned to look back at the room to see Gibbs get up and leave. A moment later the door to the observation room opened.

"Abby?" Gibbs startled her and she spun around.

"Gibbs. HI Gibbs" she said quickly.

"Hi" he looked at her confused.

"I just, I wanted to see what Tony's dad looked like but" she stammered.

"Go" he pointed to the door. Kate had to try her hardest not to laugh.

"I'm just going to go. Okay" she quickly walked past Gibbs, closing the door behind her. Gibbs stood next to Kate and they both watched Tony and Anthony interact for a moment.

"What are you thinking?" Kate asked first.

"He's not involved" she turned to look at him.

"But?"

"But he's got an agenda" Kate nodded.

"Agreed. Have you any idea what that might be?" she crossed her arms over her chest. He shook his head.

"Not a clue". Kate nodded. She had no idea either. It certainly seemed like Tony and Anthony weren't close at all. She stepped closer to him and reached out and ran her hands over his jacket.

"When this is over, I'm going to take you to the Rooftop Grill. They have the best wine as well" she grinned. Gibbs couldn't help the small smirk that crossed his face.

"Do they? And Samuel?" he ran a hand up her side.

"We are not short of baby sitters Jethro. We can organise something" she smiled. Gibbs nodded and kissed her softly.

"It's a date"
***

Kate was in the elevator watching the numbers tick by. She was too busy planning their date night in her head that she hadn't realised the elevator had stopped on Gibbs' floor. The doors open and she was about to step off but stopped when she saw Gibbs standing there with Anthony.

"Hi" she said with a small smile, not sure what she was supposed to say or do. Anthony smiled as he looked at her.

"Well hi there. Mind if we join?" Anthony said smoothly. Kate smiled politely and nodded.

"Yes, of course" Gibbs noticed Kate blush slightly. He watched Anthony and understood why. He hit the button for the doors to close.

"Anthony DiNozzo" Snr held out his hand to Kate and she took it.

"Kate Gibbs" she smiled as his smile faulted. Anthony looked at Gibbs then at Kate.

"Any relation?" he asked and Kate had to try not to laugh.

"Married" Gibbs gave as an answer. Anthony continued to look from one to the other.

"I had no idea. Jnr never mentioned it" he said as explanation for not knowing. Kate looked at him.

"Yes, well it's not exactly Tony's business to be telling" she said as sweetly as possible. The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Gibbs stepped out first and stood in front of them and waited for Anthony to exit.

"Well nice meeting you" he said to Kate as he made his way out.

"You too" she said with a smile. Anthony walked out and Kate looked at Gibbs who gave her a small wave before letting the doors go and close behind him. She sighed and shook her head.

"Tony all over" she said to herself.
***

It had been the perfect night, aside from Gibbs running a little late. Everything since then had been perfect. They had found a parking spot straight away, their table was ready and waiting for them and Abby hadn't called with a problem with Samuel. They drove home hand in hand, Kate's head back on the headrest watching the passing lights flash over Gibbs' face. She smiled when he looked over and glanced at her.

"What?" he asked as he turned his attention back to the road. She shrugged.

"I love you, that's all" she smiled and squeezed his hand. He smirked.

"Is that really all?" he asked as they came to a red light. He turned and looked at her again.

"Or is it a little too much wine?" he chuckled.

"I didn't have that much" she defended herself. She let go of his hand and reached out to touch his cheek.

"It just feels like we haven't spent time together like this in a very long time" she explained and he nodded.

"I know" he said softly, eyes back on the road just in time to see the light turn green. She rested her hand on his knee rubbing it gently. She then moved it up his thigh.

"Kate" he said in a warning tone making her grin and she stopped.

"Mmm maybe it was a little too much wine" she giggled making Gibbs smile. They eventually pulled into the drive way and made their way inside. Kate went straight to the bedroom while Gibbs went around the house and made sure everything was still locked and secured. He then made his way up stairs and into the bedroom where he saw Kate already in bed. He smiled and got changed and slipped in bedside her.

Kate rolled over and cuddled up to him, he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her head.

"Sleep in?" she slurred as she started to fall asleep. Gibbs smiled and nodded.

"Yeah. Sleep as long as you like. Then we can pick up Samuel" he ran a hand up and down her back and before he knew it she was fast asleep.

Mother's Day

"So you saw the attackers face?" Ziva asked the older lady as they both sat on a bench. The older blonde lady seemed a little distraught but was doing her best.

"No, not really. It was really dark and it was very fast" she said holding her head. Ziva noticed Gibbs come over and stood up.

"I would like you to meet Special Agent Gibbs" Ziva introduced him to the witness. At hearing his name the lady's head snapped up and she took in the man before her. Gibbs recognised the face instantly. Other she had aged a lot since the last time they had seen each other, there was no mistaking it.

"Jethro?" she asked not really believing it. This caught Ziva off guard and she turned to look at Gibbs who sighed.

"Hey Joy" he finally said.

"This is a surprise" she said in a raspy voice, shielding her eyes from the sun as she tried to look at him.

"You two know each other?" Ziva finally asked, still confused as to what was going on.

"Agent David, Joanne Fielding, my mother-in law" Gibbs stated looking at the woman on the bench.

"Ex Mother-in law" Joanne corrected turning her attention to Ziva.

"Shannon's mom" Gibbs added.

"Kelly's grandmother" Joanne said. Ziva didn't quite know what to do or say.

"Well when was the last time you two saw each other?" she asked looking from one to the other.

"The girl's funeral" Joanne answered before Gibbs got a chance to.
***

"Alright Mcnosy, whadda you got?" Tony asked in a hushed voice as he stood closer to Ziva and McGee.

"Well from what I can gather, Gibbs and Joanne Fielding are very estranged" McGee told them, also lowering his voice.

"The woman lost her daughter and her granddaughter, now her fiancée died in her arms and her former son-in law is investigating, show some sympathy" Ziva said looking at McGee. There was a small silence before Tony filled it.

"Maybe she's cursed, like a Kennedy" he said.

"Who's cursed?" came Kate's voice from behind them. They all turned to look at her and gave her a small smile.

"Ah, just a suspect. What are you doing here?" McGee asked.

"I'm trying to get a hold of Jethro. Samuel is sick and I need to go pick him up" as she finished explaining this to the group, Gibbs walked into the bullpen with a fresh coffee in his hand.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" he asks her straight away. She turns around to look at him.

"Why of all days cant you answer your damn phone. I just had a call from the day care, Samuel is running a fever and I'm about to run over there and pick him up" she snapped at him. The three looked at each other. They hadn't heard her talk to Gibbs like that in a very long time. She seemed to be a little stressed, which what mother wouldn't if you got a call your child was sick.

"Alright. I'll check in when I can" he told her. She was about to say goodbye when Director Vance came down.

"Gibbs. Your mother-in law is waiting for you in the conference room. I'd like to speak to you afterward" he said, all eyes on him. Kate then looked at Gibbs.

"What? My mother is here?" she asked looking at all of them. McGee and Ziva both shook their heads.

"Ex mother-in law" Ziva corrected the Director. Kate looked at her, then back at Gibbs.

"Shannon's mother" he told her softly. Realisation set in her eyes and she nodded.

"I'll uh, I'll call you later" she said leaving the team in the bullpen.
***

Kate stood in the observation room with her arms folded over her chest. Gibbs had turned off all the recording equipment so it would only be them three that had any idea what was to take place during the interview.

As she watched them she could see the tension between the two of them. Her parents hadn't met Jethro yet, so she couldn't say if they would get along. She certainly hoped they wouldn't be this snippy with each other. She watched Gibbs close the file and get up and walk towards the door.

"Good luck" he said as he reached out to open the door, but Joanne stopped him.

"I noticed your ring" she stared at his now vacant seat. Gibbs turned around to look at her.

"So?" he asked, hands by his sides.

"Does she know about Shannon and Kelly?" she finally looked over at him. Kate watched them, her heart rate increasing.

"She does" was all Gibbs said. Joanne nodded.

"And you love and care for this woman, the way you did Shannon?" she asked. Kate stared at her.

"I do" was all Gibbs said. Joanne nodded again and went back to staring at the chair. They both waited for her to say something else, but she remained silent.

"I will always love Shannon and Kelly. No one can replace them" without another word he turned to leave. Kate just stood there staring at this woman. A woman who she felt so much hatred towards and she didn't actually know her. When she knew Gibbs would be gone she finally left the observation room and made her way back to her desk. She sat down and stared at her computer screen. Balboa looked over his computer at her.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked. Kate hadn't even realised he said something.

"Kate?" he said, this making her look at him.

"Are you alright?" he asked again. She gave him a weak smile and nodded.

"I'm fine" she said softly. Balboa not really believing it.

"If you need to go home, we can cover the work load" he suggested. He had heard about the case Gibbs and his team were working.

"I'm fine. Honestly" she told him and started typing again. She decided to send Gibbs a message.

'Jethro, caught a break. Can you get Samuel tonight. See you at home x' she put her phone down and didn't look at it for the rest of the day.
***

Kate pulled into the driveway and saw two women get into a car parked out on the street and drive away. She got out of the car and went inside. She felt the heat instantly and knew he had the fire going. She walked in and stood in the doorway to the living room.

"Did I just see Joanne leave with a dark haired woman that could have resembled Allison Hart?" she asked softly. Gibbs looked up at her but didn't say anything. She nodded and looked at the ground.

"Where's Samuel?" she asked trying to keep her voice in check.

"Sleeping" he said softly. Kate nodded again and took a deep breath.

"These last few days couldn't have been easy on you Jethro. I will never know what you and Joanne went through and I pray to god I will never have to. But this isn't exactly easy for me either" she looked over at him and gave him a chance to say something but he didn't.

"I love you Jethro. With all my heart and I knew when we started this that part of your heart would always belong to Shannon and Kelly. I haven't seen you in two days and apart from the one text message I sent you yesterday I have not heard from you" her voice finally broke and she took a deep breath to try and calm herself.

"I called" he finally said.

"You called once to check on Samuel. As soon as I told you his fever had gone down and was going to be okay you hung up. Didn't ask how I was. Didn't ask if I needed anything"

"I was in the middle of a case" he started.

"And so was I! Why does it feel like what you want or need is always more important than what I want or need? Your ex mother-in law shows up and it's like I no longer exist" she can't help raising her voice. Gibbs stands up.

"Kate" he starts but she cuts him off.

"You haven't even met my parents, nor have you even suggested it. I never wanted to compete against a dead woman Jethro, but right now I feel like I am and I feel like I am losing" the tears started to fall and there was nothing she could do to stop them. Gibbs sighed and took a step towards her but she took a step back.

"I-I can't stay here tonight. I will pick Samuel up tomorrow night from day care" she wiped her eyes and turned and fled out the door before he had the chance to stop her. She sat in her car for a minute trying to compose herself.
Is this why he has three failed marriages? Because they were sick of competing against a dead woman as well?

Gibbs finally put Samuel to bed. It was way past his bedtime and if Kate ever found out she was sure to kill him. Well he was sure she would kill him for many more reasons. He turned off the light and made his way back down stairs where the fire was now well alight. He saw Joanne's file on the table and went and sat down and went through it. He sighed and closed it again, turned to the fire and threw it in. He watched it catch fire and played with his wedding ring. He couldn't help but think about what Kate had said. He didn't want her to be right, but deep down she was right. To a degree. He sighed and pulled his phone out of his pocket. He hit her number and waited for her to pick up. After what seemed like an eternity she finally answered.

"Jethro" she said in a tired voice.

"Come home. We need to talk" was all he said. He didn't wait for an answer he just hung up. She knew she would come.

Jurisdiction-

" Hey you know what, whoever drove the van last probably has the keys" McGee said as he took his CD back from Tony.

"Yeah. Oh yeah. I went and got pizza yesterday because I was hungry" Tony said happily.

"Then what did you do with the keys?" Ziva, clearly getting inpatient with him.

"Well I drove back, ate the pizza, threw out the box and then" he paused as realization dawned on him.

"Oh no" he looked at McGee.

"Well today's garbage day so you better hurry" McGee grinned.

"Where is the dumbster?"

"In the basement?" Tony said as Gibbs strolled into the bullpen, followed by Kate.

"Lose something David?" Gibbs asked as he continued to his desk.

"Not me boss, Tony" she answered before Tony had the chance to.

"DiNozzo, what did you lose? Your watch? Driver's licence?" Gibbs rattled off a few items.

"Latest girlfriends panties?" Kate added with a grin. She was the loving the look of utter pain on Tony's face.

"Neither" he answered glaring at Kate who couldn't help but laugh.

"Got a dead body. Navy diver" he grabbed his jacket and looked at Tony and McGee.

"Who's driving?"

"Well, see boss that's the problem" McGee started.

"No, the problem is that I found these on the elevator floor" Gibbs dangled the keys in front of Tony. Kate grinned.

"My bad"

"Uh huh" Gibbs winked at Kate.

"Won't happen again" Tony nodded

"I doubt that. Meet you all down stairs" he turned and took Kate by the waist and headed out of the bullpen, throwing the keys behind him.

"Meet you all down stairs" Kate could help but laugh.

"I knew there was a reason why I missed working on your team" she reached for the button of the elevator.

"And here I thought it was you missed seeing me every day" he grinned trying play hurt. This made Kate laugh even more. The elevator doors dinged open and the stepped inside.

"Granted, I do miss that. But if we still worked together I wouldn't be able to do this" as the doors closed she leaned in and kissed him. When she pulled back and looked up at him he grinned and cleared his throat.

"No, certainly wouldn't" she grinned and reached over and pressed her floor number. She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"I will see you later" Gibbs smiled and nodded as the doors dinger open again and he watched her walk out. As the doors closed again and leant back against the wall and sighed. He smiled to himself as he thought how lucky he was to still have her.

"Special Agent Abigail Borin. She's 34, served a tour of duty in Iraq. Sergeant. No spouse. No little Borins. It's uncanny isn't it?" Tony said staring at the big screen in the bullpen. Both Ziva and McGee looked at him.

"What?" McGee asked looking at the screen then back at him.

"A former Marine, turned surly investigator who flies by the seat of her gut" Tony shook his head.

"How do you know that?" Ziva shook her head.

"He was eavesdropping outside the conference room" McGee didn't let Tony get a word in.

"Its called research Mctadil"

"Are you obsessed with this woman because she reminds you of Gibbs, or because she is quiet attractive" she watched Tony study Abigails picture more closely.

"Oh yeah, gosh I hadn't even noticed" he said happier.

"Hadn't noticed what?" came Kate's voice as she entered the bullpen with Samuel on her hip. Tony turned around and if she wasn't mistaken she saw him go red.

"Hey, we were just ah" Tony stumbled and cleared Abigail's picture from the screen. Kate smiled and watched him. She then looked at Ziva who was also smiling.

"Tony seems to think this CGIS Agent is a female Gibbs" Tony glared at Ziva. Kate walked closer to the screen.

"Put the photo up again Tony" she said. Without hesitation he did what she asked. She stood there reading her file.

"Uh huh. Well I can see the similarities. But her eyes are green, not blue" she turned and smiled at him.

"I hadn't noticed" he went to repeat again.

"Noticed what?" came another voice. Just as quickly Tony removed Borins file from the screen and turned around to meet the red head.

"Oh, we were just talking about the case" he said quickly pointing back at the screen. Kate grinned and shook his head. Samuel squealed and Kate kissed his cheek. Abigail turned to face her.

"And you are?" she asked without any hesitation.

"Kate Gibbs" she said with a smile. Abigail smiled and nodded. She didn't need any explanation. The ring on Gibbs' finger and the matching last names said it all.

"Ah of course. Abigail Borin" the red head stretched out a hand of which Kate took with a smile.

"So where's Gibbs?" Kate asked as she notice he wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Ah he's avoiding me" she replied with a little laugh. Kate nodded.

"Well when he reappears can you let him know Samuel and I will be waiting at home with pizza" she smiled and Abigail nodded.

"Of course" she watched the little boy blow kisses at Ziva, who was doing the same thing back.

"Have a good night" with that Kate left the team in what seemed capable hands of this Agent Borin.

Kate made her way into Abby's lab. The first thing she noticed was that her music was off.

"Abby?" she called as she finally entered her friends lab.

"I'm here" she jumped up from behind her computer with a cheery smile.

"You okay? Too many café pows today?" Kate smiled. Abby shook her head making her pigtails whip back and forth.

"No just the opposite. Ive cut down because they just don't taste the same and you know what? I was right. They changed the ingredients to make it cheaper for them. Can you believe that?" she rambled on. Kate nodded.

"Abby. I'm here for the tox-screen" Kate prompt, making Abby stop and turn to her desk.

"Yes, right sorry. I've just been so busy and then Gibbs had to come down here and distract me with the other Abby" she said as she started typing away at her computer.

"Other Abby?" Kate asked looking at her.

"Yeah. You haven't met her yet? She really pretty. Red hair, green eyes. Reminds me a lot like Gibbs actually" when she realised what she had said she stopped and looked at her friend. Kate just nodded.

"Abigail. Yes I met her last night. She seems nice. Tony seems to think she is a lot like Jethro too" Abby continued her work and then printed out the results and handed them to Kate. She took them and looked at the readings.

"So he was clean? Nothing elicit showed up at all?" Kate asked looking up at Abby. She shook her head making her pigtails swing again.

"Nope. He was very healthy" Abby smiled. Kate nodded again and looked at the papers in front of her.

"So, how are Jethro and this other Abby like when they are together?" she asked without looking up at her friend. She could tell Abby was smiling.

"Kate, you have nothing to worry about. I don't even think Gibbs has noticed she is a woman to be honest" of course this made Kate feel somewhat better. She looked up and smiled.

"You always know what to say. Thanks Abs" she reorganised the papers, kissed her friend on the cheek and left for her bullpen to give an update of the results.

This time it was Kate's turn to come home late and since Gibbs' case had wrapped up he picked up Samuel and got dinner.

Gibbs already comfortable in bed, waited for Kate to finish off in the bathroom and check on Samuel one last time, before finally coming into the bedroom and sliding under the covers with a relieved sigh as her body relaxed.

"So, Abby tells me you got jealous of the other Abby" Gibbs starts and without even looking at him she can feel his grin.

"I wouldn't say I was jealous, I was just curious as to how the two of you were getting on" she tried to explain. She finally looked at him which was her big mistake. That lopsided grin and those blue eyes. She knew she had been an idiot to even think something was going on.

"I suppose it didn't help that people kept talking about us" he was just teasing her now. She sighed and shook her head.

"Okay for a second I may have thought something was going on. She is like you and a red head" before she could continue Gibbs stopped her.

"But she is not my wife" Kate smiled and nodded.

"I'm sorry. I should know better by now not to listen to the gossip at work" she moved closer to him so their bodies were now touching. Gibbs reached out and caressed her cheek before finally leaning down and kissing her softly.

"I love you" he whispered against her lips causing her to smile.

"I love you too" she kissed him again, this time deeper and expertly pulled him on top of her.

Borderland-

The elevator doors ding open.

"The first amendment. Freedom of the press, religion, assembly, petition and" Ziva pauses as she walks with Kate to the bullpen. They hear Tony yelling at his computer.

"And?" Kate prompts as Ziva puts her bag and jacket on her desk.

"And speech. Clearly they didn't have Tony in mind when writing that" she smiles triumphantly. Kate can't help but laugh.

"For that I think we should be grateful" Kate smiled as Tony swore under his breath. They all looked at him.

"Hi, I'm Tony" he said to his screen with a cheesy grin. Kate looked over at McGee.

"What's he doing?" she asked raising an eyebrow.

"Annoying me" was McGee's depressed reply.

"Besides that" Ziva said as she watched Tony, trying to figure out what he was doing.

"It's called random chat. It's a website that video connects you to random strangers" McGee finally explained. Ziva and Kate both looked at each.

"Come on" came another outburst from Tony.

"If a person doesn't like who they are chatting with. You just hit next and move on" McGee continued to explain. Kate nodded her understanding.

"Let me guess, Tony keeps getting nexted" Ziva said and the smile McGee gave her was all the answer she needed.

"This I must see" she got up from behind her desk and walked over to Tony's desk so she could see his screen. Kate decided to follow.

"It's not funny. Longest I've gone is 10 seconds" Tony says seriously as they stand behind him getting a good view of his screen.

"Wow, that surely is a new record for you Tony" Kate couldn't help but say making both Ziva and McGee laugh. The screen went blank as it waited to start a new chat. Two young blondes popped up on the screen.

"Hi ladies" Tony says trying to be as charming as possible.

"Ewww what are you, like 40" one of the blondes says straight away. Kate chuckled as the screen went blank again while another stream was being loaded.

"I've gotta up my game. What can I do? Fingers puppets, or fury barnyard animals. Oh I know" Tony gets up from his desk and pushes aside Ziva and Kate to get into his filing cabinet. He pulls out black plastic glasses with a big fake nose and bushy eyebrows. Tony turns around and comes face to face with Gibbs, who of course doesn't look to impressed.

"Hey boss. This isn't what it looks like" he says seriously.

"Yeah?" Gibbs just stares at him.

"Just out of curiosity, how does this look?" he asked cautiously.

"Looks like we got a dead marine. Grab your gear" Gibbs turns and heads for his own desk. Still with a smile on her face Ziva goes to her desk to grab her things.

"Have a little self respect DiNozzo" Gibbs says grabbing his coffee cup again. Tony pulls off the glasses and throws them on his desk and grabs his bag and follows Ziva to the elevator. Kate, still standing behind his desk hadn't notice the new chat pop up until she heard the voice.

"Well hi there" she heard the voice and looked at the screen. It was a man sitting at a desk at what she presumed was his house in a singlet.

"Oh" Kate was a little shocked and didn't really know what else to say. Gibbs heard it and stopped and walked back to Tony's desk. He came into view and the man looked at them a little confused. Kate stepped forward and closed the page. Gibbs looked at her.

"Tony has some weird habits" she said with a smile. Gibbs nodded and kissed her briefly.

"I'll be sure to show you mine tonight" he said in a low voice that only she could hear. This made Kate blush a little. Gibbs grinned and headed for the elevator.

"That better be a promise mister" she called out after him and smiled to herself.

"Kate, Kate, Kate" Abby said as she ran towards her desk. Kate looked up from her paper work and smiled at her friend.

"Hey Abs, what's wrong?" she asked seeing her friends face.

"Well I've got good news and bad, well I don't know if it's bad, but its not exactly good" she started quickly.

"Abby, take a breath" she did the same to get Abby to follow her. When they let it out Abby started again.

"So I am heading to Mexico for a law enforcement thing the justice department is hosting, well they actually want me to speak" she started to explain.

"Abby that's great. I'm happy for you. So whats the bad news?" she asked a little confused.

"Well, the Director wants to send an escort with me because you know, Mexico isn't really the safest place, so he is sending McGee with me" she finished. Kate nodded.

"And you don't think sending McGee is a good idea?" she was a little confused. They were close and McGee is a good Agent so she was in safe hands.

"You know how McGee was when Alejandro Rivera was here. He has asked me there and I don't want McGee to make it awkward for me" now Kate understood and she smiled.

"Abby I'm sure it will be fine. Go and have a good time. Go be your amazing self and you will be home before you know it" this made Abby smile.

"You always know what to say" she came around Kate's desk and gave her a tight hug.

"I gotta go home and pack" Abby let Kate go and run off again.

"Be safe" Kate called back after her. She laughed to herself and shook her head and went back to her paper work.

Gibbs walked into the house and heard Kate in the lounge room.

"Come on. You can do it. Just one step" he smiled to himself as he knew exactly what she was trying to get him to do. He walked into the doorway and saw Kate sitting on the floor not very far away from Samuel, who was standing up holding onto the coffee table grinning at her. Kate sighed.

"Kate we will walk when he is ready" he finally said as he walked over to her, bent down and kissed her head. He then went over and picked Samuel up and kissed his cheek. The little boy wrapped his arms around his neck.

"And this is why he wont walk. He has so many people to carry him around" she said as she stood up.

"Just give him time" he rubbed the little boys back and followed Kate into the kitchen.

"Fish and salad okay?" she asked as she got the tray of fish out of the oven. Gibbs nodded.

"Sounds good. This case has me off meat for the moment" he commented. He sat down with Samuel in his lap as Kate worked on getting the food plated up.

"Someone's been cutting off the feet of bikers" Kate stopped and looked at him.

"Just the feet?" she asked and he nodded. She shook her head. She thought nothing could stun her anymore. She was wrong.

"I now see why you are so happy to have fish" she smiled as she brought the plates over. They both took turns eating and holding Samuel in their laps, who of course had to try every piece of fish before either of them could eat it themselves.

"Have you heard from Abby?" Gibbs asked as he cleared their plates.

"She messaged not that long ago. Apparently McGee is not adjusting to the whole bottled water rule down there so she chose to sleep in the lab they provided her" Gibbs laughed.

"Trust McGee" when Gibbs was done he took Samuel from Kate.

"I will go bath him" Kate nodded but before Gibbs left she stopped him.

"Do you think they will be okay?" she asked him. Gibbs looked at her and nodded.

"They will be fine. They were asked there as guests to begin with" with that Gibbs left for the bathroom. Kate nodded, but something just didn't feel right

Gibbs walked into autopsy as Ducky was poking the skull of a corpse.

"You wanted to see me Duck? Hope that's not another victim" he said stopping next to it and examining the dried remains.

"Victim yes, but not our case. I'm helping Abby with one of hers. It's a cold case from her Mexican emposium" Ducky explained.

"Meet Pedro. Remarkably well preserved for a 20 year old corpse" he continued.

"Pedro huh" to Gibbs this was rather a common Mexican name. He wasn't the least bit interested in this corpse, he wanted to wrap up his own case.

"I believe so, Mr Palmer?" Jimmy Palmer turned in his seat to look at the case report.

"Yep, Pedro Hernandez" he confirmed. "Apparently a snipper gunned him down outside a small town in Mexico" it was almost like Gibbs was imagining things. Gibbs looked at the corpse on the table in front of him and he was back in Mexico on that ridge.

"Abby thinks she might be able to trace the bullet, but its pretty old" Jimmy kept on saying.

"Abby huh?".

"Yes, I didn't call you down here to discuss ancient history. I finished my psychological profile of our dead serial killer. Rather, I do not personally believe he was a serial killer. Don't get me wrong Jethro, I don't doubt that Corpral Collins committed those murders, but, he shows none of the psychopathology that normally motivates a serial killer" Ducky explained as he continued to dig around in the corpses' skull.

"Yeah, what motivated him?" Gibbs asked in a raspy voice, as his mouth had gone dry after hearing about Abby's discovery.

"I don't know. Until we know that, we know nothing. Uh huh, here. I think I have it" the Dr explained as he carefully pulled out what remained if the bullet from the skull.

"Jethro, if you would be so kind?" he asked indicating the specimen jar. Gibbs took a step and grabbed it for his friend and watched as he dropped the fragment into it.

"Mr Palmer would you run this up to Abby?" the Dr asked but before the assistant could answer Gibbs did.

"I got it Duck" he put the lid on the jar and grabbed the pen from Ducky.

"Thank you Jethro" Gibbs signed the evidence form, carefully watched by Ducky as it was odd for Gibbs to volunteer to run an errand for him. Without another word Gibbs left autopsy, heading for Abby's lab.

Kate ran down the stairs when she heard the knock on the door. She had just put Samuel to bed and was ready for some alone time with Gibbs. He didn't seem himself when he got home and wanted to talk to him. She opened the door and was a little surprised to see Abby there.

"Hey Abs. Everything okay?" she asked as she stepped aside to let her in. The Goth nodded and walked in slowly. She too wasn't her usually cheery self.

"Hey, is Gibbs here?" she asked softly. This made Kate smile.

"Of course he is here. He's in the basement. Has something happened?" she asked. Abby shook her head.

"No, just need to talk" that's all she said before she made her way to the basement and slowly made her way down the stairs. Gibbs was in the middle of the basement when he heard the footsteps and looked up.

"Hey Gibbs" Abby stopped halfway down the stairs.

"Hey Abs" he said glancing at her.

"Can I come in?" she asked.

"Yeah, you're already in" he put what he was working on down.

"Oh yeah right" she finally made it down the rest of the stairs and walked over to him and looked at him.

"Okay" they stood there neither one saying anything it.

"It was nice talking to you" she quickly said before turning and walking away.

"Abs" he said, making her stop and turn to look at him.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"You know why I'm here" he didn't say anything. Abby put her bag on the bench next to her.

"I matched the bullet from Hernandez's head to your snipper riffle" they looked eyes and after a moment Gibbs continued with putting together the rocking chair.

"You killed him. In cold blood. I mean, I know what he did Gibbs, he killed your wife and your daughter, but Gibbs" she paused.

"I know" he said softly, not looking at her.

"Gibbs doesn't do things like that. Or does he? Now I don't know. I don't know anything. The only thing that I do know is that I didn't find this out by accident" she looked at him, hoping for some type of explanation.

"Rule 40" was his response, still not looking at her.

"If it seems like someone is out to get you, they are. You have no idea how much I wish it was yesterday. Maybe if I could just close my eyes and open them again it will be" Abby stopped, close her eyes for a few seconds and opened them again. This made Gibbs smile.

"Do you realise the situation that I'm in now?" she asked, not really expecting an answer.

"Yeah I know" he answered anyway.

"Do you understand the choice I have to make now?" she continued.

"I know" he replied again.

"Stop saying I know" she raised her voice a little.

"What do you want me to say?" he finally looked at her.

"Tell me that I'm wrong. Tell me that I made a mistake, with the ballistics"

"No. No, I cant say that" he admitted.

"Then tell me how much I've been like a daughter to you and how much you love me" she was almost pleading with him now.

"Will that help?"

"No. But I really need to know, Gibbs. Is that if you're going to love me no matter what" she looked at him and he looked at her. For some reason he couldn't seem to form any words. He sighed and stepped forward and wrapped an arm around her.

"No matter what" he whispered against her head. He felt her body relax against his.

Neither of them had realised Kate had been hiding at the doorway of the basement and had heard everything. So many scenarios were running through her head. She quietly went back to the kitchen to tidy up until Abby left. She heard the front door close and dried her hands and made her way down the basement steps. She didn't say anything until she was standing at the work bench watching him.

"You never told me you killed him" she said softly. Gibbs stopped what he was doing, but didn't say anything.

"You told me what happened, but you never told me you went and hunted him down and killed him" her voice was flat, full of no emotion. It was like she still trying to process what she had just heard. He finally turned and faced her, but still didn't say anything.

"Why?" was all she asked. He looked into her big brown eyes.

"It didn't seem important" he said softly. Kate nodded and tried to keep her anger from getting the better of her.

"I have asked you and I have given you ample opportunity to talk about that part of your life. And you have to an extent and Jet I understand it's hard for you after all these years. But I am your wife. If Abby hadn't come here and talked to you about it I wouldn't have known until you were in cuffs or dead" she said still trying to keep her voice neutral. Gibbs walked over to her.

"I never mentioned it because it was never important. What I did I thought it would make me feel better but it didn't. Afterwards I" he paused trying to keep his own emotions under control.

"Afterwards I wanted to take my own life. It's not something that just comes up in conversation Kate" she nodded and looked away. They stood there in silence for a moment before he spoke again.

"I would have killed Ari for what he did to you" he said softly. Kate looked up at him and smiled softly.

"I know, but Jethro just because we can doesn't mean we should" she said as she reached out and ran a hand up and down his chest.

"We both have to be more careful now. We have Samuel to think about. What happens if this case gets reopened and they come after you? You know Abby cant lie, especially on an official report. And I know deep down you wont want her to" she said and Gibbs just nodded.

"I know" was all he said in a soft voice.

"If anything was to happen to you, I don't know what I would do" she said, her voice failing at the end. He pulled her to him and kissed her head.

"Everything will be okay" he told her as he hugged her tight. They stayed like this for a few more minutes before both deciding to go upstairs to bed.

Patriot Down-

"He just stands there and looks at me like I'm an idiot" Kate said with a laugh as she was showing Chuck the latest video to Chuck.

"Well you see that what happens when you have so many people around you who pick you up and take you everywhere" he said as he took a sip of his coffee.

"That's exactly what I said. Jethro thinks he just needs more time. He is almost one and not even close to taking a step. At least he is starting to form words" she put her phone away as Balboa joined them in the bullpen.

"Who's forming words?" he asked joining the other two.

"Samuel. I think he is close to talking but no where near walking" she smiled. Kate could never understand how mothers could talk about their children so much, but now she was a mother herself, it seemed that's all she ever talked about.

"Just watch out, once they start saying the word 'no' they never stop" Balboa laughed as he sat at his desk.

"If he is anything like his father, no will be his favourite word" they all laughed.

Kate was typing away at her computer when a message popped up. She clicked on it and read it.

"Whoa. Did you just get the email I just got?" she asked Chuck. He looked at her and nodded.

"This normally doesn't happen unless one of us has been killed" they looked at each other. Kate grabbed her phone instantly and tried Gibbs' number but got no answer. She swore under her breath and slammed the phone down.

"That man better learn how to answer his phone soon" she said as she waited a minute before she was going to try him again. Before she had the chance to Balboa walked into the bullpen.

"I assume you two got the message about the alert?' he asked. They nodded.

"Good. Well Special Agent Massey was found murdered this morning. Gibbs and his team are on it but the alert has been issued for all NCIS Agents around the world" he explained. Without meaning to Kate let out a sigh of relief that it wasn't her husband that was in fact dead. Either way she tried to call him again.

"I'm fine" was how he answered her after the third ring.

"Well if you had answered the first time I would know that" she said.

"I was in MTAC with one of Massey's Agents" he explained. This made Kate feel guilty.

"I'm sorry. You knew each other right?" she asked softly.

"Yeah. Somewhat" he sounded tired already.

"Well if there is anything I or the rest of us can do, please let us know" she said with a soft smile.

"Just look after yourself. Be careful Katie" he says softly before hanging up.

Gibbs hangs up with the bartender in Mexico and quickly calls Kate as he waits for the elevator doors to open. He paces the small box waiting for her to pick up the phone.

"Hey" finally came her sweet voice. He instantly felt relief flood his body.

"Kate, are you busy?" he asks quickly.

"No we just got back. Why? Is everything okay?" she asked picking up something in his voice.

"Katie, I need you to go grab Samuel, go home and stay there. Lock all the doors and don't answer the door for anyone" he explains quickly and calmly.

"Jethor are you going to tell me what's going on?" she asks. It takes all his control not to yell at her.

"Just do it. Please" he says before hanging up on her.

Kate looks at her phone and then at Balboa and Chuck.

"So, what would be the chances of finishing these reports off at home?" she asked looking at her boss. Balboa looked over at her raising an eyebrow in question.

"It sounds like something is going on and Gibbs has ordered me to get Samuel and go home" she explains. Balboa looks over at Chuck then back at Kate and nods.

"I believe Gibbs wouldn't ask you that if it wasn't important. We will come with you" both him and Chuck both got up and grab the file folders on their desks then their jackets and before Kate could protest they were already at the elevator door waiting for her.

Gibbs finally got home and was met with a full lounge room. He looked at Balboa and Chuck and gave them both a nod of thanks.

"Kate, a word" he gestures upstairs and she gets up from the couch to follow him up to their bedroom.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" she asked in a hushed voice as to not wake Samuel in the next room. Gibbs started going through his draws and got changed.

"I believe Agent Massey was killed by one of Col. Bell's men, and now he has gone after Mike. I have to go to Mexico" he explained as he pulled on a new shirt. Kate stood there and looked at him.

"Mike is a grown man, I'm sure he can look after himself" she retorted. Gibbs stopped and looked at her.

"This is happening because of me. Because of what I did. And I will be damned if anyone dies because if it" their gazes locked and she knew there was no way in changing his mind. She sighed and sat on the edge of the bed.

"Keep Balboa and Chuck close. All doors and windows locked at all times" he ordered and he continued to change. He then stuffed a change of clothes in a back pack.

"When will you be home?" she asked softly.

"Don't know" she nodded her head but he didn't see it.

"Just, be safe okay" this made him stop and walk over to her.

"Take care of you and Samuel. I will be home as soon as I can" he leaned down and kissed her softly. He went to move away but she reached out and stopped him and pulled him down for another deeper kiss.

"I love you" she said softly when she let him go. He gave her a small smile.

"Love you too" with one more kiss to her head he left their room and carefully entered Samuels room. He walked over to the cot and watched his son sleep. He smiled to himself and reached out to gently caress his cheek.

"Always know daddy loves you" he told his little boy softly before leaning down and kiss his forehead. With that Gibbs left the house and headed for the airport.

Rule Fifty-One

"It may be useful to kill everyone you ever met" Paloma says with a smirk as she stares at Gibbs. He watches Dean move towards her and hands her something wrapped in what looks to be cotton. Paloma takes it and sit down, throwing it on the table between them. The cotton rolls open to reveal and severed finger.

"Starting with your friend Mike. Then your wife and child. Moving on to your co-workers. And if I must, I will personally visit Pennsylvania and shoot your father in the head" as she spoke her grin grew wider, while Gibbs tried to keep control of his emotions.

"I will start small" Gibbs looked down at the finger again and she pushed a small box that was wrapped in duck tape.

"Just make sure this package is delivered" he didn't answer her. He was still trying to control his pounding heart.

"How many more lives are your convictions worth?" she smiled sweetly at him. Gibbs just stared at her.

Kate felt like she was losing her mind. Samuel had woken at 5am and she couldn't get him to settle. She was thankful Balboa and Chuck had left before hand so she wouldn't disturb their sleep.

"I know, I know I miss him too, but please Sam stop crying" this seemed to make the little boy cry even harder as she bounced him around the room. She heard a noise at the front door and grabbed her weapon from the table and aimed it at the front door. She sighed when she saw Gibbs walk in.

"Jesus Jethro, call ahead next time" she said with a sigh as she put her gun back down on the table. Gibbs gave her his lopsided grin and moved towards them. As soon as Samuel spotted him he stopped crying and reached over for his father.

"Come here" Gibbs took the little boy from Kate's arms and kissed his tear stained cheeks. This gave Kate time to examine her husband.

"What the hell happened down there?" she asked as she ran her hand over his dirty cheek. Gibbs just shrugged.

"It's Mexico. It's dirty" was all the explanation he gave. She knew it was more than that, but typical Gibbs didn't want her to worry. He pulled her to him with his free arm and kissed her head.

"I'm okay. Tired and dirty, but okay" he told her softly. He felt her body relax and he held her tighter.

"Hmmm I like you in a suite" Kate grins as she fixes Jethro's tie. They are getting ready to go to Ziva's citizenship ceremony. Samuel was already dressed in his little tux Kate had brought him and was sitting on the bed watching his parents get ready. Gibbs grinned and turned to look at her.

"Well don't get used to it" he kissed her softly. Kate laughed.

"Oh trust me, I know very well that its only for special occasions" she commented. She checked her hair in the mirror making sure it wasn't sticking up everywhere. Gibbs wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed her neck softly. She leaned back into him and smiled.

"Its perfect" he mumbled in her ear before nibbling it. They heard the door bell ring and both sighed. He placed one more kiss on her neck.

"I'll get it" he said before running down stairs. Kate grabbed her purse and then picked up Samuel and followed him down the stairs. She saw Ms Heart standing in the door way.

"Oh, good morning" Kate said as she moved Samuel higher up her hip. Ms Heart smiled politely. Gibbs looked at Kate.

"You go ahead. I will meet you there" he told her. Kate looked from one to the other and just nodded.

"Sure. I will see you later" she grabbed her keys and left the two alone and headed for the ceremony.

After waiting most of the afternoon for Gibbs to finally show up to celebrate Ziva's new residency status, but he didn't show. He didn't call or even message her. She decided to head home with a very sleepy little boy in the back seat. When she pulled up into the driveway she carefully got him out and walked inside. The house was silent, so she went upstairs to Samuel's bedroom and put him down so he could continue his nap. She was about to head down stairs when she heard someone call out. She stopped and went to the doorway of their bedroom and saw Gibbs sitting on their bed with what seemed to be a small wooden box next to him.

"Hey, what are you doing?"she asked softly. He gave her a small smile and held out a little card towards her. She paused before walking over to him and taking it from him.

"Number fifty-one. Sometimes you're wrong" she read aloud from the small worn out card. She looked at him.

"My rules. I used to write them all down" she saw his mouth twitch in a smile.

"You got all the way up to 51? Good thing I didn't decide to crochet them" she laughed as she put it back in the box, moved it to the side and sat down next to him. She wrapped an arm around him and rest her head on his shoulder.

"I have called you a lot of things over the years Jethro. But wrong is not one of them" she felt him lean into her.

"Sorry I missed the ceremony" he started but Kate cut him off.

"It's not me you have to apologise to".