A/N: Here you go! I know the last chapter was shorter than I usually write... buuuttt, I thought that it would be a good place to end off :] Anyway, here you go! Read, review & enjoy!
X-x-X
Kate's feet pounded against the pavement. Her I-Pod was in her ears, music blasting away her anger while she discreetly eyed the vehicle across the way. She figured if she went for a walk through the neighbourhood park the person in the car would follow her, and ta-da, she had some concrete evidence to back up her hunch. She hoped there was only one person in the car; otherwise, she was screwed. How hard could a pregnant woman, who had been out of the field for as long as she had been, fight? She did have her cell phone clipped to her pants just in case. If all came to all, she would just call Jethro.
Jethro...she sighed as she thought about their argument just moments before. She winced as she recalled telling him how he could be a bastard. He was simply concerned about her and was trying to protect her, but there was a fine line between concern and just being a downright bastard, as she had said. Gibbs had crossed that line. Okay, maybe she shouldn't have been so harsh with her words, but he shouldn't have spoken to her the way he did.
Kate was pulled out of her thoughts by the vibrating of her cell; Jethro flashed across her screen when she opened it up. She thought about answering it, but she was still too worked up to talk to him. She didn't want to say anything else she might have to apologize for, so she let her voicemail answer.
Glancing over her shoulder, Kate noticed that the car was nowhere to be seen.
"Well, it can be hard to find a parking spot for your car here with all the parents who bring their kids to the area."
She stopped and sat at a bench, casually watching the people that were walking in the park. She had no idea who she should be looking for, no idea if the person she suspected to be driving the car was in the neighbourhood park and hadn't the slightest idea of what they looked like. She had to assume that if this person was following her they would be trying to blend in with the crowd. She watched to see if anyone might have been watching her, but nobody stood out. Kate continued on her walk, heading for the exit so she could head home. Her plan had been unsuccessful.
Again, her cell started vibrating and when Kate looked at the caller ID this time she noticed Abby's name.
"Hey, Abby."
"Hi, Kate! What are you and the Gibblet at today?"
"We're out for a little stroll this afternoon in the neighbourhood park, Abs," Kate said chuckling. Good old Abby. You could always count on her to lighten your mood. "What about you?"
"Aw, that's so sweet! I was just calling to chat. I'll let you get back to your walk though!"
Kate paused for a second before speaking her friend. Abby had been the victim of a stalker. Could Kate ask Abby if she had known, or had any suspicions without raising any red flags? "Abby, wait," Kate said quickly, trying to catch her before she hung up.
Abby noticed the slightly urgent tone that Kate's voice held. Intrigued by this, she answered her. "Yeah?"
Kate was getting ready to ask Abby what she had to ask when she noticed a woman with dark hair staring intently at Kate. When she noticed that Kate had seen her, the mystery woman jumped into a car. A car that looked a lot like the one she'd seen parked outside her house. She couldn't see the woman's face, but she could make out her long hair and couldn't help but notice that her outfit looked a lot like the one Kate was missing.
"Shit," Kate muttered. "Sorry, Abs! I've gotta run! I'll call you back!"
Kate hung up the phone, leaving a sputtering Abby on the other end and took off after the car. She noted the model of the car and tried to get a license plate number. The car took off too quickly however, for her to get a good look.
Kate finally stopped running, realizing there was no way she would catch the car.
"I think I was right," she told herself.
X-x-X
"Yeah, Gibbs," Gibbs said as he flipped open his cell.
"GIBBS! Where are you! I was just talking to Kate and she seemed really, well I don't really have a word to describe how she was, but she sounded like something was wrong and she hung up and I'm really worried about her! Where are you? Abby screamed into the phone, causing Gibbs to move the phone away from his ear.
He couldn't understand a word she'd told him, she was talking too fast. Something about Kate? He felt his stomach lurch. "I'm home. Abs, slow down. Start at the beginning and tell me what happened," Gibbs told her, trying to keep the fear out of his voice.
"I called Kate on her cell. We were talking and before we hung up she told me to hang on. Then she said she had to go and hung up really quick. I'm worried something happened to her," Abby told him again.
"Did she happen to mention where she was?"
"Neighbourhood park."
"Alright. Thanks, Abs. I'll call you when I talk to her. I'm sure she's fine," Gibbs told Abby as he hung up the phone. He hauled on his shoes in record time and raced out the door. He quickly reversed his car out of the driveway and took off in the direction of the park.
"Please be okay, please be okay," he said, hoping Kate could hear him, but knowing it was impossible. He couldn't have anything happen to her. He'd never survive, and after what he said to her earlier, well...
"Stop thinking stuff like that. You're making yourself worry when you don't need to be."
Gibbs continued to his drive around the neighbourhood. He checked the park, but after noting that Kate was not there, he continued on his way.
Finally, he came up on a familiar looking brunette walking quickly in the direction of his house. He pulled up next to her, beeping the horn. She glanced up, giving a smile of relief at seeing him before quickly shedding it to re-create her slightly annoyed look. She was attempting to stay mad at him and, though he would never tell her, he found it very amusing.
Rolling down the window, he sang out, "Get in. I'll give you a lift home."
She thought about it and when he realized there was a real possibility she wouldn't he added, "Get in the car. Please, Katie. Abby called me and she's worried."
Kate decided to get in the car. "She called you?" Kate asked him as she closed the door and buckled her seatbelt.
"Well, yeah. She was worried when you hung up on her. And she said that you sounded off..." He let his sentence trail off. She didn't want to talk right now. He loved everything about her, but her stubbornness was not one of those things. He found it very sexy sometimes; right now wasn't one of those times.
By now, they had pulled up in their driveway, got out of the car and headed inside. Kate surveyed the road for the vehicle, although she figured that the un-sub was smarter than to show up after being seen. Exhaling loudly, she turned on her heel and followed Jethro into the house.
"So, you gonna tell me why Abby called me in a panic?" he asked her when she came into the porch.
"I didn't mean to frighten her," Kate said, slightly ashamed of herself.
"No, I know that. But you did. And she called me. So, are you going to tell me or not?"
"Jethro, when I left, we were fighting. I'm back, and I'm not in the state of mind to fight with you. Nor do I have the energy," Kate told him with finality in her voice.
Jethro shook his head. He had to apologize. Otherwise, this could go on for a while. "Katie, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have prodded you to talk if you didn't want to."
"Jethro, it wasn't the fact of talking to me before I was ready. It was the way you said it to me... you crossed a line."
"Yeah? You don't think you did, too?" he asked her calmly.
Kate took a deep breath. She figured she deserved that comment. "I probably did. I know I did. How would you have reacted if the roles were reversed? Huh?" His silence proved the question she asked him. "Exactly...I know you."
Jethro simply gave her a brief nod, showing her he understood her point, before heading off for the basement door. When he had disappeared from view, Kate walked into the kitchen for a bottle of water and some time to think. She needed to tell him. Gibbs might have been able to open a case. If not, he could at least help her stay safe.
Reluctantly, Kate got up from her stool at the island and hauled off her fighting gloves. She walked through the basement door and leaned over the railing to watch him sand his boat. Noticing he wasn't going to acknowledge her presence, Kate continued down the stairs and went to lean against the boat. Her position caused him to halt his work and finally, Gibbs looked at her.
Kate saw hurt in his eyes and she felt horrible that she had made him feel that way.
She got lost in his eyes, not knowing anything until she heard his voice. "I'm sorry. For how I acted earlier, for how I said it and for hurting you. I just...I wanted you to be honest with me."
Kate placed her hand on his arm and gave it a reassuring squeeze.
"I have something to tell you," she started, "but you can't say anything until I finish. And you have to promise me...You have to promise me that you won't be mad."
Her words worried him. They made his tongue feel thick in his mouth, so that he had to nod his head to answer her, unable to speak.
"The other day, I asked you about my clothes being missing. Remember? Well, you had no idea where they were and neither did I. When I asked Abby, she said I hadn't left them at her house either. This morning, when I was coming out of the grocery store, I noticed a car drive past my car, only seconds before I told you the window was beaten out." Kate stopped and took a breath.
Jethro's face held a quizzical look. He opened his mouth to ask her a question, but thought better of it.
"Continue," he said softly.
"I had seen the car pull away from the curb this morning before I had left; it was parked just across the street and took off in a hurry when I got in the vehicle. When I came home, I had this...feeling...something wasn't right. Oh, I almost forgot to tell you...when I came home from work the other day to rest, the front door was unlocked...Jethro, I could swear I locked it when I went to work that morning. At the time, I put it off to being sick and in a hurry... but this morning I wondered if it was something more serious. You said you heard me walking around upstairs when I said I was having a nap. I was looking to see if anything was missing," she told him. Her voice was slightly shaky as she remembered the events of the past few days.
"Was there?" he asked. He was supposed to be able to keep her safe, and now he was faced with the possibility of someone breaking into his house. He felt horrible...and angry.
"That's the funny part. I checked my jewellery box and nothing was missing. But, when I checked in my closet and stuff I found that clothes were gone. I'm missing pants, shirts, panties and bras, hairbrushes...all personal items. When I looked out our bedroom window, that blue car was there again. I decided to go for a walk. See if they would follow me." Kate was whispering now, stray tears rolling down her cheeks and she quickly dried them.
"Katie, you-"
"Please," she told him, "let me finish. I went for a walk, went through the neighbourhood and it didn't seem like anything was out of the ordinary. When I got into the park, I sat on a bench. I was looking around, thinking about me and you, and Abby called. I was going to ask her about her...situation a while back. But, at that moment, I noticed this woman. She was just...staring at me...studying me. I thought, 'Fuck. That's what I'm looking for right there'. She knew she was caught staring and she jumped into a car- a blue car. And Jethro, I know companies make a lot of clothes, but I'm almost...almost sure that was my lost outfit. When I hung up with Abby I ran after the car, but it was no use. Jethro," Kate said, her voice heavy with unshed tears, "I think someone is stalking me."
Jethro quickly enveloped his upset wife in his arms. Kate started to cry a little harder. Whether it was his kind gesture, or fear, neither knew. He stroked her hair, whispered in her ear, telling her it was going to be fine.
"I'm.. I'm so sorry! I'm sorry for not being honest with you, and for calling you a bastard... and...and..." Her tears prevented her from finishing, but Jethro got the point.
"Katie, it's okay. Come on, honey. Take a deep breath and relax. All this stress- it's not good for you or the baby," he told her in an attempt to calm her down.
"Please, don't be mad at me," she said as she pulled away from his hug to recompose herself.
"Why would I be mad?"
"Because , this... This is all my fault. I'm so sorry."
"Kate," he said as he looked her straight in the eyes. "Listen to me. This is NOT your fault. You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm sorry for not being able to protect you the way I want to, the way you should be. I'm sorry you feel this way, and I'm sorry for that. But Katie, this is NOT your fault," he finished with a note of assurance in his voice, capturing her lips in a sensual kiss.
"I'm sorry. For not telling you sooner," she told him again.
"I know. And you know how I feel about apologies," Jethro told her jokingly. She smiled when he said that and let out a small laugh.
"That's better. You look much more beautiful when you're smiling."
Kate grabbed his face in her hands and kissed him softly. "How did I get so lucky?"
"I ask myself that same question," he told her truthfully.
Kate took her cell out of her pocket. "Guess I should call Abby. Let her know I'm okay."
"Sounds like a good idea. Tell her I want to see her at NCIS in forty minutes," Gibbs said as he hauled out his own cell.
Kate started up the stairs into the house, hearing Gibbs on his cell on the way.
"DiNozzo... We've got a case. I want to see you at NCIS in forty minutes. No, I do not care that you're on a date with Rebecca. You won't either when you wake up tomorrow and see another female body. Be there, or start looking for another job. And call McGee!"
X-x-X
A/N: So... I realize that I make Kate, who in the show is quite independant, seem like a total damsel in distress :). Buut, that's AU fanfiction for you, and in my defence I'd react the same, only worse!
And, I realize that Gibbs probably talks too much, but hey, he's married in this.
Anyway, please leave a review to let me known what you think! I hope to get the next chapter up soon...