Chapter 15

Natalie POV

Natalie woke up to the sound of a phone ringing, only it wasn't hers. She felt her bed move and that's when she realized she had fallen asleep on Gibbs. She shifted to let him answer his phone and when he turned she couldn't help blushing at the situations. She liked him. He was nice, sweet and very sexy to her. She knew it was unrealistic with their ages but something about him just oozed masculinity and something completely indescribable to her. She smiled and stretched before heading to the kitchen. It was just after 6 and she had gotten a few hours sleep. She started making coffee and some semblance of breakfast.

"Okay Tony, that's great" Gibbs said before following her in. "Tony's setting up surveillance on a person of interest. Looks like Pachi was looking into her too."

"That's good." Natalie said. "Do you want something to eat too?" she asked as the coffee percolated. He nodded and she grabbed some eggs and pre-cooked bacon from her mini fridge. On a second thought she grabbed some cheese as well and made an open faced omelette for each of them. He fixed her a cup of coffee as well and she said, "Sugar and milk, please" when he raised the milk in question.

They sat back at her coffee table, only she had him hold the plates and mugs for a moment while she adjusted the table to become more like a dining table. They ate in silence which was fine with Natalie as she was still reeling from waking up in Gibbs's arms.

"I'm sorry I fell asleep on you last night."

Gibbs gulped some coffee and shoveled more food in his mouth. He said, "It's fine, just glad you could relax a bit."

Natalie nodded and they finished eating in silence. "I'll go get ready and call work. If you leave the dishes I can do them later."

"I'm a man but I do know how to do them," he joked with her, "Get ready, and pack a bag for a few days and nights, I'll do the cleaning up."

Natalie grabbed a bag and started packing and then closed her door to get dressed for the day. It was still unseasonably warm and she picked a pencil skirt in navy blue with a white sleeveless blouse. She grabbed a Navy cropped sleeve sweater to go over it when she was in air conditioning. She picked up a pair of ballet flats in grey and her runners at the door. She called her boss and briefly explained the situation who assured her that she could take as much time as she needed. She promised she would still be available to mark assignments and would be reachable via phone and e-mail.

They left for Gibbs's place so that he could change before work and it was while they were in the car that Natalie remembered something.

"Shit! I have to call Eph. We have training tonight. I'll have to cancel." She quickly got out her cell to call the gym while Gibbs gave her a questioning look. "He's my trainer. Been teaching me self defense and Krav Maga."

"Ahh, he's the one."

Gibbs pulled up to a nice little bungalow style house and they went inside. "I won't be long, I'll shower and change and we can go in 5 minutes."

"Well remember to breath," she joked.

"Marine," he said referring to himself, "I can shower in under 2 minutes."

Natalie chuckled and took the chance to look around his house a little. It was a lot of wood and warm colours. Very masculine with leathers and older fabrics. He had a very old television set and tons of books. There were all kinds of military history and fiction books, as well as encyclopedias. He had numerous books on woodworking and sailing. She even spotted a couple of cook books.

She wasn't surprised at the tidiness or the functionality of everything. With his military background Gibbs wouldn't be the type for clutter. But he was apparently a sentimentalist as she spotted antiques and things a guy wouldn't normally hold on to. She noted that there were a couple of photo albums on the book shelf.

True to his word, Gibbs re-appeared within a few minutes. He was freshly showered and smelled wonderfully. He wore a sage green polo shirt and greyish-green sport coat over a pair of dark grey pants. He ushered her out the door and stopped at the car. "Wanna drive?" he asked her.

"I don't know where to go, and are you sure, my instructor tells me I'm rubbish."

"I'll chance it, and I can give you directions." He tossed her the keys and they got in.

"I've heard from Tony you don't let other people drive normally, what gives," she asked while adjusting the seat and mirrors.

He chuckled, "You deserve the chance to learn without someone saying you're rubbish. Rubbish?" he asked incredulously.

"He's British" she responded and started the car.

"Ahh." Gibbs directed her to back out of the driveway and head left.

Soon enough they were on their way with Natalie gripping the wheel and still jerkily stopping at stop signs.

"Relax your grip," said Gibbs, "and gently and steadily apply pressure to the pedals. Think of the car as an extension of your body."

Natalie took the advice and found it really helped her. At the first set of lights the traffic was slowing and she managed to stop without having Gibbs fly into his seatbelt.

"Good." He smiled at her and she took the moment to notice how relaxed he was in the car. Her instructor always looked like he was about to pounce. It made Natalie feel more confident. "Okay, you're going to turn right here and head for the on-ramp, traffic will be light on the highway this time of morning." She must have looked as anxious about going on the highway as she felt. "You can do this," he assured her.

"Never driven the highway before," she said as she started towards the ramp.

"Just increase your speed, checking your blind spot and mirrors while signaling to merge." When she did so and merged successfully he responded, "Good, just maintain speed and keep and eye on traffic around you. We'll take the 5th exit down, it will be on the right."

10 minutes later and Natalie was successful in exiting the highway and driving back at town speeds. "That was cool."

"You did well. I think you're instructor is the problem, not you, you're doing great" Gibbs told her.

She smiled and confidently drove into the Navy yard and up to the guards gate. They both flashed their IDs and Natalie drove over to the parking area. Gibbs pointed to a spot. It had cars on either side, "Oh god, can't we go to another, with maybe no cars?" she asked looking at it dubiously.

"No, you can do this." He guided her through everything. Never telling her turn now, do this here, just how it is done and let her find her pace with it. She was very slow but managed to not hit either car. However she was crooked in the spot.

"I messed it up." She was shaking her head looking in the mirrors and noticing that there was little space for Gibbs to get out.

"Many people end up a little off centre. Just pull a head a little, adjust yourself and reverse back into the spot."

She did as he suggested and was much straighter and this time Gibbs could exit without wishing he was a toothpick.

"Well done," he praised and they exited the vehicle. "You can leave your overnight and bring your work stuff."

She grabbed her bags and handed him the keys, "Thanks for believing in me" she told him. They set off for the building and for a very busy day.