Title: The Strength Within

Author: Alamo Girl

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters. Navy NCIS and its characters belongs to CBS and Belisarius Productions. Don't sue me, I have no money.

Summary:  Kate finds that life can deal some surprising blows.(This is my first fan fiction attempt,  Please be GENTLE!) Gibbs/Kate

Author Note* This story is dedicated to the women continuing the fight and to those who have lost the battle with Breast Cancer.

'He did this to me on purpose,' Kate thought to herself as she kneeled in the smelliest, most disgusting dumpster there could possibly be in the state of Virginia.  She had been to some interesting crime scenes, and had seen some pretty gruesome effects of the things people can do to one another. But schlogging around in a dumpster looking for, …

'Oh great! Am I looking for trace evidence, murder weapon, .. my dignity maybe.'

She had been so angry when Gibbs sent her to search the dumpster near the crime scene, she didn't ask what it was Gibbs wanted found, or maybe she blocked him out, who knows! A young female naval lieutenant had been assaulted and stabbed in this alley, and Tony was happily taking pictures and sketching, Gibbs was interviewing, and Ducky had just arrived.

Kate stood up, the smell was about to knock her out. She glanced over the rim of the dumpster in time to catch Gibbs' eye. He gave her the 'aren't you supposed to be doing something' look, a smirk was threatening to show on his face.

She threw her best 'go to hell' look at him, and then remembered what she was looking for. The lieutenant had also been robbed, and Kate remembered that most robbers take the wallet, cash and credit cards, and then chunk the purse. The wallet with ID had been found up the alley, but the purse and the murder weapon, 'Both of which might have prints,' she thought, could have been thrown in the most convenient place. The dumpster.

With somewhat renewed enthusiasm Kate reached back down into the trash. If she could just find that..

"Find any buried treasure Kate?" Tony asked cheerfully.

"Yea Tony, why don't you just come a little closer and I'll give you an up close and personal presentation of what I've found in here." Kate said over her shoulder.

" Oh, I think I'm fine out here thanks, besides your doing such a great job, you were really meant for this kinda work Kate." Tony loved teasing her, especially when Gibbs was out of earshot. He tended to get reprimanded for his "good natured" ribbing, he couldn't understand why Gibbs just couldn't take a joke sometimes. "Besides, your shorter than me, Gibbs thought you could fit in the dumpster better."

"Well Tony," Kate said as she spied something sticking out of the side of a moldy box, " I'd have figured you would do better in here, I mean, your mind is always in the gutter and full of trash anyways." She pulled out what she had been digging for, a six inch hunting knife, and smiled. There was still fresh blood on the blade.

Kate stood up, the knife held high. Tony's smug expression fell as he saw what she was holding. Gibbs had finished his interviews and was striding over to see what his younger partners had turned up.

"Well Agent Todd, it seems you really were the best man for the job." Gibbs said.

"You really enjoy seeing me do the shitty work, huh Gibbs?" Kate said as she slipped the knife into the evidence bag Gibbs held out for her. " I mean, how long do I have to work with you before the "initiation" period is over?" She started to climb over the edge of the dumpster, when suddenly she felt two strong hands clasp around her waist.

She looked down to see Gibbs holding her waist, easily pulling her down from the metal dumpster. Gibbs lowered her to the ground, but not before he pulled her in, quite close to his own body. Their bodies brushed together. Kate, surprised by this physical contact, looked up at Gibbs.

Those sea blue eyes seemed to bore into her. " I put you where I need you Agent Todd. And since you may have just found the evidence we need to find the killer, I don't consider your work tonight " shitty" at all." Gibbs allowed he hands to linger on her hips, maybe a little too long for his own comfort, because he suddenly became aware of the fact they were practically embracing and stepped back.

"Let's get this back to Abby, see if she can pull prints. Tony, you get your sketches to Abby and then you can call it a night." Gibbs was almost to the NCIS van when he called over his shoulder, " And Kate, go home a take a shower!"

Kate snorted. Tony grinned that boyishly handsome grin. "Yea Kate, Eau de Dumpster is not the rage in women's perfumes this year." Kate would have swung at him, but she was still thinking about how Gibbs had, well nearly put his arms around her. And held her there for a while too! She had to ride with Tony back to headquarters, but she changed out of her dirty crime scene coveralls near the truck.

Kate kept thinking about Gibbs' eyes all the way home. Its not like it was the first time they had held each other's gaze, and Kate felt the butterflies in her stomach. Wasn't the first time he'd had his arms around her either. She'd always get a little nervous when Gibbs would stare down into her eyes, like she was afraid he would see.. what was deep inside her. Her eyes might betray her. She, on the other hand, could not see anything in his eyes that she could accurately read.

Focused intensity, that was about as far as she could get. He would never let her in. She wondered if anyone ever got in, got to see what made Gibbs tick. His emotions, his personal life, his past, all were under tight lock and key. It frustrated her. He frustrated her! She never quite knew where she stood with him, and often wondered if there were any feelings what-so-ever inside Jethro Gibbs.

Once home, Kate stripped off her clothes. She could not wait to let the hot water of her shower wash away the stench of the dumpster that seemed to permeate every fiber of her being. The aches and pains of the day, seemed to melt away as she stood under the hot waterfall, letting the water run through her dark hair and down her body.

Eventually she shut the water off, and reached for a towel. As she wrapped the fluffy towel around her torso, her hand felt something under her left arm, just to the side of her breast.

"What the hell is that?", she said to herself and she gently palpated the area. It wasn't painful, like a muscle pull, and it wasn't bruised from climbing in and out of dumpsters. It was small, roundish, and solid.

It was a lump. And Kate felt something cold begin to twist in her gut.

~End Chapter 1~

(Please be gentle, No Flaming.. this is my first attempt)