Part 05 of Reactions
Disclaimers: I don't own the characters from NCIS.... But I DO CONSIDER this story line my imagination and creation! (can I copyright that? *grin*)
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Gibbs instinctively reached over to his right side when he woke up from his drug-induced sleep. Finding the space beside him empty, he immediately tried to sit up quickly and groaned in pain as he was reminded where he was.
He dropped his head back onto the pillow dejectedly and sighed. He had fallen asleep during the night. Again.
Gibbs was shocked at how he reached for Kate without thinking when he woke up. They hadn't slept together for very long, but it felt right, almost too right. The nights Kate stayed with him were the only ones that he slept in his bed. It was just to big to be sleeping in it alone.
Turning toward the chair by his bed, he welcomed the faint smell that lingered, that of apple mixed with lemon, that he had long recognized and associated with Kate.
For a week, Gibbs had attempted to stay awake during the night to see for himself whether Kate had indeed been visiting him during the night, while he was asleep. He wanted, needed, to see her.
It started the second night he spent in the hospital. During the night, even in his sleep induced state, he heard soft murmuring of the woman he loved. He couldn't make out what she was saying, nor could he open his eyes to look at her. He could feel her soft touch through his hair though, and heard, at last, her soft declaration of love.
He chalked it up to a dream the next morning when he woke up and found the chair empty, and the faint smell of apple and lemon his imagination. Then, Tony breezed into the room and proved otherwise.
"What's that smell in here, boss?" the younger agent had asked as soon as he sat down on the chair. "It smells... girly."
The confirmation that Tony had also smelled the faint fragrance sent his heart racing. Even though he knew it still could have been from one of the nurses, his guts told him that it was Kate. His Kate.
Why would she visit him in the middle of the night but refuse to see him when he was awake so they could talk. So he could tell her and promise her that he would not risk his life unnecessarily again. Did she hate him that much?
He knew her two-week was up, and that he had lost his only mean of making her stay. Being shot in the chest and ending up in the hospital didn't help either. Still, knowing that she hadn't left the DC area soothed the panic that filled him every time he thought of her leaving. At least she was still here, and that she still cared about him to pay him visits.
He feared for the day when he wouldn't find the lingering smell when he woke up. He needed to talk to her, to ask her to stay, and to kiss her until she forgot she was going to leave.
The door to his room opened, and Gibbs thought he was again hallucinating when he saw Kate walked in with Tony. She looked tired, thinner than he remembered.
"How are you feeling, boss?" Tony asked, his usual cheerfulness returned.
"I'll be much better if you would stop talking so loudly in here," Gibbs said gruffly. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, Kate and I went out to lunch, and we decided to drop before we go back to the office by for a while to keep you from going insane here."
Gibbs raised an eyebrow at Tony's implication that Kate still worked at NCIS.
"Kate has accepted the director's request to stay on until you are declared fit for duty," Tony provided at the older agent's confused face. "So, have you gone insane being locked here yet? Do you need anything? Want me to go and take care of your boat?"
"Don't you dare go near my boat, Tony. Don't you have a job somewhere to do?"
"Guess you're feeling much better now since you're back to your old self."
"Get out of here," he ordered with a stare. "Go do something productive."
"If you say so," Tony shrugged and winked at Kate. "We can always go have some time for ourselves."
The pain medication administered lowered his self defences, and for the first time in a long time, he was assaulted with waves of feeling he couldn't recognize. Jealousy filled him as he heard Tony's comment and saw the way his hand went casually to the small of Kate's back.
"Agent Todd, do you mind to stay behind? I'd like to have a word with you," he stopped their movement in a casual tone, as if he was about to discuss official business instead of the highly personal matter.
"I'm not so sure, sir," her smirk of satisfaction when Gibbs cringed wasn't missed by her colleagues. "I didn't drive, so I'm dependent on Tony to get me back to headquarters."
"Well, he can wait in the cafe or something."
"Yes, he can," Tony said hurriedly, sensing the tension between his two colleagues again. "Kate, come find me when you're ready to leave."
"What can I do for your, Agent Gibbs?" Kate asked as soon as Tony closed the door behind himself.
"Will you stop 'sir'-ing me and quit calling me Agent Gibbs? We both know this has nothing to do with our work, so let's just drop that, shall we?" his voice was quiet, but Kate didn't miss the storm brewing in his eyes.
"Do we? So far, you've given me no indication that this is a personal matter," Kate retorted spitefully. She knew she still loved the man, but she wouldn't, couldn't, let that feeling influence her. Not now. Not when she desperately needed to get away. "If this has nothing to do with official matter, then maybe I should leave. I don't think there is anything personal that we should discuss."
She turned to leave the room without waiting for Gibbs to reply. She didn't turn around to look at him like her heart wanted to. She couldn't, because she knew very well she wouldn't be able to leave if she did.
"Yes there is, because you still care about me," he again stopped her from leaving the room in the same quiet tone.
"You don't know that," she countered, her voice quivered a little.
"I do. I know that because I know you've been to see me every night when I was asleep. You still care, Kate. Don't do this."
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Disclaimers: I don't own the characters from NCIS.... But I DO CONSIDER this story line my imagination and creation! (can I copyright that? *grin*)
~*~*~*~*~*~*
Gibbs instinctively reached over to his right side when he woke up from his drug-induced sleep. Finding the space beside him empty, he immediately tried to sit up quickly and groaned in pain as he was reminded where he was.
He dropped his head back onto the pillow dejectedly and sighed. He had fallen asleep during the night. Again.
Gibbs was shocked at how he reached for Kate without thinking when he woke up. They hadn't slept together for very long, but it felt right, almost too right. The nights Kate stayed with him were the only ones that he slept in his bed. It was just to big to be sleeping in it alone.
Turning toward the chair by his bed, he welcomed the faint smell that lingered, that of apple mixed with lemon, that he had long recognized and associated with Kate.
For a week, Gibbs had attempted to stay awake during the night to see for himself whether Kate had indeed been visiting him during the night, while he was asleep. He wanted, needed, to see her.
It started the second night he spent in the hospital. During the night, even in his sleep induced state, he heard soft murmuring of the woman he loved. He couldn't make out what she was saying, nor could he open his eyes to look at her. He could feel her soft touch through his hair though, and heard, at last, her soft declaration of love.
He chalked it up to a dream the next morning when he woke up and found the chair empty, and the faint smell of apple and lemon his imagination. Then, Tony breezed into the room and proved otherwise.
"What's that smell in here, boss?" the younger agent had asked as soon as he sat down on the chair. "It smells... girly."
The confirmation that Tony had also smelled the faint fragrance sent his heart racing. Even though he knew it still could have been from one of the nurses, his guts told him that it was Kate. His Kate.
Why would she visit him in the middle of the night but refuse to see him when he was awake so they could talk. So he could tell her and promise her that he would not risk his life unnecessarily again. Did she hate him that much?
He knew her two-week was up, and that he had lost his only mean of making her stay. Being shot in the chest and ending up in the hospital didn't help either. Still, knowing that she hadn't left the DC area soothed the panic that filled him every time he thought of her leaving. At least she was still here, and that she still cared about him to pay him visits.
He feared for the day when he wouldn't find the lingering smell when he woke up. He needed to talk to her, to ask her to stay, and to kiss her until she forgot she was going to leave.
The door to his room opened, and Gibbs thought he was again hallucinating when he saw Kate walked in with Tony. She looked tired, thinner than he remembered.
"How are you feeling, boss?" Tony asked, his usual cheerfulness returned.
"I'll be much better if you would stop talking so loudly in here," Gibbs said gruffly. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, Kate and I went out to lunch, and we decided to drop before we go back to the office by for a while to keep you from going insane here."
Gibbs raised an eyebrow at Tony's implication that Kate still worked at NCIS.
"Kate has accepted the director's request to stay on until you are declared fit for duty," Tony provided at the older agent's confused face. "So, have you gone insane being locked here yet? Do you need anything? Want me to go and take care of your boat?"
"Don't you dare go near my boat, Tony. Don't you have a job somewhere to do?"
"Guess you're feeling much better now since you're back to your old self."
"Get out of here," he ordered with a stare. "Go do something productive."
"If you say so," Tony shrugged and winked at Kate. "We can always go have some time for ourselves."
The pain medication administered lowered his self defences, and for the first time in a long time, he was assaulted with waves of feeling he couldn't recognize. Jealousy filled him as he heard Tony's comment and saw the way his hand went casually to the small of Kate's back.
"Agent Todd, do you mind to stay behind? I'd like to have a word with you," he stopped their movement in a casual tone, as if he was about to discuss official business instead of the highly personal matter.
"I'm not so sure, sir," her smirk of satisfaction when Gibbs cringed wasn't missed by her colleagues. "I didn't drive, so I'm dependent on Tony to get me back to headquarters."
"Well, he can wait in the cafe or something."
"Yes, he can," Tony said hurriedly, sensing the tension between his two colleagues again. "Kate, come find me when you're ready to leave."
"What can I do for your, Agent Gibbs?" Kate asked as soon as Tony closed the door behind himself.
"Will you stop 'sir'-ing me and quit calling me Agent Gibbs? We both know this has nothing to do with our work, so let's just drop that, shall we?" his voice was quiet, but Kate didn't miss the storm brewing in his eyes.
"Do we? So far, you've given me no indication that this is a personal matter," Kate retorted spitefully. She knew she still loved the man, but she wouldn't, couldn't, let that feeling influence her. Not now. Not when she desperately needed to get away. "If this has nothing to do with official matter, then maybe I should leave. I don't think there is anything personal that we should discuss."
She turned to leave the room without waiting for Gibbs to reply. She didn't turn around to look at him like her heart wanted to. She couldn't, because she knew very well she wouldn't be able to leave if she did.
"Yes there is, because you still care about me," he again stopped her from leaving the room in the same quiet tone.
"You don't know that," she countered, her voice quivered a little.
"I do. I know that because I know you've been to see me every night when I was asleep. You still care, Kate. Don't do this."
~*~*~*~*~*~*