A/N: This took longer because of the upgrade of ffnet. I had this chapter finished on Saturday evening but I thought that uploading wasn't a good idea because ffnet was going to be upgraded starting on Sunday. But it's here finally. Thanks for the very kind reviews on the last chapter. I apologize again for my mistake. I think this chapter has a nice G/K moment in which I hopefully stayed in character. I'd love to hear suggestions for the next chapter because I want Kate and Gibbs to go out and do something but I don't know what. So any suggestions are welcome. Other suggestions and ideas are welcome also. Please R&R and enjoy!

Chapter six

She'd gone to bed about three hours ago. It was now two in the night. She was exhausted but wouldn't let herself fall asleep, afraid of the dreams that would haunt her. In stead she'd been lying in bed, staring at the ceiling, hoping that the rest would be enough. She couldn't help that her mind wandered to Gibbs. Often she thought back on their first meeting. She immediately saw he wasn't an assistant but a leader. It was in his stance, his attitude and his presence. She always liked men who were passionate and strong. Gibbs was both. He was passionate about his job and had a strong character. Yet he was also a gentle man though he hardly showed that side of himself. It was in the little things that he did. Like when he asked her she was all right after the seaman Russell McDonald case. It had been more upsetting than she'd wanted to admit. At the end of the case he'd quietly asked her if she was all right, looking her in the eyes to make sure. It was then that she found out that he kept an eye on her during cases, to make sure she was all right. It was in those little moments that she started to see the real man.

That's also when the problems began. More and more she started to get certain feelings around him. If he stood real close to her, an involuntary shiver ran through her body. When he smiled, and she loved his smile, she couldn't help but smile back. After a short while she discovered she had feelings for him. At nights she started to have dreams about him. First they were really innocent, it was about spending time alone with Gibbs, getting to know him. After that it was about kissing him, about Gibbs admitting his love for her. Those dreamed ended with the two of them in bed.

Shortly after that she made a promise to herself. She was going to ignore her feelings and make sure to keep the distance. She'd succeeded with the last, but she couldn't totally ignore her feelings. She'd put them to the back of her mind but they were still there. She tried to tell herself she had them under control and in a way she did. But she wanted those feelings to become less and less and that just didn't happen. In a certain way she did get control over her feelings. That control was now slipping because she couldn't get away from him. He'd said he was here to stay.

She knew without a doubt Gibbs would never return her feelings, there would never be something there. Every time her feelings seemed to surface, she thought about rule 12 and told herself nothing would ever happen. It warmed her heart that he cared enough to be here with her. She was also sure she was going to like having him around though she would never admit that. All in all the entire situation made things so much harder for her in so many ways.

She sighed and decided to get up because clearly she wasn't going to get any sleep.

Gibbs had always been a light sleeper. He would wake up from the slightest sound. After they'd just gone to bed he'd hear Kate pacing in the room next to him. After a while things got quiet and he'd fallen asleep. Now he was awake again because he'd heard sound from Kate's room. He heard her open the door and walk downstairs. She had to get some sleep otherwise the exhaustion would catch up with her. He had to talk to her. Getting up he quietly walked downstairs.

He found Kate in the kitchen preparing coffee. She was wearing grey sweats and a white tank top. He saw more skin than he was used to. "You know with that coffee it'll be even more difficult to fall asleep."

Startled she turned around to see Gibbs standing in the kitchen. He was wearing black sweats and a black shirt. Great, she thought, now she was going to get a lecture about getting no sleep. "Sorry I woke you up." She said as she continued with the coffee.

"When was the last time you slept?"

"A couple of hours on the plane."

"I meant a good night's rest." He crossed his arms, leaning against the counter.

There was no use in answering that question. He knew she had hardly slept and lying to Gibbs wasn't an option.

"You can't keep this up, Kate." He softly said.

She placed her hands on the counter, looking at the coffee. "I know."

"Let's sit down for a moment, all right?" After seeing a small nod from Kate he sat down at the kitchen table. He was hoping she would sit down next to him, but she didn't. She chose the chair opposite from him. "Tell me about the dreams."

"No." If she started talking about the dreams he would want to hear more and she wasn't ready to have that conversation yet.

"Kate, you've hardly slept these last couple of days. I can see how exhausted you are. You can't keep doing this. You can't stay awake just to avoid the dreams. You need your sleep."

"I don't want to talk about my dreams. I just want to forget them."

"I know you do, but maybe it would help if you talked to someone about them. You can't keep this bottled up."

"Right and you're just the right person to tell me that." Kate's voice was sarcastic. Gibbs never shared his thoughts and feelings and now he was telling her to not keep this bottled up.

He should have seen that one coming. "Maybe not, but you know as well as I do that you need to talk. I'm not here to judge, I'm here to listen." He reached over the table to briefly place his hand over hers.

Kate looked at their hands. He was reaching out, he was trying and all she did was shut him out. He was right, she did want to talk about her dreams, but she didn't know if it was wise to talk to him about them. She stood up, walked to the coffee machine and pored two cups of coffee. She placed one cup on the table and kept the other one in her hand. "Every time the same thing happens." She started as she walked to the window. She stared outside and continued to tell him about her dream.

"I see all of us standing in that big lobby. I hear the word bomb. I turn to look at you and Tony. I see the shock on Tony's face. I look at Suzanne before she drops the bomb. I see a different woman. Then the bomb falls and we try to find shelter. The next thing I know I'm laying on the ground. I don't seem to be wounded. I start looking for you and Tony. I first find Tony. He's curled around a pillar. It doesn't look good. Something big has fallen on his legs. I think it's brickwork. I manage to lift it off him. I see the damage it's done to his legs. I quickly turn him over. I find out he's dead. His head is so damaged from the impact with the pillar. Then I start looking for you. I call out your name but I cannot find you. Eventually I find you. You're sitting against the wall. The first thing you ask me is, if Tony's all right. I guess you conclude he's not by the look on my face. The only words you say, is that it's my fault. I should have never endangered the team. Before they put you in the ambulance you tell me I don't deserve to be a NCIS agent. That's usually the point where I wake up."

Her dream didn't surprise him. The words however did surprise him. He blamed Kate in the dream and Kate now thought he would indeed blame her. For the moment he decided to leave that be. They first needed to talk about the dream. He needed to reassure her that nobody got hurt. "Nobody got hurt Kate. Tony's not dead, I'm not hurt. What happened happened, but the most important thing is that nobody got hurt. You didn't get anyone killed." He was now standing beside her at the window. He saw the tears she was trying to hold back. To really reassure her, he had to ignore the boundaries he'd put between them. "Come here, Katie." He whispered before he pulled her into his arms. He felt her hesitation but it didn't take long for her to wrap her arms around his waist and let the tears run freely. "I'm all right, Kate. Nobody's hurt." He kept repeating the same words over and over again, hoping he would get through to her.

Kate let is all go. She needed his arms around her so much, but never thought he would actually do it. For the first time since the events she felt comforted. She finally had someone she could hold on to. He'd understand her fear and need for reassurance. She buried her head against his chest, listening to his heart beating to reassure herself, he was indeed fine.

"Let's sit down, okay?" Gibbs suggested as he led them to the couch. She was no longer cry, he just heard small sobs. Gibbs kept his arm around her as they sat on the couch. She was leaning against his side, head on his shoulder, feet tucked under her. He felt Kate's body relax against him and a few moments later he heard a steady breathing. He looked at her, she was asleep. After letting it all go the exhaustion had finally caught up with her. He knew Kate would be more comfortable in her own bed, but now that she was finally asleep he wasn't going to wake her up again. No, they would stay on the couch. Sure he would regret his decision in the morning. After all he wasn't that young anymore and his aging body needed a nice comfortable bed to sleep on. That wasn't going to happen tonight. He placed a soft kiss on her head. "Sleep, Kate. I'll keep the dreams away." Quickly after that he fell asleep.

Sometime during the night he woke up from Kate struggles. It was as if she was trying to get away. He saw that she was still asleep. She was probably dreaming. He pulled her closer to his body and gently rubbed her back. "It's not real, Kate. Nothing's going to happen. It's all right." His voice seemed to relax her and she soon settled down. Once he was sure she wasn't dreaming anymore he relaxed and fell asleep again.

TBC......