A/N: Sorry it has taken such a while. Things have been rather hectic at school and I was too busy to get my writing done. That being said I want to thank everybody for reviewing. Sammie28, first thank you for your review. No you're not getting blackballed for your review. I can take criticism and your review explained what you thought and didn't just say "it sucks". I see your point. I realize that chapter seven wasn't as good as the others. But I don't think it was that bad either .I didn't have a real writers block. I did for this chapter and took your advice to take some more time for it. As for your other point, this is where I disagree. To me fan fiction gives me the ability to write what I want to happen between two characters. I can see your point, but for me I like that fact that I can create a situation that on the show, they would never be in. Let me say again that I'm not insulted or anything like that and I appreciate your review. I understand your point and partly I agree. I'm still not sure what will happen between Gibbs and Kate.

I noticed a mistake in previous chapters. Apparently Maggy changed to Maddy. That happened because I like the name Maddy and I have another fic which has a little girl named Maddy. It's a stupid mistake, but from now on it's gonna be Maddy and not Maggy anymore.

As for the next update, I don't know. I don't know what's going to happen yet. Suggestions, as always, are welcome. I'd love to hear your suggestions. It may take some time, but hopefully not too long. Thanks again for the reviews. Now I'll stop babbling.

Chapter eight

"When I joined NCIS I never thought it could be as good as working with the Secret Service. I was wrong. It ended to be so much better, far more interesting. I guess all good things come to an end." Kate told Gibbs while they were still on the balcony.

"What do you mean?" He was surprised Kate started the conversation. He was apprehensive about what exactly was coming.

"Well, things were going so good that somewhere it had to go wrong. And it did. It went wrong from the moment I trusted Suzanne MacNeill. I thought I was a good agent. You and Tony could count on me to watch your back. You could trust my judgement. You can't anymore."

Before Gibbs had a chance to respond the phone rang. Kate excused herself to answer it. This gave Gibbs some time to think about Kate's words. Though he had already expected it, he didn't know how to react to her words. She had made a judgement call which ended up to be wrong. It had turned out to be a mistake that had cost them dearly. That one mistake didn't mean she was a bad agent. Everybody made some kind of mistake during their career. At that point it was only natural to doubt your own abilities. With Kate the situation seemed a bit more serious. She'd given this some real thought. He was afraid that maybe she'd already made her decision and he wouldn't be able to change her mind. On the other hand, maybe she wasn't sure and wanted to hear his opinion about her. Maybe she needed to hear that he thought she was a great agent. Someone whom he wanted to watch his back. Someone he trusted without any doubt. He was going to tell her all this, when the time was right.

While Gibbs was still outside, Kate was in the living room answering the phone. It was Emily, her sister-in-law. She wanted to go shopping with Kate. She'd been reluctant first, but Emily had convinced her. It would probably do her good to have a change of scenery without having Gibbs around. There was one small problem though. Someone had to watch Maddy since they couldn't take her with them. Jason was at school and after school he was going to a friend's house. Emily suggested that Gibbs could watch her, since Maddy obviously liked Jethro and he liked Maddy too. Kate felt uncomfortable asking Gibbs to baby sit her niece. In the end Emily had convinced her again. She would ask Gibbs to baby sit Maddy. Emily said goodbye, telling Kate she'd be there in 30 minutes. She turned around when she heard something behind her. Gibbs was back in the room.

"That was Emily." Kate said as she put the phone down in it's holder. "She asked if I wanted to go shopping with her. I agreed. But there's no one to watch Maddy."

"Bring her here. I'll watch her." Gibbs suggested.

"You sure, because you don't have to."

"No, it's no problem. You go shopping and have some fun. I'll be all right."

She tilted her head and looked him in the eyes. She still was surprised by the side of Gibbs she was seeing. She wondered why he chose to hide this side at work.

"What?" Gibbs asked as Kate kept staring at him.

"Why do you choose to hide this side of you at work?"

"What do you mean?"

"You are so caring and kind. Why don't we see that at work?"

He hesitated for a moment. He knew he was very different at work. He did it on purpose, he wanted to keep his work separated from his private life. He also did it to prevent people to come close. First Ducky and Abby had seen through that act, now Kate also. Before he answered Kate continued.

"I don't understand why you choose to hide that. Is it to protect yourself in some way?" She had hit a nerve, she could see it in his eyes. She was right. He did it to protect himself. She wondered why. What had happened to him that made him want to hide a part of himself?

She saw him avert his eyes before he turned away from her. "When's Emily coming?"

She knew the conversation was over. He wasn't prepared to talk about it. She doubted if he would ever talk to her about it. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked." She walked away to get ready.

Gibbs opened the front door for Emily and Maddy. Maddy immediately went to his side. "Uncle Jethro." She greeted him.

"Hi, Maddy." He ran over Maddy's hair. "Good morning, Emily." He stepped aside to let her enter.

"Morning, Jethro. Everything okay here?"

"As good as it can be."

"How's Kate?"

"She's doing better. She finally got a good night's rest."

"Good." From the corner of her eyes Emily saw Kate approaching. "Kate, ready to go shopping?"

"Yeah. You sure you don't mind watching Maddy, Gibbs?" She asked him once again.

"No, you two ladies have fun. Maddy and I will be fine, won't be Maddy?"

"Yeah!" Maddy was excited to spend the afternoon with her new friend.

"Okay. Bye, Maddy, have fun. Thanks again Jethro." Emily was already outside waiting for Kate to say goodbye to Gibbs.

Kate gave Gibbs a long look before she softly said her goodbye. She didn't like that she'd apparently crossed a line. She closed the door behind her and took a deep breath.

"Relax, Kate. It'll be fine. Maddy just loves Jethro. Come on, let's go do some shopping!" Emily placed her arm around Kate's shoulder and guided her to the car.

THEY were enjoying a moment of rest at Starbucks. After two hours of shopping they wanted to take a break. So far the trip had been a success. Kate had bought a new pair of shoes and grey pants. Emily had bought herself a dark blue coat and red sweater.

"Jethro's really great with Maddy. She couldn't stop talking about him. She never warms up to people so quickly, but there's something about him that she really likes." Emily sipped her coffee.

Kate merely nodded her head and took a sip of her coffee.

"He really is….." Emily didn't quite know how to describe him. ".. unique."

"Guess that's one way to describe him."

"There is one thing I can say about him, though. He's an attractive man, Kate."

There appeared a blush on Kate's face. It was true, Jethro Gibbs was an attractive man, but Kate often chose to ignore that.

"I mean, those eyes." Emily continued. "So blue and the way he can look at you. They can make a girl melt."

"You're married, Emily."

"That doesn't mean I can't appreciate a fine looking man. Just admit it, Kate. Your boss is a very attractive man." She'd seen Kate blushing, but she wanted Kate to actually say it. There was no denying the chemistry between Jethro and Kate. Hopefully admitting he was attractive would be the first step into getting Kate to admit the chemistry between the two.

"Fine, I'll admit it. He's attractive. That doesn't mean anything."

"It doesn't have to mean anything. I'm just saying…"

"Yeah, yeah. I know what you're saying." Kate interrupted her sister-in-law.

"What's it like having him around?"

"Nice and very frustrating." Kate answered, thinking back on her earlier conversation with Gibbs.

"Did you two talk yet?"

"Yeah. I talked to him about my nightmare and this morning I talked to him about the job."

"And, what did he say?" Emily leaned a bit forward on her seat.

"He didn't get a chance to say anything because your call interrupted us."

"I'm sorry, Kate."

"That's okay. It probably was for the best. I doubt he's willing to talk with me."

"Why's that? What happened between you two?" That remark gave Emily an angry look from Kate.

"Nothing happened. He's so caring and great with Maddy that I asked him why he hides that side of him at work. Apparently that was the wrong thing to say. He's so closed off, Emily."

"And this bothers you because you don't want him to be closed off to you." Slowly she was getting to the point.

"Yes, no…. I don't know. He expects me to open up to him, to talk about my feelings. But as soon as I get personal he puts those walls up again." Kate rubbed her face with her hands. "He can be such a frustrating man!" Kate took a moment to collect her thoughts. "From the moment he came here he's been a good friend. I was allowed to see a side of him that people hardly get to see. I thought we'd become good friends. Apparently there are limitations to our friendship. Why won't he let me in, Emily?"

"I don't know, Kate. I hardly know the man. What I do know is that he cares deeply for you, I can see it in his eyes. Maybe he's afraid what will happen if he lets you in. Do you want him to let you in?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

Kate looked away before she answered the question. She'd never spoken the words out loud before. "Because I want to get to know the man Gibbs and not the agent."

"Then go for it, Kate. Don't let him close off. Try to get through those walls he's built around himself. Try, if it doesn't work out at least you know you gave it your best. Like I told you before, the man cares deeply for you. Maybe you just need to get through to him."

TBC...........