Chapter 20 - Food and a Warm Fire

All eyes were on Gibbs and Kate as they strolled into the kitchen together, holding hands. Trisha had turned to get something out of the refrigerator. When she turned back around, Kate was standing directly in front of her with a warm look on her face.

Trisha raised an eyebrow. "Uhhh, can I help you?" she asked the female agent.

Kate smiled and simply pulled her into a hug. After a few moments, Kate let a very shocked Trisha go and stood in front of Gibbs, who was leaning in the kitchen doorway. Gibbs wrapped his arms around Kate's waist and pulled her back into him. He leaned his head against hers and sighed.

Ducky gave the two a warm smile, then turned to Abby and said, "It's about time."

"Amen to that, Duck-man!" Abby exclaimed. She paused for a moment, then turned to McGee and Tony. "I believe you owe me something? Pay up, you two."

Tony and McGee exchanged glances, then took out their wallets. Tony gave Abby a crisp twenty dollar bill. "Here," he sighed in defeat.

McGee pouted as he looked in his wallet. "Abby," he whined, "all I have is this twenty!" He held up the wrinkled bill and gave Abby his best puppy dog eyes.

"Sorry Timmy, that's not going to work today," she said as she snatched the money from McGee. She turned to Ducky with an outstretched hand and said, "Here's your cut, Doctor."

Ducky nodded and took the other twenty from Abby. "Pleasure doing business with you, my dear."

Rochelle started laughing, then looked at Abby. "You bet on your friends getting together? At least I never made money off of my friend's emotions. Wow, and I thought some of the stuff I did wasn't so great…"

Abby had a strange look on her face as she looked back at Chelle. "Well, now that you put it that way…"

Kate shook her head and tried to bite back laughter. "Yea Abby, how could you do such a thing? I'm hurt." She felt Gibbs chest vibrate against her back as he laughed. "Gibbs! You're supposed to play along," she retorted as she twisted in his arms to face him.

Gibbs looked down at her. "I'm too hungry to play along, Katie," he said softly as he bent over and rested his forehead against hers. He looked into Kate's brown eyes and noticed how she smiled when he used her nickname.

Meanwhile, Tony nudged McGee and leaned closer to whisper into his ear. "Watch this," he said quietly.

McGee's expression went from a look of bewilderment to that of a horrified one as Tony proceeded to make a provocative cat call whistling noise. McGee felt the hair on his neck rise as time seemed to stand still. 'Oh God Tony, what the Hell are you doing?' his mind screamed. 'You're a dead man! Gibbs is going to kill you, run, you idiot!'

Kate's eyes remained locked with Gibbs' as she felt him tense up against her. "Gibbs," she whispered, "don't." He looked at her with question in his eyes. Kate shook her head, "No, Jethro, you can't shoot, stab, break, or attack Tony in any form. Ok?"

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Kate, I was just going to go sit at the table," he said with a twinkle in his eyes. He briefly hugged her tightly, then let go and walked towards the dinner table. When he got to where Tony was standing, he paused. Kate cleared her throat, causing Gibbs to glance back at her with his most innocent expression. Turning back to Tony, Gibbs gave him half a smile. "DiNozzo," he said simply, then continued on to the dining room.

Trisha, carrying the lasagna that she had removed from the oven, followed Gibbs to the dining room. "I hope you have a will made up, buddy," she joked as she walked past Tony. "Or at least you should sleep with one eye open for a few nights!" she called over her shoulder.

Rochelle grabbed the giant salad bowl from the counter. McGee snagged the drinks as Abby took the casserole they had also made out of the oven. Ducky brought out the garlic bread that he had made as Tony grabbed a bottle of wine. Kate grabbed a handful of napkins and headed for the rest of the team.

Dinner was rather uneventful. It mainly consisted of Rochelle and Trisha talking about their snowmobile adventures from the past. When they were finished eating, Ducky, McGee, and Tony cleared the table and put away the leftovers.

The others retired to the living room. Trisha and Rochelle had gone out to the garage. They each came back in with an armful of firewood and started a fire in the fireplace.

Abby had taken pillows and had laid down on the floor near the fireplace. When McGee came out of the kitchen, he joined her on the floor. Both Tony and Ducky again sat in a recliner and watched the fire. Rochelle had retrieved the beanbag and threw it on the floor next to McGee, then nestled into it and covered herself with a blanket. Gibbs and Kate were occupying the sofa. Kate was curled into Gibbs, who had an arm around her and was gently massaging her shoulder with his hand as he stared into the fire.

"Gibbs," Kate whispered as she stifled a yawn. "Now would be a good time," she told him as she nodded in Trisha's direction.

Trisha was seated on the love sofa by herself, looking at the flames dancing and illuminating the dark room in the process.

"I'm going to be asleep in a few minutes and I don't want to sleep on you and possibly roll on you in the middle of the night," she said, glancing down at his ribs. "Besides, Trisha needs you more than I do right now. Go talk to her."

Gibbs nodded in agreement as Kate sat up and allowed him to stand. He turned around and covered Kate with a blanket, then knelt down next to her on one knee. "What do I tell her, Katie?" he asked her earnestly.

"Just tell her how you feel, Jethro," she said with closed eyes.

Gibbs brushed her cheek with his knuckles, then leaned down and softly kissed her temple. "Night, Katie," he whispered to her already sleeping form.

He stood and walked over to where Trisha was sitting on the love seat. "Hey kiddo," he said softly, "you got room on there for me?"

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, guys. I have a few more chapters left for this one.