A Dare, Or Something More Sinister?
Rating: T
Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS... I'm just taking the characters for a spin!
Author's Notes: Thank-you all for the reviews, I'm glad you all like it... as always a few more wouldn't go unnoticed! Please!
And of course, again a humungous thank-you to Kate for her fantastic inspiration and great work!
Kate and Gibbs walked into star-bucks. Gibbs paused in the doorway and breathed in the rich aroma of the coffee, a small smile appearing on his face. They stopped at the back of the shop, as Kate looked up at the menu and tried to decide what coffee to have. Gibbs looked at the young woman behind the counter, not recognizing her face, she looked slightly restless.
"First day?" he asked, strolling to the counter
"No, second" she replied
Gibbs smiled and nodded. "Where's Liv?" he asked, frowning
"She was taken to hospital, something about high blood pressure caused by a high amount of stress" the young woman replied, also frowning
"Which was caused by you. Where the hell have you been, Jethro?" a young woman with red hair said, walking up behind Gibbs and Kate
"Jenny," Gibbs replied, smiling again, "Good to see you"
Kate looked the red head up and down, the young woman was pretty. She looked back to the smile on her boss' face and without knowing why, began to feel slightly jealous.
"We were worried sick about you. Liv thought you might have been dead…" Jenny said
"Yeah, I got that much. I got a phone call from the police earlier, said I'd been reported missing and were about to send out a search-and-rescue party" Gibbs interrupted
"Well, we sent out flyers to anybody who walked in the door, were going to tape them to street lamps as well" Jenny continued
"Actually, that hasn't been done yet. The printer ran out of ink" another woman said walking up. "Jethro," she said, walking up to Gibbs and giving him a big hug, "Don't do that to us again", she stepped back, holding him at arms length and smiled, "Or we'll have to sue you"
"Hey, sweetheart." Gibbs said. Kate felt her heart constrict, "Sue me?" Gibbs asked, smiling as well and frowning a little
"Yeah, for damages" the woman replied, stepping back
"What damages, Karen?" Gibbs asked again, folding his arms
"Financial ones. Did you know our revenue has gone down 7 since you went missing?" she asked, still smiling
"No, I didn't. And I wasn't missing" he replied, "Wow, 7, that's a lot of coffee" he said, mussing
"Speaking of coffee. Would you like a cup?" Jenny asked, stepping around the counter
"No, can't. But Kate does" he said, looking towards Kate
Before Kate could say anything, Jenny asked, "Kate? The Kate? Pleased to meet you" she said holding out her hand
Kate shook her hand, thoroughly confused at her reaction.
"Wow, so you're Kate" Karen said, beaming at her, "He talks about you all the time"
Gibbs glared at Karen.
"What! You do" Karen said
"I also talk about my other team members" Gibbs reasoned
"Yeah, but you talk about Kate the most" Jenny taunted
"I wanna meet McGee, he sounds cute" the new girl behind the counter said. Kate and Gibbs looked at each other, stunned.
"McGee!" Kate asked, then laughed, "Whatever takes your fancy"
"What? Karen told me he did MIT. I just started there" she replied defensively
"Oh my God, Jet, you're back!" another young woman, looking to be in her early twenties with jet black her exclaimed, running up and jumping into Gibbs' arms. Gibbs stepped back as he took on her weight, then slowly put her back on the ground
He gave a small laugh, "Melissa. How have you been?"
She gave his arm a small slap, "I should be asking you that. Where the hell have you been? Why haven't you called?"
Gibbs took a step backwards and held up his hands in mock-defense, "Ok, ok, I'm sorry. I'll call next time"
"You better" Melissa threatened, "or else"
"Melissa, meet Kate. Her and Jethro came in for a coffee" Jenny said from behind the counter
"You're Kate!" Melissa exclaimed. Kate nodded. Melissa came up and gave Kate a big hug, then stepped back, "Jet talks about you all the time". Melissa laughed, ducking as Gibbs tried to slap her over the back of her head, "You're getting old"
"You're only as old as you feel" Gibbs replied
"Hey, that's my line. Anyways, you're going grey" Melissa said
"That's not grey, it's silver. And it's all of you that give me that colour" he replied
Melissa looked at Kate in her eyes, "You know, speaking of hair colour, Jet thinks you should dye your hair red" she watched as Kate blushed and Gibbs glared at her, then smiling waved her hand back and forth between Kate and Gibbs, "So, have you two kissed yet?" she said, turning to Kate, "He is so totally in love with you". Gibbs tried to slap her over her head again, but she ran behind the counter, giggling.
"Yeah, there is definitely a lot of tension between you two" Karen said
"I'd call it chemistry, actually" Jenny responded
"Yeah. You know, unresolved sexual issues…not a good thing to work with" Karen continued. Gibbs glared at her, "Oh, come on Jethro, you're acting like a shy, embarrassed teenager. Admit it, that you like her" Karen said, her eyes flicking to Kate
"So, anyway, we came in here to get coffee" Gibbs tried to change the topic, earning him a glare from the coffee attendants, "Kate?"
"Just a latte thanks" Kate replied
Jenny made the coffee then put it down on the counter, whilst Kate went to find the money in her purse; Jenny made another coffee and put it beside the latte. When she saw Kate trying to pay for the coffee, she interjected, "Oh, no, this one's on the house"
Gibbs frowned at the second cup. "That one's for you, my darling" Jenny explained
He shook his head, his face falling, "Can't" he said simply
Kate looked at his face, then smiled as a thought hit her, she leaned into his ear and said softly, "You know, Tony could always use that extra week off. It'd be just you and me at the office", she leaned back to gauge his reaction
He looked at her thoughtfully, cocking his head to the side, "Yeah, and McGee" he pointed out, "Besides, I want that bottle of Jack"
"You can have mine, we both know I wont drink it" Kate said, "And McGee, well," she paused, thinking, "He hasn't looked well these past couple of days, perhaps he should have some time off" she smiled
He returned the smile, "Yeah, he looked really green on the ship. I'll get Ducky to take a look at him" he turned to the girls behind the bar, "The usual, thanks"
"One step ahead of you, Agent Gibbs" Jenny replied
As they closed the door behind them, once they were outside, Kate looked at Gibbs, "Never thought you'd have the chance to tell them much about your life"
He turned to look at her, "I spend more time in that coffee shop than I'm prepared to admit, Kate. They're the first and last people I see everyday" he said
"We're gonna have to change that" Kate said suggestively, keeping her eyes straight ahead as she felt him stare at her
That's it for chapter 25... I hope you like it! Please review, please!