A/N: Sorry this is later than I had hoped.. was not very nice to me yesterday ;) So. Read on.
The only sound to be heard throughout the entire house was the quiet groaning of floorboards on the second floor and the steady drops of water falling from the ends of Kate's clothes. She stood in the kitchen, waiting patiently on the kitchen rug that caught the excess water that fell from her as she slowly began to dry out. Alone with her thoughts, she began second guessing herself, and forgetting the scene that had just played out moments before. Just as those thoughts began to fade, Gibbs came through the kitchen entryway, towel in hand.
He couldn't help but feel compelled to lend a hand to dry her, but he handed her the towel without a word. Standing a foot or so apart, an air of subtle awkwardness settled between them in the silence. Kate wrung out her hair and gave it a gentle ruffle with the towel as she went on to pat her blouse and rub dry her jeans. She stopped suddenly and dropped her arms to her sides, looking down at her still dampened self. Kate looked up to him with a sad smile of self defeat. She chuckled as she shook her head softly, "This is a lost cause, Gibbs." He smiled quietly as he took the towel from her hand and squeezed her shoulder lightly. "C'mon," he said, turning sharply and heading out of the kitchen and down the hall.
She followed a few feet behind him as they climbed the stairs. He led her into a bathroom down the hall. Holding up a finger, he motioned for her to stay put, leaving her alone in the bathroom and disappearing into one of the bedrooms. She looked around the room and made note of everything being neater than she had expected. Although this is just the bathroom. A hall bathroom, she thought as she ran her hand over the slick marble counter. He probably doesn't even use it. She heard his footsteps returning and he appeared in the doorway, holding a small pile of clothes. He stepped forward and placed the clothes in her arms, their eyes never leaving the other's, his hand unintentionally grazing her arm. "They should fit you fine. Probably too big," he mumbled. She nodded and waited for him to step out of the bathroom, but he just stood there. She noticed how he looked rather lost, if not internally confused. He had his eyes cast off to the side and turned his head towards her. "Do you want coffee?" he asked suddenly.
Kate smiled. "It's pretty late..." she said softly. He considered her response thoughtfully and nodded. "Right." He paused and nodded again, and slowly stepped away and out of the bathroom. "Take what you need, however long you need." He disappeared down the hall again, leaving her standing in his bathroom, damp and alone, holding what she imagined to be a small heap of his own clothes. She smiled as she closed the door.
She emerged a few minutes later in a pair of his soft gray sweatpants and an old NCIS tshirt. Her bare feet padded faintly against the hard wood. She came to the stairs, but the first floor seemed completely dark, so she went on, continuing down the hall. She followed the light that filtered from one of the open bedroom doors at the end of the corridor and stood in the doorway. Gibbs lay on the bed, reading what appeared to be one of their recent case files, with the reading glasses he never seemed to need. He noticed her presence and looked at her over the top rim of his glasses. Putting the file down in his lap when she didn't move from the doorway, he arched an eyebrow slightly. "You can come in you know." He quipped. He studied her briefly, but completely, his eyes lingered on hers as he picked the file back up and continued reading. "I don't usually bite." Kate let out a small laugh as she made her way over to the huge bed, slowly climbing on top of it. She lay next to him, close but still at a comfortable distance, contemplating-- and he knew her wheels were turning— he didn't bother her train of thought as he went on examining the case file.
She turned over slowly, off of her back, to face him. "Gibbs, we—"
"I know.." He looked over at her. "I know we need to talk, but.. I don't think we should.. at," Gibbs glanced at the clock beside the bed, "almost 3 o'clock in the morning." He tipped his glasses further down his nose in order to look at her squarely. "We'll talk.. okay..?" Kate nodded, she suddenly and quietly took notice of the sheet that patched the offending broken window. She ducked her head with a guilty smile and curled slightly on the bed. He looked over at her once again, and gazed over at the window. Grumbling lightly, "Oh yeah." He turned the page in the file. "Don't think I'm going to forget about that either." Kate just smiled as she watched him read, slowly drifting in and out of sleep. "Gibbs.. can I stay here." She tried to suppress a yawn. He nodded and deadpanned, "Unless you were planning on calling another cab.. 'cos I'm not driving you anywhere." When she didn't reply, he turned his head to see that sleep had finally claimed her for a second time that night. He grinned as he saw her smiling, her eyes closed, her towel-dried hair fanned over the pillow, with one hand beneath her head and the other laying towards him in the middle of the bed. He pulled a heavy blanket over her, and got underneath some blankets himself. As he resumed reading the case file for the last time, he gently edged his hand into hers. Flexing his fingers tenderly, he felt her softly, unconsciously, squeeze his hand.