Even with several late night excursions, Gibbs got up with the sun. He woke up, his memory carefully piecing itself back together. Kate was still asleep, curled up next to him with her head buried into his side and underneath all the blankets. He grinned. But it faded as a look of regretful confusion quickly flickered across his face. Turning his gaze away from Kate, he carefully disentangled himself from her and the blankets and made his way to the bathroom. He rubbed his face, slow and rough, and closed the bathroom door behind him. Gibbs looked in the mirror, slowly running his hands through his disheveled hair and then rested his hands on the sides of the sink. He hung his head as he exhaled deeply. Shaking his head feebly, he looked back at himself in the mirror. "You're too old for this…" he mumbled. Splashing his face with ice cold water, he took a hand towel and rubbed his face dry, trying to erase his muddled uncertainty. He peeled off his t-shirt as he turned on the shower.

An hour or so later, Kate woke up in a dreamy haze and gradually realized she was alone. She looked around the room and saw her clothes on the dresser, washed and dried, folded neatly on top of a clean towel. Rolling out of the bed with a yawn, she scooped up her clothes and the towel and scuffled towards the bathroom, ruffling her hair as she went. When she got to the stairs, she heard little movement on the first floor, but knew he was down there. She needed a shower desperately, so she decided to postpone her Good Mornings until after she felt a little more presentable.

Kate stepped into the hot shower with a sigh-- she felt unusually safe in these new surroundings. She reflected on how something, someone.. that seemed so far out of reach a day ago, could come upon her so suddenly. She grinned as she let the water come falling down over her head to rinse away the clouds of soap suds.

The overwhelming aroma of coffee hit her once she made her way down the stairs. Kate cautiously walked into the kitchen to find Gibbs staring into a coffee cup. She could immediately sense something was wrong. "Morning.." she said softly, not wanting to startle him completely. She stood in the entryway, and he didn't lift his head to look at her, only his eyes, underneath a heavy brow. He nodded before he nursed his coffee, casting his eyes back to the table. "Good morning," He said, still holding his mug to his lips, "... there's some coffee left." He motioned over to the coffee pot on the counter top. Kate nodded silently and walked over to his cabinets, grabbed a cup and poured herself, what smelled to be, some seriously, unusually, strong coffee. She leaned against the counter, mug in hand, patiently watching Gibbs' profile. Maybe it's work, she thought. It wouldn't have been the first time a case had interrupted their weekends. He would have woken me up if it was work…

"This isn't going to work." He said curtly, pausing, and then taking another sip of coffee. Mid-mouthful of coffee, Kate's eyes widened a bit as they peered over the rim of her cup. "What…? What won't work, Gibbs?"

He continued to stare at the table top. "You. And me." He looked over at her. "This." The pain the flashed across her face made Gibbs grimace internally. On the surface he remained stone-faced. This is for her own good, he kept repeating to himself. Her own good…

She put her coffee cup down on the counter and briskly walked over to the table, sitting in the chair next to him. "You don't mean that.. do you..?" She looked to him with troubled, anxious eyes. "Do you, Gibbs?" His jaw clenched as his mouth remained a firm line; he refused to look at her. Kate brought up her hand to turn his face towards her, and he turned his head away from her touch. She recoiled slightly, her lips parted as if to make a sound, but nothing came out. She looked as if someone had just back-handed her across the face. "What happened…" she said slowly.

He grunted and spoke to her sternly. "Nothing happened.. It's… there's too much at stake. For everyone. It wouldn't work. It's not—" She finished the sentence, "--worth it. It's not worth it…?" She said incredulously. He didn't stop her, he didn't correct her. He swallowed heavily, "We got caught up." He looked to her, "I got caught up. It shouldn't have happened. And it can't happen… do you understand?" Kate's eyes began to glaze over with a thin layer of tears that she would never admit to, not to him, not now. She stood up so fast he thought the chair should have crashed to the floor. She felt suffocated. She needed to get out. Kate walked swiftly out of the kitchen, snatching the car keys off the counter. Gibbs nearly dropped his coffee cup with the earth shattering slam of his front door. He slammed the mug down on the table and watched it fall apart. He squeezed the bridge of his nose and sighed, rubbing his face as the coffee spread and dripped slowly to the floor. His head snapped up and he bolted for the door as he heard the engine rev. He ran out onto his porch. "THAT'S MY CAR." He jogged onto the front walk as Kate peeled out of his driveway and sped down the road. He sighed, "That's my car." Gibbs rubbed the back of his neck as he grumbled and walked back into the house, firmly shutting the door.

Kate drove down the road until she was certain she was a safe enough distance away, safe from Gibbs ever being able to catch up to her. She pulled off the road as tears spilled onto her cheeks and trickled down her face. What did she do…? Why was he doing this? She rested her forehead against the cold steering wheel as her shoulders heaved slightly underneath her sobs of disbelief.

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A/N: Ahhh why did I turn evil. We needed some turmoil... :)