She wished she hadn't damned the air conditioner for being so noisy. She regretted cursing at the fan for the unnerving 'crreeeaaak' it made as it oscillated for her benefit. She wish she would've just… live and let live. But nope. She didn't.

Kate lay with her bare back against the cool tile of her kitchen floor, sprawled out like when they used to make snow angels out in her front yard. Snow… She groaned and rubbed her face with her free hand, the other carefully cradling her cell phone to her ear.

"You ok, Kate?" Abby's voice reeled her back in.

"Yeah.. I accidentally thought about winter. And now I wanna cry..." she moaned lightly as she turned over onto her stomach. A soft "Mmmm" of delight escaped her lips. She was convinced that the coolness of the ceramic tile would die away any second, as it would slowly succumb to the smoldering heat of her apartment.

Abby laughed sympathetically, "Sorry, Kate… hey, you should have a McGee to go to when the power goes out... But hey, you know, I feel your pain," Abby cupped her hand to the receiver and whispered, "Tim doesn't have cable."

Kate could hear a faint protest in the background, and she couldn't help but smile a little. The amusement faded when she remembered her circumstance. "Does his AC work?"

"Well… yeah, it does, but—"

"Then shut your mouth."

Abby laughed quietly and then whispered, "You know… there were always rumors about Gibbs…"

Kate had her eyes closed as she flipped onto her back again, splayed out in her underwear. She frowned. "What about him? ..And what the hell does he have to do with my present suffering, Abs." Kate replied, frustrated. Her boss already affected her thermostat in a way no power outage could possibly curb— she didn't need to be reminded of it either.

"Rumor has it that he has.. a pool."

Kate's eyes snapped open. "A what?"

"Mmmhmmm…"

"A pool." Kate said flatly, suspiciously.

"Yup."

"Abby, are you—"

"A pool, Kate… and yes of course I'm sure! Well, I'm sure about the rumors. Whether they're true or not.. well. You could always investigate, Kate.. like the little agent you aaare…" Kate could feel Abby's goofy grin steadily bearing down on her through the phone. She sighed. A pool…

"I don't even have a bathing suit, Abby."

"What do you need a suit for?"

"Abby..!" Kate cried in amused disbelief. "I'm not—"

"Kate. It's 3 o'clock in the morning on a Saturday. You think he's awake, let alone sitting outside on his back patio? C'mon woman…"

Kate grumbled her opinion of her mixed feelings. "And I'm guessing you wouldn't consider com—"

"Oh, oh oh. No way, Jose. I'm fine with my current housing arrangements." Abby smiled, looking over at McGee, who just shook his head at her incredulously. She turned her attention back to the phone, "Are you really gonna go?"

Kate sat up; she could feel her back peel from the white tile with a hot stickiness that she couldn't imagine tolerating for another second. "Maybe." Kate groaned as she got up off the floor, and she continued before Abby had the chance to put in any more of her ideas, "You know, I'm going to call the super, Abs."

"Ooookay.. but if you decide to—"

"I'll let you know." Kate smiled and shook her head. "G'night, Abby.. tell Tim for me."

"I will…! 'Niight, Kate." Abby smiled as she hung up the phone, tossing it onto the other side of the bed.

McGee looked at her accusingly, "What did you just do…"

The back of Kate's thighs stuck to the hot, black leather of her car seat with what felt like a wicked vengeance. She managed to get to Gibbs' block without a hitch or a wrong turn. She'd been there before, but for nothing other than to drop something off, or maybe pick him up once or twice. But never had she been inside, past the inside of the front door, and certainly never the backyard.

She parked a block away from his house and safely out of view. Kate vowed revenge against the lab rat, should this plan turn sour: if Gibbs in fact didn't have a pool, Abby would pay— but if she got caught… Abby was a dead woman. Kate nodded her own silent affirmation of her vengeance as she left her keys under her floor mat and started down the street in her cut-offs and tank top. She clutched a towel to her chest as she got closer to Gibbs' house.

Kate stood at the curb, carefully hidden behind the large oak tree on his lawn, and made a careful survey of the house. No lights were on, and all the windows appeared to be shut. Lucky bastard has central air, she thought with a jealous bite. Her heated suffering surpassed whatever logic Kate may have had left— whatever hadn't melted into a clammy oblivion, left in a tepid pool on her car seat.

She snaked quietly through a small brush of trees that ran along his property line, stopping and hushing her movement with every branch she stepped on. After a few seconds of silence, she was satisfied and confident to continue the trek towards the backyard. As she rounded the corner of his house, she stopped dead in her tracks. A small whimper choked in the back of her throat.

"Yessssss…" Kate hissed. The backyard was pitch-black, except for the shimmer of the moon that reflected off the surface of Gibbs' in-ground pool.

It took everything inside of her to keep the excitement down to a dull roar as she hurried through the grass and made a beeline for the pool's deep end. She walked while she stripped; stripped out of her shorts and her tank left her standing in Gibbs' backyard in nothing but her underwear. As she was about to seat herself on the edge so she could slip in silently, she stopped and had a thought. Logic was something that Kate had in abundance. But now… not so much. She thought about being able to say she was in Gibbs' pool. Naked. It gave her a sharp thrill as a small smirk spread across her face. Abby would flip. And Tony, not that she'd ever dream of telling Dinozzo, but he'd never believe her anyway.

She nibbled on her bottom lip, and turned her head to look at the house once again. Not a single movement. She stood in the dark and disrobed further, dropping her bra and underwear onto a growing pile of clothes. Kate carefully slipped into the pool, letting a large sigh of utter content flow from her as she completely submerged herself. She wondered if it were possible to sleep in someone else's pool, undetected. And without drowning.

She floated and swam aimlessly in Gibbs' pool, sighing repeatedly and loving every moment of cool relief. She mentally scolded Abby for not suggesting this sooner.

Kate usually wasn't one to operate by the stars or any other kind of celestial compass, but she suddenly realized she had been there a while, as the moon was in a very different place now. She mentally wept at having to leave; having to voluntarily heave herself out of this outrageous pool of happiness—but the thought of Gibbs catching her… she didn't even want to think about it.

Kate reached for the metal ladder on the side of the pool, and just as her fingers brushed against the stainless steel, a flood light in the backyard illuminated the entire patio. Kate and the pool included. She froze, still immersed in the water, and could only gape and stare at her pile of clothes, just out of reach. Oh, holy hell.

She blinked slowly and turned her face in the direction of the house. And there he stood, leaning against the railing of the deck, watching her intently. She closed her eyes and took her hands off the ladder, submersing herself even further, up to her neck.

She watched him walk down the deck steps slowly, leisurely making his way across the cement and down the length of the pool. He had his arms crossed, his hair was softly mussed, and he wore a white t-shirt and… Are those boxers? Kate inwardly groaned and sank down in the water, her head going below the water line. When she emerged, she found that he had planted himself with his hands on the ladder rails, squatting down and sitting on his heels. He stared at her with an expression Kate couldn't quite place. Her eyes darted everywhere, around the yard, then over his face, before finally settling on his eyes.

His eyes were dark and his mouth didn't show any signs of smirking, not anytime soon. Kate recognized this look. It was the glare before the head slap.

"Kate…"

"Gibbs…"

"You're in my pool, Kate."

Kate swallowed and nodded. "Yup."

His eyes fell on her clothes piled at his feet. He furrowed his brow before raising his eyebrows in question, looking to her. A deep blush crossed Kate's cheeks; he could see it clearly even through the shadows that played across her face. He held her eyes, and visually milked every last iota of her mental strength. He reached out his hand, holding out a towel, not hers but one of his, and spoke softly, "You could've just asked, Kate."

She floated tense and speechless. Closing her mouth, her eyes fluttered to the towel and back up to his face before gently taking it from him. Her voice came out hoarse, "Gibbs, I'm kind of… well. You know…" She gently motioned his attention back to the clothes at his feet.

His mouth quirked and he cleared his throat. "Right." He stood up and backed away from the ladder, slowly turning his back to her. He clasped his hands behind his back and looked to his feet and listened as she climbed out of the pool, wrapping his towel securely around her. He wondered if it was a little sick to have the thought of never-washing-that-towel-again run through his head. She brought him out of his reflection with a soft brush of her finger tips against his wrist. Gibbs turned around to her and folded his arms in front of him, his eyes smiled wickedly at her.

"I was just.. it was just so… hot." She sighed out the end of her sentence, hoping for a bit of sympathy, but would have been just as happy to not witness a "this is my private life" speech.

Gibbs nodded. "Your power went out…" he asked, but slightly stated. At her look of confusion, he nodded and shrugged. "It was on the news— your neighborhood." It was Kate's turn to nod. She wet her lips and nervously looked past him.

"You can come in if you want. It's going to start to get hot again soon."

Kate cringed at the thought of it being any hotter than this. She shook her head and looked to him. "It's got to be 4 o'clock in the morning, Gibbs… you really don't have to—"

"4:30. But what's the difference." He gave her a warm smile before he bent down to pick up her clothes. Holding them in the crook of one arm, he put a hand on the small of her back, directing her towards the house.

Not letting an opportunity to be concealed in an air conditioned house pass her by, she allowed him to guide her. Miss being closed up in Gibbs' air conditioned house? She thought not.