A/N: Well, I think this is the end. Really. The end. I think. :) But yes. I wanted to thank everyone for the continuing wonderful reviews. I love them :) I got a little stuck towards the end, but I hope it worked out to everyone's liking-- This is for all you Kibbs-ers out there, and especially for Kibbslover, because one of her comments sparked this last part :) Hope this heat is treating everyone kinder than I! Take care all, and most of all.. enjoy.

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Kate lay across the stone kitchen floor with her stomach and chest pressed flat against the chilled slate. She tried to get as close to the ground as she possibly could without actually melting through the floorboards. She never thought something so high-school as "heat rises" could be so true. On so many levels, she smirked as she looked over in the direction of her blackout companion. Gibbs sat next to her, his back leaning against one of the counter cabinets as he trailed his fingertips meditatively down the middle of her back in constant, repetitive strokes.

"Pool or basement." Gibbs mumbled thoughtfully; his eyes were closed and the kitchen was barely bathed in the dim haze of the early morning, but he felt her gaze on him. He opened one eye and looked down to her.

"Can't we do both..?" Kate carefully turned over onto her back and sat up, covering her front with the towel as she deftly rewrapped herself. Nothing overtly physical had occurred.. yet… but even with the darkened room and the fact that Gibbs probably saw enough of her to stave off his imagination, she still felt the need to be discreet. He sat with his legs crossed at the ankles, left in only his boxers as he had peeled off his t-shirt once the AC atmosphere had dissipated within 20 minutes of the burnout. He nodded slowly in reply to her question. Kate placed a hand on his bare shoulder and kept it there longer than she meant to, casually flexing her fingertips over his warm skin. Looking from her hand up to his eyes, she gave him a gentle smile and his shoulder a soft squeeze before gracefully standing up.

"Pool?" Kate asked as she folded her arms in front of her, semi-self-consciously, semi-by-habit. Gibbs got up from the floor with a muffled groan that he pretended not to hear, and nodded again.

"Sure." He studied her extensively in the shadows before noticing that she was obviously waiting for something. He raised an eyebrow in silent question.

"My clothes. Where'd you put them." She nodded her head vaguely as she spoke. He just smirked at her again. She sighed and raised her eyebrow, pursing her lips and cocking her head to one side. She shook her head, "It's almost light out. I am not going out there without clothes.." She stated emphatically, a little laugh coating her voice.

Gibbs wet the dryness that had overcome his mouth and blinked slowly, trying to keep the amusement off of his face. He nodded down to her towel, speaking slowly, "Ya got that…"

"This.. is not clothes." Kate absently backed him into the edge of the counter. "You just want to see me naked." She said softly as she continued on, incredulously accusing him; her eyes flashed coolly, casually belying the heat that not only surrounded her, but had become very much internal.

"Already did that." He said matter-of-factly. His eye contact was unwavering, but didn't seem to faze her this time around.

"You almost.. saw me naked." She corrected him firmly.

His eyebrows quirked and so did the corner of his mouth, which turned up slightly in the face of Kate's seriousness. "You sure about that, Kate…?"

Kate looked at him blankly before her eyes fluttered, slightly flustered, and shook her head. "Even if you did. That doesn't give you a free pass, Agent.. Gibbs.." She wound up smiling, and loving the smile she got in return.

Gibbs gave in with some prompting and retrieved her clothes. He couldn't wipe the smile off of his face as she changed into her underwear, her make-shift bathing suit, in his kitchen; after insisting of course that he turn around. He smiled all the way through the backyard as his fingertips rubbed lightly at her lower back, guiding her from the deck down to the pool. Every time Kate would glance up to him, he'd manage to put his cool-resolve face back on and stare quizzically at her. She'd look away, and his smirk would return.

The sun had just begun it's ascent into the hazy morning sky; peeking gently over the horizon and streaming through the trees. Gibbs stood next to Kate by the edge of the pool; both of them staring at the water.

"You should go first." Kate said lightly. He turned his head to look at her in confusion, and laughed.

"And why is that, Katie?" Gibbs replied, hushing his voice as he dared her with her pet name. She turned to him and was caught in his eyes before she mentally shook herself out of it and continued.

"Your pool…" She looked up to him and bit the inside of her lip. Truth be told, she didn't want him to leave. She didn't want to jump in and have him change his mind with a chuckle and then head off to the basement. It was childish and she couldn't think of a logical reason why Gibbs would do it; but she imagined not everything about this arrangement was entirely logical. She briefly thought about the plausible hidden meaning behind her mental trepidation: She didn't want to jump into anything, and have him leave. She looked up to him and he titled his head down towards her, showing the concern on his face.

"How about.. we go together." He said as he ran a hand up her arm, squeezing her bicep and the slowly sliding his hand back down to her fingers. She gave him a nod as his hand soothingly assuaged the nagging of her apprehension.

Kate gave the 1-2-3 count while Gibbs chuckled-- but at "3," neither of them moved

She looked to him, "You didn't jump."

He raised his eyebrows, "Neither did you..." He shook his head and rolled his eyes as she glaringly placed a hand on her hip, "Alright, alright… 1… 2…" He couldn't believe he was counting off.

As '3' was about to seemingly roll of his tongue, he smirked suddenly and gently, forcefully, pressed his hand against the small of her back. With a drowned out yelp, Kate fell helplessly into the water. He chuckled and squatted down next to the edge; his elbows on his knees with his chin held in one of his hands, waiting for her to emerge from her impropmtu swim.

She sputtered to the surface and briefly scanned the edge of the pool before spotting him in front of her. She gaped at him for a second before shaking her head, she huffed— her tone was biting, but still laced with frustrated amusement. "Ya know…?" she stated in annoyance, "that was something Dinozzo would have done." Gibbs just smiled and raised his eyebrows briefly in contemplation. He watched her, longingly.

Kate sighed and gracefully swam the short distance to the ledge. "Are you at least going to help me out..?" She looked up at him cynically as she held up her hand to him. He smiled and took a firm hold of her; Kate squeezed his hand with a devil's smile as she gave a sharp pull, bringing him head first into the pool. Should've seen that coming, he thought, as his body hit the water with a wicked splash.

She softly snickered her own approval of her retribution; her laughter only amplified as he, too, sputtered to the surface, turning his head as he predatorily looked for her. Once he spotted her, he launched after her, making her flinch and recoil. As Kate made a grab for the ladder, both of her wrists were seized in one of Gibbs' hands. He held onto the ladder to steady himself and pressed her against the side of the pool, leaving an inch between their faces. Kate made several fluid, start-and-stop attempts to kiss him, but Gibbs shattered her reticence as he determinedly covered her mouth with his. Acquiescing, Kate tilted her head back while he released her wrists and brought his hand up to the side of her neck. Kate groaned as he slid the tip of his tongue across her lips, and opened to him eagerly. He swiped his tongue against hers, quietly prodding her for intensive bodily information. It was his turn to groan as she wrapped her legs securely around his waist; reflexively pressing her hips to his, scratching her fingernails lightly down the sides of his chest.

The weight of her began to slowly sink them both into the water; Gibbs gruffed as he hesitantly separated from her. He silently hoisted her up to sit on the upper step of the pool ladder, his hands gripping the hand rails to lift himself up to a little below her level as he attacked her neck; kissing and sucking at the hollow of her throat. A quiet "Guhhh" escaped her lips as she relocked her legs around his middle, holding him up as much as her strength would possibly allow.

She shakily ran her fingers up the back of Gibbs' neck and into his hair, resting them behind his ears as she tilted his face up towards her, softly but eagerly pressing her lips to his. She found herself enjoying the leverage of being a few inches higher than him; of being able to assail his mouth from above.

He slowly pulled his lips away from hers, opening his eyes with a look she recognized. She smiled faintly and murmured throatily, "Yeah... me too." Her vocal response to his intricate stare of need sparked a soft smirk in Gibbs. She kissed the corner of his mouth as she scooted off the step of the ladder and onto the edge of the pool, slowly getting up to stand on the cement. She reached her hand to him but when he went to take it, she withdrew and raised an eyebrow, "No funny stuff..." He laughed and nodded in agreement, smiling softly up at her. She nodded and lent him her hand once again, which he firmly took as he climbed out of the pool.

The sun was now up and over the horizon, glaring at the pair in a quiet prophecy of the heat that was threatening to rip through the atmosphere during the day. Kate gently nudged his arm and motioned towards the house. He took her hand and led her back inside— she subtly laced their fingers, which he looked down to and then glanced over to Kate as they reached the back door. She looked over to notice his gaze and went to release him, but he squeezed her hand and roughly pulled her to his chest.

Gibbs held tightly onto her shoulders, and examined her closely—her face, her eyes and down to her lips before returning to reestablish their eye contact. He exhaled deeply and squeezed her shoulders, leaning down to kiss her in away she deemed sincerely profound.

Slowly they made their way through the back door and into the kitchen. Never taking his lips off of her, he tested the light switch and got nothing. He mumbled against her lips, "Power's still down." All he got was an "Mmmmhmm" before his back smacked into the closed basement door. He chuckled deeply into her mouth before reaching a hand behind him to turn the knob. Opening the door, he put a hand up between them, having her reluctantly part from him. She looked to him for an explanation. He motioned to the basement with his thumb. "Stairs." She looked past him, then looked back to his face and gave a quick nod. Gibbs smirked and ushered her down the steps before closing the basement door behind him.

Kate stood at the bottom of the staircase, attentively observing the boat's wooden frame. "Wow." She whispered as she stepped towards it, running her fingertips lightly over a finely sanded plank.

Gibbs stood back and carefully minded her; he leaned against the tool bench and smiled thoughtfully. As he pushed himself away from the workbench, he slowly came up behind her, placing his hands delicately on her shoulders. He slid his hands gently down her arms, brushing his fingers against her hands before resting his palms on the bottom of her stomach, wrapping his arms around her waist. He breathed into the back of her hair, pulling her back into his chest as he nuzzled the crook of her neck. He didn't want this to stop, but—

"It doesn't have to end, Gibbs." Kate rasped softly, hearing the thoughts in his sigh and feeling them in his subtle pining. She leaned her head back to rest on his shoulder, glancing at him through the corner of her eye with a raise of an eyebrow.

He turned her around suddenly and held his grip at her waist, staring at her ardently. He backed her into one of the finished wooden planks, running his hands to her hips. "Good.." he replied gruffly, his tone was soft, but not without bite. His hands slipped over her hips, dipping his fingers into the waistband of her underwear. Her breath hitched as she leaned back against the boat, watching him intently. They both silently and passionately agreed: this would never be over.

After an hour of leisurely 'rediscovering' the floor beneath the boat, the two laid spent on the blankets that haphazardly covered the dark, cool cement floor. Kate slept beside him, curled into his chest with her head on his side and a soft hand on his stomach. Gibbs lay wide awake, his hands pillowing the back of his head as he stared up at his creation's framework. Looking back down at his new companion's sleeping form, he sat up slowly, gathering her in his arms. He was careful not to wake her, fairly certain the weather and the early morning's excitement had kept her awake since, God only knew when.

Surprised and relieved when he made it over to the couch without Kate stirring, he laid her down gently and pulled a sheet over her instead of the thick blanket that lay heavily across the back of the sofa. His eyes gently caressed her face as he slid his hand, phantomlike, over her side to rest on her hip. His mouth spasmed vaguely as he stood up with a sigh. Running his hands over his face and through his hair, he walked back to the boat and picked up the lone piece of sand paper that lay precariously on one of the bowed planks. Gibbs looked over to Kate as he began sanding, slow and silent. Something told him she wouldn't be disappearing with a break in the weather.

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