Chapter 5: Conspiring...among other things
"Now that's a good question Katie." Gibbs paused thoughtfully, then continued. "I suppose I could smack 'em all on the back of the head until the get amnesia. Or...we could tell them the truth."
"I'm not even sure they'd believe the truth. And what about Rule #12? Plus, we don't want you to get reported to Human Resources for smacking around your employees."
"I already smack them around. And I'd like to see them try to report me to Human Resources."
That thought made Gibbs and Kate chuckle. The thought of an ancient secretary with large, wire-rimmed glasses, trying to file a report against Gibbs. The whole idea was pretty funny.
They had hit a dead end. It seemed that there was no reasonable explanation of why Gibbs and Kate had been in the elevator for almost an hour and a half.
"Well, we could always lie." Gibbs suggested.
"What would we tell them?"
"That the elevator wouldn't work and we got stuck. Then it fixed itself and started working again."
"That's a good idea. But there's something else you forgot."
"And what was that Kate?"
"How my shirt got totally soaked."
"Well...we could say that you got scared and made me hole you."
"Yeah, let's say that," Kate said sarcastically. "DiNozzo would never let me live it down."
"True, true. It'd be like you were a probie all over agin, huh?"
"Yeah. And there's no way I hell I would ever got through that again."
"Sort of makes you feel sorry for McGee, doesn't it?"
"Yeah, almost."
The two became serious. They desperately needed a plan.
"How about we tell them that you were knocked unconscious, fell on top of me, and your weight pinned me down, which made me get all wet?"
A raised eyebrow from Gibbs was all the answer Kate needed.
"Ummm, yeah, that was stupid." Kate cleared her throat. "Well, you know when you're in interrogation, and you're in the zone and you just pin the perp against the wall until you scare the answers, not to mention whatever is in his intestines, out of him?"
"Yeah. Where are you going with this?"
"We can say that's what you did to me. You know, you were trying to scare the answers out of me."
"That might just work. Good job Katie. I knew there was a reason I like you," he said playfully. "I mean, all this" he said, gesturing to Kate's body, "and a head on her shoulders. Not too often you get one of those."
Kate was astonished. Gibbs was actually...flirting? With her! Her first instinct was to scream 'Aaaahhh! It's a sign of the apocalypse! Run for your lives!' But other instincts told her otherwise. So she decided to play along.
"Look who's talking, He-Man. Tough guy." She punched him playfully in the arm.
"That hurt Katie!" Gibbs put on a hurt look ad rubbed his arm.
"I take it back. Leroy Jethro Gibbs, I now proclaim you a wimp!"
"You will do no suck thing Caitlin Todd." As if to prove to her that he was the boss, he grabbed her and easily pinned her against the elevator wall. Kate tried to squirm away, pressing buttons and flipping the emergency switch while doing so, but it was no use. Gibbs was too strong.
"Take it back Katie. Right now," he growled in a playfully menacing tone.
"Ok, ok, I take it back! You're not a wimp," Kate muttered while trying to wiggle her way out of Gibbs iron hold. Neither had noticed that the elevator has started to move.
"What was that Katie? I didn't hear you," teased Gibbs.
"I SAID YOU'RE NOT A WIMP!" Kate shouted.
"Hush now. There's no need for yelling. These old ears aren't as sharp as they used to be, but I'm not deaf."
"Come off it. Your hearing is better than mine." Kate said, then shoved him away.
"If you say so..." Gibbs started to say, but then paused to pin her against the wall once again, but instead of making her succumb to groveling this time, he just stood there, holding her firmly. And she didn't resist this time. And when the elevator dinged, and the doors slid open a few seconds later, Gibbs and Kate weren't the only ones about to be in for a shock.
