Gibbs was home alone, down in his quiet basement working on his new boat. He heard the front door open then close and he took a quick glance at his watch, 22:40. Another late night. He sighed and continued to work as he heard her foot steps come down the stairs.
"Hey, sorry I'm so late" she sighed as she walked over to him and kissed his cheek. He gave her a smile in return and continued his work. She stepped back and watched him for a moment.
"Have you eaten?" she asked softly and he nodded. She bit her lip as she continued to watch him.
"Are you annoyed because I'm home late, again?" He finally looked up at her and shook his head. She smiled hoping it would help whatever has him in this mute mood.
"How about I go up and shower then we can head to bed?" this earned her a small smile.
"Sure. Sounds good" he agreed, making her smile grow even more. She turned to head up the stairs, but was stopped by the ringing of her phone. She sighed and dug into her pocket and pulled out the ringing machine.
"Yeah?" she answered and listened to the person on the other end. Gibbs watched her for a moment before turning his attention back to his boat. Kate ended the call and put her phone away.
"I have to go back in" she said turning to face him. Gibbs nodded.
"Of course" the words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them. This made Kate stop a moment and look at him.
"What's that supposed to mean?" she crossed her arms over her chest. Gibbs sighed, and looked at her.
"Go back to work Kate, they clearly don't have anyone else" he told her and without thinking she snapped.
"This coming from you? You're angry because I am working long hours, and if my memory serves me right you used to do the exact same thing. Why is it such a problem now?" she asked, it was clear she was annoyed.
"Because I want to actually spend time with my girlfriend! Because" he paused "Because I miss you" he yelled at her. They both stared at each other, Kate being the first one to look away.
"Don't wait up" she told him as she turned and headed for the stairs. She ran up them, grabbed her coat off the hanger and was about to grab her keys too when she stopped. She looked at her keys and replayed what just happened in her head. She put herself in Gibbs' shoes and she couldn't help but see why he reacted the way he had. They had both been working crazy hours, but he still managed to make the time for her. She saw now that she was the one running away and making work her priority.
She sighed and put her keys down, took her jacket off and hung it back up. Grabbed her phone and quickly made a call to tell them she was not coming in. She then left her phone on the bench and went to head back down stairs. She paused at the top of the stairs and watched Gibbs for a moment. He had gone back to sanding his boat, but she could tell his mood had changed. There was more anger in his actions and at any moment she thought he might actually through the sanding block across the room.
Kate slowly made her way down stairs, purposely making her presence known to him. He didn't stop what he was doing or look at her. She crossed the basement so she was almost standing next to him.
"I thought you had somewhere else to be" he finally said. She nodded and tried to give him a small smile.
"I did, and its right here" this made him stop. He paused before he finally looked at her and she took a few steps closer to him.
"I'm sorry for before. I didn't realise I was neglecting you, neglecting us" she was suddenly finding it very hard to find the right words. He turned to face her, putting down the sanding block.
"I never meant to put work before you" she was now standing right in front of him. He still didn't say anything, just looked down at her. She placed her hands on his chest, feeling the thin layer of dust already coating his jumper.
"I promise to try and not let it happen again. And if it does you need to say something to me" she looked up at him and he nodded.
"Okay" he said softly. She gave him a small smile and leaned up to kiss him softly.
"So how do I make it up to you?" she asked. At this he grinned and wrapped his arms around her, turned her around and pushed her up against the wood of the boat.
"Oh I can think of one way" he leaned in and kissed her deeply.