Disclaimer: See previous chapter
A/N: Okay... Okay... I know this took a mighty long time to update, but I completely take responsibility for it. I had totally forgotten about this fic when someone asked if I was going to update it. So here it is. Also I want to thank Mo who keeps bailing me out of bad situations even when I dont really ask for his help. Now read on and tell me what you thinks...
No Expectations II
Kate watched as her boss made his way to where she was seated at the table with her friends and she was unsure of what to do when he would eventually reach her. While she knew Jethro Gibbs hated being in the limelight, she also knew that he was not beyond making things up as he went along, and Caitlin Todd was very afraid that the subject of her dreams would do something she would not be able to explain to the people she was currently sitting with. She had clearly not expected her super sexy, utterly charming and devastatingly handsome boss to come to her aid this evening, or ever for that matter. Well not in reality, though her dreams were a different story altogether.
She saw his cerulean blue eyes flash dangerously for a second and then it was gone, only to be replaced by his usual unreadable expression and a slight upturn of the side of his mouth that resulted in his signature smirk. Her heart began to race and she could feel her hands becoming colder with nervousness at every step he took in her direction. As much as it thrilled her to see her boss actually taking an interest in her life outside the walls of the NCIS HQ, Kate was not sure if she wanted to let him in just yet.
He came to a stop behind her chair and the feeling of his cool hand on her shoulder sent shivers down her spine.
"Special Agent Todd," he greeted her and she turned in her seat to look up at him.
"Agent Gibbs," came her soft reply.
He gave her a pointed look, silently giving her a way out of this night she dreaded for so long. There was a paused silence and Kate didn't know whether the correct choice to make was stay and endure a night of pure aversion, or take her boss's lead and follow him out of the hell-hole she was currently stuck in, to an unknown destination. While the idea thrilled her, it also scared the hell out of her. Spending time with a certain Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs during work hours was one thing, but spending time with the same man out of the office was a different story altogether. She didn't have to ponder too long on it though because her boss made the decision for her.
"I'm afraid we are going to have to cut this short," he informed the nosey group looking questioningly at the brown haired woman.
The weight of his hand on her shoulder surprised Kate and the feeling of his skin on hers sent shivers down her spine. She hoped with all her might he could not feel whatever it was she was feeling. He trailed his fingers down the length of her arm and stopped at her elbow, cupping the joint in his palm and applying a light pressure on it, indicating that she should stand as soon as she was ready to leave. She didn't want to miss the chance at spending time with the ex-marine outside of working hours.
She picked up her bag and fell into step with him as he turned and started making his way toward the exit of the restaurant. His mouth was curved up into his trademark smirk, though his sapphire eyes were guarded and his expression unreadable. Her stride matched his as they walked in silence to the car, her mind racing with the possibilities of what could happen and the reality of what she knew would undoubtedly happen. He would walk her to her car parked outside in the parking lot and wait as she got into her car and headed in the direction of her home, all alone, and he would probably head straight for his basement to work on his boat, and most likely empty half a bottle of bourbon or a full one depending on how moody he was or which one was the closest to him.
As they approached the parking lot, he did neither of the things she had thought up in her mind. Instead, he stopped midway between her car and his, and clasped her wrist in hand, forcing her to look up at him. She was about to try and free her wrist from his grasp, but the slight genuine smile on his face and the happy twinkle in his eyes made her stop and rethink her decision. He nodded in the direction of his bottle green sedan two rows down from where they were standing and she happily followed him, staying only a step behind him.
She fidgeted nervously as he drove to a destination yet unknown to her. While she found it easy to talk to Gibbs about almost anything; Kate was for the first time in her life speechless. She didn't know if her larynx had suddenly closed up or if her so called courage had just upped and left her to fend for herself against her walking, talking, breathing, fantasy. She was brought out of her thoughts when the car came to a complete stop in the driveway of an old but modest looking house with the picture perfect lawn and porch of the house. She traced her superior's steps into the house, walking in slowly; afraid of trespassing as she knew Gibbs was liable to do.
He had disappeared up the stairs somewhere and she could hear the ruffling noises of him searching for something. She was tempted to go and ask him what the hell he was up to, but she decided that it would better for her if she stayed out of his way until he was ready to tell her what exactly he was up to. She made her way into what looked like the living room, as it was furnished with a couch set that looked as though it was picked out from a really expensive catalogue and never really used, and a wooden coffee table with a glass top to match the wood of the sofa set. There were four pictures under the glass of the coffee table and Kate bent down to take a closer look at them.
The first was a black and white one of Gibbs, she remembered Tony taking that one, and assumed Abby had made it look like it was old, there was one of the redheaded woman who picked him up from work on the odd occasion. The third was of the team at a team building event which Gibbs was forced to go to and finally there was one of her and Gibbs on her first day as an NCIS special agent. She wanted to kill Tony for taking such an awful picture, but as she looked closer at it, she saw the way Gibbs had been intently focused on what she was saying and to somebody who didn't know any better; it looked like a man totally in love with the woman standing beside him.
She jumped when she heard the clearing of a throat behind her, but she continued looking at the pictures. There was no point in trying to hide that she was looking at it, and besides it was not as though she was prying into his personal life, they were pictures of the team, so it was all fair game. Gibbs walked up to her and stopped just behind her, close enough that she could feel his breath cascade down her neck, causing goosebumps to take up residence on her skin.
"You ready to leave?" he asked, his voice gruff yet gentle.
She was incapable of forming a sentence so she simply nodded her assent, and turned to once again face her silver haired, walking, talking fantasy. He had changed his attire from his normal work clothes into a pair of faded blue jeans and a sky blue T-shirt, with the letters USMC gracing the front which accented his azure blue eyes more than usual. His dress shoes were replaced with black loafers, and the only thing that would define him as not a regular civilian, but a government agent, was the holster on his waist which housed his beloved Sig Sauer. Kate eyed him appreciatively and blushed furiously when her eyes travelled to his face and she found his gaze pinned on hers. It also didn't escape her attention that Gibbs had chosen to dress casually because that was how she was dressed.
During the drive to wherever he was taking her, Kate heard Gibbs's one sided conversation with a man she assumed to be a good friend of his. She based this assumption solely on the manner in which Gibbs had conducted the entire conversation. She was getting nervous again and she could feel the butterflies giving birth in her belly. She stole a glance at her boss and she saw the smirk plastered on his face, but before she could ask him what the hell he was up to, he announced that they had reached their destination and that their reservations were for eight, which was five minutes away.
"For someone who had no expectations for her birthday celebration, this had exceeded all expectations," she thought to herself as she emerged from the car and walked over to Gibbs, before making their way into the small restaurant a few feet away. Kate could swear she didn't even know there was a restaurant there, and she supposed that if you didn't know the area as well as the locals did, they would not have known there was an eating house there either.
They had been given the booth on the far side of the eatery where there was not much traffic from either the people coming in or the waiters making their way into or out of the kitchen. Kate had thought her boss would sit on the opposite side of the table where he could she could look at him straight in the face as they talked over dinner, but she was startled when he slid into the booth, and seated himself right next to her. This was playing with fire and someone was going to get burned, she just hoped it wouldn't be her.
Dinner was a pleasant affair, and they talked mostly about the cases at work, the familiar ground keeping them at ease. Gibbs noticed that Kate talked a lot, and she would get extremely excited, even using her hands, at times, to explain things to him that she assumed he didn't understand. For the most part though, he really didn't understand what she was saying, because he was too concentrated at the way her eyes lit up and she smiled deeply; showing the dimple in her left cheek and…
She had stopped talking and was looking at him expectantly, her eyebrows raised in a questioning arc. Shit, she had asked him something and was patiently waiting for an answer, but he couldn't give her one because he had completely missed the question. He smiled guiltily at her, and then admitted he had in fact not heard a word she had said for the past five minutes.
"Gibbs!" she mock scolded him as she raised her hand to hit him on the arm playfully, but reconsidered her decision at the last minute, her eyes shining with mischief.
He kept his expression blank, though a twinkle had found its way to the azure orbs staring back at her. Pinning her gaze with his, he leaned in toward her until he could almost feel the soft flesh of her lips on his…almost. He made sure, though, that there was absolutely no body contact between them. He was tempted to place kisses along her neck and all the way to her shoulder, but he refrained, afraid of the repercussions his actions would bring. He did, however, allow himself to breathe in deeply, permitting her scent to assault his mind and senses, letting his brain concentrate on nothing else but the way she smelled and felt next to him.
"You look amazing," the words were out of his mouth before he could stop himself and he heard her sharp intake of breath.
"Thank you," she replied breathily, her voice huskier than she expected it to be and it resulted in the former Marine losing his internal battle of whether to kiss her or not. He acted swiftly; afraid he might chicken out at the last minute and placed a soft kiss just behind her ear.
The waiter arrived a few minutes later, waiting to take their dessert order; and Gibbs quickly moved out of her personal space, allowing Kate to think rationally once again. Dessert consisted of two extra large cups of coffee and a slice of chocolate cake, by Gibbs's insistence, to share. She had only taken two bites of the rich dessert before setting the plate in front of him, claiming the he finish it since he was the one that insisted on ordering it.
A half hour later, Kate found herself enjoying the easy stroll they were taking through the park, which was about five minutes away from the restaurant. The cool breeze was welcoming in the humid atmosphere, the air calm and mysterious. The conversation was flowing smoothly, once again discussing the case they were working on at the moment, and they were both grateful the topic remained work focused. They walked for at least half an hour before Gibbs realised the time and that he still needed to get her home at a decent hour, not that she had anyone waiting for her, but he didn't want to leave a bad impression on her family after their first so called date.
As they made their way back to the car park, a group of teenaged boys came rushing down the path in an unruly manner and in the process almost knocking Kate over. She was pulled away to safety, at the last second, her heart hammering in her chest and her blood pounding in her ears. It took her a full minute to realise she was fully pressed up against her boss, his chest brushing hers, his mouth exceptionally close to hers, she could feel his breath on her lips, his hands curled protectively around her waist and his gaze pinned on hers.
She leaned into him, aware of just how wrong the whole situation was, and yet she was powerless to stop herself, not that she wanted to either. He tilted his head to the side, watching her face for anything that told him this was a bad idea, and when he got no such reaction from his very attractive, very available subordinate, he leaned in to kiss her. His lips were almost touching hers and he felt her exhale the deep breath she was holding in anticipation of his next move.
Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion and Kate was hoping this time Gibbs didn't hold back as he did earlier in the restaurant. The mysterious, fervid air that had settled around them, enclosing them in a cocoon of torrid emotion and expectation, had all dissipated when Kate's cell phone started ringing loudly. Gibbs grudgingly let go of her and reluctantly stepped out of her personal space as she pulled out her phone from her back pocket and proceeded to answer it.
She knew the moment was over when she hung up the call and turned to look at him, finding his gaze concentrated on his shoes, as he walked toward the car park. The drive back to her apartment was done in silence, both occupants of the vehicle lost in their own thoughts, neither of them knowing how to start the conversation, or what to say to each other. Kate stole quick glances at her driving companion but his facial expression, or lack thereof, could not help her guess what was running through his mind.
She exited the car as soon as Gibbs parked it and switched off the engine. She had decided she was not ready or willing to hear the 'this is wrong' speech, or 'I am your boss' speech and most of all she did not want to hear the "Rule number 12' quote Gibbs loved using on his team. Her steps were quick but measured, and she bolted through the foyer of her apartment lobby before he could even enter the building. Lucky for him the elevator was stuck on the sixth floor and Kate had stopped in front of the metal doors waiting for the electronic box because the stairwell was closed due to the construction going on to refurbish the building.
The cart arrived shortly after Gibbs reached the spot Kate was standing at and he followed her inside, making sure to stand extremely near her in the crowded box. Most of the passengers departed on the first floor leaving the pair alone in the vehicle for the next six floors. The air was tense and Gibbs could hear her breathing hard, and he was sure her heart was thumping against her rib cage just as his was.
Slowly, he took a step closer to her and placed a hand on her hip, turning her body to face his, her skin erupting in goosebumps as she felt his hands on her body for the second time that night. She kept her gaze focused on the floor, her chest rising and falling rapidly with her increased breath rate. She was aware of him as he stepped up closer to her, noticing his shoes land in between her feet, and feeling his legs pressed up against hers. His hands remained possessively on her waist as he tardily allowed his chest to sink into hers, his head dropped down and his breath ignited the skin of her neck.
"Gibbs," she wanted to know what was going on in that mysterious head of his but he stopped her from saying the rest of her sentence out loud when he placed his forefinger on her lips.
His mouth was attacking her neck within seconds and she was caught between a Gibbs and a hard place. She could not for the life of her escape his grasp, but he felt so good up against her that she did not want to. His hands moved from her waist to her hips and he untucked her T-shirt from her jeans, allowing his skin to meld into hers, leaving a tingling sensation wherever his fingers trailed up her body. She in turn gripped his shirt in her small hands, bunching the soft material in her tiny fists, and pulling him closer into her.
A soft sigh escaped her lips and Gibbs grinned against her skin, as if he knew this was the reaction he would elicit from her. He kept his movement slow and deliberate, each graze of his teeth on her skin a painful pleasure and every feather light touch a forbidden delight. How could she not have known how skilled he was with his tongue? She craned her neck as far is it would go, offering him as much flesh as he desired to mark as his own, just in case this never happened again.
The doors swished open allowing cool air to replace the heated atmosphere that had engulfed the elevator. They were so caught up in their little cocoon that neither she nor Gibbs noticed the doors open or the good looking man staring wide eyed and open mouthed at the couple inside the cart.
"Kate," he ventured uncertainly but the brunette agent's eyes flew open. The voice sounded eerily familiar. Gibbs still had his nose buried in Kate's hair, his hands inching up her sides under her T-shirt, clearly even with his super sonic hearing he did not hear the man greeting Kate, or he simply chose to ignore the newcomer.
Kate released her grip of her companion's T-shirt slightly and pushed at his chest in order for him to move away from her somewhat. It was only then the newcomer had seen who it was that was accompanying his friend and co-worker. Gibbs tore his mouth away from Kate's neck and looked up to see an embarrassed looking, very brightly red coloured computer geek staring uncomfortably at them.
"Boss," he greeted unsteadily, wishing the floor would open up and swallow him whole.
Gibbs raised an eyebrow in question at his junior agent.
"I was… not spying on you, I swear" he stammered as he took a step into the elevator, and then stopped abruptly.
There was a pronounced silence as the words floated about in the air, and suddenly McGee turned a darker shade of red, his heart beating wildly in his chest.
"Of all the things in the world that you could have said, you chose to say that you weren't spying on them? That sounds like something that would come out of Tony's mouth," and he cringed further with embarrassment.
He took a deep breath before continuing in a steady voice, "I was on my way out from dropping my date off, I didn't know you lived here Kate, I swear," he confessed and he hoped like hell that his next training session was scheduled with Tony and not Gibbs or Kate.
Gibbs saw his agent's dilemma and solved it for the younger man when he stepped out of the elevator, hand still firmly gripping his brown haired goddess and continued on down the passage towards Kate's apartment.
The walk from the elevator doors to her apartment door was a short one and Kate was nervous about what would happen once they reached the threshold. She was so lost in thought she didn't realise when her silver haired hero had stopped, in front of her door, and leaned against it, looking at her as she walked past it and on to the fourth door after hers.
"Kate," the sound of his voice brought her out of her thoughts and she turned to see him leaning against her doorframe an amused smile plastered across his lips.
She smiled shyly and retraced her steps until she came to her front door, standing a foot away from him. Giving him a mock stare, she brushed past him and fed her key into the keyhole, turning it until she heard the bolt unlock. He stood still, watching her with rapt attention, and his heart racing in his chest. She tuned the knob, pushed the door open and stepped inside her dimly lit apartment.
When she saw he had no aim of following her in, she turned around to face him, the dimpled smile still gracing her perfect features.
"Thank you… for tonight; I had a really great time," she said quietly and he knew she was not just saying it to be polite. She really had enjoyed his company beyond the office walls, and that was clearly something that impressed him. He saw her open her mouth to say something and then she reconsidered. His piercing blue eyes pinned on her, however, made her say what was running through her head.
"I was actually deciding on how to get McGee back for not coming tonight, when you unexpectedly showed up," she admitted.
"Expect the unexpected Kate," was his smooth reply and then he was silent, not knowing what else to say.
A paused silence later, he stood up straight, offered her another of his mega watt smiles and took one step closer to her. He pulled out a small box from his jeans pocket and handed it to her, making her blush brilliantly, colouring her cheeks with a delightful pink stain. She recuperated from her reaction quickly and tried to return the package to him.
"Gibbs, you didn't have to…" but she was cut short when he took her hand bearing the small box and closed her fingers over it.
"Happy Birthday Kate," he nodded and she understood, there was no need for any more words than the ones he had just spoken
"Thank you," she whispered again, and this time she involuntarily took a step closer to him.
He looked confused for a minute or two, as his eyes met hers. There was a moment when he felt like he couldn't breathe and his chest felt like it was closing up. He hadn't felt like this in a very long time, in years actually, and frankly, it scared him a whole lot. But he was done with being afraid and this was the perfect opportunity to face his fear.
He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. He tried again and still he couldn't find the right words. Eventually he reconsidered his options and cleared his throat, making her look up at him. He stepped up closer to her and leaned in. Her eyes closed automatically and her breathing became short and shallow.
She felt him press a soft kiss on her cheek, near her lips, for only a few seconds before it was gone. Her eyes opened when she heard him greeting her goodnight and she lifted her hand to rub the spot where his lips had been a few minutes ago. By the time she greeted him goodnight in return he was already stepping into the elevator and the doors swished closed, swallowing him from her sight.
Just a short note to everone who got as far as this, this is really the end of the fic.The goal was to keep up the UST and not let the relationship progress any further as they possibly would have done on the show... Please tell me if I achieved my goal.
Reviews are always welcome.
If you are a JAG fan then you can check out my story Home under JAG and the next chapter of Anyone But Her should be up soon too.
And Happy New Year to everyone.
Dyslexic CSI