Disclaimer: Tortured is written for purely recreational purposes, no infringement on characters or situations intended.
Again, this chapter may not make any sense - creative writing is not my forte!!
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When Gibbs returned to the office 40 minutes later, he threw his empty coffee cup in the bin at Kate's desk before starting on the other cup of coffee he was carrying. Tony and McGee reported that they had found no new information, before Gibbs left the bullpen to go to Abby's lab.
Whilst in the elevator Gibbs' mobile phone began to ring, he didn't look at the caller ID, instead answering with a harsh "GIBBS".
"Hey Gibbs it's Kate, I tried ringing your desk phone but obviously you weren't there, I didn't want to leave a voicemail, so I decided to ring your mobile phone! It's just to let you know that it's likely I'll not be back in the office today, the defence has yet more questions I've already answered but they aren't satisfied. Though I think the Judge is starting to get annoyed so he'll probably call an end to it soon." At this long-winded explanation, Gibbs began to smile and pressed the emergency stop button not wanting any other Agent or his goth lab tech, in particular, to realise how easy it was for Special Agent Todd to get a smile out of him when he was at his most bad-tempered and irritable self. Suddenly images of Kate's interaction with the prosecuting attorney during the pre-trial preparation sessions flashed before him, their mutual smiles and easy conversation, remembering how Tony had goaded Kate about the Naval lawyer and how she had merely blushed whilst never denying what Tony had said. Gibbs found his mood abruptly changed, returning to what it had been previously - if not worse.
"Agent Todd when can we expect you back in the office? You do realise you work for a Federal Agency and are expected to earn your paycheck? We do have active cases at the moment that the Navy would like solved, unless it has escaped your attention. You do seem to be enjoying being otherwise engaged. Perhaps you want to be transferred to the JAG office and work with the sailors - it can be arranged, perhaps with more speed and efficiency than you appear to be approaching your work with!" As soon as the words left Gibbs' mouth, he wished the elevator would just plummet to the basement; he heard Kate's rate of breathing increase significantly and knew he was being unduly unfair to her. Major Shields' murder and her continuing contact with the prosecuting lawyer, who was significantly younger than him, was unsettling and he needed Kate more than he cared to admit to himself to be her usual grounding force; someone to bounce ideas off no matter how ludicrous and as someone who had such a different, untainted view of life. Gibbs knew that neither Tony or McGee would dare stand up to him or contradict his line of reasoning, thats why he relied on Kate – she would speak her mind, arguing with him despite knowing that the chances of winning were slim, yet would do so with enough conviction and passion that Gibbs was more swayed than not by what she said. To Gibbs, it seemed incomprehensible that one woman could have so much power over him and be completely oblivious to it at the same time; her 'devil may care' approach to dealing with him had endeared her to him the first time she stood up to him. Time after time, Gibbs was reminded that Kate had indeed earned her jock strap, holding her own in a predominately male profession; yet she still had a long way to go, her need for continual positive affirmation was preventing her from breaking free of his team and striking out on her own – something that Gibbs was eternally grateful for.
"Gibbs, I don't know when I'll be back – it is a court of law, I can't just walk out whilst being questioned because you say so" Gibbs could hear the slight quiver in Kate's voice, then the sudden burst of resolve that seemed to come from nowhere "just because Tony is probably whinning about extra work and making McGee's life a living nightmare, well more than usual if that's possible, does not make a credible reason to be excused from questionning no matter how much the lawyers are show-boating to the jurors and enraging the Judge! I will be in the office tomorrow morning at the earliest. Goodbye."
Gibbs returned the phone to his inner pocket, scrubbed his hands over his head before releasing the emergency stop button so the elevator could continue it's descent to the forensics lab. During the short journey Gibbs reflected on how quickly the conversation with Kate had turned from a pleasant exchange of words, to him unintentionally antagonising her whilst he instantly regretted it. Before the doors opened Gibbs slapped himself on the back of the head before striding into Abby's lab and unplugging the CD player from the wall.