Less than a minute later, Tony was back in the suite. "Get in here," Gibbs called. Tony appeared looking very confused and wondering what he'd done wrong. Gibbs ignored him and turned to Kate.

"What happened?" he asked, a little more gently than he had before.

Tony took in the scene – Gibbs standing next to the bed, a belt and a hairbrush lying on the bed and Kate backed as far away from Gibbs, the bed and the implements of her punishment as she could. She had clearly been crying and Tony wanted to run over to her and hug her. But something wasn't right, so he kept his distance.

Kate turned to Tony. "I'm so sorry," she said, tearing up again.

"For what?" he asked, moving toward her.

"Tony," Gibbs said quietly shaking his head. Tony froze and looked at Kate.

"I lied to you," she sniffed. "To both of you. I didn't lose track of time last night. And I didn't meet a friend for drinks or go to a club." She started crying again, walked over the bed and sat down. Both Gibbs and Tony took that as a good sign. Gibbs was still standing next to her, waiting for the rest of the story before deciding how to react. Tony slid down the wall and sat on the floor, never taking his eyes off Kate.

A minute or so later, Kate continued. "The phone call I got was from an old friend who saw me in town. But she didn't call because she wanted to have drinks. She called because she needed help. Her ex-boyfriend was stalking her and she was scared. I met her at her house and he showed up around 11:30. He banged on the door and refused to leave. The next thing I knew, he pulled out a gun, shot the lock and forced his way into the house. I pulled my gun on him and he fired at me. But he missed…" she started sobbing again.

This time, Gibbs sat down on the bed next to her and pulled her into a tight hug. "Shhh, it's ok," he whispered into her hair. He held her while she cried again.

Tony watched from the floor for a moment before putting his head in his hands. He couldn't believe she hadn't just told them last night. And he couldn't believe that she'd had to live through another suicide by cop.

Gibbs looked over from the bed. "Tony," he said quietly.

"On it, Boss," he answered. He stood up, walked over to Kate and Gibbs, planted a gentle kiss on the top of Kate's head and quietly left the room to call the local LEOs and get the rest of the story.

When Tony had gone out to the living room, Gibbs gently pushed Kate back so that he could see her face. "Kate," he said quietly, "why didn't you just tell me last night?"

"I was scared."

"Of what? Of me?" Kate nodded. "What did you think I would do?"

"I wasn't afraid you'd do something. I just didn't want you to get involved. I was scared of what would happen to you when the director found out what I'd done."

"It was self-defense, Kate. Wasn't it?" When she didn't answer, he put a finger under her chin. "You knew him, didn't you?" She nodded. "How?"

"He was my ex-boyfriend too."

Tony walked back into the room, having gotten the official report from the police. But seeing Gibbs and Kate still locked in quiet conversation, he took his place on the floor against the wall again.

"Did he hurt you?" Gibbs asked.

Kate nodded. "When we were dating, he hit me once. I broke it off with him and got a restraining order. I never told anyone, but when I found out that he was dating Lauren, I called her and warned her about him. Naturally, she tried to tell me he'd changed."

"How long ago was this?" Tony finally spoke.

"A couple of months. When she called yesterday, I knew she was wrong. She'd had to change her number and was even thinking about moving."

"What do you got, Tony?" Gibbs asked.

"Talked to the local LEO's. They wrote it up as self-defense. But Kate, you didn't tell them you knew him, did you?"

Kate shook her head.

"Well," Gibbs said, "I guess that's the only thing you really did wrong as far as the police report is concerned. You need to put it in your report to the director, though." Kate nodded, wiping her eyes again. "Tony," he jerked his head toward the door and Tony left the room, closing it behind him.

Gibbs stood up and walked across the room. "I still don't understand why you thought it was a good idea to lie to me about this. You knew I would find out eventually."

Kate could hear the confusion and even hurt in his voice. Tears threatened her eyes again. "I wasn't really thinking. I'm so sorry," she said, her voice shaking.

"It's ok," he sighed. "It's over."

"No it's not," Kate said. She stood up, picked up Gibbs' belt and held it out to him. "I lied to you."

"I already spanked you," Gibbs said, not taking the belt.

"You spanked me for missing curfew and making you worry."

"But if you had just told me the truth last night, there's no way I would have punished you," Gibbs said, beyond confused. Suddenly, he understood. He sighed deeply and looked at his broken agent. "You wanted me to spank you. You thought it would make you feel better."

Kate looked away. "It just felt so much like last time," she said quietly.

"I'm not saying you'll ever get used to having to kill someone, but if you're going to survive as an agent, you've got to learn to cope with it. Especially in situations like this. And before you tell me that that's what this was," he said, gesturing toward the bed, "self-destructive behavior is not the answer. Just ask Tony."

Kate looked up. "I lied to you," she repeated.

Gibbs looked at the ceiling for a moment, chewing on his lip. Finally, he sighed and nodded. He took the belt from Kate and she turned around and bent over. The second spanking of the morning was half-hearted. But Gibbs knew that if he didn't do what Kate felt she needed, she wouldn't be able to let go of her guilt. He knew, after the hard paddling she'd received less than half an hour earlier, the belt would sting even through her thick pants. But he only hit her hard enough for her to not think he was holding back too much.

The ten lashes from the belt did little more than take Kate's breath away a bit, but it was the act of submitting to the punishment that made Kate feel better. She would have to deal with the guilt from the shooting, but at least she was absolved of her guilt from lying to her boss.

Tony sat in the living room and couldn't believe that Gibbs was spanking her again. And from the sounds of it, he was using his belt. What could possibly make him spank her after the story she'd just told them, especially after he'd already spanked her before she told it. He jumped up when Gibbs finally opened the door.

"What the…" he started.

"Get the car packed up, will you Tony?" Gibbs asked. He looked tired and sad, and that was what made Tony obey instead of attacking him for spanking Kate again.

When he returned after putting the bags in the car, Gibbs was once again hugging Kate. When she saw him in the doorway, she pulled away and hurried over to Tony. She threw her arms around his neck, much to Tony's surprise. "I'm sorry, Tony," she said into his chest.

Tony looked at Gibbs over Kate's head, but Gibbs just shook his head slightly and headed to the bathroom. "Are you ok?" Tony asked Kate.

"I will be," she answered, still clinging to him.