Changes

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything

Summary: Sequel to "Hidden Enemy". While Kate still recovers from being attacked, she learns surprising news about her boss and her best friend.

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6- Breakfast surprises

The following morning Gibbs woke with a splitting headache. The few rays of sun that crept through the curtains made the pain even worse. He tried to remember what happened the night before, but it was just one giant blur. Even thinking hurt and he groaned. There was some movement next to him and he found himself face to face with probably the last person he had expected in his bedroom. Closing his eyes, Gibbs prayed that he was hallucinating or dreaming or both at once, but when he opened them again, he met those brown eyes again. Her hair was messed up and she looked rather sleepy, but he also thankfully noticed that she was fully dressed.

Kate smiled when she saw him stir awake. She sat up and took a small package from the nightstand. "How you feeling?" She asked in a low voice and watched him pull a face. "Here, take those." She handed him four tablets and a glass of water.

Gibbs swallowed all at once and closed his eyes again. "Not happening." He muttered and felt a new wave of pain exploding in his head. He eventually dozed off for a few more minutes and didn´t notice how Kate got up. She made some extra strong coffee and rummaged through the fridge for some breakfast. She put everything onto the table and went into the small bathroom on the ground floor to get her hair straightened out.

Upstairs Gibbs woke again with a start. He rolled over onto his side and slowly opened his eyes. His bedroom was empty and he sighed. "Stupid dream." He thought to himself and smiled a bit at the thought of Kate in his bedroom. It would have been a bit too good to be true. His head still felt like it was going to explode, but he got up anyway. He stumbled into the bathroom that lay next to his bedroom and washed his face, noticing some sawdust in his hair as well. "Thank god it´s weekend." He muttered as he studied the shadows under his eyes. His memory about the night before was still dim. He remembered sanding his boat, he remembered drinking scotch, but he didn´t remember how he had made it to bed.

He pulled on some fresh clothes, walked downstairs and looked at the breakfast that was set on the table. He figured that Abby had decided to stay the night again and sat down in front of one of the plates. He took a bite from his toast and tried to remember anything about the night before. He was so lost in thought that he didn´t look up when soft steps came into the kitchen and a woman sat down next to him.

Kate smiled a bit when she saw him at the table. He looked like he had one hell of a hangover, but that wasn´t really surprising. She took a bite from her bacon and was about to reach for her cup of coffee when he suddenly jumped up, sending the chair crashing into the counter behind him. Kate jumped as well, sending the cup falling off the table. "Geez, Gibbs! You scared me half to death." She said as she knelt down to pick up the pieces.

Brushing a hand over his face, Gibbs felt a wave of pain rolling through his head again. He groaned and picked his chair up again, slumping down on it with. "What are you doing here?" He finally asked and rubbed his temples to relieve the pain a bit.

"Someone had to keep an eye on you." She replied and threw the broken cup into the trash, fetching herself a new one from the cupboard. When she sat back down, she noticed the questioning look on his face and smiled. "A whole bottle of scotch at once is not a good idea." She then said and his eyes widened slightly.

He dropped his fork and put his head into his hands. "Just tell me I didn´t harass you or something." He muttered and heard the blood rushing in his ears. This had to be some kind of nightmare.

She simply smiled at him. "You didn´t. Now, eat up." She said and continued to chew on her toast. They didn´t talk during the rest of breakfast, which she was rather grateful for. After putting their plates into the sink, Kate turned to look at him. "Well, since you seem capable to take care of yourself again, I better get going." She said and walked to the couch where her purse lay. When she picked it up, a hand closed around her wrist, forcing her to turn around.

Gibbs wasn´t sure why he reacted this way, but for once he wasn´t trying to battle down his instinct. First of all, his head hurt too much for it and secondly he felt that something had happened the night before. "Kate, please wait." He told her and tried to read her eyes. She met his blue eyes and felt this strange safety again. Something seemed to pull her closer to him and she noticed that she was just inches from his face now. "Tell me what happened last night."

She sat down on the couch next to him. "Only when you tell me what happened while I was at the hospital. You´ve been avoiding me ever since." She said and he nodded after a few seconds. "I came to talk to you about what happened two weeks ago. Lights were on and the door was open, so I came in and started looking for you. I found you down in the basement." She told him and saw something like realization dawn on his face.

She couldn´t say for sure, but for a moment it looked like he was going to blush. "I...I guess I had one too many drinks, huh?" He said and saw her nod. He closed his eyes for a moment and some bits of the night came back to him. "Kate, I´m sorry for whatever I said. I..."

"You were honest, Jethro. Maybe for the first time in front of me." She said softly and he noted that she used his first name. Only very few had the privilege to use it without having him at their necks afterwards. "I didn´t know about Abby until you told me last night. I had no idea you felt like that about your life."

A single tear escaped from his eye and he felt embarrassed all of the sudden. "I didn´t mean to tell you all that, I´m sorry." He said quickly and got up, walking up to the window. His hands were shaking and he felt this old fear sneaking up on him again. "If you want to ask for a transfer, go ahead. I won´t force you to stay on the team." He then said and knew that he wasn´t going to live this down ever.