3. KATE

She let herself in and took a deep, calming breath. A small, crazy part of her wanted to yell out, 'Honey, I'm home!' but after the unexpected kiss goodbye, she felt unusually self-conscious.

Instead, she closed the door softly behind her and made her way to the living room. Gibbs was, as promised, asleep on her couch, though he was stirring within seconds of her arrival.

"Hey."

"Hey, Katie." He sat up with a yawn, stretched, rubbed his hands across his face, and Kate gave in to a sudden impulse and reached down to run a hand through his sleep-mussed hair. He stilled under her touch, his eyes closing for a moment, and then he looked up at her, a wonky grin on his lips. "What time is it?"

"6pm." She grimaced apologetically. "Took longer than I'd expected to wrap things up, but I have two whole days off and Rich said I could definitely take a third if I needed to, as long as we don't land a case before then. I mean, I don't know exactly how long you're staying or if there are other people you want to..."

He rose from the couch and Kate trailed off as he wrapped her in a warm hug. "I got no one else I need to see," he rumbled in her ear.

She was grateful her idiotic grin was hidden against his shoulder. "Right. Okay." He had obviously freshened up in the shower while she was out, and he smelled slightly of her soap but mostly of himself. Coffee and sawdust and Gibbs. It was a familiar and deeply comforting scent to have wrapped around her.

She gave him a squeeze, then reluctantly let go. It might take her a while to get used to how good he was at hugs. "I thought maybe we could order in pizza?" The menu had been doing double duty as a bookmark, but at least she could find it quickly.

"Sounds great. Want me to do the honours?"

She nodded, handing it over. "Number's on there. Order whatever you like, I'm sure it'll be fine. I just need to shower and change, then I'm all yours." Gibbs gave her a slightly odd look and she replayed the sentence in her head. "I mean-" She shook her head. Best not go digging a hole. "I... will be right back."

By the time she returned after her shower (and after a stern talk with her reflection about not making a fool of herself), she was a bit more at ease.

It was kind of funny seeing Gibbs all casual, in a light shirt and slacks, still barefoot and apparently entirely at home. He was lounging on her sofa as if he was a regular fixture, glasses perched on his nose, the TV guide in his lap and a cup of coffee in one hand. He glanced up when she reappeared, and gestured to a tall glass of orange juice on her coffee table.

"Thanks." She had to admit, she was a little touched he'd thought to get her a drink. He's even found coasters, noted the part of her that was becoming more like her mom every day.

"Figured you probably don't need the caffeine."

"And you do?" she joked. "Addict."

He shrugged, smiled easily at her, and she grinned back, then flopped down on the couch beside him and grabbed the juice to take a long sip.

At least things hadn't gotten awkward. Given she still hadn't figured out how she felt about anything beyond being really glad to see him, maybe The Kiss should just be ignored. It was a weird aberration, and though it had occupied more of her thoughts this afternoon than she cared to remember, it would be stupid to let over-analysis spoil the pleasure of his visit.

Gibbs closed the guide, slipped his glasses off, then yawned hugely and loudly and rubbed his eyes. "I'll be better company tomorrow, promise."

"That's okay. We can just chill, maybe watch some TV." She smiled. "It's nice to have you here, even if you're sleepy."

He chuckled. "TV sounds good. Not sure I'm fit for anythin' else. If you move halfway across the Pacific, I guess you better get used to jet-lagged visitors."

She bumped her shoulder against his. "Thanks for coming," she said softly.

Gibbs shrugged, looked at her sideways, and the corner of his mouth twitched.

Kate could feel herself starting to blush. She opened her mouth, realised she had nothing to say, and was relieved beyond measure when a knock at the door broke the awkward moment.

"Pizza."

"Pizza," he agreed.

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Gibbs had somehow found a black comedy he insisted she'd love on a classic movie channel she hadn't even known she had. She couldn't decide what was more astonishing, the fact he was apparently a secret film nerd, or that despite being a confirmed technophobe, he had managed to get to grips with her TV remote.

At least his taste was good, she had to admit. Even if she was still baffled at his DiNozzo-like knowledge of black-and-white British cinema. Between a belly full of pizza and a good movie, not to mention comfortable, undemanding company, it was turning into a really relaxing evening.

She didn't realise she was drifting till Gibbs nudged her. "Hey, Katie, you can't fall asleep. This is a classic."

"Since when were you a film buff?"

He shrugged. "Don't tell Tony."

She giggled. "I don't know, Gibbs, don't you think that's something team members should know about each other? I mean you never-" Gibbs tickled her and she yelped. "Okay, okay, I promise. Your secret's safe with me."

"Good." He looped an arm casually around her and pulled her in closer to his side. "You never know how I might retaliate."

A note in his voice had her looking sideways at him, and although he was focused on the screen, there was the slightest hint of a smirk at the corner of his mouth that made her think it was entirely deliberate.

She grinned and gave in to the temptation she'd been fighting for the last hour, resting her head on his shoulder.

Gibbs shifted slightly, his hand moving to her waist, both of them settling into a comfortable position. He dropped a light kiss on the top of her head, then turned back to the movie, and she smiled at the peaceful domesticity of it. She probably shouldn't get used to this, but oh, she could. She really could.

NCISNCISNCIS

The next time she woke, it took a moment to figure out where she was. The living room was dark, the television was off, and she was nestled up to Gibbs, snuggling in as if he was a pillow, an arm wrapped somewhat possessively around him and her face buried in his chest, warm and secure with his heartbeat a steady thud against her ear.

It was... really comfortable, actually. Part of her was tempted to settle right back down and let herself spend the night with him, but the mere idea of waking up tomorrow morning draped over him made her blush. She reluctantly eased away, carefully extricating herself from his embrace, grateful that between jet lag and sleep deprivation he was out cold.

For a moment she just stood and looked. The streetlights outside the window gave just enough illumination to move around without tripping over things and to see that he was resting peacefully, a slight smile on his face. Given the time difference he was dealing with, he'd probably wake up way before she did, but at least for now he was getting some rest after his long journey.

There wasn't much to be done about the fact he was asleep fully dressed, but he could deal with that if he woke in the night. Carefully and quietly she hefted his feet up onto the couch so he was at least more or less horizontal, and tucked a blanket around him, feeling both absurd and rather protective.

She couldn't resist running a hand over his hair and leaning down to kiss him on the temple, but then forced herself to stand up, turn round, and walk out of the room before she did anything too foolhardy.

As she pottered around getting ready for bed, she grinned. It was so nice to see him... more than nice. Really quite a wonderful surprise, and meant more than she could measure for herself, never mind explain to him. It would be good to catch up properly, and whatever was going on, however uncertain and confused her feelings were... she was so very glad he was here. Beyond that...

She slipped between her sheets and curled up, still smiling. He was here. For her.

She didn't know what to make of his visit. She wasn't even sure exactly what he was to her, what he was becoming. Colleague, rock, comforter; embarrassingly longwinded crush. Friend. A really good friend.

But most importantly of all, he was here. And in the face of that, nothing else seemed to matter very much.

She offered up a silent prayer of thanks to whoever might be listening, hugged her pillow happily, and finally let herself drift off into sleep.

NCISNCISNCIS

A/N: if anyone is wondering, the film they watched is called The Ladykillers (original B&W version, of course!), and if you haven't already watched it, you really should!