4. KATE

Kate rolled out of bed, still half asleep, and decided she needed coffee. A lot of coffee. She rubbed her bleary eyes as she padded out of her room and down the hall, stretched, yawned - and stopped dead.

Gibbs was in her kitchen. Washing up, by the looks of it.

She blinked a couple of times and pinched herself in the arm just to make sure she wasn't imagining things, or possibly dreaming. Gibbs being on Oahu at all was something she still hadn't yet come to terms with. Gibbs in her apartment? Acting all house-trained? In a t-shirt and boxers? She suddenly realised she was idly checking out his butt, closed her eyes, and coughed over-loudly before opening them again.

Thank God. He'd turned to look at her, and his backside was now safely out of ogling range. He was smiling warmly, which admittedly she still wasn't used to and which was enough to leave her feeling a little befuddled, but 'Gibbs is smiling at me' was a much easier thought to deal with than 'Gibbs has a surprisingly nice ass'.

"Mornin'," he greeted her, sounding ludicrously chirpy for a man who'd arrived dead on his feet yesterday lunchtime.

"Coffee." She was fairly sure that had been 'Good morning' in her brain, but apparently it had got scrambled on the way to her mouth.

Gibbs didn't seem too bothered, just chuckled and poured her a mug from the freshly brewed pot (she assumed her decent supply of beans was probably part of the reason for his good mood), even adding her usual milk and sweetener without protest before passing it to her. She nodded her thanks, planted her hip against the counter, and took a large gulp. It was kind of strong - not unexpectedly - but at least it wasn't black. And hey, maybe a good jolt of caffeine would enable her to process finding her boss in her kitchen. Ex boss, Kate, ex boss... and she didn't even want to think about why that distinction felt so important right now.

Gibbs manoeuvred easily around her as if he was entirely at home, and once the initial shock wore off and the coffee started to kick in, she noticed the stack of pancakes waiting at her breakfast bar.

"Hungry?" he enquired over her shoulder, his timing, as usual, unnerving.

Her stomach growled before she had a chance to answer, and she tried not to look completely bewildered as Gibbs pulled out a stool and ushered her to sit down. She took another slurp of coffee, and realised she'd somehow reached the end of the cup already. Before she'd even had a chance to open her mouth, Gibbs was taking it from from her and topping it up.

She took it back from him and found herself staring, again, as he snagged a couple of pancakes, sprinkled them with powdered sugar, and started in on them with gusto, apparently perfectly relaxed and not remotely fazed by the situation.

She forced herself to stop gaping at him like he was from Mars and took a pancake, trying to tamp down her confusion. This kind of behaviour was a whole lot more domesticated than she'd ever imagined Gibbs was capable of. Sure, he still ate kind of like a pig at the trough, but he'd actually made the food and it was just... not what she would've expected.

His hair was sticking up comically at the back of his head and she had to tamp down the urge to reach up and smooth it down. Gibbs seemed quite comfortable, but she still felt like she was taking liberties by touching him uninvited. Or maybe she was just scared of what she might do if she didn't keep herself in check.

It was the idea of him in boxers that had her off balance, she decided. Gibbs in pants she could deal with. Gibbs in shorts might well have nice legs, but shorts were different.

Gibbs in her home, all gently crumpled from sleep and still in his underwear was just... well, kind of unfair. Especially when his leg brushed against hers and he looked up at her, grinning around his mouthful of pancake.

She smiled weakly back. He must have woken in the night and stripped off to something more appropriate to sleep in, and she was half cursing herself for leaving him there alone. Waking up like that would have been embarrassing, but the fact she was sitting here tongue-tied, like a teenaged virgin who'd been paired up with the cutest boy in the class, might actually be worse.

It occurred to her that friend-Gibbs was, in his own special way, at least as confusing and bemusing and infuriating as boss-Gibbs had ever been. At least the rules had always been clear with boss-Gibbs, their roles in each other's lives carefully defined and accepted. Now he had, for the second time, travelled thousands of miles to see her, had made her breakfast, and every time she glanced up she got a little thrill of... something, to find him looking at her, smiling at her. A memory from yesterday resurfaced, that wholly unexpected kiss that had been so shocking, and she could feel herself blush.

She took a deep breath and returned her gaze to her plate. Once they'd eaten, they could go somewhere... anywhere. Anywhere outside that wouldn't involve Gibbs in his undershirt and boxers at her breakfast bar would work just fine, and then maybe she would be able to think about all this without going totally crazy.

Maybe. Well, she had to hope.