Disclaimer: Still in chapter 1

Spoiler: Right after Bête Noir.

All The Elevators In Between

Chapter 6

As soon as the doors closed on the elevator, he flipped the switch and pulled her into his arms, and held her close to chest, practically suffocating her.

"I thought I was going to lose you. I don't like that feeling at all." He mumbled into her hair.

"I'm not so fond of it myself." She answered, squeezing him tighter. "Take me home, please, so I can fall apart properly."

"Sure." He said with a chuckle.

The ride to her house was mostly silent, her directions the only words spoken. She went up to her floor and he trailed along behind her. When they got to her door, she paused.

"I'll be fine from here. Thanks for the ride."

"You may be fine, but I'm not sure I can leave you yet."

"Ok." Normally she would argue, but she didn't have the energy after what she'd been through. She unlocked her door and dropped her things in the entryway, except her gun and badge. They followed her into her bedroom where they went on the nightstand. Her shoes were kicked in the direction of the closet and she returned to the living room. Gibbs still stood there, looking over her pictures. She was unsure what to do with herself or with Gibbs in her home. Her stomach rumbled in hunger, answering her question.

"You hungry?" She asked his back.

"Sure."

"Ok." She wandered into her kitchen and stared at the refrigerator for a full minute before she opened the door. She found very little to eat, so she started to pull out things for grill cheese sandwiches. Gibbs came up behind her. He brushed a hand over her arm. She jumped and spun around to look at him.

"Easy." She looked around her kitchen, lost. He pulled her back to him and hugged her again. She felt the tears start to fall. His shirt absorbed the moisture as she sobbed uncontrollably for several minutes. "Easy. Its ok now. He's dead. He can't hurt you. Its all over now."

When her tears stopped, she pulled away. She wiped the last traces of her tears away. She was unsure of how close she was allowed to be to him, and for how long. She turned back to the things she'd pulled out of the fridge. She made two sandwiches and plated them. She handed one to Gibbs, and gestured to the table. He sat and watched her while he ate. She nibbled a bit at her own, but couldn't bring herself to actually eat the food. Every time she tried to bite, her throat closed over and she could barely swallow. Her stomach protested this action, but she couldn't control it.

"Kate?" She focused her attention on him, instead of the space of table between them. "Are you going to eat that, or pick it to death?" She knew that he was attempting humor for her sake, but she had no laughter in her at that moment. She looked back at the mess she'd made of her meal, the bread and cheese picked apart like someone had hacked at it. She suddenly saw the terrorist's face and the feel of the scalpel entering his flesh. Her stomach rebelled and she pushed herself away from the table to dash down the hall and vomit in the bathroom.

Gibbs followed her at a sedate pace. He picked up a washcloth from her linen closet after open a few wrong doors first. He could hear her heaving still and winced in sympathy. He entered the bathroom and wet the cloth with cool water. He brushed her ponytail away from her neck and laid the cloth across it. She waved him away, embarrassed to be seen hugging the toilet. He waited until she was done before offering a hand up and her toothbrush. She smiled wanly at him, and then scrubbed her teeth vigorously. She finished and turned to see him still leaning in the doorway.

"Sorry." She said with a blush.

"Don't apologize…"

"It's a sign of weakness. Yeah I know. I should go clean up the kitchen."

"Leave it. You need to get some rest."

"Yeah, right, like I'm going to be able to sleep."

"Try. I'll let myself out, and I'll come get you in the morning."

"Ok." He looked at her expectantly, so she climbed into her bed and pulled the covers over her. He turned to go after turning out the light.

"Gibbs." He voice rang out in the darkness.

"Yeah, Kate?"

"Thanks for holding me together."

"I'll always hold you together." He said, echoing her earlier words to Abby.

"G'Night." She mumbled, sleep finally taking hold.

"Goodnight, Katie."

Gibbs took her keys and locked the door behind him. He headed home for a long sleepless night working on his boat.