Disclaimer: See Chapter 1

Spoilers: Between 'Reveille' and 'See No Evil'

A/N: Well don't you guys feel lucky today! Four chapters in 2 days! :D Enjoy!

All The Elevators In Between

Chapter 21

Gibbs started on his boat again that night. It was his way of keeping his hands busy while he was thinking. He loved Kate. There was no denying that. He wanted to be with her for the rest of his life, of that he was absolutely sure. He knew the rest of the team would be supportive and would happily defend their relationship because they were family. He was the dad, Kate was the mom. Ducky was the doting uncle. Abby was the crazy aunt everyone loved. Tony and McGee were the kids. He could even see Palmer becoming the awkward cousin that was always included and defended on the principle of being family alone. He smiled at the thought. He had spent so long trying to replace Shannon and Kelly that he had completely missed the family that had formed around him the shape of his team.

Kate was starting to hate her empty apartment. The silence was tolerable but the lack of a certain presence bothered her immensely. She knew that they weren't ready to take the step toward living together, but that didn't mean she couldn't wish to be with Gibbs all the time.

She kicked her shoes toward her closet and started a bath. She slid into the steaming water a few moments later and let it wash her tensions away. She had promised herself that she wouldn't get into another relationship with a co-worker after resigning from the Secret Service, but here she was sleeping with her boss. She hate not being open, but just like before, telling could get both of them fired, and she refused to do that Gibbs. Kate steeled her resolve. It was different this time. Gibbs wasn't just some pleasant guy to ease the loneliness she felt He was her 'One'. She was sure that she could never love anyone like she loved him, or as much. No. She would wait as long as she needed to, forever if necessary, for Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

Kate got out of the cooling water and wrapped a towel around herself. She slipped on the shirt she'd stolen from Gibbs. It was way too big for her petite frame, hanging down to mid-thigh, and way past her hands, but she loved it. It was white and smelled of him, a mixture of man, sawdust, and his laundry soap. She padded softly into her living room and picked up her phone. She needed to call her mom back, as she had promised.

They talked for a while, mostly about mundane things, and never about her sister or brothers. Kate was yawning when she finally hung up the phone. She face planted in Gibbs pillow, breathing deeply, before hugging it tight to her chest and drifting off into pleasant slumber with dreams of them walking on a beach somewhere tropical.

They met at the elevator at eight the next morning. Gibbs brought her coffee, and she brought him a sunny smile and doughnuts. He kissed her softly.

"Did you talk to your mom?" He asked.

"Yeah. It was nice to talk to her when she wasn't nagging me about Deb."

"Good." She reached out and stopped the elevator.

"Jethro." He looked up at her. "I love you, and I understand your reservations about telling anyone about us. So I can wait, as long as you need me to, even if it means waiting forever. So long as I get to keep you, I don't care if the whole world knows, or just you and me." He nodded, giving her a soft smile. He kissed her gently, letting his passion for her take over for a minute. When they parted, she rubbed a thumb over his lips to remove her lipstick prints.

"Thank you, Katie." She nodded and restarted the elevator.