Another chapter and since I ended it right where I wanted I am happy I managed to stretch it out. Some things were planned and some just came in the spirit of the moment. This is an important chapter and I hope you like it. Do let me know either way.

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"Mom!"

Kate winced slightly but stopped as Leo caught up to her. One secret out because she was sure Gibbs would not have missed that one.

Gibbs suddenly moved and hurried past some of the people that had gathered outside the house. "Kate."

Leo mouthed 'sorry' to her as Gibbs came to stand next to them.

"Mom?" Gibbs raised an eyebrow. There was no way this man was Kate's son. There had to be an explanation.

"Gibbs." Kate warned. She did not want to do this. Not here, not now and preferably not ever.

"Damn it Kate, what is going on?" He had not meant to yell at her. He waited for her to answer when he started to feel as he was being watched. He turned around and saw several people staring at him. He turned back to Kate. "Should I be worried?"

"They are just waiting to see if Mom's needs protection from you."

At Leo's word he couldn't help to feel hurt. "She doesn't need protection from me." He said still watching Kate. When she did not answer he wondered just what he had gotten himself into. Surely she was not afraid of him? "Kate?"

She sighed heavily. The anger had drained away from her. Seeing him now looking so lost probably helped. She stepped aside and addressed her friends. "It's ok. He is no threat."

Gibbs glanced back to see some of them nodding at Kate and soon everyone turned back to their own business. That did not make him feel any better though. Kate glared at him and yet again turned to walk away. Gibbs started to walk beside her as he took a hold of one of her arms. "Kate." It was barely a whisper. She stopped but did not look at him. "Please tell me what is going on? Please?"

She closed her eyes briefly. Why did he have to be so damn stubborn? Things were fine until he, in his own way, had admitted that he liked her. "Can you drive us home?" She held her eyes closed.

He wasn't sure if that meant anything except just giving a ride home but it was better than having her walk away from him like this. '"Yeah. My car is just a little further down the street."

She opened her eyes and nodded but did not look at him.

He let go of her arm as the three of them quietly started walking to his car. "Kate, you do know you can trust me don't you?" He watched her and got no reaction. He was not even sure she had heard him when she spoke.

"Are you talking work or…?"

He had not expected that answer but before she could continue he finished for her. "Both."

As they got to the car she rounded it but stopped as she locked eyes with him. As Leo got in the back seat they just looked at each other. At least she knew she could tell him something that was true. "Work… I trust you with my life." She opened the door and got in.

He sighed as he opened the door and got in as well. He fastened his seat belt and concentrated not wanting to show the disappointment her words had caused. Good thing he was used to be able to hide his emotions. He started the car and soon they were off.

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Kate did not want to look at Gibbs. There had to be a way out of this. She didn't want to tell him. She did not want to go through this again. "Leo, how long are you going to stay?"

"We'll see. Nut sure yet." Leo seated himself further back into the seat as he made a decision. He could tell this man cared about his mother and he very well knew how his mom felt about Gibbs. He just hoped he wouldn't regret what he had just decided. He knew he had no right to really decide anything about the subject. His mother deserved to be happy though and if there was a chance that this man was going to make her happy he would take that chance for her.

Gibbs still had a hard time believing this young man was Kate's son. She was too young to have a grown son. Wasn't she? Just what didn't he know about her? She had and was still keeping secrets from him. However he had no right to judge her. He had not been honest with her either.

She felt trapped. A part of her wanted to stop the car and just get out. Not that it would help her in any way. Having come this far Gibbs was not going to let this one go that easily. Suddenly her mind was filled with images from past lives and people she had loved. There was an image of two young girls smiling at her. Kate s stared out the window but the image would not let go. For some reason she thought she heard the girl's voices. "It's ok to be happy mom. Be happy." Was she imagining it or did this happen?

Leo put a hand on one of his mother's shoulder when he saw her face in the rear view mirror. He knew that look well. "It's ok, mom."

Gibbs looked over and saw a tear roll down Kate's cheek. Leo's hand on her shoulder but Kate did not seem to notice. She seemed lost in thought. He worried about her. He slowed down and started to pull up to the curb when suddenly Kate opened the door and bolted outside. "KATE!" He started to get out but Leo was faster so he simply followed Leo.

"Mom, Mom!" Leo soon caught up with her as she fell into his arms and he kneeled down to stop her from landing on the concrete.

Gibbs was right behind them and watched quietly. He was not sure what to do. He had never seen Kate this way. She looked so broken.

She was tired. So much was going on she was not sure what she was doing anymore. She felt someone gently lift he head. Leo. What would she do without him? "I'm just so tired." She managed to get out.

Gibbs had never heard her voice so raw. He watched as Leo drew her up and made sure she was ok. Together they headed to Kate's apartment. "Damn it." Gibbs briskly walked back to the car, saw it had been parked well enough so he quickly took Leo's bag from the back seat and locked the car. He walked over to Kate's apartment and saw that the door had been left open. He stepped inside and dropped the bag. He was not sure if he should wait or simply go. There were so many questions but none of them more important than Kate's health. Struggling with what to do he was soon accompanied by Leo. "How is she?" Never before had that question been more important than now.

"She's strong. She'll be ok. You want to come in?" Leo headed back inside not waiting for him to answer.

Even though he had been invited he felt like he was intruding. He closed the door and soon joined Leo in the living room. It was not that big with a television, a couch and two chairs on either side of a table that was in front of the couch. Two bookshelves on either side of the room filled with books. He seated himself on one of the chairs waiting for Leo to talk.

"She trusts you."

That caught Gibbs off guard.

"I mean both in work and private." Leo smiled showing he knew exactly what they had been talking about earlier.

Gibbs barely nodded. He wasn't sure how Leo had come to that conclusion since he himself wasn't sure about it. "How can you tell?"

"Other vise you would never have seen that vulnerable side of hers that you saw right now."

As Leo has answered his question Gibbs pondered if perhaps there might be some truth in that. Kate could seem a bit shaken at times when they had a horrible case but she had never been like this. He ran a couple of fingers through his hair not really wanting to know the answer to his next question. "Did I cause this?" When Leo did not answer right away Gibbs thought he had received his answer.

"I don't think you caused this." Leo answered truthfully..

Gibbs was not sure he believed that. A movement caught his eye and he saw Kate appear. He stood up as she slowly made her way over to sit next to Leo. Once she was seated he did the same.

"I'll make some coffee." Leo offered and left them alone.

She knew Leo would have invited Gibbs in. She had heard their voices although she was not sure what they had talked about. She closed her eyes and laid her head back.

He wanted to make this better. "I want you to trust me Kate." She did not open her eyes so he continued. He was going to try and fix things the only way he knew how. "I told you once I been through three divorces. Truth is though; I've been married four times." He paused as he saw her open her eyes and prop her head up.

Kate had not expected things to turn this way. Married four times but he had three ex-wife's. It didn't take long for her to come to the sad conclusion.

He knew she had figured it out but he needed, he wanted to continue. To show her he trusted her. "When I was serving in Kuwait my first wife, Shannon was killed. She was murdered. She was a witness to when a drug dealer committed a murder. So she was killed before she could testify against him." He took a deep breath, looked down at the floor and continued. "Our daughter Kelly was killed as well."

Kate swallowed hard. She really had not expected anything like this. He had been a father. "I'm sorry." As he gave her a small nod in response but not looking up from the floor she knew what he had done. He had showed her he trusted her. Not only when it came to the job but also when it came to more personal matters. She knew the man well enough to know it had not been easy to reveal that piece of information from his past. The least she could do was to offer something in return. "It's a gut wrenching feeling to loose someone you love."

He looked up at her and to his surprise she gave him a small smile.

She clasped her two hands together as she leaned forward a bit while she braced herself. "I lived in a small village a while back. One day all hell broke out. There were fires with panic and mayhem everywhere. My husband and our two daughters were killed."

Gibbs was in shock. Did he know this woman at all? There had been no mention of anything like this in her file. Even Leo was not mentioned there. "I'm sorry." He truly did not know what to say so he offered back the same words to her she had given him mere a moment ago. She looked like she had been through hell and back. He wondered if that was what it had felt like tonight. Perhaps he should leave. Before he got a chance to say anything else Kate got up.

She really shouldn't walk away. She had gotten this far. Couldn't she continue now? No, she knew the answer would be no. She was so tired so why couldn't she just sleep. Entering her bedroom she sat down on the bed and started to cry. So many lives lost. A part of her was screaming to get back out there and just tell him. Just give him all the facts and wait for whatever outcome would follow. However yet again her more sensible side won out and she stayed, hidden in her bedroom.

He should go. Let her be alone and wait until she was ready to say whatever was troubling her. If it was causing her so much pain he didn't want to prolong it. Maybe he had done so already. He just wished he could help her in some way. He was so preoccupied in his thoughts he did not notice Leo's return until a coffee cup was placed before him. He took the cup and gulfed it down in one go. Not bad.

"Mom did say you liked coffee."

As Leo poured him another cup Gibbs continued to stare at the empty space where Kate had sat just a minute before.

"So, I heard mom telling you about Christian, Camilla and Celia."

Gibbs watched as Leo seated himself. "That was her family that was killed?"

"Yeah, mom was lucky to get out alive."

That thought had not occurred to Gibbs. "She had been there?" His voice was nearly breaking.

Leo nodded. Oh yeah, this man really cared about his mother. "A few of the people escaped and made new lives for themselves."

Gibbs downed some more coffee. "She said there were fires. Was it an accident or..?"

Leo snorted. "Try more like a lynching."

"Lynching?" That had not even been a guess. This evening was really a big mystery to him. He truly did not know Agent Caitlin Todd at all. "I am at a loss here."

"I know and I have been thinking. You care a great deal about my mom right?"

That was something Gibbs could answer. "Yes."

"Actually before I go on with this I need to know just how much do you care about her?" He did not mean to put the man in front of him on the spot but this was important. "I need you to be totally honest with me."

Given the events of the evening Gibbs could not see any other way than to be just that with the young man. Honest. He deserved that. Kate deserved that. "I am in love with her." It was the honest truth.

"I do believe you and that is why I am going to tell you my mom's secret."

Gibbs swallowed. He had sort of expected this could be the case but until Leo had now said the words he had not been too sure.

"Let me tell you something before I tell you though. Mom has shared this with a few others and has only got grief back. People have turned away branding her a psycho. The ones that did believe her have turned away in disgust and horror but I am hoping you will be different."

Psycho? Disgust and horror? How could anyone associate those words with Kate? For the first time Gibbs was starting to get a bit nervous. "That is not Kate." The words just rushed out of him.

"What's not?"

"Kate is not a psycho. Disgust and horror are words that I do not connect with Kate either."

Leo smiled. This was going good so far. "I know but neither did these people before her secret was out. Are you sure you want to know?"

"I can't turn back now." Gibbs voice was low again. Whisper like.

"Let me just say this, I love my mom and if I am wrong and you will react like all the others and turn on her. Then I will make sure you pay. So if you hurt her I will hurt you. In ways you cannot even imagine."

Gibbs could barely nod. He believed the kid. He was glad that Kate had someone like this in her life. "I will not turn my back on Kate."

Leo didn't say anything. He really had no right to give his mother's secret away yet he felt it was the right thing to do.

Gibbs felt like he was being scrutinized. "You don't trust me?"

"There are not many people I trust Agent Gibbs. My mother is one of the few I do trust."

"What about your father?" Gibbs had no right to ask that but he was curious.

"He is not a man that I would trust, no."

Another man who had failed Kate? Gibbs took some more coffee and decided to wait Leo out. When the young man was ready he would talk. He did not have to wait long.

"My mother is a vampire."