A/N: This was originally supposed to be a one-shot, but a plot bunny kept pestering me, and so here it is. Hope you like. As usual, reviews, favorites, and follows are welcomed and appreciated.

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.

Brunette Agents and Basketball Jerseys

Chapter Two

By GallaudetLurker

He had been asleep, and enjoying a dream involving a certain brunette, for some time when the sounds of his door opening and closing, and soft footsteps pit-patting across the floor made his eyes snap open, and he reflexively snatched his pistol from the nearby nightstand and aimed it at the intruder.

"Who's there?!" He growled, straining his eyes to see in the darkness.

"God, you scared me, Gibbs!"

Gibbs' shoulders slumped in relief at Kate's startled voice, and he reached out to turn the lamp on. Light instantly flooded the room, and Gibbs had to blink his eyes a couple of times to readjust to his surroundings.

As before, he drew in a sharp breath as he gazed over Kate's jersey-clad body, his shorts becoming a bit tighter under his sheets. Mustering enough willpower to tear his eyes away from Kate, Gibbs reached over to place his pistol back on the nightstand. His eyes returned to Kate of their own accord, however, and Gibbs did his best to force them to look into Kate's eyes.

Silence passed as Gibbs continued to gaze at Kate, who was slightly leaning against the foot of his bed, her hand over her chest as if to calm down her heart, her face slightly flushed. He'd seemingly given her a scare.

When she made no motion to speak, Gibbs let out an impatient sigh and opened his mouth.

"You're in my room, Kate." An unspoken 'what are you doing here?'

Kate snapped out of her thoughts and blinked a couple of times.

"Um, yeah, so it seems," she stammered as she looked away, her face blushing furiously. Gibbs raised his eyebrows slightly, keeping his inquisitive eyes trained on her face.

"I realize that it's, um, kinda awkward, but, um..."

Gibbs' eyebrows rose slightly higher as if to say 'ya think'? Kate's blush deepened.

The brunette's mouth opened and closed several times like a fish as she tried to explain why she was in his room at four in the morning. Her shoulders then slumped as she sighed.

"Sorry I woke you...guess I'll go back..." Kate mumbled as she turned away to leave the room.

"Kate." Gibbs said, his firm tone stopping her from taking a step further, and Kate slowly turned to lock eyes with his once again, her abashed face red.

"C'mere," he said, beckoning her over with his finger as he swung his legs over his bed into a sitting position. Kate hesitated for a moment, looking torn, before she finally complied and slowly walked over to him. Gibbs' eyes remained connected with her hazel ones as she stood in front of him.

"First of all," Gibbs spoke softly. "Never apologize. Rule 6."

Kate nodded slowly, fidgeting with her hands slightly, and Gibbs swallowed.

"Secondly...you're in my room. Why?"

Kate's fidgeting increased as she tried to formulate an answer. After a minute, then two, passed without a reply, Gibbs let out a soft sigh.

"Anytime now, Kate," he reiterated what he had said last night.

"Um, I couldn't sleep..." Kate hastened on upon seeing Gibbs' patented 'you think?' expression. "Because...because of, you know, the iguana in my room."

A moment passed in silence, with Gibbs torn between amusement and disbelief, and Kate looking like she wanted the floor to open up and swallow her whole.

"Iguana?" Gibbs repeated, faintly bemused. It seemed to snap Kate out of her embarrassment.

"It was sitting right there," she exclaimed as she sat down right next to Gibbs, and he tried to ignore the warm sensation of her bare thighs brushing against his. "I tried to ignore it, but it was just...there, staring at me in the dark. You know what it's like to be stared at? No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't sleep. Hell would freeze over before I would ever sleep in the same room as DiNozzo—" Gibbs couldn't help but chuckle at that. "—so I...came here."

Gibbs watched the color red slowly creep up her neck and her face before quirking up his lips.

"So you wanted to sleep with me. Is that it, Kate?" Gibbs had to suppress a laugh as Kate's eyes widened and her face combusted.

"No! No, no, it's not—it's not—the iguana—I—" she sputtered before Gibbs put a hand on her shoulder.

"Take a breath, Katie," he said, amused as Kate shot him a glare at his use of her hated nickname. He tried to not look at the rise and fall of her chest as she took several calming breaths.

"It's not funny—" Kate began to say.

"You can sleep here for now," Gibbs said, cutting her off as he tilted his head at the bed.

"A-are you sure?" Kate asked uncertainly as she glanced at Gibbs, the bed, and back to Gibbs.

"Well, it's the bed, the desk, or the floor. The hell I'm gonna let you sleep on the floor, so...the bed or the desk. Your choice," Gibbs said with a shrug, although his guts coiled at the possibility of sharing the same bed with Kate Todd.

Kate nodded slowly as she considered her options. "I'll take the bed..." she mumbled as she climbed over to the other side of the bed. Gibbs tried not to look as she reached under her jersey and pulled out her pistol before setting it on the nightstand on her side and climbing under the sheets.

"It's only for tonight. Tomorrow, you deal with the iguana," Gibbs warned, and Kate sighed.

"Figures..." she muttered softly. Gibbs chuckled as he turned the lamp off, shrouding the room in darkness once again, with the moonlight filtering through the window blinds.

He was pulling the sheets over himself when Kate spoke up. "Gibbs?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"You're welcome."

Silence reigned over the room for a few seconds, before Kate spoke once more.

"Good night, Gibbs."

"Good night, Kate."

Several hours later, a shrill, feminine-sounding scream reverberated from somewhere in the house, shattering the serene illusion of sleep. As if on autopilot, Gibbs snapped awake, grabbed his pistol, and sprinted toward DiNozzo's room down the hall, followed by a drowsy, pistol-wielding brunette clad in a basketball jersey.

It was only later on that Gibbs realized that he'd been holding Kate closely in his arms before their rude awakening.