p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"A/N: So I'm rewatching the first two seasons of NCIS once again and of course I was thinking about another ending for Twilight. I know there are countless stories about it but I can't help it… I hope the few Kibbs fans still out there will enjoy it. :)/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"-/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p id="docs-internal-guid-c3179573-783c-84ce-b916-e5fa472bac30" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Gibbs had driven straight to Bethesda once his house had been cleared and he knew that Ziva would be escorting her half-brother's body back to Israel. The director had tried to call him several times but he had switched off his cell phone and thrown the thing in the glove compartment of his truck, closing the hatch forcefully. He knew what Jen wanted but she would have to wait, now he needed to see Kate. After Ziva had killed Ari in his basement, his priorities had shifted and seeing her was now on top of his list. Gibbs knew the others had been here since she had been airlifted here from Norfolk but he had to get Ari first. Getting rid of that terrorist while knowing that she was safe here was a priority for him and he knew that she would understand. Kate had seen him like this more than once at work. Now he had to reassure himself that she was alright after she had taken a bullet for him. He quickly found her room and relieved the guards in front of it from their duty. Ari was dead and he would not come back to haunt them, that chapter was finally closed. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Jethro knocked and then opened the door, finding the room almost dark and quiet. Ducky had assured him that she was doing okay and her injury was not life threatening, although she had lost a good amount of blood on the rooftop. The only problem was that she had gotten bad side effects from the antibiotics they had given her to avoid infection from the bullet and that was why they had kept her in hospital until now. Seeing her curled up in the hospital bed sleeping peacefully calmed him down immediately and he noticed that she was not even attached to an IV line anymore. He approached the bed and simply looked at her for a moment. She was lying on her good side and the short sleeve of her shirt had ridden up so he could see the bright white bandage covering the wound Ari's bullet had left. She had needed a few stitches he knew as much and it might leave a scar but apart from that she would be fine in a few weeks. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You know it's considered rude to stare at sleeping people, Gibbs." Her voice was quiet and sleepy but Jethro snapped out of his thoughts and his eyes finally left the bandage, finding hers. She blinked a few times and yawned, looking incredibly cute but he probably would never tell her, fearing that she would shoot him. Kate carefully sat up and the sleeve of her shirt fell down again, almost completely covering the bandage now. She noticed him looking at the bandage and her voice was still quiet but firm when she spoke again. "I'm fine, Gibbs."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"His eyes went back to her face and he nodded once but still looked lost, standing in front of her bed. She had never seen him like this, not even after Ari had taken her to that farm last year. It had been a surprise when he showed up at her apartment that night and Kate had been even more surprised by what had followed. They had found comfort in each other, occasionally seeing each other again afterwards. There had never been much talking until something had changed a few weeks ago and she still tried to figure out what exactly had caused the change. Their meetings had not only become more frequent but they had also started to spend the days following these nights at his house, enjoying their newfound intimacy outside work. She had to admit that she was pretty happy with how things were progressing. Now Ari had intruded their lives again and it hurt her to see him like this. She had seen the fear in his eyes when she laid on the rooftop and he had tried to stop the bleeding while Tony told McGee to get support and an ambulance. "Gibbs?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It took him a moment to respond and give her a questioning look. She knew that Ari was dead now that he was here and patted on the mattress beside her. "You need to sleep, you look like hell."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He finally gave her a small grin and shrugged off his jacket, taking off his shoes as well. Jethro lowered himself down next to her, careful not to hurt or push her off the bed accidentally. Kate happily buried her nose in his shirt after he pulled her close, enjoying his familiar scent. He ran his hand down her back and she could feel the tension leave his body slowly. The steady beating of his heart was lulling her back to sleep and she almost missed it when he started talking. "He's gone for good this time." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Caitlin nodded slightly, knowing that she would eventually get all the details about Ari's death but she did not want to let the terrorist ruin this moment. Jethro took a deep breath before he spoke again and his voice was barely more than a whisper. "I was afraid of losing you... I can't lose you, Kate."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She felt her eyes getting moist and kissed the underside of his jaw. This was the closest thing to saying 'I love you' he had ever gotten. Since he was showing her exactly how he felt with his actions, she had stopped believing that the thing they shared was just physical a while ago. The way he touched her in- and outside the bedroom spoke volumes and she doubted that he would do that when he just kept coming back to her for sex. "Not going anywhere."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He kissed the top of her head and pulled her even closer, mindful of her injury. His voice was quiet but full of emotion when he spoke again. "I love you, Katie."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I love you too," she replied with a smile and looked up at him. They shared a sweet kiss before she got comfortable in his arms again, "now sleep, Gunny."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt; text-align: center;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"-/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p id="docs-internal-guid-c3179573-783c-84ce-b916-e5fa472bac30" dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Gibbs had driven straight to Bethesda once his house had been cleared and he knew that Ziva would be escorting her half-brother's body back to Israel. The director had tried to call him several times but he had switched off his cell phone and thrown the thing in the glove compartment of his truck, closing the hatch forcefully. He knew what Jen wanted but she would have to wait, now he needed to see Kate. After Ziva had killed Ari in his basement, his priorities had shifted and seeing her was now on top of his list. Gibbs knew the others had been here since she had been airlifted here from Norfolk but he had to get Ari first. Getting rid of that terrorist while knowing that she was safe here was a priority for him and he knew that she would understand. Kate had seen him like this more than once at work. Now he had to reassure himself that she was alright after she had taken a bullet for him. He quickly found her room and relieved the guards in front of it from their duty. Ari was dead and he would not come back to haunt them, that chapter was finally closed. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Jethro knocked and then opened the door, finding the room almost dark and quiet. Ducky had assured him that she was doing okay and her injury was not life threatening, although she had lost a good amount of blood on the rooftop. The only problem was that she had gotten bad side effects from the antibiotics they had given her to avoid infection from the bullet and that was why they had kept her in hospital until now. Seeing her curled up in the hospital bed sleeping peacefully calmed him down immediately and he noticed that she was not even attached to an IV line anymore. He approached the bed and simply looked at her for a moment. She was lying on her good side and the short sleeve of her shirt had ridden up so he could see the bright white bandage covering the wound Ari's bullet had left. She had needed a few stitches he knew as much and it might leave a scar but apart from that she would be fine in a few weeks. /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""You know it's considered rude to stare at sleeping people, Gibbs." Her voice was quiet and sleepy but Jethro snapped out of his thoughts and his eyes finally left the bandage, finding hers. She blinked a few times and yawned, looking incredibly cute but he probably would never tell her, fearing that she would shoot him. Kate carefully sat up and the sleeve of her shirt fell down again, almost completely covering the bandage now. She noticed him looking at the bandage and her voice was still quiet but firm when she spoke again. "I'm fine, Gibbs."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"His eyes went back to her face and he nodded once but still looked lost, standing in front of her bed. She had never seen him like this, not even after Ari had taken her to that farm last year. It had been a surprise when he showed up at her apartment that night and Kate had been even more surprised by what had followed. They had found comfort in each other, occasionally seeing each other again afterwards. There had never been much talking until something had changed a few weeks ago and she still tried to figure out what exactly had caused the change. Their meetings had not only become more frequent but they had also started to spend the days following these nights at his house, enjoying their newfound intimacy outside work. She had to admit that she was pretty happy with how things were progressing. Now Ari had intruded their lives again and it hurt her to see him like this. She had seen the fear in his eyes when she laid on the rooftop and he had tried to stop the bleeding while Tony told McGee to get support and an ambulance. "Gibbs?"/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"It took him a moment to respond and give her a questioning look. She knew that Ari was dead now that he was here and patted on the mattress beside her. "You need to sleep, you look like hell."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He finally gave her a small grin and shrugged off his jacket, taking off his shoes as well. Jethro lowered himself down next to her, careful not to hurt or push her off the bed accidentally. Kate happily buried her nose in his shirt after he pulled her close, enjoying his familiar scent. He ran his hand down her back and she could feel the tension leave his body slowly. The steady beating of his heart was lulling her back to sleep and she almost missed it when he started talking. "He's gone for good this time." /span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"Caitlin nodded slightly, knowing that she would eventually get all the details about Ari's death but she did not want to let the terrorist ruin this moment. Jethro took a deep breath before he spoke again and his voice was barely more than a whisper. "I was afraid of losing you... I can't lose you, Kate."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"She felt her eyes getting moist and kissed the underside of his jaw. This was the closest thing to saying 'I love you' he had ever gotten. Since he was showing her exactly how he felt with his actions, she had stopped believing that the thing they shared was just physical a while ago. The way he touched her in- and outside the bedroom spoke volumes and she doubted that he would do that when he just kept coming back to her for sex. "Not going anywhere."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"He kissed the top of her head and pulled her even closer, mindful of her injury. His voice was quiet but full of emotion when he spoke again. "I love you, Katie."/span/p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;" /p
p dir="ltr" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; line-height: 1.38; text-align: justify; margin-top: 0pt; margin-bottom: 0pt;"span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-position: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;""I love you too," she replied with a smile and looked up at him. They shared a sweet kiss before she got comfortable in his arms again, "now sleep, Gunny."/span/p
