The house was clean, too clean in her opinion. There was nothing here, not a single thing out of place or any sign that someone had lived here in the last month or so. But this was the address they'd been given. So here she was with Gibbs, guns up as they checked each room for some form of life.

"Clear,'' Gibbs said from somewhere down the corridor.

Kate opened the door to the last room to find it pitch black. Her gun ready, she reached in and flicked the switch. The bright light eliminated the pale pink walls and the small yellow flowers littering every possible space on it. She'd stepped into a child's room, she glanced around, the cot in the middle of the room was empty and the items scattered across the changing table recently used.

A door slammed down stairs and Kate heard Gibbs turned and run down the hallway, thunder quickly down the stairs and the door banged again. Before she could react and consider following him, she heard it a snuffling as though something small had been disturbed, then the crying began. Kate turned back into the room and looked around the sound was too faint, but coming from somewhere in the room. She crossed the room to the slightly open window and peeked outside. There sitting on the flat roof outside the window in the bright sunlight was a baby. Kate holstered her gun quickly, pushed the window open and carefully picked the child up.

"Hey there,'' she soothed as the baby continued to cry. "It's okay, I've got you.''

The child began to quieten just as the door slammed again and heavy footsteps thudded back up the stairs.

"Kate?'' Gibbs shouted, his displeased tone that she hadn't followed him reaching her before he shoved the door to the kids room open. She just looked at him, the baby in her arms innocently grumbling away and blowing spit bubbles at the ceiling.

"Though I should get some practice in,'' she said after a moment and watched as he approached her slowly. "You know, before we end up with one of these,'' her eyes dropped to the baby and the child became excited with the attention, arms and legs kicking out and a wide smile spreading across her chubby cheeks.

"I'd kiss you if we weren't in the middle of searching someone's house,'' Gibbs said. "You look good holding a child.''