Prints found on a dead sailor has lead to a quiet little town to interview a 17 year old boy. Gibbs and Kate walk up the pathway. Kate still recovering from a blast her and Tony got caught in a week ago.
Gibbs knocks on the door and they wait for an answer. He looks down at Kate’s hands, which some of her fingers have dressings on them.
“ You ok?” he asked softly.
“ Yeah I’m fine” she said with a gentle smile. The door opened and a middle-aged women opened the door.
“ Oh my god you found him” she said with tears running down her face.
“ Where from NCIS. We need to speak with your son” Gibbs told her.
“ Well he’s…he’s missing. We haven’t seen him in 4 days” she told them wiping her nose with a tissue.
“ Do you mind if we came in and asked you a few questions?” Kate asked her. She nodded her head and led them into the lounge room.
“ Why does NCIS need to talk to Jason?” she asked.
“ We found his prints on the clothes of a Navy sailor yesterday” Gibbs said watching her reaction.
“ You said he was missing. When was the last time you saw him?” Kate asked.
“ He and Terry had a fight and he ran out of the house. He hasn’t even called” she told them.
“ What was the fight about?” Gibbs asked.
“ Terry wanted him to go to colleague and Jason wants to join the marines, like his father was”.
“ So Terry isn’t Jason’s father?” Kate asked.
“ No, his father died 5 years ago. Please can you find him” she pleaded.
“ We will do our best Mrs Orrick” Kate said as Gibbs and her got up to leave.
“ What are you thinking?” Kate asked Gibbs on the way out to the car.
“ A lost boy at the wrong place at the wrong time” he told her. Kate winced as she sat back in the car seat. Her back had been deeply cut from the explosion, she still had stitches in and it still hurt a lot.
“ Kate” Gibbs started.
“ I’m fine, really. I just need to be more careful” she told him as she put her seat belt on.

Kate went down to see what Abby was doing.
“ Hey did you find that kid?” Abby asked when she saw Kate.
“ No, he’s missing. His mother hasn’t seen him in 4 days” Kate told her.
“ What does Gibbs think?”.
“ Simple wrong place at the wrong time. He wanted to join the marines”.
“ Makes sense. If he wanted to join the marines, why would he kill one” Abby agreed. Kate sat down on one of Abby’s desk chairs, but she had to sit forward to no hurt herself.
“ Aren’t you afraid of the scare it will leave?” Abby asked.
“ Yes and no. It will be covered most of the time, but when its not covered, only the person who likes me for me and not my skin imperfections will see it” she told Abby with a smile.
“ And who would that special person be?” Abby asked, half knowing who it was already.
“ Someone who still matters to me and doesn’t know it” she said with a little laugh.
“ Kate, he still cares about you to” Abby said seriously. Kate just laughed, thinking Abby was trying to make her feel better.
“ I’m serious. Gibbs tells me everything. When you and Tony got hurt, he blamed himself” Abby told Kate as she came and sat down next to her.
“ Because he sent us in there” Kate said.
“ No. He said if he had been there, you wouldn’t of gotten hurt”. Kate thought about it for a minute.
“ He would of gotten hurt, worse then me” Kate said. Abby nodded.
“ See he does still care about you” Abby said, putting her hand on top of Kate’s. Kate smiled the got up off her chair.
“ I better go Thankyou, you always make me feel better Ab’s” she said giving her a light hug, care full not to bump the stitches.
“ That’s what I’m here for” Abby said with a smile.
“ And don’t worry, he will be back” Abby called after her.

Gibbs, Tony and McGee were all at their desks when Kate walked into the squad room. Tony was changing the bandages on his burned hand. Kate sat down at her desk a bit to hard.
“ Geeze” she said as she sat straight back up. Gibbs looked up.
“ You ok?” he asked with a concerned look on his face.
“ Yeah I’m fine” she said trying to smile. Gibbs got up from his desk and stood in front of Kate’s.
“ You can go home if you need to” he said softly.
“ No I’m fine. I want to find this boy before I go home” she told him. Gibbs nodded and went back to his desk.
“ You know boss, if we didn’t go into that warehouse, I wouldn’t have burns and Kate wouldn’t have gotten cut up” Tony said as he finished bandaging his hand.
“ Tony!” Kate said surprised at his little outburst. Gibbs held his tongue, but got up form his desk and went for the elevator.
“ Tony, you pissed him off so much he couldn’t even yell at you. If you want someone to blame, blame the terrorists that planted the bomb” Kate said annoyed, then got up and went after Gibbs. She was to late, but she got on the next elevator and went to the ground floor. She ran out of the building and saw Gibbs heading for his car.
“ Gibbs” she called out. Gibbs stopped and turned around and waited for Kate to catch up to him.
“ Gibbs, tony didn’t mean what he said. He was just blowing off steam” Kate said.
“ He’s right. You could have been killed” he told her.
“ It wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know there was a bomb in there, no one did. Would you stop blaming yourself” Kate pleaded. Gibbs just looked at her. She knew no matter what she said Gibbs would blame himself.
“ Gibbs you should know I trust you with my life. I don’t care that you sent us in there, I care that you visited me while I was in hospital and I care about finding Jason. Your our boss, without you we are lost, no matter what Tony says” Kate said. She didn’t want to have to do that but if it would get Gibbs back upstairs. He stood there starring at her. He could see it in her eyes that she meant every word. He didn’t say anything, just headed back inside the building, Kate following. They stepped into the elevator together. Gibbs turns to Kate.
“ I am sorry for what happened” he said.
“ The bomb wasn’t your fault Gibbs. Stop apologizing” she said.
“ For hurting you”.
“ Gibbs you didn’t…oh” Kate now understood what he was talking about.
“ Jethro, you don’t have to apologize. It was a year ago. You walked out and I dealt with it. When you came back I was angry but I was just so relived to see your face” she told him. She felt crying and flying into his arms but held herself together. The elevator doors opened and Kate stepped out. Gibbs felt like kicking himself for being such an idiot. He just wanted to make things right, but this case was just to distracting.

The case had finally been solved. All that had to be done now was to get a confession out of the murderer. According to McGee, Jason’s mother and step father were in some fancy hotel. They pulled up out the front and their mobile signal showed them they were at the hotel’s pool.
“ This will be easy” Tony said, but when they saw how big the pool area was, he changed his mind. Tony and Kate took one side of the pool and Gibbs and McGee took the other side. There was a lot of families in the pool along with young people, probably on their honey moon. Kate accidently bumped into a man. She turned to say sorry and when she saw his face she knew who it was.
“ Mr Orrick” she said Tony stopped and went back to Kate. Terry looked at the two of them.
“ Have you found Jason?” he asked, sounding like he cared.
“ Yes we have” Kate said. Tony was on the phone to Gibbs telling him they found him. Judy came up behind Terry.
“ Agent Todd, what are you doing here?” she asked.
“ They found Jason” Terry told her.
“ Where? Is he ok?” Jody asked frantically.
“ We found his body in a trash bin, not far from the sailor he was trying to save” Gibbs said as he and McGee joined them.
“ What? My Josh is dead” Jody said, starting to cry. Terry put an arm around her to comfort Jody. Kate watched for any emotion towards this news he kept a straight face the hole time.
“ Do you know who did this?” Terry asked.
“ That’s why we are here, Mr Orrick” McGee said.
“ Jody, did you see the fight between Terry and Josh?” Kate asked. Jody shook her head.
“ I was in the bath. All I could hear was the mumble of the yelling. When I came out it was over and Jason was gone” Jody told them. Terry’s grip on her got tighter and Gibbs knew they had him.
“ What if we told you that fight was the cause of his death” Tony said seriously.
“ The day after you said he left, the $56,00 that was in his bank account was withdrawn, by this man” Gibbs said showing them a photo of Terry at the teller. Jody stepped away from him.
“ What?” she said very confused.
“ He killed Jason so he could use the money Jason saved for colleague to go on a cruise” Gibbs told her.
“ He was going to use that to move out when he joined the marines” Jody said.
“ The fight you heard was Jason not giving Terry the money. He struck Jason when he refused, then went after him to finish him off” Tony told her. Judy turned to Terry.
“ How could you? You killed my little boy” she said furiously.
“ I wanted to take you on a holiday, you haven’t been on one since Jeff died. Jason was your only set back” Terry said. Jody hit him and he fell back into the pool. They all stood there watching him in the pool.
“ DiNozzo, McGee get him out of there” Gibbs ordered. They bent down and helped him out of the pool and hand cuffed him. McGee escorted Joy to her car so she could go home.

Kate and Gibbs stood by the pool watching them walk away. Kate looked at the people swimming when she noticed a little girl struggling to stay above the water. Kate took her weapon off her belt and handed it to Gibbs before stepping into the pool and making her way to the little girl. Kate reached her and grabbed her and took her back to the side of the pool. Gibbs grabbed the little girl from Kate. The little girl thanked Kate then ran off. Gibbs helped Kate out of the pool.
“ Where is that girls parents, or even the life guards?” Kate said standing up.
“ I think you’ve found a new career” Gibbs said with a smirk.
“ Parent or lifeguard?” she asked him. He looked at her, in her wet clothes.
“ Shouldn’t you change that, now that its wet” he said pointing to her back, changing the subject. She could feel her dressing was wet and she needed to get a dry one as soon as possible.
“ Bugger. Could you help me?” she asked looking at Gibbs. He stood there, before finally pointing at the change rooms. They made their way to the change room.
“ I’ll get a towel” he said as he continued passed the change room. Kate walked inside, sat down and took her wet top off and waited for Gibbs to return with a towel and a new dressing. As she sat there with no shirt on she knew how awkward this would be for them as they haven’t been this close since they broke up almost a year ago. Gibbs walked up to her and sat the towel down next to her. He starred at her torso, it was exactly how he remembered it, but without the white dressing on it.
“ Thankyou for doing this Gibbs” she said sincerely.
“ Tell me if I hurt you” he said then started to slowly pull the soggy dressing off her back. He froze as he saw the stitches holding her beautiful skin together. He hadn’t realised how bad it was.
“ It really isn’t that bad. It definitely looks worse than what it is” Kate told him as she realised his hesitation.
“ Looks like its almost healed” he said as he started to dab the area with the towel.
“ The stitches come out next week” she said, happy at the thought. She could feel Gibbs gently putting on the new dressing. His hands were warm against her cold, wet skin.
“ All done” he told her.
“ Didn’t hurt a bit. You were always gentle with me Jethro” she said as she stood up, her back still facing Gibbs. He noticed that she called him Jethro, which brought back memories of when they were together. Kate picked up her wet top.
“ I cant wear this, and I cant walk out of here wearing just this” she said. Gibbs stepped forward, took his jacket off and placed it over her shoulders, then kissed her neck softly. Kate shivered. She hasn’t felt that in a long time and she missed it dearly. She put her arms into his jacket and turned around to face him. They starred into each others eyes.
“ I could always tell what you wanted just from looking into your eyes” he said.
“ And what do I want now” she said not breaking eye contact.
“ You want me to kiss you” he said quickly.
“ And are you?” Kate questioned.
“ Yes”.
“ When?”.
“ When I take you home” he said with a small smile. Kate smiled and nodded her head. Gibbs buttoned up his jacket she was wearing, grabbed everything from the bench and they exited the hotel.

Gibbs drove up Kate’s driveway, got out and went round to open her door and helped her out of the car. They both ran to her door, she opened the door as quick as she could and ran inside and turned to face Gibbs who wasn’t to far behind her. He closed the door behind him and stood in front of her.
“ Are you going to kiss me?” she asked with a smile.
“ First tell me, has there been anyone else” he asked seriously. She looked at him, her smile gone. Her eyes fell to the floor.
“ No. No one else. I just wanted you back” she said truthfully. Gibbs stepped closer and lifted her face to meets his.
“ I’m sorry Katie” he said before kissing her.

Gibbs drove up Kate’s driveway, got out and went round to open her door and helped her out of the car. They both ran to her door, she opened the door as quick as she could and ran inside and turned to face Gibbs who wasn’t to far behind her. He closed the door behind him and stood in front of her.
“ Are you going to kiss me?” she asked with a smile.
“ First tell me, has there been anyone else” he asked seriously. She looked at him, her smile gone. Her eyes fell to the floor.
“ No. No one else. I just wanted you back” she said truthfully. Gibbs stepped closer and lifted her face to meets his.
“ I’m sorry Katie” he said before kissing her.

They lie in each others arms in Kate’s bed. Kate closes her eyes and holds on tighter to Gibbs.
“ Why did you leave?” she asked him softly. She felt his chest rise and fall as he took in a deep breath.
“ I was angry. Needed to get away” he said quietly.
“ You didn’t even say goodbye”. Gibbs didn’t say anything. She sat up and looked at him.
“ Did you think leaving without saying anything to me wouldn’t hurt me as much as if you did?” she asked. She wanted to yell at him but thought he might leave again. Gibbs didn’t know what to tell her. He didn’t want to hurt her more then he already had.
“ I don’t know what to tell you” he finally said. Not quiet the answer she had in mind. Gibbs sat up to be level with Kate.
“ I loved you so much. I couldn’t say goodbye” he said softly. Kate smiled.
“ Loved” she said with a little laugh in her voice.
“ I still love you, Katie” he said as she ran his hand over her cheek.
“ I never stopped loving you, Jethro” she said before leaning and kissing him.
“ Does that mean there was no one else while you were in Mexico?” she asked after their kiss.
“ Just my beer and the sun” he said with a smile. They sat there starring into each others eyes. Gibbs smiled.
“ What?” she asked.
“ I almost forgot how beautiful you are” he tells her.
“ And what about my scare?” she asked, knowing it would be a big ugly one.
“ Nothing would stop you from being beautiful” he said. Kate smiled and threw her arms around her. He hugged her back, a bit to hard.
“ Oh god” she yelled as she jumped put of Gibbs’ arms and off the bed. She stood up and took deep breaths to try and take her mind off it. Gibbs got off the bed and went over to her.
“ I’m so sorry” he said rubbing the small of her back.
“ Its ok” she said standing up.
“ I just need some water” she told him. He helped her to the lounge room, where she sat back on the cushions while Gibbs went and grabbed a glass of water for her. He sat at the other end of the lounge and started to massage her feet.
“ I think Mexico has changed you. You would of never done this before” Kate said with a smile.
“ It wasn’t Mexico” he said. Kate nodded.
“ So if me and Tony hadn’t gotten hurt, you wouldn’t be here” she said, her tone not as happy as before. Gibbs just shrugged his shoulders. Kate tried to read his expression, but it was impossible.
“ What would you have done if it was me lying in that hospital bed a year ago and I decided to disappear without a trace?” she said seriously.
“ I would go after you” he said not looking at her.
“ So I was suppose to go after you, even though I didn’t know where you were?” she said.
“ I didn’t want you to come after me”. Kate pulled her feet free from his grip.
“ I wanted you to move on. You deserve to be happy. It was clear when I returned you hadn’t done either” he told her. Kate was hugging her knees and not looking at him. So many emotions where running through her.
“ You make me happy. I could never move on. My love for you is so strong. I trust you more then I could ever trust anyone else and when you left, it was like someone had ripped my heart out” she said fighting back the tears that were building up. Gibbs moved up close to her on the lounge.
“ I’m here now and I’m not going anywhere” he told her. She looked at him and saw the seriousness in his eyes. She got up on her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck. Gibbs put his arms around her waist and held her tight. Kate couldn’t hold them in and let the tears fall down her face.