Kate pulls on her white blouse and starts doing up the buttons.
“ Where are you going?” he asks from the bed. Kate stops buttoning her shirt.
“ Home” she tells him.
“ Stay” he says. Kate turns around surprised at his statement. She knew him and this was definitely not the ‘normal’ Gibbs. She looks at him, looking for any indication that he is playing with her. He is propped up on the cushion, the blanket covers his body up to his waist leaving his bare chest exposed.
Gibbs watches her mind tick. She doesn’t know is he is being serious or not, but how could he not be when she is standing there her a neat mess and her blouse only half done up, revealing her cream lacy bra.
“ Stay” he says again. This time more of an order. Kate doesn’t know what to say. So she doesn’t say anything. She leans on the bed and crawls up along his body. She stops when her face is only mere centimetres from his. She stares into his eyes and can see the love and lust in his eyes. Her eyes dart down to his lips, then back up to his eyes and a smile crept over her face.
“ God you sexy” he told her. Kate sat back on his waist and slowly undid the buttons of her blouse and dropped it on the floor.
“ How about now?” she asked as she sat in front of him in only her bra and matching undies. Gibbs looked her up and down. She couldn’t help but blush at his reaction to seeing her like this.
“ Amazing” he finally answered. He wrapped an arm around her back and the other went into her hair as he pulled her to him in a passionate kiss.
***
Kate lay cuddled up against Gibbs chest, her arm draped over his stomach. His arms held her tight against him.
“ A man walks into a bar and asks for a glass of water. The bar tender gets out a shot gun and shoots, just missing the man. The man thanks him and gives him a tip. Why the thank you and the tip?” Kate all of a sudden asks. Gibbs thinks about it for a minute before answering with a little chuckle.
“ He had the hiccups” he answers. Kate looks up at him with a smile.
“ So you’re not only a good kisser, but smart as well” she teases him. Gibbs looks hurt but plays along.
“ I hired you didn’t I” he says with a smile.
“ I guess that was a pretty smart decision” she says with a little laugh. Gibbs nods and leans down and kisses her.
“ Very smart” he says softly then kisses her again.
6 years later
Gibbs stood over by his work bench watching Rachel.
“ Let me ask you a question Gibbs. A man walks into a bar and ask the bartender for a glass of water. The bartender pulls out a shot gun and fires a blast just missing the man. The man says thank you and gives him tip. Why the thank you and the tip?” she asks. Gibbs guides his gaze to the floor and smiles.
“ The guy had the hiccups” he answers with a laugh. Then he turns serious.
“ Your sister told me that” he says in a soft voice. Rachel joins him by the bench.
“ It’s all about responses Gibbs. You, Vance and your agents. We keep things bottled up inside but even though the harshest response is the most appropriate” she tells him. He stares at the floor, his mind racing. He then looks up to the stairs before speaking.
“ I loved her” he says only loud enough for her to hear.
“ I know” Rachel nodded.
“ And she died because of me”
"You can’t keep blaming yourself"
"i don’t blame myself for not having protected her like she did for me” Gibbs tells her finally looking back at Rachel. Rachel gave him a small smile.
"She was always good like that. Protecting the people she cared about before looking out for herself" she said recalling the memories of her younger sister. She shook her head to try and stop the tears that wanted to fall again.
"What will your report say?" he asked quickly changing the subject.
"I’ll tell him exactly what he wants to hear"
"Does he know your relationship with Kate?" Gibbs asks. Rachel shakes her head.
"No, only you. Well i think agent DiNozzo has an idea" she said with a smile. Gibbs couldn’t help but smile.
"Yeah, he would. Come on I’ll walk you out" he says as he guides her up stairs.
"Thank you for letting me do this Gibbs" Rachel said once at the front door.
"Anything for Kate’s family" he said with a soft smile. Rachel returned the smile and went to leave but paused and looked back at Gibbs.
"You would of made her happy ,I can tell" she said before finally leaving. Gibbs closed the door behind her.
"We will never know will we” he said to himself, and then headed back down to finish off his bottle of bourbon.