Kate finally received the mental go-ahead to drift to sleep; too tired to strain her ears any longer for the slight indication of Gibbs in distress. She had gotten up several times to check on him, her devoted curiosity getting the best of her each time: she'd walk carefully on the balls of her feet, tip-toeing each step as she was certain her creaky floorboards would just about wake the dead. But each time she reached the end of the hall and poked her head into the room, he was always sleeping soundly. If she hadn't known better, she might have said he looked ‘peaceful,' but she just smirked at the very thought of it.
It was an understatement to say she was startled when a muted cry of pain echoed down the hall, violently shaking her from her dreamy limbo and dropping her onto the floor in a pile of limbs, pillows, and blankets. Kate was halfway down the hall in a second when she heard Gibbs' heavy breathing and muttered curses. She stood in the doorway, her tousled hair framing her face as she held out her arms, holding onto the doorframe. Her breaths came in a slower rhythm once she saw him sitting on the edge of the bed, his legs hanging off the side.
"Gibbs?" she whispered in a breathy tone of concern, her feet padding quickly and quietly against the hardwood floor as she made her way over to him. Her eyes wandered over his silent form, noticing him clutching one hand to his knee, his head hung low in a vain effort to curb the pain.
She gracefully crouched down in front of him, her hands resting on the bed on either side of his thighs as she looked up to his previously hidden face. When he still didn't say anything, she spoke softly as she set her own careful hand on his good knee:
"Gibbs…"
"I forgot…" his voice came out in a rough, strained hiss that originated from a rumble in his gut; she saw his eyes shut even tighter. He swallowed and exhaled deeply when he tentatively rubbed the area above his knee. Gibbs finally opened his eyes, gazing down at her.
"I got up.. I got up and I forgot." he said, low and hoarse. Kate's eyes widened just a bit.
"You put your weight on it?" She asked softly in amazement, looking down to his knee before she returned her eyes back to his. He nodded with a defeated sigh. She wet her lips and looked back down to the ace bandage that wound around his leg, "Do you think you tore anything? The stitches…?"
He chuckled roughly, quietly. "I don't know, Kate. All I know is.. it just hurts like a sonuvabitch.."
Kate grimaced in pained sympathy as she nodded and looked over to the bathroom. "C'mon," she said as she stood up, "...should change your bandages anyway."
As Gibbs took a minute to stand, to balance on one leg, he looked around for his crutches when Kate stepped into him gently, wrapping an arm around his waist and maneuvering as his flesh and blood crutch. He looked down to her with the tiniest of thankful smiles. Kate smiled softly back before looking down to the ground; her stomach clenched when she felt his arm come down around her shoulders, using her for the much needed support. But she felt Gibbs squeeze her next to him, just a little, as they hobbled slowly to the bathroom.
Kate sat him down on the closed toilet seat, as she squatted down in front of him again, gently undoing the ace wrap and setting it in a neat bundle on the sink counter. Gibbs watched her intently: studying the smooth tenderness of her features; the untamed muss of hair that delicately flounced around her shoulders and periodically dipped in front of her eyes; the soft curves that lithely danced and deftly moved in front of him as she went about the bathroom gathering her make-shift medical kit. It was then that he finally noticed the very short shorts that just about covered her backside in a clean strip of satin, coupled with the mid-drift baring tank that hugged her gently in all the right places.
He tried to shake away the mental contents of his studies when she crouched down in front of him yet again, lining up everything she needed along the edge of the tub. She sighed and cocked her head as she examined the stitches in his leg with diligent concern, running and resting a gentle hand behind his knee. He swallowed deeply.
"Doesn't look like you did any damage, Gibbs…" she murmured thoughtfully; she looked up to him with warm eyes, faintly fluttering them unintentionally, "Except for that bottle rocket of pain you experienced." Kate smiled softly which elicited her desired reaction: Gibbs' tender smile accompanied by a low, rough chuckle. He bobbed his head in agreement as his eyes dropped down to the slow workings of her hands, carefully gauzing and rewrapping the ace bandage around his knee.
"You know whatcher doin,' Todd…?" he asked in a playfully gruff tone. She looked up to him with an open smirk and a cocked eyebrow before looking back to his knee, slowly and methodically winding the ace wrap in gentle patterns around his leg.
"Well, see… the funny thing about being trained for a federal agency…" she looked up to him beneath a concentrating brow and wisps of hair, "is that they teach you silly things.. like basic first-aid…" She closed the wrap with a couple fasteners and gentle patted the sides of his calf with both hands. She looked up to him and smiled warmly. His mouth quirked slightly.
"Why are you doing this, Kate.." he asked somewhat quietly. She opened her mouth to protest, but she knew what he was after—he stopped her, continuing on in a hushed, gruff voice, "You don't owe me anything, Katie… you know that, don't you.."
She got up slowly and looked at him with some thought, sliding her hands to her hips.
"I do owe you, Gibbs. But that's not why I'm doing it…" she said matter-of-factly, her soft voice dancing around him ever so slightly. She put out her hand to him, offering her assistance to help him up, and he cleared his throat:
"Could you get me the crutches?"
Kate took her hand back slowly, putting on a feigned smirk when he could see the true confusion on her face. "Don't trust me, Gibbs?"
He opened his mouth and smiled slightly, "I'd like to take care of what I had initially set out to take care of… before that," he paused briefly, " ‘bottle rocket of pain.' "
She furrowed her brow and then raised them gently in acknowledgement. "Ohh." The corner of her mouth lifted gently as
she bobbed her head, "One sec…"
Kate promptly returned with his crutches in hand and offered them to him, waiting until she was sure he was secure on his feet before she took her leave. Helping out with Gibbs' call of nature was not in her script; but she decided to wait around to make sure he had everything he needed.
Turning off the bathroom light and balancing carefully on the crutches, Gibbs made his way back into the bedroom. He stopped when his eyes passed across Kate's small, perfectly curled form on the opposite side of the bed— very much fast asleep. He took a moment and watched the gentle rise and fall of her chest, relishing once again in the sweet candidness. His reverie was swiftly broken when Kate breathed heavily, a muted snore catching in the back of her throat as she sighed and turned over, placing her back to him.
He smiled, ducking down his head in amusement as he quietly made his way to the other, far side of the bed. A bed which he surmised was certainly big enough for them both to share, respectfully. The bed lazily dipped beneath his weight as he made his way under the covers, also gently covering her with the loose and leftover blankets that she had set aside for him. With Kate on her side, facing him, he watched her thoughtfully while his eyelids drooped and his breathing evened out.
"G'night, Katie..." Gibbs murmured languidly before he slowly dropped into dreaming alongside of her.
Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.