<span style="font-family:Libre Baskerville"><span style="font-size: 12px">Abby had ditched her lab as soon as she had gotten the news about Kate. Her eyes were wet with tears, and her mascara streaked down her cheeks,  but she didn't give a damn. One of their own was in the hospital and it didn't look good. There was no way in hell she'd be anywhere but with her team. Her family. She'd driven like a crazy person to get to the hospital as quickly as she could, and when she arrived, she didn't even bother to speak to the woman that sat behind the desk at the nurse's station. Instead, her eyes caught sight of Gibbs.<br/>
<br/>
At that moment, she immediately bolted down the hall to where he stood. She wasted no time and threw her arms around his neck in a tight hug. "Gibbs? What the hell happened? Is Kate okay? Are you okay? Are Tony and Tim...?" Her questions shot rapid fire out of her mouth until they trailed off as she took in the sight of the three of <br/>
them. "Is Kate gonna make it?" It was only when she felt him stiffen in her arms, that she pulled back and noticed he was hurt. "Gibbs, you're hurt! Did Ari do that to you?" <br/>
<br/>
Abby asked, and quickly started to look him over. She was worried that he had other injuries that he hadn't thought were a big deal and had tried to keep to himself. She found herself frozen as she took in the blood that stained Gibbs's clothes. She forced herself to act normal, though it was hard. Once the young woman had checked him <br/>
over and was satisfied that there was only the one injury, she looked over at Tony and Tim. "What about you two?" She demanded, worried that they too, had gotten hurt <br/>
up on the rooftop. <br/>
<br/>
Once again, she was hit with the sight of blood. She saw that Tony was covered in it, too. And she couldn't stop staring. "Change. Change. Change. Change. Change." She started mumbling the word repeatedly, unable to deal with seeing them covered in Kate's blood. It was too much. Even for her. She didn't usually freak out at the sight <br/>
of blood. But the horror of knowing that this blood was Kate's that covered them, and that she was hurt and fighting for her life inside this very hospital, nearly sent the <br/>
Goth into a state of shock.<br/>
<br/>
_______________<br/>
<br/>
Ziva knew that she was risking a lot by showing up at Bethesda where Agent Todd and her team were. But she had a part to play, and so she had to act like a concerned party. Well, she <i>was</i> concerned. Ari had nearly killed Agent Todd. The only thing that had saved her was Agent Gibbs, and a stroke of luck where she was fortunate enough to turn her head at the right time, and have the bullet damage her ear. As she walked into the hospital and took in the sight of Agent Todd's team, she actually froze where she was.<br/>
<br/>
This was because she looked over at Agent Gibbs and Agent Dinozzo and saw that they were covered in Agent Todd's blood. She took a few moments to quickly pull herself together, to keep her cover in tact, and she walked over to Agent Gibbs. "Agent Gibbs, I need to speak with you, please.  In private. Also, maybe you should tell your Agent to change his shirt." She motioned to the dark haired woman that stood a few feet away from them. "That woman looks like she is about to have a panic attack any moment now."<br/>
<br/>
__________________<br/>
<br/>
~Dream~</span></span><br/><br/><span style="font-family:Libre Baskerville"><span style="font-size: 12px"><i>Kate let out a pained sound as she stepped out of the shower and looked for her towel. The sound of footsteps nearby had her darting to grab the towel and put it around herself to cover her body. She looked up as the door to the bathroom opened and Tony of all people, walked in. "DiNozzo! What the hell are you doing in my apartment, much less walking in while I'm in the shower?" The look on his face was one of surprise, and surprise of her own settled over her when he didn't apologize and back away,</i><br/>
<i>but instead moved closer.</i><br/>
<br/>
<i>He moved in as if he were going to try and kiss her. "Woah! Whatever happened to privacy? Whatever happened to you taking me at my word that if you ever tried to see</i><br/>
<i>me naked, I'd shoot your dick off? Stop laughing! I'm serious, DiNozzo! This is a HUGE breach of privacy, and I could have you arrested for breaking and entering, among other things!" She had to stop yelling and forced herself to try and calm down. The bruises from earlier when she'd worn her bullet proof vest as they took on Ari, hurt like </i><br/>
<i>a bitch. And her getting upset wasn't going to do any good.</i><br/>
<br/>
<i>Tony laughed, even as he moved in to kiss Kate. He was concerned when she pushed him away from her. "Kate, come on. We're not role playing right now. You know we keep that kind of stuff in the bedroom to keep either of us from getting hurt. I just wanted to see you. So you can stop playing hard to get. We've both been busy lately at NCIS and with our separate teams, that we don't get to spend much time together anymore. I know that you and your team got back this morning, and my team just got back an hour ago."</i><br/>
</span><br/>
<i><span style="font-size: 12px">"And since we've both gone nearly a year without a single day off, I called in so that we could have the next two days off. It'll just be you and me, with no interruptions, and no one and nothing to worry about.. What do you say?" He let out a shout of alarm when she dropped her towel and then he found himself forcibly slammed into the wall with both of his hands twisted behind his back, with Kate pressing down on him. </span></i></span><i><span style="font-family:Libre Baskerville"><span style="font-size: 12px">"You know, you could've just warned me that you wanted to start with the rough, kinky stuff first.."</span></span></i><br/><span style="font-family:Libre Baskerville"><span style="font-size: 12px"><br/>
~End of Dream~<br/>
<br/>
<i>_____________________</i><br/>
<br/>
~Dream~<br/>
</span><br/>
<i><span style="font-size: 12px">Kate was seated on the floor of Gibbs's basement. He was seated beside her and they passed a bottle of Vodka back and forth between them. They were both drunk, which was a good thing, as she was usually less of a hardass when she was drunk. "I've been part of the team for two years now, and it's first time I've felt like I'm finally part of a family. Do you know how screwed up that is, Gibbs? I've been engaged three times and married twice. And all of those relationships crashed and burned. Because of the job. Because they say that I'm a cold fish."</span></i><br/>
<br/>
<i><span style="font-size: 12px">"Because I don't want to give up my career and spend the rest of my life being the kept housewife.." She made a face at the idea of it. "I'd rather be out on the streets with my gun and badge and making a difference. But the men that I've dated, gotten engaged to, and married, all thought it was just a phase. Like I'm some silly woman who can't be serious about loving her career. </span></i></span><i><span style="font-family:Libre Baskerville"><span style="font-size: 12px">They'd rather see me at home popping out a bunch of kids and making them dinner. After I kicked them in the balls for even suggesting such a thing, I said good riddance and moved on." <br/>
<br/>
Kate sighed softly, and then paused. "Sorry. I know that was the kind of marriage you had with your first wife. I don't mean to knock it, just that it's not for me. I can't see myself settled down and chasing after screaming kids. Not at this point in my life, at least." She took another sip from the bottle of Vodka, and then handed it back to him. <br/>
She turned to face Gibbs and her eyes raked over his face, and then his form, and a thought popped into her head that Gibbs was hot. Not just in an older man sort of way. <br/>
<br/>
No, he was really hot. And part of her couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to kiss him and taste the bourbon on his lips that he always drank from. He'd made an acception this time for her, because she's brought the Vodka.. but that didn't stop her thoughts from going where they shouldn't. "Hey, Gibbs.." When he turned to face her, a question in his eyes, she decided to make the first move. "I just wanted to tell you.. this.." She reached out with both of her hands and cupped his face in them. Then, she moved in close, leaned in and their lips met...</span></span></i><br/><span style="font-family:Libre Baskerville"><br/>
<span style="font-size: 12px">~End of Dream~</span></span>