Rating: T

Spoilers: None that I'm aware of...I reference rule 12, 'Minimum Security', and 'Yankee White', but nothing to the actual plot of episodes or anything. This is a future fic though, so I guess that's my only warning. :-D

Disclaimer: I still own nothing...I feel like such a failure. The song this story references is by The Fray and is titled 'Look After You'.

Notes: Nothing much to say...hope you enjoy, and please review!

No one believed that this day would ever come. No one within their little circle, and even many outside of the circle could imagine an NCIS without Leroy Jethro Gibbs. The exact reason for his retirement was not known, although there were plenty of rumours flying around.

Some said that he had finally finished the boat that he was working on in his basement, and had decided to live out his life at sea. Some said that he had met another redhead and was headed down the aisle for a fourth time. Some said that he was just tired.

But his team had their suspicions. Not that they voiced them, but really, they had been waiting for this since a cold September day a few years back. The day that Caitlin Todd came into their lives.

With all his talk of 'romance between agents' and 'rule 12', everyone clearly knew his opinion of office romances. And Gibbs would never dare break a rule, even for someone as special as Kate. But nobody could deny it when they saw the desire in his eyes whenever he looked at her, and the exact same look in her eyes when she thought that no one was looking. They all knew that it was just a matter of time before he decided to circumvent the rules, in exchange for something that he had been craving for quite some time.

The whole team, including Ducky and Abby, was gathered in the bullpen, staring forlornly at the box on Gibbs's desk. It was bare, not showing any sign of the man that had taken up residence there for as long as any of them could remember. Abby bit her lip and leaned her head against Tony's shoulder as she fought back the tears, while Ducky smiled fondly, recalling some of his favourite memories of Jethro.

Kate leaned on the edge of his desk, staring blankly at the computer, outlining random patterns on the surface. Gibbs had left her the team (much to Tony's chagrin), but she wasn't looking forward to trying to fill his shoes. She sighed sadly, picking up the team photo that was on top of the items in the box, tracing the smiling figures.

All of their heads snapped up as they heard Gibbs heading down the stairs. He paused briefly at the landing, and moved into a familiar pose, leaning with both hands against the rail, looking down at them. He nodded slightly, and his lips curled up, as he turned and headed down the last flight. He entered the area in typical Gibbs fashion, all business.

Abby was the first to approach him, her eyes still watery. "Gibbs…" She murmured tearfully.

Gibbs gave her the affectionate smile that was reserved only for her, and wrapped his arms around her. "Don't worry Abs. I'm not really going anywhere." He placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. "You know where to find me." She nodded slowly, and he gave her one last squeeze before letting her go.

He moved to McGee and Tony, and clasped them each on the shoulder. "You did good boys. Call me if you ever need any help." They both nodded and muttered an almost identical 'Yeah boss'. He nodded satisfactorily, looking at each man again.

He turned to Ducky next, and chuckled as the old man embraced him slightly, as a father would with a son. "Now Jethro, you must remember to drop in regularly, I'm sure that it will be rather quiet without you here. And we must keep an eye on you now." He said, a cheery smile on his face.

"Of course Duck." He smiled and shook his head at the older man. And then he turned to Kate.

She bit her lip as his gaze turned to her, and tried not to let her tears spill over. She didn't want to appear weak in front of him, especially since he was entrusting her with the team. "Good luck as a civilian Gibbs…I'm sure that you'll be begging to come back in a few days." She quipped, still leaning on the desk.

He came around to the desk, brushing against her slightly as he came to stand in front of her. "You'll do great Katie." He murmured, using the nickname that only he could get away with. "I know you will."

Her lips quirked up in a half smile, half smirk. "That your gut talking?" He chuckled and nodded. She looked down at her feet, biting her lip again. Without a word, she wove her arms around his waist, and tucked her head into the space between his neck and shoulder. "I'm going to miss you Gibbs."

One arm wrapped around her tiny body, and the other hand came up to gently stroke her hair. After a few seconds, Kate broke away from the embrace, wiping embarrassedly at her cheeks. "Need some help with that box?" She asked, her voice shaky. Gibbs just nodded, even though he didn't, and went to go pick it up off the desk.

No one commented when he managed it by himself, and Kate trailed after him.

As he reached the exit of the team area, he looked back at the people that he had shared some of the best years of his life with. He nodded to each of them, and then turned around, heading for the elevator, Kate slightly behind him.

There now, steady love, so few come and don't go
Will you won't you, be the one I always know
When I'm losing my control, the city spins around
You're the only one who knows, you slow it down

They stepped inside the elevator shaft, as they had done so many times before. Gibbs set down the box quickly, and reached over to flip the emergency stop switch one last time. The lights shut off, and now the small space was only illuminated by a soft emergency backup light. He stepped carefully over the box, and leaned against the wall across from Kate.

She looked over at him expectedly, waiting for him to start the conversation. "You know why I'm leaving, don't you Katie?" He asked quietly, studying her.

She shrugged slightly, and looked down at her feet again. "I've heard some theories." She looked up at him, her eyes open and vulnerable. "But I'd like to hear it from the source."

Gibbs smirked, and looked down, nodding. He looked back up at her, and tilted his head to the side slightly, as he moved towards her. In the small space between them, it didn't take very long to reach her. He reached out and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. She kept her big brown eyes locked with his cobalt blue ones, determined not to back down.

"I'm tired of waiting." He muttered, leaning into her slightly. "We're not co-workers now and I'm not an agent. I think that you can pull your own conclusions from that, Special Agent Todd."

A small smile spread across her face. "I can. But I still need conclusive proof."

Gibbs chuckled and looked towards the doors briefly. Then he turned back to her, and placed a small kiss on her lips. Most would consider it borderline platonic, but he managed to inject all the emotions of the years that they had worked together into this one kiss, along with promises for the future. He leaned back, and looked down at her.

Her eyes fluttered open, and she smiled happily. "That's proof enough for me." She leaned against him; her head nestled on his shoulder again. Her hands came to rest on his chest, and his found their way into her back pockets.

"Be my baby." He muttered into her hair. She looked up at him, a dazed smile on her face.

"Gladly." She murmured, raising her lips to his slowly. This kiss lasted much longer than the one previous, as the two took their time to explore each other. Teeth and tongue met in a sensual dance, one that had been slowly building for five years. They broke apart, both breathless, as Kate leaned heavily against the wall and Gibbs leaned heavily against her. They stood in silence a few moments, just listening to each other's rapid heartbeats and erratic breathing.

Gibbs reached over and flipped the emergency switch again, so that they began moving again. Kate looked over at him, as her eyes called him to her again. Before Gibbs could do anything about it though, the elevator doors dinged and opened. He smiled apologetically at her, and bent down to pick up the box again.

They walked side by side to Gibbs's truck, and Gibbs threw the box in the front seat. Kate sighed and leaned against him one last time. He placed a soft kiss in her hair as her head laid on his shoulder. "I guess that I have to look after you now, don't I…" She paused before whispering his name for the first time, "Jethro."

He chuckled and ran his hands up her back. "I suppose it does Katie."

She looked up and grinned. "Okay." She giggled slightly as he bent down to kiss her again. They broke apart and Kate looked back at the elevator sadly. "You know…I have to go back to work for another," She paused to look at her watch, "half hour."

Gibbs shrugged. "Not that bad. We don't have any open cases." Kate looked at him, a wry smile on her face. "You don't have any open cases." He corrected himself, his smile matching hers. Her head found his shoulder again, as he gently drew her closer to him. "Just fiddle around with some paperwork for a few minutes, go on a coffee run…by the time you get back, I'm sure that Tony will have left. Just nod to McGee and he'll be gone in a flash too."

She giggled and looked up at him curiously. "You sound like you've given this some thought." The smirk appeared again on his face as he shrugged noncommittally. "And then what?" She whispered questioningly.

"Then," He murmured into her ear, as he began to place light kisses down her neck. "You can meet me…" He nipped, sucked, and licked his way down her pale flesh. "Back at my house…" Kate resisted the urge to groan as he continued his divine torture, and slipped a few fingers beneath the waistband of her skirt, gently stroking her lower back. "And we can go from there." He pulled back, slowly, reluctantly.

She looked up at him, her eyes darker than before, and impishly grinned. "Sounds perfect." She leaned up to kiss him once again, leaning her entire body into him wantonly. "I think that I'm going to enjoy your retirement." She murmured against his lips.

Her lips pressed against his again, muffling his chuckled response.

It's always have and never hold
You've begun to feel like home
What's mine is yours to leave or take
What's mine is yours to make your own

Oh, oh
Be my baby
Ohhhhh
Oh, oh
Be my baby
I'll look after you