Within a couple of days, Kate has her MRA scan. Now comes the hardest part…waiting. But oddly enough, she finds herself at peace.

"This seat taken?"

Kate looks up from the bench near the coffee stand in the Navy yard, to a familiar face.

"Oh… Hey, Gibbs."

"Here." He hands her a cup of coffee.

"Thanks," she says, graciously accepting the cup. "How'd you know I was out here?"

"I didn't. I was getting some coffee and I saw you sitting over here."

"Oh."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I've just been thinking about things."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"I'm okay… I… Well, it's kind of hard to put into words. I guess… I'm not gonna lie; this having a possible aneurysm scares the heck out of me. But, I've realized , when tough times come, they don't happen to us, they happen for us. Perhaps my accident was a blessing in disguise. If I have an aneurysm, maybe something can be done about it. Whether I have one or not, I'm not gonna give up. And with all the tough things my family and I have been through, I realize how blessed I am to have what I have." She slightly gasps as tears begin to flow.

Gibbs reaches over with his left hand to rub her back.

"And I hope I can take what I've been through to help others in some way," she says through her tears and then, wipes tears off of her face.

"You're an extraordinary person, Katie."

She smiles through her tears.

"I mean it. You want to make a difference and you do." He takes her right hand with his left hand. "You've made a difference in my life."

She smiles through her tears and squeezes his hand. "Thank you… And you have in mine… I really appreciate you being there for me."

"My pleasure, Katie."

She lovingly smiles at him. "You're quite a man."

He squeezes her hand. "Thank you."

He reaches out to her for a hug and she gladly reciprocates. He doesn't want the moment to end, but it becomes painfully obvious that it's time to get back to work.

He breaks the hug and stands up to leave. "I, uh… I better get back inside."

"Okay. I'll be along in a few minutes. Thanks again."

"Anytime, Katie." He starts to turn to walk away, but feels a tug in his heart. He looks back down at her. After a couple of seconds more, he bends down to her and whispers something in her ear.

Her eyes widen slightly. Did she hear him right?

He pulls back and sees the speechless look on her face. He grins at her, kisses her forehead, and walks away.

She sits there for a couple of more minutes, still stunned. Then, she breaks down, crying.

…...

Later that evening, Kate lies on the couch in her living room, still stunned and reeling over what Gibbs had whispered in her ear earlier that day. She had been sensing something different between them since Christmas, but wasn't quite sure if she should dare to even believe what she was sensing, and now, after hearing him say what he did, she knows deep within her heart, that it's right.

She sits up, picks up her phone off the coffee table, flips it open, and dials a number. She takes a deep breath as she hears the phone on the other end start to ring.

"Yeah..Gibbs."

"Hey, Gibbs."

"Hi," he says, obviously pleased to hear her voice.

"I was, um… I…"

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I… I'm more than alright, actually. I, uh… Gibbs, I… I love you, too."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," she says, smiling. She pauses briefly. "I, uh… I didn't say anything earlier because I was so stunned. I… I had trouble finding my voice." She chuckles slightly.

He chuckles. "I understand… I've loved you for a long time, Katie, but I just didn't know how to tell you. Then with everything that's happened lately, I knew I couldn't go on any longer without telling you how I really feel about you. I knew the moment was right… I love you, Katie. I love you."

"I love you, too."

Gibbs grins.

"So… What do we do now?"

"Well… If you're not too tired, I could come get you and we could go get a coffee or something. Then, maybe we could go for a short walk."

"I'd like that."

"Alright, then. I'm on my way."

"Okay," she says with a smile.

…...

It was now official. Gibbs and Kate were an item and they couldn't be happier. They put her in for a transfer to another field team at the Navy yard that needed someone, and they just had to wait about a week for it to go through.

To top all that off, Kate got her MRA results back-she had no aneurysm. It was just a smudge they saw on her MRI.

It was indeed a time for celebration.

THE END

©2014 By Jeanniefan78/April*No part of this story may be performed or reproduced in any way, in whole or in part, without prior written consent of the author.

*All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. Some characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated or affiliated with the owners, creators, cast, crew, or producers of NCIS or any media franchise. This is strictly for fan enjoyment only. No copyright infringement is intended.