A/N: I have been reading Kibbs stories over the past couple of days, and being a NCIS fan, I got inspired to write one myself. It's my first time writing a NCIS fanfic, so I hope to do this justice. As you can see, this takes place during and after "Twilight" (2.23). For those who have not seen that episode, there are spoilers, so be forewarned.

Reviews, be it commentary or criticism, are welcomed and appreciated.

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS.

Dawn

By GallaudetLurker

"Shooter!"

Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs jerked to his right just in time to see a young man – a terrorist – aiming a gun straight at him, having fired through an ajar side door that he was partially hiding behind. He swore his heart stopped right there and then as Special Agent Caitlin "Kate" Todd leapt in front of him and promptly crumpled to the floor.

A multitude of emotions instantly coursed through him at that instant, some of which were unfamiliar. Anger, rage, panic, fear, worry, concern...and something else he couldn't – or refused to – discern in the heat of the moment.

His reflexes and instincts, long sharpened and honed by years and decades of military training and experience in NCIS, kicked in and he raised his gun – which he had been reloading merely seconds before – and with lightning-quick speed and precision, rapidly fired bullet after bullet at the terrorist. So caught up in the heat of the moment, so focused on eliminating this singular threat, Gibbs barely registered that he was assisted by Senior Special Agent Anthony "Tony" DiNozzo, who was likewise shooting at the target.

A grim satisfaction washed over him as the terrorist – who had dared to shoot at Kate, his Katie – stumbled through the door and careened over the steps to the floor, dead. This feeling of satisfaction was instantly replaced by fear, worry, and concern as he ran over to Kate's prone form. As he grabbed her shoulder and began turning her over, he mentally prayed to whatever deity was listening that Kate, his Katie, was alive and well.

His prayers were answered as Kate let out a pained groan. Gibbs heaved out an imperceptible sigh of relief as he grabbed a zipper on Kate's jacket and yanked it down to reveal a bulletproof vest beneath.

Another wave of relief washed over Gibbs. It seems Kate had finally listened to him, especially when this very morning, he'd repeatedly berated the stubborn agent to wear the vest. As he gazed at the flattened bullet that was lodged on the front of the vest, Gibbs struggled not to think about what would have happened had Kate not chosen to wear the vest—

"Kate? Are you okay?" Tony's concerned voice interrupted Gibbs' thoughts. A groan and wince on Kate's part answered the question.

"I just got shot at point-blank range, DiNozzo," she snarked sarcastically, "What do you think?"

Despite himself, Gibbs smirked at his agent's response. Although hurt – bulletproof vests, although capable of stopping bullets, did not completely insulate the wearer from injury, and he was sure Kate would have a painful bruise – Kate managed to retain the feisty sarcasm that she used against DiNozzo on a daily basis.

Tony looked like he wanted to slap himself for asking such an obviously stupid question, but then he quickly grinned and leaned closer to Kate. "You're not going to be going to Pilates class tomorrow?" Kate rolled her eyes.

Gibbs was about to reach over to Kate, to help her get on her feet when his guts began wrenching, a foreboding sensation sweeping through him. It is his (in)famous gut feeling. It had never failed him, and was nearly always right, and Gibbs is not about to disregard it at this point of time.

Gently putting his hand on Kate's shoulder to keep her on the ground, and grabbing Tony's arm to stop him from getting up, Gibbs readied his gun, keeping himself hidden behind the short concrete wall that partially enclosed the roof of the warehouse building that they were on.

"What's going on, boss?" Tony asked, confusion and concern etched on his face. Kate looked at Gibbs with a slightly confused expression on her face.

"Stay down," Gibbs instructed as he cautiously peered over the wall, his eyes scanning the building next over for anything out of the ordinary in the distance. He did not see anything, yet his gut feeling continued to blare.

A flash. His eyes widened slightly as realization hit him.

Ari Haswari.

That bastard was there, and judging from that flash, sporting a high-powered sniper rifle which scope inadvertently gave away his position. He knew that flash particularly well, having seen it too many times on the sun-baked battlefields of Iraq, usually right before he fired the bullet between the enemy's eyes.

"Ari's somewhere nearby," Gibbs said as he turned to Kate and Tony.

"Ari?" Gibbs did not miss the animosity that laced Kate's voice as she spoke his name, and he inwardly smiled.

"You sure?" Tony asked uncertainly.

"Yeah. He has a sniper rifle, ready to pick any of us off. Stay low." He refused to think of what would've happened had Kate been gotten to her feet, exposed—

Gibbs spoke into his radio built into his jacket for several seconds before he turned back to Kate and Tony.

"Ari's done for," he said simply.

Although disappointed that he would not have the chance to personally put a bullet between the eyes of Ari Haswari, the crafty terrorist that masqueraded as a Mossad operative with a strange fixation on Kate, he was content with the knowledge that very soon, Ari would no longer pose a threat to his team.

And his Katie as well.

Gibbs found himself in his slightly dim basement, his hands running a sander over one of the ribs that formed part of the hull of his unfinished boat, a half-empty bottle of Jack Daniels whiskey at his side.

It was supposed to be a relaxing time, for building boats in his basement and sipping whiskey was a surefire way for the hard-nosed workaholic to relax after a particularly exhausting day at work.

At this moment, Gibbs was far from relaxed, very far from it. The events that had transpired at Norfolk earlier today constantly tormented his mind. He was pretty sure that he wouldn't be getting sleep anytime soon.

The sight of Kate jumping into the way of the bullet. Her crumpling to the floor. His panicked fear and rage at the terrorist scum who shot her. All these kept running through his mind like some newsreel trapped in an unending loop. It did not particularly help that his brain, particularly the stubborn Marine part that simply refused to shut up, kept thinking about several 'what-if' situations.

What if Kate had refused to wear that vest? What if that vest had been defective? What if that terrorist shot her somewhere other than her protected chest? What if his gut feeling had failed him in regards to Ari Haswari? What if Ari had shot her with his sniper rifle?

Gibbs heaved out a weary sigh as he set the sander down, picked his bottle up and downed part of it, reveling in the bitter sensation the liquid left as it went down his throat.

If he had to be completely honest with himself, not that it would be easy to do, the prospects of losing Kate absolutely terrified him, even if she worked in a high-risk job position in a federal government agency. NCIS agents have died in line of duty, Gibbs knew, and he did not want Kate to become part of that list.

Even harder to admit was the reason behind his fear of losing Kate. He had kept it tightly under control, using his mental discipline that had been forged in the Marine Corps, but the sight of Kate getting shot down right before his very eyes – along with recent events before that - put cracks in the walls of discipline that he had so painstakingly put up.

He had been very attracted to Kate Todd the moment he'd laid eyes upon her at Air Force One.

Ever since his third and most recent divorce, Gibbs had thought the adage 'love at first sight' was complete and utter crap. His disastrous experiences with women, in both dating and marriage, led him to swear off women for good, even going as far as to create Rule 12 ("Never date a co-worker"). It worked remarkably well, and all he had to worry about was doing his job, head-slapping his misbehaving agents (with his particular favorite being a certain DiNozzo), constructing his boats by hand with the love and tenderness that he had once bestowed upon his wives, and drinking whiskey. There was simply no time for frivolous things like feelings, emotions, and mushy shit like that.

Life was simple that way.

Too bad, it had fell apart the moment he met Kate Todd that fateful day nearly two years earlier.

Her beauty - her brown eyes, her soft lips, her slightly wavy hair that cascaded down her face - withstanding, Gibbs had found Kate to be very...feisty, despite the fact she was a mere Secret Service agent assigned to protective detail at Air Force One. Her willingness to challenge him on matters such as jurisdiction stirred something deep inside him.

He had found himself enjoying the banter between himself and this Secret Service agent more than he should have, especially when she dryly said she would shoot him, much to his amusement.

When he'd all but offered her a position at NCIS at the end, Gibbs had tried to convince himself that it was Kate's prowess as a Secret Service agent that played a role in this, not her beauty or feistiness.

He could not admit to himself that his attraction to his newest Agent had only intensified over the next two years, and it increasingly took more and more of his patented Marine resolve, along with his determination to follow Rule 12 to the letter, to clamp down on these...forbidden feelings, as well to control the feelings of possessive jealousy that flared up whenever other men (especially DiNozzo) hit on Kate.

Never before had his hand ached so much from slapping DiNozzo upside the head, his heart from desiring Kate, and his mind from cursing himself for creating Rule 12 in the first place, at times.

Gibbs had never experienced such feelings so persistently intense since he'd courted his first wife Shannon decades earlier, and to be frank, it scared the hell out of him.

As he was about to pick up his bottle to drain the last of his whiskey, two warm arms wrapped around him, encircling his waist, from behind.

He stiffened, his heart feeling like it was about to leap right out of his constricted ribcage in sheer shock, adrenaline coursing powerfully through him. A certain scent, one that he was too familiar with now, wafted around him, and a soft body firmly pressed against his back.

"Katie..." He whispered.

He'd prided himself with his impeccable hearing skills, often than not able to hear anyone coming a mile away. He always knew when someone entered his unlocked house. Always.

Not this time, it seemed.

Several moments passed in silence as Gibbs took deep breaths to calm down his heart, and once its heartbeat was somewhat down to its normal rate, he gently took one of Kate's arms and turned around so that he was facing her.

Stormy bluish-gray eyes met warm hazel ones. She looked so...vulnerable, and Gibbs was overcome with a powerful desire to protect her from the cruel, unforgiving world that they lived in. Especially from the Ari Haswaris that inhabited said world.

Wordlessly, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer, being careful not to aggravate her bruise. She tightened her arms around him as she placed her head on his chest.

As he leaned against the woodworking table, holding the woman that he had desired, even loved, for so long in his arms, as he kissed the top of her head, Gibbs mentally vowed never to let her go.

Ever. Not if he could help it.