She sighed. It was late, and she was tired, and she sighed. Alone in the bullpen, laying her head gently on her slightly littered desk, she turned her pen between her fingers.

Another Friday night was dragging itself along, raking her over hot coals of unresolved files and mistyped memos… all in the process of becoming Saturday morning. If she could just stay until then.. if she could just hold on until the clock read 12:01. To be able to say she wasn't at home on another Friday night. She dropped the pen quietly and shut her eyes to the dim light that lazily spread over her desk, her papers, her face.

The familiar bell of the elevator intruded on her daydream and as the doors opened, she knew who it was. She knew his footsteps, and she knew them well. She didn't bother lifting her head. Go home, Kate. It's late, Kate. What are you still doing here, Kate? The possibilities were infinite, but she knew and anticipated them all. And she waited.

Silence.

Just as curiosity was about to lift up her head, he placed a cup of coffee down on her desk. Without looking, Kate could feel the corners of his mouth turn up slightly while he stood facing her. She could feel his smile broaden as his footsteps fell away towards his desk. With her head still down, she slowly wrapped her fingers around the cup and let a small grin slide across her lips.

She heard him rummage through some papers, she heard his computer begin to shut down, but she heard the tiny, invisible squeak of his chair as he sat. Kate picked up her head and held the coffee cup between her hands, flexing her fingers. She couldn't bring herself to look at him. And she didn't know why. But she could still feel his eyes on her, despite being able to see him in her peripheral vision anyway.

"Thanks." She finally spoke quietly. She sensed his small nod of acknowledgement, and swiveled her chair to face him. The thoughtful look that met her gaze caught Kate off guard, but she recovered with a shy smile, tilting her head slightly down. She let the hair fall to hide her face, to hide her smile, but more so to hide the blush that crept up on her when she wasn't looking. Kate peered down at the coffee that she held in her lap. The sharing of coffee was one of the tiny tokens of Gibbs-affection that she always looked for. Just tiny tokens.