Author: Kimberley Jackson

Email: Blue Skies

Rating: R (Language, Violence, Sexual Situations)

Disclaimer: Not mine, I am just using the possibilities DPB and CBS are not. ;)

Pairing: KIBBS ( Kate/Gibbs )

Category: Angst, Romance

Summary: Investigating a series of double murders brings Kate and Gibbs in fatal danger. Will the rest of the team be able to save them in time?

A/N: This is my first NCIS story... hope, the conversations are in character. If you find any mistakes, situations that are out of character or grammatical mistakes, feel free to email me.
About the title... I chose that one very quickly, since I had absolutely no other idea, and after scrolling through my Winamp playlist, the title of the song "Blue Sky" by Coco Lee sprang into my eyes. It felt just right – and since writing is all about feeling, this became the title... (.)v

Darkness... it destroys the human being's sense of time, their orientation in space and – eventually, if kept there long enough – it will destroy their spirit. Nothing is as frightening as darkness to us. Children fear the darkness, having nightmares of terrible monsters which crawl out in the shelter of the night. Even adults try to avoid darkness. The whole life has been organized around it, so that human beings have as little contact as possible with the threat of the night.

Kate had never cared whether it was day or night. Her job forced her to spend as much time in the daylight as at night at some crime scenes or in front of her personal computer, finished some report for her boss. She had never found anything particularly threatening in a dark room.

When she awoke now, that was totally different at once. She was lying on what felt like a cold stony floor. Somewhere in the complete darkness she could hear what seemed to be water dripping to the ground. Her mind was spinning and she had trouble to remember how she had gotten there – or who she was in the first place.

Carefully supporting herself on her hands, she tried to get up, her mind focused on not giving in to the dizziness in her head. Her lips tasted like dried blood and she carefully felt for injuries of her head. Fortunately, she found that her cheek was the only part of her body injured – set aside a few spots on her hip and her ribs that felt like bruises.

A little unsteady, she managed to carefully walk a few steps, her hands stretched out in front of her while she tried to feel for an exit or a door. All the while she still couldn't remember what had actually happened? How had she gotten there? Had she been on an investigation? If so, where?

She decided to use a technique which she had once learned when she had been with the secret service. Try to focus on the last memory you have, she told herself, suppressing the upcoming feeling of panic complete desertion in her stomach. Her last memory... yes, there it was...

Around 18 hours earlier

„80 percent of American women do deep inside wish for a male partner that is more dominant than they are and goes to earn money while they stay home and take care of the house and the family." Tony couldn't help but grinning widely when he read out those lines from the report of the latest issue of the FHM magazine.

Kate rolled her eyes, not looking away from her computer screen, where she was reviewing the report on the serial double murder cases they had been investigating the week before. „Tony, I don't think your porn magazines qualify as competent guides concerning women's wishes and thoughts," she dryly replied.

Tony held up the magazine, his look almost offended. „FHM does hardly qualify as porn magazine!"

„Oh please..." Kate said, her eyes now turning from the screen to the man on the desk opposite to her. „Lots of barely dressed women and reports about how to improve you sexual techniques? What exactly is not porn magazine-ish about that?"

„It's not like it's just about that? They have interesting reports in here about... um... cars... politics. Katie-girl, you should really have a look before you judge it." He smiled at her in this typical Tony way where you could never know what to expect next.

„Not interested..." she replied, smiling back provocatively, „and instead of reading... whatever... you should probably start working on your report. If Gibbs arrives and finds out that you're not even half-finished he's going to kill you."

He chuckled and leaned back in his chair relaxed. It was his way to provoke her and entice her into this kind of playful banter they always shared. He held the magazine up in front of his eyes, giving Kate a full view of the half-naked woman who was presenting herself in a very lascivious pose on the cover. „And a good amount of sixty percent of American women want their men to make important decisions. Interesting... Do you want to know about favorite sexual positions?"

„Please, spare me!" she said with mock desperation, then louder, „Tony! The report!"

He sat up in a sudden move, throwing the magazine over onto her table. „You're right... maybe I should hand the magazine over to your trustworthy hands while I finish my report. You can read the interesting parts outloud for me, will you?"

Laughing ironically she grabbed for the magazine and turned it around. „Oh, Tony... Tony..." she remarked compassionately, while she looked at the sexy model that was stretching herself lewdly in front of the photographer. „You obviously have a pitiful private life if you need to look at this every week."

„Not as pitiful as you think..." he leaned back again, his eyes resting on her, „...or as other members of this team. At least I do not spend my free time building on a boat which I won't even get out of my garage."

„Yes, but I have never seen Gibbs reading one of these... I don't even know what to call them!" she murmured, shaking her head while she read quickly over some of the so-called truths that were written there about members of her gender.

„Inspirations? Literary masterpieces? And Kate, I hate to disappoint you, but every man reads them – the more they deny, the more they have hidden under their bed." he smirked and folded his hands behind his head, his legs sitting on the surface of his desk.

Kate raised both her eyebrows, when she flipped through the next pages. „'Women tend to say no to whatever a man proposes when he addresses her for the first time'", she recited, „'but what they actually mean is that they want the man to work harder to seduce them. Most women long for the sexual intercourse after their first date, so if they kiss you goodnight in front of their house, they actually want to you fight for them.' That's crap, Tony! I don't know any woman who says no when she means yes – at least not where dates are concerned! This..." she held up the magazine, „is what trains stalkers!"

Tony laughed. „Oh come on Katie! Don't tell me you never had a date and wished for sex afterwards, but kissed your flirt good-night because you thought it was inappropriate to sleep with him after just one date."

„Well..." Kate started, recalling one or two incidents where exactly that had been the case. „But that's a totally different..."

„Ha..." Tony laughed triumphantly and jumped up on his feet. „That's exactly what they say. I bet, after a date with me you wouldn't deny..."

„Don't..." Kate interrupted him with a warning glance, „...even finish that sentence! It won't ever happen!" She shook her head in disbelief when she read over the more precarious facts about women's sexual wishes. „Every American woman has had fantasies about sleeping with a complete stranger and nearly half of them are willing to try out that fantasy, so all you need to do is go out to the streets and use that knowledge." She went on reciting the part about the most preferred sexual position and how fast a woman could reach an orgasm, a certain amusement mirroring in her voice.

Tony was half sitting on his desk, arms folded, listening to her recitations and amused comments, when suddenly, from the corner of his eyes, he saw the elevator door open. The figure of their boss with the obligatory cup of fresh coffee in his hand could not be overseen.

Tony stood up slowly and straightened out, hissing „Kate" over to the woman, who was still performing a lecture on successfully bringing a woman to orgasm. She shushed him with a sign of her hand, believing that he wanted to make another provocative remark.

Agent Jethro Gibbs walked through the large room, greeting one of the agents that passed him by and took a sip of his coffee. It was already his second cup today, but somehow the caffeine didn't seem to take the desired effect.

When he approached the desks of his team, he heard Kate's voice and slowed down. His eyes went from the highly illustrated magazine she was reading to Tony's face, that had lost two shades of color.

The younger agent cleared his throat significantly, then shrugged at his boss, sitting down on his desk again and pretending to work intensely on the still unfinished report.

Kate was oblivious to her boss who was standing right behind her, and looked at Tony. „The 30-seconds-way to bring a woman to climax? I must have been sleeping with the wrong men..." Then she noticed the way Tony amused himself, intensely staring at his computer screen, and the realization dawned on her.

She paled. „Good morning, Gibbs?"

„Agent Todd, I hope those kind of magazines are not the only literature you occupy yourself with in your spare time! I am still awaiting your report." Gibbs remarked sharply.

Kate shut the magazine and put it on her desk. „It's Tony's... he was just... and then I..." she started, feeling a blush starting to cover her cheeks. She couldn't believe that she had read out the best ways to bring a woman to climax while her boss and mentor was standing behind her.

„I swear, I have never seen that magazine before, boss!" Tony held up his hands defensively. Slapping him on the back of his head while passing, Gibbs went to his own desk. „Well, at least not that issue..." Tony added, smiling apologetically at Kate, who had narrowed her eyes in a threatening gesture and was shaking her head in disbelief over his betrayal.

„I want to have those reports lying on my desk in an hour, Dinozzo." Gibbs reminded, the warning in his voice being more than obvious.

„Yes boss... of course..."

Kate observed as Tony focused his eyes back to his computer and started working on his report as if he was the most hard-working employee in the whole building. She threw the magazine back over onto his desk with an innocent smile, ignoring Tony's revengeful expression.

The object of discussion vanished under the table in one of his drawers and Gibbs had to force back an amused smile. When Kate had joined the team, he had feared that she, being the lady she was, would not stand a chance against Tony, but he couldn't have been more wrong. She always found her ways to deal with his little jokes and games without really going down to his level.

She was a woman were intelligence and wittiness were paired with beauty and elegance, a combination very rarely found in women her age. She was attractive without even consciously wanting it. Yes, she was definitely different from all the other women he knew. It was a shame that she spent her evenings alone at home, just like he did.

But he was different. He had his experience – three ex-wives were more than enough. Besides his manner to be in control and his way to put his job over anything private would drive every close friend or possible flirt away.

But she was still young, she should be spending her spare time out in the company of a man who knew her worth and appreciated her humor and intelligence.

In many ways Kate and he seemed to think alike – to feel alike.

Gibbs looked up at the brunette woman, who had resumed reviewing her part of the report. Sometimes he tried to convince himself, that every man in his age felt attracted to younger women. His eyes quickly grazed her slender figure, before he turned them back to the form he was filling out.

One of these days he should read over his own rules again. His scan of Kate was definitely a violation of rule number 12 – or in direction thereof. He needed to get these thoughts out of his head, but how could he when she was sitting right in front of him, practically having read him sex tips a few moments ago?

„Kate!" he barked, not looking up. „Go down to Abby and bring me the results of the DNA test she performed last week on the victims of our psychopath. I need them for the archive."

"But Gibbs, the report..." the woman started.

"That was not a request, Kate! Now!" His tone didn't leave open any doubts that a discussion was absolutely out of the question. She got up, suppressing a sigh and ignoring the mocking faces Tony made.

"On my way..." With these words she hurried towards the doors of the elevator which would take her a few floors down to the laboratory of Abby, their punk analyst and computer expert.