**A/N: Sad to say that this is the last chapter, everyone! Sorry for the long delay, I hit a writer's block and was stuck up until today. Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed my story. You guys really inspired me to continue this story. Well, I hope you enjoy this last chapter!

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Kate stayed quiet, her mind reeling. Had she really heard him right? He loved her too. The thought made her heart jump into her throat and her brain short circuit, but was he maybe right? There was always a chance they wouldn't work out, her brain was trying to tell her so, but her heart was quickly overpowering it. It would not back down without a fight that it knew it would win.

Kate let her eyes drift up to connect with Gibbs' and let a small whimper escape her lips. She could see the confusion and hope in his eyes; reflecting her own perfectly. He understood her hesitation, he too was doing the same thing.

"I know you are who you are, Gibbs. I know you won't change for anybody, I understand and respect that, but I fell in love with you and who you are. I wouldn't change you for anything in the world." Kate answered honestly, a tiny smirk playing with the corners of her mouth. "If you want me, I'm yours."

Gibbs closed in on her then. He let his hands fall onto the tops of her arms and kissed her forehead lightly. Kate let her eyes slide closed at his gentle gesture. No, he wasn't right. Nothing that felt this perfect, this good, could be wrong. He wasn't.

"I'll always want you beside me, Kate. I just need you to make sure that you absolutely want this. I refuse to lose you too." His head started pounding in its dire need for caffeine. He could never go on too long without his coffee in stressful situations. And, well, this would fall under that category.

"I'm positive, Gibbs." There was no hesitation in her voice this time. She reached up and let her hand cup the side of his face before letting her fingertips brush down his cheek and over his lips. Her brown eyes trailed after her fingers, letting them take in every line, every curve, every inch of his skin. "I want to be yours more than anything in the world." She snapped her eyes back up to his, brown meeting blue. "But you have to promise me that you won't leave, that you won't just throw me aside," she pleaded the unanswered question with her big brown orbs.

He nodded his head, silently promising that he would try with everything he had to not do that to her. Not Kate. "I will."

This was a side of Gibbs that Kate had never seen. He never let his guard down, but he was. For her. The thought terrified her at first, but she finally settled into the decision. It was made. Her heart had made it long ago even if her mind hadn't agreed. There was nothing keeping them apart now and she would not mess this up. Not with Gibbs, not anymore.

She slipped her hand behind his head and through the short silver hair at the nape of his neck. She pressed down slightly so his face was pushed down towards hers. Kate let her lips fall onto his and he didn't object in the least. One hand trailed up her back until it was loosely tangled in her dark, shoulder-length hair while the other gripped her hip in a gentle but possessive hold.

He was the one to pull away first, his lungs screaming for air as she tugged lightly on his bottom lip. Kate pulled back slightly in his hold so she could meet his eyes. "I'm here to stay," she stated simply. Not a simple sentence, but a promise. A full one.

"Good. Because I'd like to try and see you leave." He responded with a low growl. Her giggle was cut off by his lips devouring hers again. There was nowhere else she would have rather gone to. This man was all she ever needed and she wasn't going to give up that easily. Yes, he was stubborn and thickheaded to the point where he was paying for three divorces. Yes, he was a bastard and seemed arrogant at times. But Leroy Jethro Gibbs did not come without perks. He was sweet and loving behind the walls he had built around himself to stay safe and keep everyone else safe from him as well. He was compassionate and determined.

He was perfect and he was hers.

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Well, that's it. Thanks again to everyone who read and reviewed this story!