I don't own NCIS or the characters or anything else having to do with them. I'm just having a bit of fun with them on a cold and lonely night. :)

5 Kisses

The first kiss I ever received from Gibbs was in the middle of the night at NCIS.

Looking back on how emotional I was that night, I always feel kind of foolish. I had been dating a guy, Michael, for nearly 10 months at that point. Our team had caught a particularly grim case and I had spent the last four days sleeping and eating at the office as we worked to catch a serial killer. We were all dead tired and Gibbs ordered us all home for the night and back early the next morning. Feeling particularly guilty about having ignored Michael over the last few days, I decided to surprise him and showed up at his apartment unannounced. Apparently that was my mistake because I caught him in bed with another woman.

I drove back to work in a state of shock and heartbreak, not even really aware of where I was going, and barely noticing the tears that were streaming down my face. I think it must have been a knee jerk reaction to head back to work. It's what I always do when something in my personal life isn't going well - I throw myself into work until I'm so exhausted that I literally don't have any energy left to torture myself with thoughts over whatever chaos happens to be going on in my life at that moment. But apparently I'm not the only one who's a workaholic, because when I stepped out of the elevator and walked to the bullpen Gibbs was sitting there, still working as though he never left (which I'm sure he didn't).

I could tell that my sudden reappearance surprised him, even more so when he realized that I was crying. I could tell he was uncomfortable with crying women (most men are), but his hesitation was shortlived and he got up, came over, and wrapped me tightly in his arms. He didn't ask what was wrong, and I muttered a few words including "dirtbag", "Michael", and "cheating", knowing he'd get the drift and I wouldn't have to explain the whole painful story. He tightened his arms around me, holding me to his chest, and let me cry until I ran out of tears and my throat hurt from it all. I felt so safe, so cared for with his arms around me that I was reluctant to break away. So I didn't. I just let him hold me and we stood there for a while. Gibbs was the one to eventually break the silence: "He doesn't deserve you, Kate. You can do so much better than him." I didn't say anything in return - I didn't really know what to say. His soft tone and his words surprised me, but I was even more surprised when I felt him press his lips to the top of my head in a gentle kiss before he released me and moved away back to his desk.

I returned to my own desk and we worked in silence for a while until he spoke up again. "I could pay him a visit for you, if you want me to, Kate." I looked up at him, almost stunned by the anger in his voice that I could tell he was feeling on my behalf. Although the idea was tempting, I knew the guy probably wouldn't make it through the night if I let Gibbs go after him. "It's okay. I took a baseball bat to his car when I left and I have every intention of burning his favorite shirt when I get home," I told him with a smirk on my face. I'm pretty sure that was the first time I ever heard Gibbs really laugh.

The second time he kissed me I blushed. And it wasn't even on the lips.

It had been a little over a month since that night when I found out how much of an asshole Michael was and how much of a sweetheart and protector Gibbs could be (when he wanted to). We had been working a drug case and were closing in on a house to make an arrest when an explosion went off and the force of the blast pushed us both to the ground. Somehow he ended up on top of me, shielding my body from the heat of the fire, but feeling his body pressed so close to mine was creating a whole different kind of fire within me. I'm certain that when he looked into my eyes he could see the shock from the explosion mixed with my inappropriately timed arousal. His crystal blue eyes held my gaze for what felt like an eternity trapped within a second and then very deliberately, very slowly he leaned down and kissed my cheek. His lips lingered on my skin for just a moment before he pulled back and asked if I was okay. I couldn't even speak, so I just nodded, my cheeks turning a bright red - I hate it when they do that. He lifted himself away from my body (oh how I missed the contact immediately!) and smirked as he stood up and pulled me up with him. I already missed the smell of him, sawdust and all, and wished I could pull him back against me, if only for a moment.

The third kiss was perfect...and cliche: it was in the elevator.

It was 2 weeks after the second kiss and I don't even know what brought it on. It had been a typical day at NCIS - if there is such a thing - and around 9pm I decided to call it quits and go home for a good night's rest. Bidding Gibbs goodnight (he was the only one still left in the bullpen) and pulling on my jacket, I headed out and didn't even realize that he was behind me until he followed me into the elevator. We made it all the way to the ground floor in silence and the doors were just about to open when he flipped the switch and turned to me. I didn't even have time to process what was happening before my back was up against the cold, steel elevator wall and his lips were on mine. It started with him barely brushing his lips against mine, before he slowly deepened it. It was a sweet, slow seduction, his lips tasting mine. My hesitation lasted for only a brief second before I joined in, eager to make it last forever. His hands in my hair felt so good, so right, and I moved my hands up his chest, feeling the strong muscles that lay beneath the cotton shirt. When we broke apart his hands were cupping my face, his thumbs caressing my cheeks. I opened my eyes to find his pupils dilated with arousal just as I knew mine were. A soft smile graced his lips as he gazed at me before reaching over and flipping the switch, never breaking eye contact. When the doors opened, he leaned over, tucking my hair behind my ear, and whispered "Good night, Katie" in my ear before walking out and leaving me standing there dazed. He knows he's the only one I allow to call me Katie. He doesn't use it that often, but when he does it sounds so sensual and I find myself wishing he'd use it more.

The fourth kiss was a lot more frantic than the third one.

It had been nearly three months since that stolen moment in the elevator when he kissed me good night and I had spent those three months hoping and waiting for more, but too afraid to make the move myself. Although at night my fantasies were spurred on by that shared kiss in the elevator, in the daytime I sternly told myself I had to move on and stop wishing for something I couldn't have. After all, it had been nearly five months since I broke up with Michael, and I hadn't been out on a single date since. So when an FBI agent that we were working with on a shared investigation asked to take me out that same night, I gave it a moment's thought and readily agreed. It probably wasn't the most professional way for him to ask me out considering we were right there in the middle of the bullpen surrounded by my team and his, but you take what you can get, I guess. He wasn't the type of guy I would normally go for, but I figured that I had to get myself back out into the dating arena sometime, unless I wanted to end up alone for the rest of my life, pining after a guy that I know I shouldn't want.

When Gibbs found me in the parking garage a couple hours later, a small part of me had been expecting some kind of reprimand about dating other agents or mixing my personal and professional lives or even fraternizing with the enemy considering the tension-filled partnership NCIS has with the FBI. But what I got instead was his hands around my waist pushing me up against my car as his mouth assaulted mine in a heated, passionate kiss. I couldn't stifle the moan when his tongue started to tangle with mine and his hands found their way underneath my shirt, roaming over my skin until I was dizzy from the sensation of it all. We broke apart to gasp in air and I expected him to walk away again, like he did the last time. Instead, his lips descended onto the left side of my neck, softly sucking at the skin there - enough to make my knees go weak, but not enough to leave a mark. My hands were in his hair, holding his head to that sweet spot as I released another moan and shuddered at the sensation of his hand grazing over my right breast.

When a car alarm started going off in the parking lot, he pulled away abruptly and removed his hands from under my shirt. I silently cursed the owner of that car for interrupting this moment of passion, all too eager to see where it would lead to, but instead was left panting against the side of my car as he walked away to his own and got in and left.

The fifth kiss came not too long after the fourth.

When I regained control of my breathing and unlocked my car, I sat down and took stock of the situation. It was obvious Gibbs was jealous, that my date tonight was what spurred the moment of passion we shared just a few minutes ago. And yet he didn't seem willing to make the first move to turn this into something more between us. I'd had enough of the waiting and made up my mind right then and there to be the one to make the next move. So I pulled out my cell phone and called and cancelled the date I had that night with the FBI agent. I barely registered his disappointed tone and declined when he asked for a raincheck, already putting the car in gear and heading towards Gibbs' house.

When I arrived, his car was parked in the driveway and I pulled in behind him and made my way to his front porch. I stood there a moment, steeling my nerves in preparation for what I was about to do, and finally screwed up the courage to knock on his door. When he didn't answer, I decided to just walk in, aware of the fact that he never locked his door anyways. I walked through the entryway and into his living room before I found the door to his basement standing slightly ajar. I opened it and cursed inwardly when it creaked loudly, immediately drawing Gibbs' attention from where he stood sanding his boat. I could see the shock written on his face at my sudden appearance and the way he dropped his sanding tool would've been comical if it wasn't for the fact that my heart was racing a million miles a minute as our eyes locked. I looked down, suddenly feeling self-conscious about having shown up to his house uninvited and just walking right in. But I was already here and I wasn't going to back down now, so I made my way down the steps and walked over to him, finally meeting his gaze again.

His eyes were questioning me, questioning why I was there in his house, in his basement, instead of out with the FBI agent. And I chose to answer his questions by wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling his head down to crash his lips against mine in an intense, heated fury. I nibbled on his bottom lip before swiping my tongue across it and exploring his mouth when he opened up to me, tasting him and the bitterness of black coffee. The combination of it left me feeling heady and I was disappointed when he pulled back. I could tell that he was about to list off the thousand and one reasons that we shouldn't be together, that we couldn't do this, but I was tired of pretending that I wasn't madly crazy about him, that I didn't want him every waking moment of the day. So I pressed a finger to his lips, bidding him not to speak those doubts. "Forget that you're my boss. Forget the age difference. Forget our track records with relationships. Forget rule #12. I love you, I want you, and that's not going to change." Even I was surprised by my boldness and I was pretty sure I had shocked him into silence. His eyes held mine as he reached up to take hold of my hand that was still pressing a finger to his lips and dropped a gentle kiss on my palm before pulling it away and interlocking our fingers. The simple, affectionate gesture brought a lump to my throat and I'm sure he could read my affection for him reflected in my eyes. He leaned down to kiss me again, but this time in a gentler way, expressing a tenderness that I hadn't yet felt from him before. He pulled back slightly, just enough to whisper a few words against my lips, "I love you too, Katie," before starting a searing kiss that would be one of many to come in our relationship.