It started out as just a one time deal. Once. To make her feel better. He hated seeing her sad. Hating seeing that haunted look in her eyes after that young woman blew up herself and her boyfriend/boss.

And maybe it was for some of his benefit, too. Make sure she was truly okay-that she only had minor cuts and bruises. Nothing major. Nothing life threatening.

He remembered how her brown eyes darkened to a mocha color when she became aroused. How her soft, supple skin felt underneath his fingertips and then his body. How she softly whispered her climax in his ear, afraid of alerting the neighbors of their activities.

Once. That was what he told himself.

But, once turned into two, then three and so forth until five months rolled around. Five months of what? Friends with benefits? Comfort sex?

They both needed intensive comforting after the hostage situation in Autopsy. They had gone back to her apartment after he'd been released from the hospital. Never made it to her bedroom. Being mindful of his shoulder, she'd made him sit on the couch and proceeded to perform a slow strip-tease for him, then erotically undressed him, taking him up one side of the mountain before straddling him and riding them both down the other side.

Do friends with benefits keep clothes at each other's places? Do they become a little domesticated with each other on free weekends?

Funny, the one real relationship in his entire life-other than his first marriage-that felt undeniably comfortable was the one he couldn't describe. Would someone her age want a long term relationship with a man his age? He was at least ten to fifteen years older than her, but in the last five months, they had no difficulty with the age difference.

In that last five months, he'd been finding himself slowly falling in love with her. Breaking one of his cardinal rules: Romance between agents never work.

They had managed to fool everyone at NCIS the last five months. Never setting off any red flags on what was transpiring between them during off hours.

However, they couldn't fool the one person that knew them both too well.

Abby.

She had figured out during the aftermath of the hostage situation in Autopsy. She had raced down to make sure everyone was okay and caught the two of them looking at each other while he'd been getting worked on by the paramedics.

To say that her curiosity had been piqued would've been an understatement.

Three days later, she cornered them in her lab and demanded an explanation. Not demanded. More like ordered. Neither he nor Kate knew how to explain what they had going on.

"You two are ridiculous! Just admit to yourselves that you're in a relationship with each other!"

"Abby, it's…"

"Call it what it is, Kate." Abby interrupted. "I saw the way you two looked at each other. There's nothing complicated about it."

He sighed, "Abs…"

"Gibbs, it might've started for some other reason, but that's not why you both are still here. That reason has evolved into something more."

He knew Abby had been right. How come she'd see it when he and Kate continually missed it? Was it because he'd been so preoccupied with the reason of how and why this arrangement started between them than what was happening at that moment?

It had taken Kate being kidnapped eight hours ago by the same terrorist-who held her, Ducky, and Gerald hostage in Autopsy two months ago-for him to define their relationship.

He realized he wanted what they had to be official. No more hiding. He wanted everyone to know that he found forever in Caitlin Todd. Some might not believe him-being that he'd been divorced three times.

It took the third time for him to realize that he'd been trying to replace his first wife. Trying to find someone who complimented him as much as she had. Kate couldn't replace her. He understood that now. But she had complimented him in her own special way over the course of five months.

They complimented each other.

Not to mention she put up with his moods-mostly him being a bastard.

His stomach had rolled and pitched when Kate had been brought back to NCIS, seeing her bruised cheek and split lip. It brought about assumptions of what the fucking bastard-Ari Haswari-did to Kate that he couldn't see with her clothes on.

God, he wanted desperately to hold her in his arms. To make sure Ari hadn't injured her any way that broke her spirit.

But, he had a meeting in Autopsy with Ari Haswari, whom he now knew wasn't a terrorist, but in fact a Mossad Agent. Basically a wolf in sheep's clothing.

And putting a bullet in the bastard's shoulder had given him some satisfaction.

Now he wanted to find Kate. She wasn't in the bullpen, but he knew that she was still in the building. Her backpack and jacket were still behind her desk. There was only one place she could be at this late hour.

Abby's lab.

Gibbs stepped off the elevator and strolled into the lab. He saw Abby and Kate in the office, sitting side by side on the desk.

Kate had changed into her workout clothes that she kept in her desk. He recognized the pants-ones that molded to her curves like a second skin and showed off her delectable ass-but he couldn't pinpoint the t-shirt. It was too big and hid her breasts and waist. It almost looked like his old NIS shirt that'd been missing for a month.

He walked into the office and both women turned their heads towards him.

Kate sprang up from her position and launched herself into his arms. She buried her face into the curve of his neck, breathing in the unique scent of Gibbs-sawdust and the faint scent of Irish Spring soap.

"You okay," he whispered.

She murmured, "Yeah," into his shirt.

He pulled back from her and examined her cut lip and bruised cheek. "Ducky check you out?"

"I'm fine." She knew where the conversation was heading, so she tried to stamp it out before it got started.

"Agent Todd…" He bit off the rest of the sentence as her raised eyebrows. Sighing, he ran a hand up through his hair. "Kate…"

Taking pity on him, she cupped his cheek. "Ari didn't do this. It was one of his followers. He didn't believe my answer when he asked who you were when you called."

"What did you say?"

She smiled-well, as much as she could with a split lip. "That you were my boyfriend. You were deployed in Iraq and usually called me when your shift was over."

He ran his fingers through her hair. "Really?"

"Yeah." Smiling again, she cocked her head at him.

Abby kept quiet and watched the interaction between the two agents-her friends-and wished they just tell each other how they truly felt about the other. It had been going on for two months-since the hostage situation-and she knew neither one of them took her advice. Well, if they didn't get their act together in the next thirty seconds, she would knock both of their heads together.

Gibbs framed Kate's face with his hands. "How about taking that little white lie and making it true?"

"You mean…"

"I want to date you. Be you boyfriend. Maybe eventually meet your family?"

Laughing, "You don't want to meet my family. They're crazy, Gibbs." She took a breath. "What about NCIS? Will we be able to stay on the same team?"

"You let me worry about it." He drew her back into his embrace. "Are we too old to be boyfriend and girlfriend?"

That elicited a chuckle from Kate.

Suddenly a shriek filled the office and they both realized that Abby heard everything. Abby attacked them, hugging them tightly. "Thank you, God! I didn't have to knock you guys over the head."

Kate laughed, "Thanks, Abby."

"Now, you two get out of here." She shooed them out. "You've got some making up to do."

After they both grabbed their things, Gibbs walked her to her car. "Where do you want to go? My place or yours?"

"I don't care. As long as I'm with you, nothing else matters."

"I'll meet you at your apartment." He leaned in and captured her mouth in a quick, but hot kiss that left her weak kneed and breathless