CSI/NCIS Fic: Starting Over 46/?
TITLE: Starting Over 46/?
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
RATING: en.sea.xvii overall
PAIRINGS: Gil/Catherine, Gil/Sara, Catherine/Lady Heather, Catherine/Gibbs, Lady Heather/Gibbs, Ziva/Nick, Abby/Greg
WARNINGS: GSR for a while, Lady Heather makes an appearance later (and all that that implies), etc.
DISCLAIMER: I own no one... *sigh*
DISTRIBUTION: Graveshift Archive, crimsonchampagne... Others, ask.
SPOILERS: Season 6 for CSI, Season 2-3 for NCIS
SUMMARY/NOTES: It's been a while since I've written this story, so hopefully I haven't strayed too far from the beaten path!
Previous parts 1-2, 3-4, 5, 6-7, 8-9, 10-1, 12-3, 14-5, 16-7, 18, 19-20, 21, 22, 23, 24-5, 26, 27-8, 29, 30-1, 32-3, 34-5, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45
Catherine wiped her brow and she looked out over the crime scene.
She found it hard to believe that seven hours ago, she was laughing with Gibbs and Heather. Seven hours ago, she was kissing Heather's cheeks in a good-bye gesture and then watching the brunette kiss her new, silver-haired lover. Seven hours ago, Gibbs and Catherine were dodging Tony's questions---Gibbs more effectively than Catherine.
The scene was bloody. Someone murdered a midshipman and the evidence was scattered across a two-bedroom apartment in Georgetown.
Since she was the blood-spatter expert, she felt as if she was doing more work than anyone else. Ducky had taken the body back to the autopsy department. Ziva and Timothy had gone to interview witnesses and neighbours. Tony had already taken a load of evidence back to Abby's lab and he was in the process of transporting a second load. Yet, Catherine was still taking photographs and swabs, while making notes on a layout sketch to keep track of the blood evidence. She thought about Gil in her bed, the scent of them on their pillows; she wanted to be back there and her only consolation was the fact that Gil was a part of a panel discussion on forensics that day. She minded the long day less when she knew that Gil was not at home, either.
Gibbs kneeled down next to her and picked up the clipboard she was using for her sketch. "How's it going?" he asked.
She sighed and tried not to glare at him. He gave her a small, lopsided smile and then he nudged her chin gently.
"That great, huh?"
"Oh, shuddup," she muttered in reply. He smirked. She chuckled and looked at him. "Honestly, is this ever going to end?" she asked once her small bout of laughter faded away.
"What? Murder? Crime?"
"No, this scene, you idiot," she replied, nudging his knee.
"Just as soon as you finish the blood evidence, Probie," he replied.
"Sometimes, I really don't like you," she muttered.
"Yeah, well, then there are other times when you do like me," he pointed out to her. "So, I guess it all balances out in the end."
She rolled her eyes and fought to hide a smile---and lost miserably. "Y'know, just for that, you're doing the dishes tonight," she told him. Then, she paused and added, "Of course, that revenge plan hinges on us all getting out of here by seven."
"Is your husband cooking?"
Catherine smiled and nodded. "Yeah," she told him. "His seminar or round-table discussion or whatever it is finishes around five. He said he'd get the meal started and then pick Lindsey up after dance practice."
"Lindsey will be joining us?"
The strawberry blonde smirked knowingly. "And what did you think was going to happen, Gibbs?" she asked quietly. "A group party in my living room?" When she paused, he flushed a little along his collar; she decided she liked seeing him riled. "I think that we should get together as two couples... as four friends. Heather and I... well, have our thing, I guess," she said as she flushed a little, too, "but it's a whole other thing, with... everyone. And maybe we should figure out what we want before jumping into the play room."
"Don't tell me you remodeled your home," he said in a low, rough voice.
"Not yet," she murmured. "I think I'll wait until Lindsey goes to college," she added with a grin. "Something tells me she won't like knowing what sort of a freak her mother is."
"You're not a freak," he assured her.
"Funny," Catherine commented, still grinning, "that you're the second man to tell me that today."
Gibbs smiled at her. "Tony's on his way back. If you finish soon, we'll be able to pack up and go."
"But not 'go home,'" she added under her breath as she took a few more sterile swabs out of her evidence-collecting kit.
"Not yet."
"Slave driver."
"I believe that's 'Master,' to you," he teased as he stood up.
Her chuckle covered the sound of his knees cracking. "We never really played that game together," she reminded him without looking at him. She smiled when she heard him snort, and then she craned her neck and looked up at him. "Do you let her top you?" she asked.
Catherine was pleased to see another flush of colour traveling upwards from his neck to his face. He glared at her; the look would have been effective at killing her smile if his lips hadn't been trying to twitch into a smile.
"No comment."
"Oh, come on," Catherine insisted. She returned to her work. "You know things about me that... well, things that my boss shouldn't know, anyway. And I know some things about you..." she trailed off and peeked at him. "Should I start listing them?"
"You do, and I may not be held accountable for my actions," he threatened.
Catherine smirked and continued processing the blood evidence on the hardwood floor. "What are you going to do, Jethro," she asked teasingly while picking up her camera, scooting a few inches ahead, and photographing a few blood drops, "punish me?"
"Does your husband know how much you bait other men?"
"Not other men," she corrected him. "Just you."
Gibbs snorted and then he fell silent. His phone vibrated in its position, clipped to his belt, and he stepped out into the hallway to answer it. Catherine smiled as she heard him speaking to Heather; she tuned him out, though, after a while so she could continue documenting the blood evidence. When she heard a low whistle, though, she looked up and saw Gibbs looked down at his feet with the cellular phone still pressed to the side of his head. A sheepish smile curved his lips. She smiled more and shook her head.
She had finished with that pool of blood and its directional drops. After packing those bindles and attached documents, she crouched down and moved onto the last stained area of the room. As she photographed the scene, she heard Gibbs reenter the room.
"Heather says hello," he told her casually.
"Oh, cool," Catherine replied. She put her pencil in her mouth and quickly reached for her camera. She snapped a few pictures of the blood, with the evidence markers, and then she set the camera down so she could take notes again. "What's she up to today?"
"She visited Mistress Victoria," he said in response to her question. "Apparently, they went shopping. I have to admit that the idea of them shopping together makes me a little uneasy."
Catherine stifled a laugh. "Did she tell you where they went shopping? Because if it was just to a grocery store or regular ol' shopping mall, you probably don't have to worry much."
"I'm sure Heather could find plenty in a shopping mall," he said after a chuckle.
She grinned and pulled out a few more swabs. "Yeah, probably. There's always lingerie and... shoe stores... and... belts, ties..."
"Please don't list everything," he said when she trailed off.
Catherine laughed again. Then, she said: "Do you have any extra swabs, Gibbs?"
She heard him open a velcro-sealed pocket in his jacket. A minute later, he put one hand on her shoulder and brought the swabs down in front of her. "Here," he said in a quiet voice.
"Thanks, Boss," she murmured as she took the evidence-collecting tools from him with one latex-gloved hand. When he was back against the wall, at least ten-feet away from her position, she asked, "So, what else did she have to say?"
"Not much else," he told her after clearing his throat. "She's back at my place now. She wanted to know if we were still getting together tonight. I think she's making dessert."
"I didn't know she could cook."
Gibbs told her about the meal she made last night, a smile on his face and in his voice. Catherine worked as she listened; she fell into an easy rhythm between swabbing, recording, and photographing, and by the time he finished telling her about how delicious the pasta dish was, she was almost finished with the last bit of evidence.
"Has she mastered your favourite brew yet?" Catherine asked.
"Yeah."
She laughed. "Well, you're all set, then. Just hope she doesn't collar you and order you to clean the house."
Gibbs grimaced. Catherine smiled and went back to work, wondering how far the former marine would submit to Lady Heather. She couldn't imagine Heather submitted to Gibbs, either. They were two very dominant personalities but they both seemed so happy together, even though they hadn't been involved for very long. Games of dominance and submission were a part of both of their lives, and Catherine couldn't picture them not indulging in that type of fantasy. They must have worked something out, she decided as she snapped a bindle shut.
The federal agents fell silent. Catherine continued to work; she sensed that Gibbs was watching her. If she had been single---and if they had just returned from Las Vegas---she would have teased him a little more. Her husband wasn't holding her back. Gil accepted her friendship---and brief relationship---with the silver-haired man and he enjoyed her close bond with Lady Heather. She would always love Gil and the scientist knew that. There weren't insecurities between them, days after their honeymoon. However, she was acutely aware of how complicated their situation was becoming: she was married to one man; they shared a somewhat-kinky relationship with another woman; that other woman was involved with someone she had slept with several times, and once with the other woman at the same time as well. Catherine knew they had to tread carefully until the four adults got together and actually discussed everything that had transpired amongst them.
"So, dinner?"
Catherine was in the process of putting her swabs away, into her evidence-collecting kit, when Gibbs broke the silence between them.
She replied after snapping the case shut and reaching for her clipboard of notes. "Yeah, as long as my boss will let me finish the layout analysis tomorrow morning," she said as she pivoted on her feet to face him without rising.
"You can start at zero-seven-hundred," he told her. The strawberry blonde grimaced. Gibbs smiled and shrugged. "It won't kill you---unless you have more than dinner on the menu."
She snorted. "Our lives are complicated enough right now. Maybe we should just... y'know... think about what we each want... maybe think up some ground rules."
"Ground rules for what?"
Both agents turned their heads to see Tony standing in the doorway to the room. The younger man grinned at them both.
"Oh, c'mon," Tony protested when neither Gibbs nor Catherine answered his question, "let me in on the big secret."
"What big secret, Baltimore?" Catherine asked as she rose to a standing position. She suddenly felt a little lightheaded. When she faltered, Gibbs reached her in two strides and supported her by cupping his hands under her elbows. "Thanks," she whispered. "Too much time on the floor."
Gibbs stayed close while Tony badgered them for information. Catherine tried to ignore the questions; she mentally scolded herself for not being more careful. Gibbs, she noted, was scowling darkly and she wondered if he was thinking something similar.
Finally, the former marine barked: "It's none of your business, DiNozzo."
Tony opened his mouth to retort but then he closed it quickly and frowned. "Are you two... I mean... um, nevermind."
Catherine rolled her eyes. "You think Gibbs and I are having some sort of secret affair?" she asked on a snort.
"Well... you are a redhead. Sort of."
She laughed. "And happily married, you idiot. I just got back from my honeymoon... and I'm having an affair already?"
Tony's brow furrowed nervously. "I didn't mean... well, after our trip to Vegas... I mean, I am the senior field agent on the team---"
"And what do you think happened, DiNozzo?"
The younger man flushed. "You guys had a different vibe when we were there. And I'm all about the 'what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,' but you guys work together and---"
"And you think we hooked up?" Catherine asked. She forced herself to smile playfully. "Baltimore," she purred as she walked towards him, "I was pretending to be Lady Heather's good lil submissive when we were in Vegas." She reached out and toyed with the buttons on his shirt with a latex-gloved hand. "Don't you remember?" she asked, batting her eyelashes at him. She enjoyed the way he sucked in a sharp breath and glanced at Gibbs. "Or... maybe you think Ziva and I were having a fling in Vegas," she added, "since she helped me with the liquid latex? What other fantasies did you whip up?"
"Um, none," he gulped.
"Oh, c'mon, Tony," she purred, pressing her body against his in just the right way to increase his heart rate. "You tell me yours, I'll tell you mine..."
Behind Tony, Gibbs smothered a chuckle. She glanced at him; he smirked and shook his head slightly. She arched an eyebrow and then returned to her gaze to Tony's flushed face.
"I... well... you've... hit on the major ones," he admitted. "Although, I do sometimes wonder about---" he paused and when he spoke again, his voice was high-pitched as he rushed through the rest of the sentence "---you and Director Shepard, together, maybe in a hot tub."
"With you, or just the two of us?" Catherine asked as her brow relaxed and her lips pouted.
"Uh... either is good," Tony managed to utter. He gulped wordlessly and then asked: "What... what about yours?"
The strawberry blonde grinned. She glanced at Gibbs, who was smiling shiftily and looking down at his feet. She returned her focus to Tony, peeking at his lips for an instant, before looking into his eyes. "Well, there is one where you're Lady Heather's toy for the day," she murmured, "I think you'd look really darling with a collar around your neck and cuffs on your wrists." She took pleasure in the way Tony's whole body shuddered. "But, you know what really makes my temperature rise?" she inquired lazily. Tony swallowed again and shook his head. "For some reason, I find the idea of you and our boss... delicious."
"Probie..."
"Gibbs, why is it alright for men to have fantasies about two women, but not for women to have fantasies about two men?" she asked, flicking her gaze back to the silver-haired man.
Gibbs smiled a little and shrugged. "Good point," he conceded.
"Good point?!" Tony whined.
"Maybe, Gibbs and I will invite you to join us someday," Catherine whispered as she teased Tony by running her hands up to either side of his neck.
Tony's voice became even more shrill. "You will?!"
Gibbs slapped his head as Catherine leaned back a little. The sharp slap made Tony wince and it seemed to bring him back to his senses.
"Of course not, DiNozzo," Gibbs barked. He sounded gruff though his eyes were dancing with mirth as he looked at Catherine. "Take Probie's stuff to the car. We'll follow you out."
Tony nodded and all but bolted from the room; he paused only for a moment, to grab Catherine's evidence.
Catherine looked at Gibbs and laughed once they were alone. He chuckled, too.
"Sorry about that," she said quietly.
Gibbs smiled and shook his head slightly. "Don't worry about it," he assured her. "It was worth it to see the look on his face. Kate bugged him, kind of put him down if she wasn't careful. Ziva can ruffle his feathers. But you pretty much give as good as he can dish out. It's good for him." He looked around for a moment, ensured that they were alone, and then said, "But, really... we both need to be a bit more careful. I was distracted."
"By me?"
"And our conversation," he agreed.
"Sorry about that," she whispered.
He smiled again at her. "Don't apologise."
"Sign of weakness."
He chuckled. "No... because you don't need to. Not for that. I was enjoying it, too."
Gibbs leaned in and kissed her cheek. Before Catherine could react, he was gone. He was following the same path Tony had taken. The scientist-turned-federal-agent sighed in amused exasperation and then followed him out of the crime scene.
AUTHOR: 38gnihsurc
RATING: en.sea.xvii overall
PAIRINGS: Gil/Catherine, Gil/Sara, Catherine/Lady Heather, Catherine/Gibbs, Lady Heather/Gibbs, Ziva/Nick, Abby/Greg
WARNINGS: GSR for a while, Lady Heather makes an appearance later (and all that that implies), etc.
DISCLAIMER: I own no one... *sigh*
DISTRIBUTION: Graveshift Archive, crimsonchampagne... Others, ask.
SPOILERS: Season 6 for CSI, Season 2-3 for NCIS
SUMMARY/NOTES: It's been a while since I've written this story, so hopefully I haven't strayed too far from the beaten path!
Previous parts 1-2, 3-4, 5, 6-7, 8-9, 10-1, 12-3, 14-5, 16-7, 18, 19-20, 21, 22, 23, 24-5, 26, 27-8, 29, 30-1, 32-3, 34-5, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45
Catherine wiped her brow and she looked out over the crime scene.
She found it hard to believe that seven hours ago, she was laughing with Gibbs and Heather. Seven hours ago, she was kissing Heather's cheeks in a good-bye gesture and then watching the brunette kiss her new, silver-haired lover. Seven hours ago, Gibbs and Catherine were dodging Tony's questions---Gibbs more effectively than Catherine.
The scene was bloody. Someone murdered a midshipman and the evidence was scattered across a two-bedroom apartment in Georgetown.
Since she was the blood-spatter expert, she felt as if she was doing more work than anyone else. Ducky had taken the body back to the autopsy department. Ziva and Timothy had gone to interview witnesses and neighbours. Tony had already taken a load of evidence back to Abby's lab and he was in the process of transporting a second load. Yet, Catherine was still taking photographs and swabs, while making notes on a layout sketch to keep track of the blood evidence. She thought about Gil in her bed, the scent of them on their pillows; she wanted to be back there and her only consolation was the fact that Gil was a part of a panel discussion on forensics that day. She minded the long day less when she knew that Gil was not at home, either.
Gibbs kneeled down next to her and picked up the clipboard she was using for her sketch. "How's it going?" he asked.
She sighed and tried not to glare at him. He gave her a small, lopsided smile and then he nudged her chin gently.
"That great, huh?"
"Oh, shuddup," she muttered in reply. He smirked. She chuckled and looked at him. "Honestly, is this ever going to end?" she asked once her small bout of laughter faded away.
"What? Murder? Crime?"
"No, this scene, you idiot," she replied, nudging his knee.
"Just as soon as you finish the blood evidence, Probie," he replied.
"Sometimes, I really don't like you," she muttered.
"Yeah, well, then there are other times when you do like me," he pointed out to her. "So, I guess it all balances out in the end."
She rolled her eyes and fought to hide a smile---and lost miserably. "Y'know, just for that, you're doing the dishes tonight," she told him. Then, she paused and added, "Of course, that revenge plan hinges on us all getting out of here by seven."
"Is your husband cooking?"
Catherine smiled and nodded. "Yeah," she told him. "His seminar or round-table discussion or whatever it is finishes around five. He said he'd get the meal started and then pick Lindsey up after dance practice."
"Lindsey will be joining us?"
The strawberry blonde smirked knowingly. "And what did you think was going to happen, Gibbs?" she asked quietly. "A group party in my living room?" When she paused, he flushed a little along his collar; she decided she liked seeing him riled. "I think that we should get together as two couples... as four friends. Heather and I... well, have our thing, I guess," she said as she flushed a little, too, "but it's a whole other thing, with... everyone. And maybe we should figure out what we want before jumping into the play room."
"Don't tell me you remodeled your home," he said in a low, rough voice.
"Not yet," she murmured. "I think I'll wait until Lindsey goes to college," she added with a grin. "Something tells me she won't like knowing what sort of a freak her mother is."
"You're not a freak," he assured her.
"Funny," Catherine commented, still grinning, "that you're the second man to tell me that today."
Gibbs smiled at her. "Tony's on his way back. If you finish soon, we'll be able to pack up and go."
"But not 'go home,'" she added under her breath as she took a few more sterile swabs out of her evidence-collecting kit.
"Not yet."
"Slave driver."
"I believe that's 'Master,' to you," he teased as he stood up.
Her chuckle covered the sound of his knees cracking. "We never really played that game together," she reminded him without looking at him. She smiled when she heard him snort, and then she craned her neck and looked up at him. "Do you let her top you?" she asked.
Catherine was pleased to see another flush of colour traveling upwards from his neck to his face. He glared at her; the look would have been effective at killing her smile if his lips hadn't been trying to twitch into a smile.
"No comment."
"Oh, come on," Catherine insisted. She returned to her work. "You know things about me that... well, things that my boss shouldn't know, anyway. And I know some things about you..." she trailed off and peeked at him. "Should I start listing them?"
"You do, and I may not be held accountable for my actions," he threatened.
Catherine smirked and continued processing the blood evidence on the hardwood floor. "What are you going to do, Jethro," she asked teasingly while picking up her camera, scooting a few inches ahead, and photographing a few blood drops, "punish me?"
"Does your husband know how much you bait other men?"
"Not other men," she corrected him. "Just you."
Gibbs snorted and then he fell silent. His phone vibrated in its position, clipped to his belt, and he stepped out into the hallway to answer it. Catherine smiled as she heard him speaking to Heather; she tuned him out, though, after a while so she could continue documenting the blood evidence. When she heard a low whistle, though, she looked up and saw Gibbs looked down at his feet with the cellular phone still pressed to the side of his head. A sheepish smile curved his lips. She smiled more and shook her head.
She had finished with that pool of blood and its directional drops. After packing those bindles and attached documents, she crouched down and moved onto the last stained area of the room. As she photographed the scene, she heard Gibbs reenter the room.
"Heather says hello," he told her casually.
"Oh, cool," Catherine replied. She put her pencil in her mouth and quickly reached for her camera. She snapped a few pictures of the blood, with the evidence markers, and then she set the camera down so she could take notes again. "What's she up to today?"
"She visited Mistress Victoria," he said in response to her question. "Apparently, they went shopping. I have to admit that the idea of them shopping together makes me a little uneasy."
Catherine stifled a laugh. "Did she tell you where they went shopping? Because if it was just to a grocery store or regular ol' shopping mall, you probably don't have to worry much."
"I'm sure Heather could find plenty in a shopping mall," he said after a chuckle.
She grinned and pulled out a few more swabs. "Yeah, probably. There's always lingerie and... shoe stores... and... belts, ties..."
"Please don't list everything," he said when she trailed off.
Catherine laughed again. Then, she said: "Do you have any extra swabs, Gibbs?"
She heard him open a velcro-sealed pocket in his jacket. A minute later, he put one hand on her shoulder and brought the swabs down in front of her. "Here," he said in a quiet voice.
"Thanks, Boss," she murmured as she took the evidence-collecting tools from him with one latex-gloved hand. When he was back against the wall, at least ten-feet away from her position, she asked, "So, what else did she have to say?"
"Not much else," he told her after clearing his throat. "She's back at my place now. She wanted to know if we were still getting together tonight. I think she's making dessert."
"I didn't know she could cook."
Gibbs told her about the meal she made last night, a smile on his face and in his voice. Catherine worked as she listened; she fell into an easy rhythm between swabbing, recording, and photographing, and by the time he finished telling her about how delicious the pasta dish was, she was almost finished with the last bit of evidence.
"Has she mastered your favourite brew yet?" Catherine asked.
"Yeah."
She laughed. "Well, you're all set, then. Just hope she doesn't collar you and order you to clean the house."
Gibbs grimaced. Catherine smiled and went back to work, wondering how far the former marine would submit to Lady Heather. She couldn't imagine Heather submitted to Gibbs, either. They were two very dominant personalities but they both seemed so happy together, even though they hadn't been involved for very long. Games of dominance and submission were a part of both of their lives, and Catherine couldn't picture them not indulging in that type of fantasy. They must have worked something out, she decided as she snapped a bindle shut.
The federal agents fell silent. Catherine continued to work; she sensed that Gibbs was watching her. If she had been single---and if they had just returned from Las Vegas---she would have teased him a little more. Her husband wasn't holding her back. Gil accepted her friendship---and brief relationship---with the silver-haired man and he enjoyed her close bond with Lady Heather. She would always love Gil and the scientist knew that. There weren't insecurities between them, days after their honeymoon. However, she was acutely aware of how complicated their situation was becoming: she was married to one man; they shared a somewhat-kinky relationship with another woman; that other woman was involved with someone she had slept with several times, and once with the other woman at the same time as well. Catherine knew they had to tread carefully until the four adults got together and actually discussed everything that had transpired amongst them.
"So, dinner?"
Catherine was in the process of putting her swabs away, into her evidence-collecting kit, when Gibbs broke the silence between them.
She replied after snapping the case shut and reaching for her clipboard of notes. "Yeah, as long as my boss will let me finish the layout analysis tomorrow morning," she said as she pivoted on her feet to face him without rising.
"You can start at zero-seven-hundred," he told her. The strawberry blonde grimaced. Gibbs smiled and shrugged. "It won't kill you---unless you have more than dinner on the menu."
She snorted. "Our lives are complicated enough right now. Maybe we should just... y'know... think about what we each want... maybe think up some ground rules."
"Ground rules for what?"
Both agents turned their heads to see Tony standing in the doorway to the room. The younger man grinned at them both.
"Oh, c'mon," Tony protested when neither Gibbs nor Catherine answered his question, "let me in on the big secret."
"What big secret, Baltimore?" Catherine asked as she rose to a standing position. She suddenly felt a little lightheaded. When she faltered, Gibbs reached her in two strides and supported her by cupping his hands under her elbows. "Thanks," she whispered. "Too much time on the floor."
Gibbs stayed close while Tony badgered them for information. Catherine tried to ignore the questions; she mentally scolded herself for not being more careful. Gibbs, she noted, was scowling darkly and she wondered if he was thinking something similar.
Finally, the former marine barked: "It's none of your business, DiNozzo."
Tony opened his mouth to retort but then he closed it quickly and frowned. "Are you two... I mean... um, nevermind."
Catherine rolled her eyes. "You think Gibbs and I are having some sort of secret affair?" she asked on a snort.
"Well... you are a redhead. Sort of."
She laughed. "And happily married, you idiot. I just got back from my honeymoon... and I'm having an affair already?"
Tony's brow furrowed nervously. "I didn't mean... well, after our trip to Vegas... I mean, I am the senior field agent on the team---"
"And what do you think happened, DiNozzo?"
The younger man flushed. "You guys had a different vibe when we were there. And I'm all about the 'what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas,' but you guys work together and---"
"And you think we hooked up?" Catherine asked. She forced herself to smile playfully. "Baltimore," she purred as she walked towards him, "I was pretending to be Lady Heather's good lil submissive when we were in Vegas." She reached out and toyed with the buttons on his shirt with a latex-gloved hand. "Don't you remember?" she asked, batting her eyelashes at him. She enjoyed the way he sucked in a sharp breath and glanced at Gibbs. "Or... maybe you think Ziva and I were having a fling in Vegas," she added, "since she helped me with the liquid latex? What other fantasies did you whip up?"
"Um, none," he gulped.
"Oh, c'mon, Tony," she purred, pressing her body against his in just the right way to increase his heart rate. "You tell me yours, I'll tell you mine..."
Behind Tony, Gibbs smothered a chuckle. She glanced at him; he smirked and shook his head slightly. She arched an eyebrow and then returned to her gaze to Tony's flushed face.
"I... well... you've... hit on the major ones," he admitted. "Although, I do sometimes wonder about---" he paused and when he spoke again, his voice was high-pitched as he rushed through the rest of the sentence "---you and Director Shepard, together, maybe in a hot tub."
"With you, or just the two of us?" Catherine asked as her brow relaxed and her lips pouted.
"Uh... either is good," Tony managed to utter. He gulped wordlessly and then asked: "What... what about yours?"
The strawberry blonde grinned. She glanced at Gibbs, who was smiling shiftily and looking down at his feet. She returned her focus to Tony, peeking at his lips for an instant, before looking into his eyes. "Well, there is one where you're Lady Heather's toy for the day," she murmured, "I think you'd look really darling with a collar around your neck and cuffs on your wrists." She took pleasure in the way Tony's whole body shuddered. "But, you know what really makes my temperature rise?" she inquired lazily. Tony swallowed again and shook his head. "For some reason, I find the idea of you and our boss... delicious."
"Probie..."
"Gibbs, why is it alright for men to have fantasies about two women, but not for women to have fantasies about two men?" she asked, flicking her gaze back to the silver-haired man.
Gibbs smiled a little and shrugged. "Good point," he conceded.
"Good point?!" Tony whined.
"Maybe, Gibbs and I will invite you to join us someday," Catherine whispered as she teased Tony by running her hands up to either side of his neck.
Tony's voice became even more shrill. "You will?!"
Gibbs slapped his head as Catherine leaned back a little. The sharp slap made Tony wince and it seemed to bring him back to his senses.
"Of course not, DiNozzo," Gibbs barked. He sounded gruff though his eyes were dancing with mirth as he looked at Catherine. "Take Probie's stuff to the car. We'll follow you out."
Tony nodded and all but bolted from the room; he paused only for a moment, to grab Catherine's evidence.
Catherine looked at Gibbs and laughed once they were alone. He chuckled, too.
"Sorry about that," she said quietly.
Gibbs smiled and shook his head slightly. "Don't worry about it," he assured her. "It was worth it to see the look on his face. Kate bugged him, kind of put him down if she wasn't careful. Ziva can ruffle his feathers. But you pretty much give as good as he can dish out. It's good for him." He looked around for a moment, ensured that they were alone, and then said, "But, really... we both need to be a bit more careful. I was distracted."
"By me?"
"And our conversation," he agreed.
"Sorry about that," she whispered.
He smiled again at her. "Don't apologise."
"Sign of weakness."
He chuckled. "No... because you don't need to. Not for that. I was enjoying it, too."
Gibbs leaned in and kissed her cheek. Before Catherine could react, he was gone. He was following the same path Tony had taken. The scientist-turned-federal-agent sighed in amused exasperation and then followed him out of the crime scene.