Returning (Chapter 17)
Title: Returning (Chapter 17)
Author: Purerose
Fandom: NCIS
Prompt: 005 Gloves
Character/Pairing: Kate/Gibbs
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1393
Summary: Kate goes for a walk and gets some advice.
Authors Notes/Disclaimer: I really wish I owned NCIS, if I did, I wouldn't be a whole series behind America!
I should also add that this is the third version of this chapter. As I keep saying at some point I will post the other versions and bits that I've written for this which didn't make it in. I think I like this version better than what I had before.
[ Chapter 1] [ Chapter 2] [ Chapter 3] [ Chapter 4] [ Chapter 5] [ Chapter 6] [ Chapter 7] [ Chapter 8] [ Chapter 9] [ Chapter 10] [ Chapter 11] [ Chapter 12] [ Chapter 13] [ Chapter 14] [ Chapter 15] [ Chapter 16]
Although he won’t admit it, Gibbs’ first week back is tiring. On the Friday night he bypasses all boat work, plays with the girls and then falls asleep on the couch with Rebel curled behind his legs. You can’t help but feel a little amused, he’ll never say as much, but he’s beginning to feel his age.
You let him sleep in on Saturday morning. After waking up insanely early yourself you collect the girls, make yourself a strong coffee and let Rebel out to water the bushes at the end of the garden. Rebel bounces around, snapping at blades of grass and generally making a fool of himself. A walk would do him good, you decide.
You leave a note for Gibbs, dress the girls, strap them into the stroller and set off for the park with Rebel leading the way. Bridget sings and chatters away while Elizabeth is more reserved, occasionally passing comment on an animal or other interesting thing around her.
At nine o’clock on a Saturday morning the park is quiet. Very few people bring their children out here this early, Saturday morning cartoons are far more inviting than a park on a chilly fall morning.
The first stop is the play park, which Rebel waits patiently outside of while you push the girls on the swings. Elizabeth sings some happy little tune which you suspect that she picked up from her father. Bridget holds her arms out and squeals each time you push her backwards. You move from one swing to the other; first Bridget then Elizabeth. It seems like an age since it was just the three of you together, it feels quiet and almost unnatural.
Bridget is the first to tire of this game. She holds up her arms and asks “out?” Like a perfectly well-trained mother you lift her out and set her on your hip while you push her twin. Maybe next week, you think, all of you could come together. You could even bring a picnic. Your plans make you smile and you’re still grinning ten minutes later as you set off around the park perimeter for Rebel’s walk.
In fact, you’re mid-way through preparing a Saturday afternoon picnic feast in your mind when a voice permeates through your thoughts, “KATE?”
Rebel has stopped and is looking in the direction from which you’ve come, ears pricked and tail wagging. Turning you see a tall male figure and for a fraction of a second you think it might be Gibbs. But this man has dark hair, is well tanned and is accompanied by a small white dog. And he’s waving something small and green at you.
“Lukas, hi.” You say when he gets close enough to eliminate the need for shouting.
He’s obviously been running and it takes him a second to compose himself and answer. “I think this belongs to you.” He holds up the green hand-shaped object. It’s a green glove. Identical to the one Bridget is wearing on her left hand. Identical, coincidentally, to the one which should be on her right hand.
“Thanks.” You take it from him and begin trying to get it back onto your daughter’s hand.
As you try to get each of Bridget’s fingers into the corresponding glove finger (somehow everything always goes pear-shaped around the middle finger) Lukas explains. “I noticed it had been dropped just after you passed me back there. At least I thought it was you. You looked like you were somewhere else completely. When you didn’t answer me I thought I’d mistaken you for someone else.” He gave a little laugh. “But Rebel seemed to recognise me.” Hearing his name, Rebel bounds over expecting a treat. Lukas gives him a quick scratch between his ears. “So these are your girls?”
You straighten. “Yeah, this is Elizabeth.” You point to your fair-haired child. “And this trouble maker is Bridget.” At her name Bridget grins, sticks a gloved finger in her mouth and begins to pull. “Well, I guess that explains the mystery of the missing glove.” You sigh.
“Are you off anywhere nice?” He tosses Toni and Rebel a small dog treat each and gives you what appears to be a nervous smile. He’s making small talk and since you never called him you guess he’s trying to figure out where he stands.
“We were just walking. We’ve had a strenuous session on the swings so now we’re going to exhaust the dog before going home for a nap. You’re welcome to join us.” You add, although you’re not entirely sure why.
For a while you continue the circuit of the park. There’s a little discussion; you mention your return to work, he mentions a new band he’s playing with. Neither of you mention the call you never made.
As much as you wish you could feel something for Lukas, you can’t. He’s charming, polite and funny. Three years ago he would have been the sort of man you could fall for hook, line and sinker. But all that has changed now. Your priorities have changed and so have you.
“I’m sorry I didn’t call.” You blurt out as you reach the entrance to the park. You spot a bench, park the girls beside it and take a seat.
Lukas smiles. “I’m sure you had a good reason.” Toni curls beneath the bench as he sits beside you.
You are silent for a minute. “No. No I didn’t really.”
“Going back to work been tough?” He asks nodding in the direction of your daughters.
“Not as bad as I would have thought. It’s good to get out of the house and the girls are making friends at daycare. No. Work is good.” You give Rebel’s nose an absent-minded scratch and Toni appears from under the bench, placing her front paws on your foot, jostling for attention.
“Would you like to talk about it?”
His question catches you off guard and you look up, a little startled. “Huh?”
Lukas laughs. “Hey, I grew up with four sisters. I know when a woman’s feeling down.”
You can’t help but smile. “It’s their father.” You tell him, unsure of why you feel the need to explain.
“Messy divorce?”
“Oh no, nothing like that.” You speak quickly. “We never married. We started seeing each other and things were getting serious… then I had to move away. We… uh… lost contact… he only found out about Elizabeth and Bridget about six months ago.”
Lukas is silent for a moment, then, “wow.”
Now that you’ve started you can’t seem to stop. “We moved back here… living with him. It’s been good for the girls but… awkward… a little… for me.” You wish you could stop but now that you’ve started it seems that you’re unable to. It feels good to get all this off your chest to someone who knows nothing about the situation.
“And it isn’t working?”
“No, it’s working well. He’s involved with the girls. We get on well… it’s just… he’s moved on.”
“You still have feelings for him?”
He’s hit the nail on the head but you don’t want to give voice to your thoughts. You shrug. “He’s seeing someone.”
“That’s not what I asked.” You expect him to repeat the question but clearly your response tells him all he needs to know. “Have you spoken to him about this?”
You shake your head. “I don’t know where to begin.”
“The fact that you’re in love with him might be a good place to begin.”
For a moment you are going to protest this statement but when you open your mouth you have no idea what to say; Lukas is completely right of course. He laughs and you join him. “Okay.” You concede, “I tell him. Then what? He’s not going to leave his girlfriend to be with me.”
Lukas checks his watch and rises. “Look, I’ve gotta go, but if this guy really wants to be with you he has some serious decisions to make.” He whistles to Toni, who pushes past Rebel to get to her owner, and fishes in his wallet for another card. “In case you ever want to talk, or walk the dogs. Whatever.” He hands you the card, flashes you a smile and then takes off with Toni.
This time you place the card straight into your bag.
Author: Purerose
Fandom: NCIS
Prompt: 005 Gloves
Character/Pairing: Kate/Gibbs
Rating: PG
Word Count: 1393
Summary: Kate goes for a walk and gets some advice.
Authors Notes/Disclaimer: I really wish I owned NCIS, if I did, I wouldn't be a whole series behind America!
I should also add that this is the third version of this chapter. As I keep saying at some point I will post the other versions and bits that I've written for this which didn't make it in. I think I like this version better than what I had before.
[ Chapter 1] [ Chapter 2] [ Chapter 3] [ Chapter 4] [ Chapter 5] [ Chapter 6] [ Chapter 7] [ Chapter 8] [ Chapter 9] [ Chapter 10] [ Chapter 11] [ Chapter 12] [ Chapter 13] [ Chapter 14] [ Chapter 15] [ Chapter 16]
Although he won’t admit it, Gibbs’ first week back is tiring. On the Friday night he bypasses all boat work, plays with the girls and then falls asleep on the couch with Rebel curled behind his legs. You can’t help but feel a little amused, he’ll never say as much, but he’s beginning to feel his age.
You let him sleep in on Saturday morning. After waking up insanely early yourself you collect the girls, make yourself a strong coffee and let Rebel out to water the bushes at the end of the garden. Rebel bounces around, snapping at blades of grass and generally making a fool of himself. A walk would do him good, you decide.
You leave a note for Gibbs, dress the girls, strap them into the stroller and set off for the park with Rebel leading the way. Bridget sings and chatters away while Elizabeth is more reserved, occasionally passing comment on an animal or other interesting thing around her.
At nine o’clock on a Saturday morning the park is quiet. Very few people bring their children out here this early, Saturday morning cartoons are far more inviting than a park on a chilly fall morning.
The first stop is the play park, which Rebel waits patiently outside of while you push the girls on the swings. Elizabeth sings some happy little tune which you suspect that she picked up from her father. Bridget holds her arms out and squeals each time you push her backwards. You move from one swing to the other; first Bridget then Elizabeth. It seems like an age since it was just the three of you together, it feels quiet and almost unnatural.
Bridget is the first to tire of this game. She holds up her arms and asks “out?” Like a perfectly well-trained mother you lift her out and set her on your hip while you push her twin. Maybe next week, you think, all of you could come together. You could even bring a picnic. Your plans make you smile and you’re still grinning ten minutes later as you set off around the park perimeter for Rebel’s walk.
In fact, you’re mid-way through preparing a Saturday afternoon picnic feast in your mind when a voice permeates through your thoughts, “KATE?”
Rebel has stopped and is looking in the direction from which you’ve come, ears pricked and tail wagging. Turning you see a tall male figure and for a fraction of a second you think it might be Gibbs. But this man has dark hair, is well tanned and is accompanied by a small white dog. And he’s waving something small and green at you.
“Lukas, hi.” You say when he gets close enough to eliminate the need for shouting.
He’s obviously been running and it takes him a second to compose himself and answer. “I think this belongs to you.” He holds up the green hand-shaped object. It’s a green glove. Identical to the one Bridget is wearing on her left hand. Identical, coincidentally, to the one which should be on her right hand.
“Thanks.” You take it from him and begin trying to get it back onto your daughter’s hand.
As you try to get each of Bridget’s fingers into the corresponding glove finger (somehow everything always goes pear-shaped around the middle finger) Lukas explains. “I noticed it had been dropped just after you passed me back there. At least I thought it was you. You looked like you were somewhere else completely. When you didn’t answer me I thought I’d mistaken you for someone else.” He gave a little laugh. “But Rebel seemed to recognise me.” Hearing his name, Rebel bounds over expecting a treat. Lukas gives him a quick scratch between his ears. “So these are your girls?”
You straighten. “Yeah, this is Elizabeth.” You point to your fair-haired child. “And this trouble maker is Bridget.” At her name Bridget grins, sticks a gloved finger in her mouth and begins to pull. “Well, I guess that explains the mystery of the missing glove.” You sigh.
“Are you off anywhere nice?” He tosses Toni and Rebel a small dog treat each and gives you what appears to be a nervous smile. He’s making small talk and since you never called him you guess he’s trying to figure out where he stands.
“We were just walking. We’ve had a strenuous session on the swings so now we’re going to exhaust the dog before going home for a nap. You’re welcome to join us.” You add, although you’re not entirely sure why.
For a while you continue the circuit of the park. There’s a little discussion; you mention your return to work, he mentions a new band he’s playing with. Neither of you mention the call you never made.
As much as you wish you could feel something for Lukas, you can’t. He’s charming, polite and funny. Three years ago he would have been the sort of man you could fall for hook, line and sinker. But all that has changed now. Your priorities have changed and so have you.
“I’m sorry I didn’t call.” You blurt out as you reach the entrance to the park. You spot a bench, park the girls beside it and take a seat.
Lukas smiles. “I’m sure you had a good reason.” Toni curls beneath the bench as he sits beside you.
You are silent for a minute. “No. No I didn’t really.”
“Going back to work been tough?” He asks nodding in the direction of your daughters.
“Not as bad as I would have thought. It’s good to get out of the house and the girls are making friends at daycare. No. Work is good.” You give Rebel’s nose an absent-minded scratch and Toni appears from under the bench, placing her front paws on your foot, jostling for attention.
“Would you like to talk about it?”
His question catches you off guard and you look up, a little startled. “Huh?”
Lukas laughs. “Hey, I grew up with four sisters. I know when a woman’s feeling down.”
You can’t help but smile. “It’s their father.” You tell him, unsure of why you feel the need to explain.
“Messy divorce?”
“Oh no, nothing like that.” You speak quickly. “We never married. We started seeing each other and things were getting serious… then I had to move away. We… uh… lost contact… he only found out about Elizabeth and Bridget about six months ago.”
Lukas is silent for a moment, then, “wow.”
Now that you’ve started you can’t seem to stop. “We moved back here… living with him. It’s been good for the girls but… awkward… a little… for me.” You wish you could stop but now that you’ve started it seems that you’re unable to. It feels good to get all this off your chest to someone who knows nothing about the situation.
“And it isn’t working?”
“No, it’s working well. He’s involved with the girls. We get on well… it’s just… he’s moved on.”
“You still have feelings for him?”
He’s hit the nail on the head but you don’t want to give voice to your thoughts. You shrug. “He’s seeing someone.”
“That’s not what I asked.” You expect him to repeat the question but clearly your response tells him all he needs to know. “Have you spoken to him about this?”
You shake your head. “I don’t know where to begin.”
“The fact that you’re in love with him might be a good place to begin.”
For a moment you are going to protest this statement but when you open your mouth you have no idea what to say; Lukas is completely right of course. He laughs and you join him. “Okay.” You concede, “I tell him. Then what? He’s not going to leave his girlfriend to be with me.”
Lukas checks his watch and rises. “Look, I’ve gotta go, but if this guy really wants to be with you he has some serious decisions to make.” He whistles to Toni, who pushes past Rebel to get to her owner, and fishes in his wallet for another card. “In case you ever want to talk, or walk the dogs. Whatever.” He hands you the card, flashes you a smile and then takes off with Toni.
This time you place the card straight into your bag.