As she parked her car close to her building, Kate couldn't help but think about Gibbs and his reaction to the phone call.
He was obviously jealous and, actually, he had every right to be.
But she decided she wouldn't see him again before she had a real conversation with Mark. She'd already gone too far, it wasn't like her to betray people's trust and he deserved a better treatment. Actually, they both deserved a better treatment and she had to clarify the situation.
As she saw her fiancé's car parked next to hers, she realized she would have to confront him earlier than expected. But maybe it was better like that.
She took a deep breath and climbed up the stairs.
As she arrived on the third floor, she slowly opened her door and noticed his tall figure sat on her couch, nervously travelling through the numerous channels on her TV.
" Good morning." She called softly.
He slowly got up and walked toward her to deliver her a very chaste kiss. She barely felt it but the smaller gesture of affection felt now like the worst sin and the biggest lie she'd ever told.
" Morning… honey." He replied sceptically.
He knew, right ? He seemed to question her with his eyes, he obviously wanted an answer from her and she didn't even know the question.
She gradually felt more and more uncomfortable in her own apartment. Damn, did he know ?
" Where were you Kate ? I came back earlier than I expected from New York, I was here at 2 a.m. and you weren't there. Now, you're here and you barely look me in the eye ! What's up Kate ?"
" Mark… we need to talk."
***********************
" Hey Kate, where's your ring ?"
Abby's sudden question was quickly replaced by an awkward silence in the Goth's lab and four pairs of eyes fell on the female agent.
Her conversation with Mark had been long and painful, he had obviously been really hurt and she'd felt like the most horrible person in the world.
She hadn't wanted to reveal to him who the mysterious man was but he had seemed to already know.
He had seen the tension between Gibbs and Kate during the time he worked with them and quickly understood that there was more.
Maybe it was the why reason he proposed so quickly to her, afraid he would lose her again.
He'd left at the end of the afternoon, her ring in his pocket, bitterly wishing her a happy life and she had spent the rest of the day crying on her couch after having make another man suffer.
When she'd arrived this morning, Gibbs had simply avoided her as much as possible, making sure he was always far from his desk and hers the whole morning and had drunk his daily amount of caffeine in two hours.
Apparently he didn't want to deal with her at all and had done quite a good job at that until Abby had called them all in her lab for a lead on the case they were working on and he hadn't had a choice.
But as he's entered the elevator with Tony, McGee and her, he'd made sure she was as far as possible from him.
She was hurt, of course, by his attitude, or lack of, toward her but could she really blame him for that ?
Coming back to the present, she realized that everyone was still watching her, patiently waiting for an answer.
" Well… Mark and I… we… broke up, yesterday." She nervously announced, raising her head towards Gibbs and staring at him in an attempt to gauge his reaction.
His expression was softer than his usual one, with a hint of hope but most of all, she could perceive a complete incredulity and a real surprise.
It seemed that he hadn't expected that and didn't know what to do with the news.
" I'm sorry Kate, you okay ?"
Locking eyes with Gibbs, she replied to Tony's compassionate question.
" I'm fine, don't worry about that."
Abby's arm snaking around her shoulders and her wet kiss on her left cheek suddenly subconsciously broke the spell between Gibbs and her and a small smile on her face she slowly turned her head toward her friend.
" Thanks Abbs !"
" Abbs, the prints ?"
" Ummm… ? Oh sure Gibbs."
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