Disclaimer: The characters belong to the creators of NCIS, CBS, and Paramount. Lucky them.

Author's Note: I don't know about Gibbs's family. So let's assume that his mother is still alive.

I based the small Italian restaurant after one of my family's favorite places to go in Florida. Getano does really call women "Bellas" which I always thought was really cute.

Devorah Townsley sat alone in her kitchen as others passed by. She was moving through the day as a robot. If someone offered her a glass of water, she drank it. If someone handed her a tissue, she wiped the tears from her eyes. Those were the minor tasks she could complete today. But when it came to picking up her children from school or making dinner for the guests who had come to sympathize with her, Devorah just couldn't handle it.

Her girlfriends from around the neighborhood had pitched in to help her once they heard the news. Cynthia from across the street had gone to pick up the kids from school; Michelle from down the street was planning to keep the kids overnight so Devorah could have some time alone. But Joanie from next door had been the biggest help of all. She had arrived just after Devorah had heard the news. She had handled everything during the day and was in the midst of making some pasta for dinner for Devorah when the doorbell rang.

Devorah looked at the door then turned back to Joanie silently asking her to handle it. So Joanie wiped her hands on a towel and moved to open the door. The door swung open.

Joanie stood there and looked Kate and Gibbs. "Can I help you?"

Gibbs held up his badge for Joanie to see. "NCIS Ma'am. I'm Special Agent Gibbs, this is Special Agent Caitlyn Todd from the Secret Service."

Joanie briefly glanced at Kate's credentials before she returned her attention to Gibbs. "I suppose you need to talk to Devorah. Come on inside." Joanie opened the door wide enough for both Kate and Gibbs to enter the house. "Can I take your coats for you or get you something to drink?"

Gibbs and Kate both shook their heads so Joanie continued into the living room. "Why don't you take a seat? I'll just grab Devorah for you."

Kate and Gibbs both took a moment to walk around the room. It was a fairly large space, very clean, with lots of windows that would provide excellent light during the day. There was a piano in the corner of the room and family photos on the fire mantel and also on the side lamp tables.

Kate smiled while looking down at one of the photos of the family together. They were sitting outside on the beach, by sand dunes. They all looked very happy and content to be with each other.

"That was two years ago. We went to Florida for vacation. The kids loved the water and Richard spent two days trying to teach the kids to body surf. They were like fish."

Kate looked up surprised at Devorah. "It's a very nice photo."

Devorah took the frame from Kate's hands and looked down at it. "Thank you. It was one of Richard's favorites. He had the same one on his desk at work. He always showed it off when we had visitors over." Devorah placed the photo back down on the side table. "Well, why don't you both have a seat? Can I get you anything?"

Kate and Gibbs sat down on the sofa as Devorah sat down in the sofa chair. "No Ma'am. Is this a bad time? We can come back."

"No this is fine. I'd just assume get this out of the way. I take it your presence here is routine since Richard died of natural causes."

Kate glanced over at Gibbs quickly before answering. "We just have a few questions we would like to ask you."

Devorah nodded. "That's fine."

Gibbs started off the questions. "What can you tell me about your marriage to Chief Townsley."

Devorah smiled. "I met Richard when I was a student at college. He was a charmer and I fell for it then and I even after 23 years I still fell for it. He had a smile like you wouldn't believe."

"Did you fight at all?"

"Often. Most marriages have their arguments. I certainly didn't think any of them were serious. Most of them were about superficial things. He was always really messy and lately he hadn't been keeping up with his chores. I guess I was too hard on him. I know he has his job and his own worries there, but after running the kids around all day I hated coming and picking up after him." Devorah looked out the window over the yard, "I was probably too hard on him. I had definitive ideas about married life should be and it was much more of a challenge that I had expected."

Kate leaned forward. "How so?"

"I suppose I wanted something out of the movies. It was like that for the most part. He spent all of his time here with the kids and me. But as his career grew, we grew apart. I hated it but I eventually learned to accept it. We were still in love but lately he seemed more withdrawn and distant."

"Do you think that was because of his work?"

"I don't know. After his appointment to the White House I never knew what projects he was working on. He was very strict about confidential materials. I do know that is was stressful for him lately. He worked a lot of late nights."

Gibbs took over. "When was the last time you saw your husband?"

"This morning around 8:15. We were both running late and got into a fight about the dishwasher. It was his turn to empty it and he hadn't gotten to it yet. I wish I could have taken that back."

"What was his normal morning routine?"

"We'd wake up together, I'd get the kids ready while he got ready for work. I always made breakfast and his cup of coffee that went with him to the office."

Gibbs stood and walked over to the window as Devorah finished. "That is a nice garden you have out there Mrs. Townsley."

"Thank you. I work hard on it." She paused for a moment. "Agent Gibbs. Do you suspect my husband was murdered?"

Gibbs continued to stare out the window so Kate responded. "Do you think he was?"

"I don't think so. I can't imagine that anyone who want to hurt him."

"We should probably get the names of some of your neighbors. Those that were closest to him."

"Sure. Joanie and Mark were the closest. As well as Peter across the street. Peter, Mark and Richard had a poker club with some of the other neighbors. They would meet up about once a week for a game. Normally on Fridays."

"Would you and the other wives get together during the games?"

"No. At first I tried to organize something but the girls were so social they normally had other things going on. Soon I just stopped trying. I took the time to relax, watch a movie or something. Sometimes the kids and I would go out to dinner."

Gibbs turned around to look at Devorah. "Where was the poker game?"

"Down the street. Carl would normally host as Betty is the best cook in town."

"We're going to need the names of all the members of the poker club."

"Sure." Devorah called into the kitchen, "Joanie!"

Joanie came around the corner, fairly quickly Kate noted. "Hey."

"Can you bring me a pen and some paper? I need to write down some information for Agent Gibbs here."

"Sure." Joanie disappeared for a moment then brought the pen and paper to Devorah. While Devorah wrote down the information Gibbs asked for, Joanie turned to Gibbs and Kate. "I just finished dinner, would you like some for the road?"

"I could use some water actually." Kate moved towards where she suspected the kitchen was. "Could you point me in the right direction?"

"Sure. Why don't you just follow me." Kate turned her head and shot Gibbs a smile before she moved to follow Joanie into the kitchen.

"So you and your husband, Mark was it? Joanie nodded. "Must be close with the Townsley's"

"Yeah we are. We've been neighbors for years."

"It must be nice. I barely speak with any of my neighbors. My next-door neighbor has a million cats running around. It's almost something out of movie, like 100 Dalmatians only with cats."

"Well, it's a pretty close community here. We have lots of neighborhood activities for the kids and some parties as well. Plus a lot of the women are military wives and it's just easier to talk about it with people who understand."

"Your husband is also military then?"

"Yes. He's currently working out of the Pentagon. Do you mind if I ask what a Secret Service agent is doing here?"

"Well, since Chief Townsley died inside the White House, we'll keep our eye on the investigation until an attack on the President is ruled out."

"You think Richard's death was an attack?"

"No. It's just routine. There hasn't been anything to suggest Chief Townsley's death was anything but natural." Kate watched Joanie closely as she lied to her. She was a little disappointed to not see any change in posture or eye movement to signify that Joanie knew more than she was saying.

Kate put her glass down on the table and felt around her pockets as Joanie turned to dish out the salad. "Listen, you wouldn't have a cigarette on you would you? I must have run out this morning."

Joanie turned to look back at Kate. "I don't but it wouldn't matter. Devorah would kill you for smoking inside the house."

"Really? She made Richard smoke outside?"

"Richard didn't smoke. His father died of lung cancer at a young age and Richard always said he would never do that to his kids." Joanie turned back to continue serving. "What made you think he was a smoker?"

Kate brushed off the question. "You know I just assume. Bad habit."

Joanie nodded her head suspiciously as Kate downed the rest of her water. She was just about to excuse herself back into the living room when she heard Gibbs call her name.

"Be right there." Kate moved to the sink and rinsed out her glass. "It was nice meeting you."

Joanie wiped her hands off on a towel and shook Kate's hand. "Nice to meet you too."

Kate moved into the living room and said her goodbyes to Devorah. She and Gibbs were about to make a step outside when the door swung open. A middle-aged gentleman stopped in the door and stared at Gibbs. "Who are you?"

Devorah moved to hug the man in the doorway. "Mark. This is Agent Gibbs of NCIS and Agent Todd from the Secret Service. They just wanted to ask me a few questions."

Mark moved to shake each of their hands. "Right. It's nice to meet you. I take it you're leaving?" At Kate's nod, "I'll walk to your car." Mark moved aside so Kate and Gibbs could pass him. "Make sure that Joanie saves me some of her pasta."

Kate waved slightly to Devorah as she responded to Mark. "I will. Thank you Agent Gibbs, Agent Todd. I'll call you if I think anything else will come in handy."

Gibbs nodded his thanks as Devorah shut the door. Once it was fully closed he turned his attention to Mark who was speaking quietly to Kate. "I assume you're presence here means there is more to Richard's death then appears."

"Yes. We think it is possible that Richard was poisoned."

"Poisoned? I can't imagine anyone wanting to do that."

"Did you know about the project he was working on at the White House?"

"Sure I did. I was his counterpart at the Pentagon. We worked together on it for months before it became an isolated project for him. He had the computer knowledge I didn't and so I was moved onto a different project. I always suspected it was because our bosses thought I was slowing the work down."

"Do you know of anyone else who was removed from the project?"

"No. There weren't many people in on it to begin with."

Kate spoke up this time. "We understand you and Chief Townsley were members of a poker club?"

Mark laughed. "Yes. We would get together every once in awhile for some laughs. Money never changed hands though. Our wives wouldn't have approved of that. Listen I should really get inside."

Gibbs pulled his card out of his wallet and handed it to Mark. "If you think of anything that might be relevant, please let us know."

"I will. Take care." Mark turned on his heel and walked to the door. He watched as Kate and Gibbs climbed in the car and drove away.

"So. What did you get out of that?"

It had been a few minutes since they had pulled out of the Townsley's driveway and back onto the highway before Gibbs spoke. Kate had been silently running over the events of the past hour in her head. "Well Richard Townsley was no smoker. Joanie made it very clear that he would never considered smoking enough to have the damage to his lungs that he did. His wife seemed very honest and open but not overly emotional. Perhaps too calm considering the love she wanted us to think she had for her husband."

Gibbs nodded. "When we get the tox screen back from Abby it will help us narrow down a list of suspects."

"I think that both Joanie and Mark should be on our short list. Mark could have been angry about being removed from their project and something is off about Joanie. She was definitely eavesdropping in from the kitchen while we talked to Devorah."

'She could have just been curious."

"No. Something tells me it is more than that."

They rode on in silence for a moment until Gibbs cell phone rang sharply filling the car with noise. He opened the flap and answered, "Gibbs."

Kate couldn't hear the other end of the conversation so she turned her head to look out the window. The sun was setting in the distance and the rocking of the car was very relaxing. She was about the close her eyes when Gibbs hung up.

"That was Abby. She said the test results won't be ready until the morning." Gibbs hesitated, not sure if he should say what was on his mind, but when Kate looked over at him he knew he had to. "Did you want to grab dinner before going home?" At Kate's pause he continued, "You know just to go over the case."

Kate smiled to herself. She turned to look back out the window and didn't dare turn to look at Gibbs for fear he would see the blush creeping onto her skin. Was he asking her out on a date? Maybe it wasn't a date but it was still an opportunity to eat dinner alone with Gibbs, which was more than she could have asked for. "Sure. I am a little hungry."

Kate finally turned to look at Gibbs and saw him smiling at her. "How do you feel about Italian?"

"Italian's good."

Gibbs moved the car into the left lane and made a quick u-turn. "I know just the place to go."

Gibbs held the door open for Kate and ushered her inside the restaurant. Getano, a small, older Italian man, met them at the front door. "Signor Jethro! How lovely to see you again" Gibbs shook Getano's hand. "It has been too long since we have seen you. Maria has missed you." Getano turned his attention to Kate. "And look here you have brought yourself a beautiful date." Getano took Kate's hand and gave it a small kiss. "Bella, it's nice to see you. Come this way, I have just the table for you."

Getano kept his hold of Kate's hand as he led her through the restaurant. As Kate slid into the chair, Getano picked up her napkin and laid it on her lap. Then turned to Gibbs. "I have saved your favorite bottle for you. I'll have Tony come right out." Getano smiled over at Kate before he walked away.

Kate took a quick glance around the table. "He didn't leave us any menus."

Gibbs smiled as Getano returned with a bottle of wine. "There isn't one."

Kate shot Gibbs a look before turning her attention to Getano who had started to speak. "Signor always asks for this particular wine so I keep some bottles on hand." He poured Kate some wine then turned to pour for Gibbs. "What would you like to start with. I can make the nice crab for the Signorina."

Gibbs nodded. "I think we'd like some of the potatoes and some eggplant as well."

"Wonderful. Wonderful." Getano flagged down the younger man passing by the table. "Tony! It's Signor Gibbs. Say hello."

Tony walked over to the table. "Sir. Wonderful to see you again." He turned to Kate. "And who is this?"

Gibbs introduced Kate to Tony. "This is Caitlyn Todd. Kate, this is Tony, Getano and Maria's son."

Kate stretched out her hand to shake Tony's. "It's nice to meet you."

"You as well." Tony turned to Gibbs. "I'll be back with the salad and bread." Getano and Tony hurried off to attend to other customers. For a weeknight, the restaurant was bustling with business.

Gibbs lifted up his wine glass and held it out to Kate. "Here's to good company."

Kate smiled over at Gibbs. "Here here." They clinked their glasses together and took a small sip. "So is this your typical first date spot?"

"Nope."

"No?"

"I've only brought one other woman here before."

"Really?"

"Um hm. I came here for the first time with my mother. She met Maria, Getano's wife and the cook here in the supermarket. I loved the atmosphere here so I have been coming back for almost 5 years.

"I see." Kate blushed at happiness to think that she had been let into his life in this way. It wasn't much, but you could tell this place was special and she was thrilled he had introduced her to it. "It nice to have a small place like this where they consider you family."

Gibbs nodded in agreement with Kate and took another sip of wine. "I have to admit at first I was bit skeptical when my mother explained to me. But Maria does a wonderful job and I can't imagine it without her."

"How does the no menu thing work?"

"Well, Getano or Tony will bring around a cart full of fresh cuts of meat and they show you what they can do. As he likes to say 'I'll cook it for you, anyway you want it.'"

Kate and Gibbs laughed together at Gibbs's impression of Getano just as their first course arrived. One by one, Getano placed a few dishes on the table. He moved his hands over each plate as he explained them to Kate. "This Signorina is the stuffed eggplant, the potatoes, some salad and bread for you and Signor's favorite. Crab with amaretto sauce. Enjoy."

Kate's mouth watered at the sight in front of her. Everything looked delicious. Gibbs picked up her plate and started dishing out a little bit of everything. "Well what do you recommend I try first?"

"My favorite." Gibbs used a fork and pointed to the pink pile of meat on her plate. "It's a cream sauce with a light kick of amaretto."

Kate placed her fork in her mouth and sighed. This was truly one of the best things she had ever tasted in her life. The crab melted in her mouth and she closed her eyes briefly.

Gibbs grinned madly as he watched her. He truthfully hadn't brought anyone else but Lauren here and she hadn't taken to the lack of menu well. You had to trust Getano to know what you would like and Lauren was never big on trust. Gibbs had a feeling that Kate would enjoy the atmosphere here and was glad he had taken the chance. Just the look on her face as she savored the taste. His eyes were drawn to her lips and it was all he could do to not jump over the table and kiss her.

Kate opened her eyes to see Gibbs watching her closely. His eyes were darting back and forth between her eyes and her lips. Since she had his interest, she picked up another bite with her fork and placed it in her mouth. She looked him in the eye as she ate slowly. She had never tried to flirt by eating and hoped against hope she was making a fool out of herself.

Gibbs swallowed hard. He knew Kate had caught him staring and she was making him pay for it. He tried to concentrate on his own food but when her tongue just slightly ran over her lips, he ended up gripping his napkin in order to keep his hands to himself. Soon the food was gone, being washed away with their second glass of wine. It was then that Getano reappeared with a cart.

"Did you enjoy Signorina?"

Kate nodded. "That was wonderful. Thank you."

Tony started to remove their dishes from the table and brought out clean plates. Getano moved his cart so all the meat was right next to Kate. "Now for dinner, I have a lovely veal cut tonight, also some mussels, clams, lobster." As he went though all the food, he would pull out different meat cuts to show them. Kate laughed at Gibbs face, when Getano shoved a 2-½ lobster at him. Kate ended up ordering a seafood melody over pasta with the same amaretto sauce used in the crab and Gibbs ordered the same but with a red marinara sauce.

Time passed easily for both of them as they slipped into easy conversation. They talked about the simple things, their favorites movies, and favorite music. They stayed away from politics and current events, choosing to enjoy each other on a basic level. It was after their meal was over and the other patrons left the restaurant that Gibbs finally asked Kate what he had been meaning to all night.

"Do you like boats?"

Kate looked up at the question. "You mean sail boats?"

"Yeah."

"I don't think I've ever really been. I love the water though."

"Well she isn't actually built yet."

"You're building her?"

"In my basement."

Kate paused to consider this new information. She didn't know why but this bit of information seemed much more important that the others, like there was a lot riding on the way she handled this line of conversation. "How are you planning on getting her out?" Gibbs just shrugged his shoulders so Kate continued. "Well I've never worked on a boat before so I guess you'll just have to show me how to sometime."

Gibbs smiled at her and Kate knew whatever test or hesitation was there before was gone now. Gibbs shared Kate stories about his cabin in the woods and his summers spent there as a kid.

"I can see that." Kate leaned forward in her chair and picked up her glass of wine. "I can see you on the lake, fishing or just relaxing on the porch." She took a sip before continuing, "How often do you go there?"

"Only a few times a year. Not nearly as much as I'd like to."

"You seem to really enjoy nature."

Gibbs put both of his palms on the table and reached for Kate's across the way. Her hand felt smooth against his textured and rough skin. He rubbs in the inside of her palm and looked into her eyes. "It's about using your own hands to make something. With the boat, my body can feel the work that goes into each plank of wood. At the cabin my hands catch dinner and make breakfast. It's the best satisfaction you could get anywhere."

Kate watched as Gibbs continued to run his fingers over her palm. A chill went up her spine as she imagined what those hands would feel like over different parts of her body. Immediately her face flushed and she looked away from him.

Gibbs sensed Kate was pulling away so he released her hand and reached for his wallet. He laid a few bills on the table and stood up. "I guess we should move along. Let Getano get some sleep."

Kate nodded and grabbed her purse. As they walked out of the restaurant, Kate grabbed Gibbs hand and held on to it as they made their way out to his car. They drove back to NCIS in silence.

When they arrived at NCIS, Gibbs pulled his car right up next to hers. He cut the engine then ran around to her door to open it for her. Kate thanked him quietly and turned to open her own car door. She threw her purse into the passenger seat and was about to settle into her seat when Gibbs stopped her. She turned to look at him, resting her back against the side of the car.

She watched as Gibbs struggled to say what he wanted to say. His lips opened and closed for what seemed like an eternity. Gibbs finally looked her in the eye. "I'm much older than you."

Kate took Gibbs's hand in her own. "I don't have a problem with you being older." She smiled shyly at Gibbs as she continued. "But I do have to ask. What was it like growing up in the depression and when exactly did your military career end, Revolutionary War or Civil?"

Gibbs laughed out loud and moved to brush aside a piece of hair that had been blown into Kate's face. He watched as her mouth formed all the words she was saying to tease him about his age but he couldn't pay attention to what they were exactly. If she was ok with the age difference then that left only one more thing to do. Without thinking about it he leaned his head into hers and their lips brushed.

"…Gibbs"

Saying his name had turned an innocent touch of the lips into a full on kiss. Soon neither of them could stop. Hands were moving everywhere as they tried to breathe life into each other. This was a kiss that spoke of deep affection along with a controlled passion. Was this what they had been missing for that full year?

Gibbs shivered with pleasure as he felt Kate's mouth open wider to accommodate him. All rational thoughts flew out of his head and every part of his brain filled with thoughts of Kate. This was just perfect; they were perfect.

Kate knew that is she was ever granted the chance to remain in one moment forever this would be the moment she would choose. The kiss was slow and gentle, but demanding. When Gibbs broke off the kiss they were both left standing breathless.

However when his eyes met hers, she had looked up at him with such trust in her eyes that he kissed her again. The second kiss, like the first was filled with such tenderness that it warmed their whole bodies down to their toes.

When they finally broke away from each other, both of their faces were flush with warmth. Gibbs was reluctant to see Kate move away from him so they stood there together holding hands, their foreheads pressed against each other's.

Kate was the first to move away. "I should go and write up a report for the Chairman."

Gibbs took a step back from her. "Yeah. I guess I'll see you in the morning?"

Kate nodded and climbed into her car. "Thank you for dinner. I had a great time."

"Me too." Gibbs stood off to the side as she shut her door and started her car. Kate rolled down the window and called good night to him as she drove out of the parking lot. Gibbs watched her car until she made a turn and was out of sight.

He would deny it if anyone ever asked him, but Special Agent Jethro Gibbs skipped to his car that night and hummed all the way home.

Sorry that took so long! I hope it was worth the wait for you guys.

Please review if you have time!