UPDATE
For undermistletoe, prompt: pregnancy proposal.
[Isn't This Vertigo]
NCIS. Kate, Ziva. Implied Tony/Kate. Set roughly post s5. No swears or sex or drugs. Sekrit baby. 1200 words.
"Ducky was in on it," Kate said. "And Fornell."
Thanks to tigs and circusgirl for mad beta magic. Will be available on my website soonish.
Notes and disclaimers: All characters, etc, property of large corporate entities and not me. No profit garnered ever. Please do not archive without my permission. Thanks to Tigs and J for beta super magic. Title from Kristin Hersh, bien sur.
ISN'T THIS VERTIGO
"I'm surprised you recognized me," she said. She wanted to sound intimidating but the cartoon dog singing opera from the living room was ruining the entire effect. And she wasn't even carrying, not in her own house, not when Tierney was home.
"I'm surprised you were recognizable," Ziva said. "Isn't that generally part of passing yourself off as dead?"
Kate said, "I decided against it. It was two months after, you know. I was shot."
"In the head," Ziva said. "I understood that multiple people saw the body. Saw your body. And the back of your head."
"Ducky was in on it," Kate said. "And Fornell."
"Fornell," Ziva said, her eyes narrowing. An actual reaction, Kate thought. Fornell always made an impression.
"But not me. They didn't tell me about the being dead part for days." Assholes, Kate thought. They waited until she was conscious enough to ask why no one was visiting. "I don't know how they pulled all of it off. They just told me that there was more going on than Ari. There were things they needed."
"Did you do them?" Ziva looked amused.
Kate smiled. "No."
*
Tierney tried to describe the funniest part of the cartoon dog show to Kate and Ziva. But Tierney was absolutely horrible at telling jokes. Get that from your father, Kate thought. Of course, Kate would never say that out loud. And she knew, mostly, it was because Tierney was only three years old and couldn't stop herself from cracking up as she got to the end of the story. "He buuuuuuuurped," Tierney said, between giggles. She started laughing so hard, she hid her face in Kate"s pants.
Ziva said, "Poor dog."
Tierney looked out from behind Kate's thigh. "Yeah," she said. "Right, Mommy?"
"Absolutely," Kate said. "I bet he was really embarrassed."
"Everybody burps," Tierney said.
"And everybody should say 'excuse me' afterwards, too," Kate said.
"Okay," Tierney said.
Ziva might have expected Kate to drop everything, deal with being discovered, but Ziva, Kate was pretty sure, was not a mother. "Tierney," Kate said, "it"s time for you to put out the placemats for dinner. Put out three tonight." She took Tierney's hand and showed her three fingers. Then she watched as Tierney ran to the kitchen and got three bright orange placemats from the low shelf in the pantry.
"Now I have to make dinner," Kate said. "Which is going to be soup and applesauce and broccoli and chicken strips. Not quite three stars from the Zagat guide."
Ziva just smiled and followed her into the kitchen.
*
"Thank you," Kate said, "for not saying anything to Tierney."
"It would have been hard to get a word in edgewise between Green Eggs and Horton who hears a Who," Ziva said. "I was unaware you had that sort of relationship with Tony, even the one time."
"It was just the one time," Kate said. She grimaced. "It is really obvious, isn't it?"
"The hair, the nose. He has never mentioned even the one time." Ziva put away the dishes she had just dried. "But he always did care about you. He wouldn't."
"He can be an adult," Kate said. "I thought he was going to die, he didn't. It was right before I died. We were both, we said we'd never talk about it and we didn't. I don't think we were ever really meant to be, you know, like that. More brother and sister, maybe? I didn't know until they tested me before the planned plastic surgery. They suggested I not have her, of course. It was a very strong suggestion. But Fornell gave me that look and he reminded me of Gibbs so much. I said no."
"Of course," Ziva said.
"I was thinking I wanted to ask for a nose just like Gene Tierney. And then they said, you're pregnant," Kate said. She couldn't stop herself from smiling. "I know it probably doesn't make sense to you."
"Of course it does. They took your whole life, wanted to use you as a pawn. You got a piece of your family back and told them to screw off at the same time. I think I would have done the same thing," Ziva said. "Except for having sex with Tony, I would never do that."
Kate wasn"t that convinced about the last part and she felt a stab of jealousy. Which almost made her laugh. "You know," she said, "speaking of having sex with Tony, do you know, is Paula Cassidy still --"
Ziva shook her head and looked down.
Kate said, "Oh. That sucks. Okay, no more questions for me. I don't want to know."
"Who does know? Does Ducky know you're alive, living out here in Seattle with your little DiNozzo?"
Kate said, "Her last name, like mine, is Thompson. And Ducky only knows I'm alive, they didn't let him know anything beyond that. Like where I went. Only Fornell knows everything. He was very nice about it, actually. Let me have my baby, helped set me up with this job. But he's the only one. You know, I don't think he *only* works for the FBI. I used to think I knew all the secret little organizations in the US government."
Ziva said, "So if something happens to you, what happens to her?"
"I think Fornell shows up at Tony's doorstep with a hysterical three year old. But nothing will ever happen to me," Kate said firmly. "Not again."
"You sound very confident. And yet you still work in anti-terrorism."
"I think that's what they're calling it this week. I do intelligence gathering, sifting, supervising. It's hard to describe. And you might have recognized me, but most people don"t look past the red hair. I don't, I don't interact with a lot of bad guys. I don't interact with a lot of the good guys, whoever they are."
"So you feel safe," Ziva said.
"Not particularly," Kate said. "Thanks for reminding me. But it's enough. You can't tell anyone."
"Why, at this point, are you still dead? Ari's dead," Ziva said with only a little hesitation.
"It goes deeper than Ari, apparently," Kate said. "I do, I trust Fornell when he says that. He wouldn't do that to Gibbs."
"It has been painful for him, yes," Ziva said. "Alright."
"Thank god they didn't send Tim," Kate said. "He'd say he'd keep it secret and then it would be the entire plot of the next Tibbs novel."
Ziva actually laughed. "You read those""
"Of course. I can't believe other people do," Kate said. "Oh, Timmy."
"Indeed," Ziva said. "He is fine. As is Abby and Ducky and Palmer. And Tony. And Gibbs."
"Thank you," Kate said. "I'm not supposed to check."
Ziva said, "And you don't?"
"I really don't. Fornell reminds me all the time," Kate said. All the dishes were put away, the kitchen was clean. Normally, at this point, Kate was watching Law and Order from her DVR and reading Nora Roberts until she felt comfortable going to bed and not like an old fuddy duddy. Maybe her work was exciting and dangerous and full of stupid codewords but the last time she carried a gun, she got shot in the head. She had a three year old daughter and a mortgage under her new name.
And tomorrow she'd have another message from Fornell, who would of course know somehow even before he knew for sure, telling her how if they knew she was alive and well, she"d be in great danger and they really sincerely wished it was different but it wasn't.
But she really wanted to, suddenly. And she also wondered if Tony would think she looked good with the red hair, if he was seeing anyone, and if it was this Ziva person, she wanted to note that she got there first.
And she had Tierney. Which was why if there was even a chance that Fornell was right about her being in danger, she wouldn"t do anything.
Ziva said, "I suppose Fornell knows best. He is very good at keeping secrets."
"He really is," Kate said. "You better be, too."
"I am," Ziva said. Then, like it burst out of her, "Did Ari know it was just a set-up?"
"No," Kate said. "Your brother thought he killed me and he intended to kill me."
"Good," Ziva said.
Then Tierney woke up, calling "Moooooooooommmy," in the non-urgent but could be kind of way. By the time Kate calmed her down from her dream and tucked her back in firmly under the covers, Ziva had left the house. She had even left a polite "thank you" written on a post-it on the laptop on the couch.
Two weeks later she got a package from Toronto. Not that she knew anyone in Canada or knew anyone, anywhere anymore, but something told her it wasn"t dangerous. It was magazines and a package of Tim Tams. Kate was a little disappointed until she started flipping through the magazines and saw pictures of her parents, her family, Abby in her lab laughing, McGee playing with a dog, Gibbs sipping his coffee. The second magazine had pictures of Tony.
She kept three and shredded the rest. She'd show Tierney her grandparents and her dad someday.
THE END
[Isn't This Vertigo]
NCIS. Kate, Ziva. Implied Tony/Kate. Set roughly post s5. No swears or sex or drugs. Sekrit baby. 1200 words.
"Ducky was in on it," Kate said. "And Fornell."
Thanks to tigs and circusgirl for mad beta magic. Will be available on my website soonish.
Notes and disclaimers: All characters, etc, property of large corporate entities and not me. No profit garnered ever. Please do not archive without my permission. Thanks to Tigs and J for beta super magic. Title from Kristin Hersh, bien sur.
ISN'T THIS VERTIGO
"I'm surprised you recognized me," she said. She wanted to sound intimidating but the cartoon dog singing opera from the living room was ruining the entire effect. And she wasn't even carrying, not in her own house, not when Tierney was home.
"I'm surprised you were recognizable," Ziva said. "Isn't that generally part of passing yourself off as dead?"
Kate said, "I decided against it. It was two months after, you know. I was shot."
"In the head," Ziva said. "I understood that multiple people saw the body. Saw your body. And the back of your head."
"Ducky was in on it," Kate said. "And Fornell."
"Fornell," Ziva said, her eyes narrowing. An actual reaction, Kate thought. Fornell always made an impression.
"But not me. They didn't tell me about the being dead part for days." Assholes, Kate thought. They waited until she was conscious enough to ask why no one was visiting. "I don't know how they pulled all of it off. They just told me that there was more going on than Ari. There were things they needed."
"Did you do them?" Ziva looked amused.
Kate smiled. "No."
*
Tierney tried to describe the funniest part of the cartoon dog show to Kate and Ziva. But Tierney was absolutely horrible at telling jokes. Get that from your father, Kate thought. Of course, Kate would never say that out loud. And she knew, mostly, it was because Tierney was only three years old and couldn't stop herself from cracking up as she got to the end of the story. "He buuuuuuuurped," Tierney said, between giggles. She started laughing so hard, she hid her face in Kate"s pants.
Ziva said, "Poor dog."
Tierney looked out from behind Kate's thigh. "Yeah," she said. "Right, Mommy?"
"Absolutely," Kate said. "I bet he was really embarrassed."
"Everybody burps," Tierney said.
"And everybody should say 'excuse me' afterwards, too," Kate said.
"Okay," Tierney said.
Ziva might have expected Kate to drop everything, deal with being discovered, but Ziva, Kate was pretty sure, was not a mother. "Tierney," Kate said, "it"s time for you to put out the placemats for dinner. Put out three tonight." She took Tierney's hand and showed her three fingers. Then she watched as Tierney ran to the kitchen and got three bright orange placemats from the low shelf in the pantry.
"Now I have to make dinner," Kate said. "Which is going to be soup and applesauce and broccoli and chicken strips. Not quite three stars from the Zagat guide."
Ziva just smiled and followed her into the kitchen.
*
"Thank you," Kate said, "for not saying anything to Tierney."
"It would have been hard to get a word in edgewise between Green Eggs and Horton who hears a Who," Ziva said. "I was unaware you had that sort of relationship with Tony, even the one time."
"It was just the one time," Kate said. She grimaced. "It is really obvious, isn't it?"
"The hair, the nose. He has never mentioned even the one time." Ziva put away the dishes she had just dried. "But he always did care about you. He wouldn't."
"He can be an adult," Kate said. "I thought he was going to die, he didn't. It was right before I died. We were both, we said we'd never talk about it and we didn't. I don't think we were ever really meant to be, you know, like that. More brother and sister, maybe? I didn't know until they tested me before the planned plastic surgery. They suggested I not have her, of course. It was a very strong suggestion. But Fornell gave me that look and he reminded me of Gibbs so much. I said no."
"Of course," Ziva said.
"I was thinking I wanted to ask for a nose just like Gene Tierney. And then they said, you're pregnant," Kate said. She couldn't stop herself from smiling. "I know it probably doesn't make sense to you."
"Of course it does. They took your whole life, wanted to use you as a pawn. You got a piece of your family back and told them to screw off at the same time. I think I would have done the same thing," Ziva said. "Except for having sex with Tony, I would never do that."
Kate wasn"t that convinced about the last part and she felt a stab of jealousy. Which almost made her laugh. "You know," she said, "speaking of having sex with Tony, do you know, is Paula Cassidy still --"
Ziva shook her head and looked down.
Kate said, "Oh. That sucks. Okay, no more questions for me. I don't want to know."
"Who does know? Does Ducky know you're alive, living out here in Seattle with your little DiNozzo?"
Kate said, "Her last name, like mine, is Thompson. And Ducky only knows I'm alive, they didn't let him know anything beyond that. Like where I went. Only Fornell knows everything. He was very nice about it, actually. Let me have my baby, helped set me up with this job. But he's the only one. You know, I don't think he *only* works for the FBI. I used to think I knew all the secret little organizations in the US government."
Ziva said, "So if something happens to you, what happens to her?"
"I think Fornell shows up at Tony's doorstep with a hysterical three year old. But nothing will ever happen to me," Kate said firmly. "Not again."
"You sound very confident. And yet you still work in anti-terrorism."
"I think that's what they're calling it this week. I do intelligence gathering, sifting, supervising. It's hard to describe. And you might have recognized me, but most people don"t look past the red hair. I don't, I don't interact with a lot of bad guys. I don't interact with a lot of the good guys, whoever they are."
"So you feel safe," Ziva said.
"Not particularly," Kate said. "Thanks for reminding me. But it's enough. You can't tell anyone."
"Why, at this point, are you still dead? Ari's dead," Ziva said with only a little hesitation.
"It goes deeper than Ari, apparently," Kate said. "I do, I trust Fornell when he says that. He wouldn't do that to Gibbs."
"It has been painful for him, yes," Ziva said. "Alright."
"Thank god they didn't send Tim," Kate said. "He'd say he'd keep it secret and then it would be the entire plot of the next Tibbs novel."
Ziva actually laughed. "You read those""
"Of course. I can't believe other people do," Kate said. "Oh, Timmy."
"Indeed," Ziva said. "He is fine. As is Abby and Ducky and Palmer. And Tony. And Gibbs."
"Thank you," Kate said. "I'm not supposed to check."
Ziva said, "And you don't?"
"I really don't. Fornell reminds me all the time," Kate said. All the dishes were put away, the kitchen was clean. Normally, at this point, Kate was watching Law and Order from her DVR and reading Nora Roberts until she felt comfortable going to bed and not like an old fuddy duddy. Maybe her work was exciting and dangerous and full of stupid codewords but the last time she carried a gun, she got shot in the head. She had a three year old daughter and a mortgage under her new name.
And tomorrow she'd have another message from Fornell, who would of course know somehow even before he knew for sure, telling her how if they knew she was alive and well, she"d be in great danger and they really sincerely wished it was different but it wasn't.
But she really wanted to, suddenly. And she also wondered if Tony would think she looked good with the red hair, if he was seeing anyone, and if it was this Ziva person, she wanted to note that she got there first.
And she had Tierney. Which was why if there was even a chance that Fornell was right about her being in danger, she wouldn"t do anything.
Ziva said, "I suppose Fornell knows best. He is very good at keeping secrets."
"He really is," Kate said. "You better be, too."
"I am," Ziva said. Then, like it burst out of her, "Did Ari know it was just a set-up?"
"No," Kate said. "Your brother thought he killed me and he intended to kill me."
"Good," Ziva said.
Then Tierney woke up, calling "Moooooooooommmy," in the non-urgent but could be kind of way. By the time Kate calmed her down from her dream and tucked her back in firmly under the covers, Ziva had left the house. She had even left a polite "thank you" written on a post-it on the laptop on the couch.
Two weeks later she got a package from Toronto. Not that she knew anyone in Canada or knew anyone, anywhere anymore, but something told her it wasn"t dangerous. It was magazines and a package of Tim Tams. Kate was a little disappointed until she started flipping through the magazines and saw pictures of her parents, her family, Abby in her lab laughing, McGee playing with a dog, Gibbs sipping his coffee. The second magazine had pictures of Tony.
She kept three and shredded the rest. She'd show Tierney her grandparents and her dad someday.
THE END