Who Knew? (5 of ?)
Title: Who Knew?
Fandom: NCIS
Genre: Romance/Friendship/Adventure
Rating: PG-13, T
Pairing: Kate/Tony, Abby/McGee, Jenny/Gibbs, Ziva/OC
Spoilers: Seasons 1 & 2 in particular. Season 3 sparingly.
Warnings: AUness, Babyfic
Summery: Kate has alot of adjusting to do. This includes a loss of a friend, a new relationship, a new team member, and a few other life changing events
Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four
A/N: Since I’m starting this just as news is coming out that Natasha Richardson has died, I’m going to dedicate this chapter to her. And naming Mrs. Todd Natasha.
This is one of those chapters that kinda bides the time, but I hope you enjoy. Some of the parts in this chapter will be dealt with more in later chapters (specifically Tasha's reaction to Kate/Tony and her new grandchild).
Also, updates may slow down after this because I really should be focusing on my homework, and get too distracted by writing this. Not that I'm going to stop. You just might see a little bit of time between these updates instead of one chapter a day.
Chapter 5
Kate woke up to find she alone in bed. It was mid-morning, so she had slept in, but she wasn’t surprised. One of the few symptoms of her pregnancy that she was showing was fatigue and she and Tony had not been early to sleep last night. She smiled, still half asleep as she remembered how they spent the night.
Maybe she could convince Gibbs to give them both the weekend off if they caught Ari today.
She sat up in bed and looked around the room. The blinds were still closed around the glass doors that connected to the back porch. The bags were gone, but she could see one the dresser drawers slightly open so she assumed Tony put them away when he woke up. She got out of bed and grabbed a pair of clean clothes before making her way to the shower.
After she was finished she walked back into the bedroom and noticed a note on the nightstand on Tony’s side of the bed.
Before she got to reading it, her cell phone started to ring.
She crawled over the bed to get to her phone and saw her mom’s name on the caller ID.
“Hi Mom”.
“Darling! Thank god you are alright. Did you think it was too much to call your mother and let her know that?” Kate blinked at her mother’s tirade.
“What are you talking about?”
“How about the fact that they showed a report on CNN about NCIS officers being shot by a terrorist.” There was a flight call in the background. “Then they don’t announce which officer it is. So after your poor mother has an hour of terror about her baby girl being shot to death on top of a roof, I get someone to tell me it wasn’t you. But do I hear from you? NO.”
“Sorry, Mom. Things have been crazy lately.”
“Well, you could at least come pick me up.”
“What?”
“I’m at Dulles. I thought I’d come a week early and spend two weeks with you.” Kate flopped back on the bed. So much for a planned vacation with her boyfriend.”
“I’m in protective custody mom. I can’t pick you up.”
“What?” Suddenly her mother’s tone changed.
“The agent that was shot looked just like me so they have me hidden away so they can catch the guy without worrying about me.”
“Could they find you on the phone? I know on all those CSI shows they can triangle something and get a location of someone using a cell phone.”
“They’d have to have found your phone, mom. I think you’re good. How about I get someone to pick you up and take you to NCIS. Then someone there can bring you where I am. “
~*~
After arranging for McGee to pick up her mother, Kate made her way into the kitchen. Ben was gone, but Amy still sat at the island on a tall bar stool looking through a magazine. Beside her sat a pile of magazines.
“I decided since you have nothing to do but wait, we can start shopping for the baby.”
“I don’t even know what gender the baby is.”
“That’s ok. There are a lot of things that are uni-gender.” Kate stared at her for a second. “Plus it helps bring home the fact you’re going to be a mom.”
“You sound like you have done this before.” Amy smiled, but it was a sad one.
“I have. Ben and I were going to have a baby last year.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thank you. You know how we said we understood the need to stand by someone you love no matter what? Well, that was Ben. He stayed with me even though they told him to go home or that it was hopeless.
“Hopeless?”
“My pregnancy was etopic. I nearly bled to death internally. IT was really touch and go for awhile.” Amy smiled again and decided to change the subject. “So, which would you prefer: Boy or Girl?”
Kate smiled in response and allowed Amy her change in conversation. She could understand the need to tell someone without actually talking about it. Hell, she couldn’t even explain her actions when Tony had the plague, she couldn’t imagine telling someone about losing a baby and quite possibly one’s life in the process.
“I’m not sure.”
“Close your eyes and try to imagine them.” Kate did as she was told and tried to imagine what her and Tony’s daughter or son would look like.
The firs t image that came to her mind was a little girl, about 3 years old. Eyes and face that came from her, but with Tony’s hair color. The hair was curly and fell in waves like she had seen in the one picture of his mother. Tony’s smile.
When she imagined a baby boy, it was almost entirely Tony, but with her darker hair.
She honestly didn’t care what gender the baby was. It was the old cliché, as long as it’s healthy. She didn’t think Tony would care either way. A boy he could play sports with and if it were a little girl, she’d have him wrapped around her finger in seconds.
The girl was easier to imagine. So when she opened her eyes and said a girl they looked for things if the baby was a girl. They circled several things in the magazine and passed the hours looking through the big stack of magazines and catalogs that Amy had got a hold of.
She knew it was partially to pass the time, and part to get her mind off the fact that a man was trying to mess with Gibbs by trying to kill his team, which was his family. She in particular, but that was just his side obsession.
She hadn’t realized how much she would need for a baby. One of the magazines had a checklist for first time mothers and she was shocked at the list of items she would need. She definitely wouldn’t be buying any new designer purse for a while.
Her mother hadn’t arrived by the time dinner time had arrived, and neither had Tony or Ben. Both women started to worry about the locations of the three.
Ben fortunately came in shortly after seven. And shortly thereafter her mother called.
“Darling, you would never believe the day I have had!” Natasha started as soon as Kate said hello. “And you were being most under descriptive of the men you work with. You never said you worked with so many good looking men.”
“Mom, most of them are either married or too young for you.”
“I wouldn’t know about that dear. Marrying younger men is starting to be trendy now. Your Anthony is yummy.”
“MOTHER!” She could hear her mother’s laugh over the line and something sounding like someone coughing after drinking coffee. The sputtering sounded familiar. “You will not be going after Tony.”
“Of course not dear. If Mr. McGee here is to be believed, you already hold a claim.” The sputtering continued and claims from McGee of innocence. “Besides, I am much more interested in Jethro. You may keep Mr. DiNozzo for yourself.”
“Who told you Tony and I were together?”
“Oh, please. No one had to tell me, dear. I could tell by the way you talked about him when you called home. I haven’t had the pleasure of much time in his company but the way he said your name did have a tone of voice of a close friend. So either you are together or are about to. It was the same way with Calleigh and Vincent.”
“Call and Vinny are divorced, Mom.”
“Stupid decision I think. It’s clear they are in love with each other. People make things so complicated these days. I swear, if your father and I had gotten married today, we’d have divorced. Have a fight, have a really bad bump, you get divorced. No one sticks it out anymore. Its too easy just to give in and separate.
Not wanting to hear a lecture on her sister’s failed marriage, Kate decided it was time to change the topic.
“Mom, I’m pregnant.” Silence.
“Love, if you wanted to change the subject you could just have said so,” Tasha said after a pause. “No need to make an outrageous claim.”
“Its not outrageous.” Oh, how Tony would find that choice of words humorous. “In about 7 months you are going to have another grandchild.”
“You got married without me there?”
“No, Mom. We aren’t married.” More silence. Maybe she should have started with her and Tony moving in together and living in sin and worked her way to the baby born out of wedlock.
“But you are going to be, right.”
“No plans as of yet. We are just trying to get to tomorrow right now, Mom. We just decided to move in together. Maybe someday, but it’s not on the table right now.” She couldn’t see Tony going for the whole marriage thing, but he had proven her wrong before.
She could hear McGee ask her mother if she was alright. Her mother might be a flirt, and like shocking people with her comments, but she had very strong ideas on how relationships should go. One of her rules was that you should be married before you even think of having children.
And if you happen to get pregnant before you are married, you better get married fast and tell everyone the baby was born early. Like that ever fooled everyone.
Once you were married, you stayed married till one of you dies. Unless one of the couple is abusing the other or some other specialized circumstance. But otherwise, you made your bed so lay on it. Once the first marriage is over, you are allowed to do whatever you want.
Even if it meant going after your daughter’s boss.
But Kate was pretty sure her mother wasn’t thinking of Jethro Gibbs at all at this moment. Hell, Gibbs was low on her own thoughts at the moment.
“I assume the father is Anthony.” Kate bit back the sarcastic response. No, Mom. It’s some random guy I picked up at the bar a few months ago. I think his name is Diego. Or was it Devin? Her mother would probably take it as fact instead of sarcasm.
“Yes, Tony is the father.”
“He is planning on supporting you?”
“We will support each other.”
“Does he love you?”
“Yes, Mom. He does. And I love him.” Kate knew that after the initial shock of her daughter not quite holding up the rules went away her mother would be ecstatic. Natasha Todd cared deeply for her children, and her most important rule for marriage was they found someone that loved them and would care for them no matter what.
And there was one thing she could be certain of. Tony would always have her back, be it in their relationship or work. Even if things down the road didn’t work, he’d still be there. And she was certainly hoping for things to work out.
She was feeling optimistic today. Things would work out. She’d be thinking of this conversation 20 years from now when her son or daughter was halfway through college, and about to celebrate their 21st and Tony was planning on taking them for their first bar hop. Of course, she’d probably kill him, but they would still be together and bantering and fighting as they always did.
On the other hand 20 years from now, she could be married to some Doctor from Detriot and he’d be married to his third wife, some pretty blonde that was 40% artificial and actually preferred to be called Bambi.
But she preferred the optimistic approach.
“The baby’s due around Christmas time, Mom.” She continued. “I have an appointment next week to go get the first sonogram pictures. They did an ultrasound when I went in two weeks ago but I didn’t get to keep the picture or anything. Or really see anything.” Oh, great she was rambling. “But I’d like it if you’d come next week and see the baby when I do.”
That got her mother out of her funk, and excitedly talking about the baby. Which despite her three brothers being already married, and a sister too, would be Tasha Todd’s first grandchild.
~*~
It was getting late when Tony finally called her. After a two hour conversation with her mother about the baby (and a short conversation with Tony then when her mother had spotted him and decided to give him a hug and welcome him to the family), she had watched a movie with Amy and Ben. The phone call came at just the right moment, as the credits were rolling. Ben was asleep on the couch, and didn’t wake up at the sound. Amy just watched her husband fondly and with amusement as she tried to get up and change the DVD while Kate answered the phone.
“Hello,”
“Hey.” The relaxed note in Tony’s voice instantly made her smile. Earlier Tony had been his usual self, but his tone had been strained, and she knew it was because of the ongoing investigation into Ari. The fact that it was relaxed meant that there was a good chance that the investigation was over and Ari apprehended. “How was your day?”
“Good, boring though. Yours?”
“Well, I had the interesting experience of having Mama Todd taking me to task for getting you pregnant and not marrying you.”
“OH, no. She didn’t.” Tony let out a laugh. Beyond the laughter she heard noise sounds. He was on his way home.
“She did. But that’s ok. Its nothing compared to what my Father is going to do when he finds out.”
“Is Mom coming home with you?”
“No, she said she had a friend in DC she promised to stop in and see while she was there. Says that she’s going to spend the rest of the weekend there and then come to our place on Monday.” She smiled at that and flopped down into the extra large chair in the master bedroom. It was about the only piece of stuffed furniture that had managed to actually be comfortable and not doused in flammable chemicals.
“Our place?”
“Well, you seemed to like it so much, and we have to admit that the baby wouldn’t do well in either of our apartments.” He had a point. Her apartment was roomy, but it was still cramped and on a high floor. His was on the second floor, but didn’t have a guest room. “I’m kind of just doing things on a whim here, not taking the time to think them through,” he admitted. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be doing.”
“You’re doing fine. We’ll have to deal with this together.”
“We usually do.” She smiled once again. She knew what her mother had heard now. The “I like you a lot” tone Tony used when he talked to her. He had different tones for everyone. He had a “I’m just a playboy jock’ tone when he dealt with suspects and other agents. It usually made people think he was easy to pull one over, and they were often surprised to find there was something more to him then met the eye. Then there was the ‘big brother’ tone he took with McGee. And the loyal almost son-like tone he took with Gibbs.
It was hard to define what he and Gibbs had. IT was a cross between a father-and-son relationship, and a brother relationship. Gibbs was just short of being old enough to go for the Father figure category. But he often treated Tony in the manner she suspected he would if he were his son. She could remember when no one could tell Gibbs that Tony wasn’t going to make it after Tony disappeared on that one case.
It wasn’t easy to define her own relationship with Gibbs either. There were times at the beginning where she could have seen herself with Gibbs. There were moments when she almost thought about scrapping rule 12 and going for it. Tony had noticed it and pointed it out once or twice. But something always held her back, and as time went on, the feelings for Gibbs faded. He started to become just a friend, perhaps mentor. Ducky once described her and Tony’s banter as sibling rivalry over respect from a parental figure…meaning Gibbs and she couldn’t quite place Gibbs as a father figure. Crazy Uncle maybe.
McGee was definitely in the baby brother category. She had been amused by him at first, and enjoyed teaming up with Tony to tease him a little, but over time she had found another friend in Timothy McGee, and started to care for him as she did any one of her brothers.
Abby was her best friend, and if she kept up this metaphor of a family her sister. They had clicked immediately. Ducky was another crazy-old Uncle.
She hadn’t spent enough time with Jimmy Palmer to put any relationship metaphor on him. Perhaps a cousin you only see at the dreaded family reunions.
Her relationship with Tony had constantly changed. As soon as she classified him as something, something would change or switch around. At first she found him annoying and didn’t like him at all. After a few cases she had found that she appreciated his sense of humor, even if eighty percent of it was something she couldn’t relate back to her mother. Then over time she settled into the brother-sister role, along with putting him in the best friend category along with Abby. Which she used as a cover when her relationship with him moved into the’ definitely not sibling like’ category. That was an interesting stage, one that Tony slipped into and back out at various times in their relationship.
Cuba had shifted though her categories with Tony; she couldn’t even tell you which ones he had broken into that turn around.
Then of course that moment after the first Ari experience when he had snapped his fingers and talked about falling in love. He hadn’t broken eye contact till he sat down in his chair. That might have been where the tide started going strictly in the Tony direction and less in the Gibbs direction.
She wondered if Tony knew how close she had been to trying something with Gibbs? Probably best if she kept that to herself.
She remembered her second Ari experience and how scared she had been for Tony. How she could picture in her mind as Marta told her what she planned to do.
She never admitted to anyone what she had felt that day. Not even the assigned psychologist that Morrow had made sure she went to.
She almost told Tony a few weeks later when Gibbs made the two of them go undercover as a couple at an Officer’s club that seemed to be the place a serial killer was finding his victims. Tony was the bait, as the killer seemed to take on naval officers who had serious girlfriends and attended the club. All the officers had been brunettes. All killed while wearing their uniform.
So they were at the club, pretending to be wildly in love with each other (and honestly only half pretending) while Tony looked good in a uniform of a Commander. She on the other hand was worried sick and all she could remember was Marta’s words, as she pulled her own fingers though Tony’s hair.
Too bad their first kiss had been ruined by that.
She had never been so glad to catch a killer as when Gibbs interrupted their ‘pretend’ make-out session with the words that they had gotten the bastard who had killed four officers all ready. Turns out it was a Master Chief Petty Officer whose daughter ran off with a commissioned officer who matched the description of the first victim. But he never got the guy his daughter ran off with.
“Are you still there?” Kate was interrupted form her thoughts by Tony’s voice.
“Yeah, sorry. Mind wondered off.”
“I could tell,” he said with a laugh. “You didn’t react to what I had to tell you. They caught Ari. He’s dead.”
“Dead?”
“Yeah, he got cocky and tried to get Gibbs in his home. Ziva followed him there. They won’t give me many details, so all I know is that Ari left in a body bag and Ducky is happily preparing to file an autopsy report.” Ducky’s words, so long ago, after the first Ari experience came to her mind. I want that terrorist on my table, Jethro.
She wondered if it was wrong to be grateful for someone being dead. Suddenly she really wanted Tony to be home and next to her. To celebrate, or just relish not being afraid of who was watching them.
“Are you almost home?”
“I’m about two steps away from the door.” She stood up and left the room, finding the only light being the one about the table where the Protection detail had been playing cards. She rushed to the door to find Tony was about to open the door.
She might find this ridiculously cliché later when she reviewed the events of the day in her mind, but for once she went on instinct and jumped into Tony’s arms, ignoring the watching eyes of the four agents assigned protection detail and Amy. Her cell phone flipped closed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She could feel his still open from where it was still in his hand holding her to him.
If this had been one of Tony’s movies, the scene would have faded out by now, and she was certainly glad the neighbors were too far away to get a good picture, otherwise they’d be the talk of the town tomorrow.
But at the moment, she didn’t care. She was finally free of her Bête Noire. And it was fun.
Come Monday morning, she could go back to her own life. Where she was Caitlin Todd, NCIS agent. Where Tony was her partner and he wasn’t out there by himself, she was a few steps away. Where she could tease McGee about Abby and Gibbs would come walking around the corner with cup of Starbucks and a new case that had absolutely nothing to do with Ari Haswari.
She could also eat in an open air eatery again without being shot at, or being kidnapped by one of Ari’s henchmen.
And, as a bonus, the only person to run their fingers though Tony DiNozzo’s hair tonight would be her.
Fandom: NCIS
Genre: Romance/Friendship/Adventure
Rating: PG-13, T
Pairing: Kate/Tony, Abby/McGee, Jenny/Gibbs, Ziva/OC
Spoilers: Seasons 1 & 2 in particular. Season 3 sparingly.
Warnings: AUness, Babyfic
Summery: Kate has alot of adjusting to do. This includes a loss of a friend, a new relationship, a new team member, and a few other life changing events
Chapter One Chapter Two Chapter Three Chapter Four
A/N: Since I’m starting this just as news is coming out that Natasha Richardson has died, I’m going to dedicate this chapter to her. And naming Mrs. Todd Natasha.
This is one of those chapters that kinda bides the time, but I hope you enjoy. Some of the parts in this chapter will be dealt with more in later chapters (specifically Tasha's reaction to Kate/Tony and her new grandchild).
Also, updates may slow down after this because I really should be focusing on my homework, and get too distracted by writing this. Not that I'm going to stop. You just might see a little bit of time between these updates instead of one chapter a day.
Chapter 5
Kate woke up to find she alone in bed. It was mid-morning, so she had slept in, but she wasn’t surprised. One of the few symptoms of her pregnancy that she was showing was fatigue and she and Tony had not been early to sleep last night. She smiled, still half asleep as she remembered how they spent the night.
Maybe she could convince Gibbs to give them both the weekend off if they caught Ari today.
She sat up in bed and looked around the room. The blinds were still closed around the glass doors that connected to the back porch. The bags were gone, but she could see one the dresser drawers slightly open so she assumed Tony put them away when he woke up. She got out of bed and grabbed a pair of clean clothes before making her way to the shower.
After she was finished she walked back into the bedroom and noticed a note on the nightstand on Tony’s side of the bed.
Before she got to reading it, her cell phone started to ring.
She crawled over the bed to get to her phone and saw her mom’s name on the caller ID.
“Hi Mom”.
“Darling! Thank god you are alright. Did you think it was too much to call your mother and let her know that?” Kate blinked at her mother’s tirade.
“What are you talking about?”
“How about the fact that they showed a report on CNN about NCIS officers being shot by a terrorist.” There was a flight call in the background. “Then they don’t announce which officer it is. So after your poor mother has an hour of terror about her baby girl being shot to death on top of a roof, I get someone to tell me it wasn’t you. But do I hear from you? NO.”
“Sorry, Mom. Things have been crazy lately.”
“Well, you could at least come pick me up.”
“What?”
“I’m at Dulles. I thought I’d come a week early and spend two weeks with you.” Kate flopped back on the bed. So much for a planned vacation with her boyfriend.”
“I’m in protective custody mom. I can’t pick you up.”
“What?” Suddenly her mother’s tone changed.
“The agent that was shot looked just like me so they have me hidden away so they can catch the guy without worrying about me.”
“Could they find you on the phone? I know on all those CSI shows they can triangle something and get a location of someone using a cell phone.”
“They’d have to have found your phone, mom. I think you’re good. How about I get someone to pick you up and take you to NCIS. Then someone there can bring you where I am. “
~*~
After arranging for McGee to pick up her mother, Kate made her way into the kitchen. Ben was gone, but Amy still sat at the island on a tall bar stool looking through a magazine. Beside her sat a pile of magazines.
“I decided since you have nothing to do but wait, we can start shopping for the baby.”
“I don’t even know what gender the baby is.”
“That’s ok. There are a lot of things that are uni-gender.” Kate stared at her for a second. “Plus it helps bring home the fact you’re going to be a mom.”
“You sound like you have done this before.” Amy smiled, but it was a sad one.
“I have. Ben and I were going to have a baby last year.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Thank you. You know how we said we understood the need to stand by someone you love no matter what? Well, that was Ben. He stayed with me even though they told him to go home or that it was hopeless.
“Hopeless?”
“My pregnancy was etopic. I nearly bled to death internally. IT was really touch and go for awhile.” Amy smiled again and decided to change the subject. “So, which would you prefer: Boy or Girl?”
Kate smiled in response and allowed Amy her change in conversation. She could understand the need to tell someone without actually talking about it. Hell, she couldn’t even explain her actions when Tony had the plague, she couldn’t imagine telling someone about losing a baby and quite possibly one’s life in the process.
“I’m not sure.”
“Close your eyes and try to imagine them.” Kate did as she was told and tried to imagine what her and Tony’s daughter or son would look like.
The firs t image that came to her mind was a little girl, about 3 years old. Eyes and face that came from her, but with Tony’s hair color. The hair was curly and fell in waves like she had seen in the one picture of his mother. Tony’s smile.
When she imagined a baby boy, it was almost entirely Tony, but with her darker hair.
She honestly didn’t care what gender the baby was. It was the old cliché, as long as it’s healthy. She didn’t think Tony would care either way. A boy he could play sports with and if it were a little girl, she’d have him wrapped around her finger in seconds.
The girl was easier to imagine. So when she opened her eyes and said a girl they looked for things if the baby was a girl. They circled several things in the magazine and passed the hours looking through the big stack of magazines and catalogs that Amy had got a hold of.
She knew it was partially to pass the time, and part to get her mind off the fact that a man was trying to mess with Gibbs by trying to kill his team, which was his family. She in particular, but that was just his side obsession.
She hadn’t realized how much she would need for a baby. One of the magazines had a checklist for first time mothers and she was shocked at the list of items she would need. She definitely wouldn’t be buying any new designer purse for a while.
Her mother hadn’t arrived by the time dinner time had arrived, and neither had Tony or Ben. Both women started to worry about the locations of the three.
Ben fortunately came in shortly after seven. And shortly thereafter her mother called.
“Darling, you would never believe the day I have had!” Natasha started as soon as Kate said hello. “And you were being most under descriptive of the men you work with. You never said you worked with so many good looking men.”
“Mom, most of them are either married or too young for you.”
“I wouldn’t know about that dear. Marrying younger men is starting to be trendy now. Your Anthony is yummy.”
“MOTHER!” She could hear her mother’s laugh over the line and something sounding like someone coughing after drinking coffee. The sputtering sounded familiar. “You will not be going after Tony.”
“Of course not dear. If Mr. McGee here is to be believed, you already hold a claim.” The sputtering continued and claims from McGee of innocence. “Besides, I am much more interested in Jethro. You may keep Mr. DiNozzo for yourself.”
“Who told you Tony and I were together?”
“Oh, please. No one had to tell me, dear. I could tell by the way you talked about him when you called home. I haven’t had the pleasure of much time in his company but the way he said your name did have a tone of voice of a close friend. So either you are together or are about to. It was the same way with Calleigh and Vincent.”
“Call and Vinny are divorced, Mom.”
“Stupid decision I think. It’s clear they are in love with each other. People make things so complicated these days. I swear, if your father and I had gotten married today, we’d have divorced. Have a fight, have a really bad bump, you get divorced. No one sticks it out anymore. Its too easy just to give in and separate.
Not wanting to hear a lecture on her sister’s failed marriage, Kate decided it was time to change the topic.
“Mom, I’m pregnant.” Silence.
“Love, if you wanted to change the subject you could just have said so,” Tasha said after a pause. “No need to make an outrageous claim.”
“Its not outrageous.” Oh, how Tony would find that choice of words humorous. “In about 7 months you are going to have another grandchild.”
“You got married without me there?”
“No, Mom. We aren’t married.” More silence. Maybe she should have started with her and Tony moving in together and living in sin and worked her way to the baby born out of wedlock.
“But you are going to be, right.”
“No plans as of yet. We are just trying to get to tomorrow right now, Mom. We just decided to move in together. Maybe someday, but it’s not on the table right now.” She couldn’t see Tony going for the whole marriage thing, but he had proven her wrong before.
She could hear McGee ask her mother if she was alright. Her mother might be a flirt, and like shocking people with her comments, but she had very strong ideas on how relationships should go. One of her rules was that you should be married before you even think of having children.
And if you happen to get pregnant before you are married, you better get married fast and tell everyone the baby was born early. Like that ever fooled everyone.
Once you were married, you stayed married till one of you dies. Unless one of the couple is abusing the other or some other specialized circumstance. But otherwise, you made your bed so lay on it. Once the first marriage is over, you are allowed to do whatever you want.
Even if it meant going after your daughter’s boss.
But Kate was pretty sure her mother wasn’t thinking of Jethro Gibbs at all at this moment. Hell, Gibbs was low on her own thoughts at the moment.
“I assume the father is Anthony.” Kate bit back the sarcastic response. No, Mom. It’s some random guy I picked up at the bar a few months ago. I think his name is Diego. Or was it Devin? Her mother would probably take it as fact instead of sarcasm.
“Yes, Tony is the father.”
“He is planning on supporting you?”
“We will support each other.”
“Does he love you?”
“Yes, Mom. He does. And I love him.” Kate knew that after the initial shock of her daughter not quite holding up the rules went away her mother would be ecstatic. Natasha Todd cared deeply for her children, and her most important rule for marriage was they found someone that loved them and would care for them no matter what.
And there was one thing she could be certain of. Tony would always have her back, be it in their relationship or work. Even if things down the road didn’t work, he’d still be there. And she was certainly hoping for things to work out.
She was feeling optimistic today. Things would work out. She’d be thinking of this conversation 20 years from now when her son or daughter was halfway through college, and about to celebrate their 21st and Tony was planning on taking them for their first bar hop. Of course, she’d probably kill him, but they would still be together and bantering and fighting as they always did.
On the other hand 20 years from now, she could be married to some Doctor from Detriot and he’d be married to his third wife, some pretty blonde that was 40% artificial and actually preferred to be called Bambi.
But she preferred the optimistic approach.
“The baby’s due around Christmas time, Mom.” She continued. “I have an appointment next week to go get the first sonogram pictures. They did an ultrasound when I went in two weeks ago but I didn’t get to keep the picture or anything. Or really see anything.” Oh, great she was rambling. “But I’d like it if you’d come next week and see the baby when I do.”
That got her mother out of her funk, and excitedly talking about the baby. Which despite her three brothers being already married, and a sister too, would be Tasha Todd’s first grandchild.
~*~
It was getting late when Tony finally called her. After a two hour conversation with her mother about the baby (and a short conversation with Tony then when her mother had spotted him and decided to give him a hug and welcome him to the family), she had watched a movie with Amy and Ben. The phone call came at just the right moment, as the credits were rolling. Ben was asleep on the couch, and didn’t wake up at the sound. Amy just watched her husband fondly and with amusement as she tried to get up and change the DVD while Kate answered the phone.
“Hello,”
“Hey.” The relaxed note in Tony’s voice instantly made her smile. Earlier Tony had been his usual self, but his tone had been strained, and she knew it was because of the ongoing investigation into Ari. The fact that it was relaxed meant that there was a good chance that the investigation was over and Ari apprehended. “How was your day?”
“Good, boring though. Yours?”
“Well, I had the interesting experience of having Mama Todd taking me to task for getting you pregnant and not marrying you.”
“OH, no. She didn’t.” Tony let out a laugh. Beyond the laughter she heard noise sounds. He was on his way home.
“She did. But that’s ok. Its nothing compared to what my Father is going to do when he finds out.”
“Is Mom coming home with you?”
“No, she said she had a friend in DC she promised to stop in and see while she was there. Says that she’s going to spend the rest of the weekend there and then come to our place on Monday.” She smiled at that and flopped down into the extra large chair in the master bedroom. It was about the only piece of stuffed furniture that had managed to actually be comfortable and not doused in flammable chemicals.
“Our place?”
“Well, you seemed to like it so much, and we have to admit that the baby wouldn’t do well in either of our apartments.” He had a point. Her apartment was roomy, but it was still cramped and on a high floor. His was on the second floor, but didn’t have a guest room. “I’m kind of just doing things on a whim here, not taking the time to think them through,” he admitted. “I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be doing.”
“You’re doing fine. We’ll have to deal with this together.”
“We usually do.” She smiled once again. She knew what her mother had heard now. The “I like you a lot” tone Tony used when he talked to her. He had different tones for everyone. He had a “I’m just a playboy jock’ tone when he dealt with suspects and other agents. It usually made people think he was easy to pull one over, and they were often surprised to find there was something more to him then met the eye. Then there was the ‘big brother’ tone he took with McGee. And the loyal almost son-like tone he took with Gibbs.
It was hard to define what he and Gibbs had. IT was a cross between a father-and-son relationship, and a brother relationship. Gibbs was just short of being old enough to go for the Father figure category. But he often treated Tony in the manner she suspected he would if he were his son. She could remember when no one could tell Gibbs that Tony wasn’t going to make it after Tony disappeared on that one case.
It wasn’t easy to define her own relationship with Gibbs either. There were times at the beginning where she could have seen herself with Gibbs. There were moments when she almost thought about scrapping rule 12 and going for it. Tony had noticed it and pointed it out once or twice. But something always held her back, and as time went on, the feelings for Gibbs faded. He started to become just a friend, perhaps mentor. Ducky once described her and Tony’s banter as sibling rivalry over respect from a parental figure…meaning Gibbs and she couldn’t quite place Gibbs as a father figure. Crazy Uncle maybe.
McGee was definitely in the baby brother category. She had been amused by him at first, and enjoyed teaming up with Tony to tease him a little, but over time she had found another friend in Timothy McGee, and started to care for him as she did any one of her brothers.
Abby was her best friend, and if she kept up this metaphor of a family her sister. They had clicked immediately. Ducky was another crazy-old Uncle.
She hadn’t spent enough time with Jimmy Palmer to put any relationship metaphor on him. Perhaps a cousin you only see at the dreaded family reunions.
Her relationship with Tony had constantly changed. As soon as she classified him as something, something would change or switch around. At first she found him annoying and didn’t like him at all. After a few cases she had found that she appreciated his sense of humor, even if eighty percent of it was something she couldn’t relate back to her mother. Then over time she settled into the brother-sister role, along with putting him in the best friend category along with Abby. Which she used as a cover when her relationship with him moved into the’ definitely not sibling like’ category. That was an interesting stage, one that Tony slipped into and back out at various times in their relationship.
Cuba had shifted though her categories with Tony; she couldn’t even tell you which ones he had broken into that turn around.
Then of course that moment after the first Ari experience when he had snapped his fingers and talked about falling in love. He hadn’t broken eye contact till he sat down in his chair. That might have been where the tide started going strictly in the Tony direction and less in the Gibbs direction.
She wondered if Tony knew how close she had been to trying something with Gibbs? Probably best if she kept that to herself.
She remembered her second Ari experience and how scared she had been for Tony. How she could picture in her mind as Marta told her what she planned to do.
She never admitted to anyone what she had felt that day. Not even the assigned psychologist that Morrow had made sure she went to.
She almost told Tony a few weeks later when Gibbs made the two of them go undercover as a couple at an Officer’s club that seemed to be the place a serial killer was finding his victims. Tony was the bait, as the killer seemed to take on naval officers who had serious girlfriends and attended the club. All the officers had been brunettes. All killed while wearing their uniform.
So they were at the club, pretending to be wildly in love with each other (and honestly only half pretending) while Tony looked good in a uniform of a Commander. She on the other hand was worried sick and all she could remember was Marta’s words, as she pulled her own fingers though Tony’s hair.
Too bad their first kiss had been ruined by that.
She had never been so glad to catch a killer as when Gibbs interrupted their ‘pretend’ make-out session with the words that they had gotten the bastard who had killed four officers all ready. Turns out it was a Master Chief Petty Officer whose daughter ran off with a commissioned officer who matched the description of the first victim. But he never got the guy his daughter ran off with.
“Are you still there?” Kate was interrupted form her thoughts by Tony’s voice.
“Yeah, sorry. Mind wondered off.”
“I could tell,” he said with a laugh. “You didn’t react to what I had to tell you. They caught Ari. He’s dead.”
“Dead?”
“Yeah, he got cocky and tried to get Gibbs in his home. Ziva followed him there. They won’t give me many details, so all I know is that Ari left in a body bag and Ducky is happily preparing to file an autopsy report.” Ducky’s words, so long ago, after the first Ari experience came to her mind. I want that terrorist on my table, Jethro.
She wondered if it was wrong to be grateful for someone being dead. Suddenly she really wanted Tony to be home and next to her. To celebrate, or just relish not being afraid of who was watching them.
“Are you almost home?”
“I’m about two steps away from the door.” She stood up and left the room, finding the only light being the one about the table where the Protection detail had been playing cards. She rushed to the door to find Tony was about to open the door.
She might find this ridiculously cliché later when she reviewed the events of the day in her mind, but for once she went on instinct and jumped into Tony’s arms, ignoring the watching eyes of the four agents assigned protection detail and Amy. Her cell phone flipped closed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. She could feel his still open from where it was still in his hand holding her to him.
If this had been one of Tony’s movies, the scene would have faded out by now, and she was certainly glad the neighbors were too far away to get a good picture, otherwise they’d be the talk of the town tomorrow.
But at the moment, she didn’t care. She was finally free of her Bête Noire. And it was fun.
Come Monday morning, she could go back to her own life. Where she was Caitlin Todd, NCIS agent. Where Tony was her partner and he wasn’t out there by himself, she was a few steps away. Where she could tease McGee about Abby and Gibbs would come walking around the corner with cup of Starbucks and a new case that had absolutely nothing to do with Ari Haswari.
She could also eat in an open air eatery again without being shot at, or being kidnapped by one of Ari’s henchmen.
And, as a bonus, the only person to run their fingers though Tony DiNozzo’s hair tonight would be her.