He squeezed her hand, and she could only hope that he didn't notice that her hands were shaking with nerves. "You all right, Katie?"
"Not how I planned on spending my Saturday," she replied, lightly, eyeing him.
He grinned down at her. "Do ya really mind?"
"Of course not, considering the company."
"Was hopin' you'd say that." They looked at each other, before he leaned down and kissed her on the forehead. It felt so natural and right that both wished they weren't pretending. But here they were at the courthouse, awaiting the two robbers, who only a few days earlier had murdered a navy lieutenant. Intel had suggested that they'd be here today.
And so here Kate and Gibbs were on a sunny Saturday morning, canoodling like two lovers. Which, for all intents and purposes, they were. At least for today.
"So Jethro, now that you have me here, what do you plan to do with me?" she asked, as they looked around, and she leaned her head on her shoulder. Anyone could be watching them. Two people in love. Not federal agents for once.
"Nothin' that won't get us arrested, Katie," he said with a chuckle. And then he squeezed her hand for an entirely different reason, as they saw their two suspects walking towards them. "So how do you feel about gettin' married?"
Her eyes went wide, and she realized what he was asking. "What?"
He leaned in to whisper in her ear as he asked, "Don't ya trust me?"
She pulled away and smiled, shaking her head. She couldn't help but laugh, even though if her hands had been shaking before, they were definitely shaking now. "That had to be the least romantic proposal in the history of proposals, Gibbs. I really hope the last four wives merited something a little more special."
"Dammit Katie," he said, and then saw that she was laughing. "You're really gonna make an old man get down on one knee for you?"
"Damn right I am, Gibbs." She could see that their suspects were approaching, and she smiled at Gibbs, trying to distract herself. "Tell you what, if you give me a romantic proposal, how about I treat you to breakfast after the wedding?"
"I'd rather have ice cream," he teased.
"Pumpkin?" she asked.
"Yes dear?" he responded with a straight face.
She nudged him with her elbow. "C'mon. And when did you think about getting married?"
"Well, Katie," he said and she saw in his gaze that he wasn't entirely lying, "Been thinkin' about marryin' you since the first day we met." Her mouth went dry suddenly, but she still managed a smile. He took her hands in his, and slowly moved off the bench, to get down on one knee. Out of the corner of her eye she could see that the suspects had slowed down and were watching the charade. As well, she watched as Gibbs winced, before looking up at her. She knew it was fake, but the pounding of her heart and the smile on his face was real. "Katie, I'm not a man for big declarations of love, or anythin', and I don't believe in miracles, sayin' you're sorry, or love at first sight. But I do believe in us. Will you marry me?"
She raised a shaking hand to cover her mouth, disguising her longing with a well-placed hand, and then started laughing. It's fake, Kate. Stop it. She suddenly pictured in vivid colour, marrying Gibbs for real, and it was a vision she rather liked. "Yes, you bastard," she managed, wiping away tears, before pulling him to his feet. "Now are you gonna kiss me or make me wait for the honeymoon?"
"Hmmm, lemme think about it…" he said, and then he was leaning down, torturously slow. He kissed her gently, the way she'd imagined it, in the dark of the night, when she was alone, and wishing that she didn't have a massive crush on her boss. She'd just gotten it under control too, but here he was proposing to her. Not actually a bad way to spend a Saturday. She wrapped her arms around his neck, loving how solid he felt, wrapping his arms around her, and kissed him back with a passion that probably gave away how she felt. It was glaringly obvious to anyone with two eyes.
Gibbs pulled away first, staring down at her with a stunned kind of joy in his eyes that she knew wasn't fake. He cleared his throat, awkwardly, not meeting her eyes. And then he looked straight at her with a sly smile. "Wanna get married?"
"Right now?"
"Yeah." He turned, only to accidentally bump into one of their suspects. "Oh! Sorry!"
"I'm sorry," Kate said, moving to grab his arm. "He's terribly clumsy. Don't know how I agreed to marry him." She exchanged a smile with Gibbs, only his was more of a smirk.
"Hey, would you mind doin' us a favor?" Gibbs asked him. The suspect, Robinson, and his partner, Brown, both hesitated.
The one smiled. "Sure, anythin' for a coupla kids."
"Would you mind bein' witnesses? Ya see, I've proposed to Katie once a week for the past year. We've been datin' for three, and I finally got her to say yes. Aren't I a lucky bastard?" Gibbs asked.
She was staring at him then, and he nudged her, so she grabbed his hand. "If anyone's lucky, Jethro, it's me." The use of his given name felt alien to her, but she was enjoying it all the same, and had been enjoying it all morning.
"We'd love to, wouldn't we Emma?" he asked Brown, who offered a fake smile.
"Sure. Love to."
Gibbs had his arm around Kate, as they walked up the courthouse, their witnesses following behind. Right in front of the courthouse, he turned to Kate. "Do I have somethin' on my face?"
"Yes." She pointed to his upper lip. "Right there."
"What do I have?"
"This," she replied, before getting on her tiptoes and kissing him softly. It was all for show. Or was it?
Gibbs wiped at his mouth. "Bah, Katie, ya ambushed me." Using the fact that he had his sleeve to his mouth already, he muttered, "Headin' your way, DiNozzo, better be ready."
"Okay boss," DiNozzo said in his ear, and he rolled his eyes. He'd been hoping for an op without DiNozzo making stupid movie references in his ear, but he wasn't that lucky. "Look for Judge Moore's office, and go in there. First floor."
He grinned at Kate. "I called ahead."
"Oh, did you make a reservation?" she asked.
"You wish. Women used to line up for the chance to marry me."
"Used to being the key word," she responded with a grin.
He held a hand to his chest. "I'm hurt, Katie."
"Don't be hurt, Jethro, only a silver bullet could kill you."
"You been watchin' horror movies with DiNozzo again?"
"Makes me cuddle up closer to you at night so how can you complain?" she teased.
He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek.
"C'mon lovebirds," Robinson said, bored. "Today, please."
"Of course." Gibbs held the door open. "Katie."
She walked inside, "Thanks."
"Don't mention it." They walked into the judge's office, Gibbs carefully guiding Kate to the right room. Once they'd gotten everyone inside, Kate turned and had to try very hard to keep the smile from her face at the sight of DiNozzo in the judicial robes in front of her.
His eyes said murder but he was smiling pleasantly. "Ah lovely, you must be the special couple."
"Yep," Gibbs grinned down at Kate, "That's us. Lucky, aren't I?"
Kate heard the sound of a gun being cocked, and she turned around just in time to knock the gun from Robinson's hands, reaching under her dress to grab her own gun from her thigh holster. "Gibbs!" she called.
McGee made his way into the office, holding a gun as well. "We all good in here?"
"Dammit!" Robinson swore. And then as Gibbs held up his badge and smiled at him, he said language that was much worse.
"Hey!" Gibbs said. "Not in front of the lady." He winked at Kate. "You were pretty convincin', Kate."
"Not too bad yourself, Jethro."
"Yes, you two were very romantic," Tony said, pulling out his handcuffs. "Although I don't see why I had to be the judge."
"Oh did you want to be the one marrying Gibbs?" Kate asked.
"Very funny, Kate."
Kate turned back to Gibbs. "Still want that ice cream?"
He grinned at her. "I'm a little busy right now, but my schedule is clear this afternoon."
"You two made a very convincing couple," Tony remarked, as Gibbs and McGee walked their two criminals out of the courthouse.
"It's called acting, DiNozzo," she said, a faint smile still on her lips.
"Still want to get married?" he asked, as she walked out. She paused in the doorway.
"Unless you can top Gibbs' proposal, I don't think so."
And then she walked out, considering that even if the proposal and their relationship was fake, at least she had the memory of today to hold on to. And the feelings that were all too real.
She smiled as she stepped into the sunny day outside. She had a date with Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
"Hey, Katie, you ready to go?" he called.
"You know," she said thoughtfully. "Aren't we doing this a bit backwards?"
"How do ya figure?" he responded.
"Usually the date comes before the proposal."
"It was a fake proposal."
"I know, but is this a fake date?"
"You ask interesting questions, Agent Todd… And I'll be glad to answer them once I get my ice cream."
They walked off into the sunshine together.