AN: This is for Megsw97 because it was her idea. Kate is mine and she makes appearances in the letters "O" and "Q" in Alphabet Soup. This also ties into the Imperfect Legacies chapter "Birth of a Child" and Kate also appears in the chapter "Star of David." Cute and fluffy. Oh, and Kate is my Jibblet. Her hair his eyes.
" 'Immy P'lmer," he answered his phone while yawning, what time was is anyway? The red numbers on the alarm clock confirm his suspicion. It is five thirty in the morning.
"Palmer wake-up. It's Director Sheppard," she sounded way too awake for five thirty AM. "We need you to babysit. Ziva's in labor," that explained the strange levels of awake in her voice.
"Of course, Director, let me through on some clothes. I'll be right over," he rolled out of bed and succeeded in tripping over the corner of his rug. This was going to be a good morning.
~*~*~
"You sure we can trust him Jen?" Jethro Gibbs was in the process of hopping on one foot trying to simultaneously put on a sock and carry a conversation with his wife.
"Not like we have much choice," she said as she pulled on a comfortable sweater, "Besides, he's watched her before."
"Not here though. Always at work where we can keep an eye on him," he pulled on a shirt, and the severity of his growl was greatly diminished by the material.
"She'll be fine. He's too scared of you to do anything bad, and the rest of our sitters aren't willing to come here at five thirty," she finished getting ready by inserting a pair of simple earrings and swiping on a small band of lip stick. "I'll be making a pot of coffee."
~*~*~
Jimmy pulled up to the brownstone moderately afraid. He had never been to the house alone before, only in large groups and that was just for a Christmas party one time. He swallowed his fear and went to knock. The neighborhood was eerily quiet and the sun was just starting to rise above the rows of houses. The door was opened by a redhead in not quite formal attire. She was much shorter than he was used to and he looked down to see that she was indeed wearing sneakers instead of the usual high heels.
"Jimmy come on in," she opened the door further and led him into the foyer, "Kate's asleep, help yourself to coffee, there's plenty of food in the fridge. What else… oh yeah, Saturdays are Pancake Day if you feel like making them, and I laid out some clothes for her. We'll be at Bethesda Naval Hospital if you need us, our numbers are on the fridge," she sighed and took a deep drink of the coffee steaming in her hand.
"Okay, do you have any idea what time you'll be back?"
"Probably noonish," it was Gibbs who answered him, and he jumped involuntarily. Jenny snorted into her coffee and he had the good grace to blush. "Come on Jen the car's ready," he gave Palmer a small but meaningful look the clearly said, "nothing stupid," and they left.
He had no idea what time four-year-olds generally woke up, so he went into the kitchen and poured himself a cup of coffee before sitting down to watch the TV. He settled on some show in the History channel about ancient autopsy practices, and took a sip of the coffee. It took all his might not to spit it out. This was not coffee, it was liquid dirt. It was so strong he felt that one sip would be enough to keep him awake for days. These people were definitely a little coffee crazy.
It was eight thirty, and by now he'd watched a special on autopsy, something about the Holocaust, What Not to Wear, and was halfway through a CSI rerun. He heard the telltale thuds of little feet in steps before, "Mommy? Daddy? I'm up now!"
He stood up and tried to think how to do this, "Kate?" he tried tentatively. The little girl let out a faint scream and started to scamper back up the steps. "No, no Kate, remember it's me Jimmy."
She stopped remembering all the times she's played hide-and-seek with him in the Navy Yard. "Oh, hi Jimmy, where are momma and dad?" as always he was surprised by the sheer amount of intelligence displayed by the four-year-old.
"Aunty Ziva is having her baby. I'm here to babysit."
"But you don't babysit! It's always Cara, or Jessica, or Maria, it's never Jimmy," she was a little smart aleck, and he had a feeling that it would get her into trouble someday.
"Yes, but it's too early for them so I'm here. Want some pancakes Katie?" he tried to change the subject.
She nodded her head vigorously, "Yes, please!"
It took him a little to get the hang of pancake making, but he finally managed to do it and according to Kate they were "yum." After they finished eating, and he had cleaned the dishes it was a quarter after nine.
"Okay, Kate, let me wipe away the stickies," he wet a paper towel and proceeded to wipe her syrupy face, "and now you have to get dressed."
"No," she shook her head, "I wanna stay in PJ's all day!"
"But Mommy picked out some really cute stuff or you…and we can't play until you have day clothes on…" She jumped up and raced up the stairs. That was much easier than he expected. She came back downstairs about five minutes later wearing a little jean jumper and some flowery leggings over a white shirt.
"Hide-Seek time!" she squeaked very excited at the opportunity to play her favorite game.
"Okay, I'll count to thirty. One, two, three…" she squealed and ran away to hide.
By the time noon rolled around they had stopped playing hide-and-seek and were watching The Backyardigans together. He heard the door open, "Katie?" called a tentative voice.
"Mommy!" the small child leaped up and ran into the foyer. He got up more slowly and went to see his boss. She looked more tired than she had this morning, but also much happier. She had Kate situated on one hip.
"How was she, Jimmy?" she leaned down and kissed her daughter on the cheek.
"I was real good Mommy. I want Jimmy to babysit more often. He's fun!" Palmer blushed at the high praise he had just received.
"We'll see," Jenny nodded at him approvingly.
AN: This is the longest story I have written. Please tell me if you want more Kate, and if I characterized Palmer correctly this was my first time writing the Jimster.