Identity Crisis
Summary: Katie visits Leigh at the Academy. Part of the 'Future Perfect' universe.
Disclaimer: Caitlyn and Leigh are mine; the rest belong to other people.
A/N: This takes place in the 'Future Perfect' universe, which features Caitlyn and Leigh, the twin daughters of Tim and Abby.
Leigh stepped out of the ladies' room and headed back to table where her sister was waiting for her. Katie's more flexible class schedule had given her four-day weekends all semester, and she had taken advantage of one of them to make a visit home. Leigh only had a few hours of town liberty, so the rest of the McGee family had planned to drive down to meet her for lunch. But Tim and Abby had both been called in to work, and Gibbs had cancelled without giving an explanation, and Kate had made the trip alone.
It had been a while since they'd enjoyed some sisterly bonding time on their own, and they were lingering over coffee. They'd already compared notes on what they were planning to do for Abby's birthday in a few weeks, and had laughed about the 'new redhead' that Uncle Tony had said that Gibbs had his eye on turning out to be a puppy that his neighbour's Irish Setter had recently had. That had, of course, ultimately led to a long lament about their respective non-existent love-lives, and Leigh was planning to work the conversation around to her idea to introduce her sister to one of her classmates.
As she rounded a corner in the sprawling cafe, she caught sight of Katie, slouching casually in their booth, talking to a man in uniform. For a moment she wondered if her attempt at match-making had been pre-empted, but her eyes automatically flicked to his sleeves, noting his rank even before she noticed the greying hair. Definitely too old for her sister, she thought. The officer's back was towards her, and she was unable to identify him at first, but she quickened her pace anyway.
Her eyes widened when he turned enough for her to see that it was Lt. Bradshaw, one of her instructors. The man was old-school, barking at midshipmen like a DI from an old movie. Her classmates speculated that his background in the Enlisted Commissioning Program explained his no-nonsense attitude and his apparent failure to understand that the training of officers was meant to be a little less brutal than boot camp. Leigh thought that he was just a jerk. Either way, he wasn't someone she particularly enjoyed running into during her limited time away from the Academy. And she couldn't fathom why her sister was currently engaged in conversation with him.
Her stomach did a small somersault when she got close enough to hear his comments. Words like 'inappropriate' and 'disgraceful' and 'military decorum' wafted towards her, along with threats about bringing someone up on report, and placement on restriction. For a split second she didn't understand. Then, in an outraged bellow, the lieutenant addressed Katie as 'midshipman' and demanded that she account for her attire.
Leigh mentally ran through her sister's outfit. An old pair of jeans that had been cut off to make shorts. A flirty pink chiffon blouse with spaghetti straps. Dark purple flip-flops with sequined dragon-flies adorning the plastic thong between her toes. Yes, every single item managed to violate the rules about what midshipmen were allowed to wear when they were permitted civilian clothing.
And the lieutenant had obviously mistaken her identical twin for her.
This will seem funny in a few years' time, she told herself, schooling her features and bracing for an awkward, unpleasant conversation.
'Listen, you old goat, you might be used to bossing people around, but you don't get to tell me what I can and can't wear!'
Oh, God, Katie did not just say that...
Reminding herself that strangling her sister would not help her military career, or her dream of joining the space programme, Leigh stepped into the lieutenant's line of sight. She somehow managed to keep a straight face despite Katie's gales of laughter at his astonished expression, introducing her twin and dealing with the inevitable trite comments about how much alike they looked. It seemed like an eternity before he wished them a pleasant afternoon and excused himself, but finally the sisters were alone.
'He didn't even apologise!' Katie protested indignantly.
'Of course not. You think Uncle Gibbs made up that 'sign of weakness' stuff?'
As if on cue, her phone rang, and she held it up to show Katie that it was Gibbs calling, before flipping it open.
'Hi, Gibbs! What happened to you tod... what? is he alright?'
Seeing her sister's worried expression, she immediately explained, 'Gibbs is babysitting Uncle Tony, making sure he doesn't have a concussion.'
'Again?' Katie asked, relieved that it wasn't anything more serious. Uncle Tony seemed to have a particular talent for being hit on the head in the line of duty.
'Oh, we're just enjoying some girl talk. You know... hair, make-up, boys.'
Katie snorted in amusement.
'Ok, mainly boys,' Leigh conceded. 'And Katie got yelled at by an officer for wearing unapproved civvies.'
Leigh smirked, leaning back slightly to prevent Kate from snatching the phone away from her.
'Yeah, he thought she was me.... No, I'd gone to the head.... No, she didn't bother trying to explain, she just called him an old goat and... he wants to talk to you, Kate.'
She passed over the phone, amused by her sister's leery expression. Katie might be a civilian, but between Gibbs and Grandpa McGee, as well as their father's job, both girls had learnt from an early age how to behave around military personnel, not to mention the more general household rule about respectful treatment of adults. They'd occasionally heard their mother muttering under her breath about various quasi-authority figures, but even she had been subjected to Uncle Gibbs's infamous raised eyebrow for such comments.
'I know... I know... I was angry... yes, I know that's no excuse... no, I won't do it again... no, I can't apologise because he isn't here anymore... yeah, I'll be home tonight... bye.'
Leigh reclaimed her phone and said her own farewells before snapping it shut.
'Thanks for that, sis,' Katie griped.
'Yeah, well, you nearly got me hauled up before the Commandant....'
'I think Uncle Gibbs is worse.'
Leigh laughed.
'You know, I think you might have a point.'
She reached into her pocket and dropped some money on the table.
'C'mon, sis, I'll walk you back to the car. I've got to get back before I really do end up in trouble!'