Disclaimer: NCIS is the sole property of the creators, studio, writers, producers, directors, etc. Lucky them….
I consider myself lucky to be able to take them out to play for a while.
A/N: This a completely AU story. It's SLASH w/out all the details! Tony & Gibbs are in an established committed relationship and fathers to Kate (who they adopted when she was 6). It's Something Different... This 1-shot glimpse into their family leaves the door open to more. Kate has to break some news to her unsuspecting dads.
Enjoy it as the fiction it's intended to be in celebration of all the different families that exist out there.
Palms sweating with a queasiness worthy of a first trimester the petite brunette wore a pattern in the carpeting in front of the sofa. What had she done? Maybe it wasn't too late to take it back. No, it absolutely was too late. She orchestrated things purposefully leaving herself no out. Now, now she had zero option but to move forward. The storm that started within was soon to be out creating sweeping destruction in the paths of all it passed.
Kate had spent the night going over the plan with her best friend Ramsea all night and still she paced her parent's living room waiting for them to get home so she could break the news. It wasn't like she was a child or anything, but her rearing dictated that she seek approval on something so big. Life changing would be more appropriate. Yeah, she was fooling herself. She didn't leave herself any wiggle room out of the decision because if there was even an inkling of an out she would be forced to take it.
The car pulled up and she dashed to the window. Her stomach dropped. Her mouth dried. All the moisture showing up in her hands. They would be a little surprised by her being home already, but the happy. That happy would take an ugly turn all too soon. Well, there was no turning back now.
The door flew open a call of pure elation filling the room. "Kate! Katie get down here!"
Popping around the doorway Kate leapt into his arms squealing with delight as the six foot man, who was always her giant Prince, spun her around. "I'm here. I'm here. Daddy put me down before I toss my lunch." They were both giggling when the booming voice of her other dad could be heard.
"Hey Tony any extra for the electric bill is coming out of your clothes budget. Since you're too good to shop at Sears." The front door closed a beat before he saw what had his partner of twenty years too distracted to do it himself.
"Caitlin," he called out as he walked to pull her into an embrace. "You're here early. What's going on?"
"Do not question our good fortune Jethro. Our little girl is home a week early and I am thrilled."
"I am too. Of course I am. I'm just making sure everything is alright."
Inside her stomach was turning. Kate backed up a little from her dad's embrace and pretended to straighten pillows on the couch before flopping down. Anything to buy her some time. The man's non-verbal scrutiny could break her and she knew it. "Yes, 'Sergeant Worry-Wort' everything is fine. I just figured I'd come home and hang out before we leave for Mexico. You know let daddy cook for me, help you with whatever is being built in that basement, and..."
"And that is enough brow beating Jethro. This is your home baby girl no explanation needed. Show up whenever you like."
"Of course Tony is right. I worry. Sue me. No wait on second thought don't. What it's costing us to send you to law school I know you'll be good and win. I'm going up to change." He bent down to kiss her forehead. "Glad you're home Katie."
"Me too dad." For someone who was feeling glad her nerves were shot. She kept thinking one of them would notice her shaking hands which made her run them through her hair then shove them beneath her bottom.
"I'm gonna go start the pasta water. Katie, come with." Avoiding Tony's outstretched hand Kate went for the distraction. She jumped from her perch practically hurdled the coffee table calling out behind her, "race you there!"
"Hey, you can't call race after you start running." Tony was in pursuit as they cleared the living room, crossed the dinning room and made their way to the kitchen. She was sitting on the counter when he hit the doorway.
"Who do you think I learned it from. I remember a certain someone who used to do it to their six year old daughter all the time."
"Yeah, but it made her a much better racer and a lot more aware." Hopping up next to the tiny brunette, who's petite stature no longer concerned him or Jethro, Tony threw his arm around the girl. Kate had completed their family and their life together. He would forever be grateful for all the things that conspired to bring them to one another.
"Aware of cheaters," she laughed.
"My darling girl the world is not filled with people who want to see you win. That knowledge..."
"...makes me work twice as hard to beat the competition. I know daddy. You've been saying that for years. It only made me slightly paranoid, thanks." He knew she was being sarcastic and took no offense. Having two dads could be challenging enough, but having two that were federal agents made it twice as much so. She walked with a different awareness, dated with a different awareness, prepared in a different way for every actuality, and generally scrutinized things with a more cautious eye because of it. It had made her the person she was and she too was grateful. It was part of the reason she had made the decision she did. The decision she only hoped they would understand.
"Let's get this water going. Then I'm leaving you to cut up ingredients while I go change. Whatever you do don't let Gibbs help. I've never been able to train him to dice properly."
"But we love him anyway."
"Well, he does other good things with his hands."
"Ew, daddy..."
"I meant the boats missy. When'd you get so fresh?"
They laughed as they worked in tandem pulling out things for Tony's Penne-a-la-DiNozzo. It only made him a little suspicious to know that his daughter had clearly been sneaking around town all day. The fridge was stocked with items he and Jethro just didn't bother with when they were on their own. Most meals were eaten out or take out when Kate wasn't home. He'd also made note of the boxes in the foyer. She had brought home a lot more than she would need for a month vacation. Unlike his partner he wasn't a bulldozer to get at the information. He would see where the evening took them, but he was also starting to suspect there was more to this early arrival.
"Okay kiddo small uniform pieces and don't drop the pasta until..."
"...it's at a rolling boil. I gotta it. How many times have we done this?"
"A few hundred. Missed you baby girl."
"Missed you too daddy." As he left the room she sighed hoping she wasn't going to ruin their relationship permanently. If it came to that then maybe she would just bite the bullet and do what they wanted. No, she couldn't do that. That's what she had to remember. There was no turning back, but what was ahead was scaring the tar out of her. As she diced up veggies she thought back to the great times spent in that kitchen and that house. It wasn't perfect, but definitely what she considered pretty close. Now she was going to taint those memories with her news. Guilt sucked!
Gibbs had spent years single. When he figured out he was a homosexual, several brief and unnecessary marriages later, he opted to remain single rather than address something that made him as uncomfortable as it did society as a whole. He was a Marine and a federal agent. Being gay just didn't seem to fit into the equation. So he pushed his desires down maintaining the heterosexual pretense. Then a case took him to Baltimore and there had just been something about Tony. Something about the young, fast talking, witty, tall Italian that made him want to spend all his free time with him. The kid, and that was how Jethro saw him and treated him for months in the beginning, was magnetic.
Within eight months Tony was on his team and in his bed. That's what Gibbs was always grateful for. Tony making the first move is what moved them forward. It's what eventually brought Kate into their lives too. Tony wanted to be a father. Not interested in bringing in a third party surrogate they went the route of adoption. Gibbs hated the invasive process threatening to back out at nearly each stage, but in the end he'd endure anything for the man he loved. When they brought the precocious little peanut home he was won over. He wasn't sure that sharing their lives with a six year old was the way to go, but after her first night home he could no longer imagine them without her. He guessed that's what parents he meet were always talking about when they tried to articulate what their children meant to them.
She was altogether playful, smart, sensitive (as evidenced by the menagerie of strays paraded through the house) and tough. She would play basketball with Tony, work on boats with him, and had her fair share of toss-and-tumbles with kids who thought it was okay to speak ill of her family and the fact that she had two daddies. As Tony would say, while playing good cop during chastisements, 'the kid's got spunk'. Kate didn't feel like she was missing out on having a mommy. She had a Tony and a Gibbs. They picked her special and she let anyone who asked know just that.
The women in their lives picked up all the girly duties that made daddies so uncomfortable. Aunt Jenny had taken her to buy tampons and given her the sex talk. Aunt Abby took her shopping and gossiped about boys. Aunt Jenny took her for her first big girl hair cut at the salon. They both came over to help her get ready for senior prom. As each milestone came up Gibbs worried how they'd handle it, but then his team... his family... would rally and it would work itself out. Now his little girl had finished her first year of law school. It was amazing how the time seemed to breeze by in the blink of an eye.
"I thought he was making dinner for us." Gibbs came up behind her to steal a pepper.
"I'm his sous chef. You're not supposed to do anything except keep me company he said."
"It's his one place to be bossy and give me orders. He never misses a chance."
"I think it has more to do with burning his sauce that time." Kate had to laugh. It wasn't that Gibbs didn't cook. His fair was just more basic. He was a real meat and potato guy. If he could grill it he could cook it. Uniform dicing and the phrase parboil meant nothing to him. So he took a seat with a cup of coffee from the fresh pot Kate had started and decided to play catch up. They hadn't talked as much during the last few months of the semester. He'd been put off by what he thought was her avoidance, but she kept saying that she just had so much studying to do that he stopped questioning.
"So, are we looking at straight A's this semester?"
She nearly took her finger off at the question. Taking a deep breath without turning around. "Haha, um... that might be a little wishful thinking. I mean I did good, but I don't know about straight A's."
"I'm teasing peanut. Every time I called you were writing a paper or off to a study group, so I figured straight A's were logical end result. You know as long as you're working hard we'll be proud of you."
"Yes, dad. And I did... I worked really hard this semester."
"You did manage a little fun I hope. Tony will be very disappointed if you didn't. He takes recreation very serious."
"Indeed I do." Tony came up behind and wrapped his arms around his partner. It was easier over the years, but still hard to not make physical contact with him throughout their day. Physical touch was absolutely Tony's love language. He didn't always need words, but skin to skin contact was like breathing to him. Kate was used to their open affections. It had taken Gibbs longer to be comfortable with it and outside the house he was still the more conservative and reserved of the two. Here in their kitchen though their was nothing he enjoyed more. He reached up to rub the arms around him as Tony kissed his neck. "We at a rolling boil yet?"
"Definitely and everything is set to go in the sauce."
"Okay, drop the penne and I'll start the sauce."
During dinner they chatted about everything and nothing. All surface and non specific. Kate making sure if there was a lull that she filled it with anything other than details about herself. She listened and asked questions about each case they mentioned, even in jest. Finally there was nothing left to eat or clean. She went into the living room to exhale. Maybe this could wait until tomorrow.
"So, those boxes coming or going?"
Damn, damn, damn... why did she have to have federal agents for parents. "Huh..."
"Don't... if you can huh, you can hear. Turn around to me please."
Suddenly Tony appeared behind his partner doing a quick assessment of the situation. Looking at his daughter he directed his words to Gibbs. "That can't be how you interpreted let her tell us." He scooted pass him to sprawl his large frame across the couch. "He's not going to let any of us sleep until he knows, so whatever it is just spill."
Looking at them both she was getting tongue tied. She felt like a little girl having to tell them about something naughty she did. Things hadn't changed much. Gibbs was all stern and imposing. Tony the relaxed more reasonable appearing one. Appearing was the operative word because he could be just as tough when it came to some things.
"It's just stuff I don't need with me anymore. It can all go to the attic. I mean I felt like I needed every little thing when I first went to college, but I'm an adult now. Well, I felt like one until the inquisition started." She moved to the stairs.
"Oh, this conversation is not over. Get comfortable." As she moodily dropped onto the couch in the corner furthest from Tony tucking her legs beneath her. "A lot less attitude with that comfort." Moving into the room Gibbs still didn't sit.
"Seriously, dad what is it?"
"You tell me. You've been dodging all night."
Her head was spinning. There really was no point in avoiding. She was going to have to tell them. Tonight was as good a time as tomorrow morning. They'd be just as pissed. Self preservation made her want to hold out though. Reverting back to every bad tell she had Kate started rocking slightly and chewing on the sides of her fingers. Tony turned to her. Gibbs moved to sit on the coffee table in front of her.
"Moving in closer and starring at me not helping guys. Please can we talk tomorrow."
"No," Gibbs was direct.
"Katie there is nothing that you tell us tonight or tomorrow that will make us love you less. You have to know that. Right Jethro?"
"Of course, but we aren't waiting until tomorrow."
"I did something... I mean... I have to tell you something about what I did... You're not..."
Tony reached for her practically pulling her to him as he turned her around. "Caitlin, are you pregnant?"
"What?" Gibbs was on his feet. Face flushed in anger from zero to sixty in a second. Maybe her news wouldn't be so bad once they knew it wasn't that.
"You guys. No, I'm not pregnant. Come on. It's not 1950 and I didn't let some boy 'get' me in trouble. Dad you can sit down. I promise this has nothing to do with anyone I've been dating. Besides if it was I'd probably tell Aunt Abby or Aunt Jenny not you two."
"Alright, enough of this Kate. What is going on?" Tony was hoping to draw her out before Gibbs started yelling. She might be their princess, but the man was not known for his patience.
"Dad please sit." When he was she suddenly felt closed in again and hopped up to pace in front of them.
"You have to promise to let me get it all out before you say anything. Okay?"
"I'm not promising anything, talk."
"Jethro, please. Go on baby girl."
"This past year was really hard. Not just the work either. Everything was hard. I haven't been happy. I needed to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. I needed to find something that didn't make me feel like I was suffocating."
"Oh, baby I had no idea." Tony held his arms open, but she refused the comfort wanting to get it all out while she was still producing saliva. Arms crossed tight Gibbs' eyes were clouding over.
"Caitlin did you fail your classes?"
"No..." squeaked out. "I... I... I withdrew from law school."
"You did what? Well, we'll just drive up and re-enroll you tomorrow."
She backed away a little more. Clearly she was too old to be punished, but the man still put the fear of the devil on her heels in her. "I can't. The waiting period for me to change my mind passed."
"No! Absolutely not. This is not happening. We have spent a fortune on school and you don't just get to decide to drop out." There was the yelling. It had been a hundred moons since she'd made him this angry.
"Jethro stop it. We have to hear her out."
It was fight or flight time and running wasn't an option. "It is happening and I didn't just decide. I took this seriously. I have a plan you know."
"That's the problem. We don't know. We don't know anything because you've been sneaking behind our back making life altering decisions."
"Because it's my life. Ugh, I knew you wouldn't even try to understand. Dad I felt like I had spent ten years in prison when I was there."
Tony went to her this time. Holding her close he rubbed her back and head without speaking. Gibbs had pinched the bridge of his nose so many times he thought he might've broken it. He may have been comforting, but Tony was no pushover.
"Baby girl sit down and take us through it from the beginning." She looked over at her other father. Her chocolate brown eyes full of apprehension. He wasn't anywhere near a place where he wanted to offer her comfort.
"I applied to another program. I got in too."
"What program Caitlin?" Each word was clipped. Tony gave his own version of a glare at the tone.
"The USSS." The acronym gave her a minute while they processed.
"The Secret Service?" Zero to sixty again. He was nearly purple now. "You want to be a federal agent? Not while I'm alive."
Tony was too stunned to speak. Law enforcement was not what he was thinking. She obviously loved the law, but he didn't see his little girl carrying a gun. Chasing down bad guys.
"You're telling me it's good enough for you, but not me?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying. You're too smart for this Caitlin. You've always wanted to be a lawyer. One hard year doesn't mean you throw it all away."
"Hypocrite," she shouted back on her feet again.
"Would both of you sit down please and stop yelling? Kate you are way out of line. You're the one springing all of this on us. What did you think the reaction would be?"
"Pretty much this, which is why I didn't want to talk about it on my first night back."
"I honestly don't think he'd take it any better tomorrow."
"Are you saying you're okay with this?" She was having a little hope infused now.
"No, he's not." Gibbs all but growled.
Tony physically sat Kate in his spot on the couch and went to his partner. "Don't tell me how I feel and I won't tell you how to." Reaching out to touch his face Gibbs backed off a little. As a smidge of the tension left his body Tony pulled him close. "You are the absolute love of my life. I back your play and have your six in all things, but I will not dictate our daughter's future. I can't do to her what my father did to me. Baby, we have to hear her out. She doesn't need our permission, but I think she wants our blessing. We need to listen."
"I hate everything about this."
"I know, but you love her. That's all that matters." They were huddled together speaking so softly Kate couldn't make out the words. Her dad did seem calmer though. Several of the resident butterflies in her stomach flew off. She stood up and moved to them.
"Dad... Daddy, I'm really sorry I lied. I didn't want to, but I was so scared. This isn't something I wanted to be talked out of. I need to know you understand... that you forgive me."
For a minute they both stared at her. She held her ground and their gaze.
"Well, Tony's right I think you better start at the beginning." She didn't wait for an invitation. Instead launching herself into their arms.
For the next two hours all they did was talk. Tony patient and inquisitive. Gibbs pensive. Kate thorough. She didn't leave any part of her thought process or actions out knowing they both did better with detailed specifics. Finally, it was settled. They would cut their trip to Mexico short and help her move down to Glynco, Georgia for her first eleven weeks of training. She would then be back in DC for more training before graduating the program.
Tears had been shed, there was more yelling, a few cups of coffee, a beer or two and a lot of negotiating. In the end Gibbs had to let her go with his blessing because she was determined to go without it. It was that streak of stubborn resolve that vexed him and made him proud at the same time.
Once they'd sent the spent twenty-two year old up to bed they settled on the couch. Gibbs was one who liked to cope in solitude most times, but allowed Tony to hold him offering comfort and strength. Letting his little girl go off to do something so potentially dangerous was turning him inside out. How could he protect her when it was going to be her job to do the protecting? It wasn't something he needed to voice. After all their years together he knew Tony understood. They'd all had their roles and Gibbs was the protector. It wasn't a baton he wanted to turn over.
After a while Tony's breathing deepened alerting Gibbs that he was sleeping sound. Sliding off Gibbs kissed him before Tony rolled to his side. He wouldn't make him get up until he finally made his own way up to their bedroom. For now he needed to go to his other place of refuge. In the basement he poured a mason jar full of bourbon and picked up a sanding block. He had easily pictured her life as a lawyer. As a United States Secret Service Agent he had no idea what her future could hold. One thing was certain. The kid did have spunk.
~Fin~