-1Chapter ten: Family Ties
Summary: Meet some of the family. And hear their thoughts on Tony.
Disclaimer: The family's all mine. The rest is not.
AN: Hope you like the original characters.
When she returns from her trip to visit her favorite family members, she finds her apartment door unlocked. She remembers she has not brought her gun on the trip, so she must defend herself with the knife she always carries around with her, completely in sync with rule number nine. Well, the knife will just have to do.
The second she steps foot in her apartment she knows that someone has been there. A trail of rose petals leads to her bedroom, and she is hesitant to follow it. Who knows what she could find in that room. And more importantly who she will find there.
She hesitates in front of the door, holding the knife in her hand. She takes a deep breath to compose herself and slowly but surely turns the knob on the door.
And heck, she is shocked by what she sees when she opens that door. Tony DiNozzo is lying on her bed, and he is completely naked, which immediately brings back memories of Cuba and iguanas. She never did get rid of that particular mental images. And if she is really honest, she will admit that she did not want to get rid of it.
"Welcome home Katie," he speaks.
He seems completely comfortable lying naked in her bed, while she is still trying to pick her jaw off the petal-covered floor. This cannot be happening.
Covering her bedroom floor with petals does seem like something Tony would do - because he probably got it from some kind of movie he saw - but the lying naked in her bed part seems too surreal to be true. Even though Tony's ego would definitely allow him to do something like that. She just does not know the reasons.
Actually, she does not care about the reasons right now, she thinks as she kicks off her shows and throws down the knife. He is naked in her bed, and that is all that she can think of at the moment. The nakedness is kind of the center of attention.
She does not know why she does it, but she gets rid of her clothes and joins him on the bed. It just seems like the right thing to do.
And then she wakes up.
This is not good.
……………
While the rest of the team is working on some kind of supermodel, she is visiting her favorite relatives. And she does not even mind it, because if she had stayed, Tony would have made some sexist comments about the models that she would not be able to ignore, and they would have another stupid fight. And she does not want that. She really does not want to be fighting with him right now, because she knows she is falling.
Right now, she is waiting for one of her favorite nieces to get out of school. The girl has just started junior high, and she is one of the brightest of the bunch already. That just makes her so much more proud of Gwenny. She reminds her of herself sometimes.
"Aunt Kate," she suddenly hears her niece's voice.
"Hey Gwenny," she calls out.
The twelve-year-old immediately runs over to her and gives her a big hug. This is what she misses most when she is working, some time with her family. Well, mostly time with some members of the family, the ones that do not constantly pester her about finding someone to marry, or the ones that pester her about her "irresponsible" job.
Gwen is one of the girls who remind her of herself. She is not a typical girly-girl, she is smart and very good at defending herself from anyone. That last part is something she has taught her niece. You never do know what could happen to them.
"Shouldn't you be working," Gwen asks her.
"Nope," she replies. "I took time off to visit my favorite relatives."
Her niece starts smiling at being called a favorite relative, even though she should really know that by now. She always takes some time for Gwenny.
"Won't your partner miss you," is the next question.
Why she ever showed Gwenny pictures of the team is beyond her at the moment. But it seemed innocent, at some sort of family gathering, and Gwen had just been scolded by Erica for missing some sort of obligatory ballet practice. She wanted to cheer her up, so she showed her the pictures and told her some funny anecdotes. Maybe she should have skipped the ones about the paternity test and the shower.
"He's too busy with the boot camp babes," she answers with a shrug.
After she showed Gwen - and some other choose relatives - the pictures of the time, and she finished telling some anecdotes, that particular part of the family got it into their heads that she was secretly in love with Tony. Since then, they always ask about him every single time that she visits. It tends to get very annoying.
Especially now that the statement seems to be getting close to being the truth.
"Since when is mom your favorite relative, by the way," Gwen teases.
"She isn't," she speaks. "Time off to visit my favorite cousins."
Her favorite cousins are mostly girls, like Gwenny. Or actually, her full name is Gwendolyn, courtesy of Erica's love for the King Arthur legends.
"Going to see Sienna as well," Gwen asks.
Sienna, her oldest niece, the one who has headed off for college this year, is a bit of a free spirit - very much like her mother, actually. And her mother just happens to be Kate's favorite sister in law Addison. She is particularly close with that part of the family.
"Yes," she responds, "and Marius as well, of course."
The quiet thirteen-year-old is her favorite nephew, and the only one in the family who seems to share her drawing talents. He may not talk very much, but he notices everything that happens in the family, and possibly makes drawings of that. She is still amused by that time when he drew a caricature of his aunt Erica.
"You'll want to avoid Keira," Gwen advises. "She has a new boyfriend."
Keira - sister of Sienna, Riley, and Marius - is the flirt of the family. Even though Sienna is a bit of a free spirit when it comes to love and relationships, she does not even get close to her younger sister's stream of boyfriends. The sixteen-year-old has a new boyfriend every time she visits, and a couple of others in between.
"Not again," she mutters with a sigh.
"Yes, again," Gwen rolls her eyes. "She talks about him all the time."
That is typical Keira, she thinks as they walk into the street where Connor and Erica's house is located. Gwen is almost home now, and she will have to choose between leaving her niece at the door and having to face her brother and his meddling wife. And she is probably going to choose the first option. She does not like Erica at all.
"Promise me you won't turn into an idiot when you get at that age," she pleads as a joke.
The idea of Gwen turning into as much of a Barbie as her cousin is laughable, which is proven by the grin she shares with Gwenny about this joke.
"As if you and aunt Addison would let me," Gwen replies while laughing.
"Who knows what your mom would do," she mutters as a response.
Erica is perfectly capable of trying to turn her only daughter into a perfect little doll, especially since she cannot do something like that to her two sons. She sometimes wishes that Gwen had parents who understood her better, because Connor and Erica are much too traditional to understand both Gwen and herself.
"You may have a point there," Gwen acknowledges.
They are almost at Connor's house, and she stops walking because she wants to prolong the time she has with Gwen for just a little bit longer. They stop in front of a Starbucks, and she does not know what to say anymore. She needs more time, probably.
"Surprise," a familiar voice suddenly calls out.
As she turns around, she notices that the familiar voice belongs to her niece Sienna, who is followed by her mother and her younger brother. The three of them are all smiling, even though Marius' smile is not as wide. He always seems more solemn.
"I thought I'd see you, and not otherwise," she says with a smile.
"Mom couldn't wait," Sienna shrugs her shoulders.
Since Addison is known throughout the family for being notoriously impatient, she understands Sienna's response. Addison was probably done with one of her paintings and just needed to get out of the house that was probably filled with her husband's business relations. Addison and Brendon are complete opposites, but they work somehow.
"Of course she couldn't," she simply responds.
The entire group enters into the small Starbucks and immediately sits down at the largest table in the store. The owner gives them a dirty look, but the only response that gets is an extra cheerful smile from Addison, and the finger from Sienna.
"Are you talking about me again," Addison speaks, cheekily.
"Hi aunt Addison," Gwenny smiles. "Hi Marius."
Marius is constantly overshadowed by the other strong personalities in the family. But he is perfectly content with being in the background of it all. He does not necessarily need the attention, and his parents do not try to force him into the limelight against his will, like Erica tries to do with him. Marius just likes to be.
"Hi Gwen," he speaks, smiling at his favorite cousin.
"I found this fantasy book you'd love," Gwen immediately responds.
These two have found a mutual fascination with fantasy novels. Ever since she bought Marius a copy of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings for his twelfth birthday, he has started to draw much more magical figures. And Gwen has always loved books like Harry Potter, so they tend to write their own stories together, with Marius' drawings.
"Can I see it," Marius asks her, eager to see the book.
"Of course," Gwen replies. "Come on, let's go."
Gwenny immediately drags her cousin off to her house, where Gwenny will probably first be scolded profusely by Erica for her manners and for not coming home immediately after school. Then, she will notice Marius, look annoyed, and send them upstairs.
"So silent, just like his father," Addison muses.
Addison is right, Marius is very much like his father, stern and quiet. They are both not very outspoken and spontaneous, like Addison is. And a lot of the people in the family.
"So artistic, just like his mother," Sienna mocks.
"Watch it you," Addison replies with a grin.
These two are so perfectly comfortable with each other, something that she never really got to share with her own mother. Bridget was always expecting her to be different, more girly, than she actually was. She just wanted her mother to accept her. And they still do not get along that much because her mother is suddenly focused on getting her married off, something she is not particularly interested in at the moment.
"It's good to see all of you," she says, smiling widely.
She likes seeing this particular part of her family, but deep down, she really misses everyone she left at work. And Tony in particular. But that is just wrong, even when she does consider these feelings she now has for him. It still just seems wrong.
"Just be glad we didn't bring Keira," Sienna remarks.
If Keira had come along, she would have played nice, of course, but it would just be a lot less fun. Addison knows that she does not particularly like Keira, and even she cannot change her daughter. Erica's influence has gotten to her too much already.
"Gwenny said she had a new boyfriend," she speaks.
"He is all she talks about," Sienna responds to that with a sigh that belies how she feels about her sister's serial dating. "That and how big her butt looks in her new pants."
That particular observation makes her want to giggle like a schoolgirl, something she has not done much lately. The few times that she did have to giggle, it was about something crazy or funny that Tony said or did. He is the only one who has made her laugh since that horrible thing with him. And now she has her family to add to the short list.
"When Sienna gets annoyed, it is really bad," Addison adds.
"Of course," she heartily agrees.
When Addison is starting to get that mischievous twinkle in her eyes that always serves to remind her of Tony, she knows that this does not bode any good for her. Addison is bound to start asking awkward questions, or she will start saying things that will really embarrass her. And those things will probably involve Tony.
"How's work," Addison asks her.
"Just come out with it," she responds to that.
They both know that the only interest Addison has in her job is the part where she works with a man who Addison likes to call "Hottie McHot". For someone whose oldest kids are eighteen years old, Addison sure has the tendency to be immature.
"How are things with your sexy partner," is the next question Addison asks.
Case in point. While Sienna just stands by and laughs at the whole thing, coming back with three cups of coffee, Addison is the one asking the embarrassing questions.
"He is busy ogling boot camp babes at the moment," she answers.
Of course, the minute she starts talking about him again, those pesky feelings start annoying her again. She wonders when he is going to call her - because she knows he will, he is just worried like that - and what he will say. And of course, at that exact moment, her phone starts ringing. Could it be him?
"Ten bucks that's him," Addison speaks.
Is Addison just trying to get her all riled up, or could it really be him? The really annoying part of all this is that she really wants it to be him. They have only been away for each other for about two days, and already they called each other several times about the most ridiculous things. They are getting way too attached to each other.
"Kate Todd," she says as she picks up her phone.
"Katie," she hears Tony call out. "Where are you?"
She totally owes Addison those ten bucks now. It is him after all, and the butterflies - or should she just call them caterpillars - in her stomach are doing cartwheels.
"Oh, it is him," Addison immediately knows. "I knew it."
That will probably alert Tony to the fact that they are talking about him. Addison is yelling loud enough for him to hear, she notes as she sips her coffee and graces Sienna with a thankful grin for getting exactly the right kind. This must be doing wonders for his precious ego. There will be no living with him after this, in the figurative sense.
"Are you talking about me," Tony asks, probably smiling.
"I'm sorry," she apologizes. "I'm visiting my family, remember?"
Maybe she should introduce Tony to her family one day. That is the most prominent thought in her head at that moment, and it kind of scares her. She does not usually take anyone to meet her family. But he has become a friend, somehow. And even if she is ignoring the more than friendly feelings that she has for him, he has still become a very important feature in her life. It could be even more, but she cannot think of that.
"I know," he says. "Just checking in. I won't disturb you any longer."
But the problem is that he is not disturbing her at all. She wants to be talking to him right now, and that is just all kinds of wrong. She took this time off to regain her focus, to take some time away from him so that she could think about things. But now, she just finds herself thinking about him still. And those feelings are not going anywhere either.
"I'll call you later, okay," she tries to assure him.
And she will, because she has the nagging feeling that she misses him just as much as he misses her. They really have become that pathetic after what happened with him.
"It's fine, Katie," Tony speaks to her.
"Don't call me Katie," she immediately responds.
It is just an automatic response to that nickname, and it has nothing to do with Tony in any way. Deep down, she thinks it is kind of nice when he calls her that, because it reminds her of the person she used to be. And it has become part of their thing.
"Talk to you later," he promises her.
And he will, because the minute she gets back to the guest room at Addison's, she will pick up her phone and call him, starting back up just where they left off. This whole thing is making less and less sense to her, but she still thinks it is kind of nice, so she does not argue with it. And as far as she knows, neither will he.
"I owe you ten bucks," she tells Addison as she hangs up.
The grin that appears on Addison's face when she hears that is another signal that she is pretty much doomed. This will lead into another discussion of all aspects of Tony, and no matter how fascinating and stimulating - yeah right - that can be, she is really not in the mood to discuss every aspect of his physique. Not going to happen.
"Why does mom think he's sexy," Sienna asks.
"Because he is, honey," Addison immediately replies.
Sienna was not there that time when she showed some of the family members some pictures of the team, so she has only heard about Tony. She has never actually met him, or seen any kind of image of him. She would like to keep it that way.
"He's a womanizing jerk at least half of the time," she protests.
Of course, there is no way that she is going to admit to any feelings for him. She has not even really admitted it to herself yet, has not said it out loud, so she sure as heck is not going to admit to anything in front of her meddling relatives. Addison would find a way to set the two of them up, and Sienna would probably lend her a hand.
"All the good ones are," Sienna speaks with a sad smile.
She is not even going to ask what brought Sienna to that insight. She is not really that aware of her niece's dating life, at least, not enough to find out what brought on this jaded idea. But she regrets whatever made her see it like that.
"Do I want to know how you know that," Addison asks, in full mother-mode.
"No, you don't," is her daughter's immediate response. "Do you have pictures?"
That is a nice way of shifting the focus from Sienna back to her. She has pulled this particular stunt so many times over the years - the downside of having three older brothers and a sister - that she cannot even be mad at her niece. She has had to escape nosiness a couple of times herself. More than a couple of times, actually.
"A group picture in my purse," she reluctantly admits.
Even more reluctantly, she takes the worn picture out of her purse. She reminisces on when it was taken, one time where Palmer had managed to get his hands on a camera, taking pictures of everything he saw. Of course, this greatly annoyed Gibbs, until Abby insisted on taking a group picture of the team and Gibbs caved.
"He's the one with his arm around you," Sienna immediately notices.
While looking at the picture some more, she notices how everyone is grouped together in a typical way. Gibbs is front and center, being the boss, and he is flanked by Ducky and Abby. McGee stands close to Abby, with Ziva on his right. Tony is standing on the far left, his arm around her with a lazy grin on his face. She is standing between him and Ducky and she is actually looking kind of happy at this placement.
"How do you know," she wonders.
How would Sienna immediately know which one of the men in the picture is Tony, when she has not seen any pictures of any member of the team before; that is something she cannot seem to grasp. There just has to be a reason.
"He's looking at you in that way," is Sienna's response.
"What way," she needs to know.
Really, Addison and Sienna are just being purposely vague at this point. She has no idea what they mean when they insinuate that Tony is looking at her in a certain way. Or maybe she does know, but she is just not ready to talk about it just yet. At the moment, she is leaning more towards the latter option, if she is being honest.
"She's not ready for that, honey," Addison says.
"Right," Sienna seems to agree. "Never mind, aunt Kate."
That is more than a little patronizing, and she would get really angry at the both of them if this idea did not have at least a hint of truth to it. She is not ready to hear about this just yet, and the fact that her family seems to notice that is alright with her.
"Why is my entire family insane," she asks herself out loud.
Addison and Sienna both start grinning at her when she says that, and she just cannot help herself, she has to grin back at them. Because even if her family is insane, she loves them nonetheless. They might provide her with a big enough distraction to stop thinking of him as much as she does. She really has serious feelings for him.
She came here to get over him. She does not think it is working.
AN: Wait, was that Kate starting to admit to feelings? At least, to herself.