Kate's father, brothers and their family had all come in to celebrate the twins' birthday this weekend. The pain of loosing their mother still new and fresh, spending time together whenever they could helped them all heal. With it being Amelia and Lilly's first birthday without their Grandmother present, the whole family wanted their days to be special. They deserved it after everything they'd been through this past year. Kate too. Kate and Tony spared no expense when it came to their presents and party. They had hired the biggest bouncy castle they could find, bought the cutest birthday cake in the shape of a fairytale castle, and all the presents two little girls could dream of.
Kate and Tony had only been in bed for two hours when the girls came bustling into their bedroom at 5am, jumping all over the bed and screaming 'It's our birthday!'.
Kate and Tony followed their daughters' out their bedroom and into the living room where their presents were. The room was almost bursting at the seems with pretty pink wrapped boxes. The girls dove into the boxes head first, paper and ribbons flying every which way whilst Tony and Kate sat on the sofa watching the girls unwrap their gifts. The four of them were absolutely beaming, the girls ecstatic with their presents, Kate and Tony melting inside at how happy the girls were.
"You did good, babe!" Tony smiled.
"We did good" Kate smiled back, correcting the love of her life.
Kate's family started arriving shortly after 9am. First to arrive was Rick, his wife Jessica and their son Max, next to arrive was Joe, his fiance Lana and his step-daughter Callie. Tommy and his sons Jack and Alex arrived an hour later and Rachel, her husband Mark and their children Leo, Jennifer and Ella arrived an hour before the party started. Tony had gone to pick Kate's father up from the airport and had told him that he and Kate were now an item. Richard Todd had felt happy for the first time since his wife died.
Tony had met them all before but he couldn't remember the names of Kate's 7 nieces and nephews! Their other family was also coming to the twins' party. Abby arrived early and full of energy, almost looking as though she was going to explode with excitement as she gave the twins their present.
"Abbs, why is the box growling?" Kate asked, even though she knew full well there was a puppy in there.
"And why does it have airholes?!" Tony added.
"A puppy?!" Lilly squealed with joy as a tiny white coloured silky Jack Russel puppy jumped from the box and into the twins' arms, licking them excitedly.
"Really Abbs?!" Kate sighed, knowing she was now going to be stuck with the puppy.
"I couldn't resist! He was so adorable and hyper!" Abby smiled innocently.
"Can we keep him?!" Lilly asked.
"Please Mommy!" Amelia added, both the twins, the puppy and Abby shooting Kate puppy-dog eyes.
"Fine!" Kate huffed. "But when it poops on the floor you guys have to clean it up!"
"We will!" Both girls said in unison.
"So, what are you going to name him?" Abby asked with a huge smile on her lips.
"Noodles!" Amelia spat happily.
"Noodles?" Kate raised an eyebrow sceptically.
"Yeah!" Lilly smiled, liking the name her twin had picked.
"Only if you're sure!" Kate laughed.
Within the next hour, Gibbs, Ziva, McGee, Ducky and much to their surprise, Jenny had arrived, all baring giant gifts for the both of them.
Most of the adults were on the lawn, drinking the alcoholic beverages Kate and Tony had left out, or eating the barbecue food Rick and Tommy were making whilst the children were running wild on the bouncy castle or playing with the puppy. Kate's father was sat in a quiet corner of the garden with Gibbs and Ducky, Abby was on the bouncy castle with the children whilst Ziva, Jenny and McGee seemed to be mingling with Kate's brothers, their families and the other parents of the children at the party. Kate and Tony however, were busy in the kitchen.
"Okay, can you take these out?" Kate asked, signalling to a tray full of bowls of icecream, Tony nodding in agreement. "Oh but be careful, there's one kid out there that's lactose intolerant, I don't know which one though, it could be that skinny, geeky looking ginger kid that looks like he's allergic to everything but who knows!" Kate added, as she was checking on the kids' pizza's in the oven. "Oh!" Kate called out as Tony was halfway out the kitchen causing him to turn back and look at her "There's some kid named Jake who's not allowed icecream because he has like crazy ADHD"
"Got it!" Tony said as he exited the kitchen and carried on into the garden, relaying what Kate had just said over and over in his head.
Kate watched from the kitchen window, a giant smile on her face as 30+ kids and their ne puppy, Nooles all ran to Tony at the same time all excited for icecream. She couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her lips as Tony lost his footing and fell backwards.
"Hey little sis" Rachel smiled as she entered the kitchen.
"Hey Rach, is everything okay?" Kate asked as she took the pizza out of the oven.
"I'm fine" Rachel laughed. "But you and Tony looked swamped! Do you need any help?"
"We're fi-"
"-Kate, I know how stressful these things are. I have three kids of my own. So tell me, what do you need help with?"
"Well, could you take these trays out and put them on the kids food table?" Kate asked, pointing to the trays of sandwiches, sausage rolls and pizza's.
"Sure!" Rachel said with a smile. "Oh God!" She said as the sight outside caught her eye.
"What?" Kate asked as she followed her elder sisters eyeline to Rick Jnr, Tommy and Joe all walking up to Tony, doing their best 'tough guy' walk.
"They're going to give him the 'you hurt my little sister, I'm going to beat the crap out of you!' talk!" Rachel sniggered.
"Hey guys, is everything okay?" Tony asked, waving the empty tray in his hands.
"We're gonna lay down some rules!" Tommy said in a gruff, serious voice.
"Okaaaaaay?" Tony replied.
"You hurt little Katie in any way, I swear to God the three of us are gonna drive down here and beat the crap out of you!" Rick Jnr narrowed his eyes at Tony. "She's already been hurt and if you ever even think about hurting her or those two little girls-"
"-Look guys, I am never, ever going to hurt Kate, okay? Or the girls! I love the three of them more than anything. They're the best thing that's ever happened in my life and I am not going to do anything to ruin that!" Tony said more firmly than he would have liked, probably due to the fact he meant every single word and the idea of ever hurting Kate or the twins was absolutely absurd!
Rick Jnr, Joe and Tommy all liked Tony, a lot actually and thought he was a good guy, but still, Kate was their little sister and they were going to give Tony the typical big brother speech. They were all still pissed off to the point where they would kill him, with Jimmy and they always would be.
"Okay. Good!" Joe crossed his arms across his chest and looked Tony square in the eye.
"Is this over?" Tony asked, not in a mean way but he really was busy right now "...because I need to get back to the kitchen"
"We're done" Rick Jnr, the eldest of them all, brotherly tapped Tony's shoulder.
Tony passed Rachel as he was entering the kitchen to a Kate who was not trying to hide he amusement.
"So you saw?" Tony laughed., slightly embarrsed by the whole situation.
"What? How the Todd Brother Mafia tried to shake you down?" Kate laughed, raising an eyebrow in amusement.
"Yes! That!" Tony laughed, snaking his arms around Kate's hips and pulling her close to him.
"Don't worry, they've been doing it since I was 13! They even cornered Mark in a dark alley when Rachel started dating him! This must mean they like you" Kate smiled.
"The Todd's can't escape the DiNozzo charm" Tony smiled cheekily.
Kate smiled before pulling Tony's neck down and kissing him, her arms tightening slightly around his neck before resting their foreheads together. That damn DiNozzo charm!
"Oh my God, awwwww! You guys are so cute!" Abby squealed from the kitchen doorway. "You're like a real couple!"
"We are a real couple, Abbs!" Tony kissed Kate's cheek before pouring the juice into jugs.
"You know what I mean!" Abby shrugged it off.
"Is there anything you need?" Kate asked.
"Oh yeah, some kid... Evan? Fell over and cut his knee, I just wanted to know where your first aid box was"
"Its in the cupboard" Kate got the plastic green box out and handed it to Abby. "Is he okay?"
"Oh he's fine, its just a scrape!" Abby smiled. "Ziva's the one who's freaking out!" She laughed before heading back outside to put a plaster on said child's knee.
Kate placed candles all around the giant pink castle cake and lit them as Tony carried the cake outside. Everyone gathered round to sing Happy Birthday to Lilly and Amelia (even Gibbs sang!) and Kate snapped photo's of the girls blowing the candles out, trying, and failing not to cry. Once they had blown out their candles, the kids (and Abby) went back to playing on the bouncy castle and Kate and Tony decided they deserved half an hour to relax with a beer. Kate sat in a chair next to her sister-in-law Jessica, Tony playing football with Kate's brothers and Rachel's husband, Mark.
"Your Dad is really enjoying himself!" Jessica smiled, looking over to the quiet corner where the three gray haired men sat.
Kate and Jessica had always been close. She had been in her life for as long as she could remember. Jessica had been with Rick since they were 14, Kate only being 5 at the time. They had their first child, Olivia when they were only 19 and they had been married ever since. Kate couldn't remember a time when Jessica and Rick weren't happy. They were literally perfect for each other. Kind of like her and Tony.
"He is?" Kate asked. "I've hardly seen him today!"
"Yeah, obviously he's been taking the whole thing pretty bad. We've been popping in to see him twice a week and being with you and the girls and seeing how happy you and Tony are, that's really effected him. In a good way. Its nice to see him smiling again" Jessica smiled, Rick Snr and Martha had always been like parents to her. She was just as much their daughter as Kate and Rachel were.
"It is!" Kate smiled. "How is Liv anyway?" Kate asked.
"Well, she turned 25 last week! God that makes me feel so old!" Jessica cringed. "She and her girlfriend are going to buy their first house, which is totally crazy because they're both just finishing med school, but she's insistent that she knows what she's doing!" Jessica huffed. "But other than that, she's doing fantastic! How about you? How've you been?"
"Better than I thought I would be" Kate said honestly, knowing she could trust Jessica with anything. "I mean, it was hard at first and it still is some days but Tony's really been there for me, and the girls! He kind of fills that empty void, y'know?"
"I'm glad you're finally happy" Jessica smiled, placing her hand lovingly on Kate's. "You two really do seem to be good for eachother!"
Before Kate could say another word, angry shouting and the sound of a bin falling to the floor caught everybodies attention.
"What the?" Kate asked under her breath, before getting up and heading to the front of her house.
"You utter scumbag! I'm going to fucking kill you!" Joe roared as he plunged his fist into another man's face.
"JOE!" Kate spat before she realised who he was fighting with.
"YOU!" Rick Jnr said through gritted teeth as he ran to join his brother, most of the family had followed Kate and were now watching the scene fold out in front of them. "You're a fucking dead man, Jimmy!" Rick added.
"Rick! Leave it! Get Joe off him!" Kate cried.
"Jimmy?" Tony's eyes widened and his blood started to boil.
"Jimmy?" Abby, who was stood next to Tony asked.
"He's the twins' bio father! He left Kate as soon as she told him. He broke her heart!" Tony growled, if it wasn't for Ziva holding him back he would be beating the crap out of that man right now.
"Rick, Joe! Please, he's not worth it!" Kate pleaded with her brothers, Rick backing off, Joe only seeming to fight harder.
"Joe, leave him! You are not going back to prison for him!" Rick pulled his younger brother off Jimmy.
"Get off me, Ricky!" Joe snarled. "I'm going to kill the bastard! What he did to Katie! I'm not having it! He was my best friend and then he broke my little sisters heart!" Joe was physically shaking with anger.
If it wasn't for Rick holding him back, he would have beaten Jimmy until he was nothing but a pile of dust on Kate's front lawn.
"Nice to see you too, Joey!" Jimmy laughed as he clicked his broken, bloody nose back into place. "Oh look at you, playing Mommy now you've got no choice!" Jimmy said spitefully towards Kate.
Rick and Ziva's grip tightened around the men they were holding back as they grew even angrier.
"What do you want, Jimmy?!" Kate huffed.
"What do you think I want?! I'm here to wish Amy and Lucy a happy birthday!"
"Its Amelia and Lilly!" Tony spat.
"Excuse me, who are you?" Jimmy looked at Tony in disgust.
"I am the father of those beautiful little girls!" He replied, moving from Ziva's grip and standing next to Kate.
"Ha!" Jimmy laughed. "I think you'll find, that's me!"
"I think you'll find my fucking fist in your face in a minute!" Tommy growled, not usually being the violent fighter type.
"Jimmy, just leave!" Kate huffed once again.
Literally everybody at this party wanted to beat the crap out of this man. Ziva and Gibbs were on edge, Kate, Tony and the girls were their family too now and if this man tried hurting any of them, they weren't going to let him get away easily.
"No" Jimmy crossed his arms across his chest. "I have more of a right to be here than... Him" he pointed his finger at Tony. "Just because you're screwing little Caitlin here, doesn't make you the father! But then again, Kate's not their mother either. Not really"
Joe had managed to escape his brothers grip and was now heading towards Jimmy, Joe's fist colliding with Jimmy's stomach.
This time it was Gibbs who pulled him away.
"Don't you dare ever speak to or about Kate in that way!" Tony said in a low, angry voice.
"I'll speak to the bitch the way I want, and there's nothing you can do to stop me!"
Tony saw red. That was it. Nobody spoke that way about the woman he loved. Nobody. Within seconds Tony's fist flew into Jimmy's face, blood and a tooth flying out of his spiteful mouth. Jimmy fell backward but Tony grabbed him by his collar and pulled him back to his feet before his fist smashed into his face once again.
"Tony!" Kate screamed, trying to pull Tony off her ex only to find Tommy holding her back.
"He has it coming, Kate!" Tommy said.
"Tony isn't going to get in trouble for this! Not for him!" Kate growled trying and failing to free herself from her big brother's strong arms.
Tony was in a blind rage. His fists were flying. He felt strong arms pulling him off of his target and almost instinctively punched the person behind him.
"Leave it, Tony. Go to Kate" Gibbs said in a calm voice. Tony looked back to see Kate fighting her brothers grip, tears streaming down her face as she was screaming for him to stop. One last punch and Tony pushed him to the ground.
"Don't you ever, ever speak about Kate like that again! Because next time, you won't be so lucky!" Tony snarled before walking towards Kate.
"I'm sorry babe" Tony said as he approached Kate.
"Its okay, I'm worried about you, that's all!"
Gibbs stood towering over Jimmy who lay on the road, clutching his stomach in pain, and watched as everyone made their way back inside. Rick Snr, Ziva, Jenny and McGee staying where they were.
"Get up!" Gibbs ordered the man on the floor. "I said get up!" He spat when the man didn't move.
Barely able to breathe, let alone stand up, in fear of what this silver-haired man would do if he didn't, Jimmy stood up as much as he could.
"I don't know what exactly went on between you and Kate, and quite frankly, I don't care. But when you come here, causing a scene at a childs birthday party and then go on to insult not one, but two members of my team, members of my team who are like my children, you insult me! If you think that beating you just got off Tony and Joe was bad, believe me, that's nothing compared to the hell that I will inflict on you! You had your chance to do the right thing once, and I know that's not what you've got in mind right now so maybe, for the first time in your life, do something decent. Leave Kate and them girls alone! If your intentions are nothing but pure then leave and don't come back. I love them girls like they were my own Granddaughters and if you're ever going to hurt them, or even hurt Kate an any way again... You've caused enough pain and heartbreak to last a lifetime! So get yourself up and get away, get far away and don't ever even think about showing your face around here again!" Gibbs said in a eerily calm tone.
All the children were still playing on the bouncy castle, blissfully unaware of what had just happened and most adults had gone back into the garden. Kate was in the kitchen holding a frozen bag of peas on Tony's swollen, bloody fist, while Joe's girlfriend Lana was icing his fist the other side of the kitchen.
"You two stay out of sight until all the kids have left" Kate addressed her brother and boyfriend.
"I'm sorry, Katie. I just... I saw him and I flipped!" Joe said, regretting what he had done only because it had upset Kate, not because Jimmy didn't have it coming.
"I know you are, Joe" Kate smiled at her brother, knowing he was sorry. "I gotta go back outside and sort all the kids out, you two stay here" Kate ghosted her thumb across Tony's jawline before she picked up the tray of party bags and headed outside, a fake smile on her face.
This chapter was longer than I planned but I hope it makes up for all the short ones lately! I hope you guys liked it! Did they handle Jimmy the right way? Let me know what you think, thank you!:D