AN: First off Merry Christmas et all to everyone. Second off here is chapter 11 in the story. This one is a little different, some Kate/Gibbs time. Its not what I started off to write but the scene took off. So enjoy and let me know your thoughts! dark rolling sea.
Chapter Eleven: Down Time
Gibbs woke early again the next morning but instead of getting up and moving about the house he snuggled in closer to Kate and closed his eyes again. He wasn't going to let her wake up alone this morning, not after she shared with him the night before that she was still having nightmares.
He laid there awake for at least another hour before Kate started to stir. He pushed his face gently into her shoulder and waited. He was happy he noted; he felt complete. He was still amazed that Kate did this to him, that he had been stuck up until two years ago when they both decided to take a chance.
When Kate opened her eyes she smiled. Gibbs was still next to her in the bed. She knew he had to have been awake for a while now but had chosen to stay next to her. She rolled gently towards him and came face to face with him. He still had his eyes closed. She reached over and placed a soft kiss on his forehead then got up and went into the bathroom.
Gibbs smiled after Kate got up. He rolled onto his back and stared at the ceiling. The house was quiet. Kate came back to the bed and lay down again. Gibbs rolled to his side and watched her as she curled into him.
"Good morning," Gibbs said softly. Kate smiled with her eyes still closed pressed into his front.
"Morning," Kate replied sleepily.
"When's Abby and McGee come in?"
"In the afternoon. They're coming into Ft. Wayne then driving here."
"Think your mom is ready to meet Abby?" Gibbs asked with a small chuckle. He kissed Kate on the forehead.
"Probably not," Kate said.
"Did you tell your mother about Abby?" Gibbs asked pulling Kate tighter to him. She let out a small smile and shook her head.
"No, I didn't know what to tell her."
"Oh, this could be interesting. And Abby is going to wear which color dress again?"
"She has navy blue, Jethro; she's standing next to Jeb."
"Right, and you've seen the dress right?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Kate said her voice betraying her attempt to remain nonchalant.
"Just that Abby has a way of…surprises."
"You don't think?" Kate said pulling from his grip and sitting bolt upright in the bed. Gibbs leaned up on his right elbow and frowned at Kate.
"You honestly didn't think of that?" Gibbs asked a little surprised.
"Jethro, she wouldn't right? I mean it's my wedding and she's the maid of honor and and and…"
"Relax, Kate, I'm sure she got what you asked her to get," Gibbs replied quickly trying to calm Kate down.
"But what if she didn't, I mean what if she plans on just showing up in black. It'll ruin the whole thing, Jethro, it will mess everything up. She can't do this."
"Kate!" Gibbs said sternly shaking his head. She looked at him and took a deep breath. "She hasn't done anything yet. Relax. I'm sure she'll wear navy blue like you asked. I didn't mean anything by the comment."
Kate didn't respond. She just watched Gibbs' face for a minute as he tried to calm her. Finally she nodded slowly and bit her bottom lip. She then leaned back against the headboard and stared at the wall. Gibbs stayed propped on his elbow and leaned against the palm of his hand. He could see the panic surging through her eyes, as she thought of all the horrible things that could go wrong with Abby wearing the 'wrong' dress. He grinned.
Gibbs reached out and grabbed her by the waist and quickly tugged her down so that she landed flat against the pillows. He rolled over so that he pinned her beneath him and then grinned at her. She was frowning, trying to push him off of her. He won and finally she gave up.
"What?" she asked exasperated.
"Relax, Kate," he said with a grin. "Everything will be great, besides you'll be center of attention no matter what."
He leaned forward and kissed her then before she could respond. She temporarily forgot about her stressor as she kissed him back. Finally he pulled back but continued to pin her beneath him. She struggled a little before giving in.
"You going to let me go?"
"Nope," Gibbs said with a coy smile. Kate cocked her head and raised the eyebrows at him. "Not till you promise to relax."
"Promise, huh?"
"Yep, need you sane to keep me sane."
Kate couldn't help but laugh when he said that. She smiled broadly at him and nodded. He still held his ground. She took a deep breath and made one more futile attempt to push him off of her but failed miserably once again, eliciting a grin from Gibbs.
"You sane?" Kate asked.
"Yep, and you can stop trying to escape."
"I have to keep you sane?"
"It's your family," Gibbs said with a grin.
"Jethro, I don't think it's humanly possible to…"
He didn't let her finish. He had leaned in again and kissed her. When he pulled back she lightly punched him in the arm. He smiled. She wiggled to get more comfortable but he only tightened his grip.
"You going to relax and keep me sane?"
"I promise to relax," Kate said with a smile. At that point both of their attentions were diverted to the door as a knock sounded from the other side. Kate used the split second distraction of maneuver Gibbs just enough that she broke from his grip and was slipping from the bed before he realized what had happened.
"Sneaky," Gibbs whispered as he found himself alone on the bed. Kate smiled over her shoulder at him and reached for the door. Gibbs sat on the edge of the bed and watched. Kate opened the door to find Renee on the other side.
"Hey," Kate said smiling at her niece.
"Grandma said to get you two for breakfast," Renee said looking around Kate at Gibbs. Gibbs smiled back at her.
"We'll be right down," Kate said and closed the door after the girl nodded and moved away. Kate turned towards Gibbs and smiled staying out of his reach. He eyed her carefully.
"Running away?" Gibbs said with a smile standing up from the bed.
"Breakfast is ready, and I promised to relax. See all relaxed now," Kate replied with a smile, she then turned and yanked the door open and made her exit from the room. Gibbs smiled and followed her out and down to the kitchen.
After breakfast Gibbs and Kate took the rental car and drove into town to the motel where his family was staying. They all meet in Ann's room and Hunter immediately was in Gibbs' lap who didn't seem to mind. Kate was holding Noah while Jeb and Kylie chatted with them. Ann was watching over and interacting in the conversation.
"So, Kate, how is everything going?" Ann asked once Gibbs and Jeb seemed to be in a conversation. Kate looked up from Noah and smiled.
"Good," Kate replied.
"How is he handling the large family?" Ann asked looking up at Gibbs.
"Handling it. But I think he is feeling a little overwhelmed. He was a little eager to get over here after breakfast and it was just with my oldest brother his family and my mom. Dad went to my uncle's for the day. Which reminds me you think Hunter would like to see a dairy farm while here?"
"Dairy farm?"
"Yeah, my uncle and aunt have a small dairy farm about an hour and half from here. I thought we could make a day trip or at least take Hunter out to see it."
"I think that would be wonderful."
"I was thinking maybe going on Thursday since no one is coming in and we don't have the rehearsal until the next night."
"That sounds like an excellent idea. How did Jethro take this suggestion?"
Kate looked up at Ann and cringed a little. She hadn't actually brought the idea up to Gibbs yet. She wasn't sure on how to approach the subject. Ann read the look in her eye and chuckled.
"I haven't actually asked him yet," Kate said looking down at Noah again who started to fuss. Kylie came over and Kate handed the boy over to her. Kylie disappeared into another room and Kate and Ann sat watching the men in the room. Finally Gibbs looked over and smiled. Hunter jumped from his lap and walked over to Kate and Ann. He climbed into Kate's lap and sat back.
"Hey, Buddy," Kate said giving him a little squeeze. He smiled.
"Hi, Kate."
"I got a question for you."
"Yeah?" he asked turning so he could look up at her.
"How would you like to go to see a cow farm?"
"Cow farm? What kind of cow farm?"
"Where they milk cows."
"Could I help?"
"Help?"
"Yeah, help milk the cows."
"You want to?"
"Yeah."
"Well I'm sure we could arrange it. Tell you what, you go ask your Papa if he'll take us on Thursday and I'll see if my uncle will let you help."
"Deal," Hunter said with a smile and slid from Kate's lap. He hurried over to Gibbs and tugged at his sleeve. Gibbs looked down at him once he was done speaking to Jeb.
"What's up, Buddy?"
"Will you take me and Kate to the cow farm on Thursday so I can help milk the cows?" Hunter asked with a smile on his face, hope gleaming in his eyes. Gibbs stared at him in surprise then tore his gaze away to glance at Kate. Kate was sitting with an innocent smile on her face and he looked back at Hunter.
"You want to?"
"Yeah," Hunter said with enthusiasm.
"Ok, Thursday we'll go out to the cow farm," Gibbs said noncommittally. He looked up at Kate and gave her a questioning look and she simply smiled at him. His face turned to suspicious and Kate smiled even broader. Hunter smiled and nodded and then went to find some of his toys he had brought with him. Gibbs told Jeb he'd be back and made his way over to Kate and Ann.
"Hi," Kate said softly with a smile as he sat down next to her. He just continued to stare at her then glanced back at Hunter. Jeb had a smile on his face.
"What was that about?"
"Hunter wants to go to a dairy farm."
"Ok, and?"
"And my uncle and aunt have one up in LaPorte County and I thought it would be nice to take Hunter out there and experience it. Come on, Jethro, it won't kill you."
"We'll see about that," Gibbs said and shook his head.
TBC…
AN: Promise Abby's arrival and the Todd's reaction will be in the next chapter. It just didn't work into this after it grew sorry!
