AN: Some minor revisions done. Enjoy.
Chapter 13
A few weeks later:
Gibbs entered the house, after Mac opened it on his knock. He accepted her hug and greeting, and followed her into the kitchen, noting the changes in the house. It looked brighter, cleaner, and there was a large fish tank in the living room, with colorful fish darting about. Surprisingly enough, there was a large cat tower in another corner of the room, and as Gibbs watched, three long-haired black kittens tumbled down the stairs before barreling down the hall into what used to be Admiral Kent's room.
"Meet the Triplets," Mac said, handing him a cup of coffee. "They, and Momma, moved in two weeks ago, and it's been fun ever since. The vet says the kittens were about three weeks at the time."
"They're cute," Gibbs said, going into the kitchen. "How's married life treating you?"
Mac blushed. "Wonderful. Tom's been studying for his bar exam, so he can join JAG and be home more often. And I got promoted. Turns out one of the other supervisors, Angie, didn't take the threat against me seriously enough and admitted to talking to a guy that matched Cain's description, about me and where I might be found. She thought it was just general chit-chat, flirt type thing, but she did admit that we keep all our staffing information on files in St. Michaels. Guess who's position I got?"
Gibbs just shook his head. "What about April?"
"She tried, she failed," Mac said. "Oh, and she had a royal screaming fit when she found out Tom and I were married. What was his was now also mine."
Gibbs chuckled. Then they both stood up, startled, at the sound of the back door rattling. Gibbs slammed Mac against the wall, bringing out his gun. A moment later, the door creaked open, then they heard a low growling noise, followed by someone swearing softly.
"Where's your car?" Gibbs hissed.
"In the shop. Tom convinced me to trade it for a cute little Mini Cooper convertible, but it needed a little work on the brakes," Mac hissed. "And yes, the back door is unlocked, because I still have to put in a kitty door for Momma!"
Suddenly, the growling changed to a loud feline yowl, and Gibbs saw the Triplets dash past the kitchen. Then they heard it; a human female voice scream in terror. Gibbs tore around the corner to the back door, weapon at the ready, Mac hot on his heels, only to see the door slamming shut. Gibbs and Mac chased after their burglar, in time to see none other than April Kent being cornered in the yard, a large black, long-haired, very angry cat, tail up and floofed, growling and swearing loudly.
"April, you dumb bitch!" Mac snarled, grabbing the cat, whom Gibbs assumed was Momma, by the scruff of her neck. "Get out of here, before I have you arrested for trespassing!"
"This house should have been mine!" April wailed. "You stole it from me!"
"If I let Momma go, will I get into trouble?" Mac casually asked Gibbs.
Gibbs smirked, putting his gun away. "I know nothing. That's good coffee, by the way."
"Isn't it? Even Tom likes it, and he's pretty picky about his coffee," Mac said easily, slowly removing her hand from Momma. April whimpered in fear. "April, let me make this perfectly clear. Momma is a sweet kitty, but this is her home and I think she's a little protective of it. Do I make myself clear?" April swore at them, and Mac let go of Momma a little more, who took a threatening lunge towards April, who shrieked in fear.
"I'll have Animal Control after you!" she screeched.
"Gibbs, would you mind?" Mac asked. "If I let Momma go, she's going to put this dumb blonde in hospital, and I really don't feel like explaining that to a judge."
Still smirking, Gibbs grabbed April and leapfrogged her off the Kent property, nearly going deaf from her cursing and swearing. As he reached the front of the house, he grinned. "And there's a cop car when you need one," he said, flagging it down.
Once the situation was explained, April was arrested for trespassing and violating her restraining order.
"Hope you have ear plugs," Gibbs told the scowling officer as he put the swearing woman in the back of his car.
"She always this bad?" the officer grumbled, slamming the car door.
"Should have heard her when Momma confronted her," Gibbs said, grinning.
"Who?"
"Big, black, furry, and very, very angry kitty," Gibbs said. "Kinda possessive about the people in her home."
The officer grunted. "Sounds like my girlfriend's cat. Fuzzbrain always makes me feel like a kid dealing with the high school principal, even though I haven't done anything wrong."
Gibbs chuckled. "Good luck." He headed back inside, and found Mac back in the kitchen, giving a now-purring Momma a can of tuna. As he watched, the older cat dove into the tuna, quickly followed by what he now realized were her kittens.
"And you just met Momma," Mac explained. "She just sorta showed up one day, and I started feeding her. Next thing I know, she's moved in and brought these fellows. And yes, Tom knows, and he loves it."
Their wedding had been simple, with Gibbs giving Mac away in front of the judge. The rest of the team had surprised the couple by showing up and springing for a really nice lunch. Not to his surprise, however, Gibbs had seen Admiral Kent out of the corner of his eye, watching the proceedings.
"About time you two got your act together," Admiral Kent had said, grinning broadly.
Later, Mac had quietly admitted she'd thought she'd seen the admiral out of the corner of her eye, watching them.
"Maybe he was," Gibbs said, "and maybe he was happy."
"Me and Tom ran into my mom and dad a few days ago," Mac admitted now.
"Yeah? How'd that go?"
"Funny, actually. An elderly guy was having heart problems at a cafe Tom and I had stopped to eat at, and we had stepped in to assist. When Mom and Dad found out Tom was my husband, Dad demanded to know if I was finally going to give up my, quote, useless career," Mac said.
"Jeeze," Gibbs groaned.
"Tom started laughing hysterically, and this old guy, who had to be ninety to the day, tore a strip off Dad, saying if it wasn't for nurses like me, he would have been dead ten times over, that Dad was as smart as a box of tennis balls if he didn't realize what a treasure I was. And in the meantime, Tom was just standing there, grinning like an idiot, then says, 'What he says.' When the paramedics got there, we discovered the guy had been inches away from having a very serious heart attack, had I not stepped in and given him his medication. His son showed up and I nearly got my ribs cracked from his hug."
Gibbs laughed. "Yeah, that would do it."
"And Dad was just standing there, his mouth hanging open, and probably feeling like an idiot, as my 'useless career' garnered me a lot of attention, even though Tom was the one with the Macho Man career. Then the old guy's son found out that Dad had called my profession a 'useless career' and Dad lost another strip of skin." Gibbs winced. "I later found out that Tom had quietly given Mom my cell number and told her that if she ever wanted to try talking to me as as an actual person, instead of as someone who needed to be married off and have babies, then she should try, and that I had been right to call off that last wedding, because not all men cheated on their women."
"You think she will?"
"I don't know, but if she does, I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. See how it plays out."
Gibbs and Mac chatted for a bit more, and then Gibbs got a call. "I hate to say this, but I got another one."
"Go," Mac said, giving him a hug. "And if you ever need medical help that requires no questions being asked, you call me first."
Gibbs promised he would.
At the crime scene, a short time later, Gibbs pulled up. "What do we got?" he asked.
"Meet Commander Michael Lavery," Torres said. "Looks like someone was not too happy with him."
"Multiple stab wounds," Palmer said, studying the waterlogged body. "Clustered in the chest area. Someone was mad."
"Someone always is," Gibbs said.
"How was Mac?" McGee asked quietly.
"Doing good."
"Good. I'm glad. She deserves a chance to be happy."
"Let's find out who this guy made very unhappy."
The End.