Chapter 9

They arrived at the LAX airport around 9 o'clock. They left Washington DC at 6 o'clock and since it was a direct flight, it didn't take more than three hours, which Kate was thankful for. When they got to the airport, Gibbs told her to wait for him while he goes and talks to Hertz to get their rented car.

Kate looked around the airport and took it all in. It's been awhile since she has been at this airport. She hated this airport because it was always busy and crowded. She wished that she had visited her parents more often but she knew that it was impossible because of her job then. She shook her head of those thoughts as she saw Gibbs approaching her with a grin on his face and keys on his right hand.

"Is everything okay, Katie?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Jethro. I'm just hungry. I meant we are hungry." Kate said as she rubbed her stomach.

"How about we find a restaurant nearby, and then eat before we check in to our hotel?"

"That sounds great. What kind of car did you get?"

"I got the SUV, there's more room. Let's go. Here, give me your bag."

On the way to look for a restaurant, Gibbs had told her that he made a list of restaurants that had good ratings based on ambiance and quality. And depending on what she is craving for, it should be on the list. Kate looked at him strange at the mention of Gibbs making a list, taking time to actually do a research on restaurants made her giggle.

"I can't believe you did that?"

"Well, I thought since we are here in L.A. we might as well try restaurants we don't have in DC. So what are you craving, babe?"

"Hmmm. This restaurant, it's Moroccan, and it's been years since I had Moroccan food, so let's try this one. It's on Sunset Blvd. What do you think?"

"Fine by me. Whatever you and little Katie want. Tomorrow, I have made a reservation at Koi. I heard that's a really good restaurant and there are always celebrities there."

"Gibbs, celebrities? You care about them?"

"No, but I can rub it in to Dinozzo." Gibbs laughed.

"I knew it! So tomorrow, our itinerary is driving down memory lane, right?"

"Yup, I want to see where you grew up. Also, of course, we have to visit your alma mater USC and my alma mater, UCLA. Then, we go to Koi."

"The next day, we are going to the Hollywood Max Museum, The Guiness World Records Museum and Santa Monica Promenade. And the third say, we can go to Beverly Hills, Melrose and cap our evening with a nice dinner."

"Sound like a plan Mrs. Gibbs. Then on the fourth day, we will drive down to Santa Barbara and spend a couple of days there. And then we go to San Francisco."

"I'm so looking forward to all our activities. I can't wait to go to my old neighborhood. I had a really fun childhood babe. You know when I look back now, I was a really happy and loved child."

"It shows Katie. I met your parents and your brothers, so I know how deeply they cared and loved you."

"Yeah. Gibbs, there's the restaurant."

It's a good thing that restaurants in Los Angeles closed late. They were seated right away and ordered their food.

By the time they were done eating, it was past 11 o'clock and there were very few people left. The restaurant offered a 3-course meal, so it took them awhile to eat. They left the restaurant, full and satisfied.

Gibbs had booked their hotel at the Hilton Beverly. The hotel had a nice view and it's in Beverly Hills and he knew how much Kate would love it. After checking in, Gibbs and Kate went straight to their room.

"So how do you like the room, Katie?"

"It's perfect Gibbs. It's overlooking the city and a nice view of the pool. Thank you."

"I want only the best for you and I want this vacation that we will remember always."

"Gibbs, every moment spent with you is memorable. Whether we are here in this beautiful room or lying on the couch watching tv or in the basement watching you work on our boat."

"I know and I just love you so much. We better get some rest, babe. We have a long day tomorrow."

"Yeah, I'm feeling a little tired. Let's go to bed."

The next morning, Gibbs was the first to wake up. He's watching the beautiful woman next to him, as he always does, and felt her stir. He smiled because he knew that it won't be long until she opens her eyes and catches him watching her again. Before she could open her eyes, he kisses her nose and then her growing stomach.

Kate smiled as she felt Gibbs' warm lips on her nose and then her stomach. She loved it when he touches or kisses her stomach. Little Katie is getting heavy in her stomach and almost on her fifth month, she has gained over 20 pounds now. She finally opened her eyes when Gibbs asked her what she wanted for breakfast.

After breakfast, they got ready and left the hotel to make their way to Orange County, where Kate grew up.

Gibbs and Kate went to her elementary school and middle school first. Since she was the only girl, her parents enrolled her in a private catholic school. She told Gibbs that she wore a uniform and her Mom used to always braid her hair or her hair will be in pig tails. She recalled how little boys chase them around pulling their hair and how one boy kissed her on the cheek one day and she punched him. She loved her school.

In high school, she had begged her parents to let her go to a public school because she wanted to meet new people. At first, he parents wouldn't budge but after awhile, they finally did after she promised them that if her grades went down, she will go back to a private school. She also told them two of her brothers would be there to watch her, so there was really need to worry about her.

Kate then told stories to Gibbs about the different buildings in school. She enrolled in theatre dance her freshman year. She was a bit shy and she wanted to overcome her shyness, so she took up theatre. She then auditioned for the school dance group. She's been taking ballet and jazz dance since she was 4 years old. She danced the whole four years and she was also a cheerleader. Gibbs looked at her and said "Now, why wasn't I surprised with that information?" Kate slapped his arm and laughed. She said that it was during her senior year that she started going out with the captain of the football team. He had been trying to ask her out since freshman year and felt sorry for the guy, so she said yes, finally. She told him that Steve turned out to be a good guy and he eventually became her first boyfriend. Gibbs joked and said he's jealous of Jason because a woman never forgets her first love. Kate corrected him and said it's not the first that's important but the last one.

She then pointed to the field and told him that, there, she played softball and soccer. Her high school were filled with so much activities that she wondered how she even managed to still do her homework and study for exams. Gibbs commented that, he now understood why she was good at planning and time management.

After they were done reminiscing her high school days, they went to eat lunch. They found this little Italian place that she frequented when she would visit her parents. After lunch, they drove down to the neighborhood where she grew up and where her parents still lives. Kate pointed at the park where her Mom used to take her and her brothers. Memories ran through her mind and tears started to fall. She knew this was going to happen and as much as she prepared herself, it was harder than she realized. She missed her Mom, her Dad and her brothers. Gibbs stopped the car as Kate continued to cry on his chest. They stayed like that for awhile until he felt Kate's sobbing subsided and she stopped shaking.

"Katie, we don't have drive by your house, if this is too much for you. We can just go to USC or we can go back to the hotel." Gibbs said sounding very concerned.

"It's okay, Gibbs. I need to do this. I never got a chance to say goodbye to our old house."

"Are positively sure you want to do this Katie?"

"I do. And if I break down again, I know that you're here and I'm going to be okay."

Gibbs pulled Kate back to his chest, with his right arm around her, they turned to the street where Katie spent most of her life.

Katie pointed at each house and told Gibbs who lived there. They drove by more houses until they reached her house. The house hasn't changed much since she had last been here. Her mom loved to garden and she loved how the roses and carnation were in bloom. She recalled the afternoons spent in the front yard of their house in the summer when school was out, she and her brothers would spend the day selling lemonade and playing at the same time. She said that her mom maid the best lemonade and that's why they always run out of it. Gibbs listened as Kate told stories after story after story of her childhood. He loved how her eyes lit up and her smile has never looked more beautiful than right now. He was so caught up in her stories and staring at her face than he didn't notice that a woman had come out of the house until Kate stopped talking and mumbled "Mom."

"There's mom, talking to our neighbor again."

"She's beautiful just like you Katie."

"You know it's funny, I swore, when I was growing up that I would never be a housewife. I didn't quite understand why my Mom, a college degree holder would want to stop working and take care of her husband and kids."

"Is that why you chose a career in the Secret Service and then NCIS?"

"Yeah, I guess you can say that. I wanted to be that independent woman, accomplished and successful. But you know, I understand now why my Mom did what she did. Being your wife and now carrying your child, I now know the feeling and if I were to be given a choice, I would choose what I have now. My Mom was right, until I find the right man, I won't know. Sacrifices aren't sacrifices when you love the person. I love you and I love this baby. Thank you for brining me here. We better go before she spots us, Gibbs."

"Yeah, let's go."

"Gibbs, you'll come back here again with our baby and little Katie will meet her grandparents. Promise me, Jethro. Like I told you before, the letter will explain everything to them."

"I promise, Katie that I will bring our little princess here."

"Thank you. Come on, let's go and visit my alma mater."

They drove to USC and Kate told stories about her fun years at USC. The times she got drunk but always managed to come to class the following day. The trip to Panama in Florida and the real story behind the wet t-shirt contest. She said that she had just broken up with her boyfriend that week and her friends wanted to celebrate their break up. Her friends hooked up with guys there but she didn't. She said as much fun as she was in college, she was always conservative when it came to sex. She never had one-night stands. She has to be dating the guy for at least two months before she even thought about sleeping with him. And that she never cheated on any of her boyfriends. She told him about the football games and how fun it was when the games were against rival UCLA, Stanford and Cal Bears. She couldn't believe that she and her friends used to drive to the Bay Area to watch the games when the Trojans were playing away from home. She graduated from USC a cum laude in Political Science and went to law school for a year until she wanted to shoot herself because of boredom. She left California and went to Washington DC and the rest they say is history.

By the time they got back to the hotel, it was almost 7 o'clock. Their reservation is at 8:30 so they had time to change. After an hour, they left the hotel to go to Koi Restaurant.

When they got to Koi, they saw paparazzi lined up outside which meant there were probably celebrities in there. Gibbs is wearing black slacks with a blue short sleeve polo shirt and a black jacket. While Kate is wearing a deep red, strapless dress with a think coat over it. After they were seated, they around to see if they recognize anybody famous in the restaurant. Gibbs laughed because he saw eyes looking at Kate, wondering who she is because Kate looked like she belonged in Hollywood. After they ordered, they continued to talk about college exchanging more stories.

They were eating their desert now, when a man approached their table.

"I'm sorry to intrude, but I was wondering ig you already have an agent."

"An agent? For what?"

"You're an actress right? Or maybe a model?"

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to laugh but no, I am not an actress nor a model."

"Are you sure because you are really pretty. You didn't model before?"

"No, I swear and plus I am only 5'7" so I would have been too short to model. By the way, what's your name?"

"I'm Carl Stevens, I'm an agent and I used to be a photographer. You have a really nice profile."

"Thanks. I'm Caitlin Gibbs and this is my husband Jethro Gibbs. We are visiting L.A. from Washington D.C."

"Oh, if you are staying a few more days, I'd love to take some pictures of you, maybe you can do print ads or commercials. It'd be a waste to look that good and not be seen in magazines or television."

"It's very flattering but I don't think so."

"Well, if you change your mind, here's my card. It was nice meeting you, Mr. Gibbs. You're a lucky man."

"And I'm a lucky woman, Carl." Kate waved goodbye.

Kate shook her head and started laughing.

"We should go before anything crazy like that happens again."

"Get used to it Katie, and he's right, you're beautiful."

"Gibbs, you are making me blush, let's go."

Kate grabbed his hand and Gibbs couldn't help but laugh at her embarrassment. She looked so cute, he thought when she's flustered or embarrassed. And if their daughter looked anything like Katie, boy, he's in trouble.

They drove back to the hotel still laughing about what happened earlier at Koi. They made love that night when they got back to the hotel. And just like every time, he worshipped every inch of her body until they both reached ecstasy.