Kate got out of the car and looked at her parents’ big house. She felt Jethro behind her and his hand slide into hers.
“This was your idea remember” he whispered into her ear. A smile crossed her face.
“And you’re not going to let me forget it” she said as she turned to face him. He seemed relaxed and quiet his normal self. She leaned up and kissed him.
“Sorry” she said.
“For what?” he asked.
“For whatever happens when we step foot in that house” she said with a smile. He chuckled then leaned down and kissed her.
*Inside*
Marie looked out the window at the two by the car.
“I didn’t expect him to be so old” she said quietly.
“She looks happy” Joseph said as he joined his wife by the window.
“ She does doesn’t she. I hope he doesn’t break her heart like the others” Marie stood up as she saw them walking towards the door. She opened it and made her way down the stairs.
“Hey Sweetheart” Marie cooed as she embraced Kate in a tight hug.
“Hi mum” Kate said happily. She pulled back and turned to Jethro standing behind her.
“Mum this is” she started.
“ Jethro. How nice to finally meet you. Kate normally doesn’t bring home her boyfriends” Marie said as she took Jethro’s hand with a big smile.
“I must be worth it” he joked.
“So where’s dad?” Kate asked.
“Inside. Come in” Marie said making her way back up the steps.
“I’ll get our bags” Jethro said as he turned back to the car.
“Don’t worry, leave it for later. Come in, we have coffee and cake” Marie told them. Kate turned to Jethro and gave him an apologetic look and grabbed his hand and followed her mum up the stairs and into the two story house.
“Take a seat in the lounge room” Marie told them as she hurried off to the kitchen. Kate led Jethro to the spacious lounge room and they took a seat on the three seater lounge.
“You ok?” Kate asked Jethro squeezing his hand.
“Fine. You?” he asked kissing her cheek.
“We will soon find out” she breathed. He knew by that statement she wasn’t going to wait to tell her parents.
"Here we go" announced Marie as she walked in with two coffees in hand, followed by Joseph who had one coffee and the plate of carrot cake.
"Jethro, good to finally meet you" Joseph said handing him a coffee then taking his hand.
"Thanks" he said as he took a sip from his coffee. He then placed the plate on the coffee table in front of them.
"So how is everything? Work and so I?" Marie asked with a happy smile.
"Work is good. Everything is good" Kate answered with a smile. She squeezed Jethro's hand.
"We didn’t just come here to visit. We have some news and thought it best to tell you in person" she started. Marie and Joseph watched them trying to figure out what was going on. Kate took a deep breath.
"I'm pregnant she finally blurted out. There was a gasp from her parents but then Marie got up from her chair.
"That's wonderful news. I'm so happy for you two" she exclaimed as she hugged Kate.
"You'll be a beautiful mother sweetheart" she told Kate and kissed her forehead.
"Thanks mum" she replied with a smile. Marie turned to Jethro who couldn’t wipe the smile off his face.
"And such a handsome father" Marie continued and hugged him. Kate couldn’t help but laugh a little. Marie finally let go of Jethro and turned to the cake on the table.
"Here you need to eat something" she hand Kate a piece and she accepted it without any fuss. Joseph still hadn’t said anything.
"So when is the wedding?" he asked. Jethro almost choked on his coffee and had to put it down. Kate didn’t expect his comment either.
"We're not getting married, not yet anyway. We aren’t going to rush into anything" she told him.
"Having a baby isn’t rushing into things" he retorted.
"We did plan this. And we don’t plan to drop everything to spend thousands of dollars we don’t have on a ceremony that is not needed" Kate told him as calmly as possible. Joseph went to speak again but Marie stopped him.
"Joe that's enough. So have you chosen names or anything?" she said quickly changing the subject.
"No names yet. I still have to find a gynecologist and decide on a hospital" Kate told her.
"Bethesda" Jethro suddenly said. Marie and Joseph looked and him confused.
"What's Bethesda?" asked Joseph.
"It's a Naval hospital. Better than any public hospital" Jethro told them.
"And why would you go to a Naval hospital?" Marie asked still confused.
"Because Jethro works for NCIS" Kate said proudly. They both still looked confused.
"Naval Criminal Investigative Service" Kate explained. They nodded in understanding.
"Well that's great. So when are you due?".
They spent the rest of the day getting to know each other and showing Jethro the property that Kate had grew up on. She took him down the back to a small stream.
"This is great" Jethro said. Kate smiled.
"I always thought so" she turned to face him and studied his face.
"What?" he asked feeling her gaze on him. Kate shook her head.
"My mother was right. Our baby has one handsome father" she said with a smile. Jethro smiled and stepped closure to her.
"And a gorgeous mother" he said then leaned down and kissed her.
"Are you happy?" he asked as he stared into her eyes. She nodded.
"Very happy. I thought they would react differently, but they are happy" she told him.
"Except your dad. He isn’t quite as accepting" he commented. Kate sighed but then something caught her eye.
"Oh my god" she gasped then walked over to the corner of the yard. Jethro followed.
"I can’t believe it's still up" she said as she touched the slightly frayed rope of the swing.
"Nice swing" Jethro commented.
"Jason made it. He wanted to show us what he had learned in wood work. Dad helped him put it up. We loved it" she said staring at it in awe.
"He did a good job" Jethro commented. Kate sat on the swing and was flooded was childhood memories. A smile appeared on her face.
"What?" he asked. Kate looked up at him.
"I had my first kiss on this swing" she said in a dreamy voice. Jethro stepped forward and grabbed the swing, bringing her to him.
"Is that so" he said in a soft voice. Kate looked up in his eyes.
"I think you should get rid of that memory for me" she said.
"Gladly" and in a second his lips were on hers in a deep, passionate kiss that took her breath away.
Kate and Gibbs were in her old room getting ready for bed.
"So how much longer do we have?" he asked as he started to get changed.
"Two more days. Why is there are problem?" she asked as she finished drying her hair.
"No, but I do think I will need to go on diet when we get home with all the cake your mum is feeding me" he said patting his stomach. Kate smiled and walked over to him and rested a hand on his stomach.
"I'll still love you if you gain a few kilos while we are here" she smiled. Jethro put his hand on her stomach.
"And I will still love you when your stomach is the size of a beach ball" he joked.
"Really, that big huh" she mocked.
"More or less" he said with a chuckle. She leaned up and kissed him.
"I'll just go say good night" she told him. She stopped when she got to the door and turned to face him.
"You better be in bed when I get back" she said with a cheeky grin on her face then left, closing the door behind her. She made her way down the stairs but stopped when she heard her parents talking.
"You could have acted like you were excited for her" Marie said.
"They have only been together a year and are having a baby. I cannot be happy about that" Joseph said, not happy at all.
"Joe she is our little girl and she deserves our love and support, no matter what" Marie tried to reason with her.
"She looked up to Rachel, yet she couldn’t follow her lead. Find a husband and settle down. And now she has gotten herself knocked up" he said with a disappointed sigh. Kate couldn’t stand to hear anymore. She appeared in the doorway of the kitchen.
"Is that what you think? I went and got myself knocked up to piss you off" she said angrily. Joseph and Marie turned around surprised to hear her voice.
"No darling we don’t think that" Marie started.
"Maybe not you, but dad certainly does" she turned her attention to her father.
"Kate I just wished you had planned things more, not just rush in and hope for the best" he tried to explain to her.
"Yeah like Rachel did. I am not her dad. I am Caitlin Anne Todd and I have my own life and I love it" she almost yelled at him.
"Kate, we are just worried if it ends badly, what will happen with the child? Where will you live" Marie said in a calming voice.
"And being married fixes that? Do you know how many people get divorces in one year? Look, the only reason why we came here was because I thought it would be nicer to tell you in person. But now I think I should have listened to Jethro and just called" she said then headed for the stairs. Marie turned to Joseph.
"Why can’t you just be happy for her? Stop forcing all your morals on her otherwise she will walk out for good" she told him and also left.
Kate was still fuming when she entered the bedroom and saw Jethro in bed just like she had told him to bed. She just stood by the closed door staring at him.
"You going to join?" he asked with a cocky smile. She just shrugged. He sat up now noticing something was wrong.
"What happened?" he asked.
"Let’s just say they aren’t as happy for us as they led on" she told him. He jumped out of bed and made his way over to her.
"What did they say?" he asked concerned. Kate sighed and wrapped her arms around his middle and rested her head on his chest.
"How they wished I could be more like Rachel and not have gotten myself knocked up only a year into our relationship" she told him. She felt his body shake and looked up to see a smile on his face. She pulled back and looked at him sternly.
"What's so funny?" she asked.
"Well they're right. Not the Rachel part, the knocked up part" he said. She let go of him almost disgusted.
"How can you agree with them?".
"We didn’t exactly plan this did we? You were taking the pill to stop this from happening" he pointed out.
"So it's my fault" she said as she made her way to the bed and pulled back the covers and jumped in. She rolled onto her side so her back would be facing Jethro.
Hormones, Jethro thought to himself as he too made his way to the bed. He slid in under the covers and snuggled up behind Kate who didn’t move or say anything.
"If it’s anyone’s fault its mine. I can’t keep my hands off you" he said as he ran a hand up and down her side then kissed the back of her neck. Kate couldn’t help but lose all her anger towards him. She rolled over and looked up into his eyes.
"And you still want to have this baby with me? Even though according to my dad we have committed more than 1 sin" she asked him. He smiled and leaned down and kissed.
"Of course. I love you Kate and nothing or no one is going to change that" he told her and removed the hair that fell on her face.
"I love you too" she said. He leaned down and kissed her.
"Now let’s get some sleep" he said as he leaned back on the bed and pulled Kate into his arms.
Jethro woke to a pain in his back. He reach back to rub it and found Kate's knee there. He rolled over and saw her clutching her chest.
"Hey, you ok?" he asked. She nodded and opened her eyes.
"My boobs are really sore. Sorry if I woke you" she said.
"It's ok. How bad?" he asked.
"It's ok, just not used to it" she told him squeezing hard hoping it would help.
"I know what will help" he rolled on top of her and lifted her top up.
"Jet" she warned him. He ignored it and started kissing one her breasts. Kate closed her eyes and enjoyed the sensation of his lips on her skin.
"Mmm Jet" she moaned softly. She ran a hand through his shaggy hair.
There was a soft tap on the bedroom door. Jethro stopped what he was doing.
"Who is it?" Kate called out.
"It's me, can we talk" he mothers voice called back.
"Hang on" Kate said. Jethro got off Kate and pulled on a shirt while Kate fixed her top and sat up in bed. Jethro went and unlocked the door.
"Morning" he greeted with a smile.
"Good morning Jethro" Marie greeted with a soft smile. She stepped into the bedroom and looked over at Kate.
"We need to talk about last night" she told her.
"I'll leave you two" he started to say but Marie stopped.
"Don’t be silly, this concerns you too" she told him. Jethro nodded and shut the door and made his way back to the bed. Marie took a seat on the end of the bed.
"I know what you heard last night probably didn’t help the situation, but I just want you to know we do care about you and want you to be happy. That's all we have ever wanted. You have to understand that we still see you as our little girl and all we want to do is protect you from everything and everyone. But I can now see that you have Jethro for that. I'm so happy for you Katie and when the baby is born we will visit whenever we can" she told them, getting a little teary. Kate looked at her mother through teary eyes.
"Thank you. That means so much to me" she said and got up and hugged her mum.
"Ok, so who’s up for bacon and eggs" Marie said as she let go of Kate.
"Sounds good to me" Jethro commented as he got off the bed and went to find some pants.
"Do you have anything else that won’t make me blow up like a balloon?" Kate asked. Marie and Jethro both laughed.
"I'll see what I can find" she said then got up and left the two alone. Kate looked at Jethro.
"Do you feel better?" he asked. Kate shrugged her shoulders.
"A little. It will help if he continue what we were starting" she said with a grin, trying to hide the hurt that it hadn’t been her dad saying those words. Jethro laughed and walked over and kissed her head.
"As tempting as that is, your mum is making bacon and eggs" he said as he headed for the door.
"Great, turned down for a fatty breakfast" she said with a laugh. Jethro continued to the bathroom. Kate sighed and got up off the bed and pulled on a pair of pants and a loose top and headed to the kitchen.
"Smells good" she said as she sat on one of the stools.
"Change your mind?" Marie asked with a smile.
"Not at all. What do you have?" she asked. Marie went to the cupboard.
"Well we have cereal. Oh how about this fruit and muesli?" she asked showing Kate.
"Perfect. Any yoghurt?" she asked as Marie handed her the packet and a bowl then went to the fridge.
"It doesn’t look like it. Is milk ok?" she asked.
"Lite?"
"Of course. Do you want anything else? Juice? Coffee?" she asked.
"Coffee sounds good" Jethro said as he appeared in the kitchen. He gave Kate a quick kiss on the cheek and took the stool next to her.
"Coffee coming up? Kate?" Marie said happily.
"Juice is fine mum" she replied as she poured milk over the muesli.
"Mmm yummy" Jethro commented as he looked into her bowl.
"Do you want some? It's not too late to change your order" she told him. He held up his hands.
"No thanks, you keep it" he said.
"That's what I thought" Kate said.
"Here we go. Enjoy" Marie said placing a plate and coffee in front of Jethro.
"Thank you" he said and dug in.
"Now I know were Kate learned to cook" he commented, as he finished chewing his eggs.
"Yep, Kate always was my little helper" she said with a smile. She platted up to more serves.
"Where's dad?" Kate asked.
"Went for a walk or something, I don’t know. So what do you two have planned today?" Marie asked as she sat on the opposite side of the island and started her breakfast.
"Well, to be honest" Kate started but stopped when Joseph entered the room.
"Kate, can we talk" he asked.
"I'm in the middle of my breakfast" she said, still angry with him.
"It wasn’t a question" he said. She sighed and hoped down from the stool and followed her dad to the sun room, just off the kitchen.
"What is so important?" she asked crossing her arms over her chest.
"I'm sorry that you heard all that last night" he said. She let him continue.
"I went for a walk to clear my head and think everything over" he said.
"And?" she was starting to get impatient.
"I'm truly happy for you. You have found someone who loves you, will protect you and this child. That's all I have ever wanted Katie, was you to find someone that could protect my little girl" he said. Kate's arms dropped to her sides.
"Jethro will protect me and our child, more than you know. I'm not your little girl anymore dad, I haven’t been for a long time" she told him in a gentle voice. He nodded his head.
"I know, but every time I look at you I see this seven year old angel with pigtails wanting to do everything her sister and brothers are doing" he said. Kate's voice caught in her throat. She has never had this kind of conversation with her dad before. She shook her head and wrapped her arms around him, afraid the words wouldn’t come out.
“I love you Katie” he said as he kissed her head.
“I love you too” she said pulling back to look at him.
“So, you’re ok with us not getting married?” she asked. Joseph sighed.
“I am. If that what make you two happy I am happy. I just don’t know why you wouldn’t get married?” he said. Ate didn’t know if she should tell her dad, but she didn’t see any harm. He wouldn’t speak out of term.
“ The main reason is because he has been married four times” she explained. Joseph’s couldn’t help but chuckle.
“Wow. All divorces?” he asked. Kate shook her head and he saw the sudden pain in her eyes.
“No, only three divorces” she told him. Joseph understood immediately.
“Ok. Now les go eat” he said as he led her back into the kitchen.
Jethro and Marie were chattering away when Kate and Joseph entered. Kate kissed Jethro on the cheek as she took up her stool again. Jethro leaned over and kissed her back then whispered in her ear.
“Everything ok?” he asked. She nodded and smiled.
“More than ok?” she said. Marie sat a plate in front of Joseph.
“So you guys chosen any baby names yet?” she asked as she took her and Jethro’s plates over to the sink.
“Mum, we haven’t even gone to our first ultrasound yet. We still have eight and a half months left to think about it” Kate replied.
“Honey, it will go so fast when that baby pops out you still won’t have a name” Marie said with a laugh.
Jethro pulled in the driveway. They eventually survived the four days with Kate’s parents and now they got to enjoy a Sunday afternoon all to themselves. Jethro helped Kate with the bags as they headed inside. Jethro dropped his bags as he kicked the door closed and wrapped his arms around Kate and kissed her neck.
“You can’t wait can you” she said with a little laugh. She too dropped her bags and turned around to meet his lips. In seconds they had discarded each other’s clothing and were heading down the hall to the bedroom. Kate fell back against the bed, Jethro on top of her. He paused and looked down at her.
“You are so beautiful” he said, making her bush. She pulled him down to her lips.
They lay in bed in each other’s arms staring at the ceiling.
“I’m going to take a shower then head down stairs” he said as he kissed her head.
“Ok” she agreed. He started to get out of the bed but paused.
"Do you want anything?" he asked. She shook her head.
"No, I'm ok. What do you want to do for dinner?" she asked as she propped herself up on her elbows.
"Whatever you want. You're the one watching your weight" he said with a smile as he grabbed some clothes and headed out the door.
"Only because I'm having your baby" she called out to him and fell back down onto the bed with a sigh. She laid there looking up at the ceiling, listening to the water of the shower. Then her mind started to wonder.
Kate finally decided to get up. She pulled on her undies and went to one of Jethro's drawers and pulled out her favorite shirt and put it on. She left the room and made her way down to the basement where she could hear Jethro sanding the hull of his boat. She quietly made her way down the stairs.
"It's looking good" she commented. He stopped and looked over at her and smiled.
"So are you, but I think in a couple of months that will fit perfectly" he teased.
"Funny" she said as she sat on the stool. He continued to work and she thought it best to voice what she had been thinking about.
"I've been thinking" she started but paused.
"About?" he asked.
"Baby names" she told him. He stopped sanding a moment, but then continued.
"Oh".
"Well we have to call it something. So if we have a girl, I thought Lauren or Nicole. If it's a boy, Toby or Henry" she said softly. Jethro didn’t say anything and she thought she had scared him.
"Jet?" she said softly.
"Uh...I like them" he said quickly. She smiled.
"Ok. Can I ask what do you hope we have?". He stopped sanding and looked over at her again.
"Kate, having a child is like a lucky dip. You have a fifty fifty chance of getting what you want" he told her.
"I know, but just out of curiosity, what do you want?" she pushed. He sighed.
"I want a son. I would like to take him out fishing on this boat. And when he is older, I want to be able to talk over a few bears" he said. Kate smiled. She had been right.
"What do you want?" he asked her.
"I've always wanted a little girl, so I could dress her up in pretty dresses and braid her hair". Jethro smiled and put down his sander and made his way towards Kate.
"After Kelly, I never thought I would ever have kids again, especially a daughter. But Kate, you make me so happy. And whatever we have, they will be as beautiful as what you are" he told her as he came to stand between her legs. Kate smiled with the hint of tears in her eyes. He leaned down and kissed her.
"I love you" he whispered against her lips.
"I love you too" she replied then kissed him again.
Author's Chapter Notes:
Kate and Gibbs take a trip to visit Kate's parents.