An insistent voice and a hand on her shoulder roused Kate from sleep. She automatically lashed out at the hand as she regained consciousness, and connected sharply with it. “Ow! Kate.” Tony’s voice was a harsh whisper.

It took her about five seconds to remember where she was, why she was on the floor, and who she was with. She squinted up at him from where he leaned over the side of the bed and flopped back into her pillow, throwing her arm over her eyes. “What, Tony?”

“Shhh. Keep your voice down. Are we still playing this out?”

“What?”

“Are we still playing a couple this morning?”

“Yeah,” she said. “Why?”

“Because you’ve got about a minute, maybe two, before Min and Mel come in here to wake us up for breakfast.”

Kate swore, sitting up quickly. She threw her pillow at Tony, who caught it, and untangled herself from the sleeping bag. Luckily, it had been warm enough that she hadn’t felt the need to zip it up. She stood, kicking it underneath the bed. Tony had pulled back the quilt for her, and she slipped in next to him. He pulled the covers over them and they lay down together, spooned in the middle of the bed. “Relax,” he whispered, taking her hand in his. “Pretend you’re asleep.”

“Easy for you to say,” she replied, but she closed her eyes and tried.

The sudden rush to preserve their cover had heightened her senses, and she was almost instantly aware of whispers and giggles out in the hall. Tony’s nieces were obviously on the prowl, getting ready to storm the guestroom to get their favourite uncle out of bed. She forced her now protesting body to relax, consciously unclenching one muscle group at a time. Tony’s arm tightened around her, and she found her back pressed more firmly into him. Part of her was grateful; his warmth was a balm on her stiff muscles.

She heard the doorknob turning, and then there was a change in the way the room sounded as the door opened. The muffled giggles were much clearer. “See?” one of them whispered. “Told you he’s still asleep.”

“What about Aunt Kate?” asked the other. Kate was very glad she and Tony were facing away from the door, because although she managed to hold her laughter in check, she couldn’t quite keep the smile off her face.

“She’s asleep too. Come on.”

Kate heard them take supposedly stealthy steps across the carpet, and she couldn’t help readying herself for whatever frontal assault they had planned. They were giggling almost non-stop, fairly close, when suddenly Tony, without moving at all, said, “What do you two think you’re doing?”

The two girls burst into high-pitched squeals of laughter and ran from the room. Kate winced. “No way I’d still be asleep after that,” she commented, rolling over onto her stomach as Tony pulled away to look at the door.

“I couldn’t let them jump us,” Tony said, turning back. His hand came to rest on her back, and he moved his fingers lightly against her T-shirt.

“Mmm,” she agreed. “Well, since we’ve been woken, I suppose we should get up.” She started to push herself upright again.

“Nah. You stay, Kate.” He pressed her back down into the bed. “I’ll call you for breakfast.”

“But–”

“Relax, Kate.” He leaned over and whispered in her ear, “I had the bed all night. Your turn.”

She subsided, but mostly because the bed was soft and warm from his body heat, and felt good. As he got out of bed, she shifted to a more comfortable position, and he threw the quilt back over her. She closed her eyes, but they flew open again when he touched her hair, pushing it gently away from her cheek. He smiled down at her. “I’ll call you,” he said again.

“I told you to stop being a gentleman.”

His smile widened. “Sorry. I don’t follow orders first thing in the morning.”

“Do you ever follow orders?”

“I’ve been known to, on occasion. Just never in the morning.” Then he wandered over to his suitcase and started to dig through it.

Kate snorted and closed her eyes, burrowing further into the warmth that surrounded her. She heard Tony leave the room, but she must have fallen asleep again, because the next thing she knew the bed tipped under someone’s weight, and a hand gently shook her. “Kate, it’s time for breakfast,” Rebecca was saying.

Kate opened her eyes and looked up blearily, then shook her head and sat up, allowing her head to fall forward to stretch out her spine. “What time is it?” she asked.

“A little after nine. About an hour since Min and Mel disobeyed my direct orders to let you two sleep.”

Kate looked up to see Rebecca frowning. “It’s all right,” she said. “I should have woken up anyway.”

Rebecca shrugged. “That’s not the point. I specifically told them not to.”

Kate, quickly shedding her post-awakening muzziness, laughed. “Rebecca, they’re DiNozzos. Since when have DiNozzos done what they’re told to do on a regular basis?”

Rebecca laughed as well. “You’re right, of course. I guess I’ll just hope for better things from this one.” Her hand moved to cover her stomach.

Kate looked at it, then up at her. “When you’ve asked Tony to be godfather? You’re dreaming.”

She smiled impishly. “I suppose I am. Do you think he’ll do it?”

“What, be godfather?” Kate shrugged. “I don’t know, Rebecca. It’s been some weekend for him. And he doesn’t think he’s really the right one for the job.”

“We let him off the hook with Min and Mel, because he was just so... transient when they were born,” Rebecca said earnestly. “But he’s been where he’s at now for four years, and there’s no one we’d want more. Can you...” She shrugged, looking helpless. “Can you try to make him understand that?”

Kate was suddenly glad that they’d decided not to tell Rebecca and Mario the truth. She doubted Rebecca would have opened up this way if they had. It was uncomfortable lying to her, because Kate genuinely liked her, but Kate doubted she would have understood why they’d done what they’d done. But that didn’t mean that she couldn’t work on Tony as a friend. “I’ll try, Rebecca,” she said. “But this is Tony. He goes his own way. None of us can force him to do something he doesn’t want to.”

“I know,” Rebecca said. “I appreciate anything you can do.” She looked at her curiously then. “Kate, would you give me your contact information?”

“What? Why?” Kate asked. Inside her, warning lights went off. This was just supposed to be a weekend thing, not something ongoing. But if Rebecca wanted to call her...

“Tony...” She sighed. “Look, Tony’s my brother, the little brother I never had, and I worry about him. He doesn’t say much about what’s going on in his life when we get together–”

“He really can’t,” Kate said. “Security concerns.”

Rebecca waved her hand. “I understand that. No, he just doesn’t say much at all, and I’d really like to know how he’s doing sometimes. I won’t ask you to betray confidences, Kate. I’m not that kind of person. But I need to know he’s all right. Mario and I both need to know that.”

Goddamnit, why does she have to be so nice? Kate thought. “All right,” she said. Then she added, “You know, Rebecca, Tony and I are together right now, but–”

Rebecca smiled at her. “I know, Kate. It might not always be the case. But you two, you seem like such good friends. I don’t believe that will ever change, no matter what might happen to your relationship.”

Kate froze, staring at her. She knows, she thought. But no, why would she? She’s just perceptive. She’s seen through all my lies since the moment I met her, except for the big one. Except it looks like she’s seen through that one a little too. She had to respond, and so she smiled, and said, “I think you might be right about that. Remind me before we leave. I’ll give you my numbers.”

Rebecca nodded. “Good. Now come out for breakfast, before those two eat all the biscuits.”

When she was gone, Kate resisted the urge to flop back down on the bed and wonder again how on earth she’d gotten herself into this situation. She knew precisely how she’d done so, so any further contemplation was just wasting time. Instead, she forced herself to get up, quickly run to the washroom, try to make her hair a little more presentable, and put on some clothes that didn’t look as much like sleepwear. The house was filled with the smell of baking, and she followed it to the kitchen. Tony and Mario were at the kitchen table with the two little girls, mock fighting over the paper. Tony greeted her with many jokes about zombies, which she easily ignored as she bid them all good morning, and could she have the front page, please? As she sat down next to him, Tony reached up and turned her face towards his, kissing her lightly on the lips before releasing her and going back to fighting over the comics section with his brother. Kate spread the front page on the table in front of her and began to read, skillfully ignoring the racket until Rebecca brought a plate full of biscuits to the table. Then, almost magically, the paper disappeared and they sat down to feast.

“Do you really have to leave right after breakfast?” Mario asked as they tucked in to the meal before them.

“It’s a long drive, Mario,” Tony said, spreading jam on his biscuit, “and we’re back on duty tomorrow morning.”

Mario nodded understandingly. “Well, the next time you two have a free weekend, just give us a call. We’d love to have you stay again.”

Tony looked over at Kate. “We’ll let you know,” he said, his eyes asking her a question. Kate nodded her head slightly, and he did the same before turning back to his brother. “Maybe Gibbs’ll feel charitable as we get closer to Christmas.” Kate laughed. “Well, he might!”

They lingered over breakfast, but finally they had to get everything tidied up. As the two brothers did the dishes and Rebecca got her girls washed and dressed, Kate took a quick shower and packed her suitcase, retrieving the sleeping bag from under the bed and rolling it up. She left it on the corner of the bed, and when Tony came in to do his own packing, he put it in the closet. They took their suitcases to the back door, then waited in the kitchen with Mario until Rebecca brought the girls back down.

Kate stood back as Tony said goodbye to them. It made her a little sad to see how much love there was between them. Her own family would never come close to this sort of easy affection; it made her slightly jealous. But as Tony picked both his nieces up at once to hug them goodbye, Mario came over to her and embraced her unhesitatingly. She was a little surprised, but she hugged him back. He pulled back and looked down at her, then kissed her once on each cheek. Smiling, he said, “It was really good to meet you, Kate.”

“You too,” she said, unable to stop a warm feeling from infusing her. “Thanks for letting us stay here last night.”

“Any time. I mean that,” he said.

“Me, too,” Rebecca said, coming up next to her husband, and Kate found herself transferred from one embrace to another.

When Rebecca released her, she pulled the business card she’d prepared out of her pocket and gave it to her. “My numbers,” she said quietly. “Home phone’s written on the back.”

Rebecca slipped the card into her pocket before Tony could see it. “Thanks,” she whispered. Then she looked over her shoulder. “Tony, bring those two here so they can say goodbye to Kate.”

Kate solemnly shook each girl’s hand, though she had to fight to keep her countenance as they both apologized for waking her up. She accepted their apologies with equal seriousness. Then it was time to go. Tony gave his brother and sister-in-law one last hug, then picked up his suitcase and went to the door, where Kate stood holding it open for him. The family gathered in the doorway as they put their suitcases in the car, and waved as Tony started it up and backed down the driveway. They kept waving, and both Kate and Tony waved back, until they’d pulled out into the street and started away from the house.

Tony was quiet as they exited the suburb and drove towards the highway, and Kate didn’t feel the need to interrupt whatever he was thinking. She had her own contemplation to do. Her split-second offer to decoy as Tony’s girlfriend had had several unforeseen consequences. Primary among them was, of course, that she was far closer to Tony now than she had been before. It had come about half because they had been thrown together in a necessarily intimate situation, but half because she could see him now as his family saw him. She knew depths of him now, and she knew she’d shown him some of hers over the past two days.

But then there had been his family’s almost unconditional acceptance of her. Their easy and freely given affection was a far cry from her own family, and a part of her regretted that she was only playing the role. And, quite apart from the rest of the family, there was Rebecca and Mario, who had accepted her even beyond the limitations of the role she’d played. She knew that eventually, Tony would tell his family that they’d split up. She also knew, with equal certainty, that Rebecca and Mario would continue to treat her as part of their family. It was... amazing.

They gained the highway, and as their speed increased, Tony began to talk. Inconsequential topics, really, how the weather seemed to have cleared, and how he remembered one time, he’d been on a boat on Lake Superior when this amazing fog had rolled in. Kate replied, and their conversation continued as the miles rolled underneath the car. Kate felt their roles slipping away, left behind as they got closer and closer to Washington, home, and reality.

It was late afternoon by the time Tony pulled up in front of her apartment building and put the car in park. “Need help?” he asked.

“Nah,” she said. “It’s just one suitcase.”

He nodded. “All right then.” He paused, a little uncertainly. Then he took a breath. “Thanks, Kate,” he said. “I... had fun.”

He meant it; she could tell. “Me too, Tony,” she said. Impulsively, she leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks.”

He grinned at her. “You’re welcome,” he said. “Can’t do that when Gibbs is around, you know.”

“Ah, I’ll just kiss him too.”

“And make me jealous?”

“Do you get jealous?”

“With this? Nah. I’d love to see his face, though.”

“Come to think of it, so would I.”

They laughed together, and then Kate got out of the car. Tony popped the trunk for her, and she got her suitcase out and closed it again. As she went towards her building, Tony rolled down the window. “Kate?”

She turned around. “Yeah?”

“I...” He paused, and seemed to rethink what he wanted to say. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He had been about to ask her if she wanted to get together tonight. Kate somehow knew that without any doubt in her mind. And as she realized that, she also had to stop herself from asking him if he had a set of flannel pajamas, and inviting him over for the popcorn and movie she’d forgone in favour of a weekend with his family. But as much as she wanted to, she knew they both needed some distance to regain equilibrium. So instead of asking him over, she smiled at him. “Yeah, Tony,” she said quietly. “See you then.”

He nodded, then quickly rolled up his window, as though he knew that if he didn’t cut off the means of communication, one of them might change their minds. He reversed out of the parking stall, and peeled out of the lot. She watched him go, then turned and went towards her front door, feeling a little alone.