Chapter Text
It started innocently enough. Jesse had brought it up while they were all waiting in the bullpen for paperwork to print.
“You know what we need?” he said, leaning back in his chair. “A team game night. Cards, board games, something competitive.”
Kai smirked. “Competitive? With this group? Someone’s going to flip a table.”
“Not me,” Ernie interjected, holding up both hands. “I play for the joy of intellectual challenge.”
Jane raised an eyebrow. “Ernie, I’ve seen you try to win at rock-paper-scissors against Kai. You nearly sprained your wrist.”
Lucy perked up immediately. “I love game nights. Count me in.”
Everyone’s eyes slowly turned to Kate, who had just walked in with a coffee.
“What?” she asked, cautious.
“Game night,” Lucy said with a grin. “You’re joining.”
Kate blinked, then shrugged. “Fine. But don’t be surprised when I wipe the floor with all of you.”
That Friday night, the team gathered at Jane’s house, snacks and drinks scattered across the living room table. Julie and Alex were wisely hiding upstairs, avoiding the impending chaos.
Jesse set up the first game—charades—and, of course, paired Kate with Lucy.
“I feel like this is unfair,” Kai whispered to Jane. “They’ve got couple telepathy.”
But telepathy didn’t save them. Lucy tried to act out “pirate ship” by squinting one eye and pretending to saw wood.
Kate frowned. “Uh…lumberjack? One-eyed…carpenter?”
Lucy fell to her knees, dramatically groaning. The timer buzzed. The other team roared with laughter.
“Wow,” Ernie said, clapping. “This is going to be easier than I thought.”
By the third game, things got serious. They had moved on to Codenames, and Jane was shockingly good at connecting random words. Kai was sneaky, Jesse was methodical, and Ernie was convinced he was a “game savant.”
Kate, however, sat quietly, observing. When it was her turn, she gave Lucy a single clue:
“War. Two.”
Lucy’s eyes darted over the board, then confidently tapped both correct cards. The room groaned.
“That’s three points in one move,” Jesse muttered. “She’s sandbagging us.”
Kate just sipped her soda and shrugged. “It’s a game of strategy, not luck.”
The final showdown was Trivial Pursuit, and that’s when Ernie’s confidence went into overdrive.
“History, geography, pop culture—I’ve got this locked down,” he declared.
“Ernie,” Jane said, “if you lose after saying that, we’ll never let you live it down.”
The game stretched late into the night. Ernie answered obscure questions about quantum physics, Jesse nailed geography, Kai crushed sports trivia, and Lucy did surprisingly well with entertainment.
Kate, though…Kate quietly collected her wedges. One by one.
Finally, she landed on the center space. Jane read the final question with mock gravitas:
“Which Shakespeare play features the line: ‘The game’s afoot’?”
Kate didn’t hesitate. “Henry V.”
The room went silent.
“Correct,” Jane said, a mix of admiration and exasperation.
Kate leaned back with a triumphant smile. “Guess the game really was afoot.”
Lucy groaned at the pun, but still kissed her on the cheek. “Okay, you win. Queen of Game Night.”
Ernie threw his hands in the air. “Unbelievable. Outplayed in my own arena!”
Jesse shook his head, chuckling. “Never underestimate Kate Whistler.”
Jane raised her glass. “Alright. To Kate—the undisputed winner of NCIS Hawai‘i Game Night. Just remember, next time, we’re playing dodgeball.”
Kate smirked. “Fine. I’ll win that too.”
And just like that, the first official Tennant household game night ended—with laughter, snacks everywhere, and Kate standing proudly as the champion.