TomKat

One of the best reporters ever and one of our favorite people, Michelle Caruso, wrote the following story on actor Tom Cruise and actress Katie Holmes:

Mission: Im(preg)nable
BY MICHELLE CARUSO
DAILY NEWS WEST COAST BUREAU CHIEF
Sunday, April 2nd, 2006

BEVERLY HILLS - Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes aren't the only ones anxiously awaiting their little Tomkitten's arrival this month.

With each stretch of the elastic in the 27-year-old cutie's maternity duds, the number of paparazzi and reporters camped outside their gate is growing.

"This is the biggest birth since Britney," said one of a half-dozen lensmen already working the beat. "There are guys who get here at 6 a.m. every day. They know the normal routines. When the time comes and there is a flurry of unusual activity, they'll know she's having the baby."

The TomKat "baby watch" kicked into high gear last week when a man was spotted carrying into the house signs that seemed to signal the former "Dawson's Creek" charmer was being prepped for a Scientology-style "silent" birth.

"Be silent and make all physical movements slow and understandable" read one huge placard.

Scientology, Cruise's religion - which Holmes appears to be embracing - teaches that moms should refuse painkillers and be silent during delivery to avoid traumatizing the infant.

But one glossy mag swears the Catholic-raised Holmes has chosen to deliver at a nearby Catholic hospital with a state-of-the-art maternity ward. The "Batman Forever" star is due later this month.

The 6,685-square-foot, five-bedroom, four-bath Casa Cruise has plenty of room for the mom-to-be - even with the addition of Connor, 11, and Isabella, 13, the kids Cruise and ex-wife Nicole Kidman adopted during their marriage.

The security-conscious "War of the Worlds" star has installed at least a dozen spy cameras on the 7-foot iron fence that protects his pine-tree rimmed property. But that doesn't deter the Starline Tours van from stopping at the corner every half hour for a good gawk at the gate before heading over to Dr. Phil's massive Spanish-style mansion a few doors away.

With the countdown on, Cruise, 43, and his fiancée are giving their leased house a last-minute spruce-up. Last week, a team of decorators, including celeb drapery doyenne Patti Euvino, went in carrying clipboards, price lists and a big book of fabric swatches. (The top sheet in the binder was a pink-and-white striped cloth.)

But contractors visiting the property say getting a glimpse of Cruise is a Mission Impossible. "We are not allowed on the property when he is there," one worker told The News.

As the big day nears, there's a steady stream of 20-something satchel-carrying minions racing in and out of the estate, including two dog walkers for a shaggy red pooch named Frankie.

If it all gets to be too much for a small-town Ohio-bred girl like Katie, she can always run down the block and cry on Dr. Phil's shoulder.