A DC Wedding
Clay and Ellie get married at a DC National landmark with their NCIS family present. 15 May 2025.
"So where exactly is this wedding taking place?" Abby asked for the umpteenth time as the bus headed in to the National Mall in DC. Clay and Elle had chartered the bus to leave from the NCIS parking lot with their extended family and Ellie's parents, brothers and their families. Counting themselves, there were a total of forty two people on the bus, plus the driver.
"Be patient, Abby; you'll see shortly," Clay shared a grin with his bride-to-be and rolled his eyes.
As the bus pulled onto Jefferson Drive, and stopped in the bus unloading area in front of the Smithsonian Arts and Industries building, LJ spotted the National Carousel across the street. "Ima, look!" the excited little boy tugged at his mother's sleeve. "Can we go there, Abba?"
Ellie grinned at her nephew, "LJ, we're going there and you get to ride as many times as you want!" LJ grinned at Aunt Ellie as Uncle Clay stood up.
"We've arrived, all. We are going to be crossing the street to the Carousel!" Clay announced to the busload of family. Abby squealed and jumped up, hugging Clay and Ellie. Mouths hung open in surprise and most of the kids grinned, including some of the big "kids."
Gibbs and Leon shared a high-five as the others excitedly exited the bus, chattering about the unique venue Clay and Ellie had chosen for their wedding. Both had helped the couple with their plan; Leon pulled a few strings with his buddies higher up to reserve the site for two hours on a Thursday morning.
A Metro PD officer stopped traffic for the family to cross as a group, led by the soon to be married couple. Nick, as best man, and Kasie, Ellie's maid of honor, followed close behind the couple with the rest of the family falling in behind. When some of the drivers spotted Clay's white dress pants, vest and shirt and Ellie's white sundress with its high and low lace hem, and the bouquets of sunflowers that she and Kasie were carrying, they honked their horns and gave the couple thumbs up.
The children were excited about missing a day of school for the wedding, and when Ellie had mentioned riding the carousel, they got even more excited. Ziva had to remind LJ that the ceremony had to be over before they rode the colorful horses. He had walked up to Uncle Jimmy, "Talk fast, Uncle Jimmy, so we can get more rides!"
John heard LJ, and commented, "They gotta kiss before it's over, LJ." All of the boys made faces and the girls laughed at their brothers and cousins. "EWWWW!"
As the family gathered around the chairs and tables beside the carousel, Kasie handed each person a small bag of bird seed, explaining that Ellie and Clay had decided to use bird seed instead of rice as they receded from the makeshift altar. Ellie's family from Oklahoma sat at the first row of tables, with the NCIS gang behind them.
Jimmy started the ceremony, "We are gathered here to join this man, Clayton Dante Reeves, and this woman, Eleanor Raye Bishop, in matrimony. If anyone objects, speak now or forever hold your peace." He looked up to see the entire family giving thumbs up!
Ellie grinned at Clay as her father placed her hand into Clay's. "Take care of my little girl, Clay, and welcome to the family," Tom Bishop said warmly. He went back by Barbara's side as she dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief. George, Robert and John grinned and watched as their little sister said her vows.
Ellie handed her bouquet to Kasie and took the ring from her. She turned to Clay and took his left hand in hers.
"Clay, when I met you, we became friends quickly and shared so much. You were there for me when Qasim was killed. You became my rock while I grieved and then my best friend. Today, you become my husband, and I become your wife. Today is the day I pledge to you to love you no matter what life may throw into our paths, to take this incredible journey with you by my side, and to be yours for whatever days we may have on this Earth.
"This ring is a symbol of my love for you, endless and eternal." Ellie slid the ring onto Clay's finger, trying to keep her tears from slipping down her cheeks. She squeezed his hand gently after positioning the ring and smiled, making eye contact.
Nick handed Clay the ring for Ellie. He began, "Ellie, my everything, you are my new family, my forever, my home. You have been with me through some tough times, some trying times, and have always had my six. I pledge to respect you, to cherish you, and to be by your side for as long as I live. Together we will take the next step in our journey, where ever it may lead us.
"This ring is a symbol of how much you mean to me; without you, I would not be whole." Clay slipped the ring on Ellie's finger to the sounds of sniffling in the family. Abby dabbed at her eyes with a black lace handkerchief. Even Gibbs wiped at his eyes!
The pair turned to Jimmy. "Ellie and Clay, you have spoken your vows to each other in front of these witnesses. Let the love and respect you have for each other guide you on your path together. From two become one; be each other's light in the darkness, hope in the night, and joy in the sunlight. I now pronounce you husband and wife."
Ellie wrapped her arms around Clay and fused her lips on his. Her brothers cheered and the boys could be heard making comments along the lines of "eww" and "oh yuck, they're kissing."
Jimmy joked, "I was going to say that you may now kiss to seal your vows, but you beat me to it!" Clay smirked and drew Ellie to him for another kiss.
"Okay, they kissed. Can we ride the horses now?" LJ piped up to laughter from the rest of the family. Clay and Ellie headed to the carousel entrance as the family tossed the bird seed over them.
"Let's go for a ride," Clay announced as he helped Ellie climb on to the sea dragon. He sat on the horse next to her as the other family members picked their steeds. Tony put LJ on one of the zebras and made sure he was buckled on. He and Ziva climbed on to adjacent horses behind LJ, holding hands as the ride started.
Even Gibbs and Leon were on horses. Delilah was on the second zebra with Tim next to her. Every one of family was on one of the fifty eight jumper horses that were four across the ride. The ride operator used Tim's video camera to capture the family enjoying the ride around. Ellie and Clay were beaming like the newlyweds they were, holding hands. Clay even managed to lean over and give Ellie a kiss, but almost fell off his horse, prompting Ellie to holler over the music, "Don't you dare get hurt!"
As the first ride wound down, Gibbs, Leon, Tom and Barbara moved to get off the carousel. One ride was more than enough for some of them. The rest switched which horses they rode and the ride started up again. Tom turned to Gibbs, "So which one of them is actually yours?"
Leon coughed to suppress a laugh as Gibbs thought about his reply. He turned to glare at Leon, and responded, "Each in their own way, every one of them is mine." Tom nodded, having heard about the team leader from his daughter. "Known Leon here the longest." Gibbs stared into the distance.
"Tony, Ziva, Clay; this family is all they have," he reflected. He shook his head, "But enough of that; today's a happy day." He nodded in the direction of the newlyweds, "They're good for each other."
The carousel stopped again and most of the adults got off the ride. The kids stayed on for one more go round. All of them groaned when Clay mentioned that it would be the last ride. "We have to all get on the bus again and go to the reception," Ellie added. "I know you all have to be hungry by now!"
"Aunt Ellie, will we have ice cream?" LJ asked. When she gave him a thumbs up, the little boy grinned. "Let's get this last ride going so we can get ice cream," he yelled to no one in particular.
Gibbs smiled, "That's my boy. That kid can pack away ice cream with the best of 'em!"
After the final ride, the family crossed the street to go back to the bus and loaded on for the next stop: the reception at an art gallery. Gibbs and Ellie's parents had told the couple they would pay for the reception at whatever venue they wanted. Clay and Ellie had checked out several unique places to hold the reception and had finally decided on The Arts Gallery of Washington because the catered meal was included in the package deal.
After the family enjoyed the meal of salad, stuffed chicken breasts, rice pilaf, and green beans almandine, Nick gave the first toast to the newlyweds. He raised his glass as the others joined him, "Ellie and Clay, may you have many years of happiness together and a house full of babies!" Tom Bishop, Gibbs and Leon also gave toasts to the new couple.
As the dinner dishes were being cleared, the family walked around the gallery admiring the art work. Some of it was classic, some impressionist and some modern. LJ walked with his Grandpa, fascinated by all of it. "Someday, I'm going to paint pictures for everyone to see," the little boy told his family. While the family wandered through the gallery, the catering staff bought out the desserts and the wedding cake.
Abby's gift to the couple was the cake. It was four layers with white ganache decorated with sunflowers. The top layer would be saved for their first anniversary celebration. The bottom layer had marble cake with raspberry filling; the second layer had spice cake with cream cheese filling and the third layer was chocolate with vanilla crème filling. Ellie had narrowed the choices down to those three, and Abby had told the baker to make a layer of each when Ellie and Clay had a hard time choosing which one they wanted. The top layer was one of the three others, but it was a surprise to be unveiled in a year.
Much to LJ's delight, each person also had a dish of vanilla ice cream with a sunflower candy garnish. After eating his portion, the little boy went from table to table, trying to get others to give him their ice cream, until Ziva figured out what he was doing and pulled him aside.
"LJ, please do NOT beg for ice cream from the others!" she scolded him.
"But, Ima," he started.
"No 'but Ima'; do not try to get all the ice cream." Ziva gave him her best Ima glare.
"They want to give it to me!" he exclaimed. "See, Grandpa is bringing me five more now!" He pointed to Gibbs carrying a tray with more ice cream. Ziva glared at Gibbs; he smiled sheepishly and placed the tray next to LJ.
"Sorry, Ziver; I can't resist his puppy eyes!"
Ziva huffed, "Fine, but if he gets sick to his stomach, you are cleaning it up!" LJ high-fived his Grandpa and picked up his spoon to dig in.
After the dessert, Ellie had the others line up for the tossing of the bouquet. Kasie, Abby, Kayla, and the girls all waited for Ellie to make the toss. Without even trying, the bouquet of sunflowers landed in Kayla's arms and she grinned. Leon shook his head; his baby had grown up too fast for his liking, but he was proud of the strong woman she had become. Jackie would be so proud of her.
As the new couple prepared to leave for the airport, Tony handed Clay the keys to the Paris flat. "Enjoy the city of light, Clay. Try to get out to see the sights some!" he winked at his brother of the heart.
Ziva gave Tony an elbow to the ribs, "I am sure they will enjoy Paris as much as we did, Tony. Ellie, the pantry should be fully stocked with groceries. Have fun!"
Ellie hugged Ziva, "Thanks, Ziva." She turned to Clay as he extended his arm to her. "Well, Mr. Reeves, are you ready for an adventure?"
"I most certainly am, Mrs. Reeves," Clay grinned at his wife.