Thanks to HarmonFreak1 not only beta'ing this but also for her expert help with the technical details.
CH 2
There had been additional changes in their lives. Jimmy and Breena's baby boy, little Donnie, was now an active preschooler. He was a very welcome addition to the family as were the siblings his parents adopted shortly before he was born, Ethan and Hannah, who were two and three years older, respectively, than Donnie. Christmas at Gibbs' was certainly more fun with the addition of the three children. Ducky was now retired, a process he started by cutting his hours back over several months until he finally came so close to '0' hours a week that it was ludicrous to continue. On occasion he came in to help Jimmy, now the head Medical Examiner with his own assistant, but he spent most of his time traveling with Penny.
When Ellie joined the team, taking Ziva's desk, none of them had thought about the holidays, but she and her husband had their own families and so they never joined the "Gibbs-Mallard" holiday celebrations. That made for a different sort of vibe; while she had certainly grown into her place on the team, she was never quite a member of the family. Nevertheless, the team continued to lead the agency in successfully solved and prosecuted cases.
Abby was still a force to be reckoned with, that hadn't changed, but she had also mellowed and grown up over the years. Her friendship with Tim was stronger now than it had been for many years.
Tony…well Tony was Tony. He'd matured a great deal but was still their favorite goofball, great and good friend and of course an excellent investigator. His father, known to one and all as "Senior", had died two years before and his estate was still being settled. His death was difficult for Tony but he was grateful that they had worked things out between them. By the time Senior passed his son knew without a doubt that he was loved and cherished and that his father had been very proud of him.
Tim watched the metamorphosis of that relationship and wished he could have that with his own father but it hadn't happened. During his father's bout with cancer there was some reconciliation; however when the Admiral realized death wasn't imminent, he pushed his son away again. Tim made no further effort, he was done.
And Ziva...after Tony saw her in Israel, it was nearly two years before anyone heard from her again and that was when young Donald Mallard Palmer was born. Abby had persisted in e-mailing her with the family news and Donnie's birth was the news to which she finally responded. A gift arrived: a hand knit pair of booties with matching blanket along with a card for Breena and Jimmy. Abby sent photos of the baby with each of them, including his siblings and the Palmers were pleased to receive age appropriate gifts for Ethan and Hannah as well. Finally Ziva thanked Abby for the photos and for being so persistent in her communications. She was working in the Israeli Diplomatic Corps and wouldn't, or couldn't, say more than that. But after that, they started hearing from her occasionally. One or another of them would get a brief e-mailing greeting and on one memorable occasion, a text to Tony on his birthday. When Tim wrote and told her about his relationship with Gibbs, she sent a note congratulating the two of them. While it was good to hear from her, the family missed her and never lost hope she'd find her way home to them.
XXX
The movie proposal arrived from California the following day as Tim predicted and the two men spent the weekend reading through the papers, Tim translating 'movie-speak' into English for Jethro and discussing the possibilities. Tim made notes of everything they talked about and spent a few hours Sunday writing in his questions and changes. On Monday he left home early and dropped the proposal off to be Fed-Ex'd back to Westler.
Tim thoroughly enjoyed his birthday the following weekend, loving the private time in the woods with his partner. Although it had been rainy and cold in DC when they left, it was sunny and not quite as cold up here. They went for a long hike Saturday afternoon, enjoying the very last of the autumn colors. They hiked to the top of a nearby hill and stopped to drink in the glorious view.
Tim sighed in appreciation, "We won't get this in California."
"We'll have beautiful views, just not the colors. But Timmy, we won't be there forever, we can come back here. We're not giving up the cabin."
Tim smiled, "Good thought!"
Monday morning he remembered to check how the weather had been in Phillie before he went into work; he talked about that and Sarah's new novel while Tony enjoyed teasing him about his supposed visit with his sister. Tim appreciated Tony's help in maintaining their privacy; sometimes it was just fun to bait their nosy neighbors with misinformation.
The next two weeks flew by as they investigated a double murder. By the Tuesday before Thanksgiving they had identified the culprit and had her in custody, cooling her heels in Interrogation. Gibbs broke her with his cool stare and she was writing her statement 10 minutes after he entered the room. That meant reports and cleaning up loose ends on Wednesday.
And it was on Wednesday that Tim received a text from Westler asking him to call after he got off work. Gibbs heard the buzz and saw the look on Tim's face. As they were done with the essential reports for the case, he let them go early to avoid the worst of the 'night before the holiday' traffic. Tim's car was in the shop and when Gibbs got called up to Vance's office, Tony offered Tim a ride to pick up the Porsche.
As they drove, Tim realized this was the perfect opportunity.
"Tony, I have something to tell you…and this isn't a certainty, but I can't stand you not knowing."
Tony was surprised, almost shocked. While he and Tim had grown to be close friends over the years the only secret Tim had ever previously wanted to share with him had been his relationship with Gibbs. As that had been a big deal, he wondered if this might be too. He nodded at Tim. "I'm intrigued!"
Tim told him about the renewed interest in Deep Six and the possibility that the current proposal might work.
Tony carefully pulled the car off the road before he let loose with: "OH MY GOD! PROBIE, I mean…WOW that's HUGE!"
He wrapped one arm around Tim's shoulders. "HUUGGE! So how does Gibbs feel about this?"
"We're trying not to get our hopes up, because you know, this is Hollywood, land of half-assed proposals and ruining books made into movies. But still…"
"You going for control?" Tim nodded, and Tony sighed, "That's great but it means you'll have to be in California a lot, huh?"
"Yeah."
"And Gibbs…Oh! He's going with you."
"Yeah. IF this works out, he's going with me; he'll retire and I'll quit."
"No! No quitting, you can take a leave of absence."
"Thought of that but don't know how long it'll take."
"Two years."
"Yeah?" Tim laughed, "I know you're very knowledgeable about movies but I didn't realize you know about all the stuff that happens before or as they're made."
Tony shrugged, "And after, editing and special effects, voiceovers. I didn't intentionally set out to learn it, just sort of happened."
"So when I get the next proposal, the revised one, would you like to look at it?"
"YEAH! Wow, this is incredible Tim! Hmm, did you ask for control in casting?"
"Of course, I've learned something from your rants about casting over the years."
They laughed and Tim dreamed aloud, "Now if I could have a cast as wonderful as Peter Jackson did with the "Lord of the Ring" and "The Hobbit"…"
"Wait…are they optioning one or all?"
"Start with one, but yeah, all 8 of the books."
"Which will probably morph into 3- 5 movies and maybe go to TV as a series after the movies …wow this is exciting!"
Tim grinned at his friend, "If this goes through, Tony…"
"Gonna be a lot of changes."
"Yep."
"So when will you get the answer to your questions?"
"Had a text today, the guy shepherding this through asked me to call him after work."
"That's now, Tim, CALL him!"
Tim shook his head, "Nah, gonna wait until I get home, want Jethro to hear too."
"Right, he's your partner; he needs to be in on it."
Tim patted his arm, "Now you're in on it too, DiNozzo!"
"Yeah, hey thanks for telling me, Tim, this is really exciting!"
Tim chuckled at his friend's enthusiasm and had to bite his tongue to keep from telling him of his idea to find a spot for Tony on the film. He'd originally said it on a whim but the more he thought about it and the more he and Jethro talked about it, the more they liked the idea. If this went through, if it really happened…Tim had cautioned his lover that even with his agreement the deal could fall through, financing could disappear, it could be postponed for years or never happen. But if it did happen and Tony wanted to, he'd find a way to include him.
Jethro's car was in the driveway when he got home. After greeting him with his favorite nickname, Blue to match his eyes, he told him about the call he'd been asked to make and that he'd told Tony about the deal. His lover grinned, he couldn't wait to see what happened next and he was glad Tony knew.
When Tim called Westler, the man crabbed at him for taking so long and then told him the news: Tim's changes and 'requests' had been accepted and another set of documents, a revised proposal, this time with a contract, was on its way but wouldn't reach him until Friday.
For the first time in his life, Tim regretted that the next day was a national holiday. Gibbs' team was off on Friday with Balboa's team on call, so picking up the document at the mail box store Friday morning would not be a problem. He told Blue that this had been too easy; he would ask Tony to take a look at the thing. Then he slapped the back of his own head, "Geez, not just Tony, I can have my Serpico friend take a look too!"
Jethro kissed him, "You're just learning about all this sweetie, don't beat yourself up!"
Tim kissed him back and then reluctantly pulled away to get started on some of the dishes for their Thanksgiving feast. Looking at the list of dishes Tim was making and helping where he could Jethro thought it would be easier to just have everyone over here. But Thanksgiving had always been at Ducky's and Christmas here and who knew how much longer they'd be able to do this. He'd gladly help Tim schlep pans and dishes from here to Georgetown.
