Both Jimmy and Maddie made quick arrangements for there practices to be closed the following day. Jimmy had decided not to tell anyone about the ashes until after he had returned. Until he had them in his hands and the papers that verified that the remains were in fact those of his girls. He knew that they would not call him unless they were one hundred and ten percent sure that they were in fact Breena and Tori's ashes. Still he had doubts and he did not want to get his hopes up. It was bright and early Wednesday morning when Jimmy dropped Larry off at Gibbs's house and then headed over to pick Maddie up. She was waiting in the driveway holding Kelly in one arm and her diaper bag in the other. She opened the front door and set Kelly on the passenger seat and the diaper bag on the floor. Before walking over to her car and returning several minutes later with Kelly's car-seat. She got the car-seat set up in the back of Jimmy's car and then walked around and scooped Kelly up into her arms.
"Sorry but my mom has to take Mrs. Dallas to chemo at County. I can drop Kelly off with my friend Jill but I need the car-seat." Maddie explained.
"No it's fine." Jimmy replied.
"Alright well I guess that this relationship is unconventional enough. So I guess this is how my daughter formally meets you. Kelly this is my friend Jimmy and we are going for a little trip. We will be back by tonight." Maddie explained.
"Hi Jimmy" Kelly greeted.
Maddie took Kelly and placed her in the car-seat. Once the child was fastened into the car-seat. She came back around and collected the diaper bag. She placed the bag on the floor of the backseat underneath where Kelly's car-seat had been placed.
"Thanks so much." Maddie said climbing into the passenger seat.
"It's no problem." Jimmy assured.
"Are you ready for this?" Maddie asked.
"Yeah" Jimmy sighed.
"It will be alright." Maddie assured.
"What did you tell your mom?" Jimmy asked.
"I was taking you to an appointment out of town. Just like you told me to say." Maddie assured.
"Great, I am sorry for being so paranoid." Jimmy explained.
"It's OK, Jimmy whatever you need." Maddie replied.
"Thanks" Jimmy sighed.
The drive to DC was so much easier than Jimmy was expecting it to be. They stopped twice to change Kelly. By the time they arrived it was nearly lunch time. So the couple ended up stopping at the small cafe that Maddie had frequented before moving up to Stillwater. Once lunch was over, the pair headed for the Forensics Department. Jimmy pulled into the parking lot and waited while Breena unbuckled Kelly from the car-seat. Maddie held Kelly close to her as they stepped into the building.
"May I help you?" The receptionist asked.
"My name is Jimmy Palmer and I am here to collect the ashes of my wife Breena and daughter Victoria." Jimmy explained flashing his ID.
"Very well somebody will be with you in just a moment." The receptionist replied.
Jimmy and Maddie were ushered to a small sitting area on the other side of the room. Maddie sat with Kelly in a small love seat and Jimmy took the arm chair that sat right beside it. The wait was probably twenty or thirty minutes but to Jimmy it felt like a lifetime. He was grateful that Maddie was there beside him. She placed her hand on his arm and offered him assurance.
"James Palmer?" A tall man in lab coat asked.
"That's me" Jimmy replied.
"Please come with me. You have a few forms that you need to fill out before you can collect the remains." The man explained.
"OK" Jimmy replied standing.
"May I come with him?" Maddie asked.
"No children are allowed in the back and I am just guessing that you are not immediate family. So I am afraid that you are not allowed back." The man explained.
"Are you going to be OK?" Maddie asked, Jimmy.
"I am fine" Jimmy assured.
Jimmy stood and followed the man back to a small office type room. Jimmy took a seat at the desk and waited. The man handed Jimmy a clipboard with about five papers on it. He filled out the forms and handed them back to the man who by this time Jimmy learned was named Tad. Tad left the room and handed the paper to a receptionist. After a while the receptionist returned the papers and Tad left the room. He returned several minutes later. This time he was carrying a box.
"Here you go." Tad said handing Jimmy the box.
"Can I go?" Jimmy asked.
"You need to fill out one more form." Tad replied.
"Alright" Jimmy sighed.
Tad handed Jimmy another form. Which turned out to just be a sign, initial and date. After the form was filled out. He took the box and carried it out the waiting room. Maddie was just coming out of the bathroom with Kelly when he returned. Jimmy sat the box on the table and took a deep breath.
"Are you ready?" Maddie asked.
"As ready as I will ever be." Jimmy replied.
Maddie set Kelly down on the love-seat and then walked back over to Jimmy. She placed her hands on his shoulders. Jimmy took deep breaths as he carefully removed the first urn from the box. He took it out and carefully ran his fingers on the engraving. He was currently holding Breena's ashes. For a long time he just held them and cried silent tears. After a while he put Breena's ashes back and then picked up Tori's. Holding his daughter's ashes was much harder than Jimmy could have ever anticipated. He ended up breaking down and falling apart. His body began to shake violently and the ashes began to slip from his fingers. Maddie dove down and grabbed the urn just before it crashed to the ground.
"I love you baby girl. I am so glad to finally have you back." Jimmy whispered.
A/N: Jimmy is finally reunited with his family. I'm thinking of jumping ahead to the birth of the DiNozzo child for the next chapter. New chapter will be up soon. Please review and thanks for reading.