Chapter 7

Thanksgiving Day was busy, full of family, food and fun. They Skyped with Sarah in the morning and in early afternoon, hours before the cooks were too busy in the kitchen, Tim and the boys were surprised with a Skype call from Ducky's home.

Gibbs and Ducky arranged it between them and Rob was told on the drive to Cambridge. When it was time, he slipped upstairs to wake Kyle from his nap and tell Greg about the surprise call. The kids were already keyed up over their uncle, grandfather, the chat with Aunty Sarah, the Porters and the holiday; Rob thought one more surprise might just send them over the edge.

Downstairs, Larry and Gibbs set the laptop up in the dining room while Tim and Cyndi were basting the turkey. When Rob came downstairs, he had Greg and Kyle with him. They turned into the living room in time to see a bunch of people on Papa's laptop screen.

Greg recognized some of the faces and then, with a whisper from his grandpa, ran to the kitchen to get his papa. "Papa, Grandpa needs you in the dining room!" He grabbed his hand and gently pulled, "Come on, you too, Aunt Cyndi!" Over the past month, Larry and Cyndi had gone from Dr. Larry and Dr. Cyndi to Uncle and Aunt, making them very happy.

Wiping his hands, Tim left the kitchen with Greg. When they arrived in the dining room, Tim noticed his laptop on the table and people on the screen. His dad pulled him in and Tim's jaw dropped when he saw who was waiting for him. Ducky, Jimmy, Breena, Tony, Abby, Ellie and her husband Jake were gathered at Ducky's home to celebrate Thanksgiving.

"Wow! I…great surprise, it's so good to see you!" He blinked back tears. "I miss you guys so much. How are you?"

Tony shook his head, "Oh no, you don't! We want to meet everyone, hear what you've been up to. Then we'll talk."

Chuckling, Tim introduced the Porters and then Rob, who waved. "Hi, glad to finally meet you all, been hearing about you for years. I'm the youngest McGee, there's one more you haven't met, our eldest brother Geordie. He's a Marine."

Tony's jaw dropped, "A Marine! McGee!"

"There's a lot I haven't shared, Tony. I promise I will when I see you."

"Can't wait to hear."

Tony was puzzled when Gibbs put his hand on the back of Tim's neck but distracted himself with another question. "Did you know Boss and your brother were coming?"

"No, when I opened the front door and they were standing on the porch, I just kept looking at them. Couldn't believe my eyes!"

"Now, Porters, how are you connected? Have you just met?"

Cyndi shook her head, "No, we've known the McGee family since Larry was one of Tim's professors at MIT. He took an interest in him and eventually we met the children, I mean Rob and Sarah. They were children then, Sarah was 12 and Rob 11. We all became friends and were able to help Tim by watching the kids so he could have a social life and then of course we knew his friends very well. And their friend Mrs. Ferguson helped too. We've stayed in touch over the years, we usually visit them every summer and sometimes for holidays. We couldn't make it this past summer, but we saw them all 2 years ago at Rob's graduation from medical school."

Tony's head was spinning but there were too many people to ask the questions he had for Tim. Ducky asked Greg and Kyle how they liked their house and Kyle grinned, "We have a pwaywoom jus' fow us." Greg nodded, "We let Papa play with us in there, Grandpa and Uncle Rob too."

From the huge grins on Tim's and Gibbs' faces, the group at Ducky's quickly figured out who Grandpa was.

Greg kept talking, "And we have our own room, we don't share with Papa here. And a backyard with a bike trail and a fort that Papa and Uncle Larry built us!"

Kyle added, "We go' skates!"

Ducky frowned as he thought about Greg's comment about sharing. He looked at Tim, "Timothy, you have one bedroom in Silver Spring."

"Yes, Ducky. That's why we were staying with Gibbs. But then NCIS told us to get out, so we shared the bedroom. Our friend Bill, a master carpenter, built bunk beds for the boys."

"I see. Well, I am thankful you've had this time in Cambridge."

The kids were looking at the screen and didn't notice Grandpa shake his head and sign not to mention moving home, things had changed but the boys didn't know yet. Abby, Ducky, Jimmy and Tony understood and nodded while Ellie, Jake and Breena looked puzzled.

Abby asked if they'd had fun in Boston and the little guys told them about their adventures, Tim helping them with names and places. By the time the call was disconnected, the turkey was ready to be basted again and Tim was more homesick than he'd been before.

He thought about the weekend and decided to talk with Gibbs tonight. And he needed to tell the boys they were staying until the end of the school year. Chuckling to himself, he realized he also needed to tell Dr. Donovan! He'd call him Friday morning.

Their Thanksgiving dinner was a feast. The turkey was tender, moist and flavorful, cooked to perfection and the gravy, made by Cyndi, was perfect. The mashed potatoes turned out beautifully as did the stuffing Tim made from scratch, along with cranberries, roasted green beans with sliced almonds and a delicious sweet potato dish, also made by Tim. Their dinner was accompanied by milk for the boys, sparkling cider for Tim and Rob and wine for the others, followed by pumpkin pie made with a walnut crust and topped with real whipped cream. Perfect! Determined not to overdo it, the cooks were pleased there was just enough turkey to freeze for a future meal and for turkey sandwiches on Friday. The pie was gone as were most of the side dishes.

Larry, Gibbs, and Rob were on cleanup so Tim and Cyndi, bundling up the boys and themselves, went for a walk. Knowing Tim wanted to stick to the boys' nighttime routine, the Porters left soon after the walkers returned.

While Gibbs and Rob finished the clean up, Tim led the boys to the sofa in the living room. Sitting down with them, he smiled at them before forging ahead with his news. "Greg, Kyle, I have something to tell you. My boss here has asked us to stay until school is out at the end of May. Kyle, that means we'll celebrate your birthday here. We'll stay in this house and keep going to school, day care and classes."

Their little faces lit up, "We get to stay?"

"Yes, isn't that great?"

"But what about Grandpa, Uncle Rob and Dad?"

"We'll spend Christmas with Grandpa and Uncle Rob and we'll see your dad then too, and we'll keep doing video visits with him. Grandpa and Uncle will visit us again, for sure for Kyle's birthday and maybe we'll go visit them, too."

"YAY!" Greg ran around the room, Kyle running after him. "We get to stay and play, yay!" When they circled back, they jumped into Tim's arms, hugging him.

Tim laughed, "I'm glad you're happy!"

Greg crawled into Tim's lap. "When do we get to visit?"

"I'm not sure yet. Would you rather hear the maybes or wait until I know for sure?"

"Mm, until you know for sure."

"Ok. How about you, Kyle?"

Next to them, Kyle had discovered the couch was bouncy, even when he was sitting down. Now he looked up, giggling. "Papa, dis couch is fun!"

"It is?"

"It's bouncy even widou' jumping." He gave a demonstration. Greg looked at Papa who smiled at Kyle. "Hey kiddo, that does look like fun. Let's remember we borrowed this couch and all the other chairs and tables. You know to be very careful with other kids' toys."

Kyle thought about that before nodding. "Yes, bu' Papa, dis no' a toy."

"You're right, Kyle. It's something to sit on and it belongs to someone else. I'm going to give us a new rule, be careful with toys and other things that don't belong to you."

"Like da couch?"

"Yes. And chairs and tables. TVs and doors and beds."

"Oh, aw dem?"

"Yes, all of them."

"Fowevah?"

"Until you're grown."

"Da' phooey." Kyle sat back, his lower lip sticking out. Reaching out, Tim pulled him onto his lap with Greg.

"Seems like phooey, doesn't it?" He knew Kyle didn't mean it disrespectfully. Both boys used the word the word 'phooey' to express extreme disdain or unhappiness and Tim heartily approved, although the emotions conveyed didn't always fit the dictionary definition. It was a word he and Patrick had used, someone, probably their father, taught them. They'd taught it to Sarah and Tim eventually taught Rob, Geordie and the guys. Tim still used it, although mostly to himself or if he caught himself about to use strong profanity in an inappropriate setting, e.g., the bullpen. Patrick must have taught Greg and either big brother or Kathy taught Kyle. Aside from the word providing a strong although inoffensive expression, Tim loved the connection between the McGees and the Harts, a small indication that Patrick hadn't forgotten his childhood.

Now he cuddled his little one. "When you're grown up, you'll have your own couch, chairs and bed. Then you can play on them all you want." Bending forward, he whispered to Kyle, "And you'll want to, I promise!"

Kyle giggled before asking, "How old, Papa?"

"How old is grown up?"

They nodded and he grinned, "20."

Greg's large eyes got larger while Kyle sighed, frustrated. "Ah, phooey. I neveh gonna be da' old."

Tim hugged him tightly, "You will be, sweet boy, all too soon. You'll be 3 in May and then next Thanksgiving, you'll be 3 ½ and then boom, it'll be your birthday again and you'll be 4. That's how it goes, you think it will never happen, but it does and a lot faster than you think."

Kyle forgot his pique when his grandpa and uncle joined them. Uncle Rob picked Greg up, putting him on his shoulders, while Grandpa had Kyle. "Up we go, boys, time to get ready for bed!"

Tim followed them up the stairs. Once the boys were both tucked in bed, Kyle already asleep, the men returned to the family room. Gibbs smiled at his boys. "This was a good day!"

"Yeah?"

"Yes! Surprising you yesterday and then surprising you again today, that was fun."

Tim chuckled. "Have a question for you, Dad. Is there anything else you want to see while you're here?"

"Fenway Park and some of the historic sites. But with you staying another 7 months, I can do that later. Be fun to see the Red Sox play." Gibbs smiled, "What do you have in mind, Elf Lord?"

"Seeing our NCIS family today made me more homesick. I was thinking that now that we're not moving, we don't have anything planned for the weekend. What if you left tomorrow and the boys and I ride with you? Then we can fly back Sunday. Stay with you, phooey with NCIS, and see whoever's around."

"Huh, that's a great idea. Think the boys can handle sitting for 7 hours?"

"No, we'll have to make a few stops. I have a portable DVD player and plenty of movies to keep them occupied for a few hours. Greg can read and Kyle…if we have an early lunch and then leave right after, he'll nap. When we get to your place, they can run around the backyard for a couple of hours."

All three of them chuckled at that and Gibbs nodded, "Yeah, that's fine, be great to have you home, even for a day. Want to have everyone over Saturday afternoon? Or Sunday?"

"Let's see what flight I can find for us on Sunday. Then we can decide. I'm hoping if Jose is available Saturday morning, he and I can meet with the property manager, get the apartment deal done."

"Good idea. Question for you two: You refer to your friend as Jose and Joe. Does he have a preference?"

Rob and Tim shook their heads, Tim saying, "He went by Joe in school, he said it was easier. He uses his real name in his and Freddie's business. Geordie calls him Joe more than the rest of us. Jose says either is fine."

Tim sent off a text to Jose and an email to the property manager. The office would be closed today but the staff would see it in the morning. They were usually good about replying promptly. Then he started looking for flights. "Ok, here's one that leaves DC shortly after 5:00, that gets us in about 6:40. And we don't have to be to the airport there until 3:00, that works."

"Taking the train from the airport?"

"No, we'll get a ride - taxi, Uber or Lyft. See who's available and the least expensive. By that time Sunday night, traffic won't be too bad." He grinned at Rob, "Yesterday would have been horrible. Who was going to pick you up?"

Rob looked surprised, "Nobody, I never had a flight booked for yesterday. Didn't know I'd be off until about 4:30 in the morning, then I waited until I got home at 5 to call Gibbs. I just wanted his flight number, to try to get a seat but then he said he was driving."

Gibbs nodded, "I was going to fly up and ride the train home with you on Saturday but then I thought about how many boxes and things you might be bringing back, how crowded both airports and the train might be over the weekend. Decided to drive and then Robbie called while I was making breakfast yesterday. Worked great! Originally, Larry was meeting me at the Kendall stop."

"Are the boys going to mind not taking the train?"

"Not until we've been in the car a few hours."

Rob chuckled, "Do you still have the same rules about whining?"

"Absolutely. Flat out not allowed."

"And does that work any better on Greg and Kyle than it did on Sarah and me?"

"Yes. I think the difference in age helps. You rarely whined and when you did it was usually something Sarah started. The 4 year age gap between Greg and Kyle ensures that doesn't happen. With Greg, he's usually over-tired or really upset about something. Kyle, well, he's a 2 year old. Gotta expect some whining."

"Wow, you've loosened up a lot with your new kids!"

Gibbs looked surprised while Tim laughed. "Learned a lot with you two and I'm not a kid anymore; I might be a little more understanding. We have rooms, not a tent, we don't have to be together 24/7 - and they had parents. Pat may not have been conscious for most of Kyle's life but both boys had a mother which is more than either you or Sarah can say. Or Pat and me."

Rob snorted, "And neither of the boys is anything like Sarah."

Tim tilted his head, "That might have something to do with it."

Gibbs gave them a look of incredulity, "Really?"

Tim closed his eyes while Rob very clearly was keeping his mouth closed.

"Wow."

Smiling at his chosen dad, Tim reminded him that was child Sarah, not grown Sarah. Then he changed the topic back to plans for Saturday afternoon. They decided to ask everyone, including Ms. Lu and the guys, to Gibbs' place for dinner.

Tim felt more secure having his oldest friends there, they could help explain his past and they'd be witnesses that nobody talked about the fracking case. Rob looked online at his work schedule and said if he could get a ride over and back, he could make it. He'd work Friday night but be off on Saturday. Dinner needed to be easy and inexpensive for the big crowd, they decided on hot dogs, burgers, salad and whatever they found at the store for dessert. Probably ice cream.

Tim sent out e-vites, online invitations, and had an almost immediate call from Jimmy which he put on speaker. "Hey, count us in, what can we bring?"

"Uh, whatever sounds good to your very pregnant wife, Jimmy. We're having burgers and dogs, some sort of salad, chips or fries. And probably ice cream for dessert."

"Uh, hate to ask this but could we do something besides ice cream? Looking at it still makes her nauseous."

"Sure how about uh…pie? Did you guys have a lot of pie today?"

"We had some but it wasn't too much. We'll bring an apple pie, how's that?"

"Ok, great. How about whipped cream, is that all right? And what is Breena drinking these days?"

"Whipped cream is good. Nothing carbonated to drink, gives her the hiccups. And citrus is on the no go list. Water's good for both of us."

"Ok. How much longer?"

"9 weeks."

Gibbs nodded, "Coming down the home stretch! You need any help with anything? Nursery?"

"We're waiting until after Christmas to do that. But yes, thanks, we'll need help with painting the baby's room and…" Jimmy whispered, "help me put baby furniture together?"

Gibbs chuckled, "I'll bring my toolbox. Just let me know when."

"Thanks, that's a huge relief! Don't want to put the baby in the crib and have it collapse."

"Nah, not gonna happen. We'll see you Saturday. Come early so you can watch Tim's parenting skills in action."

He winked at Tim's dropped jaw as they disconnected. "That's not fair, you have no idea what a brat she was. From the moment she was born. I swear!"

Rob was laughing so hard and loudly that he had his head stuffed in a throw pillow to muffle the noise.

Gibbs grinned, "Hey, you were 9 years old and all 3 of you survived. That's enough for me."

Rob stopped long enough to say, "6, he was 6 when she was born. He and Pat, who was 5, started taking care of her when she was about 5 months old."

That caused a long stare and then a head shake. "Your father should have been court-martialed for leaving you 3 with that woman. Did he know?"

Tim shrugged, "Maybe not right away. He knew when he came home on a surprise leave and found us changing her diaper and pulling drawers open to use as steps to reach the counter so we could reach the microwave to heat her bottle and feed ourselves."

Rob added, "That was after she beat you two so badly you landed in the hospital, left you both with scars. And then found some quack to call it post-postpartum depression."

Tim nodded, "Yeah, I think it was the leave after Dad's emergency leave."

Gibbs swore, pulling his son into his arms. "Can't change what happened. Just gonna give you all the love you should have had."

Tim's cell phone chimed with a call from Abby. "I'm in, what can I bring?"

Gibbs smiled and motioned for the phone, "Abs, will you do us a big favor? Please?"

"Of course."

"Can you do the grocery shopping for us, for our dinner? We don't know what time we'll get in and we'll be exhausted."

"Sure, I'll be happy to. Send me a list of what you want and I'll get it all."

"Great, thanks. Tim's writing up the list…why kosher? Abs, it'll be to you when we figure it out. Save the receipts and we'll pay you back."

"No problem, I'm glad to help. Love you all, can't wait to see you!"

Tim later had a text from Tony that said Palmer told him to bring a pie, but not apple and was chocolate all right?

Tim replied with "Always!"

Ellie and Jake volunteered to bring drinks while Ducky said he would bring a 'hot dish' he promised they'd like. That left only the hamburger meat, kosher hot dogs (Tim said that was the only kind he'd let the boys eat because he knew what parts of what animals were in them), buns for both, frozen French fries plus lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, pickle relish, small containers of ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise, ranch dip or dressing, another pie that wasn't apple or chocolate, 3 cans of real whipped cream, Tim specified the brand, heavy paper plates, cups, plastic utensils and napkins. Gibbs said he had plenty of butter. They answered Ellie, asking her to include non-carbonated, unflavored bottled water as several people would want that. Tim thought about all that plastic and convinced his new dad to have Ellie buy a filtering device for his faucet or a special pitcher which also had a filter. That way they could drink tap water and reduce their plastic waste for the day.

By the time they turned in, they'd heard from everyone they'd invited and deleted nearly half of Abby's shopping list before they sent it to her. Ms. Lu was off work on Friday and promised to make a double batch of apple crisp and possibly some cookies. Tim and Rob were so excited about the apple crisp that Gibbs laughed at them. Freddie was bringing buns, Joe the condiments, Bill offered to make one of his chopped salads, that also had Tim and Rob licking their lips, and Barry said he'd bring brownies from a favorite bakery, adding that he wouldn't pick them up until he was his way, otherwise he'd eat them all.

Hugging Dad goodnight, they were still getting used to calling him that, the brothers quietly walked upstairs to Tim's room. Gibbs went through his nightly routine, climbing into bed with a contented sigh. Felt good to be with family, he'd forgotten the chaos of having a young child and how much fun it was, even more so with grandchildren!

With many hugs and kisses, Rob left early Friday morning; Tim and Dad surprised him with an Uber ride to the airport. The boys woke early to say goodbye to Uncle Rob and were very excited to find out they were all going to Gibbs' house for the weekend and would fly home on Sunday. Greg said they'd never flown before and he couldn't wait for their party on Saturday. Tim had already packed for them, throwing in warm jackets for the trip home and for playing outside. After an early breakfast and lunch, Grandpa and Papa packed Grandpa's car, got the car seats secured, the kids in them, found a spot for the portable DVD player and off they went. They'd called the Porters before lunch to tell them the new plan and laughed when Cyndi exclaimed to Larry, "Told you! You owe me $20!"

The 7 hour trip took 8 hours, less than Tim anticipated. They stopped at rest areas for restroom breaks and let the kids run around. In the car, Greg read, while Kyle slept the first 2 hours, waking up asking if they were there yet. The boys watched 3 movies, with earbuds so Grandpa and Papa could concentrate on driving. That ate up more than half the drive time.

After swapping drivers, Tim got in the backseat with the boys and read to them for another hour. All in all, it was a long drive but they survived. Everyone was tired although in good spirits when they pulled into Gibbs' driveway. Greg walked in holding Tim's hand, while Kyle, drowsy from another nap, perched on his papa's hip.

The two men soon had everything inside. The boys had a quick bath, a story each, cuddles and then they tumbled into bed. Knowing they'd likely be up early, Tim had a shower, hugged his dad goodnight and also tumbled into bed. Gibbs locked up, made sure the thermostat was set, managing to change before he too hit the sack. He chuckled as he turned off the light, it was 2030, earlier than he'd been to sleep in more years than he cared to count.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Gibbs expected to wake at his usual 0530 but it was 0717 when he opened his eyes Saturday morning. Smelling coffee, he headed to the kitchen where he was handed a mug of dark, rich brew as he walked in. "Thanks, son! How long you been up?"

"Mm, 5 or 6 minutes, just long enough to brew the coffee and get the paper. Have that meeting with Jose and the property manager at 0830."

"Right! Nice that it's in Arlington at the property management's office, saves you a long drive. Anything special you want the boys to do while you're gone?"

"Don't let them con you into a big breakfast, whatever you're eating is fine. Make sure they brush their teeth and wash their faces after they eat, that's sometimes a battle. They can wear jeans and sweatshirts; Greg will want to wear his hiking boots, that's fine. Kyle has Thomas the Tank sneakers he loves."

Gibbs grinned, "That all sounds like fun! Eggs, bacon and toast all right?"

"Light on the bacon for them. We'll be eating a lot of food this afternoon and I'd rather not overload them. Upset tummies are not fun. I'll stop on the way home and get some Tums for Kids™, just in case."

"Hm, maybe we'll wait and have bacon tomorrow."

"That's fine. We usually have it Sunday mornings before we go to see Pat."

"Mind if I go with you tomorrow?"

Tim smiled, "I'd love it! We brought our latest drawings and photos for his room." He rolled his shoulders, "Dad, I know what Rob said about Pat and his chances of recovery. But what's your gut feeling on us living elsewhere?"

"That you're doing exactly what Patrick would want you to do, raising his sons as your own. He wouldn't want anything else, especially not to hold you here."

Tim looked at him sadly, "I think he's gone, Dad and I think it was the drug that did it. Those 3 must have seen some change that caused them to start injecting him with the Midazolam. They murdered him."

Gibbs wrapped his arms around his boy, who tucked his head into his shoulder, mourning the brother he'd been mourning for most of his life. As Gibbs was involved in the case against the cartel moles, he couldn't say anything other than his personal opinion of Patrick's future. When Tim gathered himself together, he pulled a canister of oatmeal from the cupboard, making himself a bowl of hot oatmeal with dried blueberries and milk to go with his coffee.

Before he left for his meeting, he woke the boys, kissing each good morning and reminding them he would be gone for about 2 hours, that Grandpa was downstairs and would make breakfast. After hugs and another round of kisses, he left, thinking how hard it was to leave. This was different than taking his kids to school and day care. But there was no one he trusted more than Gibbs. They'd be fine.

He pulled into the parking lot of the management office 5 minutes early and grinned when Jose pulled in just after him. After greeting each other, they headed inside. The property manager was ready for them and the meeting went well. Jose was essentially added to Tim's lease with a codicil that any refunds on deposits made previous to that day would be payable to Tim. With the legalities all tied up, the two decided to go for coffee.

Tim told his friend that he and the boys were staying in Cambridge through May and didn't know where they'd end up after that. Jose hadn't been sure why he'd suddenly landed the apartment, he'd thought Tim and the boys were probably staying with Tim's former boss until they found a bigger place. Hearing they weren't coming back for several months was an unpleasant surprise. However, one thing Jose had learned in his life was to look at things philosophically. The return of the McGees to the DC Metro area after Tim earned his Masters and Doctorate had been a wonderful surprise. They'd all thought their friends had left for good. Now he trusted that wherever life took Tim, Rob, Sarah and Geordie, they'd always be friends, family, and would always stay in touch.

After leaving Jose, Tim stopped to pick up the antacids for kids, just in case. Then he headed home to his family. Parking the Challenger in the driveway, he found the kids and his dad in the kitchen, singing a pirate song while they cleaned up the kitchen and washed the breakfast dishes.

Wearing warm jackets and hats, the men and boys played in the backyard for over an hour before Gibbs heard footsteps on the front porch. The four of them went back inside to see who it was.

It was Tony and after Gibbs and the boys greeted him, Tim wrapped his arms around his friend and the two held on for a long moment. When they finally pulled apart, both were sniffling and laughing a bit.

Tony shook his head at Tim's hair, "So long, can't believe Boss didn't haul you to a barber!"

"Didn't have time, DiNozzo. Got there, got caught up, had Thanksgiving, left on Friday and they're flying back tomorrow."

Tim shrugged, "Not a federal agent anymore. College professors are allowed to have hair more than an inch long."

His friend reached out and tousled it, leaning forward, "Don't tell Boss, but it looks good!"

Gibbs snorted, taking the pie from the table. "This goes in the fridge, right?"

"Yes, thanks."

When Gibbs rejoined them, the kids were talking a mile a minute, telling Uncle Tony about their adventures in Boston, on the train, at the house and at school. Taking him by the hand, which warmed Tim's heart, knowing how insecure Tony could be with kids, they led him into the downstairs bedroom to look at the toys they'd brought with them. Tim joined them, not wanting Tony to feel trapped or overwhelmed.

Next to arrive were the Palmers. Tim and Tony rushed to the walkway to take whatever Breena was carrying. As it turned out to be a jacket for later, they felt a little silly. Jimmy rolled his eyes at them while Breena laughed. "Guys, I'm not an invalid!"

She gave Tim and the boys a kiss and hug each while Jimmy hugged the three of them. "So glad to see you in person!"

Ducky was right behind them. When he saw Tim, he handed his dish to Tony and held his arms open. Tim reflected later that after Dad, getting hugs from Ducky and giving them to him was the best.

Ms. Lu, Barry and Rob were next. Rob gave and got hugs from Ducky and the Palmers while Ms. Lu and Barry were welcomed and introduced.

Abby was next and they all pitched in with the groceries. She apologized, "I'm sorry I wasn't here earlier. Stayed late to work on a case and then overslept this morning."

"Bet you nailed the case though."

She grinned, "You better believe it, nailed that sli…bad guy to the…got him, hook, line and sinker!" She changed her sentence from nailing the slime ball to the wall when she saw Kyle's little face watching her. She was glad she remembered not to wear anything spiky.

Finding Tim, she gave him a nearly full-strength Abby hug, only holding back because she knew he didn't like the full-strength ones. When she kissed him on the cheek, he kissed hers right back and they grinned at each other. "So good to see you, McGee!"

Rob intervened, introducing her to Ms. Lu and Barry. And then, spotting Bill, Freddie and Jose walking down the sidewalk, he walked out onto the front porch, "Yay, the gang's all here!"

Bill grinned as he walked in the door, "Yeah, just missing Sari and Geo. Hello!"

He kissed Ms. Lu, who smiled as each of her boys gave her a kiss. "Thank you!"

Tim made a general introduction of the Baltimore gang to the NCIS gang. Tony noticed that Ducky and Jimmy received handshakes and smiles, they were already known. Tim saw Tony's frown and turned to him.

"Just need Ellie and Jake, man."

"Oh, right."

The missing couple arrived with the filtered pitcher and drinks a couple of minutes later and the hosts, that is Gibbs, Rob and Tim, with Tony pitching in, got drinks for everyone, with lemonade for the little guys.

As Tim handed out the drinks, he noticed everyone was gathered in a semi-circle in the living room, sitting on the couch, chairs, chairs from the kitchen table and on the sturdy coffee table. "All right, everyone have a drink? First of all, I'd like to thank you all for showing up at the last minute. Secondly, before Rob and I get to the history lesson, Greg, Kyle and I have some news. I'm now their legal guardian, which means I belong to them and they belong to me. And the boys asked Gibbs to be their grandfather, so he's now Grandpa! Thanks to everyone who's been visiting their father, David, or as I know him, Patrick, my brother. We'll always be grateful for everyone taking time out of your weekend to hold your phone, tablet or laptop so our boys can talk with their dad.

"Next item, I've accepted an extension of my contract at MIT. We're staying on through May! This morning, Jose, raise your hand, man, and I met with the property manager of my apartment complex and Jose's now on the lease. Gibbs has graciously offered the services of several of you to move our belongings to his basement and to help Jose move his stuff in. Tony, Ducky, do you mind keeping my albums and books for a few more months?"

"I don't mind. Are you coming home then? You going to stay here until you find a place?"

"Haven't yet committed to anything after May, Tony."

Ducky stepped in, realizing that whatever Tim might be thinking, he wasn't ready to talk about it yet, which likely meant the children, that is the little ones, didn't know.

"I'm also happy to keep your books, Timothy!"

"Thanks, both of you. All right, here goes. Everyone comfortable, need a break?"

Freddie looked at his friends, seeing how nervous Tim was. "Just go for it, Tim. We're here to help."

"Thanks, Freddie. Ok, I'm going to try to just get through this and please, no questions until I finish. It's a long, frequently ugly story. Remember we survived, the four of us McGees and our friends here."

Tony's face was stony and Gibbs gathered Greg and Kyle to him. Abby had been inching toward Gibbs for comfort but he had both arms around the kids. Ducky was across the room and Tony's attention was fully on Tim. Right, she was a big girl, she could handle this. Still, she relaxed when Breena took her hand.

Inhaling deeply, Tim started, "When I was 3, my brother Patrick 2, we moved from Puerto Rico to Okinawa with our father, Lt. Commander Dan McGee. There he met and eventually married a woman named Natalie. Our mother, Lily, died in Puerto Rico when Pat was 4 months old and I was 19 months old. She had some of her eggs harvested before she died and Natalie was our sister Sarah's gestational host, so we three have the same mother.

"Natalie was cruel and abusive except when our father was home, which wasn't often. When I was 9, Pat 8, and Sarah 3, Natalie killed Commander McGee in a hit and run. Pat and I were also in the car with him. I was thrown out the rear passenger door and obviously survived, although I had head trauma and my legs were smashed up. I was in a coma for 19 days; when I woke I was told my father and brother were dead. Weeks later, Natalie and Sarah picked me up from the hospital. Weeks after that, I finally got walking casts, those black boot things, for my legs. A week or two after that, Natalie told me she couldn't take care of us and was sending us to Baltimore to live with her cousins until she got a job. She put us on the bus and that was the last we ever saw of her. When we got to Baltimore, there were no cousins, she'd found a way to passively abandon us.

"While we waited for the non-existent cousins at the bus station in Baltimore, this kid kept circling around, looking for food and stray change. We gave him part of a sandwich and he helped me get Sarah to the bathroom. At the end of the day, he took us to a transient camp where he lived. That's how we met our brother Geordie, who grew up to be our Marine brother. We stayed at the camp for three weeks before we met Rob here and his mother, who agreed, uh, Lu, better plug your ears!"

She laughed, "That's the worst kept secret, Timothy! I know all about shelter parents."

"Huh, ok then. Kids under the age of 18 aren't allowed to stay in shelters without a parent or guardian. The agreement I came to with Rob's mother, whose name is – or was, we don't know if she's alive, Ellen Brill. Anyway, I told her I'd take care of Rob, who was 2 at the time, in exchange for her showing up every evening to sign Sarah, me and Rob into the shelter. She agreed, although she didn't always show up. Then we'd stay in the transient camp. Things went along like that for about 3 years, until I was 12. Then I was hurt and…" he paused at the exclamations from his friends to tell the truth.

"That is the truth, I was hurt! But ok, I was stabbed in the back, at the shelter. Pretty badly but again, here I am. And we never saw Ellen again. By the time I was back on my feet, I'd aged out of the family portion of the shelter, would have had to stay on the men's side with a 'shelter father' but that wasn't happening, and Ellen was gone, so we returned to the camp. We 3 shared a tent and Geordie shared a tent with Barry, Freddie and Jose. We stayed there for 6 years, until Sarah, Rob and I moved to Cambridge when I was 18.

"Geordie's father died at the shelter when he was 10 and he moved to the camp. His mother died when he was 5. Bill was staying there when Geo moved into that particular tent; he claims to be the original resident of that tent."

Bill said, "Original kid resident, Timmo. There were a bunch of older guys that went through there but there was a spot for me so I took it and held onto it until you all came along. Then I was the old guy!"

The others laughed and Tim continued, "When Bill was in high school, he started doing pickup work in construction. He was so good at it that after he graduated he got a job in construction, where he apprenticed as a carpenter. He's now a master carpenter. Once he had enough money coming in, he rented an apartment with 5 other guys. And helped the rest of us when he could.

"Geordie's 3 years older than me; when he turned 18, he became our legal guardian. By the time I turned 18, he'd graduated from community college, moved on to a 4 year, had a year left to get his Bachelor's, but needed to move out of the area. So I became legal guardian of Sarah and Rob. Geo was in ROTC in college and went into OCS, Officer's Training, after his graduation. That's how Geordie, Sarah, Rob and I became legally related.

"Before that, I graduated high school at 15, in Geo, Barry, Jose and Freddie's class. I had a full ride scholarship to Johns Hopkins, but couldn't stay on campus as the kids were minors and the places I could afford off campus were worse than the camp. So we stayed at the camp another 3 years but with food, clothes and enough blankets, which made a huge difference.

"By the time we went to Cambridge, Rob and Sarah were 11 and 12. Got my Masters and Doctorate, yes, I know that's news to most of you, which means, among other things, that I have credentials for teaching college level classes. While I continued to apply to FLETC , colleges and universities, I worked for a national bank in IT development. The bank was in Boston so we continued to live at Mrs. Ferguson's and the kids stayed on with her while I was in FLETC. Then I accepted NCIS' job offer, was assigned to Norfolk, found a furnished studio we could afford, bought an ottoman that made into a bed for Sarah and eventually met you guys."

Tony's jaw had dropped about a minute in and Tim thought it must hurt by now. Ducky apparently agreed as he reached over and gently tapped it. Abby and Breena were both crying. Ellie and Jake were staring at Tim, speechless. Gibbs had the boys upstairs.

Tim, Rob, the guys and Ms. Lu all looked at each other, not sure what to say or do. They'd lived this, they didn't have any questions. Finally Rob got up and brought water and tissues back for Abby and Breena.

Ducky decided to step in. "Thank you, Timothy. I must admit hearing this again is still heart wrenching. For those of you hearing this for the first time, look at our friends. Bill is a master carpenter, Freddie and Jose have a prosperous plumbing business, Barry is a sergeant with Baltimore PD, Rob is a second year pediatric resident at Johns Hopkins Medical Center, Sarah is a published author and graduate student and you know of Timothy's accomplishments. What you should also know is that, together the 8 of them, along with other camp alumni, founded a non-profit organization that helps current residents of the camp and shelter survive. They also help provide funding for the free clinic Jimmy, Rob, and I run in Baltimore in our spare time. We share the clinic with 2 other doctors and 3 physician assistants, also volunteers, so that when any of the 3 of us have to work our regular jobs on a weekend, there is always a medical person available."

Tony finally spoke, "That's why Ms. Lu and the guys know you and Jimmy."

"Yes."

"McGee, I'm horrified, amazed, and proud of you, all of you. Even though I had nothing to do with anything. I know the shelter and that camp, that's run by the big guy, isn't it?"

"Yes, Nate and his sister, Juanita."

"Ok, yeah, had a few calls down there when I worked Baltimore PD."

Barry smirked, "Let me guess, Mr. Hatcher's store?"

"Uh, that does sound familiar."

Tim nodded, "He hates the camp and the shelter, hates the homeless. Used to call the cops if any of us so much as looked in the windows."

"I don't remember him ever having any real problem."

Barry laughed, "After I graduated from the Police Academy, I worked on the Silver Spring PD for a few years. He didn't remember me when I joined Baltimore PD and showed up in his neighborhood. He was Mr. Congeniality until I finally told him who I was. Gave him something to think about."

Tony shook his head, "I don't understand why you never told us, Tim. Does Ziva know?"

Tim shrugged, "I don't know, never asked. Tell me, Tony and please be honest. How do you look at homeless people?"

"Uh, yeah. Not kindly. Wish they'd clean up and well, clean up."

"Yeah, the stink is hard to deal with when you have no access to water. And the shelters fill up, sometimes a pretty rough crowd in there. As tough as you all were on me when I first transferred to Gibbs' team, do you really think it would have been a good idea to announce I'd been homeless?" He didn't wait for an answer, continuing to speak, "None of us have a death wish, we wouldn't have made it out if we did. And we fought our way out. Guys, don't think from our appearances now that it was a piece of cake. It was hard, every single minute of every single day. Not just sleeping in a tent but never having enough to eat, everyone here helped me find food for Sarah and Rob. Staying healthy, acquiring clothes and shoes that didn't hurt, fall off or fall apart. Staying safe, staying away from the drunks, the druggies, the violent, the traffickers, the pimps and the pedophiles. Just staying awake in class when there was so much noise around us at night, every night.

"Nate's camp is one of the best. He's picky about who he'll let stay and he watched over us. We were scared, all the time. With good reason, look at me, stabbed in the back at age 12. Attempted murder by a crazy guy. The best thing that happened to Sarah and me was meeting Geordie our first day. Having to take care of Sarah saved me, meeting Geordie saved the two of us, saved Robbie when he came along and eventually saved all of us. The eight of us supported each other, emotionally, sometimes physically and financially, that's how we made it out. We stayed in school, studied hard, showed up for class prepared and as sanitized as we could get. But we saw other kids go down, get into drugs, alcohol, prostitution, robbery, all around us.

"Tony, I've seen how you look at people, adults, that you know were bullied in school. That's just bullied, not even poor or God forbid, homeless. Not just you, many people. Learned prejudices are tough to unlearn. I know that because I thought frat boys were lower than pond scum, a waste of space. Still do, most I've met are worthless rich kids who think their bodily wastes don't stink and who wouldn't know a hard day's work if it bit them. But not you, and I had to accept that and the notion that you might not be the only worthwhile frat brother. But yeah, that took me years to overcome.

"Our only other choice was foster care. Tony, do you remember what a horrible mess that was in Baltimore in the 90s? Kids were molested, raped, knocked around, separated from their siblings and never allowed to see them. We had foster kids in our classes. In our second or third-hand clothes that took us a year, sometimes longer, of layaway to buy from the thrift store, we still looked better than some of the fosters. And we had each other, the fosters frequently changed homes, rarely if ever saw their siblings and never any friends they might have made."

Tony's jaw had dropped open again at Tim's description of the violence and 'frat boys' and he blinked. "Had no idea you felt that way. You really must have hated me your first few years."

There were noises from several people but Tim ignored them. "I try not to hate anyone. And I didn't hate you, although many times I wanted to pound that smug look off your face. Eventually, I recognized someone else with secrets. I figured out pretty quickly that you were a lot smarter than you let anyone know and were obviously covering up something with your behavior. Eventually, we each opened up a bit and here we are, friends for life."

There were several questions after that, from Abby, Ellie, Breena, even Jake had a question or two. The group of former tent dwellers took turns answering, much to Tim's relief.

Finally, the questions stopped and Gibbs poked his head down the stairs, "Is it safe?"

The group shouted yes and Gibbs pounded down the stairs, holding Kyle, and Greg jumping down the last two steps. He went straight to Tim, "Daddy, we're hungry and Grandpa says it's up to you when we eat."

Reeling in surprise from the new name, Tim pulled Greg in for a hair tousle, "Now sounds good, kiddo. Let's go help Grandpa."

Giggling, Kyle ran in from the kitchen and pulled on his hand, "Gwandpa says he's no' you' gwandpa bu' he wants you ta help."

The others laughed and several offered to help. Tim smirked when the boys tugged Ms. Lu into the kitchen with them. Tony, Rob and Barry looked at him and laughed as Ducky exclaimed, "Oh my. Is there a mutual attraction there, Timothy?"

Tim's eyes widened and he ducked into the kitchen. Barry answered, "Ducky, I can't answer for Gibbs, but Ms. Lu is definitely interested."

When Tim ventured out from the kitchen again, Breena grabbed his arm and made him sit next to her. "I have so many parenting questions and you've been through it twice!"

Tim laughed, "Does not make me an expert! Greg and Kyle are very different from Sarah," He stopped as laughter from the others threatened to drown him out. He rolled his eyes and continued, "and Rob. And I'm a lot older too. Don't listen to them, you know Sarah, she's a wonderful person. But she was the only girl in our group, certainly in our tent."

"What was she like before? She was 3, right?"

"Yes. She was…well, to be honest, she was a princess. Pat and I started taking care of her when she was about 5 months old, we were 5 and 6 and she was like a little doll to us. We probably spoiled her, but we didn't know any better. And our father, when he was home, doted on her, which she accepted because we were happier when he was home. But she doesn't remember much about him, she remembers us."

"She was pushy?"

"Mouthy, loud, sarcastic, mean, man, she could pinch. Always had to do things her way." That was Freddie and the others nodded. Rob just smiled.

Breena laughed, "Sounds like my younger sister! She says now it was self preservation."

The guys looked surprised and Breena smirked, "No one else had sisters or a younger brother?"

They all pointed to Rob, who laughed. "He was our younger brother. And he was a great kid."

Tim pulled his head toward him and ruffled his hair, "Still is."

"But he's a boy, you guys understood him. Sarah was the only girl. Were there other little girls around?"

"At the shelter, but not the camp."

Rob disagreed, "There was one at the camp, she was in Sarah's 3rd grade class at school. Then her grandfather came for her mom and her."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about her, something with a P, right?" Tim was in and out of the kitchen.

"Yes, Patty, I had a crush on her. I had it all planned out. She and Sarah would always be best friends so she'd be around us a lot and when we were old, you know, like Bill,", there was general laughter at Bill's indignant "Hey!", we'd get married and have our very own tent while I went to doctor school."

Breena was laughing so hard she had to make a very pregnant run, that is, a fast walk, for the bathroom. When she returned, she asked how old he'd been at the time of his crush. "I was in 2nd grade. And more upset than Sarah was when Patty left. I even tried to talk Tim into asking her grandfather to take us too."

Tim poked his head out from the kitchen, "I remember that. I might have asked, too, but that man was scarier than…uh, Nate."

Tony, Jimmy and Ellie laughed, figuring Tim really meant the grandfather was scarier than Gibbs.

In the kitchen, Gibbs looked at Tim, "Scarier than Nate?"

"Ok, I was going to say scarier than you at your worst but you know, company. AndIdon'twantaheadslap."

"Wouldn't do that. My worst or my best?"

Tim chuckled, "You're usually scary on purpose so I'll amend that to your best."

"Nice save, Elf Lord."

"Besides, he smelled really bad and I don't think Patty's mother really wanted to go with him. But he had a home with room for them and Nate encouraged her."

While the burgers and dogs were grilling on Gibbs' indoor electric grill and on 2 indoor grills he'd borrowed from neighbors, the others brought everything else out. There wasn't enough room at the table for everyone to sit, so they'd eat buffet style with the plates, cutlery, food, condiments and drinks there instead. The chairs were scattered around the living room with side tables and TV trays placed near them. With a few people on the couch, Tim and the kids on the love seat, Breena in a hard backed chair so she could get up and down easily and Jimmy on the floor beside her, they were pretty well set.

The simple dinner was a hit as everyone dug in. When Barry started to get up from the sofa for third helpings, Bill nudged him. "Ms. Lu made apple crisp and I saw 2 pies. Plus your brownies!"

Barry made a face at him but sat down. "You're right. My annual physical's coming up in a few months, time to start watching what I eat."

Ducky clicked with his tongue, "I should imagine that's difficult for all of you to do, given the deprivations of your youth."

There were several nods but Bill was the first one to speak. "As the first one out, I should have been an example but I was more interested in feeling full, all the time. Each of us went through a 'fat' phase where we prized food over everything else. What's weird is that it didn't always happen right away. With me, I was busy working construction full-time the summer after I graduated from high school. It wasn't until winter when work was slow but I still had money for rent and food that I knew I'd be all right and started binging."

Barry tilted his head, "For me, it was after my first evaluation at Silver Spring PD. It was good, I'd worked my tail off and I knew I was out for real."

Freddie nodded, "For Joe and me, it was after we bought our first company van. I guess that's when we finally believed we wouldn't ever have to go back."

Tony was listening intently and now he looked at Tim, "Was it when you were hired?"

"Yes and no. I put weight on while I was at Johns Hopkins because we had money to eat. But we were all still underweight and kept on eating when we got to MIT. Then we had Mrs. Ferguson's cooking and we couldn't seem to get enough. But that felt like we needed to eat while there was food, not recognizing that we were out. That was my first chub phase and by the time I left for FLETC I'd lost most of it although I wasn't all that fit.

"The second chub phase was after I was hired at NCIS. We couldn't afford really healthy food but we could afford food, 3 meals a day – and snacks and we had a stove, oven, refrigerator and microwave, we could cook! It was enough to put those pounds back on and those were the pounds you saw on me when we met. But I was in better shape then, I'd been running and working out some. Sarah indulged too while poor Robbie kept eating and never gained an ounce. When they were finally on my medical insurance, that's the first reason we went to the doctor, to find out what was going on with him. They didn't tell us much, it was Ducky who solved the mystery a year later."

Jose nodded, "Good thing none of us drinks much. We worked so hard to stay clean and away from the drunks, the druggies and well, others, it would have been a real bummer if any of us got out only to dive into a bottle or drugs."

Abby, who'd been very quiet, still absorbing Tim's history, him being Daddy and Gibbs suddenly being Grandpa, looked at her friend. "Is that why you only drink white wine?"

He nodded, twisting his lips, "I hate the feeling of having no control over my life, too many years of that, and getting drunk is basically losing control. That was never something I could risk and now being voluntarily out of control doesn't interest me. I don't like the taste of American beer and mixed drinks just taste like alcohol, nasty. And living around a bunch of drunks for all those years certainly didn't encourage me, or any of us, to become one of them! Red wine gives me an almost instant headache. To me, white wine is the only thing that has a decent taste and doesn't make me drunk. And I don't like it enough to have more than one glass, you know I can nurse a glass for hours."

Kyle got up from the floor, where he'd been sitting by Uncle Tony, wandered over to his father, climbing onto his lap. Tim gave him a kiss and a tickle and the toddler chortled, squirming. "Daaaddeee, da' tick'es!"

Tim looked at Greg, who was sitting on Uncle Rob's lap. "Want to play trains?"

Both kids nodded eagerly and Tim rose, holding onto Kyle. "Ok, we'll set it up in our room."

Tony went with them to help and when the others heard a train whistle, they got up to look. Greg smiled at them as he blew the carved wooden whistle. "Daddy got us the train and the whistle when he went to see Uncle Jose this morning!"

Tim grinned, "Stopped to get kids' antacid and found this whole set and the whistle on clearance!"

Jimmy looked at the box, "That's pretty big. Are you going to take it home on the plane?"

Kyle shook his head, "We have a twain set a' home. Daddy says dis is fow Gwan'pa's house."

Gibbs grinned, "You know what would be fun?"

The boys and Tim shook their heads. "We'll put it around the Christmas tree!"

"Oh boy, da' gonna be fun!" Kyle and Greg exchanged fist bumps.

Everyone was granted a turn at running the trains around the track before they remembered there was dessert.

While they were enjoying their dessert, Tim had one more thing to say, actually to ask. He'd already cleared it with the boys and the Palmers. After swallowing a bite of apple crisp, Tim cleared his throat. "Ducky, Greg, Kyle, and I have a question for you." Ducky looked up, smiling, "What's that, Timothy?"

"Jimmy and Breena told us that they've asked you to be grandfather to their baby and want your grandfatherly name to be Granducky. Would you be willing to do the same for my boys?"

After the applause died down, Ducky finally answered, "Yes, I'll be proud to be Granducky to Greg, Kyle, and our new little one."

"Yay!" The boys ran to him, hugging and kissing him while their father, Grandpa Gibbs, and everyone else beamed.

After the apple crisp, pies, brownies and other goodies were devoured, the crowd began to break up. The Maryland group had the longest drive and left first, Rob riding home with Bill, who lived closest to him.