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Chapter 9
That afternoon Tim met with Ms. Rohn, the real estate agent who'd done her best to find a house for Ellie and Jake. The agent already knew what Tim was looking for and had several places lined up for viewing. Two were apartments; one was a duplex, two condominiums and three single-family homes.
The apartments were all right but neither had more than a balcony or small patio and Tim wanted more outdoor space for his children. He liked the duplex all right but the school district wasn't that great. The condominiums had the same problems as the apartments, minimal outdoor space. One of the condominiums was also dark with very little natural light and that just seemed too gloomy for his new family. He wasn't crazy about the surrounding neighborhood for that one either.
When Ms. Rohn told him where the houses were, he looked online for the school districts and smiled. Looked like two of the three were in great districts, a solid plus. He chuckled to himself when they turned onto a very familiar street to view the first house. He turned to Ms. Rohn, "How long has this been available?"
"Just got the listing last night."
Tim pointed as they drove by Gibbs' place. "That's my boss's house, where we're staying now."
"Oh my goodness! Then this might be perfect."
The rental was five houses down from Gibbs', the second to last one on the block. Tim liked that, no street to cross to get to Gibpa's house. There was plenty of curb appeal; the house was a blue two story with white trim, lots of windows with an attached two-car garage. Both front sides of the property had gates and Tim could see fences on either side, leading to the back of the property. That was good security and privacy; he liked that a lot. The front yard was low maintenance with a walkway winding through various plantings and a young fir tree. Tim smiled, "Yay, no lawn to mow!"
"There's one in the back."
"Good, the kids can play on it."
The interior of the house looked in good shape. The foyer opened onto a staircase on the right, with a good-sized living room on the far right; on the left was a dining room that led to the kitchen in the back. There were gleaming hardwood floors throughout and the kitchen looked recently updated. At Tim's questioning look, the agent said, "The owners had a surprise promotion and transfer and yes, they did just finish renovating the kitchen and the master bath."
"They don't want to sell?"
"Not at the moment. They said their lives are too chaotic right now; they just want to get a good tenant in here as quickly as possible. Might down the line though."
A guest bedroom was tucked down a short hallway behind the staircase with a full bathroom that opened to the hall and the bedroom. The bedroom was nicely decorated and sized, large enough for a queen bed, side tables, upright dresser and maybe a chair. The other bedrooms were upstairs. As Tim walked down the hallway to the master bedroom, he noted the high ceilings, same as downstairs. That was certainly a bonus. The master was at the end of the hallway, quite large with a walk-in closet and en suite bathroom, which had been, as Ms. Rohn said, recently updated with dual sinks, a soaker tub and a separate shower. The commode had its own little room and Tim liked that as well as the tub in the master bath; he loved a good hot bath and he knew from the housing search with Delilah that many master bath renovations removed the tub in favor of a larger shower. The shower had a window about his shoulder height, high enough for privacy but still bringing in plenty of natural light and the room had a skylight that lit the whole space.
The other two bedrooms were also larger than Tim expected them to be, with plenty of room for the kids. Both rooms featured large double windows that let in plenty of light. He could see rocking chairs for story and cuddle time now, with desks and larger furniture moving in as they got older. The rooms were nicely painted, one a light purple he knew Bryn would love and the other one a fun mixture of greens, blues and a little yellow he thought Ty would like. A hallway bathroom could be shared by the children. He also liked the upstairs laundry room, complete with washer and dryer; that would be very helpful.
Back downstairs to the eat-in kitchen and an adjoining family room, which Tim thought was a great spot for team gatherings. Taking a quick look into the two-car garage, he found an upright freezer, a workbench and overhead storage. Along with the door into the house, there was a door out to the backyard. Back in the house, they went through the slider to the backyard and confirmed that the yard was fully fenced and family friendly with a gate to the alley that ran behind the backyards of all the houses on E. Laurel. The lawn the realtor mentioned earlier was about 25' long and 15' wide, not too much to mow and plenty large enough to play on; there was also an established garden with five raised beds and two large deciduous trees. One he knew was a maple; Ms. Rohn said it was a red maple and the other one was a hickory, both would provide shade in the summer and brilliant colors in the autumn. The large patio was covered and the ceiling had a large fan built in.
There was plenty of room for an outdoor table big enough to seat everyone as well as a setup for an outdoor kitchen. He could add that at some point, for now he knew there that a grill, patio table and more outdoor furniture were still with the lieutenants' belongings. From a safety standpoint, he was glad there wasn't a pool or hot tub. If they stayed here, he'd think about a pool when the kids were older and knew how to swim. For now they could have a toddler sized wading pool on the lawn. Back inside, they went down to the basement, which was partially finished although he noticed it was plumbed and there was one lone overhead light hanging down. Tim nodded, that was fine; he could use the space for storage. Although maybe they could fix it up so the kids could have a playroom. That would be great for the winter months or in the summer when it was too hot to play outside.
He really liked this place, enough that he didn't see any reason to look any further. The rent was reasonable, all the appliances were staying; with the addition of the lieutenants' furniture, they'd be set and he could replace that as he found items that suited him better. He'd seen photos of Deeny and Sue's last home and hoped they'd approve of this house for their children. When Ms. Rohn handed him a list of items a handyman had recently fixed, Tim knew this was it. If there were anything else, he'd ask his dad to teach him how to fix or do whatever it was. His dad - that was so cool to even think; his son, his daughter, his dad!
Sitting down with the realtor, Tim completed the rental application and paid the deposit. She smiled as he finished. "I have a surprise for you. After you called and said you'd been referred by Ellie, I went ahead and ran a credit and background check on you. So we're all done, I have the authority to tell you the home is yours. You can move in whenever you're ready."
Tim grinned, "Wow, thank you!"
They stepped outside to the realtor's car as she said, "I'd love to meet your kids."
With his head he gestured toward the street, "Your timing is impeccable." She looked up to see a woman in her thirties and a little boy pushing a double stroller across the street, with a little girl in the stroller. She smiled, "They're adorable and look just like you!"
"Thanks!"
Ty ran to him, "Daddy, we went to da park and rode da swings like before."
Bryn held her arms up, "Out p'ease."
Tim introduced Lara and Tyler while he unbuckled Bryn. She beamed at the realtor, reaching over and patting her face. Tim laughed, "As odd as this sounds, we have to get going so I can get my car and be home before Lara has to leave to be with her own family."
Lara smiled at his words and Ty nodded wisely. "She hasta pick up Jared and Kayla."
After buckling Brynie back into the stroller, they said goodbye and went their separate ways. Grabbing the Challenger at the realtor's office, Tim was back home in plenty of time for Lara to meet her schedule.
While the kids had a snack, Tim sent a text to his dad about the house. He got back a bunch of smiley faces and a message that said he'd be home early. He also sent a text to Ellie thanking her for the referral; that Ms. Rohn had been very helpful and he'd rented a house close to Gibbs'. Then making a face, he sent a quick text to everyone else, including Tony, telling them he'd found a house near Gibbs' home.
Then he called the moving company to arrange the delivery of the Nichols-Mays household belongings. He was surprised when they said they'd had a cancelation and could deliver on Saturday if that met his schedule. He had a meeting with the family law attorney early Tuesday morning so that worked perfectly; he'd be able to give the new address as their family residence.
He made a face when he got a text from Ellie asking when he wanted to move his things from Ducky's garage to the new place; he'd totally forgotten about them! He called her, laughing, to say he didn't know, that the other things were being delivered tomorrow and he and Gibbs would probably just carry the kids' furniture down the sidewalk to the new place. While the kids went down for a late nap, he went online to his foster parent account and updated his address to the new one. He followed that with the appropriate form for NCIS, along with a change of 'next of kin', listing the children along with Gibbs and his siblings. He was glad Sarah and Rob had already met the kids.
Then he looked at his schedule for Saturday. He'd ordered a new California King mattress that would be delivered Saturday afternoon, there was no way he wanted to ever again sleep on the one Delilah had defiled. He snorted softly; that sounded very biblical for a near agnostic! The movers wouldn't arrive until noon so if he could find someone to watch the kids, he, Ellie, Gibbs and maybe Rob could retrieve his belongings from Ducky's in the morning, at least the bedframe, TV, furniture and kitchen items. He'd already sold the tainted bed through a Facebook Swap group and it would be picked up on Sunday, he'd already cleared that with Ducky. He could move boxes later.
He sent texts to Ellie and his dad (big smile) asking if they would be willing to do that. They said yes and that Chalmers wanted to help. That was fine; he also asked Rob who agreed. Now he just needed someone to watch the kids. He was still thinking about that when he had a text from Jimmy saying he, Breena and Ducky could take the kids for the day. That worked fine, he would tell the children tonight and drive them to the Palmers on the way to Ducky's house in the morning.
When Rob pulled up the next morning, Tim was surprised to see Sarah with him. She smirked, "I want to see the new place and I might as well be helpful. I'll be overseas soon enough; gonna miss a whole year with my new nephew and niece."
Tim's eyes widened, with everything going on, he'd totally forgotten about Sarah's impending departure. Yikes, that meant he needed to tell her about being a Gibbs sooner than planned. Thinking quickly he smiled, "You'll have to spend lots of time with us before you leave. I'm planning to take them to the zoo next weekend, want to come along?" She made a happy face; he knew she loved the zoo!
Sarah and Tim got the kids and all their stuff into the Challenger while Rob rode with Gibbs in the truck. The two of them would meet the others at Ducky's after the kids were delivered to the Palmers. Ty and Bryn were excited about going to Uncle Jimmy and Aunty Breena's to play with Victoria. Ty was also excited about moving to their own house and Tim had a sick moment of worry when he wondered if his little boy expected his mothers to be there. After he explained that they would live close to Gibpa, the boy nodded. "Our own house, Daddy? You, me an' Brynie?"
"That's right, son, you, Brynie and me."
"An' Gibpa will come over?"
"Yes, he'll be over lots and so will Lara, Kayla and Jared."
"An' der daddy?"
"Yes and Granducky, Uncle Rob and Ellie and another aunt you'll meet tomorrow!"
"What about Aunt Sarah?"
Aunt Sarah said, "I'm going to a school that's far away so I won't see you all the time like Uncle Rob and the others will."
Ty's lip trembled, "Aunty Sarah, you gonna be an angel?"
Sarah had heard Tim and Gibbs' 'angel' explanation for the death of the kids' mothers. She gathered the little boy into her arms.
"No Ty, I'm just going to a school that's a long way away."
"Good, because my mommies are angels and I miss dem."
"I know you do, sweetie. They're looking out for you from heaven."
He cheered up at that. "Dat's good, dey will like our new house too."
Brynie grinned, "New house!"
Both kids cheered, "Yay!"
Although their father had been worried about them being upset when he left them at the Palmers, they waved cheerfully. Evidently, they were used to playdates, daycare and all the other good things that take a young child from his or her parents. Dad, not so much but he trusted the Palmers and wanted the kids to have friends. When they pulled up to Ducky's, they found the bed of Ellie's truck nearly full and the crew had already started loading Gibbs' truck. Chalmers grinned, "We've got this down to a science, Tim. Where to next weekend?"
The agent laughed at the collective groan and an amused half smile from the boss. By 11:00 they were done, both trucks unloaded, the bedframe hauled upstairs to the master suite where Rob and Gibbs put it back together. Ellie helped Tim put the TV on the wall in the family room while Chalmers and Sarah unloaded the few boxes of kitchen items. The pizza and sodas arrived in time for them to eat and relax before the moving van arrived. By that time Tim had thanked them all and was astounded when they stayed, planning to help unpack after the movers were done.
"Guys, thank you but I really only needed the help with the stuff at Ducky's."
"So you're saying you don't want us to stay?"
"I'm saying please don't feel obligated!"
Ellie looked at him, "Who's going through Sue and Deeny's clothes? Their books, movies, all the women's personal things?"
"Thought I'd have all the boxes that aren't something we'll need put in the basement and sort them later."
Sarah nodded, "That's fine but Ellie and I can get started today. Even if it's only a couple of boxes, that's two less for you to go through."
"Ok, thanks! If you see anything you want, take it. Otherwise everything will probably go to Goodwill or one of the other thrift stores; I'll see about a pickup once we've been through everything."
That said, they took additional beverages out to the patio, sitting on the grass or the chairs Tim and Boss brought over the night before. The moving truck arrived promptly at noon; Tim took the lead mover through, showing him where the various boxes should go. As he remembered, there were several boxes and wardrobes marked "Sue" or "Deeny"; those went to the basement for sorting.
It didn't take long to empty the truck and as it pulled away, the furniture delivery truck pulled up with his new bed. They quickly unloaded, took it upstairs and had the whole thing set up in less than ten minutes. After they left Tim stood in the house, surrounded by boxes and unfamiliar furniture, just looking for several minutes before finally getting back to work.
Gibbs and Rob got the bathrooms and linen closet set up; Chalmers, and Sarah worked on the kids' rooms, hanging curtains and making the beds while Tim worked on the kitchen, thinking about Bob Chalmers as he did so. He was a good agent, learned quickly and Gibbs wasn't growling at him too much, always a good sign. Tim figured Ellie and Bob could already handle about 80% of the electronic work he'd traditionally handled and before he left, he could teach them the rest. Maybe write up a cheat sheet or two. Neither would be a good hacker but then that wasn't called for as much these days and you could hardly put a requirement on a job posting to be a competent hacker for the team's illegal searches. Maybe if you phrased it very subtly.
Tim directed his thoughts back to Chalmers. They'd need their new agent as soon as Tony came back to work and Tim left on his leave. He knew he wouldn't be returning to the bullpen after that. Bob would do all right. He'd talk with Ellie about it; get her thoughts, once she knew he was leaving. Of course, DiNozzo would have a say in his Probie's replacement and Gibbs would have the final say. Well, Vance would but he'd probably green light Gibbs' recommendation.
He sighed. With everything going on, he hadn't let himself think about leaving his team. His home at NCIS. Gibbs, DiNozzo, McGee, the core of the MCRT for the last 11 years. They'd survived Kate's death and losing Ziva three times, when the team was split up after Director Shepard's death, once to Somalia and then after the three of them quit during Parson's witch-hunt. She'd gone to Israel and never returned. That had taken some adjustments. Ellie had shaken them up with her idiosyncratic ways, but it worked, she worked and the team was operating at full strength. He'd always figured that on some far off future date Gibbs would retire, Tony would take the team and he'd be Tony's Senior Field Agent. He knew DiNozzo thought the same way, they'd talked about it often enough.
Now he'd be leaving. Yes, it was because he had a family, Dad, kids, and he knew he owed it to his kids to come home every night, especially after the horrendous losses they'd already suffered, but he didn't yet feel like it was his choice. He huffed to himself, the kids came first; he needed to stop whining even if it was just to himself! He arranged the various cook pots and pans, cookie sheets, cupcake pans, casserole dishes, Bundt pan, angel food cake pan; he was certain he now had every kind of baking pan in existence!
He thought about where else at the agency he'd like to work. He could work in MTAC he supposed, although he'd have a hard time managing that system and not getting involved in the cases and issues dealt with in there. He'd really rather be in Cybercrimes, at least there he'd still be fighting crime and he had some ideas he'd been dinking around with for years, updating their methodologies. He shrugged; he'd wait to see what Vance offered.
Happy Thanksgiving week to my fellow Americans! I'll post chapters on Monday and at least one other day this week. Either Thursday for reading after emerging from our turkey and carb comas or Friday. Maybe both, we'll see. Enjoy the holiday and stay safe! For those in the military, Thank you! For those working retail on Friday (or worse, on T-giving day), may God have mercy on your soles.
