Chapter 8: Threshold

I came to this place today as a man standing alone; I will walk from it by your side.
Today I cross the threshold with you and enter into a new and lasting lifetime commitment. I commit myself to you as your husband.

And so the days went by in that easy slow way typical of small towns. They slowly healed physically, as their bruises faded from dark brown and purple to a light yellow and their cuts sealed leaving only scabs as faint memories of their ordeal.

They kept attending therapy and reporting home, but their therapist informed them and Vance that she would only release them back into duty when both showed progress in going back to normal sleep patterns, which they hadn't yet.

So they stayed in Glasgow, Montana, for week after week of seeing life in slow motion. Almost a month after their arrival in the Montana, on the weekend, they went along with Joseph to attend Sunday service at the small church where Joseph helped as one of the ministry.

It was a joyful affair as, after Sunday service, everyone gathered for tea at the small garden outside the church. Hot beverages were served freely for the congregation, along with generous portions of corn, chocolate and carrot cakes brought by some old ladies from the congregation.

Joseph walked and talked with the people, saluting them by name, while McGee, in a light midseason jacket topping a polo shirt and jeans, stood uncomfortably in a corner with Joy. He was still slowly getting used to this atmosphere of everybody knowing everybody, so he still preferred to keep his safe zone around himself.

Joy drifted around the crowd in a beautiful navy blue dress which with the waist high cut accentuated her beautiful curves and its long sleeves reminded McGee of some medieval style gowns he had seen on a convention not so long ago. She would smile at the old ladies who would come to her and talk about her mother's recovery, the birth of old Susan's new grandchild and all the normal small talk of small town, all that time discretely checking him out with their curious eyes.

Finally a teenager with shaggy hair came to McGee and introduced himself, surprising him as he asked about his gaming scores. Apparently, Charles 'Trip' O'Hara, the fifteen year old boy, was a gamer himself and wanted to compare scores. It took only a few minutes and McGee and Trip, along with few other teenagers, were talking about World of Warcraft and Daytona races.

Joy went to talk to the Sheriff, who had gone to high school with her brother Luke, and when she turned around she smiled at the scene before herself.

McGee was sitting at the edge of the table, surrounded by children and teens, raging from ten to eighteen, all of them enthralled as he told them stories involving adventures both in the gaming world as well as Agent for NCIS.

The children were fascinated as he told them enthusiastically waving his hands trying to make his point, dragging sighs and surprised little screams out of the smaller ones while the older children snickered much too old to be frightened by his tale.

His face was relaxed, more relaxed than it had been for a long time, as he explored the imagination and creativity of children around him.

"You've found yourself a good man, Joy."

The frail voice sounding by her right surprised her, but not as much as seeing the smiling blue eyes turned to herself. The hands had lost their vigor, the hair was much more white than blonde, but the same old mischief shined behind thick glasses.

"Heidy? Oh my..." Joy carefully hugged the old Buchanan's nanny, who must have been pushing her seventies.

"I'm so proud of seeing the woman you've became. And bringing a fine young man home too." Joy blushed and looked at McGee, who chose that moment to look up from the small boy sitting on his lap asking for another story. He smiled at her before turning back to the story, after the teenager at his side urged him for another Gibbs' story.

"Yes, he is a fine man, isn't he?"

"Yet, what's holding you back?"

Heidy, always very perceptive, examined the troubled look flickering on her old charge's face.

"Sometimes, in order to go forward, we have to go back to the beginning."

"What do you mean?" Joy looked sharply at her old nanny, who took her hand and gently deposited a small rosebud into the open palm.

"That's something that you have to figure out yourself, my dear." Heidy smiled and closed Joy's hand over the rose, before touching gently her cheek and walking away, leaving a confused Joy staring at her back.

Joy glanced down at the rosebud firmly gripped in her hand, thinking hard about its possible meaning, before turning around and leaving the gathering without saying a word to anyone.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

McGee was having a great time talking with the youngsters, even when some older men from the church came to talk about their opinion about the games and such. Some were very set in their ways, but surprisingly most of them were quite open minded about what should or not be explored in the gaming world their children had contact every day.

He would sometimes glance towards the corner where Joy was sipping on her iced tea, talking here and there with old acquaintances or simply hearing the oldest tale of someone's grandchild's exploits.

He engaged in an enthusiastic conversation with a farmer who was surprisingly interested with satellite tracking of storms and he lost track of time. When he looked up, Joy was nowhere to be seen. After looking around and not finding her anywhere on sight, he went up to Joseph, who was sitting with an old bearded man and inquired about his daughter.

"Have you seen Joy around?"

"No, I thought she was with you."

"She is gone," an old rheumatic lady in a purple dress said, her hat barely hanging from her head.

Apparently, even in middle of nowhere, Montana, they had some very peculiar people.

"Where did she go?" McGee asked just to receive a very confusing answer.

"She went to solve a mystery. I don't understand these young people. They haven't learnt yet to let things be."

At the old woman's words, McGee frowned and started to think what that could possibly be. His mind replayed their walk through the small town as she showed him her favorite places and their walk through the rural lanes surrounding Glasgow.

She kept talking, "You young folks don't understand that comprehending something is not important. What is important is to feel. Feel completely and truly what's around you. The sun on your skin and the wind in your hair. To understand is to lose the sense of the mysteries that surrounds us. And I tell you more..."

McGee glanced apologetically at Joseph, turned around and left them, while the woman was still talking.

"Hey, I'm not done yet. Where are you going?"

Joseph smiled at McGee's back, as he hurried between the people towards the exit of the garden. The old purple lady turned to Joseph, getting unnerved at his joyful face.

"Why are you laughing? What is that boy doing? Where is he going?"

"I believe he is going to meet his destiny."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

As soon as he left the church grounds, he first started walking in hurried steps down the lane. Then he started to run.

He saw in a glance the shops going by as he ran down the empty street in that Sunday afternoon, his long legs taking him towards his goal. His shoes weren't appropriated for that type of jogging, each step jarring his knees and he was aware that he would pay for it later.

He ran down the main street and slowed down to turn to the left, towards the small rural lane leading outside the city and towards the fields in the north part of the town. His lungs started to burn, his eyes were watering from the effort, but his mind screamed at him that he had to find her.

And his heart told him exactly where she would be.