A/N: Someone noted the coincidence of Secretary of the Navy Sarah Porter having the same surname as my original characters Larry and Cyndi Porter. It's just a coincidence. The professorial Porters came into being in another story I started writing so long ago that Clayton Jarvis was still the SecNav on the show. They're based on real people, family friends.

Chapter 10

After cuddling with Greg until the boy was asleep, Tim went downstairs, smelling fresh coffee. He smiled at the mug set out on the counter for him, "Thanks, Dad. Was that Kelly's Winnie-the-Pooh book?"

Gibbs nodded, "It was her favorite book, the collection of all the stories. I brought it home from the house in California along with her Pooh bear, Piglet and Rabbit. I think Tony boxed them up."

"Then they're in the attic."

"I'd like Greg to have them, and the book."

"You sure?"

"Yes. It made me happy to read those stories to him, he loves them as much as Kelly did."

"All right. I'll get a new Pooh bear for Kyle. He's a little too young to appreciate Kelly's animals and I hope the book and the animals will last long enough for their kids."

Gibbs' eyebrow raised and he smiled, "Hadn't even thought of that. It's good, I like the continuity." He smirked, "Although I wouldn't count on the animals lasting that long."

Tim chuckled, "Wishful thinking on my part."

They sat on the couch, once again talking about anything that came to mind. Gibbs would stay with the boys Monday while Tim did some shopping and stopped at his attorney's office with 'the envelope'. Dad told him to 'take the day' off, that he wanted the kids to himself for a day. Tim opened his mouth to object and then smiled, "Thanks, Dad!"

Gibbs smirked, "Take advantage of me while you can, I won't be living with you until we're in England!"

"You mind if I have dinner out then?"

"Not at all, Elf Lord, stay out as late as you want."

"Wow, that's awesome!"

Excusing himself, he went upstairs to invite an old friend out for dinner. A classmate at Johns Hopkins, they'd both been considerably younger than the other students and quickly became friends. While they never developed romantic feelings for each other, they eventually became friends with benefits, knowing each was safe with the other and that each could learn from the other. Although they hadn't seen each other since Tim started dating Delilah of the DoD, they'd kept in touch and Carly knew Ms. Lu, the guys and about Gibbs as Dad, the boys, Patrick, NCIS and what Tim had been doing at MIT.

They talked for over an hour, making plans for dinner at one of their favorite burger joints, an old joke with them. Carly had been an emancipated minor and Tim was raising 2 kids in a tent when they met, both living on scholarships and neither had much money for splurges. The burger place was their favorite, the prices were low, the plates of hot, crispy French fries and the stacked burgers piled high. To this day it remained their favorite place to reconnect.

Tim went to sleep that night with a smile on his face, happy for the chance to see Carly and hoping there might be more involved than dinner. Up early the next morning, he ate a hearty breakfast with the boys while he told them that Grandpa wanted to spend time with them today. He would be running errands and meeting an old friend for a late dinner. Their dinner wouldn't really be late but Tim didn't want to explain why he might not be home in time for the boys' bedtimes. He got a raised eyebrow and a look of approval from his dad.

Kissing the kids and Dad goodbye, Tim grabbed the keys for Dad's truck before heading out the door. He'd ordered a new classic Winnie-the-Pooh for Kyle last night, it would be delivered, already wrapped, on Wednesday. He'd also ordered several Pooh Bear movies and those were also on their way, although not yet wrapped.

At his first stop, he found just what he was looking for, paid for it and moved on before the rest of the world joined him on the road. He'd contacted his attorney's office this morning and was surprised when the receptionist set up an appointment for that afternoon. He squeezed in two stops before driving to Maryland. His shopping done and his purchases safely locked out of sight under the hard shell liner of Dad's pickup truck, he joined Rob and their friend Barry for a light lunch.

When they teased him about the salad he ordered, he told them he was meeting Carly for dinner later. Rob grinned while Barry did some sort of thing with his eyebrows that was probably meant to be suggestive. Then Tim launched into his tale of Lu and Gibbs' dinner together, watching for their reactions. Rob thought it was funny while Barry didn't seem to know how he felt. That was good, Tim could work with that.

He made his case for a peaceful Christmas Day and dinner, for the boys' sake, allowing Lu and Gibbs to figure out what they wanted to do. He had Rob's agreement while Barry thought about it before shrugging. "Lu knows what she's doing and I trust you when you say Gibbs will proceed cautiously. That is, if Lu lets him! I'll talk to Bill, Jose and Freddie. Did Joe ask if he can bring his girlfriend along?"

"No, but that's fine."

Barry shook his head, "We sometimes lack the social niceties, my friends. I'll remind him he needs to call you or Gibbs."

They left the restaurant, Tim off to see his attorney while Rob and Barry were braving the hordes to go shopping. Tim laughed about that as he pulled into the parking lot of his attorney, looking at the security camera. He chose a spot away from the newer and considerably higher priced vehicles in the lot. Then he made a face as he realized he'd already paid toward the replacement of one of these vehicles. If they went forward with a lawsuit against NCIS, one of his conditions would be payment of all his attorney fees.

He was ushered right into Ms. Rowe's office and offered a beverage of his choice. He declined with a smile as he pulled 'the envelope' out of his pocket.

"This arrived at my Massachusetts address last week. I decided to let you have the honor of opening it."

She smiled, "Likely a dubious honor but that is what you've paid me for. Let's see what's going on."

Slitting open the envelope, she rolled her eyes as she donned reading glasses. "Better, much as I hate to admit it."

She scanned it, shaking her head. "It's from someone named Frank Cahill, apparently the head of the NCIS Legal Department. It might be an apology, it's a bit vague. I'll read it to you."

"Dear Agent McGee,

I've recently returned from an extended leave and in reviewing everything that happened while I was away, I'm appalled at the information directed at you."

She paused, "Wonder what that means…directed at you?" Both shaking their heads, she continued, "I've been unable to reach you at either your agency or personal contact points."

"Contact points?"

Tim shook his head, "Guessing cell phones, personal or agency, or addresses or quite possibly my old desk."

Rolling her eyes again, Ms. Rowe went back to the letter.

"Oh, he wants to talk. This could be fun!" She looked at her client's raised eyebrow, "Sorry, sounds conciliatory. I need to know what you want from this 'talk' before I call him."

With a half-smile, Tim pulled a manila envelope from his briefcase and handed her a list. "Good, thanks. Ok, your back salary, why only to the end of October?"

Tim explained his current job and she nodded. "I see your point but if he says you're still employed at the agency, then they owe you up to and including today and however long this takes to straighten out. And because it's their snafu, they'll also have to step back and allow you to honor your contracts – or pay to break them. Which would you rather see happen?"

"Honor."

Nodding, she made a note. "Now, did you happen to bring a copy of the letters you sent them…" she smiled as Tim reached into his envelope for two letters, one his resignation letter and the second, a follow-up letter he'd sent before accepting Donovan's first offer.

"Excellent. All right, anything else you want to tell me before we call this guy?"

"We're going to call him? I…"

She was shaking your head. "You get to listen. If it gets to be too much, I'll take it off speaker but I want you to hear firsthand what he has to say."

"Thanks. Uh, I don't necessarily think this is his business, but Gibbs and I have been in touch since Thanksgiving. He spent it at the house in Cambridge, MA, with my brother Rob and my kids. That weekend, we rode back with him to Alexandria and stayed until Sunday. Saturday we had a gathering of my NCIS team and other old friends. That Sunday, we went to see my brother Patrick, aka Commander David Hart, and then flew home.

"The boys and I flew up here last Thursday night and were met at the airport by Gibbs and Dr. Mallard. I've seen and talked with my former team since then and will spend Christmas Eve with them and my brother Rob. They'll be there again Christmas Day along with Rob, the same friends from Thanksgiving weekend and possibly Anthony DiNozzo, Sr., father of one of my former teammates. He sometimes just shows up. Oh and Jose Maier, one of my old friends, is bringing his girlfriend, I think her name is Chelsea, don't know her last name. I believe Tobias Fornell, who's an FBI agent and Gibbs' best friend, and his daughter Emily will be there too. Or they'll be there Christmas Eve, I don't know if that's been settled yet."

"Settled?"

"Custody of Emily on holidays…always tricky."

"Ah, I see. So for the restrictions, you basically stopped following them?"

"My team is a family, my family and I've already spent weeks being a good boy. The hell with that, life's too short and I've spent too many years without family."

"All right. I won't volunteer the information, but if it comes up…"

"Rob was there over Thanksgiving, at the party on Saturday, there was an attorney, Jake Malloy, who's not NCIS and Breena Slater Palmer, a friend." Tim shook his head in frustration, "Ms. Rowe, I'm not new at this. I've been doing this job for over a decade and I certainly know how to keep my mouth shut about criminal cases! We all do, we wouldn't last long at the agency, much less law enforcement if we didn't! Frankly, I was insulted the issue was even raised, I voluntarily recused myself from the case before Vance or Gibbs even knew there was a reason to."

"Vance is…"

"Leon Vance, the director of the agency, Gibbs' boss."

"Last question before we make the call. Tell me about your team."

"We're the MCRT, the Major Case Response Team, the only one based at NCIS headquarters aboard the DC Navy Yard. We've been the top team in the agency for 12 consecutive years. More successful closures, more convictions, fewer cold cases than any other team. For 12 years. I've been on the team, was on the team, for ten of those years. We bust our butts out there, every damn day, working to keep our Navy and Marine personnel and their dependents safe. And sometimes to keep the public safe from one or more of them."

She nodded, "You're passionate about the job, even after being kicked to the curb."

"The job didn't do that, my team leader or teammates certainly didn't. The agency did it and I don't know why."

"This…" she consulted her notes, "O'Connell. What do you know about him?"

"Had one conversation with him, about how we should approach a suspect."

"Because?"

He shook his head. "I can only tell you what's on the public records. The suspect has a record that indicates the presence of mental illness."

She asked another question about the conversation and he shook his head.

"I'm used to pushing, sorry. Have you ever met O'Connell in person?"

Tim shook his head, "Not that I know of. I may have seen him in the break room or out at the coffee cart but I don't know what he looks like, nor have we been introduced."

He frowned at that and Ms. Rowe motioned to him to continue. "New attorneys coming on board are always introduced to the teams. Either I missed that or it never happened."

"Do you think you missed it?"

"No, the meeting invite goes out on a group email. One of my responsibilities on the team is to be the watchdog, making sure we read and respond to important emails. And that kind of meeting is always important. If I'd missed it, I would have been told about it and arranged to meet the new person myself."

"Interesting. Can you think of other times new attorneys haven't been introduced?"

"No. I'm mentally running down the list of ones who've joined during my time and I remember meeting each of them."

"What about Cahill?"

"He was already there when I started working with the MCRT."

"Have you ever had dealings with him before?"

Tim bit back a smile, "No, I'm below his pay grade. He'd go straight to the director."

"Not Gibbs?"

He shook his head, "Not voluntarily. Between our work and 3 divorces, Gibbs is generally not fond of attorneys. If one of ours needs to talk about a case, they usually approach Tony DiNozzo, Gibbs' second-in-command. Or they find a way to have the meet in Vance's office with the director present."

"And that helps?"

"Not usually, but I guess they've never lost hope."

She grinned, "You know, I've never dealt with this side of law enforcement and I'm fascinated, we could talk all day."

He chuckled, shaking his head. "Sorry, can't afford that and I have a date."

"Too bad. All right, let's call this guy, see what happens. I'm going to put the call on speaker and record it – and yes, I will tell him."

While they waited for the call to be connected, he thought about his date with Carly this afternoon. They'd meet at their favorite burger place but planned to go roller skating before they ate. He'd mentioned his lack of exercise, except chasing the kids, and she'd suggested some fun. He was glad she was off this week, she worked at Johns Hopkins as a biomedical researcher and if they were in the throes of development or trial runs, she wouldn't have been able to break free. She loved to lord it over him that she at least had put her degree to good use!

He returned to reality when Ms. Rowe started speaking, "Mr. Cahill, this is Samantha Rowe with Rowe, Stover and Carroll, representing Timothy McGee in the situation your department has caused. Your letter to him was forwarded to me and I've read it. Your interest is exceedingly odd as it was your office that booted him out. You're on speaker and I am recording this conversation."

"Ms. Rowe, is Agent McGee all right? I've been unable to track him down and his co-workers, in fact our agents in general, don't seem to know anything."

"First of all, your office has made it very clear he is no longer an agent, he has not been since your attorney O'Connell's letter. Why are you asking, Mr. Cahill? Your department was the one who summarily, with no explanation, separated him from his team and the agency. Forced him into an indefinite leave of absence with no pay and no future. Why do you think anyone would tell you anything about him?"

There was a sigh and silence before Cahill responded. "O'Connell's actions were misguided and unfortunately, I was not aware of the situation. I want to make this right with Agent McGee. He's one of the top 10 agents in our agency."

"Now, why should I or Mr. McGee believe anything you say? And why, if O'Connell was so terribly misguided and I'll offer my own definition - flat out wrong - why did the agency director do nothing?"

"Director Vance wasn't involved…"

Ms. Rowe looked at her client who was mouthing a word she interpreted as 'bullshit'.

"I find that exceedingly hard to believe. One of his top 10 agents is thrown out without reason and he doesn't get involved? I'm familiar with Washington politics, Mr. Cahill, but with no hint of any transgression, no tweets, not even internet gossip about Mr. McGee, the word that comes to mind about the director's non-involvement is 'bullshit'."

"I wasn't here! I only know what I've been told."

"And you call yourself an attorney! I've heard enough. Expect to be served with a lawsuit before the end of the year."

She disconnected as Tim looked at her. "Round 1?"

"Yes, it went rather well. How long will you be in town?"

"We're leaving the second."

"And do you have any idea when you'll be back?"

"In February when my older son and I are on winter break."

"All right. I think we'll have this wrapped up by then, he sounds almost desperate to talk with you." She paused, thinking.

"The whole thing seems bizarre to me. Can you describe the general details of the case?"

"Yes, but I can't tell you the most important ones."

"Oh. What would I have to do to be read in?"

"It's…I don't know, we've never had this kind of situation before, not that I know of." He frowned for a second, thinking of M. Allison Hart and her strange insertion into the agency, handling one or two cases that seemed conflicting. "I have a couple of people I can ask, people I trust implicitly."

"Not Vance, I hope?"

"Unless Cahill is proved right about Vance's non-involvement, I can't trust the director."

"Ouch!"

Tim refrained from saying Vance wouldn't be the first director to earn his distrust, that had been Vance's predecessor with her personal agenda. He left with more questions than before. Ms. Rowe's comment about the situation seeming bizarre struck home with him. But he couldn't involve Gibbs or any of his team. That left one person who might be able to find something or possibly answer Rowe's question about being read in. He could only imagine the number of conditions that would have to be met for that to happen.

If he still trusted Porter, he'd have gone to her. But the SecNav was, by nature of the job, a politician involved in many political issues and now he thought that was where the answers lay. In politics. Politics about what, though? His brain answered, his brother.

Looking at the time, he noted he had 65 minutes before he was due to meet Carly. Time for at least a phone call. But not from here, he was sitting in Gibbs' truck in the attorney's parking lot. Backing out of the space, he headed to a nearby park. There he found a parking space in the sun. This was not a conversation he wanted to have in public. Shaking his head at his forgetfulness, he ran his bug sniffer in the interior of the truck. He looked around the area but saw nothing out of the ordinary and best of all, no suits. Glad he'd kept his electronic tools with him, he then employed a disrupter that would disrupt any parabolic or directional parabolic microphone aimed at him. As he was still intact, there had been no explosives attached to the truck in any way. Although his take on this was that it was more intrusive, intended to harass, than life threatening. To what end, he didn't know.

He thumbed through his contacts for the number he wanted and then pressed the call button.

When Fornell answered, Tim smiled to himself, feeling almost as relieved as he would with Gibbs. The other man said, "Are you safe? I'm not getting coordinates."

"I think so…" Tim told him where he was. Then looking around, he said, "But now there are Suits and two minutes ago, literally 2 minutes, there weren't any. I'm nowhere near any federal offices or office complexes."

"You're seeing people in suits? Snoopy people?"

"Yeah, three of them just arrived, weren't here when I got here 2 minutes ago. They're hanging out, I would guess trying not to look conspicuous or threatening. But they're not why I called you. Big picture, yes but I have a couple of questions, can't ask Gibbs. Oh and I disabled my GPS, Gibbs' too, so no coordinates."

"Ok, what can I do to help?"

"Couple of things. Just met with my attorney, Samantha Rowe, and she had a strange conversation with the head of the Legal Department at NCIS. He wrote me a letter saying he was appalled at the information directed at me, which I thought was a weird way to put it. When they spoke, he said that O'Connell had been wrong and that Director Vance hadn't been involved. I'm thinking this is all politics connected with my brother. But I want to know who's responsible and meet with them. Need to protect my kids, find out what happened or is happening, I want my life back and I can't keep the spook stuff from the boys forever. They're not always going to be so young and trusting."

Tim sighed, "Ms. Rowe said the situation is bizarre, even for DC. And I agree. She asked if she could be read in on the case, but I've never heard of that being done. Is that something you've heard of, can steer me in the right direction or tell me, please, that it's impossible? For obvious reasons I can't go to anyone at NCIS and you're the only other one I trust. I hope I didn't just land you in the soup with me!"

"Don't worry about that, we report to the Department of Justice, not DoD as NCIS does." He paused and Tim heard a voice in the background.

"Ron's calling in and is on his way to you. There's something odd showing on your call."

"I thought I'd covered everything."

"Would all your electronics fend off an old-fashioned phone tap?"

"Aw crap, what the effing…!"

Fornell was quite impressed with the profanity that followed, in at least 3 languages. He recognized Italian, thought there was some Hebrew and another language he didn't know at all but was very strong.

When he stopped for breath, Fornell said, "We got stills of the suits from the street cam. Ron should be there in 4 minutes, he wasn't that far away."

"I'm not worried, maybe I should be, but I'm freakin' sick of this! How did you know there was something going on with my call? And if it does involve my brother, it'll never end."

"We've been keeping an eye on you and the kids, from a distance, since you got in Thursday night. A request from an old buddy. Don't worry about your brother, or start not worrying about him after his move."

"Huh?"

"Once he's out from under the Navy and whatever spook agency he's associated with, we'll provide a protection detail. For as long as it takes. My director is horrified at the lack of protection one of our honored service members was given by his own service. He can't wait to start rubbing their faces in it."

"You mean the fact that they left him unprotected except for hospital security who wasn't read in on anything important? And that they didn't want to move him from the hospital because it seemed too much like abandonment, instead leaving him to the mercies of...oh God! Tobias, they're…"

"Quiet, McGee! Don't say another word, who knows who's listening."

Tim took a breath before saying, "Ron's here."

"Good. Did you have plans for the rest of the day?"

"Yes, meeting an old friend to go skating, have dinner and…uh."

"Glad to hear it! All right, let me talk to Ron and we'll figure out how to proceed. Secure your phone. I'll let Bear know."

Tim smirked, glad he and Tony had been read in on some of Boss and Fornell's code words. "Bear" was an old nickname of Fornell's for Gibbs but in this case, used with 'secure', it meant to ditch his phone and buy burn phones. He'd do that but he'd also purchase, or Gemcity would, an anti-tapping, anti-tracking stealth phone.

He unlocked the passenger door of the truck as Ron Sacks approached. "Hey McGee, you got some serious crap going on!" He nodded to Tim, he'd been read in. He slid into the passenger seat and continued, "The suits left when I showed up. We have stills of them, they're undergoing facial recognition as we speak. How much time do you have before your date?"

"45 minutes."

"Ok."

Ron took something from his pocket and handed it to Tim. "It's stronger than your disruptive device. And yeah, Gibbs' landline and your cell have taps on them, they're listening to you. We're looking for warrants but haven't found any so far."

Ron took a deep breath. "Have you noticed suits in Cambridge?"

"Yes, but not every day. I walk or drive the boys to school and day care before I go on to my classes. There aren't any suits then. But when we go anywhere else, I've seen them." He huffed, "My little guy, Kyle, waved to one recently when he and I were doing some crafts together."

"At home?"

"No, in one of those 'make your own pottery' stores. I asked him who he was waving at and he giggled saying that was Mr. Green because he wore green ties a lot."

"Had you seen him before?"

"Yes, at least 4 other times. He seems to be the anchor of the suit team, he shows up more than the others."

"Think you have enough detail for a sketch artist?"

"Yes." Tim sighed, "I have a few photos, too. But you know, we all know how to avoid being tagged."

"Yeah, still, it's worth a shot. Obviously, they're arrogant enough to think you don't notice them."

"Or they don't care that I do."

"Huh. That's…you're thinking they're protection?"

"Maybe. They've never threatened the boys – or me for that matter. They seem to be fixated on knowing where we're going. Could be for protection, or harassment. Don't know why in either case."

"What can you tell me about your brother? Not his background, Tobias told me. How is he now?"

"No change. You know about the 3 that were giving him Midazolam?"

"Rumor was they worked for Los Donantes."

"I was never told because I was already in exile from NCIS by the time they were busted. Although it was my team who discovered them. His CO could not have cared less."

"Wow."

"Yeah."

"Tobias said there's no connection between his wife's killer and the commander."

"You mean no one has been able to find one. Doesn't mean there isn't one. Think it was awfully convenient that after the Navy refused to pay her support, Kathy was more or less forced to go to a homeless shelter and then, oh hey, homeless woman disappears. That's not even worthy of a mention on the newscasts. They failed to take into account that people in shelters and camps look out for one another. And whatever 'they' might have had planned for the boys was thwarted when the shelter manager called me about her missing resident."

"Interesting. What do you think they had planned for the boys?"

"I hope it was just the system – foster care. With the age difference, they might have been split up. Greg, my older boy, might have spent the rest of his childhood, even the rest of his life, looking for his baby brother Kyle. Thus ignoring whatever someone needed to hide or bury – or to stay buried."

Ron started to say something but stopped as Tim was writing him a note. On paper. Sacks didn't think he'd ever seen McGee use paper, other than in files. He looked at the note, which said, "Containment."

He nodded. Then he tilted his head, "You feel safe here?"

"Not right now." He wrote on his paper, "Worried about exposing f to this but canceling means they win."

Ron took the pen and wrote, "You're covered until you leave for MA. Protection detail starts there as soon as you're off the plane. Will be at school, day care and around you on campus and wherever else. You have problems, call them, anytime." He underscored the word anytime. He kept writing. "How long you there?"

"Leaving June 2nd or 3rd, moving to London. Teaching at a small uni there."

"How long?"

"2 years."

"Good! We'll contact MI-5 and London Metro, let them know. Any chance you can go sooner?"

"No, MIT contract runs through May."

"Thinking the sooner you put some distance between your bro & you, the better."

"You think proximity to b?"

"Seems like it. They don't hound you in MA the way they do here."

"True. Will talk with Gibbs when I get home. Uh…"

"Yeah. Try to relax, enjoy your date. We've got Gibbs' house covered too. T has talked with G. Big G!" Ron patted Tim's shoulder, adding one last note. "Don't forget the burn phones, stay away from cams!"

As Ron slipped from the truck, Tim rolled his eyes with a smile at his colleague and friend.

On his way to meet Carly, he stopped at 3 convenience stores, buying 6 burn phones and successfully avoiding the security cameras. When he saw Carly, she looked worried and he motioned to join him in the truck. He signed to her as soon as she was in and surprised, she nodded, replying in ASL that she felt like she was being watched. He told her, slowly, to get all the words right, that there was an unknown problem but he had friends helping. Then he frowned. The FBI would not have revealed themselves to her. He shook his head, signing he thought they were okay but once he left she'd be fine, it was him they were interested in and he didn't know why. She suggested they get takeout and go to her place, they could at least keep the curtains closed there. And they did just that, keeping the curtains closed and forgetting all about suits, good guys and bad guys.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

After checking the truck, Tim drove home shortly after 0200, singing to the music on the radio station Dad always listened to, country-western. He and Carly had had an even more exciting tryst than usual, there was something about mystery and impending or at least implied danger that could really spice things up. He wished, they both wished, that having a great physical relationship was enough for marriage. They were friends who wanted to love each other but didn't. They liked to have sex together, they were very compatible and they liked the burger joint, roller skating and apparently some level of danger, but that was about it. They weren't in love with each other, didn't feel strongly enough about anything but their sexual relationship, it wasn't enough. But hoo boy, they made each other feel good!

Gibbs was still in the basement when he heard the truck roll in. He breathed a sigh of relief after Tobias' coded text telling him to use a burn phone to call him. When he did as requested, his friend updated him on Tim's afternoon and told him not to use his cell or landline to speak to Tim or anyone from NCIS.

Now Gibbs grinned when he heard his kid humming one of his own favorite country-western tunes. He knew McGee liked electronic music and other music that Gibbs mentally labeled as 'weird', although, thank heavens, not the eardrum splitting stuff Abby listened to. He'd have thought country-western was about as far from Tim's favorites as opera or rap was to him. Live and learn! From the humming, and his footsteps, not to mention the hour, the date had gone well.

He chuckled to himself, glad he'd thought ahead to tomorrow morning, or rather later this morning. Rob and Lu would be here around 9 to take the boys for more Christmas activities, leaving their dad and grandfather to spend time together. Time to finish up the decorating, do some much needed grocery shopping and start wrapping. With so many gifts hidden in every hidey-hole in this house, it might take the two of them until New Year's to get everything wrapped! Tobias mentioned that when Emily still believed in Santa Claus, those presents didn't need to be wrapped. That might help, as long as Tim determined what specific gifts they were. He couldn't wait to show Tim the train tunnel he and the boys made.

He waited as he heard his son's footsteps entering the house and then grinned as those footsteps walked toward the basement door. It opened and Tim's voice drifted down, "Dad, you down there?"

"I am, kiddo, come on down. We have some things to talk about."

Tim trotted down the stairs, looking at the workbench. "Hey, you made buildings for the train? Wow…and there are people!"

"And a train crossing, look…" Gibbs showed him the cars and truck with the driver waving. "We started on the tunnel today. I already had a form for it; we made paper-mâché and all the layers are on. We'll paint it tomorrow, after Kyle's nap."

"This is awesome! Was it fun?"

"Oh yeah, we had a blast. Got messy, which made it even better!"

"You are a cool grandfather!"

"Thanks, kiddo! Your date turn out all right after your crazy afternoon?"

"Yes, we got takeout and went back to her place where a good time was had by all. I only saw friendlies on the way home and here in the neighborhood."

"Wish we could figure out what they're up to."

Tim signed to his father that he was now convinced it was something to do with Patrick and that Ron and Tobias thought it might be proximity to his brother, although no one knew why. He also told him about the protection details.

Gibbs went upstairs with Tim; today had been fun but he was exhausted!

Greg woke Tim up later that morning, "Daddy, it's 7:30 and Uncle Rob and Ms. Lu are picking us up at 9!"

"Ok, I'm up!" Tim shrugged into his robe, slid his feet into slippers and walked downstairs with the boys. Knowing they were going to have lunch a little later than the kids were used to, he made them a hearty breakfast. Not too big, he didn't want them to be sleepy during their outing with Robbie and Lu.

Today, Tuesday, they were going to Gaylord's National Resort to experience ice sculptures from around the world, take a ride through the ice and even crawl through tunnels of ice! As Rob's car rolled down the street, the kids waving goodbye, Tim was glad to see a car following them at a discreet distance, driven by an FBI agent he and Gibbs knew.

Dad watched for a minute before tapping his shoulder, "C'mon, we have a lot of work to do! First, tell me which gifts are from Santa. Fornell gave me an idea about those."

Puzzled, Tim took out his list and they went through it, itemizing which were to be delivered from the North Pole and which were from him. When his dad told him about Emily's gifts, his face broke out into a huge grin. "That's most of the big stuff!"

They got to work, pulling out several gifts at a time, wrapping and tagging them and then stashing them in Gibbs' closet. They figured having everything in one place was easier and they wouldn't have to remember where they'd hid things. By 1100, they'd made good progress and stopped for a coffee break. Then they went back to wrapping, splitting tasks. One of them would measure and cut paper for each gift, the other would wrap and apply the tag. Tim had decided on self-stick bows instead of ribbon and Gibbs wished he'd done the same thing. When Tim realized he'd purchased double the amount of bows he'd need, Gibbs abandoned the ribbon. Every half hour or so, they'd swap jobs.

Because of the Santa gifts, they finished with the boys' gifts by 1400, a real accomplishment. With Tim's help, Gibbs brought the piano bench and box up from the basement. They had to jimmy the bench in, a tight fit but Gibbs said getting it out was DiNozzo's problem. Once it was in, the top was taped closed and then they wrapped the four sides and the top, not even attempting to maneuver the box to get paper on the bottom of it. It looked funny with only one bow so Gibbs found the wider width ribbon he'd bought and used that too. After adding the tag, they pushed it toward the back and side of the tree. No way were they going to try to hide this box! Besides, as Gibbs said, it would drive Tony crazy trying to figure out what it could be.

Abby's gift was just as awkward, but Tim figured out a way to wrap it in sections and then put a wrap 'cover' on it so nothing showed. She got the wider ribbon too. When Tim offered to help Dad with whatever else he had, he got a grin and helped wrap gifts for Rob and the cookbook holder for Ellie and Jake, even though Gibbs wouldn't see them until after New Year's. The only gifts Tim didn't help with were his own, Ducky's and the Palmers. There were also gifts for the Fornells, Ms. Lu, the guys and for Abby's brother Kyle who was joining them for their dinner on Christmas Day.

Tim chuckled, "Not bad for an orphan and an only child."

Gibbs smiled, "You're right, Elf Lord, not bad at all. Reminds me, though, I need to call LJ."

"Any chance he'll join us?"

"I asked him, haven't heard back. Told him he was welcome either night or both."

Tim smiled, "Hope he comes! After all, he is your godfather!"

"Yeah. You ever hear that story?"

When Tim shook his head, Gibbs explained, "He tells it in more detail. When my parents decided they wanted him to be my godfather and my mother's sister as my godmother, both of them said yes. When my dad went to the pastor to set the date for my baptism, the Reverend asked who the godparents were. He was fine with Aunt Meg but when he heard about LJ, he told my dad there was no way he could allow that to happen. That he, personally, would be fine with it but the congregation would be in an uproar. Remember, this was the 1950's in rural Pennsylvania.

"So my dad leaves and finds the pastor for the church LJ goes to, an African-American congregation. He also says no, for the same reason, his congregation would be too upset. So my dad's stuck and he doesn't want to tell my mom, my aunt or LJ. Finally, he remembers that the library in Bloomsburg has phonebooks for every county in the state. He calls and asks the librarian to look up the phone number of a church he and Mom went to in Philadelphia one weekend when they were there. He doesn't remember the full name but the librarian finds it and gives him the number. Then he calls long distance to Philadelphia to the church and explains his problem to the pastor. The reverend says, 'You and your wife come on over, bring the baby, the godparents and anyone else you want. I'll baptize your son!'

"Dad goes home, tells Mom the whole story, she calls Aunt Meg, tells her while Dad tells LJ. They'd had the store for about a year then, so they had to find someone to run it for the time they'd be gone. Then they drove to Philadelphia, had me baptized Saturday afternoon, stayed over, went to the church on Sunday, had supper out to celebrate before driving home. The following Saturday, they had a party in town for my baptism. And no one said a word about LJ being my godfather."

"Wow! That's something. Do you think the pastors said something to them? Or did they know the plan?"

Gibbs looked surprised, "I don't know! Need to ask LJ. Part of it might have been the store. LJ and Jack owned it 50/50 and as far as I know that was never an issue. Except with old man Winslow, Chuck's father, because they'd worked for him. He owned everything in the town except their building and the business."

"How'd they acquire the building?"

"Cleverly, for those times. I'll let LJ tell you."

Putting everything away in their respective rooms, they had lunch and went for a walk. The kids would be home soon.

Tim still had several gifts to wrap. The boys were giving family members a framed photo of them and he'd have the kids help wrap. While Tim was giving his dad, Ducky, Larry and Cyndi a photo of him with the boys, he didn't feel comfortable doing that with anyone else. It felt too presumptuous with their father alive and their mother so recently murdered.

The boys came in, giggling about their morning out. They obviously had secrets. Tim figured Rob and Ms. Lu might have sneaked in some Christmas shopping for Grandpa, Granducky and him and now the kids were having a hard time keeping the secrets to themselves.

Once Kyle went upstairs to nap, Greg settled down, helping Tim wrap the photos. As the gifts were all the same, Greg wrote the tags out but they left them off for Kyle to write his name, attach the tag and put the bows on.

The boys finished their photo-wrapping chores in just a few minutes after Kyle woke from his nap. And then they painted the tunnel. It dried quickly and they brought it up from the basement. Gibbs came up last, surprising the kids with the buildings, cars, truck, roadway and people. They spent an hour putting everything just where they wanted it, including the trees Greg found at the craft store. Nobody was hungry yet, so next on the agenda were the little frames that needed to be decorated. That went quickly as the boys consented to help from their father and grandfather. While the glue was drying with their decorations, they sorted photos, picking the ones they wanted to hang on the tree, doing a little trimming here and there.

By that time, they were hungry so they stopped for dinner. The glue was dry by the time the kitchen had been cleaned and they put the photos in the frames and with help from Dad and Grandpa, hung them on the tree.

After the kids were asleep, Dad looked at Tim. "I'm beat!"

"Yeah, me too. I'm going to take a bath and turn in!"

"Tomorrow's Christmas Eve!"

"The day before the Big One."

"Yup. Got anything else we need to do? Do we have everything for the dinners?"

"We have the rib roast for tomorrow night, Fornell is bringing a potato dish, Ducky a green bean casserole, Palmers are bringing rolls, Abby's bringing drinks and Tony's bringing dessert." Tim paused, "I'm making a Yorkshire pudding. You'll like it, Dad, it's not what we call pudding. I'll make it with beef drippings, eggs, flour and milk."

"That sounds good! What about Christmas Day? DiNozzo's cooking, right?"

"Yep, no turkey per our email vote. Once a season is enough! We're having lasagna which Tony is making from scratch and Abby and maybe Ducky are splitting the cost with him. Barry, Jose and Freddie are bringing rolls, drinks and dessert, Bill's making another of his chopped salads, Rob's chipping in with the guys, Ms. Lu is also bringing something for dessert. Is LJ coming?"

"Yes, he'll be here Christmas Eve. And Abby's brother Kyle will also be here tomorrow night. Huh, two Kyles, hadn't thought of that! We need to bring Shannon's china and silver down from the attic for Christmas Eve, get it washed and polished."

Tim smiled. "Why don't we wait until tomorrow morning to do that, that way it won't get dusty sitting around. How about chairs?"

"Fine to wait. Ducky asked to borrow folding chairs from the agency. Pam said that was all right, just not to tell anyone else. "

"Great! We're borrowing TV trays from your neighbors again. We probably need more trash bags for all the wrapping paper."

Gibbs shook his head, "Gotta be a better way."

Tim laughed, "There is. Carly says she and her friends buy gift bags, which can be reused, and they have a little card tied on for the name so you don't have to buy stickers. When you want to reuse the bags, you cut off the card and then use a sticker. Still need tissue paper."

"Sounds faster too."

"It does, but you know for me, guessing what a gift might be from the shape and then ripping the wrapping paper off is part of the fun. Even if it isn't very environmentally friendly."

"What time is Rob coming tomorrow – and what time is our call with Sarah?"

Tim told him, the call with Sarah was on Christmas morning and Rob would be over around 1600 tomorrow. Gibbs nodded. "Good, everything's all set then."

"Batteries!"

"For the kids' stuff?"

"Yeah, I think I bought enough."

"What about your solar charger?"

Tim rolled his eyes, "Oh yeah! I need sleep - time for my bath and bed!"

Christmas Eve morning found Tim up before Gibbs. He had more preparations to do for a special gift that would be delivered this morning. Tobias arrived on schedule and dragged Gibbs out to breakfast, Jethro protesting that they were having dinner together and he had work to do. Tony pulled around the corner as soon as Fornell's car was out of sight. The two of them finished the prep work just as the present and its installers arrived. Tony laughed as they watched the guys at work, "McGee, has it occurred to you that I'll be the one benefiting from this?"

"Huh?"

"He didn't tell you? Gibbs asked me to move in here. So he'll be using this for a few months and then I get it for two years!"

Tim laughed, "That's great! So you get this and my TV, which I know you've always lusted after."

"What, me?" They both laughed and Tony continued, "It does mean that I can charge more for my place with my own awesome media setup."

He got an eyebrow for that, "You're not considering installing surround sound here too, are you? I can hardly wait to see what Dad does when we come home and he finds surround sound in his 90-year-old Craftsman!"

"Uh, yeah, good point."

"I'm glad you're staying here, I was a little worried about that."

One of the installers approached them with a tablet. "It's done. We'd like to show you a few of the features."

The boys, who'd been playing with the train, joined them and watched as buttons were pushed and things happened. Tony signed off, Tim handed him a check and they made themselves a pot of coffee. The boys wandered upstairs to play. As soon as they disappeared, Tony jumped up to inspect the tree.

"Great train set! Is that the one you got over Thanksgiving?"

"Yes. Dad made the buildings, the cars, truck and people. He and the boys made the tunnel and Greg found the trees when we were shopping other day. Tony, has anyone heard anything about Vance?"

Tony shook his head. "No and the team leads decided not to press for information."

Tim frowned and then looked sad, "If he's ill, he's undergoing treatment somewhere."

"If that's what's keeping him away, yes, I imagine very discreetly. In this town…"

"Yeah, got it. Feel bad for Kayla and Jared."

"Me too, but there's nothing we can do, Tim."

Tim nodded and watched Tony check out the big box with his name on it.

The older man frowned, "It's too big to shake."

"Yep."

"You know what it is?"

"If I did, I wouldn't tell you."

"And I'll know tonight. Not like I can't wait."

Tim laughed at that. "C'mon, let's sign the card for Dad and put that big red bow you brought on this thing. You know he'll be home any minute."

They'd no sooner tucked the card in the envelope and attached the bow to the gift when they heard a car in the driveway. Tony looked out, calling, "He's back!"

The two of them stood in the kitchen, Tim making another pot of coffee while Tony pulled mugs down from the cupboard to make hot chocolate for the kids.

Gibbs came in the front door, calling out 'hello', uncharacteristic of him, but then he hadn't had grandkids before. The kids came downstairs, Greg opening the baby gates and holding Kyle's hand. They hugged their grandpa and then followed him to the kitchen, smelling something chocolaty for them and coffee for Papa, Grandpa and Uncle Tony. Although sometimes Uncle Tony liked to have hot chocolate instead of coffee. Kyle squealed when they walked into the kitchen, "Look, Grandpa, a present!"

Tim noted with a proud smile that Kyle had mastered the 'r' sound, reducing it to one 'r' rather than the continuing 'rr' sound he'd first made. And his 'L's' had improved as well!

Gibbs looked puzzled as he stared at the red bow. He smiled at his sons as Tony handed him the card. "What is…a dishwasher? You guys bought me a dishwasher?" He smiled widely, "Thank you! And good timing, too!" He blinked and then asked, "You didn't install it yourselves, did you?"

"No way, store employees brought it and installed it. We wouldn't have a clue!"

Gibbs chuckled, "One of the reasons I've been putting it off. I knew I could do it, but I'm not crazy about plumbing. And I thought I'd have to rip out more than one cabinet."

Tim shook his head, "Tony measured the interior of the cabinet and then we searched for one that would fit."

Tony nodded, "It's a relatively small one. We got this model because it doesn't require a separate electrical circuit, meant we didn't have to hire an electrician to come in for what sounded like major work. Tim took out the cabinet shelves this morning, they're in the basement and we rented a reciprocating saw to remove the bottom. There wasn't a back to the cabinet, the installers said it was an easy install. They cut a hole through the cabinet side wall so the dishwasher utilizes the existing sink lines."

Tim grinned, "And look, you can just open and close the cabinet door to access the dishwasher, we didn't even have to take that off. Open it, load the dishwasher, add detergent, close and lock, then close the cabinet door. Or you can leave it open but the manufacturer's booklet says you don't have to do that."

"Took the back out right before I got my orders for Camp Pendleton and Kuwait. And the girls followed me to California, we planned to install a dishwasher when I got back. And then, along with me not being crazy about plumbing, I didn't have the heart for a long time. Or the need, not until you guys came into my life." He hugged his boys, big and little. "Thanks! And, Tony, I'm sure you'll appreciate it over the next 2 years!"

He laughed suddenly, "Tobias was in on the surprise?"

"He doesn't know what we got you, just that we needed him to keep you out of the house for a couple of hours."

"He must have brought Elaine in on it because the two of them were gabbling like geese! Reminds me, she sent home lunch for you all." He laughed again, "That's why she included the extra entrée, she knew Tony would be here! I couldn't figure out why she did up 4 entrees instead of the 3 I ordered." He shook his head, "You got me on this one, guys!"

Tim and Tony exchanged high-fives and laughing, Gibbs ruffled Tim's hair and squeezed the back of Tony's neck, knowing he hated having his hair ruffled.

After they brought Shannon's china and silver down from the attic, DiNozzo went home, taking the lunch from Elaine with him, to start his lasagna for Christmas Day while Tim took the boys for a brisk walk as it was cold out. It hadn't snowed yet but the weather forecast called for snow the day after Christmas. They didn't walk far and Kyle rode home on Papa's hip. At least they'd had some fresh air and a little exercise.

They had an early lunch and then Papa and Grandpa alternated playing with the boys and working in the kitchen, until it was time for Kyle's nap. While he was asleep, his papa and brother polished the silver while his grandpa loaded the dishwasher for the first time.

Gibbs had been nervous about putting the china in the dishwasher but Tim looked up the make and specific name of the china, noting that it was fine for the dishwasher. They'd only use the china tonight as there wasn't enough for the crowd they'd have tomorrow night.

Christmas night, they'd use dishes that Rob found at a deep-discount store. He bought 5 sets, just the right amount for the crowd they'd have. If Senior showed up, he'd eat from one of Gibbs' dishes. Jethro reflected that Shannon would have loved both dinners, the one for his family and the other for extended family.

By 4:00, the boys were cleaned up and wearing their Christmas clothes. Rob arrived and watched the boys while his brother and dad showered and changed. LJ arrived about 4:30 and by 5:00, the family had gathered. Between the roast in the oven and the tree in the living room, the house smelled wonderful.

As they sat at the new table, beverages were poured and they had a Christmas toast, Ducky noting that the holiday was much cheerier than he'd expected with the return of Tim and the boys. Tim and Tony stood, raising a toast to Jackson, who they all missed, and to other absent friends and loved ones. Gibbs beamed proudly at them. He'd been missing his dad all day, this was the first Christmas without him and he was thankful LJ was here with them for the holiday.

They all waited while Ducky carved the roast, marveling over the Yorkshire pudding, Ducky and Tony were the only ones to have had it before, and the rest of the food. They feasted for nearly an hour before the last fork was laid down.

Deciding to have presents before dessert, they sat in the living room anywhere they could, Breena having dibs on a wooden chair. With only a month to go, she was increasingly uncomfortable, although excited about the baby. Gibbs presented his gift to them first and her face lit up when she saw the cradle. "Ooh, it's beautiful, look at the detail work, oh Gibbs, thank you so much!" She looked at her husband who nodded back at her, "Gibbs, Jimmy and I have something to ask. When the baby's born, would you please be 'Uncle Jethro' to him or her?"

Gibbs' face lit up and Jimmy smiled, realizing that although Gibbs already knew, his reaction was not an act. "I'd love that, thank you Breena, Jimmy!"

Tony's gift from him came next. He was rendered speechless, much to the delight of the rest of the family and LJ laughed so hard they were afraid he'd fall out of the recliner Gibbs bought for Jack two Christmases ago. Tony grabbed Gibbs for a near Abby-strength hug. "It's perfect, how did you match the stain so well?"

Gibbs chuckled as he told him.

Abby was also thrilled by her shoe stand, "Yay, thank you! Now I'll be able to find a whole pair of shoes at a time! And I've never had anything that would hold my boots! And the skulls! Gibbs, was that your idea?" Gibbs pointed to Emily who grinned when Abby squealed.

Ducky got a little teary and then laughed at himself when he opened the package with the changing table top. Like DiNozzo, he was speechless when Tim and Tony carried in the glider chair, Jimmy following with the foot rest.

Each had a good time opening gifts and watching everyone else open gifts. Rob had obviously consulted his brother and father, considering his gifts. Tony got two pairs of white tube socks, with a gift card to his favorite cinema underneath. Abby had a gift card to her favorite goth shop, the Palmers a gift card to Elaine's diner, Ducky an IOU for the tea of his choice from the UK and the kids some of the things they'd liked when out with him this week. He, Tim, Dad and the kids would exchange more gifts in the morning.

LJ brought candy for everyone but his godson and the little boys. Jethro was given a bottle of his favorite bourbon and a framed photo of LJ, Jack and a young, gap-toothed Leroy Jethro with their fishing gear. Tony said they looked like they were right out of the Andy Griffith show, with 6-year-old Jethro in his overalls. That caused a lot of laughter, especially from Fornell. They would find out why a few minutes later. Kyle had a train engineer's cap from LJ and Greg a box of colored pencils and a large sketch pad. LJ enjoyed opening all the little gifts he was given.

The kids especially were excited by everything they got. There were lots of toys and amazingly, no duplicates. Weebles™ for Kyle, who loved the roly-poly people, with a Weebles horse and a boat. Greg received three books in a favorite series, he'd finished the first book two nights ago, now he had the whole series. And he made happy noises when he unwrapped a box of Legos. More toys and books for each of them, with a few clothing items interspersed between the other gifts.

Gibbs had already showed off his new dishwasher from Tim and Tony. Abby gave him a new denim work shirt with a tiny spider tattoo embroidered above the pocket. Ducky gave him a light jacket, saying he would need a 'range' of jackets in the UK and the Palmers gave him 20 pounds of his favorite coffee, to freeze and take to England with him.

The Fornells gave everyone different gourmet foods, except for Gibbs. Grinning, Emily handed him a package. He looked at Emily laughing, as he saw what it was. "Where did you get this?"

"Mom. I've been going through old photo albums at her place. She's always threatening to toss them all and I want the ones with her and Dad. I found that one and she gave it to me. Said it was the only time she ever went fishing with both of you. This is the original, I had a copy made to keep."

Still chuckling, Gibbs turned the framed photo around. A photo of Gibbs and Fornell, both wet, covered in mud from head to toe, holding a huge sturgeon between them and laughing. Everyone smiled, "That's a great shot!" And Tony grinned, suddenly understanding why Fornell thought his Andy Griffith remark was so funny.

Tim saw the looks exchanged between Dad and Tobias and had to ask. "So what's the story?"

Fornell looked at the ceiling while Dad hung his head, laughing. Finally, he said, "We were chasing 'the big one'. Fornell had a monster on his line, took both of us to maneuver it, over what, 30 minutes, Tobias?"

There was a nod while Gibbs continued, "We couldn't move the thing, we'd get a little play on the line and then it'd stop again. We decided to anchor the boat and tackle it in the water, which wasn't that deep. We worked it and worked it, finally got more play on the line and reeled it in."

"Wow and it was this guy, huh?"

"Nope, it was a thick piece of wood, about 4 foot long with nails sticking out and big chunks gauged out. It and Fornell's line had been tangled with who knows what underwater and of course because of the pull and possibly due to the amount of…sunshine we'd had, we thought it was 'the big one'. While we were dealing with that, a guy in a boat 20 feet from ours pulled that sturgeon out. By himself. We paid him $5.00 to borrow it for the photo."

LJ shook his head, "You got off cheap."

"Think he felt sorry for us."

Fornell snorted, "You mean he felt guilty, that was my fish!"

Tony grinned, "Tobias, what'd you do with the wood?"

Gibbs laughed, "I offered to mount it on a plaque for him but he wasn't interested. I brought it home, pulled the nails out and burned it in the fireplace. Might have cooked a steak over it."

They all laughed again. And then the boys were given their gifts from the Fornells: their own fishing gear, complete with tackle boxes and life jackets. They were excited about that and Grandpa promised to take them fishing in England, along with their papa.

Tim grinned at his final gift. From everyone who'd given him or the kids something tonight, it was a gift card for UPS, with enough money on it to ship everything home. "Thanks, everyone!"

The gift giving over for the night, they regrouped at the table for dessert before cleaning up, admiring the dishwasher, packing their new treasures, hugging each other goodnight and Merry Christmas. By 8:30, only Gibbs, Rob, Tim, and the boys remained. Tim took the boys upstairs for their nightly routine while Rob and Gibbs made sure all the gifts had been successfully separated from the wrapping paper. The garbage bags of paper, bows and ribbon were put outside, the dishwasher loaded and started and they were done for the night.

They'd already washed Rob's new dishes that afternoon and those were stacked on top of the dryer in the laundry room. Locking up downstairs, the three men headed upstairs for stories and cuddles with the kids.

When Rob crawled into bed next to Tim that night, his brother chuckled, "You're right, Robbie, we have been doing this all your life!"

"All but 2 years of it, anyway. Great party tonight, Tim. Gave me a chance to get to know everyone a little better."

"Good!"

Rob opened his mouth to say something else, but his brother was out.