Fallout

by Gottahavemyncis

More than two years since the events of Serendipity and Ripples, Tim is working on a special project. And he's not happy with what he finds. This story won't make sense if you haven't read Serendipity and Ripples. A tale of team and family, rated M for safety. Tim-centric, with Gibbs, Bishop, DiNozzo, Ducky, Jimmy, Abby and Vance.

13. Chapter 13

I had a question from Karen19 and with her agreement, I thought I'd share the question and my answer. Her question: "...I did have a question regarding Fallout, was this inspired by current events?"

Fallout is not based on current world events. I wrote all three stories (Serendipity, Ripples and Fallout) over the summer of 2016 and deliberately set Fallout in the future, the year 2019, to avoid making any of the current newsmakers responsible for the threat/would-be attackers. As you'll see below, I have updated a couple things since then but not the 'whodunit'.

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Chapter 13

Monday, June 24th, 2019

When Tim woke early Monday morning, his grief had settled in a bit, he wasn't feeling the wild emotions he'd had yesterday. His sweet Eleanor distracted him with her hot sexy ways last night and that helped considerably. While the coffeemaker brewed, he plugged in the electric kettle to heat water for the tea Ellie now drank in the morning. With ingredients including ginger and mint, it helped vanquish any lingering morning sickness.

As nobody else was up yet, Mac's bedroom door was closed and Mateo was downstairs in the playroom, Tim found quiet things to do. He spent some time catching up with the journal he was keeping of current events and then worked on his newest manuscript for another hour. After that, he puttered around the house quietly sorting more books and other facets of their lives. Logging on to his work e-mail he smiled at the note from his techs who'd been heading for Galveston. They'd arrived safely on Saturday and were settling in. They were the last group to check in, the others had arrived safely Friday, the Chicago group departing close to midnight Thursday night, and thanked him for persuading them to leave early.

When he saw new cases assigned to his former group, he split them between Seattle, Galveston, Great Lakes and San Diego, copying AD Ferrer, the assistant director appointed after the death of Owen Granger. Updating the logs and status reports, he also sent those to Ferrer and then went to work on the case he held back. Hours later, he received a message from the AD asking when he was bugging out. He sent their new departure date, finished the work he'd done on the case and reassigned it to one of his former staff, updating logs, status and once again copying Ferrer. The Assistant Director replied he was glad Gibbs was working but not to neglect his evacuation preparations.

Mac and Mateo eventually woke, followed by the kids and finally Ellie. After breakfast, they looked to see what the traffic was doing and when it seemed things were calmer, Mateo decided to return to his apartment for the rest of his belongings. As he rented a furnished apartment, he had very little to move and would sleep on one of the rollaway beds while in the shelter. He'd been offered a new bed, declining with thanks.

When Tim stepped outside, he noticed Kelly's car was gone from their parents' driveway, remembered she was working today and wondered if that's why Mateo took off. His sister certainly found their new friend interesting!

Ellie logged on to NCIS and saw a note from Tony that they were working cold cases the rest of the week. She laughed, showing Tim the little animated figure rubbing an eyebrow. But he'd assigned cold cases to everyone so she got busy.

Tim brought the truck around and loaded it up with what they'd packed over the weekend. He smiled when he spotted his mother walking down the sidewalk. "I'm your helper today. Sarah will watch the kids; Bob's helping your dad and doing some work. Are they really working?"

Tim shrugged, "Yes. I worked for a few hours this morning. If we work, we're paid and have benefits. The note they had from Tony basically said if you're up to it work, otherwise forget about it."

"He said that?"

"No. We have a signal to indicate that what we're saying is not necessarily what we mean and he used that."

"I don't understand."

"Have you ever seen Dad rub his eyebrow at me?"

"Oh, yes I have."

"That generally means accept what I'm saying but it's not really what I mean or what's really happening. It's a signal Boss and Leon cooked up between them a few years ago and we all use it. Tobias says his boss even used it with him once and when he asked Leon about it he just laughed."

"Huh. That'd be useful when you want to get a message across but can't say anything."

"Very useful. All right, Helper Mama, the truck is just about full of boxes and I want to make a run to the warehouse. Do you want to drive the truck or the van?"

"I can do either. You want to load both?"

"Yep. And the Challenger is available so we'll take the kids' seats out of the van and leave them in case of emergency."

The two of them walked back into the garage and started loading more boxes. Shannon looked at the photo pinned to the wall of Tim washing the Boxster with a tiny Tyler and an even tinier Bryn helping him. "Do you ever miss your Porsche?"

Tim smiled at the memories. "Oh yeah, she was sweet. Sarah and Rob talked me into buying her when my first books hit it big. And I wouldn't let anyone else drive it. Until the littles came into our lives and there was no way," he rearranged three boxes to fit better, "no way I could get two kid seats in a two seater car. Dad and I traded so whoever was with the kids had the Challenger with the kids' seats. I finally traded her in." He chuckled as he loaded more boxes. "When we bought the van, we were at the same dealership and the sales guy remembered me trading in the Boxster." Smiling, he took the photo down, folding it and putting it in his pocket.

After finishing with the truck, tying a tarp over it, Shannon ducked into the backyard, stopping to visit with Neo for a minute and then out the back gate to bring the van around front. Tim stuck his head inside, "Hon, Mom and I are taking both the van and the truck to the warehouse. The Challenger will be in the driveway with the kids' seats and the keys are on the kitchen counter. Neo's in the backyard."

"All right, how long will you be gone?"

"About an hour, there's no use shopping until the stores are restocked."

"What do we still need?"

"Don't know; I haven't looked at the spreadsheet this morning."

She pulled it up, studying it. "We're covered for food, baby food, fish, turtle, parakeet, and dog food. We could probably use more baby gear, not newborn but sizes from 3 months up to 12."

"Ok, diapers too?"

"Oh yeah, we know from Lia there's no such thing as having too many diapers!"

"Good point."

"And warm baby stuff too, Sweetie. Jackets, leggings, hats, mittens, warm footwear."

He smiled, "Mom will love that. Maybe we'll go after all." He took a deep breath and said in a rush, "Eleanor, I'm coming with you on the plane."

She turned to him with a big smile, her eyes glistening. "I'm so glad, so relieved! I know it's been bothering you but I felt it was your decision." She pulled his head down to give him a kiss.

"Got bogged down in all this stuff, almost forgot my first priority, you and our children. And that means I go with you."

She smiled softly, "Whither thou goest…"

He kissed her back and then jumped when his mother honked the horn. She'd backed into the garage, the kitchen door was propped open and the horn echoed loudly. It was so loud even Neo, normally a very quiet dog, gave a surprised bark. Laughing, Tim hurried out to the garage, feeling a huge weight removed from his shoulders and his heart.

They quickly loaded the van and then Tim wrestled with the kids' seats while Shannon brought the Challenger over. They installed all three seats and looked at each other, hoping they wouldn't be needed. A baby seat and seats for two school age children was a tight squeeze but they got them in securely. Tim smiled "Mama, we should have the Challenger towed or put in one of the moving vans."

Shannon's heart always did a back flip when Tim or any of her kids called her Mama. "Why, Sweetie?"

"Because it's a link to Grandpa Jack. He rebuilt it and then waited for over a decade to give it to Dad."

"When you went to Stillwater on a case?"

Tim nodded.

"You want to surprise him?"

"Yeah, the day the trucks are unloaded at the ranch."

"He might be angry."

"Nah. He'll put on a good act but he won't mean it."

She chuckled, "It never ceases to amaze me how well you know your father."

He grinned at her, "Worked for him for over a decade. If I hadn't known him well, I wouldn't have made it that long."

They were back in the garage, poking their heads inside to let the others know they were leaving.

On their way to the warehouse, traffic was calm with a little less volume than usual although they knew from the news there'd been trouble over the weekend. Before they left, he told his mother he was flying with his wife and children and was not surprised when she thoroughly approved.

When they arrived at the warehouse, Tim laughed at the vehicles backed up, family and friends busily unloading boxes and furniture. The Vances were just finishing, they'd brought the rental truck, the SUV and their two young adults.

The DiNozzos, Jimmy, and another Slater son-in-law, this one named Ryan, Geordie, Bec, and a woman Tim thought must be Bec's aunt were all busy unloading. Tim took his first load in and nodded as he looked around. Everything was still in priority order and several more beds had appeared. He looked out, beckoning everyone inside. Locking their vehicles, they joined him.

"We've officially moved the date up with the movers; they'll be here on Friday, stay over and load up on the 29th. We'll have 4 moving vans and the drivers will be armed. It's up to you drivers but consider forming a caravan with them and making sure a Fed is in the lead, middle and last vehicle."

Tony looked confused, "You drivers?"

Tim smiled, "Rule 51; my priorities got a little muddled, Tony. I'm flying on the charter with my wife and children."

He was a little embarrassed at the cheers and applause that brought but shrugged it off. Leon pulled him aside, "I'm relieved! I know my family, the Palmers and the Bishops will be awesome but I'd really miss working with you."

Tim smiled as Bec introduced them to her aunt Mel. "I'm so glad to meet you!"

She cracked a smile, "I find a pre-trip introduction is always a good thing when you're going to be living together in a concrete cave."

His mom chuckled, "That's what I've been calling it too."

They chatted as they unloaded and Tim and Bec exchanged glances, glad they were bonding so quickly. The Vances took off saying they had some shopping to do and Tim grinned as his father's old pickup pulled up, truck bed piled high with Sarah and Rob in the cab.

"Ah, good, putting the ancient one to use. Sarah, I thought you were at Dad's?"

"We were but he told us to bring this over; Bob's still there and I'll help Ellie later, Grandpa's there now. And hey, the truck still runs!"

Tony grinned, "It's a Gibbs' vehicle; it wouldn't dare not run! Reminds me of an old Woody Allen movie, "Sleeper". It's set in the far future and the lead character finds an old VW Bug, turns the key and it starts right up."

Tim laughed and looked around, "That's the one with the orgasmatron, right?"

"Oh yeah." Tony paused, "Jethro sent out an e-mail last night about Nate. I'm so sorry, Tim."

Tim found that today he could talk about Nate without choking up too much. "Grandpa says it must have been his time. We think he knew he didn't have long and agreed to come with us to make us happy and to keep us from fussing over him."

"He led a useful life, taking care of all of you when you were there, and the camp."

"That he did, Tony."

Jimmy and Ryan the brother-in-law left to pick up another load while the others stayed to help Rob and Sarah. With so many helpers it took less than ten minutes to empty Dad's old pickup and locking up, they all took off. The DiNozzos had a rental truck for today and tomorrow and wanted to get everything in, even their beds. The Colonel would sleep in the chair where he said he frequently slept anyway; the chair would travel to its new home in the Mercedes.

Tim was amused to see that one corner of the warehouse now had furniture and oddball items piled in it with a sign on the top of the heap that read, "If there's room and anyone wants it." There were several items he didn't think came from the same household.

Shannon insisted on shopping for the baby and Tim went along too. They had a great time buying all kinds of baby clothes in different sizes. They had a few things of Lia's and knew Breena would pass along Ricky's things but it would be months before the new baby would fit into them. It would be nice to have another boy, a brother for Tyler and the girls. He noticed his mother mostly staying away from any girly looking clothes and asked about it. She smiled, "You're having a boy; I just know it. Do you have names picked out?"

His mother had two outfits she was holding up as she spoke, one was pink with ruffles and the other was overalls with a long sleeved tee shirt. Tim grinned, they hadn't told anyone yet. "Mom, the pink's cute and I'm all for not stereotyping but the outfit with the overalls is more practical; besides, Dad will have a fit if you buy your new grandson anything with ruffles."

"Ruffles? OH, you're having a boy; I knew it! Did you have another ultrasound? And what about names?"

He told her about the "Y-chromosome" test, adding "McKenzie Gerard. If it was a girl, we would have called her McKenzie Shanarbra."

"What the heck - is that a combination of Shannon and Barbara? I'm glad you're not sticking the poor child with that! You know, I almost named you McKenzie but I love the name Timothy and it just seemed right."

Tim laughed, "It's probably a good thing. I would have been McKenzie McGee!"

His mother chuckled as she rolled her eyes at him. She was used to hearing the name McGee occasionally, after all her older daughter and two of her sons had been McGees for much of their lives. Then she smiled, remembering the day they'd all signed the adoption papers so that all of Jethro's kids were really hers too. Even Tony who thought about it when asked, finally saying, "My mom's been gone a long time, I'm sure she'd approve."

He'd laughed when he realized that meant he was legally Shannon's son but still not Gibbs' and teased his former boss about being his 'stepfather'. As he said, "Makes a nice change from the endless round of stepmothers!"

Tim and Shannon were in line for the cashier now and grinned as Lara and Jared Vance pushed carts to the checkout next to them. "Hey there!"

The two waved and Lara peeked at their cart, "Hello! Ooh, shopping for baby, how fun!"

That was the extent of the conversation as the cashier handled their merchandise; they waved to the Vances as they left.

Home again, Tim found Ellie and the kids excited about something. "What's going on?"

"Look!"

He sat down at her laptop and read an e-mail from his sister. She said she and Bob had made a decision while packing, they'd decided to get married before they hit the road and had scheduled their wedding for 10:00 Tuesday at the civil offices for the District of Columbia. There was room for 30 guests and they wanted the family with them.

While Tim was rereading the notice, a new e-mail popped into Ellie's inbox, this one from Geordie. He and Bec had made the same decision and with the court clerk and Sarah and Bob's approval, they'd have a double wedding.

"Ellie, you gotta come see this!"

She squealed when she saw the second notice. "Honey, your sister texted me that Maisie has Lily's wedding dress and they're meeting somewhere to try it on. Bec and I are the same height and close to the same build, I'd like to loan her my wedding dress."

Tim looked at her, "You'll get it back, right?"

"Yes, why I said 'loan' and not give."

"Good, because I hope you'll wear that for me many more times."

"We'll definitely get it back." Her eyes twinkled as she turned away, calling Bec.

Not wanting to be caught in the sudden wedding plans and noticing Bob's car was no longer parked down the street; Tim sent a text to his father to see if he needed any help. He laughed when the reply came, "PLEASE!"

He told Ellie he was going down the street, taking Tyler and Brynie with him, leaving a napping Lia behind. He found his father and grandfather loading boxes and furniture into Dad's truck. He grinned at them and they shook their heads. "We've lost your mother for the rest of the day."

"Yeah, Ellie's on the phone with Bec, offering to loan her wedding dress."

"Wonder how Bob and Geordie are coping?"

Mac stayed back with the kids while father and son made a trip to the warehouse. They laughed themselves silly when they found Bob and Geordie, each with a truck, helping each other unload. "Need help, grooms?"

"Dad, Bec's gone crazy!"

"Sarah too."

"Welcome to Wedding 101, boys! Just be glad it's happening quickly!"

Bob shook his head. "Captain Hubbard is dropping his mother at our place and then delivering a load here. I think the other guy, the Admiral, has a truckload too."

"Smart of you not to wait around."

"Is it?"

"Yes, we're going to miss at least a half day tomorrow, can't lose any more time than that."

"I called the courthouse to ask if we could bring a laptop for a Skype session so my parents could be with us and they said yes, we can use their wifi."

Tim nodded, "Good thinking, Bob, I'll get that set up for you tomorrow."

"Thanks Tim. I had another idea. Sarah's going to wear her mother's dress but not the hat/veil thing. I'm sure the dress has been cleaned but probably not the…" he gestured to his head. "What would you think of checking it for DNA and getting it into the databases? I know we have uh, the grandmother and Captain Hubbard's DNA but not Lily's."

Tim nodded, "That's a good idea. Make sure Mrs. Hubbard brings it and you can get it to a lab."

"Maybe we could send it to Abby wherever she lands After."

That earned him a smile from his new brother-in-law and his new father-in-law/former boss clapped him on the back, "Like the way you think!"

They were just finishing with all three trucks when three more rolled in: DiNozzo and Maggie on their second trip, Captain Hubbard and they guessed Admiral Crane. The two retired officers had large rental trucks and the others offered to stay and help. After introducing everyone to the Admiral who insisted on being called Dave and held on to Tim for several teary minutes, Jim's eyes twinkled as he looked at the others. "Wouldn't have anything to do with staying away from wedding planners, would it?"

There was a collective groan and then Maggie said, "I feel I should say something in defense of wedding planners but there's a reason Tony and I got married in Las Vegas."

They laughed at that too and then got busy unloading. Tim worked with Dave, asking what he called him and his wife when he was little. The man beamed at him, "Uncle Dave and Aunty Liz, although when you were small it was more like Unca Dave and Liz was Aunty Wiz until you and Patrick mastered your 'L's'."

Tim smiled, commenting, "My daughter Brynie had problems with Ls too. Do you mind if I call you Uncle Dave and Aunty Liz? I mean, you're my godparents and I uh..." he blinked back tears as his godfather pulled him in for another hug.

The group finished unloading and was taking a break in the shade when Uncle Jim had a text from his mother; she was ready to be picked up, the dress fit perfectly. Bob twisted his lips, "Think it's safe for me too?"

His father-in-law looked at him, "How many more loads do you have?"

"Two, I think."

"I'd get those done if I were you."

They looked up as Mateo pulled up in his car. "Hi everyone! Thought I'd bring my stuff over today."

His 'stuff' was a lamp, a tiny table, a chair and a box of clothes. It took about 30 seconds to get them into the warehouse. He looked around, "Anyone need any help?"

Bob grinned "Oh yes please, leave your car and come with me!"

As the Gibbses and DiNozzos returned to the warehouse several times that day, they frequently encountered Bob and Mateo. At one point Bob said, "I didn't even know we had this much stuff!"

Tim grinned, from what he could see it was mostly books and clothes with some furniture: an antique desk that Sarah purchased with proceeds from her first book, a couple of comfortable looking chairs, and a small dining table and chairs. After telling Mateo he was welcome to stay with the Gibbses until 'D-day', they waved as Bob and his helper left.

Mateo's car was gone on their last run. Tim and Dad did an inventory, counting appliances, sofas, beds, dining tables with chairs plus recliners and casual chairs. They had 45 sofas of varying sizes, 4 electric ovens, 5 upright freezers, one of which Tim marked with a red X as it needed rewiring, 5 microwaves, and 4 toaster ovens, one of which also got a red X as the cord was frayed. 16 beds, 10 with box springs and 6 with accompanying platform framework, 6 dining tables and chairs (including Ducky's), 7 recliners (including one of the Gibbs'), 8 casual chairs, and a large desk that looked like it had come from a ship. They'd helped carry that in from Uncle Dave's truck; it belonged to Penny or rather the late Admiral McGee, Sarah's paternal grandfather.

Penny would try to join them in Albuquerque but said she had other safe places to stay if she didn't get there. She'd only wanted a few things from her house: her bed, the Admiral's desk and chair, a large painting from her living room, wrapped to take on the charter flight, two large boxes of photo albums and her clothing.

Returning to the warehouse inventory, they counted 2 toddler beds, 1 bassinet and a child-sized table with 4 chairs, 2 dressers, 1 television and 1 DVD/VHS player. When they finished, they moved the two red X'd items off to the side, glad the old freezer had been left on a small dolly and Tim stopped to look at the "If there's room" pile which had grown considerably. He marked three additional items there as unusable and moved them over with the X'd items. As they moved away, Dad nudged Tim and they retrieved the dolly from under the old freezer.

Completing their work, they headed home for another load. This time they took the dining room table and chairs, Tim's recliner, the rocking chairs, the kids' small table and chairs, padded folding chairs, new patio chairs purchased last summer, boxes of carefully sorted toys, garden tools and all their garden tools, toys and gizmos, boxed, labeled and inventoried.

From the senior Gibbses they took Jethro's sawhorses, a box of unfinished toys and boxes from the attic that Mom said held quilts along with things that had come from her Fielding grandmother, Mac's mother. Mac had his box of heirloom family jewelry and Dad grabbed the Gibbs' box. Those would go with the quilt boxes on the plane.

On second thought, Tim pulled out two boxes of the kids' toys to also go on the plane. Dad made several bundles of wood, cut and uncut, securing them together, marking each bundle with tags and placed them in the truck. Then they dismantled his workbench, stuck labels on each piece and carried it to the truck. A few more boxes went in as Shannon packed and labeled them and they drove off to the warehouse.

Jim and Maisie were there unloading more of what they'd gathered from Penny's house. Maisie, also known as Gram or Grammie, hadn't yet met adult Tim in person and he held her closely as she shook in his arms, crying. She seemed like a nice person, he wished he remembered her. She was happy to meet his father, saying she'd been shocked to learn of Timothy's kidnapping. Dad said something diplomatic and Jim quickly changed the subject, understanding the topic was painful for all of them.

Bob returned with another load, asking Gram about Lily's wedding headdress; she loved the idea of having her long dead daughter's DNA registered in the national databases. On a roll, Bob asked if he could go to Penny's house and if she thought Penny would mind if they looked for something of Admiral McGee's, to do the same thing and Maisie patted his face. "She won't mind, she'll love it as much as I do. We'll go back with you; I'm sure we can find something of Dan and Mark's too. She kept a few things and I know where everything is."

When Bob and Tim looked surprised, Jim explained, "Within two years of the car crash, Penny lost her entire family. Mum folded her into our family and she's been part of it ever since. She's a second grandmother to my kids, sends postcards from wherever she goes, always brings gifts for them, spends holidays with us when she's home. She and Mum are close friends."

The others nodded, understanding that the Hubbard-McGee-Crane family was as tightly knit as the Gibbs-Mallard clan.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The Gibbses originally planned to head home but Tim wanted to see Penny's house and his father admitted his own curiosity. When the Hubbards were ready, Bob, Tim, and Jethro followed them to Arlington. The house was large, multi-storied on a heavily wooded lot, Maisie said the property was 5 or 6 acres. There were a few outbuildings with an indoor pool and tennis court.

Although the Hubbards had a key, the caretaker met them at the front steps, surprised to see them again. He greeted Uncle Jim and Gram Maisie but when he turned to be introduced to the others, he stared in shock at Tim. Jim patted Tim's shoulder, "Timothy, Mr. Madden has been the caretaker here since before you were born."

Tim nodded as Jim explained the situation to the older man. The man nodded, turning back to Tim, "Welcome back, young man! It's wonderful that you and your baby sister survived, I'm sure Dr. Langston is thrilled." He smiled, "I only met little Sarah a couple of times and now she's getting married, that's great! And you, Tim, you look the same, only grown up."

Tim nodded, "Grown up, married with 3 kids with another on the way."

"Wonderful, that's wonderful. I won't hold you up any longer, I know we're all in a hurry to pack up and get away."

"When are you leaving?"

"Thursday and thank you again Captain, for the warning. My eldest daughter, son-in-law, grandson and I are driving a U-Haul and my RV, towing our cars to Denver. My granddaughter and her family live there; her husband is halfway through building a shelter for all of us in their backyard. Sounds like we'll have more room than I thought and everything we need."

After wishing him well, they entered the house. Maisie headed straight for the stairs and the others followed, carrying packing boxes and tape. Jim gave them a tour while Maisie started looking for the boxes she'd mentioned. When Tim saw the room he and Patrick stayed in when they were visiting, he looked closely at everything, wishing he could remember.

Shaking off his slight melancholy, he was glad he could see the house at least once. He helped Gram and the others go through closets and boxes looking for anything of the three McGee men that might have DNA on it. They found one of the Admiral's covers and his wedding ring and Bob used a tissue to carefully put both into plastic food storage bags. Tim found adhesive labels in a kitchen drawer and labeled each bag.

While they didn't find any clothing for Sarah's father, they did find his USNA class ring, which Maisie thought he'd left here the last time he and the children visited. "I don't know why, Penny thought it was odd but I suppose because men don't usually wear two rings and he had a wedding band from his marriage to Natalie." She sighed, "That wasn't real, was it?"

Jethro shook his head, "No, she faked the whole thing and somehow prevented the Navy from knowing about her so that she was never vetted."

Tim looked at the ring and then tightening his lips, wrapped it and put it in another baggie. This time Bob labeled it. "You want it?"

Tim shook his head, "I don't have a claim to it."

Maisie overheard them and frowned, "Certainly you do, Timothy. He may not have been your biological father but Dan McGee loved you as his son."

Tim had already decided he'd take it but would give it to Sarah after the DNA test. Seeing the resolution in his son's eyes, Jethro smiled to himself, guessing at the plan. Next, they found Dan McGee's first wedding ring, from his marriage to Sarah's mother Lily. Maisie sighed, "After he and Natalie married he didn't know what to do with it and asked his mother to keep it for him. He thought one of the boys might want it when they were grown; it would give them a link to their mother."

Beginning to feel overwhelmed and fiercely missing his little brother Patrick, Tim mutely put the ring in a plastic bag, handing it to Bob to label. After that, they decided it was easier to take all of Penny's jewelry; she could sort out what she wanted to keep or give away, or what Sarah might want. They secured the jewelry armoire, taping each compartment and then labeled it for Penny, to be locked up in the ranch house rather than a storage shed.

Uncle Mark McGee died in a shipboard accident, his body transported home. When Maisie and Bob found a box with his name on it, they didn't open it as they'd already found his USNA class ring in Penny's jewelry armoire. Bagged and tagged, it was tucked in Bob's pocket with Dan's rings. They labeled the box for Penny, taking it and the armoire downstairs.

Finished with their original mission here, Maisie told the boys to look around for anything they might want. Tim spotted a framed pen and ink sketch he knew Ellie would love and took it while Bob found a bedroom set he knew Sarah would love. Jethro spotted two other items he thought Sarah would want, framed letters from the President to Admiral McGee, commending him for his work. While Maisie wrapped the framed items, the men wrestled the two dressers, mattress, box springs, nightstands, and the bed frame down the stairs and into Jethro's truck.

Back upstairs, they went into the room that had been the family nursery, finding a box of baby clothes, including a christening gown that Maisie said was a family heirloom. With a smile at the boys, Jethro took the box. There were family photos on the wall; it looked like baby pictures of Penny with her parents, Nelson McGee with his, the two boys and then Tim, Patrick and Sarah. Tim and Bob took those with them as well as an antique bassinet Jim found in a closet. They also took a box of books and toys before quietly closing the door to the nursery.

They went back into Penny's bedroom and Tim looked at her bedstead. The mattress and box springs were already at the warehouse but he didn't want to leave the beautifully crafted head and footboard. There was also a bureau in the same style. He looked at his dad who nodded his agreement.

When Tim found Maisie, he told her the plan and she blinked back tears, "That's wonderful, Timothy. I worried when she asked for so little but she's afraid of weighing us down."

"We have room, Grammie, no reason not to take it. We'll store it in pieces so it won't take up much room."

Gathering Bob and Uncle Jim, the three men returned to Penny's bedroom where they found Jethro starting to break down the bedstead. The linens were in a heap on the bureau; Maisie gathered those and the pillows, taking everything downstairs to pack and label. The men finished taking the bedstead apart, carrying each piece to the truck and placing it carefully. The headboard and footboard were as heavy as they looked, as were the metal railings that connected them. The slats that provided support for the box springs were the only lightweight objects. The bureau, also known as a dresser, wasn't bad once they removed the drawers, Maisie first making sure she'd packed all the contents.

When the last piece was in the truck, the four men went back inside where they found Maisie going through the pantry. "No sense wasting supplies!" She pulled out spices, canned foods and dry goods, Jim and Tim helping her look at expiration dates. When she was satisfied with their plunder, she started going through the lower cabinets, exclaiming, "Ah ha, found you!"

She started to tug at something and Jethro, who was closest, hurriedly reached in to pull out a large, red, state of the art Kitchen Aid Mixer with a box full of attachments. Bob laughed at the look on Tim's face, "I know who's taking that!"

"Thanks to Sue, Deeny and our sojourn in New Mexico, I have a kitchen full of every kind of baking pan and utensil in existence but I don't have a Kitchen Aid!"

He put together a packing box and almost reverently loaded the mixer and its attachments in. "Need packing peanuts, I've got a bag at home."

His father shook his head, "That bag's in the backseat of my truck. Let's get it packed and labeled now. We can drop all this off at the warehouse on the way home."

Still beaming at Gram's find, Tim fetched the bag, carefully placing the packing peanuts in the box. Bob and Jim got the additional food supplies boxed, labeled and then they left the house, Tim stopping to take several photos both indoors and outdoors. Back at the warehouse, they offloaded the furniture, moving Bob and Sarah's new bedroom set to the area filled with bedroom furniture and then moved the bassinette to the baby gear pile and Tim's prize to the kitchenware pile, Jim, Bob and Dad promising to make sure it got on the trucks. Penny's bedroom furniture was labeled with her name and "Storage" so it wouldn't go into the shelter. The baby clothes, Ellie's 'new' sketch and the family photos would be transported on the charter flight, as would the items taken for possible DNA. When they got to the jewelry armoire, Tim shook his head, "I'd rather we take this on the plane. It's not that big or heavy." Taping up and labeling it, the armoire went into the backseat of the truck and eventually joined the stack of boxes and suitcases labeled for the plane.

Back home again, Tim and Jethro relaxed on the back deck with a cold beverage for a few minutes before walking down the sidewalk to Tim's place. They were done with the warehouse for the day. They hoped.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

When they walked into the house, the main floor was quiet but hearing Ellie's voice, they headed upstairs. She and the kids were going through their dressers and closets, trying on clothes to make sure they fit. Those that fit went in a suitcase, those that didn't went in a box. When Ellie looked up she grinned, explaining, "We're taking all of it but the clothes that don't fit will be saved for Teddy, Lia, Ricky and our baby or will be used by the seamstresses."

The men just nodded, Jethro thinking they really were returning to the ways of their forebears. Ellie reported both kids had outgrown their winter clothes and Tim held back a laugh; that happened every year, winter and summer!

Shannon helped measure the kids, they'd take the children clothes shopping on Wednesday while Tim, Barry, Freddie, Sarah, Geo, and Rob went to the shelter to distribute the one-way bus tickets. Heavy winter jackets, hats, gloves, scarves and boots had already been ordered for the children and their parents from the online outfitter Shannon had mentioned over the weekend; it was all shipped to the Ortizes.

Poppy went home while Tim helped his family with their clothes, realizing he hadn't gone through his yet. When Ellie asked him what he was going to wear to the double wedding the next day, he went blank, finally remembering his navy suit. He needed to polish his shoes but he had a dress shirt and tie fresh from the cleaners and he was good to go. When he asked Ellie what she was wearing, she made a little moue and beckoned him to their room. There she pointed to a dress hanging on the closet door. "That."

"Pretty color, bet it looks great with your eyes and hair."

Apparently, that was what she needed as she smiled. "Thanks, it's your mother's."

He suddenly felt trapped. While his mother and Ellie were the same height, she was a different build than Ellie, with broader shoulders and hips. Not knowing what else to say, he nodded.

Ellie giggled, "It fits better than anything of mine but I need to wear a belt as it's loose around the middle."

"Pregnancy changes."

"Oh yeah, the ones you've been noticing."

He grinned as her breasts had noticeably enlarged. He thought of asking her to model the dress for him but realized again that it was his mother's dress. "Uh, when you're out on Wednesday are you going to buy some clothes for you?"

"Yes and I've ordered some too. That reminds me; my dad said they brought several packages from the Ortizes to our place."

Tim frowned, "Yeah, that's good. You know, I hadn't thought about Christmas gifts. Thought as far as birthdays, our anniversary, and the baby arriving, we should be back in the house by then, but hadn't made it as far as Christmas."

"When we get to the ranch you can shop online."

"Yes, although it will be hard to know what to buy for post-Armageddon gifts."

Looking at each other, they burst into laughter and were still laughing when the kids came in, half carrying Lia, to find out what was so funny.

When Tim's phone rang, he was still chuckling. It was Sarah with a special request. He agreed, sitting on the bed afterward, thinking about the request. While he was still deep in thought his phone rang again, this time it was Geordie. He too had a special request. Tim agreed and after fulfilling his brother's request decided not to consciously think about either of them. He needed to sleep tonight!