The team was lucky they didn't have the call over the Labor Day Holiday weekend. There was an accidental drowning of a Marine Private and a missing child that eventually turned up unharmed in less than twenty four hours.
Still, they always felt like they were behind after a long weekend off and Tuesday was filled with paperwork and catching up.
Tim was downstairs with Abby going over some evidence when his phone rang. He looked at the readout then up at Abby. "It's the realtor."
Abby looked excited and scared all at the same time. "Special Agent Timothy McGee."
Chapter Twenty-Five: "Moving Ahead"
"Agent McGee! Catherine Cummings. I have great news for you and Ms. Sciuto. Your mortgage application has been approved. Congratulations, you are now homeowners!"
Tim felt back for a chair to sit on, because he didn't think his legs would hold him up. He listened as Ms. Cummings explained that they would need to meet at the Real Estate office to sign the mortgage agreement, and then at the Title Agency for final paperwork and getting the keys.
"Ok, thanks, yeah, I know. Thanks again." He hung up and looked at Abby. She had Bert in her arms and gave him a stressful squeeze.
The resulting "fart" made Tim lose his poker face. He walked quietly up to Abby, and then broke out in a huge grin. "We got the house!" He picked her up and swung her around the room.
"Oh, my God, Timmy. Really? We did it?" Abby was so happy she could hardly contain herself. "Let's go tell everybody."
Tim and Abby went upstairs. Tim had called ahead and asked Ducky and Jimmy to join them in the Bullpen.
"Ok, McSecretAgentMan, what's this all about?" Tony asked.
"Well, Tony, remember that house you and Ziva saw that you thought would be perfect for us?" Tony nodded, confused.
"Well, Abby and I thought the same thing, which is why we put a contract down on it." Tony looked at Ziva, then back at Tim and Abby.
"No way!" Tony exclaimed. "That 'Contract Pending' sign was you?"
Tim nodded proudly. "We just received a call and Abby and I are very happy to announce that we are now homeowners."
The team burst into cheers and claps and sounds of congratulations. Jimmy was a little surprised. "Wow, all of you; in the same neighborhood."
"Hey Autopsy Gremlin! We'll keep our eyes peeled and the next house to go up for sale we'll let you know about."
Jimmy was surprised but privately pleased that Tony would think of Jimmy and his family joining their little part of North Arlington.
'Uh, thanks Tony. We're not looking to move right now, but…thanks!"
Gibbs gave Abby a big hug and shook Tim's hand. "I don't know if you realize this or not, but your new backyard and my backyard share half of a fence."
Tim's eyes bugged out at that. "No, Boss. I didn't even realize…"
"Relax, McGee. Mimi already has me working on the plans for the communal gate."
Tim thought about that for a moment, then thought what a cool idea that was.
"Your wedding is only two weeks away. You don't think you're going to be able to close on the house and move in before then, do?" Gibbs asked.
Tim and Abby looked at each other. "Well, we're closing tomorrow. The house is empty except for the table and chairs real estate people put in there."
"But, I don't know. I hadn't even thought of that." Tim rubbed his forehead.
"Hey, no problems. We'll rent a truck this weekend to move all the big stuff. Once you get the keys, we can all drive to your apartment in our individual cars and load up the small stuff." Tony replied.
"What we don't get done this weekend, the rest of us can handle while on your honeymoon, that is if it's ok with you."
Tim and Abby communicated silently. "Deal!" they said at the same time.
The closing went smoothly, and Tim and Abby drove immediately to their new home. They walked slowly around, touching things, unable to believe it was theirs.
Tim looked outside and laughed. On their deck there was a huge plant and a card. Tim opened the French doors and they stepped outside.
The plant was from Gibbs and Mimi. "Welcome to your new home. Love, Jethro and Mimi." Abby snorted. "Well, we know Gibbs didn't write out that card." The plant was lovely. Tim looked over at their yard.
"He must have used two ladders. Otherwise, I can't figure out how he got it over here." Abby smiled.
As planned, the next night, a mixture of six cars and trucks showed up at Tim and Abby's place to start boxing up and moving the smaller items. Breena was sick, so Jimmy had to stay home with Jamie. Karina was with Lily at Gibbs' house.
Ziva, Mimi and Abby set to taking down the breakable kitchen ware, wrapping them in newspaper and putting them in boxes. Tony and Gibbs started boxing up all of Tim's books.
Tim starting pulling clothes out of the closet that they weren't currently using. He just laid them down in the back seat of the car.
Once all the cars were loaded, they headed over to the new home. For everyone other than Tim, Abby and Gibbs, no one else had seen the inside of the house.
They were efficient about bringing the stuff in. They let Abby direct where to put things, though they knew to put the books in Tim's new office.
They all agreed to do one trip a night, so they wouldn't get worn out for the big move on Saturday.
Abby looked around, at all of her friends, helping her and Tim. Ziva and Mimi were putting away some of the dishes and glasses and cups; and the cookware that they wouldn't be using until they moved in.
Abby went into the Master Suite. Tim had hung up all of the clothes; they could rearrange them later.
Tim's books would need to wait until the bookcases arrived. Done with all they could do, they headed back to Gibbs'.
Lily and Karina were in the living room; Lily with a book and Karina with a book, although it was upside down. Once everyone came back, Karina put her book down and pulled herself up in her playpen.
"Hi! Hi! Hi!" Karina yelled out her new word. "Hi, Karina!" Everyone acknowledged. Ziva scooped her up and checked her diaper. Lily looked up.
"I changed her diaper about an hour ago, so she should be good to go."
"Oh, thank you Lily. How did you manage it?" Lily smiled. "She's right next to me. I can reach in and get her. Diaper bag is right here."
"She didn't give you any problems did she?" Tony asked. "Being pent up the entire time?" Lily shook her head. "She was fine, as long as I answered her questions."
"I see." Tony laughed. "Did she concur with you answers?" Lily laughed. "I don't think she liked one of them, because she went off for about five minutes non-stop. Other than that, we were cool, weren't we ninja-baby?" Karina grinned at Lily. "Li-Li."
Lily was happy she had called her professor as Abby had suggested and not only tested out of the one Micro class she was considering dropping, she was given a list of other classes she could test out of if she chose to.
She was also happy that Sean's phone ban had been lifted and they were now back into communication. He had asked her out on a date, but they were still trying to figure out the logistics to it, considering they were both still encased in plaster.
They all called it a night, and went their separate ways. They were all tired but got more accomplished than they had expected.
Fortunately, Friday was quiet and Gibb's let them call off early. Gibbs went and rented the largest U-Haul he felt comfortable driving.
They spent most of Friday night again wrapping up and packing small items. They moved their dining room set into the truck as well as the bookcases and smaller pieces of furniture that they wouldn't need that night.
By the time they were done, the only thing left was their bedroom, bathroom, linens, food and Tim's precious typewriter, desk and writing supplies.
Back to the new house, they repeated that process and soon, the truck was emptied out. Again, Ziva and Mimi finished with the kitchen items and placed the small knick knacks on the counters until they could be placed where Tim and Abby wanted them.
Gibbs and Mimi's Home
Gibbs was exhausted. Mimi made him some hot herbal tea. He looked at her. "Hot Tea? It's 80 degrees out there."
"I know you think you are invincible, but you've done a lot of heavy lifting the past two nights. Let your private duty nurse take care of you." Mimi stroked his brow.
Gibbs hiked an eyebrow and gave a crooked grin. "My private duty nurse, huh? Well, in that case, I think I can come up with all sorts of ailments that need to be attended to."
Mimi just shook her head. "Drink your tea, then I'll give you some Advil. We'll see how you feel after that. Tomorrow is the real heavy furniture. Let Tony and Tim handle it, will you, please?"
"Wait a minute. Are you telling me I'm old?" Gibbs' blue eyes were open wide.
Mimi grimaced. "I would never tell you that, my silver haired fox. Only that they are 'younger.' Look, I watched you; you don't use proper body mechanics. You could injure your back or something."
"What in the hell is 'body mechanics'?" Gibbs asked.
Mimi sighed, thinking she had really put her foot in it this time. "Look, you have a proper stance and way you handle and shoot your gun, correct?"
Gibbs nodded, confused.
"Well, there's a proper way to stand and move while lifting and pulling. That's what body mechanics is. If you do it wrong, you injure yourself. That's all I'm saying. Be careful. I love you. I don't want you to get hurt."
Gibbs stared at his tea. "Yeah, ok." Mimi kissed him on his head and went into the kitchen to get more tea. He watched her, thinking how lucky he was to have someone actually worry about how he picked up a piece of furniture.
Not surprisingly, Gibbs woke up Saturday morning stiff and sore, but he wasn't about to admit it to Mimi. As they ate breakfast, she silently pushed the bottle of Advil toward him.
He hid his smile. He should have known he couldn't fool her.
The final move took longer than the others. The bed had to be taken apart, and the dresser was really heavy. Tim had a large chest of drawers for his stuff.
They decided to just take the drawers out and leave everything in them. Tim and Abby planned to stay at their new home from that night on, so Jethro sat in the truck with Gibbs.
They spent the rest of the day unloading the remainder of the furniture and putting together the bedroom set. Once that was done, Abby made the bed.
After much deliberation, the sofa and side chairs were placed in the living room and the dining room set put in place. The bookcases would not fit in the nook Tim planned to use as his office, so they went downstairs to the finished family room.
His desk, typewriter and a smaller bookcase fit nicely into the bump out. They were done with as much as they could do by 4p.m.
Tony and Ziva invited everyone over for dinner. It was just a low key affair. Ziva had made a chicken and biscuit casserole, which everyone scarfed down in record time.
A large salad and cheesy potato straws completed the meal. For dessert, Ziva made a delicious red-velvet cake.
She had not been allowed to do any lifting during the move, so she felt this was her contribution.
"Oh, my God, Ziva! This is so good. Can I have your recipe?" Abby asked in between bites of the chicken dish. Ziva smiled.
"It is actually Mimi's recipe." Abby whipped her pony tails around to look at Mimi. "Can I have it too?"
Mimi laughed. 'Of'course, Abby. It is an easy dish, and does its job."
"That's for sure." Gibbs mumbled through his chewing.
Lily had stayed home, to study. Tony cleared his throat. "Hey, Boss, Mimi; we may have a solution to Lily and Sean's date, although I'm not sure she will like it."
Gibbs and Mimi looked up. "Ok, you've got our attention."
"Well, considering their lack of mobility, obviously going out dancing isn't an option. First dates are usually movies. If they don't feel like they are being chaperoned, they can have their "movie date" downstairs in our media room."
"We can set it up down there like a real theater: popcorn, soda, water, hotdogs, nachos; whatever they want."
"We can hang out at your place while they're on their date, or stay upstairs, depending on Sean's parents. I mean, it's not like he's going to get much further than first base."
Ziva looked confused. "They will be playing baseball?"
Gibb chuckled. "First base is kissing, second base is…"
"Yes! Ok, I understand." Ziva held up her hand for him to stop.
Mimi thought about it. "I think that's very generous of you guys, and I like it. So I guess the question is what they will think about it and of'course when to do this. The next weekend is obviously out. And I don't think their first date should be a wedding."
Everyone smiled at that. "We'll talk to her and let her talk to Sean. Sean's parents will have to get him over here, so there are some logistics that need to be addressed."
"But I think it's a good idea. Thanks for coming up with it." Mimi smiled.
"Hey, our pleasure. Besides, we figured Karina's first date would be in her Grandpa's basement, showing her wannabe boyfriend the finer points of sanding with the grain."
Everyone burst out laughing at that, including Karina. "Papa!" She clapped.
No one stayed long. Everyone was tired and they knew Tim and Abby wanted to get started on their first night in their new home.
Tim, Abby and Jethro walked one block over to their home. They walked around, looking at their furniture, their special treasures.
Tim put his arm around Abby's waist. "I still can't believe it's ours, Abby. Hope Jethro settles down and sleeps ok tonight."
Jethro wasn't quite sure what had just transpired, but he was with his Daddy and Mommy, so that was all that mattered. He explored every nook and cranny of the house.
He ran all over the back yard. Fortunately, Bailey wasn't out at the moment, so they didn't have to deal with the confusion of him being there, but not being there.
Jethro however, did hone in on that corner where the two yards joined. Finally tired out by his efforts, Jethro came back in and went upstairs to join Tim and Abby.
They took their first shower in their home together. It was a beautiful bathroom and they were both thrilled with it.
"Just think, this time next week, we will be married." Tim kissed Abby. Abby snuggled into Tim's arms. "I know! I can't believe it's almost here. I am so excited."
The plan was for Abby to spend the night at Gibbs and Mimi's Friday night. Ziva and Carol would come over that morning to get ready with Abby and Lily.
Gibbs ordered a limo to take the Bridal party to the convent chapel, where the wedding would take place a 2 p.m. They would all then return to Tony and Ziva's for the catered reception.
Ziva had considered catering it herself, but with both her and Tony in the wedding, plus Karina, plus being in her fourth month of pregnancy, she deferred to popular opinion and picked out a caterer with Abby.
Their back yard was being set up with a raised platform stage for dancing, with a DJ. Tents were on standby in case the weather did not cooperate, but so far the weather forecasts were calling for a beautiful day.
The boys went out Wednesday night. Tim wanted a low-key affair, no heavy drinking, shots, or naked woman. But they did do Karaoke. Only Gibbs did not participate, but he did cheer the others on.
"There is not enough alcohol in this world to get me up on that platform and sings words from a rolling screen." He stated.
Tony, Jimmy, Kyle and Ducky more than made up for the missing singer. Even Tim got up the courage to sing a song, which was actually kind of raunchy and even Tony admitted he did a good job at it. Luca enjoyed everyone's singing, but was in Gibbs' camp as far as getting up on the stage.
They got Tim to agree to one round of shots. "To Tim and Abby!" The group toasted. As one, they all downed their shots.
Yay, they got the house! The wedding is the next chapter. Thanks again for the great reviews!