Chapter 26
By the time everyone was dressed, the streets were clear. While Greg and Kyle waited in the house, Tim took Marissa's seat out of the van and installed it in the Challenger. Then he and the boys piled into the van, on their way to visit Patrick. The boys had manila envelopes full of photos, drawings and paintings for their father's room. Before they left Brambury, they'd made paper flowers for their mother's grave and Tim brought small clear plastic bags and small stakes to protect and anchor the flowers. Greg had worried that his mother didn't have flowers on her grave and now she would, all the time.
When they reached Restful Haven, the three of them entered the room together. Telling their father who was there, the boys told him everything they'd saved up since the previous Sunday. Tim took the current items off the corkboard and laid the new artwork across the foot of the bed, in the order the boys chose. He put most of it up, leaving some for the boys to do themselves. At Bethesda, Kyle had been too little to reach the corkboard, now there was a sturdy little stool he could stand on to work with Greg. In another year, he wouldn't need the stool.
When the boys were done telling their father all their news, they swapped places with Papa and put up the rest of the artwork while Tim spoke with his little brother. It was good to know that they would be back at least once, probably twice more before they returned to Brambury. The last thing they did was put up the tiny Christmas tree they'd brought last year. Kissing him goodbye and telling him they'd be back in a few days, the boys and Tim left. There'd been no change in his condition, none whatsoever in the 16 months since Tim first walked into the room and recognized his long-dead brother.
As they walked from the cemetery parking area to Kathy Hart's grave, Tim smiled at the flowers he saw in front of it. He motioned to the boys, "Your mom has flowers, boys."
Greg sighed in relief, he'd been concerned about that for months. He'd remembered that his father would bring his mother flowers whenever he came home from a trip. Now he looked at the flowers, red and white with a candy cane stick standing amidst them. "Someone brought her Christmas flowers and there's a note!" He pulled the note up and read it, "Kathy, it's Christmas time and we miss you. Your boys are doing so well with Tim, I know you'd be pleased. I miss you, dear friend. Love from Lu."
Greg stood there for a minute before putting the note back. "That's supposed to be for Mom."
"It is, son, thanks for putting it back. These are nice flowers, aren't they?"
"Yes, Papa." Greg touched them again after he'd returned the note, "They're not real!"
"The love is real though, Greg. And these will last for a long time, as will your flowers."
"That's good, huh, Papa?" Kyle looked at him a little anxiously.
"Yes, sweetie, that's very good. Come on, let's put your flowers out and then we'll say a prayer."
They put their flowers in the plastic bags, smoothing them out before they closed the bags and then Papa used the stakes to anchor them in the ground. When they were done, they held hands and said a few prayers, both boys crying. Tim held them close, comforting them while he wondered where his own mother was buried. He would like to know. He wondered if he'd ever had memories of his mother and forgotten them as he aged or if he'd been too young, younger than Kyle was, to have any memories.
They'd come back here, too. Tim wondered if taking a photo of Kathy's grave would be helpful for the boys to have while they lived so far away. He asked them if they'd like a picture with all the flowers and they nodded yes. Arranging Greg and Kyle so everything was in the shot, Tim took several just to make sure.
Walking back to the car, hand in hand, Kyle said, "Daddy, can Aunty Lu be our grandmother?"
Tim looked at him in surprise while Greg fidgeted, finally saying, "She's like a mom to you. She always kisses you when you see her and you always kiss her goodbye. She fusses over you, Aunty Sarah and the uncles, just like a mom."
He smiled, "You're right, she is like a mom to me. Yes, sweeties, this is a wonderful idea. Why don't you ask her?"
"Okay! Can we call her?"
"Sure." Tim looked at his watch, "This is a good time, she'll be in her office having a cup of coffee while the cleaning crew is working."
Sitting in the nice, warm van, Greg took Papa's phone, found Lu's number and pressed the call icon. When she answered, she sounded surprised, "Timothy, is everything all right?"
"Hi, Aunty Lu, it's Greg and Kyle and everything is all right. We're with Papa at Mama's grave and saw the flowers. Thank you, they're pretty and red was her favorite color."
"You are welcome, Gregory. I know she'd be happy you two are doing so well."
Kyle leaned over, "Hi, Aunty Lu. Will you please be our grandma? You're like Daddy's mama and we think you should be our grandma, me, Greg, Andy and Rissa."
"Oh! Thank you, yes, I'd love to be your grandma. Does your papa know?"
"I do, Lu and it's a wonderful idea. I'm glad you've said yes!"
"Oh, you three, now you've made me cry."
"We didn't mean to make you sad, Grandma."
"I'm not sad, sweetheart, I'm very happy, thrilled to be your grandmother!"
After talking for a few more minutes, they disconnected, the boys, Tim, and Lu on the other end, very happy and excited. As soon as the cleaning crew was done, Lu was off duty until Friday morning and loved the idea of going ice skating. The boys decided to make it a surprise for Grandpa which Tim agreed was an excellent idea.
Back home, Tim started prepping for a hot lunch before their ice skating adventure. Once he'd done the prep, he and the boys decided to take a nap. The kids cuddled with him in his and Artie's bed, the three of them quickly falling asleep.
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Ice skating was a blast! They all went, Geo said he didn't want to sit around at home. He couldn't skate but he could watch and he was sure there would be plenty of hot chocolate to keep him warm. While Andy needed a few tips, he was fine once he got going. His parents were wobblier than he was but eventually got it together, skating beautifully together, their children occasionally joining them. Dad was thrilled when Lu walked in and when she told him about the boys' call, he kissed all of them. Andy and Rissa greeted her as Grandma and asked if they could also call her 'yaya', which she loved. Now she had two grandma names!
Dad and Lu skated together nearly the whole time, with and without the children. Marissa took a class geared for toddlers and was soon skating gracefully around the rink, her nervous parents, grandfather, new grandmother, aunt and uncles keeping eyes on her. Greg and Kyle took about a minute to get back into the groove and had a great time, having even more fun when Andy joined them. Geo called encouragement and teases as each of his family members skated by him.
The public skating hours were an hour longer in the afternoon than the morning and the family skated for most of the 3 hours before breaking for hot chocolate and deciding they'd had enough for one day. On the way home, Geo asked if there were areas for skating in Brambury and Sarah said yes, the local fitness center had a rink that was open to members and their families, as long as the member accompanied the non-members. Tim remembered his resolution last summer to join the center so they could swim year round. As soon as they reached the house, he and Artie talked about it, deciding to look into a family membership. When the kids were asleep that night, they went online and made the purchase, effective the first of the year. Once they got home, they could swim and skate all they wanted. Although the ice skating rink probably wasn't kept up in the summer.
When they told the kids the next morning, they were so excited they jumped up and down. Swimming, all the time, wow! Dad, Sarah, Rob and Geo were pretty happy too as the membership included them. Geordie was a little relieved, once he was more stable on his feet, he could swim and generally get back in shape. While he knew he'd never again be in the shape in which his work had kept him, he still wanted to be in the best shape possible.
Thursday morning had another surprise for the children, snow! The adults knew it was forecast but decided to keep it a secret from the kids. And if there was enough of the white stuff, today would be the day they'd drive up to what Greg and Kyle called 'their' mountain for some snowy fun! Sledding, maybe some snowball 'fights' and making snow people. After the fun of building snowmen in the gardens in Brambury, Artie had suggested that they build a snow family the next time it snowed.
Artie made the announcement about going to 'their' mountain when the kids finished eating breakfast. After the boys calmed down, they got busy putting their snow clothes on, Aunty Sarah helping Rissa while the rest of the adults cleaned up the breakfast dishes and got themselves ready. Once again, Geordie wanted to go. He'd take the walker and cane with him just in case and his boots had survived plenty of time in snow country, they'd be fine. Dad had an extra heavy jacket that worked well for Geo along with thick socks for those boots, gloves, scarf and wool cap. Dad also had a type of charger that plugged into the cigarette lighter in the Challenger or van to heat water, so they brought thermoses of hot water, numerous packets of hot chocolate and hot cider mix, enough hot cups for everyone and packed a lunch along with plenty of snacks. If the water had cooled too much by the time they were ready to make their drinks, they could heat it up again!
They'd also take enough warm blankets for everyone and a thick foam pad for Geordie or Rob if either needed to rest or get out of the cold. Along with a first aid kit and his medical bag, Rob also tucked in a book, a folding beach chair and a battery operated light as he figured he'd likely be the first one to use the van to warm up. They were just finishing loading when Lu arrived, decked out in her snowy best and excited about their excursion.
They had a wonderful time in the snow, using 2 sleds and, along with Kelly's old saucer, 2 more they borrowed from the Walshes, Dad's across-the-street-neighbors. Rissa wore Kyle's snowshoes and had a wonderful time stomping around in the snow. She and Kyle went down a 'bunny' slope with Papa and then Grandpa, yelling their little lungs out the whole way.
While Artie was nervous about the toddler going any higher, she watched Kyle climb nearly halfway up the mountain with Tim and then shout with glee all the way down. Never one to be left behind, Rissa started climbing the hill by herself before her mama could say yes or no. Tim caught up with her and the two of them sledded down from the same spot he'd just left with Kyle. Like her brother, she shouted and squealed with glee the whole way down.
Andy and Greg were allowed to go farther up the hill, once Papa and Grandpa had tested it. Both rode down with one of their adults, including Rob, the first few times. Andy had seen snow and played in it but had never ridden a sled down a snow covered hill. While the kids were sledding, Sarah and Geo got busy making the bases for several snow people of various sizes, Rob eventually joining them.
After an hour on the slopes, Papa declared a break and the kids took a closer look at what their aunty and uncles had been up to. After hot chocolate, they decided to work on the snow people which Uncle Geo declared a snow family. The adults brought enough rocks, carrots, old scarves and hats for each snow person. Everyone got busy making the rest of the snow people, finishing Grandpa and Marissa's snow doppelgangers first. Grandpa's snowman had a fishing hat while Marissa's snow girl had a length of yarn tied around her head with some curls hanging down. Grandpa had a saw, hammer and the words 'Boss' written and drawn with a stick on his snow person, Grandma had a roof and two stick figures being hugged drawn on hers, Uncle Tony had a badge and a reel of film, Uncle Geo a helmet and boot, Artie had Engineer written with a drawing of a bridge underneath while Aunt Sarah and Papa each had a drawing of a book with a pen, Papa also had a badge, and Uncle Rob a medical bag with the initials 'MD'. Andy and Greg both had open books, Kyle also had the word Engineer with a drawing of a train car and Rissa had a teddy bear drawn on hers. All lined up, from Grandpa to Marissa they looked impressive and they laughed when they realized Papa and Mama's snow people were 'holding hands' and each had drawn a heart pointing to the other. With the last of the sticks they'd found, Artie wrote in the snow in front of the snow family, "We Are Family!" When she'd finished, Kyle and Rissa enlarged the letters with their feet. Then they took photos, lots of photos. A lady from a group sledding nearby came over and took photos with the family standing behind their individual snow people.
After a snowball fight, safely away from their snow doppelgangers, they had lunch and then returned to the hill for more sledding. Another hour and a half of that and it was time to go home. The temperature was dropping, clouds had gathered and Grandpa said he didn't want to drive home in a blizzard or on icy roads. Taking one last photo of their snow family, the littles saying goodbye to them, they climbed into the van and headed home, beating the new storm by just a few minutes. They were nearly home when the snow started and when it started it was like someone had popped a big balloon full of snow! Papa and Sarah said Lu should stay overnight because the roads were quickly becoming too slick to drive safely and she agreed. The kids cheered when they heard, that was a great ending to their perfect day together.
By the time they went to bed that night, Greg, Andy and Kyle were getting a little anxious about the snow as they were supposed to get their tree tomorrow and Grandpa was spending most of the day after that, Saturday, with Aunt Abby. They hoped they could still go tomorrow. While the Galanises had had Christmas trees, Andy had never been to a tree farm where you could cut down the one you wanted, ride in a horse drawn sleigh with cookies, hot drinks and Christmas elves! He and Greg had a giggle over Elves in general as one of Andy's favorite books was "The Hobbit" and Greg was reading it now.
All three boys were up early the next morning, being very careful not to wake Rissa. In their robes and slippers, they tiptoed down the stairs, finding Papa, Grandpa and Grandma in the kitchen. Grandma had shared Sarah's room last night and said she was used to being up early and couldn't go back to sleep.
Grandpa cooked, it was his turn for breakfast although Tim thought he might also want to show off a little. Their street would be plowed by 8, the roads to the Christmas tree farm by 10; their trek was on! Within a few minutes everyone was up and they had a hot, hearty breakfast. As Lu had already called off work, she said Handley owed her anyway, she'd go with them to the tree farm, like most of them, she'd never been to one. All the snow clothes from yesterday had been washed and dried, their boots dried in front of the fire last night. They were set to go, as soon as the roads were also ready.
While they waited, beds were made, clothes, shoes, toys and books picked up and several boxes of Christmas decorations brought down from the attic. When Grandpa opened a box with the tunnel, village and people for the train, the boys cheered! They found the white sheet for their fake snow in the linen closet and the boxes with the lights came up from the basement. With a laugh, Papa got out the swear jar and the boys laughed, even Andy, who remembered the story about last Christmas. With a smile, Artie brought down Christmas stockings, one for each of them, including Lu, Tony and Abby. She, Susannah and Rissa had decorated them.
When even Rissa, normally the most patient of the children, got ancy to leave, Papa, Artie, and Grandpa had a quiet conversation, making a quick decision. They opened a few of the boxes with decorations Papa and Grandpa knew weren't for the tree and the kids started decorating the living room with elves, Santas from different places and the Manger.
Rissa got to pick where that would go, on top of a short bookcase, and Greg put the shepherd out while Andy hung the angel on the front of the stable and Kyle and Rissa placed Mary and Joseph. Greg put most of the sheep and cows out and then the boys grinned when Uncle Rob added a giraffe, Aunt Sarah added a donkey, Uncle Geo an elephant, Papa a bear, Mama a kangaroo complete with two joeys in her pouch, Grandma a tiger and Grandpa a lion! With a chuckle, Uncle Geo suggested they move the predators to one side of the manger to give the prey a chance to run if the lion, bear and tiger got hungry.
Grandpa said he'd looked up what animals were in Israel during biblical times and all of the new animals had lived there along with ostriches, crocodiles and coyotes! Uncle Geo attached the star on its wire 'stem' to the back of the manger and they were done. They'd scatter some of the greenery brought back from the tree farm around later. Greg said they'd better feed the lion, tiger and bear first while Kyle said he hoped the camels and the kangaroo would help the others.
The plow was just starting on their street, the kids watched from the window, counting houses, they were the 4th house down from the cross street. The plow driver waved to them as he pushed past their house. Tim and Grandpa were already in the driveway, moving snow off the van, the truck and some of the driveway. They'd take the van today, the tree would fit nicely on the roof. Gibbs threw extra lengths of rope in the back while some of the blankets from yesterday made their way back into the cargo space. Papa checked, and the roads they'd drive to the tree farm were already plowed. Finally they were on the road! Grandpa drove, as he had more experience with snowy roads, particularly these snowy roads.
There were smiles all around when they reached the tree farm and Andy spotted the horse and sleigh right away. Grandpa parked close to the little store, easier to do this year as there were only 2 other cars there.
Out they went, Tim taking the Daddy pack for Rissa or Kyle if either got too tired. Geo walked as far as the sleigh. They all climbed in, covering up with blankets and singing Christmas carols as the horse pulled them around and up the hill. The others got out while Geordie was given a ride back to the store. There he was given a comfortable chair to sit by the window so he could watch his family. What he could see of them, they were up on the hill when Rob turned, waved and pointed over and down at something. Geo remembered Greg telling him they'd hiked into a little valley last year, maybe Gibbs, he was starting to think of him as 'Dad', had spotted another perfect tree. Looking around, Geordie saw some cute stuff that would be fun gifts. He quickly purchased several items and was back in his chair when, several minutes later, Tim, Rissa in the Daddy pack, Rob, and Artie appeared, hiking down to the store. They greeted Geo happily, they had indeed found 'the tree' in the same little hollow and had come down with the tag to pay for it. Rissa and Rob stayed with Geo while the others walked back up with the lumberjacks. The little girl and her uncle stood by the electric fireplace for a few minutes, warming up and then Rob also started noticing the merchandise. In the meantime, the store elves brought hot cider around for each of them and asked if they would each like a cookie. Rob nodded, Artie and Tim let the kids have cookies now and then. The men smiled as they bit into the warm-from-the-oven treats. Rissa ate it in little bites, having her face cleaned after she finished. She giggled as Uncle Rob washed her face, the cookie was wonderful. She sat on Uncle Geo's lap while Uncle Rob did a bit of shopping, the elves cleverly warning him off when he was too interested in something his brother had already purchased.
Finally, Rissa squealed, "There they are!" Tim, Artie, Greg, Kyle, Andy, Gibbs and Sarah marched down the hill behind the two lumberjacks carrying the tree. The watchers could see Kyle was flagging and then Tim stopped, Artie picked the little guy up and maneuvered him into the Daddy pack. He did not look happy but someone must have said something because a smile appeared and he spread his arms. Geo smiled, "Look, Kyle is King of the World!"
Rissa giggled, saying, "I was big on Papa's back! Now Kyle's big."
When they arrived home with the tree, Artie and Rob helped them straighten it in the tree stand and then she,Tim, and Rob put the lights on, with the kids helping with the lower branches as they had last year. The brothers put them on the very top of the tree, then Dad and Artie had the next part, then Andy and Aunty Sarah did the middle while Kyle, Rissa and Greg did the bottom. Geo was the director, telling them where additional or fewer lights needed to go. The 'Swear Jar' was empty. They did the same thing with the ornaments and that was more fun for Geo as he controlled not only where but what colors should go next to each other.
Greg was lifted to put the star on the tree, just as Grandpa and Papa promised last year. Next year it would be Kyle's turn, then Andy, then Rissa and then they'd start over. All four of the kids helped with the train set up. Greg and Andy put the tracks around the tree and Tim remembered that had been a challenge last year. Then Kyle and Rissa scooted under with the other two, placing the train on the tracks, testing it to make sure it worked and then putting the tunnel and everything else out. The kids ooh'd and ahh'd when Grandpa produced several more wooden people, one representing each one of them, including Aunty Susannah, and each one of their family and friends here. There was also a new building, a train station for Brambury-Alexandria, with doors that opened and closed! They all cheered when a miniature of their blue van appeared. They looked carefully at it before Papa put it with the other cars and exclaimed when they counted heads, all the kids, parents, grandpa, grandma, aunties and uncles were in it.
When Lu asked later how he'd done it, Jethro laughed, saying, "It's just four blocks of wood. I carved the heads and glued a few arms in and that was it. I had to do a little more for you, Rob, Tim, Artie, her sister Susannah, Sarah, Tony, and me because we're taller than the kids but I drew it out first. Once I had them all carved and painted, I installed the wood blocks in the van, like putting a row of seats in, then I glued the top on and gave it a little trim so you can't see the seam. Already had the windows done with Tim's arm out and waving."
"Did you sign it?"
"Yes, I wasn't going to but I showed Geordie and he talked me into it so I did. I wrote a little story on the bottom, where Big Blue lives and all of our names, ages and the date."
"Oh, Jethro! And that will ultimately be for Kyle?"
"He's our train guy, yes."
"That's wonderful, I imagine it will remain a treasure for the rest of his life."
That got her a kiss on the cheek and they smiled at each other. Jethro wasn't sure why and he'd decided not to think about it, but somehow Lu being 'grandma' to his grandchildren made things easier for the two of them to resume their fledgling relationship. And then it might have been Tim and Artie's relationship that encouraged them. Or that their families had somehow merged.
Lu thought Geo was the last piece of the family puzzle. He, Tim, Sarah, and Rob had been a family unit with strong links to her and the guys, another family unit in which Geo had roots. Tim's sibling unit had merged with Tim's NCIS family, eventually pulling Lu, Bill, Barry, Freddie, and Jose with them. But they'd still been short a link and now with Geo home, that link was in place.
In the meantime, new links had been forged with Artie, Andy and Marissa and who knew who, where or with what those links would connect with next.
Lu left in the late afternoon. She was working tonight.
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Saturday was Gibbs' day with Abby and they had a fun itinerary planned. He picked her up in the truck at 10:00 and they headed to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center for the annual car show. With over 600 new models from 35 manufacturers, with every kind of engineering imaginable, they had a great time looking and asking questions. Abby's favorite thing was a special area set aside for live painting of 'art' cars. Gibbs had to admit it was interesting to watch.
From there, they went to lunch at a café Abby had suggested. The food was good and they spent nearly an hour just talking. Gibbs was curious about her relationship with Freddie and she told him how much easier it was with him than it had ever been with anyone else. She also admitted that scared her but she was determined not to 'run' or break it off because of her fear, not this time.
Gibbs huffed when she said, almost word to word, what he'd said to Tim last year about seeing Lu; Abby was afraid that if she screwed this up, it could damage the family ties they'd built between the Baltimore family and the NCIS family. He smiled proudly when she said they were taking things very slowly, that Freddie was just as scared as she was. Then she laughed, explaining fear of a serious relationship was one of the things they had in common.
She asked him questions about living outside the U.S. and in particular, living in the UK and he told her more about their travels, how they could get around without driving, the ease of taking the Tube or train, even buses. He told her about Warwick Castle and the life-sized knight mounted on his steed.
With a shake of his head, he said that sometimes it felt surreal when they visited someplace he'd always wanted to see, like the Changing of the Guard, Stonehenge, or Salisbury Cathedral. He leaned forward in his chair, "I've been to the Czech Republic, Abby! Americans weren't even allowed to go there, it was a Communist country when I was growing up, even into adulthood. That's…it just blows my mind sometimes. And Greece, another wow, places I never thought I'd see – or stay. A villa on a private beach? Not even in my wildest dreams! On the way back from Edinburgh, we stopped in Liverpool to see where the Beatles got started! Me, a kid from Stillwater, got to walk in the steps of the Fab Four. You need to come over, visit. There's so much to see and do, so much we've heard about all our lives but never thought we'd experience." He grinned, "There's a lot here to see and do, too, but somehow we don't get to it. Maybe that's the impetus over there, we know we have a limited time and there's so much."
She was laughing, she'd rarely heard him so excited or speak so much. She did say she was planning to visit in the new year though. "Maybe while Artie's in Turkey, it would be fun to visit her there."
Gibbs nodded, "We're all excited about that."
From the café, they headed into the District to the Kennedy Center for a 'sing-a-long' music celebration of Handel's Messiah, featuring the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra. When Gibbs had suggested going to a holiday 'sing-a-long', he'd been thinking Christmas carols. When Abby wanted to sing the Messiah, he had to think about it. He and Shannon had been part of a Community chorus before Kelly was born and they'd sung the Messiah at a couple of Christmas events. Tim helped him find the lyrics online and recordings on YouTube. He'd listened several times before he sang along with the YouTube recording, practicing several times before they left for home. He was prepared, he hoped.
When Abby admitted she'd had to look up the lyrics and practice with YouTube, he laughed, telling her he'd done the same thing. Both feeling better, they smiled as they walked into the Kennedy Center.
Their practice paid off as the two of them sang confidently, listening for their individual parts. They enjoyed it so much they decided their friends and family should join them next year. Tony, Ducky, and Jimmy all had good voices and liked to sing and Gibbs thought the rest of the family might enjoy it, too. Abby pulled up a calendar for 2016 on her phone and made a note in November to talk to the others about joining in.
Not quite ready to end their day, they stopped at a shop called "Pie Sisters" in Georgetown. They each ordered a 'cup pie', smaller than a whole slice. That way, they could each order 2 without feeling too guilty. Abby ordered Bourbon Chocolate Pecan and Apple Caramel Crunch while Gibbs ordered Key Lime and Jumble Berry, a mix of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. Once their order arrived, they split each cup pie with the other so that each of them had bites of four pies to enjoy. Gibbs noticed Abby had hot tea to go with her pie and she nodded, "I'm trying not to drink Caf!Pows outside of work, Ducky says it's time to cut back. I get too wired and I guess I can't handle it the way I used to."
Gibbs nodded, "That's good, Abs, I'm glad to hear you're taking care of yourself. I worry about that."
"Me taking care of myself? Gibbs, you're the king of 'I'm fine, leave me alone'!"
"Yeah, I know but I'm changing too. Have more to live for with all of you. I want to be around as long as possible."
"Aww, that's sweet and kind of scary. Not you being around but thinking about all of us growing older. I still feel like I'm 15!" She twisted her lips and rolled her eyes, "Maybe 30."
He laughed, "That's not bad. No deflecting, Abby, you do need to take of yourself. Maybe let Leon hire an assistant for you. You know if you vetted the applicants, maybe even supplied the interview questions, you could find someone you want to work with, not someone forced on you."
"Who ends up framing Tony for murder or murdering a Marine Officer!"
"Yes."
She nodded, "I think that's a good idea. I'm not 15 – or 30 – anymore. And there are competent people out there. I just don't know if I'd be a good boss." She grinned, "I have my own way of doing things and I'd have to make sure this person would understand Major Mass Spec and my other babies."
Gibbs nodded, "Which means you write another version of "Abby's Lab for Dummies". An assistant's manual. Make sure they read it, go over it with them. Maybe ask for a probationary period."
"Oh! Gibbs, that's brilliant! I could do that. A year's probationary period!"
He chuckled, "You might need to talk with Vance and HR about a year. Ducky can help you with HR, remember Jimmy is his 4th Assistant."
"I forgot about the others. Not Gerald, but that was different."
"Yes."
While they were still talking, Gibbs ordered 2 pies to go, a Key lime and one of the Apple Caramel Crunch. When they noticed people waiting for tables, they gathered their coats, gloves, hats and scarves, Gibbs making sure he had the 2 pies before he paid the bill.
He walked Abby to her apartment, checking it before he left, first listening to the door locks being engaged . After their experience with Mikel Mawher, he'd insisted on that routine with whoever drove her home. She now had one of Tim's alarms and the best locks, electronic and manual, on the market. He'd also persuaded her to have a 'duress' word to use if she was in trouble, being threatened. All that after he'd read her the riot act for disobeying the orders of her protection detail. She'd never forget that!
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When Gibbs walked into the house, he took the pies into the kitchen, tucking them into a cabinet and returned to the living room, smiling, and saying, "House looks great, very festive!"
Artie and Sarah smiled, "Thank you! Did you have fun? Don't forget to look at the table, the boys set it for us."
Gibbs looked, "Looks great! Yeah, we had a good time. And I meant to ask if we're using the china this year."
"That's a good question. The china has settings for 12 and Christmas Eve there will be 15 of us."
Tim looked at Artie, Sarah, Geo, and Rob, who all nodded. "Dad, we have an early Christmas present for you. This is from all of us, Tony…oh, here he is!"
Tony nearly ran in the door. "I'm here!"
Gibbs frowned, "Thought you had a hot date?"
"I do but it's not for two hours, she lives over this way and I didn't want to miss this. I brought my stuff, okay if I take a shower and get ready here?"
"Of course."
Tony looked at the others and smiled. "All right. This is from all of us here. When Tim and Artie were looking at dishes, they discovered something and hatched a plan. Sarah, Rob?"
Sarah had disappeared into the kitchen and now she and Rob rolled out a two tiered cart holding several wrapped boxes. "The cart is for the house but not part of the present."
Perplexed, Gibbs sat down and took one of the boxes from the cart. Opening it, he looked at it and then his mouth dropped open. "Is this…it looks like Shannon's china!"
"Yes. We found it on various online sites."
"All this? We could never find any more. They said the pattern was discontinued."
Tim nodded, "It was and still is. However, other people had also purchased it and sometimes they sell it online. I've had it on a 'wish list' on eBay since last Christmas and was notified when someone posted some for sale. We bought the 3 sets they had, 12 place settings. Then James' mother spotted several sets on a British site and let Sarah know, so that brought us to 7 sets, enough for 28 place settings and then Artie saw a set listed on a swap site, sort of like an online garage sale, so now you have 32 place settings."
"Wow, this is…unbelievable!" He laughed, "I need to stop making fun of the internet. First you teach me to read the news online and now we finally have enough china!"
Rob snorted, "Don't want to destroy your reputation as a Luddite!" They chuckled at that.
Sarah tilted her head, "How about we use the good china for Christmas Eve or Christmas dinner?"
"Works for me! Let's leave everything on the cart and stash it in the laundry room for now. Great cart, by the way."
Tony smiled, "I found that at a home goods store and remembered us having to schlep dishes to and from the table last year, thought it would be handy."
Dad kissed each of them and then Tony grabbed his belongings, hurrying up the stairs to the master bath. He didn't want to tie up the downstairs or kids' bathrooms. Dad looked puzzled as his eldest nearly ran up the stairs, "I thought he had two hours?"
Tim smiled, "He did and he does. Takes awhile to get ready for a date with a very special person."
Sarah gave a half smile, fiercely missing James. She'd talked with him yesterday but that made her miss him even more. "What does everyone feel like doing this evening?"
Artie smiled at her, understanding her feelings, "Granducky is coming for dinner!"
"Yay! Can we watch movies after dinner?"
"Good idea!" Tim thought about what movies they had, some of the kids' classics. They could watch a short one geared for toddlers and preschoolers first, then after the littles were in bed, watch a movie geared toward Greg's age. He'd ask Andy but didn't think he'd mind.
"Kids, how about I put them all out and each of you chose one you want to see, then we'll have Grandpa randomly pick one."
"With his eyes closed, Daddy?"
"You remember that, Kyle? Ok, with his eyes closed."
Ducky was amused, when he walked into the house, to find his old friend, a frilly scarf tied around his eyes, picking out children's movies to watch. Tim had apparently placed the younger children's movies in a specific spot because Jethro's hands went straight there. When he heard two young voices cheering, he stopped and picked up the DVD box. Taking the blindfold off, he chuckled, "Ah, a Thomas movie, great!"
It was a relaxing family evening, one they'd repeat during the countdown to Christmas and the wedding.
Sunday morning was overcast, although no snow was forecast. To Gibbs' relief, the roads weren't icy. Tim and Artie were taking the two older boys to church this morning, to Saint Sophia's Cathedral in the District. Gibbs and Sarah were going with them, neither of them had ever been to an Orthodox service. They'd take the van and meet Geordie and Rob at Ducky's home in Georgetown afterward. Ducky was hosting a 'make-your-own-pizza' party for the children, with help from Tobias, Emily, Kayla and Jared Vance. The only child missing would be Victoria Palmer, who was spending the day with her Slater grandparents.
After dropping off the boys and picking up Rob and Geordie, the van would head off to Café DuPont for the brunch with Gibbs' grown kids.
To everyone's relief, the service was the length of time they'd estimated and they said goodbye to the children and hello to Geo and Rob just as planned. Traffic wasn't bad and everyone was on time. With 11 of them, they were happy to have a large round table.
They had a wonderful time and the food was great too, Gibbs had picked the restaurant because they served steak and eggs. Between Geordie and Tony, some of them were sore from laughing by the time they left. Ellie, Jimmy, and Breena had fun getting to know the brothers, Sarah, and Artie better. While Ellie knew the NCIS family, she didn't know Rob very well and as with everyone but the core McGees and the gang in Baltimore, she'd only met Geordie last week. Abby knew more about the brothers through all the stories she'd heard from Freddie although she'd known Sarah for a few years. Breena knew the NCIS family, had met Sarah and Rob a few times now, but like Ellie, Geordie was new to her. And seeing them all together with Gibbs the proud papa, was really something else.
Rob sat next to Ellie and they talked quite a bit, much to Tim's delight as shy Rob sometimes had problems with groups like this. But he was relaxed with Gibbs, his siblings and Artie, giving him enough confidence to join in the fun and to speak with Ellie. They were surprised to find they were the same age and that gave them even more to talk about. Before the group dispersed, Ellie and Rob had decided to be each other's date for the wedding. It was half joke, half neither wanted to be in a happy crowd without someone else with whom to hang out.
When they finally left the restaurant, Dad took off with Tony as they had plans for the afternoon. The Virginia Cavaliers were playing the Savannah State Tigers and they had courtside tickets.
Stopping at Ducky's for the kids, the van full of McGees, Galanises and the lone Perry went home. They spent a mostly quiet afternoon, the children playing in their room or watching movies, Tim set up the portable DVD player, adults reading, watching TV, wrapping gifts or in Geordie's case, ordering them.
His pay from the Corps had finally shown up, after mysteriously coming to a halt when he was in the hospital overseas. When he'd told Director Vance about his orders having been delayed, he also mentioned the lack of pay. Last night when he'd checked, he'd found several deposits into his account. Now he was shopping! With his current mobility problems, physically shopping at brick and mortar stores was an impossibility. Tim helped him out, having him use his account, with free shipping on many items, on one of his favorite online shopping sites. Geordie had a great time filling the shopping cart, planning to winnow his selections down to what he really wanted before purchasing. Like Tim the year before, he was happy to find many items could be gift wrapped before they were shipped. It was worth the extra money!
While Geordie shopped, Rob decided they needed some exercise. Gathering the kids first, he asked if they'd rather go for a walk or play in the backyard. The backyard won and once they'd sufficiently bundled up, the kids had a great time. Geordie kept an eye on them while the rest of the adults went for a walk. The fresh air and movement felt good, especially after their brunch.
Dad was back from the game in time for dinner and with some help, persuaded Tony to join them. He enjoyed being with them, thinking this was really the first time all week he'd spent time with just his family, not that he begrudged anyone else spending time with them! He stayed until Kyle's bedtime before saying his own goodnight and promising to come for dinner whenever he could. He'd really enjoyed his afternoon with his chosen father, enjoying the game and his company. He hoped he'd be able to have dinner with his family at least once this week, before Christmas Eve.
When Artemis asked Tim about his 'old' team, how it was different from the team he'd left last year, he told her more about Ziva and their ongoing half-belief, half-tease that she was a ninja warrior. How tough it had been for her to break through her years of training to become an investigator rather than a covert operative. Tim said, shaking his head, "She told me once that when she came here, she had to learn to trust, that she hadn't trusted anyone since she lost her sister and mother. And then her brother went rogue and was killed."
He went on to describe Ellie's eccentricities when she'd first worked with them, sitting on top of her desk or on the floor, eating almost constantly. "When she formally joined the team, she dropped her eccentricities, except she still has food with her all the time."
After they'd changed the subject, Tim's mind kept returning to Ziva and her trust issues. After their return from Somalia, when Ziva was preparing to return to work, subject to approval from Gibbs and Vance, she'd told Tim that in the weeks before Rivkin's shooting she'd been under more pressure from her father than usual. She said during that time she'd begun to distrust everyone around her, that eventually she'd forgotten who she could trust, that her NCIS colleagues were allies, not the enemy.
The more Tim thought about it, the more it bothered him and he finally realized he'd done nearly the same thing with NCIS last year. He'd immediately blamed Vance when the Legal Department said he couldn't be in contact with his team or anyone associated with the Hart case.
He'd forgotten who he could trust. Trust that had been hard to come by in the first place. Vance hadn't earned anyone's trust when he first took office, not after he split up the best team in the agency without telling them why. It took him some time to earn their trust after that but since then, Tim couldn't think of a single instance where the director had treated him distrustfully.
Now he saw that he'd reacted emotionally to the Legal Department's orders, further exacerbated by the 'leave of absence' situation. Luckily, he'd had the boys to care for and that forced him to deal with the situation sensibly rather than continuing to foster the negative emotions. Now he felt he owed Vance an apology, at least an explanation.
Sunday evening, he sent a text to the man, asking if he had time for a brief meeting during the week. Vance replied with a date and time, Tuesday, at 0930. That worked well, the rest of the family would be gone for most of the day on Monday; he and Artie were looking forward to having time alone together. He and the boys were going for haircuts first thing in the morning and then Rob, Sarah, and Dad were taking all four of the children to Six Flags theme park in Maryland for their "Holiday in the Park" event. Geo would ride with them to the park where Bill and Barry would meet him. Their friends had something planned, Geo wasn't sure what.
That night after the kids were in bed, the adults gathered around the dining room table, playing cards and relaxing, talking about their plans for the days running up to Christmas Eve. When there was a lull in the conversation, Dad smiled at Tim and Artie, sliding a small box across the table to them. "I made a call the other day and then Tony and I took a side trip on the way home from the game."
Puzzled, Artie saw that Tim understood. She opened the ring box and smiled at the gold wedding band inside. She saw a small diamond chip and held the ring out for Tim to try on. He blinked back tears as she slid it onto his ring finger, it fit perfectly. He looked at his father, "Jack's?"
"Yeah. I called LJ to see if he knew where it went and he said he had it, that Jack asked him to hold onto it until I came looking for it, for you or Tony."
Nodding, Tim kissed Artie and then standing, moved to his father's chair, squatting down and wrapping his arms around him, whispering, "Thank you. This is the one I hoped we'd find."
After a long embrace, he returned to his fiancée and they put the ring back in the box. Artie knew who Jack was, they all did. "Jethro, it doesn't even need cleaning!"
Dad nodded, "LJ said he had it cleaned after Jack gave it to him."
Artie took it upstairs to put with their wedding items and returning, found the conversation had returned to their plans for the week.
When Tim said he was meeting with Vance Tuesday morning, he got eyebrows from his father and older brother. Having already discussed it with Artie, he smiled, saying, "He and I need to talk about our plans. And his, I'm dying of curiosity."
That got smiles from everyone. He did have a chat with his father later, telling him what he'd realized about his behavior around his ouster from NCIS.
His father put his hands on his shoulders and squeezed, "You thought you were losing everything a second time, all of us, your job, your life here, when once again, you'd done nothing wrong, nothing to cause such forceful actions. Sent you to your knees for a few weeks but you didn't let it defeat you, son. Don't ever think that. You did what you needed to do and…and this was a big thing for you…you let your friends help you. And you know, those offers from Donovan at MIT and from Bedford didn't happen in a vacuum. Somehow, word was out there that you were available and they snapped you up.
"Yes, you lost your job, or thought you had. And yes, for a few weeks you lost us and we lost you. But you found a way around the rules or I should say bulldozed through them. So were you emotional? Yes. Would anyone else have reacted the same way you did? Yes, everyone I know, including me. If you, Tony, and Ziva hadn't quit during the Parsons fiasco, I would have been cut off from you. And I would not have done well, Timothy. Sometimes, son, I wish you would cut yourself some slack and just let yourself be Tim, without worrying so much. I understand why you do but I wish you could find a way to not worry."
Tim shook his head, "Pretty sure I was born this way."
Dad huffed, pulling him into his arms. "And I'm very certain it was your stepfather who was responsible for pushing you too much when you were younger than Rissa. But we're not gonna solve the mystery, not in this life, anyway." He pulled back to look at his son, "You're thinking of coming home after Bedford."
"Yes. We didn't move to the UK to experience the world outside of the U.S., although that's been the result. We moved there to be safe from Hatman and his goons. For the most part, we've been safe and will be here at home. This is my home, your home, our friends and family are here. We have a good life over there, the job, the people, the town, the travel, have all been great, fun and exciting. And Artie and I reconnected, I found my son, all wonderful. But it's not home. I'm afraid that, as time goes on, Artie's going to have an increasingly difficult time working outside the UK and then coming back, when neither of us is a citizen of the country.
"I also promised Greg and Kyle before we left Cambridge that when I was done at Bedford, we'd find our 'forever' home. I want Andy and Rissa to experience life in the U.S. Andy will have another year of middle school if we move in 18 months; it'll be easier to begin high school knowing other kids. Kyle will be in kindergarten where everyone will be new to each other. Greg's leaving his shyness behind and discovering more and more interests, just like Andy. They'll be ready, Artie and I will be ready and I'm sure you and Rob will be!"
"Rob wants to do another 2 years."
"That's only 6 months beyond our leave point. We can handle that. The worst part will be leaving Sarah."
"And James. Still, she'll have family there, Susannah and Ian. Maybe she'll have book tours over here. And considering James' mother's tip about the china, I'm betting our daughter will be close to her mother-in-law."
Tim grinned at that, loving that Dad sometimes referred to Sarah or Rob as "our" daughter or son, acknowledging Timpa. Although Sarah was still keeping quiet about her future plans, the family was very sure she'd be wearing an engagement ring soon. Artie wasn't the only one who noticed Sarah taking notes while she and Tim were looking at the family rings.
With that happy thought, father and son said goodnight to each other and Tim went off to bed.
A/N: Episodes referenced: Frame-Up (season 3, Chip Sterling, bad guy) and Ex-File, (season 5, Fred Rinnert, bad guy) and Bloodbath (season 3, Mikel Mawher, one of the bad guys)