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Finding Home, Chapter Thirty Six

The doorbell rang Saturday morning as Luka was finishing breakfast. His wife and daughter were already up and out, they'd gone to visit her parents; Jeanette determined not to return until after Abby had moved out. His sister was still asleep. He looked through the peephole and was dismayed to see a man and woman, both in suits. He tightened the belt on his robe and opened the door, hoping these weren't the federal agents he'd dreaded, coming to arrest Abby for her verbal threats.

His hope was in vain. Abby's threats had been more than verbal, she had been threatening Tim McGee electronically, both on Twitter and Facebook, referring to him as the Evil Influence. One of the new friends she'd been seen with recently had a criminal record of assault and battery; when his parole officer questioned him, he admitted that Abby had approached him about attacking her former co-worker and had already paid him part of his fee. The FBI was there to arrest her for her threats and conspiracy to commit a felony assault on a federal officer. The two agents woke Luka's sister and the female agent stayed with her while she dressed. As they led her out of the house in handcuffs, one of the agents handed Luka a card with his number and office address. He called a friend who was an estate attorney; while he couldn't help Abby, he knew someone from law school who could and Luka was soon on the phone with a criminal defense lawyer.

XXX

Saturday afternoon Vance looked at the time and swore again. He'd had a call from his counterpart in the FBI advising him of the arrest of Abigail Sciuto; he was angry that as much as he'd tried to protect Tim, the woman had still let loose on social media and apparently conspired to hurt him although she probably had no idea where he was in the world. Hopefully that was over now. His children weren't in the room but he put $10 in the swear jar anyway, still owing for his lapse at Ducky's this morning. On top of the Sciuto arrest and the impending fiasco with McGee's relatives, Carter's team had caught a case that needed Vance's diplomatic touch with another agency, one of the more difficult ones. He would need to update SecNav first before he started the phone calls.

It looked like he would have to call Pete on Sunday. Knowing the family faithfully attended church, Leon figured out that to be fair to Pete and Tim, he needed to make the call before the family left for church. That would mean a very late night for him. Maybe he could still squeeze in the call this afternoon.

Carter's team finally got the information from the other agency late Saturday night. Vance had stayed at the office, wanting to be on hand in case his boss needed to be brought in for a second round of "let's play interagency cooperation". He arrived home shortly before midnight and decided to call Pete. Once he convinced Pete that World War 3 hadn't broken out somewhere causing the early Sunday morning call, the SAIC did fairly well with the news of Tim's impending surprise reunion with relatives he didn't remember.

XXX

Tony woke up with a start. He was missing something but he couldn't think what it might be. He ran through his plans for the day. He was going to Skype with Gibbs later, hopefully that would go better than last time. They were not on call this weekend and he was going to look at apartments in the afternoon. He was going to a party tonight, a birthday party for one of his co-workers. Birthday…that was it, he needed to buy a card and some sort of gift. That felt right but it wasn't all. Ok, so birthday…OH! McGeek's birthday was in November, he didn't know the date though. He decided to buy a card for his former Probie and mail it to Ducky, ask him to forward it. He'd hadn't heard back after his e-mail but then he hadn't checked with Ducky to see if he'd sent it on to Tim. He sighed, remembering the nice card and gift Tim had given him last year on his birthday. Yeah, he'd definitely buy a card for the man.

XXX

Pete disconnected the call from his boss and looked at his bleary eyed wife. "What was that all about?"

"People messing with Tim's life again."

"Oh God, that poor man! Now what?"

"Apparently one of the questions he had after they finally solved his family's murder was who was supposed to be their guardian. He asked Gibbs, Gibbs asked Vance for permission to pursue it and they did. Gibbs found the information and Vance ordered him not to talk with Tim about it, that he would do it. That was about when he arrived here, maybe after his first week."

"And?"

"And the boss forgot. Gibbs has been uh, oh hell, you'll never meet him, has been on suspension and so hasn't been in contact with Vance. Until yesterday when they were both at a Skype birthday party for Tim and the subject of the reception on the Baton Rouge came up after the party. Imagine Vance's horror when he realized Tim is about to be ambushed with relatives he doesn't know he has."

"So they decided you should tell him?"

"Gibbs said if it was him, he'd want to be there to help…at the last minute like this and apparently Dr. Mallard, that's Tim's friend Ducky, agreed. So here we are."

"Pete, how…?"

"I don't know. Should we not go to the reception at all? Then I could tell him after and he can contact them. The ship will be in port all week."

"If you do that you know you'll get some case that will take all your time and he'll miss the opportunity. You're going to have to tell him before we go."

"We have church in 90 minutes hon; do I call him before that and tell him? He'd have more time to digest the news before the reception."

She sighed. "I agree that the sooner the better but sweetie, you can't call him with this news. He deserves to be told in person, especially since he'll be meeting them today."

"Yeah, you're right, that's what Gibbs' point was, huh?"

"You need to go now and stay with him until you think he's handling it all right. Don't worry about church; I'm sure God understands Tim needs you more right now." She paused. "Is there any other part of his life that the agency has not screwed with?"

"I'm just hoping I won't be the one to mess up a morning with Lina."

"Ah, their evening last night…no, that wasn't a dinner to breakfast date."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Was ours?"

"Well no, but…"

"They have the same look to them that I've been told you and I had when we first met."

"Oh, ok, so taking it slowly," he grinned at his wife, "more or less!"

"Yes dear. Now go get dressed and go talk to our Tim." He leaned over for a deep kiss before he went for his shower.

XXX

After their run, Tim walked Lina to her car, happy to see her feet had apparently recovered from her long day at work and the walk in her heels. They'd enjoyed the run, although both knew it was the company more than the exercise. Still, the crisp morning air felt good. He gave her a kiss as she opened the door to her car and they laughed as they were both still sweaty. He watched as she drove off. He'd told her about the reception and asked if she'd like to go, but she had plans she'd made prior to meeting him and felt obligated to stick with them. He promised to call her that evening and they agreed to have dinner together Monday night after Tim's class, at the Flying Pig. He took the top down on his car so the air would evaporate the sweat, and drove home.

He was in the shower when he heard the doorbell. He rinsed off quickly and grabbing a towel ran down the stairs. He looked through the peephole and was alarmed to see Pete. Flinging the door open, he stood there half naked, towel wrapped around his waist, water dripping on the tile. "Pete, do we have a case, why are you here now…God, it's Geordie… Sarah, Rob? Oh God…please don't…."

Pete gently grabbed his arm to stop him as he walked inside. "Timothy, no one is dead or injured and there's no call out."

Tim nodded and then stood still. Closing his eyes, he took a few breaths to calm himself. Finally he opened his eyes and nodded again. "They mean everything to me, Pete. I've never been this far from the kids or so long out of touch with Geordie." He straightened his shoulders. "There's coffee in the kitchen, help yourself. I'm going to put some clothes on."

Pete felt awful and went from being mildly annoyed with his boss to full out angry with the man. He thought what his reaction would be if back in the day, Vance had showed up at his house unannounced early on a Sunday morning. Sheer panic. Being a federal agent did not keep you from worrying about your children or family or from panicking if something threatened them. Yes, it made you better equipped to handle the emergency or neutralize the threat, to not give in to the panic, but that initial message that something was wrong, no training could stop that horrible feeling.

Upstairs Tim found his hands were still shaking and he had to resist the urge to call both Sarah and Rob, needing to hear their voices. He knew Rob had worked a double yesterday and was probably just getting home to sleep and Sarah…well it was just past midnight in Maryland, he wasn't sure he wanted to know what she was up to. He threw on a clean pair of sweats, a tee shirt and the socks Lina had returned to him this morning. He padded back downstairs, frowning at the slight twinge in his stomach. Had he been doing a little too much? He probably should not have run down the stairs earlier, but he hadn't wanted to miss whoever was at the door. He'd take it easy the rest of today and maybe cut back on his run tomorrow. If it wasn't better he knew he'd be calling his doctor.

He found Pete in the living room, staring out the window. "All right, sorry, just got back from a run with Lina and really needed a shower." Pete turned, smiling. "I really want to be nosy and ask about your dinner, but that's not why I'm here. Vance called me this morning…no Tim everyone is fine. He called me because he was given some information after your party yesterday and he realized he'd forgotten to tell you some pretty big news." Tim had poured a cup of coffee and now he sank onto the couch, carefully putting his coffee mug on the side table. Pete sat next to him. "I think this is going to be good news but you needed to be told before the reception."

Tim looked at him quizzically. "Is this about my guardian? It's the only thing I can think of…"

"Yes, your guardian and some relatives. They're officers aboard the Baton Rouge. Your godparents were to be your guardians; he was your father's commanding officer and best friend; his wife was a close friend of your mother's. Their names are David and Elizabeth Crane; he's an Admiral. The Captain is your uncle, your mother's brother and his name is James Hubbard. He married after your father died, his wife's name is Claire and they have two children, and I'm sorry I didn't write down their names." He paused. "You also have grandmothers: your mother's mother, whose name is Maisie and your father's mother, Penelope something, didn't write that down either."

Tim sat and stared in his direction although Pete could see he was thinking. "Why didn't they search for us? Oh, Gibbs told me, Natalie told them we were dead and they believed her." He swallowed, "Do they know I'm alive?"

"I'm not sure but I'm leaning toward no."

"So they're not expecting to see me today."

"No…Tim?"

"We need to tell them, I need to tell them. They were Natalie's victims too." He looked at Pete. "I don't remember them, or any of those names. Most things, people especially, outside of the immediate family have been a blank since I woke up in the hospital."

"I'll be with you when you tell them."

"Thanks Pete. I guess I'd better take some photos or something to prove who I am." They talked for a few more minutes and Pete hung around until he felt confident that Tim was taking this in his stride. Then he left for home, feeling better about the situation.

After his boss left, Tim wandered around the house, thinking about new relatives – or reclaimed ones – and how shocking it was going to be for them to meet him as an adult after thinking he'd been killed at age 9 and Sarah only 3. He went upstairs to start printing photos and then realized it would just be easier to take his tablet. He took the frame Gibbs had made off his dresser and carefully opened the back, removing the photo of all of them. He took a few photos of it with his phone and then downloaded the best one to his tablet, storing it with his other photos. He already had photos of the original photo Gibbs' photoshopped portrait was based on, the one with Sarah, Rob, Geordie and him. Those two photos were the best visible proof he had, other than his ID and passport, that he had been the child and was now the adult Tim McGee. He thought about DNA and decided that would be easy enough to do while the ship was in port. His was already in the NCIS system so it could be easily matched to Captain Hubbard's.

He added a couple of their school photos, and a few of the graduations of the four of them, as well as more current photos. He felt as ready as he'd ever be. He had already decided to tell Rob and Sarah after he's met these people. He dressed in his suit once again, this time with his badge affixed to the breast pocket. He looked with yearning at the coffee but knew he'd be drinking more at the reception and that would be more than sufficient. Taking his ginger root, putting his seabands on and tucking his tablet in a small carryon along with additional ginger root, he got in the car and headed off to pick up Tea, Kim and Matt. Once they were in the car, he told them the news. They'd been anticipating hearing about his dinner with Lina and were very surprised to hear that they were about to meet Tim's uncle and godfather. Although as Tim pointed out, it was likely no one would be more surprised than the two men.

They went through security at the harbor and had just parked when the Russells pulled in next to them. There was a matinee of the play this afternoon, the last performance, so Stephan and Phoebe were not with their family. The eight of them gathered and walked toward the gangplank, Tim feeling both nervous and excited.

Pete took the lead walking up the gangplank and Tim brought up the rear. They presented the invitation and their credentials to the Officer on Deck and were welcomed and escorted to the forward deck. They were met there by a Lieutenant Hadley, who told them he was their tour guide for the day. He'd take them on a tour of the ship and then bring them to the officers' mess which was where the reception was being held. Pete nodded and then leaned in to talk quietly with the officer.

"Lt. Hadley, I'm the SAIC of the Athens NCIS office and I will need to spend a few minutes, privately with Admiral Crane and Captain Hubbard."

"Sir, is there a problem?"

"No, this pertains to an old case that has new information."

"I'll try Agent Russell, but there are a lot of people aboard today. Perhaps you could see them during the week?"

"No, it needs to be today and before we're presented to them."

"I'll do my best, Agent Russell."

Tim saw Pete talking with the Lieutenant and knew what it was about. Inwardly he shrugged, if the officer couldn't get them time with his godfather and uncle then he would have to make a decision whether to leave before they met or to just go through the line and see what happened. He knew the polite thing to do would be to leave and contact them during the week but he felt that was a sure way to bring some time consuming case down on their heads. He'd also sensed that Pete was annoyed with Vance for not telling him when he should have and the man was stubborn enough to insist on him staying. He had to admit that now he knew about them and was here, he was looking forward to meeting them.

The tour was interesting and Tim noticed that Matt, Kim and Lukas paid a lot of attention and that Tea's eyes were open very wide throughout the tour. Tim had been on this class of ship before but there was always some little thing that was different. In this case it was the ship's nickname…somehow Baton Rouge had morphed into "Moulin", swapping the city name for the saucier name of the old French cabaret, the Moulin Rouge, although he'd also heard "the Blush" as a nickname, a play on the word Rouge. Tim didn't know whether to grin or grimace; he and Pete exchanged a look. He supposed he'd heard worse, there were some pretty earthy interpretations of ships' nicknames out there…The Big Stick for one.

Finally the tour was over and they were taken to the line to meet the officers. Lt. Hadley left them to see if he could arrange the meeting with the Admiral and Captain. The line was moving quickly and wasn't overlong. Evidently some people were brought directly here and afterward given the tour while others, such as their group, were first given the tour. Lt. Hadley reappeared in a few minutes and shook his head, "I'm sorry Agent Russell, but neither can break free." He looked at the line, "You'll be with them in less than 5 minutes anyway sir." Pete just nodded and looked at Tim. Tim walked forward and the two stepped away to talk. "I should leave, Pete, this is going to be a big shock to them, hell of a way to find out." Pete looked at him, steely eyed and Tim smothered a laugh. "Or not!"

"No, we're going to play this out as if we don't know any of this…DAMN the man!"

"He has an awful lot going on Pete, between work, a new SecNav and home, struggling to be there for his kids without Jackie. He probably should have asked Ducky to tell me when they first knew."

"You're right, it's just so…uh oh, here we go…" Their group was next in line and Pete first introduced his family to the Captain and Admiral and then had them step over to the refreshment tables while he introduced his team. Kim and Tea had been greeted and he was introducing Matt when he noticed the Admiral staring at Tim. The Captain noticed and glanced over at the young man who was next in line. His eyes widened and he went pale; the Admiral grabbed his arm. "Steady Jim."

"Sir, that…"

"I know, I see it too."

They somehow finished their meet and greet with Matt and both turned to Tim. Pete tried not to squeak as he introduced Tim. "This is our Senior Field Agent; he's just been with us for a month and has already done wonders. Special Agent Timothy McGee." Tim held his hand out for a shake and both his hands were grabbed.