Finding Home, Chapter Thirty Seven

Previously: Tim held his hand out for a shake and both his hands were grabbed.

"Timothy McGee, how is that possible?"

"That can't be! What's your middle name, son, where and when were you born?"

"I have no middle name, Sir and I was born at Bethesda Nov. 15th, 1977."

"What the hell?" Hubbard was angry and upset while Crane was trying to keep him relatively calm and find out more about Tim.

"Sir, is there a problem?"

"You're my nephew, my dead nephew!" At this point, officers appeared and whisked away the people in line behind them.

"Sir, I'm obviously not dead."

"Where have you been?"

"It would be helpful if you applied a timeframe to that, Sirs."

"Since you were 9 years old, how is it possible, oh my God…" The Captain was peering at Tim's face and had spotted the scar. He reached out to touch it and Tim at first jerked away and then stood still.

"How did you get that scar?"

"From a beating my stepmother gave me."

"What is her name?"

"We called her Natalie."

"Back to what happened, where have you been since you were 9?"

"I was in Alameda CA at the naval station there when my father and brother were murdered and I was badly injured. I was in the hospital for several weeks with broken legs and severe head trauma and then Natalie and my sister Sarah picked me up and we went to some house she'd rented. We were there for a few weeks until Natalie got tired of us and then she shipped us off to Baltimore and Sarah and I grew up there."

"Don't you know who we are? And where is Natalie now?"

"Sirs, respectfully you're the Captain and Admiral of this ship. Natalie is in federal custody."

"For?"

"Murdering my father, brother, three counts of trying to kill me, child endangerment and abandonment, conspiracy to murder, several other murders and attempted murders and espionage."

Captain Hubbard finally got that this really was his nephew, apparently risen from the dead and fast forwarded from age 9 to adulthood. "Son, I'm your uncle, your mother's brother."

Tim didn't know what to say to that, even though he'd been told beforehand. "I'm sorry I don't remember either of you. I still have huge gaps in my memory of anything before the wreck."

"Memory loss?"

"Yes Admiral. When I woke in the hospital I knew my name, Sarah, Patrick, Dad and Natalie, that was about it. I knew where we'd lived and I hadn't forgotten any general knowledge but friends, family…all gone and it's still gone. You tell me, Captain that you're my uncle and I'm glad, that's really wonderful, but I have no memory of you."

"Or me, Timmy..ooh sorry you probably don't like that, I'm your godfather."

Tim blinked, a bit overwhelmed. He felt Pete's hand on his back. "Gentlemen, this is a wonderful thing, but a difficult situation for the three of you. Perhaps we could sit?" He looked at Tim. "You hurting?"

"Yeah, I think I've overdone it a bit. It's not bad but it's twinging more that it has since last week."

The Captain touched his arm softly, "You're injured?" Pete answered that. "We were in on the cartel takedown last week. Tim led his own team and took what we think was a metal pipe to the abdomen. No internal injuries but a horrendous bruise and a lot of pain."

Within minutes, Tim was settled in the Captain's private office with both his uncle and godfather trying their best not to hover over him. He felt all kinds of emotions, so many that he clamped them all down. He looked at them, "You must have a lot of questions."

"Yes. First, you mentioned Sarah. Is she alive too?"

Tim nodded. "Very much so. She has her undergraduate degree and after working for a while decided to go to grad school. She's moving to the UK to start classes at the end of this week."

"Wonderful! But not Patrick?"

"No, he…he died with Dad."

"Who raised you two? We don't have any relatives in Baltimore that I know of, not on either side of the family. But then why would anyone keep you two a secret…?"

"Nobody raised us. When Natalie sent us to Baltimore she told me her cousins would meet us and take us in, but nobody showed up, she had abandoned us."

"Oh God, you poor kids, I can't even imagine. Were you in foster care?"

"No, we lived on the streets and I raised Sarah and Rob."

"Who's Rob?" Tim smiled and told them the story of first Geordie and then Rob. The two officers sat in shock, staring at their long-lost loved one. Tim continued, "I have photos…here." He brought his tablet out hoping neither would think to ask why on earth he had his tablet with him - and that was when the Admiral noticed his sea bands. "Sea bands? Oh, I'd forgotten that, Timmy…er, Tim, you were always seasick."

"Never got over that. Now I take ginger root and wear these and I can be aboard ship without being sick."

"Helpful for a member of NCIS, I imagine!" Tim smiled at his godfather as he brought up the photos. He started with the one he'd just received, the one with Patrick, and then moved on to the original shelter photo and then the school photos. The last two were of the four of them, taken during Geordie's last leave and one of Tim, Sarah and Rob taken the morning Tim left for London. His uncle and godfather were still asking him questions about his life and looking at the photos when his cell phone chimed.

Puzzled, he looked and grinned. "This is Sarah calling, want to hear her?" They nodded and Tim accepted the call. "TIM! Oh, there you are…hey, I couldn't wait any longer to hear about last night Bro!"

"I'll tell you in a minute, Sarah, but first tell me what you're up to today?"

"Oh I finished clearing out my place; it's empty, so I'm staying with…uh, a friend until Friday."

Tim forgot there was anyone else in the room. "Who, Sarah? Who are you staying with?"

"I'm a grown woman Tim; I can stay wherever I want."

"Tell me who or I swear I'll call Gibbs."

"I'm not scared of him anymore, HA!"

"You've only seen nice Gibbs, tell me…" This last came out in a growl and he jumped when the other men chuckled.

"Tim, who's that? Oh God, this isn't on speaker is it? I tell you Tim, you…" Tim, knowing she was about to let loose with one of her profane rants, quickly cut her off. "Just tell me, Sis. Make it easy on both of us."

A sigh, then, "Greg."

"Oh, he's not so bad."

"What? You hated him when we were dating!"

"I hate every guy you date, especially if they don't treat you right. But he's ok, I liked him after you broke up."

"You are so weird. Now tell me about dinner with Lina."

"It was wonderful and I'll tell you more when we talk with Rob. Right now I want to introduce you to a couple of people."

"Ok?"

"First is Admiral David Crane…Sarah, he's my godfather!" The Admiral leaned over and said hello to Sarah who managed a hello back. "And next is our uncle, Sarah, a real live uncle, he's Captain James Hubbard." The Captain leaned over and spoke into the phone. "Hi Sarie! It's so wonderful to hear your voice and know you're alive!"

Sarah was getting excited now, more family! Just as she started asking questions, there was a knock on the door. Tim took the opportunity to say goodbye to his little sister, they could all talk later, and stand up; he'd had enough of a rest and he was hungry. It was Pete at the door and he looked carefully at Tim. "You look better, Timothy."

"Feel better, Sir."

The Admiral and Captain were like little kids, "We got to see all his photos and then Sarah called, we talked with her."

Pete smiled at them. "That's great!"

Tim cleared his throat, "Captain, we should have our DNA run so we'll know with a certainty."

"Oh. that's a good idea. Where…? "

"Mine's already in the system, if yours is, then it'll just take a lab a few minutes to run." He looked at Pete who gave him a subtle nod. "We contract with a lab here in Athens."

Hubbard nodded, "Yeah, broke my arm a few years ago and they did the DNA swab then, just to get it into the system." He paused. "You won't know this, but you have more family, Tim. You have two grandmothers, my mom, Maisie and your dad's mother Penny, an aunt, my wife Claire, your godmother Liz and my two kids Callum and Ainsley."

Tim grinned. "I can't wait to meet everyone! Will you two have any free time while you're here?"

They nodded, "We both have leave, different days, but yes."

"Can we meet then, when you're off so we can talk some more? If I can, I'd like to set up a Skype call so you can meet Sarah and Rob. And maybe we could do the same with your families."

"Oh, that's a wonderful idea, Timmy. Dang, sorry son, I'll work on it."

"I don't mind; just not in front of our team please…although Pete's all right!" He smiled at Pete.

"Tim, do you want to stay? We can fit Matt, Tea and Kim in the wagon."

Tim looked at his new family members and saw regret in their eyes. "I think these officers have their duties to get back to, Pete, thanks anyway!"

"We'll be done by 20:00, Tim, if you want to meet us for dinner somewhere."

"That's great! How about I come back and pick you up; I'll take you to my favorite pub."

"Sounds wonderful!"

Pete slipped out of the room and Tim stood, wanting to hug them both. The Admiral saw the longing in his eyes and reached out to him, "I'm still your Uncle Dave, little one. Even if we are the same height now!" They hugged and Tim turned to his uncle who embraced him for a long moment. "I hope you'll tell us more about Lina over dinner, Tim. From what Sarah said, she's either new to you or last night was a special night for the two of you."

Tim blushed, "Both actually. We just met Friday night. Last night was our first real date…or our first planned date."

The Captain reached up and ruffled his hair, "Sorry, been dying to do that since we got in here."

"That's ok, it feels good. Er, are you Uncle James or…"

"Oh! Of course you wouldn't know that, I'm Uncle Jim."

Tim grinned at them. "I can't believe this, the woman of my dreams, a godfather and an uncle, my first surprise party…actually my first two surprise parties, all in three days. "

"Tim, your birthday was yesterday!"

"Yeah. I'll tell you about it later, you two should probably get back to your official duties, don't want SecNav coming down on you because you were entertaining an NCIS agent!"

"She wouldn't…do you know her?"

"Not well, but yes. She…you know what, I'll tell you that later too!" He got more hair ruffles for that as they exited the room and made their way back to the reception. Other officers had filled in for them and there were only a few people nibbling on what was left of the food on the table. Tim had a bite as he proudly introduced them to his friends, this time as his godfather and uncle. The others played along as if they were surprised. They soon took their leave and walked down the gangplank to their cars.

By the time Tim had driven out of the secure parking area, he was laughing at the women and Matt. "Go on guys, just ask before you burst!"

"We know you've had nosy teammates before, Tim, we don't want to be like them."

"Trust me, you couldn't be if you tried. And you heard about the murders after the case was closed and this is still part of that."

"Ok, so the taller one, the Admiral. He must be your godfather because the Captain looks like you."

"Yeah, that's right and it's pretty cool that I look like my uncle. I've never looked like anyone, not even when my dad and Pat were alive. My sister has the same coloring as our dad and brother and the only photo I have of my mother is after she lost her hair – she's wearing a scarf and her eye color doesn't show up that well, so finding that I look like somebody is a relief. Although I'm guessing I got the height from the McGee side."

"Did they realize you knew already…we weren't sure what you were going to do."

Tim huffed, "I wasn't either! When we couldn't get time with them, I thought about leaving but figured Pete wouldn't let me and I really didn't want to. And then I realized it would be a shock to them no matter how and when they found out. I just had to watch how I said things but no, I don't think they noticed. When I know them better, I'll tell them the truth, hope they forgive me."

"Are you going to see them again while they're here…are they going to Skype with Sarah and Rob and you?"

"Yes and yes. I'm picking them up for dinner at 2000 tonight and I was going to take them to the Flying Pig. But now I'm thinking I'll take them back to the house for dinner and then they can meet Rob and Sarah. They've already talked with Sarah; she called while I was talking with them."

"That's a great idea and what about Lina?"

"She won't be home until late tonight; she'll call me when she gets in and I'll tell her then."

"Wonder if she'll be able to meet them?"

Tim opened and closed his mouth. "Um, isn't it a little early? I don't want to overwhelm her with all this stuff, I've told her a shorter and cleaner version of living on the street."

Kim and Tea looked at each other and then shook their heads as Kim responded. "You're right, it probably is a little early but you should tell her about meeting them today. And you're going to have to tell her the whole story at some point."

"I know, just don't want to scare her off!"

"So your dinner…"

"Was wonderful and we met for a run this morning."

Kim nodded, "Good, so that could be your second date."

Tim shook his head, "No, we're having dinner tomorrow night, that's date #2."

Matt cocked his head, "Wait, you're not counting coffee on Friday night and what do you mean second date? I thought it was the fifth date!"

"Fifth date? Well, I guess that's up to the couple." Tim suddenly laughed, "That was on The Big Bang Theory, right Matt?"

"Yeah, but I'd been told that before. One of my sisters told me."

That brought an "Ahh, that explains it." from his friends.

Kim turned to Matt, "She was messing with you and I don't know about the TV show! As far as I know it's always been the third date, although there's absolutely nothing wrong with waiting."

"So dinner tomorrow night, Tim and then something else during the week?"

Tim shook his head, "I don't kiss and tell, guys. If you want to know if the restaurant or movie or whatever the date is about was good, fine, but I won't respond to anything more than that." He got a dreamy look in his eyes. "At least not until we make an announcement of some kind."

That brought laughter from his friends. After he'd dropped them off, he stopped at the market and bought meat and those tiny potatoes he loved so much, along with fresh tomatoes, fresh garlic and other fresh herbs and spices. On his search for vases yesterday, he'd spotted a box that said 'Slow Cooker'. He thought there might be enough time to cook the meat in that and hopefully find a recipe online for the potatoes with garlic and a typical Greek salad. Or he could call the Russell kids; they'd made those same potatoes. He also bought a bag of charcoal in case the box he'd seen held something else; in that case he'd barbecue the meat so he added a locally produced barbecue sauce to his purchases. He also added some pastries he spotted and remembering the frozen yogurt with the pie last weekend, he grabbed a container of that as well. The sign on the pastry display said they were from the bakery next door, closed today but he knew it was open on Saturday, so these were only a day old. The last thing he put in the cart was some locally brewed beer. While he was sure his efforts wouldn't equal any restaurant, he did want his godfather and uncle to taste some local cuisine or as close as he could get.

He got home, put the groceries away and took the charcoal to the patio. Back in the house, he went to the hall closet and grabbed the box that said 'Slow Cooker'. It did indeed hold a slow cooker, along with instructions and a basic recipe book. He thumbed through that and realized he really didn't have the time to use it for dinner tonight. Glad he'd purchased the charcoal, he went online to make sure he had good information about barbecuing and to find a recipe for the garlic potatoes. After wading through what felt like hundreds of differing opinions about barbecuing, he left that topic and went after the potato recipe. He found one that sounded close to what he'd enjoyed so much at the Russells and in the restaurants and printed it out.

He stood in thought for a minute and then looked at his watch. What the heck, he knew he'd call him at some point to tell him about his new relatives and he was the expert on barbecue. He opened his e-mail and saw that Gibbs was online or at least had his e-mail open. He sent an IM that just said "Available to talk now? Skype?" Within minutes his laptop chimed with a call. He opened the application and saw Gibbs' face, trying not to look anxious. He relaxed when he saw Tim with a big grin on his face. "Hey Boss! You won't believe why I'm calling you!"

"Tim…you didn't propose last night did you?"

He laughed, "Not that I didn't think about it, but no, I did not."

"Good man. I did that once. "

"To one of the exes?"

"Nope, never made it past our second date."

"Saved you some lawyer's fees."

Gibbs nodded. "So…?"

"I'm having company for dinner tonight, kind of last-minute and I want to barbecue. I thought I could figure it out online but man there's a lot of opinions and some outright fights!"

Gibbs chuckled, "Tim, every guy has his own thing for barbecue but I'm willing to share. Now tell me, charcoal or gas? What kind of meat, what's the cut and how much do you have?" Tim gave him the answers and wrote down Gibbs' instructions and tips which started with cleaning the grill. After Gibbs finished he looked at Tim expectantly and got a super sized grin in return. "You're being very patient, Boss. Yes, we had a wonderful time; she loved the roses by the way. She hadn't been to the restaurant before and it was very romantic," Tim described the ambiance, the food and some of their conversation. "We split a dessert and then after we left the restaurant…" He continued with the story of the night, finishing with him carrying Lina from the car. Gibbs had a big grin on his face when he finished. "I am so proud of you, you did good son! When are you going to see her again?" Tim told him about the run this morning and the planned dinner tomorrow night. "Good, that sounds great!" He paused, "Did you go to your reception already?"

Tim laughed outright. "And if I have?"

"Tim!"

He laughed again. "Ok, ok. Yes, first, I guess Vance called Pete early this morning, our time, because he showed up after my run and…" he filled Gibbs in about the visit and the subsequent meeting with his godfather and uncle. "It was surreal, all these people around us and the two of them are staring at me like they'd seen a ghost…well I guess they thought they had, a grownup ghost of their dead nephew." He finished by telling Gibbs his new relatives were the ones coming for dinner tonight and about his plans to Skype with Sarah and Rob while the men were here.

"Smart thinking! That's a whole lot of relatives – godparents, grandmothers, cousins, an uncle and an aunt."

"Yeah, I know, it's exciting and overwhelming at the same time. I'm kind of glad it's just Uncle Dave and Uncle Jim at this point."

"So you can kind of ease into the family?" Gibbs paused, "Two grandmothers, no grandfathers, hmm, I might have to make a special point of letting Ducky and Jack know that."

"Hey, that would be fun, Boss! But you know I don't know where they all live yet. It would be really helpful if everyone lived on the eastern seaboard, then when I go for a visit I won't have to travel too far."

"Or they can travel to DC, if that's where you'd be visiting."

"Or course it would be and man that's weird to even think about." Tim shrugged, "Oh well, not like I'll be there anytime soon."

"They might want to come see you in Greece."

Tim grinned, "Good thing I have lots of room here then, isn't it?" The two talked for another ten minutes and then disconnected so that Tim could get started on his dinner preparations.

He changed into an older tee-shirt and jeans, found a wire brush in the garage and cleaned off the grill. Much to his relief his landlord had left it in pretty good shape. He prepared the potato dish and the salad but left both in the refrigerator until it was closer to time for him to pick up his godfather and uncle. Or uncles, he was already finding it was easier to think of them both as uncles. Finding a big skillet and some olive oil, he let that heat a bit while he inserted cloves of garlic into the meat. Then he seared all sides and turned the heat off, letting it rest. He sent an e-mail to Sarah and Rob, confirming their Skype time that evening and got a quick note back from Rob saying he'd heard about the two uncles and he hoped to see photos or something. Tim grinned as he wrote back saying it would be "or something" and to make sure his face was washed, teeth brushed and hair combed. Sarah finally answered saying she was asleep and to please leave her alone until their call – and then added a hugging emoticon so they'd know she was teasing.