Hey! Here's the next chapter. It's the last one before the epilogue, which will be posted Friday. Trying to Help: Thanks for your feedback on the previous chapter. I deleted the line about surviving. You were right, it was too much. Anyway, hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Please read and review! Thanks.
It was five-thirty AM when Abby and Jesse and the McGees shook their kids awake. It wasn't an easy task, but by five forty-five, all of the NCIS family and next generation were away and preparing to head down to breakfast. After eating Tali and AJ got some ice and ordered some snack foods and got some sodas to put in their cooler back-packs to share.
At about seven AM, Jack and her family had their cars packed and ready to go. Since they lived in the Clearwater area, they were using their season aquarium passes and taking their DC family to visit Winter the Dolphin after they spent the morning at Clearwater Beach. The group headed to either Jack's family's cars or rental vans and took off for the two hour journey. The littlest children napped most of the way and were kind of cranky upon arrival.
"Here, let us take them." Tali offered to Faith, Gabi, and Cassie.
"Well, you can try." Gabi said. AJ took little Bella and started singing to her. Tali took Rissy and Tori took Grayson and got them cheered up in a similar manner.
"Hey, Jax, Shan, Dave, Ya guy wanna rent some boogie-boards or surf boards?" Kelly asked her three best friends.
"Hey, yeah! Can we Mom?" David begged Ziva.
"That is fine with me, but stay where one of us can see you at all times and stay together." was the response.
"Awesome!" Shannon cheered and was joined by the others. Several of the other teens and preteens got permission from their parents to rent surfboards as well. The younger kids were allowed to get boogie-boards to use with parental supervision. Abby got a board as well along with several of the other adults.
Camon, Faith's husband was an avid surfer and gave short lessons to anyone who wanted to learn. Caty, who was a fantastic sidewalk surfer on her skateboard at home, turned out to be a natural on the waves as well. She fell in love with the sport and stayed out on the ocean for at least an hour.
Later that morning, Caty and Morgan were taking a break and they found Danny and Mallory playing in the sand.
"Hey, you two. Whatcha making?"
"A big sand castle." Danny replied.
"Yeah! We're gonna make it look just like Buckingham palace!" Mallory added. Morgan translated what Caty hadn't caught by lip-reading and they turned to respond to the kids. Just then, Alex and Julia came up behind the group along with Jackie and Maddie LeBlanc. They were carrying shovels and buckets for water.
"May we help?" Caty asked. All of the kids nodded, so Morgan and Caty grabbed shells and buckets and shovels and got to work. Johnny and Timmy soon joined them followed Donny and Kasie Palmer. They were working away when all but Caty heard Jesse shout out, "Kelly!"
Johnny got Caty's attention and the sand castle building was temporarily abandoned as the young people ran towards the direction Jesse had headed. They reached the spot just in time to see Kelly being helped to her beach towel by Jax and Shannon. She was crying and clutching her stomach.
"What happened, Zari?" Caty asked her sister, dropping down on the beach next to her. Kelly didn't respond to the special nick-name. In fact, she couldn't answer at all because she was crying too hard. Caty looked at her mother, concerned.
"Your sister will be fine in a few minutes. She tripped in the ocean and landed on the pointy top of her boogie-board." Abby said, before pulling Kelly close and rubbing her stomach gently.
"Will she be ok? Really?" Alex asked cuddling up next to his big sister.
"I'll be fine. It just hurts a lot. And I got the wind knocked out of me. I'll be better soon." Kelly assured her little brother softly, having calmed down a bit.
"Here." Tali said gently, handing her younger friend a soda.
"Thanks, Tali," Kelly said with a small smile, before wiping her eyes and accepting the bottle.
Soon, Kelly was feeling well enough to join her friends and siblings in the sand-castle construction. Once they had it built, Kelly, Caty, Alex, Danny, and all their friends decorated the castle with shells, palm branch leaves, and some driftwood they had found.
"Oh, wow, guys! That looks totally amazing." Delilah said when the adults were brought over to see.
"Totally epic! The sand castle to end all sand castles." Abby agreed.
"We need a picture." Sloan insisted. All the adults got their phones and digital cameras and the kids all gathered around their epic creation.
"Say cheese!" Tony said, while Jesse signed, "Smile!" The kids followed orders and the beautiful sand castle and its designers and builders were captured forever for future generations to see and enjoy.
By then, it was lunch time, so the group packed up their belongings and headed to Pearly's Beach Eats. It was a fast food place so the group could be in and out quickly and have more time at the aquarium.
All of the kids were really excited to see Winter, and to be honest, Abby wasn't the only adult who was just as excited as they were. Jack and Faith went to talk to the cashiers. They got as many as they could in with their passes and were able to get the group discount for the rest.
Caty immediately bonded with Winter, and the feeling was mutual. Abby watched the scene unfold with tears in her eyes.
"It is very difficult watching them grow up is it not?" Ziva said, putting an arm around her friend.
Abby nodded before whispering, "I was just thinking about how beautiful she is,and what a totally incredible woman she's becoming."
Ziva nodded and smiled, "I understand. I often feel that way went I look at Tali and AJ. Even Shannon is growing up far too quickly, but I am so proud of the women they are becoming."
Abby looked at her friend and saw that although she was smiling, she was fighting tears. She hugged the woman who had been her role model as she had entered motherhood. "Ziva, you raised your kids well. They are some of the best behaved kids I know, and I'm not just saying that because they're my god-children."
Ziva chuckled before becoming serious once more. "It is the same with you, Abby. You are a wonderful mother and your children are all blessed to have you."
Abby shook her head. "No Ziva. I am the one who's beyond blessed. God gave me the best children I could ever hope for. And you gave me the most amazing god-children." With that, Abby gave her friend one more hug before turning back to watch the kids.
"Mama! Did you see me with Winter? Isn't she the coolest, most special animal ever?" Caty signed. Abby hugged her daughter tightly before signing,
"I did, Caty-Did. You really love her, don't you?" Caty nodded. Abby decided then and there that she needed to talk with Jesse later about looking into getting Caty into a volunteer program at the National Zoo as soon as possible. The other kids were ready to see other exhibits in the aquarium, by then, so Caty reluctantly told Winter and her tank mate goodbye and followed her family.
The afternoon seemed to speed by, and soon it was time to head back to Orlando. That meant it was also time to say goodbye to Jack, Faith, Camon, and the three LeBlanc kids.
"It was great to see you, Jack. I'm so glad you guys got to join us." Ellie said, hugging her old friend.
"Likewise, Ellie." Jack said with a smile. Then she and her family took turns hugging the rest of the DC and London part of the NCIS family. After they headed home, the rest of the group had to figure out how to squeeze everyone into the remaining vehicles. The McGee's and the Krakowskys ended up together.
The kids all got involved in card games on the way home, but Caty fell asleep after one round. Looking at her daughter with her head resting on Johnny's shoulder, Abby turned to her husband and the McGees and said in a low voice, "Ya know, I'm pretty sure they think we don't know."
"Don't know what?" McGee said, playing innocent.
"I think she's talking about the fact that our son and their oldest daughter are head over heels for each other." Delilah said with a smirk.
"I'm serious. Should we talk to our kids? They're too young to be getting serious!" Abby demanded.
"Angel, they've been best friends since they were three and four years old and they're good kids. At least she's dating someone we know and we know his family.
"Jesse's right. They're good kids. We need to trust that they know how to behave." McGee assured his friend.
"But maybe Abby's right. Johnny's only fifteen and Caty's just sixteen. They haven't had much life experience yet. Not enough to understand those kinds of feelings." Delilah spoke up.
"We've got good kids. We've raised them well. To know what's right and wrong and how to be responsible. Now we just have to trust them." Jesse replied, calmly.
Abby and Delilah looked at him and then at each other before sighing.
"You know they're right, Abs." Delilah said.
Abby made a face and stated, "Yeah. I know. But I don't like it. Why do kids have to grow up so fast? Why can't we just keep them safe forever?"
"Because our job is to teach them the right thing to do. Theirs is to use that training to make the right choices when it's time for them to be on their own." McGee assured his wife and friend.
The conversation came to an abrupt end when Danny called out from the back of the van, "Mom, I'm thirsty."
Abby had to smile. At least one of her kids still needed her. "Ok, Buddy. Ya want a water?"
"Uh-huh." Danny replied. Abby got a bottled water out of the small cooler they had in the van and handed it to her son, then handed waters to the other kids as they requested them.
It wasn't long before they were back at the hotel. The kids showered and put fresh clothes on as the grown-ups got ready for a night on the town.
Every parent in the group gave last minute instructions to their kids. Before heading out, Tony said, "Tali, AJ, we'll be back by at least midnight. We'll all go to dinner together then we'll probably split up and go different places around town in smaller groups to have some fun. There's live music and other stuff goin' on around town."
"We'll be fine, Uncle Tony. You guys have fun." Tori answered for all of the teens.
"Yeah Dad. You deserve it. We've already all discussed how we're dividing up at bed time and we're just gonna order in pizza after we go to the arcade. We'll have the little ones in bed as soon as we get back from the outdoor movie." AJ added.
"We trust you, girls. And thanks again for doing this." Breena said.
"It's really no problem, Aunt Bre." Tali assured the woman. After the adults were sufficiently reassured and they had left, Timmy turned to the other kids and said, "Hey guys, who's ready for the arcade?!"
"MEEEEEE!" cheered all the kids.
For the next hour, the kids and teens enjoyed games and tickets. There were several epic prize options. For example, Julia won a humungous stuffed dragon called Figment. Bella won an Elsa Barbie doll with her tickets. Even some of the smaller prizes like the Wreck-it -Ralph boomerang that David won were a big hit. After about two hours, the teens got the younger kids up to the DiNozzo/Palmer suite and started some eighties Disney cartoons, such as Chip and Dale, Rescue Rangers. Timmy had ordered the pizza while they were still in the arcade, so it didn't take it long to arrive.
An hour later, Tori said, "Ok guys, everyone get your suits on and we'll head to the big blue pool." That was all it took. The teens had never seen kids move so fast. Within twenty minutes, everyone was ready for the coolest pool ever.
Meawhile, the adults had made reservations at Planet Hollywood and they were getting the star treatment. Most of the women had salads and the men were mostly burgers and steak, but Clay and Palmer each got breakfast for dinner and Kasie and Gabi and Ellie had the soup special.
"So I heard there's this fantastic driving range that has this game where you have to kill monsters to save a princess. Anyone wanna come?" Palmer asked, enthusiastically.
"Sounds like one of my video games. What's the place called?" McGee asked.
"The Drive Shack. It's open pretty late."
"I'm in!" Clay said with a grin.
"Me, too." Gabi added.
"Baby, you really wanna spend your last night here at some golf center?" Torres complained.
"Oh come, Mi Amor. It'll be fun." Gabi pressed.
"Oh, alright. I'll go for you." Torres finally gave in. Though he refused to admit it, it did sound like fun.
"Well I'm not going to spend my last night playing golf, but you guys go ahead. Where are the rest of you going?" Delilah asked.
"Abby's been begging me all week to take her to Edison." Jesse responded.
"Ooh, isn't that the Industrial Goth restaurant on the lake?" asked Ellie
"Yup! I can't wait. It'll be awesome! You should totally come!" Abby told her friends.
"Not me. Ziva and I are heading to the Tin Roof for the live music. Anyone wanna join us?" was Tony's response.
"Sure. I'm in." Cassie replied. Jason agreed. Kasie and Cissy chose to check out the Bohemian Gallery, and Breena went with them. Delilah and Ellie chose to go with Abby and Jesse. After paying the tab, the four groups headed out.
Meanwhile, back at the hotel, it was starting to get dark.
"I think we should gather up the kids and dry them off. The movie's gonna start soon." Caty signed.
Morgan nodded and called Tali over. "It's almost time for the movie. We should get the kids gathered up."
"Right. Let's each take a group and get them ready. It'll go faster that way." was the reply. So after finding Timmy, Johnny, Kasie and Donny, that's exactly how they did it.
The movie was Frozen 2. Most of the kids enjoyed it,and the older teens just talked quietly amongst themselves until it was over.
Once they got the kids back inside the hotel, Tori took the Reeves girls and Bella Torres to their suite, Tali and Timmy took the DiNozzos and Palmers back to theirs, and AJ took Rissy Biggs back to her suite. The McGees and Krakowskys headed back to their suite where Morgan, Johnny, and Caty got their youngest siblings down for the night.
After the younger kids were asleep and the Mandalorian was playing on the tv in the background, Johnny picked up a sack from under one of the beds in the boys' room and signed, "Cate, can you come with me for a sec? I have something for you. I've been saving it for tonight."
"Ok. Sure." Caty signed back. He took her by the hand and led her to the table away from where Morgan and Kelly were sitting on the couch.
"Remember at Magic Kingdom when I was gone for a couple of minutes before the fireworks?" Johnny began. Caty nodded.
Johnny continued, "Well, I wasn't in the bathroom. I went into that jewelry store and picked this up."
Caty gasped as her boyfriend pulled the object out of the bag. He held it out and she took it, running her fingers lovingly over the soft, smooth wood.
When Johnny had her attention again, he said, "I know you told your mom you didn't need another Elsa clock, but I also know you loved that clock and were sad when you had to give it back. When I found this, I knew that you should have it."
"Johnny, you're the best. I love you!" signed Caty before she wiped away the happy tears that had formed and hugged the teenager tightly and giving him a quick kiss on the lips.
"Love you, too, Cate! I'm glad you like it." Johnny responded. Then the two went back to join their sisters to watch the Mandalorian, and then the Goof Troop which they found once the other show ended. They all four ended up falling asleep and that's how their parents found them when they came it three hours later.
"They all look so sweet together!" Abby gushed softly.
"I know. They really do." Delilah agreed.
"I hate to wake them up, but they can't sleep like that all night. It'll be painful for them in the morning." McGee pointed out.
"I know. We can't leave them there. I'll wake up my two and you wake up yours?" Jesse suggested.
"Sounds good." McGee replied. So they got the four teens up and getting ready for bed. After bidding their kids goodnight and thanking them for helping out for the night, the grownups packed up as much as they could to prepare to leave the next day. It took about half an hour and then the four parents got themselves ready and into bed. As the NCIS family members in every suite drifted off to sleep, they thought about this amazing and incredible vacation. They were sad to see it end, but at the same time, it would be nice to be home again.
Well that's it guys. Only the epilogue left now. Oh, and that part with Kelly and the boogie board... I had a similar experience when visiting the beach with my family in California. It really did
hurt a lot. Thank you to all who have been faithful in reading and reviewing this story. Hope you enjoy the final chapter. I also plan on starting a new story sometime next week. Catch ya on the flip side.