Reminder: the current Secretary of Defense (SecDef) in this story is Gordon Becker, from the late and much lamented TV show, "Madam Secretary".

For readers in Australia, the devastation from the bushfires is heart wrenching and I'm sure I'm not the only one here who's sent prayers your way. Wish I could send rain!

Chapter 122

Tim had to stop himself from rubbing his arm around the injection site as he settled Jed and Hope in their car seats the next morning. Jed was no longer screaming, poor kid hated shots; however, he was now whimpering while Hope was quietly miserable. Rissa climbed in next, putting her arm around her little sister, "It'll stop hurting pretty soon, Hopie."

Hope nodded, taking Jed's hand. "Hold my hand, Jed, maybe it won't be so bad then." He looked at her, his little face crumpled in pain, and then at Tim. "Hurts bad. Daddy, make it go 'way, please!"

Tim's heart melted as he took both of them out of their seats and held them, murmuring to them. Artie joined them, taking Hope, who curled up in her mama's arms.

As the boys joined Rissa, Tim kissed her, then his littles, the boys and lastly his wife, who didn't look any happier than their children. As she sat back, she sighed, "I think that was one of the most painful shots I've ever had."

Tim nodded, "Me too. Sorry, kids, we didn't think this would hurt any worse than our regular shots."

Andy shrugged, wincing as he did so, "Why did they use those big needles?"

"I don't know. I'd say we should go have a treat but I don't think any of us feel like that, do we?"

When little Jed and Kyle agreed, Tim knew it was bad. "All right. Rissa, boys, do you kids feel okay to go to school?" His kids loved school and rarely, if ever, wanted to miss a day. After his question, there was silence and then Kyle said, "It's our last day until June. Yes, please, Daddy, Mama, I want to go to school."

Artie nodded, "That's fine, Train Man. Here's what we'll do. Andy, Greg, we won't walk you in but I want your promise that you'll look at your arm at lunchtime. If it still hurts as much, is red or puffy, go to the nurse immediately."

They promised and she turned to Kyle and Rissa, "Sweeties, I want you two to go to the nurse at lunchtime, have her look at it, no matter how it feels."

Rissa and Kyle promised. Hope looked at her mother, who said, "Hopie, how about you and Jed come home with me? If you feel better later then you can go see your friends."

Hope and Jed nodded. Andy asked his father if he was going to work and Tim nodded. "I have to, son, have a lot of things left to do. I'll take some Advil if it still hurts, though. Honey, maybe ask Claire to look at the jabs if they don't stop hurting?"

"Good idea! And we'll put some ice on them when we get home. Boys, Rissa, we can do that for yours, too, before you go back to school."

When even Andy agreed, Tim decided he should do that, too. That jab hurt worse than a…well, he didn't want to go there.

"I'll come in and do the same thing."

By the time everyone had an ice pack on their jabs for about 20 minutes, their grandparents and Aunt Sarah helping, they were all feeling better. They piled back into Big Blue and Artie drove Tim to the Tube and the children to school and nursery school. She was relieved that Hope and Jed wanted to see their friends as she needed to do the laundry and start sorting through at least what the littles would take with them. When she got back to the house, she found clean and folded clothes on the dining room table, each child had his or her own stack. Finding Lu, she wrapped her arms around her, "Thank you so much, that was so thoughtful!"

"Ah, sweetie, we'll miss you so much! I know this sounds silly, but I miss you already!"

Artie chuckled, "Now Luella Rose, you know you'll fall in love with little Joey and enjoy taking care of him."

"I know I will and I'm happy to be here for both his parents. I just wish I could be in two places at once! Jethro feels the same way. I'm glad most of us will be in Maine together."

"Me too! And the Baxters will be there, too, new people, that'll be fun!"

Asking what else Artie needed to do, the two women decided to leave the clothes that were going down here and take the rest up to the children's rooms. That would be a treat as the older ones, Andy, Greg and Kyle, were responsible for folding their own clothes and taking them upstairs. Rissa almost always took hers too, the boys helping her if there were too many for one trip.

They took all of Andy's clothes up, he was old enough to select and pack his own clothes!

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tim no sooner sat down at his desk than Leon arrived. Although he was trying to maintain his usual poker face, Tim thought he was struggling.

"News, Director?"

"We're here for another 16 months!"

Tim made no effort to hide his glee, "Awesome!"

His boss chuckled, "NATO likes having our HQ here, says our presence helps. And as we suspected from Bill, Freddie and Joe, the physical reconstruction at home is just beginning. They're still working on the roadbeds, in fact some places are just starting. From what SecDef Becker says, Baltimore has made the most progress in the Baltimore-Washington area, with two functioning main roads in and out of the city, more than any other municipality in the area. He said you can get to Annapolis on decent roads but no further. The weather this past winter certainly didn't help with as much ice and snow as they had.

"Anyway, the fleet move is on hold until the roads are in. In addition, and this is actually the most important thing, the deciding factor, we've been told to stay in Brambury or the Greater London area until Brody's adoption is final. The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service want us to remain here with him for at least a year to ensure he's getting the help he needs and to avoid additional stress. None of us, including the Secretaries, want to cause him any more pain after what he's been through."

He smiled again, "16 months means Brody will have the rest of this school year and all of next year at school here in Brambury and we'll be here for Jared's last year of secondary. We'll have two more trips to Greece. At least as residents of the UK."

"Are you allowed to travel to Maine with Brody?"

"Yes, we met with our social workers and explained that although it's a long way, we're traveling and will be vacationing with the family Brody knows here. We showed them videos and photos from last year, including a few of us on the plane, one of our dinners, the kids playing football and a short video of the wedding. I know they investigated everyone but I don't think they really understood the extended family until we showed them the videos and the photos. The Vance family has been approved for our Maine vacation!"

Tim grinned, "There is no denying that we are a large family and I can see how it might be difficult to figure us out."

Looking at each other, they laughed.

Tim left work in the early afternoon, first popping into the bullpen to say goodbye. His sisters-in-law gave him looks that told him something was up but he didn't stop to ask. Jimmy, Abby, Nikki, Maggie and Barry came by while he was there, giving him hugs and wishing him safe travels.

Alan, Barry, Ray and Kendra had volunteered to visit Patrick while the family was in Maine and he thanked them again. Pat had already met all three, Alan when Pat met Barry, Ray and Kendra when they brought Rachel in to see him. She was very curious about Greg and Kyle's 'other' dad and Pat had heard about her from Kyle, Rissa and Hope. He'd been moved by the young woman's quick affection and happy that the kids wanted to share their friends with him. He'd also met a couple of his boys' friends and accepted that he was part of the family; he no longer had any doubts about that.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Before going home, Tim spent nearly two hours with Patrick, telling him everything that had happened that week. Pat said he couldn't keep up, asking if his brother's life was always this crazy. Tim laughed, stopped to think about it and then said, "Yes, it is. With kids, a wife who works around the world, all the siblings, babies arriving every other month, including adoptions, there is always something going on. And that's just home! Then there's work which can be complex and is always crazy in some way. When it's not the criminals, it's our own employees or our bosses – the SecNav and the SecDef, or even the President. I think it was President Mrs. Bess who decided NCIS HQ should stay here. You remember me telling you about her, right, that she and her husband are old friends from MIT?"

Patrick nodded, signing that he'd forgotten Cousin Elizabeth. Tim looked at him, and sat down, laughing. Pat laughed too. When he finally stopped, Tim nodded, "Yes, it's definitely crazy most of the time. Except in Greece, it's usually calmer there. Except the year we went to war and Dad and I were in early meetings with the Cabinet and Leon worked so hard he made himself sick. He and his son lived with us for 6 months while he recuperated."

Patrick asked if that was here and Tim nodded, "Yes. He spent most of his time aboard the Navy Yard, nearly 60 hours straight, no sleep, no downtime and way too much coffee, transferring all the agency personnel in danger from the domestic terrorists."

"How'd he know who to transfer?"

Tim sat up in surprise, "We never told you about that? Geez! The terrorists made a list of people they intended to kill, not by name but according to the traits they hated, religion, skin color, beliefs, immigrants, status of citizenship. There were at least 50 things listed. They called it their 'Unwanted' List, saying if those listed left the country, they would not be harmed, as long as they never returned. Before they published the list, they'd already been attacking people for over a year. But the attacks were so widespread, it took local and state law enforcement and the FBI months to piece them together.

"The first time we flew into the U.S. after the family evacuated over here, was a year ago last month. We landed at a private airfield in metro DC. As we descended we could see burned out, bombed out buildings and the roadways looked like giant claws had torn them up. They're having to remove the roadways down to the original roadbeds and build them back up. Thousands of square miles. It's awful. On the way back, the Marines who live in our house in Arlington arranged to drive us from the airfield to the house to see it. It was 10 miles and took over an hour in a four-wheel drive vehicle. The fastest we went was on our property!

"The military is still sheltering thousands of refugees on their bases, they opened their gates during the war when people, families, were running for their lives and had nowhere else to go. That's when the terrorists started tearing up the roads, planting bombs and other nasties. With the roads so torn up, the bases were, most still are, being provisioned by air. The kids attend online classes with teachers who are scattered around the country. A lot of these people will have nowhere to go once the roads are drivable and services back up and running; their homes, businesses, whole towns are gone. The war's been over for nearly a year but physical reconstruction is very slow as every road, and building, has to be checked for remaining explosives.

"So that's how Leon knew, he transferred everyone of color, everyone who he thought might be of a different faith than the terrorists demanded, or those of no faith, anyone who'd been adopted or grew up in foster care and didn't know who their birth parents were. It ate at him and eventually took him down. He's fine now, made a complete recovery, his kids are safe – and grown, he's remarried and now they're fostering and will adopt a little boy left an orphan."

"Wow, that's rough. And tough for you."

"My childhood was worse, obviously it was more personal. Although I had Sarah, Rob, Geordie, the guys, Lu and Nate, I always felt like I was alone. I was terrified for 9 years. I still worry and get scared but I'm not terrified anymore. Now I'm having mostly good, fun and interesting adventures and we're off to another one in Japan. We'll call you from our house over there and at least once from Uncle Mark's place."

"Weird you're going that far!"

Tim huffed, "Singapore is farther, we were there two years ago, that was a business trip. I'm responsible for about 20 specialty agents around the world, have to visit them periodically."

"Too hot and humid for me, although beautiful and Kathy's home."

"I understand, I felt that when we were there. We visited a couple of the islands."

"Thought you worked?"

"I did but we went after work and on the weekend that we were there."

"Did you sleep all the way home?"

Tim chuckled, "Pretty much. Sorry to say this, Twick, but I need to get going. The boys and I will be here tomorrow. Hey, did you ask about the tablet?"

"They said yes, but nothing smaller than that. I'll need something to set it on and at a height and distance I can reach."

"Tell Dad, I'll mention it to him tonight. He built Sarah a laptop stand that's better than anything on the market. I'll bet he can build you something to secure a tablet, maybe latched onto the bed with a tray that raises, leaving your hands free. Then you can use that as a phone, too, with a camera."

"Is that new?"

"Newish, it's evolved over the last few years. You can watch TV, movies or videos on your tablet, video chat, listen to music, download books to read when you feel like it. You can write, not just email but blogs or whatever you want. Between James and I, we can pretty much add anything you can think of. That'll be good for you, you can meet people around the world."

"Lot of crazies?"

"Sure but there are also a lot of good people and maybe you can find some of your former teammates. I have a lot of people I consider friends whom I met online. I've even met a few in person. James will make sure your security is as tight as possible."

"Muth, I have questions for you, things I need to tell you, but don't feel safe signing them. We can talk privately on a tablet."

"Yes, as long as we delete everything afterwards. We can set that up to happen automatically."

"Good! Not photos, though, or movies."

"Correct."

Saying goodbye and setting a time for tomorrow's visit, the brothers kissed each other and then Tim left. He loved spending time with Pat, especially when it was just the two of them. Sometimes it still seemed surreal that his little brother was alive and awake.

On his way home from the Tube station, he stopped at the nursery to pick up Hope and Jed, who'd just woken from his nap. They were happy to see him, recovered from that morning's painful injection, as was he. Jed rode in the stroller, Tim's laptop case tucked underneath while Hope walked with her daddy, holding his hand. When they reached the driveway, Jed wanted to walk and Tim let him climb out on his own. He chuckled, taking a candid photo as his toddler pushed the stroller, now empty except for the laptop, to the front door. He and Hope helped Jed maneuver the stroller over the door sill into the house.

Then they stood still, listening for anyone who might be around. With a giggle, Jed took Hope's hand, saying something to her. She grinned and then the two of them opened their mouths and yelled, "Jed an' Hope are home!" They turned to look at their daddy in surprise as he'd yelled with them.

Mama, Grandma and Grandpa hurried in, laughing as Jed and Hope looked very pleased with themselves.

While the littles had a snack, Tim was given a tour of the preparations Artie and Mom had been working on, with help from his dad. There were 8 suitcases on the dining room floor, each with a sign with the owner's name. On the table in front of each suitcase was a pile of clothes.

Artie smiled, "We decided everyone has to carry whatever they want to take down here. That should help keep down the number of books, toys and shoes they take. Hope and Jed are exempt, of course, but it'll help you and me from bringing every cute outfit they own."

"That's a good idea! Are we going to leave all this here until Monday?"

Lu shook her head, "No, we've decided to move it to my craft room. I'm not planning to work on anything over the weekend and that will keep the mess behind doors."

With a grin, Tim piled the clothes into the right suitcases, closed them and carried them, three at a time, to the craft room, his dad following with three more. Artie and Lu brought the last two. Making sure they had the signs with the names with the right suitcases, they left the door open. Tim took Jed and Hope upstairs to do some more sorting of their things.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

By dinnertime, Jed had all his favorite toys and books brought downstairs with him; whoever held his hand or carried him on the stairs also had an arm full of his favorite things. Once he and Hope went to bed that night, his parents sorted through his treasures, moving several to his grandparents' closet. Kyle brought down two pairs of shorts, two shirts, one pair of long pants, 2 sets of underwear, sandals, sneakers and flip-flops, his swim stuff, 15 books and at least 20 toys, including his binoculars, which really didn't qualify as a toy, a building set, his favorite Legos, three of his favorite train cars, one locomotive and two passenger cars, his engineer's cap, and a remote controlled amphibious crocodile car.

Greg topped him with 20 books, along with another 30 he downloaded onto his tablet, a variety of Lego toys and kits, his cameras, he had three, his magnetic dartboard and other toys. With help, Hope brought down her Princess Play tent and her dollhouse, which had previously been Rissa's. They'd painted it red, Hope's favorite color, and refurbished it to her tastes. She also had all the furniture and inhabitants downstairs with her. Other favorites were her foam pogo jumper, her drawing board, her bright green teeter popper and her best love, her box of Lego bricks. Rissa brought her favorite books, drawing board, her harmonica, her own favorite Legos, her paint kit, inflatable easel and paper as well as several precut wooden shapes from Grandpa that needed painting, a clay kit to make various animals, her little ponies with their riders, two puzzles she hadn't yet tackled and an assortment of other toys.

As Tim and Artie went through all the toys, they noticed each of the kids brought some of their STEM toys, those toys developed to help them learn more about science, technology, engineering and math. They were happy about that! They edited Jed's toys and one of Hope's; they could not take the dollhouse but could take the people, some of the furnishings, and perhaps make a travel home of cardboard. Other than that, they decided to have the children decide for themselves, as long as the toy wasn't too heavy or awkward. They thought 10 toys apiece would be enough. Greg's cameras, Kyle's binoculars, his engineer's cap, Rissa's easel and paint kit and most of Andy's things would not count as toys. They'd tell the kids tomorrow and help them sort through things. Both wondered what Andy would bring.

Saturday morning, Tony called, having read the email and aside from telling them he thought they were crazy, asked about their transportation. When told they were hitching a ride from Secretary Porter on their way over, he breathed a sigh of relief. "That's good because I was afraid to even look at the schedule! However, Penny's flying from Japan to Maine on a Paddington jet and you're more than welcome, it's no trouble to add you."

"Thanks, Tony, you know the agency will pay for us."

"Yes and the Navy is paying for Penny's ride, part of their payback to her for their screw-up. I'll make sure they know NCIS is paying for you. When's your departure date from Tokyo?"

Tim told him, mentioning that they hoped they'd be leaving a little sooner than the 20th.

"That's fine, let me know if you're given a different date and I'll pass the word along. And you'll let Penny know?"

"Of course! Aren't they going to the Philippines too?"

"They've just returned, but not on Paddington Air. The jets were booked for the dates they wanted to go."

"Good, then we won't worry about that. Hey, this means we can take some of our outdoor toys too!"

"Cool! All right, hope to talk to you before you leave. If not, love you all, travel safe and see you in New England in May!"

When they disconnected, Tim and Artie were almost giddy thinking about which of their family's outdoor toys they could take.

They got to work, pulling out board games, including some the littles would enjoy, the softball equipment, which made Jethro sad until he remembered the Vances now had their own and they would all play together in Maine, a water toy called a 'slip and slide' to use on the lawn in back of the house, their ping pong equipment, including a lightweight portable folding table, their croquet set, a lawn bowling game, their frisbees, their disc golf game, a game they called Swingball which Grandpa said was similar to a game called tetherball when he was growing up, their back garden football game, some of their 'hop' balls and their little obstacle course for the littles to play on.

That was more than enough and they edited the pile, removing the ping-pong equipment, their disc golf game and the Swingball game. Most of the rest would be played by all the kids, they all played football, softball, lawn bowling and the younger kids loved to play croquet. They'd talked about taking their large platform swing they had in their back garden but decided that was too much and wasn't fair to the rest of the Manor residents, who also used it.

Tim shook his head, "I had visions of us traveling every weekend but I guess the kids will play after school, too."

"Hmm, let's look at what we might want to see on the weekends."

"I do have a request for me to not go."

"Disney-Tokyo?"

"Yes, although you took Greg and Kyle by yourself 2 years ago."

"I did. Maybe Mark, Perla and Penny would like to take them. With Andy's help, that's enough, they won't need either of us."

"Brilliant idea!" They rolled their eyes at each other, knowing the odds of that actually happening were slim to none.

"Did the children bring their assignments home for next week?"

"Yes and we have copies in our email."

"Good!"

Greg joined them to tell Tim it was time for them to leave for their visit with Pater. Tim nodded, "Thanks, son. Let me wash up and change my shirt, then I'll be ready. Is Kyle ready?"

"Almost, he's brushing his teeth."

Rissa, Hope and Jed decided to go with them, while Andy stayed home to help his mother and grandfather.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Patrick smiled as nearly the whole Tim tribe entered his room, along with Sarah's husband, James. He greeted each one with a kiss or hug. Listening to them chatter about what they were taking and why was entertaining, especially Kyle and Jed who were equally enthusiastic about Kyle's train cars. When Pat asked if he was taking any tracks to run them on, Kyle nodded, "Yes! Not all of them but enough so they can run in a circle. But not any of our people or towns or the tunnel."

Pat hadn't heard about the tunnel before and he listened as Kyle and Greg told him about making the tunnel with Grandpa their first Christmas in Virginia. "We got all messy with glue and paper. Grandpa called it paper mâché. He bent a piece of…what, Daddy?"

"Window screen, Train Man. He had some leftover from another project. Don't forget the feet!"

Greg nodded, "I did forget! He put thin pieces of wood on the screen so it would stand up better and then we put the gluey paper on. We had to let the layers dry before we added any, so we had to wash our hands a lot."

"Once it dried, what did you do?"

"We painted it! That was fun because we painted it like a rainbow. Then last year, we went to San Francisco and saw a tunnel that was also painted like a rainbow!"

Rissa grinned, "That was cool, just like our tunnel!"

Tim accessed their holiday photo albums, finding Christmas 2014, and handed his tablet to Greg, who found photos of their tunnel as it was being created and then as the train passed through it. In the meantime, Tim used his phone to find the "Robin Williams Tunnel" in northern California. He showed his brother who was impressed with both tunnels, big and little.

They hung out with Pat for nearly two hours before they had to leave. As Kyle said, "We have to go take more toys out of our suitcases because we all put too much in. But we're flying over with Ma'am and back on Uncle Tony's jet with Penny, so we get to take some of our outdoor toys. That will be fun, we'll send you lots of pictures."

Pat asked who 'Ma'am' was and the kids giggled, Greg explaining, "That's Secretary Porter, she's the boss of the Navy, so she's also yours, Papa's and Uncle Leon's boss and lots of our aunts' and uncles', too. Oh, and Uncle Dave and Uncle Jim. We call her Ma'am when we're talking with her and Grandma uses that as her nickname. It's easier than saying her whole title and everything."

"How often do you talk with her?"

"Mm, we see her sometimes when she's over here but mostly we see her when we're flying with her."

"You fly with her?"

Kyle laughed, "In her jet, Pater, not in the sky! We went to America last year on Daddy's business trip to Seattle and San Diego and we got to fly home with her, too. After Daddy caught the terrorists and ended the war, we had to stay in Seattle until they were arrested, then we flew to San Francisco for a day, that was fun! And other times, too. She's really nice to us. Her daughter is in college in Germany so she comes to see her and the people in Belgium, the NATO people. She likes to stop in to see Uncle Leon and Daddy, too. Oh yeah, and whenever Daddy has to be sworn in again because he keeps getting promoted, she comes over and does it. Except last year, she came to our camp in Maine and swore him in there. President Mrs. Bess wanted to do it but said she didn't want to look like she was playing favorites. She was almost Daddy, Aunt Sarah and Uncle Rob's mother, did you know that?"

Pat was still absorbing the information, most of which was new, and now shook his head, he didn't remember being told about that. Behind the kids, Tim was uneasy as he'd told Pat about the McCords wanting to adopt them and they'd also talked about flying on the SecNav's jet. He made a mental note to mention it to Sarah and Mom. The things he'd forgotten were not a big deal, they were actually quite trivial but from what Tim knew, this was the first instance of his brother not remembering something he'd been told.

On the way back to Brambury, they stopped to pick up the large cargo van Tim had reserved. James drove the kids in Big Blue while Tim drove the van.

Back home again, Tim found his sister and mother and told them what had happened. Sarah nodded, "I've noticed a couple of things. I mentioned it to the doctor who said not to worry about it at this point. Right now, he's still processing everything, using memory and thought processes that have been dormant for years. And there's also that damn drug they gave him and not knowing what the long term affects, combined with the original TBI, will be. I'll update the doctor. I know, Tim, that the information he forgot would never be that important for him to remember, but up until these last two weeks, he has remembered what he's heard. Peaks and valleys, remember that's what they told us, there would be peaks and valleys throughout his recovery."

Tim nodded, "Thanks, Sari. That helps."

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Finding his dad in the basement, Tim smiled, "There you are! Have a new project for you."

"Great, what?"

"Pat has approval to use a tablet. He's going to need something to hold it so he can touch the screen and use both hands for signing, be able to plug earphones in. I was thinking something like a lap desk that would fit over him and the bed, maybe latch underneath to provide stability?"

"Will he need to move the tablet at all?"

"Yes and with his limited mobility..."

"Hmm, yes. I'll take your mother's tablet with me and do some measurements. If his mobility improves by the time I get this made, that's fine."

"Dad, there's something else. He might need a physical keyboard, which would have to go on a tray in front of the tablet, like this…" Tim drew a diagram, "and that tray might have to move up or down, at a slant."

"You know, since you won't be around, I think I'll ask James to come with me to do the measurements and make sure I understand how this needs to work. Pat will also need someone to bring him the stand and the tablet and put both away somewhere secure."

"Yes. Also, the tablet will need to be charged and he might need a light on the tray, too. Taking James with you is a great idea. I'll look online, see what's there to give you some ideas."

"You sure you want me to make this?"

Startled, Tim looked at him with a smile, "Dad, there are stands out there for people with limited mobility. However, Pat needs one that's custom-made for him and you're the only one who'll understand exactly what he needs. And anything you make will be a thousand times better than what we can find online or have custom made somewhere else."

"All right, wasn't sure if there was something already on the market."

"Not for Pat's needs and not made by you." Tim wrapped his arms around his father. "I'm going to miss you so much!"

"Me too, son. This will be the longest we've been apart since we left the States. From you leaving my house to Thanksgiving in Cambridge was 5 or 6 weeks and it felt like 6 months. Of course, we weren't allowed to talk, that'll be different this time. South Africa was three weeks, Newport was less than a month. But we've been there when each of our grandbabies arrived, we're certainly not going to short Joe and Char!"

"Yeah, it's Owens' fault; he has really bad timing."

Dad snorted, "Of course, in dealing with our family, he'd be lucky to find 6 consecutive weeks where someone wasn't having a baby, getting married, taking on a big job, tied up with a case or an alert, or taking a trip somewhere."

"That's true! We'll be all right, we'll Skype every day if we need to."

"I'm glad Mark and Perla will be close by. And Penny."

"Me too. Artie and I hope the three of them will volunteer to take the kids to Disneyland, Tokyo."

"Without you two?"

"Yes."

"That's three of them and Andy will help. Kind of asking a lot though, kiddo."

"I'll pay for all of them, I'll pay for the Ibarra grandkids too."

"You really don't want to go."

"I do not. I think a decent interval between visits is 4 years."

"Sounds good to me. Good luck selling that to the kids, though!"

"Did you ever go, as a kid?"

"To Disney World? No. It opened sometime in the mid-60s or early 70s, right about when the store was really taking off. My dad was putting most of the profit back into it and he wouldn't take more than two days off in a row. Two days wasn't enough time to drive there and back, flying was too expensive so we didn't go. Shannon and I took Kelly to Disneyland while we were at Pendleton. That was fun! However, I remember from our visit to the Paris Disneyland how exhausting that was."

"And expensive, not that I'd let that stop us. There are a lot of other things I want to see and do in Japan and Disney isn't one of them!"

"Of course, you have to remember that Greg and Kyle are one up on Disney Parks."

"Two up on Jed, he hasn't been to Disney Paris yet."

"Why don't you try that, promise them a trip to Paris when you get home. Are we going anywhere after Balmoral this year?"

Tim chuckled, "We haven't thought that far ahead yet. The kids haven't seen Paris yet, that's a good idea, we put it off last year. Maybe some of the others will join us. In October, we want to take them to the coast of Morocco. Thinking we'll fly through Gibraltar and stay over a day on the way to or from."

"Good idea! Where else?"

"Croatia, Hungary, Poland, Austria, Slovakia, Slovenia, the Czech Republic, Artie's dying to see Prague and it'd be fun to go back with all the kids. The rest of Europe and a longer trip to Ireland."

"Count us in on Prague!"

"If we had two weeks, we could visit several places. Wouldn't do them justice though."

"We did three or four days in Prague, that was enough for the kids. Didn't see the rest of the country, though."

"Right. I figure I have about 6 years before I have to make a crucial decision, one which will involve a move."

"Mm, might be 6 to 8 years, son or even longer now, with Brody. Leon won't be happy until they have a college fund for him, too."

"Okay, well, we'd like to see as much of Europe, Africa and maybe parts of Eurasia too. We have about 10 days in the months of August, October, February and a week in April. That's 222 days over 6 years or 296 days over 8 years. Sounds like a lot more that way, doesn't it? I guess we should map it out, maybe a year at a time."

"Wow, that's a lot of travel to think about! Where would you start?"

"Morocco. After that, someplace warm or ski country in February."

"You know, you're missing a week, son, between Christmas and New Year's."

"No, that's family time, same as Greece and Maine."

"Unless we all went somewhere together." Jethro laughed at the look on his son's face. Every year they thought they had their big family travel pretty well organized and every year there were weddings or babies or new/reclaimed family, sometimes all three.

Artie knocked on the basement door, "Jethro, is Tim with you?"

Tim smiled, saying, "Back to work!", calling out, "I'm here and will join you in a minute, Hon."

Dad looked at him, "I thought you were dead set against the big chair."

Tim chuckled, "Our director is very clever. I think I'll have had so much practice sitting in for him that by the time he finally retires, it won't be much of a decision at all. Besides, I can retire anytime, I don't have to set a record. I'm certainly not going to break his!"

"Which is fine!"

"Would you mind moving home?"

"If it's safer and if most of us go, no. We both know Bec needs her own office and soon."

Tim just nodded. Although few words had been exchanged, he knew Geordie was upset with him for 'keeping' Bec in Belgium during the Antwerp case.

Dad frowned, "What?"

"Nothing to worry about, Dad."

"If it's about what's eating Geo, your mother talked to him, thought she straightened him out."

Tim shrugged, "If he has that little confidence in his wife or in me, that's his problem, not mine. I do know my wife would be very unhappy with me if I even suggested she wasn't up to the job or should have special privileges because she's a woman."

"What?"

"He didn't like that as lead, she had to be there to coordinate with the other law enforcement entities, and he blamed me for that. I'm guessing he must think there's a difference between male team leads and female team leads. There are women in special ops, right?"

"Sure, but I don't know about the level he was in."

"So for the years he was out in the world, there might not have been any female teammates."

"Right, I see where you're going with that. Doesn't excuse him for blaming you!"

"As I said, that's his problem." Tim smiled at his dad, "What, you thought none of us ever fought, disagreed about anything?"

"I was an only child who had an only child, Timson, or thought I did."

"You never had a disagreement with a friend or with one of your Marine buddies?"

"You know I have, with Fornell and Ducky, more than I can count with Mike and a few with my Marine buddies."

"Same difference, it'll blow over." Tim smiled again, "No parental interference is necessary."

Dad nodded. "All right, I'll keep my nose out of it. Except I don't like you leaving with that standing between you."

An eyebrow raised, Tim looked at him, "You're not saying I should apologize for doing my job?"

At the glare he was given in reply, he nodded, "Just checking."

With a kiss to his dad's face that left him smiling, Tim returned to his wife. "Sorry to be so long. Turned out we had a few things we needed to talk about."

She nodded, giving him a kiss. "That's good! Did you get the cargo van?"

"Yes, we backed it into the garage. James said either he or Dad will turn it in on Monday."

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Throughout the day Saturday, the washer and dryer continued to be busy as additional clothes were cleaned before they were packed. The kids' uniforms were also cleaned and put away so they'd be ready for school when they returned from Maine.

James and Lu were on rotation for dinner that evening and at several points during the afternoon, Tim stopped to sniff appreciatively. Something smelled wonderful! However, between cleaning and drying their outdoor toys and sorting and packing the kids' clothes, toys and all of their books, he never quite made it to the kitchen for a preview of that evening's meal.

He was out in the back garden with Dad and Artie about 4:00 PM, looking at the wading pools. The weather in Yokosuka should be pleasant over the next 6 weeks, similar to Brambury's spring weather, gradually increasing temperatures with plenty of rain. But then, Yokosuka was also on one of the main islands that make up the country of Japan and islands tend to have changeable weather.

Their quandary was whether or not to take the wading pools to Maine. The water would heat up faster and the babies and toddlers could play in them on the beach. As they were inflatable, they'd be easy to pack. Dad was in favor of the idea, saying that Caty, Tyler, Timmy and Ro would be old enough to splash around and have a good time, although baby Joey would be too young for anything but his portable crib and infant carrier.

Tim thought he heard cars in the driveway but Dad asked him a question and that distracted him. However, he knew he'd been right when he heard Rob's laugh. The two greeted each other as if they hadn't seen each other in years rather than weeks. Ellie kissed Tim's cheek, handing him one of his nieces, he was pretty sure it was his namesake. He played with her for nearly 10 minutes before she was whisked away. He smiled when he saw Caty coming his way, holding his arms out. James grinned, "You won't have her long, I had to sneak her away from Nikki and Bill."

The DiNozzos were next and before too long, the house filled with the Gibbs clan, including the senior Powells, Fornells and Vances, for a surprise family gathering and dinner. When Joe and Char came in, everyone leaped up, offering their seats to Char, who looked like she would give birth any minute. Bec let Tim take Tyler for a few minutes and the little guy squealed happily as Uncle Tim gave him a raspberry kiss.

Kyle looked around at everyone, "Wow, this is like Christmas without a tree and presents!"

Young Brody sat on his new dad's lap, feeling safe with Dad's arm around him and his new mum nearby, watching everything and everyone. Other than school and church, he'd never been with so many people at once. And you weren't allowed to talk, laugh and have fun during class or church, like everyone was doing now.

When Davey and Rissa asked if he wanted to play with them, he saw it was all right with his parents and nodded happily. When his brother Jared went with them, he felt special. They played outside with all the kids, even the teens.

Artie was thrilled that her mother and grandmother made the trip from Edinburgh, they'd stay overnight, returning to Edinburgh Sunday afternoon. Mimi chuckled, "We wanted to see all of you before you leave on another adventure and to see how Charlotte is doing and all the babies, they're growing so fast!"

Charlotte said she'd be very happy when their baby was on the outside and all the mommies, new and old, nodded in understanding. They'd already had her baby shower, the nursery was painted, the furniture in place, Uncle Bill made a rocker while Grandpa made them a bassinet and a crib, the latter with the help of Pop, Ben's grandfatherly name, and Uncle Bill. The kids made a collage of all the family photos, including the Swiss family, so their baby cousin would recognize familiar faces.

After a wonderful afternoon and evening with their family and friends, Tim and Artie collapsed into bed that night.

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When everyone was satisfied with what they were taking, they relaxed on Sunday. After church and an early lunch, they bundled up and went for a long walk. Back home again, Jed went down for his nap while his parents packed sheets, blankets, quilts and pillows for each of the kids and their own. Once that was done, they checked everything for at least the 10th time while the school age kids started the assignments they'd been given to do before starting at their new school next week.

The couple also spent more time with Mimi and Sophia, later driving them to the train station for the trip back to Scotland. They'd flown down but the women decided to take the train back.

Artie turned in early but Tim was wide awake. Tracking his father to the basement, the two of them spent over an hour talking about this and that. Eventually the two wound down and wandered off to their respective beds. Tim always felt better after spending time with his father and thought that now he could sleep.

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Tim and Artie were up at 4:00 AM Monday morning. The suitcases were all downstairs, along with the plastic storage containers they were using instead of packing boxes for the toys, books and odd shaped objects. Although the handles locked on those, they'd secured the lids with duct tape to be certain. No one would be happy if hundreds of Lego bricks got loose and were scattered throughout the cargo hold! Tim had been reluctant at first, he hadn't wanted to buy more plastic, but they had enough of the containers already in storage.

Tim and Jethro had been a little aghast at the amount of things in storage they'd accumulated over the past 6 years but then remembered not all of it belonged to current Manor residents. Bits and pieces had been left by their evacuated family and the Mallards had turned their storage room into a bedroom for Nat and Ben, so their storage was also living at the Manor.

Once Tim and Artie showered and dressed, they stashed their toiletries in their carry-on bags, adding this or that, including the extensive first aid kit that Jimmy and Ducky put together for them. Tim had looked into it, wondering why they would need what looked like a mile of gauze and at least a pound of adhesive bandages and a plastic bag labeled 'spruce tea'. He did appreciate the ginger root and extra sea bands they'd included.

Tim took their carry-ons downstairs while Artie started waking the children. Kyle came first as he generally took longer to wake up. Patrick said that Kathy had been like that, too. As he and Greg were still sharing a room, his older brother was next. He hopped out of bed, carefully making it before heading for the shower.

Tim woke the girls, making sure they were out of bed before he left the room. Next was Jed, who popped his eyelids open, grinning at his daddy. "We goin' on the plane today?"

"Yes, Jedly bug, we're going on the plane today." Tim had not come up with that 'bug' name, the baby's brothers and sisters had and he and Artie didn't have the heart to change it.

The toddler clapped his hands in glee and Tim laughed, picking him up out of his crib. Changing his diaper, he cleaned him, dressing him in his favorite overalls and long sleeved shirt. Like his dad, Jed was frequently chilly on airplanes and they'd learned to always have a sweater for him.

Hearing Kyle humming, Tim knew he was getting dressed, likely putting his socks and shoes on. Greg exited the bathroom, his hair wet, and Rissa and Hope ran in. Andy was probably using the bathroom at the other end of the hall. Tim thought about Andy moving to the attic suite; he'd asked about doing so recently but neither he nor Artie wanted him to and they weren't sure Andy really wanted to, either. They thought he could have the 2nd master, that way he'd more or less have his own bathroom and a little more privacy than he did now without being on a different floor than the rest of them.

When the delicious smell of pancakes, bacon and eggs drifted up from the kitchen, the family upstairs quickly finished dressing and with Tim holding Jed's hand, walked downstairs. When Rissa was first learning how to walk up and down the stairs, everyone in the house learned to walk slowly and they'd never lost that habit. They'd installed a second chair rail, a better height for a toddler to reach and now Jed held onto that with one hand and his daddy's hand with the other hand. Although he was excited and could smell the wonderful treats, he didn't run or rush on the stairs.

Grandpa came out to watch the family descending the stairs, he always said they looked very grand when they walked down together. Today he felt a bit melancholic but pushed it aside. It was only 6 weeks, he and Lu had it marked on the calendar they kept in their room, with their kids' birthdays, anniversaries and special events. He hated that they'd be so far away and once again reminded himself that the Ibarra family would be close by. Although he didn't know Mark McGee Ibarra all that well yet, he trusted that he was a family man and would make sure that his son, daughter and their babies, big and small, would be safe.

Once off the stairs, Tim let go of his youngest and he joined his siblings in making a beeline for the kitchen. Rissa slowed, taking Jed's hand. "We better not run, Jed, Grandma doesn't like us to run in the kitchen."

The little boy nodded, smiling at his big sister. Kissing his grandpa and grandma good morning, he chattered happily as he was settled into his high chair. His parents had been ready to start his transition to a booster seat when the trip to Japan came up. Now they'd wait until their return from Maine.

This morning they said grace, usually reserved for dinner, before they ate. Tim realized his mother was nervous and wondered if it was the long flight or because they were going so far away. As they ate, he talked about the office and how close their temporary home was to it. It wasn't far from the Ibarras' home either. When she started to relax, he decided it was the distance that had made her anxious.

James and Sarah got up while they were loading the cargo van, Sarah kissing each of them and holding onto her Timpa for a little bit. James helped them load the truck, which didn't take long. Although the pile in the house looked huge, it really wasn't. Two suitcases for each of them and five large storage tubs. Fastening bungee cords around the load in the cargo van so it wouldn't slide around, they were done! Kissing the Powells goodbye, the children climbed into Big Blue with Mama and Grandpa while Papa and Grandma were in the cargo van.

They were at the airfield by 5:30 and had the cargo van unloaded in 10 minutes. Waiting inside the small building, their passports and paperwork were checked, the storage tubs, suitcases and carry-on bags put through the scanner. When they heard the jet landing, Dad kissed his grandbabies, daughter-in-law and son goodbye while Mom started with her son, daughter-in-law and then her precious grandchildren. Dad hung onto Tim for a bit, finally stepping back. "We're going to go, get the cargo van back and get home. We can't watch you leave this time."

Tim gathered his parents in his arms, kissing each of them, telling them how much he loved them. As he later told Artie, there was no way they'd ever move to the U.S. without them. Artie's response was that the entire family would have to move, all at once. They chuckled, saying they'd need the largest Paddington jet and a separate, even larger cargo jet.

Secretary Porter welcomed them aboard and smiled as the children selected their favorite seats. As Jed's seat would turn into a hybrid crib-toddler bed, he was directed to it, told it was a very special seat just for him. He inspected it carefully, approving his Mama and Daddy sitting close to him with his sisters and brothers not too far away. He grinned at Andy, who took the seat closest to him. Ma'am, the nice lady who lived on the jet, gave him a little hug and he hugged back, giving her a kiss, too.

Once they were all buckled in, their carry-on bags stowed for take-off, the jet taxied to the runway and took off. The kids watched out the windows, Kyle, Rissa and Hope waving and saying "Goodbye, Brambury, we'll see you later!"

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After fifteen hours, including a four hour layover, several hours of sleep, at least three movies, countless games, stretches, delicious meals and snacks, they were told they were descending into Japanese air space. Putting everything away, they first grabbed jackets from their carry-on bags as it was chilly, 47°F this early in the morning. They landed right on time, 6:00 AM. The children stayed aboard with their mother and Ma'am while Tim oversaw the removal of their belongings from the jet. As the first items were pulled from the cargo area, two vehicles were allowed through the gates of the military base, one a 14 passenger van, the other a large cargo van. Their ride was here!

Tim went back aboard and he and Artie helped the kids disembark with their carry-on bags and safety seats. Saying goodbye to Secretary Porter, Kyle asked her to tell Singapore hello for him.

The drivers waited patiently as the family and their belongings went through Customs inside the small terminal. Then they were welcomed to Nippon-koku, in the Japanese language, 'the State of Japan' and both drivers helped load everything but the kids' seats and the carry-on bags into the cargo van. Once again, Tim was thankful his wife spoke Japanese as she easily conversed with their drivers. He, Greg and Kyle only remembered how to say hello, thank you, goodbye, yes and no. There hadn't been any time for refresher courses!

As the vans left the airfield, Tim sent a text home that they'd arrived and were on the way to their temporary home, all was well. Except, and he didn't add this, it felt very strange to be traveling without his parents. Six weeks, he reminded himself and if Owens was allowed to work, even from home, before those 6 weeks were up, he knew his parents would meet them, either in Boston on the way to the Cape or in Maine. He hoped they wouldn't mind if he was a little clingy.

Most of them smiled or laughed as they pulled up to their temporary lodgings. It was a very long building and Artie thought they might need their skates or rent Segways to get from one end to the other. The building was lovely, as Audrey told them, it looked like a traditional Japanese building on the outside.

As they climbed out of the van, a gentleman approached them, welcoming them to Japan and Yokosuka. Artie answered him in Japanese, much to the man's surprise and delight. He was Mr. Sato, their landlord. After introducing Tim, Artie was handed the keys and asked if he could also meet the children. She performed the introductions and the kids, watching their mother and father, followed their examples as their names were said. Greg and Kyle said hello in Japanese and Artie explained.

Then they started unloading the vans. The littles carried the lightest things their parents could find while Rissa and Kyle took care of the carry-on bags. Greg and Andy helped with everything else. The owner helped too, as he had things he wanted to show them in the lodge.

Once inside, they left everything in the large entryway until they'd seen the whole place. Mr. Sato showed them every room, thankfully spending most of his time telling them about the kitchen and dining areas. Everything was sparkling clean and the building was warm, he told Artie he'd turned the heat on the night before and showed them how to manage the thermostat. He gave them a lot of information and smiled happily when he was thanked profusely. He left his phone number with them, they were to call him if they needed anything or had questions.

Their landlord left, happy to have tenants for almost two months. He hadn't thought of it before he'd been contacted last week but since then he'd realized that he could rent out all his rooms, individually or to families, during the Tokyo Summer Olympics in July and August! Yes, people would have to travel over an hour to get to Tokyo, but then he could possibly see about discounts for dining or airport shuttles, things of that nature. Excited by the possibilities, he waved to his tenants as he drove off.

Once he left, the family walked back through the rooms. Although Andy wasn't yet as tall as his father, he was nearly 6 feet, taller than his mother who was 5'9", and they were happy to find a room with a queen-sized mattress for him. They'd brought a queen airbed just in case but were happy to find the longer mattress.

Tim and Artie claimed the room with the Cal King mattress and the room next to them would be Jed's. As there were 3 beds in there, Rissa and Hope asked if they could share with their little brother and their parents agreed. Greg and Kyle also wanted to share and were surprised when Andy asked if they wanted to share with him. There were three beds in Andy's room so that wasn't a problem. Tim and Artie laughed about it later, they could have asked for a 3 bedroom rental; however, with 8 of them they really did need more living space than one would usually find in a 3 bedroom house.

Before they unpacked their clothes, they decided to check out the back garden. Although it was still early morning and chilly, it felt good to be outside and the kids ran around, followed by their parents. A portion of the yard was dedicated to a beautiful garden with all kinds of spring flowers, shrubs and trees, a lightly graveled walking path winding through it. At the center they found a fountain with benches around it. Despite the chill, it was so tranquil Tim wanted to sit to absorb it all. Then he smiled as he spotted two patio heaters, apparently he wasn't the only one who wanted to spend time in the garden on chilly days! Turning them on, even little Jed smiled at the warmth. They sat for a few minutes before the kids were off and running again. Turning the heaters off, their parents followed them.

Outside the garden, there was plenty of room to play softball, football, croquet, volleyball or anything else they wanted to do. Spotting a shed at the far end, tucked under a tall fir tree, Andy reported that it held a riding lawn mower and other garden tools as well as some athletic equipment. As they were all cold again, they decided to do more exploring later.

Back inside, they gradually shed their jackets and gloves. After a snack and a hot beverage, they dispersed to their rooms to begin unpacking. Tim and Artie helped Jed, Hope and Rissa before tackling their own belongings.

Once their clothes were put away, Tim decided to explore the kitchen and find spots for the few things they'd brought. Although Audrey said the kitchen was fully equipped, the Gibbses brought a few of their favorite pots, pans, spices and flavorings as well as a few gizmos. He smiled as he poked through what was already there, no pizza pan, as they'd figured. The spices looked very different, he'd ask Artie to translate and the mustard he found was one he and the boys couldn't eat. He smiled, realizing that allergy must come from his Hubbard mother Lily. No matter, they'd brought their own as well as their favorite pizza pans and new bottles of their favorite toppings and sauces, ranging from boysenberry syrup to chocolate syrup to horseradish and salsa.

He'd finished putting those things away when he felt the first symptoms of jet lag. Leaving the kitchen, he checked in each room. Andy, Kyle and Greg were talking quietly and greeted him with smiles. Greg told him he felt sleepy and Tim nodded. "I'll bump up the heat. Why don't you crawl into bed for a nap? I'll set my alarm for three hours." Kissing each of them, he visited the girls and Jed, who were already half asleep. Telling them it was time for their first jet lag nap, he tucked them in. Suspecting Artie was already asleep, he found the thermostat and raised the heat a couple of degrees.

Back in their room, he smiled, finding Artie curled up on their bed, one foot hanging off of it and one of her scarves in her hand, sound asleep. Gently removing the scarf, he took her shoes off and pulled the covers over her, before kicking off his own shoes and crawling under the covers on his side. Five minutes later, he reached out to the nightstand to click a remote, locking the doors and telling his phone to wake him in three hours. Then he settled back against his pillow, pulled his wife into his arms and slept.