Shout out to Alix33, my beta! I'm always grateful for your edits and wonderful comments. You rock!

Thanks also to my readers for coming along on this journey. Tim and the gang wouldn't be nearly as much fun without you!

With the death toll rising from the earthquake (6.7, wow) in Turkey this weekend, I hope that all our readers, I'm especially thinking of you, Momcat, their families and loved ones are safe.

The (real life) NCIS Washington DC Field Office is located on Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, a joint military base operated by the U.S. Navy, with multiple military services and government entities on base. It's located within the District of Columbia. The acronym for Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling is JBAB.

Chapter 124

Before Tim and Artie did anything else, they asked Penny if she would mind flying to Virginia instead of Boston and Cape Cod. Her 'Yes!' had somewhat of a squeal to it and she told them how excited she was to see the house again, to stay in her former home, although she was careful not to say anything to her son or daughter-in-law. Next, they contacted Tony and had the flight changed. He was excited for them and happy they'd be able to leave a week earlier than planned.

Their next contact was with the senior Gibbses, asking them to join them in Arlington instead of Boston. Jethro was pleased and Lu was nearly as excited as Penny, both happy their kids were able to leave early and asking if they'd be staying at the house. After talking about what they'd need to bring, Dad said they'd bring all the airbeds to save the hassle of renting beds. Ever practical Lu said they'd bring bedding for Penny and themselves, adding in extra blankets, foam pads, yoga mats and quilts to put under the airbeds. Tim had lost track of how many airbeds they had at the Manor but his dad knew the exact number, plenty for the five adults and six children, with a few extra. As there was more than one queen bed, the kids might want to share but they'd worry about that later. Tim asked his dad to also bring the toddler airbed for Jed, one they'd purchased for Rissa back when she was the family toddler.

Following the call to the Manor, they contacted the Porters, who were also happy to switch from visiting the Cape to visiting the Virginia house. They were excited about finally seeing the house and, really, they could go to the Cape anytime. Most of all, they wanted to spend time with the Gibbses. They'd take the train down and catch an Uber, now operating with All Wheel or 4 Wheel Drive vehicles in the DC-Virginia area, to the house, bringing their own airbed, bedding, food from their refrigerator and whatever they needed for Sandy Pines.

While Artie continued to talk with them, Tim sent a text to Tony, letting him know the Porters were taking the train to Virginia and would be air passengers on the flight to Maine.

Tony replied, "Thanks for letting me know!"

Lastly, the couple contacted Rick Carter to confirm they'd be visiting the house for several days, bringing their own beds and bedding. He was also excited and happy that they'd finally be able to stay in their house, promising to let the rest of the tenants know. When he offered to bring in groceries for them, Artie nodded with a big smile. They sent him a list, thinking about cooking for everyone.

Tim's last day at the Yokosuka office was Thursday and he was touched when the staff threw a surprise farewell luncheon for him. He told them how honored he'd been to lead them for the past weeks, how proud he and SSAIC Owens were of them and wished each of them the best for the future. As everyone left the briefing room where they'd had their party, he stood at the door, shaking hands with each of them. He chuckled to himself, he'd heard some stories about the old MCRT, amazed any were still floating around after all these years. He'd also heard some tall tales spun around his own work and was happy to put those to rest, relieved that none of them involved his White Hat work.

The Ibarras-Gibbs group gathered at the lodge one last time Friday, for a 'until we meet again' lunch. For once, no one was sad as the whole group would gather again in Varkiza; Penny, Tim and Artie had persuaded Rizal and Imarie to bring their families to Greece in late July. The cousins thought it was a joke until Penny told them they'd be flying on the same company jet she and the Gibbses were flying to Virginia. Unfortunately, Analynn and her family wouldn't be able to make it as her husband had commitments that couldn't be changed.

In the meantime, Tim worked on Daniel, also inviting his ex-wife Trinity, if that would make things easier to bring Liesl and Mark. He also told his cousin that he was sure schedules could be rearranged for Ned and his counterpart in the London office so both could be in Greece at the same time. After all, they weren't responsible for the same territories and each had one other INV agent in their respective office. Piro could handle the deputy work for Europe and Tim thought Dawson in the Northwest office would make an excellent assistant deputy, to handle the US and here in Yokosuka, either Tighe or Bailey could do the same for the Asian and Australasian offices.

He liked the idea of assistant deputies, with another class of INV agents recently graduating and posted around the world, they might need more structure. He'd discuss it with his deputies when he returned to the UK from the US.

That Friday, Tim, Artie and Perla worked together to make Chicken Adobo for the combined family. It was the dish's 2nd appearance as Perla and Imarie made Pork Adobo for a previous group meal. The dish was easy to make, the trick was the delicate balance between the various seasonings. Adobo, which can be made with meat, fish or vegetables, is seen as the National Dish of the Philippines and is a different recipe than Spanish or Mexican Adobos.

Their dessert that day was fudgy chocolate ice cream, left over from Kyle's family party. They'd barely made a dent in the gallon container then and there were still several servings left when they finished today. That was fine with Kyle; he knew they were taking it with them to Arlington although he laughed when his parents told him they could always buy more!

While the kids had been excited about going to Cape Cod, they were even more excited about seeing their house again and better yet, they were going to stay there! They could swim indoors in a heated pool and hike through the woods, maybe put their feet in the creek, although Andy told his sisters and brothers it would probably be too cold to wade. Still, they planned to make little boats and sail them and see if there was a tree house. Greg quietly told Andy they'd make sure the tree house had a 'basement' for him. Andy didn't think it would bother him as much now that he was taller, his legs were long like his papa's and he could probably wrap them around tree limbs to be safe. Still, he thanked his brother for his creative solution.

After their feast, the Gibbses made sure the kitchen and the lodge were as sparkling clean as they'd found it a little over 5 weeks ago. Their flight would be wheels up at 3:50 PM; they had an hour of leisure before doing their final checks through the lodge, loading up and heading for the airfield. During that hour, the Gibbses and Penny got as much fresh air and exercise as possible. They played football, a game that Uncle Mark confessed to still thinking of as soccer, and that had everyone moving. All too soon, it was time to go.

For their return trip they wouldn't need to rent a cargo van to move everything to the airfield. Cousin Rizal arranged to borrow one from his wife Akari's extended family, provided Rizal do the driving; Tim planned to pay for fuel, too. With Uncle Mark transporting Penny and her treasures in the family van, the Gibbses and their luggage riding in their rental van and everything else in the borrowed van, the group was covered.

The jet and crew were already there, having flown in Wednesday, and were beginning preparations for departure. The Gibbs kids climbed out of their rental, then Hope and Jed sat in Uncle Mark's van with Penny while the older kids helped unload Penny's gear, followed by their own suitcases, bags, boxes and storage tubs. By 3:20, all the passengers and their carry-on bags boarded the jet. Their flight attendants welcomed them with smiles, they'd flown with them returning from Maine last year.

While Rizal left with the borrowed van, Mark would return the Gibbses' rental van on the way home, the Ibarras stayed to watch the jet taxi out and lift off. Imarie turned to her husband, "I'm so excited; we'll be doing that in a few weeks!"

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

This flight, from Tokyo to Washington, DC, was 12 ½ hours and, to the kids' amazement, they'd land on Friday, regaining the time they'd 'lost' coming over. That meant an extra day at their house, they wouldn't have to leave for a whole week!

The flight was comfortable with a few spots of turbulence but the kids and adults were used to that and weren't scared, although Jed checked his parents' faces before he decided not to be scared. They slept, read and the four older kids started work on some of the schoolwork assignments they'd hand in after their 'jet lag' week when they returned to Brambury. All four, and Hope in Reception, liked the international school and the classes they'd had.

The two Greek sisters they'd met at school said they were going to Greece this summer but didn't know when, they'd email the Gibbs kids to let them know. Tim got a big kick out of that, hoping the kids would remain in touch. Artie hoped they would, too. She and Susannah had stayed in touch with friends from various diplomatic postings, all the way up to adulthood when life became too busy and contact information changed or was lost.

They enjoyed the snacks and meals prepared for them on the flight, making sure they exercised, doing some quick walking while Jed and Hope were encouraged to run, before and after eating. Landing in the early afternoon Friday, the family disembarked and made their way into the FOB for Customs. They were just finishing up when they heard another aircraft landing.

Tim looked at his wife, who grinned at him. "Is that anyone we know?" His face lit up as he realized Artie's grin gave him the answer to his question. "My folks? Now?" They'd said they'd arrive Saturday.

She nodded, "Surprise!" He gave her a quick kiss, "This is a great surprise, an extra day with them all to ourselves!"

"I know how much we've all missed them."

"Wow, can we…" He turned to the Customs officer, "Sir, the flight that just landed, that's my parents coming in from London! Can we go greet them or do we need to stay here?"

The Customs officer shook his head, "Agent Gibbs, you'll have to wait until I clear them. If you'll just step into the waiting area, please. There are only two of them, it won't take long."

Tim laughed, "There are only two of them, but they've brought all our airbeds and bedding." He gestured to his kids, "Come on, let's get out of the way. No running to Grandpa and Grandma. You remember how it is when we get home?"

Everyone but Jed nodded, following their parents to the lobby where they waved and called out to their grandparents as the couple approached the door to the Customs area. They waved back, blowing kisses.

Considering the length of their flight, it wasn't long but it felt longer than the flight by the time the poor Customs Officer had looked into each and every storage tub with the wading pools, the airbeds, the bedding and then through the suitcases. Finally, finally, they were approved to enter the U.S. and the officer smiled to himself as he heard the first group cheering when the two older adults joined them. When he looked into the room, he saw the younger male adult in the arms of the older male and smiled again, he loved family reunions!

There were three large Uber vehicles waiting outside and as the officer exited the building, the drivers entered it.

It took 15 minutes and two luggage carts to move everything from the FOB to the Uber vehicles but they got it done, with everyone pitching in, even little Jed. With Greg no longer needing a safety seat, all the passengers fit in the 14-passenger van, and the other two followed them. While it was by no means a quick or easy drive to the house in Arlington, the drivers had obviously experienced driving in the area and in less than an hour, they drove through the gates of the property. They smiled at the large banner strung across the front porch, welcoming them home. Greg laughed, "We have two homes now! Brambury and here!"

Rissa giggled, "With two pools!"

Their drivers helped unload everything onto the front porch, Tim and Dad adding generous tips. They'd see the same drivers, and an additional one, next Friday, to return them to the airfield for their flight to Pernton, Maine.

As the vehicles left, two men, Marines from their bearing and haircuts, appeared, saying, "Hello, welcome home." Introducing themselves, they were Corporals Eastman and Miller. "If you'll tell us what goes upstairs and what goes to the kitchen or the suites, we'll get everything moved."

"Thank you, we welcome your help! Having been sitting on a plane for the past 12 hours, we need to work, too."

Andy, Greg and Kyle joined their parents, grandfather and their Marines carrying baggage, while Rissa, Hope and Jed helped Grandma and Penny sort everything into different groups. They took the cooler into the kitchen and put the ice cream into the big freezer, the kids giggling and the two women grinning at each other when that was done. Priorities!

With the Marines helping, everything was quickly sorted and carted upstairs or to the suites. However, the family had forgotten they'd never stayed here before and needed to select rooms! The junior Gibbses went upstairs to do that while Jethro, Lu and Penny went to look at the suites. As Jethro was usually the first one up in the household, he and Lu took the suite closest to the kitchen or as Lu said, "…the one closest to the coffeemaker!" Penny took the second suite and the Porters could have one of the remaining suites or one of the rooms on the other side of the house if they were available.

Tim and Artie quickly found the Master bedroom and selected the closest bedroom for Jed. Rissa and Hope picked a room to share not far from their parents, while Andy went a little further down the hall and Greg and Kyle also decided to share, selecting a room across the hall and down a room from their parents. There were still two or three refugee civilians living in the house but the corporals told Tim and Artie that they were living in the rooms downstairs, the ones on the kitchen side of the house. Since they were there, the couple decided to designate Suite # 3 for Cyndi and Larry Porter.

They'd no sooner started unpacking for the week than the front doorbell rang and Tim heard his father answer. It was the Porters, they'd all had great timing today! They were warmly welcomed and their luggage and cooler brought in.

Their cooler was full of perishables from their refrigerator and between the Porters, the junior Gibbses and Denise and Rick Carter's grocery shop, they wouldn't need anything for several days, possibly all week! The Carters had stocked the big freezer with two family size lasagnas, several pounds of chicken, three large packages of ground beef, more ice cream, bread sticks, a bag of mixed berries, another of strawberries and a few bags of frozen vegetables. The Porters brought a rotisserie chicken they'd purchased the day before, a five pound bag of potatoes, a bag of sweet potatoes and a large amount of fresh greens and vegetables, part of a half-gallon of milk and an unopened carton of orange juice, joined by the Carters' purchases of fresh veggies, onions and fruit in addition to the frozen.

They also found butter, three dozen eggs, several pounds of coffee, a variety of tea, three gallons of milk, cartons of juice, large bricks of cheese, Parmesan cheese and condiments in the refrigerator. In the pantry, they found all the makings for pancakes and cookies, plus loaves of bread, a large jar of peanut bar, three jars of jam, bags of chocolate chips, packages of pasta, jars of pasta sauce, cans of diced tomatoes, a big jar of salsa, tortillas, black beans, packages of dried soup, cold and hot cereal, along with syrup, brown sugar, regular sugar, honey, a large box of hot chocolate packets, a large bottle of garlic powder and other spices.

Tim looked at his wife and laughed, "Looks like there's a Costco open somewhere! We'll take perishables with us and as many of the pantry items as we can. We'll either use them in Maine or at home. Let's do a shop in Maine right before we go home, too, for anything we usually have to buy at the American Food Store or online."

She nodded, "Good idea. We can pull the rotisserie chicken apart and use the frozen chicken separately or pull them together for a single meal."

"That's a big chicken, enough to make chicken pasta salad for everyone."

"Oh, for lunch one day, I like that. Let's have it tomorrow." She made 'nummy' noises and Tim laughed before looking at his watch. "I'm hungry too."

"What sounds good?"

He thought about that before saying, "Everything! Let's do peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, we haven't had that since we left home and it's the fastest to make."

"Plus carrot sticks and two cookies each."

"Cookies already made? Where?"

She grinned at him, "In the cookie jar on the counter. There's a large plastic bag full of homemade cookies."

"Ok, I think one of us should make lunch and the other one should go upstairs and get all our beds inflated and made because you know we don't have long until jet lag bites!"

Artie nodded, grinning, "I'll make lunch. Get the kids to help you with the beds."

Kissing her cheek, he called for the kids as he nearly ran up the stairs. He couldn't believe how excited he was to be here and to be able to stay in their very own house for the week. It felt as new and special to him as it had the day they first saw it, the day after baby Hope had been returned to them.

With a chuckle, Artie went to the pantry, grabbing 2 loaves of bread, the jar of peanut butter and a jar of boysenberry jam, mentally blessing whoever brought that, her husband would be over the top happy when he saw it. She brought the carrots, butter and milk from the refrigerator. Hope liked her peanut butter with butter, not jelly or jam. Grabbing enough plates, cups and glasses for all of them, she quickly made and cut the sandwiches. Lu joined her, peeling and cutting the carrots and made coffee and hot tea, leaving the glasses empty for now. She told Artie that Jethro was inflating their beds and that Larry was helping Penny with hers.

Upstairs, Tim had the three older boys each start inflating beds while he and Rissa made sure at least two blankets were placed under each and Hope and Jed followed, putting a pillow on each bed. Once that was done, the group opened more storage tubs, marked for the different size beds, and they quickly slipped fitted and flat sheets on, adding more blankets on top and restoring the pillows. As the airbeds all had built-in electric pumps, it didn't take long to get them inflated and made.

Once that was done, they walked downstairs, Hope holding hands with Andy while Tim carried their little brother. These stairs were a little steeper than their Manor stairs and of course new to Jed; the baby gates would definitely be in use during their stay!

Meeting Grandpa, Grandma, Penny, Aunt Cyndi, Uncle Larry and their mama in the dining area, the kids slid onto the benches, Jed into a portable high chair that slid on to the table top. Penny patted the table, "This is one of my old ones from the storage building; I think it originally belonged to my paternal grandparents."

The group held hands as Grandpa said grace for their first meal together this trip. Penny commented on the deliciousness of the peanut butter and jam sandwich, saying it was the best one she'd ever had. Kyle grinned at her, "Did you have any in Japan or the Philippines?"

"No and I've missed it!"

Tim chuckled, "Penny, you were there for two months, no wonder you missed it!"

Artie smiled, "There might be another reason it's so yummy. The jam is boysenberry!"

Tim's eyes lit up and he chewed his next bite for over a minute, savoring the jam.

They had their carrot sticks and then apple slices, Artie deciding to hold off on the cookies for later. That was enough, along with their beverages. After they cleaned up the table and kitchen, they went for a walk which lasted about 15 minutes before Jed plopped himself down in the dirt, his lower lip trembling. Grandpa scooped him up, "Come on, Jedly, let's go have a nap."

Everyone but the Porters followed them inside, Tim carrying their little guy upstairs. Glad their beds were ready, the travelers kicked off their shoes and laid down for their first jet lag nap.

When Larry and Cyndi, who hadn't crossed any time zones on the train from Massachusetts, came inside, they found themselves alone. Changing into their swim suits, they grabbed their towels, left a note in the kitchen, took their pool key, entered the code to open the breezeway doors and walking through it, made sure it locked behind them, unlocked the door to the pool, dropped their towels and slid into the warm water, sighing happily.

Despite the heavy jet lag, Penny and the junior Gibbses endured, enjoying the reunion with the senior Gibbses and the Porters as well as Jethro and Tim's friends, the Carters and O'Briens. Saturday, they'd just disconnected from a Skype call with Patrick when brother Bill appeared on the front porch.

After happily greeting them, he explained. "The project managers for Reconstruction have decided our nation's capital needs to be repaired first. I have to agree, getting this done will improve morale; outside of the deep South, the Washington-Baltimore area was hit the hardest.

"However, there are multiple parts to the plan. First, Metrorail will be repaired so people can commute to work, travel, etc. I believe there will be some extensions, not sure exactly where and they won't hold up any repairs. Along with Metrorail, the Amtrak rails, also damaged, will be repaired. Right now, they're unable to use much of their Northeast track. However, they started repairs days after the war ended, so they're farther ahead than we are here.

"Second, the roads between Annapolis, DC, Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, Richmond and into the rest of the state as well as into Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Charleston, West Virginia, and Dover, Delaware, will be repaired and drivable by November 1st. Third, while all that's being done, my team is charged with repairing or rebuilding whatever we can. I'll be working over here at least until there are drivable roads between here and Maryland, then I'll probably be back and forth. Their goal for Metrorail is July 1st as the President wants an old fashioned July Fourth this year." Bill grinned at Tim, "I'm pretty sure you're the one that put that bug in her ear last summer when you told her about our parties."

Artie laughed, "He did, when they were at Sandy Pines!"

Dad had a question, "Bill, how did you get here from Baltimore today?"

"Helicopter. There are several of them assigned to the construction crews, especially those of us moving from Maryland to DC and Virginia. There are also copters being used as air taxis for the general public. They're not cheap but not outrageously expensive either. Not everyone has access to the heavy duty military vehicles that have been ferrying people around, or the time it takes to get from Annapolis to…well, anywhere else. People used to rideshare, now they're copter-sharing!"

Tim noticed the large footlocker, suitcase and carry bag behind his brother. "Let's get your stuff inside. Which room was yours before?"

"The back suite, the 4th, if that's not taken."

"It's all yours!" He and Bill lugged the locker full of Bill's tools to the suite while Dad brought his suitcase and Andy shouldered his carry bag. Lu found the extra Cal King airbed, glad Jethro decided to bring all of them instead of a specific number, while Artie and the rest of the kids found blankets and bedding for him.

He grinned, thanking them. "When I signed up for the reconstruction project, I was told I'd have a bed and a room to myself. I guess old habits die hard because I brought my sleeping bag and a foam pad. They came in handy – I did have a bed and a room to myself but the bed was a mattress on the floor and I'm pretty sure the room was formerly a closet or pantry. If they're at all habitable, we stay in the buildings we're working on. At least the electricity, plumbing and hot water heater are working! So the airbed is a real treat, thanks, Dad!"

Tim huffed, "A foam pad, that would have been a dream come true back at the camp!"

Bill nodded, "Got that right, brother. Do you remember that long piece of cardboard Barry had under his sleeping bag? That originally held a new refrigerator for someone and when we found the box, we cut it into pieces for the four of us. Barry's piece was the last survivor."

Tim nodded, laughed, "I do remember that. When it started breaking, he gave me a piece that was just long enough for Robbie, who was about Rissa's age."

"Short stuff. Even Sarah was taller than he was."

Mom smiled, "That's all right, once he started growing, he made up for lost time."

Jethro kept smiling, loving that he and Lu would have three of their kids, including Artie, and the 'original' grandkids to themselves for a whole week. They didn't mind sharing with the Porters, they were extended family.

Over the weekend, the McGees ate, slept a few hours, walked, swam, slept a few more hours and gradually worked through their jet lag. The kids worked on their school assignments every day, with the goal of being finished before they left for Maine.

The pool was wonderful, warm even on cool spring days and the grands and Penny worked with the younger children, strengthening their swimming skills. Hope knew how to swim, even underwater, and she was a like a little fish, popping in and out of the water. Jed had already learned the basics, his dad used the same technique with him as he'd first used with Kyle during their stay at the villa in Greece. It worked for Kyle, Rissa and Hope as well as Victoria and Davey and the method continued to help Jed.

In between swimming, naps, playing and eating, the family explored the woods on the property, first generously rolling on the natural insect repellant Tim special ordered from a small business in California. Jed mostly rode on his daddy's shoulders, although sometimes he rode on Grandpa's or Uncle Bill's shoulders. He loved being big, he could see more than even Andy could!

Sunday afternoon, when it was drizzling outside, they sat at the big table, playing games. Penny looked around, frowning. "You kids skated in Japan. Where are your skates?"

Greg looked at her, "In one of the storage tubs we brought from the plane, Penny, I remember seeing them."

"Heavens, I'm getting old, I forgot all about the skating rink!"

"There's a skating rink around here?"

She grinned at her great-grandchildren, "It's here, in the house! In the basement!"

"Cool!"

Leading the children, she marched to the door to the basement, huffing when she found it locked. Bill heard her and brought the key to the basement, wondering what his adopted grandmother was up to. He carried Jed down the narrow steps while Penny held Hope's hand and Andy walked with Rissa. When Penny reached the bottom step, she reached around to the wall and flipped a light switch that brightly illuminated the basement. It was huge, nearly the length and width of the house!

The kids exclaimed at what they saw, a large rectangular room, with a floor of smooth concrete. On each side and the other end of the room there were chairs and bins of skates and toys as well as an old boom box, which Penny said was to provide music for skating or dancing.

She smiled, "Goodness, I haven't been down here since your Uncle Mark left for Annapolis. No, before that, we weren't in the U.S. the year he finished high school."

She made a face and Bill intervened, guessing where her mind was going. "This is great, Penny, there's room for all of us to skate down here! Let's see if the boom box still works and if there are tapes or CDs with skate music!"

He, Andy and Kyle went to look at the boom box, Bill explaining to the boys what it was and how it worked. Finding an old CD, with the cover titled the "Best Hits of the 70's and 80's", Bill plugged in the adaptor, hit a corner of the lid of the CD player to open it, seated the CD, closed the lid and selected the button for CD. By then his nephews were laughing, and he stopped to tell them this had once been the latest technology, that some boom boxes were as big as suitcases and it had been considered hip to carry them on one's shoulder, blasting tapes, CDs or the radio as loudly as possible. Then he had them search for the symbol that would start the CD playing. Andy pressed an arrow and the kids jumped when the music blasted out of the box. Bill quickly found the volume control and turned it down. While they searched for other CDs and cassette tapes, Tim brought the tub with the skates down. He laughed at the boom box and at the music now playing, the Bee Gees singing "Stayin' Alive". He shook his head with a grin, telling his kids that song had been a hit the month after he was born. He looked around the room and then at Penny, "Have I been here before?"

"Yes; whenever we were here, you and Pat would come for a visit. Usually you stayed with the Hubbards, who lived in Fairfax, and would spend a few hours or a day with me. I always thought you stayed with them because of losing your mother, that it was easier for Dan to stay in touch with us than his former in-laws. Now I know it's because Drew didn't want Nelson to be alone with you boys, or Sarah when she came along."

"Aw, Penny, I'm so sorry." Tim wrapped his arms around her, kissing the top of her head. She sighed and let herself feel for a couple of minutes, then broke their embrace, saying, "All right, does everyone have the right skates on? Rissa might have a hard time putting her feet into Jed's skates!"

The kids were ready, Uncle Bill helped Jed with his toddler skates, originally purchased in Cambridge for Kyle and eventually passed down to Rissa to Hope and now to Jed.

Having the playroom/skating rink in the house proved to be a boon, considering they couldn't go far off the property without help! Now they had the pool, the playroom next door to it, the woods to explore, trees to climb, poison ivy to avoid, Tim made sure that the adults and children knew what it looked like, as well as the skating rink/indoor playroom. When Penny wanted to look for something in one of the storage buildings, she took the kids with her; they said later it was fun, spooky but not too scary.

Monday morning after breakfast, Tim and the kids were finishing cleaning the kitchen, the Porters had cooked, when Tim had a text from Geo, asking if he had time for a brother to brother Skype call. Tim answered him in the affirmative before running up the stairs to the master bedroom.

He was happy to see Geordie, and glad to speak with him now, while they had some privacy. That might be difficult next week at Sandy Pines.

Geordie sighed in relief when he saw his brother's smiling face. He'd procrastinated about contacting him the entire 5 weeks they'd been in Japan; at least they were fewer time zones apart now.

"Tim, I'm so glad to see you. I want to apologize for my crap about Bec during the Antwerp attack. No excuse, I didn't even know I had that caveman attitude in me. There was no reason for me to blame you for her doing her job. Or for me to blame anyone. I am sorry."

Tim nodded, "Your apology is accepted. Have you straightened things out with Agent Childers?"

"Yes."

"You understand now that this is her job and also my job as Acting Director?"

"Yes."

Tim smiled, "Then we're good, Geo. How are you, how are Bec and Tyler? What's the little guy been up to? How's our new nephew?"

"Oh man, Tyler is the smartest kid! Yesterday he sat up, all by himself! I don't think he planned it, he's been working at it but this just seemed to happen. I think he was as surprised and happy as we were!" Geordie beamed as he told Uncle Tim about his nearly 6 month old son's latest accomplishment.

Tim laughed, "Sitting up, that's awesome and you know, that'll lead to moving around more and eventually to crawling."

"I know, milestones! He's laughing more now, too, and knows Pop, Grandma and Grandpa on sight. Hey, wait until you see Baby Joey, he looks like photos of Joe's mom! Remember our mom knew her and that was one of the first things she said about the baby, that he looks like her. Ben and Bec say he also looks like Char's father."

"That's great, I bet Joe and Char love that! I can't wait to meet the little guy."

The brothers talked for a few more minutes before disconnecting, both feeling better.

Tim was on his way back downstairs when his phone buzzed with a new text, from Leon, also wanting a video chat. Tim replied, returning to his and Artie's room.

Leon smiled, "You look good, relaxed."

"Uh oh."

The other man huffed, "There's nothing to worry about. Now, are you all set?"

Tim chuckled, he knew what this was about. "Yes, I've already talked with our Marine housemates and they're insisting I ride with them and their other riders. I'm not planning on telling the others until I get in the vehicle but I'm going tomorrow."

"Excellent! Will you tell them?"

"Yes, I want to make it clear we knew, even if they never told you."

"There really wasn't any reason to tell me. I told them to do whatever they needed to do to take care of business and keep everyone as safe as possible. Cases were being handled efficiently and there's been a presence aboard the Yard the entire time."

"And those aboard the Yard are NCIS employees."

"Yes, that was really the bottom line. NCIS has been there. Now, there is something else you need to know."

"Sir?"

As Leon spoke, Tim sank onto one of the folding chairs he and Artie brought up from storage, listening and trying not to hyperventilate. When the director finished, Tim made a noise, "I hoped this was…should I even be there?"

"You won't be involved."

"They've been briefed?"

"Yes, only the ones directly involved. That works because of the way they've been operating."

"What about after? Sir, last time…"

"Measures have been taken, promises made."

Tim made a disparaging noise but Vance persisted, "You know things have changed. There has been no recurrence in the past 4 years, everyone's been accounted for and has eyes on them, and believe me, the Brass have been hyperactive about watching for any signs."

"Yes, sir."

"It'll go well, Timothy, my instincts tell me it will. And it will tie up that last loose thread."

"Yes, sir."

He had another question which Vance answered. The answer didn't really matter at this point but gave Tim more confidence that every contingency was being handled.

When he ran out of questions, Vance asked, "How do things look over there so far? I know the Reconstruction teams have only had a couple of months post winter to get back to work."

More than willing to change the subject, Tim replied, "The roads look and feel slightly better than they did last year when we came through after leaving Maine. There are now helicopter "taxi" services available to the public, to get between VA, DC and MD. When we flew in from the west, we noticed new builds and a lot of scaffolding and Dad said that, coming in from the east, he saw new roads. Bill's group has been moved over here, he was transported by helicopter from Baltimore to Arlington on Saturday.

"The priority's been changed to repairing and making the capital accessible. They're starting by repairing Metrorail, to give people mobility while the roadways are being worked on." Tim huffed, "Maybe people will get used to the Metro and the Beltway won't be so crazy. Anyway, the build and repair crews will work over here, then once the roads are drivable, they'll add Maryland back in."

"Well, that's some progress at least. I spoke with Secretary Porter earlier and asked her how it looked and she laughed at me for asking, said she hasn't been in the capital in months, any meetings are attended via video chats. She said I should ask you."

"Hope and Jed call her the lady who lives in the plane."

They both laughed before Tim told Leon more about his game plan.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

The rest of Monday was spent with the kids, exploring more of the woods, sending little 'boats' made of twigs and moss sailing down the creek and eventually going for a swim in the nice warm indoor pool.

Tuesday morning, Artie smiled when Tim's alarm woke them both up. "What time do you think you'll be back?"

"I hope early afternoon, maybe earlier. I have two visits to make, then I'll come home. The second stop should be very short."

"All right. That might be around Jed's nap time then, so either I'll be in the house or one of your parents will be. I almost envy you getting out for a few hours!"

"Getting bored?"

"Mm, more restless, I love our house and the property but I'm glad we're leaving Friday! It's a good thing the children have schoolwork to do. They're working on their 'jet lag' week assignments now, they're way ahead of schedule." She chuckled, "You know, if we were able to get out and go anywhere, I might want to go somewhere or I might not. I think what bothers me is that with the roads being so difficult, it isn't worth the effort. And I don't know if there's really anywhere to go yet. Are any brick and mortar stores open or is everything only available online? Then are drones delivering everything? Hmm, the Carters went grocery shopping, so there must be a building somewhere that's in good enough shape for refrigeration and that can be reached."

"The Marines drive them to and from work, maybe they stopped on the way home somewhere. Otherwise, I guess you're right, delivery by drones. Maybe I'll be able to pick up a treat."

"Will they let you in?"

"No, but the Marines are allowed or I'll ask the driver to stop on the way home."

"Good thinking!"

After showering, dressing, eating a hearty breakfast, filling a thermos of coffee, he had no idea where or when he'd have lunch, he waited for a pre-arranged signal before walking outside and getting into the vehicle there. Jim O'Brien and Rick Carter, just sliding in from the other side of the vehicle, looked up, surprised, and then smiled, Jim asking, "Coming for a visit, are you?"

"Thought I might."

The two agents looked at each other and Jim opened his mouth but Tim shook his head. "You followed the rules, no one is in trouble, in fact, you all kept everyone safe, safer."

"When Vance left and then again when he returned to work in 2018, he told us to do what we had to do. We were already doing that, so we didn't worry and we hoped Acting Director Morris would figure it out."

Tim raised an eyebrow, "I don't know whether he did or not, the subject's never come up. But…how is it that you were at the Yard when that former prison guard, the one with the note for me from AJ Khan, arrived?"

Rick huffed, "When all this started, after Leon was evacuated and the DC sub offices moved into Anacostia-Bolling with the DC Field Office, we had a few close calls at the Navy Yard and decided we'd better move all the unarmed staff to somewhere safer. We moved everyone who wasn't a Field Agent or Security to the DC Field Office building, where we're headed now. We also moved the armory, the contents of the evidence lockup and garage, all the office machines and electronic equipment, anything the agency couldn't afford to lose or that could cause harm if stolen.

"When the family to whom you're referring arrived, we were still rotating field teams so that one team was aboard the Navy Yard every week, otherwise we worked out of the DC Field Office. My team was there that week along with a few other employees. Security has always been there. At that time, the terrorists hadn't yet started tearing up the roads, so driving wasn't a problem. It was dangerous to be away from the Yard but the roads were all right.

"A few weeks after the family left, we had another close call, the closest one yet, and a group breached the Yard. We helped our Marines fight them off and reinforced the perimeters; however at that point we pulled the Field Teams from the Navy Yard, no more rotating in. Security refused to leave, so they became the NCIS presence aboard the Navy Yard.

"After that, the violence escalated and that's when the roads were so badly damaged. It was too difficult and often too dangerous to travel to and from the Navy Yard on a daily basis, so the Security teams decided that each team would live on site for a week, rotating a week on, a week off, then back on. DC TAD'd one of their Security teams for the duration so there were more officers per team. They kept that up, rotating weeks of living aboard the Yard, until the day the President declared the war over. Food and supplies arrived by air drop."

"That's about when the four of us moved from the cottage to the big house, when we moved field operations to PBAB. We've discussed returning the field teams to the Yard now that the war is over, but we still have to use either military vehicles like this one or helicopters to reach our crime scenes or to do anything off base. When we heard about the change in priorities, to fixing everything in and around the capital, that was a big relief. And it will be a huge relief to the Field Office folks and the Command team because we are very crowded on the base."

Tim nodded; he remembered hearing that the previous base commander had made room for the incoming NCIS employees as well as close to three thousand refugees, most of whom were also still there. Some would be able to leave when the capital area was once again drivable and livable.

Then he frowned, saying to the others, "I thought the White House was occupied?"

"It is, by security; President and Dr. McCord still live in Massachusetts but when there are state dinners or national events, they fly in for them. Blair House, Embassy Row and other locations where visiting dignitaries usually stay have been repaired but that's the buildings, not the roadways. The Marines drive them to and from the White House."

"Wow."

Their Marine driver said, "Things were going fairly well until winter hit and as nasty as it was, everything stopped and didn't start up again until mid-April. Do you know how frost heaves can ruin pavement? We had way too much of that on some of the roadbeds that had been recently repaired, we'll have to start over on those."

Tim nodded, remembering having to drive very carefully on roads that had been subjected to frost heaves, with major cracks, pitting and pavement falling away.

The 10 miles between Arlington and Joint Base A-B took 40 minutes with little traffic, they saw 9 other vehicles, including 3 motor scooters and 2 heavier motorcycles, the entire drive. They also saw and heard several helicopters.

When they finally reached the front gate of the base, everyone handed over their badges and IDs. The guard looked in the car, nodding to Tim, "Welcome to Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, Assistant Director Gibbs. Is the Captain expecting you?"

"Yes, he knows I'll be here but we're not meeting. I'll be with NCIS personnel, who are not expecting me."

The guard nodded and passed them through. As they drove through the base to the office, Tim thought of the meeting ahead. NCIS personnel, including the various field teams, from the Navy Yard, Bethesda, Annapolis and the Washington DC Field Office team permanently based here, the Intel Analysts, Human Resources, Legal, Evidence, and all the other departments of an NCIS Field Office and Agency Headquarters, were housed in a multi-story building on base. He'd arranged for them to meet in a building near the NCIS office, a former garage for military vehicles. It was the only building large enough on the base that was not currently in use, due to a leaky roof. As the skies were clear, the temperature was pleasantly warm, there'd been no rain in the past two weeks and the interior had been cleaned recently, they'd be fine. He'd arranged to borrow enough chairs for all the NCIS folks, he'd only need them, the chairs and the staff, for a few minutes.

Following Rick and Jim into the NCIS office building, he stopped at the security desk. When the officer on duty saw Tim's badge and ID, he glanced up, clearly surprised. Tim nodded with a smile, "Good Morning, Officer Tate. I don't have a firearm with me, however, I do have two knives." Removing one from its holster on his left calf, he put it on the counter, then retrieved the smaller one from his belt. Then he held his arms out so the officer could run the scanner over him.

Once cleared, he continued to walk into the office, heading straight for the SSAIC's office. Although Carter, O'Brien, Balboa and the Navy Yard Cold Case Lead and teams operated separately from the DC Field office teams and technically outranked all of them by nature of their assignment to agency headquarters, outside of specific case work they worked with SSAIC Whiting. As far as Tim was concerned, that made Whiting the Head of the office.

He knocked on the open door of her office and she looked up from the folder she had in her hand. Her eyes widening in surprise, she motioned for him to enter. He nodded to her, "Special Agent Whiting, I'm Assistant Director Gibbs. I'm not here to deliver any big news or changes. However, I would like to speak with your combined staff for a few minutes. I've arranged for chairs and refreshments in Building 67."

They shook hands and she tilted her head, "If I may ask, why are you here?"

"Because no one in the Director's office has been able to visit any U.S. offices in the war zone for nearly 3 years. You're doing a wonderful job here under difficult, nearly impossible circumstances and I want to tell everyone that."

She smiled, "That's great, Assistant Director!"

"I have a few questions about your staff before we gather, if you don't mind."

"Of course, come sit down. Coffee?"

"Thanks, I'll pass for now. You were promoted into the position right before the war heated up, correct?"

"Yes, I arrived in April of 2017, about the same time as the base commander, and everything started to fall apart in June."

He nodded, "My primary question is, how did you manage, office-wise? Not just the work, but transportation, living arrangements and everything else?"

"Before the Director was evacuated, he sent out a message authorizing those of us on military bases to have our personnel and their families move onto the base. I made that a priority after one of my field agent's neighborhood was attacked and he barely escaped with his life and that only due to the way his house was constructed. By the end of that week, everyone had their belongings here at the office. Those who had sleeping bags and cots, or folding beds, camping equipment, anything they could bring, did so. We had restrooms and the fitness center has showers, so we were all right there.

"The command team allows us to use the laundry facilities and the commissary. It's been difficult with children of all ages, spouses who weren't crazy about being here and the older folks, well, you can imagine. Enough people had RVs, campers, vans or tent trailers to ease the crowding during much of the year, they brought them, and live in them until the nights get cold, then they bring their beds inside. It's been stressful but we've managed."

"That's what I want to talk about, how much all of you have accomplished under those conditions. Both for the agency, for all of you socially, living together, and for the work you've done for the children and the civilian refugees. We haven't met before so you wouldn't know, but I'm a local. I spent most of my childhood in Baltimore and then worked as a case agent in Norfolk and as a member of the MCRT aboard the Navy Yard where Rick Carter and Jim O'Brien were my mentors.

"I've been in the UK, attached to the London office, since 2015. My entire extended family evacuated in July of 2017 and almost everyone else I know got to safety. So we've been safe, watching in horror but safe. The other thing I'd like you to know is that your field agent who escaped with his life is one of my lead Investigatory Agents, Ray Esposito. So we have more than just the agency in common."

They talked for a couple more minutes before she sent out an office-wide broadcast to meet in building 67 in 5 minutes and that nothing was wrong.