Chapter 125
As they walked into the building where the meeting would be held, they heard the buzz before seeing the majority of the NCIS employees standing and talking, no doubt wondering and speculating about what was going on. Tim walked to the front, clipping on the mic he'd been given.
With a smile, he said, "Good morning! I'm very pleased to be here, to see all of you today. My name is Timothy Gibbs, formerly known as Special Agent Timothy McGee of the MCRT aboard the Navy Yard. Although I still prefer Special Agent, my title is now Assistant Director and I'm also the SSAIC of the London office. I'm here today as Assistant Director and as a former DC Metro special agent to say thank you to everyone for pulling through here, pulling together, all of you professionally and personally with your families. That's it, I have no other agenda, although I do have a few more remarks."
He stopped for a minute, looking around. "It's good to see you all. I haven't been home since Christmas of '16 and I didn't realize quite how homesick I've been until I walked into the office this morning. I've been attached to the London office since 2015. In 2017, I had transfer orders to return to the Navy Yard, until Director Vance called to cancel them and to tell me he and other Navy Yard NCIS folks had to evacuate and were already in the air, with their families, heading to the UK.
"Overseas, we did the best we could to help in the war effort; however, despite the media footage, it wasn't until we flew into DC to pick up passengers a year ago March, en route to a funeral, that I began to understand the depths of the destruction. As we descended into Baltimore-Washington airspace, we saw burned out, bombed out buildings, whole neighborhoods gone, some neighborhoods with holes filled with debris and burned or bombed out dwellings. And the roads looked like they'd been torn up by giant claws. It was an eye-opener, to say the least.
"You've been here the whole time, in the thick of things. And you've managed to find ways to get through, living together here. I only know a few of you but as a fellow NCIS employee I want to say 'Bravo!' and 'Thank You!'"
Pausing for a second, he continued, "In this past year, the Director and his staff, that's Assistant Director and SSAIC Morris in the Northeast Office, Deputy Director Ochoa on the West Coast and me, have been seriously disheartened by the mess regarding the serial killer, but we're moving forward again and seeing you, knowing what you've done, together, gives us hope and reminds us of all the good people within the agency.
"I've just come from 5 weeks at our Far East Field Office, so I've had a double dose of normal, although I guess living and working in the same place isn't exactly normal." He smiled, "It isn't the same thing, I know, but during the 2017 evacuation, many of those NCIS folks ended up at my home for a few days, so I understand the necessity of sleeping bags, airbeds, industrial sized pots of mac and cheese, oatmeal and of course, coffee and tea. And during last year's alert, we lived at the office for those 5 days. That was too much for me!
"I spent a few years in a homeless shelter when I was a kid, there we slept on cots and in sleeping bags, with little to no privacy. Communal restrooms and showers, you name it. When I aged out of the shelter, we moved to a homeless camp, where we slept in tents, on the ground in sleeping bags. So, as useful as they are and even though they helped keep me alive, I'm not a big fan of sleeping bags and I imagine after all your time spent living communally here, you won't be either. It took two decades for me to consent to anything requiring the use of a sleeping bag, i.e., camping, and that was only because we rented an RV. Fair warning, it might take more time than you'd expect to settle in when you return home.
"Having said that, your communal living will be coming to an end. One of my brothers is a master carpenter who evacuated and has established a business in the UK. Right now, he's back over here as one of the volunteers on the Reconstruction Project. He tells me Metrorail will be up and running first in the greater Washington-Baltimore-Richmond area. That will help as far as commuting, if you remember what that is, actually leaving the office and the base and going somewhere else. He and his team were working on rebuilding homes and apartment complexes in Maryland until the project managers changed the priority to rehabbing our capital. Now he and his team are working in DC and Virginia, once Metrorail is up and running, the roads will be done – or redone, I understand some were subject to frost heaves last winter. Finally, once the roads are done, they'll return to Maryland.
"For those of you in the Annapolis office, my brother's estimate, and with 20 years in the business he's a realist, is that available transportation between here and there will happen within the next 90 days. Housing will then follow before winter and that means the Bethesda folks will move home, too. Once public transportation is available, the road reconstruction teams will get back to work. It won't be easy but it will happen. Now, I've said enough! Any questions about the agency?"
Several hands were raised and he picked one randomly. "Sir, why were you in FEFO for 5 weeks?"
"The SSAIC was out of the office and right now we're stretched thin as far as SSAICs. Because I dealt with the fallout of the serial killer mess in the Newport office last year, Director Vance decided I should experience a few weeks of life in a trouble-free office and Japan was the first to come up with a need for a temporary SSAIC. As the director's return to the Navy Yard had just been rescheduled and because we have a retired SAIC close by who's willing to step in when necessary, Director Vance felt London could survive without me for a few weeks." Tim smiled, "My family went with me. Japan's beautiful, and the culture is very different from the U.S. and the UK. I enjoyed seeing the country and working in another Field Office."
"What's it like working in a Field Office outside the US?"
"It's a bit disconcerting at first. With the exception of one of the offshore offices I've been to, Naples, the office interior looks much the same, same furniture, computer system, your fellow agents and most of the staff are American citizens. However, for the field agents, you're dealing with local law enforcement who may love you even less than US law enforcement loves federal agents and in non-English speaking countries, they may not speak or understand English.
"Along with the language and cultural differences, international politics can be interesting. Overseas, we're seen as Americans first, followed by law enforcement and we're careful about our attitudes, what we say and how we say it. We cooperate and demonstrate respect, make sure our evidence is watertight and work closely with the locals. It's an old cliché that's still true - as overseas employees of the U.S. Federal Government, we're also ambassadors for our country, which means we show respect for our host country, city or town and all its citizens. We also never express any political opinions, about any country, city or village, including our own.
"In Europe, each of our offices works with a police department liaison for their host city and that helps. It also helps that each of our 7 SAICs speak the language of their host country. That's German, French, Greek, Italian, Spanish and of course British English. Belgium's official languages are German, French and Dutch, our SAIC in Antwerp spoke French when he took the position and now speaks all three languages.
"More mundane things are having to find a new place to live, new schools for those with kids, new and different…everything, which can be terrifying but unless you're posting to a brand new office in a host country new to NCIS, relocation agents and co-workers are a big help. For me moving to the UK wasn't so hard as we do speak a common language and our cultures are recognizable each to the other. In Japan, I can see it would be more of an adventure. As I mentioned, the agency has several HR reps who specialize in relocation and the one who handled our TAD to Japan was excellent, she knows more about Japan than Google!" He tilted his head in thought, "It also helped that my wife speaks Japanese and we were there two years ago, with some of our kids, so weren't complete strangers to the country or the culture. She charmed everyone while the kids and I stumbled through saying hello, thank you and my name is…"
Smiling, he continued, "In an overseas office, as I said earlier, some of your best resources are your co-workers and that will probably mean your SAIC, office manager or possibly one or two of the office staff who might be native to that country. They can tell you what's good, what to watch out for and what you have to do to buy a car or even if you need one."
"What's an office manager?"
"In Europe, London is the only Field Office with a subordinate office, Antwerp. Each of the other 5 offices is its own Field Office. There are 4 field agents, one person for dispatch and reception, an office manager, depending on the location, there might be a security officer or two, and a part-time clerk. The office manager, a U.S. citizen as are the field agents, handles the administrative part of a field office, things like paying the rent on the building, making sure any paper pay checks get to the right people, arranging case work travel for the field agents and supervising and acting as backup for the dispatch/reception person. My Team Lead in London was a junior in the Athens office for a couple of years and has told me wonderful stories about the office manager there. She runs the office and handles all the non-case work tasks, although there are a few of those too. The Athens office manager also has contacts within the various local law enforcement entities and I'm told her field agents never have to go through public security at the airport. A good office manager is one of the keys to success for an overseas office.
"As far as being new to an overseas office and finding resources, the Field Agents, Office Manager and Security Officers are all U.S. citizens; however, in some offices, Dispatch and the Clerk are local. They're likely to know everything you need to know. In the Athens office, the office manager I spoke of is married to a native Greek, who is a real estate agent, so finding a place to live is easy. Another has children attending local schools while the SAIC's children attend international schools. So although it sounds overwhelming, it probably won't be."
"Why is Naples different? And were you a field agent in London? You said you were attached."
"The Naples NCIS office was originally quite small. Do you all know the story of the Corpus Christi office?"
Enough people nodded that he continued, "Naples was even smaller than that and shared office space with JAG. When the director transferred people out of danger in July '17, he sent two or three to Naples. And then had to expand the office, which meant JAG losing space. The NCIS quarters are still smaller than most offices but everyone has a desk of their own and they no longer have to share common areas or office machinery. The furniture came from JAG and the setup is due to the physical space."
Tim shook his head, "As for me being a Field Agent in London, I was not. I originally went to London on special assignment. I'd just become a single parent to my two young nephews and needed to leave the field in favor of regular hours and a safer position after they'd lost their mother and their father was unable to raise them. While handling the special assignment, I started working, when I had time, with the European field teams on the electronics for their cases; I was the first investigatory agent. It was something the Director has wanted for years, to help field agents with all the electronic work needed now. Not just warrants but also digging into profiles, finances, etc., once the warrants have been received and really starting the case investigation while the field team is still at the crime scene.
"The job also helps keep former field agents from leaving the agency if they're no longer qualified for the field or like me, need to change jobs. We worked out the duties and responsibilities as we went and within a year, I was handling the position full-time. As I was supposed to be transferred back to the Navy Yard to do INV work there, Special Agent Ned Dorneget was transferred to London and trained as the second INV agent. When the war cancelled my transfer, Ned became the INV agent for the Asian offices and he's now in the Southwest office. We trained more, we now have more than 20 INV agents. We have 6 located in Europe, although one of them works an off-shift to coincide with Eastern Standard Time. She and two INV agents currently stationed at the FLETC in International Falls along with INV agents in Great Lakes and Corpus Christi during the war, Northwest and Southwest kept business moving during the war.
"Before I started developing the program, the field team leaders and I worked out what they needed and I'd done a lot of that as a member of the MCRT in the Navy Yard. My teammates on that were, at the time, technophobes."
He grinned at Rick, Jim and others from the Navy Yard who were trying to contain their laughter. "My boss was so bad with cell phones that we kept a supply of them in one of the file cabinets. One time we kept track for a few months and figured his phones had an average life expectancy of 2 ½ months before they stopped working or he physically broke them. By the way, we did send the broken ones for repairs if we couldn't fix them ourselves. Boss wasn't allowed to touch the fax machine in the office." Tim paused, "Do you remember when we had machines just for faxing?" That brought laughter and a lot of nods. "The folks in Admin wouldn't let him anywhere near anything but the copy machine. He was all right with that."
"Some of you might remember the region-wide power outage we had about 10-11 years ago?" He smiled at the nods. "My boss was thrilled, no cell phones and no computers torturing him. He dragged out an ancient mimeograph machine from somewhere and showed us how to use it to put out BOLOs. Since our team broke the case that caused the blackout, he couldn't be too upset about the power returning, but he was very careful tucking that mimeograph thing away. Now, this man is no idiot, he was a sniper in the Marines, some of his records still stand, and that takes a lot of split second mathematical calculations."
He answered one more question that bordered on the personal before asking,
"Any questions about the agency and what's happening?"
There were a couple of questions about the fallout from the serial killer case and Tim answered them as best as he could. The next round of questions was about the Fleet moving home and Tim smiled. "Once the infrastructure is safe and usable and there are habitable places to live, with schools, jobs, stores available, they'll be sailing home."
"What about the refugees who are living on our bases?"
"The DoD has a detailed plan, approved by the President, that will kick into action as soon as the roads, etc. begin to happen. They will be helped to find new housing, etc. before the Fleet returns."
"With the Fleet dependents?"
"Absolutely."
"Does the Navy know where everyone is, I mean the dependents?"
"Yes, Secretary Porter has made sure no one has been lost in the shuffle and her command officers have been very careful."
"Do you ever see her? She hasn't been seen, even at the Pentagon, in months."
"Yes, we see her. She's frequently in Belgium for NATO issues and we sometimes have a visit from her then. Secretary Porter has spent most of the last 2, almost 3 years now, flying around the globe, visiting the Fleet, Navy personnel and their dependents. My 2 year old calls her the lady who lives on a plane."
"Your kids know her?"
"We have the biggest house among the London personnel and she's been to our home a few times for office functions. We're all expats so we tend to spend holidays together. My place has a large back garden, excuse me, backyard, and we host an annual Fourth of July party as well as Thanksgiving dinner for all the expats. Secretary Porter was in town for our Independence Day party last year. My family and I have also flown with her a few times. For my West Coast business trip last year and our recent trip to Japan, we were able to hitch rides on her jet. For the West Coast, when my family went along, we paid the Department of the Navy for their airfare. For the Japanese trek, I was a TAD so my family's flights were paid for by the agency.
"As you may recall, as the war was heating up in the summer of '17, Director Vance became seriously ill shortly after he was ordered to evacuate and to run the agency from outside the U.S. He was in Greece combining work and some time off when he fell ill. Several others of us, including my family, were also in Greece, vacationing, although not in the same location. The director was discharged from the hospital in Athens only because my grandfather and two of my brothers, who are medical doctors, were there to fly to the UK with him. The SecNav was in Europe already, probably for NATO, and sent her jet to bring the director home, to the UK. As the director's children, still minors at the time, were with us and they know my father and our family very well, Secretary Porter asked us to fly with them and then threw the flight open to all of us. That was two or three weeks after all the transfers and evacuations and one of our group was moving to Marseille, so we stopped there first."
"Greece, you've been to Greece?"
Tim looked at Rick and Jim, who were laughing again. "Yes, my wife is Greek and has family near Athens."
Jim couldn't help himself, "How often do you go to Greece, Special Agent Gibbs?"
Tim rolled his eyes. "Every summer, Special Agent O'Brien and we try to go for Easter, too. My wife's grandmother is in her 80's and I want my kids to have lots of family."
"Does she live in Athens?"
"She lives just outside, in a suburb." He looked around, "We have offices in many locations around the U.S. and the world! Japan, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, South Korea, Germany, France, Italy, Greece, Spain, the UK. If you're interested in posting overseas, check it out. There is a minimum commitment of 3 years and for those with children, there are international schools or they can attend the local schools."
"What do your kids do?"
"They attend the local schools."
"Is that easier?"
"It has been for us. We live in a fairly small town, a suburb of London, and the kids going to the local schools helped us become part of the community."
"Do you know when you'll move back here?"
"No."
When someone asked what shelter he'd stayed in, he told them, adding that it had been destroyed during the war, as was the transient camp he lived in. "Luckily, the manager of the shelter got everyone out through a basement the terrorists didn't know about and sent word to the camp. Nate, who ran the camp, got most people to safety, although his sister was murdered and everything was destroyed. The camp was a city park and as such had restrooms, those were burned and there were 5 people killed."
He shook his head, "Any questions about the agency?"
One of the women nodded, raising her hand, "How difficult is it to get an overseas posting?"
"It's not difficult. You need to be in good standing in your position," he named the evaluation rating that was commonly used as a measure, "and have the approval of your SAIC or SSAIC. It helps if you've looked on the database to see what openings there are and apply for a specific position. If you speak any languages besides English, make sure it's in your records! If you don't speak any languages besides English and still want to work overseas, figure out which office or country you want to work in and take a language class for whatever language they speak there. You don't have to wait until you've finished the class to apply for the position, but do put the class as "in progress" on your record and make sure it's mentioned in your interview. There are free language classes online and one of my INV agents went so far as to join a social group that was a mixture of others learning that language or who already knew, even some native speakers."
"Is it possible to transfer to a different position than what I have now – in an overseas office?"
"It's possible but that would be decided on a person by person basis. I know people who've changed positions, actually I'm one of them!"
"You talked about resources. What's the hardest thing about living overseas?"
"Being homesick and adjusting to a different culture. As large as this country is and even with regional differences, our culture is fairly common. The continent of Europe is geographically a little larger than the U.S. but is occupied by 44 different countries with different cultures and languages. That's hard to wrap your head around and I think it's equally difficult for Europeans to understand the U.S., that we are one very large country and that our states are not different countries. That's the 'United States' part. Further complicating things is that, unless you have the resources to drive around our country, it's expensive to travel from state to state.
"In Europe, it's very different, travel is easy and inexpensive. I can be in Paris in a little over two hours by train, and another hour from Paris gets us to Disneyland-Paris. The Eurostar train from London to Amsterdam is less than four hours. Part of the Navy Fleet is berthed in Antwerp, that's across the English Channel, and several of the dependent families live in the UK, it's just about 2 hours by train. Last summer, we took the train to Scotland to visit family and then flew from there to Denmark in less than 2 hours.
"The transition to the UK was easier for me because the language is more or less the same and because my sister was already living there, so we had family waiting for us and she'd already found us a place to live. The agency work itself is probably the easiest part of adjusting; I think learning the language and the simple things, for example, how you get to the office the first time, are the toughest.
"As far as being homesick, I had someone tell me once that when you get homesick, find a McDonald's and duck in there for a bit. While the food might be a bit different, the décor will be the same and you'll feel like you've had a quick visit home. Special Agent Ray Esposito, who came from this office and works in London, did that a couple of times and he says it helped.
"Also, from what I've experienced and what I've been told, our relocation agents will give you the tiniest details to make your life easier. They'll send you a photo of what the sign for your specific bus or train stop for the office looks like, especially in a non-English speaking country. They'll also send you a printout of the office address in the language of the host country, in phonetics. So you can either ask someone using the phonetics or show them the document and ask for directions, which is also on there. Before we left the States, sorry, the U.S., to move to the UK, I taught my nephews some of the differences between American English and British English. For instance, the last letter of the alphabet, we say 'Zee' but in British English, it's 'Zed'. There are lists of cultural differences between the U.S. and other countries online."
"You speak American English, mostly, but you do have an accent."
"So I've been told. I've been there for 5 years, I guess that makes sense! Most of my kids have never lived in the U.S., I'm sure they sound more British than American."
"Do they speak any other languages?"
"Yes, we're all fluent in Greek and we adopted my younger daughter from Turkey, so she speaks Turkish, as does my wife. I speak what I call 'tourist' Turkish, enough to get around town. We also speak Italian, I learned it years ago, the kids from their Italian uncle and cousins. And now we speak a little Japanese, too. My youngest, who is just 2, was in daycare in Yokosuka and after 5 weeks, he's pretty fluent. We also speak Dutch, my wife is a civil engineer and has had a few projects in the Netherlands, as I said it's an easy train ride so we visit her or go with her and the kids have picked up on the language which also means they understand a lot of German. We travel around Europe as much as possible and do our best to learn a few words of the countries we visit. And our travels help in our work, too. One of our field agents travels a lot on the weekend and when they recently had to travel to northern Spain for a case, when the Rota team was already working a triple homicide, he knew several useful things about the country and the region."
There was more lively discussion about working overseas and he was answering another agency question when the door to the building opened and the Base Commandant entered. Although he hadn't planned or expected to see him, Tim nodded to the man, noticing some movement in the audience. He turned so that the Captain had to turn to face him.
"Sorry to interrupt your meeting. I'm Captain Alex Sheridan, the base commander. You're Assistant Director Gibbs?"
"Yes, Captain."
"You're not who I thought you were. I had an MTAC meeting with a Special Agent Gibbs several years ago and expected to see him."
Tim nodded, "I was in that meeting as well, Captain, Special Agent Timothy McGee. We were contacting you regarding Commander David Hart and his wife Kathy Hart. You couldn't tell us much."
Tim gave an imperceptible nod to the agents now standing behind Captain Sheridan. He stepped back, finding Special Agent Whiting by his side. He'd been assured this wouldn't happen in his presence. Obviously something had changed and there wasn't time to update him. At least he hoped that's why this poor excuse for a human being was being arrested in the middle of his meeting.
Wishing he could leave the building, that he could be any place but here, he listened despite himself while the agents identified themselves and arrested the Captain, reading him his Article 31 rights and then specifying the charges. "You are charged with treason against the United States. You're also charged as an accessory in the murder for hire of Katherine Hart and conspiracy in multiple attempts to kill Commander David Hart, also known as Patrick Barry McGee, Patrick McGee Blair and Patrick McGee Hart Gibbs. You're charged with approving, with intent to kill, the illegal administration of medical drugs to Commander David Hart, conspiracy to murder and the attempted murder of Timothy Farragut McGee, a U.S. Federal Agent, also known as Timothy Jackson Gibbs. You're also charged with conspiracy to murder minors Gregory Griffin Hart, also known as Gregory Griffin Gibbs and Kyle Timothy Hart, also known as Kyle Timothy Gibbs, defrauding Katherine Hart, a legal Navy dependent, of her legal pay as well as paying for cyber-crimes against her and illegal manipulation of Department of the Navy financial systems. Other charges will be leveled against you."
Tim found himself sitting in a chair while someone took the cap from a bottle of water and encouraged him to drink. Agents Balboa and Greene, both friends from the Navy Yard, were there and stayed with him. His phone chimed with a call but he let it go. When it rang again, Tim looked at the caller ID, Vance. Shaking his head, he was in no mood to speak with the man right now and handed the phone to Balboa, who said something and disconnected. Tim realized that in his earlier conversation with Vance, there had been no mention of the charges against Sheridan for the attack on Tim or the planned attack on the boys.
Finishing the bottle of water, he put the empty bottle down and then stood, doing his best to fight through his shock for the moment. Turning, his face blank, he watched the Captain being handcuffed and marched out of the building. No sooner had the agents left with their arrestee when the door opened again and a security detail Tim knew very well entered. He straightened his posture, noticing others following his example.
Secretary of the Navy Porter entered the building, walking straight to him. The look of worry and dismay on her face almost sent Tim to his knees, but Balboa and Greene each took one of his elbows to keep him upright.
Reaching out, Porter grasped his arms, saying, "Timothy, we just learned of his involvement in the attack on you and the planned one on the boys and the AG approved adding the charges to the arrest. There wasn't any time."
Tim squared his shoulders as Balboa and Greene dropped their hands. "Thank you, Ma'am. Is he the last one?"
"Yes. There were 5 others arrested this morning."
Tim nodded, saying, "We spoke with him the day Kathy was killed. Hours later. He asked about the boys. Was that part of the plan? I'm sorry, I know you can't answer that."
With a hand remaining on his right arm, the SecNav turned to SSAIC Whiting. "Special Agent Whiting, I apologize for barging in like this and for disrupting the meeting. AD Gibbs knew of the pending arrest but was assured it would happen after the meeting, once he was off the base." She turned back to Tim, "The plan changed."
Not yet ready to speak, he nodded. Then, taking a deep breath, he nodded again, saying, "I'm glad you're here, ma'am. It seems fitting considering you're the one who started the unraveling."
She made a noise in her throat. "So am I forgiven for bringing the beast into your home?"
"Yes, we settled that years ago. As it turned out, it was the smartest thing anyone's done with this case, that and bearding the beast in his cage." By that he meant the team that met with Hatman in prison, the move that ended the threats against his family.
Still gathering his wits about him, he turned back to his audience, who were still mostly in a state of shock, and said, "Earlier you were asking about the Secretary of the Navy. For those who haven't seen her in person before, I'd like to introduce you to Secretary Porter."
She smiled at all of them, "Thank you, Special Agent Gibbs. I'm happy to have the chance to see all of you, I've heard great things about your work and your perseverance in living together on base for the past 3 years. Timothy?"
"Not yet, ma'am. Would you like to do the honors?"
"I believe that's your assignment, Assistant Director."
"Yes, ma'am." Tim turned slightly to make sure the SSAIC was included in what he had to say. "Everyone, thank you for your time, I've enjoyed talking with you, learning more about your experiences here and answering questions about the agency's plans. Despite what you've just witnessed, the real purpose to my visit is to give you…" He pulled a stack of envelopes from his briefcase, "these in thanks for your hard work, perseverance and initiative!"
Motioning to Whiting, she stood on one side of him, the SecNav on the other. The envelopes were in alphabetical order and he called each name, handing the envelope to Whiting to give to the employee. Tim shook the employee's hand as did the SecNav while the next name was called. It took time but it was worth it to see the smiling faces and hear the exclamations as some of the envelopes were opened. Inside was a letter of commendation, manually signed by the Director along with another document, which when opened, revealed a check. The document gave the official reason for the bonus, 'Hazard and Repatriation' pay.
One of the employees asked if everyone was getting these. Tim shook his head, "Not everyone in the agency. Those in the Carolina, Southeast and Norfolk offices, yes; as you know they're also living on base. The Northeast Field Office has received thanks for their help with refugees and other offices who have had to relocate, for example, the Great Lakes office working in the FBI office in Wisconsin have received repatriation pay. Other offices will receive thanks for their support." Tim smiled, "There are also two Investigatory Agents at FLETC in International Falls, one in London and one in Corpus Christi who will receive thanks for supporting the entire U.S. based NCIS force with their work."
"Will they stay at FLETC?"
Tim shook his head, "No, although I'm no longer involved in the day-to-day operations of the Investigatory Agents, it's still my responsibility. While posting INV agents to FLETC gave us the advantage we needed to safely and successfully handle U.S.-based cases, it is not a permanent post. As Reconstruction continues and our offices are repopulated, those agents will be reassigned."
He smiled, "Lastly, any messages for the Director?"
"Thank you!" That was a somewhat raggedy chorus and Tim nodded. Someone else called out, "Come home, we need our Home Office!"
Secretary Porter was on her phone, although Tim saw a smile. He answered, "Director Vance and many of those who evacuated will return with the Fleet. Right now, after the Antwerp attack, NATO requested that NCIS headquarters remain in the UK, as a sign of solidarity and goodwill, among other things. The Secretaries of the Navy and Defense and the President agreed."
"Have you ever met her?"
"Who?"
"The President."
Tim smiled, "Yes, by accident. Last summer, some of us were vacationing at a lodge in Maine and who should be there for a campaign dinner but the President. So we met her and Dr. McCord."
Behind him, from the direction of the SecNav, he heard a noise but ignored it.
"What's she like?"
"Personable, a good listener, level-headed. Okay, everyone, thanks again for your time and attention and most of all your work! Help yourselves to the rest of the refreshments and I'll look forward to hearing about your new homes or newly rehabbed homes!"
They filed out as Whiting stood by him. "I'm still in a bit of shock."
Tim raised an eyebrow and she huffed, "Right, you too, got it. Are you all right? Were you really here to hand those out or to be in on the bust?"
"I didn't know anything about the bust or that Sheridan was involved at all until Saturday. And I'm all right, thanks for your concern. I'm thankful it's done, that my brother's case is finally wrapped up."
With a handshake, he left the building, reading a text from Vance that he was sorry and that he would visit the Navy Yard while they were in Maine to meet with their Security Officers and deliver their envelopes. Tim sighed in relief, he really just wanted to get home to process what had happened. He stopped walking when one of the Secretary's security detail spoke to him, "Assistant Director Gibbs, would you like a ride home?"
"It'll take about 25 minutes, if that's all right, then yes. Oh, no, can't, I promised to bring home treats."
"Neither the time nor the treats are a problem, the commissary is right here. I'll go in with you."
"Then thanks, yes, a ride would be great."
When they pulled up to the commissary, Tim and the security officer entered and Tim made a beeline for the baked goods, picking up four pies before detouring to the fresh fruit section where he selected a dozen and a half apples, mixing two varieties, Granny Smith and Honey Crisp. Back in the car, he thanked the detail for stopping. Then he sent a text that 'Ma'am' was giving him a ride home. He smiled, wishing he could see the reaction to that!
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As he climbed out of the SUV at the house, he thanked the Secretary and her detail for the ride. She shook her head at him, "It's the least we can do, Timothy, messing with your life again! Enjoy your trip to Sandy Pines and I'll try not to have to call either you or Leon. AD Morris will also be there?"
He nodded and she grinned, "Then it's his turn! See you!"
His dad exited the house, taking the pies. "What's happened?"
"Walk slow and I'll tell you. I didn't know until Saturday but then today there was more than Leon said, or knew. You remember we spoke with a Captain Sheridan about Patrick, aka David Hart?"
"Yes, he was Hart's last CO of record."
"Yes. From April of '17 until today, he was commandant of Joint Base Anacostia Bolling. In the middle of my meeting, he comes in to say hello and realizes I'm not the Agent Gibbs he met but that gave Carter and his team, with O'Brien's team as backup, time to circle behind and arrest him. Dad, he was involved in Kathy's murder, he's the one who spearheaded withholding her Navy pay, he was involved in the drugs given to Pat, the attack on me and there was a attack on the boys planned that never happened. They were going to kill the boys - and me." Tim suddenly couldn't breathe and Dad steered him to one of the porch chairs. He pushed his head down between his legs, "Breathe deeply, son, and try to relax your muscles. Take it easy, Timomine, you're home, Pat and the boys are all right. I'll get some water."
Tim made a noise, he didn't want him to leave. Gibbs rubbed circles on his back, relaxing a little when he felt and heard his son's breathing improve. "That's good, Elf Lord, keep it up." When Tim finally sat up, his father pulled him into his arms. "Are there more?"
Tim shook his head, "Leon said he's the last loose end, dangling thread, something like that. Porter said there were 5 other arrests today."
Jethro kissed the top of his son's head, "Good, it's about time! What about whatshisname, the creepy guy?"
"Hatman is still in prison, in solitary confinement. I don't know how information about Sheridan was discovered."
"Probably won't know, either."
Tim nodded into his father's shoulder, "I don't want to know anything else."
"Me neither. Let's be thankful the boys were not physically harmed and that you lived."
"I had help."
"Yeah, the storekeeper and yourself." He increased his hold on his son, remembering the way his gut hurt and the shock and horror of knowing Tim was hurt and that he couldn't get to him. Sitting there on the porch, the two men held on tight.
By the time they saw the rest of the family, they'd regained their composures and it wasn't until that evening that each man told his wife. Tim thought later that the pies and apples he'd brought home sufficiently distracted everyone from his collywobbles.
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They had a Skype call scheduled with Patrick Wednesday morning and Tim thought he was as relieved as he'd ever been to see his brother on screen, smiling and talking to them with his hands. Pat gave him a look but Tim gave him a quick head shake. Any conversation about Pat's case would need to wait until they were physically in the same room together and Pat could ask the questions he still had. Leon had already agreed to answer any questions Pat might have that Tim could not.
Still, when the boys had their backs turned, Pat asked if he was all right and Tim signed, "More or less, will be ok." Pat then asked if he had security at the rehab and Tim gave him an emphatic nod "Yes!" His brother made a face at him, Tim made one back and they both grinned.
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They invited their tenants to dinner that evening and Dad and Tim grilled hamburgers and hot dogs, with homemade fries made by Andy, Greg, Rissa and Artie. Bill also made one of his famous chopped salads and Tim thought how great it was that his brother was here with them. They'd hoped to see him at least once, so having him for the whole week, plus the flight to Maine was a real bonus.
After dinner, Tim, Rick, Jim and Dad went for a walk. Tim handed their friends envelopes for them and each of their teams as they apologized for having to bust Sheridan during his meeting. Tim shook his head, "Secretary Porter told me about the two additional charges. And it wasn't your fault he walked in during the meeting!"
Jim shook his head, "There are more charges coming but the USAG wasn't ready to sign off yet."
Dad asked if they were allowed to tell them the names of the arrestees and they nodded, having been carefully briefed. Tim was relieved that he didn't know any of them. Jethro knew one of them, had worked with the man once and had thoroughly disliked him. He didn't say anything.
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The rest of the week went very quickly. After lunch Thursday afternoon, they started packing. As Tim and Artie swapped out clothes for the trek to Sandy Point, Tim chuckled to himself. His wife looked at him, "What?"
"We thought staying here would be good for the kids, let them have a taste of living here. It worked on me, too. We've been away from Brambury for 6 weeks now and it's all right."
"It'll be different when we move."
"Yes, but if we're successful with your plan, it still won't be permanent. How are you feeling about it?"
"I feel the way you do and you're right about my plan, I hope we can make it work! But sweetie, we decided we won't come here right away."
He laughed, "I know. At least we know we like living in the house."
"And think how much easier and better it will be when we can leave the property!"
That evening after the other kids were in bed, Andy asked if he could speak with them privately and they went upstairs to the master bedroom to talk.
He smiled at them, "There's no problem, but I do have some questions. I've based my plans for uni on us still living in Brambury. Is that still going to happen?"
"I'm glad you asked, son, we've been talking about a couple of other possibilities but there's no final decision yet." Tim told him what they were thinking as far as the agency while Artie added her idea for returning to Brambury in the future.
"By our estimations, our return would be anywhere from 8 to 12 years from now, depending on when we're transferred."
"And you think the transfer will happen sooner than you originally thought?"
Artie nodded, "Yes. We believe Leon will work for another 6-8 years before retiring. Your father feels he should prepare for the directorship, in case he's asked and agrees to take it. As part of the preparation, he believes he needs to work in the U.S. for a few years, between 2 and 3. Otherwise, all his experience will have been working very closely with the director, at the Navy Yard when he worked for your grandfather and here in London."
"Oh! So it's political?"
Tim nodded, "Yes, son. If I agree to become the Director, I need to have experience on my own, not always tied so closely to Director Vance. That's not saying anything against him; basically it boils down to me having to prove myself, that I'm more than his 'go-to' guy."
Andy had to think about that, finally saying, "Would that be anything like someone getting high grades because their parents or an older sibling always helped with projects or even did the work themselves?"
"Yes, it's along the same lines, although it's more the appearance of that happening without it actually happening. I need to prove to my peers that I can lead an office on my own, without the Director being there. Otherwise, there could be a lack of trust in my ability to lead."
Andy nodded, "I get it. So where are we going?"
His parents chuckled, "We don't know yet." His father added, "I'm hoping for the West Coast because that would give me a chance to really be independent and either office would be a definite challenge."
"San Diego or Seattle?"
His mother smiled, "The NCIS office in Washington is a long drive from Seattle and I think would be even colder in the winter than here. We're hoping for San Diego."
"So three years there and then Uncle Leon retires?"
"Two or three years there and then probably 4 or 5 years in Arlington, might be a little longer, then we want to move back to Brambury."
"But everyone won't be together."
"We hope Grandpa and Grandma will move with us. Others might still be in the UK or Europe. Tony and Maggie, Joe and Char, Freddie and Abby, Bill and Nikki, Barry and Alan, maybe even Rob and Ellie."
"Really?"
"Yes. And there are different reasons that we'll explain, but not tonight. So, as far what university you attend, son, choose one you want to go to, that best fits your educational needs, not according to where we live. You'll always be part of the family, always be our son, no matter how old you are! We hope you'll be home for holidays and come with us on vacations."
"Oh good, I wasn't sure about that! Ainsley is kind of worried about that too, and Kayla hasn't had time to talk with us. She's the only one who's going through this."
"And Ainsley's next. Actually, Em and P are next."
"Right, I'll remind Ains; she's worried that once she goes to Harvard in August, she won't be part of the group anymore. That's different from Em, P and Kayla though because they're in the same country as their parents. Ainsley won't be."
They talked a little longer before Andy took himself off to bed. Artie frowned, "I couldn't wait to leave my parents!"
Tim chuckled, "We're not them, honey. Different generations and different life experiences and having been through the war might be making things different for them too. Andy's family peers have gone through having to suddenly leave their homes, friends and countries because of war. Ainsley and Callum went on vacation and never went home. Andy's only experienced that passively, as a bystander."
"And he's like you, doesn't want to get too far from the father he hasn't had long enough."
He smiled, leaning over to kiss her. "We'll have long enough, don't worry."
"I hope so, love. Do you feel that way about your father, too?"
"Yes. In his case, I think it's more quality over quantity. He's retired and we live in the same house. Just those two factors mean we get to spend more time together than most fathers and adult sons. And we're close, which means a lot. And really, whatever time we have together is the time we were and are supposed to have together. There's no sense worrying about it. I've decided to rely on faith and trust."
She smiled, happy to know he'd grown into that faith and trust.
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Friday, they packed everything, including Bill's suitcase, the Porters', Carters' and O'Briens' belongings, into several large Uber vehicles, said goodbye to the Marines and their other tenants and headed back to the airfield for the flight to Maine, waving goodbye to the property as they pulled onto the road. Bill left his tools behind, locking them in his suite. From Maine, he'd return to Arlington to continue his Reconstruction work. When one of Tony's jets flew to Japan in July to pick up the Ibarras and then San Diego for the Langstons, that is Ned, Daniel, Liesl and Mark, it would then return to the East Coast to pick up the Porters, unless they returned to the UK in June, the Baxters along with Bill and all his belongings before continuing to Europe. He'd be returning to London for good, having fulfilled his commitment to the Reconstruction project.
Once at the FOB, the group checked the vehicles for any personal belongings, sweaters, toys, books, before unloading the vehicles, the drivers helping. The men and older boys watched everything being loaded onto the jet while the women and younger kids went aboard to get settled. This year, coming from within the U.S. rather than from overseas, the flight felt like was over before it really got started. An hour and 35 minutes after wheels up in DC, they landed at the airfield close to Pernton, Maine, and there would be no jet lag!
The jet from the UK wouldn't arrive for a few hours, but they anticipated the arrival of the Baxters, Kings, Slaters, Bishops and Abby's family within the next hour or so, unless they were already at Sandy Pines.
They weren't sure how many Baxters were coming, they knew Richard would be there, along with his daughter, grandson and his family, the people Tim met on his visit last September, but didn't know if there would be others. Nate, Big John and Randy would arrive later that afternoon, staying until Monday or Tuesday, much to everyone's joy.
Their rental vehicles, including cargo vans, arrived within minutes and the group got busy loading everything into them. The men teased each other about all the exercise they were getting loading and unloading. Jethro said he thought it might be easier to just keep some basic things at the resort. Tim wholeheartedly agreed with that, having now schlepped too many storage tubs across the world and back only to load them up again and again.
By his estimation, by the time they were home at the Manor 11 days from now, he would have unloaded and loaded the same stuff 16 times and that was not including loading into or unloading from the jet, which the flight crew or FOB staff handled. Next year, they'd ship things ahead of time and stop bringing so much. And no more outdoor toys!
When he said something about that to his wife later than evening, she ran her hands across his back, shoulders, arms and chest. "I don't know, love, you've got a lot of definition from all that." Maybe it wasn't too much.
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The junior Gibbses stopped at the grocery store to fill in what they hadn't brought from Arlington. Sadly, they'd finished all of Kyle's well traveled fudgy chocolate ice cream from the commissary in Japan and now purchased more of it, getting a smaller container for the freezer in their cabin. They also bought more peanut butter, loaves of bread and jars of boysenberry jelly. This year, they'd have a cook in the resort kitchen so none of the family had to use the restaurant rated kitchen equipment, which also meant they couldn't eat whenever they wanted. They'd meet with Cook and Ms. Murray later today to set up some sort of schedule.
They pulled into the resort in a few minutes, happy to see other vehicles parked and empty, their occupants already checked in. They waved at the RVs, spotting some of the Bishops, Slaters and Abby's niece Menolly.
Nikki's aunt Evelyn was in the lobby and gave Bill and the others a warm welcome. "I'm so glad to see you again, that we're able to gather here again! And Jethro, I understand you have cousins from Massachusetts who will be here this year?"
"Yes, they might be here already, they're the Baxters."
Vince shook his head, "We came up last night and joined the Bishops and the folks from New Orleans at their campfire. The people from Canada arrived about an hour ago but no one else is here yet."
Tim grinned, "They'll get here. We don't know if they're in RVs or in the lodge or cabins. Scratch that, I do know there will be one RV."
"Have you met them?"
"Yes, I was in Rhode Island on business in September and spent a day with them."
Tia, Vince's wife, nodded, "That's right, we tried to find a weekend to see you but we had back to back catering jobs."
"I planned to be there for a month but we were finished in a little over two weeks, so the time would have been very tight."
"Had you met them before?"
"Yes, I met Cousin Richard at the funeral for Jethro's father, Jackson Gibbs. However, at the time, I worked for Jethro; it was a few years before we discovered I'm a Gibbs."
Tim said hello to the front desk clerk checking them in, he recognized the young woman from last year. She smiled, "We have you in the same cabin as last year, Mr. Gibbs, with one Cal King bed and one queen bed, along with 4 singles. Do you still need the crib?"
"No, thanks, we brought a toddler airbed for the little guy. We will still need the high chair."
"Great, that's already in the cabin. Welcome back and have a wonderful time! The weather has been warmer this spring than last, we're already a little above the mid-70's."
"Perfect, that's good news!"
Unloading their vehicles, they sorted the luggage, carrying some to the lodge, some to cabins with most of it going to the junior Gibbs' cabin. Most of the games and their winter clothes, packed in the storage tubs, weren't needed here and those were stashed in a storage shed. Tim, Artie and the kids, with some help from Bill and Vince King, soon had their belongings in the cabin. When Vince asked if they'd brought everything they owned, everyone laughed and Artie told him about their trip to Japan and their stay in Virginia. He shook his head, "It sounds wonderful but that's too much flying for me!"
Kyle piped up, "We flew to Japan on a Navy jet, we had our own beds and everything!"
"A Navy jet?" Thinking of fighter jets, Vince chuckled when Tim explained. "Thank you, all I could think of was "Top Gun" and wondered how there could be beds or other people! So you did bring everything you own!"
Once they were done, Bill borrowed Vince's car to do some shopping before Nikki arrived. He knew she'd be tired and as they hadn't seen each other in person since April, he didn't want to have to leave their cabin for food, drink or anything else. The new cook had been given an explanation of Nikki's special needs and the woman had emailed her with a few questions, ensuring she understood everything. Nikki was confident this would work out well. They'd eat breakfast in the cabin, take their lunch with them wherever they might be going and have dinner in the lodge or outside, with the expanded family.
While Jethro and Lu unpacked their suitcases in their lodge room, they talked about plans for the week. They'd already scheduled an owners' meeting first thing Monday morning, with the previous owners, the Lyonses, and Ms. Murray, their resort manager. Other than that, they had a few plans.
The first was they'd play with their kids and grandkids, enjoy the company of the extended family, the Bishops, Slaters and Sciutos, including Abby's brother Kyle, get to know their Baxter cousins and help care for little Joey, who was 5 weeks old and his older baby cousins. Sarah's daughter Caty was 7 months old, Rob's daughters Timmy and Ro would hit 7 months while they were here and Geordie's son Tyler was 6 months old.
They thought one day they'd take the older kids, maybe even Hope, for kayaking lessons on one of the lakes close to Pernton. They hoped some of their grown kids would go too.
Another idea, and they were pretty excited about this, was to take whoever wanted to go to Portsmouth, New Hampshire, about a 90 minute drive south. There were so many things to see and do there that they thought the children and their parents would love that they'd made a list. However, their list was so full that it might take two or three days to see everything. There were islands to visit, even a causeway to walk from one island to another island, an outdoor living history museum that was purported to be a whole neighborhood, sailing on a river in a gundalow, "a fully-decked, cargo boat, that had evolved for travel on the Piscataqua River, with a cabin and lateen sail that could 'shoot' under bridges"*. There was a trolley to see the sights of Portsmouth without wearing out toddler or elderly legs, a museum in a nearby town where kids could try on Colonial era clothing, play games the colonial children would have played and learn more about children's everyday lives in the colonial era. There was also a steamboat they could take to yet another island, and a tour or a do it yourself exploration of the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail to learn more of a frequently overlooked part of colonial history. There were family friendly restaurants and at least one award winning ice cream shop.**
They finally agreed to share the whole list with their grown kids who had children old enough to be interested in a trip to Portsmouth, namely Tim, Jimmy, Tony along with the Hubbards, Vances, Bishops, Slaters, Sciutos and possibly the Baxters. They could pick what they could do in one day this year and Lu was insistent that include the self-guided tour of the Black Heritage Trail. "We have several family members, besides me, who have African heritage: LJ, Rob and the twins, Bill, Nikki, Freddie, the Vances and the Kings. I want all of our kids and grandkids to know about the history here and I hope that as we explore the world, we'll learn more. It also might give Tim and Artie more ideas for the house in Arlington."
Jethro nodded and then asked if she was bothered that the Arlington property had previously been owned by slave owners and occupied by the people they owned. She shook her head, "No. Although Rick Carter told me it bothers him. He's a descendant of Robert 'King' Carter of Virginia, a notorious slave owner. Rick should probably come on the walk, too, maybe he'll find something to settle his mind. After all, none of us have any control over who our ancestors were."
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As warm weather was forecast with no rain for the next 10 days, Tim, Artie and their kids didn't bother removing their warmer clothing from their suitcases, although remembering chilly mornings and evening campfires, each pulled out a light jacket. Once they were done unpacking, they stored the suitcases and went for a walk.
They turned to the right outside their cabin, smiling when Aunt Cyndi and Uncle Larry joined them. Jed was fine walking, although Tim had the daddy pack with him, thinking their 2-year old might want a ride on the way back. They'd swing by the RV park first and say hello to everyone before heading up the trail. Before they left the cabin, Tim showed them a picture of poison ivy, which they teased him about as he'd done the same thing last week in Virginia. He shook his head, "I've had it twice and I don't want any of you to go through what I did!"
They agreed. Grandpa and Grandma caught up to them as they reached the cabin that Rob, Ellie and their baby girls would be staying in. As it had been nearly an hour since they'd last seen each other, the littles wanted hugs and kisses.
Dina Fisher, Nikki and Vince's cousin, was taking a walk by herself and when she saw them, asked if she could join them. As busy as they'd been with the double weddings last year, she hadn't spent much time with the others, except when working, nor had she seen much of the resort. As they got closer to the RVs, Menolly Sciuto, the Bishop and Slater grandkids called out to them, running over to the group. There were hugs and handshakes all around as the adults joined them and they chatted for several minutes before setting off again.
The Baxters weren't there yet. It was only a 4 hour drive from their home to the resort but as Larry pointed out, it was Friday, they might have run into early commute traffic. At least it wasn't a holiday weekend! The Morrises were also driving up but would arrive either late tonight or very early Saturday morning.
They had a lovely walk up the hill, more than 20 of them, Tim's kids teasing him when they came to the point where they could see the whole resort. He smiled, reminding them that the Secret Service had placed agents up here during the President's visit. Rissa tugged on Ms. Dina's hand when she stepped close to a clump of poison ivy, explaining what it was, how her dad had had it twice and they weren't allowed to get near it. The woman was both grateful and amused.
Back down the loop they came, stopping only so Jed could ride in his daddy pack. While he wasn't too tired, he was starting to droop a little. At the RV park, they stopped to make plans to meet at the beach in an hour. Jed would need a nap but he could sleep on the beach, he smiled at that.
Once again in their cabin, Grandpa, Grandma, the Porters and Penny joining them, they sat down for lunch. They laughed as they enjoyed their peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a cookie and apple slices. After foregoing peanut butter for their 5 weeks in Japan, they'd had it almost every day since. They took a group photo and sent it to Patrick and the Ibarras, saying they missed them. They'd been sending messages and photos to Patrick every day, hoping he would feel part of what they were doing. He'd told them in the first Skype call from the Arlington house that he remembered visiting Penny there, asking if that's where they learned to swim. Penny said yes, it was; she, Grammie and Grandpa Drew taught them the basics one summer. They were there for two months, staying with the Hubbards and spending many wonderful hours at the house with Penny.
Pat was communicating with the world now that Dad had finished and installed Pat's tablet holder. James made sure he had tight security and trained his brother-in-law on the care and use of his tablet. He had a stylus to use if his fingers got too tired of swiping, tapping or typing, and a physical keyboard. A graduate of Cal Tech, it hadn't taken him long to catch up with technology, which made his father laugh. "That must come from your Hubbard genes, you and Tim are both techies!" That earned him a big grin.
Kendra McCoy visited Pat before work that Friday, taking photos of him with his tablet and sending them to Tim. Taking a look at them now, Kyle was the one who noticed he was sitting up a bit more. "He's not as slouchy as he was."
Tim nodded, "I don't see the harness."
To help retrain his muscles, Pat's physical therapists had him wearing a soft covered harness. Constructed to support all the body parts involved in sitting up, he was allowed to wear it twice a day for a specified amount of time. He'd started at 30 seconds and had now worked up to 4 minutes, a big improvement. While it was a good tool to use, the goal was to retrain his muscles, not to depend on the harness. In addition to wearing it, he had exercises to do that were slowly strengthening him. Once he could sit up on his own for 15 minutes, he'd be done with the tool. Sitting up meant he'd be able to sit in a wheelchair and on a commode, helping him regain function and mobility. However, movement of his hands and wrists was still restricted. While he could, with effort, move his elbows out to his sides, he hadn't yet been able to gain much strength in his forearms, which meant his wrist and hand movements were limited and he couldn't push down with his hands and arms to help move his body around.
Determined to focus on the positive, he was happy to see them when they pinged him from the resort in Maine. His smile grew wider as they told him what they'd noticed. After telling them a little more about his life at the rehab center, he wanted to hear what they'd been up to.
After lunch, Jed laid down for a few minutes while the others got ready for the beach, the Porters and senior Gibbses dispersing to change. The 2-year old was still awake, although drowsy, when he was changed into part of his swim gear. He could sleep comfortably in the shade and then put the rest on when he woke. Once he was in his daddy pack, he was awake and rode down to the beach commenting on the gate, the waves, the Big Chair, meaning the life guard station, and the big trees that provided shade. Once on the ground again, he was told he could play on the beach until it was time to sleep some more but to stay out of the water. He giggled before taking off, running in his water shoes on the wet sand. He laughed when he ran into his daddy who was waiting for him and when his brothers and sisters caught up. Turning to them, he said, "We gonna run back now, ready, set, go!" He took off, running straight into the arms of his grandpa who lifted him up high, saying he was the "winner of the first annual first beach run!" Jed wasn't sure what that meant but it was fun!
Eventually, he used up his second wind and crawled onto his beach bed, a nice warm double quilt and blanket covering a yoga mat on the sand, all the rocks, prickly and pointy things removed from underneath, with a light blanket over him. Mama and Grandma sang his favorite song to him as he fell asleep.
Tim and his mom sat near the little guy while Artie and Dad escorted the older kids to the lifeguard station. As they didn't know this lifeguard and the kids' swimming skills had improved a great deal over the past year, both adults and kids got in the cold water long enough to show the young man what they could do. In turn, he talked to them about beach and ocean safety.
After swimming in their warm indoor pool all week, they'd forgotten about the cold Atlantic and after Jake the lifeguard was satisfied with their skill levels, they decided to sit in the warm sun for a few minutes. The next time they put their feet in the water, they were more prepared and although they danced around to get warm, they stayed in the water.
In a few minutes, the Kings, Bishops, Sciutos and Slaters arrived. Some of them had already proved their swimming skills to the lifeguard staff and they gingerly put their feet in. The others went through the process, wondering why they hadn't thought to do this at the pool. Jake explained that was a good idea but swimming in the ocean was very different from swimming in a pool.
Jed didn't sleep long and he had fun playing with his grownups, siblings and the other children in the water at the shoreline. When his daddy's watch alarm buzzed, the little guy looked up, "Work, Daddy?"
"No, sweetie, your aunties, uncles, Grammie, Grandpa Mac and your cousins will be here in a few minutes! Jilly, Diane, Jack and the new babies!"
"Oooh!" Jed clapped his hands in excitement. "Can we go see them please?"
"That's a good idea. Let's tell everyone, I bet other people will want to say hello, too."
"I missed them."
"I know, Jedster, it's been two months! I have an idea, why don't you help me tell everyone?"
"Ok, how?"
Tim picked him up and carried him over by the lifeguard station where he thought it would be easier to catch people's attention. Jed sat on his shoulders, while Tim waved his arms. Grandpa saw and stopped, moving closer to the shore. Other folks followed his example and finally Tim grinned, "Ok Jed, tell them the plane is landing in 10 minutes. Say it as loud as you can."
Jed nodded and yelled, "Grammie's plane is landing in 10 minutes!"
He grinned as people cheered and his feet drummed on his daddy's chest. Tim crossed his arms across his chest, holding each little foot. He didn't want to spoil his little boy's glee at the cheers for his announcement.
Everyone sat on the beach, drying off a bit. When they'd stopped dripping, they left their towels, chairs and umbrellas, taking only phones and any other valuables with them and walked up the road.
The last stragglers had just joined the others in front of the lodge when the kids called out, "Cars coming!"
Moving onto the veranda, they waved excitedly as several SUVs, a large passenger van, Tim knew that was the Mallards, sedans, people inside waving back and lastly a big cargo van drove slowly onto the property. When all the cars were parked, the last car honked twice, car doors flew open and people poured out. While Breena and the Mallard kids were in the arms of Ginny and Ed Slater, Jimmy was in his mom's and Jethro's arms and Tim and his family had Ducky in their arms and then they switched so Jimmy could greet his mother-in-law, shake hands with Ed and get hugs from his sisters-in-law and their families. Finally, Jimmy reached Tim, Artie and their kids.
For about 3 minutes there was complete chaos as loved ones greeted loved ones and then two voices stood out. A voice called, "Yaya? Yaya, you're here?"
That was Artie and Tim who were shocked and surprised to find Mimi in front of them, Sophia beaming proudly close behind. Tim held his wife up as she nearly went to her knees in shock and joy. Mimi, who hated flying, was here. Along with Sophia, which must mean, he looked around and saw Ian grinning at him. "Ian, Susannah, welcome to Maine, where's the baby? I haven't met her yet!" He kissed all four Clachers, Ian's parents were with them and carefully took baby Anna from Fiona, "Hello, Anna Sophia, I'm your Uncle Tim and I'm so glad to finally meet you!"
The baby gurgled a little and Tim grinned, "I think she likes me."
Susannah, now wrapped in her sister's arms, chuckled, "Of course she does, Timotheos!"
Another cheer went up when two more vehicles pulled in, one a rental sedan with three people, that was Nate, Big John and Randy and the other vehicle was an RV with a luggage rack up top and bikes on the back, the Baxters had finally arrived!
When everyone was quieter, Leon and Dani introduced Brody to them. The young boy was happy to see his Gibbs friends, he'd missed them the last couple of months.
Mimi and the Clachers knew almost everyone and were introduced to the Slaters, Nate, Big John and Randy.
The Baxters, Jethro's cousin Richard's daughter Tricia, her son Doug, wife Kat and their four kids only knew Tim, although Richard of course knew Jethro and he'd met Lu and most of Tim's brothers and sister, Mac Fielding, LJ Moore and others he'd met at Jethro and Lu's wedding. They were introduced and the Gibbs and Mallard kids offered to make name tags for everyone.
Nat and Ben Mallard had teased Brody a little bit on the plane for being the new new kid, saying they'd been the new kids last year. Brody was comfortable, one of his parents or siblings stood with him and he liked that other kids had been new to the group. When he asked his dad how many people were there, Leon shrugged, "I don't know yet. We'll probably hear at dinner tonight. Now, what will happen is that each family does things together, we can join in with the others or not. We'll mostly eat dinner together as then we can talk about what we've done and that's always fun. And we'll have campfires, maybe roast marshmallows and sing a little."
He and Dani had consulted Kayla and Jared about how Brody should address Tim, Jimmy and the others. Kayla called everyone by their first names or family nicknames, Jared called the senior Gibbses, Uncle Gibbs, like Emily Fornell, and Aunt Lu and everyone else went by first name.
Leon wasn't quite sure what to do since so many of the family worked for him and he didn't want to assume anything. However, Brody took care of it himself. Hanging out with the Mallard and Gibbs kids, he'd picked up on what they called the adults who weren't their parents, Uncle Jimmy, Uncle Tim, Aunt Breena and Aunt Artie and the names stuck. With the adults Brody didn't know, the Mallard kids told him they called Aunt Artie's mother, Yaya and her grandmother, Mimi. Aunt Artie's sister was Aunty Susannah and her husband Uncle Ian. Ian's parents were Mr. and Mrs. Clacher. Uncle James' parents were Grandad and Grandmum, formerly known as Mr. George and Ms. Edith. Brody was learning that it was easier if people had grandchildren, then you could just call them by their grandparent name.
Now he thought he'd be very happy if everyone wore name-tags for the whole week. There were even more people here than their parties at home!
Jim O'Brien watched the ebb and flow of people greeting each other, happy to see his boss and to meet his new son. The kid looked like his eyes were going to fall out but smiled when Jim told him not to worry, it was up to other people to learn Brody's name and everyone here liked kids, no one would be mean. Jim told Rick later that Tim was right, he hadn't seen Leon so relaxed, healthy and happy in years.
Finally, people started trickling into the lodge to check in. Richard Baxter and Ducky had met on Skype and agreed to share a room in the lodge; his daughter was also staying in the lodge while the rest of the Baxters were in the RV. Randy and Barry, Alan was once again holding down the fort in London, were also sharing a room as were Uncle LJ and Cesar Fornell, Sophia and her Richard. Everyone who'd had a cabin last year had the same cabin this year and the DiNozzos were again occupying one of the family suites. They thought next year they'd might try a cabin.
Mimi was sharing Penny's room. When Tim and Artie heard that and realized the plan to share was not new, they turned, as one, to Penny, who smiled sweetly. "I had so much fun keeping our secret! Athena, Maisie, Claire, Liz, Sophia and I will be laughing about that all week! By the way, Perla also knows."
Tim grinned, he loved the bond between his 3 grandmothers, his godmother, mother-in-law and now both his aunts, too.
After dinner that night, Uncle Dave stood before anyone left the table, "We have a final count, there are 110 of us here! Here are a few other statistics: there are 34 children under the age of 18 and of those, 10 are under the age of 3, including 2 sets of twins. As for those 18 and older, we have 5 young adults with us. Welcome to everyone, new and old, to our extended, ever expanding family!"
The group laughed and then applauded themselves. Lu, who was coordinating activities, stood to mention trips to Portsmouth, NH, saying that the first item on the trip would be a self-guided tour of the Portsmouth Black Heritage Trail.
"Several members of the group have African ancestry, including me and some of our babies, and I feel we should take this opportunity to learn more of our history. Our ancestors may not have lived in New England, but that doesn't make it less important, we need to learn about the world we live in, as it is now and as it was before. We'll post sign-up sheets in the lobby." She smiled, "I hope we'll have a good crowd going. There are several things for families to do in Portsmouth, I don't think we'll have time to do them all this year, but you know, we'll be here next year too, God willing!"
By the next morning, just about everyone, with or without kids old enough to ride in a stroller, had signed up, much to Lu's surprise. Jethro teased her, "Sweetie, I don't think anyone wants to miss this, not after your enthusiasm!"
Along with the visit to Portsmouth and the Heritage Walk, which was interesting, sad, educational and uplifting, the group had a wonderful time during their week in Maine. On Sunday, they had a graduation party for Ainsley, who'd successfully completed her secondary classes and exams, although she wouldn't know her final scores for some time. She would attend Harvard, starting there toward the end of August. Through Andy, Tim and Artie learned she'd spoken with her parents about her new place in the world and her continuing place in her family.
The kayaking lessons were a lot of fun and even 4-year old Hope participated, although she kayaked with her grandma. When Greg asked if they could kayak anywhere at home, they thought of the rivers as well as all the lakes available. Grandpa didn't mention sea kayaking, the adults could do that but his grandkids needed more experience.
One of the most joyous family reunions that week, one that had many of the adults breathing sighs of relief, was little Tyler's with his biological grandparents. While they were familiar Skype faces to him and he to them, they hadn't seen him in person since he was born. Renting a car, Geo, Bec and Tyler drove to the grandfather's home as his was the larger of the two. Tyler made his parents very happy when he welcomed his grandmother and grandfather with happy squeals and both beamed at him. He was a happy, child who loved to cuddle and today was no different as he nestled first in Grandmother's arms and then Grandfather's. He and his parents spent the night at Grandfather's, his parents surprised to find that Grandmother was now living there also. It seemed during the long painful months of waiting for Tyler's birth while his mother, their daughter and daughter-in-law, was kept alive via machines, the two found a bond, besides their grandson, that brought them happiness as well as helping to ease the pain a little. While they snapped many photos and made several videos, Geo and Bec now felt hopeful that they'd see the couple again next year.
They did think it was funny, on their return to Sandy Point, when Ben, Lu and Jethro, Tyler's other grandparents, were waiting for them as they drove in, removed him from the car, although they did ask, and carried him off for their own grand-parental cuddles.
Tyler's tiny cousin, 5-week old Joey, also had a lot of attention as the adults of the expanded family helped care for him and little Anna Clacher. Jose, Charlotte, Susannah and Ian were thrilled to have so many infant-minders, allowing the two couples to catch up on some much needed sleep and time together. It also gave the senior Clachers, Mimi and Sophia some welcome time to themselves.
All in all, it was a wonderful ten days for everyone. The weather stayed warm and the pools and their ocean bay were put to good use. There were all kinds of outings, delicious meals and fun times together. As Claire said one day, "It feels like summer camp when I was a kid, only better!"
Cal laughed, "Mom, this is summer camp for all of us, from baby Joey to Uncle LJ!"
References:
* gundalow org
** mommypoppins com