Reminder: 'Walker' is Alan Walker, London's SFA and the life partner of Barry Rudd Gibbs.
Also, I've replaced my OC Assistant Director Ferrer with a canon character from NCIS:LA, Deputy Director Ochoa. As with Ferrer, he'll only be mentioned.
Chapter 126
Walking into the Manor for the first time in 2 months, Tim felt an almost physical relief. Japan was wonderful and he'd enjoyed the time with the Ibarras, the work and the adventures with his family. With the exception of Sheridan's arrest, the week in Arlington had also been wonderful; they'd all enjoyed their stay in their American house, their explorations through the woods, their indoor skating rink and of course the pool.
The week at Sandy Pine had been even more relaxing and fun. No visit from the SecNav or the President, he and Leon had not talked about work, there was a general agreement amongst the adults to ignore, or at least not discuss, the news during their vacation, except for the weather, and if anything especially worrisome or catastrophic had happened at the agency, Deputy Director Ochoa, the new guy at OSP, must have handled it.
Having Mimi with them was a wonderful surprise and while she spent most of her time with her precious granddaughters, their spouses, families and great-grandchildren, she also met or reconnected with many of the expanded family. She was excited to meet Nate and spent hours talking with him, Lu and Big John about Tim's years in Baltimore. She was thankful to her fellow grandmothers, Penny and Maisie, as well as their co-conspirators for convincing her to fly across the Atlantic and she was especially grateful to Sophia, Maggie, Claire, Liz, Edith Powell and Fiona Clacher, who'd rotated sitting with her on the long flight over, frequently holding her hands. On the way home, her Gibbs family entertained her so well that she hardly noticed the hours or the seemingly endless ocean below.
When they landed in London, the Clachers disembarked with the others, they'd take the train the rest of the way home. When the jet departed again, it had three passengers aboard, Mimi, Sophia and Richard. The latter would see them home and stay for a couple of weeks, returning to the UK before the annual Independence Day celebration.
Once inside the Manor, the suitcases went straight to the laundry room; it would take most of the weekend to get the laundry done. Tim reminded Artie that a very wise person, herself, made sure the children had clean uniforms to wear for school and then they both laughed when they realized that the only children going anywhere for the next week would be Jed and Hope, if they wanted to see their friends at the nursery school. The older kids would be on their 'jet lag' week, although all four had finished their assignments for the week they missed while they were in Virginia and for the upcoming week.
Once the first load of wash was in, Tim wandered into the kitchen for a cup of coffee and found his mother making breakfast. He joined her and by the time everything was ready someone had set the table, brought jam, butter, juice, the teapot was steeping the Powells' tea and the coffee carafe was full. The whole family was waiting.
Lu and Tim were applauded as they walked in with plates of scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. Tim grinned, "It's good to be home, we had family breakfasts in Yokosuka, but there were a lot of empty chairs."
Greg nodded, "Family dinners with Uncle Mark and Aunt Perla and the cousins were fun. But none of you were there."
There was a collective 'Aw' from the Powells, Jethro, Lu, Uncle LJ and the Porters, who'd flown home with them. "We missed all of you, too."
Smiling, Tim held his hands out to his wife on one side and Rissa on the other and said grace, including thanks they'd reached home safely.
Mom and son put their feet up after they ate, letting the others clean up. The dishwasher would have to wait until the washing machine was through that evening. That was one of the realities of living in an ancient edifice, dealing with the idiosyncrasies of 'medieval' plumbing, including the water pressure and the hot water heater which was nearly as old as Andy. Of course, the plumbing was from the 20th and 21st centuries, not the 10th but sometimes they wondered. Jose and Freddie were fascinated by all of it, which just made their family roll their eyes while also being thankful the guys could fix things for them.
The rest of the weekend was spent, at least for the Gibbses, re-familiarizing themselves with their environs and wrestling with jet lag. They went into London to visit Patrick, who was very happy to see them – and vice versa. Back home, Jethro and Tim put the pool up, adding the large black plastic bags, the hack they used to heat the water faster. While they waited for the pool, the kids played with their friends, catching up on their latest doings, while the adults did the grownup version of that. Artie called her grandmother to make sure she was doing all right after the week away and the long flight.
One of their first discoveries was that the neighbors on one side of the Manor were nearing retirement and considering moving to Spain or Greece for the weather and lower cost of living. Rather than sell their house, they wanted to rent it out for an additional source of income. James and Sarah thought this might be the answer to their ongoing 'do we have to move?' dilemma. However, the retirement wouldn't happen until the end of the year, so nothing had to be decided now. It was, however, a tempting idea.
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Entering his office Monday morning for the first time in two months, Tim quickly made coffee, shivering as he did so. It was cold in there, downright freezing! Remembering he kept a wool pullover in a file cabinet drawer, along with an extra dress shirt and tie, he dug it out, took his suit jacket off, pulled the sweater on and put his jacket back on. Sitting at his desk, he looked at his email. He'd managed most of it before he left Yokosuka and he'd separated the wheat from the chaff, so to speak, over the weekend. Now he'd only read what he really needed to.
Minutes later, still chilled, he looked in the storage cabinet behind Cynthia's desk, smiling at the space heaters he found there. He took one, putting it under his desk. Finally, he was warm enough to focus on work!
When he was warm enough to move away from his desk again, he went back out to Cynthia's work area and plugged in the other space heater for her. He'd forgotten she was new to the island and wouldn't know that summers could be almost as chilly, at least inside, as winters. Then he realized this was also his first summer in this office, Joel hadn't left until September last year. That made him feel better.
When he needed to move around, he turned both heaters off and made his morning rounds of the office. He always enjoyed that, saying hello, hearing what was happening or expected to happen. His goal was to stay in touch with his staff, to be approachable. It was still early, not yet 0720, so he didn't expect to find too many people at their desks.
He laughed when he found Nikki, Barry and Maggie already at their desks and working. "Good morning! I see I'm not the only one in early!"
The three of them chuckled and Barry shook his head, "I don't understand it, the U.S. is behind the UK, we should be dragging ourselves in much closer to 0800."
Nikki made a noise, "My husband is still in the U.S., no one to snuggle with."
Maggie huffed, "The twins woke us up early and my dad's in Greece, he's our usual early morning helper. So the four of us were awake and I decided to come in, get an early start."
Barry shrugged, "Alan and the team were called out on a case a couple of hours ago and I couldn't go back to sleep." He looked at his brother. "What's your excuse?"
Tim smiled, "We saw Patrick yesterday, the folks, Artie and all the kids and that was great. Today I'll leave early to spend some time alone with him."
His brother and sisters-in-law smiled, glad to know he spent time alone with their recovering brother and very happy to know he was doing something for himself.
Moving through the office, he saw one of the maintenance staff and asked him to bump up the heat in his office, explaining he'd been away for two months and that his assistant was new to the UK, she wouldn't have thought to ask for heat during the summer. The young man nodded and hurried away. Tim continued his walk, saying hello, stopping if asked a question or if he had one of his own.
When he reached the bullpen, Bishop and Esposito were deep into their electronic work and the Field Team was still out, presumably at their multiple crime scenes. He left them to it, deciding to bypass the Lab and Autopsy as Jimmy, Abby and their assistants were no doubt busy. He'd peeked at the case file over Esposito's shoulder, they had three homicides, each in a different location, and they were all hoping they didn't have a serial killer on their hands.
He returned to his office shortly before 0800 and greeted Cynthia who was already at work. "Mrs. Dalton, how are you?"
"I'm fine, Special Agent Gibbs, thank you. How were your journeys? And why is it so cold in here?"
He chuckled, "It's summer in the UK. The thermostat needs to be bumped up to about 60 on the weekends, otherwise it's a freezer on Monday. I've already spoken to maintenance. Until it warms up, we both have space heaters. I use mine under my desk. I'm surprised Pam didn't say anything."
Cynthia looked chagrined, "She took Wednesday, Thursday and Friday off."
"Ah, that explains it! Don't worry about it, we'll be fine with the space heaters. My journeys were fine, thanks, very interesting and for the most part enjoyable. Last week in Maine was great! It was nice and warm and we had a bigger turnout than ever – 110 people!"
"All your family?"
"We have family, extended family and we're now using the term 'expanded' family. There are 22 of us siblings and partners plus 18 children. In-laws are another 40, including parents, partners' siblings and those siblings' partners, kids and cousins. Our grandmothers, grandfathers, Uncle LJ, that's my dad's godfather, my godparents, aunt, uncle and kids is 11. With our cousins, another 8, that's 99, right there. The Vances had 6 with Dani's son Ross, the Fornells are 5 which brings the total up to 110."
"Is Fornell the FBI agent that was around NCIS a lot? The one who was always fighting with senior Agent Gibbs?"
"Yes. He's retired now. At least until the next crisis."
"I remember that Director Shepard had to keep a tight leash on them."
Tim grinned, "They've been close friends for a lot of years, since before Director Shepard. However, they found it worked better if they kept their friendship to themselves."
"Wow!"
Tim huffed, "Don't feel bad, we didn't know for many years and Tony hated him. At some point, DiNozzo gave him a bottle of wine for a holiday dinner, then they discovered they both like to cook Italian and cooked together a few times. That buried the feud and Fornell has since apologized for the multiple times he accused DiNozzo of murder. And Tobias was a big help to me during some scary times in my life when my NCIS family wasn't available."
Cynthia's big eyes grew wider, "I want more stories! And how big is that resort?"
"There were still cabins and RV spaces available, even with all of us. Not many but a few. However, we own the place so it's closed to the public for the 10 days we're there. It'll open to the public next week, they shut down for a few days, until all their staff gets there, then they're open through Labor Day. So, here's what I expect to happen this week…"
Although Tim wanted to talk with Leon, he asked Cynthia to set up an appointment with the director for Tuesday or Wednesday. His topics could wait and he was sure the wonderful silence over the last week from the SecNav, SecDef, Vance's fellow directors and various members of Congress meant Leon would be swamped today.
As planned, he worked through lunch, leaving early that afternoon to spend some time with Patrick. He'd told Sarah so they wouldn't be there at the same time.
When he walked into Pat's room, he grinned at his brother. He was sitting up at about a 60 degree angle with his physical therapist keeping a close eye on him and his stopwatch. When the man said, "Relax.", Pat slumped against his pillows, visibly tired and pleased with himself. The PT put the harness on him, which Pat wore for several minutes before signing to take it off. The PT had him do some cool down exercises and then took his leave.
Grinning, Pat signed to his brother that he'd sat up by himself for a full 30 seconds longer than before. Tim returned the grin, telling him how proud he was of him.
When his brother asked him what was wrong, Tim gave him a half smile. He'd called Pat's counselor earlier to get some advice. He knew Pat would want to know about Sheridan but Tim wasn't sure if he was in any shape to hear about it. He'd told the counselor as much of the story as possible, some of it was still classified, and she told him to go ahead, that Pat had many questions about what happened to him and if Tim could answer some of them, that would be a great help in the long run. Pat would have to deal with them but better to do it now than avoid his questions and tell him later when he might not have so much help available.
With a sigh, he asked Patrick if he remembered his former CO, Captain Alex Sheridan. Pat nodded, making a face and asking if he was involved in what had happened to him. Tim nodded, adding that he'd just found out days ago when Sheridan was arrested in front of him.
Pat interrupted, asking if he knew Sheridan personally. Tim shook his head, telling him of the brief conversation the day Kathy was killed and of the man walking into a meeting Tim was conducting with NCIS personnel. Pat rolled his eyes, calling him an arrogant SOB. That certainly fit the profile.
The two of them conversed for over an hour, only stopping when Tim could see growing fatigue in Pat's face and hands. One of the last things that Pat signed to his brother was thanks for answering several of his questions.
NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS
Tim was glad to get home that evening. After being with his wife, children and parents every day for the past two weeks, it felt odd to not see them during the day today. He was proud of himself, though, he'd only needed one jet lag nap today and that lasted about 40 minutes.
After saying hello to everyone, he changed into his swim gear and headed for their pool, glad they'd put it up over the weekend. As the kids had been in the water for most of the day, they got out so Papa could swim laps. He lost track of how many, although Greg told him later. It felt good to move, to slice through the water.
After all the kids but Andy were in bed that night, Artie took a good look at her husband. "You didn't talk with Leon today."
Chuckling, he shook his head, "We only saw each other in passing, in the break room. I didn't even try to get in to see him, not after the peace and quiet of last week. I'm sure the Brass was on his phone before his alarm went off this morning."
"Has something happened?"
Tim shook his head, "Nothing exceptional. I checked my emails, I'm copied on most of his mail, the news, even the cases that came in last week. It looks like it was a genuinely quiet week."
"So why would they bother him early this morning?"
"Because they can. People who have power seem to like to advertise it. Or maybe flaunt it is a better word."
"Is that anything like Ma'am showing up when that creep was being arrested?"
"Ah…maybe, I hate to think of her in the same bucket as the others but she is a politician and every politician I've ever dealt with thinks that their cause, words, whatever is far more important than anyone else's."
"I thought you liked her?"
"I do but as I said, she is a politician. She's done some good stuff for NCIS and overall we make her look good, so we're on her good feels list."
Artie sat back and looked at him, "You'll be a politician if you take Leon's job."
"A politician nearly at the very bottom of the power pole in DC, yes. So I will endeavor to stay in Porter's good graces as well as those of SecDef Becker, MPrez and people who can be of help to the agency."
"And keeping an eye out for anyone else who can help."
"Yes. Three to five years, all right? I think I can hold onto my integrity for that long. If I start covering the mirrors because I can't stand to look at myself, please help me to leave, quickly."
Laughing, she promised.
NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS
As Tim walked into the director's suite Wednesday morning, he smiled at Pam, "Good to see you. Did you have a nice break?"
She nodded, chuckling, "Yes, thanks! Uh, sorry about the heat, I forgot Cynthia wouldn't know."
"No problem. The space heaters kept us going until the office warmed up."
Leon was at the conference table when he walked in, "You've been quiet all week."
Tim huffed, "I've been gone for two months! And it was so quiet last week I was afraid you'd be inundated this week."
"So far, so good. I'm guessing this isn't a status meeting since neither of us have been back long enough to have much of a status. I read your report on Sheridan, that's rough, Timothy and once again, I…" he stopped when Tim put his hand up. "No apologies, Leon, it wasn't your call and frankly, I'm just as glad they were ready with the additional charges. No matter how much of a shock it was, I'd still rather know than not know."
"I appreciate your thoughts and for letting me off the hook. Anything more to report about Japan?"
"Yes, but I have a few other items to discuss and I'd like to tackle those first."
At Leon's nod, Tim continued, "First is Agent Childers. This week, she and the teams closed a triple homicide with multiple crime scenes in less than 36 hours. I read the case file, it was not a slam dunk, there were no obvious suspects. They dug hard through the evidence, physical and electronic, put a couple of theories together, worked them out, brought their persons of interest in and busted them. It was a Jethro Gibbs-worthy investigation. It's time for her promotion.
"Second, and these are related, I've been thinking about who should replace Blumquist at Marine Corps West. It needs to be someone with solid experience and who is young enough to handle the office for a few years. I remember you saying that Burley is ready to move back to the U.S. I think he'd be great for MCW. He's 57 this year; I know you signed the field waiver but he might be ready to hang up his gear bag and in doing so might stick around longer."
"And move Childers to Rota?"
"Yes, sir. She's been in Europe so long, one more year isn't going to hurt and I think Rota, with a team and peers she knows and trusts, will be a good first spot for her on her own. It helps that Wilson, also a younger agent, has Marseilles."
Vance shook his head, "We desperately need her in the U.S., we're short of young SSAICs. She's been overseas going on 7 years. Even though she's been posted to two very different offices, that's far too long, especially now that the war is over. What's your reasoning for another year over here?"
"Two things: first is the cleanup from the war and the delays in the Reconstruction work. Am I right in thinking you planned to assign her to either the Carolinas or Norfolk Field Office? Or will you move SSAICs around to place her elsewhere?"
"I want stability for our SSAICs in the U.S. for another year. You're right, I have the Carolinas Field Office in mind for Childers. It's a decent size and doesn't have a lot of subordinate offices."
Tim frowned, "Director, that region is going to need more time to be habitable, it's in worse shape than DC-Baltimore-Richmond. And assigning her to the Carolinas Field Office would put her in the Deep South, too close to her hometown in Georgia, with bad memories of her mother, as well as the terrorists' former territory. Would it even be safe for her? They rounded up the terrorists but what about sympathizers? I'll just say that if it were me, I wouldn't want to be anywhere near the Deep South, not so soon."
"The second reason for giving her Rota is the schedule for Reconstruction in North and South Carolina and Georgia. They're not scheduled to begin road repair until late September. If they have an early winter or a couple of early freezes, it could be next spring or summer before there are roads, habitable buildings and services. Even if the weather cooperates and the roads are in, it'll likely take close to a year until services are in and people have roofs over their heads again. If she's transferred to an office in Europe within the next 90 days, that gives her nearly a year managing her own office."
"I admit I hadn't thought of the Carolinas being so close to all that ugliness. Which one would you assign her to?"
"Norfolk or DC. I know Whiting is doing an excellent job in DC. She's been there two years, perhaps in a year, she'll be ready for a promotion?"
"Very probably. All right, we'll figure something else out for the Carolinas and Childers can take Rota and then either Norfolk or DC. DC will depend on what Whiting wants to do, she's earned the right to choose. I'm leaning more toward Norfolk."
Tim nodded, "With Childers' childhood as a Navy dependent and her father's experiences, she'll do a great job. And Norfolk is just far enough away from the Navy Yard to maintain her independence, if you will, as an SSAIC."
Leon chuckled, "I'd say Norfolk is a 'sweet spot' for SSAICs who don't want to be pestered too much by the sitting director. It's a long drive, so no popping in for a visit. Although I've never done that with DC, they're too close! And when I'm at the Pentagon, I'm usually too crazed, busy or exhausted to drop in on our team there. Reminds me, let's circle back to the Pentagon team."
He paused, "Then Walker for the lead here?"
"Possibly. Or move Hanson to London and Walker to Antwerp. That gives both agents a chance to shine. Another scenario is to move Walker to Marseille and Wilson to London."
"That's a lateral for Wilson." He stopped to think. "Although we've got some wiggle room, we can bump him up a half class, with a decent raise. I'm fine with Walker taking Marseille, he's more than proved himself ready. Do you think he'd be disappointed if he doesn't get London?"
"My gut feeling and this isn't anything I've heard him say, but I think he'd love to be out on his own and he did spend one of his vacations taking a French language immersion class. Is it possible to give him a choice?"
"London as SAIC under you or having his own office and still be the SAIC. Huh, I know what I'd do, no matter who the SSAIC was!"
"Me too, that's why I asked."
Leon thought about it before looking at Tim, "Let's go with your gut and offer him Marseille. What about Rudd?"
"I see from Wilson's reports that the Marseille office could use another Intel Analyst and Barry is fluent in several European and Middle East languages. "
Vance nodded, "All right, let's do this. Childers to Rota, although I want her stateside no later than August of '21. Dwayne Wilson to London, Walker and Rudd to Marseille. Barry's evals will have to be handled by one of the other SAICs."
"Walker, too."
Vance considered the proposed changes for a minute before nodding, "All right. And yes, Norfolk will make sense for Childers' post-Rota move. To recap, we have: Burley to Marine Corps West, Blumquist returning to his golf game, Childers to Rota, Walker and Rudd to Marseille, Wilson to London and Hanson stays put. It's June, let's make this happen…what dates are we in Greece?"
Tim told him and Leon stopped to think about that. "Let's give Burley 12 weeks' notice. That gives Childers 11 weeks, Wilson, Walker and Rudd 10 weeks. That gives them most of the summer. Now, we'll need a new SFA for Wilson, we both know our current juniors aren't ready yet."
With a grin, Tim told him about the questions he'd answered at the DC office about transferring overseas. "I haven't checked since we got back, but I'll bet there are a few new applications."
"Good! I look forward to seeing those. What's next?"
"Me." While he'd been working on his plan for moving the others, he'd had time to think about what he'd said about Vance holding him back and realized he misspoke. Now he was a little nervous about making his point without saying or even implying that.
Startled, Leon looked up, eyebrows raised, waiting.
Tim swallowed before saying, "Yokosuka opened my eyes. Sir, all my experience has been at agency headquarters, either here or aboard the Navy Yard. Yes, I worked 2 weeks in Newport, 5 weeks in Yokosuka, although that's overseas, but I have no other U.S. office experience past my time on the MCRT. If I want NCIS personnel to trust that I can lead the agency, if I'm asked, or even as an Assistant Director, then I need to work in a U.S. Field Office."
"How long and where?"
"Two years minimum and preferably the Southwest office."
"Because?"
"Because it's not easy. It'll be the challenge I need."
"To prove what to whom?"
"To prove my leadership abilities to myself and in the future, if it happens, to the NCIS population."
"Timothy, you've proved yourself more times than I can count, to me, to our chain of command, to the White House!"
Tim nodded, "Yes, sir, but not to the NCIS general population. I'm the guy who works with you and the Brass and keeps getting promoted. Sure, I was a special agent on the top team in the agency for over a decade but I left there 6 years ago, what have I done since then? My accomplishments are mostly classified or tied to the INV program. To be successful in leading the agency, I'll need the trust of agency personnel, certainly of the leadership team. With a few exceptions, they don't know me."
Vance swore and was quiet, thinking. He shook his head, "I thought I was preparing you, have I been holding you back?"
Tim smiled, shaking his head, "No sir, that's not it at all; you certainly have not held me back! You allowed me to build my own job with the INV program. I said I'd come back to the agency but wouldn't work in the field. You asked me what I wanted to do and then gave me funds and nearly free rein to do it! Your decision to allow that has led to new careers for nearly 30 of us now, with a lot of field experience, agents who otherwise might be out looking for other jobs. Our 2019 statistics prove that INV agents have successfully helped our field agents on 98% of their cases. And tying the career path back into the mainstream has been a huge lift to morale. During the war, I came to you saying I couldn't do both the covert work and agency work the way we were handling it then. You gave me two days a week off from agency work to get my covert work done!
"Also, don't forget that until this year it wasn't feasible to move home. I've done my homework, the stats on random violence, gun or otherwise, show that the President's programs are working."
"When do you want to go?"
"Depends on how long you think the current SSAIC, Quan Dixon, will stick it out."
Vance frowned, "Damn it, McGee, I wanted you to lead the London Field Office!"
His use of Tim's former surname emphasized how much Vance wanted him to take the London FO lead. However, Tim was not yet ready to walk away from his concerns, "I know you did. However, I believe this is something I need to do for my career. I believe that in the long run, it will benefit the agency more than being the first SSAIC of the UK-Euro Field Office."
Leon huffed and then smiled, "I like the name! However, it sounds to me like you don't want Europe to follow the rest of the agency."
"I don't and you can blame Joel, Pete, Roger and Stan for that. They've done their jobs so well that there hasn't been a need to introduce the Field/Sub concept here and DiNozzo, Dunham, Wilson, Hanson and Sisler have also contributed to that." He frowned, "How much money would we save in Europe by going with one Field Office and 6 subs?"
Leon told him and Tim twisted his lips, it was a substantial amount of money. "Is that funding we'd lose if we did this or would we be able to use it elsewhere in the agency?"
"We'll keep it and use it."
"And you can wait until they retire or transfer?"
"Yes; Russell and Martinez have both told me they'll wait until headquarters returns to the U.S."
"Who would you select?"
At Vance's look, Tim said, "Besides me."
"I don't know. Do you have any ideas?"
"Off the top of my head, Childers, Yates, if you can pry her out of Singapore, Chalmers, Warden if you can pry her out of Athens, Andreson if you can pry him out of Yokosuka. Burley, Whiting, Melankovic…that's all I've got for now."
"But you don't want it?"
"If I could do both, the Field office first, maybe for the first year, call it the transition year, and then the US office I would. I would definitely want someone else to step in after the first year. I'm already an SSAIC, don't want to cheat anyone else out of a chance."
"Yates, Whiting and Melankovic would be laterals and when Yates leaves Singapore, we need her back in the U.S. We'll discuss that later. Pete wants Warden to take Athens when he goes and I agree. She's been there a few years, has plenty of contacts and is raising a family there. I think she's probably in for the long haul, just like Pete and she won't have a problem reporting to London." Leon tilted his head, "You know, I used to think that when you finally left the MCRT, I'd send you to Athens. It seemed like a perfect place for you to transition into a SFA, maybe stay and take Pete's place when he retired. Oh well, maybe in your next life!
"All right…back to your list. Chalmers needs management experience and we need to implement our plan for INV agents being promoted into the management path. Let's put that on an upcoming agenda and we'll keep him in mind for the Hamburg sub office when Roger retires. Burley…you think he'd stay for that, or come back?"
"He's been over here a few years longer than I have. Between his years afloat and then Rota, he's lived outside of the U.S. for two decades. I think the Burleys are going to be in for severe culture shock when they return to the States."
Leon tilted his head, "He was at the Pentagon for a while before taking Rota. He came ashore, got married, took the lead at the Pentagon and hated it. He was there for nearly 6 months before I sent him to Rota after the Davenport-Barrett mess and they've been very happy there."
"So why, oops, that's personal."
"If I'm allowed to know, so are my Assistant Directors, subject to classified matters of course. However, in this case I don't know why, he just said it was time."
"Maybe he wants the jump to an SSAIC before he retires. Then London would work."
Vance shook his head, "The problem with that is that I see him as part of the 'old guard' and I don't think he'd adapt easily to the new structure, not over here. And," he sighed, "I promised myself I'd make a clean sweep."
Tim huffed. "All right, he's off the list for the London Field Office, Year One."
"Just the first year? How about 18 months?"
"As long as I'm still allowed an office in the U.S."
"Then let's talk about timing. We're nearly halfway through June of '20 so I'm here for another 13, call it 14 months.
"That takes us into August of '21 and we'll leave the UK before the end of the month, dependent upon Brody's first day of school in the U.S. As soon as I'm aboard the Yard, I'll announce Pete and Roger's retirements effective, let's say September 1st, and the restructuring of the European offices into our Field Office model. Transition would begin immediately following the retirements. A year takes you to August of '22, 18 months takes you to February of '23." He shook his head, "That's awkward, a nasty time of year to move."
Tim sighed, "Or I'd continue here until the kids are out of school in July and that leaves the kids with no time off, putting us back to the 2017 scenario. How about we shorten the timeline a bit, say 16 months instead of 18? We leave the week between Christmas 2022 and New Year's 2023 and the kids start their new schools after the holidays. If the international schools in San Diego are similar to Yokosuka's, they can go there, at least for the rest of that school year. The transition will be easier, at least it was in Japan. Do you think Dixon can hold out that long?"
"Yes, but aren't you forgetting something?"
Tim shook his head, "No, if we can't fly on Tony's jets from the U.S. to Maine and Greece, we'll suck it up and fly commercial, we can afford it. We'll figure out the kids' school holidays before we leave here so we can plan visits home."
"And where will you be living? I think Arlington, Virginia, is a little too far for a daily commute to San Diego, California."
Tim opened his mouth, shut it and smiled, "Well, it is a relocation. Any chance we can work with Audrey, our relocation agent for Yokosuka?"
Leon chuckled, "Fine by me! I don't know if she handles California but I'm sure whoever does is equally talented."
He could see Tim was deep in thought and waited. Finally Tim shook his head, "I can't think of anyone we know in or around San Diego except for Ned and Daniel and I can't ask Ned to look for a house for his boss!"
"No, but you can ask your cousin Daniel. You can at least ask him about neighborhoods, schools, etc., time to the office. We'll have to have Ned's evals done by someone else, too. Probably Burley. While you're here during Year One and a Half, Rudd and Childers will have to have someone else do their evals as well as Jardine, Bishop, Barnes, Mallard and Sciuto!"
"Don't forget Walker, even though we're not legally related."
"That's fine. I like this, we both get what we want! Keep an eye out for who you want to take Childers' place when she leaves for Norfolk and for your SSAIC position when you leave for California."
Tim nodded, relieved. "So to recap this part of our conversation, you'll return to the Navy Yard in August of 2021, announce the retirements of Pete and Roger and the transition of the 7 European offices into one Field Office, with London as the hub. I'll lead during the transition, for 16 months, until the end of 2022. At that point, I'll take the Southwest position, Dixon retires and someone to be determined will step in here."
"And you'll lead the Southwest office for two or three years." Vance chuckled, "Another addition to our plans, figure out who to replace you there. Also, other than the promotions we've already discussed, we need to kickstart our plan for INV agents' promotions into the management path. However, let's start that after the first of next year."
Tim nodded, making a couple of notes.
With a smile, Leon continued, "Now, back to the Pentagon. Once Metrorail is up and running, we'll be in desperate and immediate need of INV agents there and in DC."
Tim grinned, "We're covered. Our FLETC INV agents will be notified Friday that they're being electronically reassigned to the DC Field Office and the Pentagon and that once Reconstruction is completed in the area they'll be physically relocated. In the meantime, Boston's INV is also floating outside of Joel's jurisdiction.
"As our office at the Pentagon doesn't have any more space, Scott and Anand will be housed at the DC Field Office and float between the Pentagon and DC's offices. If we need another person to work with the DC subs, they'll probably be housed at Norfolk. We're moving the floaters closer to the offices as they come online. I'd like to hold off assigning anyone else permanently, to Norfolk and the Navy Yard, until after the Fleet moves home next year. Then I want to assign Bishop and Piro to the Navy Yard, which means London and Marseille will be short INV agents. If Chalmers ends up as SAIC of the Hamburg office, we'll need to add another INV agent there as well.
"Our newest batch finished training at Southwest right before we left for Japan. They're currently housed at Southwest, Northwest and Great Lakes, working with Post in Chicago, Scott and Anand at International Falls, until they move to DC, and McCoy here to cover all of our U.S. based work. My deputies' latest status report says they're in the process of selecting more agents for training and that there are no shortages of applications. By the time the U.S. offices are fully operational, we'll have enough INV agents for each field team as well as several floaters for each region, in the U.S. as well as our offshore offices."
Leon's smile lit up the room, "That's wonderful! What about McCoy?"
Tim chuckled, "We've instituted use of dedicated text and email addresses for requests for INV help and she is frequently asked for by name. She's fine with her hours and so are the agents she works with as well as her co-workers. She's staying here."
"Great! Have we covered all of your items?"
Tim checked his notes, "Yes, we have."
Leon shook his head with a smile, "I should know better by now. You said you had a few things to discuss and once again, you've changed the agency all around. Just what we need, Tim, don't ever stop doing that!"
"I will have to discuss all this with my wife and the other tenants of the Manor."
"Of course. You think your folks will move with you?"
"I hope so. It'll probably depend on that year's new baby schedule. Although my parents can certainly fly back and forth."
"Geordie and Bec will be in Norfolk by the time you leave here."
Tim huffed, "Good, that's 7 grandkids in the U.S. Now when Rob and Ellie return and if the Mallards also moved back, that would tip the balance in our favor!"
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Returning to his office, he sent his wife a text, asking if she was available for a Skype lunch, but just the two of them, no parents, kids or siblings. She replied, saying yes but was this an immediate something or was he was too excited to wait until that evening. He answered her saying yes, he was too excited.
He ducked out before the lunch crowds started, bringing his lunch back to the office. Cynthia was on her lunch break, perfect. He pinged his wife, who was having lunch in her office.
She grinned when she saw his face. "Ah, now you've talked with Leon!"
"Yes and there's more than you and I have been discussing." He told her about the consolidation of the European offices into one Field Office, adding that it wouldn't happen for another year. When he said that he'd agreed to run the restructured complex for the first year and some months, she was surprised and happy, that meant they'd be in Brambury longer. He told her when they'd been thinking they'd leave, to get the kids settled. When she was concerned about finding a place to live, he reminded her they were transferring and so would have another relocation agent. He also mentioned Daniel and Ned as good resources and she relaxed. While they talked about their lives, Tim did not mention the promotions and relocations for Bec, Alan and Barry. That would be their news to share when it happened.
She was glad they'd be here for another couple of years. That gave them some time to polish her plan for the Manor and start the discussion with their fellow residents. She and Tim hoped Uncle LJ would come with them as the cold weather bothered him more every year.
By the time they finished their chat, Artie was just as excited as Tim, although she realized, again, that this was a long-term plan. They were both counting on his parents moving with them, while they also knew the senior Gibbses would split their time, visiting their other kids and grandkids.
Once they were settled, they thought that if Mimi could make the flight to Maine again, she could then fly home with them to Southern California and stay for several months, possibly through Christmas. When she thought about Christmas, Artie smiled, hoping the family would be able to spend Christmas together in Brambury every couple of years. Although that would mean Tim and Bec would have to take time off from work and that might cut into the Maine or Greek vacations. Of course, they probably wouldn't be flying to Greece for the children's Easter vacation, so that might help Tim with the number of days off. She supposed it would depend on the children's schedules.
Resolutely, she put all that from her mind and started thinking about what she wanted for their home in San Diego. She and Tim would both need offices, a workshop for Jethro, a craft room for Lu, enough bedrooms to sleep 11 of them, including LJ and at least 2 guestrooms. She made a face at that, well, the kids could continue sharing, that reduced the number of bedrooms needed to 8, 9 if Andy was still living with them. She decided not to think about that just now.
A little frustrated, she looked around her office and the bedroom next to it. There were certainly things they could do over the next couple of years to make moving easier! With their busy lives, they rarely took the time to sort out clothes that were too small or no longer loved and find new homes for them and the same went for toys and books. Although she couldn't think of anyone in the household who would agree to part with any of their books. Still, with Jed their last baby, they could give away some of his books before they left, he'd be four by then. She was sure Sarah, Char, Bec, Ellie and Susannah would love to have books for their own babies.
By the time Tim arrived home that evening, he was over his almost giddy excitement about the new plan, as was Artie. After all, they weren't moving for another 30 months and experience had taught them that anything could happen between now and then.
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Thursday morning, Leon offered the position of SSAIC at Marine Corps West to Stan Burley, who happily accepted after discussing it with his wife. His report date would be September 14th.
Tim was in Leon's office when the offer was made to Stan and later when they told Blumquist the end was in sight. Both grinned at the cheers.
Once he returned to his own office, he wasn't sure how he felt. He'd initiated this and now everything would change for his family. He'd effectively pulled the plug on the family's years together.
Thinking that, he shook his head, giving himself a mental head slap, he'd done this to keep them together, at least in Europe, for another year. It was foolish to think they could all stay together as they'd been for much beyond that.
He'd been worried that Leon had plans to transfer Bec before she, Ben and Charlotte were emotionally ready to return and he would do anything to keep them from having to live amongst former friends and neighbors who might still sympathize with those who'd betrayed the country. And selfishly, he didn't want his brothers, sisters-in-law, he worried that Jose and Charlotte would also leave, and baby nephews to be the first to go. For now, he'd settle for seeing them every couple of months, taking the 2 hour and forty-five minute flight between London and Rota. That was a lot shorter than the 8 hour flight across the Atlantic.
Leon called him later, "I'm about to call Bec in. Do you want to join us?"
"No, thanks, Leon. Geordie should be the first person to know besides you and Bec."
"Same for Walker and Rudd?"
"Yes, not Geordie but whoever they choose to tell. There's a phrase that I saw somewhere, "Start as you mean to go on" and I believe it applies to my involvement in their professional lives."
"All right, makes sense. What do you think of me calling Alan and Barry into the office one right after the other?"
"That's a great idea!"
"Good, then once we've heard back from Childers, why don't you join me for the call to Wilson? When you come in, bring that list of applicants for overseas postings. I'll pull Walker and then Rudd in once Wilson accepts."
"Yes for the call. I'm still going through the list, there are more than I expected. I'll sort the ones qualified for SAICs and do some light vetting of those first."
"All right, I'll let you know."
Disconnecting, Tim pulled up the applications for overseas positions, quickly sorting it into job classes. He smiled at the results for SAICs, there were several and not just from the DC Field Office. He did a secondary sort for those who had any of the European offices or London listed and nodded at the results. Just about everyone listed all of the overseas offices, some listed them in order of preference, others did not. Pulling several of the applications, he got to work looking at their last 2 annual evaluations. He was still working on those when he heard running feet and then Bec was hugging him. "Thank you! We've been so worried we'd have to move back to the U.S. and we're just not ready yet!" She stepped back, "No one in the family is ready yet."
He smiled, "You're right about that. Congratulations! Why do you think I had anything to do with this?"
"Because I know you and because the director said 'We are happy to offer you…'."
Smiling, Tim shook his head, "Not admissible as evidence, Agent Childers! From here on, we'll need to keep our professional lives as separate as possible and I don't want your career or anyone else's to get bogged down because someone complains of nepotism."
"But in Rota, I won't report to you. Do you mean…oh! I thought that was years off."
"Probably, if it happens at all. However, we need to start now. Everyone should have a sparkling clean slate with nothing to hide."
She chuckled, "All right, shall I let the others know?"
"No, although thanks for offering. I'll take care of it at our next family gathering. Congratulations!"
"Thanks, now I need to call Geordie!"
"Call him from here if you'd like. I have to find someone in HR who can help me with some questions."
"Thanks, I will."
Taking his notes with him, Tim left, pulling the inner office door closed behind him. Cynthia was fighting a smile, saying, "I didn't hear a thing!"
He smiled, "I trust you. I'll be back in a few minutes."
She chuckled, "I'll text you when she leaves."
"Thanks."
After stopping in the restroom, he walked downstairs to HR. There he asked a couple of questions about overseas transfers and once they were answered, headed for the break room where he grabbed a bottle of iced tea. Receiving the 'all clear' from Cynthia, he returned to his office, walking up the stairs.
He was reaching for the door handle to his office when his phone buzzed again, this time from Leon. He was ready for their call to Wilson. Grinning, Tim ducked into his office to grab the folder he needed. With a quick, "Director's office" to Cynthia, he walked down the hall.
Leon was smiling when he walked in, "That was fun! She was even faster than Burley in accepting. When I made the offer, for a minute I was afraid she was going to say yes without consulting Geordie!"
Tim returned the smile, "I hope Wilson and his wife will be just as excited."
When Dwayne Wilson accepted his boss's request for a Skype call, he was surprised to see Tim, London's SSAIC, there with him. Although he was also an Assistant Director, maybe he was wearing that hat. That made more sense. When the man offered him the position of team lead in London, telling him it was a promotion, he smiled. "That sounds great, thank you! I will have to discuss this with my wife. We might not be as fast as we were the last time this happened!"
After disconnecting, Leon wanted to look through the overseas SAIC applicants Tim had already vetted. He was pleased to see they were all good, strong candidates and smiled. "You know, I think your time in Yokosuka and your meeting in DC helped me, too. I'm encouraged by what I see here."
"Good! You should go visit; you'll feel better."
Leon laughed, "Well, as it happens…what's your schedule look like for October?"
"We're planning to take the kids to Morocco for the half-term, other than that, we're home."
"I saw that on the calendar. That sounds like fun. We should take the kids to Africa before we move." With Joel now overseas, they'd made an 'out of the office' calendar for the three of them, so when one wanted to plan to be away, he could make sure the others would be at work. One of them always let Deputy Director Ochoa in California know as far ahead of time as possible when he would be needed.
"Are you heading to the States?"
"Yes. According to the timeline and I'm assured it's up to date, the Navy Yard, Bethesda and Annapolis will be open for business by then. I'll be over there for two weeks, flying first to the West Coast to visit San Diego and Marine West, then I'll head up to Washington state. From there, I'll stop in at Great Lakes to see how they like the new office we picked for them, maybe one or two of their subs, then to Boston for an overnight, I want to see Joel and Carol's new house, then down to DC where I want to see the Navy Yard, Bethesda, Annapolis and of course the Field Office. Then," he sighed, "I'm expected to appear on the Hill, to give a status report on the agency."
"As to our cases, finances or our physical status?"
"Physical for starters but I want to be prepared with financial status, too." He rolled his eyes "As many statistics as we can pull together between now and then."
"Isn't October late in the year?"
"The President wants to make sure that all federal agencies are returning to normalcy, both professionally and personally. I imagine she wants to have everything up and running before the end of the year and October is the beginning of the fourth quarter."
Tim nodded, "Get it all together now, update as necessary and you've got a hell of a State of the Union address in February. The power of working together rather than fighting or pulling apart, the power of acceptance, the power of working toward common goals. Oh yeah."
Leon chuckled at the younger man's enthusiasm, "I'll also be giving the final report on the Antwerp attack, that's a different group, and letting the oversight committee know some of our near future plans."
"Such as when HQ will return to the Navy Yard?"
"Yes and the reason for the delay, which was approved by the President so I'm not worried. They'll be happy when I tell them we're bringing the European offices into the Field Office complex structure, to them that means savings and that we won't be asking for more money that particular fiscal year."
Tim nodded, "We've been talking about HQ returning to the Navy Yard for almost three years now and it's still 14 months off, not that I'm complaining! Once the roads are finished, services are up and people have roofs over their heads again, then it'll be real. When my uncles get their orders to sail home, wow! It's been a long haul and we're not quite there yet."
"We're on our way, though and we will get there. How's Patrick?"
A little startled at the segue, Tim updated him with Pat's reaction to Sheridan's arrest. "He called him an 'arrogant SOB'."
"I'm relieved they weren't friends."
"When we called Sheridan the day Kathy went missing, he did a good job of playing a concerned former CO, wanting to know where Greg was and if he was safe; he made a comment later about keeping in touch with the boys."
Tim suddenly felt goosebumps, he was shivering and shuddering at the same time.
Leon poured a cup of coffee and gave it to him. Tim wrapped his hands around the cup to warm them as he continued, "He said all that while in reality he was planning attacks on them, planning to kill them."
He closed his eyes and worked to slow his breathing, bordering on hyperventilating. When he had his breathing under control and felt he could talk again, he opened his eyes, finding the office empty. Putting the cup down, he walked into the director's private restroom to wash his face and hands. Talk about a delayed reaction!
When he re-entered the office, Leon was there with a large mug of tea. He held it out, "Hot tea with extra sugar. Drink it down!"
Tim drank it slowly, the heat felt good and within a few minutes he felt better. "Thanks."
"Did that just hit you?"
"Yeah. Maybe I needed to tell Pat before I dealt with it."
Leon shook his head, "Tim, you've had so much trauma, personally and within the family. And yet you all keep on going."
Tim huffed, "Isn't that what Ducky says? I've never felt I had another choice but to keep on going. And I'm glad I have. The life I've had, am having, despite the traumas, is wonderful." He sighed, "I guess I need some help with this."
"Good, I'm glad to hear you say it."
Tim smiled, "Do you know that was one of the first things I did when Sarah, Rob and I moved to MIT? I'd promised myself therapy and I got it. Sarah refused to go until a few years later and Rob also went later. I'm not a stranger to the concept."
"Probably one of the reasons you keep on going. I know it is for me."
Tim nodded, "Glad to know that."
They both jumped a little when Leon's desk phone rang. It was Wilson, calling back to accept the position. After congratulating him, Tim left the office while Leon contacted Alan and Barry.
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Although he was emotionally exhausted, Tim had plenty of work to do. At 1545, he was trying to convince himself to work another hour when Leon appeared in his doorway. "Pack it up, time to go, you and James are riding with me."
Tim opened his mouth to protest but instead nodded, saving his work and shutting down. He made it to the SUV, climbed in, sat back and fell asleep. He woke when James shook his shoulder, "We're home, wake up!"
"Yay!"
Inside the house, he smiled as the littles and Rissa greeted him with hugs and kisses. When he found the older boys in the family room, they greeted him and then Greg looked again, "Papa, what's wrong?"
"Nothing, son, I'm just tired."
Andy frowned and when his father went upstairs to shed his briefcase and work clothes, he went with him. "Dad, you're not just tired, are you? Is something else wrong, something new?"
Tim stopped in his tracks, Andy always called him Papa, this was the first time he'd been 'Dad'. "It isn't anything new, Jammer, a delayed reaction to an arrest that was made while we were in Virginia."
Andy nodded, "Uncle Patrick's former CO? Mama told me after you told Greg and Kyle."
"Good. I'm all right now. I think my brain and body has had enough travel and being away from home for now." He looked at his son, smirking, "Until we start again!"
"Greece, Scotland and then…where are we going after Balmoral?"
"Don't know, we haven't planned anything yet."
Andy grinned, "How could you, we haven't been home!"
"I have a couple of ideas but your mother and I haven't had time to talk about them. If you have any ideas, let us know. In fact, that's a good idea, let's have a family meeting to talk about it. Maybe not tonight, though, I really am tired. Andy, you called me 'Dad'. That's fine, I'm just curious."
"I noticed that since Uncle Patrick woke up Greg calls you Papa and he used to call you Dad. I thought you might be missing being called that and decided to try." He grinned, "I didn't expect you to notice right away!"
Tim ruffled his hair, "The first day we met, you said the only fatherly name you knew was Papa and I've always been fine with that. Or Dad. Do you know the story of Greg calling me Daddy?"
When his son shook his head, Tim chuckled. "He was 6 and in first grade, in Cambridge the year I taught at MIT. Patrick had been in a coma since he was 4 but he remembered when he was conscious and still referred to him as 'Dad'. Before we went to Cambridge, we lived in my apartment in Maryland and Rob and your other uncles hung out with us a lot. At the time, Bill, Barry, Freddie and Jose were called the 'Baltimore Uncles'. Anyway, Rob was the one who suggested that Greg and Kyle call me Papa. Greg felt better about that, he didn't want to call me 'Dad' because of his sleeping dad. So he started calling me Papa while Kyle, who had no memories of conscious Patrick, has always called me Daddy.
"Around Christmas Greg started calling me Daddy. When I finally asked him why, he told me a kid in his class said that only grandfathers can be 'Papa' and was quite emphatic about it. So Greg decided to call me Daddy. I'm fine with him calling me Papa, it was a logical decision to make when Patrick woke. I know he loves me and that I love him. There's bound to be some awkward times as Patrick recovers but we'll get through them."
Andy smiled, admitting he'd been a little worried. When his father pulled him into his arms, he snuggled with him. He knew he was a teen, almost grown but he didn't feel like he was grown and he and his father still had a lot of catching up to do. He reminded himself that Papa, he really preferred calling him that, and his grandfather still hugged.
Waiting for his papa to change, Andy accompanied him downstairs where they were pounced on by Grandma and Aunt Sarah. "Do you know what's going on?" Grandma paused, looking at her son, "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, Mom, I've had a busy day and I'm tired. I told Andy my body has been away from home for too long."
From across the room, Tim's dad examined him, seeing signs of recent stress although his eyes were clear and he had a real smile on his face. Crossing to him, he patted his face. "Then come rest, Timson. Your mother and sister are curious because both Geordie and Barry want to talk with us tonight."
"Oh, okay. When?"
"After the babies are asleep, after dinner for us."
Tim nodded, wondering where Artie was as he reached into the refrigerator for a lemonade. He wanted an iced tea but he'd had enough caffeine for the day. Maybe tonight he'd dig out a box of the raspberry herbal tea he liked, make some and then have it over ice when it was completely cool. Or maybe he'd do it right now. Laughing, he dug through the pantry and finding the box of tea, put the kettle on to boil.
When he turned, his sister was watching him. "You're having hot tea and lemonade?"
"Nope. The lemonade is for now; I'll wait for the hot tea to cool completely and then add ice…thus iced tea with no caffeine."
"That's a great idea!"
He heard the conservatory door opening and taking his lemonade, he went to greet his wife. After a long kiss, she pulled back, giving him a look. He shook his head, "I'll tell you later. I'm okay now."
"All right." She kissed him again, "I've been out for a walk and it felt wonderful. I'll go with you if you'd like to go after dinner."
He shook his head, "Geordie and Barry have requested Skype calls tonight, after dinner. Dinner won't be ready for another forty minutes, thought I'd go for a swim."
"Good idea! James is already in the pool, playing with the kids. They can get out for awhile so you two can swim."
He smiled, "Actually sweetie, I feel more like playing."
Chuckling, she waited while he grabbed his swimsuit from the cubby with his name on it, each member of the household had one, and quickly changed in the bathroom. As they approached the pool, James seemed to be under 'attack' by his nieces and nephews and Tim slipped into the water without anyone but Jed and James noticing. Swimming underwater, he was careful to avoid bumping Jed, who was floating on his mat and wearing his flotation swimwear.
Quickly, he brushed just slightly against Greg's leg.
Artie laughed as Greg's eyes widened, "Something just bumped my leg!" He looked down, "It's Papa! Watch out, everyone, he's coming after us!"
With squeals, the kids scattered and Tim surfaced near James, plucking Hope out of the water as he stood up. She squirmed, "Let me go, sea monster!"
Both men gave scary laughs as the other kids swarmed them to 'rescue' Hope. They played for another 40 minutes, Jed off his mat and joining in, before Grandpa came out to give them a 30 minute warning for dinner.
Unless they were eating outside, no bathing suits or dripping people were allowed at the dinner table. Well played out, they climbed from the pool, Greg helping Jed and then started the process of drying off while Daddy and Uncle James put the cover on tight. Waiting until they were no longer dripping, they ran into the 'mud room', to their cubbies. They took turns in the half bath, changing, Daddy and Jed changing together. During the winter, rain slickers, jackets, scarves, hats, gloves, umbrellas, boots and dry towels occupied the mud room. Last weekend when they'd reached home and put the pool up, the cold gear was packed away and they stashed their swim gear and dry clothes there. The rain slickers, umbrellas, rain boots and towels stayed there year around.
After dinner, a delicious chicken salad full of crunchies and a variety of greens, the younger kids cleared the table while Andy, Greg and Kyle cleaned up the kitchen. In the family room, Tim sent a quick text, relieved at the quick response.
While the helpers did their chores, James hooked Sarah's laptop up to the TV in the family room and Jethro sent a text to Geo and Barry that they'd be ready in 5 minutes. They weren't sure if there would be one call or two.
Finally, the laptop pinged and they answered. On the TV screen, they saw Geordie, Bec, Ben, Joe, Charlotte, Barry and Alan in one window. Other windows popped open with the rest of the family, including George and Edith Powell, who were home in Castleton this week.
The only one missing was Patrick. Geo later said he and Barry would visit their brother to tell him the news.
Tim sat back, trying not to grin, although he was a little nervous about his parents' reactions. Bec, Alan and Barry were smiling so widely it looked painful and Bec spoke first. "I've been promoted to a full SAIC and transferred to Rota, Spain! I'm not reporting until September so there's plenty of time for our trip to Greece!"
After the explosion of cheers and applause died back, Barry spoke for Alan and himself. "Alan's also been promoted to a full SAIC and transferred to Marseille, France! And I'm also being transferred to Marseille! Although I don't know who I'll report to."
After another explosion of cheers and applause quieted down, Dad turned to Tim, "Can you fill in the blanks for us?"
Tim nodded, "Yes, I have permission. Bec is replacing Stan Burley who is promoted to SSAIC and transferring to Marine Corps West, that's in Southern California. The guy who was supposed to take it is no longer with the agency, their retired SSAIC returned and now wants to retire again. Alan is replacing Dwayne Wilson who is promoted and transferred to London in Bec's place."
Tony, Dad and Ellie all had looks on their faces, remembering Wilson's position in Singapore but Tim told them he'd explain later.
Tony shook his head, "The old guard over here is starting to break up. First Joel last year, now Stan."
Tim could safely add to that. "Yes, it's the way of the world. Bec, Alan, congratulations, you are the new leaders, the new faces of NCIS on the continent! Barry, I'm happy for you too!"
Alan had one more thing to say, "Thanks, Tim! Director Vance told me that, even though we're not reporting until September, I'll be able to join Barry and the rest of you in Greece this year!"
Happy for Alan and Barry, Ellie cheered with the others, deciding to keep her thoughts and questions to herself. She'd half expected to hear Bob Chalmers' name in with promotions but maybe that would come later. And really, this was a family call, Tim only spoke of Stan and Wilson because they were involved.
Before the call ended, Tim asked for a minute, "Bec and I discussed this earlier today but I didn't have a chance to speak with Alan and Barry. Going forward, anyone who's related to me, Alan, that includes you, will have their evaluations handled by someone else. There's no change in my position but we've been walking a fine line since I became Assistant Director last year. As AD Morris was here for three quarters of the year, Legal gave us their blessing to have him continue. For this year, Joel will continue to handle Bec, Alan and Barry's evaluations while Stan, Pete Russell and Roger Martinez will likely handle Nikki, Maggie, Ellie, Ned, Abby and Jimmy's.
"This was my choice; as I said there's been no change in my position but as Assistant Director, I cannot handle your evals without risking charges of nepotism. Truthfully, I haven't handled them since you all have been here, even when I was helping Joel. This way if there is a change in my status, we'll already be set up. There's something I read: "Start as you mean to go on" and that's basically what I'm doing. We NCIS'ers have our own careers and because of our familial connections, I want nice, shiny clean slates for each of us."
Rob looked puzzled, "Ned?"
"He's part of our family, Rob, partnered with our cousin, just as Alan is partnered with our brother."
"Oh, sorry! I think of Ned as a friend, he was part of the extended family before he and Daniel met."
Eventually, the call ended and Tim took Jed upstairs for his nightly routine. Once the little guy was asleep, Tim peeked into the bathroom, hearing Hope serenading her mother. When she was in her jammies and in bed, he and Artie read to her before telling her a new story about visiting people in other countries.
Finally returning to the main level, Tim wasn't surprised to find his parents waiting for him. He gave them a tired smile. "What's up?"
His mother frowned, "Why are they being transferred?"
"Because they're both overdue for promotions and the jobs they need aren't available in London."
"But why now? Why couldn't they have…"
Tim cut her off, "Mom, please don't ever ask me questions like this again. If you have questions, address them to those who've been affected.
"Director Vance and his Assistant Director, me, made these decisions. I hope you didn't mean to question them as it is not your business to question the director or anyone in his office or at the agency about them. Whether you believe it or not, they were made for the benefit of Agents Childers, Walker, Analyst Rudd and the agency. Now excuse me; I'm exhausted, it's been a challenging day, working out our future while I'm dealing with the arrest of a man who intended to murder me and my sons."
Executing an almost militaristic turn, he nearly ran up the stairs and into his office. Artie, who'd been doing laundry, heard the exchange and hurried after him. She knocked on his office door, calling softly to her husband.
Trivia: Alix33 asked about the crunchies in the salad. I understand there's a candy bar by that name and no, that's not what I mean! To me, crunchies in salads are bites of vegetables, such as carrots, radishes, snap peas, or nuts, walnuts, almonds or cashews, bits of apple or other fruit, croutons, things like that.