Sorry this is late, my bad, got busy and didn't get the chapter finished in time to post yesterday.
Chapter 130
November 2023, San Diego, Thanksgiving Day:
Tim rose early to finish preparing the turkey for their Thanksgiving feast. Padding quietly downstairs, he first put the coffee on. Checking their fresh, pasture raised, Heritage Breed turkey before removing it from the refrigerator, he smiled at the aroma of the marinade. He'd made it with olive oil, lemon zest juice, minced onion, garlic, rosemary and thyme, rubbing it both under and on top of the skin. Then it sat in the refrigerator, covered, for an entire day. Now, he maneuvered the huge 40 pound bird and the roasting pan from the refrigerator. Transferring the turkey to a clean, dry pan set in the sink, he finished his preparations before placing the turkey back on the rack in the roasting pan.
The neck and giblets were placed in a separate pan for the gravy. He smiled every time he did this, thinking of Abby calling their old team, with Ziva, Tony and him, the 'Gibblets'. He'd been happily surprised when Freddie told him that he and Abby were flying over with Jose, Char and the kids for Thanksgiving. They'd first flown to Virginia where Geo, Bec, their children, Ben, Ainsley, Abby's brother Kyle and the Porters joined them. Although it had been a long day for them, they'd arrived in good spirits yesterday. Ned, Daniel, Liesl, Mark and possibly Trinity would also join them today. They'd met her several times now and she was comfortable with everyone.
Leaving the turkey to rest for a full hour before going in the oven, he relaxed with a full mug of coffee and two toasted slices of Sarah's cinnamon bread. A new specialty of hers, she'd sent four loaves with Jose and Char. They'd frozen two loaves, hoping the other two would last through the weekend.
He wasn't the least bit surprised when Geordie and Dad joined him. Dad poured coffee for the two of them and then refilled Tim's mug. "How long until the turkey goes in?"
Geordie huffed, "Forget going in, when's it coming out? It smells yummy already!"
His father and brother looked at him, eyebrows raised, "Yummy?"
"Hey, my son uses the word yummy, why shouldn't I?"
They grinned at him as Tim told his dad the turkey had five more minutes before it entered the oven and told his brother what time they'd take it out, adding, "Then it needs to rest for 30 minutes to get the best flavors."
"Wow, who knew turkeys were so particular!"
They laughed at that and then Tim got busy again, turning the oven on, melting butter and pouring it over the top of the turkey, seasoning it with a tiny bit of black pepper. He didn't use as much as the recipe called for as he and Greg had to be careful with black pepper, actually any kind of pepper. While it didn't bother Andy, Kyle or Jed, it did bother Greg, although not as much as it bothered Tim. There'd been times when he'd had black pepper on something and felt his throat closing, or more accurately, swelling up. So far, it only irritated Greg's throat but the doctors said that could very well develop into a full blown allergy.
Finally, the oven sensor beeped at the right temperature and he slid the turkey in, setting the kitchen timer and the alarm on his phone.
When Geo's stomach growled, Dad made scrambled eggs and pancakes for them, covering the pancake batter and leaving it in the refrigerator for whoever came down next.
That was Freddie and he too had coffee. Dad made more eggs and his brothers shared their pancakes with him. He grinned, "Man, it's great to be here with you guys! Did we tour the house last night?"
Tim and Dad laughed, "Yes, but you can see it again today."
"Thanks! I remember lots of windows and not much else."
By 8:00 AM, everyone was up, even LJ who usually slept later. Today he said he didn't want to waste a single minute of time with their visitors. During the morning and early afternoon, they toured the house again and swam in the domed pool. The weather forecast for today, November 23rd, was for a high of 68 which made the travelers groan with envy and Tim exchanged a smile with Artie.
Ned, Daniel, the kids and Trinity arrived about 2:00, bringing more cider and three pies. Laughing, Lu led Ned, who was carrying the pies, to her hiding place for the rest of them.
By 3:00 PM, the tables were set, the sweet potatoes were steaming in the microwave, after which they'd be mashed with butter, herbs and spices for a delicious savory dish, the chopped salad was covered and stashed in the refrigerator, the fresh from the garden green beans were roasting in the oven with a little onion. Sliced almonds would be sautéed to add to them. The stuffing, made from scratch, was covered and in the warming oven, the wine and cider were cooling, the pies that had been baked while the kids were at school were now hidden in Grandpa and Grandma's suite, and the turkey was ready to exit the oven.
Tim shooed everyone from the kitchen as he took it out, carefully leaving the foil tented over it. Setting the timer for 30 minutes, he joined his family in the living room for some light appetizers. He was surprised to be handed several bags and packages. "What's this?"
"Happy Birthday!"
"Aw, thanks guys! It's nice to celebrate with you!" Carefully opening his gifts, he smiled when he realized his siblings had worked together. Having a good time, he thanked everyone for their thoughtfulness when he'd finished unwrapping everything.
When the kitchen timer dinged, he and Dad excused themselves, it was time to reheat the gravy Mom made and for Dad to sharpen his knives. They'd bring the turkey to the table for everyone to see before they started cutting. Artie stood, "Come on kids, yes, you too, Tyler, Joey, Hugh. Time to wash your hands. Then come back to the kitchen to help, please. That's my kids, not Tyler, Joey or Hugh!"
Joey looked up, "Can I help?"
Hugh and Tyler echoed him and Artie smiled, "Yes, if you'd like, but you're guests here so you don't have to."
Tyler nodded, "I 'member from before. I want to help, please." Joey nodded and Hugh followed his lead.
"All right, thank you! But you still need to wash your hands first. Jed, would you please show your cousins where the bathroom is and help them?"
Jed loved it when his younger cousins were around. While he was gentle and kind with them, he especially enjoyed not being the youngest. Now he nodded to his mother, took Hugh's hand and motioned to Joey and Tyler, "C'mon!"
They toddled after him while their parents smiled at the sight of the three little boys following their slightly older cousin, like ducklings following a mama duck. Laughing, Liesl and Mark also offered to help, after washing their hands, of course.
Their dinner was delicious and the cooks were given a standing ovation when the dishes were carried in. The turkey looked and smelled delicious and indeed it was.
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Friday morning in San Diego, they had a Skype call scheduled with the family still in the UK as they'd celebrate Thanksgiving on Saturday and would have a crowd of expats joining the family. With an 8 hour time difference, they set the time for 11 AM in California and 7 PM in the UK, giving those folks time to get home from work and relax a little before the call.
Rob had asked for the call and no one thought too much about it as they usually had one when some members of the family couldn't join the others for a holiday. Tim thought he knew what part of the call would be about and did know about another part. He'd let Rob know that he and Artie also wanted to speak to the family.
In San Diego, Tim hooked his laptop to the TV shortly before Rob pinged them. Ned and Daniel pinged in from their home. When the pings were answered Rob and Tim grinned at each other. In the UK, everyone was gathered in the family room at the Manor while in California, they were gathered in the family room of the new house. Ned and Daniel were in their home office.
Ellie appeared with Rob and they smiled at everyone, "Hello, Happy Thanksgiving! We have a couple of things to tell you. First of all, we finally had our 20 week, I should say our 23 week ultrasound and…guess what? We're having twins again! As with the girls, they're fraternal, not identical. And we decided not to know the gender or genders ahead of time. We're due in February."
When the noise died down, Rob grinned, "The second thing is…we're moving back to the U.S! Ellie's been promoted to the lead INV spot aboard the Navy Yard and I've accepted a staff position at Children's National Hospital in DC! We're both very excited, we'll be closer to Bec and Geo and not far from Massachusetts, Ainsley, Cyndi, Larry, the Baxters and Kings! And Dad, Mom, Timpa, Artie, kids, we'll be on the same continent again!"
Dad stood and, with tears in his eyes, thanked Ellie for returning to the MCRT. "I can't tell you how much it means to me, the continuity of having one of my former teammates on the current MCRT."
She smiled, "Jethro, it's an honor."
Not trusting his voice, Tim was glad when Abby asked about their report dates. Rob grinned, "In three weeks, December 11th! We've actually known for a week so we've been packing. Ellie has the transfer package which is a relief. Uh, Tim, Artie, any chance we can stay at the house in Arlington until we find our own place?"
Anticipating the request, Tim had done a quick mental review of the suites and bedrooms. All their refugees had found other homes and the Marines would be leaving over the next two weeks, that left Rick and Denise and they had already moved back into the cottage. With a quick look at Artie, he confirmed, saying, "Yes, of course. We can talk about the details offline."
"Great, thanks!"
Tim grinned. Rob looked at him, "Okay, your turn!"
Tim nodded, saying, "It's time."
Another window popped open with Leon and Dani Vance, their adopted son Brody and Dani's son Ross. "Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! So, because many of you have been through so much with me, and we're family, we decided to let you in on a little secret."
Leon leaned closer to the screen, "I'm retiring! Effective January 2nd, 2024."
That caused as much noise as Rob and Ellie's announcement. Leon chuckled, "By the way, Rob, Ellie, we'll be moved out and have our rooms cleaned before your arrival, but better check with your brother and Artie first. Because, you see, they were asked a question and I'll let them tell you the rest."
Tim, Artie and the kids stood as Tim said, "Secretary of Defense Becker and Secretary of the Navy Porter asked me to step up to the Director's position and we've accepted the position. We're moving week after next, Rob, Ellie, so we'll be somewhat settled in by the time you arrive. Leon, Dani and Brody are moving out this weekend, the Marines are leaving next week and Rick and Denise Carter have already moved back to the cottage. They'll retire in another year or so and asked to rent the cottage until then."
That set everyone off again and when there was quiet, relatively speaking, Artie said, "Dad and Mom have known since Leon spoke with us in Maine. We told the kids two weeks ago and they've been very good about keeping it to themselves. We left some of our artwork up but most of it is packed and…well Tony and Maggie have known for several weeks. Even though we're transferring, we worried about the company jet being available this time of the year."
Tim laughed, "We'll be sleeping on our airbeds again, until our stuff arrives. The good news is, it'll be transported by truck, not a ship."
Geo looked at his little brother, "Where will you be sworn in?"
"We don't know yet, we wanted to make sure Leon didn't change his mind before we started that process. We're hoping for someplace big enough for everyone in the U.S. and laptops or TVs for the rest of you. Leon, where were you sworn in?"
"In the Secretary's office, Tim."
"I'd like to have it aboard the Navy Yard."
"That's a great idea."
Ellie and Abby looked at each other, grinning, "The bullpen, Gibbs' old bullpen!"
Tony grinned at that, while Dad swallowed hard. He'd love that; Tim could stand right where his desk had been. But that meant moving furniture and…Tim interrupted his thoughts, "I like that too, if we can do it without disrupting the entire office."
Nikki raised her hand, "We'll come home, I want to be there."
Barry nodded, "Us too. Well, I don't know if Alan can make it, but I'll be there."
Jimmy and Breena looked upset and Ducky said, "Perhaps the ceremony could be recorded for those of us unable to be there in person?"
Leon cleared his throat, "We had my swearing-in recorded." That was good to know, a precedent had been set.
Freddie and Jose were looking at each other, finally turning to their brother, "Tim we have a big job starting right after Christmas, we can't be there either."
Tim nodded, "That's ok, Breena, guys. We'll figure it out. Remember you were at my last swearing-in and that was fun!"
Breena, Jimmy and Ducky perked up at that. Sarah had been patient, now she said, "I'll be there, Timpa. I hope James can come too, but I'll definitely be there!"
Abby nodded, "Me too, Tim. And you know Tony and Maggie will be."
Tony grinned, "Oh yeah, we'll be there, no worries."
Daniel cleared his throat, "This is great news and everything but we're disappointed, we were hoping you'd be here for a few years."
Ned shrugged, "We'll brave the weather and come visit." That got a laugh out of everyone.
Eventually, they all signed off and then Geordie started asking questions. First he stated how impressed he was that they'd kept this to themselves for five months. When he asked if Tim knew about Ellie's transfer, he smiled, "Yes, as his AD and his deputy AD before that, I've been doing some of the director's work for years, all the way back to when he was sick and Joel was running the agency. I was helping Joel and he more or less shared his authority with me. I'm currently the entry point for transfer requests, although I sent Bishop's straight to Leon as soon as I saw her name. We'd talked about it in Greece, so it wasn't much of a surprise. I did not know about Rob's new job, I figured they'd get to DC and he'd look around then."
"Will you have Assistant Directors?"
"Yes and I'll appoint them shortly after I take office. We have one out here, I mean besides me, but he's tied up with a specific part of the business. I want another one out here, who's involved with the agency as a whole."
"What about evaluations?"
"Once I'm Director, the only evals I'll be doing personally are my ADs. They'll also have their regular duties and those will be evaluated by their immediate boss. None of our family will report directly to me, that will be one of the duties of at least two of my ADs."
"Why two, do we have that many NCIS'ers in the family?"
Tim chuckled, "No, the two, possibly three, are to provide balance, so that our NCIS family members won't be subjected to any pressure because of their relationship with me."
"Oh, that's great, Bro!"
"Thanks, I've had a lot of time to think about this and I've had help from Leon, Dad, Mom, Artie, Patrick, Joel, Secretary Porter and oddly enough, Director Sailes."
"He knows?"
"Unless Leon's told him today, he doesn't know but with all the questions I've asked him, I'm sure he suspects. He has a brother, cousins and an in-law who work for the Bureau, Tobias told me. They have more layers of management than we do but the way we set things up will work well."
"Wow, you really have been thinking about this for a while."
"In the beginning, it was an exploration to see if I had any interest in the job. Then that became a challenge and then I was done for."
They all laughed at that. When Geo later asked him about the lease on the house, Tim shrugged, "It's a transfer, the agency will pay the penalty. I thought we'd be here for three years but Artie believed two would be all Leon could handle, knowing that I'd take the job. I'm hoping the owners will find a buyer, it was on the market for six months before our relocation agent found it and begged the listing agent to convince the owners to lease it. It's a great house, but we'll be glad to have walking and biking trails nearby. We've been so spoiled in Brambury!"
That evening, Patrick and Tim had a long talk, Pat proud of and excited for his big brother. He was looking forward to living in Virginia, where he'd have a chance to reconnect with some of his Navy buddies.
Saturday was another beautiful day, a little warmer and they spent the day in the pool and playing outside. They had a rousing softball game that went into extra innings before Kyle hit a grand slam and won the game. Patrick was so excited he signed that he wanted to 'pop a wheelie' in his chair!
Sunday, they loaded the van and drove to the airfield, saying a sad goodbye to their visiting family and friends. Larry and Cyndi had already asked for the day off January 2nd and when they explained why, Pete Donovan and the Biros-Santos' said they were going with them. Cousin Richard Baxter would also be there, he'd travel from Massachusetts with Joel and Carol Morris.
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On Friday, December 1st, Daniel drove the van with all the Gibbses to the airfield, while Ned borrowed a friend's pickup truck for their luggage, airbeds and whatever else they were taking on the plane. The artwork was split between the cab of the pickup and the van.
Ned was resigned to them leaving, he'd told Daniel that it just didn't seem to be in the cards for him to work with Tim for any length of time. Days later, he was contacted by the Director who offered a promotion and a transfer to Virginia. Ned was surprised, shocked and relieved when Daniel was offered a lateral transfer.
Ned was given one of the interim positions engineered to move INV agents into the mainstream career path. In that capacity, he'd work in Norfolk under SSAIC Childers. Once he'd fulfilled that, normally in 6 months, he'd be up for promotion again. Not quite sure what that meant, he asked and was told that 'the Director's office' wanted him to step into Tim's shoes, taking the overall responsibility for the INV program. One of his first jobs would be appointing his own replacement as one of the three INV deputies handling the day to day work of the program.
Leon told him that he was promoting him to an Assistant Director now and he'd be sworn in. However, it wouldn't be announced until he'd completed the duties of his interim assignment, which was management training, and officially promoted to his permanent position. Ned would be Director Gibbs' Assistant Director, retaining overall responsibility for the INV program. As Tim told Artie months ago, it was time to begin moving his original INV agents, his seniors, back into the mainstream of the agency. Bob Chalmers led the way, now followed by Ned Dorneget Langston. When Ned recommended Faye Dawson to take his place as deputy in the INV program, Tim was deeply pleased and Leon asked that as one of Tim's last acts as Assistant Director he make the call to Dawson to step up.
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Thinking ahead to the chaos they knew awaited them in Arlington, first with their move and then with Rob and Ellie's arrival, the Gibbses took all their Christmas gear, except for the artificial tree, on the jet with them. The tree went to Ned and Daniel for their use.
The flight from San Diego to the private airfield they used in DC went quickly, a little too quickly for some of them. Lu told her son it felt like the first opportunity they'd had for weeks to sit back and relax. Tim laughed at her, "It doesn't just feel like it, Mom, it is the first time and it will likely be the last time until after Christmas. Then we'll have a week before it starts again."
Artie was fervently praying that the new babies wouldn't appear until their due dates, although Barbara Bishop would be on hand for Ellie and she was sure that Ginny Slater would step up for her daughter!
When she had a message from Cyndi Porter reminding her that she and Larry were available until the end of January to help with anything they needed, she relaxed. Her family had stayed in their house, they knew which rooms they wanted. They knew their way around it, the property and where the closest grocery stores and gas stations were. Rick and Denise had lived there for several years, they'd help and Penny! Artie had forgotten that Penny had lived here off and on for years. While she might not know current stores or services, she would know back roads and short cuts.
By the time the jet landed, Artie was feeling strong and confident, while her husband was doing his best to concentrate on the here and now and not what was waiting for him in a month. It was easier to do when they were still living over two thousand miles away, the directorship he'd agreed to step into only existed as a future event. While that was still true, that future felt like it was now looming over him as the bubble of time he'd been living in began to dissolve.
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With their belongings on a truck rather than a ship, they arrived in Arlington less than a week after the Gibbses. Everyone was relieved to have their own beds and the place started to look and feel like home. Tim and Artie were glad they'd stayed here before and liked it, especially the children. Happy children make a happy household.
They were unpacked, their bedroom, kitchen and dining room furniture in place along with the folding chairs and light furniture they'd brought on the plane before Rob and Ellie's arrival on the 9th.
After Jethro's pickup truck was rehabilitated and driven from Freddie and Jose's garage/shop in Baltimore to Arlington, he and Tim moved some of the furniture from his house in Alexandria to Arlington to help fill the empty spots.
Along with a sofa bed, which was a mystery to Jethro, they brought his queen bed, nightstands, dressers, single, also known as twin, and double beds with accompanying furniture. While the senior and junior Gibbses, Uncle LJ, Maisie, Mac and Penny had the beds and furniture they'd used in San Diego, the rest of the suites and bedrooms were sadly lacking, save for the airbeds and a rollaway bed.
After deciding that someone, either the Marines or the refugee tenants,had replaced Dad's sofa with the sofa bed, it was moved into the living room along with other treasures found in Penny's storage. When Penny and the kids took everyone on a tour of the storage 'warehouse', Maisie laughed while Mac and LJ's eyes threatened to fall out. Lu shook her head, "I thought everything was shipped to the UK!"
Penny shook her head, "No, only the items the kids tagged."
Tim and Artie were especially relieved, realizing they'd have to buy very little, if any, furniture. With the mattresses from Dad's place and the bed frames, bureaus, nightstands, lamps, side tables and chairs of all sorts from storage, they'd be pretty well set. Although neither had seen anything they didn't like, they agreed they could replace items when necessary. With what was still there when they finished, they thought Rob and Ellie could easily fill in what they needed when they were ready to move.
The single beds were set up for the four year old twins, Timi and Ro, in one of the two guest rooms on the kitchen side of the house. As there was no way 7 months pregnant Ellie could sleep on an airbed, a California King bed was rented, delivered and set up in the other bedroom. They moved bureaus, desks, chairs, nightstand and lamps into both rooms along with some surprises for the girls.
There wasn't time to build cribs but Rob said that Jose was loaning them Hugh's crib, originally Caty Powell's, built by Grandpa Gibbs and Grandad Powell and they still had one of the girls' cribs, built by Grandpa Gibbs, Grandpa Bishop and Uncle Tobias. They also had two bassinets, so the unborn babies were all set. Dad checked with Ducky to make sure the newest Mallard had a crib and cradle and smiled when he was told they'd saved Jilly's cradle, originally built for Victoria by Uncle Jethro, Grandpa Slater and Uncle Tobias, and crib.
While the refugee tenants who'd become a chosen family had enjoyed living in Jethro's house in Alexandria, eventually they'd moved on, still together, to a larger place. Except for the occasional TAD NCIS employee staying for a few weeks at a time, the house had been empty for several months, the neighbors keeping an eye on it. Lu thought the house and yard would be perfect for Rob and Ellie and their four children and her husband agreed. The baby gates and all the protective coverings would be easy to reinstall, all that was stashed in the basement by the Marines in 2017 when they moved in.
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They woke to snow falling on the 9th, although it wasn't a heavy fall, flights weren't being cancelled or delayed and the airfield where the jet would land was open. Their flight would arrive around 1:15 PM and the Gibbses were very excited as Andy was on the same flight!
Geo, Bec, Tyler and Mae, now 11 months old, arrived from Norfolk mid-morning. Ben was in Brambury for Christmas and would return when Tim's siblings flew over for his swearing-in ceremony. While the kids played and Bec caught up with Artie, Lu, LJ and the grands, the others prepared the vehicles to transport Andy, the family and whatever belongings they'd brought on the plane.
Removing the last two rows of seats from the Gibbses' van left room for luggage, Dad would drive his pickup truck, lining the bed and overhead with tarps and Geo would drive their full-size SUV. Lu would transport Rob, Ellie and the girls while Tim, Dad and Geo would deliver whatever they'd brought with them. Everyone else would stay home, decorating the house with a 'Welcome Home' banner the kids made as well as balloons.
The snow stopped about noon, with more promised overnight. The kids liked that and planned to do some cross country skiing in their own woods tomorrow. While schools weren't yet out for Christmas, the children had assignments from their new teachers at the International Schools they'd attend. They'd been working on them every day and by the time they started their classes on January 3rd, they'd have everything ready.
Andy was the first off the jet and he carefully walked down the gangway to his father, who was smiling and crying at the same time. Then he threw himself into Papa's arms, forgetting he was now the taller of the two. When they emerged, they found the little girls in Grandma's arms while Geo and Grandpa had their arms full of Rob and Ellie. Grinning, Tim tapped Rob on the shoulder and his brother did the same thing Andy had, threw himself into Timpa's open arms. Ellie was next and then the girls. Once everyone was sufficiently welcomed, Ellie, the girls and Rob were tucked into Lu's nice warm car. Rob would help load the vehicles but he needed to warm up first.
The flight crew and FBO folks unloaded the jet, moving everything on their luggage trams, what Kyle and young Tyler called luggage 'trains'. That was faster and they soon had everything stowed, the odd shaped objects in the pickup with a tarp tightly tied down over them. They'd done a good job in estimating how many vehicles they'd need as the pick-up, SUV and van were full but not overflowing.
Back home, Lu pulled into the garage, which was now attached to the house, while the other vehicles were parked in back, as close to the back doors as possible. Everyone came in for hot beverages and a snack, as well as their welcome!
By the time Ellie and Tim left for work on Monday, their belongings had been sorted and placed. The cribs and bassinets would arrive with the rest of the couple's belongings on the 27th. By the end of the week, Rob and Ellie had toured the Alexandria house and decided to move there. Rob had always seen it as the Gibbs' family home and of course Ellie had spent hours there as part of Gibbs' team. They decided to move the second week of January. While Ellie's maternity leave would start December 22nd, her due date had not been moved forward. Lu, Jethro, Penny, Maisie and Mac would work on getting the house in order with Rob doing what he could in his off hours.
The next order of business was selecting a Christmas tree and Rick took them into the woods on skis and snowshoes, as the snow was fairly deep now, to show them where they'd cut before. Tim chuckled when he noticed a beautiful tree with a bright red tie on it. Rick grinned, "Yeah, Leon, Brody, Jim and I thought this would be this year's. But you'll want to look around some."
The kids grinned as their dad shook his head, "No, this is perfect, you chose well! So, what do we need?"
Rick laughed, "We're not cutting it down! There are Eagle Scouts who will cut it down, even the bottom and move it into the house for us. Our first year, they put it into the stand for us and last year, they put the lights on."
"Great! Did you put lights on the house?"
When Rick hung his head in shame, Jethro and Tim burst into laughter. "How much did it cost?"
"We split the cost and it wasn't that much. We had the front and sides done, left the back."
"Awesome, I hate doing it and don't want Dad up there by himself. In Brambury, Bill, Rob and James usually put the lights up outside. We'll gladly pay someone, give someone a job, to put them up and take them down."
"Great, I'll call the guys tonight and the Eagle Scouts tomorrow."
"Thanks Rick, but you don't need to do it all. How about I call the Scouts?"
"That's fine, call them during the day, I'll send you the number."
By their third weekend in the house, the lights were twinkling brightly on the outside of the house and the two closest fir trees, one on each side of the house, also had lights. They were solar powered, with backup if the batteries couldn't pick up enough sunlight, and on a timer.
The tree was cut and moved by sled, fascinating the kids and their parents, into the house, where the young men put the lights on and got it into the tree stand. As it was again Greg's turn to place the star on top, he followed Andy's example and put it on, fastening it securely before the tree was raised. However, because it was so tall, the tree was supported by sawhorses while the top part was decorated. Once it was raised, they moved the ladders into place and Rob and Andy decorated the next section, with Tim, Greg, Grandpa and Artie taking the following one. Eventually they were at a point where Timi, Ro and Patrick could reach and the little girls helped their uncle. As Kyle, Rissa and Hope had done when they were little, they crawled under the tree to decorate the lowest branches. With Jed, they crawled under again as Kyle, lying flat on the floor, directed them to lay out the 'snow' , train tracks and their village, which had a building moratorium to prevent it growing as big as their original train town and various other objects. That original train set hadn't been placed yet but eventually it would travel around the top of the family room, visiting its villages, woods, tunnels, mountains and people.
After working at the Navy Yard that first week and then when Ellie arrived, Tim worked from home the rest of the year. There wasn't a private office set up for him and by the time the building people had it ready, he'd be in the Director's office, possibly ready to retire. He had also found he was a bit of a distraction in the office once the SecNav announced that Leon was retiring and Tim would succeed him.
What he found was that he could get up at dawn, work for several hours and then quit when his shift ended. Knowing that would come to an abrupt halt on January 2nd, he took advantage. He spent many happy hours cross country skiing in his own backyard, sometimes with his wife, sometimes with whichever of the kids was done with his or her schoolwork for the day, often with his dad or mom.
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When Tim heard that everyone but Freddie, Jose and the Mallards would join them for a second Christmas as well as his ceremony, he had tears in his eyes. The UK group had put their heads together, trying to decide how many days they'd want to spend with their family before Tim's ceremony. Edith Powell wondered if it wouldn't be fun to have a second Christmas, provided they paid for and did all the cooking while they were there. As most of the Greek family was also coming, the Thessaloniki families couldn't make it, that meant they could celebrate their traditional Greek Christmas with Artie, Susannah and their families. Nikolas and Sergio volunteered to do the cooking while the Porters, who'd be there and knew the area already, would do the shopping for them with help from the Bishops, who would also be there.
Their next step was finding lodging for all of them and with more than 40 of the family flying over, that was the most difficult task. Ducky offered the Georgetown house and that would accommodate 15 people on beds, a sofa bed, a sofa and rollaways left by the Marines. As the Greek family had 12 people, they would stay there, with three additional people. Abby said she'd stay with a friend in Georgetown, renting a car while they were there, so she could help transport people.
Curious, Tony contacted Larry and Cyndi Porter, asking where they were staying. They told him and he asked if they would mind staying in Georgetown instead, with the Greek family at the Mallards' townhouse. Being very fond of the Greek family, they jumped at the chance. They were spending Christmas with the Gibbses and would keep their hotel room for those days, moving to the townhouse the day the others arrived. Barbara and Jerry Bishop were also spending Christmas in Arlington and staying on for the ceremony. The Carters offered the cottage's extra bedroom and they gratefully accepted.
After that, Tony solved the lodging challenge for the rest of the group. Contacting Leon, he asked where they'd been staying. Leon told him, adding that the Morrises and Baxters were booked there for Tim's ceremony and that Tony should ask for a group discount. Tony agreed and booked rooms, at a decent discount, for 28 guests, including 6 suites, a few cribs and toddler beds. At Maggie's suggestion, he also arranged transportation from the airfield for the hotel guests and those staying in Georgetown, for the drive to the Navy Yard for everyone on Jan. 2nd and for the trip back to the airfield. He didn't want Tim, Dad, Mom, Artie or the others to worry about anything. They were leaving London December 28th and leaving DC January 3rd. He laughed so hard he had to be pounded on the back when he realized the Vances had already booked a flight with Paddington for January 3rd, from DC to London. That answered the question of where the family would live! When he sent a teasing text to his former director, Leon responded saying he'd been planning this for months.
On the days Tim was in the office, he spent most of his time in the Director's office with Leon, trying to mine as much information as he could from the man. However, one of the first questions he'd asked had nothing to do with the agency.
As he relaxed with his soon to be former boss, Tim asked, "I know you're flying to London, but where will you be living?"
Leon grinned, "In our old house. I contacted my former landlords and they were more than willing to sell. Their current tenants' lease was up December 1st, so they're already gone, the house has been cleaned and painted, your brothers have checked it out for any necessary repairs and we'll move in on our arrival. We don't know yet whether we'll buy or lease but we do want to spend Brody's winter vacations in Greece. Once he's off to college, we'll probably move to Greece, depending on climate change and how hot it will be then. Kayla's been offered a position in London and Jared will be through with his undergrad education soon, so we'll need room for them to visit. Ross…do you know he and Kayla aren't seeing each other anymore? Other than through the family, that is."
Tim tilted his head, "I heard a couple of rumors."
Leon chuckled, "There wasn't any animosity, the two decided they were better as friends and family than a couple. Kayla's now dating your wife's cousin Matthaíos and Ross is dating Emily Fornell."
Tim's eyes widened and then he chuckled, "Everyone's okay with that?"
"Dani and I are very happy and your dad told me that Tobias is too. Don't know how Gaia, Theo and Cassie feel!"
"Here's another one for you. Andy and Lady Louise, the youngest granddaughter of Queen Elizabeth, are now dating. They were friends for years and it's turned into something more."
Leon's mouth dropped open and he sat there for a good 15 seconds before he shook his head, "Wow! I did not see that one coming!'
"Sure, because she's never been to any of our gatherings. She only knows the Gibbses, senior and junior. We've invited her parents to visit us over here, don't know when or how we'll manage that. While they work very hard for what they call 'the Firm', they're very low key."
"My God, Tim, if this turns into something permanent…"
"We'll be commoner in-laws. American and Greek commoner in-laws."
Leon laughed, "Oh, this will be fun to watch as it plays out."
"Andy and Lady Louise are working hard to stay out of the spotlight. She's led a fairly private life and hopes to continue that."
"All right, I won't even tell Dani."
"Dani's all right, but no one else, please. Not a lot of people know."
"In the family, seriously?"
"Neither Sarah nor Abby do well with personal secrets. Abby can keep agency secrets but she's not good with personal stuff. She doesn't mean to tell but my experience is that somehow things manage to leak out."
"Sarah too?"
"Yes. She's better than she used to be, after she outed Gemcity to the team, causing me a lot of misery. Let's just say I'd rather not tempt fate."
"I understand." Leon changed the subject and they continued their discussion.
NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS
While Leon was winding down his record setting years of leading NCIS, Tim was preparing to assume the directorship and Tony was organizing family and friends, a member of the extended family made a decision, telling some of her family where she'd be from December 18th through January 31st, possibly longer.
Ginny Slater had been with her daughters for the births or adoption celebrations of each grandchild and would not neglect this one! She would be there to support her family no matter what her Scrooge of a husband said.
Scrooge, er, Ed Slater, muttered under his breath but knew she was going, no matter what he said. He mentally shrugged, he would increase his daughters' hours and hire at least two other people to replace his wife, which meant spending money, something he hated doing.
When his daughters flat refused to increase their hours, he threatened to fire them and was shocked at their pleased looks. In the end, he spent even more money than he'd anticipated, hiring three full-time and two part-time morticians. This was the staff he had been procrastinating hiring since late June.
Ducky knew Ginny was on her way, they'd had a long conversation that left both of them happy with their decisions. With Ginny's planned arrival, although it was to be a surprise for Breena, Jimmy and the children, Ducky felt he could join the others attending Tim's ceremony. In fact, he would represent the Mallard family. The day Ginny arrived, he let Tony know he was going and would stay in Georgetown with Mimi and the others. He'd rented beds, to be delivered the day before they arrived, so no one would be sleeping on rollaways or the sofa bed.
In the summer of 2017 as people fled the war, Rick Carter was given keys to several houses, among them Gibbs', where Tony and Maggie had been living, Ducky's, Vances', the Fornells' and of course Tim and Artie's house in Arlington. Now, when the Porters were contacted by Ducky, they volunteered to visit the house before everyone arrived to make sure it was supplied with the basics along with coffee, tea and breakfast food.
They would also be there when the beds were delivered, Ducky emailed them a schematic of where they should go and they also promised to keep his secret. Rick smiled and handed the key over when they asked for it. Ducky had emailed him regarding the arrangement with the Porters.
With all that going on behind the scenes, the Gibbs family, whether they were in Brambury or Arlington, had a wonderful Christmas. Each group missed the other but kept in mind that they'd see the others soon.
While Jimmy and Breena had been depressed about not being able to be there for Tim's ceremony, that depression lessened with the arrival of Breena's mom. It was then that the couple insisted that Ducky fly out with the others. To their astonishment, both Ginny and Ducky laughed, admitting that's exactly what they planned, Ducky saying, "I'll represent both the Mallard and the Slater families!"
Tim, Artie, Mom, Dad and Geo were at the airfield when the jet arrived from London, most of them close to tears as their family and friends disembarked. The Baxters and Morrises had arrived yesterday, the Bishops and Porters had been in town since before Christmas. Artie was in 7th heaven with her family, she'd expected her mother, sister, Ian and their babies and was in shock when Yaya, her uncles, cousins and Ian's parents also walked down the gangway. Tim was overcome when he saw Ducky exit the plane, wrapping his arms around him when he was within reach.
Tony, Ducky and Jethro hosted an early dinner at the hotel on the 29th, giving the travelers the day to catch up with themselves.
As the senior Powells and Sophia were the only European in-laws who'd been to Washington, D.C., Tim organized a tour on Saturday. Grandpa, Grandma, Grandpa Jerry, Grandma Barb, Penny, Grammie, LJ and Mac stayed home with most of the children, Rob and Ellie's twins, Jose and Char's 2, the Clacher and Powell kids along with Madilyn, Jed and Hope.
With everything going on, Tim hadn't seen much of his old haunts and had hired a tour guide for their group. Patrick, Andy, Greg, Kyle and Rissa wanted to go with them and he was happy when more of the UK group joined them, the Powells, senior and junior, Emily and Pauley, Bill and Nikki, Charlotte and Ben, his aunt, uncle and cousins and his godparents who admitted they just wanted to spend more time with him. Although it was cold, it wasn't snowing or windy and everyone enjoyed seeing the National Mall, the White House, the monuments and other famous sites. When their guide started talking about Reconstruction, she wondered when everyone turned away from her to look at one of the tall men. He smiled, "I volunteered to work on that. We live in the UK but I worked over here and in Annapolis and Baltimore for several months. Two of our brothers who also live in the UK, volunteered for the Reconstruction project. They're both plumbers."
"Oh, that's wonderful, thank you! Do you know about the monument to the Reconstruction Workers?"
Bill shook his head and the woman smiled, "We'll walk by it later. The top isn't done yet but the plaque is in place with all the names." She added, "There will also be a memorial for all those killed during the war but that will be bigger and more elaborate, they haven't selected the design yet." She sighed, "They're not even sure they have all the names yet."
Thinking of Ben and Nat Mallard's parents, Tim asked if she knew where they could check and she gave him the name of the website. Asking if that was to look for someone he knew, Tim tilted his head, "None of us ever met them. A couple were murdered one night on the way home from having a date night, leaving two young boys orphans. They're now the adopted sons of our brother Jimmy and his wife Breena. I also have a colleague and friend who adopted two siblings left orphans by the war. My mother was a volunteer with CPS and Social Services, working to find families for all the children."
"And have they all been placed?"
"No, because of the difficulty in finding those who just disappeared or any living relatives. Not everyone has DNA on public databases and not everyone responds to government inquiries."
She shook her head, "That's so sad."
Tim nodded. Beside him, Nikki squeezed his arm, saying, "Tim, my husband Bill, their brother Geo, raise your hand, and 5 other kids were left orphans for various reasons and grew up together, homeless, on the streets of Baltimore. They're all right now, a few years ago Tim found his biological father who married the woman who'd helped the kids as they grew up, the closest to a mother any of them ever had. Then the couple adopted all of them and four more. So as adults, they have two parents. My in-laws had each lost their only child but now have 12 adult children and 22 grandchildren."
Artie smiled, "With 3 more on the way! And several of the grandchildren are adopted."
"My word, your family needs to write a book!"
Bill chuckled, "It's in the works."
JANUARY 2ND, 2024
Tuesday morning, Tim straightened his shoulders, quietly running through his speech again. It would be short and to the point, thanking Leon for his many years of leadership, for all the guidance he'd given Tim, thanks to Secretary Porter along the same lines, thanks to his teammates and co-workers and a message to the agency population, thanking them for their hard work, ingenuity and patience, for their dedication to Navy and Marine service members and their dependents. He'd mention his years as a Navy brat only to find out as an adult that he was really a 'devil pup'. He'd promise them to do his best in leading them through whatever the future held and give a little hint about future plans.
When his security detail and car arrived, he nodded in satisfaction. The vehicle was an accessible limo with a lift at the rear door and an area inside to secure a wheelchair so that Patrick could easily ride with them.
His family, Artie, their children, his parents, Patrick and their grandparents, was waiting for him and he kissed each of them. Taking his wife's hand, they walked to the limo, waiting while Patrick was lifted inside. Then they climbed into the passenger compartment.
The ride to the Navy Yard was quiet. Sitting across from his father, 11 year old Kyle leaned forward, "Daddy, are you excited?"
Tim grinned, "I am, Doodle Bug! I'm a little nervous but I'm mostly excited."
"That's good!" Kyle grinned, "Remember when we decided you were like James Bond? You were Papa Bond then, now you'll be Papa M!"
"Wow, thanks, son. Do you know who 'M' really is?"
When the children shook their heads, Tim leaned forward, "He or she is the head of the British Secret Intelligence Service, also known as MI6."
"Did they help us when Greg and I were little?"
"One of them did. He'd worked with Grandpa's team on a case and when he heard we were in trouble, he asked to be transferred to MI5, that's the regular police, to help us."
Greg nodded, "I remember him, he was really nice and funny. And he drove Uncle Rob home from the Tube station sometimes."
"Yes, that's him."
Next to him, Tim felt his dad chuckling and leaned into him for a few seconds. Although he really was excited and nervous, he was also feeling this was all a bit surreal and his dad, as always, brought him back to reality.
When they stopped at the front gate of the Navy Yard, the Marines there snapped to attention and saluted. Honored, Tim nodded to them as they were passed through. Dad explained, "That was to honor you, Timothy and to acknowledge you as the new head of NCIS."
Tim's heart was starting to pound now while his kids were buzzing with excitement over the salute.
"Daddy, are you a Marine now, too?"
"No, Maryissa, that was a one time thing, just for today."
"Oh. Then you don't get to wear a uniform like Uncle Geo, Uncle Jim and Uncle Dave?"
Tim chuckled, "No, sweetie. What I'm wearing today is pretty much my uniform."
Rissa tried not to sound disappointed. "That's okay, Daddy, you look very nice."
They found Uncles Dave and Jim, in their dress uniforms, waiting for them in the lobby. "We're your official escorts this morning."
Tim chuckled, "Self-appointed?"
"Yes. Because we're officers, we can do that!" The two of them grinned at Tim and Jethro, who was working very hard not to roll his eyes at them.
When they reached the squad room, Tim nodded to himself. The teams and analysts who normally worked in the open room were in conference rooms, although he knew most would come in for the ceremony. The workstations and the cubicles had been removed from the room, to be replaced tonight. He took a deep breath when he noticed two lone chairs, about three feet apart, in the middle of the room. Those marked where his old desk and Dad's old desk normally stood. He knew Dad requested that Secretary Porter swear him in while standing where his old desk normally stood but he wasn't sure about the chair where Dad – and Tony's – former desk usually stood. Then he smiled, betting that it was a reserved space for Patrick.
His head swiveling back and forth as they walked through the room, Tim smiled, grabbed hands, said hello to the Porters, Donovans and the Biros-Santos, all here from MIT, gave small waves to the Carters, grinned in surprise to see the O'Briens and then came to a screeching halt. "Madam President, Dr. Henry! Wow, thanks for being here with me!"
Smiling, Mrs. Bess kissed his cheek while Dr. Henry shook his hand. "I owe you a hug, don't want to wrinkle your suit."
Patrick, keeping up with his brother, was introduced to them. He was just glad he knew the story about Tim, Sarah and Rob's connection to them. He'd met a sitting president once before, with his SEAL team, but that had been thrilling, this was far more exciting.
Finally reaching the heart of the crowd, mostly his family although there were a few uniforms, Tim was further astounded to find Directors Sailes and McKinley. "Sirs, welcome and thank you for coming."
"No more 'sirs' after today, Director Gibbs!"
Tim also noticed some of the Brass from the Pentagon, the Chief of Naval Operations and the Commandant of the Marine Corps. He smiled as he nodded to the former Commandant, Admiral Ellison. Gibbs' team had worked with him on cases at least twice. His eyes lit up when he spotted D'Arcy McKinna and he waved with a smile as he continued making his way through the room, chuckling to himself as he envisioned Boss Gibbs yelling at him to 'move it or walk to the scene!' When he got close enough to Leon and Dani, they exchanged careful hugs, Tim whispering a personal thanks to his long-time mentor and boss, both blinking back tears, although Tim thought Leon's were probably more tears of relief. He'd decided not to tease him about that in his speech but he'd sure do it next time they were all together!
He grinned again, his face was starting to hurt a little, when he spotted Officer Henry, his favorite security guard, and some of his former Cyber Crime unit co-workers, Dallas and Pringle. He waved to them and all three grinned back, Henry giving him a proud thumbs up. He was glad to see current Navy Yard field team members in the crowd and was told later thatthe DC Field Office covered for the Navy Yard teams so they could attend the ceremony.
Finally, he was in a clear space and watched while someone moved the chair from Dad's old desk position and Patrick moved onto the spot. He also spotted the video feed, it looked like the ceremony would be aired via MTAC to the entire agency. He smiled at the camera, nodding to whoever was out there. He knew James had permission to Skype and record the ceremony as their family who couldn't attend watched. When he heard that the Mallards had traveled into London to watch the ceremony live on Skype, he was very happy. He knew Jimmy had been very upset that he couldn't be there and hoped this would make his brother feel better.
He stood, waiting for Secretary Porter, as his family surrounded him, Patrick in the front, in what Leon had dubbed 'the Gibbs formation', a stylized horseshoe so that everyone could see what was going on.
The Secretary appeared and nodded to his father, who moved closer, handing her the Gibbs' family Bible. Then she turned to Tim, "Timothy, please join me."
Smiling, he walked forward.
