Thanks, always, to Alix33 for her excellent beta'ing!

I also want to say thanks to everyone reading, following, commenting and those who have favorited this story. It's been a pleasure! There will be one long or two shorter chapters before we say goodbye to the Gibbs family and their friends. As I've barely started writing it/them, I'm not sure when I'll post.

Good health, good luck and God Bless to all of us in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.


Chapter 131

Late September 2024, Arlington, VA

Thanking his driver, Tim grabbed his briefcase and suit jacket, exited the agency SUV and headed inside the house. There he nodded at the note left for him, everyone was in the pool. Running upstairs and relieved he could still do that, he quickly changed into his swimsuit, grabbed the beach towel laid out on the bed for him, he'd have to remember to thank his wife for her thoughtfulness, slipped into his flip flops and returned to the main floor, hurrying through the pool tunnel, his flip flops snapping and slapping noisily on the floor.

Once inside, he quickly scanned the pool and then, trying not to frown, looked around the deck where he saw the child missing from the group having fun in the water. He inwardly sighed as he looked at his Umut, 8 year old Hope, who was curled up on her towel, asleep. Her hair looked wet and he hoped she'd spent some time in the water.

He'd been spotted and the rest of his family called out to him. Artie climbed out and met him, kissing him hello. "She swam for about 15 minutes, then said she was too tired for more."

"Last week she managed 25 minutes. Honey, did Rob call? Or any of her doctors?"

"Rob sent a text that he'll be in touch this evening when he gets home, after the kids are in bed." Rob, Ellie and their two sets of twins, the girls Timi, Ro and their little brothers Teddy and Adam, were living in Dad's former home in Alexandria.

Hope's health had been deteriorating for the past few weeks, 5 weeks now since they'd noticed the changes. She'd slowed down, her normal bountiful energy slipping away, along with her appetite. Whatever else might be happening or not happening, her doctors were afraid her immune system might also be in danger and for the past week, Artie had been homeschooling her and she wore a mask and gloves when everyone was home. Over the course of the weeks since they'd first noticed the changes, many different tests had been run. Although they'd ruled out several life-threatening illnesses, Tim and Artie hoped, and dreaded, to be told the diagnosis and treatment any day now. Dr. Rob had been involved from the start along with 'his' hospital, Children's National Hospital in DC.

After Tim played with his kids for a few minutes, Artie told them it was time to dry off while their father swam his evening laps. He tried to swim every morning before work and every evening after work, although the AM session was the most consistent. Tonight, his dad slipped into the water to do his share of laps as well. He'd missed the early morning swim today.

Jethro was a firm believer that the swims were the best time to check in with his Director son to see how he was doing, saying he could tell by the way he swam, whether it was fast and furious, calm and steady or, as Jethro put it, "all over the place." He heartily approved of the boys, and occasionally Rissa, joining them in the pool. Frequently, Tim's tells were smoothed from 'fast and furious' or 'all over the place' when the kids were there too.

He knew he always had a calming effect on his son. Although their years of working together had rarely been calm or easy, the gradual change in their relationship had long ago smoothed things out and now Tim seemed to find calm in his wife's, children's, parents' and Patrick's presence. Although recently, that calm was being smothered by his worry about Hope. They were all worried.

The kids were nearly a month into their Autumn/Winter term at school, their first full school year in Virginia. When they'd moved from San Diego before Christmas last year, they'd successfully transitioned from the private schools they'd attended there to the International Schools here. Greg, Kyle and Rissa were happy to return to a class format similar to what they were used to in their Brambury schools while Hope settled into her primary class without any problems. When his siblings returned to school after their summer break, Jed started kindergarten while in the UK, his cousins and birth year mates, Jilly Mallard, Jackson and Diane DiNozzo began their Reception Year. Their parents and grandparents had a hard time acknowledging that their babies were starting their formal education.

Hope had started Reception in Japan in 2019 as it had been the best fit for her during their 6 weeks there. When they returned to Brambury, she happily returned to preschool. When she was 4 ½ , she started Reception with her friends, completing a full year. While she could have gone earlier, her parents felt that although she was a very smart child, they hadn't wanted to push her into formal schooling too early. This term she'd started out in fourth grade, right on track with her contemporaries, but quickly found it difficult to keep up, even now with homeschooling.

Now, as they left the pool, Tim gently woke his younger daughter, kissing her hello. Wrapping her towel around her, she walked out to the tunnel with him but by the time they reached the house, he was carrying her. Working to keep his body language relaxed, he carried her upstairs to her room. Grandma followed him in, saying she'd help her change.

By the time Tim reached the master bedroom, he couldn't hold back the tears and found Artie sitting on their bed, her face in her hands, also crying. She looked up as he wrapped his arms around her, saying, "We can't give up, Artemis, it's so hard seeing her like this but we can't give up. We have to pray for help and believe that someone will have an answer for her, a treatment, a medication, something."

"Timotheos, it's not just her sleeping, her lack of energy. Her memory, she's having problems with her school work. I wasn't sure so today I gave her a test that she got 100% on last year in third grade. That was correctly putting the name of each state onto a blank map. Today, she couldn't remember half the answers. It was geography, Tim, you know that's one of her favorite subjects. Two months ago, she could have placed each of the states correctly, probably adding mountain ranges and major waterways. Today, she had Arkansas in Connecticut's place and she wrote Reading instead of Oregon. Reading is a city in Pennsylvania, thousands of miles away and not a state name. She's losing her intellectual functions as well as her energy. I'm so scared!"

He closed his eyes and the two of them held onto each other, praying for their daughter and their family.

Uncle LJ and Penny kept them going at dinner, asking the children what their favorite thing was about their house. To no one's surprise, the pool won hands down, with their forest coming in second. Asked what they liked about school, Jed said he liked having kids his age to play with, just as he'd had at nursery school and day care. The older kids had various things. Greg laughed, "My favorite thing is that I get to graduate in May and there will be a real graduation."

Hope made a face, saying "I love my mama teacher, but I miss school and my friends."

Sitting next to her, Kyle gave her a gentle hug, "Don't worry, Hopie, the doctors will make you better, then you can go back to school with us!"

She smiled, giving him a kiss.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

It was nearly time for Rissa, almost 13, to go to bed when Tim had a text from Rob asking for a Skype call without any of the children. Rissa, Greg and Kyle were already upstairs in their rooms so Tim said yes.

They set up in the family room and Tim pinged his youngest brother as his parents, Patrick, Penny and LJ joined them.

Rob nodded to all of them, "We've finally diagnosed what's going on, it's a rare condition," he told them the name, "that we believe is genetic. From what I've learned, it generally manifests between ages 6 and 10. There is a treatment. Now, please listen before you ask any questions.

"The treatment is not available in the U.S., the FDA hasn't approved it, our best guess at the timeframe is 5 years. However, the treatment is in use in the UK and they are having success with it. They started administering treatment a little over 3 years ago, after several years of clinical trials. I spoke with Dr. Hoynes today. Penny, LJ, Patrick, she's the pediatrician the kids went to in London, I mean their official doctor.

"I sent her all of Hope's records, everything we've done and she wants to see her as soon as possible for her evaluation. Now, two things here, one is that she won't know until she physically examines Hope whether she'll need to be hospitalized for her first few treatments and two, yes, she can be treated in the UK, the same deal we all had before. Now, Hope will need to live in the UK for at least the first two years of treatments – her treatments will be ongoing for the rest of her childhood. However, the doctor says their experience has been that once they've established the correct protocol for her treatments, she'll be able to resume a fairly normal life, attending school and generally doing what kids do. I made an appointment with her for Wednesday afternoon and Ellie reserved one of Tony's jets for us. I'm going with you."

They all nodded and Tim eventually said, "Thank you for doing all that, Rob. I have many questions but I'm guessing I should wait for Dr. Hoynes. And Ellie and the kids should stay over here while you're away. Rick and Denise will be here."

Rob nodded, "Thank you, that's a great idea. We've asked her parents to come help with the kids, so your place will be more comfortable for the 7 of them. And yes, please do wait to ask Dr. Hoynes your questions. I focused on verifying the diagnosis and getting the overall situation in hand. I haven't had a chance to study the treatments."

"You said they've been administering the treatment for 3 years. They must have some sort of stats."

"Yes, but I'll ask you to wait to talk with Dr. Hoynes about them."

"All right, Rob. Thank you so much! Uh, when are we leaving?"

"Tomorrow night, Tuesday, a red eye."

They nodded, that was doable, although they had several decisions to make.

Once they disconnected, Tim stood, "Before we get into all the details, Artie and I need to talk. Sweetie?"

Taking his hand, the two excused themselves and walked out to their office suite, settling in Tim's office. As he sat, he said, "Sounds like we need to move home, what do you think?"

"Tim, what about your job?"

"Honey, we've got enough money to see her through this, even if she has to have treatments for the rest of her hopefully very long life. And we certainly have money to live on."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes but you know it's not up to me."

She nodded, "Yes, so go ahead, call Ma'am and yes, I'll stay."

He kissed her as he called Secretary Porter.

She answered, "Timothy, is everything all right?"

"With the agency, yes and I'm sorry to interrupt your evening. Do you have a few minutes?"

"Yes and if it's not the agency, it's your family. What's happened?"

Tim took a deep breath, "Hope has a rare medical condition that will kill her if she doesn't have treatment and she's sliding downhill fast. We've just been told the diagnosis, she'll need years of treatment. However, the treatment hasn't been approved by the FDA, the earliest guess is 5 years. Treatment is in use in the UK and we have to return to London as soon as possible, we're leaving tomorrow night. We're moving back, so I'll have to resign from the directorship."

"Thank God there's a treatment available for our Umut. Once her treatments have started, would you be able to work?"

"I believe so. We've been told that once they've found the right balance for whatever the treatment is, that she'll eventually be able to return to school and live a fairly normal life."

"All right, let's do this. First, I'm not giving you up that easily and I would be doing the same thing if it was my child. Take all the leave you need and you have my permission to run the agency from London for the next 6 months. During that time, as you learn more about your daughter's condition and needs, I'll work with Secretary Becker to extend that 6 months to a long-term Directorship in London, for the duration of your time in office, which of course is up to you. You have your Assistant Directors in place, let them know you'll be unavailable for however many weeks, whatever you believe will work. Of course you'll want to discuss this with Artemis."

Artie smiled, "I'm here, Ma'am, I've been listening. Thank you."

Tim smiled at her, "We accept your offer, Madam Secretary, with our deepest gratitude."

"Timothy, I have faith that you'll do your best for your family and the agency. I will add Umut to my prayers."

"Thank you."

"One more thing, the agency jet follows the Director, therefore it will convey you and your family to London tomorrow. And this is a lateral transfer so whatever you can't squeeze onto the jet will be shipped to you. You know the drill!"

After discussing a few more details, they thanked her again and disconnected. The two of them sat in Tim's office, crying with relief that there was hope for their daughter and that Tim wouldn't have to leave his job. Finally they returned to the family room where the others were waiting.

Tim smiled, "We're moving home and I have permission from Secretary Porter to run the agency from the London office for 6 months and during that time she'll work with her boss for me to remain as Director, serving in London. When I'm ready to step down, the directorship will return to the Navy Yard. And the agency jet follows the director, so we'll be flying home on that rather than Paddington Air. Also, this is a lateral transfer, the agency will pay to move our stuff and if Pam Cook and her husband are willing, they'll follow us over."

There were sighs of relief and less worried looks all around the room. Tim shook his head, "We have a very busy day ahead of us tomorrow! We need to cancel Paddington Air and I'll reserve my jet." He smiled as they chuckled at that.

Artie nodded, "I'll call the schools tomorrow and let them know. And I'll contact the Brambury schools to see if the children can start next week or if they should continue at the International Schools until the end of the term. Actually, I'll write them an email tonight and hope for an answer in our morning."

Lu tilted her head, "How about I call the schools here tomorrow? See if they want to give the kids work to do this week."

"Yes, thank you! Patrick, will you please separate the school tasks on your list?"

He nodded, making a note of who was doing what.

Tim made a face at the idea of the kids attending the International School in London, the same one Andy had hated all those years ago and his wife nodded, "Since their term has also just started, I'm hoping they can return to Brambury."

Her mother-in-law nodded, "We'll let Sarah know, they'll need to do some shuffling around to get us all back into the Manor."

Tim looked at his wife and then the others, "They won't have enough time and we won't have our beds. We know no one is in LJ and Patrick's old room, how about you two take over that room again. Oh, your aides, Pat."

Patrick nodded, saying he'd already sent a text to his liaison explaining they had a family emergency and were moving back to the UK, leaving tomorrow night. While he'd regained some use of his voice, there wasn't much strength to it so when he was verbal, he whispered.

Tim shook his head, looking at him, "We do keep your liaisons on their toes, don't we?"

His brother chuckled, reaching out to take Tim's hand. Tim appreciated the warmth of his support. While this was good news, he was still worried about their Umut.

Their father thought about possibilities, "You're right, asking everyone at the Manor to make room for 12 of us in less than 36 hours is crazy. I know we did it back in '17 but I'd rather no one go through that again. How about I see if that big Airbnb is available and reserve it for a couple of weeks? The one where the Bishops stay when they all visit? Tim, a lateral still gives you 30 days?"

Tim nodded and Dad said, "Ok, then we're there for 30 days or until there's room at the Manor and our beds have arrived. I'd rather do that than sleep on our airbeds again."

When everyone agreed, he and Patrick adjourned to the kitchen table to handle that online.

Artie and Lu were already making lists of what needed to be done tonight and tomorrow. Tim told them he'd have to go into the office to talk with Pam, his department heads and security teams but he'd schedule the meeting with them for first thing and then he'd come home. Pulling out his phone, he sent an email to all those he'd need to see, setting the meeting up at 0800 sharp. Realizing he really needed to address the entire office, he set up a brief, 10 minute 'All Hands' meeting after his first meeting.

When Tim and Artie called Rob and Ellie to let them know the new twist, that they were going and Tim would be running the agency from London, Rob sighed in relief. "Good, we were worried about that. We knew you'd be okay taking early retirement but still…" He took a deep breath, "I didn't want to throw this in earlier but while I've been working with the London medical folks, my former employer made me an offer I can't refuse. Geez, please don't tell Tony I said that!"

Tim laughed, promising not to, "In London, right? That's great! Have you accepted yet?"

"Not yet, because I wanted to focus on Hope first. But yes, we will accept the job and move home. In fact, we were going to offer to have Hope live with us if you couldn't go right away. We thought with me being a doctor that we'd have the edge over everyone else because you know any and all of our family would do that."

That made Tim cry again and he passed the phone to Artie who found herself talking to Ellie, who explained what Rob said. Artie cried, too.

When Tim could speak again, he talked with Ellie about returning to work with Ray and Kendra, who'd just returned to duty several weeks after giving birth to a beautiful baby boy. Agent Bishop said she'd already spoken with the Assistant Director she reported to. Director Tim would have to sign off on the transfer but Ellie said the AD didn't seem to have a problem with it. She'd also made a couple of recommendations for her replacement aboard the Navy Yard.

Rob wouldn't report to his new employer until November 1st. Ellie had decided to stay at the Arlington house while Rob was in London with them. Her parents would arrive Wednesday morning to help out.

Tim had heard from Rick that the O'Briens were considering moving back to Virginia, at least for part of the year, so that would help as far as having people living on the property. Rick and Denise were planning to retire in another 18 months but wanted to continue living there. The cottage was fine but they'd offer them one of the suites. That had the advantage of having covered connections to the pool and the garage, which made things a lot easier during the winter and the hot summers. They talked about renting more of the rooms, but decided to shelve that for now, they had too many other things to consider.

During all this, Greg and Kyle came downstairs, both saying they couldn't sleep and were relieved when told about the treatment and amazed to hear they were moving home the next day!

Kyle frowned, "Are we going to school tomorrow?"

"How about you go in the morning and we'll pick you up at lunchtime? Then you can tell your friends goodbye while we talk with the schools in Brambury and here, let them know what's going on."

"All right. Then we can help when we get home. Are we flying Paddington?"

"No, we're taking the NCIS jet as Ma'am says it belongs to your father while he's director."

"Cool, Dad has his own jet!"

Grandpa and Pater joined them, "All right, we have that Airbnb reserved for 30 days beginning Wednesday and because our family has given the owner so much business, we can give him 48 hours' notice to move out earlier for a refund for the unused time. We can also extend our time if needed."

"That's a relief, Dad, Patrick, thanks for doing that!" Tim looked at his watch, "We have a few more hours until we can call the Manor. Did you call the Airbnb owner?"

"Nope, went online to reserve it and sent an email with questions and he answered right away. Must be a night owl."

"Great! Kyle, Greg….where'd they go?"

Pat said he'd sent them back to bed and Tim chuckled. Since Patrick moved in with the family, the three of them, Artie, Tim and Patrick had gradually found a balance in their co-parenting of the boys, which sometimes spilled over to the other children.

Their next task was to consolidate and expand the various lists each of them had started and putting everything together that they needed to do on Tuesday took another couple of hours.

Although they were all still concerned, they slept better that night than they had in weeks.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tim woke to his alarm at 0200, knowing James would be awake in London. Creeping quietly downstairs, he saw the lights on in the kitchen and smiled when he saw that his parents were on the phone, probably with James or Bill, who'd also be up at this time. Turning around, he went back to bed, first resetting his alarm for later in the morning.

Later that morning as Tim rode into work, his thoughts roamed back over the 9 months since he'd taken office. Leaving San Diego earlier had certainly made things easier on the family. The kids did their school assignments at home through December, starting at their new schools the week after their father was sworn in. The extra days gave them a little more time to settle in and they'd all had schoolwork to do. Artie, LJ and Lu, with help from everyone else, had no problems getting their new home organized, Patrick again keeping them on task. They'd spent enough time during their visits to know where and how they wanted things to be.

Once everything was in order, Artie resumed working towards starting her own engineering firm while Lu disappeared into her new craft room. With all the babies in the family, baby clothes were easily traded and altered as necessary but this year she was determined to make a new clothing item for each grandchild, all 25 of them, from Andy down the line to the 3 youngest grandbabies, Donnie Mallard and Rob and Ellie's second set of twins, Ted and Adam. Lu was grateful there were no new babies currently expected. At least as far as she'd been told.

Liking their new schools, the Gibbs kids quickly made friends. A happy consequence of placing the kids in International Schools was that their new friends spoke several different languages which Tim and Artie's progeny quickly began to learn. Between them, they had classmates from South Africa, Chad, Egypt, Russia, France, Portugal and Peru, this last country delighting Uncle Jose. The children were already fluent in Greek, Italian and did fairly well in Turkish and Spanish. Now they'd learn Arabic, with help from Uncle Barry, Russian, with help from Grandpa, Portuguese, Afrikaans and Uncle Jose's Peruvian mother's birth language, Quechua.

Last winter, they'd enjoyed cross-country skiing, sledding, sleighing, even doing some hiking in snowshoes, all on their own property. They'd marked out new paths and visited the part of the property where Tim wanted to place a memorial or something commemorating the slaves who'd lived here. Patrick had taken on the task of finding the names of the slave owners as the plantation had been in one family for several generations, had a name change when a married daughter inherited and recently he'd found evidence of one additional owner. They now had the names of the first and last of the slave owners, the ones in the middle were harder to track.

Thinking about their first months in Virginia made Tim remember how nervous the family had been before the visit of the Earl and Countess of Wessex, Lady Louise and her younger brother James, Viscount Severn. Andy and Louise arrived a few days ahead of her parents, which gave the family and the young woman time to become reacquainted. That went very well, over the years they'd seen her at Balmoral and Sandringham and so they were fairly comfortable from the beginning. She knew a great deal about the family and their history and quietly said that she had several questions about them, if they didn't mind her asking, further endearing her to them. By the time her parents and younger brother arrived, everyone was fairly relaxed.

They'd planned the visit for mid-winter, hoping there would be enough snow on the ground to ski and sled on the property. The weather cooperated and the British family enjoyed the outdoors as well as the indoor pool and the basement skating rink, which greatly amused Louise's parents. While Tim couldn't take as much time off as he'd like while they were there, the family was invited for a tour of the Navy Yard and NCIS Headquarters, with the approval of the SecNav and the State Department, even though this was not a State visit. Tim had enjoyed that tour, in part because of the reaction of his co-workers. Hard-core federal agents stared in awe at members of the British Royal Family visiting their office.

Years ago, in one of the first meetings between the Gibbses and the Earl and Countess, when the Earl heard that Tim had spent most of his childhood in Baltimore, Maryland, he'd mentioned a trip there in 2011 to promote an at-risk youth program called "The Duke of Edinburgh Young American's Challenge." Tim smiled as the man talked about the international program, finally saying, "The non-profit group we organized to support the shelters and homeless folks worked with that group, too. We helped identify kids who would benefit from the program."

"It's a pity you weren't there when I was."

Tim chuckled, "I planned to be, I'd scheduled time off from work. However, the night before we were called out on an "All Hands" case, a threat so imminent or a crime so serious that all leaves are cancelled. As I remember, we were involved with that for close to a month. Not only did I miss your visit, I missed even seeing it on the news or in the newspapers. However, we did catch a group of terrorists."

The Earl's eyes widened and he shook his head. "Thank you for doing so!"

Overall, their visit this past spring was a success. None of them would dare predict what would happen with Andy and Louise but at least they knew their families approved and liked each other. But then as Dad pointed out, they liked all the in-laws or prospective in-laws, with the exceptions of Ed Slater because of his ill-treatment and disrespect of Jimmy, and Bec's terrorist mother, who they'd never had to meet.

After Tim's assumption of the directorship and learning more about agency operations and dynamics in the U.S., he started to settle in, although he would always be at the mercy of Congress, the DoD and the top Brass at the Pentagon. When the first quarter ended without any major crisis, his father patted him on the back. They'd had some bumps since then but they hadn't lost any agents and had ultimately arrested the bad guys. The cherry on top of that prize was that Congress hadn't given Tim much grief since he'd assumed office, including through approval of the next year's budget. Dad and Leon said that was a by-product of the work Tim did for the war effort, although no one knew of his White Hat work.

Two weeks after he took office, he appointed three new Assistant Directors. Along with other assignments, those three would be responsible for evaluations, any promotions, transfers or disciplinary actions, not that he was expecting the need for any, of his NCIS family members. The first he appointed was Jane Melankovic, who'd taken his place in London, leaving the Northwest office where she'd been SSAIC for several years.

The second new Assistant Director was the SSAIC in the Great Lakes/Chicago office, Chuck Guasco. A third was the Southeast SSAIC, Ralph Wong.

Tim didn't know Wong or Guasco well and thought that was a good thing as he didn't want the slightest hint of nepotism or favoritism touching his family, his ADs or himself. HIs fourth Assistant Director was Ned, who'd already been appointed by Leon, although it hadn't been announced, wouldn't be until his next promotion the following year. The Deputy Director attached to OSP remained in place with no changes.

Once his Assistant Directors were appointed and placed where he wanted them, additional SSAICs were moved. In some instances, he was putting his long term plans into place, in others, he was fulfilling a request by Leon or the specific SSAIC or moving people he needed in different offices or who he thought needed different experiences in other parts of the US or overseas.

One of the first transfers moved Cassie Yates from the Southeast Asia Field Office in Singapore to the Southwest Field Office in San Diego, taking his place. Next, he moved Dwayne Wilson to the top spot in the Carolinas Field Office. The two were on Tim's list of potential candidates for his eventual successor, along with a few others.

Yates needed time as SSAIC of a U.S. office and Wilson also needed to experience more of the U.S. based operation.

While Tim enjoyed transferring his SSAICs, Leon had planned Yates's move, leaving it to his successor to execute it.

In truth, two of the transfers gave him the most satisfaction. The first was Richard Owens' move from the Far East Field Office in Japan to the Northwest office, replacing Melankovic. This fulfilled a request from Richard, who'd asked to move home as his health was increasingly precarious. The second, one that made Tim inordinately proud, was the promotion of Bob Chalmers, formerly one of Tim's INV agents, to the SSAIC position at FEFO. Tim had plans to bring Chalmers back to the U.S. in the next 2 or 3 years.

The last two moves he made, for now, were to promote the SSAIC of the DC Office, Special Agent Whiting, to Cassie Yates' vacated spot in Singapore. Then he promoted Rose Peters to the SSAIC spot in Boston, the Northeast office, vacated by Joel when he retired.

He left the rest of his Field Offices leads as they were. He agreed with Leon that moving people around, whether to broaden their experiences or to provide stronger support to the new office, felt good. Generally at that level of management the transfers were received positively.

Tim made it clear that he intended to follow Vance's efforts to strengthen the agency, which might include some modernization or possibly returning to practices that had worked well in the past. In his first address to the agency, that one statement had gone a long way to dispel the worries of the few older agents and employees who hadn't been quite sure about the electronic whiz 'kid'/successful INV and Field Agent now leading them.

Of course, when Director Vance announced the realignment of the Northeast and Great Lakes Field Offices, crediting AD Gibbs with the decision, that helped. In a talk with his employees the week after he'd taken office, Tim referenced his father, retired Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, his mentors Leon Vance and Tom Morrow (although Tim felt that calling Morrow a mentor was a stretch), his older agents and employees breathed even easier. Seemed like the new director would be all right.

The week after the last SSAIC move was announced, Tim had a chat with Jeff Andreson about his career goals, something no one seemed to have done, or at least reported, since the man took over as SFA, now SAIC, of Yokosuka nearly ten years ago. He was encouraged to find the man ready to listen to his pitch, which was that he needed him to take the Hamburg office. Andreson accepted and within a month was ensconced in Germany, taking Bob Chalmers' place.

Roger Martinez, the retired SAIC for both Marseille and Hamburg, had returned to France to live after his retirement and wrote Tim a thank you note for taking such good care of his former offices. Just as Tony DiNozzo had been the right person to take over Marseille from Roger, Bob Chalmers had been the right guy to take over Hamburg and now Andreson was the right guy as Chalmers moved up. Roger went on to say that, having met Andreson, he could see him continuing to move up in the agency. Melankovic also thanked him for promoting Chalmers, as had Bob himself, and Yates wrote him a thank you note for her placement in San Diego, saying she was enjoying the low humidity, as compared to Singapore.

After Tim was done with the transfers, he looked at his plans. With Richard Owens' precarious health, he started watching for a replacement if Owens needed to retire. There were a few other employees he'd keep an eye on as they too were involved in his long-term plans.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Tim's reveries were brought to an abrupt halt as the SUV stopped at the front gate of the Navy Yard. Once in the parking garage, Tim eschewed the elevator, resolutely climbing the stairs to the Director's Suite. For all his reluctance to take this job, now he was relieved that he might be able to continue with it.

Walking into the suite, he found Pam Cook in the inner office directing maintenance in the removal of Tim's artwork, along with a few team photos and the most recent family photo. He'd had a long conversation with Pam and her husband last night and hoped for a positive response from them today, although he'd completely understand if they didn't want to move again, to take the chance of having to return in 6 months. The agency would pay for their moves to and from but from experience the Cooks knew as well as the Gibbses did what an upheaval overseas transfers could be.

The team photos now being removed from the wall reflected different versions of Gibbs' team. The first one had Gibbs, Tony, Kate Todd and a very young Tim. When he saw it after it was first unpacked, he'd laughed, he really had looked like he was 12 years old! Taking a photo, he sent it to Navy Commander Goetz, who'd said that at a meeting in San Francisco back in 2019, the week he'd identified the 4 terrorists at the Seattle airport, with a note on the back that said he was right, he had looked like he was a kid! He signed Timothy Gibbs, Director, NCIS, age 40 something.

The second photo, taken a few months after they brought Ziva home from Somalia, had Gibbs' 'Three Musketeers' standing around Boss.

The third photo was taken when Ellie made junior on the team. There were other photos, one taken with Grandpa Jack, although at the time Tim hadn't known he was his grandfather, Boss and the Ziva-era team during one of Jack's Christmas visits and one also taken during Ziva's tenure that included Ducky, Jimmy and Abby, another taken with the Bishop-era team, with the medical examiners and forensic tech. That one was Tim's favorite as Vance had photobombed the shot. He could be seen in the background, realizing he was in the shot and undecided about moving. The photographer had actually taken another shot for the official photo but Tim had asked for a copy of the one with Leon in the background.

He also had photos of all the INV training classes, including one of him and Ned sitting together in a conference room, the first 2 INV agents! He rotated those, the current ones were of the second and the last INV Training classes. The last photo was of Joel, Leon and him, a candid shot Pam took as the three worked at the conference table in Leon's London office. Tim and Leon both had their reading glasses on and Tim was reaching across the table, pen pointing at something in the open file in front of Vance. Joel was hunched over the table, trying to see and Leon was rolling his eyes as he pointed out that Joel had the same file he did, right in front of him. Another photo, from that same meeting, had the three of them leaning back in their chairs, laughing helplessly. That was one of Tim's favorite photos of his former bosses, another was one he'd taken somewhere with Leon and Dad laughing so hard they were holding each other up.

Watching Pam with the maintenance guys, Tim was grateful she'd stayed on, she was a big help, especially during the first few months and when budget time came around. Now he smiled at her as the maintenance people finished their work and left the office, pulling the suite doors closed behind them.

She returned his smile, saying with a laugh, "You sure know how to shake up things! Yes, we'd love to move back to the UK, although I do have a delicate question for you."

"How long I plan to serve?"

"Yes."

"If SecDef gives permission for me to serve in London beyond the next 6 months, then at least 3 more years. Not only is that the minimum for overseas transfers, I originally planned to serve for 4 years. However, if the politics don't eat my soul, I could go longer, maybe even until I'm 55. I'll be 47 in November, so that's 8 years. That's more than I ever considered but we'll see. So, a minimum 6 months or 3 years, depending on the Secretary of Defense, with a maximum of 8 years."

"If Secretary Becker says no to anything beyond the 6 months, you'll return here?"

"No, I'll take a very early retirement and stay in Brambury. Unless Hope can have her treatments over here, we're not leaving the UK. However, the agency will pay for your transfer home and you'd still have your position."

Relieved that she'd agreed to move again, he relaxed as his Department Heads entered the office. They were shocked and upset when he told them about Hope's illness and the urgent need to get her to the UK for treatment. Those who were parents understood and the rest had family or close friends and hoped they'd drop everything to help if someone was that ill.

Following that meeting was the 'All Hands' meeting in the enlarged briefing room. He loved that room now, no more squeezing in, there was plenty of room for everyone. When everyone was there, Tim walked to the front, nodding to everyone and managing a bit of a smile.

"Good morning, thank you for joining me here, I won't keep you long. I've worked with many of you off and on for more than 20 years and although I'll send out an agency-wide email, I couldn't leave it at that with all of you. I left once before without a word to anyone and I won't do that again.

"A few of you know my younger daughter Hope has been increasingly ill the past few weeks, to the point where she is no longer able to attend school or do much of anything. Last night we learned the diagnosis. It's scary and life-threatening; however, there is a treatment. Unfortunately, that treatment, the only thing that will save her life, is not approved by the FDA, nor are there any study or clinical trials in the U.S. The good news is that there is a treatment in use in the United Kingdom and has been for over three years. To make a long story a little shorter, my family and I are leaving for London tonight and Hope has her first appointment tomorrow. Because my youngest brother is a pediatrician and has worked here in DC and in London, he's been able to get us the help we need. The doctor who will be treating Hope is the pediatrician all our kids saw in London, that is, when Uncle Dr. Rob wasn't available.

"Hope's treatment will be ongoing, possibly for the rest of what I hope and pray will be a long and happy life for her. What this means is that I will no longer work aboard the Navy Yard. Secretary Porter has graciously authorized my working out of the London office, as Director Vance did during the war, for at least the next 6 months. As we learn more about my daughter's treatment, we'll make additional plans. However, from what I know now, unless or until the FDA approves treatment of this condition, my family and I will remain with Hope in the UK.

"Having said that, I may be back for meetings on the Hill or if my presence is required here or elsewhere in the U.S. The agency jet will be based in London so I'll be able to get here without relying on commercial schedules. I do hope to continue serving as your director past the time the SecNav was able to grant without going upline for approval.

"Lastly, I'm vastly relieved that Pam Cook and her husband have once again agreed to make the move to London. Thank you for this past 9 months, it's been an easier transition for me, following in the footsteps of Leon Vance, with all the help and encouragement you've given and I do hope that if I end up passing the directorship on that you'll do the same for the next Director. Thank you, be well."

He stepped off the dais and began to make his way through the room, a bit overwhelmed at the response, applause, calls of encouragement, pats on his arms and shoulders, people saying they'd pray for Hope. Rick and Balboa finally got on either side of him, escorting him from the room. He shoved his emotions aside as he focused on finishing up here and getting home to help with everything.

He had everything wrapped up before 10:00, he'd sent an email to all NCIS personnel, his personal belongings were packed and delivered, along with the artwork and photos, to the mailroom to be shipped to the London Field Office. Pam would work aboard the Navy Yard the rest of the week, joining him in London the following week. He wasn't sure yet how much time he'd have to work but Pam said she'd coordinate with Cynthia to ensure everything was handled.

As he rode home, he worked to calm himself, resuming his musings from the ride in. He remembered that his first full day of work aboard the Yard, the day after his swearing-in, he found it exceedingly strange that Ducky, Jimmy, Abby, Tony, Boss Dad and Leon weren't also there. Well, Jimmy and Abby and Tony anyway. If he and Bishop were here, why weren't the others?

His mind wandered as he wondered how much Greg would mind not having a U.S. style graduation. They'd throw him a party, just as they'd done for Andy when he'd received his final scores. Although Greg had already been accepted by Waverly, Sarah's alma mater, he'd told his parents that if he was still in college when they returned to the UK, he wanted to transfer to a university in the UK. This morning, Tim found a stack of papers in the kitchen with a note on top from Greg asking him to look at them. They were letters of acceptance from the Queen Mary, University of London, with a #5 written in Greg's hand, and three other UK universities with similar notations, although the numbers were different. Tim thought that was the ranking of the university for the major Greg wanted to pursue, creative writing.

Being able to see Andy more often would also be a good thing. While this past year their eldest had flown home whenever he could spare the time, his life was very busy between his studies and his relationship with Lady Louise. Although his family missed his physical presence, they saw him often on video chats. Tim had worried about Jed and Hope's relationship with Andy, and was humbled, encouraged and proud when his eldest remained in close contact with all of his siblings.

At least once a week, when Tim got up in the morning he'd hear Jed or Hope chatting away with their big brother. Andy did that with Rissa, Kyle and Greg, too, having video chats with them as well as his parents and grandparents. When his parents thanked and praised him for his efforts, he blinked away tears, saying, "I miss them so much! I miss everyone. I can't wait for you to move home!"

That echoed in Tim's mind now. As they knew Andy had a very intense week planned, they'd thought not to tell him until they were there, although they'd send him an email today that Hope's illness had been diagnosed and she was to start treatment on Wednesday. This morning, Artie and Tim had texted each other, realizing they needed to contact Andy and tell him what was going on. From what they remembered, Monday and Tuesday, yesterday and today, had had the busiest schedule and with the time difference, he was already finished with his exams. They'd call him when Tim got home.

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It took Herculean efforts to be ready by the time Tim's detail picked them up for their flight that evening but they did it. They'd talked with Andy who was as upset with the diagnosis as they were and was also relieved they were returning home for Hope's treatment. He was surprised that his father would be continuing to work as Director but glad for him, knowing that must mean a lot to Papa. He volunteered to let Louise's family know and as pushed for time as they were, his parents agreed, sending their regards.

As far as the house went, Rick and Denise would stay in one of the suites for the rest of the week, doing a final move from the cottage to the big house on the weekend. As Ellie and Rob's boys were still toddlers, Ellie opted to occupy the suite on the kitchen side of the house. Until her parents arrived, the 19 month old boys, Teddy and Adam, would sleep in the room with Ellie while Timi and Ro, now 4 ½, would occupy the second bedroom.

In Brambury, LJ and Patrick would return to the former playroom/dorm style room, with Pat's aides temporarily housed next door in Lu's craft room. It would take a few weeks for rooms at the Manor to be vacated and readied for re-occupancy by the Senior and Junior Gibbses. Nikki and Bill planned to move anyway but wouldn't have access to their new place for another 3 weeks. Joe and Charlotte were in the process of buying a house in Brambury but would also need a couple of weeks before they could move.

Sarah and James had been occupying the 2nd Master upstairs, with Caty in Rissa and Hope's old room and Sean in Jed's old room. They'd remain upstairs while James' parents, who frequently stayed in the kids' old suite, would stay in one of the other available rooms, leaving the Powells' suite for Patrick and his aides. While it was being cleaned and upgraded for Pat, he would continue to bunk in with Uncle LJ, who was glad for the company.

Tim and Artie thought Jed and Sean could share with Kyle, while Greg would take Andy's old room and he'd share with his older brother whenever he was home. Greg would be leaving the following autumn to start his university education so that room would be available for guests or for Kyle if he wanted a room to himself. As long as everyone had a place to sleep, they'd let the kids figure it out for themselves, that had worked well so far in all their moves.

As they boarded the jet, the adults were almost giddy with relief that their Hope would start treatment within a few hours.

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Wednesday morning, London

As the NCIS jet touched down at the familiar airbase, its passengers cheered. They were home! Tim and Artie exchanged kisses, relieved they were here. Although it hadn't been that long since they'd heard the diagnosis and treatment plans Monday evening, it seemed more like a week than a day and a half.

It took a few minutes to gather everything and then they woke Hope, who was very happy to be home. She was scared about whatever the doctor would do to her but wanted to feel better again.

As they prepared to disembark, her mama and daddy helped her slip on a face mask and gloves, not willing to risk her health any more than necessary. These days, just four years past the COVID-19 pandemic, face masks and gloves were routine at airports and anywhere there were large groups of people. Nikki told her family that now when she was masked and gloved, no one noticed. That was a welcome change.

As Jethro stood in the aisle of the jet, helping remove carry-on bags from the overhead bins, he felt a great sense of relief. He smiled as Lu quietly reminded him they'd also be able to spend more time with their two newest grandchildren.

A few months ago, Bill and Nikki were contacted by D'Arcy McKinna in the U.S. asking if they would be willing to foster two siblings, orphaned by the war, a young girl with special needs and her brother. The boy was 13 and healthy while his sister, who was 9, had a compromised immune system similar to Nikki's condition. Social Services was having a difficult time placing the siblings together while they continued to search for surviving family.

After much discussion and consultations with their family, the couple met the children via video chat. When the children, Tasha and Will, were asked if they'd like to live in the United Kingdom, they were both excited and curious.

Once the legalities and paperwork were approved, Nikki and Bill flew to Virginia with the Gibbses on their return from Europe in August and Ms. McKinna brought the siblings to the Arlington house. The arrangement was that Bill, Nikki and the children would stay in Arlington, waiting for new passports and documentation for the children as well as taking the time to get to know each other and to make sure Tasha's needs were understood.

After taking a long weekend to spend time with the children, Nikki reported for work aboard the Navy Yard, where she'd continue to do her regular job, taking time off when they returned home with the children. Bill hired reputable sub-contractors for the work he'd had scheduled and spent the time with their new foster children. He and Nikki hoped to adopt them but first they had to foster while Social Services continued their search for surviving relatives. When school started, the children attended school with their new cousins, although it would only be for a week or so. Will was in class with Kyle while Tasha was in Hope's year, attending class via Skype.

Tasha was happy because her new foster parents knew what she needed and didn't fuss about it and her new cousins, grandparents, aunt and uncle understood too. Will was relieved that they'd finally found a family who understood what his baby sister needed. Both of them really liked their new foster parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins and quietly hoped they'd be their 'forever' parents and family. The new family flew to London ten days after the children's arrival in Arlington.

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When the Gibbses, Penny and LJ disembarked from the agency jet and went through Customs aboard the airbase, they were happy to find Bill and Jim Hubbard waiting for them, driving Big Blue and a second bus, a rental, the size of Blue.

As they rode to Brambury, they were told that the remainder of the London based family would gather Friday night for dinner, wanting to give the travelers the rest of the week to unpack and get settled in and of course to find out what Hope's treatment would entail.

They all smiled when they arrived at their latest home away from home, the Airbnb. As they left the bus, there were happy exclamations as most of the family who lived in Brambury and weren't at work, that is Sarah, Claire, Maisie, Mac, Freddie, the DiNozzos, less the Colonel who stayed home to pick the twins up from school, Uncle Dave and Aunt Liz, Breena with baby Donnie, now 9 months old, Charlotte, Joey and Hugh and the senior Powells, were there to greet them. Hugs were exchanged, although Hope, again in her father's arms, smiled and waved instead.

Knowing the family was exhausted and that Hope, Tim, Artie and Rob had the little girl's doctor appointment in a few hours, almost everyone left after helping deliver the luggage to the appropriate rooms. Tim, Artie, Hope and Rissa would take two of the first floor bedrooms. The girls wanted to continue sharing and their parents knew the two would sleep better if they did. For now, Jed would share with his big brothers, much to his joy. He'd shared with them on vacations, and loved feeling like one of them. Kyle remembered how Andy and Greg had always included him, and Rissa, when they were little and followed their example with their younger brother and sister.

Maisie and Edith stayed behind at the Airbnb, serving a healthy and delicious hot soup for everyone. They'd stay until the family went for their first naps.

Before they slept, the group went for a walk around the neighborhood, exclaiming at how good, and how odd, it felt to be back. Rissa said it felt like they'd been scooped up and plopped down in Brambury. With the exception of Hope and her father, the group walked for an hour. Tim carried Hope back to the house after about 15 minutes, which seemed to be the extent of her energy. It wasn't just that she was too tired to walk any more, she said she needed to sleep. Tim's whole body tightened every time she said that. He was terrified she would fall asleep and never wake up.

Then he remembered her name, Hope, and felt some of the terror slip away. There were less than two hours to wait before they would see the doctor. He would hold onto hope and his precious daughter until then.