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"You look stressed out! What's up McGoo?" Tony asked as they broke for lunch the next day. It had been a day in the office going through cold cases so the problem shouldn't have been work. "Did you find something in the case you're looking at?"
"No, I don't think so, but it's one of Gibbs cases from before you joined the team," Tim replied as if that explained it, and it did somewhat, Gibbs was always like a bear with a sore head about the cases he hadn't managed to solve. It was hell for the reviewing agent and nobody was sure whether the fallout was worse if you did manage to find a new lead or if you had to admit that there weren't any and they still weren't going to solve it.
"But you were already stressed when you came in this morning, you look run over" Ziva refuted.
"I think you mean run down, Ziva," Tim corrected her.
"Okay what's up?" Tony demanded.
"My mother arrived to stay with us until Thanksgiving, yesterday. This is the first time Hadrian's been alone with her, well alone except for the children, but they'll both nap during the day," Tim explained.
"Well it could be worse Tim! It could be your mother-in-law," Tony said jovially.
"Considering Hadrian's Mom has been dead twenty five years, that would definitely be worse," Tim said flatly knowing that the others didn't realise that for a witch, being dead didn't always mean unable to visit.
"Where's the Admiral?" Tony asked remembering the incident where Tim's father had tried to attack him in the bullpen.
"Deployed for the next three months, the fleet left port Saturday and is due back December 20th," Tim replied. "This will probably be his last deployment. He's being shunted sideways into a desk job."
"So, he didn't get the promotion to Washington he was hoping for?" Ziva asked.
"No, he was furious and Mom's disappointed not to be near us. There are rumours going around that SecNav is going to transfer him to the Pacific Fleet, or to command one of the overseas bases. He speaks some Japanese, Spanish and German, though he isn't really fluent in any of them."
"Wouldn't that be a promotion?" Tony asked.
"No the scuttlebutt has it that most of the postings the brass is considering for him would be a decrease in the number of men and boats he's responsible for. It isn't a demotion in rank but it also wouldn't normally considered a step towards promotion," Tim replied. "And the fact that the rumours are already going around means that he's going to be publicly embarrassed.
"Isn't that a good thing?" Ziva asked. "That he'll be posted a long way away from you and the children."
"It is, but the kids will miss having a grandmother. Particularly after she spends the next eight weeks with us," Tim replied. "Living so far away will give her an excuse not to stand up to the Admiral about staying in our lives even though he has disowned me."
"Or it could give her an excuse to lie to the Admiral about who she is visiting and staying with when she returns to the eastern seaboard for visits to your sister," Ziva suggested.
"Families are the devil!" Tony said commiserating.
"You mean fathers," Tim replied. "Not all father's try to ruin their sons. We were just unlucky."
"Yeah, I suppose we were," Tony said somberly. "But aren't you afraid that you'll turn out the same?"
"I was, particularly when Hadrian first got custody of Teddy, but Hadrian reminds me that his guardians were both neglectful, selfish violent child abusing bigots and Hadrian doesn't have a selfish, bigoted or violent bone in his body. My father never took the time to get to know me the way I know Teddy, the way I will know Rosie and Daisy as they grow, he never tried to understand that I was my own person and not just an extension of him. I will never be the man my father is," Tim explained. "You are not the man your father is either. You're a better man in so many ways. I don't believe you need to be afraid that you could ever treat a child the way your father treated you."
"Timothy is correct, neither of you is capable of the neglect and abuse your fathers brought you up with," Ducky said.
"Hi Ducky," Tony greeted the older man but his eyes still reflected doubt in himself.
"Believe me Anthony, you are a good man and if you choose to have children you are capable of being a good father and I do not believe your own conscience would let you be anything less than an exemplary father to any child, after all between the three of you, you all know exactly what not to do," Ducky said slightly sadly. "How are your children Timothy?" he asked, more cheerfully.
"They are all growing like weeds, Ducky. My mother is staying with us while the Admiral's deployed, so they're enjoying getting to know their grandmother. They do still miss their Grandducky though, Teddy was asking after you last night," Tim replied smiling at the older man.
"And I miss them, is it okay that I call in this weekend with your mother here?" Ducky asked.
"Sure, in fact we should host a dinner party so she can meet everyone. I'll talk to Hadrian about it," Tim replied.
"How long she staying?" Gibbs asked.
"Until Thanksgiving," Tim said.
Gibbs winced, he felt for Hadrian. Having your mother-in-law visit was traumatic enough, having her move in for eight or nine weeks would have been his definition of hell. With any of his mothers-in-law. "If ya need some time off, let me know."
"Thanks Boss," Tim said gratefully.
"If your mother is staying until Thanksgiving we should put off the dinner for a couple of weeks to let everyone settle in. I imagine she's wanting to spend time catching up with your sister," Ducky suggested.
"Good idea Duck," Gibbs seconded.
"Okay shall we say Sunday the 18th?" Tim replied. "I'll check with Hadrian and confirm the date, but Ducky feel free to visit the kids before then if you'd like, you too everyone."
The others all murmured their agreements but Tim knew Gibbs was the only one likely to take up the offer and that would be more to check out his mother than to visit with Hadrian and the children.
-o0o-
It was a couple of days later that Heather bought up Thanksgiving Dinner with Hadrian.
"Do you celebrate Thanksgiving?" she asked.
"Yes I do, though only since I moved to America and met Tim," Hadrian replied. "The only American holiday that's really made it across the pond is Halloween and even that I didn't tend to celebrate except for the school arranged mandatory celebration, it's my parents' anniversary. I'd never even heard of Thanksgiving until I moved here, I wasn't a big TV or movie watcher. Tim jokingly says I must have grown up under a rock, but my boarding school didn't believe in children watching television and there wasn't a movie theatre in the village we were allowed to visit."
"How did you occupy your time?" Heather asked surprised.
"Sports, chess, card games and reading or playing on the lake in the summer and in the snow in the winter," Hadrian replied. "We didn't know any different so it wasn't too much of a hardship."
"Surely all your classmates would have had one show they complained about missing watching?" Heather asked.
"Sure, most of them, but they weren't the same shows. Can you imagine the arguments in the common room with forty or fifty teenagers all wanting to watch their favourite channel? Ron and Neville's parents went to the school so they severely limited their children's TV access during the summer as well so they wouldn't have favourite programs to miss, Dean was mad into football and all the commentaries, Seamus liked Blackadder and black comedy and anything with naked women, and I didn't much like any of it. My friend Hermione only likes documentaries and one of her roommates was addicted to soaps and the other to reality TV. And that was just our year level in our house."
"Why didn't you like Television?" Heather asked.
Hadrian laughed. "Sheer contrariness most likely. My cousin absolutely loved it so it had to be rubbish."
Tim and Heather both laughed at that. The truth was Hadrian had been so glad to get away from his relatives that he'd embraced all the elements of wizarding culture and if wizards didn't use electricity and watch television then during his first four years at Hogwarts he didn't want to either. It was only after becoming disillusioned with the wizarding world during what should have been his seventh year that he was willing to pick and choose the best of both worlds.
"I know you said you and your cousin didn't get along, but it was that bad?" Heather asked shocked.
"Honestly, it was worse! But to be completely fair to him we were both manipulated to despise each other by his parents. My aunt and my mother were apparently close as children but when my mother got offered a place at a boarding school for the gifted Petunia was hurt and angry that they were being separated and extremely jealous that she wasn't invited. When my aunt and uncle took me in they already knew that I had a legacy position at that same school, funded by my parents. Aunt Petunia was still incredibly jealous of my mother and angry at her. She did everything she could to ensure we didn't become friendly so history wouldn't repeat itself. To the detriment of both my cousin and myself. There's more but it's complicated," Hadrian tried to explain, realising that it didn't make much sense since he couldn't explain Petunia's almost pathological hatred for magic.
"Do you keep in touch with them at all?" Heather asked.
"I believe they are in prison for embezzlement," Hadrian replied.
"All three of them?" Heather asked.
"I think so, I chose not to have any more to do with the case than I had to, once I found out who was stealing from my company, I turned it all over to my solicitor to deal with and asked not to be informed of the outcome," Hadrian said dismissively.
"And they're your only living relatives? Is your cousin the one you're trying to have a son to prevent from inheriting part of your estate?"
"Oh no, they're Mum's sister and her family, the money was all on Dad's side, though I wouldn't want to leave the Dursleys anything either," Hadrian replied. "I don't have any close family on Dad's side. The git I don't want to inherit is I think a fourth or fifth cousin. And I'm not trying to be petty in not wanting him to inherit, his father blew through most of that part of the family's money, paying bribes and funding a terrorist organization, and the son is very like the father. He's already on a government watch list, though they can't prove any wrongdoing on his part since he was a teenager."
Heather looked shocked. "So, you're telling me you need to have a baby boy for national security?" she asked.
"Something like that. But I have the money to have several more children, and I personally would love nothing more than another one or two, if we get desperate enough we will use IVF and select for a boy," Hadrian admitted. He didn't mention that there were already backup plans in place to prevent the Malfoy line from inheriting. Or that those plans were the only thing preventing Kingsley and Sir Geoffrey pressuring Hadrian to produce a son immediately.
"Are you allowed to do that?" Heather asked.
"In the interests of British national security, they'd be prepared to look the other way," Hadrian replied.
"They wouldn't have to, it is legal here in the United States," Tim said, having arrived during the conversation. In truth there were spells to guarantee a boy and a magical child but since the magical price of using such a dark spell was to sacrifice future fertility and had an undisclosed effect on the mother's health, neither Tim nor Hadrian wanted to even contemplate using them yet. Hadrian suspected that these spells were one of the reasons that many pureblood families finally managed to birth a wizard after a long line of squibs. It was also one of the earlier reasons the Weasleys were so despised by purebloods in Britain, the ability to produce wizard after wizard without making such a sacrifice. If Ginny hadn't set her cap at marrying the-boy-who-lived and then proved herself to be immoral, deceitful and more than a little insane, there would've been plenty of pureblood families who would have paid a very generous bride price to marry the girl into their family, not all of them dark families either. Of course, Molly and Ginny's behaviour had given all of Wizarding Britain plenty of reasons to be glad they hadn't offered the Weasleys a betrothal contract and to hate them more personally since the end of the war.
"So you do enjoy celebrating Thanksgiving now?" Heather asked, returning to her original line of questioning.
"I do, I have a lot to be thankful for," Hadrian said. He wasn't well up on the idea of celebrating the pilgrims being offered food by the American natives but he understood that the children would learn about that meaning of the holiday in school, he and Tim focused on giving thanks for their blessings during the year just gone, not unlike the pagan Yule.
"Do you want to come to Tim's family Thanksgiving?" Heather asked.
"I'd like to meet more of Tim's family, and I'd like the children to have more of an extended family. I'm not willing to take them somewhere they won't be accepted though. They have Tim's team of course Grandpa Gibbs and Grandducky, Jimmy and Breena and Ziva and Tony but I don't know how many of them would stay in touch if Tim was transferred off the MCRT. And I have no family other than a godbrother in England," Hadrian replied.
"A godbrother?" Heather asked.
"His mother was my Godmother and my Mum was his. Unfortunately, they were both gone by the time we were eighteen months old and the relatives that took us in came from very different worlds so we didn't grow up together," Hadrian explained. "We met at school and shared a dorm for six years but didn't really become close friends until towards the end of that time. He's one of the few friends I still keep up with. We spent a week holidaying together last summer and Tim and I are godparents to his second son."
-o0o-
Heather fitted into the household without too many problems, she appreciated the effort her son and his partner put into making her feel welcome, though she was confused by the fact they tended to hover within earshot whenever she was with the children. She liked Hadrian though she didn't really see him as a son-in-law yet, the time she spent with them was slowly changing that. When she'd seen them last she saw that Tim was determined to make her see them as a couple and a family but spending time in their home it came more naturally. They were a family and a loving and supportive one. This was the family her Tim had always deserved but she had failed to provide for him.
Heather had met up with Sarah a couple of times during the week for a quick coffee or lunch but she had a big term paper and wasn't able to take much time off. It was due Friday before midnight and Sarah came to visit them on Saturday after her shift at the coffee shop. Heather was pleased to see that Tim and Hadrian both greeted her with pleasure, though Tim did roll his eyes when she handed over her laptop and asked that he go over it and see why it was working so slowly lately. Tim disappeared into his workroom and Hadrian backed off with the children letting the two women have some time together, only interfering when Sarah started hinting to her mother about a new winter wardrobe.
"You've got a birthday coming up, and I know Tim was planning on taking you shopping for it next weekend, maybe you should wait and go with them Heather, make it a family outing just the three of you, that way you don't accidentally double up on something and miss some other necessities," he suggested.
Sarah frowned for a moment knowing she probably would have got more clothes if her Mom took her shopping just the two of them. But on the other hand, it would be fun to be out just the three of them like when she was younger. It had been a long time since Tim had been around while her parents were there and Hadrian was right that they needed time to reconnect as a family after all that had happened this year, and as much as she loved Tim's husband it was essential that it was just the three of them so they could speak their minds openly.
"I took all the viruses you've picked up off it, upgraded your antivirus software and am defragmenting the hard drive which should help, but I suspect the main problem is that you've been using it on your bed again and let it overheat," Tim said as he entered the room.
From Sarah's guilty expression, he was undoubtedly right.
"Is there a way for her to have it on her bed without it overheating, some sort of barrier she could use," Hadrian asked.
"She could use a lap-desk with a fan. She'd have to replace it fairly frequently because having it on top of a feather doona will shorten the life of the fan but it would be cheaper than replacing the internal heat sink, or risking frying the whole motherboard," Tim said.
"Would you use a lap desk if we bought you one?" Hadrian asked Sarah. He knew without him as an intermediary the siblings would just end up yelling at each other, and even if he or Tim later bought the lap desk she wouldn't use it out of spite.
"It would depend how it felt, if it changed the position of the computer too much or made it uncomfortable," Sarah admitted.
"Would you promise to at least try it?" Hadrian pressed. "If Tim's right about the problem, and you know he probably is, there's no point buying you a new laptop. If the way you're using it is causing the problem and you don't change anything then your new laptop will soon have all the same problems as your current one."
"I'll try it," Sarah promised rolling her eyes. Tim looked at him gratefully, it would have taken a lot more yelling and probably a laptop damaged beyond repair before they reached that agreement without him.
Heather watched the discussion with amusement. Sarah clearly considered Hadrian to be family, and Hadrian treated her like a baby sister though it was doubtful if he was actually older than her or not. He certainly didn't look it, though he acted as old as Tim if not older a lot of the time, except when he was playing with the children and didn't realise anyone else was present, when she saw that it was hard to believe he was much older than Teddy he was so enthusiastic about exploring the toys and joining in on Teddy's imaginings.
-o0o-
The three of them enjoyed their shopping together though Tim found browsing women's clothing and waiting for his sister and mother to try things on quite boring and tedious. In the end, between Sarah's enthusiasm for new clothing, Heather and Tim's generosity and Tim's earnest request that his mother not spend any more money on presents for his children, Sarah got most of the things she wanted, and Tim was exceedingly grateful not to be married to a woman so he probably wouldn't have to go shopping like this anytime soon. He already had plans for Sarah to make days like this up to him by taking Rosie and Daisy shopping when the time came.
More importantly the day gave the three of them time to hang out and celebrate their freedom to be themselves, like they used to when Tim and Sarah were kids and the then Captain McGee deployed. They didn't discuss Tim's marriage, children or job, or Sarah's university studies, instead the reminisced about other outings they'd made over the years and other good memories of just the three of them.
-o0o-
"I want you all to come to Jillie's for Thanksgiving," Heather said to Tim that night.
"Okay, I'll apply for days off and ring Aunt Jillie and tell her we're coming," Tim said.
"I can call Jillie," Heather replied.
"No, I want to call her, Thanksgiving's at her home, I need to know we are welcome before I take the children there," Tim replied.
Heather nodded and looked away, Tim's uncertainty at being wanted at the family gathering hurt her more than she'd thought it would. She knew she deserved it, especially after keeping her ongoing relationship with them from the Admiral and taking so long to decide that she was ready to admit to the rest of the family that her son was gay.
Tim looked up the number then dialed. Pacing anxiously.
"Hi Aunt Jillie, it's Tim," Tim greeted his aunt politely.
"Tim, please tell me you're not ringing to say you can't come to another family party because of your work?" Jillie greeted him warily. "I don't want to have to tell the family you abandoned them again."
"Actually no. I'm planning to ask for the time off and we're not on rotation so I have a fairly good chance of getting it. I rang to ask you if you have room for me to bring my partner Hadrian and our children? We're not asking you to put us up for the weekend, we can gladly get a hotel room but I know that you have a house full for dinner, and an extra two adults a child, a toddler and a baby may not be easy to accommodate."
"How on earth did you manage to father three children without telling your family you were with someone Timothy McGee?" Jillie exclaimed in shock.
Tim wondered whether the surprise of him having a family had made his aunt overlook the fact that Hadrian was a man's name.
"The Admiral hated Hadrian on first sight. Even before we told him that we were more than friends he wanted me to end my friendship with him. After the Admiral's reaction the first time we tried to tell him and Mom's support of the Admiral's bigotry, I felt that it was better for everyone if we kept it quiet," Tim said gently.
"He doesn't approve of her?" Jillie asked, still having missed what Tim was trying to tell her.
"The Admiral doesn't approve of him, or me. In fact, when he found out he disowned me. Mom's being supportive while he's at sea and now that he knows it's a good time to introduce Hadrian to the rest of the family, while he wont be there to create a scene," Tim said.
"Well then, you bring him and your family to meet us all," Jillie said warmly. "How old are the children and what are their names?"
"Teddy's six, he's my stepson and my daughters, Rosie is two and Daisy is four months old," Tim replied smiling.
"Teddy for Edward or Theodore?" Jillie asked.
"Theodore, Aunt Jillian," Tim replied.
"None of that now Timothy," Jillie said sternly. "Teddy is a cute name, though I can't imagine he'll be happy with it forever."
"I know Aunt Jillie, but we're in no hurry to have him grow up," Tim said.
"You're right, they grow too fast, it seems just a few months ago that you and Amanda were that age," Jillie agreed sighing.
"You definitely got that right, I come home from working a case and they seem older than when I last saw them," Tim sighed.
"We'll you and your young man are welcome here Tim. I'm glad you can come," Jillie said firmly. "We could squeeze you into the attic room, you and your family could have it to yourself."
"No thanks Aunty, we'll get a motel room. Daisy isn't very good at sleeping during the night yet," Tim said smiling warmly. "I'm looking forward to seeing you all again."
"Any allergies I need to know about?" Jillie asked.
"Hadrian's allergic to mushrooms," Tim replied not wanting to explain that they caused an emotional reaction so strong they made him ill for the rest of the day. Teddy has no allergies but he'd be a carnivore if we let him, Rosie eats everything but we try to limit how many artificial preservatives she has for our own sanity, they make her a bit hyperactive, and we'll bring Daisy's food with us, she's just starting solids. I've grown out of most of my allergies except for shellfish," Tim reported, listening to his aunt write down notes.
"That's fine Tim, you won't find many preservatives in my cooking, and only one of the sides has raw mushrooms," Jillie replied.
"Thanks Aunt Jillie," Tim said. "How are Uncle Pete and Amanda?"
"They're both well, I'm sure your mother told you Amanda's getting married in the spring, and Pete's thinking about cutting back to part time after the end of this school year. Of course he's been saying that the last couple of years so I won't hold my breath," Jillie replied laughing. "Amanda and her fiancé Sam will be here for the whole weekend, she's missed you Timmy. We all have."
"I've missed you all too, Aunt Jillie," Tim said quietly. "I have to go but we'll see you for Thanksgiving."
"I look forward to it, Tim. Thanks for calling," Jillie said seriously.
"Was that Tim, is he coming for Thanksgiving?" Pete asked.
"Yes he is," Jillie said sounding shocked, "He's bringing his family."
"You mean Sarah and Aunt Heather?" Amanda asked smiling.
"No, I mean he's bringing his partner and children. Sarah and Heather are already coming," Jillie said. "That makes seventeen for dinner, I might need another Turkey and some more sides."
The two women fell to planning for the extra mouths to feed, Amanda felt that any change in plan was probably unnecessary because they always had so many leftovers they could easily feed another two adults and a couple of small children but she couldn't stop her mother from fussing that this year would be the exception. Amanda didn't want to add to her stress by grilling her mother why her former favourite cousin had suddenly decided to start attending family functions again after all these years, and why she'd never heard about him having children.
A/N: Thank you to xDarklightx, Melikalilly, julschristine975, knuckles 8, Lientjuhh, DarkRavie, lilly-flower15, Rainbow2007, aisa.32, mooneysfate, Rori Potter, starie78, Kourtney Uzu Yato, sandipi, luramos, Firehedgehog, GoldenTurboKeyblade, lia, delia cerrano, kimbarn30, lillisa34, buterflypuss, Harriverse, sillygabby, 1sunfun, DullReign82, Guest, Lady Kaiki, acherongoddess, serenityselena, Merlenyn, Fallow54, Me, Silvermane1, Locket1, wishgamit, Millie072, BlackBreezy, Goodjoss, HoneyBear84, Rebecca and all those who followed and favourited for your support.
