REAPING THE BOUNTY
Definition of Reaping (To Reap):
1) To receive (a reward or benefit) as a consequence of one's own or other people's actions
Definitions of Bounty applicable to our story:
1) A bounty is a reward
2) Something given or occurring in generous amounts.
Chapter 1: "All Our Bags are Packed, We're Ready to Go, Our Transport's Waitin' at the Door…"*
With less than a week to go before they would leave their homes for the last time, Rob's graduation visitors left and the others were sometimes frantically busy. The group found themselves sorting, trashing and packing from dawn until hours past dusk every day that week.
Rob had his belongings packed before the others did and, with help from his brother, Dad and the pickup, brought his bed, clothes, books, bike and the furniture Dad and Bill made him to the garage of the townhouse. His suitcases for Greece and London stayed with him in Tim and Artie's downstairs bedroom. As part of the scholarship, he was required to live on campus, which was fine with him. Following James' advice, after everything was moved to the townhouse he contacted the university to inquire about his furniture and was told that as he had his own, he'd be assigned an empty room. Considering how much he'd worried about the length of the standard dormitory bed, that was a relief! He'd have time to settle in as his classes wouldn't start until well after his belongings would arrive with everyone else's.
Once his things were moved, he pitched in to help Tim, Artie and his parents. The Porters, who were through with classes until late August, split up to help, Cyndie at the townhouse, Larry at the senior Gibbses. By Thursday, they felt it was under control. Friday, Tony called to say he'd finally sold his car and that obviously Tim had been right. The car he'd just sold was an attractive, reliable vehicle although it wasn't a car that Tony loved. It had survived a year and a half with Tony, a record for him. He thanked Tim for helping him break the car curse.
That same day, there was a mild stir when a few things were discovered in a closet but boxes were found, the items labeled, quickly packed, the boxes labeled and sealed. Friday afternoon, Larry, Tim, Rob and Jethro loaded the truck and the SUV with the senior Gibbses' furniture and belongings, making three trips to the garage of the townhouse, where it would be picked up by the movers Saturday afternoon. The fourth trip brought the last of the boxes and they were done, for now. They'd previously moved Tim and Artie's items from storage to the townhouse, including all of their Christmas décor. Knowing ahead of time where they'd be living and as they no longer knew if they would return to the US after Tim's exchange contract had been fulfilled, there was no need to leave anything behind, except for the Boxster. However Artie was certain it would join them overseas at some point.
Saturday, Tim drove his wife and their babies to the Porters with everything they'd need. Then he, Rob and Dad returned the SUV to the leasing company. Driving from there to the townhouse in the truck, they arrived about 5 minutes before the movers. With their quick and efficient work, the movers were done within three hours, helping Tim exchange the bed and TV that had been moved not quite two years ago, and loading Tim's big screen TV, traveling to the UK with them after all, before loading Rob's and their parents' belongings from the garage.
The movers were followed by the company Tim and Artie hired to clean the house. They were thorough and quick, leaving about 15 minutes before Tim's landlord arrived. Dad and Rob were still there with Tim and the pickup when Dr. Nelson, the lessee of the town house, pulled up in an Uber vehicle.
Tim greeted him happily, introducing him to his brother and father, telling him his wife and children had already gone ahead. Dr. Nelson shook his head, "Two years ago, you were single and here you are with a wife and family, congratulations! Where are you off to now?"
Tim told him about the exchange program and the man nodded, "That sounds like fun, enjoy! Are you all finished or need some more time?"
"We're done, everything in there is yours."
"Didn't you have a Porsche? I remember talking about it with you."
"I do and it's been fun driving up in the hills, through the redwoods and on the coast. Unfortunately, it seems there's a lot of red tape to driving a left-handed car in the right-handed UK, so it's parked in a friend's garage, prepped for long-term storage, complete with mint to keep the rodents away."
"Bet you're going to miss it."
"We sure will!"
The professor wished them luck as they left, stopping to pick up dinner on the way to the Porters.
After the babies were asleep that night, Rob, Tim and Artie joined their parents and hosts in the living room. Before he sat, Tim raised both arms in a victory salute, "We did it! Thank you so much! What are we doing next weekend?"
They laughed as Rob said, "Floating in the Mediterranean!"
When they woke a little before dawn Sunday morning, they agreed they'd be happy to sit and sleep for several hours, exhausted after their sorting and packing extravaganza. Callen arrived at the house at 0545, having flown up the night before, staying overnight with another friend. He had breakfast with them, several cups of coffee, filled the thermos he'd loaned Jethro two years ago, took two six-packs of bottled water and some snacks, wished them all well and left in Jethro's truck for the long drive back to Los Angeles.
After he left, their transport arrived. While Larry did one last check of the locks and alarms on the house, unplugging the empty refrigerator, the travelers loaded the luggage, the babies were gently secured into their car seats, the adults climbed in and away they went.
NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS
Meeting Tony and Maggie at the FBO, they saw the jet was already there and they quickly unloaded the van while the aircrew loaded their belongings onto the jet, carefully balancing the load.
Tim grinned as they boarded, the interior was very nicely laid out. He and Artie sat in the row designated for them, with two sky cots built in for the babies to sleep in. For now, they held them on their laps as both woke up. Neither fussed, they were with their people and that was enough for them. Their parents had the twins' regulation child safety devices, also known as car seats, with them and now, with help from Poppy, attached them to the airline seats facing them so the children could sit independently and safely. Mom and Dad also had small bottles of breast milk to feed them during take-off and landing. During the flight the twins would nurse as usual, the bottled breast milk was to help relieve any ear pain when the plane took off and landed.
When they were told they had 20 minutes before takeoff, out came the mats and the babies, now fully awake, enjoyed tummy time for about 10 minutes with their parents. Then they went back to cuddling with Mom and Dad. Grama and Uncle Rob came by to sit across the aisle from them and play peek-a-boo for a few minutes while Poppy brought their 'take-off' milk.
As the plane took off, the babies had their bottled breast milk without suffering any ear pain. Daddy chewed a piece of gum and Mommy had never had any ear problems when flying. After they finished, the twins were strapped securely into their car seats where they fell back to sleep.
Tim and Artie talked while the twins slept, glad the routine they'd carefully planned for flying with their children was working so far.
Following that plan, the twins slept, played, cuddled, ate, were changed and cuddled and played with on their way across country. They were awake when the aircraft started its descent into DC airspace and were happy to have more of their bottled milk as they landed.
NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS
When they landed, Tim changed the time on his watch, it was 4:00 PM here. Jethro watched, puzzled, as his wife, sons, daughters-in-law and the Porters gathered the babies and everyone's belongings. Lu smiled at him, "Come on, sweetie, we're taking a break here."
"I thought we were doing that in London?"
Tony shrugged, "The plans changed again."
"Are we taking everything, all of our luggage?"
Lu shook her head, "No, just our carry-ons." She had her head down, folding a sweater.
Jethro nodded, "Good!" He helped Tim get their things together, putting one of the baby carrier slings on so he could carry one of his grandbabies. Tim smiled, "Thanks, Dad!"
They disembarked, Tony carrying his garment bag full of suits that he'd refused to put in the cargo bay with the other luggage as well as his carry-on bags while Tim, with baby Ellanne in her sling, used the shoulder strap to transport his garment bag and a wheeled suitcase down the gangway. Once down, he strapped the garment bag to the top of the suitcase. Dad had Jackson in his sling and his sea bag hanging by its shoulder strap. Cyndie and Larry helped carry a few things along with their carry-on bags and Rob carried the stroller, strapped on his back, along with his carry-on. Maggie, Lu and Artie had their carry-on bags and their garment bags while Maggie also carried Rob's garment bag.
Jethro smiled at the limo waiting for them. "We're getting spoiled although it feels good!" The group chuckled as the driver placed their belongings in the trunk, carefully laying the garment bags on top where they wouldn't slide around.
Watching out the window, Jethro's eyebrows lifted as the limo glided to a stop in front of one of the top rated hotels in DC. "We're staying here?"
Lu nodded, "Yes, there is a rental house in Arlington that Annie O'Brien tried to book us into but they wanted a minimum of three nights and the change was a bit last minute. So here we are!" She looked at her husband, "It'll be fun for one night! They have an indoor pool."
"Oh, great! I'm not complaining, just surprised. I thought we'd stay at Ducky's."
Tim shook his head, "He's having some work done on the brownstone before he moves in, right now he's staying with the Carters."
Jethro smiled, "Good. I'm glad he sold the Reston house and found something closer in and easier to maintain."
Inside the lobby, they were quickly ushered to their rooms, their luggage handled by the staff. They were on the same floor, with Dad, Malu, Tony and Maggie on one side of the hallway, Tim, Artie, the babies and Rob on the other side. The Porters were on the other side of Rob.
Tim grinned at his dad, "We know Rob will sleep through the babies' noise if they get fussy, but we were afraid you or Mom would wander the halls looking for them. So we're across from you and you won't hear them at all!"
His dad shook his head, "Thanks, not that we'd mind, of course. So, what are we doing?"
Lu said, "We have dinner reservations early, at 5:30, here at the hotel. We thought of going out somewhere but the restaurant here has excellent ratings."
Jethro bit back a sigh, "So we're in suits?"
"Yes. It's just one night, sweetie."
He nodded with a genuine smile, if it made his bride happy, he was fine wearing a suit and tie to dinner. Heck, he'd wear a toga if she wanted him to. Then he frowned, his garment bag with his suit was still in the cargo bay of the aircraft! Lu patted his arm, "I may have forgotten to tell you but I hung your favorite suit, shirt and tie in with my dress."
Leaning in over the baby, who squawked, and everything else, Jethro kissed her, "Thank you, sweetheart!"
Agreeing to meet at 5:20, the group dispersed. When Tony and Maggie, Tim and Artie had everything inside their rooms, each couple looked at each other, their eyes wide, exhaling sighs of relief.
With less than an hour to get ready, Artie grabbed what she needed and disappeared into the bathroom for a shower. Tim was happy to see a lighted vanity outside of the bathroom, that meant he wouldn't have to wait for Artie to do her hair and makeup before he could shower. He took a look at his suit and smiled, hanging it up in the jet had kept it from wrinkling too badly, although he thought the wrinkling had occurred carrying the bag folded in and out of the jet. He'd take it into the bathroom with him, a little steam wouldn't hurt. Looking around, he noticed Artie had also done that with her dress.
He fed the babies bottles of expressed breast milk, swapping places with his wife when she exited the shower. Hanging his suit pants, jacket and tie on the back of the door next to her dress, he was glad for the steam already generated by Artie's shower. The hot spray felt wonderful and he felt some of the stress of the previous days melting away. Out again, he quickly toweled off, leaving the suit and Artie's dress hanging while he got partially dressed. Back out in the main room, he was in time to kiss his love before she started applying her makeup.
She smiled, "Are you excited or nervous about tonight?"
"Mm, now that we're here and he's been satisfied with what he's been told, I'm excited. If we pull this off it will be one of a very few times any of us have been able to truly surprise him."
She smiled, "Ziva arrived about three minutes before we did, she was in line to check in when she saw the limo pull up, grabbed her luggage and hid in the lobby restroom until Maggie sent her a text that we were on our way to our rooms."
"Is she on this floor?"
"No, anyone staying over is on a different floor. She's on the floor above. I'll send her a text when we reach the lobby. Abby is staying with her tonight."
Tim smiled, "I know, I checked with Abby and she told me she was sharing with Ziva. I made reservations for Zi when I did ours and Rob's, put it on our card and then let her know it's an early birthday present."
She chuckled, "Very early and nicely done. I hope she will have forgotten about it by the time of her actual birthday!"
Once they were ready, they stood together looking in the floor length mirror. Artie smiled, "We look wonderful together."
Tim's voice was husky, "We are wonderful together. Better let Rob and the Porters know we're leaving or I might just scoop you up and…"
He half-groaned, half-chuckled as Artie was already on the phone with Rob, letting him know. He and the Porters had volunteered to watch the babies tonight.
Tim held the door open as Rob slid into the room before anyone else saw him, laughing, "I feel like some sort of secret agent or spy!"
"You are, at least tonight! You're sure you don't want to go? The hotel offers professional child care and Tony, Ziva, Jimmy, Breena and Abby will be there. And you know Rick, Denise, Jim and Annie pretty well. And Ducky, of course."
"No, thanks. I'm going to enjoy having my niece and nephew to myself for a couple of hours, then the Porters and I will have our room service dinner together in here and then they'll watch the babies until you get back."
Kissing him and the babies, the couple left, meeting Tony and Maggie in the hallway. Lu and Jethro emerged from their room seconds later. When Jethro frowned, Artie smiled at him, saying, "Rob, Cyndie and Larry volunteered to watch the babies and just relax this evening."
Jethro lifted an eyebrow, "How long will we be?"
Lu smiled, "They have live music and dancing!"
He smiled back at her, he loved dancing with his wife. He could sleep tomorrow.
Downstairs, Tim and Artie, Tony and Maggie led the way, their parents following them. When they walked into a dark room and lights flipped on with people calling surprise, Jethro was indeed surprised, something that was difficult to accomplish. If he hadn't been listening to something Lu was saying as they walked in, he might have reacted differently but she had perfect timing!
PARTY PARTY PARTY PARTY
Blinking his eyes, he looked around, smiling when Leon Vance approached to shake his hand, "Happy Retirement Party, Jethro! You left without a word and we couldn't just let that go!"
His smile grew wider as he looked around the room, giving first Ziva and then Abby a hug and kiss as they reached him. He shook Ducky's hand, gave Breena a kiss and then a hug and kiss to Jimmy. He was truly surprised when he saw his father standing with the Carters, grinning at him. He returned the grin, grateful someone thought to invite him. Father and son hugged and kissed each other.
When he further realized his entire former team was there, he blinked back tears, turning to them. They beamed at him as he swallowed hard, holding his arms open for a group hug. It wasn't the first time since the team had been dispersed that they'd all been together but it was the first time it had happened at an NCIS event and that made it special. He shook hands with everyone he saw, some also had hugs, a few, Pam Cook, Natalie Andrews, who for years sat in the next aisle over from Gibbs' bullpen, Mo Stempel, who was one of the Intel Analysts, also had a cheek kiss while Nikki Jardine had an 'air kiss'. Tim and Tony followed him around, also shaking hands and hugging a few people. Tim laughed as Rick and Jim wrapped him in their arms and he gave both Denise and Annie a kiss.
When he spotted Ned Dorneget, he grinned and the two hugged. He'd heard through Jimmy and Abby that Ned had finally been promoted out of the evidence lockup to a Junior Field Agent position in the DC Field Office. No official probationary year for him, he'd done a few years waiting for a spot as a field agent. Tim had sent him a note congratulating him but hadn't seen him since the weddings. He believed Ned would do exceptionally well in the agency after his years 'behind the scenes' at headquarters. He'd worked in several departments and really knew and understood the inner workings of the agency better than most employees.
Looking around, Tim and Tony thought most of the NCIS Headquarters staff was there, only a few were missing. Most of Tim's former CCU co-workers were there and he spent some time with them during the evening, introducing them to Artie and generally catching up. All of their squad room co-workers were there and Balboa confirmed that the DC Field Office, with the exception of Agent Dorneget, was covering for the Navy Yard teams that evening.
Henry, their favorite security officer was there as well as Fred from Accounting and most of the administrative staff they'd worked with.
A big surprise was Stan Burley, who'd flown in with his wife from his post in Rota, Spain, for the party. While Tony knew him fairly well, Tim didn't and had fun listening to Stan and Tony's stories. When Jethro saw him, he also pulled him into a hug and Tim and Tony laughed heartily at the look of fear and concern on Burley's face.
When Tony spotted former Director Morrow, currently the Senior Division Chief of Homeland, he nudged Tim and the two of them went to say hello. Tony was surprised at how easy it was, he'd been nervous about this party but then Maggie and Tim reminded him of the changes in his life and how loved, cherished and respected he was by his family and friends. Tim had found that out for himself when he was leaving to teach at Stanford and now he was happy that his brother had also realized that and was truly at ease.
They were also surprised to see Admiral Davenport there as he'd retired as Secretary of the Navy during the past year. Tony had been introduced to the new Secretary when he visited the Post Graduate School in Monterey and said quietly that he was glad the man wasn't there. Davenport shook hands with them, congratulating them on their successes which was a bit of a shock although nice to hear. He also apologized to Tim for what had happened when the man took Leon for a nearly global tour of NCIS offices, telling him he was the one who'd made the ill-fated decision, that he was responsible. Tim accepted the apology gracefully, deciding he was an adult and could wait to express his relieved and happy emotions over the words from the old Admiral. While he hadn't expected it, ever, it felt very good and, as Dad said later, closed the book on that ugly, sad and angry time in Tim's life. In truth, Tim, Dad and Tony's lives were full of love and happiness and Vance and Davenport's very human errors had been the catalysts.
The new SecNav might not have been there but both General Ellison, the Commandant of the USMC, and Admiral Chase were there. Other military folks they'd helped were also there and the former teammates made a point to speak with them.
Pat Cooke, retired ATF agent and friend of Jethro's was there along with Tobias Fornell and, to Tim's surprise and pleasure, Ron Sacks. Tony's mouth dropped open when he heard a familiar drawl say 'DiNozzo' and turned to find Mike Franks standing behind him with a big grin. They'd caught up with him at Malu and Dad's wedding last year and were surprised to see him here. Once again, he'd cleaned up nicely, telling them he was staying with Tobias who for his part was having a great time catching up with everyone who hadn't been at Jethro and Lu's wedding.
Rounding up Gibbs and his former team, Vance introduced them to the new MCRT. Although the Gibbses hoped they didn't appear as conflicted and awkward as they felt, they were a little curious about the new team. Each of them refused to consider them 'replacements', that wasn't fair to either the old or new teams.
In any event, the four of them shook hands with the four members of the new team, wishing them good luck. One of the two junior agents handed Tim a box taped closed, saying "I found these in your old desk, thought you might want them. Also, we voted and decided to leave your photos and things on the back walls of your cubicles, unless you want them. We'll add ours and whoever comes after us can decide to follow the tradition or throw them out."
When Tim opened them later, Ziva and Tony were there and Tony huffed, "That's all that techy stuff you kept in your drawer after you stopped bringing snacks to work. I always meant to look up that one word, ramistat, but never got around to it." He frowned, "Why are you two laughing, what's so funny?"
Tim opened one of the small boxes inside the larger box and Tony's eyebrows flew up at the sight of a very stale cupcake encased in a quart size plastic bag.
"Huh?" Tony stared and then looked up, "You hid snacks in there? With techy names on them because you knew I wouldn't touch them?" He sighed, "Geez, I really was a pain in the a*s, wasn't I?"
Tim put the box down, putting his hand on his brother's arm, "You were a pain in the a*s but you were our pain in the a*s and we cared about you and besides, Ziva and I were also pains in the a*s, as was Gibbs. All four of us, Tony, not just you! We've settled all that, I'm sorry this popped up. At the time, this seemed a good way to fix the problem of my food disappearing without making things worse."
"Thank you for doing that. What's ramistat mean?"
Tim grinned, "It's a gibberish word created by the writers of Star Trek: The Next Generation. It still doesn't have any real world meaning. I believe the full term is "Redundant melacortz ramistat".
Tony laughed, "I started watching episodes from that Star Trek once when I was on medical leave and was bored out of my skull. It's a good thing I didn't watch whatever episode had that phrase. I might have made up some sort of story where you were really from the future or something like that."
"Were you on pain meds?"
Tony nodded and then Tim and Ziva understood. Tony's vivid imagination always became even more vivid and sometimes a bit out of sync with the real world when he was on pain meds.
Tim put the box on a chair at their table, he'd clean it out before they left in the morning although he thought he might keep the 'ramistat' container.
After that, the three separated and Tim started to look for Callen, shaking his head when he realized the man was likely just heading over the Grapevine, the nearly 40 mile stretch of Interstate-5, with a steep grade up to an elevation of 1400 feet, that rises out of the San Joaquin Valley and drops down into the Los Angeles basin, in Dad's pickup. Feeling a little bad about that, he nearly dropped his drink when the man walked into the room, smirking at Tim when he caught his eye!
Having quickly recovered from his surprise, it was fun to watch Dad's face when he saw his old friend. Eventually Callen explained.
Sunday morning when he'd said goodbye to them at the Porters, he'd driven back to the airport, parked the truck, caught a flight to DC, changed clothes at the DC airport, rented a car and would stay overnight with the Balboas before flying back to San Francisco in the morning. He said he'd start the drive to Los Angeles early Wednesday morning and probably sleep from Thursday through the weekend, he had the whole week off.
He got a big hug from Jethro, followed by Jethro's sons, and a kiss from Jethro's wife. He also had a good time catching up with folks who hadn't been at the wedding and whom he hadn't seen in years.
As Jethro, Lu and his family mingled with their guests, they laughed at the various videos playing on 2 large screens. Tim rolled his eyes at a shot of him standing in a creek holding a dripping wet weapon with a triumphant smile on his face as his hair dripped in his face. Another video showed the team, obviously coming in from a crime scene, Tim hurrying to the back elevator with bags of evidence while Ziva and Tony got busy on their computers.
The three of them and everyone else laughed as Gibbs said something and disappeared from the screen. In unison, Ziva, Tim and Tony said, "Goin' for coffee!" and that made everyone laugh again.
Gibbs shook his head, "No, that was 'updating the director'!"
Abby gave him a look and he laughed.
Another video showed them talking through a case, with unintelligible information scrolling on the big screen. They laughed at a shot of a soaking Tim and Ziva exiting the elevator, although that had been a serious matter, with Natalie handing towels to them over the partition. There were a lot of unexpected shots and videos shown and someone had made a video with nothing but clips of Gibbs saying he was going for coffee. Tim and Tony thought that was the funniest one. Rick told Tim later that someone started a clip video of Gibbs slapping heads but Vance quickly put a stop to it, telling his team leads and department managers that behavior would no longer be tolerated.
There were silly shots and serious ones where they were obviously working on cases, still clips of them hauling suspects, their faces blurred, from the elevator near Interrogation, and more with each of them conducting an interrogation, the suspects' images again blurred. Tim was surprised and impressed by how scary he looked in one and how empathetic he appeared in another although he could also see the tension in his jaw. He remembered that case and immediately wished he hadn't, although the suspect had confessed and was serving a long and very much deserved sentence.
Paper airplanes and Tony's paper ball 'hoop shots' were featured, followed by shots of the team asleep in their chairs or on the floor in an empty squad room. The audience laughed as the floor seemed to grow bedding as the video went on, with sleep sacks, blankets and inflatable mattresses pulled out of credenza drawers.
They laughed again at a shot of Ducky standing in the aisle by Gibbs' desk, glaring at them with his mouth open, knowing he was lecturing them about taking care of themselves, getting more sleep and eating properly.
When they saw Jimmy, with a swimmer's nose plug on his nose and wearing crime scene gloves, sneaking through the bullpen removing their go bags while they slept, their laughter was almost hysterical, knowing he and Abby had 'stolen' and laundered their stinky, sweaty clothes after a marathon 6 day in-office stay on a very nasty case. They laughed even harder when they noticed in the video that Gibbs watched Jimmy through barely open eyes.
When Lu asked where all the shots came from, the Gibbs 'boys' turned to stare at the head of the security systems, who had spent many hours going through old film and digital data from the security cameras closest to the elevators and Gibbs' bullpen. He smiled at them, discreetly pointing at Vance, who grinned unapologetically.
There were also a few shots and short videos of Gibbs and Abby, Abby and the team in her lab. One had several clips of Gibbs handing Abby her morning Caf!Pow. The one with the team in her lab was funny because in one clip Tony was seen playing with some of Abby's 'toys'. Not her machines, but Bert the Hippo, the 'action' figures and other fun things. The next frame of the video was blank and the one after that had Very Special Agent DiNozzo sitting on a stool away from the rest of the team.
Tony frowned, "I don't remember that."
Tim shook his head, "Me neither. I'm just thankful they didn't find the tape after she figured out I ate her cupcake."
"Ooh, you were in so much trouble, I do remember that."
There were two very short videos of Autopsy. One had Gibbs asleep on an exam table, sitting up, stretching and reaching for a coffee cup, which brought laughter from the guests. The second video showed a row of empty exam tables with Gibbs and Ducky in the foreground, laughing so hard that they were holding each other up.
When they saw the video, the two men looked at each other, grinning. Although asked what had been so funny, both shrugged it off saying they'd been tired and got a little silly. The party guests laughed almost as hard as Gibbs and Ducky when they saw the looks of shock and surprise on Ziva, Abby, Jimmy, Tony and Tim's faces!
Jackson Gibbs was having the time of his life, meeting his son's and grandchildren's friends and co-workers, hearing all kinds of stories, some a little disturbing but to be expected with their work, some funny, even though the situation might not have been amusing at the time. Seeing the photos and the videos was icing on the cake and he felt he was being treated to a glimpse into the life of his only child during the years they'd been estranged.
Natalie narrated some of the videos and still shots while Rick or Jim did others, Ducky did a few, Jimmy and Abby did a couple and Vance had a great time poking fun but also getting serious about Gibbs' hard work and dedication.
Ducky and Jimmy had also contributed photos and a couple of short videos of their Thanksgiving and Christmas team celebrations and those were fun to watch, seeing them outside of work evolving from coworkers into friends and a family of sorts.
There was also a video of photos with Gibbs' various teams. The first one was a still with Franks and his team, including a much younger Jethro and Rick Carter. Then the years and Gibbs' teams progressed, from the early days with Stan Burley, then Tony, with Viv Blackadder, then Tony and Gibbs with Director Morrow, the two of them with Kate, the three of them with Tim and Director Morrow, then the photos added Abby, Jimmy and Ducky, Kate disappeared and Ziva made her first appearances with Director Shepard also in the shots.
When asked, the former teammates agreed to pose for a post-team photo, including Abby, Ducky and Jimmy. When Rachel Cranston suddenly appeared asking if she could represent her sister, there were tears as well as agreement. She posed with the team for two photos, while Ziva stepped away. When Rachel was through, she pulled Ziva back in, with Tim and Tony putting her between them and the three of them linking arms. When someone noticed Gibbs had a coffee cup in his hands, there was more laughter. He grinned, raising the cup in a silent salute. Then he stood away from the photo setup, out of camera range and looking at his team, gave them a salute, to cheers and whistles from their friends and former co-workers.
Finally, they were seated for dinner, enjoying their meal. Afterward, as they enjoyed after dinner drinks, coffee or water, there was a clamor for a speech. Tim, Tony and Ziva had prepared a few remarks for Boss, knowing he hated speaking in public and got the printed copy, folded several times, into the pocket of his suit jacket during the videos. He'd slipped out to the men's room to read it and was relieved to find there was plenty of humor as well as serious stuff.
So now he stood, saying, "I've already talked more tonight than I did the whole time I worked at the agency!" That brought laughter and agreement while he went on thanking them for the surprise party, turning to his family. "Now that I know how you did this, I'll be watching you! Luella, you're a bad influence on them, distracting me the way you did!" He grinned as he said it and Lu stood to take a bow.
The serious remarks were a little easier as he spoke of their mission, the dedication of his team along with the support of everyone in the room, plus a few who were missing. That was from him, not his kids. When one final slide was put up, he pointed to it. "Those are the number of cases we successfully closed, the number of criminals we brought to justice, the families we helped. That means everything to me and to Tony, Ziva, Tim, Jimmy, Ducky, Abby, Stan as well as Kate Todd's family. This is what we do as an agency, as criminal investigators, Cyber Crime specialists, Intelligence Analysts, Forensic Specialists, Medical Examiners, Security and all of you who support all of us. You're invaluable and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
"I left the agency without really intending to, when my knee was injured past repair. By the time my new knee was 100% I'd been away for more than 10 months, Tim was married, Tony was leading his own team in the Monterey office, Ziva returned to our lives, Jimmy met Breena, Abby, Jimmy and Ducky held down the fort and just as Tim and Artemis had reconnected, I also reconnected with Luella, having finally figured out that she is Tim's mother!
"These past two years have been the best in my life, with our family and now I'm a grandpa and my own father, with whom I reconciled after many years, is a great-grandfather! Dad, stand up and take a bow, please!"
Jackson grinned as he stood, bowed and sat down with a wave, pleased and a little embarrassed at the applause.
Jethro continued, "Thank you all for coming here tonight to surprise me and to celebrate with me. I'd like, first of all, to drink a toast to all of us, for all of our work."
They drank a toast and then Jethro continued, "I'd also like to thank Director Vance for working things out with each of us, we're a pretty stubborn bunch, congratulations and thank you for restoring our faith. And lastly, I'd like to drink a toast to our fallen friends, those who gave their lives in the line of duty. Chris Pacci, Caitlyn Todd, Paula Cassidy, Jim Nelson, Rick Hall, Jenny Shepard. I know we've lost others, if we could all please stand and drink a toast to absent friends, feel free to say their names aloud. There is a saying that as long as someone knows their names, they won't be forgotten."
Everyone stood, holding their glasses up in remembrance of their fallen friends and co-workers. There was overall quiet while more names were spoken and repeated by the group.
Finally the others sat again while Jethro remained standing, "My team, our team, has been here with me tonight and actually we've been together, in one way or another, since Thanksgiving of 2008. Still, I'd like to have a toast to Tony, Ziva and Tim in thanks for your years of service with the agency and particularly with me. Thank you, you're the best and I love you."
That brought applause and surprised, the others stood with him. Later they realized they should have anticipated being so involved in what they expected to be a tribute to Boss's work, not theirs. But his work also involved years of their work so it made sense.
Jethro closed his comments by talking about his family. "Three years ago, I had my work family and a few friends I was close to. I knew retirement was coming up and I had no idea what I would do every day, how I'd fill the hours. Now, I have a wonderful wife, 12 adults who call me dad or some form of that, two daughters-in-law, two future in-laws and their families, two grandbabies and as I said earlier, my father and I have reconciled after decades apart! Life just keeps getting sweeter and now I don't know how I ever found the time to work!"
Everyone laughed at that and with a few more thank yous that was the end of retired Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs' remarks. Before he sat down, Gibbs looked around, "I don't see a dance floor or hear any live music!"
Lu grinned at him, "I know, I lied."
Ducky was among the first to fold and he, Jimmy and Breena left, they'd see them at the FBO in the morning. The Carters and O'Briens promised to visit them either in the UK or in Greece if they went again the following year. Finally, working their way through the farewells, the Gibbs group, now including Ziva, headed upstairs. It wasn't terribly late, only 11 pm, but they had to be up, packed, checked out and to the airfield by 0800.
Waking Cyndie and Larry, who were curled up on the sofa in Tim and Artie's hotel room, they thanked them for watching their babies and then made sure the couple went to the right hotel room.
Tim threw the stale food from the 'Ramistat' and other boxes into the bathroom trash receptacle, kicked his shoes off, managed to hang his suit, shirt, tie and Artie's dress in the garment bag before pulling on his pajamas, guzzling a dehydration drink Artie left out for him, took a couple of aspirin with a full glass of water and landed face first into the pillow on his side of the bed. Artie was already in bed and moved to curl up in his arms.
*The chapter title is taken from the song "Leaving on a Jet Plane", slightly mangled, with credit (and apologies) to the songwriter, the late John Denver.
Note: Hope you liked Jethro's surprise party, which I wrote for all of us fans. I don't know what the show will give us as a series finale, whenever that finally happens, and decided to write a party with what I, as a fan, wanted.
Although I loved the scene that did happen on air, I wanted everyone involved, so I wrote this. A little too huggy but having just been to another Celebration of Life for a dearly loved family member, it's what I needed. By the way, the bit about 'pain in the a*s, but our pain in the a*s' is how my family member's memorial placard at his job was worded and it was very appropriate for him. I believe it would also work for Leroy Jethro Gibbs as an appropriate Retirement note.