Chapter 8
Tim sighed in relief to have somebody else working his contacts to find a quicker way home for his family. After a brief look at his watch, he started scrolling through his apps, looking for any useful information. He found a flight from Athens to DC that had seats available; he tagged the flight but didn't book anything, waiting to hear back from Ducky, talk with Penny and also talk with Ziva, who had been his first call. He remembered that her friend Monique had left Columbia and traveled to somewhere in the Mediterranean, although he wasn't at all sure she was someone he'd trust with Penny and his little sister. As he paced around the outside of the hospital, his phone chimed with the tone for Ziva.
"Hi Ziva! Thanks for calling back, have a bit of a situation here. Do you have a couple of minutes?"
"Yes, Timothy, but I already know the situation, I was in Autopsy just after you spoke with Ducky and when I heard your message thought that might be why you were calling me as well." She took a breath. "Ducky and I are working on our contacts to locate a private plane that can fly Penny and Sarah to Athens or Rome for the trip home. We decided to bring Gibbs, Tony and Vance into the picture as well; we are each working on it."
For the first time since hearing the voice of the EMT on his phone, Tim felt his eyes moisten. He knew they were family, but this was seriously going above and beyond. His voice caught as he tried to thank Ziva. She replied with the rule they had learned from Mike Franks.
"It is the unspoken rule, is it not, Timothy, what one does for family. Now, we will coordinate our information and call you with the best options as soon as we can. Are you doing all right? "
"Yes, Ziva, I'm just blown away by my family. All of my family. Gotta go, Penny's calling."
He switched over to Penny's call, "I'm here, Penny. Have you been able to find out anything?"
"It's not Penny, it's me, Timmy. How's Dad, have you heard anything new?"
"Hi Sarah, no, nothing new, the nurses said they'd call if there was news or they brought him to his room early."
"'K, Penny wants to know if you're at the hospital by yourself and to tell you that we've struck out trying to get off the island any earlier than the ferry tonight."
Tim felt his throat start to close up again, "I'm only physically alone, Sarah, my friends and family are holding me together. I love you guys so much you know that, right? And my team, they're amazing; Sarah, do you know each of them, including Director Vance, is working to find you a way home – or at least to Athens or Rome? I should know more within about 15 minutes."
"Timmy, we love you and we love Dad. Are you going to be ok being alone with him until we get there?"
"Absolutely, Sis. We've put all the crap behind us and have been spending a lot of time together. I'll tell you about it when you get here."
"K, we're packed and have already checked out, but can stay in our room til tonight. The front desk has alerted the local taxi driver that we might need him."
"Good, that's good. Look, Ducky's calling; let me see what he's got and I'll call back with whatever information I get." Tim heard his sister's agreement before he ended that call, switching to Ducky.
"Hi Ducky, sorry, was talking with Sarah. Don't tell me you've come up with something already!"
"Yes, we have, lad!" Ducky said proudly, "it's amazing what we can do when we put our heads together. What we have is a unique situation; Gibbs has a friend, Nick, with a plane that is currently at a small airport in southern Italy, just outside Brindisi. Nick, however, is not with his plane; he's quite a distance away. My friend, Matthew, however, is in the same vicinity as Nick, has a fast car and also a pilot's license. Bottom line, Matthew will transport Nick to his plane and both will take the plane to rescue the ladies. Both are qualified pilots, they're happy to help and have agreed to work together to bring our Penny and Sarah to Rome, which will be a bit faster flight home than a flight from Athens. Both men are trustworthy. Timothy, I know you will worry but rest assured both Jethro and I will vouch for our friends."
Tim thanked him profusely, got the estimated time of arrival, as the 2 men were already on their way to the plane, found a flight from Rome that gave them enough time to fly back from the island plus a good safety cushion, then called his grandmother with the news. Penny and Sarah were grateful to hear the news as they were anxious to start their journey home. While Tim and Penny spoke, Sarah used her phone to book the flight from Rome to DC. That dealt with, Tim turned back toward the hospital, satisfied with the arrangements. He also was resigned to the fact that he would worry, as Ducky had predicted, until he saw them in person. Just as he approached the entrance, his phone buzzed with a text from Ziva. If he sent her the flight number from Rome, Gibbs would pick up the women and bring them to the hospital. Tim sat down on a bench and took some deep breaths, feeling overwhelmed with an odd mixture of love and anxiety.
