A/N: Shout out to Guest Permean, thanks for that information!
Chapter Five
By afternoon on Monday, Tim was considering taking the week off. He was only scheduled to work through Wednesday, but he was having a difficult time focusing and was worried about endangering his team. They hadn't added a fourth team member yet, Gibbs had been procrastinating and Vance apparently wasn't concerned about it. As the team would be off rotation while Tim was away, Gibbs and Tony had decided they'd go through the candidates and whittle them down to a short list; when Tim returned, he would interview those who'd made it past the Boss.
After lunch, Tim went to Gibbs. "I think I should take the week off. I'm having problems concentrating."
"Don't suppose it's because we're working on cold cases?"
"Maybe, but if we get a call out I'm worried…"
Boss smirked, "We won't get a call out - I took us off rotation. None of us are 100%, not gonna be. But let's see if we can't close some cold cases!" Tim nodded and went back to work with renewed purpose. Everyone aware of the McGee cold case now seemed to have a different perspective once they'd seen firsthand the difference closing that 20+ year old case had made in the lives of two of their own. Vance was heartened to see the rising percentage of closures and hoped that would continue.
Tim and Tony grabbed a stack of files and decided to work on them together. They took the files into a conference room and went through each one word by word, looking for any hint of a lead. If they had questions, Tony made calls or Tim went diving into the internet for information, or in some cases both so they could compare notes. They didn't close any cases that day but by Wednesday they had some new leads to follow.
Without really planning it, the Gibbs family, Nettie and Monique had dinner together Tuesday night. As Tim looked around the table at everyone, he thought once again how much his life, all their lives, had changed since Tobias and Ron had sauntered into the bullpen that Monday, desperate to save Fornell's family. His dad reached over and ruffled his hair. "Thinking too hard son."
Tim grinned, "Just thinking how good things are."
Tony raised his glass, "I'll drink to that!" and embarrassed himself by hiccupping. They laughed at him while Gibbs told him he hoped he had his go bag with him because he was not driving home that night and then glared at his father. Jack had been telling tall tales out on the back deck for an hour or so before dinner, which meant Tony at least had had a few beers. Jack laughed at his son, "You worry too much! They can all stay over."
Sarah piped up, "Yeah, Dad, we can bring the extra mattresses up from the basement again, not a problem." Gibbs looked around the table and when Geordie held up the bottle he'd been drinking from and turned it around to show the label, everyone laughed and he groaned. He'd been played by his family; they'd all been drinking Tim's favorite lemonade, not beer or anything else alcoholic.
Wednesday was Tim's last work day before the wedding; the three agents went out to lunch, joined by Ducky and Jimmy. They had a nice time, probably the most relaxed lunch out on a workday any of them had ever had.
Thursday Tim met Ziva in the early afternoon and they picked up their marriage license. They'd already had an interview with an Immigration agent, making sure this was not a 'sham' marriage to a federal agent privy to classified information. The woman was at their place for a total of 5 minutes before she gave a laugh, signed two pieces of paper, handed them one, picked up her paperwork and wishing them a long and happy life together, left. When they applied for the marriage license, they presented the signed form and the clerk smiled, "Thanks, I already have the approval online, you can frame that, toss it, whatever you want. And congratulations!"
Thursday night Ziva and Monique had dinner together while Tim hung out with Tony. Although she'd been offered a place to stay with Sarah, Gibbs or Ducky, Ziva's friend insisted on getting a hotel room. Ziva was off on Friday so the couple made sure they were ready for their trip and ran some last minute errands before getting ready for the rehearsal and the dinner afterward. They hadn't planned on having one but Jack insisted and also insisted on paying for it, so a rehearsal dinner they had.
They gathered at the gardens in the early evening and were put through their paces. While Ziva was waiting for Ducky to start their walk, she was surprised by her aunt. Wisely, Ducky and Nettie had decided they'd better let Ziva know about the switch tonight, afraid it would overwhelm her if they waited for the actual ceremony. Nettie walked her slowly to Tim's side and when asked who was there with the bride, Nettie replied first in Hebrew and then in English. When Ziva reached Tim, she buried her head in his arms and they took a few minutes while he comforted her. Once she had her emotions under control, they continued with the rehearsal. They skipped through the vows, rehearsing the exchange of rings – and making sure Sarah and Tony knew when to offer them to the bridal couple – and toward the end of the planned rehearsal the officiant, a neighbor of Ducky's, added a phrase in Hebrew. Ziva's eyes shone again and Tim grinned, he was responsible for that surprise. After some research, he'd found the phrase and the translation and contacted their officiant to see if she was willing to learn it. The woman was excited about learning something new; she knew someone who spoke Hebrew and was able to easily learn the phrase. She'd been presiding at weddings for years and she loved that this young man wanted something special added for his bride.
The rehearsal dinner was a lot of fun with the wedding party mostly relaxed and ready for the big day. Neither Ziva nor Tim ate much but Ducky made sure they each ate something. Dad Gibbs made sure everyone exercised self control and held back on the liquor consumption, he didn't want any hangovers on his kids' big day. Nettie observed the care and thoughtfulness shown by Tim's father and grandparents and thought it was probably more parental love than her precious niece had been given since her mother died. The dinner ended at a reasonable hour much to Tim's relief. Tonight had been wonderful but he could see that Ziva was feeling drained and he wanted to get her home and cosset her, give her some time to absorb what had happened this evening.
The sun rose into a cloudless sky on Saturday. Tim and Ziva slept in as late as they could, knowing the day ahead of them would be fun, exciting and exhausting. Ziva had spent hours curled up in Tim's arms last night, talking about her mother and sister, the most she'd ever said. While they rested, their wedding party and their friends got busy getting everything ready.
The boutonnieres, bouquets and corsages for Maisie and Penny would be delivered to the garden that morning and Rob was on task to make sure they arrived, that the count was right and most importantly that the bridal bouquet had the correct flowers and stems. The caterer was all set, the cake was baked Friday night and the chairs for the ceremony and reception would be set up in the morning. The photographer was ready, his assistant would be at Gibbs' house for the groom's party photos by 11 while the photographer himself would be at Ducky's taking photos of the bridal party. Tim knew exactly how many minutes it took to drive to the garden, park the car and reach the glen with the gazebo, both from his dad's house and Ducky's.
Tony checked the inner pocket of his tuxedo jacket several times to make sure the ring Tim would give Ziva was still there. At her place, Sarah was doing the same thing, although with no pocket she was wearing the ring Ziva would give Tim. With her small hands, the only digit that was big enough to keep the ring from falling off was her thumb. She practiced taking it off and then realized she would need both hands and by that time she would be holding not only her bouquet but also Ziva's. She would consult with her fellow attendants when they were getting ready at Ducky's or maybe Gram or Penny would have a good idea.
In the Hubbard household, Callum and Ainsley were nervous, excited and starting to drive their parents crazy. They were the junior groomsman and junior bridesmaid today and neither had been in a wedding before. Ainsley was worried about her hair and Callum suddenly hated his freckles. Their dad took photos and a video of them dancing around the house, Ainsley's hair in hot rollers, knowing Tim and Ziva would get a kick out of their exuberance.
Tim and Ziva had thought long and hard about what they could do to honor their deceased mothers and siblings at their wedding. Both wanted to have some remembrance of Riva, Tali, Ari, Lily, Patrick, Kelly and Cmdr. McGee. They finally came up with a small table covered with family photographs of all of them, any they could find. In the center, surrounded by flower petals would be photos of their mothers, siblings and Tim's adoptive father. Through Frances the NCIS linguist, Ducky and Jack had asked Nettie to bring photos and she did, photos of her sister-in-law with Ziva and Tali, many photos of Ziva and Tali as babies and then growing into young girls…even one with both their parents and Ari and of course the one that Ziva cherished, the photo with her two siblings. Sarah and Geordie were in charge of the photo table and they were touched with all the photos of the two lost families. Geordie touched one of the photos of Kelly, "She would be in her late 20's now, huh Sis?"
"Yeah, I think she was a year older than me. It would be great to have another girl in the family, three girls, so much fun!"
They held up the pictures of Tali, Kelly and Patrick. "Tali would be close to Kelly and me in age."
Geordie shook his head. "Let's put them together."
"Won't we have to include Ziva's brother too?" Sarah paused in thought, "What if we put him over here…on the other side of Tali?"
Geordie looked at his sister's arrangement. "Yeah, that's good."
When they had the table arranged as they wanted it, they added the flower petals and a slim crystal vase with two roses, grabbed Rob, who was finished checking the flowers and left.
By 10:30, Ziva and Tim had showered, dressed and had breakfast. Neither was hungry but knew they had to eat so Tim made them scrambled eggs with cheese and toast. Before they left the house, they had a long kiss, knowing this was likely the last one as an engaged couple.
Tim pulled into his dad's driveway and laughed at the sign in the window that he was sure was Jack's doing: "Today's the Day! Welcome to Tim Gibbs' Groomsmen!" He got a thrill whenever he saw his name as Gibbs; he was so used to being "McGee" at work that he'd often forget his legal name. Ziva would keep David at work but had decided to legally take his name. He was a little surprised at that but hadn't pushed, it was her decision. He grabbed his bag and headed inside. His clothes were already here; he'd brought the tux directly to the house from the tailor's and his shoes had migrated over at some point during the week. He entered the house and enjoyed a brief moment of calm. His dad appeared and wrapped his arms around him. They stood there like that for several minutes before Jack found them and joined in.
XXX
When Ziva turned into Ducky's street, she smiled as she saw that parking places were marked out for each of them. Her own space was at the edge of the driveway; behind her was Sarah's, then Breena's and Claire's. They'd leave the cars here for the day; a limo would pick them up for the drive to the gardens and her car would move into the garage next to the Morgan while she and Tim were away. She wondered if Ducky had told his neighbors about the wedding preparations and then laughed as the man came out to put a sign in her windshield. "Really, they are that concerned?"
"Not taking any chances my dear. And I've just realized that you can move your car into the garage now."
Ziva nodded and Ducky went back into the house to open the garage door. Once Ziva moved her car, she grabbed her bag and entered the house. Her aunt was there and pulled her in for a hug, carefully avoiding mussing her hair. Ziva laughed, "That's ok Auntie; I have not fixed it yet." Maisie and Penny joined the two women in their hug while Ducky got cold drinks for everyone.
XXX
Geordie was still staying at the house so when he saw the Tim hug he joined in. By the time Jimmy and Rob arrived, the men were hugged out and Tim had taken his bag into the den. He would change in there and take over that bathroom as needed while the others would use the rooms upstairs. Damon had left a coffee cake for them with a note that he'd see them at the ceremony. He was still living in the basement but had paid off his bills and was now saving money for his own place. Gibbs dreaded his leaving, with Geordie stationed at Quantico he'd be alone again and after all this time he'd gotten used to some or all of them being around.
Jimmy looked around the house as he helped himself to a cold drink. He needed to keep his throat warm as he was singing during the ceremony today, but one cold drink would be fine. He remembered being here for something a couple of years ago, before Tim found out he was Gibbs' son. The house had seemed sad and tired, even Breena had said so. Now it was full of life, warmth and light, just like its owner. Who of course chose that moment to slap his shoulder. "Hey Jimmy, how are you doing? You all set for today? Need to warm up at all? Basement's too dusty, you can use Sarah's room if you want." The younger man smiled at the man he was still nervous around sometimes. "I'm good, Gibbs, thanks. I'll warm up right before the ceremony; don't want to have to do it twice."
"All right, kiddo, you let me or Jack know if you need anything." Jimmy nodded as Gibbs moved away. Hearing a car door slam, he moved to the front door and spotted Tony with his hands full. He met him halfway up the drive, taking some of the bags he had with him. "What's all this, Tony?"
"Hair stuff, a blow dryer, few other things."
"All of this?"
"Tim's hair needs to look good."
Jimmy stopped, "Huh, I was worried about this. Look man, his hair needs to be how he wants it, what he's comfortable with."
Tony wrinkled his face as he studied his friend. Suddenly he winked, "We'll see." Jimmy rolled his eyes but knowing Tim had plenty of support he decided not to worry.
The men's photographer pulled up just as Callum, his dad and Admiral Crane arrived. Callum nearly ran into the house, not wanting to miss anything while Uncle Jim and Uncle Dave hung back a little. Finally Gibbs poked his head out, "You two coming in?" They carried their uniform jackets and hats but were otherwise dressed and ready. When they walked in, Geordie was in the kitchen grabbing a bottle of water; partially dressed in his dress blues with trousers and blouse, minus his tunic, shoes and of course his cover. He looked up at the two men and his arm started automatically hitching upward toward a salute posture.
The Admiral laughed, "At ease Lieutenant Nephew, we can't be saluting each other all day!" He reached out and pulled Geordie to him, "Rather have a hug anyway."
The Captain stopped him in time, "Don't wrinkle the blouse, Dave!"
"Oops sorry son; wasn't thinking."
Geordie laughed, "Tim's right, you two are a bit crazy! Uh…sirs."
Looking around to find the source of the annoying little noise he'd been hearing, he found the photographer snapping away at the three officers. He growled, "We'll need to approve those before you print them, might be classified."
The Admiral opened his mouth to back him up but Uncle Jim stepped in once again, "Dave, Geordie, you're making the poor kid nervous! What's your name son?"
"Nick, sir."
"All right Nick, there's no need to worry; these two are acting out. But just so you know, officers in dress uniform aren't always happy about candid shots. Dress whites as the Admiral and I are wearing or dress blues as our Marine Lieutenant nephew is wearing mean it's a formal event."
"Yes sir, sorry, I haven't been around too many military people."
Geordie nodded at him, "It's a learning process then. Now, how about you get some shots of these two Navy guys helping me load the cooler with ice?"
Nick nodded, still nervous and the three men wrestled the large bag of ice out of the freezer and into the cooler. Uncle Jim whispered, "What's this for Geordie?"
"Nick wants photos of the groom's party out on the deck. This is to keep us all cool out there." When Jim looked at him, an eyebrow raised, Geordie laughed and shrugged his shoulder, "Hey he got what looked like a candid shot of us and I'm sure we can use the ice out there."
Snickering the Captain and the Lieutenant took the cooler out on the deck, trying to ensure they didn't get wet or wrinkled.