Chapter 11

BABIES!

The family had no time to dwell on Abby's departure as Maggie went into labor shortly before noon that day. Her father, Shannon and Jethro drove her to the hospital where they were joined by an anxious Tony and Dr. Rob.

Juliet Patricia DiNozzo entered the world at 6:45 the next morning, weighing in at a healthy 8 lbs. 11 oz., measuring 20 inches long. She was named for her two grandmothers: Juliet DiNozzo and Patricia Barnes. Mother and daughter did well and Daddy was all right once he knew his wife and baby were fine. Rob never told anyone that he'd had to catch his eldest brother from falling at one point, maneuvering him onto a stool and giving him oxygen.

The day before Maggie and their baby daughter came home from the hospital, Tony approached his adoptive parents. "Mm, do you two have a moment?"

Shannon smiled, patting the chair next to her in the ranch kitchen where she and Jethro were enjoying a mid-morning coffee. "Of course, son. Sit!"

He sat down but was almost immediately up again. Jethro watched him, having an idea what was bothering him. "Rip it off, Tony, like a bandage."

Tony nodded, took a deep breath and said, "I don't know what to do about Senior."

Shannon frowned, "You mean as far as the baby?"

"Yes. We told him when we got married and we told him we were evacuating here. And you know his response to my news that we were safe. "Good" and nothing else. We haven't told him about Arin or that Maggie was pregnant."

Jethro added, "Or your adoption."

"Right. This probably sounds like a whine but if he can't be bothered with positive attention, I'm not going to risk any negative attention from him. He's not worth it."

Shannon looked at him, "You don't want him to know anything about your life?"

Tony nodded, "He doesn't care and if I tell him about Juliet I'll have to tell him everything."

"And what do you think he'd do? What would the consequences be?"

He shrugged, "Nothing. Oh, he might officially write me out of his will but I don't want his money anyway."

"What if he opted to leave money or property for your children?"

"Yeah, see that's another problem. I'm afraid he'd snub Arin; he wouldn't count because he wasn't born a DiNozzo and it'd go to Juliet. And I don't want to create a situation with my children."

Jethro sighed, "What if you're wrong? What if he'd be happy for you?"

Tony's eyes widened, "Dad, when was the last time he made any effort toward me?"

That point was conceded by a tilt of Jethro's head.

Shannon shook her head, "Tell me more about him. I know you lost your mother when you were little and the rest of your childhood was rough, but I don't know details."

Tony huffed, telling her about his mother's illness and death, Senior's subsequent serial marriages and divorces, warehousing him at boarding schools, summer camps, leaving him behind at a hotel in Hawaii for several days, neglecting to show up for any of his graduations. "He sent his personal assistant for my high school graduation but didn't bother with anyone for college. I got through college on athletic scholarships, which was fine. But he never came to any of my games or acknowledged that I was doing well or called when I was injured, nothing." He huffed again, "Last time we talked about his marriages, there was one he'd never even bothered to tell me about until it was over."

Shannon sighed, "I can't fault you for wanting to withhold information from him, sure doesn't sound like he cares. But he also sounds conflicted and impulsive, especially where you're concerned. I understand he showed up at the agency a few times."

Jethro and Tony both huffed, "And caused trouble every time."

"Intentionally?"

Tony grimaced, "He claimed it was never intentional but he does like attention, especially if he can make money from it."

Jethro nodded emphatically, "Yes." He thought for a moment before facing his eldest, "Tony, it really is up to you; you know we'll support your decision. And there's no judgment, son, if that's what you're worried about."

"I want to do the right thing. I'm a dad, have to think of my children and I'm afraid he'll hurt them the same way he hurt me. Not directly of course, but the same negligence."

Jethro frowned, "He'd have to actually show up, meet them and then disappear again to do that. And remember your kids have 3 grandparents, 4 if you add in Mac."

"I know. I don't want him to influence them."

Shannon opened her mouth, frowned and then shook her head. When Tony pressed, she said, "No, it was something I'm ashamed for even thinking, very 'Cats in the Cradle' if you know that old song. In considering your children, Tony, I know you'll make the right decision. And as long as the man is alive, you can always change your mind. It'd be awkward but it would be awkward no matter when you tell him."

He sat back in his chair, taking a deep breath. "Ok, then Maggie and I are not telling him anything."

"Are you sending out birth announcements?"

"Not to anyone that knows him."

Jethro frowned again, "What about your family in Italy and in the UK? You keep in touch with them, don't you?"

"I do, he doesn't. He's never met the Italian family and the English family can't stand him, they blame him for my mother's death. And if he somehow finds out from either family, I'll deal with it."

Feeling better with his decision, knowing he had his parents' support, Tony was relieved and happy driving his wife and daughter home the next day. Arin went with him, always happy to be with his parents and excited about his new baby sister.

BABIES BABIES BABIES BABIES

Three days later, little Juliet and her mom were barely settled in at home when Bec's water broke. Aunt Mel, Liz and Shannon helped Bec clean up and got her into the car with Jethro once again driving. In the meantime, Mac called Geordie on base. Geo was so nervous he was almost afraid to drive himself to the hospital.

When he emerged from Bec's room a few hours later to report no baby yet, he found Tobias waiting with Mel, Grandpa and his parents. Jethro got a kick out of Tobias' nervousness, thinking that his old friend had found a way to become a grandfather without involving his daughter. Geordie returned to Bec with Aunt Mel. The Perrys' infant son joined his parents and Great Aunt Mel three hours later, weighing in at 6 lbs. 7 oz., measuring 19 inches long. When Geo and Mel reached the waiting room, they found Tim, Rob and Kelly waiting with their parents, Grandpa, and Tobias.

Mel sat next to Tobias, emotionally tired and ecstatic. Geordie sat on a table in front of them and his parents.

"Bec and our son are doing well. What I want to tell you is something Bec and I thought about long and hard. Mel, you raised Bec, giving her all the love and tender care a child needs and we want to honor you. Modifying your middle name for our son, our baby's first name is Alexander. His middle name is Reid to honor my first mother and his surname will be Gibbs to honor the parents who've given me so much."

Jethro didn't try to stop the tears at the surprise. He'd never minded Geordie retaining his father's surname; he thought it said much of the son. He, Shannon and Mel each kissed Geordie.

Geordie continued, "And with your permission, Mel, we'd like you to be our son's grandmother. We've tossed around names but decided it's up to you and Alex. Although we both really like Grandmellie."

Beaming through her tears, Mel kissed Geordie again, saying, "I love Grandmellie. I'll just have to influence our boy to call me that!"

Three days later, little Alexander was home with his mama. The family held their breaths but Sarah's obstetrician believed she had a few days to go. While they waited, those few left in the house who didn't have new babies or children in the nursery moved into the guesthouses. Luckily, they had no Evacuees on the ranch at present, those who'd been in residence moved to homes in The Grove as vacancies occurred.

BABIES BABIES BABIES BABIES

Now that her sisters-in-law had produced their babies, Sarah felt like she was under a microscope. Still, she and Bob waited patiently. While the 2 sets of parents with newborns dragged themselves around, counting days until Juliet and Alexander started sleeping more than two or three hours at a time, Bob and Sarah stuffed earplugs in their ears and slept, knowing their time was coming soon.

The week Juliet DiNozzo was born also contained a milestone for Lia Gibbs. With Mackie sleeping through the night, he and his parents moved back to the second floor although he was still in his bassinet during the night. A strange noise woke Tim early one morning. He checked Mackie, blessedly still asleep. Investigating farther, he found his 18-month old daughter standing in the hallway, very proud of herself. She'd not only climbed out of her crib, she'd also figured out how to open the nursery door. She slept in her toddler bed that night with a newly installed "Door Monkey™" preventing her from slipping into the hallway.

When her Poppy heard the news, he barely refrained from rolling his eyes and Tobias laughed at him. Each newborn had or would have a new crib and now they had an extra.

BABIES BABIES BABIES BABIES

Sarah's labor started 6 days after Alexander's birth and the family joked about having given the hospital time to change the linens before the next Gibbs showed up.

DiNozzo's team, now under the temporary leadership of Evan Fuller, had chalked up nearly three days of overtime recently and Leon stood the whole team down Thursday night; they were off duty Friday through Sunday. That made Bob happy as Sarah's OB had decided to induce labor Friday afternoon if it didn't start naturally.

The threat/promise worked as Sarah woke at 0300 Friday morning experiencing contractions every 6 minutes. Within 8 minutes, the pair was on the way to the hospital with Gibbs driving and Shannon riding shotgun. At home, big brother Tim placed a call to the senior Chalmers on the island of Bohol in the Philippines to let them know their first grandchild was about to enter the world. They had reservations to fly today anyway, now they knew they wouldn't have to wait to meet the baby. They'd fly to Manila where they'd board an international flight to Los Angeles, followed by a much shorter flight to Albuquerque. Tim would meet them, delivering them to the hospital. As the flight from the Philippines to Los Angeles was 12 ½ hours, followed by the 1 hour 40 minute flight to Albuquerque, he wasn't in any hurry.

When it was Bob's turn to deliver news to the waiting room, he was almost giddy with joy. Rather than tell everyone, he turned to Jethro, Shannon, Tim, Rob, Grandpa, Haley, Maisie, Ducky, Jim and Liz. "Sarah would like to see you. Is Ellie here?"

Tim shook his head, "She's home with the kids."

"Then please come with me."

The ten followed him, pleased they were to see Sarah and the new baby. When they entered, Shannon, Maisie, Liz and Haley had to stifle cries of surprise and joy as they saw not one but two bassinets. Tim, Jethro, Rob, Jim, Mac and Ducky stood staring, finally turning to look at Bob. He grinned at them but before he could say a word, Sarah giggled, "Surprise!"

"Twins? You have twins?"

"Yes, a girl and boy. Come look!"

They quietly hurried to the bassinets where the babies lay sleeping. Bob was still grinning. "Tim, we're naming our son for you, the man who raised Sarah. His name is Patrick Timothy Chalmers, Patrick after your little brother and my paternal grandfather. The only reason we turned the names around is because Sarah doesn't want his initials to be TP. But we'll call him Timmy."

"Our daughter's name needs a little more explanation. Gram, we wanted to honor your family and especially the one who brought both families together. We've named our daughter for your aunt and for Shannon, the only mother Sarah's ever had. Our daughter's name is Shannon Charlotte Chalmers and we'll wait to see which name or nickname works best for her as we get to know her."

Shannon was beaming but still had a question, "Bob, you're not including your mother's name? Marisol is such a pretty name."

He shook his head, "Like Jethro, she's not fond of her name although Sarah and I agree both names are admirable. Anyway, she begged us not to use it. However, my maternal great-grandmother's middle name is a variation of Charlotte. Rob, Haley, we'd like you to stand as godparents to our children."

Rob had been quiet, in awe that his sister had produced two beautiful babies. Now he and Haley nodded their agreement. Tim gently wrapped his arms around his little sister and kissed her forehead, finally whispering 'thank you'. Then he hugged Bob, also thanking him.

After everyone else hugged and kissed Sarah and Bob, Shannon looked at her daughter, "How long have you known?"

Bob answered for her, knowing Sarah was quickly tiring. "We had our first ultrasound in mid-October. In that first image, the doctor saw a shadow she thought might be another fetus. We had a second one a month later but didn't tell anyone. That one definitely had a second fetus and then we knew for sure we were having twins. We knew at least one was a boy because Sarah took the same blood test Ellie did for the presence of a Y-chromosome. We decided to keep the twins a secret although we've stocked up on diapers and onesies for two babies."

Bob suddenly laughed, "Jethro, we figured the babies would be small and could sleep in their bassinets until you had another crib built. Lucky for us Lia decided to take a walk in the middle of the night!"

"Lucky for me, you mean! Glad that extra crib has a home!"

AND… MORE TO COME…

Three weeks later, Tim found a bag on the top of his dresser one evening. Peeking inside, he smiled when he saw two pregnancy tests. When he turned around, he found Ellie waiting for him and he waved the bag at her. "Want to do this now?"

"Sure. Our kids are asleep and none of the babies are awake right now."

He nodded at that, four newborns made a lot of noise. All of the new parents were now on the first floor, their babies with them while Mackie finally made the night-time move to the nursery two doors down. Still, the noise was considerable and the dormitory rooms for the school age children had been moved to the third floor, taking up Kelly, Rob and Sarah's rooms. They were a little crowded but at least they'd sleep! Tim and Ellie bought earplugs and that helped as well as knowing that none of the cries came from their children. Mackie and Lia both had monitors next to them.

Ellie took the first test and they both looked, grinning at the pink stripe that told them they were pregnant. Ellie smiled smugly, "I was right; you hit the target in Santa Fe."

Tim laughed at her words, "Please don't say that to anyone else!"

"Why not? I'm proud of you!"

"Maybe you could be privately proud?"

She laughed, "All right. So we know the date of conception, I'm six weeks pregnant. What do you think about waiting until our first trimester is complete to tell our folks?"

Tim stopped to think, "That's fine, it'll be the first week of July, we can tell them over the Fourth. It'll make everyone feel good, considering it'll be the first anniversary of the Attack."

Ellie nodded, happy with their plan. A few minutes later, she did the second test. They had to wait for that but it too showed positive. Child number 5 was on the way! Working it out, they figured the baby was due the second week of January.

PENNY PENNY PENNY PENNY

Toward the end of May, Penny called Maisie to tell her she was finally on her way to Albuquerque; her flight was booked for May 29th. Sarah's paternal grandmother had been trying to get there since before the Attack. She thought she'd finally made it when she landed in San Francisco while her family was sheltering but by the time they were released, she'd been forced to resume her lecture schedule. She was under contract and wasn't a rock star who could just cancel. It'd taken all the months since to make a big enough hole in her calendar to see her family and explore her new home for more than a day or two.

Now, flying in from Chile she couldn't stop smiling. Finally she would reconnect with her two grown grandchildren, meet their spouses and their children! She'd worried about Timothy at first but Maisie reassured her that neither he nor his parents blamed any of them for the kidnapping or purchase of infant Tim. She'd been horrified when Maisie told her; she did not understand how her son and daughter-in-law could have been so stupid and irresponsible!

But then she'd never been able to reconcile Dan's idiocy in regards to his second wife either. And now it seemed they were never married, which explained why the Navy never vetted her. When she thought of that whole mess and what had really happened to the children, she shuddered. Part of her hoped she'd learn more once the kids were comfortable with her and part of her hoped they never had to talk about it.

Although it was a short flight from Los Angeles to Albuquerque, she was impatient. She'd managed the 11-hour flight from Santiago just fine but now she needed to be there! Finally, the jet landed and she made her way to Baggage Claim.

When she entered the area, it was the usual noisy mass of signs, unintelligible announcements, squeaky baggage carousels and rental car counters. She didn't see any of that. Her eyes were fixed on a tall handsome young man with green eyes standing next to Maisie and a beautiful young woman with brown eyes and curly brown hair. She would know those two anywhere, no matter how many years it had been, even if Maisie weren't with them.

She flew to them, gathering her precious grandchildren to her. She knew she was crying and felt Sarah crying into her shoulder while Tim kissed the top of her head and held on. And Maisie – Maisie had her arms as far around the three of them as she could reach. When they finally stepped back a little to catch their breaths, Maisie handed each a tissue. "Now mop up, Penelope so the children can see you properly!"

Laughing, Penny pulled her in for a kiss and then kissed each of the kids. "You know I would have recognized you two anywhere, even without Maisie. Timothy, you look just like you did at age 8 only a lot taller, grown up and your hair is much darker. And Sarah, you look like a Langston!"

Sarah beamed, "Really? I've never looked like anyone, I'm so glad!"

Tim nudged her, "Your son looks like you and so did Patrick."

"True, thanks for reminding me."

"I can't wait to meet Ellie, Bob and the children! And your siblings and parents and Maisie's new hubby!"

She'd started toward the door when Tim laughed, "Penny, don't you have any luggage?"

"Oh heavens, what an old woman! Of course and I have presents for all the children. Yes, Maisie, I remembered Hannah; I can't wait to meet her too! I hope you brought a big car!"

Tim laughed, "Grammie said you'd have a lot of stuff, she says you always come home with an extra suitcase. We brought my family's 14 passenger van."

Sarah grinned, "It's huge, Penny, especially after we took out all the kids' seats."

"Oh my! Well, let's see if my luggage is here yet."

Tim's eyes widened as Penny pointed out her four large pieces of luggage. Sarah got a luggage cart and Tim carefully piled it on. "All right, next step. You ladies can wait in here or outside in the shade while I bring the van around."

All three of them said outside so he wheeled the cart out and then went to get the van. Back at the terminal, he loaded the bags in the back; made sure his passengers were buckled in and comfortable before taking off. As he drove, Sarah fired questions at her grandmother, first asking about her flights. "I slept most of the way from Santiago. I had enough frequent flier points to upgrade to first class, which wasn't full. I was quite comfortable. The flight from LA was only an hour and forty minutes and seemed to take forever."

"Have you ever been to Albuquerque before?"

"Yes, once, many years ago. Your grandfather wanted to see the missiles at White Sands and somehow inveigled a tour. We flew into Kirtland Air Base and his adjutant dropped me at a lovely hotel in Albuquerque. I had a wonderful day and a half to myself while Nelson made sure the missiles were up to his standards." She winked as she said that and Tim smiled.

Sarah told her a little about the ranch house, the babies and the guesthouse they'd saved for Penny. "We didn't know how long you're staying but figured you'd sleep better in one of the guesthouses; Tim's youngest is the only baby sleeping through the night. You're across the street from Grammie and Ducky and next door to the Hubbards. The Cranes live next door to the Mallards and our parents, Shannon and Jethro, are currently staying in the guesthouse next to you on the other side. On the other side of them are Tobias Fornell and his partner, Mel. She's our sister-in-law Bec's aunt; she raised her. She and Tobias met during the caravan from Virginia and now they're together. Oh, Tobias is a good friend of Dad's; he's retired from the FBI, not NCIS. "

Tim nodded, "So your neighborhood is a mix of the familiar and new."

"Wonderful! Now, are all of you children living in the house?"

Sarah tilted her head back and forth, "Yes and no. Our sister Kelly and brother Rob are doctors at University of New Mexico Medical Center. While they have rooms in the house, they share an apartment in town; it's easier. And the school aged kids are crammed in their rooms at the house now anyway, too noisy downstairs with four infants.

"At the house, we have Bob, me and the twins, Tim, Ellie and their four kids, our brother Geordie, his wife Bec and their baby boy, our brother Tony, his wife Maggie, their three-year-old son and their baby girl. Jimmy Palmer, his wife Breena and their three kids also live in the house. They don't have a newborn but their youngest is still in the nursery with Tim's two youngest so they haven't moved out. Jimmy is Ducky's unofficial son."

Tim laughed, "The Palmer kids and my kids call Ducky 'Granducky' and the other kids picked it up too. But Penny, please don't try and remember names, you'll give yourself a headache!"

She chuckled, "It will be easier once I've met them all. Now, I know there are some other older gentlemen."

"Yes. Grandpa Mac Fielding, our mother's father and Colonel Barnes, whose given name is Richard. He's Maggie DiNozzo's father. They're currently sharing a guesthouse; normally they live in the ranch house. They both help with the babies during the day but not at night."

"Good grief, that house must be huge!"

"It's three floors plus an unfinished basement. Twelve bedrooms, a nursery, two dorm rooms for the kids, well, three dorm rooms now, playroom, library, family room, large dining room and kitchen."

Penny's eyes widened and then she laughed, "Communal living for the family!"

Sarah shrugged, "We thought so, but then we only planned to vacation here and all of us being here at the same time would have been rare."

Tim nodded, "Seven of us are having new homes built on the property for our families. The main house will be home for our parents, grandparents and visitors."

"And Pete."

"Yes, and Pete."

They explained Pete and Penny shook her head at his ordeal. "I'm glad he was with friends, poor man. And that poor woman, think of the torment she went through to become so disturbed."

She smiled as Tim pointed to the Ortiz Ranch. "The Ortizes are close friends. Do you know about my dad, the kids and me living here for 10 months three years ago?"

"Something about an undercover case?"

"Yes. That's when we met the Ortiz family. Steve was the general contractor who renovated the house we rented and both Dad and I eventually went to work for him."

That surprised Penny, "In construction?"

"Yes, Dad is a skilled carpenter and loves detailed woodwork. He also learned how to build with adobe. One of my hobbies is building and rebuilding electronics and from that, more or less, I became a licensed electrician. Comes in handy."

"An electrician, a writer, federal agent, my goodness Timothy, that's quite a range!"

He grinned as they turned in at their gate, pointing to the sign. "Rancho La Serenidad, oh that's a lovely name!"

Driving slowly, they passed the ranch house, continuing to the guesthouses. Penny smiled as soon as she saw the first one, Maisie's, she knew by the flowers. Tim pulled up in front of her new home, unloading her bags while Maisie showed her where everything was. She looked around, noticing her family painting hung over a mantel, although there wasn't a fireplace below. On a quick tour, she found her late husband's desk in the second bedroom. Those two items and her photos were really the only things she'd cared about saving. She beamed in surprise when she saw her bedroom furniture. Maisie told her it was Tim's idea to bring it, said he couldn't stand that she'd asked for so little to be moved.

"Do you want to get settled in or come up to the house?"

Penny grinned, "I can unpack anytime! To the house, please!"

Parking the van, they escorted Penny to the front door of the house, knowing there were several people waiting to greet her. All the family not at work, school or asleep was inside.

As they walked across the front porch, Penny smiled at the comfortable looking chairs and then blinked in surprise at a familiar small table. Maisie, Tim and Sarah followed her glance and smiled.

Maisie said, "I hope you don't mind but the children wanted to see your house and we ended up bringing more than you requested. More than your bedroom furniture, I, uh, didn't mention the rest."

Sarah nodded, a little nervous. "Bob saw a bedroom set he knew I'd love and he, Dad, Uncle Jim and Tim moved it to the warehouse where we had everything stored before we left. And our daughter is sleeping in an antique bassinet they found in the nursery."

Tim cleared his throat, "We brought all the photos of you and Grandpa as babies, the ones on the wall in the nursery. And some things that belonged to Grandpa Nelson, Dad McGee, and Uncle Mark. They're part of the family too; we couldn't just let it all go. Grammie cleared out your spice cabinet and ItooktheKitchenAid." He said the last five words very quickly and Penny, who'd been on the verge of tears, laughed instead.

"That's wonderful, all of it is wonderful! I didn't want to add much to the massive load I was sure you were transporting across country but I'm very happy that you took what you wanted and I'm grateful you brought my bedroom furniture. I almost cried when I saw it."

With a lighter heart, she entered the house and again smiled with tears in her eyes as she was embraced by Jim, Claire, Liz and Dave, welcoming her home. Then she met Maisie's new husband who seemed a lovely man as Penny knew he would be. Next she turned to the man and woman she knew were Tim's biological and Sarah's adoptive parents.

Taking a deep breath, she held out her hand, "I expect it will take time to trust me but for now I do want to tell you neither my husband nor I ever suspected Tim was not Dan and Lily's child. We were posted out of the country during the time Lily would have been pregnant and afterwards they told us they wanted to surprise everyone. And our Timothy looked enough like Maisie's family that we never considered he wasn't their child. I am so sorry all that happened."

Shannon nodded, "Thank you. As I've gotten to know your family, our new family, I've come to believe that nobody but Dan and Lily knew or even suspected. And it is likely Dan and Lily believed they'd helped me and my family." She leaned forward, kissing Penny on the cheek. "The only one at fault is my mother and she's safely behind bars. We welcome you to our family and to your new home."

Penny blinked away more tears as Jethro held out his hand. "Welcome home and welcome to the family!"

She relaxed then, she'd been so afraid Shannon would be angry with her. Maisie told her the woman was polite when they met but that it had taken some time for Shannon to warm up to her. Now they were family.

Mac and the Colonel were also waiting to meet her and she smiled at both of them, how nice to have men around who were her age and not doddering on the edge of the grave. Like Ducky, both looked fit and their eyes were alive with interest.

Figuring she'd be hungry and tired after her long journey, Shannon had brunch ready for them and they sat. Penny chuckled, "I've been off the plane for close to an hour and after 12 hours of sitting, it feels good to sit again!"

Jim grinned, "You just need to get your land legs, Penny!"

Sarah and Tim reappeared each holding a tiny being and her smile grew even wider.

"Penny, Tim's holding Charlotte and I have Timmy."

She hadn't held a newborn since Cal was born over a decade ago but Penny eagerly held her arms out. Sarah carefully transferred Timmy to her while Tim held onto his niece. He didn't get to hold her very often and he wasn't giving her up just yet. Eventually Maisie claimed her but he had her for a solid 7 minutes, a new record for him with any of the infants except his own baby boy.