Chapter 12

PENNY AND TIM

When Mackie woke, he gave Penny a sweet smile, just like his daddy's smile as a baby. Maisie laughed when Penny said that, nudging Tim. "I told you, Timothy! He may not resemble you as much as Ty and Brynie do but he is most definitely your son!"

Tim's face lit up as he kissed his baby son, settling him in his seat to feed him. He was starting to eat solids now, baby food. He fussed a little but Tim was patient. Soon the little guy swallowed his rice goop followed by apple mush and a little sweet potato. Father and son grinned at each other when they were finished. Mackie giggled when Daddy made a funny noise as he wiped his face and hands clean. Then they showed Penny how they played peek-a-boo, a favorite of Mackie's.

After that, he went into Penny's arms and cooed at her as she introduced herself. "Hello Mackie! I'm your other great-grandma. You know your Grammie and now I'm your Penny. I know, what a silly name, huh?"

Mackie responded with a noise and she laughed, "Oh, aren't you the sweetie pie! I don't know, Mackie, with your sisters, brother and cousins, I just might have to stay and watch you grow up! What do you think of that?" He cooed at her again and she grinned, "This is fun!"

Tim laughed, "Yeah it is! Want to move into the big house, help with night-time feedings?"

She pretended to think about it while the others laughed and Mackie squealed. They adjourned to the playroom; the little guy got excited when he saw his favorite play mat. Engrossed with that, he didn't notice Daddy slipping out to help Aunty Sarah with his twin cousins. He did look up when another baby cousin entered with Aunty Bec.

As each of the babies and their mamas woke, they were introduced to Penny who fussed over them. When Maisie told her in a Skype call how many babies were on the way, she'd laughed herself silly. Of course, there were new babies; it was a natural reaction to the threat of extinction: make new people.

She hadn't been kidding when she proposed staying put. That evening as the family, including Rob and Kelly, sat around the dinner table, she took a deep breath. "I don't know what I'll contribute to the family but I'd like to stay."

Dave and Liz fist bumped, they'd hoped she'd come home for good. Shannon smiled, "Does that mean you're done with your lecture tours?"

"Yes, I'm missing too much here! I've fulfilled my contract and am under no obligation and I have plenty of money to live on, that's never been a problem."

She smiled happily when the family, her reclaimed and new family, cheered. Maisie was so happy her friend was staying that she cried. Jim and Claire beamed, as did Ainsley and Callum although both reflected privately that this was the end of Penny's cool presents from around the globe. Tim, Sarah and the rest of the family also expressed their happiness.

Tim sighed in relief and happiness. Even though he had no memories of Penny, since he'd met the Hubbards and Cranes he'd hoped she would come home to stay. Somehow, having her here tied everything together, having all three of his families close. McGee-Hubbard, Sibs, Gibbs, yes three. Four counting the Bishops. Ellie sat next to him and she took his hand, squeezing gently. Yep, she understood. He grinned at her, he couldn't wait until their first trimester was through and they'd make their announcement. Four more weeks!

Penny slept 12 hours, waking refreshed and ready for anything. She breakfasted with Tim, Tyler, Bryn, Lia and Mackie along with the Palmer children and their father Jimmy. Victoria explained that their dads always had breakfast with them on Saturdays so their moms could sleep in. Brynie laughed, "Mommy doesn't like to cook. She says she's a designated eater." She said the big word slowly and her father patted her hand. "Good job on that, Brynie!"

Penny smiled, "I don't like to cook much either."

Tyler finished chewing a bite of pancake before saying, "Daddy lets us help. We pick vegetables for him when he's cooking."

"Is that fun?"

"Yes. At our old house we went outside to our garden, now we have two gardens and they're both inside!"

Bryn nodded, "One's in our shelter and the other one's in the basement. Aunty Bec says that next year we can plant outside again. Daddy, are you and Poppy going to make more planter boxes?"

"Maybe. We might plant straight in the ground. And yes Brynie, if we make boxes we'll need your help."

Ty grinned at his sister, "She's a builder, just like Poppy!"

"Oh my, that's wonderful, Brynie! What have you built?"

"Poppy and I built the planter boxes in the basement and I helped with the furniture for the new babies. And Daddy and I built Grandpa's new dresser!"

Tim smiled, "I was glad you were there, Brynie, you had it all figured out!"

Ty nudged her, "You helped put Penny's bed thing together too."

"Oh, I forgot."

Penny was impressed with the family's support of Bryn's apparent love of carpentry, especially her brother's.

"And Tyler, what do you like to do?"

"Help organize and count. I like numbers."

"And what do you do with them?"

"When we lived here before I was still little but I helped Daddy and Poppy count people when everyone was here to catch the mean-eyed lady. Before we left on the plane to come here this time, I helped Daddy with the stuff at the warehouse. There were too many couches and chairs and I counted them by person. Ooh and I sorted all the boxes in our garage too, there were boxes for the plane and boxes for the truck and they were all mixed up. I organized those and counted them."

Penny nodded, "That's wonderful! It sounds like the things you two love to do are also a big help, isn't that fun?"

They nodded with big grins while Penny reached over and tickled Lia who giggled.

Penny turned to Victoria and asked her what she liked to do. "I like to play school! I love school. And my mom and dad are teaching me how to cook; I like that too. I want to grill steaks like Uncle Jethro but my dad says I have to wait until I'm twelve to use the grill. I'm not tall enough to reach yet. I learned how to marinade though; that's fun. You pick things you have and if they taste good together, you make a sauce and then the meat sits in it and soaks up all the sauce. Yum!"

"Mm, that sounds good!" She turned to Teddy, "What do you like to do?"

He smiled shyly, "Read! I love books, lots and lots of books!"

"Oh, that's wonderful!"

Reaching over, she tickled Ricky too and he giggled. Tim had been feeding Mackie; once he was cleaned up and out of his highchair, he wanted to go to Penny. As she played with him, the four older children cleared the table, putting the butter and jam away and the dishes in the dishwasher. When they were done, they asked if there was anything else and Tim and Jimmy shook their heads, "No, thank you for your help."

After the older kids left, to make their beds, brush their teeth and dress, the three adults relaxed with beverages while Lia and Ricky played and Mackie watched.

When Penny asked Jimmy what he did at NCIS, he smiled, "I'm a medical examiner. When someone dies, I examine them to see what happened and what they can tell us about how they lived and how they died."

"That's right, you were Ducky's protégé; I remember Maisie telling me. And now you run the department."

"Yes ma'am. It's changed since…since we opened the office here. I now do post-mortems all over the country, even overseas, via electronics and robotic equipment."

"Oh my heavens! How does that work?"

"In the larger offices, there's an assistant who goes out with the field teams to photograph the body, do a visual check and transport it back to the NCIS office. Once the body is prepared, I link in via something like Skype except I have control of the equipment in that office. Some of it is truly robotic but right now, I'm still operating the tools. The assistant is there too in case I need something and that person is responsible for getting samples to the forensic technicians. Once I know the cause of death, I contact the field agents and let them know the results.

"In smaller offices, the agency used to contract out the autopsies. Now we, there are four of us currently trained, do them all but we still contract with county or city ME offices for assistance at the crime scenes."

"That's wonderful; I imagine it's far more efficient for the agency."

"Yes and over time, it'll be a real cost saving." Jimmy smiled, "And I don't have to travel. I can do it from here which makes life a lot easier for my wife."

"What does she do?"

He grinned, "She's a mortician. Her family owned mortuaries in DC, Virginia, Maryland and North Carolina. When Tim told us what was going on, my in-laws sold two of the shops in North Carolina, shipped the equipment, inventory and furnishings to storage here, applied for a business license in New Mexico, bought a building here and opened for business before we'd been on the surface a month."

Her eyes wide, she shook her head, "Now that's organization!"

Tim took Mackie for a diaper change; when they returned, he had all his kids with him. "Thought we'd take Ellie's truck to see the place."

"Do the kids all fit?"

"Yes because Mackie's car seat faces the back so he's not scrunched in with his brother and sisters. He sits opposite Lia. We have two more months before he has to go in a regular baby seat facing forward. Then…don't know. Not giving up the truck, we need them around here. But that means one less vehicle the kids can all fit in."

Jimmy shrugged, "You use the van for family outings anyway and to and from work."

"Yeah, just scary to be limited to one vehicle."

Jimmy bit back a smile and Tim huffed, "We don't need a bus, Palmer."

"I didn't say anything!"

Penny watched as both men chuckled, obviously this was a familiar tease.

They were all just leaving the kitchen when Tony staggered in with baby Juliet, Arin holding on to his father's shirt. Without a word, Jimmy gave Arin a kiss; put him in a booster seat, breaking off part of a banana for him. The little boy grinned as he started to eat it. Tim took the baby who was more than ready for her bottle, giving her his finger to suck while her daddy found the stash of Mama's breast milk and heated it. Then Tony sat with the baby while Tim made a pot of coffee and Jimmy made cream of wheat cereal and poured a sippy cup of milk for Arin.

Arin started to eat his cereal while his father was given a mug of coffee, fixed just the way he liked it. Tony sighed, "Thanks, guys. I don't know what I'd do without you! How many times did we work a case straight through, three to four hours of sleep at our desks for days, sometimes a full week?"

Tim grinned, "You and I figured out the count once. You saying this is harder?"

"Yes! Absolutely!"

Jimmy chuckled, "It'll get easier, Tony. The baby will start sleeping more hours at a time and she'll get past the scary stage when you're afraid you're going to break her."

Tim huffed and Tony looked up, "You guys too? I thought it was just me!"

Penny chuckled, "Tony, I bet every new parent since the beginning of time has felt that way. Newborns and infants are so small and seem so vulnerable. Just think, we were all that small once and we're here, we made it."

Tony blinked and nodded, "If you knew my parents, you'd know what a miracle that is for me. I just don't want to be like them."

Tim squatted down by him. "Tony, you're a great dad! And that started with being a great uncle to our kids, right, Jimmy?"

Palmer nodded, "Yeah, man. And except for looking like him, you're nothing like Senior."

Tony snorted, "Darn sure he never changed a diaper."

"Probably not but there are other ways you're not like him. You don't neglect Arin, you're patient with him, you don't run off at the first sign of trouble, you show your love and pride in him. That's nothing like Senior."

Tony sighed, "Sorry I'm such a wimp; it's just that this is the scariest thing I've ever done. And that includes surviving the plague and being stuck with that serial killer for two days."

Jimmy snorted, "You forgot working with a ninja for 8 years."

Tim nodded, "Oh yeah! And Tony, don't forget you were the only one brave and tough enough to work for Boss as long as you did."

All three of them laughed at that. Arin finished and Tim took his dishes to the sink, bringing back a baby wipe. "Ok, big boy, let's get you cleaned up."

Arin tilted his face up with a smile for Uncle Tim. Then he squirmed a bit, "Daddy, I hafta go!"

Jimmy took the baby while Tony and Arin hurried off to the bathroom. Tim excused himself to check on the Gibbs and Palmer kids who were in the playroom. He returned with Ricky and Lia. When Jimmy looked up with a question on his face, Tim shook his head, "Their days in the kiddie corral are done."

"What were they doing?"

"Lia was climbing out, Ricky right behind her while Ty and Victoria were trying to stop them. Brynie and Teddy were on their way to get us."

"Baby gates?"

"Yes, until one of them figures how to work the latch. We should do a sweep of the room though. Might be things the older kids have brought in."

Penny started laughing, "Some things never change!"

"What did you do with your two?"

"Once they climbed out of their playpens, I had to watch them every second. One time I looked away for perhaps 30 seconds, I was doing dishes and they were at the kitchen table, playing with Play Doh. Next thing I know I hear the front door open, thank God it had a squeak! Nelson had to put one of those flip latches up high where they couldn't reach. That lasted for two months until they figured out the kitchen stool was tall enough so they could reach the latch. Luckily the stool also squeaked and it took both of them to move it."

Tim wanted to laugh but he remembered Brynie's escape from their house here and her naked run. He'd never been so scared in his life, certain his little girl was going to run into the street. He told the story to Penny who did laugh until she heard the story of how Tim, Sarah and Geordie met Robbie. Two years old, he was running into traffic, running after his mother who'd left him behind, too little for drivers to see when Tim spotted him from the sidewalk, ran into the street and grabbed him.

Tony and Arin returned to collect the baby who'd finished her bottle. As the others left, Tony tried to thank them but, smiling, they waved him off. Gathering the Gibbs' kids, Tim and Penny got them into Ellie's truck for the tour of the Grove and the ranch.

Penny laughed to herself as she noticed everyone but Mackie was wearing cowgirl/boy boots, including her grandson. When she mentioned it, Tim grinned at her. "When we were here before, the kids had boots and then Dad and I wanted them too. And Stetsons. We didn't get to wear them much in DC, mostly when we went riding."

"You ride?"

"Yes. Ellie and I have our own horses and Ty and Brynie have been riding since they were toddlers, two and three. Not by themselves but they know how to handle a pony."

Ty piped in, "Daddy, Brynie and I learned at the Ortizes."

"The ranch next door? Oh, you worked for someone by that name."

"Yep and his family owns the ranch, have since before statehood. I'll show you our new barn and our almost finished house when we come back this way."

They drove down Quail Hill Road to The Grove, rather than take the bridge. Tim was a little skittish about driving a full-sized vehicle over it although it had been engineered and built for road vehicles.

At the gate, he punched in the family passcode and drove in. Penny looked puzzled, "Why is there a gate?"

"An extra security precaution for our residents. There's no sheriff's substation out here and after what these folks have been through, we want them to feel safe. We haven't had any problems but I suspect the fact that the place is owned by a family of cops and military folks might have something to do with that."

She nodded, thinking how sad that out here in the country where there should be peace and quiet, they had to have a security gate and fences.

Tim said quietly, "Many people who come here are from cities, they don't feel safe in the country at night; it feels too dark and empty to them. The gate helps; at least they feel safe from humans."

He continued, "We have a gate at the ranch because we weren't planning on living here full-time and didn't want people driving around on our land or breaking into the house. Then when the threat…well we ordered many things online, had them delivered here. The gate was handy keeping thieves out."

He turned onto the first street, Alexandria Avenue and Penny smiled in delight as she saw the first homes.

"This is a neighborhood!"

"Yes, we planned it that way, left as many of the trees and shrubs as we could. There are 100 homes plus a few guesthouses like yours. We split them into groups of 10 or 15 per street so people would know their neighbors."

The kids waved at people who were working in their yards, on the patios, washing windows, sweeping leaves. "We set the speed limit at 5 mph because very few Evacuees have cars. All the kids and many of the adults have bikes and the kids roller skate in here too."

"Do they take the school bus with your kids?"

"Sure. The high school sends one out too. Ainsley and Chase Ortiz will take that in the fall, along with any high schoolers here or at either ranch."

"And the city bus goes as far as the University?"

"Have to transfer once in town, but yes."

When Penny leaned back with a smile, Tim looked at her. "Have something in mind?"

"Maybe I can do some lectures here."

"Great idea!"

"We'll see."

They drove through the second set of homes and Penny commented on the colors. "I love the different colors, great that they're not all the same color or a dreary color. The front doors are wonderful too."

"We figured most folks were going to be depressed and sad. We wanted to make them feel at home and give them a sense of moving forward."

"While still acknowledging our losses."

"Yes."

They rolled on through the neighborhoods, waving. Ty called out, "Hey, there's Max, he's in my class."

They stopped to say hello to Max and his parents, out for a bike ride. Ty said, "This is my great-grandmother Penny, she's never been here before so we're giving her a tour."

"Great, welcome Penny! We're Rose and Nate."

"Thank you. Where are you folks from originally?"

"Fairfax; we evacuated to Florida but didn't want to stay there. My husband is a mechanic who worked at a car dealership in northern Virginia. A customer told one of the salesmen to leave, that there was going to be a nuclear attack. He told everyone and we all left; we told everyone we knew; our whole neighborhood left. Whoever that guy is, he sure saved us! The owner of the dealership had enough time to move his inventory to safety, sold it all and now he's working on a deal to open a dealership here in the southwest. He's told his former staff that once the deal goes through he'll rehire everyone. In the meantime, we're living in this beautiful place. Where are you folks from?"

Tim swallowed, "Alexandria and Arlington. I was born in Bethesda and grew up in Baltimore, lived in Silver Spring for several years."

"Oh dear. And you evacuated here?"

Ty nodded, "We were the big caravan!"

Max's eyes widened, "The one with the big trucks and all the cars and pickups? That was so cool!"

"Yes, that was us."

Tim smiled, "Ty."

"We weren't in it, our grandparents, aunts, uncles and friends were. Our family flew out first, all the people with kids did. My dad planned it all though. We had a big warehouse full of stuff to take and everything!"

The couple looked at Tim. "A warehouse?"

"Long story, belonged to someone we knew. Our family and friends were scattered in Virginia, Maryland and DC. We decided to hire movers to take our stuff out and it was easier for them if we brought all the stuff to the warehouse."

"Oh, that makes sense. Wow, so you really had a crowd!"

Brynie nodded, "We had 84 people in our shelter."

"My goodness that must have been crowded."

Tim was grateful when Mackie started to fuss. "Looks like we better get the little guy home. Been great talking with you! Good luck with the job, Nate!"

"Thanks, Tim!"

They drove off, Tim still trying not to hyperventilate. It had taken all his training to remain calm when they'd mentioned the car dealership. Penny gave him a look but he gave a quick shake of his head.

Mackie was now moving into full voice, so they postponed the rest of Penny's sightseeing until after lunch when he and Lia would nap.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

That evening, Penny pulled Tim aside. "What happened today?"

He'd already told Ellie, who was with him now. He shook his head, "I'll tell you, but please don't make a big deal out of it, Penny. I'm still struggling with it.

"Ellie and I were the customers at that dealership, the ones who told Jack the salesman to get out. If we'd been in the van today, they might have seen that the license plate holder is from that dealership."

She stood there in shock and then grinned, "You're a hero."

Tim shook his head violently, keeping his voice low and emphatic. "No! Please don't!"

Shocked at his vehemence she stepped back. "All right. I don't understand but I'll respect your request and your obvious feelings."

His eyes closed, he nodded. Jethro came into the room, took one look at his son, frowned and glanced at Ellie who made a little moue at him. He stood next to his son, putting his arm around him. "Timson?"

Quickly Ellie told him what happened and Jethro swallowed a sigh. "How many?"

"I don't know, Dad, 3 million something."

"You agreed you're not God and that you don't have superpowers. And you sure as hell didn't fire those missiles."

Tim nodded, "I know. I didn't kill anyone. I know that, Dad."

"Come on, let's go find a quiet place to sit and talk. And maybe Penny will come with us so she'll understand." He looked up at Penny who nodded, saddened and a little frightened by her grandson's distress.

The kids were all in bed and the house library was empty. The four of them went in there and sat, Ellie and Dad on either side of Tim.

"Ok, how many, 5 iterations and don't shrug your shoulders."

Tim looked at him and his father pulled his head to him, kissing him. "Hold on, sweet boy. Say the number."

"3 million, 200 thousand."

"And that is?"

"How many people I saved by telling 20 people to leave."

"Who should you have told? Who were you really responsible for?"

Tim looked at him, seeing some light. "Ellie, you and Mom, Grandpa, the sibs, the Palmers, Ducky, Rick, Jim O'Brien, Ned, Abby, Secretary Porter, Leon, the Bishops, Lu and the guys, Nate. Lyndi Crenshaw, my attorney, D'arcy McKinna, the neighbors."

"Anyone else that was your responsibility to tell?"

"The President."

"Good! Now how many of those people did you tell?"

"All of them."

"That's right, all of them, you fulfilled your responsibility. You sure you didn't miss anyone?"

Tim gave him a look and his father chuckled, "Dave tells me you've always had that look. You may have inherited it from me, but I didn't teach it to you!"

That earned a half smile and Ellie relaxed, hoping Tim was finally getting it.

"Tim, remember the years when you, the sibs, the guys and the non-profit organization kept the camp folks alive?"

"Yes."

"What did I tell you when Nate died?"

"That he didn't want us to carry the responsibility; that it wasn't ours to carry."

"Did you accept that?"

Tim thought about it, "Yes, because the camp was closed when you told us."

"Would you have before that?"

"Not while there were kids there who needed help."

"Ok, what if there had been no children or innocents? No Big John."

"Only Nate and Juanita."

"Because they kept you kids out of trouble."

"Yes, they were our de facto parents. And Lu."

"Okay, that's good, son. That's progress. You've been fighting this your entire life, Tim." He looked at Penny.

"Penny, I have things to say about your son that you're not going to like but Tim needs to hear them again. I've said it to him before, his mother has, Ellie has said it and we'll keep saying it."

She nodded sadly, thinking they were probably the things she wished she'd said to Dan.

"Timothy, you were not created to be responsible for the world. It's horrible, an example of horrible parenting that you were made responsible for your baby brother at age 19 months. That you had to take care of Patrick and yourself when you were Teddy's age. That you taught yourself how to cook so you and Pat wouldn't starve, before you were tall enough to reach the microwave without climbing on the counter. That you were forced to be responsible when your father wasn't.

"He pushed you into it. He told you to be 'the little man', the 'big brother'. What was he thinking? Did he have any idea what affect that had on you, a toddler? And to hear it every time he saw you, spoke with you, with no mother at home to temper that, to allow you to be a little boy? When he left you in the care of a stranger who abused you? That the two of you had to take care of your baby sister, that you were left alone with a monster because, I'm guessing your father was too concerned with his career and rejected his family's help?

"Too proud. Liz, Dave, Maisie and Jim have told me that after Lily died, before and during Okinawa and San Diego, each of them and Penny begged McGee to let them take you, Patrick, and Sarah when she came along. McGee refused, not willing to give. And as you've said, not that we don't love Sarah, but why was McGee so obsessed with having another child of his dead wife that he literally handed over the two children he had to a complete stranger, one with a womb? He knew it was wrong, otherwise why did he keep it a secret until she was born? Just as they did with you, Timomine.

"His pride or neglect, whatever it was, cost Patrick his life, cost you your childhood and nearly your life, more physical and emotional pain than any child should have to endure, forced you into more responsibility and years of living in danger.

"He caused horrible grief to his family and that was his choice. When I think how I grieved most of my adult life because he brought that zona back into the country...but this isn't about me. His carelessness, thoughtlessness and stupidity likely caused the stroke that killed Drew Hubbard. To me, he is just as responsible as Stacevyko for everything that has happened to you, Kelly, Mom and me. He wasn't stupid; he and Lily had to know buying you was morally and ethically wrong, even if they were somehow ignorant of Abraham Lincoln and the outlawing of the sale of human beings in this country. His actions are unconscionable. We think Tony's parents were bad but Dan McGee wins the prize. He was every bit as bad as Eli was, maybe worse. At least Eli believed he was protecting his country. McGee was a selfish buzzard, never giving a thought to his actions."

Tim's eyes nearly fell out of his head but he nodded his understanding. "Ziva was a grown woman when he told her to sacrifice herself and then left her to die."

"Yes. McGee wasn't a good man. Neither was Eli. Neither was outright evil, but damn careless and full of hubris."

Tim sighed, "They were both obsessed, blind to everything else. I think McGee was obsessed with Lily, even in death although that doesn't explain them buying a baby - and Eli was obsessed with saving his country. And as you say, Ziva was a grown woman, she could have said no. Stayed here."

"Yeah I agree but this is your life we're talking about. Just comparing those two."

"I get it, Dad. I met my responsibilities with the attack, there's no hook to put myself on. That's going to be my mantra. I finally understand what you and Ellie, Mom, Ducky, Liz and Dave have been telling me. Commander McGee failed in his responsibilities all the way around. And caused a lot of misery by his actions and inactions."

"Yes."

Penny frowned. "Tim, you didn't want those people to know."

"No, I didn't and I don't. I don't want the spotlight, Penny. That's not who I am, not at all. I will agree that this was an extraordinary situation but I was doing my job, with the encryptions, the cipher and the warnings." Oops.

Penny's eyes widened. "The encryptions, oh my God, Timothy, you were part of that team? Thank God you weren't murdered!"

She wrapped her arms around him as he shook his head. "The two agents who were murdered weren't part of the team. I mean, they found the files but they were dead by the time I was called in."

"But your team, Tim? Are you the one that cracked that last cipher?"

He nodded. "Yes and I've worked really hard to keep that quiet."

"Are you also the Federal Agent who called the President with the probable locations?"

He shook his head, "She called me."

"Timothy."

He sighed, "Yes, ma'am."

"Does Maisie know, is it all right if I talk about it with her? And may I be quietly proud of you?"

Now he laughed and they all relaxed. Jethro had real hope now that his son understood and accepted the truth.