. Chapter Four .
Jackson woke at dawn and got up, took care of his personal business and started cooking. He liked cooking for his boys, all of them. He decided on pancakes, sausages, eggs, hash browns and toast. He wasn't that startled when his son wandered in demanding coffee.
"Leroy, I swear, you're something else. There," he pointed at the electric percolator.
Gibbs helped himself to a mug then started making toast, putting it in the oven to keep warm. He also kept up with Jackson's output of pancakes, putting them on a platter in the oven as well.
They visited while they worked and breakfast was almost done when Tony ambled in, hair still wet. He was shivering slightly and took the coffee Gibbs offered with a mumble. He settled at the table and stuck his nose in the mug.
"Lake cold?" Gibbs had decided to forgo the morning's exercise in favor of time with his Dad.
"Motherfucker's like ice." Tony sighed when Jackson took the time to drape a blanket over his shoulders. "Thanks."
Dean came in next, just as cold as Tony. Again, Gibbs handed over coffee while Jackson got another blanket. Dean just sighed as it was wrapped around him. "Man, that feels good."
Tim and Jimmy came in next, both bringing more moaning and shivering. Tony gave up his blanket to Jimmy while Jackson produced one more blanket and put it around Tim.
Cosmo and Remy wandered in last by about five seconds. They gratefully accepted coffee, but just cuddled up to Tony to get warm. He endured being squeezed between them until Gibbs started serving up. Then he just eased out from between them, saying, "Breakfast. Eat."
Jackson took head of the table while Gibbs took foot. Dean, Cosmo and Tim took one side while Remy, Jimmy and Tony took the other; the table was just barely big enough. Jackson took a serving and passed, as usual.
"Alright, someone want to tell me why you boys came in wet and frozen?" He was waiting for them to admit to some sort of prank.
Tony swallowed then said, "Swam across the lake and back. Bitch is cold."
"Language at table." Jackson wasn't a prude by any means but he did feel that swearing at table was just rude.
Tony grinned, "Sorry."
"So, swam across the lake, did you? Now why would you idjits do that?"
Remy answered, "We're SEALs. It's what we do."
Jackson grunted, then said, "Finish your food while we decide what to do next."
Gibbs waited for a moment to make sure no one else had anything to say. "I guess we take the Winchester to the range, then head home. We can be back by 1700 or so. There's some work to do, then Remy wants to head for his place to see his Gran."
Jackson nodded. "Okay. Eat up then." He got up to put his plate in the sink. He'd put the dishpan on the stove when he'd sat down, so the water was just beginning to steam. He started to lift it over to the counter, but found himself eased out of the way by Remy. He didn't bother to object; he just moved. "Thank you, Remy." He added some cold water to the pan and some soap. He didn't like starting with the pans, but everyone wasn't done eating yet, so he did. It didn't take him long to be done with the pots and pans. He was then eased away from the job as his son took over.
"Sit down and have a last cup of coffee while I finish this. We'll be on our way in a few." Gibbs filled a kettle with water and put it on the stove; he washed the dishes in the pan but rinsed them with cold water. When he was done, the water in the kettle was just hot, barely steaming. He took the time to rearrange the dishes in the drainer, then poured the hot water over them. "There. Air dry?"
Remy nodded. "No proper dish towels, just this." He brandished a piece of something, probably a piece of old sheet. "I'll put away, you all get breakin' down camp."
Tony nodded. "Come out when you're done; we'll probably have you packed by then."
Remy looked insulted. "AJ, how long do you think it'll take to dry an' stack?"
Tony just waved over his shoulder. "Linens need t'go back to the office; do that too."
Remy went back inside, grumbling. "Damn lazy-ass squid. Leave all the ..."
Cosmo snorted, then shouted at him, "How hard is it to walk with some sheets and shit?"
It didn't take long to fold bedding, break down tents, and clean the area. A ranger wandered by, nodded and went on. They got everything back in the saddle bags and trunks, according to the spreadsheet that Tim had made. The trailer was packed and hitched up, and they were ready to go.
Remy took the linens back to the office and turned them and the key in. The boy at the desk was half awake, grumbling good-naturedly about people who got up at the ass-crack of dawn. Remy grinned at him. "Don' forget swimmin' across the lake."
The boy eyeballed him, then said, "Too damn cold. I never swim in the lake. You're all crazy." He checked boxes on a form, pointed to a line, and said, "Sign there. There was no deposit. I bet you're military, so I'm not even gonna worry about if it's clean or not."
Remy signed, saying, "Navy. An' the dishes are clean. We ... Jet, that is ... scalded 'em."
"Great. One less thing I have to do. Dude, you would not believe the mess some people leave behind."
"I would. An' you better believe they're no better at home." Remy accepted the pink sheet the boy handed him, folded it, and tucked it into his wallet. "Thanks."
They were just about to leave when a small boy wandered over. He just stood, watching with sad eyes as they geared up, did radio checks, and generally fiddled. Tim, being a passenger, had time to notice the boy. He poked Jimmy then pointed, "Hey! Look."
Jimmy looked. "Wonder what's up with that?"
Since he was already hooked into the com system, everyone heard him. They all looked over to see the boy. Jackson walked over, as the oldest and least threatening. "Hello there. My name's Jackson. What's got you lookin' like a rain cloud?"
The boy sniffled a bit then replied, "I'm Billy. I miss my Dad. He was supposed to come home from ..." he waved a hand. "over there somewhere. He promised to give me a motorcycle ride for my birthday ... but he got set back and can't come home in time."
Jackson sighed; this was just the sort of thing military families had to deal with. "Well, why don't we find your Mom and see if she'll let one of the boys take you on a short ride. I know it's not your Dad but ... better than nothing."
A quick explanation over the radio later had them all shutting down and coming to stand around Billy.
Billy's mother, Marion, had been looking all over for him. When she saw him surrounded by big men in motorcycle leathers, she nearly had a heart attack. She scooted between Remy and Dean, saying, "Excuse me. What's going on here?"
Tim and Jimmy took over, proving what Gibbs always said about them being baby-faced and harmless-looking. "Hello. I'm Tim McGee and this is Jimmy Palmer. Billy was just telling us about his birthday." He smiled. "I'm sorry his Dad couldn't be here for it, but ... well, one of us could give him a ... place-holder sort of ride. So he won't be completely disappointed."
Marion looked around doubtfully. After getting closer these men looked ok, but appearances could be deceiving. "Well ... I don't know."
Gibbs produced his ID, motioning to the others to do the same. "I'm Leroy Jethro Gibbs." He went around the group introducing them as they produced their ID.
Marion examined the ID then said, "NCIS? I know what that is. My husband, Sam, is Navy."
This led to Tony, Remy, Dean and Cosmo showing her their other ID. This convinced Marion as she relaxed and exclaimed, "SEALs! Oh, well."
Billy wasn't as impressed by SEALs as he was by NCIS. "You a detective? Like on Law and Order?"
Gibbs nodded. "Tony, Tim, and I are. Jimmy works in the morgue."
Billy's eyes lit up. "In the morgue. With the bodies? Wow." it seemed he was more impressed with that than anything.
Jimmy flushed with pleasure, it was very rare, if not downright unheard of, for anyone to be in awe of him. He immediately offered, "I'll give you a ride, if you like." Billy did, so the trailer was quickly unhitched and parked.
Gibbs offered Marion a ride, so she could stay near her son but she turned him down, admitting that she'd never been on a motorcycle and didn't want to.
Billy was quickly fitted with Tim's helmet and plugged into the system. Jimmy pulled out, telling Billy what he was doing. Conversation flowed as Billy enjoyed the ability to talk to the driver and anyone else on the com. His questions ranged from how to do an autopsy, Jimmy flatly told him that he was too young for descriptions of cutting people open, to who had what rank on the team. The ride took about thirty minutes; it would have taken longer but Marion called them in, saying they'd taken up enough of their travel time.
Billy didn't argue, wise enough to know when to let something go. When Jimmy got back to the lot, Billy thanked him politely, then thanked Gibbs and the SEALs for their service. He saluted, then trotted to his Mom and went back to their camp, looking over his shoulder once to wave again.
Remy smiled at Jimmy. "That was good of you."
Jimmy just shrugged. "I enjoyed it. Poor kid, at least we made his birthday a bit better. I used to miss my Dad something awful."
They remounted and headed off for the rifle range to shoot.
.
The rifle range was primitive but well set up. The benches were made of rough-cut lumber, worn smooth by years of use. There were some signs with safety instructions and clean-up-after- yourself remarks.
Everyone now displayed the absolute discipline demanded of dedicated shooters. They all lined up behind Jackson as he showed them how to load and unload the Winchester. It was a lever-action, which they were not all that familiar with, but Jackson took each man in turn and, with Gibbs' help, they enjoyed a day of shooting.
Remy and Dean had to admit that they didn't like a lever-action at all. Cosmo was used to a bolt-action, but it didn't translate all that well. Gibbs shot it like he did every weapon he laid hands on. Tony, Tim, and Jimmy all basked in the attention from Jackson and did very well.
Jackson found, much to his disgust, that his eyesight was now not good enough for open sights. He did well enough, but not up to his own demanding standards.
Tony and Gibbs got all the papers and graded them. All the SEALs had done well, as was expected. Gibbs had the highest score, while Jackson had the lowest. Jimmy and Tim were turning out to be great sport shooters. They'd never be snipers, but they didn't want to be.
Jackson handed the Winchester to Gibbs, who tucked it back into its case. "Well, ya might as well take it home with you."
Gibbs just shook his head. "That Winchester has been behind the counter at the store since before I was born. Someday I'll hang it over my fireplace, but not yet. Not for a long time yet."
Jackson patted Gibbs on the shoulder. "Okay. Fine." He eyed the sky. "We better be on the road soon. I'm hungry."
Tony snorted out a laugh. "Okay. So ... where do you want to eat?"
The discussed where they should eat while getting ready to roll. No one really liked any of the places they knew of in the area. Someone suggested that Tim use his phone to search for somewhere.
Tim announced that Rickets Glen Hotel was considered one of the best in the area and the turn coming up led them back to Stillwater or to the hotel. Since it was only a few miles out of their way they decided to head for the hotel.
They made it in just a few minutes and pulled into the parking lot, motors rumbling.
Jackson led the way into the restaurant where the hostess met them.
"Gentlemen?"
Table for eight, please." Jackson smiled genially at her.
The hostess eyed them, liked what she saw and said, "Right this way."
She handed out menus, filled water glasses, and said, "Your server will be right with you. I will remind you that prime rib is only available after 5 p.m. on Friday, and Saturday and Sunday from noon to 9 p.m."
The lunch menu only had sandwiches, salads, and desserts. There was a bit of discussion over what to get, but Jackson had been told that the tenderloins were particularly good, so he decided on one with fries and slaw. Tony decided on the same, while Tim and Jimmy both wanted bacon cheeseburgers. Dean, Remy, and Cosmo went with the tenderloin, while Gibbs was his usual contrary self and went with chicken fingers, fries, and slaw.
The server showed up, coffee pot in hand. "Okay, everyone wants coffee?" She started pouring as she asked; up-turned cups usually meant coffee, but once in a while someone wanted tea. She set the pot down on the table and got out her pad. "One ticket or separate?"
Jackson said, "Separate, please."
Taffy nodded and waited for him to give his order. It didn't take long for her to get everyone's order written down. She headed off for the kitchen after saying, "I'll turn this in. Kitchen's really quick, so it should be out in thirty minutes or so. If you need more water, coffee ... whatever, just give me a wave, if I don't get around in time."
Remy grumbled, "We should have gotten some appetizers. I don't think that's going to be enough."
Jackson shrugged. "Why don't we just relax? If it's not enough you can always order something else."
Tony poked Remy, "Relax. For real. We're not gonna starve."
Remy nodded. "Okay, okay. Nightmare last night."
Everyone was immediately sympathetic. Remy looked around. He knew the sympathy was real; the compassion showed on everyone's face.
Dean nodded. "Wanna talk about it?"
"No. Just ... I remember always being hungry, and I'm hungry now. Not good." Remy rubbed his face.
Cosmo took a quick look around; seeing a basket of crackers, he just got up and grabbed a handful. He dumped them in front of Remy, mumbling, "Snack out, dude."
The waitress saw what was going on but kept her peace. The man who'd been given the crackers looked like he really needed them. She decided that he had to be either diabetic or hypoglycemic. She stuck her head into the kitchen and told the cook what was going on. He told her to take a few slices of cheese to the table.
Remy looked up as Taffy put the small plate at his elbow. "Don't know exactly what's wrong but here. If you need something sweet I could bring you a slice of pie right away."
Remy shook his head. "No, that's ok. This is perfect. Thanks."
Dean promptly tried to steal some cheese, Cosmo grabbed him, smacking his hand like he was three. "Ow. Man ... so not cool. Just wanted a taste."
Jimmy snorted. "No, you're just jealous that he's got cheese and you don't."
Tim interjected. "If you want cheese, you should have ordered a cheeseburger."
Remy was now comically guarding the tiny plate, both arms wrapped protectively around it, shoulders hunched. "NO! Mine ... all mine, my precious."
"Oh, man, not Rings. Please, no." Tony moaned softly. "If they get started on that we'll be listening to mangled quotes from fourteen hours of movies."
Gibbs snickered. "Really? Bad?"
Tony nodded gravely. "Yes, Jet, really bad. Misquoting misquotes. Mysting the unmystable. Badly. You do not want to know."
Gibbs smirked back. "I already know. Those lugnuts all live with me, remember?"
Tony laughed. "I do. Jet, I swear, you're a glutton for punishment. How's that workin' out?"
Gibbs snorted. "Good, real good." He looked around the table, a fond expression in his usually cold blue eyes. "You got good people. You know that, right?"
Tony nodded. "I do." He glanced up just in time to see Tim kick Jimmy under the table. Jimmy retaliated, only he missed and kicked Cos instead.
Cos intelligently reacted by throwing a packet of sugar at Jimmy. Jimmy batted it away, right into Dean's coffee. Dean retaliated to that by punching him in the shoulder, not hard, just hard enough to make him grumble, "Ow. Asshat."
"Not. Bitch." Dean fished the soggy sugar packet out of his coffee and put it on the saucer. "Ick."
Tony ran interference easily. "You squids keep it down to a dull roar. You break anything and I'll run you into the ground. I swear, we go on vacation and discipline goes out the door. And I even gave Dean and Remy a pass."
Remy nodded sadly. "It does. It truly does. Sad, very sad. And you did, for which I thank you."
Taffy came to the table with a huge tray. "Okay. Settle down. Food's here." She grinned around then put the tray down on the stand the bus boy set for her. "Okay. Tenderloin ... cheeseburger ..." and she went around the table setting down each plate, remembering who'd ordered what. She grinned at the now surprised expressions on the men's faces. "Yeah, kinda on the big side."
The guys who'd ordered tenderloins were just staring at their plates, or platters. The tenderloins were huge, a good ten inches across and fairly thick. The pile of fries was what most restaurants would call a triple order, and the bowl of slaw on the side was at least a double serving. The cheeseburgers, as the menu stated, were half pounders, but they were hand patted and had been made thinner than expected, so they were also huge. Since they were loaded with cheese, lettuce, onions, tomatoes, and pickles they compared favorably with the tenderloins and were accompanied with the same fries and slaw. Gibbs' chicken fingers were more like a fist, as they were a whole breast cut into fingers that were still attached at one end. There were three of them, as well as his fries and slaw.
Taffy smiled. "I don't think you'll be leaving hungry. Now. More coffee?"
Gibbs said yes to more coffee and asked about pie. Taffy nodded at a display, saying, "You can't see it very well from here ... so, apple, peach, cherry, banana cream, lemon cream, or ... um ... mixed berry. There's also carrot cake, angel food with strawberry or peach compote, and ice cream. Standard three on that."
Remy eyed his plate then announced, "Looks decent."
Everyone laughed and started eating. Taffy came back twice with more coffee and water. She was surprised to see that everyone had nearly finished their entire plate the second time she came around. Most people managed half, at best; they usually were asking for a take-away container, not stealing fries from each other.
Dean snitched a fry from Cos, who quickly took it back. "Eat your own, grabby."
Cos eyed his nearly empty plate and said, "I did. All gone. Gimme some."
Dean shook his head. "Can't help it if you're a pig. Should have eaten slower." He made grunting noises which brought Tony's attention.
"Damn it, Dean, not at the table. Sorry, Jackson." Tony shook his head. "Bunch of children. Really."
Jackson eyed the whole table; he was now sure that they were all just jazzed and the vacation was supposed to bring them down, and the only way to do that was to let them act it out. "Never mind. If you're still hungry, why don't we order a couple of plates of appetizers?"
This suggestion was greeted with muted cheers so Tony waved at Taffy. "Miss Taffy. A couple of plates of appetizers, please."
Taffy smiled. "You sure, hun? That's a lot of food."
Jackson, well aware of the amount of food needed to keep up with their exercise program, snorted, "You didn't see this pod of SEALs this morning." He turned to Gibbs and asked, "Leroy, how far did they swim?"
Gibbs thought for a moment. "Well, lake's about four miles across where they did their swim, so eight miles. And we all ran the Falls Trail before that. That's right at eight miles from start to finish. Skipped weight training, but did Tai Chi and yoga, then they swam the lake while I came in to help you with breakfast. And that was ... at 0700. Then we all spent four ... five hours shooting. What time is it?" He looked at his watch to see that it was late, nearly 1400. "Wow. 1400, no wonder we're all starved."
Taffy blinked. "SEALs. Like Navy SEAL?"
Tony nodded. "Yeah, us four ..." he pointed out his team. "He's a Marine, retired. Those two are NCIS. And Jackson was Air Force."
Taffy looked impressed. "Ok. I have to correct the tickets." She smiled. "I even know what NCIS is. Service people, current or retired, get free coffee. I'll even give NCIS a break."
Jackson started to refuse but Tony patted his hand. He finally just nodded and echoed everyone else's thanks.
After Taffy went away, Tony said, "Free coffee, a piece of pie ..." he shrugged. "Just take it. It makes them feel good and where's the harm? Anything really big, that's different."
Jackson nodded. "I think you're right."
Under the eyes of two gimlet-eyed Gibbs men, the rest of the group calmed down and finished eating like, as Jackson put it, the gentlemen the government thought they were.
Taffy brought the appetizers and put one plate on each end of the table. "There you go. I'm still flabbergasted at the amount of food you guys ate. Really."
As usual everyone grabbed for their favorite and, also as usual, Gibbs got there first. No one could figure out how he managed but he did. He snatched up the plate but, instead of taking his favorite, he offered the platter to his father.
Jackson eyed the platter then took a few mozzarella sticks, a potato skin and some onion rings. "Thanks, Leroy." He passed the platter to Gibbs.
Gibbs helped himself then passed it on.
Both platters made the rounds and emptied in one go.
The team all told more stories, laughed, and ate too much.
Finally Gibbs pushed away from the table. "Well, that was my second piece of pie."
Dean shook his head, burped then said, "No, Jet, that was your third. Seriously, learn to count."
Tony finished his coffee and said, "Jet, Dean's right. Third."
Cosmo shook his head. "Sad, really. Senile at his age." He gave Jackson a mournful look. "You think it's the concussions?"
Jackson joined in. "Naw, he's always been that way."
Gibbs defended himself. "Yeah? Age comments from wet-behind-the-ears squids? Please? And it was definitely two."
Remy thought for a second. "No, I saw Taffy put three pieces at your place."
Gibbs pointed to Jimmy. "She did, but he stole one."
Jimmy looked around then denied it. "Did not. She put that one piece right by my hand. That made it mine. And I only had two pieces, so don't go there."
Tim made a rude noise. "Go where? We're just sittin' here, runnin' off at the mouth."
Gibbs replied to that in an intelligent manner. "Punk."
"Grouch."
Gibbs gave him a smug look. "Second b's for bastard. Told you that years ago."
Tony grumbled, "We need to get going before we scare the locals. I'll go pay up. You head for the motors."
Taffy eyed the bill, looking a bit worried. She was allowed to give one bottomless cup of coffee and one piece of pie. If she had to pay for all the extras, it would wipe out two days' worth of tips.
Tony noticed the look but ignored it. He told her. "Subtract whatever we get free and tell me the damage." He gave her a flirtatious smile.
Taffy sighed, did as he asked and tentatively told him the total. Tony just paid up, added a good tip and said, "There you go. Keep the change. And thanks for putting up with us, and the pie and coffee. Have a nice day." He left before she could run the register but her happy squeal followed him out the door. "You're welcome, ma'am."
The deep rumble of seven motorcycles starting up brought stares from all over the parking lot. Tony raised a fist then brought it down, "Light 'em up an' move 'em out." The bikes grumbled their way out of the parking lot, followed by Jackson's old truck. Tony made a mental note to check the exhaust.
They traveled the back roads back to Stillwater, enjoying the pleasant weather on the way. Tim had installed a repeater in Jackson's truck and he could hear and speak to them. They were about halfway home when Jackson said, "Ok, boys, need to pull over at the next convenience."
Tony chuckled, "Coffee want out?"
"You bet. Hell gettin' old," Jackson laughed. "Next pullout is about a mile up the road on the right. Small park and overlook."
They pulled in to the park, scaring a murder of crows into the air, cawing indignantly. Several other vehicles were on the lot, but no one seemed too fussed by the group. Tony had taken to calling them a pod as they were either SEALs or SEAL-ready. He had said that he'd have any of them in his stack.
Jackson made a beeline for the facilities, which he called the head. He was followed by Jimmy and Tim.
Remy eyed them. "Jackson I can see, but Gremlin and Digimon? Bladder the size of a pea, I swear. Sad, truly sad."
"It is. Really sad," Cosmo agreed.
Tony shrugged. "Neither one of them has ever been on a long term stake-out. Now Jet on the other hand ... he's like a tanker."
Gibbs laughed. "And you're not? I've seen you drink coffee for fourteen hours straight. Never went once."
Tony winked. "So true. Then I went an' took the whizz from hell; thought I'd never get it all out."
Gibbs shook his head. "Me too, me too. But at least we know our kidneys are okay."
Dean nodded. "I think we've all got bladders the size of a horse. Can't just go anywhere, any when on an op."
Cosmo agreed. "True." He looked around. "Want to go see the overlook?"
They all headed off to see what the view was.
It turned out that the view was of a river valley. None of them were sure whether it was the Alleghenies or the Poconos; they just wanted to enjoy the view. Tony took a moment to take a few photos with his cell phone.
Jackson returned and stood with them for a moment, enjoying the view with his boys.
Remy eyed his watch then the sky. "We better be going. We're running late."
Jackson sighed. "We better. Don't want to be driving after dark. My ol' eyes ... I get stars and sparkles now."
Gibbs grimaced at that. He was going to have to do something about his Dad's driving soon. He wasn't too happy about it, but he would be even more unhappy if something happened.
Jackson noticed and ordered, "Don't you go gettin' yourself all in a lather, Leroy. I close before dusk so I'm home before I have a problem. If I need to be open after dusk, I take a cab. Or the cab, I should say. Or someone'll drive me. Come on. Let's get going."
They mounted up and rumbled away, much to the relief of the other occupants of the park. The pod had no idea how dangerous they looked to common civilians.
They made it home in good time after all and settled in for supper, pizza from the local joint. It was very good but made them all sleepy, so they hit the rack early. Tomorrow was work day.
.
Tony grumbled his way out of bed. He was usually one of the first up but, some days, his body wanted to catch up and he'd sleep in. Today was one of those days, but he had to get up; they were fixing things today.
Jackson eyed the grumpy bunch that sat at his table. "Boys, work can wait. You all need to just slack off once in a while." Gibbs opened his mouth but shut it again when he was told, "Leroy, rest. You've got two weeks. You took a day to get here, two days at the park and coming back. It's only Wednesday. If you're planning a trip down to Louisiana, you've still got three days here. Sunday to get down, part of Monday, if you take secondary roads. That leaves you four days there and two to get home, unpack and clean up. Relax."
Gibbs nodded. "Okay, Dad. Anyone want to go on a run?" This comment was met with a barrage of toast, wadded napkins, and kitchen linens. He protected his head with his arms and laughed. "Okay! Okay! Don't get your shorts in a knot. I give."
They lounged around most of the morning, then took Jackson to the local pizza place for lunch. This was more fun than you'd expect, as Jackson fired up the old tractor and took them on the wagon, hayride-style.
The owner of the restaurant was used to this sort of thing, usually a pack of teenagers celebrating a win or smaller kids celebrating a birthday. The group that ambled into the place left him shaking his head. Adults on a hayride?
Jackson smiled at the hostess. "Hello, Janice, big table?"
Janice flirted with Jackson a bit while saying, "Hello, handsome, sure thing. Who are all these cute guys?"
Jackson laughed. "Friends of Leroy's." He made quick introductions, finishing, "And don't get your hopes up. They're headed back home on Friday, or Saturday. Now scoot and bring something to drink."
Janice scooted and came back with glasses and a pitcher of Coke and another of sweet tea. "Coke and sweet tea. Anyone want water?" No one did, so she handed out menus and told them, "I'll be back in a few to take your order."
Gibbs busied himself with passing drinks around while Tony glanced at the menu then said, "Four supreme large?"
Dean frowned, "Anchovies?"
"Not on the menu. We'll do without."
Jackson shrugged, "Put green olives on instead. Most people like anchovies because of the salt. Green olives will do."
Remy nodded. "Ok. Sounds good to me."
They agreed, except for Tony, who insisted on one being his favorite of pepperoni, sausage, extra cheese. Janice only asked, "What kind of sausage: sage, farm style, or spicy Italian?"
Everyone groaned when Tony said, "Since I'm Italian and very spicy ..." he ducked the swat Gibbs aimed at him and snickered. Janice just rolled her eyes and wrote things down.
They settled in to wait for the pizza. While they waited they discussed what needed doing in the way of repairs. Jackson held out for the already-discussed soffit-painting and the repair of the loose board at the store.
Tony nodded, "And mowing. What about that back pasture? It looks awful ragged."
"Yeah, city's after me to mow that too. The boy was supposed to mow it, but he always crapped out before he got to it. That tractor can take a belly mower, and I've got one."
Remy shrugged easily. "I can mount it and do the pasture. Really don' wan' me paintin'"
Dean shuddered dramatically. "No, no you really don't. Last time he painted anything it was with a laser, an' it blew up. Really sweet job."
This led to Remy and Dean explaining laser targeting to Jackson who was fascinated by the whole idea.
"Well, isn't that something. I swear, if we'd had that, ol' Adolph would a' been on the run before you knew it."
Cosmo nodded, then shrugged, "Maybe. The biggest problem is establishing location. You can target something to within six feet, or less, but making sure you've got the right target ... now that's something else entirely."
Gibbs also shrugged then commented, "Who *cares* if a laser-guided 500-lb. bomb is accurate to within 9 feet? I mean, it's 500 lb. of ordnance."
Jackson blinked for a moment. "Is that a common payload?"
Tony thought for a moment. "That's only one bomb. A payload is usually six? or eight? That's Air Force stuff, so I'm not really sure. Hell of a hole, at any rate."
The pizza arrived, and they all grabbed a slice.
Dean moaned, "Man, that's good."
Remy stuffed most of a piece in his mouth, then had to take a couple of gulps of his drink to cool his burning mouth.
Gibbs calmly put two pieces on his plate, then sat back to let it cool. Tony imitated him, as did Jackson. The rest all went through all sorts of antics to keep from burning their mouths.
Cosmo fanned his with a napkin. Tim and Jimmy both blew on it.
Janice brought Remy a glass of ice. "Suck on that for a moment, hun. And don't eat so fast, you'll choke." Remy just nodded and sucked on several pieces of ice to ease the burning in his mouth.
Jackson shook his head. "You know that cheese is hot."
Tim said, "It's actually not usually the cheese. The sauce has sugar in it, and hot sugar really sticks. Then add the residual heat in the cheese and it's a recipe for a bad burn." He looked at Remy. "You want Jimmy to take a look?"
Remy shook his head. "Not that bad. Pain's almost gone. I just need a few to let it cool." He grinned at Jimmy, "But thanks all the same."
They all returned to scarfing down pizza, insults flying.
Tony finally grabbed the last piece of supreme, much to Remy's annoyance. "Damn it, AJ, I wanted that."
"You snooze, you loose. Whiner."
"Bitch." Remy crossed his arms over his chest, obviously settling in for a good sulk.
"Can't help it if you're slooooowwwwww." Tony bit into the pizza with smug satisfaction.
Jackson sighed. "Ever feel like you're a zoo keeper?"
"All the time, Dad, all the time." Gibbs watched his friends with a smile.
Janice ambled over. "More drinks? Something else to eat?"
The offer of more food was turned down but everyone wanted another glass of whatever they were drinking. Janice brought a pitcher of each and let them deal for themselves.
Tim had settled back to fiddle with his phone. Gibbs eyed it for a moment then demanded. "What the heck are you doing now?"
Tim showed Gibbs his phone. "Setting up the route for the trip to Louisiana. See, Google maps ..." he proceeded to show Gibbs how to move the red line to set their route. "And then ..." he clicked here and there. "Lock it in so it doesn't get changed by accident. And ... there."
Gibbs eyed the whole thing for a moment then said, "Show me again." So Tim went over it again, realizing that Gibbs would now remember it.
Jimmy poked Remy, who was beginning to nod off. "Wake up. If you fall asleep now, you'll never wake up, an' I'm not haulin' your heavy ass out to the wagon."
Remy jerked, snorted, and mumbled, "Not askin' ya to. I'm up."
Jackson shook his head, well aware that he wasn't. "Not. Come on, everyone, we better get ta gettin' or half of you'll be asleep where you sit." He got up and headed for the register. Tony tried to take the bill but Jackson told him, "Stand down, squid. You're fixin' up my place; the least I can do is feed you. Get that Sasquatch to the wagon before he falls asleep on his feet."
Tony thanked Jackson then went to help Jimmy drag Remy to the wagon. They were all drooping a bit, full stomachs and lazy days making them sleepy. They were beginning to wind down and really relax.
Jackson admitted that he wanted a nap too, but he was good to get them home; after all, the old 1951 8N Ford didn't go that fast. Since it was a hand-feed, all he had to do was set the feed and steer.
When they got back home to Jackson's house, they all headed inside to lie around in the living room. There was a game on, college football, so they watched that, commenting idly on plays, but not getting overly involved. Jackson realized that they were all asleep and went to turn off the TV.
"Don't do that, Dad; they'll all wake up." Gibbs smiled at his dad and went back to sleep. Jackson just went up to his bedroom and took a nap himself.
.
Late afternoon saw them all getting ready for the next day. Remy was swearing up a storm as he put the belly mower on the tractor, with help from Cosmo. Dean and Gibbs were examining the porches and soffits to make sure all the wood was good and decide how much paint they were going to need.
Gibbs was not happy to find several rotten boards in the porch; his knife went clear through them. "Dad, damn it. You're gonna wind up with a broken hip or somethin'."
"I had the city inspector out for a free inspecion ..." he thought for a moment then sighed, "Well, damn, that was ... six? No, seven years ago. Call the lumber yard and I'll set up an account."
"Okay. Shouldn't cost all that much; most of the expense is in labor." Gibbs measured up, writing things down on a small note pad.
He was soon done and speaking to the lumber yard about paint, decking, and planks for the floor in the store. He finished the call, saying, "Okay, I'll have the measure for the store first thing in the morning."
He went to check on Remy.
"How ya doin'?"
"Okay. Just gettin' this ..." he grunted with effort, "belt on the pulley is a bitch. Cos, pull harder, I need more slack."
Gibbs leaned on the cheater bar with Cosmo and got Remy that inch of extra slack he needed to slip the belt onto the PTO pulley. "There!"
"You need any more help?" Gibbs wiped his hands on a rag Cosmo gave him.
Remy leaned on the rear tire as he started putting the shield back on. "No, thanks. Just need to get the safety shield back on and we're good to go."
It didn't take him long to finish that job. They all headed for the house to take stock, figure out who needed to do what, and settle in to watch news. Jackson asked what they wanted for supper and was happy to hear that stew and biscuits was fine with everyone. He headed for the kitchen asking, "You want cut or is choked-off good enough?"
They agreed that choked-off was fine, and Jackson set to work. He wasn't alone. Gibbs joined him to sear off the meat, while Tony peeled potatoes, Remy chopped onions, and Jimmy took care of the rest of the vegetables. It didn't take but about fifteen minutes to have the stew simmering in the pot and trays of biscuits ready for the oven.
.
Jackson folded the last kitchen towel and dropped it into the laundry basket. "There. That's done. Fine crew ya got there."
Gibbs nodded as he wiped off the table. "I do. Wouldn't believe havin' that bunch a' squids livin' with me would be so ... relaxing."
"Havin' people around is good. I got neighbors an' everyone drops into the store for a visit at least once a week. If I need more help, I can call a dozen people. You stop worryin' about me, hear?" Jackson patted Gibbs on the shoulder.
"Can't help it. Someday, you're not gonna be able to manage anymore. What then?" Gibbs was worried and didn't mind showing it.
"Well, assisted living, I guess. No place around here, but there's a couple o' places down south a ways." Jackson wasn't about to worry until it was time, and it wasn't time yet.
A voice from the door to the living room made them both startle. "If you need us out, just say." Remy frowned at the floor.
Jackson snorted. "In a pig's eye. I'm not puttin' you out of your home."
Gibbs seconded that. "No way. We need more room, I'll just build on. Not like you idiots can't follow a simple order to hold somethin' or cut here."
Remy's relief was obvious. "Well, okay. But we'll do ..." he waved a hand.
Jackson patted him on the arm. "Stop that. No need to worry until it's time. I'm good for a few years yet. And ... we'll deal when it's time. I'm sure something will come up when it's needed."
They wandered back into the living room to watch the news and Jackson's favorite gameshow. No one realized how late it was until Tony glanced at his watch. "Damn! It's nearly 2100. Didn't realize it was that late."
Jackson nodded. "Local late news, then my show. I'm sure you boys are used to late nights. Not like us old country folks."
Tony admitted that he usually didn't sleep much but seemed to be catching up on zz's. Everyone else grumbled about early nights and early mornings but they all went to bed too.
.