In Motion

Chapter 3: Coneheads, Caves, Exploring another Continent

Tim grinned at Artie as he sat back in his seat, "Here we go! I wasn't sure we'd be able to make this trip."

She smiled back at him, "It all worked out! Are you as excited as I am?"

"Yes, the two of us experiencing Turkey! I can't wait to see the cave hotel and everything in Cappadocia and then exploring Istanbul!"

Lifting an eyebrow, Artie asked, "Even the hot air balloon?"

"Absolutely. Although I doubt I'll need them, I brought ginger and my sea bands just in case."

"Good! I know there will be other adventures we'll also want to try."

Tim nodded. "Let's think about bringing the children when they're a little older. Maybe after Varkiza one year."

She nodded, "We have 3 more years to see and do everything over here."

"At least 3 more years, that's the minimum. We could be here longer. Or we can say no to whatever Vance has in mind after London and stay in Jaxton."

She shook her head, "I don't want to think about leaving."

"Then let's focus on doing what we want and not worry about the future."

She grinned, "After the past weeks, I'm just thankful you're able to take time off!"

He made a face, nodding, "Have a lot to learn, even just refamiliarizing myself with the agency. Not to mention being in charge of a lot of people!"

It was late March. The weeks since his return to NCIS had been particularly busy, with Tim learning more about his new job, the larger task of leadership and perhaps most importantly, balancing responsibilities toward the employees he was charged with leading with following their mission to serve and protect USN and USMC personnel and their dependents. He was grateful to have the help and advice of two of his peers, Richard Owens, SAC of the Northeast Field Office in the US and the other, his friend Cassie Yates, SAC for the Southeast Asia Field Office in Singapore. The SSAs he knew the best, Pete and Roger, were also a great help. He never had to ask his questions, they'd somehow know and drop a comment or two, or tell a tale or two to help him.

As he was learning to mindfully handle the different components of his post, Artemis was happily expanding her business. While they were managing their professional lives, the couple also spent as much time as possible with their four children and with each other.

The adoptions of the March children would be final toward the end of April. Liam and Chloe were doing very well after nearly a year with their new family. They loved their siblings, parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles, cousins and everyone else. Chloe's 3rd birthday was coming up in April and the little girl was very excited about being three, just like Liam!

The two were bright, happy children with many of the same character and behavioral traits as the twins. Their mother sometimes wondered about that while Tim thought it was likely the two younger children unconsciously copied their older siblings in their behavior. While Artie thought it odd, Tim was endlessly amused that their adopted children looked more like him than their biological children, who had inherited their mother's lovely Grecian looks. The Brudegans, the children's former foster parents, were still in Athens, Artie checked online. They'd sent photos to them of Liam's birthday celebrations and would send another for Chloe's birthday. After that, they'd probably wait until Liam and then Chloe's first days of school.

Sending the photos to the children's former foster parents made Tim wonder if other adoptive parents did that. He also wondered if there were people who would be interested in hearing from or about him. Although he thought of looking for status and addresses of the handful of people, or more importantly, names he remembered, he hadn't done anything about it yet, afraid of the scary and unpredictable situation that contacting anyone from his pre-Baltimore years could very well cause.

Now that they were 4, Ellanne and Jackson would begin their formal schooling in Reception in September while Liam, Chloe and their cousin McKenna would follow them a year later. Although they hadn't planned to change their annual Greek vacation from June to mid-July until 2015, they'd decided to make the change this year. Nik and Sergio had their vacation replacements already well trained and nobody else minded the change.

For at least the next 18 years, longer if and when more children joined the family, vacations would be dependent on school schedules. Luckily, in Jaxton and London there were week-long or two weeks-long school holidays throughout the year. There were also 6 weeks of holiday, beginning in mid-July, between academic years.

The French school system, where Ned and Barry's older daughter Ava would study, started their summer holiday at the first of July. When the Greek vacation dates changed this year instead of next Ned and Barry were ready. They'd already planned a list of fun things for their girls to do between the first of July and when they'd leave for Greece. They'd update their list as the girls grew up.

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Over the past few months, Tim and Artie had been reconsidering their already delayed trip to Morocco in the spring. They finally decided to again postpone visiting that country until the children were older, when they could better appreciate what they would experience. That would also give all of them more time to learn the language and at least the highlights of Morocco's history. For this spring, the couple instead decided to travel on their own, selecting Turkey as their destination.

As they prepared for their adventure, Tim's teams in Europe had another complex case once again requiring the expertise of all the European teams, Field, Cyber and Cold Case and he'd been a little worried that he and Artie would need to postpone their trip to Turkey. Of course his main concern was to crack the case and bust the criminals. However, his agents had the miscreants arrested, interrogated and locked up well before the Midei-Camilo-Gibbses had to face cancelling or rescheduling their trip.

They were trying something different this trip. While discussing their plans and all the details, they remembered how wonderful it had been to have tour guides on their Scandinavian tour last year. This time, they decided to join a tour. It would start and end in Istanbul, they would experience that city as well as exploring the region of Cappadocia, full of caves, historical sites and hot air balloon flights along with many other things to see and do.

With Geordie's help, they'd studied Turkish history, although Artemis already knew bits of it, along with some serious studying of the country's geology, geography and archeology.

With Barry's help, they'd also learned enough of the Turkish language to make their vacation more interesting and fun. They took language classes online and then practiced with each other and with Barry over Skype. He made sure to ask them a variety of questions visitors might have as well as engaging them in conversations, including about what they would be seeing. Geordie also helped practice with them and Tim was heard wondering if there were any languages his siblings didn't know!

They found a tour company that featured small group tours. The one they selected would have 8 people along with the tour guide, any local tour guides and the bus driver. That was a recommendation from the senior Clachers, the senior Powells and the Porters, all of whom had found small groups more interesting, relaxing and fun.

So here they were, on their way to Istanbul, a flight just under 4 hours. They quietly teased about flying commercial when they were so used to flying 'Air Paddington' but there hadn't been any Paddington flights already scheduled and they didn't want to waste resources being the only passengers! Their commercial flight wasn't full and they were comfortable flying Business class.

They were met at the Istanbul airport by a car and driver from their hotel, included in the cost of their tour. Although the flight was relatively short, both were tired and had taken the opportunity to nap. They'd worked from home that morning, starting well before dawn. Planning to take the train to the airport, they happily changed their plans when Bill offered to drive them.

Now, checking in at the hotel, they were given the itinerary for the trip, met with their guide and fellow travelers for a mercifully short "Welcome" party including dinner and then nearly fell into their bed after setting their phone alarms and reinforcing those with a request to the front desk for a wake up call. While it hadn't happened often, one or the other had on occasion turned off the alarm instead of hitting the snooze button.

After a refreshing sleep, early the next morning the couple joined the rest of their group for a tasty breakfast that included eggs, cheeses, fresh vegetables and pastries as well as their first Turkish tea before hurrying back to their room to gather their carry-on bags, their luggage had been collected while they were at breakfast, brush their teeth, comb their hair, make sure they hadn't forgotten anything and were in the lobby a few minutes before they were to leave for the airport. Their guide was pleased when all of his new group were waiting as instructed when he arrived in the lobby, that was an excellent beginning and he hoped it would continue.

Although Tim and Artie were punctual by nature, they'd been cautioned by the Powells that in order to see everything they'd paid to see, everyone had to be on time and that didn't always happen. The Porters, having suffered through one too many tours with a perennially late individual, couple or group, reinforced the Powells' caution. They also advised that with a small group, it was easier for the guide to keep an eye on everyone. Both couples told tales of inconsiderate tour travelers who invariably wandered off and had to be found, which cut into their time at the rest of the day's stops.

Happily, both couples also told stories of absolutely trouble-free wonderful tours, where everyone had fun, got along very well and life-long friendships were established. No one was ever more than a few seconds late and at each stop they were able to spend as much time as was scheduled and paid for.

Firmly keeping the positive information in mind, Tim and Artie found a highly rated tour company offering small group tours in Turkey, including the areas they were most interested in for this visit.

Now, on their first official day of their tour and already liking their tour guide, whose name was Zeki, and fellow tourists, they were driven to the airport where they went through Security and climbed aboard their flight to Nevşehir, the closest airport to their destination.

With the flight just over an hour, no one fell asleep. Once they disembarked at the airport, Zeki gathered them to claim their luggage, which their tour bus driver Efe handled, making sure everyone had all their belongings before taking them to their bus. With only 9 passengers, including their tour guide, the bus was smaller than the full-sized vehicles commonly used for tours. It was comfortable and once the tour passengers were settled, they left for the 90 minute ride to Cappadocia. With large windows, everyone could see out without straining, although there were 8 heads swiveling from one side to the other, not wanting to miss anything as Zeki told them what they were seeing as they traveled.

The terrain was amazing, nothing like most of them had seen before, the landscape here was quite different. What they saw was dramatic, mountains shaped like towers, cones and into caves and valleys. Their guide explained that what they were seeing was formed by soft volcanic rock shaped by erosion, wind, water and tectonic activity over the past 60 million years. Volcanic eruptions covered the region with soft volcanic ash which over time solidified into a soft rock formally called "Tuff".

Eventually they learned that Bryce Canyon National Park in Southwestern Utah, in the US, also has the same sort of formations, called hoodoos. Looking at each other when they heard that, the couple silently promised they would take the children there when they were older. When they mentioned it to Tim's parents on their Skype call that evening, the two admitted they hadn't known that either. Two nights later, Lu said they'd taken a poll amongst the older adults and found that her brother Charlie and Uncle LJ were the only ones who'd been to Bryce Canyon National Park as well as Zion National Park and that both parks were now on their 'must see' list of adventures in the US.

Once in the city of Göreme, the bus pulled up to their home for the next few days, a hotel featuring cave suites. When the Gibbses were showed to their cave they were astounded and pleased by the look and feel of it. The décor was Turkish, feeling somewhat exotic to them, with Turkish style furniture, including chairs, wall art and beautiful Turkish rugs. There was plenty of room to move around or to sit and relax and they knew they would be very comfortable here.

They unpacked what they'd need, taking a few photos of their suite and sending them home along with a brief message that they'd arrived at their second stop.

Within an hour, they met the others in the hotel restaurant for lunch, followed by their first tour of the landscape. They smiled when their first 'stop' was across the street!

They saw what they'd already dubbed 'coneheads' and flattened areas that looked either like a sandwich cookie, a spaceship or a huge alien being with multiple claws (pointed parts turned down) reaching out the sides. Of course, that all depended on one's point of view, imagination or perhaps how hungry a viewer might be.

Spotting several caves, they wondered if they would be able to explore one, other than their lodgings. Tim and Artie speculated about the writer J.R.R. Tolkien possibly having visited here and basing some of his settings for his novels on what he saw in Cappadocia or perhaps Bryce Canyon in the United States.

After they spoke with their babies before the children's bedtime that evening, they went looking online for information about Tolkien's travels and were impressed with the strength of the wi-fi. However, they did not find an answer and were too tired to delve any deeper into Mr. Tolkien's life.

Their second day, they had their ride in a hot air balloon, with Tim taking his ginger and sea bands along just in case. However, they weren't on any water and he did well looking out and not down, easy to do with so many wonderous views in every direction, and had no problems, both thoroughly enjoying themselves.

For the next three very full and fascinating days they explored several caves, answering their question, yes, they did see the insides of several caves along with a huge cavern that housed an ancient multi-leveled underground city. They also toured the current towns and cities. Finally, the tour group packed up, riding to the airport in Nevşehir, stopping along the way to explore some of the sites of that region. Tim and Artie were already planning a trip back when the children were older, perhaps in three years when Chloe and Liam would be 6 and the twins 7.

Returning to Istanbul, they spent the rest of the tour exploring the ancient, historic city and its environs. Their first day after their return from Cappadocia, they had a bus tour of many of the sights in the city. Dinner that evening was in a famous restaurant where delicious Turkish meals were served to them. On Sunday, they also visited the Galata Mevlevi Museum, where they experienced Whirling Dervishes.

They also visited the Asian parts of the city where Tim was nearly over the top at having his feet planted on the continent of Asia! His understanding wife and one of their new friends took photos of Tim standing by a sign indicating they were now in Asia and another with Artie and Tim together at a busy Asian market. A few days later, their last full day, the couple, along with their photo-taking new friends from the tour, Barbara and Rusty Manning from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, took a morning cruise on the Bosphorus Strait, an optional item on the tour schedule. That was wonderful, interesting and very informative.

After their cruise and visit to the Asian continent, as Tim put it, and back in Istanbul with a free afternoon, the two couples went their own ways. Artie and Tim made sure they had gifts and souvenirs for everyone, shipping nearly everything home. They were very pleased to find interesting items that were made in Turkey and different from anything they'd seen before.

Artie later told her husband that both Rusty and Barbara remarked on Tim's amazing resemblance to a young man, American by birth, who'd grown up in their neighborhood in Vancouver. When Barbara mentioned his name, Artie gave the appearance of listening without any real interest. However, when she was alone, she made a note on her phone.

Although Tim continued in his determination to leave his nightmare past behind, she thought she might at least look online to see who this was and what he looked like. After all, her Timόtheos had never said anything about ignoring the possibility of younger relatives. Relatives, yes, at least those who were old enough to have been involved in whatever happened but not younger relatives.

Whenever anyone mentioned they'd seen someone who looked like Tim, he passed it off as common genealogy. He was fairly certain he was a product of the British Isles, Irish, Scottish, English and possibly a little Welsh, all peoples involved in nearly global diasporas over the past few centuries along with many still living in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

He also noticed the only siblings who never mentioned any lookalikes to him were in the same situation as he was, having no knowledge of who their birth parents might have been, what their ancestry might be or where they might have lived. Further, like his siblings, he had no desire to know. He certainly wasn't the only one of the 8 camp kids who had had and might still be having nightmares.

As far as Tim knew, Joe, Geordie and Sarah were the only ones who hadn't been emotionally scarred by their childhoods. Joe and Geordie remembered both their parents, in Joe's case having wonderful although ultimately sad memories while Geo became a Marine to honor his father and he would occasionally mention his mother, who died when he was in kindergarten. While Tim didn't know what had happened to Sarah during her first three years, before he met her on the bus when it arrived in Baltimore, he sometimes thought it might be responsible for most of her anger as she grew up. Of course, being abandoned, first, at the tender age of 3 having to ride a bus by herself, even if a nice lady sat with her for part of the time and other nice ladies sat with her for a while before they left the bus, giving her food, water and helping her, followed by Sarah leaving the bus with a complete stranger only to find no one waiting for her at the station, all that could very well have lit that fire.

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A couple of days after their cruise and visit to Asia, their shopping complete, a farewell dinner was held on their last evening together. Artie used her business address for the 'contact' list that was passed around, for those who wanted to share photos from film cameras or just stay in touch. She and Tim agreed they would not supply phone numbers.

As usual when traveling with his wife, Tim used Midei as his surname. It not only amused him, it made him feel safer, never having gotten past the fear that someone from his nightmares might find him or worse, harm his family. It also helped to keep his work as a criminal investigator from public knowledge.

They'd already exchanged their contact information with the Mannings, feeling somewhat safe because both Barbara and Rusty were retired law enforcement and understood their concerns regarding privacy.

The flight home passed quickly as they talked about their favorite things and what they wanted for their next trip. They had a wonderful time and learned many interesting things about Turkey and the world in general and were happy to exit the plane at Gatwick Airport outside London. Their getaway was fun, returning home even better!

They were met in Baggage Claim by Malu who kissed them both, welcoming them home and advising them to put their coats, gloves and knit caps on, it was cold outside! Exiting the terminal, they grinned as they saw the Cayenne pulling up with Dad behind the wheel and four happy little faces waiting for them. They kissed all four children, as well as Jethro, before slipping into the third row of seats.

Notes: Information about Turkey, its wonderful geology and culture came from several sites. It looks very interesting.

I visited Bryce Canyon National Park when I was 9 or 10 and remember that it was weird looking, spooky and my dad locked the keys in the car, with no one else around. Until I started researching the geography and geology of Turkey, I'd forgotten all about that trip. Now that I've seen photos of Turkey's otherworldly geology and read more about it, I have a better understanding of what I saw and find it interesting. Mm and maybe still a little spooky.