Chapter 3

A/N - Getting closer to their first camping trip as a family. Please let me know what you think. I don't own NCIS.

Progress on the Gunny Thomas case was slow. Even pulling his car out of the river didn't provide any leads as the time the car spent in the river washed away the evidence. The accident also fogged his memory so he couldn't provide much help. There was no attempt on his life at the hospital either. He was released from the hospital two days ago to stay with his mom in Alexandria. NCIS would just have to be patient on this one.

The Saturday before leaving on their camping trip, the Palmer family made a final trip back to REI for their remaining supplies and equipment. The day before they would leave they would go to the grocery store to pick up the food they wanted to take.

Driving home, Jess received a call from the neighbors. "Hi Jess. It's Kristin Evans."

"Hi Kristin. How are you?"

"Great. We were wondering if you all wanted to come over to our place tonight for a BBQ."

"Sounds like fun. Let me ask Jimmy."

Jess relayed the invitation and Jimmy agreed.

"Sounds good to us. What time and what do you want us to bring?"

"How about 6? If you would like, bring some drinks and dessert."

"Great. See you then."

Jess looked at Jimmy. "We need to make one more stop to pick up some dessert. We don't have time to make anything."

Jimmy nodded. "Should we call Parker to find the best pastry shop nearby?"

Jess laughed.

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About fifteen minutes later, Jimmy pulled into the parking lot of Costco warehouse not too far from their house. "I'll just run in and get something we need. Every time we all go in we spend at least an hour."

Jimmy laughed. "You're right about that. I'm not the only one who likes to sample the food."

Jess chuckled and kissed her husband before leaving the car. "Be right back."

A lot sooner than expected Jess returned to the car with an apple pie and some ice cream. The Palmers already had good supply of drinks at home. Jess put the food in the back of their SUV and drove home.

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Jimmy pulled into their driveway and pushed the button to open the garage door. Jess and Victoria took the food into the kitchen while Jimmy unloaded the camping equipment into the garage. The corner of the garage with all their equipment was quite full, but had everything they needed for their trip except the food.

Jimmy walked into the house from the garage and closed the garage door. Victoria was chatting with her mother as Jimmy walked into the kitchen.

"Put the ice cream into the freezer please, Victoria."

"Do we need to take any bowls, plates and utensils with us?"

"Good idea."

Jimmy walked up and hugged Victoria before giving Jess a kiss. "Anything I can do?"

Jess nodded. "Grab a six-pack of beer and some soft drinks. I think that will take care of what we need to bring."

Jimmy nodded and added the items to the kitchen counter. "I'm going to change. I don't want to wear my old Levis."

Jess nodded. "Wait for me. I need to change too."

"What about me?" Victoria asked.

"Put on some long pants. It'll be a little cold for shorts." Jess said.

Victoria nodded. "OK mom."

Jimmy and Jess walked into their bedroom and closed the door. Jess toed off her shoes before heading to the bathroom while Jimmy went to his closet to get a different pair of jeans and a sweatshirt. Jess came out of the bathroom and washed her hands. Jimmy removed his old Levis dropping them in his hamper before searching through his closet. Jess came up behind her husband wrapping her arms around him kissing his neck. "Jess…care to help me pick out what to wear?"

Jess chuckled and then pulled Jimmy's shirt over his head, leaving him in his boxers. "Mmmmmmm," she said as she spun him around to face her. "I kind of like what you're wearing right now."

Jimmy kissed his wife and pulled her blouse over her head. He then removed her yoga pants by sliding them down her legs leaving her in her bra and panties. Jimmy looked at Jess and said. "I rather like what you're wearing right now too."

Jess took Jimmy's hand and pulled him to their bed. "We've got time."

"Time for what?" Jimmy asked with a grin.

Jess removed her bra and pushed her husband down on the bed, climbing on top of him. "Some Saturday afternoon fun."

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The Palmers headed over to their neighbors at 6 with their drinks and dessert. Brian Evans was in the back yard cooking some kebabs and corn on the cob on the BBQ.

Kristin answered the door letting them inside.

Setting what they brought on the counter Kristin said "Mmmmmmm. Apple pie ala mode. Yummy."

Victoria grinned. "I'll be sure to save some for you."

Everyone laughed. Jimmy grabbed two bottles of beer and went to the back yard to talk to Brian. He handed one of the beers to him. "Thanks Jimmy."

Jimmy looked over at the shed. "I'm glad your shed is still standing."

Brian laughed. "Great teamwork. The food is almost done but I forgot the platter."

Jimmy said "No problem. I'll get it for you." He went inside and returned with the item. Brian placed the food on the platter. Chicken kebabs, steak kebabs, lamb kebabs, cooked vegetables and corn on the cob. "Thanks Brian. This looks great."

They carried the food inside and placed it on the table.

Kristin was finishing up the potato salad while Jess and Victoria were setting the table when the men came inside with the BBQ'd food. Jess put out the paper plates for everyone to use. When finished with the potato salad, Brian brought it to the table and told Kristin to sit down. She was looking tired from standing a long time cooking and chopping. Victoria brought her a bottle of sparkling water to drink.

"Thank you Victoria." Kristin said.

"Do you know if you're going to have a boy or a girl?" Victoria asked.

Kristin answered. "No. We want to wait and be surprised."

Brian spoke up. "Kristin wants to be surprised. I want to know."

Jimmy chuckled. "You sound like me and Breena did before Victoria was born. I wanted to find out and she didn't. In hindsight, I'm glad we waited."

Kristin looked at Jess. "If you were having a baby, would you want to know?"

Jess laughed. "I have no idea. I'm just enjoying being married. I'll deal with that decision if and when the time comes."

They all sat down at the table and passed around the food, each person taking what they fancied. The food was delicious. After enjoyable conversation and clean up, Jimmy and Jess challenged Brian and Kristin to a game of ping pong. After one game, Kristin needed to sit down so Victoria took her place. Victoria was actually a better player than a pregnant Kristin. Each game was close and each team won two games.

Jess and Victoria served the apple pie ala mode to everyone and Kristin made hot tea. They decided to play the game of Hearts while eating dessert. After five hands, the scores were pretty even with Jess having the leading score of 37. On the last hand, Brian surprised everyone by "shooting the moon" giving every other player 26 points. That put Kristin, Jimmy and Victoria over 100 points, ending the game. Jess ended up winning because she had a 30 point lead over Brian going into the last hand.

It was late for both Victoria and Kristin, so the Palmers and Evans' bid each other good night. "Thank you for a delicious meal. We had a great time." Jimmy and Jess said.

"Thank you for coming. We always enjoy your company."

The Palmers headed back to their home.

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The following week flew by with work and school occupying the Palmer household time and thoughts. On Thursday, Jimmy and Jess left work a little early to do their food shopping for the camping trip. Unfortunately Costco was crowded so it took over an hour to buy their food and supplies. Victoria was at a friend's house so they stopped there on the way home to pick her up. The smell of the large pepperoni pizza from Costco to eat when they got home permeated the car causing everyone's stomach to growl.

They had been packing up Jess' SUV for the trip as it had more storage than Jimmy's, so there wasn't much to add to her car before they headed out the next day. Jess made sure she had a full tank of gas so they should be able to get there without stopping for fuel.

Sitting around the table munching on pizza and a salad Jess had made, the three Palmers talked about what they wanted to do first when they got to Shenandoah National Park. Victoria wanted to go swimming in the river, Jimmy wanted to go on a hike, and Jess wanted to rent a boat. The three of them chuckled and decided to make a final decision when they got there knowing what they didn't do first, would be enjoyed a different time.

After dinner, Jess received a phone call from Parker.

"Hello."

"Sorry for calling so late, Palmer."

"That's okay, Parker. What's up?"

"It's about the Gunny's case. He thinks he remembers something important and wants to meet with us in the morning."

"You know we are planning on leaving at noon tomorrow. Will that interfere with our plans?"

Both Jimmy and Victoria looked at Jess with concern.

"No, it shouldn't. He's meeting with us at NCIS at 9am. It shouldn't affect your plans at all."

"Good. I'll be there for the meeting. Ducky's is filling in for Jimmy tomorrow so he can finish packing for us."

"See you tomorrow Palmer." He hung up the phone.

Jimmy and Victoria looked up at her wanting to know what was going on. She relayed the information.

"I better drive your car into work tomorrow." Jess said.

Jimmy laughed. "It would be difficult for me to finishing packing otherwise."

Jess looked at Victoria. "It's a good thing your school decided to give you Friday off as well as Monday."

Victoria grinned. "I'm glad too," but for other reasons. She was glad to miss school.

They all got up to clean off the table and put away the extra food. When finished they went into the family room to watch some TV before they went to bed. Jimmy stretched out on the couch putting his head on Jess' lap. Victoria decided to sit in the big easy chair to give her dad the chance to enjoy the comforts of the couch and her mom.

Jess ran her hand through Jimmy's hair while they watched. Victoria picked Princess Bride, a movie everyone had seen more than once. It was the perfect choice so no one would have to pay close attention as they wound down from their day. Jimmy closed his eyes enjoying the comfort provided by his wife. He reached up to stroke her cheek with his fingers.

Westley and Buttercup were reunited and Jess looked over at Victoria seeing that she had nodded off. Jess picked up Jimmy's hand and kissed it, interlacing their fingers. Jimmy opened his eyes smiling at his wife.

"It's time to put our daughter to bed and for your wife to put her husband to bed."

Jimmy grinned at Jess and said "you have the most comfortable lap."

Jess smiled at him. "And you are my most comfortable pillow. Your very own special blanket wants to keep my very own husband warm."

Jimmy sat up planting a kiss on his wife's lips. "Your very own special pillow wants to snuggle up with my very own wife and so we can keep each other warm."

Jess grinned ather husband and kissed him. Jimmy stood and helped Jess to her feet. He turned and picked up Victoria carrying her to her room where Jess helped her get ready for bed.

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A little while later, after locking up the house and turning out the lights, Jimmy and Jess were in their bathroom brushing their teeth and taking care of their nightly routines. Jimmy went to the bedroom first where he removed his shoes and clothes, putting on his robe before pulling back the covers and sitting on the edge of the bed. Jess walked into their room a minute or so later and stood in front of her husband with an amorous grin on her face. Jimmy reached out and grabbed the waistband of her black pants, pulling her to him where she sat on his lap, straddling his legs. Jimmy slid her lightweight jacket off her shoulders leaving her in her white blouse with the top three buttons undone. Jess leaned down capturing his lips with hers. Jimmy ran his hands down her cheeks, her neck and collarbone until he reached her breasts. Jess's breath hitched as he massaged her breasts with one hand and unbuttoned the blouse with the other. Undoing the last button, he lifted her blouse over her head, setting it aside. Jess reached down and untied Jimmy's robe, sliding it off his shoulders. Jimmy unhooked Jess' bra letting it fall to his lap. He then undid Jess' belt and her pants before sliding down her zipper. Jess stood so Jimmy could slide her pants and panties off, leaving them both naked and very turned on. Jess gently pushed her husband onto the center of their bed before climbing on top of him. Intertwining their bodies, they joined together in a blissful round of lovemaking.

Jess stretched out over her husband enjoying the closeness of their naked bodies pressed together. Jimmy pulled the covers up over them. Jess kissed her husband and asked "How are we going to be able to do this in a tent with our daughter a few feet away?"

Jimmy chuckled. "That my darling wife will be difficult considering how loud you get when we are making love."

Jess looked askance at her husband before she realized he was teasing. "How can I help it, my fabulous husband. It's your fault you make me feel so good."

Jimmy grinned back at her. "I'm glad you let me know I am pleasing you."

Jess grinned back at him. "I'm glad you let me know I am pleasing you, too. I bet you are just as loud as I am."

Jimmy kissed his wife. "Do they have any day camps or outings for kids at the place we are going?"

"I believe they do."

"We better sign her up for one or two. I don't think I'll be able to go an entire three day weekend without being one with my wife."

Jess kissed Jimmy. "Nor do I. We'll find a way. I love you my husband."

Jimmy kissed his wife. "I love you my Jessica."

They drifted off to sleep looking forward to the weekend ahead.

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The alarm went on at 7am as usual for a work day. Since Jess was the only one who needed to get up right then, she reached over to hit the snooze button. She was much too comfortable to get up before she had to, so a few more minutes on top of her special pillow, her husband, was what she wanted.

Jimmy hugged her to him not wanting her to move either. When the alarm went off again, Jess kissed Jimmy and sat up next to her husband, holding the covers to her body for protection from the cold morning air. She was surprised the heat hadn't kicked on yet. She looked down at Jimmy whose eyes were closed but his arms were around her waist. She reluctantly extracted herself from his embrace and climbed out of bed, putting on her robe over her naked body. She went into the bathroom to take a shower and get ready. While she was using the facilities, she hoped Jimmy would get up and join her in the shower. When finished, she was very happy to hear the water in the shower running and see her husband holding the door open for her. Jess kissed Jimmy as she went into the shower and wrapped her arms around him after he closed the door. The two love birds washed each other thoroughly before making love, leaving them feeling warm all over.

After drying each other off, Jimmy put his robe on and went into the kitchen to make some coffee and make something to eat while Jess got dressed and put on her makeup. Everything was ready when Jess came into the kitchen. A plate of scrambled eggs and toast was on the table for Jess with her fresh latte. Jess thanked Jimmy with a kiss as she sat down to eat. Jimmy joined her a minute later with his plate of eggs and toast. Victoria was still asleep.

After breakfast and a kiss goodbye, Jess grabbed her keys to Jimmy's car and headed out the door. Twenty minutes later she pulled into the NCIS parking lot. When she arrived at her desk, McGee and Torres were already there. Parker was in the conference room waiting for Gunny Thomas to arrive. A few minutes later, Parker called down for everyone to come up.

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"What is this information you remembered," asked Parker.

Gunny Thomas looked around the conference table glad to see Jess there. McGee and Torres sat next to her on either side. Parker was at the head of the table and Gunny on the opposite side.

"It was a name I hadn't heard before St. Thomas. It could be the name of a person or a place named after a person."

Parker looked at Gunny and said "Okay, what is it?"

"Morgan. I heard the name Morgan."

"That isn't much to go on. Anything else?"

"Yes. They were looking for a new pilot."

"Anything else? Did you hear about any shipments?

"Nothing specific about a location or time."

"Well, not much help but we'll keep a look out for any new leads."

He looked over at Jess. "I talked to Gage a few days ago."

Jess looked up at him. "So, why are you telling me this?"

"He thinks the cartel is going to use open spaces like National Parks or wilderness areas to bring in the drugs."

"Just like Greg Walsh and his drug buddies?"

"Yes, but on a bigger scale."

Jess turned to Parker. "Is the DEA in on this? Homeland Security? The FBI?"

Parker shook his head. "I don't know. This is the first I've heard of this. Where did Winchester come up with this idea?"

Gunny Thomas shook his head. "I don't know if he has come across some information that we don't know about. I'm afraid he wants to come back and work with you again to win you back."

Jess groaned and put her hand to her forehead. "Why would he think that? Doesn't he know that I am very happily married?"

"I don't think so."

"Didn't you tell him?"

"The subject didn't come up. We didn't talk about you."

'So it's just you speculating."

"I suppose so. I was just remembering how much he told me he loved you before."

Jess chuckled. "He had me fooled for a while. The only person he truly loved is himself. Thanks to Jimmy, I now know what love truly is."

Parker spoke up. "Other than your connection to this Gunny, we don't have jurisdiction over any of this. There is no need to involve us with Winchester's theory. Tell him to contact DEA and the other agencies. Palmer, head on home and enjoy your weekend camping trip with your family. See you on Tuesday."

Jess nodded and stood, heading out the door.

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Jess called Jimmy to let him know she was on the way home. He said her car was all packed up and ready to go when she got there. Since it was still morning, she made a quick stop at the coffee shop to pick up an Al Cappuccino and an Elvis Presso.

When she got home, Jimmy had her car parked in front of the house so she could pull straight into the garage. She was always amazed how thoughtful her husband was. Carrying the coffees into the house, Jess found her husband on the couch with their daughter playing a video game. Jess set the coffee down on the coffee table and sat on Jimmy's lap, planting a passionate kiss on his lips. Jimmy kissed her back in the same manor. Victoria looked at her parents and was glad they loved each other so much. The sound from the game on the TV started beeping loudly with crashing sounds. Jimmy and Jess broke their kiss and looked. Victoria laughed. "Look what you did, mom. You made dad lose."

Jimmy reached over and ruffled Victoria's hair. "A kiss from your mother makes me a winner every time."

They all smiled.

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Jimmy and Jess walked around the house to make sure everything was locked up and headed out the front door. The Evans' would keep an eye on their house while they were away. Jimmy opened the passenger side door for Jess and she slid right in with a kiss. Victoria took the back seat. Jimmy started the car and they headed down the road to Shanandoah National Park for their first family camping trip.

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