Note: I've used a lot of creative license in this chapter, about what is or isn't allowed in the US Federal Government as far as their employees. I did some research but honestly, there's so much gobbledygook online that I created what I needed for the story. Also, I've retrieved 3 canon characters of a now defunct TV show from my story The Common Thread, for quick guest appearances in this chapter.
And now…
Ch 17: Choices
Tim sat in the office, nearly consumed by his thoughts as they raced through his mind. Pulling up a set of forms, he shook his head, remembering he'd filled these out once before. Sighing and thinking he'd done more of that already this morning than he usually did in a month, he filled out the forms, saving them in the same folder he'd used before, editing the date.
He needed to tell his wife but right now he really needed his dad. The man had many resources and he thought he might know someone who would know someone for the last step he'd need to take. He rolled his eyes at himself for the drama. Although it was a drama, at least for him!
Making a face, he needed to tell his dad and get things moving, then he would have more information to share with Artemis. He stood up, stretching before heading for the door, opening it to find his father standing there, his hand reaching for the door handle. "What happened?"
Tim shook his head, taking his dad by the wrist, leading him into the office and shutting the door behind them. It took him awhile to tell him the whole story, starting with the bits about his 'brain worm' and the politician running for president in a country with too many US Federal employees. Dad nodded at that, saying he'd heard about that and paid attention to the man, who seemed fairly reasonable with his other plans.
Tim's retelling of the meeting eventually reached the part where he'd quietly hit the record button on his phone, no longer caring that Leon could clearly see his movements. Now he played the recording for his father.
Dad's first response was to wrap his arms around him and Tim relaxed into the embrace. As Jethro held on, he started speaking to his son. "What are your thoughts?"
"They've classified the relocation oversight job as a special assignment. There's a law applying to DoD employees or maybe it's now all Federal government employees that those assigned special assignments can only be held for 6 months, not the year it is for regular government jobs. And the DoD, or whichever agency is involved, is not allowed to rewrite the assignment so it looks like something different when it's the same thing nor are they allowed to repeat it or anything else. Nor, unless the special assignment is totally messed up by the employee, are they allowed to transfer, move or otherwise disconnect the employee."
"So, worst case, you'd have to oversee this thing for 6 months?"
"Probably. However, the second statement, being forced to work two full time jobs, blah blah, whatever I said, will likely give me the freedom to quit the agency and the government if I need to go to that extreme. There are labor rules for a reason and they apply to federal employees as well as everyone else." He paused, sighing before saying, "Dad, I need an attorney, someone not afraid to take on the Department of Defense. I am willing to find the locations and numbers, I am not willing to virtually abandon my family, especially with Artie's work still ongoing, to be their dirty job guy. Or continue to be their dirty job guy. No offense to anyone who makes a living doing real dirty jobs, not this kind of dirty."
"What was Leon's reaction?"
"He was very quiet, stared at the wall most of the time. That tic he gets when he's really angry was going the whole time. I don't think its safe for you, me or him to speak together. Not in person or by phone, not while we're here."
He took a breath, "Dad, why do Porter and Smythe", at the look on his dad's face, he reminded him, "Smythe took Becker's place as Secretary of Defense. Why do those two think I'm not needed at NCIS? Does Vance feel the same way?"
"I don't know about the two secretaries, Timothy, I do know Vance does not feel that way. Do you make it look too easy?"
He got an eye roll for that and nodded in agreement. Tim's frown deepened, "Are SACs not respected as leaders?"
"Not as far as I know. All but one of the SACs I worked for or with were respected. That one was the guy who tried to kill Leon, twice or at least two attempts we know about. He's also the guy that murdered Amit Hadar in DC while he was trying to kill Eli David, no, make that 3 attempts, I forgot Leon was also injured in that and Eli David was injured and on the run."
"Oh yeah, that guy, McAlister?"
"Yeah, Leon was seriously injured, in the hospital where McAlister made his 3rd attempt. I'd left Leon my knife and he was able to stop him, although it was too damn close. But son, I've heard good things about you, from people who didn't know our connection, as well as from other SACs."
"Then why the hell do they think I'm not needed?" Tim shook his head, "I need to get past that and do what I can do to remove the albatross hanging around my neck." He made a face, "I need that attorney, not sure who to ask or go about finding one."
"I can ask."
Tim shook his head, "No, that's just as bad as me doing the asking." Then his eyes opened wide and he made a stink face. "Oh no, absolutely not."
"Who?"
Tim looked at him sadly, "That guy who drove us crazy during the Fell case. Parsons*."
Wincing, Jethro closed his eyes. "We'd have to hire him, that's the only way he'd ever keep his mouth shut. Couldn't risk asking him for a reference to another attorney."
Both shuddering, the man really had been a total jerk and years ago Tim had mentally assigned a profane description to him. As far as he was concerned, it still applied.
When Tim's stomach growled, they left the office heading for the kitchen. Wondering aloud where his children were, he thought Artie was working somewhere in the house, his dad answered, saying that all the children but Donnie, Madelyn and Tommy had gone to Six Flags theme park with the 'good' Porters, he won a smile from Tim for that, and that Geo, Bec, Tony, Bill, Ziva, Brian, Barry, the senior Powells, Charlie and Trisha had gone along.
Charlotte, Sophia and Dick stayed behind to watch the three littles at the brownstone while Lu, Artie and Maggie were working on packing more of the junior Mallards' belongings with Breena, although Dad said Breena had been asleep last time he'd heard from Lu, and had been for a few hours, much to everyone's relief! Nikki, James and Ned were at work while Sarah was either writing or sleeping.
By the time Dad finished reciting who was with whom, Tim was laughing, holding up his hands in defeat. "I give, I give!" He shook his head, "I know we have a large family but wow, I don't usually think of us as streams of names!"
Dad smirked, "Me neither but I made you laugh, I win!"
That made Tim laugh harder and his father sat back, very pleased with himself.
After he stopped laughing, Jethro also told him that Jack, LJ and Richard had taken a cab to a movie, a double feature. Tim shook his head, "Oh yeah, it's time to go home."
They were still sitting at the kitchen table, having a hot lunch when Jethro smiled, "I know someone to ask!"
"Should I know who?"
"No, better if you don't." Taking one last bite, Jethro got up, leaned over to kiss the top of Tim's head and disappeared.
He returned nearly 30 minutes later, finding Tim looking at something on his phone, "Got 3 names for you, with notes about each of them."
"Wow, Dad, thanks!"
The two of them reviewed the list, with Jethro adding his thoughts about the changes in the attorney's voice as he talked about the 3 references. Finally choosing who to call first, their favorite pick, Tim wanted to wait until the paperwork was delivered to him. Right now the two men wanted to go for a swim.
As they approached the door to the walkway to the pool building, it opened and Mac and Ducky walked out. They stopped, smiling. "Hello!"
Ducky frowned at Tim, who quickly shook his head. Giving him a bit of an eye roll, Ducky started moving past them when Jethro touched his shoulder, "Duck, are you going to be here for a couple of hours?"
"Yes, Jethro, why?"
"We'll probably be done swimming by then but would you and Mac listen for the door bell and call us if it's a courier with something for Tim? He needs to sign for it and…he stopped as Tim shook his head, "No, I'll swim later, Dad. Thanks anyway but I need to see those papers as soon as they get here."
Ducky opened his mouth again, finally realizing it must be something to do with the agency and something that Mac likely shouldn't hear about. He nodded, "We're planning on playing cards, would you two like to join us? After we change our clothes, of course."
"Sure, Duck, what do you have in mind?"
Ducky told them, relaxing when Timothy and Jethro were both genuinely enthusiastic.
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It wasn't until later that Tim realized he'd been so upset by the SecNav's verbally stated disregard for his work that he'd ignored a key factor in the whole matter.
When a dark SUV drove onto the property around noon, Tim, who'd been playing cards with Ducky, Mac and his dad, stood up.
He didn't want to play his hand, the only hand he knew to play for his work situation, until he absolutely had to, at least not until after he retained legal help. Then he mentally shook his head, this was classified, the documents were classified, of course the courier had to be someone with the government.
He smiled to himself when his father and Ducky quietly joined him. Mac had disappeared after Ducky told him there was some sort of government problem. They watched as a man, a bit taller than Tim, exited the SUV, quietly closing the door behind him. For the first time since his father made him laugh hours ago, Tim had a genuine smile on his face, immediately realizing his error, when he recognized the 'courier'.
Opening the front door, he met the visitor on the front porch, "Blake, welcome, come in out of the cold."
Blake Moran, executive assistant to Secretary of State Elizabeth McCord, nodded with a small smile, relieved to see a smile from Tim.
Inside, he was introduced to Ducky, Blake already knew Jethro, and they walked to the office in which Tim had been brooding. Ducky stayed behind, making tea for all of them and, finding the tea cart they used for family dinners, rolled it to the private office.
Once the four of them were settled with their tea, Blake looked at Tim with a smile. "MSec was very upset this morning when she was told the SecNav and SecDef's plans. She was still ranting when the request came in for the statements and then she just sat down and grinned, finally saying, "I underestimated Tim, I should have known he'd think of something like this. Blake, witness this for me, please and then call DoD and tell them you'll courier the documents to Senior Special Agent in Charge Timothy Gibbs. Have them, no, then they'll stall. Never mind, I'm afraid you'll have to pick up the DoD documents yourself."
"I told her I have a friend there who sometimes works with SecDef's Exec Assistant and I'd ask him to tell her I would be the courier for both of them. She was fine with that and although I didn't sign as witness for SecDef, I was in the room when he and his witness signed."
He handed over the documents and Tim looked through them, laughing out loud when he saw Secretary McCord's comments, written separately.
Looking up, he told his father and Ducky, "She's notified the Department of Labor of the order for me to work two full-time jobs and is sending them a copy of the order/statement. That should be the last of that illegal idea! She also says that she's written Vance, copying Porter, asking him to find a temporary replacement for my NCIS position and she's written SecDef, copying SecNav, that Undersecretary Leo will be the last stop as far as authority, not me. So I won't be the one who will be blamed if things don't go well. I could not figure out why she wouldn't be the last stop, she's certainly higher in rank than I am. Unless they were hoping something would be screwed up and they'd get rid of me."
Across the table, he saw Blake's quick shake of his head, admitting with an inward sigh of relief that tossing him out of the agency was not the plan. At least not the Secretary of State's plan and now he wouldn't worry as much about the others.
Returning to MSec's notes, he smiled again, "Here's something else: no matter how the relocation goes, I am guaranteed to return to my current position within 6 months with no reprisals on record for anything outside of my NCIS work." Tim looked up, "So she knows of the court-ruled 6 month limit for DoD special assignments and SecNav didn't. And that's quite interesting because MSec is State and SecNav is DoD." He looked up to see all three men smirking at him. He smiled, "Blake, thank you and MSec for rescuing me from actually having to contact an attorney, although I was prepared."
Making a brief 'oops' face, Blake fished in a pocket, handing Tim a folded paper. Opening it, Tim laughed, "And here's a list of attorneys and their contact information should I need further help with government officials plotting to co-opt my work time against my will." Looking thoughtful, he re-folded the paper, putting it in a zippered pocket inside his brief case.
"I still have no choice about doing this. However, I'll still have my job in 6 months when the legal deadline for special assignments runs out for the DoD and someone will handle my NCIS responsibilities."
He looked up, "So if I received all this today, does that mean the special assignment starts today? I've been tasked with uncovering information for the plan."
Blake sat still before saying, "This is for your ears only." He looked at Gibbs and Mallard, "Although you two can stay."
"It's not starting today. However, MSec asks if you can possibly get the information needed outside of those 6 months, within your NCIS duties. They really need that information and it would be easier on everyone involved, except you of course, if they had the information before the election."
Tim thought about it before nodding. "I'll have to let Vance know but that's something he won't need to tell his boss. She'll know anyway because I'll be working with Undersecretary Leo." He looked at Blake, "Yes, I will do that. Then the team, whoever that ends up being, will be ready to get right into action if the candidate is elected. "
Blake nodded, "Thanks! Also, we at the State Department have information for you, not sure how you'll want it."
"That sounds promising, what is it?"
The other man smiled, "How many visas have been issued to users connected to military passports. State does a census of military dependents and where they are. Been doing it for years, started right before some war, before my time." Then he frowned, "However, you'll still need the numbers from the Department of the Navy, don't want them to get suspicious! Also, we can easily obtain the number of DoD employees and their dependents, MSec gave the order before I left to start pulling those numbers from our systems.
"Are there significant differences between the DoN and State?"
"Yes. For one thing, we can run reports of DoD employees stationed in specific countries outside the US. I don't know whether the DoD can do that but I know we can. Also, and this could generate big differences between the DoD, DoN numbers and ours: the US military does not keep track of engagements or live-in partners, only married couple and the children**.
"We count all those people because we're looking at visas, customs' arrival questionnaires and passports. Every US citizen, including newborns, must have a valid passport. Furthermore, we can run reports for US citizens in a specific country who've changed their names or addresses, might be an indication of marriage, divorce or separation. They might be harder to find but at least you'll know you need to."
Tim nodded, "All right, thanks, Blake, this is good information." He shook his head, "What about engaged or live-in people with children? Only the military person and the children show up? And what do we do about people who've separated or divorced from their military spouse, do not work for the US government, have an income of their own and who don't want to leave the country?"
Blake wrote that on his phone, saying, "That's good, I've also added the question about the non-married partners with children. What about military dependent children over 18? Or children over 18 of any DoD employee? Can they legally stay in the country? Say they're in school, could still be secondary school, or college? If they have the means of support, are they allowed to stay?" He shook his head, "We already have all the questions you've asked, now I'm adding more. I hope the candidate has thought this through!" He stared at the wall, saying, "While 18 is the US age of maturity, it might not be in Flauvtic. If it's younger than 18, then those questions apply all the way down to whatever their legal age is."
Tim nodded, "And what about a Flauvtican citizen married to a US citizen employed by the Feds? Or did I ask that already?"
Blake looked, "Something similar, I'll capture it anyway. How soon do you want us to run the numbers?"
"As it stands now, we're leaving for the UK on New Year's Day, although that may change at any time as there is another big storm headed our way. Anyway, once we get home, my wife, children and I are leaving for Greece on the 7th. We'll be there through April. When I work in Greece, I 'borrow' an office at the Embassy, so I'll be there most weekdays." He sighed, "I guess I won't be doing NCIS work but I'll use that as my office for the project." He frowned, saying, "Damn I hate being trapped like this! I've worked hard with my staff, I hate being forced to walk away for 6 months!"
Blake nodded, "I'll pass that along. What if MSec could persuade the others to have Undersecretary Leo or someone else take the lead? So you'd be off the hook?"
"That would be wonderful, and a miracle!" He looked at Blake, "Please tell your boss I prepared separation papers when I returned from the meeting although I haven't filed them. This is the second time I've prepared them, the first time was in 2008 and I did file them and leave the agency, although I was offered a position with the FBI and transferred instead of quitting. Anyway, that's how much I don't want to do this." He thought of something he would be willing to do but decided to hold back, in case he was allowed to negotiate.
"If they agreed to you only mapping out the locations and finding the numbers of people involved, would you be willing to get the numbers and locations they need?"
"Given the support already promised, both from Leo and for my NCIS position, possibly."
Blake nodded, "Obviously I can't promise anything but considering you've already given them a plan, in my mind you've already done your bit. They had nothing practical they could use." He shook his head, quietly saying, "State had to mention the candidate in a cabinet meeting before anyone else knew anything about it. And yes, that's part of our responsibilities but I still can't believe no one else had a clue."
Tim snorted, "You'd think the military would take notice of something like that! Certainly the DoD!" He shook his head, "I think Porter said Secretary Smythe had no idea why so many DoD employees are in Flauvtic. And if I were one of those DoD employees in the country, I'd be asking my boss if anyone from the DoD has said anything about the candidate's plans. Or are they too complacent?"
Jethro thought about that. "For as many people as it sounds like there are, that doesn't sound like Becker. I remember him talking about bringing overseas employees home, especially with tech as quick and available as it is."
Tim nodded sadly, "You're right, Dad. I wonder how long the number of DoD employees has been so high? I wish we could still ask him."
Gordon Becker, the former Secretary of Defense, had resigned 18 months ago due to ill health and had recently died. While neither man had known him well, SecDef Becker, along with Secretary Porter, had once helped Vance, Tim and another senior officer of NCIS with what had seemed like an insurmountable problem. Instead, with his help and stalwart support the agency had weathered the storm.
Tim had one more item for MSec and Blake grinned as he captured it on his phone. "If we can relocate everyone without much fuss, why not do so now? What are all those people doing? Or if not now, why not promise to start the relocations as soon as the man's election is confirmed, hmm, that would sound like we were influencing the election. So wait and see and maybe do it even if he isn't elected. Why are they all there?"
After going over several other questions and issues, Blake captured them all before leaving, predicting a phone call for Tim from his boss. Tim shrugged with a smile, "That's all right, I trust both of you!"
After he left, Tim sighed, saying to his father and Ducky, "Next time I have a brain worm, I'll ignore it. Is it petty of me to say I no longer trust Porter? She's done a fair amount of good for the agency but then we've all worked smart and hard to do the excellent jobs we do. I'm angrier about what she said about my not being needed than anything else. Yep, I don't trust her. Except I also said that about Leon, back in 2008 and look at us now! So for now I don't trust her."
Pulling his son in for a hug, Jethro smiled as Ducky rubbed Tim's back. One of them said the word 'swimming' and Tim emerged with a smile, "Yes! Let's go, Ducky, are your things dry after your swim with Mac?"
Ducky nodded, heading to the bathroom to change while Tim and Jethro hurried to their rooms, also letting Mac know.
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Thoroughly enjoying having the pool to themselves, Mac had decided against a second swim, Tim and Jethro raced the length of the pool, with Ducky sitting in the water on the steps, watching their times. He'd already had a good swim and now was enjoying the racing chatter father and son were exchanging, trying not to drown themselves with their laughter. The door to the corridor opened and Artie entered, with Leon!
Tim smiled at both of them while Jethro took advantage of his competitor's distraction and beat him on the lap. There, at least he won two! Although two out of 10 laps wasn't exactly a record to be proud of.
Looking at her husband, Artemis saw that he didn't look as angry or sad as Leon was afraid he would be. "Timothy, I told Leon to come over after he called several times looking for you. Also, Mrs. Bess called, she said with good news."
Vance added, "Nothing from Porter."
Tim nodded without saying anything while Ducky nearly whispered, "That's also good news."
Getting out of the pool, Tim dried off a bit before giving his wife a kiss and taking his phone from her. "Thanks, sweetie. I never had a chance to tell you what this is or was all about. Let me call MSec now so we can all hear the good news."
Everyone around the pool smiled when the Secretary's phone was answered before they even heard it ring. "Timothy?"
"Yes, it's me. Sorry, I was swimming away my troubles. Director Vance is also here with us."
"As long as you weren't drinking them away, that's fine, a positive thing. And good, I'm glad Leon is there! We got what you wanted, your only responsibility is to provide the locations and numbers, you'll no longer be dragged kicking and screaming from your office at NCIS. And when all is said and done, you'll be credited with the original plan."
"Wow, you all really went to bat for me, thank you so much!" He looked at Leon as he said that, including him in his remarks.
"Undersecretary Leo will be assigned to head up the relocation. I also asked for an official apology from Porter for what she said to you this morning, that was totally uncalled for, untrue and as far as I'm concerned, a bullying tactic from her and yes, I said so in writing. I also asked for one from Secretary Smythe for making the demands in the first place. Leon, you'll also be getting an official apology from Porter for dismissing your arguments in Tim's behalf and threatening your career."
While Tim again looked at his boss, this time in concern and with his own look of apology, Lu quietly came in the door with Jackie and Jared Vance, who smiled in relief when Leon gave them a little victory signal before shaking his head at Tim, no apology needed and thanks for the concern.
"Good, everyone's here. Bess, are you still on the phone?"
"Yes, Lu. I called Henry and we'll be there at 5, is that all right?"
"Wonderful, bring your swimsuits and a towel each, you can have a swim before dinner. Tim and Jethro just got out of the pool, Leon, Jackie and their son are just getting in. You can see everyone else at dinner."
"Great, I can't wait! See you in a couple of hours."
Before the call was disconnected, Tim asked to speak with Blake and when he was on the line with the Secretary of State, thanked him for all his help and understanding.
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As if to make up for the stressful morning and early afternoon, the rest of the day and evening went very well. Although the children were wound up after their day at the theme park, a busy hour in the pool helped them expel their happy energy.
While they played, the adults who'd accompanied them to the park disappeared, no doubt for naps or at least getting off their feet! Maggie later reported she'd had a lovely warm bath and felt ready for, she stopped and then shook her head, saying, "I'm ready for a lovely dinner, a quiet evening and a long rest. One more day and then we're off home!"
Tim and Artie spent some time upstairs, alone and then with their children. When the six of them reappeared downstairs, they were happy to see the entire family gathered. Ziva, Brian, his parents Julie and Ben who'd taken the train down, Joe, Charlotte and Tommy, Barry, Ned and their girls, Tony, Maggie, their girls, Dick and Sophia, Rob, Jimmy, Breena and Donnie along with Ducky and Athena, Freddie, Abby and Menolly, Bill, Nikki and Jasper, Sarah, James, Edie and George, Geo, Bec, young Brian, Mia, Grampy Ben, the Porters, Tim chuckled to himself for thinking of them as the 'good Porters', Uncle LJ, Grandpas Mac and Jack, Cousin Richard, Uncle Charlie and Cousin/Aunt Tricia. And of course Jethro and Lu. When they counted, there were 54 of them!
They laughed at that, imagine, the original 9 of them, counting their mother, now belonged to a family numbering 54, with 18 additional when the rest of the Greek family was with them.
Now, putting their name tags on, they chuckled when Mia and Brian sighed in relief. Freddie grinned at them, "Relax, there's no quiz until after your first family reunion, which will be in, let's see, I think we'd better go for the July/August reunion as not everyone will be in Varkiza over Easter."
He looked at his new niece and nephew, "The July/August reunion will be in Scotland, near the ocean. We used to have it in Greece but now it's too hot there during July and August. So those of us who are able to will see you in Varkiza, that's where Mimi lives, in April and then in July, when everyone is out of school, all of us will gather in the Highlands of Scotland. By the end of those two weeks, you'll know everyone a lot better."
Joe nodded, "Especially now that Jimmy and Breena have been lured overseas. That only leaves Ziva, Brian, his family, Freddie, Abby, Menolly, Charlotte, Tommy, me, the Vances, the Porters and the Fornells here in the US. And sometimes Grampy Ben. He's grandfather to Tommy as well as to you.
"The Vances are part of our family, even though Leon is the boss of several people here. Did you know that Tim is also boss of a few people here and then Leon is his boss? Also the Fornells, he's a retired FBI agent who is good friends with our dad. He and his wife have 2 daughters who have become like younger sisters to us as well as friends of the younger people in our Greek family."
Laughing, Nikki added, "There are even more people, my cousins, my Aunt Evelyn, who is Grandma Evelyn to Jasper and the rest of the children now including you two, my cousins Vince, Tia, their adult children and another cousin, Dina. Also Ned's grandparents who live in Arizona, and Joe's birth family, who live in Switzerland and Tony's birth family, cousins who live in London." After taking a breath she added, "Your grama and Uncle Charlie also have 2 other brothers but we've only met them once before."
Char thought of adding something more but decided this wasn't the right time or place as she and Joe did not yet have all the information.
By the time Nikki finished, Brian and Mia were laughing at the huge list of more people who belonged to the family, glad they weren't all here now and they didn't have to know their names until they met them. Although now they'd met the Vances and the Porters, who they knew lived in California.
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When several dark SUVs pulled onto the property, Rob called out, "The McCords are here!"
He, Sarah, James, Tim, Artie and their children stationed themselves close to the front door while Jethro and Lu waited to open the door. It was too cold outside to open it before the couple reached the porch and then they nearly ran in, laughing. "Ooh it's so cold when the sun sets!"
They came in, grinning as the door was quickly shut behind them. Their security team would park in back, probably splitting between patrolling the property and having a couple of them in the house.
Tim and Jethro had made sure there was enough food for all of MSec's security personnel, they could eat in the kitchen. When Vance's security team realized MSec would be on site, they considered doubling up but in the end they drove the Vances to the house and then left, to return when summoned. No sense people tripping over Security Agents and there wasn't anyone new there tonight, except for the two new foster children and they'd already been checked out.
The McCords were first introduced, grinning when dozens of voices called greetings to them. With a questioning look from Mrs. Bess, a nickname MIT student Tim, young tweens Sarah and Rob and Tim's girlfriend Artemis called the wife of Tim and Artemis' ethics professor, Dr, Henry McCord, at MIT in the 1990's, Jethro whistled and his kids, their kids, the older adults and friends lined up in some fashion.
Laughing, the couple met everyone individually, welcoming Mia and Brian to the family. Mrs. Bess smiled at them, "Although we haven't seen them in a long time, we were friends when your new dad was still in college and I imagine your new mom was as well. My husband, Henry here, taught a college class that your new Uncle Tim and Aunt Artie took. Henry invited them over for dinner one night and they brought your Aunt Sarah who was about 12 and your Uncle Rob, who was 11, with them. They spent a lot of time with us while we were there and we kept in touch for a few years after we all left MIT. Now it's been several years since we've seen Tim and Artie, since before they married 6 years ago."
That reminded several people how the connection started and pretty much broke the ice, especially when young Jackson wanted to know what his parents, aunt and uncle had been like. When Dr. Henry said that both of them always had questions in class, Tim's siblings and parents, Artie's grandmother, Sophia and nearly everyone else laughed quietly. Of course they did! Over dinner, they heard a few more Tim, Sarah, Rob and Artemis stories and that was fun!
Neither the McCords nor the Vances stayed late, shaking hands or hugging everyone before they left.
While they were cleaning up the kitchen, Tim remembered to check the storm which sent him looking for Tony or Maggie. He almost ran into Tony as his brother came looking for him and their parents.
Tony frowned, "There's a big storm moving into the Atlantic. Our flight coordinator says we have clearance to fly tomorrow but if we wait past 1800 tomorrow, we'll have to sit out the storm here."
"How bad?" Dad had joined them.
Tim cleared his throat, "It's building to hurricane strength and yes I know it is officially past hurricane season, apparently no one told the storm. There's more, I just saw reports of an undersea volcano breaking through and blowing up in the South China Sea. The eruptions are getting stronger and there is already a tsunami that will likely hit all the oceans as well as the North Sea, meaning the English Channel will also be affected. Their prediction for it hitting the British Isles is 18 hours. When we leave, we probably won't be able to land in the UK. Our best bet will again be Greece."
"What about the Med?"
"No predictions on that yet."
Tony nodded, pushing a button on his phone and walking several steps away, Tim thought it highly likely he'd called his cousin Nigel. He was right and eventually Tony disconnected, returning to the group.
"Nigel has already contacted Kayla, the Clachers and Ducky's cousins. They're leaving London in about 2 hours and you're right, Tim, first they're heading for Scotland, where they'll stop in Edinburgh, the cousins are already on their way to Aberdeen and have a flight waiting to take them to Edinburgh. Once all the Scots are aboard, they're headed for Greece, Emma's reserved almost all the rooms in a hotel in Athens.
"Leon, your daughter and her roommate, the girl's parents and younger brother will be with them, Kayla, the roommate and her parents are already at Nigel's home and Kay has already been in touch with the Russells, they'll meet them at the airport.
"Kayla told Nigel that Pete has already contacted Evander to see about renting the commercial building for shelter. They'll work on renting beds, etc. for the building. When we land in Athens, Nigel's arranged for full sized buses to meet us and take us to the commercial building unless he hears differently from either Pete Russell or Evander, whom he's now met through Kayla."
Leon nodded, looking at his former agent, "How soon are we leaving?"
Tony looked at the others, finding only Sarah in the kitchen with them. She tilted her head, "I can't do anything so I volunteered to stay while they're upstairs packing. Jimmy, Bill and Barry took Bill's rental truck to bring back all of Jimmy and Breena's plane things. They'll also let their neighbors know they're leaving tonight and why, so they can also prepare. Jimmy said they'd be back in 3 hours although Bill held up 2 fingers so that might mean 2 hours. I called D'Arcy McKinna and found them home in Colorado so they're safe. The Fornells know, they're coming with us and they volunteered to call the Kings and the Baxters. Oh and Ducky called his house phone, the Carters are already there and preparing. Ducky told Rick what he and Athena needed, they're all packed and Rick is bringing it over."
Leon looked at Tony, "We'll be ready in 90 minutes, Tony. Want us to meet you at the airfield?"
Tony shook his head, "We already have permission to leave the rental vehicles here, the rental company said they'll be safer than on their lot. There will be room for your SUV, we'll leave a note on the windshield that it's not a rental. I've chartered two buses, so please return here, we're closer to you than you are to the airfield, right?"
Jackie nodded, "Yes and that's good, come on, Leon."
The three Vances left while those upstairs began ferrying their luggage, bags and boxes downstairs, putting it all by the front door. While the men worked on that, Rick and Denise arrived with Ducky's vehicle as well as their own.
When Ducky asked them to stay here, rather than in Georgetown which was too close to potential flood waters, they agreed, asking if the O'Briens could join them. Jethro chuckled when they were mentioned, "Yes, course, as long as Annie remembers our tenancy ends at 2359.59 AM on January 2nd!"
Rick took their car back to grab clothes and food for them while Jethro tucked Ducky's vehicle into the garage, glad this place had so many parking stalls!
Jimmy and his crew were the next to arrive, the men forming a human chain to Bill's truck to unload everything. By this time, more luggage, etc. had been brought downstairs and neatly arranged by the front door. Once Bill's rental truck was empty, he moved it into the garage, nodding to see Tim, Tony and their parents' rental vehicles already in there. He checked, glad to see his brothers and parents had removed all of the children's various safety seats.
Back in the house, they were now checking all the rooms, finding a favorite slipper as well as a few toys, a favorite book and a box of Legos. The Legos' box was taped shut before being placed into a gallon-sized plastic zip-lock storage bag which was then tightly sealed with the zip-lock and duct tape.
The O'Briens were next to arrive and quickly put their belongings into one of the suites downstairs. Both the O'Briens and the Carters brought all their perishable items, as well as coolers full of ice.
Jim O'Brien smiled, "There's plenty of snow and we also brought our camp stove and several Sterno packs, we can use all that outside on the porch or out back if we need them. And yes, Jethro, we have a stove for the Sterno, in fact we have 2 of those little stoves." He grinned, "I still remember you telling me about them decades ago, when our kids were tweens!"
Rick chuckled, "We also have Sterno and a couple of stoves. And we have several gallons of water in the SUV, we'll move it in as needed."
Annie nodded with a smile, "There are two generators here, in the basement and we brought fuel for them, we'll store that somewhere safe. but that should keep the heat and power on for several days. I already have permission from the owner to take in anyone else, subject to Jim and Rick's approval, to shelter."
Bill rolled his shoulders and 'cracked' his back, "We're done bringing everything downstairs, anything else?"
Lu thought about it, "Let's take what non-perishable food we have here. We have milk and juice boxes for the children, and us, there's bread, frozen meat and plenty of ice in the freezer, we'll take some of that as well as the peanut butter and jam, we can put the jam in our small cooler, it's going with us anyway. That way we won't have to go shopping as soon as we get to Athens. With tsunamis racing around the globe, who knows what will be available by then!"
As she spoke, Artie and Maggie opened the freezer, removing two loaves of bread, a few bags of frozen vegetables, handing all of that to their husbands who in turn placed the veggies in more of the large zippered storage bags. Four packages of meat were removed, also placed in storage bags and then tucked into the big cooler, while the men poured ice and snow into it. They closed the cooler, taping it shut. Customs would want to open it in Athens. By then they'd be less than an hour from the commercial building where they hoped to shelter.
The Vances arrived and the group made quick work of unloading their vehicle, adding everything to the piles inside the house. Then Leon moved their vehicle to the garage, putting a big sign on the windshield that it was not a rental vehicle and leaving an extra set of keys, for their home and car, with the Carters.
Taking Jim, Rick and Tim into one of the suites, Leon told Rick and Jim that he'd already sent word to everyone to seek shelter, to bring their immediate families to NCIS Headquarters, there was plenty of room there. They were to leave the basement, ground and first floors empty in case flooding was worse than anticipated. Both the lab and autopsy would remain locked; Leon winced as he handed Rick and Jim the keys to autopsy and the lab, saying Kasie Hines planned to shelter at the office as did Jimmy's assistant but that neither of them should stay or even visit their normal workplaces.
The second and third floors as well as the mezzanine were high enough above the estuary to be safe, even in a tsunami. They were to stay away from the windows during high winds and Jim and Rick nodded in relief when Leon said he'd spoken with building maintenance who were already putting plywood over the windows.
Everyone should bring their own bedding, including twice as many blankets as they thought they'd need, as well as air mattresses, yoga mats or anything to cushion them from the hard, cold floors, plenty of flashlights and as many extra batteries as possible, to charge any electronics before they arrived and to bring their chargers with them, any food they had, along with gallons of potable water, coolers they might be able to fill with snow, dishes, mugs and cutlery for their use and if anyone had camping equipment to bring that, although tents would not be needed while tarps could be useful, coffee makers and coffee or tea, with whatever additions they liked, a full first aid kit, all their prescriptions and over the counter medications or supplements, enough clothes, including comfortable shoes, jackets, hats, gloves and snow boots, for a week, at least three towels per person, rope and clothes pins in case they were there long enough to need to wash clothes and any personal items they might need, including wet wipes in lieu of showers and for parents of young children to include three times more diapers than they thought they'd need as well as garbage bags and perhaps air fresheners.
As the internet might not be available, they should also bring physical books, decks of cards and any games they might have for children and adults. While no gambling was allowed, shelter or not, this was still a Federal building, poker chips were allowed for poker although the chips were not to be replaced by money.
Electric, rechargeable and battery operated items were fine, as long as they could be charged or there were enough batteries. However, no gas or other fuel burning appliances were allowed indoors, no matter how safe the manufacturer claimed they were. No Sterno, or any other kind of gas stove, heater, curling iron or anything else was allowed inside. If they wanted to use whatever it was, they'd have to go outside the building. All the way outside, not in the lobby or the basement. Anyone using such an appliance inside the building would be arrested. By using it, they were endangering everyone in the building and would be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
While the fitness center was available, anyone using it would have to be 18 or older and Leon advised a signup sheet for the exercise equipment. The Hazmat and fitness center showers were available, as long as they worked and Leon again advised having sign up sheets.
While they were sheltering, the field teams were not to leave the building to pursue any criminal cases, they were to shelter. If they wanted to catch up on paper work and the system was available, that was fine and Field, Cold Case and CCU teams and any other Federal employee could use the internet if available but they were not to leave the building! Leon did not want anyone risking their lives during the hurricane and tsunami(s) said to be headed their way.
Having said all that, Leon shook his head, "HR and Security is in charge of everyone taking shelter. If you two are able to go in for a few hours without risking your lives getting to and from, that's fine but don't stay overnight!"
Then he looked at Tim, "All that also applies to your offices, although with a double whammy, I don't know about London."
Tim shook his head, "I've already sent a blast to everyone's phones to find shelter at least three floors high and not to go anywhere near the office beginning now. With Tony's permission, I sent the address of the townhouse, using the list of what to take or avoid from our emails and phone blasts before the last storm hit. Tony's already notified his Security team that NCIS employees and their families have permission to stay in the townhouse and," Tim pointed to his earpiece, "I've just been told that 95% of my London staff are already there, settling in. There will still be room for the folks who sheltered there during the last storm. The Jaxton house is already filling up as well, with some of the same people who were there before."
"Good! All right, now, back to basics. Rick, Jim, you two have the agency while I'm in the air. Once we've landed, I'll work either at the Piraeus office or, if there's a third spare office, at the Embassy. If something comes up you're not sure how to handle, contact the AD at OSP, you have her number?"
Both nodded and Vance added, "If you need to, contact the SecNav, although I'd avoid her at all costs. She's likely to be unhappy with us right now."
"The whole agency?"
"Tim and me although she may be angry enough to take it out on anyone from the agency who contacts her."
Tim had a quick thought and smiled, "Undersecretary Leo is easier to reach and she generally has answers or can get them fairly quickly."
He blinked as Jim and Rick stared at him and then Vance. Sighing, Leon said, "For your ears only, and that does not include your wives! Porter and Smythe tried to bully, I mean co-opt Timothy into taking on a huge project while still managing his offices, with no extra help. Gibbs managed to leave without blowing up and I basically walked out. Luckily, those two aren't the only two involved and another cabinet member rescued us both, demanding formal, written apologies. Tim, haven't had time to tell you, but Labor also came down hard on Smythe, copying the President's Chief of Staff on their notice to him." He shook his head, "I'm glad we're bugging out with you, we were considering leaving with you, staying away from DC for as long as possible. Although I already completed my separation papers."
Tim nodded, "Me too. Haven't sent them anywhere, though, tucked them into a folder so I wouldn't accidentally on purpose send them."
Leon patted his back, "Me neither. Our time is coming but we hope to first get Jared through high school. He's already applying to overseas' college and universities, so once he's decided and graduates, we're out of here."
The other two men frowned, "Leon?"
"At least 18 months in the future, more likely a full two years."
Their heads swiveled to Tim who blinked in surprise, "Don't look at me! Unless I can run the agency from Europe and never have to deal with politicians or return here to appear in front of Congress in person, there's no way. Simply put: Reason one into infinity, I don't want the job."
"You deal with politicians in the UK, don't you?"
"Yes but they're not my bosses and they generally like NCIS, when they know who we are. Once I tell them how many terrorist cells and groups we've busted, they remember the name and like us just fine. I'm also the brother of a senior officer of a highly respected and successful company that is quite generous with their employees, donate significant amounts to charities and my relationship to Paddington puts me in a good light that rolls off onto NCIS.
"They also like that we live in a town, not on a base, the children go to the local school, we attend plays, festivals, eat out at the restaurants in London and Jaxton, stay at their hotels, travel extensively in the UK, have family in London, that's Tony, in Edinburgh, the Clachers and in Tain, that's Ducky's family. They're very supportive of us living in the Jaxton community, rather than being stationed somewhere and never really getting to know the people or the countries. We live there, it's our home." Tim grinned, "They also like that I use the British English rather than American English, at least when I meet with them.
"Additionally most of our ships berth in Antwerp, Belgian waters, not in the UK and those ships who do visit the UK don't often cause serious problems and the sailors spend money. So far, so good."
"You realize it could change."
Tim made a noise, "Sure. We have an orientation for employees transferring from the States, especially useful if they haven't had any previous overseas' experiences. Each new transferee has a buddy who shows them around, teaches them key words and phrases as well as what not to say or do. The buddy sticks with the newbie for the first 5 months, evaluating them at 3 and 5 months. It's worked well so far. First of all, it gives the newbie an instant friend who will answer their questions and show them around. We've had 7 new folks from the US in the past year and we've only had to reassign one person, to Hamburg where they're thriving with another buddy there." He smiled, "In addition the other 6 remain friends with their buddies and have asked to be buddies themselves, although they're not yet eligible."
"Wow, did you start that?"
"No, my predecessor, Agent Zhao, did, although she told me it was originally Joel Morris' brainchild, he was her predecessor. Zhao expanded the program from field agents to include the CCU and Cold Case teams while I've expanded it to include all departments in London. I've worked with my other offices to establish similar programs. They have fewer employees on site, so it's somewhat different but it's working well for them. Their newbies are almost always field or CCU agents which makes it a bit easier." He laughed, turning to Leon, "Athens has had their own program for years, I believe Pete was the one who turned Joel onto it. Or was it you?"
Leon grinned, "Jackie helped me develop the first 'buddy' program when I took over Athens from the oldest agent I've met to this day, luckily he hadn't been in the field in at least 10 years as he was disdainful of all 'foreigners' and never understood that we were the foreigners! I had fun making friends over there, they were so glad to see him go it was easy. Learning to speak their language was also a big plus. To help us learn, Jackie and I took a language class and practiced at home.
"After we left, Russell expanded it further. Joel heard about Athens' program, you know it's especially useful when NCIS offices get newbies who don't speak the host country's language or know anything about their customs, the differences between cultures. The US 'thumbs up' gesture is a great example of what not to do in many places around the world. Anyway, you're right, Morris adapted the program for the UK and then Zhao pushed it further and here you are."
He looked at Tim, "That was also how I found out how helpful the CIA is overseas. Shortly after I took the office, they invited me to lunch at the Embassy and told me all about 'ol man
Howard. Once they made sure I met all the right people, made all the right contacts, they stepped back although they were always available if I had questions or a problem not related to our NCIS mission. In a sense they were my 'buddies'.
"Along with answering my questions, etc., they were almost always available when we were short an agent, if someone was out or if it was a big enough case that I wanted extra bodies. They were in Athens, if agents from our other offices came over, then that office was short an agent and there were times when that happened.
"There was one particularly nasty case where they stayed with us through the whole thing, they had TADs fly in from the US to fill in for them with their agency while they worked with ours! Took us nearly 3 months to break the case and by the time we'd busted everyone, they had their own coffee mugs and desks at our office."
Tim smiled, "Pete told me that story. You know Jack is still there. He plans to retire there, he married a Greek woman, a widow with two young children and he loves being a dad. Ted retired and moved back to the US but he and his wife spend most winters in Athens. Pete and Jack have been working on them to move back to Greece."
Leon smiled, "That would be fun! Joel and Carol just moved over there, they have friends in Scandinavia with whom they plan to swap houses every summer. With the Russells, the Morrises, you when your house is finished, us, Jack and Ted, we'll have our own expat community!"
Rick raised his hand, "We're also thinking about it, although not for a few more years."
"Great, that'll be even more fun!"
When they looked at Jim, he shook his head, "No, too far from our kids. Although maybe we could do winters there and summers closer to the grandchildren when they're out of school. How much is the airfare?"
Tim smiled, "Talk to me about that later, Dad says it's time to go."
"Oh right, I forgot about the storm, storms, geesh!"
Notes:
*the "Fell" case is not a canon case. However, I wanted to use Parsons as an example of an attorney they wouldn't want to contact and in this universe, Parsons and his accusations never appeared as that arc happened in 2013, 5 years after Gibbs' MCRT broke up.
** the bit about the military only counting married couples with children is real life, got that much from an Air Force site.