Saying goodbye to the O'Briens and Carters, the group climbed into the chartered buses they'd hired, for this trip they needed 2 buses. They were happy to see that most supermarkets and hardware stores were open, advertising batteries, flashlights, towels, even blankets and tarps were advertised in the windows of one store, as well as shelf-stable foods and all of them were selling bottled water. Three of the hardware stores they passed had signs in their windows for 5 gallon buckets, with accompanying toilet seats, boxes of 13 gallon plastic bags, rolls of toilet paper, and several spray cans of disinfectant.

At the airfield, the crew of the jet quickly helped them unload everything from the buses, while others checked IDs and passports, ushering them onto the aircraft where the flight attendants carried the babies to the rows where the Sky Cots were located while others took the children's safety seats and installed them. Tim noticed everyone was quiet, there was none of the usual chatter as they boarded. He was glad when his children found their safety seats and filed in. He checked each of them to make sure the restraints were fastened. Chloe wasn't sure she liked having all the restraints fastened, usually they didn't have to use the chest restraint.

Her dad explained why they'd need them and, as it was padded, she probably wouldn't even notice it once they got moving. She nodded, remembering they were going to be racing a storm again. That was the term their parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles used for all the children, 'racing' rather than fleeing or something scarier. As their children loved to run races and even to race their bikes if they were someplace safe, the aircraft racing didn't bother them. It also helped that they'd been through bumpy flights before, even recently on the flight to Greece to avoid the previous storm in the UK and they'd been fine.

With the long row, 9 across, Jasper, his mom and dad were at the other end of their row. He was buckled into the seat next to his best friend and he smiled as he patted Chloe's arm, "We're going to race again!"

The air crew knew, they were the same crew who'd taken them to safety in Greece and had already decided that 'racing' would once again be a good term to use. They were happy to see that although the family had a tendency to take their time settling in, there was none of that today. They also noticed family members and family friends who were usually only with them during the summer flights.

Artie and Tim sat in the last two seats of their row, with Tim on the aisle to start out. He and Artie would likely swap at some point and if it was safe, the children would probably swap seats as well. It was odd to sit in a long row, usually the seats were turned so the family could sit facing each other. Tim thought it must be safer to have everyone facing the same way, not to mention saving the time it would have taken to move the seats around.

With the aircraft owned privately, the rows of seats were configured to leave enough room between them so that tall people could recline their seats without worrying about taking up any space of the passengers behind them. Today Joe and Charlotte were behind Tim and Artie with Tommy in the third seat in, behind Liam. Freddie was next to Tommy, then Abby, Menolly, then Sarah with James on the aisle. Tim usually took a look to see where everyone else was but today was not an ordinary flight and he stayed seated.

The doors were closed and locked and the flight attendants took their seats as the jet rolled back from the FBO. Tim heard a few murmurs when one of the flight crew exited the cockpit and stood in the aisle.

When he had everyone's attention, he nodded with a smile, "It's good to see you all again, hope your holidays have been a lot of fun! Thank you for being flexible as far as our departure day and time, we'll be well ahead of the storms. However, because we're sure to have turbulence we won't serve drinks or meals until we've crossed the Atlantic and found some calmer skies. Because of that, we'll pass out cold snacks and bottled water now and you can eat them anytime you want. If anyone needs to use the loo you can go now or wait until we reach northern Canada, where the turbulence will be less noticeable. We'll let you know as we get closer.

Smiling again, he continued "I have a lot of information to share with you about our journey. First, I'll refer to the hurricane as the 'storm' and the tsunamis as themselves, if it's necessary to mention them at all.

"For our flight today, our first leg will be from here to St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, which will take about 3 hours and 20 minutes, let's say 3 ½ hours for clarity's sake, it's easier to say hours and half hours than the number of specific minutes. We do expect more turbulence than usual on our flight to Canada. If the storm moves faster than we believe it will, we'll fly a bit northwest to stay ahead and away from it but none of the flight crew or the storm experts with whom we've consulted believe we'll need to do that. That's a 'just in case' if you will, we're actually several hours ahead of the storm, although as I said there will be more turbulence than usual.

"Once we're near St. John's in Newfoundland, we'll again check the storm's progress and consult with the folks there. When all goes as we believe it will, we'll begin our flight east, flying over the Atlantic directly to Athens, Greece. That will take us approximately 9 hours and 18 minutes which I'll also bump up to 9 ½ hours for now.

"If for some reason we have to land at St. John's and if there's a delay in our departure, probably air traffic considering everything going on, and if the delay will be longer than an hour, we'll disembark and wait in the FBO terminal so everyone will have a chance to stretch their legs and the children can run around, there's a family play area inside the FBO. If the delay will be 3 or more hours, say 6 or 7 hours, then transportation and room reservations for everyone have already been arranged near the airport and your checked bags will remain behind in the jet, safely secured. The hotel is close enough that if we're told we are wheels up in an hour, we'll be able to return in less than half that time. However, to accomplish that we will all need to stay on the hotel grounds, preferably inside this time of year and to keep our carry-on bags packed and ready to go. Please don't go wandering off or sightseeing, it's possible we won't know until an hour or so before our departure that we'll be notified of that time. All right, that's all the ground information.

"Next up, the actual flight over the Atlantic. As I said earlier, there will be enough turbulence that we will not serve hot meals or beverages and no one will be allowed to leave their seats. Once we're solidly over the continent and into calmer air, we'll serve a hot meal. Of the 9 ½ hours flight from Canada to Greece, we'll be out of the turbulence by the time we're over Paris, about 5 ½ hours into the flight from Canada. That will give you time to eat and perhaps get up and move around a little. Perhaps!

"In the meantime we have three doctors aboard and they advise that while sitting safely in your seats, adults should move legs and feet every 30 minutes for at least 10 minutes, although it doesn't have to be 10 consecutive minutes. Leaving your toes on the floor, use your calves to lift your heels up and down, both feet, for a count of 20. You can also move your feet, with heels on the floor, back and forth, using your legs as well as your feet. We won't be able to do your usual 'heads, shoulders, knees and toes' this trip, although I suppose you could do heads, shoulders and knees, but no toes, that will at least get you some arm movement. In any event, we all need to stretch and exercise a bit, although this trip you'll stay in your seats. Now, have our doctors decided who our designated medic will be?"

Rob raised his arm and the man smiled, "Very well, Dr. Rob Gibbs it is! And you're seated on the aisle, good planning." He chuckled, "At least for most of this flight you won't have to move your legs and feet from the aisle when the carts are about!"

Rob nodded, calling out, "Once the carts are about with our meals, I'll swap seats with someone."

"Good idea, please let us know before you do that. All right, the bottled water and snacks will be on their way to you while we're queuing for takeoff, we are number 43, so it will be awhile. Remember, this will likely be your last food for several hours and there's enough for 2 or 3 snack bags apiece and more than one bottle of water for everyone. If anyone has any food allergies or conditions that we don't already know about, please advise the flight attendants. Most of you have flown with us before so there shouldn't be any problems. Major, Captain, we have the information for Brian and Mia.

"My apologies Mia and Brian, we usually welcome passengers new to us right away, although now I see you've already been on a flight with us.

"Welcome to your first international, overseas' flight on the Paddington North Sea Oil Company's Air Fleet or as your family calls it, 'Air Paddington' and 'Uncle Tony's jets'. He grinned, "Since Mr. Barnes-Gibbs is not everyone's uncle, some of your new family also call the fleet 'Tony's jets'."

Checking something, he turned back to the passengers, "We have permission for you to visit the restrooms now, but make it as quick as you can, please!"

Nikki was first up and into the restroom while Tim looked at his kids, noticing Liam and Jack squirming a bit. Telling Artie, he unfastened their restraints and told them to hurry but not to run or leave a mess. They were quickly followed by Chloe and Ellanni. When the girls returned with their mother, Tim stood in line behind Bill and Jasper. Both restrooms, one on each side of the aircraft, forward and aft, opened up and Tim grabbed one while Jasper pulled his father into the other one. When Tim emerged he found several more people in line. Smiling, he sat down again, giving Artie a kiss and buckling up. Once nearly everyone on the jet had used the four restrooms, the flight attendants brought the bottled water around. Tim took 9 bottles, 3 extra for the 6 of them. He and Artie could split one extra and the other two extras could be shared between the children, they had cups for them. With permission, they took four of the snack bags, they could each have two. Tim selected what their children could have, they also would have two bags, keeping in mind that Jasper would want the same thing. Jasper was leaning forward, watching. Chloe told him that the 'snack lady' would also come down his side of the aisle and her younger cousin nodded at her with a smile, telling her he wanted to see what snacks there were.

Seeing what their nieces and nephews had and knowing Tim or Artie had selected items that Jasper would also like, Nikki and Bill selected those items for Jasper and were surprised when he asked to replace one of the snack bags with something else. Although they didn't say anything about his choice to their 2 ½ year old son, they were pleased that he was making a decision for himself.

Within minutes, everyone had their snacks and water for the flight. From the cockpit, someone announced they were now #15 in line and they hoped everyone had visited the restrooms and selected their snacks. Minutes later, the flight attendants were ordered to their seats, tray tables were secured in their upright positions, everyone put the caps back on their bottles of water, tucking the bottles into the seat back pockets, checked their safety belts one last time and sat back, ready for takeoff.

Artie told Tim later that she was incredibly relieved when they actually took off. Not only was it smoother than she expected, she'd been a bit nervous about the storm suddenly attacking. Tim looked at her speculatively and she shook her head, "Oh no, you don't, I do not want to see that in your next book!"

He grinned and she laughed. Their children smiled, feeling safer when they heard their parents laughing.

Tired from the long, stressful day, Tim nodded off before they reached altitude. As the two of them had switched seats after their trips to the restroom, Artie was now in the aisle seat. As Tim almost always fell asleep soon after takeoff, they were in the habit of switching seats so he wouldn't have to wake up to move his legs when the carts, or people, came around. Artie on the other hand, would likely be awake for a couple of hours before dropping off.

Looking down their row, she smiled as Bill had his eyes closed, Nikki, with a book on her lap, looked up, smiled, giving her a little wave. Jasper was already asleep, Chloe was coloring in one of her coloring books, Jack and Ellanni were dozing while Liam was reading one of the books he'd brought with him, she could see him smiling at something and giggling at another.

She smiled at that, happy that their children were early readers as both she and Tim had been, although Tim had no idea how old he was when he started to read, he didn't even know for sure how old he really was. He did know that when his doctors and therapists in the hospital where he lived in the Pediatric ward for nearly 8 months told him he was 6 years old and tested him on his vocabulary and then his reading, he selected a book he was told later was meant for a 10 year old and when asked, told the story in his own words, clearly understanding the plot.

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As predicted, there was turbulence although Tim and his family had been through worse. Other than that, the aircraft was able to stay on course, not having to go west to avoid any storm action. Within 3 hours and 18 minutes, slightly ahead of schedule, they were in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, airspace.

Tim woke when he felt the jet slightly change course and grinned at Jack, who was sitting in the seat on his left. His little boy's eyes lit up, "Does this mean we can go all the way to Greece now?"

"I believe so, sweetie. Let's see what the air crew has to say."

Tim smiled again when Jack giggled at the sounds of people waking up to the same air crew member blowing noisily into the microphone. "Ah, you're awake, good! We've reached Newfoundland without any problems and have been given the green light to proceed with our flight over the Atlantic. While I didn't ask about tsunamis, I have been told the hurricane is currently stalled in the Atlantic. That's good news for us and there is a slight chance the storm will blow itself out before it makes landfall.

"As our destination is Greece, one of several countries bordering or in the Mediterranean Sea, once we're in European airspace we'll ask about any tsunami activity there. I'm told there is already shelter arranged for all of you so there's no need to worry. Now that we're on our way across the Atlantic, we can begin our countdown to dinner! We're already 30 minutes into our flight to Athens from Canada, so now our timeline for our hot meal is 5 hours!

"In the meantime, before we get into choppy air, it's time for bathroom breaks! With our relatively peaceful flight so far, we anticipate we'll be able to have 2 or 3 bathroom breaks once we're over the continent, before our hot meal is served in 4 hours and 59 minutes!"

There were happy sounds at that and everyone had a turn, no one minded standing in line as it felt wonderful to stand up and some people walked or marched in place while they waited.

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It was a long, turbulent flight but once they reached the northeast Atlantic the turbulence died down considerably. By that time, dinner, and Paris, were only 4 hours away! As they flew, the air officer updated them with news of the hurricane and tsunami activity.

The east coast of the US had been hit by the hurricane, although the delay while it was stalled lessened its impact as well as giving more people time to take shelter. Leon passed word to Tim that he'd asked Jim or Rick to let Pete Russell know how everyone was faring.

Other news was more alarming. While the hurricane's impact had been delayed and somewhat lessened, there were now multiple tsunamis, triggered by underwater volcanic eruptions, ravaging the globe. They didn't yet have word of any damage to the coastal areas of the US or the coastal areas near Athens, that information might come later in their flight or when they landed.

Wide awake, Tim read a book by one of his dad's favorite authors, smiling when Artie made a noise, stretching her arms as she woke up. Once she was fully awake, Tim put his book away and the two played cards, using a miniature deck designed for use on the pull down tray tables.

An hour later, they were allowed another bathroom break, especially important for the children and the elderly folks and everyone stood for a few minutes, whether in line or by their seats.

Eventually, they knew by the delicious smells coming from the galley that dinner was about to be served and that meant they were somewhere near or over Paris. One of the flight attendants told the passengers that the carts would begin delivering in the next 10 minutes, so anyone wanting to use the bathroom, to walk or to stand by their seats had 10 minutes to do so. Tim and Artie stood in their seat space, stretching and walking in place, their children joining them.

Dinner was delicious, as always and Tim thought it was likely Tony had specifically asked for it, knowing it was a family favorite.

Once the dinner trays were collected, the walking/bathroom restrictions were lifted and everyone stood up to at least do some stretching. It seemed just minutes later when the flight attendants had them return to their seats and buckle up again as the aircraft descended into the airspace of the Hellenic Republic. Everyone cheered at that.

They were even happier when they were told that the Mediterranean had not yet been subjected to any tsunami action although they were also warned it could still happen.

At the moment, whatever the Mediterranean Sea was doing or not doing as far as tsunami activity, the Athens airport was open for business and they cheered again as they landed.

While the aircraft taxied to the FBO, Tim helped his children put their belongings, sweaters, books, crayons, coloring books, sticker books as well as a plushy animal or two, back into their packs. By the time the jet stopped and the sky bridge was in place, the Timothy Gibbs family was ready to disembark.

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As always, it took several minutes for all the passengers to disembark. Once on the ground, Tim found Tony, giving him a huge hug. "Thank you, brother, for saving us once again!"

Tony made a noise, "Saving you? We could have stayed at the Arlington house, we would have been all right."

Tim nodded, "Yes, but then Leon and I would likely still be in Porter's cross-hairs and far too close to the Pentagon! And who knows how long it would be until we could get home!"

"Porter? That bad? She's always liked you and Leon, actually all of us!"

"Let me put it this way. While any loss of life and property damage from the storms is and will continue to be tragic and horrible, it gave us both a chance to make a strategic retreat."

"I've never heard you speak of her that way!"

"New Secretary of Defense, new boss for her, who knows what will happen next. Right now, it is best to be out of sight and with any luck out of mind, especially because Secretary McCord demanded that Porter and Smythe make formal apologies to both of us. Smythe is her peer so don't know if that will happen but I imagine Porter will make some sort of effort. Or she may decide to blow it off and say she was teasing although from her general attitude and tone of voice I know she wasn't and Leon agrees. He was so angry he couldn't look at her and I barely managed a nod as I left. Although we left separately, each of us walked out without being dismissed."

Tony winced, "Ouch!"

"Yeah. We also completed separation papers although neither of us filed them, thanks again to the Secretary of State." He shook his head, "Artie and I don't need my salary, I'm willing to leave again if they keep pushing this or something else. I could possibly line up another university position, maybe here in Greece, and then leave."

"Would you be bored?"

"I'd do a short contract, two or three years, maybe through the next election, enough to lose the attention of the DoD." He shook his head, "I'll miss the job, it's been great to work with the leaders I think of as NCIS: Europe legends, Pete, Roger, Stan and now including Jess Knight, our Ned and my three SSAs in London. However, we'll likely spend winter through spring, maybe early summer, here in Greece and the rest of the year bouncing between Jaxton and Scotland."

Tony nodded, "Overall, I've noticed you've been happy."

Shaking his head, Tim made a face that Tony thought was both sad and angry, "I have been and I'll be very sorry to go, especially after only a year but I refuse to bow to DC politics, especially when it will directly affect my family as well as the NCIS staff and when what needs to be done is not a big threat to the country. Apparently Porter doesn't think much of what I'm doing over here although Leon's been enthusiastic and he's not shy about turning me down or letting me knew when he doesn't like something. I'm certainly not saying I'm the only one who could possibly lead the offices over here; however, we're so thinly stretched that the SSAs and their teams don't have the time to do any more work than they already do. That's how I see my responsibilities, to keep eagle eyes on what's happening over here, to coordinate and look for better ways to operate while fulfilling our mandate and to keep them going, pointed in the right direction."

"So, when do you expect to hear from Porter?"

"After Leon does, after the storms have passed and she's taken care of any Navy and Marine problems resulting from the hurricane or the tsunamis. Maybe a month, might be longer."

"And what will you be doing?"

"Taking care of our kids and the offices. We're doing something in February for the twins' half-term holiday, other than that, we'll be here until the Remis' property is finished."

"We'll miss you at home but then we might end up spending most of the winter here anyway!"

"I vote YES for doing that!"

Exchanging hugs, the two rejoined their families, the Barnes-Gibbses heading to the EU residents' line along with Athena and the Powells while Maggie's dad and the rest of the group lined up for their turn through passport control.

Brian and Mia were nearly dizzy looking at everything in the airport. As an airport, it wasn't much different than most airports, however the signs were in a language they didn't yet understand and there were people wearing clothing and head wear they'd never seen before, this was an international airport after all, as well as speaking in several languages.

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As Tim and the children emerged from the customs hall, they waved with big smiles at Pappouli Peter, Pete Russell and Kayla Vance who were waiting for the group. The trio were standing alongside 2 large buses that Tim knew had been hired by the Paddingtons, who were also happily greeted and thanked for their help.

One of the buses would take those going to Varkiza while the other one would take everyone else into Athens. Tony told him later that Nigel and his wife Emma hadn't been sure how many people were going to Varkiza and how many would need shelter elsewhere, thus the two buses and hotel reservations.

After greeting his cousins, Tony handed the list of those going to Athens to Emma. She took a quick look and smiled, "Thank you! We have more than enough rooms reserved for everyone, the hotel will be happy to open some of those rooms for others escaping the storms." She added, "We hadn't thought of anyone but your family flying from the US, Tony, but there have been a few flights arriving from the US today and all of them were full." She asked how many had been on their flight, her eyes widening when she was told. "Oh my, were you full then?"

"Almost, there were two seats empty, the most passengers we've ever had on a family flight."

Nigel nodded, "We were nearly full as well, with Tim's in-laws and Dr. Mallard's family."

"Artie, Tim, Athena and Ducky are thankful you thought of the Clachers and the Mallard cousins, Nigel, Emma, as am I. Are they in Athens?"

"No, the Clachers and the Mallard cousins are all staying in the vacation rental apartments across from Tim and Artie's usual place. All of the cousins came with us; at first it was to be just the older folks but the elders talked everyone else into coming, especially those with children. Didn't make much sense to stay, as close as they are to the east coast of Scotland. Tsunamis will slam into any body of water in their way!"

Maggie chuckled, "This might be the Hellenic Republic's biggest influx of Brits and Yanks since World War II!"

Nigel nodded, "And we're very happy to be here! I spoke with Artie's father earlier and he said that as of about two hour ago, they are not expecting any tsunami activity in the Mediterranean. Unless that accursed volcano erupts again or there are more earthquakes, there hasn't been an eruption in 6 hours and no earthquakes in nearly the same time, the active tsunamis will eventually do whatever they do to stop or disappear and no new ones will be generated."

"Any word on damage so far?"

Nigel winced, nodding, "There aren't many details yet but every coastline on the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans is under water. We listened for Washington, D.C. on the radio and heard that Chesapeake Bay has flooded from its shores all the way through Baltimore and towns within several miles of the bay. The Potomac river, the Shenandoah river and all their tributaries are badly flooded, we heard the Capitol mall is under water as well as several historical buildings. Emma remembered you asking us to listen for the District of Columbia and specifically Georgetown and yes, most of the District and Georgetown flooded. Is that where Dr. Mallard's home is?"

Nigel winced again at Tony's nod before continuing his report, "One happier note, the Smithsonian Institute knew about the hurricane, the volcano eruptions and anticipate tsunami activity, meaning heavy rain, winds and probable flooding. Over the years since they were badly flooded in 2006, more stringent emergency measures have been taken and they report only minor damage. The animals at the National Zoo sheltered in bunkers with their regular keepers. Overall, the damage to the zoo and the museums was minimal, considering what it could have been. There's been no report of any flooding in the city of Arlington or at the National Cemetery there although Virginia was also hit by the hurricane. It made landfall in Florida and ripped its way all the way up to Pennsylvania before veering back out to sea again. The tsunamis hit the west coast of the US, I wrote down the counties in California that were reported as the most affected: Ventura, Napa, Santa Cruz, San Diego, Marin, San Francisco, Sonoma and Solano and we heard that rivers in other parts of the state also flooded. I don't have any specific information on the other 2 states you worried about, Oregon and Washington, although news reports said the Oregon coast was hit by a tsunami that flooded 10 miles inland. Washington was also hit; the report was that 1 mile inland was flooded."

Tony shook his head, "Thanks, Emma, Nigel. I'll let Ducky know. His brownstone was originally at a slight elevation; however before he moved in, the foundation and basement needed repairs and they ended up raising the house several feet. With any luck it may have come through without flooding. Might need a boat to get to it but the house itself may be all right."

His cousins smiled, glad to hear the damage might not be as drastic as they feared.

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By now everyone was boarding either the Athens or the Varkiza bus, with Tim and Bill checking people in for the Varkiza bus and another Paddington relative handling the passengers for the Athens bus.

Kayla, Leon, Jared and Pete Russell waved to Tim as they left, Jackie and Leon having said their thanks to Tony and his cousins. When Leon hugged Tim, he muttered that they were at least physically safe here. Thinking of the Marines, CIA and probably FBI and/or Homeland agents at the Embassy, Tim chose not to reply.

When Tim rejoined his wife and children, she smiled at him, "Guess where we're staying?"

He shrugged, "At the commercial building?"

"No, not there. The 6 of us and your parents are staying with Papa and Rhode. Your parents will have the den, our girls will share with my sister Amara, while the boys will have their own room or share with Egan or Milos if either comes home. We will also have our own room."

"That sounds great but I thought Susannah, Ian and his folks were there?"

"They decided to rent instead. They're in a 3 bedroom vacation apartment across from our old place. And it's on the 2nd floor so if there's flooding, they'll be all right. Kayla's roommate and her parents have also rented an apartment there, also on the 2nd floor."

"Then Nikki, Bill and Jasper?"

"Are staying with Yaya and Ducky."

Half-asleep, Tim smiled, "That worked out well."

"Yaya decided that Jasper and his parents should stay with her because it's where he spent so much time last summer." She leaned in, "I also noticed that Tony, Maggie, Dick and the girls are on our bus!"

Tim nodded, "I'm glad our bunch is all together. Where are Freddie, Abby and Menolly?"

"In another apartment with Joe, Char and Tommy next door on one side and Jimmy, Breena and Donnie on the other side."

Tim chuckled, "We'll have to walk around tomorrow to see where everyone is! Which reminds me, oh never mind, I remember now."

"What?"

"You, Bill and the crew are going back to work on the 8th, after Christmas."

"And you are also going back to work that day."

Tim nodded, "Yes. I wonder when the Vances will fly home."

"I'm sure he's not looking forward to that!"

"I don't blame him. I need to call my Embassy contact on Friday to see about an office for him."

"Unless he's taking time off."

"Good point." Tim made a mental point to have a chat with his boss tomorrow. Frowning, he turned to his wife, "I'm ashamed to say this, but what day is today?"

She grinned, "I had to figure that out too. We took off at 3 PM Eastern Standard time the afternoon of New Year's Eve, flew to Canada and then here. It's now 0100 Eastern time New Year's Day in Virginia, plus 7 hours' time difference between Greece and the US East Coast means it is 0800 New Year's Day here in Greece. I think."

Laughing, Tim leaned over for a deep kiss, "Happy New Year's, my love!"

They kissed and cuddled as the bus took them home, that is to one of their homes.

Once they were in the house, they quickly unpacked and gathered clean clothes, feeling they'd been in the clothes they'd worn on the plane for days. Artie and their daughters took a shower and dressed, feeling much better. When they were done it was Tim and their sons' turn and they were equally happy feeling clean. When they emerged from Tim and Artie's room, they found Yaya Rhode had breakfast ready for them. While the children enjoyed their hot chocolate, the four adults nearly inhaled their first cups of coffee, slowing down to enjoy their second cups as well as Rhode's traditional Greek breakfast. The eight of them thoroughly enjoyed their hot breakfast of warm spinach pies with fresh fruit and a pastry or two.

After breakfast, they went for a walk. While it wasn't as cold as it would be in Arlington or Jaxton, it was winter and only 10:00 in the morning, it was chilly and the travelers were glad they'd donned jackets and hats before leaving the house. They walked over to Mimi's home but didn't knock on the door as they couldn't see any lights through the window. Turning around, they walked over to their usual vacation rental and ran into the owner sweeping leaves. Surprised, he greeted them happily, passing along the latest news, the volcano had not erupted in more than 12 hours, there were no new earthquakes and the storm and weather experts were now giving the Mediterranean a clear pass from any tsunami activity. When asked about damages, he shook his head, "It's tragic, lives lost as well as buildings, homes, businesses and houses of worship, torn apart by the winds of the hurricane or the waters of the tsunami. There are recordings and pictures on TV but we have not heard many stories yet. They are still looking for people. There was a child, a toddler, who was found but at the last broadcast they had not yet found her parents. Luckily, the little girl has grandparents, aunts and uncles."

He hesitated, "Are you here because of the storms? The Colonel said you were in America."

Artie nodded, "Yes, we were staying in a house in the state of Virginia, on the east coast, and left a day early to avoid the storms. Since the UK was battered by tsunamis and high tides, we decided to fly straight here and my father picked us up at the airport a couple of hours ago. We're staying at his house for now. My crew and I will resume work on the house above the sea after Christmas."

"Ah, yes, that beautiful property! And you, Timothy?"

He smiled, "The children and I got tired of only seeing Artemis part of the week so we're staying here until she's finished."

"And when will that be?"

Artie grinned, she and Tim had already talked about possibly renting the house again, especially now that the initial danger, possible tsunami activity, seemed to be past.

"The house will be finished in April and then we'll celebrate Easter here. Is your rental available?"

His smile got wider as he nodded. "Yes, it is empty now and I have no bookings until the end of June."

Tim grinned, "We'll stay a few days at the Colonel's but we'd love to rent your place, say from the 7th until school is out for the summer, I don't remember when that is."

"It's the end of the first full week of June and yes, I will be most happy to rent it to you. There is one thing, however."

"What's that?"

"I will not take a deposit. I trust that if you have to leave earlier than expected we will work something out and I certainly know that you will leave the place in good shape."

Tim grinned, "Thank you!"

The three shook hands while the children grinned, happy that they'd stay in their 'regular' house. They liked staying at Pappouli and Yaya's or Mimi's but they were company in both places while the rental felt like home to them.

Returning to their grandparents' home, the children were first cautioned not to say anything to their Pappouli or Yaya. They nodded wisely, thinking that would be a grownup talk.

Tim was sitting with his dad in the Lekkas' conservatory, relaxing, when his phone rang. Startled, he looked at the ID, while his father manfully held back his laughter. As much time as Timothy spent on his phone, it was funny to see him startled at a phone call.

Answering the call, Tim said, "Hello, Matt, Happy New Year! Where are you, is everything all right?"

The caller huffed, "Happy New Year to you! I called to ask you the same things!"

"We left Virginia yesterday, a day early, hours before the storm and tsunami hit and flew from Virginia to Newfoundland in Canada and then took the shortest route over the Atlantic to Europe. How about you?"

"We decided to leave for Europe early, my grandparents in Portugal invited us for Christmas. We went to the UK for a week first, to get through the worst of our jet lag. I'm glad you warned me about that as flying from California to London it really hit us! We did manage to see a few things around London so that was good and we had the hotel's address and phone number on a card we kept with us at all times. One time I just handed it to a taxi driver who looked at it, looked at us and said, "Jet lag?" Luckily Shelly, my wife, was awake enough to answer. He helped us into the taxi and then had to wake us up when we got to the hotel. After that we watched the time more closely, your sister's routine really works when you pay attention!

"We flew to Portugal on the 20th and spent Christmas with the grands, aunts, uncles and best of all, my sisters, all three of them! My twin Colleen and her family decided they wanted to surprise us, and arrived while we were in London, so they were also through the worst of their jet lag. We're still here, packing to leave for Greece in the morning. And, drum roll please, we've rented a place in Varkiza!"

"Great, whereabouts?"

"Uh, it's on…hang on, I'll spell the street name."

Tim laughed when his friend spelled the name. "That's a great neighborhood, you'll be two doors down from my in-laws and we're about a block and a half away. Here's how you say the street name…" He had Matt practice until the other man was close enough. Tim thought about the airport, "What time does your flight get in?"

"2:00 PM, I guess there's a time change."

"Yes, Athens is two hours ahead of Portugal and the UK. So your 4 hour flight leaves at 8 AM?"

"Yes."

"Have you arranged for a car rental?"

"Not yet, we're going to do that after dinner."

"I tell you what, how about I pick you up at the airport? I need to rent a vehicle, my wife and I were too fried when we got in this morning and an extended family member rented buses to get us to either Varkiza or Athens. By tomorrow afternoon the rental counters are going to be swamped with people arriving for Christmas, which we're celebrating on Monday. I'll drive one of the larger family cars to the airport and bring you all back here, to your new place and then on Saturday, we'll either have someone drive us into Varkiza or Athens to rent vehicles or maybe Enterprise will pick us up. I'll book our vehicles, my wife will need one and so will my brother Bill, huh, so will my parents! We'll figure it all out, in the meantime, you'll have a ride to your new home."

"Thanks, that will be great to have you meet us at the airport, someone we know, or at least I know!"

"Sure, be happy to do that and I'll be easy to spot when you clear Customs, I'm taller than most Greeks."

Laughing, they disconnected and Tim went to find his wife and parents to talk about renting vehicles. He found them in the kitchen relaxing over more coffee. Artie smiled, "Rhode and Amara took the children for another walk, they said it will have warmed up by now. What have you been up to?"

"Talking with Matt Mello, you remember Mr. Math?"

She chuckled, "Yes, of course. You two were on Skype for 2 hours!"

"Sure, I had questions about his lecture and it took time to answer them all plus we discovered we have a lot in common. Anyway, he, his wife Shelly and their children are in Portugal visiting his grandparents and are flying here tomorrow morning. They're renting a house down the street here, he'll start his 'visiting professor' gig when the colleges return to class after the holiday. Then they'll move to the UK over the summer and he'll start a new professorial job at Bedford, in Brambury."

"Is that also a visiting professor job?"

"No, it's permanent."

Lu smiled, "Wonderful, we'll have to have them over once they're settled in at Brambury. How many children do they have?"

Tim and Artie looked at each other, chuckling, before Tim answered, "Four, two sets of twins! Matt also has a twin sister and their younger sisters are twins, all fraternal."

"Good grief, two sets!" Lu thought before saying, "That's not that different that Liam and Chloe's situation, with Chloe only 5 months younger than Liam."

Tim looked at Artie who smiled at him, saying, "Actually, Liam and Chloe are fraternal twins. We knew they had the same biological father but what we didn't know was that their mother had her eggs extracted before having some of them fertilized and placed in her uterus, resulting in her pregnancy with Liam and freezing the rest of her eggs. Then she got ill but it wasn't serious and the doctors assured her that her child would continue developing normally. Wanting her children to be close in age, she had some of the eggs thawed or whatever they do and then fertilized, this time hiring a gestational carrier for the pregnancy. Although they were born 5 months apart, both children are from the same egg extraction and have the same biological father, which makes them fraternal twins."

The couple smiled at each other, happy they'd finally told someone else of their discovery, they'd known for several months. Tim looked at his parents, while Lu was obviously still thinking through the process, his father looked shell shocked.

Feeling his son's gaze on him, Jethro looked at him, blinking, "I had no idea, never thought about eggs being, uh, what you said. How did you find out?"

Artie smiled, "I read an article about twins born a few years apart and told Tim; we were both curious to see if our two were conceived and gestated under the same conditions as the twins in the article. After talking with Rob, we contacted their original pediatrician, who because we are now the children's legal parents, was allowed to tell us what she knew and then referred us to their mother's gynecologist and obstetrician, who work in the same practice. They told us the entire story, something no one else knows."

"Do they know, Liam and Chloe?"

"Not yet. We asked the doctors to write it up so we'd have the facts and wouldn't forget any of it; we now have that written documentation, along with copies of their ultrasounds and everything we had for Ellanni and Jack. However, Chloe and Liam are so young that we've decided to wait until they're a few years older. For now, their cousins, friends and classmates, or future classmates, aren't likely to question why their birthdays are so close and if they do, we'll deal with it then."

Tim nodded, "We have wondered about the older twins or the Costas girls asking but again, if that happens we'll deal with it. We don't want to tell anyone else but you two and Yaya, it doesn't seem fair to the children."

"Not Peter, Rhode or Sophia?"

Tim gave his father a look and Jethro rolled his eyes, "Yep, forgot my own rules, sorry! You're right, that's too many people!"

Lu nodded in understanding, "All right, I'll also keep my mouth shut. In a way it might be healthier for them, not to always be thought of as a pair as twins are."

"Thanks, that's how we feel as well."

His mother looked at him, "So now tell us about Dr. Matt, the Math guy."

They'd finished that discussion and were still dawdling around the table when the children returned with Rhode and their youngest aunt, Amara.

The next task was reserving rental cars for whoever needed them, at least for those staying with the Lekkas family, plus Bill and Nikki. That number was six, two for Artie and Tim, two for Lu and Jethro and two for Nikki and Bill. When Tim contacted the rental company he'd used previously, he was happy to hear they would bring the cars to them in Varkiza, they could pay online or when the cars were delivered. Tim also mentioned Matt and Shelly's need for two vehicles but the rental company said they'd already made reservations and they would also drive those vehicles to Varkiza. Tim blinked when he completed the transaction online for his and Artie's vehicles, there were 8 cars reserved in the same neighborhood in Varkiza, he wondered if the rental company would use a car carrier!

In the meantime, Athena offered her SUV for Tim's drive to and from the airport for the Mello family. That was great as Tim and Artie had purchased a luggage carrier for the top of the vehicle, storing it in her garage. With four children in safety seats, that would take up some of the space they'd need for the family's belongings.

The newly arrived were pleased to learn that the Russells had invited all of them, the entire Gibbs group currently in Greece, for an early dinner that evening. The junior Powells, junior Mallards, Geordie and Bec begged off, both pregnant women too tired to think of doing anything but sleeping and Geordie and Bec realizing their new children were already overwhelmed and needed some peace and quiet with just the 5 of them, Grampy Ben was staying with them. Most of the rest of the family was looking forward to it. Ducky reported his cousins weren't going, although he wasn't sure they'd been included in the first place!

Tim was relieved to find that most of his brothers had been quicker to rent vehicles than he and Artie. He, Artie, the children and his parents rode to Piraeus in Peter's double cab truck and Rhode's SUV while Bill drove Athena's SUV with Nikki, Jasper, Athena, Ducky, Joe, Char, Tommy and Rob. Barry, Ned and the girls arrived in their own rental vehicle, accompanied by Freddie and Abby. Menolly had homework she needed to do and would hang out with the junior Powells while her aunt and uncle were away. The senior Powells and Clachers shared a rental vehicle as they'd done before, with Ian driving his wife and son in their own rental. The Barnes-Gibbs' left their girls with their grandfather and Yaya Sophia, driving a beautiful sedan to the Russell's home.

The dinner was fun, served buffet style in the Russells' large kitchen. They'd moved some of the living room furniture onto the covered terrace and set up three large tables in a squared off 'U' shape so that everyone would be comfortable and could see and talk with each other.

Tim was very happy to see the Piraeus team in attendance as well as Joel Morris, one of Tim's predecessors at the London Office and his wife Carol. Grinning, he shook hands with Jack and Ted, NCIS: Europe's favorite CIA agents and their wives.

He, Leon and Jackie also exchanged hugs as did Artie, Jethro and Lu. Leon patted Tim on the back, murmuring, "Remember the time difference between here and DC. Don't answer your phone tomorrow or from here on for a DC area code call after 5 PM in this time zone."

Tim managed not to roll his eyes, "I won't if you won't!" He shook his head, "Leon, although I do love my job, I can leave again. I've already put our former health insurance agent on alert in case we need coverage immediately. Then Artie told me her company has health insurance so we shouldn't worry. We've cleared a possible salary loss with our financial advisor who said he'd move some funds around but not to worry about anything."

Then he squinted, "I'll have to speak with Leo and Blake or whoever at State, to get those reports for the numbers and for more information about the locations I have in mind."

"I forgot you unofficially agreed to that. Still…"

"I promise to be careful!"

"All right, I will be too."

Laughing at each other, they moved on.

As tired as the travelers were, none of them stayed late and by 8 PM, they were back in their respective temporary homes.