Ch 33: Names, Planning Ahead, a Dark Night
The Fourth of July party was a lot of fun with many local attendees. Jethro and Bill chuckled as they greeted two of their favorite 'helpers' and their families from B&Q, the local home center. The resident children were happy as their friends, and their friends' parents, from Reception and Nursery joined in the fun. Tony and Maggie invited a few of McKenna's friends, also with parents, to join the party and the Londoners and Jaxtonians had a great time along with the resident family. Ducky and Athena, Susannah, Ian, Ian's parents and of course the senior Powells were also present, remembering from previous celebrations how entertaining they were. The two youngest in the family, infants Victoria Camilo-Mallard and Lucy Gibbs-Powell, made brief appearances.
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After the party and before they began to gather what they needed for their annual reunion in the Scottish Highlands, Artemis and Tim quietly and with a good deal of relief celebrated the completion of their first trimester.
The day of their appointment for their first ultrasound, Tim worked at home although he had trouble concentrating. Finally, it was time to leave for their appointment! The couple were very curious to see their fetus, still wondering if they would have a single child or another set of twins, knowing they'd be happy as long as everyone was healthy.
The ultrasound went smoothly and they drove home talking about names, wanting to honor as many of their families as possible. That included the Gibbses, Mallards, Camilos, Mideis and Lekkases. Each of those families had even more names to consider, Baxter, Cahill and LJ's family name, Moore, for the Gibbses, Artemis' paternal grandmother's family the Florakises for the Lekkas family, her great-grandparents, the Costas and the Mideis, along with her aunt and uncles, and Malu's parents, that is Tim's maternal grandparents, along with his mom's brother Uncle Charlie.
Artie quietly asked Tim if he wanted to consider the names of any of his birth family and he shook his head, "My families are the Gibbses, Camilos and Mallards, possibly adding Grandmother Camilo's family name. It's Italian but I've forgotten what it is" He shook his head, "Also Grandmother Victoria's family name, Quillan." He quickly added, "Paci, Grandmother Camilo's family name was Paci!"
Smiling, he gave his wife a quick glance, "Do you want to use Galanis?"
Artie made a stink face at the mention of her stepfather's surname. "No and you're right, no Hubbards, Langstons or Galanises will be included in the names. Not that we would include Langston anyway, you're not one of them!"
Laughing, he retorted, "Nor are you a Galanis!"
From there they segued to listing several of the individual names attached to the people they were considering. Artie had also done a little snooping into what names were most popular that year and in recent years, telling her love they should skip those. He agreed, adding that they should also look at names for each of the countries and cultures represented by their DNA.
Artie liked that idea and then laughed as she thought of her Greek DNA. "Tim, love, do you know how many different cultures have shaped Greece? Don't forget we were part of the Ottoman Empire from the middle of the 15th century until about 1830, the start of the third decade of the 19th century! Four hundred years! More recently Germany, Bulgaria and Italy occupied my homeland for 3 ½ years in World War II."
He shook his head, saying, "Good points. Let's take a look at your ethnicity chart and pick the ones we want to use."
"Ah, finally a way to bring this up! Now that those who tortured you are under lock and key, have you thought of having your DNA fully tested? And please keep in mind that as far as family trees and all the rest, Carly could do it for you without linking you to anyone but the Mallard group and the Gibbs group."
He huffed, "Except someone already has my full DNA, remember it showed up on both Grandpa Jack's family tree and on the Scottish family's, at least on Grandfa's. So yes, you're right, it's no longer a secret and I am interested to see what ancestry and genes I've inherited from the Mallards and the Gibbses."
"And the Hubbards, actually from your maternal grandmother as her husband wasn't related to you. Maybe Grandfa remembers her family name."
"Not much interested in them although there's no way to avoid that. Yes, I'll ask Carly to test my DNA and then I'd like to see how I fit on the family trees. I mean, we know but it will be pretty cool to see my name actually on the family trees, belonging to the families. And I want the name I chose, not the name those monsters gave me at birth."
"That's wonderful, Tim, I'm so proud of you! And I know your grandfathers, your parents, meaning Jethro and Lu, and all your cousins will be thrilled!"
He sighed, "I need to include my maternal grandmother and maybe my uncle Jim, as long as Carly can screen out his twin sister. It feels mean to leave them off."
"Are you sure you want to include them?"
He nodded, "I remember Agent Andreson telling me that Maisie and Andrew Hubbard as well as their son Jim, my uncle, searched for me."
"When we move to the US, do you think you might want to meet them?"
He made a face, finally saying, "I don't know. It would have to be after the trials and I really don't know," he shrugged, "I'm still struggling with it, them. Searching for me was good; what I don't understand is why no one prevented it from happening at all. And there's more about the Langstons that Leon told me. I'll tell you when I can stand to talk about it. In my opinion, it's nearly as cruel as me being sold. "
She nodded, "It is odd that they didn't question the birth mother and the family more closely, I mean the professional investigators."
"Or the grandmother, her husband or their son, on either side. The Langstons, well that's for later." He sighed, "I guess we'll know more after the trials although I almost don't want to know."
As they parked the car in the garage, they decided to keep quiet, for now, about the information they had from the ultrasound.
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Nobody was happy that they were keeping the news about baby or babies and genders to themselves but Artie and Tim just smiled, repeating that the pregnancy was going well and all the testing had been good. In the meantime, they started keeping a list of names, including the family names they'd discussed as well as the least popular baby names from the various lists online. Tim's favorite list was the annual list compiled by the US Social Security Administration although the couple also reviewed lists from various countries and cultures.
In the meantime, once Director Vance confirmed that the temporary SAC at Marine Corps West would remain until the Gibbses' arrival in 2016, Tim and Artie relaxed, enjoying their new suite with the children. After looking at their notes, photos and talking things over with Tim's parents as well as those family members who planned to join them in California, they decided to go ahead with leasing the former hotel they'd toured after Ned's grandfather's funeral.
Not sure who was responsible for getting the ball rolling, they contacted the relocation agent with whom they'd spoken before and were relieved when she reminded them that her paperwork showed that this was a special assignment for Tim and therefore the agency would work towards acquiring the lease and would pay any penalty or any additional fees if he was recalled by the agency to the UK before or after the lease expired. After asking a few questions, she reminded them that since they would not be paying double rent, in Jaxton and in Playa Vieja, that paying the monthly rent and utilities for the place in Playa Vieja would be up to the Gibbses. She asked them if they wanted the caretaker-gardener to stay on and they agreed, wholeheartedly!
After Tim and Artie discussed a few things, Tim approached Tony with an idea. Making a lunch date with his brother one weekday, Tim smiled as he entered Tony's favorite pub once again. This time it wasn't to apologize but to propose something.
Tony was already there, knowing that Tim wouldn't want to take more than the usual time for a lunch break before he headed back to the office. He smiled as his long-ago Probie joined him. "How's your morning been?"
Tim grinned, "Quiet, which is a good thing!"
Tony shuddered, "A paperwork day?"
"Mm, there are a few people catching up on paperwork, yes. Even though it's done electronically now it is still tedious and boring. I can say that to you!"
His brother chuckled, "I promise not to say anything to any Feds! So what's up?"
"Artie and I have been talking about it and we want to continue paying rent for our suite when we leave for California."
"Why?"
"Because we'll be back and are not taking everything with us. And because we don't want you or our fellow tenants to be shortchanged. We don't want them to have to pay more nor do we want you to have additional expenses while we're gone. And because we can, we have plenty of money!"
"Tim, I wasn't planning to charge them more. Maggie and I have discussed it. We also have plenty of money, don't need more from anyone. We've been planning to talk to everyone but not when you, Artie and the folks are around."
Tim shook his head, "That's a noble idea, Tony but we'll be gone at least two years, we figured out how much you'd be out." He slid a piece of paper across the table and Tony nodded without looking at it, "I know but it's not a problem and you'll be paying rent in California or is the agency paying?"
"They're paying whatever leasing fees or penalties there might be but we're paying the rent. Tony, are you sure? Even with Mom, Dad, the elders, possibly Geo and Bec, which also means Ben and the children leaving for two, possibly three years?"
Tony smiled, "We figured all that in, Timbro, we'll be fine." He tilted his head, "I did hear a rumor about Nikki wanting to go over."
Tim shook his head, "Don't know who started that one! She and Bill love living in the UK and do not want to leave. Bill told me that Joe and Char are trying to talk Freddie and Abby into moving over here. Anyway, as far as Bill and Nikki are concerned, they are working to adopt another child and they'll probably have to travel to the US to either meet the child or at least to go to court for the final adoption. Maybe that's what someone overheard, those bits."
"That's a relief! We don't want them to go, we don't want anyone to go and we'd love it if Joe, Char, Freddie and Abby moved over! You and Artie will also need Bill when it comes time to build your house on the Mediterranean."
"Yes, we will and that's one of the things we've promised each other to keep in mind while we're overseas. That and the fact that I can quit anytime, we have plenty of money to live on."
Tony winced, "Is it the trials or the agency?"
Tim made a face, "The trials. I'm dreading them."
His brother reached over the table to squeeze his shoulder, "You won't be physically in the courtroom, you can do whatever you want while you wait. Start writing a new book, maybe, or I don't know, get one of those adult coloring books and color."
Tim let out a belly laugh at that and Tony smiled proudly.
As Tim's laughter quieted, he grinned, "That's the best idea I've heard yet! Artie says I should write, Mom says I should take a favorite book, Dad says I should take a Lego kit. But coloring, oh yeah, I could really get into that!" He paused, frowning, "Tony, are you absolutely sure?"
"Yes, we are absolutely sure. We have enough money for the rest of our lives as well as our daughters' lives and probably enough for about half the family. Tell you what, donate that money to your favorite charity, that will make you feel better."
Tim smiled, "We'll do that, thank you!" He and Artie later agreed they'd split the no-longer-needed-for-rent money between their 'Pay It Forward' website as well as specific charities for children, the homeless and veterans.
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After their trip to Spain but before they discovered they were pregnant, they'd begun packing away a few things. By the end of April, with the coldest weather likely to be done until close to Christmas, they'd packed away their warmest winter clothing and as they had time to do so, clearly marked the boxes so they knew which specific items were in them. Knowing the children's winter clothes would very likely not fit them by the time winter rolled around again, they made a note on their family calendar to have the children try the clothes on before the baby's arrival, that is, to have Liam and Chloe try on Jackson and Ellanne's winter clothing and boots while Jasper could try on Liam's winter clothing.
They thought to shop for snow clothes for the older twins' once they were in California, although they didn't suppose they'd have more time to do so than they had here. While they wouldn't need the winter clothes at their new home on the coast, they hoped to drive up into the snowy mountains in southeastern California. As they had no idea when that might happen, shopping for winter clothing was postponed until October when Daddy, Grama and hopefully one or two of the aunts or uncles would take the children shopping for the clothes they'd need between then and February. As far as school clothes, with all four children in school, Reception and Year 1, beginning in September, they would likely need new uniforms.
Once the lease was signed for the old hotel, Tim and Artie contacted the private school they'd found in Playa Vieja. The school offered classes from day care to kindergarten and up through the senior, or 4th, year of high school, on the same campus. As they were reminded by their copious notes, the students, teachers and administrators were a diverse group and the statistics for the school's success in graduating well-balanced and well-educated young adults were high. Sadly, of equal importance was the incidence of violence on campus and they'd been very happy to find there had been zero violent incidents, no children or adults had ever been harmed there. The school officials asked the couple to submit Jackson and Ellanne's final evaluations for Reception and anything they had for the younger twins from their time in nursery. The person they spoke with had obviously dealt with international transfers before and the couple relaxed, glad they were doing this now rather than later. Knowing time would be very tight once they moved, they asked for and were given the name of the website where they could purchase the children's new uniforms. Little things like having the new uniforms waiting for them when they arrived would be a big help in their transatlantic move.
After that, they made a list of what furniture they would take with them. Other than their bedroom furniture and what they had in their suite, they left the rest to complete later as there would likely be some negotiating over the lounge and dining room furniture. They laughed when Dad said he'd need a few sawhorses and a sheet or two of plywood for a table, no need to move their kitchen or dining room tables! They laughed again when Artie predicted a roundup of the many folding chairs and floor lamps now scattered throughout the family.
When one of them mentioned taking enough air beds for everyone who might visit, Tim tilted his head, "Maybe. How about if they're coming from here and flying Paddington, they can bring their own air beds, those we don't take with us." Then he tilted his head, "Never mind, we'll need them for us anyway as our furniture won't arrive for a couple of weeks."
His wife looked at him, "No, we won't need them. Even though it's a special assignment and not a formal transfer, we'll still have temporary housing for three weeks."
He rolled his eyes at himself, "Thanks for the save!"
They still laughed, imagining a bulging aircraft full of air beds, cribs and folding chairs! When Dad said they'd better ask to fly their visitors over on a C-130, that is a military cargo jet, that got more laughs.
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To the adult family, once the USA's Independence Day was celebrated, time seemed to fly except for Artie who told her husband that July had been at least 2 months long.
Although it didn't happen every day, the couple worked on their ever-growing list of possible names. It didn't take long for Tim's friend Carly to run his DNA and to capture his ethnicities as well as the trees of the various families to which he belonged. Even though he'd already seen his Gibbs and Mallard, etal, family trees, he loved the thought of his wife, children and him being added on. Carly also ran the March family tree, that is, the family tree of Liam and Chloe's birth mother. Tim and Artie decided that they'd link it to the Gibbs, Camilo and Mallard family trees as well as to the Midei, Lekkas, Caras and Costas Greek family trees.
Grandfa had provided Maisie Hubbard's family name and that tree was also sent to Tim. He laughed when he saw it, as it was larger than the tree with Grandfa's cousins and Tim's great-grandmother Victoria's family tree! He sighed when he saw his birth name on it and thought that at some time in the future he would send a note to the administrator of the tree to change his name. Rolling his eyes at himself, he sat down and sent the note then, correcting his name from Jeffrey Andrew Langston to Timothy Jackson Camilo-Gibbs and correcting his father's name from Daniel Langston to Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
He sifted through print-outs of Camilos, Gibbses, Baxters, Cahills and other Tim related family trees. While he knew his current relatives, it was interesting to see the older generations. And he smiled as he realized that his mother, Grandpa Jack, Artie's grandmother, father and Cousin Richard had his correct name on their trees. He made another note to remind himself, after the trials, to link their family tree to all the 'new' ones. He made a quick map listing all of the trees and shook his head. For someone who'd grown up without a birth family, the list was a bit intimidating!
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One early morning, just past 2 AM, long after the last of the Jaxton household had turned in, Tim woke suddenly, his well-honed sense of danger nearly vibrating through him. He reached for his phone to wake Geordie, now a 3rd floor resident, when his phone lit up with a message from his brother saying something was wrong and asking if he knew what it was. He quickly answered saying he didn't know yet but to wake Dad, Uncle Charlie Camilo and James' dad George Powell, a retired detective and also a 3rd floor resident, while he looked into the back garden.
Tim quietly padded toward the bedroom window from the side, to stay out of view as much as possible. As he approached the window, he dropped to his knees and crawled, out of view. Grabbing his night vision goggles and monocular camera, he quickly and carefully scanned the huge back garden. Using his monocular camera, he took a photo of what he saw, which automatically included the date and time. He sent it to his field team lead, SSA O'Brien at NCIS as well as the local police, Geordie, Dad, Uncle Charlie Camilo, Sarah's father-in-law George Powell, Tony, Agent Andreson in San Diego and Director Vance.
In less than a minute, the local police replied they were on their way, followed shortly by similar messages from the NCIS team. Crawling back to the bed, Tim quietly woke his wife, telling her there were intruders in the back garden, that he and Geordie had already sent for help, the police were on their way. Now they needed to wake the children and take them to the main floor with the Powells, Bec, Brian and Mia. However, the elevator was not to be used.
Geo, Bec, Brian and Mia and all the Powells met them in the hallway, the doors to their suites now closed. Artie held baby Lucy on the stair lift while James carried Chloe, his mother Edie and Sarah helping the three older children down the stairs, followed by Bec, Brian, Mia and George Powell.
Once the children were out of sight, Tim and Geo quickly armed themselves with their rifles, they already had their sidearms and stationed themselves close to the windows looking out into the back garden while George Powell joined Dad downstairs. Tony messaged that he'd alerted Paddington Security and they were on their way.
The Jaxton police were the first to arrive, very quietly, joining Dad and George downstairs. By the time all the residents were wakened and gathered in the windowless dining room, the NCIS team, along with FBI agents and 2 other fully armed agents responding from the Embassy as well as the Paddington Security team had arrived. The NCIS team brought 2 extra sets of protective gear, Tim took one while Geo was already wearing his.
The NCIS and FBI leads headed upstairs where Tim reported what he'd seen, showing the photo he'd taken of three heavily armed men in dark clothing and carrying weapons, each man carrying a rifle armed with a grenade launcher, crossing the gardens.
By now the various teams had donned their protective gear and after ascertaining that there were no unwanted visitors outside the front and sides of the house, they quietly walked around the building on each side, planning to come up behind the armed intruders. A fire engine arrived and parked in the deep shadows at the entrance to the driveway, its crew ready to respond if the grenade launchers were used. If they were and the grenades went in through the windows or onto the roof, there would be fire. There were also many trees and shrubs at risk.
Once again using the night goggles and camera, the trio upstairs saw the intruders, still walking and carrying their deadly weapons. Although they didn't regularly use all of the back garden, now Tim was grateful for the size of it.
Watching the intruders, he frowned, turning to find a similar frown on Geordie's face. Tim shook his head, "They're meant to be a distraction or backup."
Geordie frowned, "It's worked so far, we've been distracted watching them while two or three others may be ahead of them, making their way through the trees."
Sending messages to the outside and the downstairs teams, and leaving some of the armed personnel inside and close to the 3rd floor windows, the two men hurried to a door at the back of the 3rd floor. Hearing the chair lift, they waited for Colonel Uncle Charlie Camilo to join them, quickly donning the 2nd extra set of protective gear, courtesy of the NCIS team. Then the three men quietly hurried through the door and up the staircase to the roof.
Once the teams had dispersed outside, those inside and downstairs had moved everyone into the lounge at the front of the house, the room the family had once regarded as 'cavernous'. Now although the elders, Breena, Sarah, their infants and Artie were able to sit comfortably, the large room was nearly full. The younger children sat on laps while the older Gibbs twins and their cousins Brian and Mia sat on pillows placed on blankets on the carpeted floor. Three armed men, Gunny Gibbs, James' father George, a retired detective, and one of the local police officers stayed with them.
There was no outside light as they were currently under a dark moon and the lights inside were all off. Another armed pair of defenders stood at the elevator shaft, with the elevator itself parked on the third floor where it customarily spent the night. With the elders and three of the family children living on the main floor while Sarah's Lucy, Tim and Geo's children lived on the third floor, parking it upstairs had seemed the most logical place for it. Now several people wished it was in the basement, not that they would be able to use it but at least it would be out of sight, not a target.
When Jethro received his sons' message, he, Bill and George Powell herded everyone down the stairs to the basement and into the room with the pool, which remained covered. Jethro and George both agreed with Tim, Geo and Charlie's suspicions. Once everyone was in the pool room Jethro sent a message to Tony, Vance and Agent Andreson, telling them what was happening and forwarding the photo Tim had taken.
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Reaching the top of the staircase to the roof, the three men crouched down as they stepped onto the roof. Once fully outside, Tim, Geordie and Uncle Charlie immediately dropped down to their knees, creeping slowly across the rooftop to the back of the building. While the roof was pitched, there were built-in handholds so no one working up there would fall off. There was also a wooden framework, about 4 feet tall, that was built close to the edge of the roof and around the entire perimeter, along with a few carefully concealed 'peep' holes. The three men got behind that and as far from the pitch of the roof as possible.
The three men sheltered behind the framework while Tim and Geordie used their night vision gear to look through the peep holes into the trees. When they spotted their quarry, two additional intruders also carrying grenade launchers, they loaded their rifles, keeping their eyes on the two. The brothers had already decided their strategy.
As the defense teams stealthily approached the three intruders walking in the open, the two in the trees stopped moving and Tim watched them closely. He nodded at his brother as both hidden intruders released the safeties on their rifles and dropped down, aiming at the roof of the house. As they fired, Tim watched the trajectory of each grenade until both were within the range and height they needed. Waiting for the precise second, Tim and Geordie fired.