Fathers' Day

Tony, Tali, Anthony, LJ, Rivka and Beth; Tim, John and Katie; Jimmy, Tori and Charles; Gibbs, Ziva, Abby, Delilah and Breena; Leon and Jared have an extended family Fathers' Day 2034

~McGee House~

John and Katie helped their Mom into the minivan and John stowed her wheelchair in the back with the changes of clothes. Tim locked up and Katie escorted him to the van. "You get to ride in the back today, Dad. We are going to treat you like the King of the family today."

Tim climbed into the back with Katie as John started the engine. "We're meeting the DiNozzos, the Palmers, Aunt Abby and Uncle Leon at the first destination. We're picking up Grandpa and Jack on the way." John explained to his Dad.

~Palmer House~

"Come on, Dad." Tori urged her father to move faster. She and Charles were both excited about the plans for Fathers' Day with the extended family. She shook her keys in an effort to get him moving. Breena suppressed a laugh; one of Jimmy's habits had definitely rubbed off on Tori. Many times when the kids were younger, Jimmy used rattling the keys to signal his impatience with their slowness.

The four Palmers piled into Tori's small SUV, ready for a day of fun. Changes of clothes were in the back cargo area for all four. Breena and Jimmy sat in the back seats at Charles' suggestion.

~DiNozzo House~

"Who's riding with me and who's going with Ima?" Tali asked her sisters and brothers. They could all fit in her Ima's minivan, but then there would be little room for the changes of clothes needed for the day. Tali had offered to drive her car so the family had enough room for people and stuff.

Beth and Rivka answered Tali, "We'll ride with you." Tali looked at Anthony and LJ; both nodded agreement with the arrangements.

~Vance House~

Abby was excited, not only for the family day that was planned but also for the surprise she had helped arrange for Leon. He watched his wife as she prepped for the day, and noticed that she kept glancing at the door.

"What's up, Abby?" his curiosity finally getting the better of him.

"Um, oh, nothing… YET," Abby replied trying not to squeal. She had heard a car door shut in the driveway. As the doorbell rang, she motioned for her husband to answer.

"Happy Fathers' Day, Dad!" Jared grinned at Abby as he hugged his father. "I have five days of leave."

~Laser Sports Complex~

Tim and Jimmy grinned like kids when they arrived at the first destination. The family met at the local laser sports complex for laser tag, interactive video and VR games and family fun in general. The family paired into teams for tag: Jimmy and Breena, Tim and Delilah, Tony and Ziva, Anthony and Katie, John and Rivka, Beth and Charles, Gibbs and LJ, Abby and Leon, Jared and Tori, and Tali and Jack.

Tali and Jack eliminated Jared and Tori quickly since neither of the two were into the game; they were more into each other. Tali really didn't blame her friends; the pair had not seen each other in person for almost a year. She knew that Tori missed Jared terribly and hoped the two would get to spend a lot of time together while Jared was on leave.

Ziva and Tony were using stealth to systematically eliminate other pairs. They eliminated the McGees, the Palmers, the Vances, and Beth and Charles before they took their first hit from Gibbs and LJ. Tali and Jack focused on John and Rivka, taking a few hits from Gibbs and LJ in the process. The final three pairs were Ziva/Tony, Gibbs/LJ and Tali/Jack.

Gibbs and LJ focused on eliminating Tali and Jack and vice versa. Tony and Ziva used the temporary lull to strategize and 'disappear' from the other two teams. Even the sideliners could not find Tony and Ziva in the arena. They were well hidden in the dark outer edges of the arena.

Tali got a hit on Gibbs and he and LJ were eliminated. She and Jack looked around for the DiNozzo parents. Tali suggested to Jack that they canvass the perimeter of the arena back to back. Jack nodded her agreement and the two moved quietly around the room. Still no sign of either DiNozzo; Ziva and Tony were well hidden!

All of a sudden a barrage of hits on Tali and Jack came from either side of the arena. Down to two hits before elimination, Tali and Jack moved carefully and fired at the source of the strikes. Nothing! Neither Tony nor Ziva were where they had been when firing. 'Damn they move quickly,' Jack whispered. Tali nodded her agreement; she knew her parents skills in being stealthy and figured that she and Jack would be goners shortly.

The rest of the family watched from the sidelines. Jimmy commented to Tim, "How do they do that? Tony and Ziva were on opposite sides of the room!"

Tim grinned, "I wish I knew; they communicated without words when we were all a team, too!'

Tali was listening to the sounds in the arena. She detected soft footsteps on both sides of her and Jack. She spoke softly, "On three, fire to your nine o'clock. One… two… three…" Tali and Jack both spun to their left and fired. Hits registered on both Tony and Ziva. Tali and Jack took one hit each and Tony and Ziva stepped out of the darkness, grinning.

"How did you know where they were?" Jack asked Tali.

"I listened for unusual sounds after attuning my ears to the background noises. Ima taught me well!" Tali grinned as her parents approached.

"Nice work, Tals," Tony was proud of his daughter's skills. Ziva had definitely taught her mini-me well.

Ziva grinned at Tali, "Almost there, one of these days you WILL defeat me and Abba."

The rest of the family gave the two teams a round of applause and then Delilah announced that their pizzas were ready in the party room. Tony and LJ perked up at the word pizza, and Tim drew laughter from all of them when he reminded the others, "Get in there quickly before the DiNozzos eat all the pizza, especially Tony!"

Breena laughed with the rest, "Don't worry, we ordered fifteen large pizzas!"

As the family ate lunch, Tony, Tim and Jimmy tried to get one of the others to spill the beans about the next destination. Not a one would tell them, even when Leon and Gibbs joined them in trying to interrogate the family.

The family piled into the five vehicles, rearranging who rode with whom. Tali, LJ, Tori and Jared were in Tali's car; Ziva, Tony, Tim and Delilah were in the DiNozzo minivan; John, Rivka, Beth and Charles were in the McGee minivan, Abby, Leon, Jimmy and Breena were in the Vance's SUV; and Anthony drove Tori's SUV with Katie, Gibbs and Jack.

~Local History Museum~

Anthony watched his Grandpa's eyes light up when the family vehicles parked at the history museum. Gibbs asked about the artisan demos, "Do they still have the woodworking demos?"

Katie nodded, "Yes, Grandpa; that's why we're here!"

What Gibbs didn't know is that the whole family was in on this stop. They had planned the trip to the woodworking demo as part of the family gift to Gibbs. Even Jack had been part of the planning. All of the family had their individual portraits made in the past three weeks. Jack had coordinated appointments with the photographer and then taken all of the finished pictures to the wood artisan.

The whole family gathered around Gibbs as Jack took his hand and led him to the area where the woodworker was showing others how he carved designs into furniture and picture frames. He saw Jack leading Gibbs and the rest of the family to his area. He waved to Jack and winked at her. She gave him a thumbs' up and gathered the family around to watch the rest of the demo.

As the man finished the demonstration, he showed the audience the designs that he had put into the wood and explained that the full process involved using oils and stains in layers on the wood to make the designs 'pop' from the wood. He then spun the work table one hundred eighty degrees and picked up a large flat object that was wrapped in a cloth bag with a drawstring. He asked for a volunteer from the audience to open the bag and then pointed at Gibbs.

"You, sir, will be perfect. Please step up here with me." Gibbs at first hesitated, but after the family prodded and encouraged him to go to help, he reluctantly agreed. He was wondering if this was a set up by the family but didn't have long to wonder when the woodworker handed him the bag and told him to open it.

Gibbs untied the drawstring and slid the bag down the sides of the wood frame that appeared as he lowered the bag. He could see that it was a frame of some sort, but the back was facing him. He would need to remove the bag and then turn the frame so he could see it. Because of the position of the frame, the family and audience got to get a glimpse first. As Gibbs turned the frame so he could see it, the family all grinned at him. He looked at them and knew they were up to something. Even the others in the audience were grinning. Seven DiNozzos had the "patented DiNozzo grin" (yes, even Ziva had acquired the signature grin!)

Gibbs felt tears forming as he looked at the frame and the images it held. Each family was a branch on the tree that was carved into the front panel. Around the edges of the frame were the words "family is a work of the heart." The McGee and Palmer families each had their own side branch and the DiNozzo family had the large center branch. The Vance family and Jack, along with the Reeves family and Torres family were the ground under the tree.

Gibbs was trying hard not to cry, and he smiled at the family, "Thank you all!"

"Happy Fathers' Day!" They all responded. "We love you!"

~Steakhouse Dinner~

Before the family headed out to the next destination, Ziva suggested that anyone who wanted to change to clothes a bit dressier for dinner should do so at the museum. Ziva, Breena, Abby, Jack and Tali changed from jeans to skirts. Beth, Tori, Rivka and Delilah replaced t-shirts with blouses and all of the males put on button down shirts.

Since Delilah had been in charge of the dinner reservations, she led the caravan of family vehicles to the steakhouse. She had made an early dinner reservation to allow time for the final two activities of the day after dinner. Delilah had reserved a separate room for the family dinner, knowing that they had a tendency to get a bit loud and rowdy at family dinners.

The Reeves family joined the rest of the group for dinner. Delilah had also invited Nick and his family, but they had gone to New York for the weekend. The twenty four people sat around the extended table in the restaurant as Gibbs asked them to join hands around. He offered a blessing for the meal before each went to the buffet bars to fill plates.

Anthony, LJ, and Tony joked about the piles of food on their plates with the others. LJ got many laughs from the family when he commented on the teasing, "If it's the DiNozzo family curse to have a healthy appetite, I'm okay with that!"

~Waterpark and a Movie~

When Ziva turned into the Water Park parking lot, Tony spotted the sign for the 'floating movie.' Ziva laughed at his grin, "Yes, Tony we are going to the movie!" She parked the van with the rest of the family parking nearby.

All of them changed to swim clothes and then got settled into inner tubes, floating lounges and deck chairs to watch the movie. Couples sat together on floating double lounges: Ziva and Tony, Tim and Delilah, Jimmy and Breena, Abby and Leon, Jared and Tori, Anthony and Katie, John and Rivka, Charles and Beth, and Clay and Ellie. Tali had her own floating lounge chair; LJ, Savannah, and Jason had inner tubes and Gibbs and Jack sat side by side in deck chairs.

As the sun set, the family settled in to watch "Big Hero 6" on the large outdoor screen. Tony made sure everyone had a drink and popcorn.

~Ice Cream!~

After the movie, everyone changed into dry casual clothing for the final destination of the day. LJ was excited for the last stop and almost spilled the secret twice. When Tali led them to the family's favorite ice cream parlor, LJ nearly jumped out of her car before she completely parked. Tali let him give their reservation name to the hostess, who showed the family to a large party room.

"We ordered three 'kitchen sinks' for the family to share," Tali explained to everyone.

LJ piped in, "That's ninety scoops of ice cream for twenty four people. I guess that works, but I'm going to eat ten all by myself!"

Grandpa Gibbs tousled LJ's hair, "I'll be impressed if you do!" Everyone knew how much LJ loved ice cream and that his grandpa indulged him whenever possible.

The family laughed and shared the ice cream and when everyone had their fill, LJ cleaned the remainder out of every one of the three large bowls that had held the ice cream. Amazingly, the twelve year old had eaten almost ten scoops of ice cream!

As the day drew to a close and families sorted themselves into their own vehicles, Gibbs thanked all of the kids and grandkids for a terrific day. Tony, Jimmy, Tim, Leon, and Clay echoed their thanks to all.