Freefalling and Destiny

Tony rested his head wearily against the back of the cushioned seat and closed his eyes, scowling at the beginning of a headache. He rubbed his temples. Physically his entire body groaned with the physical exhaustion which follows day after day of working overtime.

Mentally and emotionally his very soul felt depleted.

Not yet thirty, he knew he had gained and lost an entire world in less than six months.

Setting the trap for the Cartel had been one thing, but living it had been another. When the actual showdown occurred, he found he reacted as a father rather than as a member of law enforcement.

No one could ever contradict that sometimes life just occurs as a freefall through destiny, and not just for the freefalling individual, but for everyone along for the ride.

Sucking in a deep, calming breath, Tony settled into a round of self reflection. Replaying that explosive morning over and over had now evolved into a habit. He dissected every minute of that morning again and again, recalling and considering the heroes and villains, the rescuers and the rescued.

Sharing coffee and doughnuts that fall morning with his Navy School colleagues while awaiting the start of their faculty meeting, Ethan's terrified voice flooded the corridor behind him.

"Daddy! Daddy!"

In the split second that it took to him to connect Ethan's panicked summons to Witness Protection he transformed into his law enforcement persona. Before he even hit the exit of his building at a hard run he had already alerted the FBI and NCIS.

Both agencies mobilized instantly.

The freefall stopped abruptly, waiting for destiny to pick up the pace.

Ava's 911 telephone call alerted the local authorities, while Levi's screams mustered neighbors not yet headed to work. One worked for the local fire department, and the fire rescuers responded at once.

No Hollywood movie plot could ever do justice to the ensemble performance carried out in Athens, Georgia, that unforgettable autumn day. Literally within minutes of Darrell, Donna, and Bronson's siege the perimeter of the neighborhood was locked down and lined with law enforcement.

A helicopter hovered above the house, blades chopping the crisp air, and played the dual role of transmitting logistics and unnerving the hired guns.

At some point Darrell, Bronson, and Donna realized that the children themselves had sealed their fates. It may have been when they raced to the den door and found sharpshooters stationed on the roof of their rental van. Perhaps it was when Donna peeped out a front window and spied Tony clutching Elijah on one hip and Vivienne on the other.

No matter when they realized it though, the fact remained that they knew they could salvage nothing. Their job for the Cartel was a colossal failure.

The freefall resumed.

Tony shuddered. It had taken every ounce of his self control to pull out of the carport that morning and drive to work as though he suspected nothing. Because of a consuming eagerness to grab the kids, the Cartel and its minions failed to wonder why Tony, in law enforcement, would follow the same routine each day. Nor did they puzzle over the family's predictable time outdoors, after school activities, or the routine comings and goings of caretakers.

Unfortunately for the bad guys, their own determination to grab the kids blinded them to all of the warning signs.

For the good guys, however, they were ready and waiting, having practiced their own possible responses to the imminent attack and well aware of the warning signs.

Thankfully, no lasting physical damage would scar either the kids or Talia from the manhandling.

However, when Tony spied the marks around Levi's neck where Darrell had dragged him by the shirt through the yard, he went ballistic. He connected several punches to Darrell's face and punctuated each with a commentary of how Tony felt about Darrell putting hands on his son. Afraid Tony would kill the man, the Commandant and two policemen intervened.

Tony assessed the damage to Darrell and managed to smile.

Jethro and Maria walked into the house together later that afternoon. Jethro had actually arrived by noon from D. C. but stayed where he was at Hartsfield in Atlanta and waited for Maria's plane from Mexico an hour later.

Tony's relief at their appearance almost made him lose control.

His cavalry had arrived.

They saw him before he had a chance to see them.

Jethro and Maria spotted their boy in the den of his Athens home and their pride in him almost overshadowed the sheer relief at his safety.

But what stabbed hardest at their hearts was that all five children surrounded him on the sofa. Evidently, Tony managed to comfort each one as he leaned back against the sofa cushions, legs propped on the ottoman in front of him.

The two babies napped soundly across his lap and legs.

Tony's right arm covered Ethan's shoulders and Ethan's head rested on Tony's chest.

Ava and Levi both curled on his left side. Levi played distractedly with Tony's watch.

Who could deny that freefalling manipulated destiny?

All of this Maria and Jethro shared with Tony later, of course.

The fasten seat belt sign dinged and the young man was thrust from his musing and reflection to tend to practical matters.

Tony shook his head and stretched the best that he could in an airplane, lost in thought as he regarded the clouds outside of the window. They looked soft and fat, and he wished he could share them with the children. He took a more thorough look and grinned. Little Elijah would swear the clouds looked like a fire truck were he here with him.

Tony closed his eyes again and prayed yet another prayer of gratitude, which he seemed to be doing repeatedly now. There was so much for which to be thankful- but the safety of the children ranked first and foremost.

The crème de la crème of answered prayers though was that the Black Widow Cartel lay decimated. Never again would it pose a threat to those five innocent children.

Facing every charge angry, determined government agencies and angry local police could hold over their heads, Bronson, Darrell, and Donna spilled out enough detail and provided enough evidence that the Cartel leader and his son would never again walk freely on the earth.

The Black Widow's now dethroned CEO and his lackey progeny had already been jailed. Since charges awaited them from several death penalty states, they would be lucky to hide out in prison for the remainder of their miserable existences.

Bronson, Darrell, and Donna faced enough charges to keep them out of commission and in prison for several years, themselves. They had been hired guns, though, with no real vendetta against the kids.

The children would never, ever have to look over their shoulders again for the monsters who had so devastated their childhoods!

Freefalling and destiny- how ironic that children once so powerless had been the very ones powerful enough to take the Cartel down at their Athens home.

All of the enforcement agencies congratulated Tony upon the survival training and preparation he had repeatedly practiced with the kids. Not only had they followed all of his instructions, but they had launched themselves into survivor mode the second danger slammed them.

Yes, Tony had received glowing commendations for his handling of the entire assignment, but they were commendations which meant nothing to him. What gave him pride was the look in all five faces when he congratulated the children one by one for taking down the bad guys.

Tony assured them that oh, yes indeed, the daddy was proud! They had followed his instructions and drills to the letter and consequently saved themselves.

Once he learned the full scope of what had occurred at the house and how the children had thwarted their kidnapping he was filled with unbelievable peace of mind.

Tony bit the side of his lip. He had still not wrapped his head around the fact that his family man days were skidding to an end, while his carefree bachelor days were on the brink of resuming.

Once the dust had settled Tony asked Jethro and Maria to fly the kids to Campeche, Mexico, to the family's home.

Tony still had obligations. He had to deal with the house, the elementary school, their belongings and all of the trappings that had been in and part of their lives for four months.

Their identity as an Athens family no longer existed.

Like that, it ended.

No one ever promised that freefalling and destiny would exempt anyone from heartbreak.

Contact had been re-established with the three biological families of the children, and a plan set in motion to unite them.

Blood, kin, and reuniting biological families took precedence.

Tony missed the children so badly that it hurt.

The intercom activated and the captain announced their imminent approach to Campeche. Tony's face lit at the thought of his reunion with the children, whom he desperately wanted to hear, and touch, and see.

Though Jethro and Maria had taken over the care of the children for him, it had been a very long two weeks without them.

Tony smiled to himself as he thought of the change in roles for his father and grandmother, then shook his head soberly at the incongruity of their responses.

He spoke to the children every night, and through the conversations had discovered that the no-nonsense, consistent upbringing awarded him was long forgotten and apparently, no longer applicable. Instead, Jethro and Maria had gleefully transformed into indulgent grandparents unashamed of spoiling the kids.

Levi, for example, let slip that he could eat cookies and stay up until Abuela went to bed. Did he ever get to gorge on cookies after supper?

Bedtime with the adults- not until he became an adult!

Shocked, Tony passed that confession to Maria, who not only confirmed it, but laughed unashamedly about it.

Then Elijah shared that he no longer needed shirts or shoes, 'cause he could just play in his fireman shorts all day, eliciting an outraged protest from Tony, who was not even allowed to leave the yard barefooted or barechested in the day.

Maria was not the only traitor.

Ava explained that the grandfather said it was ok for them to get two toys every time they went to town and if they didn't eat all of their dinner they could still have the dessert.

Jethro didn't even sound remorseful when Tony reminded him of all of his times in childhood when he was denied a dessert. As for the toy business- that just shocked his sensibilities.

As final proof that Jethro and Maria had completely abandoned all child rearing practices enforced for Tony, Ethan spoke excitedly about the fact that the abuela and the abuelo allowed him to roam Campeche on his bike to his heart's content.

The whirr of the engines beginning the approach broke his reverie and he watched as the runway approached.

Once the plane touched down Tony felt the flutter of anticipation and excitement. Truthfully, he ached to reunite with the kids.

The second he cleared customs and turned the corner to jog towards the baggage claim the screams of "the Daddy! the Daddy!" drowned out everything else.

Four bodies slammed into him, and he grabbed them all against him. They had missed him as much as he had missed them and were laughing, hugging, kissing, and talking over each other. When he could finally pull back and acknowledge them individually he marveled at the four suntanned faces, blond sun streaks laced through their hair, and soaked in their sheer joy.

They looked wonderful.

But where was the baby?

Tony felt a moment of panic that Vivienne had somehow gotten lost in the shuffle, but reassuring voices explained that the grandparents, the abuelo and the abuela, had kept her with them at baggage.

Two children grabbed one hand and two grabbed the other and they dragged him to the luggage carousel.

Evidently they had jumped the line and gotten to him early.

When they slid through the gate towards the conveyor belts he spied Jethro and Maria with Vivienne between them. The instant she saw him Vivienne struggled to break free.

The second they turned loose she began to run to him, fingers dangling from her mouth.

Everyone stopped and the children dropped his hands so that he could clap for her and call to her.

Ethan slapped his hand over Tony's heart and directed. "Stay still, Daddy."

"Quiet, Daddy," Elijah added.

Leaning down, Tony held out his arms as she crossed the tiled floor.

Ava called, "Come on, Vivienne! Give Daddy the surprise!"

Levi patted Tony's knee with barely controlled excitement. "Just wait, Daddy. Just wait and see what's gonna happen to you."

The moment Vivienne came into reach of his arms he swooped her against him and kissed her over and over. "Oh, my baby girl- I have missed you so much!"

When he finally positioned her to make eye contact he felt emotion overwhelm him.

These little beings had redefined his own existence, had taught him what it meant to give your soul to someone else.

Pulling her fingers out of her mouth she kissed him sloppily on the chin and assured him, "Oh papa, te amo!"

Vivienne's tiny voice rocked him to the core.

Tony kissed her little fingers. "Oh, honey, I love you, too."

Freefalling and destiny and love and parenthood and gratitude and- Tony closed his eyes. And nothing, it was perfect right now.