It was a snowy night in Washington DC. White snow was falling down from dark clouds, and the streets were brightly lit with the colorful lights of New Year's Eve. Most of the city's residents were gone to celebrate with their families in another city. The people who stayed were packed up in a huge crowd, drinking and talking about their new year's resolution. Among that crowd stood the NCIS team: Special Agents Gibbs, McGee, DiNozzo, and David; Abby, the forensic scientist; and Ducky and Palmer, the two MEs. Also at the location, the Jones family appeared to celebrate: Caroline, a Marine; Connor, the famous detective; Neldaloris Jane Patricia (Nelda), a detective who is BETTER than her father; and Nate, Nelda's 4 year old sidekick brother.
The Jones have an ancient tradition that Nelda taught her friends about. The tradition is based on the countdown to the New Year. The Jones think about 10 things before they enter another year. It has been a tradition for hundreds of years, and it hasn't died since it is taught to each generation. This year, Nelda wants to teach Nate how the tradition works. Her mother and father, Caroline and Connor, discussed their new year's resolutions with each other. Since Mr. Jones is a detective like Nelda, he wants to do a better job at being a detective. His wife, who is a Marine that works at sea, isn't sure what her resolution is, but wants to do a better job at sea so she can see her family more often.
As the 23rd hour came, Nate and Gibbs' group knew the rules of the New Year's tradition, so they were talking and waiting for the clock to strike midnight. Nelda and Nate were ruffling each other's chocolate curly hair; Tony and Jimmy were drinking; Abby, Ziva, and Ducky were in a deep conversation about what they want to do in 2010; Jethro and Timothy silently think, with Tim trying to start a conversation. All of that was interrupted when a small "Hi" was heard by the group. Everyone turned to see a boy, about Nelda's age, waving to the crowd of investigators. "Oh, Tom!" Nelda's face brightened when she saw her friend. "Perfect timing! I want you to meet my friends." She grabbed him by the wrist, and dragged him towards Nate. Nelda said to Nate, "I think you should meet my little bro too."
It was a quarter before midnight when the introductions were concluded. Most of the crowd was watching the countdown ball in case it started to drop, and in that section was Tim, Abby, Ziva, Ducky, Tony, Nelda, Tom, and Jimmy. It seemed that time passed while everyone waited, because the ball started to fall slowly. DiNozzo checked his watch: it was 5 min. before midnight. "Wow, does time pass by fast! It reminds me of Back to the Future," Tony said to Ziva. She said to Tim, "At least he is not talking about James Bond again." McGee smirks, and says, "At least he isn't imitating a character from another movie we don't know." Nelda began to laugh at that phrase, and Nate clung on to his shirt sleeve. Everyone started to reflect on the previous year, 2009: Gibbs' Christmas with his father; Tony's near death; Ziva's disappearance; Ducky's shocking discoveries; McGee's sequel to his book, Deep Six; how Abby was used by someone; Palmer's stay for Christmas; the tragedy that lead Nelda into meeting Ducky. When the team of determiners finished their reflections, the time was 11:59. Only 30 seconds until 2010 arrived. The NCIS party started to think, with Palmer counting; the Jones, including Tom, were watching the snow fall since it has just begun falling. 20 seconds passed, and the countdown begun. Nelda started to think about the 10 things before they entered the new year. The shouts from the crowd were heard loudly and clearly. "10!" Nelda thought about the first person she saw last year. It was her brother, Nate. "9!" First thing liked: a cell phone only for detectives. "8!" First thing done in 2009: Drank eggnog. "7!" Best event this year: Meeting Ducky in midway from life and heaven. "6!" What will be done next year: Solve major cases with NCIS. "5!" First person liked: Nelda's friend, Tom. "4!" First addiction: Detective Snacks. "3!" First friend that talked: Tom. "2!" First wish for next year: Well, Nelda wasn't sure about that. "1!" First kiss of 2009: …None. "Happy New Year!" Suddenly, Tom called Nelda and lead her to an alley. "Nelda? You know how you have your tradition?" Tom said. "Yeah?" Nelda said, but before another word came out, Tom kissed her romantically. While they kissed, colorful fireworks were shot in the air. When he let go, he apologized and fled. Nelda had something for the last part of the tradition. First kiss of the New Year: It already happened just now. Now Nelda had a thought that she couldn't get out of her head. The kiss, the way Tom kissed her, it all made sense that Tom liked her. It was a memory to remember until the year to come, and it would be 2011.