First Christmas Together: Tim meets Tradition
As Tim climbed down the ladder, holding on for dear life, he risked a look below before grabbing the rungs tighter, working to regain his equilibrium.
NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS
They moved into their first home together over the long Thanksgiving weekend and a week later they'd barely gotten settled when Delilah announced it was time to decorate for Christmas. Tim had never experienced any kind of decorating, much less Christmas décor, unless a couch, shelves of books and record albums, punctuated by bits and pieces of electronics counted as décor but he wanted to please the love of his life and was willing to learn. Accordingly the next few evenings found him trudging back and forth from the garage, carrying storage tub after storage tub of festive bows, fabric, wrapping paper, gift bags, ribbon, cards (new and used), wreathes, elves, snowmen, Santas, angels, little ceramic houses with even tinier ceramic people, ornaments, fake greenery, mantle hooks and stockings, each tub carefully numbered and labeled with the contents. He estimated he was about halfway through the huge stack in the garage when Delilah told him to stop.
"For now. We need to find our tree and then I'll know what else needs to come in."
Tim nodded, vaguely remembering telling Tony a few years back that there were no McGee Christmas traditions. Looked like there were plenty of Fielding Christmas rites though! Now that he thought about it, Delilah was very specific about what to bring in from the garage and that certainly explained her insistence on directing the placement of each of the storage tubs as the movers unloaded them from the moving van. She might even be more organized (not anal, he'd never think that…never!) than he was, a thought he found a little scary.
He looked around the living area; she'd had him stack the tubs on one side and he wondered where the tree would go. Time to tell her the truth.
"Lila, have to confess we didn't do much Christmas decorating or have any holiday traditions when I was growing up so I'll be learning as we go."
She smiled and pulled him to her for a kiss and hug.
"Thanks for telling me, Sweetie. My family goes a bit nuts every year and it's my favorite holiday, but you and I need to create our own traditions."
"Sounds good! So…does the tree go in a special place…next to a window or in a corner?"
She grinned, "I knew where it would go the first time we walked into the house." She pointed, "Right there, in front of the big window."
Tim smiled back at her, "Great!"
She pursed her lips in thought, "We'll need to borrow Gibbs' pickup for the tree."
"Don't the tree lot people usually help tie them to the top of people's cars?"
She nodded, "Yes but with these ceilings and the big window, we're going to need a very tall tree, longer than either of our cars."
Tim looked up as he realized what that meant. A very tall tree meant someone would be climbing a ladder to decorate it. And the only someone capable of that in this house was him. Oh boy. Well, he'd been warned. When Gibbs inspected the house at their request, he told them that as awesome as the two story open living/family room was, changing light bulbs, adjusting for different temperatures, cleaning the large windows and the ceiling were going to be a challenge and would need a tall ladder. He'd looked directly at Tim when he said that, knowing his agent's fear of heights. Sure, it had gotten better over the years but all that would be routine maintenance as long as they lived here.
Now Tim bit back a sigh, this was decorating a tree, not painting the ceiling. They'd already painted; hired a professional to do this room, the kitchen and bathrooms while he, Tony and Boss did the bedrooms and the dining room. He could do this but first he needed to call about the pickup.
Gibbs laughed when asked. "Sure, you can borrow it. Leave your car here and when you're home with the tree I'll bring it over, help you get it into the stand, straighten it up. Can't do a 12 foot tree by yourself…no one can!"
"Yeah, hadn't thought about the stand, we'll need a ginormous one, better get that first."
"Attaboy."
Disconnecting, Tim went to tell Delilah, who was poking through some of the tubs. They changed into warmer clothes and Tim found the rope Gibbs said he'd need; they were ready to go on their first tree-buying excursion together. At the last minute Tim tucked a red bandana into his pocket, realizing truck beds are less than 12 feet long and their tree would likely hang over. They could use the bandana as a 'flag' of sorts so other drivers would be aware.
It was snowing lightly but the Prius was well equipped for the weather. On their way to Gibbs' house they stopped at their new favorite hardware store and explaining their plan, were shown a large and very sturdy tree stand. Tim had to admit this was a little exciting, buying their first Christmas thing for their home.
As they continued on to Gibbs', Delilah asked about Christmases growing up. "So what did you do? Did you make any ornaments when you were little, you know, draw and cut out snowmen or stars?"
Tim started to shake his head, stopping mid-shake. "Yeah, I did, one year in school, I think we were in Belgium. I remember because I went to a pre-kindergarten class and then to kindergarten, so we were there for two years. We drew snowmen on white construction paper, with hats and mittens, noses and arms cut out of other colors and glued them on. Huh, that was fun!"
"Good, maybe your mom still has it!"
He shook his head, "Nah, Dad threw it away."
Delilah was puzzled, "Why would he do that?"
"He was the attaché to the Deputy Commander of the US European Command, a very high profile, very prestigious spot that meant big things were coming his way. Anyway, he hired a professional decorator to do the Christmas tree and the house. Then they had a party and I had to make a brief appearance. God I hated being trotted out, age 6 in my suit and tie and impeccable manners, despite my having lost a baby tooth right in the front that morning which of course annoyed Dad. I remember him being upset that my mom couldn't better disguise her baby bump, she was 7 months pregnant with Sarah. So yeah, he didn't want a kid's glued together paper snowman anywhere near his "take me all the way to the Admiralty" tree! If he'd had his way, I wouldn't have been there at all but his boss knew about me and had grandkids he actually liked, thus the brief appearance." He paused before laughing humorlessly, "He still saw me as an asset then."
"Ouch! So your dad is really why you don't have Christmas traditions?"
"Yeah, pretty much. We always did something. The best Christmases were when he was away but then that looked bad; part of his climb to the Admiralty was his show of being a 'family man' without actually being one, so he was home most years, for Christmas Day anyway. He was usually gone the next morning."
"So when he was away…"
"Mmm, if we were in the U.S., we'd almost always go to my mom's parents; Penny and Grandpa Nelson were usually posted overseas so unless they were closer to us than my maternal grandparents we didn't see them. Anyway, Grammie and Granddaddy, Mom's parents, were wonderful people and I loved them dearly; they were very religious and would not tolerate any of the commercialism surrounding Christmas. Their holiday décor was a crèche with an angel, a shepherd and the three wise men, period end of sentence. We sang religious Christmas songs and there are a lot of those so that was good. But there were no Christmas trees or heaven forbid, Santas or snowmen. We each got one gift and it was always practical, like wool socks or warm mittens that Grammie knit for us. They loved us and we knew it, there was a lot of laughter which was not encouraged at home, I always loved being there with them."
"And if you weren't in the US?"
"Dad would be there and he always found a professional to do the tree. It was always formal and one or more of the Big Brass always came by; sometimes there were cocktail parties. We liked those as we didn't have to appear at all. Sarah and I were not allowed to touch the tree or any of the decorations, certainly not to hang ornaments ourselves! There were presents under the tree but they were mostly bottles of wine or booze for whoever came by, our gifts were handed to us Christmas morning, they never appeared under the tree and I don't remember ever being taken to see Santa or anything like that." Tim chuckled, "One year we were stationed in Australia, Penny and Grandpa Nelson were in New Zealand and we got to spend our entire Christmas vacation with them. That was our best overseas Christmas - I was 12 and Sarah was 6. Penny let us help decorate the tree and had to show us how. I remember Sarah telling Dad when he showed up; he just made a noise and glared at his mother until Grandpa Nelson told him to knock it off. Oh yeah, that was fun!"
"Was your grandfather McGee like your father?"
"Sort of, dedication to duty was the same but he wasn't as insecure as my father. Or what I now think was my dad's insecurity. My grandfather was the fourth McGee to reach the higher ranks of the Navy but it never seemed to be a big deal to him. Of course, he was already flag rank by the time I was born so who knows what he was like during the climb. Anyway, he liked having Sarah and me around, played with us, laughed with us."
They'd reached Gibbs' house and parked, Tim turning off the Smart System so Gibbs could use the key to start the Prius; he'd learned that the hard way the first time his technophobe boss attempted to drive it. As they approached the ramp to the front door, Delilah smiled at Tim and spoke softly, "Tim if you ever had any doubts about Gibbs, look at this ramp, the house inspection and all his advice. You're just as much his kid as the others."
Tim nodded with a big smile; he'd noticed a change since the day he'd asked Gibbs to sit with him while Lila was in the hospital. Or maybe going back to the case where his father the Admiral was briefly a suspect. At some point he'd finally let go of his insecurities about his boss.
The front door was unlocked and they found Gibbs in the kitchen making a pot of coffee. "Hey, get your tree stand?"
"Yep, it's big and sturdy."
The man nodded and handed Tim the key to his truck. "You ever used 4 wheel drive?"
Tim shook his head, "Don't think so."
Delilah smiled, "I have, if the snow gets any worse and we need to use it, I'll talk him through it. It's easy enough!"
Gibbs tilted his head in approval, Tim gave him the keyfob for the Prius and the couple left the house. Delilah stayed on the front porch while Tim moved the truck into the driveway. In a rare concession from her, he was allowed to lift her into the truck. Her wheelchair folded and tucked neatly behind the seat, they were on their way.
As they drove Lila told Tim she didn't usually buy the first tree she saw but if they both fell in love with it that was fine. The first tree lot they came to didn't have any parking available so they kept going. The second place was in the parking lot of a defunct business; Tim liked that it was level, easier for Delilah and there were a few disabled parking spots close to the trees.
The first tree they saw was sad, Lila called it a 'Charlie Brown tree' and other than giving it a pat, causing more of its sparse needles to fall, they moved past it. They spent the next forty five minutes examining trees for uniformity of shape, color, health (they didn't want one that had been cut too many weeks ago - that would be dead by Christmas) and of course height. Delilah was the spotter, she'd point to a tree and Tim would bring it out and turn it for her so she could properly examine it. Finally she smiled, they had their tree!
"What does the ticket say about the height?"
Tim looked, "11 feet, 10.5 inches."
"Oh that's perfect! We'll trim the top a little and then the tree topper will fit, it's a five point star with LED lighting."
"Great! Do we need to buy more lights?"
"No, well yes, for the outside of the house but not for the tree, I always buy lights on sale after Christmas. They're all LED."
Tim just nodded, still processing 'the outside of the house'. He'd be asking for help with that!
They took the tag to the cashier; the tree lot employees baled the tree to make it easier to transport and then helped Tim stow it in the bed of the pickup. Almost half of it hung over the edge so they used the rope to tie it securely to the cleats on the side of the truck, tying the bandana to the rope so that it was visible from the back.
Delilah chuckled, "That was a good idea, bringing my bandana!"
Tim smiled, "Oh, it's yours, good because I didn't remember having one; I found it on top of the clean clothes."
"Used it for camping and just never got rid of it."
While Tim drove, Lila called Gibbs to let them know they were on the way home. It had nearly stopped snowing by the time they pulled into their driveway. He got Lila's chair out, lifted her out of the truck and into the chair, turned to close the door and when he turned again, she was halfway up the walkway to the front door. He was following her when Gibbs pulled up in the Prius. He chuffed as he joined Tim,
"You're used to a low ride from the Boxster but felt like I was right on the pavement! Handles well though."
Tim grinned at him as they turned back to the truck. Quickly untying the rope, they muscled the tree into the house, leaning it against the wall, then went back for the tree stand. Back in the house, Delilah had a piece of green fabric on the floor where the tree would go. Gibbs blinked, "Don't think I've seen that color in a carpet."
She chuckled, "It started life as a white sheet. I dyed it green and cut it down to a large square several years ago; it's only used under the Christmas tree so it'll last forever – the sheet, not the tree!" She looked at Tim, "Green on the floor, tree stand with the tree on top, tree skirt on top of that." He had only a vague idea what a tree skirt might be but knew he'd find out sooner or later.
Gibbs looked at her, "Lights on before the tree stand or after?"
"After, too hard before with the size of the tree."
Tim looked at his boss, he had a feeling putting the lights on was going to be difficult. Gibbs just smirked.
They trimmed the top of the tree a bit, some of the lower layers of branches were cut so the tree would fit in the stand (the branches were saved to use with the manger and on the tables), and then their real work began. It took some time and a lot of effort but finally the two men had the tree straight enough to satisfy Delilah; it was fastened into the tree stand on top of the green sheet and all was well. While they'd been working, she worked on the strands of lights and Tim's eyes bulged comically when he saw how many there were; she had them stretched out and around the entire room.
Gibbs looked at his youngest, "You ever put lights on a tree before?" Tim shook his head mutely, trying very hard not to use his puppy eyes on his boss. They'd already taken up three hours of his Saturday, he couldn't ask for more.
Gibbs gave a bark of laughter, "Come on, I'll show you how I've always done it. It's not fun but it'll be worth it."
Tim smiled, relieved and the two got to it. While they worked, Boss told a story about putting lights on the tree one Christmas when his daughter was about 5 years old. "We had a swear jar; anytime Kelly heard Shannon or me swearing, we had to put a quarter in. Kelly wanted to help put the lights on the tree that year and like an idiot I agreed. And then of course I had to watch my language while we wrestled with those frackin' lights. When we were finally done, I put $5.00 in the swear jar, went out to the garage and let loose with all the profanity I'd saved up."
They laughed and Delilah asked, "Did Kelly ever want to help with the lights again?"
"No, smart kid, once was enough!"
Tim was beginning to think maybe his father hadn't been so far off the mark hiring someone to decorate the tree, right now he'd gladly pay to have someone get the tree situated and put the lights on. Jimmy'd mentioned that there were artificial trees with the lights already installed but Tim didn't think he'd ever persuade Delilah to go that route.
The three of them relaxed over coffee before Gibbs took off. As they heard the truck backing out of the driveway, Tim looked at his girlfriend, "Hon, it'd be cool to have him over to see the tree when it's all done."
She smiled, "That's a great idea…we could ask the whole team if you'd like."
He nodded, "A party? Sure, that'd be fun! But I'd still like to have Gibbs here with just us."
She grinned at him, "I like that too, Tim. What does he usually do for Christmas?"
"Last year his dad, Jack died several months before and the Admiral had just passed away too. Senior, Tony's dad, came down from New York and we had Christmas at Gibbs. We'd been doing that for a few years but Boss didn't want it to do it last year, told Abby it would be too hard on me. I think he just wanted to skip it altogether, you know? Anyway, Abby convinced him we needed the family time and he caved. Ever since we started having Christmas at Gibbs' house Jack was there with us; we all missed him and I kind of didn't know how I felt so it was just weird…sad, we all liked Jackson Gibbs and you know, I was dealing with all my Admiral stuff. I have to say that as much of a pain in the neck as Senior can be, I was kinda glad he was there; he and Ducky kept things going. And then…you don't remember? We Skyped with you!"
She nodded, "I remember – I was so homesick that day, really 'Timsick', I missed you so much I was ready to grab the next flight home but figured by the time I got here Christmas would be over and you all would be back at work."
They shared a loving kiss, deciding the rest of the decorating could wait or they would have made that decision if either of them had been capable of coherent thought.
Eventually they remembered they'd been decorating and wandered back to the living room and the storage tubs. Delilah decided they should decorate the rest of the room and do the tree last. Tim didn't mind putting off the ladder climbing and happily draped fake snow and cheerful red, white and green fabric over the tops of their end tables and bookshelves. The tiny houses and people, a Christmas village with what seemed like a thousand parts, went on the fake snow, each piece set out in a particular order. Another piece of fabric that frankly looked like dirt with some bits of greenery scattered around, went on the mantle; Tim was told that was for the Nativity scene. When he dug the structure of the manger from a tub, he was amazed at how different it was from his grandparents' crèche. Theirs had the basics as he'd told Lila earlier. His girlfriend's version seemed to be a mashup of the Nativity and Noah's Ark with the inclusion of several animals most of whose species Tim thought had never been near ancient Israel, unless Bethlehem had its own zoo in Biblical times. Giraffes, lions, elephants, camels, two flamingos, bears, a coyote, tigers, a cow, foxes, a hen, kangaroo complete with a joey in her pouch and rooster, what Tim thought was a raccoon and two hippos joined the little family. He felt sorry for the chickens, cows, goats and sheep who were grouped on the opposite side of the manger with the shepherd, facing many of their natural predators.
Instead of following his first impulse and teasing her, he (wisely) asked his girlfriend about the animals and she told him about the many types of wildlife in the area during Biblical times, including lions, ostriches, brown bears, crocodiles and of course camels, cows, sheep, goats and chickens. There was also a large star, complete with LED lights on a long wire 'stem' that attached to the back of the manger. When it was all set up he stepped back and couldn't stop his grin. She shrugged, "Ok maybe the animals are a bit much, I started collecting them when I was about 10."
He grinned some more, "I like that, they're your own personal tradition." She smiled back, glad he understood.
Next came three colorful elves, dressed in red, green, black and white with big smiles and pointy toed slippers with puff balls at the tips of the toes; they were placed around the room. A collection of Santas/St. Nick from different countries occupied a side table and Tim smiled at the two large snowmen who went on the end tables. The heads, legs and part of the torsos were stuffed and each had a block of wood inside so they sat flat on the tables, legs draping over to add balance. He liked the elves and snowmen the best (although he'd never before seen snowmen with legs) and thought of possible future children playing with them and the manger animals. When Delilah spotted the look in his eyes, she wanted to know what put it there and he sat next to her. "We haven't talked about this, not really, and I'm fine with that…but I was thinking about the possibility of our future kids playing with the elves and snowmen, maybe naming the animals from the manger."
He could see the thought of commitment, of a possible future family was freaking her out so he quickly changed the subject, holding up three Christmas themed pictures, asking where she wanted them. Grateful for the change and feeling unsettled that she wasn't yet where he was, she pointed to the empty space above the fireplace.
"Ok, how high and how do you want them – grouped as a trio or in a sort of stair step look?"
She told him and he got the stool, he could handle that, and held them in various spots until she nodded. They had a painting they'd purchased together, one by a rising young Greek artist, but hadn't gotten around to hanging it or anything else yet. Now he saw the wisdom of procrastinating, he would have just had to take everything down for the holidays. After hanging the pictures, he put the stool away and was about to ask her what was next when his stomach growled rather loudly. She smiled, "Time for a break! Then you could start hanging the outdoor lights while there's still daylight."
They sat at their new table for a snack, continuing the discussion of the lights.
"I thought we needed to buy outdoor lights?"
"I forgot I bought them after Halloween and stuck the boxes in one of the tubs. We're all set."
"I can use my solar charger."
She smiled, "Yes, I thought you might and that's perfect, as long as we have some decent sunlight; I know you've already figured out the sunniest area on the property. As for the lights, hang them from the eaves starting from the garage to the other end of the house. More or less a straight line, you don't need to outline the edges of the building or the windows…well maybe the windows but let's see what the line looks like first."
"Ok, I'll get the hammer and nails."
"You won't need nails, Tim, there are already hooks up there; you just need to hang the lights from the hooks. You shouldn't need the hammer either but I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have it."
Finished with his snack and feeling something…he wasn't sure what yet…Tim went into the garage to the new toolbox, a housewarming gift from Gibbs and took out the hammer. Thinking about the logistics of hanging lights, he looked around the space to see if there was anything he could use to help. Spotting the pond skimmer, a gift from Ducky to remove leaves from the fish pond out back, he remembered that it had a hook on it. He picked it up and saw that the netting could be removed, made sense as netting wouldn't last forever; presumably it could be replaced rather than buy a whole new tool. He got the netting off and saw the end of the pole was flat with the hook extending over the edge. That might help, wouldn't hurt to try.
Back in the house, he grabbed the lights, the solar charger, shrugged into his jacket and put a cap on before going back to the garage, opening the door and taking a look at the front of the house. The lights were LED, less costly to run if they were using the electrical grid and even though they weren't going to plug them into the grid, the LEDs would last years longer than incandescent and in his opinion were well worth the extra expense. He wanted to get these lights up himself, without asking for help. If he couldn't get it done, then he'd ask, he wasn't too proud but he didn't want to drag Gibbs back over here and he didn't know any of the neighbors yet.
He placed the solar charger, looking at the sun breaking through the clouds, then laid the lights out on the driveway and experimented with the pole. Turned out he didn't need the hook on the skimmer. He'd catch the cord on the flat part at the top, then maneuver it into the small hook on the house moving on to the next hook or nail. He could have used someone to feed him the lights but he was doing all right by himself. He was about halfway done when he noticed his neighbor across the street watching him. He did a chin tilt at him and the guy came over, introducing himself as Matt.
"What's that pole you're using? Looks pretty easy!"
Tim chuffed, "I've never done this before so I decided to experiment. We have a fish pond out back and this is a skimmer a friend gave us. I took the netting off."
"Great idea! I could feed the light string to you if you want."
"Thanks, that'll help get this done faster!"
The two of them worked quickly after that and when they were done, they decided to plug the lights in to the outdoor electrical receptacle to see what they looked like. With the weak sunshine just breaking through the clouds, the solar panel probably wouldn't be fully charged this afternoon. Matt helped him with the extension cord and they plugged it in. Tim grinned, "That's great! Can you hang on a sec? Want to get my girlfriend out here to show her."
"Sure."
Tim stuck his head in the front door and asked Delilah to grab her jacket and come out to see the lights. Surprised as she'd thought it would take longer, she rolled out, said hello to Matt and cheered when she saw the lights. "How'd you do that so fast? And where's the ladder?"
Tim explained and grinned when he saw how impressed she was, maybe next year he'd be allowed in on some of the decisions. He mentally shook himself, recognizing that if it was bothering him this much he needed to say something to Delilah. After all, he'd basically put himself under her command when they started the decorating. Unplugging the extension cord, it went back to the garage, and then he trimmed the light cord because they didn't need the plug end. Finally, Tim wired the cord into the solar panel, a simple procedure as he'd built the panel himself using screw terminals. Once the solar panel was fully charged the sensors would turn the Christmas lights on at dusk and off at dawn or when the charge ran out.
They invited neighbor Matt in for a hot beverage but he asked for a rain check saying he had to pick his kids up from a playdate. Tim's work done, the couple headed back inside.
While he'd been outside, Delilah put the lids back on the empty totes and Tim took them back to the garage. She'd also separated the tree ornaments into the parts of the tree on which to hang them, bottom, middle, top. He looked at them with a strange look on his face and then took a deep breath. "Lila, are the ornament positions negotiable? I know I'm an amateur but…what if I want to hang one of these," he pointed to an icicle ornament slated for the bottom row, "in the middle or top branches?"
She started to protest that they didn't go there and then got what he was saying. He'd said he was new at it and she'd been happily dictating everything. Had she been doing that with everything? When had she turned into a control freak?
When she looked at him, he took her hand, shaking his head. "Hey, we're new at this living together thing, it's only been a week – and we're barely used to being on the same continent again! It's gonna take time."
She nodded her agreement, finally finding the words she wanted, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean…it's just I've been planning this since we first saw the house and there's so much I can't do. I mean the Christmas decorating. It never crossed my mind that you might want some things differently. Thank you for telling me!"
He leaned in for a kiss and when they came up for air he gently dipped his forehead to rest on hers. "Honey, maybe we rushed into the house thing. Maybe we should have taken more time to get used to being a couple in the same town again. Just means we have a little more to work through."
She smiled, "My sweet Tim. I'm so glad you spoke up!"
"Promise me you'll speak up too?"
"I promise!"
He looked at her, "Delilah, would you have dinner with me tonight?
She blinked in surprise and then realized what he was asking, "Yes, Tim, I'd love to have dinner with you."
"Good, I'll make reservations."
She laughed softly, "Date night?"
"Yep, think we should have one at least weekly."
She nodded, "Excellent idea Timothy McGee!"
"Thank you Delilah Fielding!"
While she disappeared into their bedroom, Tim called for reservations to a little Italian restaurant they'd 'discovered' the first few months they'd been dating, before the explosion that left Lila paralyzed. He didn't think they'd been back since. Then he headed off to clean up and change.
Deciding to keep their destination a secret, he took a roundabout direction to get to the restaurant. When he parked, she was puzzled until she looked down the block. "Oh, you remembered! I love this place and I've been craving good Italian food!"
He grinned, "I remembered the place and you saying there wasn't any decent Italian food in Dubai?"
Smiling, she shrugged. She was further pleased he'd asked for their favorite table and both were happy to find that although the popularity of the restaurant had soared, the food, service and ambiance hadn't suffered. It still boasted red and white checked tablecloths and a candle on every table. The food was divine, from the freshly baked bread, the antipasto to the delicious entrees, served with their favorite house red. They kept their conversation light and enjoyed flirting with each other.
Home again, they left the tree in favor of more pleasing physical pursuits and resumed the decorating the next morning. Delilah explained that she always left the tree topper, the star, for last and Tim agreed, he liked that tradition too. The two of them mixed up the previously separated ornaments and spent an hour and a half decorating the bottom and middle, with the part of the tree facing the window taking the longest. Tim realized some care needed to be taken not to place ornaments of the same color too close together and Lila smiled, pleased he'd noticed. When they had the bottom and middle done, they moved away a few feet to admire their handiwork.
Finally Tim got the ladder, placing it as close to the back of the tree as possible, wondering aloud if they made tree holders that spun so they could rotate the tree. When Lila challenged him to change theirs he grinned at her, challenge accepted…for next year. He loaded up a cardboard box with the rest of the ornaments and placing it on the ladder tray, gingerly started to climb, trying desperately not to think of falling forward through the plate glass window. Because he was hanging onto the ladder with one hand, it took him longer to get everything hung but finally he finished. Climbing down, he took a few deep breaths before moving the ladder and slowly working his way around the tree.
The ornaments finally in place, it was time for the final climb, to place the star. He moved the ladder one last time, hoping he hadn't used all his good luck. As he started to move his foot toward the first rung, Lila called for him to stop for a break. That sounded good to him, maybe Gibbs or Tony or heck the new neighbor would show up and do the last climb for him. He could only hope. He sat with Lila drinking hot cider and then squared his shoulders, straightening his posture.
"Just one more climb, then I'm done. I can do this."
Her eyes widened, she hadn't realized how scared he was. Although she knew he wasn't comfortable with heights, she didn't know it was this bad.
Tim was fighting an internal battle, most of him was screaming not to get back on the ladder; that his luck would surely run out. A tiny part of him was pushing him forward and this was for Delilah so forward and upwards he went. Once again hanging on for dear life, he climbed up Mt. Doom and quickly realized he needed both hands to place the star. Working at not hyperventilating, he leaned into the ladder for a minute before slowly reaching over to the top of the tree. It took him three tries because his hands were shaking so badly but finally it was in place.
As Tim climbed down the ladder, holding on for dear life, he risked a look below before grabbing the rungs tighter, working to regain his equilibrium.
Oh yeah, he'd done it right! In that brief glimpse he'd seen sheer joy and happiness on Delilah's face and he was proud that he'd done that. It might just be a Christmas tree, but he'd fulfilled his duty and done it right for his love.
Finis
and
Merry Christmas!