Thanks to my wonderful beta Kristen! Hope everyone has a great holiday!

Holiday Rock

Tony DiNozzo let his gaze travel around the squad room. Some idiot in Human Resources had decided to schedule the annual NCIS Christmas Party for Christmas Eve, when everyone should be either home or panic-buying last minute presents. Nevertheless, there was a big turnout, especially since Jenny had offered free childcare to anyone who needed it.

The whole squad room had been decorated in honor of the season. There was a huge tree in one corner of the room, with twinkling lights, many ornaments, and an angel sitting on the top. Ducky had spent the afternoon organizing the arrangement of tinsel in every available place, draping the desks and chairs in it, as well as the catwalk banisters and the windows. Afterwards, Ziva and Abby had hung mistletoe from every crevice possible. The most notable were the sprigs over the elevator doors, and the pieces that hung over Jenny's office door.

That had been the result of a bet. Abby had reckoned they could get Gibbs and Jenny to kiss if they found themselves under mistletoe, while McGee had argued that it would not happen. It had led to a flurry of bets as to the reaction between the boss and the boss' boss, all of which had to be kept secret from them.

Tony valued his life. And he would definitely be dead if either of them found out about their cunning plan…

Resisting the urge to cackle, he continued to look around the room. Against his better judgment, he was determined to catch Ziva underneath the mistletoe before the evening was out.

Timothy McGee worried when Abby made a beeline for him.

The party was now in full swing. He was deliberately avoiding the punch, knowing full well that Tony had spiked it earlier. It was part of the plan to bring the Director and Gibbs together. Tim could not see it working; if they did not want to be together, there would be a very good reason for that. The whole thing was making him nervous though, partly because Tony's ideas had a nasty habit of getting out of hand, and partly because he was aware how much alcohol lowered someone's inhibitions. If the Director and Gibbs ended up doing something they regretted, they would make the whole team's existence into a living nightmare.

And that was something he did not want. Gibbs alone was capable of causing anguish and despair, and he had taught the Director well. Two of them at the same time… he shuddered to think of it.

The sound system continued to blare out old Christmas songs as Abby crashed into him, enveloping him in something that was meant to be a hug but was more life-threatening. As carefully as he could, he extracted himself from her grip. He did not want to hurt her feelings after all.

"Hey, Timmy!" she beamed, clearly suffering the adverse effects of too much caffeine. She was practically bouncing off the ceiling. Briefly, he pondered how many Red Bulls she had consumed.

"Hey, Abby," he replied, a little nervous.

"I was thinking," she smiled. "I was thinking about Christmas and how I'm going to that party in the cemetery tomorrow, I've got the coolest outfit by the way, and I thought you might want to come along too, as long as you wanted to because I don't want to force you to spend any time away from your family, if you're going to see your family that is, because I know not everyone does over Christmas, no matter how much they might want to see them, as some people have to work even though we get the day off, and not everyone can travel on that day as well…"

She trailed off by herself, not needing anyone to interrupt her for once. Tim nodded his head as he tried to follow all her points.

"I'd love to come tomorrow," he told her, finally understanding what she was trying to say.

"Thanks!" she grinned. She kissed him on the lips for a few seconds, before linking her arms through his and dragging him away with her. "So, where are Jenny and Gibbs?"

Ducky found himself deep in conversation with an increasingly drunk Director. Initially, she had claimed to be sticking to the punch, but it was becoming more and more clear that someone had spiked it. The redhead was beginning to slur her words slightly, and he was starting to worry about her.

Still, she was happy to talk. She was currently trying to explain the upcoming financial changes to salaries, but she seemed to be confusing herself. Ducky looked around for Gibbs; he was nowhere to be seen. At least Jethro would take care of a drunken Jennifer. It might even result in a few days of peace between the two old partners.

Gently taking the redhead's arm, he steered her around a clump of mistletoe. He found Tony and Ziva fairly easily, given that they were under a different bunch, lips locked together. Being aware of Rule 12, he felt the urge to separate them before Jethro spotted anything amiss. Neither of them looked too happy to be interrupted; regardless, Tony offered to locate Jethro and take Jennifer with him, while Ziva decided to stay.

Ducky watched Tony leave, ever so slightly concerned about the twinkle of mischief in the younger man's eye.

"She will be fine," Ziva soothed, following his line of sight. "Although she will undoubtedly have a hangover in the morning."

"Are you enjoying this evening?" he asked, determined to take his mind away from two stubborn people who really needed to work their differences out for once and for all. "I did not mean to separate you and Anthony –"

"It is not a problem," Ziva cut in. "We should probably have been more alert for Gibbs anyway. Anyway, I have been meaning to ask you, why does everyone start talking about Christmas so early? This year, I started to see advertisements before Halloween was over. Surely this is not normal?"

"Unfortunately, it is becoming the norm," Ducky sighed. "Christmas is becoming commercialized in a way that it never used to be. When I was a lad, growing up in Scotland, I remember how happy I was to find a satsuma at the bottom of my stocking. Nowadays, children insist on so many expensive gifts that they lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas."

Ziva David hid a smile as she watched Tony play matchmaker on the other side of the room.

She had never quite understood the meaning of the word 'matchmaker'. Not in the context she was using it in anyway. Tony was not constructing matches; he was simply trying to get Gibbs and Jenny to realize their feelings for each other. A little bit of alcohol should have loosened them up. Ziva knew she would be in trouble when Gibbs realized someone had spiked his coffee with a touch more bourbon than he usually added, but hopefully he would be following Jenny around like a puppy dog for the next few weeks.

For now, a slightly tipsy Gibbs was being left to care for a very drunken Jenny. With a great deal of luck, he would offer to be the gentleman and take her home, which could let to other forms of physical activities. And Abby was the one who had been assigned to ascertaining exactly what had occurred. She could either smile sweetly at Gibbs who would confess to anything, or she could wheedle it out of Jenny, safe in the knowledge that Gibbs would not let anything happen to her when she spread the news.

There was definitely a spark of something between Gibbs and Jenny; it was obvious to even the untrained eye. Although she usually tried to pretend she could not see it when Tony asked, it was only because she felt the redhead deserved a little privacy. But neither of the old partners had made a move in three years, and it was now time to force them into something.

From across the room, she would see Jenny smiling at Gibbs, batting her eyelids. Oh, the redhead was so amusing when she was drunk. And Gibbs had definitely let his guard down to, judging by the way he was letting her whisper things in his ear, and the rare smile on his face.

Tony sidled back over to her side, and Abby chose that moment to appear as well, an exhausted McGee on her arm.

"So, what are Mommy and Daddy up to?" Abby squealed, trying to read their lips across the room. "Damn, too many people are getting in the way."

"If you go up to the catwalk, you might have a better view," McGee suggested.

"But they'll have to tip their heads up then so I can still see their lips," Abby whined.

"We could move closer," Tony offered. "Although I'm worried about them seeing us. They might realize what we're up to."

"Oh, no, wait!" Ziva hissed.

Across the room, Gibbs kissed Jenny. The squad room erupted into whistles and catcalls, but neither of them seemed to notice anything.

Tony held out his hand. "Right everyone," he called. "Pay up now!"

THE END