This Christmas
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
Summery: Ziva's plans for the holiday are shattered when she is left alone with the kids for Christmas Eve and most likely for Christmas Day, too, after Gibbs and the rest of the team got snowed in in Massachusetts. It turns out that nothing is lost when Abby comes to the rescue! (established Zibbs and McAbby)
This story was written for Zabby for the Secret Santa Fic Exchange at NFA. Enjoy!
"I love you, Ziver."
"I love you, too," Ziva whispered into the receiver and listened as the line went dead. Throughout the conversation, she tried to keep up a steady voice and not to show her disappointment but now that he wasn't there to discern the sadness in her voice and the tears in it, she let her lips quiver as the tears slowly crept down her face. She slowly put the receiver back in its cradle and stepped up to the large window of the living room. The falling snow that usually enchanted her now seemed so unforgiving while the Christmas lights mirrored in the window were shining almost mockingly at her.
They were to have Christmas dinner that day just the four of them then the next day they would have the team over for lunch. She was looking forward to it so much… to spend a peaceful day with her family, playing with the kids and preparing for the holidays. It wasn't even about Christmas; she just wanted to have a couple of days to be about family and friends. But now it all seemed flying out of the window just because Vance thought it all right to send half of her team for an out of state assignment only a couple of days before Christmas Day. Gibbs had just called to tell her that they had got stuck in Massachusetts because of the heavy snow-fall.
And now she was left alone with the kids on the day of Christmas Eve without any hope that Gibbs would make it home in time for dinner. And at that moment she seriously doubted that the next day's lunch would go as planned as well. It would have been so nice to celebrate with her friends. In the last two years they hadn't got the chance to be together on Christmas. First Abby gave birth to the twins just before Christmas and then it was just too hectic with the kids. But now they could have had a real celebration.
She thought about calling Abby… after all she was left alone for Christmas Eve, too, with McGee being stuck with Gibbs…
"Mommy, mommy… we're ready." Her five-year-old daughter's cheery voice pulled Ziva back to reality – that and Shachar, their Border Collie licking her hand – and she quickly realized that she couldn't really afford feeling sorry for herself. She had two overly excited kids to occupy after all. Not to mention that Shachar didn't seem one bit less enthusiastic than the kids.
"Sorry, sweetie," Ziva looked at Maddie, who was standing in the doorway wrapped up in her winter-clothes, and gave her daughter an apologetic smile, petting Shachar's head, who then happily padded out of the room. "Let me grab my coat and we are good to go."
"Yay," the little girl began bouncing merrily. "Brandon," she exclaimed – her excitement turning into disbelief – when she turned and looked at her little brother who was holding his coat in his hands, looking smug. "Why did you take it off?"
"Wa'm," the two-year-old informed her and Ziva couldn't help but chuckle when she saw the typical "are-you-kidding-me" look of Gibbs so perfectly mirrored on Maddie's little features. She was so much like her father in so many ways.
Finally Maddie managed to dress Brandon up once again and after everybody was ready to go out, the little group left the house and set to build a snowman. Well, Shachar did everything to make their task more difficult but if the kids' joyful laughter was anything to go by, they didn't mind it at all. Ziva was trying very hard to enjoy their activity, too, and she was laughing with her children but her mind was too preoccupied.
She scolded herself for her pessimism on not one occasion but she was a realist enough to know that whatever his husband had promised, it was highly unlikely for him to get home in time. But no matter what, she'd make the kids' holiday a really good one.
They were just about to start building a spouse to the snowman when a SUV pulled up in front of the house and Abby appeared from behind the wheels. The kids promptly abandoned their task in the snow and ran up to her.
"Hey, little Gibbses!" Abby greeted them while gathering both of them into her arms. "What are you up to?" she asked them as she looked up at Ziva who was walking up to them.
"We're building snowmen while waiting for daddy," Maddie told her and Abby could see Ziva's face fall. That was the hardest part of not having their husbands at home for Christmas, to tell the children that their daddy might not be home in time. It was easier for her, of course, the twins still being too young to understand but Maddie was a completely other matter and Abby really felt for her friend.
"That's cool," Abby turned her attention back to the children with a huge grin. "What about waiting for him together?" she proposed which was followed by a collective squeal.
"Hey," Ziva spoke up. "Why don't we go back in and have some hot chocolate?"
"Yay," Maddie's eyes lit up and promptly began to run towards the door. Ziva's voice stopped her, though.
"Maddie, sweetie. Please, help Brandon with his winter clothes."
She trotted back and obediently grabbed her brother's hand.
"Aww, aren't they cute?" Abby cooed watching as the pair disappeared into the house followed by Shachar.
"I am sorry, Abby," Ziva turned to her friend after Maddie closed the door behind her. "I wanted to call you but then I got distracted."
"I bet you did," Abby eyed up the large snowman standing in the front yard then turned back to Ziva, her expression somewhere between serious and reassuring. "It'll be all right, Ziva. They boys may not be able to make it tonight but I'm sure that they're doing everything in their power to get back in time for Christmas Morning."
"You are right, Abby. But it hardly depends on them whether they can get home or not. What if the weather doesn't clear in time?"
"Eww, Ziva… too much pessimism here," Abby wrinkled her nose and put an arm around Ziva's shoulder. "Let's look at it this way… we can have a slumber party. And it'll be fun. Come on, let's get my babies inside and get started." With that Abby went and opened one of the passenger doors of her SUV and began unbuckling Robby from his seat while Ziva walked around the car to do the same with Danny.
When they entered the house, Maddie was still trying to get his brother out of his coat but it seemed that the toddler was having too much fun running after Shachar than to stand still long enough.
"Mom!" whined Maddie when she saw her mother. "Tell him to stop!"
"Brandon. Come here, honey." The little boy ran up to his mother who was now crouching as she was getting Danny out of his winter clothes. "Eww… Shachar!" Ziva exclaimed as – together with her son – Shachar also ran up to her and now she was enthusiastically trying to lick Ziva's face.
After the boys had been freed from the confines of their winter clothes, they attacked the living room and got themselves occupied with Brandon's toys that were lying around on the floor. It seemed that Shachar was immensely enjoying the buzzing herd of toddlers as she was standing at attention making sure – like the good shepherd dog she was – to keep them together and to keep a good look at them.
"Let me guess," Abby looked at the Christmas tree as the two adults entered the living room. "Maddie wanted to do it alone."
"Not exactly…" Ziva shook her head, smiling. "She wanted to do it with her daddy."
"I should have guessed that…" Abby nodded with narrowed eyes as she took in the appearance of the Christmas tree. "Very Gibbs-like," she concluded finally with a serious look towards the tree that looked every bit as if it had been the unfortunate survival of a kitsch bomb explosion. Ziva laughed up at her friend's remark then looked down when she could feel somebody tucking on her sleeve.
"You said that we can drink hot chocolate," Maddie informed Ziva.
"Did I really say such thing?" Ziva asked with a huge grin and Maddie nodded enthusiastically. "Well then, what are we doing here?"
Before the little group would take up their residence in the kitchen, Abby had to run out to fetch the highchairs for the twins. With Maddie's insistence on helping her mother prepare the delicious hot liquid, it took a while before everybody settled down with their share. Happy children-laughter filled the room while the adults desperately tried their best to get more chocolate into their boys than anywhere else.
"Mommy, when does daddy come home?" Maddie posed the question Ziva really hoped she wouldn't. "He'll be home soon, yes?"
"Daddy is on his way, honey," Ziva tried her best not to break down her daughter's hopefulness and she adapted a reassuring smile. After all Gibbs's still got time to get home, a little optimistic part of her brain reasoned with her.
"But he already missed building the snowman with us," Maddie pointed out disappointedly.
"He will be home soon," Ziva reassured not only her daughter but herself, too.
"But what if he…" Maddie insisted on continuing the subject and Abby could see Ziva tense up.
"So what are we having for lunch?" Abby quickly chimed in at which Maddie's face instantly lit up.
"Daddy said that we can have pizza for lunch." Hearing the word "pizza" all of the kids became excited and Abby gave Ziva an amused grin when she heard the younger woman groan.
"Cool," Abby joined in the kids' enthusiasm. "That gives us more time to do other awesome things."
"Like what?" Maddie began bouncing in her seat, forgetting about the previous conversation. Ziva gave a grateful smile to Abby.
"Well…" Abby grinned at Maddie conspiringly. "What about surprising daddy and decorate the living room?"
"Can we do garlands?" Maddie was practically glowing with excitement as she leant closer to her aunt to whisper to her in an incredulous tone. "Mommy never did any. Can you believe it Aunt Abby?"
"Oh… In that case, we have to show her how to do it."
"Yes, we have to," Maddie nodded seriously, completely aware of the gravity of the situation.
Ziva just rolled her eyes in exasperation but she couldn't keep the smile off of her face. Maddie quickly dragged her out of the kitchen to collect the necessary things to make garlands while Abby cleaned up the mess they had made.
Not long after that Ziva and Maddie reappeared in the kitchen with a pack of white papers, a set of watercolors and another one of crayons. They placed everything on the dining table then Ziva went on to produce a little bowl for some water.
"We don't have any colored paper," Maddie informed Abby. "But mommy said that we can make our own with watercolor."
"That's a great idea! They'll be so cool!"
"All right," Ziva returned to the table. "I'll order that pizza now and we can paint the papers till it arrives and we can start this garland thing after lunch."
"Can I help you?" Maddie jumped up from her seat.
"Of course you can," and with that they were off to order their lunch.
Abby quickly handed out papers for the boys and gave them the crayons to occupy themselves and, after warning them not to eat them, she went to search for the stereo and put on some Christmas songs. It was a good thing that Ziva had oilcloths covers on the table otherwise she'd have a hard time getting rid of all the crayons practically smashed on the table.
Time quickly passed and soon the pizza arrived. Maddie all but inhaled her share then she could hardly sit in one place till everybody finished and they could continue their garland. It seemed that the boys were aware of something exciting happening, too, and the adults found it impossible to put them down for a nap after lunch. The three toddlers were running around like Energizer bunnies. Even Robby, who was really fond of his afternoon naps. It was a real challenge in itself to collect them, not to mention to make them stay in one place.
"Alright," Abby began when they finally managed to settle down. It seemed that although the crayons didn't hold much interest for the boys anymore, the water color did the trick and now they were blissfully occupied by making as huge a mess as they possibly could. "I'll do the cutting and you can show your mom how to do the garland," Abby proposed to Maddie who readily agreed.
Hours later the little group found themselves in the middle of a huge garland heap and Maddie couldn't look more proud of their handy-work as she sat practically in the middle of it. The boys finally began to doze off in their seats but not before they had painted every surface in their reach into the various colors of the rainbow. And this included their little selves, too… and their mothers because they weren't that easy to persuade to give up their brushes.
Maddie wasn't too enthusiastic when Ziva insisted on the boys getting cleaned up before the garland could be hung up in the living room but when Abby suggested that she'd take care about the bath while Ziva and Maddie could start preparing dinner, the little girl cheered up amazingly fast.
Abby quickly ushered the boys out of the kitchen while Ziva took a look into the fridge. There was no point in preparing what she had originally planned for the Christmas Eve dinner and anyway the kids would be ecstatic even if she put cereal in front of them. After counseling Maddie, she decided on making rice pudding.
While she worked on the dish, Maddie sat the table, chatting away merrily. However, after the table was ready, she got silent and after a short while she stepped up to her mother.
"Mommy? Daddy's coming home, yes?" she looked up at Ziva with big blue eyes.
"Oh, honey," Ziva sighed and, after pulling the pan from the fire, she crouched down to her daughter. "Daddy is coming… he is just a little late because of the snow."
"But how late? He'll miss Santa."
"No, he will not. He told me that if he had to, he would call Santa himself to ask for a ride." Ziva smiled when she could hear Maddie gasp in awe. "But you know what daddy tells about favors…"
"Never ask for one unless it's totally necessary; it'll come back to bite you in the…" Ziva gave a warning look to her daughter not to finish that version of Gibbs' rule, so Maddie quickly closed her mouth then after a little pause, she continued, "it'll only get you in trouble."
"That is very true," Ziva agreed, now satisfied with the answer. "So unless it's absolutely necessary, he'll not disturb Santa. But either way, he will be home in time." Ziva cringed inside and hoped that she hadn't just lied her daughter in the eyes… at least concerning Gibbs being home in time. Her concern just grew stronger when Maddie, hearing the good news, threw her arms around Ziva's neck then promptly ran out of the kitchen, no doubt to share the good news with the others.
"Well," Ziva looked down at Shachar who was now sitting by the door, "let's hope that your master moves it otherwise we are in big trouble."
It didn't take long for Maddie to reappear in the kitchen. Ziva looked at her and frowned when she saw the serious look on her face.
"I was thinking about it," Maddie began, her tone matching her expression, "and I think that daddy shouldn't ask Santa for a ride." An audible sigh of relief escaped Ziva's lips but it went unnoticed by the little girl whose mind was obviously occupied by more serious matters. "He wouldn't get to every child in time if he has to go pick up daddy and bring him home. And I don't want that."
"Oh… Well…" Ziva was looking for something to say as she looked down at her daughter. "That is very considerate of you," she smiled down at her finally and when Abby appeared in the kitchen door, keeping an eye on the boys in the living room, she gave her a questioning look curious of what Abby could have told her daughter about the matter at hand. Abby, though, just shrugged, indicating that it was all Maddie's idea. "I am proud of you, sweetie. I'm sure that daddy doesn't want other children not to get their presents in time because of him."
"And Uncle Tim and Uncle Tony," Maddie added. "That would be a whole lot of time without Santa doing his job. And anyway," Maddie shrugged as she turned away from her mother and took her seat by the table. "Daddy's better than Santa. He knows how to get home. And he's with Uncle Tim and Uncle Tony; together they're triple time better than Santa."
"They sure are," Abby agreed from the door with a huge grin.
During dinner Maddie had hardly given any chance for the adults to talk. She was so exited about her daddy coming home and about Santa's visit that she couldn't stop chatting. It was amusing in itself given that her parents weren't the most talkative people on earth but what made it more amazing was the fact that her cheery mood was contagious and the boys were babbling away, too. Abby and Ziva couldn't stop laughing at the two-year-olds' attempts at talking.
After dinner and the quite tiresome job – at least for the parents – of decorating the living room with their mile-long garland, the little group decided that they'd finish the night by watching The Little Mermaid but before they could settle down in the living room, Maddie declared that they should dress up in nice dresses while they were waiting for Santa. Ziva groaned inwardly. She really hoped that her daughter had forgotten about that idea of hers but apparently she had no such luck. Followed by Abby's smiling look, she gathered Brandon in her arms and together with Maddie she reluctantly left the room to dress up for the night.
Maddie quickly reappeared in the living room in her favorite dress and found her aunt dancing with the boys to a song about Rudolf, the reindeer.
After Ziva had finally managed to get Brandon dressed and she had dressed, too, she made her way down to the living room where the others were in the middle of their little Christmas party. As soon as Ziva stepped into the room with Brandon in her arms, she knew that something was very wrong. Maddie froze in her place and looked at her mother with crossed arms and a disapproving look.
"You promised," was all she said while Ziva looked at her with raised eyebrows. She really didn't know what she had done to deserve the Gibbs-look from her daughter. "You promised you'd wear a skirt today," Maddie elaborated after Ziva hadn't reacted as she was supposed to. They could hear Abby chuckle in the background.
"Oh." That was all Ziva could mutter as she looked down at her trousers-clad legs then looked at her daughter who raised an eyebrow expectantly then sighed exasperatedly when Ziva kept silent.
"Come on, Ziva." Abby stepped up to them and reached for Brandon. "I'll take the little pumpkin and you two go and find you a skirt."
"I don't really have any skirts."
"But you do," Maddie exclaimed. "I saw them." Of course she did. One of her favorite pastime was to play dress-up from her mother's closet. While groaning to herself, Ziva suddenly found herself pulled towards the stairs by a very enthusiastic Maddie. She cringed, thinking about what she would wear.
When the two of them finally made it down the stairs, everything was ready to start the movie and Abby was currently occupied by building a castle from toy-bricks with the boys. She looked up when the girls entered the room and smiled when she saw Ziva wearing a long flowing skirt with a white fluffy shirt that weren't by any means matching.
"Nice outfit, Ziva," Abby told her when they joined them on the floor.
"Well, it was either this or my little red dress. And it is definitely not the occasion for that." Abby laughed out loud.
"DiNozzo, if you think, you can stay," Gibbs offered to the younger man before getting out of the car in front of his house. It wasn't easy but after their flight had been cancelled, they managed to find a rental car. Well, they might have used their badges to get it – because there were a considerable number of people trying to get a car – but at that point there was nothing that could have stopped them from getting home. "I'm sure Ziva wouldn't mind and you have to come back in a couple of hours anyway. You can stay, too, Tim. Don't want you to end up in a ditch somewhere."
"Thanks, Boss. But I'd rather be at home with Abby and the boys," the young agent declined from behind the wheel.
"Well, drive safe, McDrive and look out for the flying reindeers. I, on my part, might just take you upon that offer, Boss," Tony told Gibbs through a healthy yawn then proceeded to get out. Once out in the cold air, he stretched his tense limbs. That was when he saw it. "Hey, Probie. Isn't that Abby's SUV?"
"It is, Tony. I guess they are here."
"Of course, they are," Gibbs scoffed with a smile. Trust his favorite lab rat to try to cheer up everybody. "Come on, McGee," he called behind his back as he made his way towards the front door.
Silence welcomed the little group as they entered the house. They quickly shed their winter coats and Tony quickly made a beeline for the couch in the living room while Gibbs and McGee made their way towards the stairs.
"'Night, Boss… McGee," Tony said as if on autopilot then stopped abruptly in the doorway that led to the living room. "Uh… Boss?" He blinked once or twice then turned towards Gibbs who stopped on the stairs and was looking at him questioningly.
"They took my couch," Tony all but whined and Gibbs couldn't help but roll his eyes.
"Come on, DiNozzo. Don't tell me that you're afraid of her. Kick her overweighed ass down and go to sleep." With that he moved to continue his way but Tony's voice stopped him.
"I'm definitely afraid of her… both of them." Gibbs frowned down at him. "And I definitely distance myself from that fat ass remark… just for the record."
Gibbs groaned as he rolled his eyes and made his way down the stairs, with McGee on his heels and with that firm intent to kick Shachar's ass off of the couch. He had to realize, though, that it wasn't his dog lying on the couch but his wife and Abby with Maddie sandwiched between the two of them, sleeping peacefully. The boys were sprawled on the floor on makeshift beds.
An idea occurred to him and he turned to his agents with a smirk.
"I suppose that Abby's got the kids' presents with her," he looked at McGee who nodded, not completely sure but assuming the same thing as his boss.
"I'll go and check the SUV," he told Gibbs as his features lit up, understanding what Gibbs had in mind.
"Good. DiNozzo, go and help him." With that everybody went their way silently, supplied with a new jolt of energy as they set out to play Santa Claus.
After a few rounds of running up the stairs and kicking Shackar out of his bed just as many times, Gibbs was finished with packing the presents under the tree and watched as McGee placed the last ones, too. For a few moments they just stood watching their handiwork then, after checking the time and realizing that it was too early to get any sleep, Gibbs suggested having a coffee.
In the kitchen Gibbs realized that Tony was missing.
"He went to pick up his presents," McGee explained his unspoken question, sitting by the table, while looking very fascinated by something on the floor.
"In this weather?" Gibbs frowned, producing three mugs from the cupboard.
"Well, you know him, Boss," McGee explained, bending down and retrieving a piece of smashed crayon from under the table. "He does stupid things." Gibbs just snorted as a comment. "Plus, he didn't want to be the one not giving presents to the kids… not as if they knew," he added absentmindedly as he eyed a suspicious green smudge on the table cloth.
"Yeah, it's still good ole Santa's who's doing the job around here," Gibbs chuckled as he placed a mug in front of the younger man. "Looks like the kids were busy, huh?"
"What?" McGee looked up not really knowing what Gibbs had just said but it slowly caught up with him and he nodded. "Yes. Uhm,.. thanks, Boss."
"Wondering whose idea it was to wrap up the living room in handmade garland."
"It kind of matches the tree, Boss…" McGee declared without thinking, "… in a very aesthetic way… yes. It's very nice." Well, he was everything but convincing.
"Too bad it's not your wife who has to clean it up after the holiday."
"Don't worry, Boss. Abby has her own garland to take care of."
"I bet she does."
By the time Tony got back with his presents, the coffee had already gotten cold but it didn't bother him. He was too satisfied with himself. He quickly placed everything under the tree then joined the others in the kitchen, waiting for the others to wake up. They didn't need to wait for long before tiny footsteps could be heard heading towards the kitchen. In a moment Maddie was standing in the door practically glowing.
"Daddy!" she exclaimed then threw herself into her father's arms.
"Hey there, little angel. You're up early," Gibbs told her, chuckling.
"I just wanted to know if Santa was here," Maddie informed him with shining eyes. "He was but you know that because you came with him."
"Did we?" Gibbs raised an eyebrow while Tony and McGee looked quite amused in the background.
"Mommy told me that you'd ask Santa to bring you home. But I told her that I don't want you to ask him because it'd make him late from other places and anyway you're better than him but it seems that he had to help you a little. But don't worry about the other kids, I'm sure that he got everywhere in time. He can do that, you know. But you are still the best." Here she threw her arms around Gibbs' neck then quickly looked up at him again. "And don't worry about the favor. Santa won't get you in trouble."
"Good to know," Gibbs acknowledged his little girl's statement with a little smirk.
"Yep," Maddie nodded seriously but almost suddenly her little features lit up again and she began practically bouncing in her father's arms. "Can we open the presents now?"
"Of course we can," Tony chimed in, not waiting for Gibbs to answer. Maddie was out of the kitchen in a blink of an eye, closely followed by a very enthusiastic Tony. Gibbs and McGee rolled their eyes in unison then followed them.
Robby was still blinking sleepily when everybody got into the living room while Brandon and Danny found their way to their mothers, sitting up on the couch.
"Nice outfit, Ziva," Tony commented on the now quite wrinkled skirt and shirt Ziva had been made to wear the previous night. He didn't pay much attention to Ziva's not-so-amused look, though, because he promptly hopped down in front of the tree with Maddie and together they began to tear up the neatly wrapped up presents. Abby joined them gathering the twins around her and kissed her husband merrily when he also joined them on the floor.
Ziva, on the other hand, walked up to Gibbs with Brandon in her arms and looked at her husband amused.
"So you managed to get another flight after all," she told him with a knowing smile as she leant in to greet him with a kiss.
"Nope," Gibbs shook his head with mirth twinkling in his eyes.
"How did you get here then?" Ziva wrinkled her nose as she regarded the man.
"Well, apparently Santa gave us a lift," Gibbs stated matter-of-factly as he guided Ziva to their Christmas tree where they joined the others in opening their presents.
THE END
Thanks for reading!