A/N: So this is the new series I promised. This year is Tony DiNozzo's 13th year with NCIS, and wouldn't you know it, as of Tuesday (today) it's 13 weeks until Christmas so… you see where I'm going with this? I'm posting a Christmas one-shot every week for each and every Christmas Tony has celebrated with Gibbs 'n co, ending with a season 11 tag on Christmas eve. So if you like the idea keep the reviews and things coming because I'll certainly need the encouragement to work to these deadlines! And for those who asked I still have the "elevator story" in writing, only at the moment I'm thinking of making it a much longer piece and don't want to post the first few chapters before I'm sure. I'll keep you updated though.
Also big thanks to all those who left a review/faved 'Time well spent' as Abby would say I'm hugging you all in my mind right now ;)
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"con·tin·u·um
/kənˈtinyo͞oəm/
Noun
A continuous sequence in which adjacent elements are not perceptibly different from each other, although the extremes are quite distinct."
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Pre-season: Tony's first NCIS Christmas, 2001
"Happy Christmas Abby!"
Abby drops her tinsel part way through decorating her beloved major mas-spec and spins around, jumping on her new found Christmas cohort with a delighted scream.
"Woe," Tony exclaims, exaggerating falling under her weight.
She drops and delivers a solid punch to his shoulder, which she notices too late just so happens to be supported in a sling under his jacket.
"What did you do this time?" Is her stern-motherly response to his very real cry of pain.
In response Tony gives her the doe eyes that only come out whenever he wants sympathy and, damn him, she can't stay even fake mad at him when he turns those puppies on her. Completely sucked in her mock anger melts away as quickly as snow in springtime and she proceeds to give him the attention he so desires.
"Oh my poor baby," Abby coo's extra sappily while stroking his hair, causing a teasing grin to almost split his face in two when she gives him another massive, yet much gentler, hug.
"He got a splinter!" Gibbs barks, walking in and head-slapping Tony without pause, coming to an expectant standstill in front of her plasma.
"From the crate that got hit by a bullet boss, it's the same thing." Tony whines. Gibbs glares. "Or not"
Smirking at his cowardly back peddling Abby drops Tony, who immediately looks bereft without her embrace and bounces over to stand in front of Gibbs.
"What you brought me Gibbs?" She demands with enthusiasm, filled with the joys of the season. Christmas Eve is the bestest day to be at work as far as Abby's concerned, because nothing, nothing can make this day a bad one.
"Bullet fragments." He hangs the evidence bag in the air between them, "what you got for me?"
"I have DNA that proves your petty officer was definitely doing something hinky in the laundry room," she winks, enjoying the mild discomfort on the boss man's face that appears whenever she mentions anything to do with sex.
"Thanks Abs," he says with a sly grin, giving her his usual peck on the cheek before walking away.
"Wait! Didn't you bring me anything else?" She asks, eyes sparkling.
Gibbs stops, turns and smiles, nodding at her desk where sits a Caf-Pow with a Christmas bow on it. Abby gins with delight while Tony stands in the background looking sad again. Gibbs almost walks right passed him, but stops at his side producing from his pocket a vending machine chocolate bar, one of Tony's favourites, and dangles it only inches in front of his face.
Tony bites back a beaming smile, "What, no bow?"
Gibbs glares.
Tony's fingers hesitantly brush against Gibbs' as he takes the chocolate, "I don't need a bow."
"Sure you don't."
Tony ducks his head, ripping into the wrapper and Gibbs grins when he thinks he can't see him, but Abby does and they share the smile together.
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Gibbs walks out of the lab and Tony runs after him, chocolate bar half open and melting in his hand.
"Boss what you doing for Christmas?" He catches him just in time, squeezing through the doors just as they close and before Gibbs punches the button to take them back up to the bullpen.
"I don't do Christmas." He growls as the elevator carries them up through the building to third floor, even that small sensation being enough to give Tony a belly-flip.
"No?" Tony looks surprised, covering it with a nervous smile, "Everyone does Christmas."
"Joviah witnesses don't." Gibbs says straight, gaze never moving from facing the doors.
"Didn't know you were religious boss…" He quickly catches on. "You're not, funny boss… no really what you doing for Christmas?"
Gibbs turns slightly to face him, sighing out his aspiration. He looks like he might say something else, something that isn't designed to bite Tony's head off or merely shut him up, but then the doors open...
"Jethro! I'm glad I caught you I've got news on your case it seems…."
And with Ducky's interruption the conversation about Christmas is quickly forgotten.
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Tony's doing paperwork at his desk. Gibbs is standing back watching him. It's gone eight on Christmas Eve and Gibbs honestly thought Tony would have better places to be by now, but clearly not. With a defeated sigh he walks over to his desk and grabs his coat.
"Case boss?" Tony jumps up and grabs his gear.
"No," Gibbs shakes his head, seizing his own.
"So where we going?" Tony asks in a panic.
Gibbs registers the use of 'we', bags it like evidence in his mind and then files it away for later use.
"You're going home," he keeps walking, this time over to the elevator.
Tony thinks he catches on, stutters, stammers, looks deflated, "Oh, sure, I just gotta get this done first then I'll go," and sinks back into his seat.
"It can wait."
"Yeah but why make it? You know it's….."
"DiNozzo!" Gibbs huffs gruffly, making it clear he means business and he will not waste time spelling it out.
And Gibbs thought he'd got rid of high maintenance when he divorced his last wife…
"Yeah boss?" Tony, looking up at him from under long eyelashes, says shyly - sounding scared even - of what he's about to say.
"If I ask for peace and quiet this Christmas do you think I'll get it?" He sighs, feeling like he's the one that should be secretly terrified.
Tony looks confused, but never one not to have an answer…
"Depends on who you invite round boss," he says quickly and with a straight face.
Gibbs shakes his head, rolling his eyes at the snow covered sky light praying for strength.
"Put it this way. You sit and you shut up." He looks Tony directly in the eye.
For his part Tony suddenly has a bright grin on his face.
"So you do, do Christmas!" He beams, stands and grabs his gear again without pause.
"I don't." Gibbs sighs again- making it a habit - turns and continues his walk towards the elevator, "but Abby does, and Ducky, and You." He stresses.
Tony drops the grin, looking nothing but confused when he catches up to him.
"You lost me."
"Abby's already cooking something I'm sure. Ducky is just visiting and you will be in bed by midnight. Any questions?" adding as an aside, "I'd like some quiet over the holiday."
"Of course boss." Tony replies like it was obvious, "if you stay up past midnight Santa won't come."
Gibbs frowns as they walked side by side to the elevator trying to judge if he's joking or not. Seeing Tony's ear to ear grin and listening to the excited babbling, he honestly can't tell for the life of him.
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"By jove my boy how did you manage?" Ducky asks Tony later that evening, when he traps him in Gibbs' kitchen after they've eaten dinner.
As it turned out Abby had indeed already planned on cooking, and had everything ready in fact, though she hadn't known whether it would be eaten until Gibbs called her from the car and ordered her to have dinner at his place within the hour. Christmas wasn't something Abby had thought to be celebrated this year, but Tony's infectious Christmas joy had rekindled the spirit she thought had left her when her mom died last year. One of his many good qualities, as she'd told him a few weeks ago when he arrived in her lab with a box full of decorations, was his ability to always make others smile.
"Manage what to what?" Tony panics, pulling himself from that good memory to focus on Ducky's innocuous question, immediately thinking he's forgotten something really important. He hates letting anyone down.
"Gibbs hasn't celebrated Christmas in all the time I've known him, despite my encouragements." Ducky reaches for his drink, awaiting his answer expectantly.
"You know," Tony cocks his head to the side in thought, "Abby asked me the same thing."
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"He okay?" Gibbs asks nudging his head at his new Probie and Abby finishing decorating a tree in his living room.
"He's very happy. This was a nice thing you did Jethro¸ I know you dislike the holiday so."
"I don't dislike Christmas Duck." Gibbs pins him with a glare which has no effect outside of the office.
"You've never celebrated."
Gibbs grunts, looks over at Tony and changes the subject. Sort of.
"I didn't want him alone." He admits.
"Yes, he may not have made it down the aisle, but I can imagine calling off a wedding only a day before can feel much like a divorce. I understand they were together a while?"
"They met when he was sixteen." Gibbs slips that little nugget into their conversation, not yet having had the opportunity to share the information with anyone.
"Really?" Ducky's jaw drops. "Not to cast him so, but I had the impression young Anthony was what the woman term 'a player'?"
Gibbs chuckles, the word 'player' coming from Ducky sounding wholly unnatural.
"They weren't together the whole time. She was already living in Baltimore when he transferred as detective." Gibbs pauses, preparing the right words. "She was his high school music teacher."
Ducky snaps his gaze to Gibbs to see his reaction, "You sure they weren't..?"
Gibbs glares.
"You're right, probably better not to ask."
Ducky drinks his whiskey contemplating the possibilities and goes for a refill, leaving Gibbs wondering the same thing. Older women figure significantly in Tony's past and he wonders what might happen now one had not only broken his heart, but ripped it out and thrown it away like week old Christmas favours. He knows DiNozzo's had a rather unorthodox upbringing and thinks if he were his kid, he would have been sure to teach him better, or at least look out for him more. And how does a fifteen year old meet a Rockette anyway? It was an excellent question, but a better one would be what the hell was a fifteen year old Child doing in New York alone in the first place? It made Gibbs mad to think about the lack of parental supervision which led to a boy becoming a man long before he was ready, but it wasn't his place, the damage done was clear to see and though he has no plans to fix anything in Tony he certainly feels the need to teach him better for the future.
"He's like an over developed twelve year old playing at being an adult." Gibbs surmises to himself.
Ducky smiles at the analogy.
"Who's twelve?" Tony interrupts, walking into the kitchen with enough stealth to make Gibbs proud.
Ducky visibly startles, clearly wondering how much he's heard, but Gibbs surprises him by answering honestly and somewhat flatly.
"You are."
"Ah, well yeah," Tony bounces on heels, "being a grown up's no fun boss."
Gibbs raises an eyebrow at Tony's cheeky grin as he passes through and returns to Abby, having retrieved whatever it was he'd come in for.
"It must be nice." Ducky says wishfully and Gibbs looks at him, a question in his eye, "-to be an eternal child" he explains.
Gibbs looks surprised and realises with dread he may share the sentiment.
"Yeah," he reluctantly agrees, hoping this doesn't mean he's getting old.
"Of course, being the parent is just as satisfying." Ducky smiles wisely and Gibbs looks away.
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Time moves quickly on and before long Ducky bids his farewell, Gibbs walking him out to his car. Returning inside he catches Abby and Tony fussing with yet more tinsel, so hangs back with another glass of bourbon to watch them work. They're both laughing and smiling around a tree that looks like a landing pad for an alien space ship. Lights twinkling, baubles and tinsel covering nearly every branch not an ounce of green is left to be seen. It was going to be hell to clean up, but they're having fun and it gives him a warm feeling inside, despite every fibre of his second B for bastard persona wanting to deny it.
"Gibbs! You coming to see Black Death?" Gibbs, snapped out of his sappy thoughts, just looks at her without a hint of expression. Abby blinks. "Sure," she turns to smile at Tony. "You're coming aren't you? We can stay up all night! Get tattoos and-"
"Abs that's…" Tony makes a face, looks to Gibbs for help.
"He has a bedtime." Gibbs chuckles at Tony's put out expression. Tough - if he wants his help, this is it. "Santa won't come if he's not asleep."
Gibbs and Abby both laugh, Tony narrows his eyes with a wily smile, promising retribution.
"Okay how about you two go to bed and wait for Santa, and I'll see you for breakfast," she sooths, kissing Tony on the cheek before getting up and grabbing her purse.
They say a quick goodbye to Abby, watching her fly out the door into her hearse, which pulls away from the kerb with a screech and clunk. Gibbs, feeling more at peace than he has in over a decade at this time of year, walks toward the basement door. When he senses Tony following he stops, turns and looks at him.
"What?"
"It's nearly midnight DiNozzo." Gibbs answers the clueless expression.
"Yeah, but…oh you were serious..."
Gibbs just looks at him. When has he ever joked?
Tony mimes zipping his mouth shut.
"I promise I won't talk."
"Unlikely."
"Couch?" he tries, hoping.
"Upstairs," Gibbs says plainly, and then with a hint of amusement adds, "Santa won't come if you're camping out."
Tony rolls his eyes, but climbs the stairs willingly, if somewhat lethargic and shouts cheerily back at him...
"Happy Holiday's boss!"
Gibbs shakes his head, smiling at the garish monstrosity that was once a beautiful pine in his living room waiting until he hears the bedroom door close and then walking down his basement stairs whispers, "Merry Christmas Tony."
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A/N again: Thanks for reading! Tony's second Christmas at NCIS coming same-ish time next week. Happy new NCIS day!