A/N: This was written for Enthusiastic Fish as a thank you for her fantastic efforts in moderating the Secret Santa Exchange on NFA. It is my first Ziva/McGee friendship piece and I hope you enjoy it! Spoiler for "Silver War" in Season 3. Happy New Year!
It was Christmas Eve and Tim McGee was staring half-heartedly at the contents of his freezer, trying to find something interesting enough to heat for dinner. He was dressed for a comfortable night at home in sweats, a t-shirt with an old button-down loosely pulled on over it and stocking feet.
He was all alone this holiday, as his sister was off skiing with friends and his Christmas gift to his parents had been to send them on a Caribbean cruise. They had been just tickled to receive it, though his mother had fussed that he'd spent too much money. Tim felt good about doing this for them, though; they deserved it. He didn't even really mind that it left him without family with whom to spend Christmas, so the pangs of loneliness that hit after he arrived home from work had taken him by surprise.
A sudden rap on the door startled him out of his thoughts. Figuring it was someone who'd knocked on his door by mistake, he went to answer it. Looking through the peephole, he was amazed to see what looked like Ziva juggling a couple of grocery bags and more.
Opening the door, he asked, "Ziva?" to make sure that it was really her behind the bags and the winter outerwear.
"Hello, McGee," Ziva answered, somewhat breathlessly. When he made no immediate move to invite her across the threshold, she asked, "May I come in?" There was clear amusement in her voice.
"Oh! Sure," Tim responded, a little embarrassed that he'd been dazed enough to leave her standing there for a moment. "Looks like you're loaded down. Need me to carry something?"
"No, thank you," she laughed, walking through to his small kitchen. "I am precariously balanced."
It was true. Ziva had a duffle bag hanging from each shoulder, while her arms were wrapped around two grocery bags. She bent her knees and gently slid the sacks onto the table, then hooked her thumbs under the straps of the duffle bags to place them on the floor in the living room out of the way. Removing her hat, gloves and scarf, she shoved those items into the pockets of her navy pea coat, then handed the coat to McGee. After brushing the snow off, he hung it in the small closet near the door.
As he walked back over to Ziva, Tim eyed her quizzically. "Um, Ziva? Did we have plans?" he asked almost tentatively, clearly unsure as to whether he should let on that he'd had no idea she was coming over tonight.
"I am hoping that we do now," she replied, throwing a wink over her shoulder as she headed back toward the kitchen.
Returning to the bags on the table, she began pulling out a host of grocery items. The goods included several different fresh veggies, brown rice, soy sauce, and crispy rice noodles.
"Since we are both on our own tonight, I thought perhaps we could spend it together," she explained. She paused in unloading the bags, looking up at him with a hint of vulnerability in her eyes. "Unless you do not want to?"
"No!" Her face fell. "I mean, yes, I want to," Tim clarified.
Her bright smile rivaled the Christmas lights that twinkled merrily on the small tree he'd put up in front of the living room window.
"I am glad to hear that. Even though I imagine it is not traditional Christmas fare, I thought I would make vegetable stir-fry. Does that sound all right?" she asked.
"Sounds great," Tim declared.
"Oh! And wait until you see what we have for dessert," Ziva said, pulling out a box that pictured a delicious-looking chocolate cake on the front. "Molten lava cake," she breathed almost reverently. "See? In this box there is one for you and one for me. All we need to do is heat them in the oven later…mmm…" She cradled the box against her chest, closing her eyes in pure bliss.
"Sounds delicious," Tim said, amused by her reaction.
"Not just delicious, Tim," Ziva corrected, looking at him in all seriousness. "Heavenly."
"If you say so," he grinned.
She placed the cake box in the freezer and all the vegetables on the counter by the sink to be cleaned and chopped. Then she returned to the bag, pulling out more.
"There is rhubarb wine to go with dinner, popcorn and hot chocolate for late night snacks," Ziva continued, "and if I get snowed in or we stay up all night watching movies, I have what we need to make blueberry pancakes for breakfast."
"Wow – you thought of everything," Tim remarked. "What can I do to help?"
"You could find the pans we need for the stir-fry and the rice, then help wash the vegetables, if you like," Ziva suggested.
They worked in easy harmony, chatting effortlessly about their co-workers and their respective holiday plans. Abby had taken a few extra days off and had gone to visit her mother in New Orleans; both Ziva and McGee had received a text confirming that she'd arrived safely. Tony had flown out to meet some fraternity brothers for a tropical get-away and was already sending cheesy pictures from his phone to anyone willing to open them. Gibbs had gone to see Jackson, and Ducky had tagged along with him this year.
When the meal was ready, they sat together at the small table in the kitchen. After sampling a bite, Tim complimented the cook. "This is really good."
Ziva acknowledged the praise with a pleased smile and a single, deliberate nod.
As they were finishing their dinner, there was a companionable lull in the conversation. Tim broke the silence with a gentle question.
"Ziva, what made you come here tonight? I mean, I'm glad you did…I'm just wondering…why?"
"I thought it was a very nice thing you did, sending your parents on that cruise, even though it meant you would not be visiting them for the holidays." She paused, then continued quietly. "And though I do not celebrate Christmas, I was not in the mood to be alone."
She stared unseeingly down at the table as one fingertip absently traced the pattern stamped into the silverware now resting across her plate, her mind clearly occupied. When she spoke again, she raised her own question. "Do you realize you were the first friend I made in America?"
He looked surprised. "I guess I never really thought about it."
"You were," she smiled, lifting her eyes up to his once more. "You were probably just being kind initially, though I did impress you with my memory and my map-drawing skills." Her eyes twinkled as they both thought back to the first case she'd worked as a liaison officer, when part of her contribution had been to recreate an important map from memory after only a glance at it.
"You certainly did," he confirmed, returning her smile.
"I have always appreciated your welcome and your friendship," Ziva continued softly, "so perhaps tonight is also about saying thank you."
"Well, if you cook like this, you can feel free to thank me anytime," he teased good-naturedly, prompting a chuckle from her. In more serious tone, he added, "And it seems silly to say 'you're welcome' for something that I'm happy about, too, but you're welcome."
As they cleared the table and washed up the few dishes, Tim divulged, "You know, I've never had a lot of friends; I was always more comfortable around computers. I guess I knew what to do with those."
"I have never made friends easily, either, though for different reasons," Ziva shared, "which makes the ones I have all the more precious to me." She blushed slightly and glanced away as though she was a little embarrassed about displaying her sentimental side, even in front of him.
"Well, I'm glad we're friends and I'm really glad you came over tonight," Tim affirmed. Changing the subject, he asked, "So, what's in the duffle bags?"
Ziva perked up, keen to move the conversation back into a lighter vein. "Well, one has several movies and the Scrabble game you gave me. The movies include Miracle on 34th Street and It's a Wonderful Life. Tony keeps saying that I need to watch those, though I have not done so simply to annoy him. But I will gladly watch them with you," she confided with a cheeky grin, drawing an amused look from him.
"The other bag has my pajamas, pillow and sleeping bag, just in case," she added.
"Let's just plan on you staying," Tim suggested impulsively. "The snow is really coming down out there and, besides, you brought enough food to feed a small army. We can start with a game of Scrabble, then move into a movie marathon. How's that sound?"
"We could do that. Or, you could teach me to play one of your games," Ziva offered, nodding toward the computer.
"You'd do that?" Tim asked, clearly surprised.
"Of course," Ziva replied with an earnest nod. "That is the kind of thing friends do, is it not?"
Slowly, a broad smile stole over Tim's face. What an unexpected turn his evening had taken, he reflected silently. Feeling perfectly happy and anything but alone, he looked forward to ushering in Christmas with his friend Ziva.
The End