It was, for once, a quiet Sunday afternoon and Leroy Jethro Gibbs was in his basement working on his latest project, a birdhouse he had promised Abby he would make for her to hang outside her bedroom window. She had recently become something of an amateur birdwatcher and thought she could entice a family of cardinals to take up residence. He smiled as he recalled how animated and bouncy she had been on Friday while she was telling him of her latest passion. He let her ramble on for almost seven minutes before he grabbed her arms and said, "I'll do it. Promise." He pulled her in close and kissed her forehead before gently pushing her in the direction of her lab. For the moment, murder seemed to have taken a holiday and he was happy he didn't have to push any of his team to solve a crime.
The ringing of his phone interrupted his work and thoughts. A check of the caller ID let him know it wasn't work calling. "Hey, Dad. I was going to call you at the usual time. Anything wrong?"
Jackson Gibbs huffed, "This bonehead 'uncle' of yours is plucking my last nerve!"
In the background, Gibbs heard his namesake and "uncle" Leroy Jethro Moore bellowing, "I'm plucking your last nerve? Leroy, your father is cheating at Gin Rummy! Who does that?"
"It's not cheating when you realize you threw away the wrong card! It's a do – over like in golf, you know. A 'mulligan' it's called. I just did a mulligan!"
"I've got your mulligan for you!"
"Hey, hey, hey! Dad, put me on speaker."
"We can both hear you now, Jethro."
"Do I have to come up there?" Just over a month ago, Gibbs had discovered his namesake was living in DC after having not knowing where he was for more than twenty years. His father and uncle had started working out their differences and Jackson had invited Leroy back to Stillwater to live with him.
"No, son. Well, yeah, you could visit. But Leroy and I are fine; if we weren't fussing at each other that would be a sign something's wrong. I was just calling to tell you that he and I are heading out of town for Christmas. We decided we're going to do the holidays in Vegas. We're leaving tomorrow and we'll be back January third."
"That's great, Dad. You two have a good time. Don't spend all your time in casinos and strip clubs."
He heard Leroy snort in the background. "Where's the fun in that? Don't worry about us, kid. I'll talk to you later."
Jackson said, "Just a second, Son. 'Kay, he left the room. I don't want him to hear me tell you this."
"Tell me what?"
"Thank you, Jethro, for putting two stubborn mules in a room to iron out our differences. I didn't realize how much I missed him…"
Gibbs smiled. He and his father were alike in the way they both hated talking about their feelings. "I'm glad it all worked out. Safe travels tomorrow. Tell Uncle Leroy bye for me and I'll come visit as soon as I can. Bye, Dad."
"Bye."
The phone beeped to indicate Jackson had hung up and Gibbs smiled to himself as he put it back on his work table. I missed him, too. It's good to know they're back together. He shook his head as if to clear away the sentimental thinking and turned back to his task. This birdhouse isn't going to build itself.