It was a cold December night like any other. Director Shepard shivered as the breeze outside hit her bare arms and legs. She was wearing a thin lilac negligee and her silk robe. She ignored how cold she was and continued reading case files in her study. She pushed her glasses on the brink of her nose. Then, her uninvited guest started to light her fireplace without informing her but she didn't care about that. He was the least of her problems right now. She had a pile of case files to read and sign so if he was just walking around as if he owned her place, she let him.
The warmth from her fireplace lessened the goose bumps on her skin. There was a little squeak of the wooden floor in her kitchen and then the aroma of his favorite Jamaican blend coffee surprised her. She didn't notice that he was carrying a bag of it earlier. After a while, he came back and placed the coffee that he made right in front of her then sat on the edge of her desk. He was too close to her at this point. Her right hand with a pen brushed on his thigh when he sat. She knew he wasn't looking at her. She knew he was staring at the falling snow on the windows at her back.
He took a sip of his coffee and sighed. It was the only noise that he made ever since he broke in again in her house. She missed the sound of his sigh and the smell of bourbon, coffee and sawdust on him. She can only hear his sigh and smell his unique scent when he was this close to her.
"Jethro, what are you doing here?" Her voice was a bit croaky because of the lack of communication with anyone for the past five hours. She cleared her throat, hating how her voice sounded.
The dim light from the lamp hit the delicate features of her face. For the first time that night, he looked at her face and studied how little was changed. He could see the deep lines on her forehead and edges of her eyes but the beauty that he saw nine years ago never faded. He searched for her eyes but sadly, those emerald orbs of hers focused on the boring uninteresting paperwork.
He sighed again. It was a deep one this time. "I saw a boy a while ago." His deep voice didn't give away any emotion and as usual, he ignored her question.
The lines on her forehead deepened. "And how does that ended up with you coming here past midnight?" She rested her chin on her left palm and stared directly into his cobalt blue eyes.
He didn't even move. He was just staring back. She groaned and figured that she will not win this staring competition. She stood up and leaned at the side of the desk. Her arms are protectively crossing on her chest.
"Jethro, I do not have a time for this." She slightly shook her head and massaged her temple with her left. "If you have something to say, spill it out now. It's not even impossible that you saw a boy at this time of night. You could get back to –"
She was stopped because of the proximity of their bodies. He was alarmingly in front of her. Because of sleep deprivation, she didn't notice that he was slowly getting himself a few centimeters in front of her. He lunged side ward and placed both of his hands on the desk, trapping her between him and the long mahogany desk.
"Jethro," she whispered and her breathing became uneven. She dropped her pen and case file but she forgot all about it when he was invading her personal space.
The way she whispered his name… He tried to disregard a certain flashback when she used to whisper his name like that in Europe and replaced it with the memory of his encounter with a little boy that caught his attention earlier this evening. He focused again and took a step back and leaned on the window sill to control himself from having flash blacks of being pressed on her body.
"I was sitting on a park bench an hour ago. The park where… where Kelly and I used to go." He exhaled deeply and closed his eyes. She knew how much it hurt him to speak about his daughter. She wanted to hug him so tight when he mentioned his beloved little daughter but she knew better not to cross that line yet especially when he was just a step closer to her. Instead, she nodded for him to continue. She knew that he was watching her every move.
"There was this boy, waiting for his uncle to pick him up. He asked me why was I alone on Christmas Eve." He softened for a bit and his hands retreated to his pockets. Now with the help of the dim light, she could see the deep lines lying on his face. His eyes landed on the flames of her fireplace for a while then looked up to her and said "Told 'im, I don't have anyone to spend it with."
And after that, he told what happened an hour ago.
The kid with a hazel green eyes and darkish brown hair asked him. "Don't you have friends?"
He smiled. "The friends that I knew were long gone and the friends that I still have are probably enjoying themselves in a party right now."
"Why don't you join them? It'll be fun." He replied with a toothy grin forming on his face.
"She's not there. It won't be fun." He said as he looked far away in the distance.
"Who's she?" The boy scooted closer to feel the warmth of another human being.
"The one who got away." He chuckled at how cliché that sounded. For the first time, he looked straight into the boy's green orbs which reminded him of his former lover and now, boss.
"Why did she get away?" His pretty green eyes were shinning with curiosity.
He sighed. This boy seemed to have formed a myriad of questions in which he cannot just avoid. He shook his head and sighed again… kids… He decided it wouldn't be bad to answer the few mysteries that this boy wanted to unravel.
"She chose a life that requires her to be alone at the top." It hurts him to say this for he did not accept the fact that Jenny left him for the job and now that she's back and got the job she wanted, he still can't have her.
"So miss her?" But that didn't sound like a question. It was more like a statement.
A glare was the answer that the little boy got but Gibbs' face softened for he did not intend to frighten the boy. But the boy understood his answer. He moved a little closer to the man beside him and put his pale white hand on top of the older man's cold hand.
"Then why did you let her go?" Gibbs had a hard time to stop 'the glare'. But it was too difficult. He asked himself that same question which haunts him all this years. Why did he let the woman, the same woman who got him out of his misery for losing his family, go away just because of a five point plan?
He was lost in his thoughts. He felt the boy's hand left his. The kid stood up. "Mister, I have a Christmas gift to you…" His brows furrowed at the boy. "… but you can only accept it if you do what I say."
"You don't have to give me anything, kid." That was his gruff reply but he meant it.
"It's the season of giving, mister. Please, accept it. Will you do what I'll say? Just think of it as a Christmas gift for me too." He bargained.
"And how does that bring you here?" She asked. She was still perched on the edge of her desk.
"I'm here to collect my gift, Jen." He just shrug as if it was very obvious. He stepped closer again and she finally saw a smile on his face but this only resulted on more questions from her.
"Jethro," she stopped him from getting closer with the palm of her hand. "I don't have the time for gift shopping." If this was a normal night, he will tell her that it was because of her obsession with her job. But since it was not an ordinary night, he let it go. "If you think that I have a gift for you well, go out and asked the others for your gift. I can't give you any." He was giving her a headache, she thought.
She tried to sit down on her chair but his hand on her arm stopped her. She turned her head back and caught his crystal blue eyes. "You're not getting it, Jen." She tried to free her arm. "Jethro, I told you. I don't have a gift for you." She almost said I'm sorry but she remembered rule number six.
He let go of her arm, "You are my Christmas gift, Jenny" and took her hips by surprise. "This," and her hands landed on his firm broad chest. "Us," his eyes with full of emotion were drawing her closer to him.
She wasn't surprised at all with his bluntness. She can't think straight when their lips almost brushed when he said that last word. She tried to argue or make a witty reply but her brain decided not to function at this very moment. Her emotions were clouding her mind. Small spots of red were forming on her cheeks. She tried hard to stop the smile on her face but she failed. She bit her lip to stop it but it didn't do any help.
She wasn't sure before this night if he still wanted them to be together again because she left him but based on his actions right now…
She pressed her body closer to his and entwined her fingers at the back of his neck. She trailed butterfly kisses along his jaw line up to his ear then whispered, "Then why did it take you so long to get it back?" The way she whispered his name sent chills on the lower portion of his body. Her sultry sotto voice still echoed in his mind.
"You think they're doing it?" He was grinning when he turned to his partner and wiggled his brows. "Oww!"
The woman on the passenger seat smacked him. "Tony! There is a kid on the backseat." She hissed.
He rolled his eyes with his partner's protectiveness. He bet the kid didn't even know what it meant. "Hey," he turned to look at the sleepy little boy and mess his hair a little to show some affection. "You did a great job there, buddy."
"Of course!" The child had a grin that matched his uncle. "I'm a DiNozzo!" He solemnly patted his chest and high fived his uncle.
Ziva, on the other hand, shok her head at the boys' antics and clicked her tongue. "Tony, he only stayed with you for a day. See what you got him into. And he already inherited your ego. Let us give him back to your cousin before Jenny finds us here." Her eyes gazed on the townhouse as she mentioned her friend.
He waved off her concerns as if it didn't bother him. "Now you see the power of the DiNozzos, Zeevah" He goated.
"Oww! I'm driving! I'm driving!" She chuckled and rolled her eyes. She smacked him harder than the last time.
"Tommy, how did you get Gibbs give the present to Jenny?" Ziva turned her head to the little boy. She found him half asleep and cuddled in one side of the car.
He yawned. "Ahhh didn't. Gave 'im a Christmas gift m'self." He blinked his eyes a few times and yawned again. "Uncle's gift … 'mpartent. Think 's for yoooo… not Gibbs to give Jenniiiiieeeee." His voice faded at the last part and his eyes were slowly closing.
Tony stopped the car and reached for the compartment but his partner beat him to it. With her ninja assassin skills, she already opened the box.
It was a white orchid, Jenny's favourite, but actually, it was Ziva's favourite and Jenny also liked it when she saw Ziva holding them. And of course, Tony knew that. Jenny told him. Then, he told his nephew.
The risk of getting fired was all worth it when he saw his partner's smile. He kept a mental note to himself to thank his nephew because that little munchkin also gave Tony's Christmas gift, a smile from his crazy ninja assassin chick and a peck on the cheek… well of course he wanted a kiss on the lips but it was Ziva he's fantasizing about so he would just get what she was willing to give.
Happy holidays everyone!
- Chelle