NCIS

Tim sipped contently at his familiar favorite coffee while David showed him and Abby around his bakery's kitchen. The appliances were mostly stainless steel and countertops were smooth, polished granite. There was a large island in the center that was large enough for the three of them to work without getting in each other's way. Everything spotless per David's strict requirements. It had a cozy, home-style feel to it but with industrial power and cleanliness to it. The kitchen was open-faced to the rest of the shop so people could see and smell things being made. There was a walk-in refrigerator and freezer in the back along with the stock room and office that only employees could get to.

"So," David said after finishing the tour, "let's think about this for a moment. Think about Ziva and Tony, and tell me what first pops into your mind when you think about them."

"Ziva's necklace," Abby said. "It's simple, sweet, and has a lot of depth just like her."

"I don't think Tony was ever nicer to me than when he had those blueberry muffins for the first time," Tim said. "He hugged me and didn't even make a joke about it."

"And Gibbs?"

They both thought for a moment.

"Quiet," Abby started,

"Functional mute, according to Tony," Tim added.

"He's sweet when you deserve it."

"He head-smacks you when you deserve it, too.

"He's always there," Abby said warmly.

"Always," Tim gave a small smile.

"Alright then," David opened a binder full of recipes in protective covers, and pulled out 3 pages.

He handed one page to Abby and another to Tim, and put the last aside.

"Blueberry Muffins," Tim said with a light chuckle.

"Dutch Cocoa Cookies?" Abby read with confusion. "For Ziva? Not exactly Israeli, is it?"

"Her being Israeli isn't what defines her to you, per your first impression. These cookies are dark chocolate but rolled in sugar for a sweetness that compliments its depth."

Abby snickered for a moment, then said, "Do you talk like that to your customers?"

"Every baker worth his salt knows how to emotionally tie a person to food. It makes the experience that much better for the person who needs it," David smiled and brought them to the stock room and refrigerator to select ingredients.

"What about Gibbs?" Abby said as David piled supplies into their arms.

"Don't worry, I set one aside for him."

They came back with arms full of supplies, and then David got them each set up in an apron and gloves. He started having them separate and measure out the ingredients for the first two recipes.

"Alright, we'll start with the cookies because the dough needs to chill for a while. First," he gave Tim a wire strainer and handed Abby the ingredients to pour, "pour the dry ingredients together in the strainer, then keep tapping it until everything has fallen through. This gets out lumps and keeps everything consistent." He guided Tim's hand as he tapped the strainer and sifted out the mixture.

He turned them to the mixer where he guided Tim and Abby through adding and mixing the wet ingredients. Tim started to enjoy seeing the mixture change as the mixer went around and around. As Abby read through the recipe again, she saw that the original recipe's amount of vanilla extract had been crossed out and doubled.

"Do you always add a personal touch to your recipes?" She asked.

"Always, especially when vanilla is involved. I'm sure there's such a thing as too much vanilla extract in a recipe, I just haven't found it yet," he replied with a sly grin.

Once they finished mixing the wet and dry ingredients, David had them each take a small finger-full of dough to taste. David playfully dotted his finger-full on Tim's nose to make him smile.

"Oh wow," Abby said as she absorbed the taste. "It's so… mmm…"

"Mmmm," Tim also moaned as he tasted it.

"Mmhm, good work guys," David said after his taste. He covered the bowl with plastic wrap, put it in the refrigerator, and returned to the kitchen. "Now, time for the muffins."

Tim manned the mixer, watching the butter slowly cream before adding the sugar. The motion of the mixer was almost hypnotic, and he smiled as the ingredients would consistently and reliably mix into something he knew would be wonderful.

David had Abby sifting the dry ingredients together the way Tim had before, then had them both mix everything together. Abby giggled slightly as she decided to double the already doubled amount of vanilla in the mixture, but David gave her the ok sign with his hand and proudly nodded his head. They crushed half of the blueberries and put them into the mix, and set aside the other half aside to let Abby gently mix them into the batter by hand. She also found the repeated motion and the easy coming-together of ingredients to be relaxing, and found herself smiling as she stirred.

David heated the oven and had Tim prepare the muffin pan with cups. Whenever Tim had followed David's instructions before, they had been for smaller muffins that were only good for a couple of bites. These pans were oversized for larger, hand-sized muffins, and Tim felt strangely excited to use something new, despite the fact that it had no electronic components to it.

After the muffins went into the oven, they sipped on coffee and 'Caf-POW!' while they cleaned up the space.

"Admit it, David," Abby said jokingly, "you just brought us here so we'd do the labor free."

"Not tonight, but that's a good idea for the future," he said as he took another sip.

"It does kinda feel nice," Tim said. "What are you going to make for Gibbs?"

"You'll see," David replied with a wink.

The oven timer went off, and David pulled the muffin pans out and set them on the counter. The fresh smell radiated throughout the bakery, and both Abby and Tim inhaled and gave content sighs. Once the muffins were out and cooling, David went back to the refrigerator and pulled out the cookie dough. He had them both man their own sheets, and gave them each a bowl of sugar and a fresh set of gloves.

David moved to stand behind Tim, then explained. "So now what you're going to do is take a small chunk of cookie dough," he took one to show them the size, "and roll it around in your hands."

He put the dough in Tim's hands and used his own to guide him in the rounding motion. Abby quickly picked up the motion and rolled one of her own. She inspected it to make sure it was perfectly round and exact to size, just how a scientist should.

"Now, roll the ball gently in the sugar. Give it a light coat, not too much, and be careful not to really press it in. When the cookie cooks, we don't want the sugar to sink in. Let it be visible on top."

They rolled the balls in sugar and placed them evenly in the pans while David set the oven temperature. Abby smiled as she realized that she was actually having fun doing this. Once the pans were filled, they put the cookies in the oven and David set a timer. Then, unexpectedly, he went back to the store room and brought out some white chocolate and set it on a double-boiler to melt. Abby went back to the recipe but couldn't find white chocolate as an ingredient.

"Is that for Gibbs' recipe?" She asked.

"Nope, it's for the cookies. I just had a thought that since Tim has Tony's hug to associate with the muffins, we're going to give you a little something for Ziva's cookies."

The cookies didn't take as long to cook, so they came out quickly and finished cooling by the time the chocolate had mostly melted. David had Abby stir the chocolate to keep it from burning, and had Tim move the cookies onto racks of their own. David then divided the chocolate into two small piping bags and gave them to Tim and Abby.

"I want you to draw the Star of David on each of the cookies," he said.

Abby gave a smile as she remembered Ziva, and got to work. Tim was a bit more concerned.

"I don't know, I've never drawn like this before and I want it to look good," he said.

"It's the thought that counts, Tim," Abby said.

Tim's concerns were alleviated when he began piping the molten white chocolate and found his hand wasn't as bad as he thought. They had to work quickly so the chocolate would stay melted in the bags, but between the two of them they managed to get the cookies done while David cleaned the boiler.

Turning back to them, David said, "Now comes my favorite part. Let's try them!"

Abby squealed in excitement and bit into one of the cookies. She moaned in pleasure for a moment, then stopped her mind flooded with memories. Her eyes teared but she still smiled, and she whispered, "Ziva."

Tim also bit into one of the cookies, then as his memories of Ziva came forward he took David's hand and said, "She was the first person I told about you."

"I remember," David said.

"How come you never came to me?" Abby said with a hint of jealousy.

"Well she kinda tricked it out of me. Tony had just gotten selected to go to Baghdad over me, and David was cheering me up."

"I had a feeling Tony was tricking you, and I couldn't believe you'd listen to his logic," she snorted.

"Why didn't you say so?" Tim asked, slightly offended.

"I wanted you kept safe! Besides, you looked so excited, I didn't want to dash your hopes by telling you."

"Ok, fine," Tim smiled and rolled his eyes. "I'll let you off the hook for that one if you let me off the hook for telling Ziva first."

Abby smiled and said, "Deal," and they shook hands playfully.

They then took sips of their drinks and then tried the muffins. Their eyes closed as they experienced the flavors rolling over their tongues.

"Mmm, I think these are my favorite thing you make too," Tim said through a bite.

"Oh yeah, I can see why Tony loves these," Abby agreed.

"You guys did a good job. I sometimes have a nervous engaged couple ordering their cake actually take part in baking part of it. I find it helps them calm down when they're doing something simple together, like mixing cake batter or icing."

Abby smiled. "I still miss them, but I guess I do feel better. It's not like they're gone forever."

"That's right," Tim said as he took another cookie. "Mm! Now it's time for Gibbs. What are we doing?"

David pulled out the recipe and showed it to them. They both scanned the ingredients and pictured it in their minds.

"Oh that is so Gibbs," Abby said.

Tim smiled and nodded in agreement, and they all went back to the stock room.

NCIS

Gibbs' day could now only get worse. The peak of his recent days became when he got his coffee in the morning. After that it was a slow decline as he worked painstakingly with the new agents assigned to him - Lee, Keating, and Langer. As he walked up to the bullpen, he started hearing the bickering.

"Give me the file, Langer," which sounded like Agent Lee.

"Give her the file, Langer," which came from Keating as Gibbs grew closer and saw Langer holding a file just out of Lee's reach.

"Give her the file, Langer," Gibbs ordered as he walked towards his desk. He noticed a square pastry box with the name 'O'Malley's Bakery' neatly designed on it.

"Good morning, sir," each of the agents each said as they stood at attention.

"So glad we all agree on something," Gibbs said sarcastically. "Agent Lee, Oman threat assessment."

"Right here, sir," she said as she ripped the file out of Langer's hand and spilled its contents across the floor. She immediately knelt down to clean up the mess. "Sorry, sir."

'Sir,' Gibbs thought to himself bitterly. "Told you about calling me sir," he said to her.

"Gibbs!" she corrected herself.

"Oh," Keating said as he walked over to Gibbs' desk and pointed at the box, "Abby and Agent McGee dropped those off this morning. She said something about boiling us from the inside out and not leaving a trace if any of us touched it. Also, I took the message, sir… uh, Gibbs."

"Yes, I can see right here in the 'message taken by' box: 'Keating.'" His tone was one of annoyance as he shooed Keating away. Before returning Detective Reynolds' call, Gibbs turned to the box from David's bakery. The note on it said:

Merry Christmas!

Abby, Tim + David

Gibbs opened it. He saw three items, each with a post-it next to them. The first was a large blueberry muffin. Its note read:

Tony DiNozzo

Blueberry Muffin

Reliable, Flavorful, and Tart at just the right time

The second was a stack of dark cookies with bits of sugar and Stars of David on them tied together with a red ribbon. Its note read:

Ziva David

Dutch Cocoa Cookies

Sleek and Elegant, but Sweet and Deep

The third one was a small box. Inside were six little squares of chocolate topped with caramel and what looked like flakes of salt. The note on the box read:

Leroy Jethro Gibbs

Dark Chocolate Fudge with Caramel and Sea Salt

Strong and Smooth with a Salty Smack on the back of the head

Gibbs smiled for the first time in weeks. "Thank you, guys. Merry Christmas," he whispered to himself.

NCIS

"Yay!" Abby said excitedly as she walked to the bullpen on McGee's arm. "Oh my God! I'm so excited! McGee, I can't believe it! Pinch me."

McGee reached over and pinched her as requested, but got an "Ow" and a punch in the arm for his trouble.

Gibbs was waiting at Ziva's desk when they came, and Abby gave him a big hug.

"Thank you," she said to him.

"Thank you both," Gibbs said. "And thank David for me, McGee."

McGee smiled, glad that Gibbs enjoyed his present. At that moment, Abby spotted Ziva at the elevator and yelled "There she is! Ziva!" and started jumping up and down.

Ziva was smiling broadly as she hugged Abby, then Gibbs, then McGee.

"Hey, Ziva!" McGee was grinning as he got his hug.

"Hey, McGee," she said.

"We made something for you," Abby said, pointing to Ziva's desk.

There was a small brown bag from O'Malley's Bakery sitting on her keyboard. Ziva smiled and pulled out the chocolate cookies. Once she saw the Star of David, she turned to Abby and gave her a tight squeeze, and then took a bite. As she tasted it, she rolled her head back and closed with pleasure.

"Mmm, you made these?" she asked.

"Actually Tim, David, and I did together," Abby said.

Ziva walked over to McGee and gave him a tight hug and a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you. And give my love to David when you talk to him next. This was very sweet."

"I will, I'm calling him to let him know I'm out of the basement."

"The basement? Is that another expression?" Ziva asked and raised an eyebrow.

"No, no. Long story, I'll fill you in later," McGee said with a laugh as he pulled his phone out from his pocket and dialed David.

"Hey babe, how's work?"

"You'll never guess," McGee said in a sing-song voice.

"Vance got jealous of the fudge and wants something of his own?"

McGee contained his laugh down to a chuckle so the others wouldn't hear. "No, Ziva's back, and I'm back in the field!"

"Oh that's great! I'm so happy for you! What about Tony?"

"Not sure, he's still deployed but I'm sure he'll be back soon too now that we're back."

"Good, I'm glad everyone's happy with the exception of Tony."

"If it's not too late, do you think maybe you'd like to come down and spend the night here?"

"Sure, just the night?"

"Well, we may need a few nights for what I had in mind," McGee dropped his voice to a sultry whisper.

"Oh?"

"Yes, in fact I may just have to keep you until Christmas comes."

"Grabbing the Mustang, I'm on my way!" David said excitedly.