Changed a small bit here, but it shouldn't change any of the story, just a little bit of a character screw-up. Someone (cough *Grace* cough) came off a little bitchier than I intended. Thanks to 95Wolf and GibbsLover77 for helping me out with that. It was my own mistake. I'm not perfect, I just look it. ;)

Two hours later, Gibbs' house was filled with the strong mixed scent of pizza and fingernail polish. Six little girls were sprawled across his living room floor, laying on piled blankets and sleeping bags. Two had already burst into tears, one had refused to eat the pizza, and then they all argued about which movie to watch. Alyssa had disappeared an hour before with Abby, and Jethro was sure she had been laughing at him as she walked out the door. With a movie finally decided upon and playing, Gibbs was just about to make his escape to the basement when he was interrupted by that one word that made his heart skip beats.

"Daddy?"

He groaned silently and fought back the headache that was working it's way into his brain. "Hmm?"

"Can we go play outside? It's snowing!"

"Definitely not. Snow is cold, too cold."

Grace rolled her eyes. "I know snow is cold, Daddy. We were gonna wear gloves!"

"Not tonight, princess. Watch the movie and maybe in the morning..."

"Daddy says we can go outside!" Grace was sprinting back towards the living room, yelling at the top of her lungs. She was nearly around the corner when Gibbs managed to grab the back of her pajama top.

"I did not say you could go outside!"

"Yeah-huh! You did, too!"

"I said maybe tomorrow. Maybe."

"But everybody has to go home early tomorrow! We won't have time."

"Then you'll just have to wait and play in the snow later tomorrow when Lyssa gets back."

Grace assumed her typical pouting expression. "But-"

"No 'buts'. Not tonight. Tomorrow we'll go build a snowman, okay?"

Her disappointed expression remained, but she nodded. "Okay." He released her pajama top and she turned the corner quickly, just before he could catch a glimpse of the mischevious look in her eyes.

~~~~~~~~~:D

Flash Forward: Eight years later

Snow was falling in flurries over Pennsylvania as two cars came zooming into a small town called Stillwater. Simultaneously, they pulled into a parking lot, but the smaller sports car's door flew open first. A tall blonde young woman stepped out, dressed in a bright yellow trench coat. She sprinted through the drifting snow, nearly sliding on a slick patch of ice on the sidewalk. Finally she reached the open door of a general store, where a white-haired man stood waiting expectantly. She wrapped her gloved arms around his neck."Jackson!"

"Alyssa! How's my beautiful girl?" Jackson Gibbs squeezed his surrogate granddaughter tightly. "You're gettin' so grown up."

"I'm twenty four, Jackson. I think I'm probably as 'grown up' as I'm going to get." Alyssa laughed.

"Well, where's my other beautiful granddaughter? The one that's not so grown up yet."

"They were right behind me, last I checked."

"Grandpa!" Fifteen-year-old Grace climbed skidded around the corner and jumped her grandfather. "I missed you so much! I'm so happy we get to stay for a while. Two whole weeks! I love Christmas vacation! It's going to be so awesome. And Dad's gonna teach me how to drive while I'm here. Isn't that so cool? And then the whole team is coming up on Christmas Eve so we can celebrate together! This is going to be the best Christmas ever!"

"It absolutely is!"

Finally, a silver-haired man turned the corner, lugging multiple colored suitcases. "Hey, Dad."

"Leroy, let me help you with those." They moved the heavy cases into the store, then embraced once inside the warm store. The two men had grown closer in the past few years than they had ever been before, mostly because of Grace's insistance that she see her grandfather at least once every six months. Now they were always driving out to Pennsylvania for long weekends, and the two Gibbs's had found time to reconnect.

"Merry Christmas, Dad."

"Merry Christmas, Leroy. I'm so glad you all came to visit. We're going to have a great time."

Alyssa put her arm around her younger sister and repeated her words with emphasis. "Best Christmas ever!"

"Totally!" Grace smiled. "So, Dad, we can go now, right? You said we could go as soon as we got the stuff in, and the stuff's in, so..."

"Alright, hold your horses. Let me at least get some coffee first."

Grace groaned dramatically and followed him into the kitchen. She bounced from foot to foot with excitement as he poured himself a cup.

"Where are you guys going?" Alyssa trailed in with Jackson at her heels.

"Dad's gonna teach me how to drive. He's been saying he would forever, but now I finally get to go!" She turned back to her father. "I get to take the Challenger, right?"

He replied with dead seriousness. "Absolutely not."

"But...!"

"You can take the Ford. Or better yet, how about Alyssa's old car?"

"The ugly blue thing? That car's so old, it doesn't even have a brand name!" Grace over-exagerated. "It's just called The Ugly Blue Thing."

"And it's perfect for starting out."

"I'm not touching that thing."

"You're not touching the Challenger, either."

"Dad! You're being seriously unfair right now." Grace turned to her grandfather and changed her expression. It was practically a patented Tanner-Gibbs Sister move. Eyes wide, lips pouting, a dramatic turn of phrase, maybe even a sniffle. Guaranteed to turn even the hardest of hearts. "Grandpa, tell Dad he's being unfair. I just want to learn to drive a cool car. The kids at school will laugh if I show up in that Ugly Blue Thing! Then I'll get a complex and have to go to more therapy, please, Grandpa, please!"

"Huh-uh. This is between you and your father. I am not involved in this. Alyssa, why don't we go catch up in another room?" And with that, Jackson Gibbs skirted the issue and left the kitchen. Alyssa followed, giggling at the comedic exchange.

"Daddeeeee..."

"No, ma'am. Don't "Daddy" me. It's not going to work."

"Pleeease!"

"Noooo." He mocked, dragging the syllables out whiningly.

"Ugh! Why do you have to treat me like such a little kid! I'm not seven anymore!" Grace turned and stomped up the stairs.

He flinched again as a door slammed shut upstairs. He grudging refilled his cup of coffee as he mumbled under his breath. "Serial killers, I can handle. Terrorists, I can handle. Even ex-wives. I can handle those, too. An angry fifteen-year-old... That, I cannot handle."


Present day:

"Are you sure your dad's not gonna notice?" A small dark-haired girl turned away from the boots she was lacing on her feet to look at Grace. She was sprawled out on the floor next to a sliding glass window. Outside, snow fell in perfect-looking flakes, looking like each one was begging to melt on your tongue or be the start of a new snowman.

Grace blinked and bit her lip. Of course her dad was going to notice. He noticed everything. It was his job. That and catching bad guys.

But she really wanted to play in the snow. She didn't want to wait until tomorrow, when all her friends had left. They couldn't have a snowball fight then! And if she was real sneaky when she came back inside, he might not notice until after they'd had a chance to play. If she made her good pouting face when she came back inside, all wet and out-of-breath from running, then he'd have to forgive her. He just had to.

"Nope, he won't notice. He never pays any attention to me, anyways."


Flash Forward: Ten years later

Alyssa's acting stint at NYU had been brief, as she found that the role of 'starving artist' didn't well suit her. She left the school to attend UMD her junior year, and graduated two years later with honors and a double major in Criminal Justice and Forensics. Now she was a probationary agent at NCIS, working on Tony's team before she could graduate to field agent. She was hoping to work her way up the ranks to senior field agent, and then team leader.

Alyssa was staring dejectedly at her computer, wishing the current case would pan out better for her, when the elevator doors slid open. "Hi, Lyssa!" Jethro and Grace exited, and Grace immediatly grabbed teh seat beside her sister.

"Hi... Why are you here?" Alyssa looked up to Gibbs, wide-eyed.

"Am I not allowed to just drop in?"

"I don't know. Why don't you ask the director?" He ignored her smart comment and sat down in an empty chair. His old desk was currently unoccupied, so he rolled over to sit behind it."You do know that's not your desk anymore, right?"

Gibbs stared at the desk thoughtfully. "Looks like my desk." He rapped the desktop with his knuckles. "Feels like my desk. Must be my desk."

"That's infalliable logic, really." Alyssa mentally counted to ten. So much for seperation of family and work. She looked across the bullpen to see a pair of coffee brown eyes staring intently at her. She felt her cheeks blush and her pulse rev. "Um, Gibbs, have you met Will yet?" A tall, dark-skinned man stood up and crossed the bullpen to shake hands with Gibbs. "Hey, Probie! William Morris, meet Special Agent Gibbs. He's Tony's boss."

"And Alyssa's dad." Gibbs added as he stared down the twenty-something across from him, who was looking more intimidated by the second.

"Yeah, and that." Alyssa shrugged, then laughed. "He was also a marine sniper, so he's probably a better shot than you, too.'
She giggled girlishly. "Don't look so nervous, probie. He probably won't shoot you. Probably."

Grace leaned across her sister's desk and lowered her voice. "Lyss, can I stay at your place tonight? Dad's driving me crazy!"

Unfortunately, she hadn't lowered her voice enough. "I can hear you, Gracie. And you can't stay with Lyssa. You have homework."

Grace rolled her eyes. "Dad, it's not Gracie anymore! It's Gray, or at least just Grace. I'm not a little girl!"

"Right, right." He consented, while knowing she'd never grow out of being his little Gracie, no matter how much of an attitude she developed.

Tony came around the corner, dressed in a sharp Armani suit. He dropped the folder in his hand on his desk and wrapped his arms around the youngest Gibbs girl. "Gracie! You came to see mee!"

Grace groaned heavily. "Geez, DiNozzo! Quit it, I can't breathe!"

"Well. Someone's got the holiday spirit." Tony dropped Grace back to the ground. She rolled her eyes and flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Hey, boss! How's it going?"

"Good, thanks. How's Ziva doing?"

"She took the day off." Tony shrugged and his left thumb subconsciously moved down to slide across the wedding band on his finger. "Morning sickness, I think. She's been crazy lately! One minute she's threatening to knife my guts out, and the next she's crying and wanting some weird Israeli food."

"Hormones, Tony. I gave you adequate warning." Alyssa stod up and gathered a folder into her arms. "I have to take something down to Palmer. Hey, Will? Don't you still have that, uh... question, you wanted to ask Abby?"

Will looked confused for an instant, but quickly covered and grabbed a folder from the teetering pile on his desk. "Yeah, I do! I guess I'll just go with you then."

Tony spun to face his team. "What question?"

"You know, boss. The question... about that thing..." Tony still looked confused. Alyssa glared at him fiercely. She was nearly the only person who could do that and get away with it, besides Ziva. He wouldn't have let her, except she had practically grown up doing the same thing. Trying to stop her now would be impossible."You know, for your case?"

Recognition dawned in the Italian's eyes. "Oh! That thing. Right. You should do that."

"Bye, guys!" Alyssa waved as Will backed into the elevator beside her. "I'll see you around, I'm sure."

"It was nice to meet you, Grace. Mister, Agent Gibbs, sir." Will stuttered.

As soon as the elevator doors closed, the two turned to face each other. She switched the emergency stop and took a step closer to him, backing him into the wall. His hands slid around her waist and he kissed her passionately. When they finally broke apart, Will spoke. "Didn't know your dad works here."

"Worked here, past tense. He retired."

He shrugged. "Same difference."

"And he's not really my dad... It's complicated. I didn't know they were coming in today or I would've told you."

"No worries. But you seemed like you didn't really want him to know about... you know, us."

Alyssa sighed. "Gibbs' rule number twelve, sweetie. Never date a co-worker. And I guess that falls under the category of Alyssa's rule number sixteen, too."

"What's that?"

"Don't tell Gibbs anything."

Bit of soundtrack randomness for ya on my profile page.

Oh, and another idea. Thinking about doing a series of one-shots that would revolve around specific episodes, but having them be in AU with Alyssa and Grace. When I watch certain episodes, I think about what fun Tony and Grace would have had causing trouble in that scene, and how Alyssa and Kate would have been best friends, and I can soo see Grace wanting to be Jenny when she grows up. Plus I could get some reader feedback, with people telling me which episodes they want me to do? Let me know if you like the idea or not, and we'll see where it goes. :)

And of course, MERRY CHRISTMAS to all my readers and friends! I love you!

~Rye