Title: Grinching Out

Author: tayababy

For: fashiongirl97

Rating: K+

Prompt: tinsel

A little background; I live in Australia, where December is a summer month, and Christmas is supposed to be hot and humid and the family eating a mostly cold meal because to put the oven on would mean to bake everyone. To me, it doesn't feel like Christmas, it's too commercialised, and it doesn't help that I'm the youngest in my family now (because my younger sister moved to Leeds to study), so the magic went years ago. So, here's my Christmas angst, and we can be miserable together. Merry Christmas :P

It wasn't the ideal Christmas she wanted; celebrating Christmas on one's own never was. But, that was the way it had been for years, and the way it would continue to be.

Unless…

She pulled herself off the floor of her study – she had no idea why she was even down there in the first place – and recapped the bourbon decanter. There was nothing around her to denote the season, no decorations, no tree, nothing; it was depressing.

The whole season was depressing, once you had outgrown the 'magic'.

Her phone rang, breaking the silence surrounding her. She sighed heavily, reaching up to the top of her desk to retrieve the shrilling, vibrating, annoying, contraption.

'What?' she snapped. The whole damn office knew not to bother her the week she was designated on leave.

'Geez, Jen, calm down,' he chuckled over the line. 'Whatcha doin'?'

She sighed, glaring at the phone even though she knew he couldn't see it. 'Jethro, did you even get the Do Not Disturb memo I sent around the office yesterday?'

'Nope, and even if I did…' he trailed off.

She sighed; he was right. There had never been a time where he'd listened to a single request for solitude; he was just as lonely as she was. What better way to spend a family holiday than two lonely souls being lonely together.

Well, lonely and drunk. His seemingly-never ending supply of bourbon was always a plus.

'Jen?' his husky voice pulled her out of her reverie.

'I'm sorry, did you say something?' Antagonising him was always fun.

Jethro chuckled. 'Woman, you need to pay more attention. I'm coming over, end of discussion, no arguments, no protests.'

Jen laughed at his seriousness. 'Fine, but if you come empty-handed, I'm throwing you straight back to the kerb.'

'Tell Noemi to put something on the stove; I'll be there in 20.'

She put her phone back on her desk, smiling for the first time in days.

He said twenty minutes, she expected him there in ten.

What she didn't expect, however, was the armloads of tinsel and other assorted decorations he was sporting on her doorstep.

'What in the… Jethro!'

Gibbs smiled over the armload of Christmas gear and waltzed through the door, straight past the homeowner, and into her study. 'No more grinching out, Jen.'

Jen followed him through, her arms firmly crossed on her chest. 'Excuse me? Grinching out?'

'Yeah, you know, The Grinch Who Stole Christmas?'

Jen couldn't help it; she chuckled. 'Since when have I been likened to the Grinch?'

Jethro dumped his load unceremoniously on her desk, effectively covering the mountain of paperwork she had been avoiding. 'Ever since you turned down Abby and her annual Secret Santa event, she's been walking around, telling anyone who'll listen just how Grinch-like you're being this year.'

'And you, the advocate of all things not-Christmas, are the one on my doorstep with arms laden full of Christmas paraphernalia?' she raised an eyebrow. 'That's brave of you. Did you volunteer, or did you pull the short straw?'

Gibbs at least had the gall to put an innocent look on his face, not that she'd ever been able to tell his a lie from the truth on his face. 'Maybe…' he trailed off.

Jen shook her head, clicking her tongue as she pulled the bourbon out of its hiding place. 'Tell Abby I'll make it up to her for New Years.'

She never expected to be wrapped head-to-toe in tinsel, but once Abby and the team crashed their non-celebration of the season, bearing spirits to the tune of vodka, tequila and Christmas cheer, it was clear the now-demolished desk load of decorations had a purpose.

'So, Jenny, all I wanna know for Christmas is why you Grinch out of the season,' Abby announced later. They were all lying in the living room, a fire blazing steadily to keep them warm, when her voice woke them from drunken slumbers.

Jenny snorted; that was one story she was not planning on sharing. 'I plead the fifth,' she raised her hand, not moving any other part of her body off the floor.

'Awww, come on,' Tony whined; tequila really did make him act more like an overgrown child than usual, not that he'd ever admit it. 'Didn't your mama ever tell you not to lie or keep secrets?' he teased.

The offhand comment stung and was sobering almost immediately. 'Maybe my mom's the reason I can't stand the season,' she whispered, her mind flashing back.

The seven-year-old pushed open the door of the kitchen excitedly – Christmas was her favourite time of year – and the sight that greeted her shocked her.

Her mother was lying on the tiled floor in a pool of blood.

'Mommy?' she couldn't move – her feet wouldn't move – but her mommy wasn't moving either. 'Mommy!'

The memory brought tears to her eyes, the drops running down the sides of her face to sink into her tinsel halo. Her mother had been murdered on Christmas, and she hadn't celebrated since. She shared a quick look with Jethro; he had bullied the story out of her the first season they had shared together all those years ago in Paris. He reached a hand out to hold hers, and she smiled at the show of support.

'Jen?' Ziva's soft voice pulled her out of her reverie; she was one of the few other people who knew. 'There is no shame in sharing your scars.'

The red head turned to look at her, a soft smile gracing her pale face. 'Thank you Ziva, but some things aren't meant to be shared. Until better memories come along, I think I'll stick with the ones I have.'

'And until then, you'll keep Grinching out of Christmas?' Tony poked his tongue out, most definitely too drunk to remember the conversation in the morning.

Jen smiled, gripping Jethro's hand. 'Yeah, until then, I'm Grinching out of Christmas.'