And the Christmas Eve chapter is here, and there is an exciting surprise in this chapter :) I hope you like the surprise! haha
It was Christmas Eve, Friday afternoon and Jenny was busy in the kitchen preparing dinner for that night, Gibbs was out somewhere and no one knew where he was, well Jenny knew where he was but she wouldn't tell. Abby and Ziva were up in Abby's room wrapping up a few final presents before Tony and Tim came over.
"So Ziva are you excited for Christmas tomorrow, I am really really excited" Abby said smiling at Ziva, Ziva chuckled.
"Yes I am very excited for my first Christmas Abby" she smiled.
"So do you think Tony will like his surprise?" Abby asked with a grin.
"Oh I think he is going to love it very much when he gets it" Ziva replied and both girls laughed. The girls then picked up all their wrapped presents and took them downstairs to put them under the tree. Then there was a knock at the door. Abby and Ziva put the last presents under the tree then went to the door. They opened it to find a smiley Tim with a bag of presents in one hand.
"Timmy!" Abby squealed and pulled him into a big Abby hug.
"Hey Abby and Ziva" he said as Abby finally let go.
"Hey Tim" Ziva replied as they walked into the house. Then Tim went and put his presents under the tree.
"So did you find out what time you can come over tomorrow?" Abby asked. Normally each year Tim would come over on Christmas Eve and go home late at night so he could spend Christmas with his family in the morning and then Tim would come over to Abby's at about lunchtime. Tim just smiled at Abby.
"Well actually this year since grandma and grandpa are older and staying at the nursing home now we aren't going to see them until the afternoon so mom said we are going to have our Christmas later in the day so we can have it with them" Tim said and Abby frowned.
"So does that mean you can't come over tomorrow?" Abby said beginning to get upset and she wondered why he was still smiling because it wasn't a good thing.
"Mom said that I can stay tonight and come home in the afternoon when we go to see my grandparents, because we wont be doing anything in the morning except having breakfast because we are doing presents and things until we are with our grandparents later" Tim explained and Abby squealed again and gave Tim a big hug.
"Oh My Gosh Timmy that is like the best Christmas present for me!" she exclaimed and Ziva and Tim just chuckled at how excited she was to have Tim stay Christmas night.
"Well I am glad Abby" Tim said with a big smile at Abby's excitement. Just then there was another knock on the door and Ziva's face lit up. Abby and Tim stayed in the lounge when Ziva went to get the door.
"Hey Tony" she smiled at him when she opened the door.
"Hey beautiful" Tony said as he stepped forward and wrapped his free arm around her in a hug. When he leant back he gave her a soft kiss.
"Now where do I put all these goodies I have here?" Tony smirked as he lifted his bag with presents. Ziva just smiled at him and motioned for him to follow her. After greeting Tim and Abby Tony put his presents under the tree. Then Tim and Tony went and said hi to Jenny in the kitchen.
Not long after talking to Jenny the four of them found themselves on the couch watching Christmas specials on TV. Ziva sat next to Tony and rested her head on his shoulder as he held his arm around her. Tim and Abby were sitting next to them. They were all enjoying the Christmas shows that were on and every time something came on that Ziva didn't understand they would explain to her the Christmas tradition or event that was happening, Ziva learnt a lot by just watching a few shows.
Gibbs had arrived through the back door suspiciously a little while before dinner. The four on the couch watched him sneak in, they knew he had been up to something and they also knew it probably had something to do with Christmas. Abby was convinced he was hiding something in his shed and wanted to take a peak but everyone had told her no because it would spoil the surprise, she had complained but got over it as soon as the next show came on TV.
Then they all heard a knock at the door and Tony and Tim wondered who it would be, Ziva and Abby just smiled because they knew who it was.
"Tony can you get that" Tony heard Gibbs call out from the kitchen, he looked at Ziva who shrugged at him acting as though she didn't know what was going on, which she did.
"Ok" Tony called back and he stood up and when he walked passed the kitchen he saw Gibbs and Jenny were busy in the kitchen. He shrugged to himself and walked to the door. When he opened it he had to blink a few times because he thought he was hallucinating. There stood his Uncle Sam, dressed in his marine uniform holding a rucksack on his shoulder.
"Merry Christmas Tony" Sam said and then Tony knew he wasn't hallucinating. Tony stepped forward and enveloped Sam in a big hug. Sam dropped his bag and hugged him back. When they stepped back Sam smiled.
"You have grown up since I saw you last, you are looking more and more like a man each time I come back" Sam said, Tony smiled.
"Sam, how are you here? I mean you said you couldn't come home this year?" Tony asked confused suddenly. Sam chuckled lightly.
"Well somehow someone got hold of my CO and apparently my CO served with him in the when this person was in the marines and somehow he convinced my CO to send me home for a few days over Christmas" Sam said with a smile, they both knew who the ex-marine was that had rung his CO. Gibbs. Tony leant forward and gave Sam another hug.
"Well I'm so happy you are here Sam, I've missed you" Tony said quietly. Sam gave him a light squeeze.
"I know I've missed you too Tony" Sam said. Tony and his uncle had always been close; Sam was like his father and best friend all in one.
"Now where is Gibbs" Sam said smirking. Tony laughed and motioned him to come inside. Sam walked in a dropped his bag to one side and he looked up and saw Gibbs and Jenny smiling at him from the kitchen. Sam walked over to them and Tony watched with a smile.
"DiNozzo" Gibbs said and surprisingly to Tony Gibbs gave Sam and guy hug.
"Gibbs, I think I have to thank you for this" Sam smirked at Gibbs. Gibbs shrugged.
"Your welcome" Gibbs simply said and then Sam turned to Jenny and gave her a hug.
"Ah Jenny you still look as pretty as you were ten years ago" Sam said with a smile and then Gibbs slapped him around the back of the head. Sam just laughed.
"Aw I've missed that affection from you Gibbs" Sam replied and Gibbs just smiled and shook his head.
"Thank you Sam, you have certainly grown into a fine man yourself, a great marine too I have heard" Jenny replied. Sam shrugged.
"I try my best" Sam replied. Sam turned around and saw three more people standing next to Tony; they all had big smiles on there faces. The one that had black hair with pigtails came up to him.
"Hi, I'm Abby Gibbs" she said with a gigantic smile, he could tell she was overly excited.
"Ah so you are the wonderful daughter of the famous Gibbs and Jenny. Sam, nice to meet you Abby" Sam said smiling and then all of a sudden Abby pounced at him and hugged him. When she leant back she blushed.
"Sorry I just like to hug people" she said and he chuckled.
"That alright Abby, you give good hugs" Sam said and she smiled even bigger. Then a boy Sam hadn't met before walked up next to Abby and pushed her away from Sam gently.
"Abby calm down he's not going to disappear in the next second" the boy said laughing before he turned to Sam and held out his hand.
"Hi I'm Tim, Tony's friend" he said, it felt good to Tim to say that, he always appreciated the friendship he had grown with Tony. Sam shook his hand.
"Nice to meet you Tim" Sam said and then Tim nodded and walked over by Abby. Sam looked up and smiled at the person standing next to Tony with a smile on her face. She walked up to him.
"It is wonderful to finally meet you in person Ziva" Sam said.
"I am glad to finally meet you too Sam" Ziva smiled and then she leant in and gave him a hug and he hugged her back.
"You've been keeping him in line I hope" Sam said smirking as he pulled back from the hug. Ziva looked back at Tony and then to Sam.
"Oh I sure have don't you worry Sam" Ziva said with a wink. Sam chuckled.
"Good, I knew I could trust you" Sam smiled at Ziva.
"Well dinner is ready so Abby can you and Ziva set the table and Tim and Tony can you help take the food out" Jenny then said. Sam watched as they all moved into action and did what Jenny had asked without another word. Gibbs walked up to Sam and handed him a beer.
"Wow, that was something" Sam said motioning to the kids. Gibbs smiled.
"Well the amount of time they are all here they get used to how things work" Gibbs shrugged.
"Are you running an orphanage here or something with all these kids around all the time?" Sam said smirking.
"No it's just good to have a house full of family, Tim and Tony are just like family in this house" Gibbs explained.
"Well I thought I would never see the day where Jethro Gibbs had four teenagers running around his house and he was comfortable with it" Sam said chuckling.
"You'll want it one day" Gibbs smiled at Sam. Sam nodded.
"Well I do have to thank you though, for looking out for Tony, I know he has grown a strong bond with you and he looks up to you you know" Sam said.
"Yeah I know, and you are welcome" Gibbs said before they walked into the dining room and took a seat at the table.
Sam loved to watch the family interact at the dinner table. He watched as Abby and Tim joked around and laughed, he could tell they were really good friends. He watched Tony and Ziva do much the same but he noticed the way they looked at each other and momentarily touched, or shared food, he could tell they were in love. He had experienced that when he was in high school, but for him it didn't turn out that great, she had moved across the ocean to some other country when her parents got a new job overseas. It had broken his heart and he had joined the marines the next summer.
He just hoped they wouldn't suffer a similar fate as he had, it had broken him and he couldn't live to see Tony or Ziva end up like that. Sam then watched Gibbs and Jenny with a smile, they were still the same as he had remembered, still in love and going strong. Sam also thought they had produced a beautiful daughter and she was a very friendly person, more like Jenny in that way. And also their daughter they had willingly taken into their family fit in just like she had been there since birth, he believed Ziva was truly part of this family.
After dinner Gibbs and Jenny washed up the dishes while they let the kids talk to Sam in the lounge. They talked about school and what was happening at the moment; they talked about what it was like overseas in Afghanistan for Sam and football, just catching up on things Sam had missed while he's been overseas. Then it was almost 11pm.
"Guys since its Christmas tomorrow don't you think we should head to bed?" Abby had asked all excited; to be honest she just wanted to go to sleep so Christmas day would be here quicker.
"I think that is a wise idea Abby" Sam had replied. Abby smiled and grabbed Tim by the hand and pulled him to his feet.
"Come on Timmy, night guys" Abby called out as she dragged Tim upstairs.
"Night Abby and Tim" the others called out. Then Sam stood up.
"Well good night you two, I'll see you in the morning" Sam said.
"Ok night Sam" Tony and Ziva said in unison. Sam smiled at them snuggled on the couch before he walked into the kitchen where Jenny was preparing the last of the food for Christmas day.
"Do you need any help Jenny?" Sam asked when he walked into the kitchen.
"Um yeah ok" Jenny said and she gave him a task to do. He was mixing something for her on the kitchen bench and he watched Tony and Ziva from where he stood. He saw them stand up off the couch and she giggled at something he did and she turned around and pushed his chest playfully while he just smiled at her. He watched next as Tony brought his arms around her and pulled her to him. She just smiled up at him and they whispered to each other.
Sam was pretty sure he could read what they were saying and he smiled, they had whispered 'I love you' to each other. Then Tony leant down and kissed Ziva lightly on the lips. Sam had never seen his nephew kiss someone before and he smiled. When they leant back from the kiss Tony tucked her hair behind her ear in a loving gesture while smiling at her and then taking her hand and walking out of the lounge.
Sam made it look as though he wasn't watching when they walked passed. They said night to Jenny and Sam watched them head upstairs.
"They're something right?" he heard Jenny say and he turned to her and saw her smiling.
"Yeah they are aren't they" Sam agreed and went off in thought of just how strong their bond truly was. After helping Jenny finish the food for tomorrow she went to bed and he headed out to Gibbs' shed. He walked in and saw Gibbs working on a half built boat.
"You are sanding your boat on Christmas Eve?" Sam asked with a smile as he walked around and picked up another sander. Gibbs poured him a drink.
"Yeah calms my mind, keeps me busy" Gibbs said as he handed Sam the drink.
"Thanks" Sam said and he took a sip of the strong bourbon.
"Wow haven't had good stuff like this in a long time" Sam said with a smirk.
"Yeah one thing bad about going on tour is the good bourbon you can't get" Gibbs smiled back as he sanded and took a sip from his own glass. They were silent for a while; all that could be heard was the brushing of sandpaper against wood and the occasional sip of a drink. Until Gibbs broke the silence.
"So Sam what's keeping you overseas all the time? You're a good marine son but I know you have been overseas a lot more than any other marine I know" Gibbs questioned.
"To be honest Gibbs I don't know, I want to be here at home for Tony but I just get drawn back overseas, I think it has something to do with my father disrespecting soldiers that go over to other countries to fight in war, he always used to say 'we were fighting another mans war' and I think I just do it because deep down I want to do all I can to prove that basted wrong" Sam admitted. Gibbs just nodded and let him continue.
"I have told you a bit before but I haven't told you everything about my dad. I got my first beating from him when I was six, my brother Rob, Tony's dad was eight. I got beat up because I accidentally knocked over his whisky bottle and it smashed everywhere, he beat me and then sent me to bed right after" Sam said with a sigh and took another drink from his glass.
"Rob used to try help me when we were younger, he would get a beating too for it, he had been getting beatings since he was seven. But one day when I got home from school dad was drunk and mad for some reason and he just beat me, I was eleven at the time and Rob was thirteen, it was the first time he didn't help me, he just stood there and watched" Sam said and Gibbs still listened.
"Not long after that Rob started to get in trouble a lot at school for beating up other kids, when he found Lucy and married her I thought he had changed. Then they had Tony and when Tony was about eight Rob started acting up, he started drinking a lot and cheating on Lucy with other woman. Tony doesn't know this and I have never told him, I thought it was better to keep his soul clean of all the bad things his father has done. When Lucy passed away Rob used to just leave Tony and home for days without returning, when I found out I took custody of Tony, Rob didn't really care about him" Sam sighed.
"But Rob keeps in contact with Tony now?" Gibbs asked.
"Yeah, well when Rob got older I think he started to realize things, he calls Tony every Christmas and sends him a expensive present on Christmas and his birthday, he thinks he can re-buy his sons love with money but Rob still doesn't want to be physically part of his life, he just wants Tony to love him. He doesn't deserve Tony's love, if he did he would go see Tony and maybe even take him back into his custody instead of one phone call a year, but he's still running around chasing skirts at this age and he is too busy earning as much money as he can to be bothered with trying that hard" Sam said bitterly. He really didn't get along with his brother, not since he had treated Tony like he did.
"Tony doesn't need him he's got you Sam, I know he loves you like a father, you have treated him with so much care and love, and he knows that. Tony wont just run back to his dad because of money, Tony is better than that and he knows deep down you are the father he wants, not Rob but you Sam, the better man" Gibbs explained. He smiled lightly at the thought that both Tony and Sam came to him for advice and to talk. He was turning into the DiNozzo therapist. Sam smiled softly.
"Thanks Gibbs, I never thought I would ever go to you for a pep talk" Sam said chuckling lightly.
"I don't think Tony did either" Gibbs smiled back.
"So you two are pretty close now huh?" Sam said smiling at Gibbs.
"Yeah we talk a lot, I help him out when he sometimes has problems with things" Gibbs shrugged. Sam saddened a bit.
"Yeah I know it's hard for him when I'm not around" Sam said sadly. "Thanks for being there for him Gibbs, you don't know how much that means to me" Sam added.
"Hey your welcome Sam, I enjoy it sometimes, I never had any boys and he and Tim are like sons to me" Gibbs said with a smile.
"Well they are lucky to have someone like you around, I learnt a lot of things from you Gibbs, you're a good man, and I have noticed you're an even better father" Sam said and if Gibbs was a man that blushed he would right now but Gibbs being Gibbs he didn't blush.
"Thanks Sam, you're a good man yourself and you have raised one hell of a man you know, Tony's a good man, he reminds me a lot of you" Gibbs said. Sam's eyes lit up.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah, you know Tony saved one of my agent's lives a few weeks ago. He was at my work when he got suspended from school. He and my agent went to get a suspect, an easy suspect but one of the dangerous suspects we were after was there and my agent got shot while Tony was out in the car, Tony saw the guy run out and he managed to knock him out with the car door and locked him to a street lamp, then he went and applied aid to my agent which saved his life, apparently you taught him that?" Gibbs asked with a smile.
"Yeah I taught him first aid and stuff when he was younger when we went camping a lot, for emergency purposes really, did he really do all that?" Sam asked astonished.
"Yeah, I gave him my Navy Meritorious Civilian Service Award for what he did, he deserved it" Gibbs replied.
"You gave him that? Do you know how respected those things are?" Sam asked he couldn't believe Gibbs had given him that medal; he must have really deserved it if Gibbs gave it to him.
"Yeah, he really did deserve that honor Sam, he saved my agent and stopped a violent killer off the streets and he's only seventeen, I couldn't think of anyone better to deserve it" Gibbs said proudly as he talked about Tony.
"He's gonna do well in the future I just know it, he's going to do something good with his life and now that he has Ziva I don't think I have seen him any happier in his life" Sam stated.
"Yeah they are good for each other, we hadn't had her here long before she met him and I haven't seen anyone at there age quite like them these days, to be honest it is slightly scary how easily they are one with each other, a while back Ziva had a bit of a traumatic experience and Tony was the only one who could calm her, and the same happened when he was troubled over what he faced that day when he saved my agent, the only one that could calm him was Ziva" Gibbs explained. Sam was looking into the distance thinking about something.
"They really have that look to them ay? Like they have been together for years, and the little I've seen tonight you can see just how much they work in sync with each other when they move and stuff" Sam said looking back over at Gibbs.
"Yeah its something isn't it" Gibbs replied.
"Yeah it sure is" Sam said raising his glass to Gibbs and taking the last sip. After that Gibbs and Sam headed back inside, it was time they went to bed when they have Christmas day tomorrow, well considering it was passed midnight it was already Christmas. Gibbs gave Sam some blankets and stuff and put him on the pull out couch bed.
"Merry Christmas Sam" Gibbs said when Sam was lying on the couch.
"Merry Christmas Gibbs" Sam replied before Gibbs disappeared to his own bedroom.
Surprise, Sam is home for Christmas haha I had that idea in my head for ages, hope you guys liked it! Ok so there wasn't much Tiva in this one but there will be next chapter, I had to do a bit of Gibbs/Sam in this one, just because really. And so next chapter will be the one you guys have been looking forward to, Christmas!
Let me know how you liked this chapter.
Hundan