Chapter 8: Ice Skating - 2031

Tony peeked out of his office door; Ziva was still wrapping gifts in her office… good, his plan was to sneak his stack of boxes out without her seeing them. He took five of the ten larger boxes, all the same size and shape to the family room and arranged them under the tree, checking that the tags were still attached to the wrapping paper on each one. He returned to his office for the second stack of large boxes and repeated the process. The ten included his family of seven and three of the four McGees; his own tag read 'To Tony, From Santa.' Delilah was the only one not included in this set of gifts. Her larger box was a slightly smaller and different shape, but its contents would be used with the others.

A third trip to his office to get the stack of eleven long, flat boxes finished his sneaking past his wife. The smaller boxes included one for Dee; all eleven had identical contents except for the name of the recipient. Satisfied his gifts to the family were arranged the way he wanted, Tony headed back to his office to finish writing the card for Ziva. He nearly collided with his wife as she exited her office with a stack of brightly wrapped boxes that blocked her vision.

"Whoa, Ninja!" he reached out to stop the pile from toppling. "Wouldn't want you dropping my gifts on the floor," he joked.

Ziva chuckled, "None of these are for you, my little hairy butt…" At his disappointed look, she added, "Your gift will be placed under the tree later; when I know you will not be able to try to peek or try to figure out what it is."

"Oh… what time are the McFamily arriving in the morning?"

"I invited them for brunch at 1000. Everyone else will be here around 1300. Why?"

Tony grinned, "Just making sure one of my secret plans will work… and no peeking or guessing to try to find out."

~DiNozzo~

Just before 1000, the McGees walked in the front door; Tim and the kids each had a pile of presents and Delilah had two insulated food totes in her lap. She wheeled to the kitchen where Ziva was just pulling the biscuits from the oven. Tony was stirring the sausage gravy simmering in a crockpot.

"Merry Christmas!" Dee placed the two totes on the counter. "Two dozen scrambled eggs in one and four pounds of bacon in the other. I hope it's enough for our hungry gang."

"I have two dozen biscuits plus the sausage gravy," Ziva hugged her sister of the heart. "If anyone is still hungry after all this food, we have bread and peanut butter and jelly."

Tali entered the kitchen, "Mmm, smells delicious, Ima. Merry Christmas everyone!" She grabbed a mug from the cabinet and placed it on the counter next to the coffee maker. "Anyone else want coffee?"

Tony slid his mug onto the counter for his daughter to top off; Tim and Dee replied to the affirmative, so he then took two more mugs from the cabinet. Tim meanwhile headed to the family room to let the others know that brunch was ready.

"I have my tea; thank you anyway," Ziva placed the biscuits in two covered baskets to take to the table. Anthony slid into his seat at the table as she placed a basket on each end. He was quickly followed by his younger siblings and cousins.

Tony carried the crockpot to the table and set it in front of his place. Ziva and Delilah put the eggs and bacon on hot pads on the table.

"Merry Christmas, everyone!" Ziva started passing plates with opened biscuits to her husband for gravy. Soon all eleven were enjoying the holiday brunch.

Tony tapped his orange juice glass with his fork, "Attention DiNozzos and McGees… after brunch and cleanup, we have a special gift opening in the family room. Be there!" He grinned at the others as he took a sip of juice.

Thirty minutes later the group was assembled in the family room; brunch dishes were in the dishwasher getting cleaned, a fresh pot of coffee was brewing, and the ovens were preheating for baking the lasagna for dinner. The pets were resting nearby. The two dogs were slowing down with age; the two remaining cats – Callie and Lightning - were content to sleep under the piano.

Tony donned the Santa hat reserved for the person handing out gifts. He stacked the large boxes from under the tree that he'd placed there the night before. Dee's slightly smaller box was on top of the pile.

"Wow, Abba, are all of those boxes the same?" LJ observed the stack.

"Alike, but not exactly the same, and Aunt Dee's is related," Tony replied with a grin. "Each one of us has a large box and a small box. I will bring them to you, but we open them together. Large boxes first, then the smaller ones. Any questions?"

"Yeah, Abba, why the mystery?" Rivka questioned.

"Because this is a surprise for everyone." Tony placed a large and a small box in front of each person and then took his two boxes over by Ziva on the loveseat. "Okay, on the count of three, open your large box… one… two… three… GO!"

Paper tore and flew to the floor; as the wrapping was shed, each person discovered a box with a picture of ice skates inside. Tim managed to be the first to get his box open; the black figure skates smelled of new leather and the blades glinted in the light.

"ICE SKATES!" LJ, Katie, Beth, and Rivka all spoke together, as Delilah held up a pair of insulated winter boots and a lap blanket.

"You even have the correct size," Tim commented as he admired the new skates. "How'd you do that?"

"Wasn't easy…" Tony smirked at the others. "I've been stalking your shoes since August to get sizes…"

Beth looked at her father, "So where are we going to go skating, Abba?"

"That will be answered when we open the small, flat boxes," he responded. "Same as before…. One… two… three… GO!"

Ziva was the first one to get her box open this time, "Oh. My. Gosh. Tony, this is so incredible!"

Dee looked at the contents of her small box, "Tickets to a two-hour skating session at Rockefeller Center!"

"And Top of the Rock tickets for later in the day," John held up his tickets and grinned.

LJ jumped up and fist-pumped the air, "Amtrak tickets to New York Penn Station; we're going on the train! This is awesome, Abba." He ran over to his father and wrapped him in a hug.

Katie grinned at her family, "So where are we going to stay? Or are we coming home the same day?"

"Your dad has the answer to that in his box," Tony was all ear-to-ear DiNozzo grin.

Tim sifted through the tickets and papers in his box; he found the hotel confirmation for his family and held it up, "Overnight stay at a hotel right near Rockefeller Center; it says we have a two bedroom suite and kitchenette plus a living room. This is awesome, Tony. I see it's for Saturday and Sunday."

"Yep."

Ziva read over the hotel reservation sheet in her pile of tickets and papers. "We have a three-bedroom suite; from what the notes at the bottom say, I think our suites are adjacent or across the hall." She looked over at her husband who was grinning like a Cheshire cat. "When did you put all this together, Tony? I think it is an awesome gift."

Tali was frowning; Tony got her attention. "I checked with your boss, Tals; he gave you the days off, but promised to keep it a secret until after Christmas. You don't have to worry about the work schedule."

"Toda, Abba. I really want to go, but I was worried that I would have to work." She hugged her father tightly. "Merry Christmas, Abba."