Phone calls


Tony pursed his lips and watched Gibbs.

He knew that his boss didn't have any plans this year for Thanksgiving, and he usually managed to avoid going to Ducky's house with the rest of them. But this year, he was determined that the Boss didn't have any escape.

He was going to spend Thanksgiving outside of his basement whether he liked it or not.


"Hello? It's Gibbs." Tony heard over the phone, and grinned at the similarities.

"Hey, Jack. It's Tony." He greeted.

"Tony! It's been a while." Jackson Gibbs greeted his son's second in command.

"Yeah, it has." Tony laughed. "Listen, I was wondering what you were doing for Thanksgiving." He got to the point quickly.

"Well, I wasn't really planning anything... There's usually a potluck in the Townhall for the community, and a Thanksgiving Bingo tournament, but... Why, did you have something in mind?" He asked knowingly.

"Well... It's been a while since I was able to get the boss to spend a holiday with any of us, and it's been a while since we've seen you. I figured we could all spend the holidays together." He explained. "I was going to let it be a surprise, though. We've just got to get him to join us."

Jack chuckled sadly, well aware of how closed off his son had become since Shannon and Kelly died. "I'm sure if anybody can get him out of his basement this year, it's you." He assured his son's second-hand. "I will be there." He said, already making plans to close up the store that day, he could have one of the local kids mind it for the days leading up to and after Thanksgiving that he was gone, he wouldn't mind spending a few days with his boy and his team.

"Thanks, Jack. I can pick you up from the train station, or airport?" Tony suggested.

"Hm... let me get the plane ticket and I'll let you know." Jack decided after a moment, and would not hear of Tony paying for it himself.

"And we aren't on call this year, so unless we get a big case the day before we get off, we're good to go." Tony reported, knowing that they probably would. But he would do everything he could to wrap it up in time for Thanksgiving dinner. "Call me when you have arrangements made, I'll come get you." He said, and said good-bye before hanging up.

He grinned then, and called Ducky, who was hosting Thanksgiving Dinner for their team as always, being the one with the biggest house (well, the only one with a house really aside from Gibbs, who would never agree to host something like this). "Hey, Ducky! Listen, you wouldn't mind an extra at Thanksgiving, would..."

Ducky cut him off in his excitement, eager to hear who Tony was bringing, and hoping this meant Tony had finally found somebody to settle down with. "Of course I wouldn't mind, dear boy. Who is the new guest?"

Tony grinned, he knew he could count on Ducky. "Jackson Gibbs. I didn't want him to spend the holiday alone, and it's been a while since we've seen him." He explained. "And yes, I will get Gibbs there." He promised.

Ducky was a little disappointed that it wasn't a significant other, but couldn't deny the desire to see Jackson again. It had been a while since they'd spoken. "Oh, that's wonderful." He said, pleased. "Yes, perhaps I will work on Jethro as well..." He muttered, knowing how stubborn the retired Marine was.

Tony laughed. "With both of us, how can he say no?" He asked, only partially joking.

"Quite." Ducky said, and Tony could hear the grin in his voice.

"Oh, yeah! And Jack is supposed to be a surprise." Tony remembered before he went to hang up after a few more minutes of small talk. In other words, he was not to tell anybody.

Abby wouldn't be able to keep it secret, she'd be too excited to see Jack again, and the moments Gibbs suspected Jimmy knew something he'd be on the assistant like a shark smelling blood. McGee and Ziva could be trusted to keep it quiet from Gibbs, but the moment Abby suspected McGee was hiding something she'd be all over it, and he couldn't keep anything from her, which would lead to her spilling it to Gibbs. And while Ziva could keep a secret, if he told her McGee might suspect something and go snooping.

No... this was certainly a case where Rule Four applied.

"Hey, you haven't said yet, what do you want me in charge of bringing? Besides Jack." He thought to ask before Ducky could answer.

Ducky chuckled. "Not to worry, Anthony, mum's the word. And let's see... I already have the turkey, and I'm making my mother's stuffing... I've already asked Ziva to bring the wine, and she has volunteered to make some Israeli desserts for us... Abby will be bringing the vegetables, I believe I can put Gibbs in charge of bringing dinner rolls. I will handle the mashed potatoes... ah, why don't you make some of your lovely casseroles? You can decide just what to make that is appropriate for the season." Ducky decided. Abby and Ziva had come to him, wanting to know what to bring to dinner almost the moment he told them he was hosting this year. He hadn't been able to the year before because he had his mother for the weekend.

He'd tried to tell them not to, that he was the host, he would handle the food, but neither woman would hear of it. They said it was a team dinner, therefore the team would provide dinner for each other.

He regretted that Timothy couldn't be here, but he was going to be with his family for the holidays.

Tony chuckled. "I will get on that." He promised, mind already racing with ideas. "See you tomorrow, Ducky." He waited for Ducky's own good-bye, and hung up.

He grinned and started making a shopping list for making his casseroles. He had a good feeling about this year.


Tony leaned up against a barricade, facing the gate exits, waiting for Jack. He was still planning how he was going to get Gibbs to Ducky's house if he didn't go there willingly, despite him and Ducky working on him for the last several days. Ducky had already asked Gibbs to stop at a bakery on his way over for the required dinner rolls, so he was sure that Gibbs would be there if only so Ducky's dinner wasn't shorted of anything, but one could never be sure with Leroy Jethro Gibbs.

"Tony!" He heard, and looked up, a large grin splitting his face.

"Jack! It's good to see you again." He let the older man give him a warm hug, and then hold him out to inspect him.

"You need to eat more." Jack scolded lightly, but didn't press the matter. He knew what their hours could be like, which often meant not getting to eat regularly, or very healthily.

Tony grinned sheepishly. "Yeah, I know, I try, but..." He shrugged helplessly.

"I know, I know. It gets hard with your job." He shook his head. "So, how is it coming with Leroy?" He asked, not bothering to object when Tony snatched his suitcase out of his hands. He was planning on staying for a few days, so he'd packed accordingly. He'd originally wanted to get a hotel room, but Tony rejected the idea, Ducky had offered to house him instead. He had the room for it, and he wouldn't mind the company. It was much better then Tony's original plan of sleeping on his couch while Jack took his bed.

"I think we're wearing him down." Tony grinned.

Jack laughed. "Good. If anybody can, it's you."

Tony's grin widened. "Come on, Ducky's looking forward to seeing you again." He put Jack's bag in the back seat of his car and held the door open for the older gentlemen, before happily jogging around to get in so they could drive off.


Well, they almost worked through the holiday, like Tony feared, but they managed to solve the case in time. The girl was safe, the frequency code they'd been trying to blackmail her into giving them was kept out of the wrong hands, and the killer had been found.

And just in time for Thanksgiving dinner, even if Ducky had needed her help to get the turkey ready in time.

Now all they had to do was wait for everybody to arrive so they could eat.

"Jack, do you have the- thank you." Tony grinned and wandered back out of the kitchen, carving knife for the amazing turkey in hand.

"Ducky?" He heard Ziva call, and grinned.

"He's upstairs, just take it all through to the kitchen!" He called back and finished what he was doing before he went to help her.

"Jack! Good to see you again!" She greeted, pleased to see the older Gibbs, and surprised. "I did not know you were coming." She said, pulling containers out of the basket she was carrying. Tony came in carrying the other basket and the wine, having gone to her car to see if there was anything else she hadn't been able to carry on her first trip. "Thank you, Tony." She smiled before giving Jack a hug once both their hands were free.

"Tony wanted me to be a surprise for my boy." Jack grinned.

She turned to Tony. "And you did not tell me?" She asked, eyes glinting, in mischief or danger Tony didn't know.

"Rule number four, Zi-va." He grinned cheekily. "Ducky is the only one I told."

"Ah, Ziva. Good to see you." Ducky chose that moment to come in. He had been upstairs to finish getting ready. "Yes, I was delighted to host Jackson for Thanksgiving this year." He grinned around, pleased. "Oh, dear. You were busy, weren't you?" He asked, eyeing the different desserts Ziva had brought along.

"Yes... well. I do not get much opportunity to share things from home like this." Ziva refused to be embarrassed about the fact that she probably over-did it on the dessert.

"You could always bring it into the office, leave it in the break room or put it on a filing cabinet in our area." Tony shrugged, poking around curiously at what she'd made.

Ducky chuckled. "Not to worry, I'm sure that between this bunch, it will all be eaten somehow." He started pulling them out of containers and putting things on plates and covering it so it didn't dry out or in the fridge as needed, with Ziva's help.

"I'm here!" Abby called from the door. Ducky had already told everyone to just come on in when they arrived, as he would most likely be busy putting the finishing touches on dinner, these people were his family, anyway, and it was his opinion that family didn't need to stand outside and ring a doorbell or knock. That was what strangers or acquaintances did.

"In here!" Tony called. "You need a hand?"

"No, I got it." She wandered in, and lit up. "Jack!" She squealed, and barely took the time to empty her arms before engulfing the older Gibbs in a giant hug. "I didn't know you were coming!"

He chuckled, returning the hug. "I was a surprise." He grinned, pleased with his warm reception. He'd been a little worried to be a 'gate crasher', but it was more then clear that they were happy to have him here.

She turned and slapped Tony on the arm. "Why didn't you tell me?" She demanded, pouting a little.

He shrugged, refusing to feel bad. "Rule four, Abs. Besides, that would have ruined the surprise." He kissed her cheek and started carrying the green-beans, corn, and mashed potato to the dining room after Ducky took them out of the insulated carrying container Abby used so they didn't get cold on the drive over.

"Alright, that's just the Boss, with the dinner rolls, everything else is ready." He glanced at the door, hoping Gibbs actually came. He and Ducky hadn't really left the lonely Marine much choice but to come, but you never knew with that man.

"Hmm. Well, I don't want to start without him... but I don't want our dinner to get cold either." Ducky decided, biting his lip. And he didn't, the meal looked wonderful, and it would be a true shame for it to get cold. He didn't know about anybody else, but when his food was supposed to be hot, he preferred to eat it while hot.

"Sorry, I'm late!" Gibbs called, striding in just as they were starting to sit down. He froze and blinked at the sight of his dad. "Dad? What..." He started to ask, feeling the bag from the bakery be pulled out of his hands by an insistent and grinning Ducky, and then his eyes drifted from his father, who he had not expected to see here, to Tony. Tony was grinning like a loon, and Gibbs immediately knew he'd been set up. He narrowed his eyes at his Senior Agent, but stepped forward to accept his father's brief hug anyway. "I wasn't expecting you." He finally admitted, and let his dad guide him to a chair.

"Thanksgiving is a day for family." His father said firmly, sitting beside him.

"We did not know he would be here, either. But it was a wonderful surprise." Ziva admitted, and squeezed Jack's shoulder as she passed him on her way to her own seat after tossing the bag the bread came from in the kitchen for now.

"Where are you staying, then?" Gibbs finally asked, concerned his father was putting up with some hotel. He didn't know when this had been set up, but he knew it was difficult to find a decent hotel for a decent price during holiday seasons unless you booked it far in advance.

"Ducky was kind enough to offer me a room, here." Jack nodded towards Ducky, who inclined his head and handed Gibbs the carving knife.

"Thanks, Duck." He said, gratefully.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all, he's a delightful house-guest. It's just a pity Timothy and James couldn't be here, as well. Ah, well, as Jackson said, Thanksgiving is a time for family, I'm sure they are having a good time with theirs." He admitted. He would have loved to have his entire family under his roof tonight, but they had families of their own outside work, unlike those that were here tonight with him.

Once the turkey had been carved and handed around, he raised his glass. "To family, and may we remember to always be grateful for what we have." He smiled around at the table, and dug into the wonderful meal with his family around him.