Workaholic Present

Gibbs was just about to crawl back into his bed, when he remembered Kate's prediction.

He would be visited by three spirits. Well, one down, two to go. Might as well be comfortable while he waited, though.

He slipped back underneath his covers, and quietly waited for the second of the three spirits to arrive.

He was hardly surprised when he heard Anthony's voice echo through his bedroom.

This time, it was JT's turn to ask Ducky, "You mean Daddy?" Ducky nodded, as Tony grinned, and polished his nails briefly on his shirt. He wondered when he'd make it into this little tale. He snuggled down contentedly against Faith, and sighed happily. "Shush, Son. Uncle Ducky is trying to tell us a story," Tony scolded lightly.

"DiNozzo," Gibbs stated flatly.

"YEAH, BOSS!" the ghost said with a flourish of his hands and a large, bright grin.

"Figures. Okay, what have you got to show me? Make it quick. You've just gotten here and there's one spirit left to go, and I need to get enough sleep to get to work tomorrow. Especially since McGee's got the day off. So do you, come to think of it. How'd you manage that, anyway Tony?"

"My irresistible charm," the ghost grinned brightly. Gibbs shielded his eyes as a sudden ray of blinding light was emitted from the spectre before him.

"So, I am the ghost of Workaholic Present. I trust Jimmy explained to you already why I'm not the ghost of CHRISTMAS Present?" Gibbs nodded, tired. "He did. With surprising brevity, I might add."

"Well, Boss, he isn't Ducky. Although sometimes I wonder if Duck isn't rubbing off on him… anyway, that's not the point. The point is, right now. The Present."

"Well, show me what you've got, DiNozzo," Gibbs said, resigned. Anthony smiled, this time with a warm expression. "This way, Boss," he said, as he gently reached out and touched his arm.

Gibbs got up briefly, to stretch his legs, and to add another log to the fire. He sat back down, in time to have Michaela awaken and crawl down from her Uncle Tim's lap, and over to his. He smiled down at the toddler. "Hey sweetie," he said softly, lifting her up. She settled down with her favourite blankie, and the small hippo that Auntie Abby had given her.

When Gibbs and Anthony materialised again, they were, in of all places, Timothy and Abigail's home, on Christmas Day.

Timothy was trying to assemble a toy for his little girl, but was having trouble concentrating.

"Tim, honey, you build computer systems from the logarithm up. You can't put a scooter together?" Abigail was worried that her husband suddenly seemed so uncharacteristically inept.

Tim scowled at Tony as the older man snorted, then cleared his throat, sheepishly. "Sorry, McGee," he said.

"Just forget about work, just for this one day, please? Tony and Faith are coming over soon, and Jimmy and Jasmine, and Ducky. I want you to forget about work and just enjoy the day, and the togetherness with everyone we care about."

Timothy sighed. "You're right, Abs, of course you're right. Forget about work. I think I can do that. Maybe."

"That's my geek," Abigail said, kissing him on the cheek. When Timothy looked up, he saw that she held a small sprig of mistletoe over his head.

Tim was startled from the story by the feel of Abby kissing his cheek. He glanced up briefly, to see that she was holding a sprig of mistletoe. "You didn't just make that part up, did you Ducky?" he asked suspiciously. Ducky smiled cheekily. "Of course not, Timothy. Much of this story is based on life as we know it." Tim took a moment to kiss Abby back, then their attention returned to Ducky once again, but not before Tony said, "Psssst, Abs, pass that over here, will ya?" Faith blushed slightly as the sprig flew across the room and Tony snatched it out of the air.

"I just can't stop thinking about Gibbs. Maybe I shouldn't have taken today off after all. There's going to be the same backlog I left on my desk, plus whatever new stuff pops up tomorrow."

"McGee, suck it up. It's Christmas. Have fun, already!"

The ghost turned to Gibbs. "See, you've taken a wonderful time like Christmas Day, and turned it into a big stress fest for Probie. I mean, McGee. I mean, Tim." Gibbs looked on, and couldn't quite help the little niggling of guilt that was beginning to form in his soul.

"I'd show you my house, but it's pretty much the same. Faith is giving me the same speech that Abs is giving Tim. And when we arrive at their place in a little while, there will be two Special Agents feeling guilty that they've taken the day off, and two irritated wives who are trying to convince them that even GOD took a day off."

"Am I really that bad?" Gibbs asked, regret seeping into his voice.

"Uh, lemme think about that a minute yeah Boss." Anthony said smoothly.

Gibbs sighed sadly. "Okay, so you've got a point. I'm a wuh… wuh… wuh… wuhrga… wuhrga…" Gibbs found himself unable to form the word.

"Workaholic, Boss," Anthony helpfully volunteered. "Yeah, that, DiNozzo," Gibbs said.

"Well, the hardest part is to admit you have a problem." Anthony winked at Gibbs.

"Oh, hey Tony," he suddenly asked, "Any chance of me getting a refill on my coffee before we head back home?"

Anthony sighed. "I guess, maybe… we probably should. You won't be much fun for the third spirit if we don't get you refuelled. I think there's a Tim Hortons open in Detroit."

"Detroit? DiNozzo, you're not dragging me all the way over to…" Gibbs began to protest, when he suddenly found himself in the drive-through of an all-night Tim Hortons. "Extra large, black," Anthony ordered, through the speaker. "Anything else, Sir?" the friendly voice asked. "Nope. That'll do it."

Gibbs frowned at the unfamiliar brew as Anthony handed it over. "Any port in a storm, right Boss?" he said brightly, as their surroundings suddenly turned misty and vague, and Gibbs' bedroom suddenly reappeared.

When Gibbs turned to comment on the coffee, he found that once again, he was alone.

"I'm pretty insightful, aren't I?" Tony said, proudly. Ducky smiled at him, as he once again raised the cup to his lips to whet his whistle. He was startled to find the cup empty again. This time, it was Abby who smiled as she wordlessly got up to refill their storyteller's beverage.

When she had returned, and Ducky had smiled at her like a kid in a Toys R Us on Christmas Eve, she settled down next to Tim again, snuggling down as he wrapped her up in his arms contentedly