Jethro was outside cleaning the snow off of his truck when he heard his father's voice coming from the road a few feet away.

"Merry Christmas, everybody!" the elder Gibbs said. "Loretta, thanks for the ride."

"Bye-bye," the driver said.

"You drive careful now," his father said, closing the shuttle door.

Feeling more than a little surprised that his father was there as they weren't expecting him until later on, he turned and saw his father getting out of an airport shuttle.

Jethro put the snow scrapper down and made his way over to the sidewalk where his father was standing. "Hey, Dad. Didn't expect you 'til tonight."

"Well," his father offered by way of explanation, "I like my pilots caffeinated and fresh. I caught an earlier flight."

"Yeah," he said, "but you should have called. I would have picked you up."

"No matter," his father replied. "I made it."

"Yeah," he agreed, "you did."

There was a bit of an awkward moment between, Jethro admittedly feeling more than a bit unsure for reasons he couldn't really explain before father and son hugged.

"The girls at work already?" his father asked as they separated.

Jethro shook his head in the negative. "No. Shannon's off work until the new year," he replied, "and Kelly doesn't start work for another couple of hours." Winter Break had officially started the day prior, so Shannon didn't have to go in.

"Perfect," his father said, clearly pleased he'd get to see both the girls.

"Come on in," he said, gesturing towards the house with his head. It was still snowing pretty hard and Jethro didn't want to hang out outside more than he actually had to. It wasn't exactly warm out.

Taking his father's luggage for him, he turned around and opened the gate, both men walking through the yard to the front door.

"Well, look at this," his father said with a smile, glancing around the house. "Someone decided to get all decked out this year."

He gave a little chuckle. "Yeah."

Jethro hadn't really bothered decorating for the holidays in years, not really feeling it, but this year was different. Besides the simple lights they'd put up outside, they had a few newer ornaments of Shannon's scattered around the place and a Christmas tree in the far corner decorated with a blend of newer and older ornaments.

All of the older handmade ones were hanging up on the tree as well, such as the small dark-green Christmas tree that his daughter had made for him at school when she was in the second grade that read, `To Daddy. Love Kelly.'

"Got some bedding out for you already," Jethro said after a moment, gesturing to the couch his father was going to be crashing on.

Just then, both the girls made their way down the stairs, having obviously heard their voices and wondering what was going on.

"Jethro, is that your father I hear?" Shannon inquired aloud with a surprised grin. "We weren't expecting you until later, Jack."

"Caught an earlier flight," his father replied.

"I can see that," Shannon said with a smile.

Kelly gave the man a hug. "I'm glad you could make it, Grandpa."

"It's good to be with family at Christmas," his father replied simply.

"Yeah," he said. There was something in his father's eyes that told him there was more going on, but he couldn't put his finger on it. "I've gotta head to work, but-"

"It's fine. You go to work," his father said. "Death doesn't take a holiday. I'll be fine."

"Okay," Jethro agreed. "In case Shannon goes out..." He placed a small piece of paper with both his work and cell numbers written down under the old orange landline. "My number right here by the phone. You need anything, Erickson family two doors down, same side of the street... they're always home."

"Don't mind your son," his wife quipped. "He's just being his usual overprotective self." She pulled Jethro in for a kiss. "I love you, hun, now go to work."

"Love you too," Jethro said with a small smile. He glanced between everyone. "I'll see you all after work." He eyed his daughter with feigned seriousness. "And no eating all of the coffee cake, young lady. Save me some."

"No promises," Kelly fired back with a cheeky grin.

He shook his head, amused, as he headed to the front door.

He never even made it to the Navy Yard before dispatch called and let him know that they already had a case, so, pulled over, Jethro called his team opting to meet up with them at the crime scene rather than at headquarters.

A man with a rather obvious military haircut and appearance had been found killed in a park by a young couple that had been there to, illegally, cut down a Christmas tree a few days before Christmas.

Walking up behind his team at the scene, Jethro had to roll his eyes at his Senior Field Agent's dramatics and lack of ability to handle the cold.

"It's freezing this morning," McGee commented.

"Man up, Chilly Willy," DiNozzo said, shaking like a leaf from the cold unlike the rest of them. The younger man had clearly forgotten some of his winter gear. "Feel that warm blood coursing through your veins. Get in touch with your inner McGrizzly Adams."

"I got hand warmers," McGee replied.

"Give me one," DiNozzo said, sounding like a bit of a plea.

McGee eyed DiNozzo. "No."

"I'm not cold at all," Ziva said.

"That's because you're cold-blooded, David." Jethro shook his head at his Senior Field Agent's comment. "like a lady Komodo dragon. Ice queen, frigid and deadly."

"And I remembered to wear my thermal underwear," Ziva said, point out the obvious fact that DiNozzo should've dressed properly for the weather.

"I'll give you fifty bucks for it right now," DiNozzo said.

"It wouldn't fit," Ziva said, "you're too big."

"They'll stretch," DiNozzo deadpanned. "Hand them over."

"Crime scene gloves," McGee suggested. "Triple bag for insulation."

"God," DiNozzo said, "there's got to be a better way to avoid frostbite."

"There is," he stated, stepping up beside them. "Get to work."

"Right," DiNozzo said. "On it, Boss."

The team finally reached the clearly young victim and upon searching him, found out he was Marine First Lieutenant Thomas Ellis. Ellis was married and a decorated, third Generation, Marine. His father was retired Marine Colonel George Ellis, someone that Jethro had crossed paths with in the past, who was now an ordained minister.

"Second career," DiNozzo said.

"Second calling," Jethro countered as he walked around the victim.

"Well his son experienced the call of the wild," Ducky said as he looked over the body. "Going barefoot and without gloves in this weather is ill-conceived to say the least."

There was no evidence of robbery, Ziva having found the young Marine's wallet with credit cards and money. DiNozzo also found a towel and a thing of soapy water in Ellis' backpack, the residue of which, Ducky noted, was under Ellis' fingernails. McGee also noticed several footprints in the snow which indicated the direction that the attacker had come from, making it even more curious that the Marine hadn't fought back.

Jethro spotted something in the snow, kneeled down, and blows snow off a compass he'd just found, noting that it was pointing east.

it wasn't long after that when Ziva gave them another piece of the puzzle, Jethro and Ducky lifting the body and finding an Islamic prayer rug.

The First Lieutenant had been praying when he was killed.

"Go back to NCIS," Jethro ordered, "and get me the First Lieutenant's service record." He eyed all three of his agents. "And then call me."

Jethro was not looking forward to the conversation that he was going to have to have now with the young Marine's father and the rest of the family. Death notifications were never easy, but especially not when it was three days before Christmas.

Jethro didn't go right back to the Navy Yard with his team because he had a personal matter he had to quickly deal with.

McGee called him while he was in the middle of it, however, having pulled Thomas Ellis' military records up on his computer to let him know that the only thing of any real help to the case was the fact that First Lieutenant Ellis had officially changed his religious status from Christian to Muslim a mere eight months prior. It was clearly more than just some passing fancy of the young Marine's.

Errand done, Jethro called his Senior afield Agent, who by the sound of things seemed to jerk upright in his seat when the younger agent realized it was him. "Hey, Boss."

"You know where the Ellises live?" he inquired.

"Uh," DiNozzo said, "n-no."

"Find out," he ordered.

The response was immediate. "Yes."

"Get there," he said.

"I'll meet you there," his Senior Field Agent said.

"Now," he fired back.

"Right away," came DiNozzo's reply.

Hanging up the phone, he stopped to grab a coffee before heading to the address that his Senior Field Agent had just texted him. The Ellis family lived in Chevy Chase as it turned out, so it wasn't terribly far.

Informing the family had been just as unpleasant as every other time, but the family was able to keep themselves composed enough for an interview.

"Was it a hate crime?" the father asked.

"Don't know yet," he admitted. "It's a possibility."

"How long were you and the lieutenant married, Mrs. Ellis?" DiNozzo asked, looking at one of their wedding photos that were on display.

"Uh, two years," the young woman replied. "Tom had just gotten back from his second tour, so we hadn't really spent any real time together."

"Nothing tests a marriage like the Corps," the father said.

He definitely understood that. Spending so much time long-distance definitely took a toll on relationships. "Nature of the beast."

Colonel Ellis looked at him. "I forgot you were a Marine, Agent Gibbs."

He dipped his head slightly. "I remember you, Colonel."

"It's Reverend now," the man replied.

"Why the change?" he asked. Not that he didn't understand needing a change. After he'd been told that his girls died, Jethro had left the Corps for that exact reason.

"When my wife died," the retired colonel said, "I wanted to be closer to God. Now he's taken my son, as well."

"If you don't mind my asking, Mrs. Ellis," DiNozzo questioned out of the blue, "when did you and Tom meet?"

"College," Tina explained, "here in Maryland."

"Um, he swam, and I played softball," she informed them. "After he joined the Corps, things changed. He, uh... He started studying the Quran, and he said it would make him a better Marine. Within the first year, though, he was, he was reciting prayers, and he was thinking about converting."

"I blame myself for this," the retired colonel said. "Did I push my beliefs on Thomas? Was all of this Islamic study just to spite me? I asked a friend of mine, a Muslim Navy chaplain, to reach out to him. Maybe he can make some sense of all this."

Before Jethro had a chance to comment, they all heard the front door open, a young man walking into the living room a few seconds later. "Merry Christmas, everyone."

"This is my younger son Patrick," Colonel Ellis said.

"What-What happened?" the teenager asked, clearly reading all the tension that was filling the room. Jethro immediately noted that the boy was a JROTC student, currently in uniform, clearly wanting to continue the family tradition. "What's wrong?"

Colonel Ellis walked over to his son. "Thomas is dead, Pat. Your brother's gone." He then held his arms out to his son. "Come here."

Not getting much of anything out of the teenage boy, Jethro and DiNozzo made their way back to the Navy Yard.