Gibbs grimaced when his cellphone rang. It had been a horrendous week with two brutal cases back to back. All he wanted was just to relax. They weren't even supposed to be on call right now. "Gibbs."
"Do you have your fireplace lit?"
"DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked wondering what had gotten to his agent.
"Do you have your fireplace lit?"
"It's sixty-eight degrees outside. What do you think?"
"Fire it up. We'll be there in thirty or less." DiNozzo wasn't even attempting to offer an explanation and disconnected the call leaving Gibbs shaking his head. A fire in almost seventy-degree weather? His senior agent was obviously nuts or playing a prank. He wasn't starting a fire. It was ridiculous. He wasn't doing it.
The sound of cars and slamming doors let Gibbs know that DiNozzo wasn't alone. He had opened the front door leaving the air to circulate in through the screen door. He left the kitchen where he had taken refuge from the heat. "DiNozzo, what…" Gibbs stopped in shock to find a nun holding the screen door for his agent and several other nuns with covered trays.
"Hey, Gibbs." Tony turned automatically into the living room and sat the large bowl he was carrying on the coffee table before stepping back and letting the sisters arrange their trays around the living room, revealing various finger goods. "It's so hot." Tony went to the tar end of the room and turned on the window air conditioner.
"Really, DiNozzo? You demanded a fire and now you have AC on?"
"Well, it's hot in here. Where's the poker? Never mind."
Gibbs watched him grab the fireplace tool and stick it into the small bed of coals. "What are you doing?" He heard another car. "Who is that?
"Okay. Our guests of honor are here." Tony smiled brightly.
Abby almost bounced through the front screen door but backtracked to hold the door for Ducky and another nun.
"Welcome!" Tony stepped over to the new nun. "Gibbs, this is Sister Thomas Bernadette. She transferred from London recently."
"It's nice to meet you."
Her British accent was prominent when she replied. "Thank-you, Agent Gibbs. I have heard a lot of wonderful things about you and your team."
Abby cleared his throat. "Sister, we know that you are missing the holiday traditions back home. So we thought we could try to bring a little sampling her." She pointed at the trays with meat pies and other treats before uncovering Tony's bowl to show punch with sliced apples and oranges as Tony retrieved the red hot poker.
"Is that…" Ducky looked at Tony. "That's why you were asking about the traditional ingredients of wassail."
"Would you do the honors?" Tony handed Ducky the poker carefully.
As Ducky stuck the poker into the wassail it bubbled merrily as the nuns began to sing.
"Here we come a-wassailing among the leaves so green,,,"