Note: I thought there was a severe lack of Christmas spirit and Christmas joy in the "Christmas episode" of season 17. Don't get me wrong; I loved the story of Ziva and Phineas, but Not much Christmas joy.
This chapter is an extended, updated version(updated march 14th 2020)
Bullpen
Gibbs enters the office with his usual coffee cup in his hand. He walks over to his desk and drops his weapon in his desk draw. He notices that the bullpen is unusually crowded. Besides, his three field agents, Jack, Jimmy, Kasie, and Ducky, are all in the bullpen.
"Morning, boss." McGee greets. Gibbs takes a seat behind his desk. He now notices everyone is looking at him.
"you want to say something?" he says, looking around at everyone.
"how is Phineas?" Ellie asks as the first.
"he is in school. He is confused and sad, and he doesn't understand it, and he misses his mom.
"that is to be expected," Ducky says.
"is he in school?" Torres asks.
"Shouldn't he have the day off? He just lost his only parent." Ellie says. Gibbs can feel the blame on him from the two young agents.
"he wanted to go to school. He said his mom would be upset if he didn't go to school." Gibbs says.
"loyal to his mother, even after her passing." Ducky states.
"his mother was a Mossad assassin splinter group leader." Torres says in disbelieve to Ducky. "she used him in an assignation plan." Torres says.
"yes, Nick. She is his mother. That is what he knows. He knows she is his mother, and she loved him very much, and regardless of what we know about her. To him, she is a loving, caring mother. And the bond between mother and child is incredibly strong." Jack explains. Tim, Jimmy, and Gibbs, who are all fathers, nod in agreement with Jack. There is a moment of silence before McGee speaks again.
"so boss, we have been talking about Christmas… we were thinking maybe celebrate Christmas together for Phineas." Tim explains.
"yeah, so he gets a happy Christmas despite all of this," Ellie adds.
Gibbs takes a moment to think, then he nods.
"Yeah, sounds good."
"is he staying at your place?" Ducky asks.
"yes, for now. Child protected service is in no rush over the holidays." Gibbs explains.
"poor kid." Jimmy says. "losing his mom right before Christmas."
"she was an assassin. Trying to kill Ziva." Torres explains in a very harsh tone.
"yeah, but she was also a mother, Torres. I don't care about her. I care about the kid who has lost his mother right before Christmas." Tim says to Torres. "I lost my father right before Christmas. The first Christmas isn't easy."
"your father was a decorated admiral. His mother was an assassin." Torres says.
"she is still his mother," Ellie says in a harsh tone to Torres and shoots him a look that tells him to stop the argument. The argument between the agents ends when Gibbs's phone rings and they rush out to investigate a new case.
Gibbs house December 24
Gibbs is in the kitchen preparing the Christmas food. Phineas is setting the table in the living room. Christmas music is playing in the living room. It is Phineas who has decided the Christmas music, which is a bit too modern for Gibbs's taste, but he is letting Phineas decide. Phineas sounds happy as he is singing along on rocking around the Christmas tree while he is setting the table. It knocks on the door, and soon after, a pair of twins comes running into the living room. They don't seem to notice Phineas. The young girl immediately runs over to Gibbs, who has entered from the kitchen while the young boy is stunned by the unfamiliar boy in the Gibbs house, but he quickly recovers from the surprise and follows his sister, who is receiving a big hug from Gibbs. Soon after agent McGee, that Phineas has already met is entering the room as he is pushing a woman in a wheelchair.
"Merry Christmas Phineas." Agent McGee greets. "this is my wife, Delilah, and that, over there who is currently attacking Gibbs, is our kids Johnny and Morgan."
"Nice to meet you." Phineas politely greets as he shakes hands with Delilah.
"Merry Christmas, Phineas." Delilah greets and wheels further into the living room. "hey Johnny… Morgan takes your shoes off and hands your jackets to dad." Delilah orders. The twins seem too occupied by chatting with Gibbs to listen to their mom.
"John and Morgan McGee Listen." Delilah says in a measured tone, and Johnny and Morgan immediately turn their attention to their mom. "hand your jackets to dad and take off your shoes. You are dragging snow all over the living room. I'm sure Gibbs isn't happy about that." Delilah says. She is looking directly at her kids while avoiding Gibbs nonchalant shrug with his shoulder as Delilah is telling her kids that he will be unhappy. Gibbs has a soft spot for the McGee twins; he can't get mad at them, not even when they are dragging mud and snow into the living room. Morgan and Johnny do as the mom tells them, and while Tim is helping the twins out of their jackets and winter boots, Delilah wheels over and greets Gibbs.
"Merry Christmas, Gibbs. Thanks for inviting us." Delilah says, and Gibbs leans down and places a greeting kiss on Delilah's cheek.
"sure. It is nice to get to see you and the twins." Gibbs says. They both know why Gibbs is hosting this little Christmas team gathering, but it remains unspoken.
"you need help with anything, boss?" Tim asks once he reenters the living room with his twins.
"Yeah, if you don't mind, I could use a hand," Gibbs says. "Phin, are you done setting the table?"
"almost," Phineas says. "Jethro Gibbs… what kind of glasses should I put on for them and me?" he asks and looks over at Morgan and Johnny.
"I'm Morgan. This is Johnny." Morgan says. She is outspoken of the twin while Johnny is hiding behind his father's leg.
"Hey, I'm Phineas," Phineas says to Morgan.
"My daddy is an agent," Morgan says proudly and looks up at Tim.
"I know that. You want to see something?" Phineas asks. Morgan looks suspicious of the unfamiliar boy.
"look." Phineas points to the top of the decorated Christmas tree in the corner of the living room. Phineas' police car is sitting nicely on the top of the tree.
"police," Johnny exclaims once he sees the police car.
"Yeah, I put it up there because Jethro Gibbs and agent McGee are sorts of like the police, but… just way cooler," Phineas explains with a proud smile on his face at the twins and then to Tim.
"that is so cool, Phineas," McGee says and looks down at Morgan. She seems very impressed at her dad, but once she looks over at Phineas, she looks a bit more suspicious. She needs some time to get used to the new boy at the Gibbs-house.
"Phin, I got some glasses in the kitchen if you will go and get them?" Gibbs says.
"I got it, Phin," McGee says and takes over the duty of setting the table for Phineas, so he is free to play with the twins.
Phineas walks over to the Christmas tree together with Morgan and Johnny to examine the decorated tree further while Tim helps Gibbs in the kitchen. Delila is just observing the kids from a distance. She likes this new boy in the Gibbs house. After McGee came home and told her about this new neighbor kid of Gibbs, she found it a bit odd, but now that she has met Phineas, she can see why Tim likes the kid. Shortly after, there is a quick knock on the door, and Jack enters.
"Merry Christmas," Jack calls out as she enters the house and takes off her jacket before she enters the room where Johnny McGee quickly greets her. He has become very fond of Jack. Since Johnny was a baby, Johnny has liked her blonde hair. He stumbles over and hugs Jack before he runs back to his sister and Phineas. Delilah comes across and greets Jack.
"Merry Christmas, Jack," Delila says, and Jack leans down and hugs her.
"Merry Christmas."
Jack takes a seat and starts chatting with Delila while they are watching the kids. Jack notices how Phineas seems to be enjoying himself with the twins, but once in a while, he looks out the living room window. She knows he is looking over at his house, where he lived with his mom until yesterday, soon after Bishop and Torres join the party.
"Merry Christmas, everyone Bishop calls out the moment she steps into the living room, followed by Torres. Ellie takes ground to greet everyone before she ends up in the corner where the kids are playing.
"mind if I join in?" Ellie asks Phineas and the twins.
"you like police cars?" Phineas asks. He is playing with his toy police cars with the twins, although it seems like Johnny is busier stuffing his favorite stuffed animal in his mouth.
"who doesn't?" Ellie asks with a smile and sits down to play with the kids. Johnny quickly climbs onto Ellie to snuggle into her. He is always very cuddly with Ellie and Jack.
"it seems like Johnny already is a lady's man?" Torres jokes from where he has taken a seat to chat with Jack and Delilah."
"you need him to teach you some tricks, Torres?" Jack jokes with a teasing smile.
"I got my tricks, and they work just fine, and I don't take advice from a toddler."
"Are you sure?" Delilah asks, joining in on the joke, which amuses Jack. "it seems like he is doing better with the ladies then you are." Both Delilah, Jack, and Ellie start laughing while Torres no longer find this conversation amusing, he gets up and walks to the kitchen to join McGee and Gibbs.
Soon after, Jimmy, Breena, and little Victoria, along with Duckey, arrive at the Gibbs-house. Victoria quickly joins in on playing with Phineas, Ellie, and the twins while Jimmy joins McGee, Torres, and Gibbs in the kitchen, and Breena sits down to chat with Jack and Delilah together with Ducky. Shortly after, Kasie is joining the party. Once she enters the living room, she is shocked at the sight of Gibbs's old-school tv in the corner of the room. Kasie's reaction amuses everyone else who is well aware of Gibbs's interior design.
And at last, Ziva joins the party. She had gone out to pick up some traditional Christmas candy and a Christmas present for the kids. The team had agreed on getting a Christmas present for each kid at the party. Once the team is gathered, everyone takes a seat at the dinner table. McGee, Jimmy, and Torres help out Gibbs with the food while Jack helps out Delilah getting the twins to the table.
The food gets on the table, and the mood is light and jolly. Phineas is chatting with McGee and Delilah about online gaming while Torres is mostly making fun of them and especially of McGee, whom Torres calls a geek. Kasie is having a pleasant, friendly conversation with Breena and Ducky, while Jimmy is chatting with Ziva and Bishop. Jack is sitting at one end of the table while Gibbs is seated at the other end. Delilah is talking with Phineas about how she once worked on a case where she was hunting down a hacker who used a computer game. Phineas played this game and can enlighten Delilah on some details. Gibbs loves how Phineas seems relaxed and seems to be enjoying himself, especially with Delilah and McGee. While Delilah is chatting with Phineas, she is also trying to get Johnny to eat his mashed potatoes while Morgan is starting to get impatient and wants to leave the table and go and play. Jack looks over at Gibbs. She notices how relaxed he looks. Gibbs notice Jack is looking at him, and their eyes meet in a sweet moment. But their moment is quickly interrupted by Phineas, who is asking Gibbs if there are any more gravy. Gibbs gets up and walks to the kitchen to heat some more for Phineas. Jack sees a moment to sneak a private moment with Gibbs. Gibbs is standing in front of the stove. He is lost on his thoughts when he feels a hand on his lower back. A little sideways smile comes upon his face. He knows it is jack.
"How are you doing?" Jack asks, whispering. He can feel her warm breath on his cheek as she speaks.
Gibbs looks back at the door where there is a heartfelt chatter coming, and the loudest is Morgan complaining that her dad won't let her leave the table until her brother is done eating. It amuses both Jack and Gibbs, hearing how McGee is trying to rationalize with his two-year-old daughter before they turn back to the stove.
"Phineas seems to be okay considering everything," Gibbs says in a low voice.
"and what about you?" Jack asks. Gibbs looks over at her with narrowed eyes. He does that when he is trying to figure out the nature of her question.
"I'm fine. I haven't told Phin yet, though. I don't know how to."
"I can help you if you want me to." Jack offers and rubs her hand on his shoulder.
"I'm fine, Jack." He says a bit cold and no longer in a whispering tone and takes the pot off the stove. Jack then turns around and sees Ducky standing in the door, which explains the change in Gibbs's voice.
"my granddaughter is asking if there are any more of the potato chips?" Ducky asks once he has assessed whether it is safe to enter. Jack smiles at Ducky and grabs the bag of chips on the table.
"right here, Ducky," Jack says and pours the rest of the chips into the bowl Ducky is holding. Once the bowl is full, Ducky walks back into the living room with a knowing smile on his face.
"you do know, Ducky knows, right?" Jack whispers.
"know what?" Gibbs asks, confused.
Jack is getting tired of Gibbs and shoots him an irritated look.
"us."
"Jack." Gibbs just simply says and walks back into the living room with the gravy for Phineas. Jack is left alone in the kitchen for a moment. She can't figure out why Gibbs is so persistent in hiding their 'thing' or whatever it is. They are close friends and trust each other everyone on the team knows that so she can't figure out why he wants it to remain a very well-known secret. She is lost in her thoughts until Victoria enters the kitchen.
"miss Jack…"
Jack smiles and Victoria.
"you don't have to say, miss. Just Jack." Jack kneels in front of the little girl.
"can you help me get another fork I dropped mine on the floor?" Victoria asks politely.
"sure," Jack says and stands up and takes a fork from the drawer and walks back into the living room with Victoria. Victoria takes Jack's hand as they walk back into the living room.
"Phineas…" Torres says when there is a break in Delilah's conversation with Phineas. "did you know that you hurt agent McGee's feelings badly when you kicked his butt in that videogame a few weeks ago. He was complaining that you took his spot on the team." Torres says with a big teasing grin to McGee. Phineas looks shocked and embarrassed. Everyone has now turned their focus to Nick and Phineas. Nick has a big smile on his face while he is receiving very disapproving stares from both Gibbs, Jack, and Bishop.
"I'm sorry, Agent McGee." Phineas quickly says, feeling terrible.
"It is alright, Phineas, you didn't hurt my feelings," McGee says to Phineas and then turns to Torres.
"what are you talking about?" McGee asks, irritated.
"you were whining about how you used to be Gibbs guy when it came to tech. You even whined about some nickname you used to have." Torres says in a mocking tone, and it amuses Delilah too.
"Which one?" Ziva asks, amused. "he used to have quite a few from DiNozzo. Almost a new one every day."
"some nickname that Gibbs called him," Torres explains.
"elf-lord?" Gibbs asks, and it makes everyone else laugh.
"I didn't whine." McGee objects irritated, especially at Torres. "Yeah, Gibbs used to call me that when I was getting to tech in my explanations, but…" McGee explains to Torres. He doesn't like it when Torres is trying to humiliate him in front of Delilah. Not that she would care much about it anyway. Then McGee turns to Phineas and says out loud, "Phineas did a great job on that case."
"it was so awesome," Phineas says with a big smile.
"what did you do?" Ziva asks Phineas. Phineas starts telling Ziva in detail about how he got to play a videogame on the big screen in MTAC and how he worked together with Tim and Gibbs. It amuses everyone when Phineas reveals that his mother wasn't happy about it at first, but then Phineas had told her about all the awesomeness and how they got the bad guy, and then his mother hadn't gotten so mad. Phineas' talk about how cool it was to work with Agent McGee wasn't what Torres was planning on when he started teasing McGee, but it seems to lighten the mood for Phineas.
"boss, I just don't understand how you would know about Phineas playing videogames. You hate tech." McGee asks.
"I told him," Phineas explains.
"you told Gibbs about videogames?" McGee asks in disbelieve.
"Yeah, we talked about videogames the night before. I also showed him my favorite you-tubers gaming videos."
"Gibbs watched youtube?" Ellie asks. everyone seems surprised and amused by the thought of that while Phineas is dead serious about it."
"yes," Phineas says in a sincere tone.
"Gibbs and youtube… I thought that was two words I would never hear in the same sentence." Torres jokes, and everyone is amused even Gibbs has a smile on his face.
"someone who can get Gibbs to watch youtube… now that is a real miracle." Ziva says, and everyone starts laughing.
"so, Phineas, who do you play with?" Delilah asks.
"mostly just random players online."
"what about the other kids in your class?" Jack asks.
"Nah… I mean, I mostly play online by myself, but after I started playing baseball with some of the other boys from school, I started playing with one guy online too," Gibbs explains.
"you play baseball, kid?" Torres asks.
"yeah," Phineas says proudly. "Jethro Gibbs taught me how to play," Phineas explains with a proud smile to Gibbs.
"he taught me how to play baseball too," Ziva explains.
"really?" Phineas asks. Ziva nods.
"yeah," Ziva says.
"cool." Phineas says. "did you ever go to the batting field?" Phineas asks.
"Yeah, we did," Ziva says.
"cool. One-time, Jethro Gibbs came and picked me up from school, and then he took me there, and he taught me how to really hit hard and also how to hit a curveball, although those are difficult. It was right before I joined the team."
"it sounds like you had an excellent coach," Jack says with a smile to Phineas. He proudly nods while Jack receives a sweet shy smile from Gibbs. The smile between Gibbs and Jack doesn't go unnoticed by everyone else, but no one says anything.
Phineas nods. "yeah, I made it to the team." Phineas seems to happy and proud when he is talking about the things; he has done with Gibbs over the past few months.
After dinner, Gibbs suggests that they should all watch a Christmas movie together. Everyone likes that idea, and while Gibbs, with help from Jack Jimmy, Torres, and Bishop, starts cleaning up, Phineas talks with Kasie and Ziva about the volcano he made together with Gibbs that won first place at the science fair. Breena tells Victoria that she should put on her PJ before the movie starts, and McGee and Delilah decide to get the twins into their PJs too while the rest of the participants of the party starts cleaning the table. While Gibbs and Jack are in the kitchen doing the dishes, they can hear how Phineas talks about the volcano. At first, Gibbs hasn't been so sure about whether this was a good idea or not or if it would just bring sadness for Phineas but the sound of Phineas' excited voice telling Ziva, Kasie and Ducky about the science fair volcano and baseball. Gibbs looks over at Jack for a moment and meets her eyes, smiling at him. The smile on her face tells him that she hears it too. How happy Phineas is, and she is confirming to him that this was a good thing for Phineas. Phineas walks into the kitchen, and the moment between Gibbs and Jack is immediately interrupted when Phineas speaks.
"Jethro Gibbs," Phineas says. Gibbs stops cleaning the pan he was busy with and pays attention to Phineas.
"yes, Phin."
"Should I put on my PJ too? Like the other kids?" he asks.
"sure, that is a good idea," Gibbs says.
"I have a Christmas PJ that I always wear when my mom and I watch Christmas movies. Can I put that one on?" he asks a little shy. Phineas almost seems embarrassed about asking.
"sure, Phin. Go put it on." Gibbs says. Jack is just observing Gibbs's interaction with the boy.
"It is in my mom's house," Phineas says quiet and looks down.
"Why don't I go with you Phineas," Jack says and wipes her hands dry. Phineas looks up at Gibbs and then at Jack and then around to behind him where Bishop and Torres are now standing listening in on the conversation. Gibbs recognizes the embarrassed look on the boy's face. He doesn't like the idea of a woman going with him to change his clothing.
"don't worry, Phin. She respects personal business." Gibbs says with a hint to the day where his mother very explicitly told Gibbs about what kind of underwear she had packed for Phineas and Phineas got embarrassed about it. Phineas signs in relief while Jack looks confused at Gibbs and then at Phineas. "she will stay in the living room while you get changed in your room." Gibbs explains more to Jack than to Phineas while he is looking at Phineas, who starts smiling.
"Okay," Phineas says with a satisfied smile. Then Jack and Phineas walk to the front door to put on their Jackets and their shoes.
"where are they going, daddy?" Victoria asks as she walks down the stairs while securely holding her dad's hand. She is now wearing her light blue frozen PJ.
"What a beautiful PJ; you are wearing Victoria," Jack says, smiling at the little girl.
Victoria giggles. "it is queen Elsa from Olaf's frozen adventure. It is a Christmas movie." Victoria explains.
"It is so beautiful," Jack says and kneels in front of Victoria. She is shooting her stomach out so Jack better can see the picture on her shirt.
"It is lovely. Do you think I can have one too?" Jack asks.
"no." the little girl giggles and look up at her dad.
"It is only for little girls." Victoria giggles.
"oh, okay," Jack says, pretending to be disappointed. Jack is chatting with Victoria while Phineas is putting on his winter boots. Once Phineas is ready, Jack and Phineas walk across the street to his mother's house. Jack notices how Phineas takes a moment where he is controlling his emotions. Jack places a hand on his shoulder for reassurance before they walk in. Phineas waits for Jack to take a seat on the couch before he disappears into his room and closes the door for privacy. When Phineas comes back, Phineas is wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and a big hoodie. He is wearing the sweatpants and the hoodie over something else. His sweatpants seem very lumpy, and the hoodie makes him look much bigger.
"Phineas, it is okay if you want to walk to Gibbs's house in just your PJ," Jack says, trying to hide her amusement over the young boy. He is obviously a very shy boy.
"right," Phineas says and looks down. He now seems embarrassed about covering his PJ.
"Phineas," Jack says and takes a seat on the armrest of a chair. Phineas looks up to meet her eyes.
"Why are you covering your PJ?" Jack asks.
"I… I am older than Victoria and the twins," Phineas says. Jack isn't sure what his point is, so she let him continue. "I am a big boy, and I am wearing Christmas PJ."
"Phineas…" Jack says and stands up and walks over to him.
"There is nothing to be ashamed of. I'm sure it is a very nice PJ you have."
"it is a little kid PJ."
"what is on it?" Jack asks.
"Promise you won't laugh?" Phineas asks, embarrassed, and Jack nods. Phineas signs and then lift the big hoodie so Jack can get a glimpse of the picture printed on his shirt.
"is that Iron, man?" Jack asks excitedly. Phineas nods.
"I love marvel," Jack says, and Phineas breaks into a big smile.
"really?"
Jack nods. "yeah…" she says like it is the most logical response in the world.
"I love Iron Man. he is my favorite… along with Spiderman." Phineas explains as she starts walking to the front door of the house together.
"why Spiderman?" Jack asks as they start walking back to the party.
"because Spiderman lives with his aunt. I used to do that too. Live with my aunt." Phineas says as he locks up the door to his mom's house.
"what about you?" Phineas asks. "who is your favorite hero?"
Jack takes a moment to think about her answer.
"I would say, Steve Rogers," Jack says.
"why?" Phineas asks as they reenter the Gibbs house.
"because he is Army like me."
"that makes sense."
They walk back into the house.
"Should I take off my hoodie and sweatpants now?" Phineas asks quietly, almost whispering.
"if you want to."
"I think Gibbs is wearing his USMC hoodie, and I think I am going to wear my Army hoodie. We all just wear whatever comfy clothing we feel like tonight, Phineas."
Phineas nods and starts taking off his hoodie and the sweatpants while Jack is grabbing her army hoodie out of her bag. She puts it on, and then she looks over at Phineas. He seems very self-conscious in his red and yellow ironman PJ.
"you look great, Phineas," Jack says with a smile.
"can I ask you a question?" he asks as he looks at Jack's army hoodie.
"sure."
"were you a captain?" he asks with a hint of excited anticipation in his voice. It makes Jack smile.
"no. I was a lieutenant."
"is that like better?" he asks, not sure how to phrase his question. It amuses Jack a bit.
"no Captain is the next rank for a first lieutenant. If I had stayed in the army, I could have made it captain." Jack explains.
"cool." Phineas says. "so did you have a shield?" Phineas asks as they walk back into the living room. The question amuses Jack, and she can't hold in her laugher.
"no, I did not. I would have been super cool, though." Jack says.
"yeah," Phineas says.
"wow, Phineas, is that an Iron man, PJ?" McGee exclaims, and everyone looks over at Phineas. Phineas looks up at Jack. She places a reassuring hand on his shoulder and sends him a smile. It makes him feel less self-aware.
"that is so cool." Ellie joins in.
"superman," Johnny says and points to Phineas.
"no, honey… it is an iron man." Delilah corrects her little boy.
Phineas looks up at Jack with a big smile.
"you want to sit down here, Phineas?" Ellie asks. She is sitting on the floor, along with Torres and Kasie.
"sure," Phineas says now that he feels a lot more confident about his Pj. He walks over and sits down next to Ellie and Kasie.
"Hey, don't get handsy, dude," Torres says when Phineas takes his hands under the blanket that Ellie is wrapping over him. Phineas look confused at Torres.
"really, Torres?" Ellie says and wraps an arm around Phineas and pulls him to a sideways hug.
"what did I do?" Phineas asks confused, not sure what Nick would tell him, not get handsy.
"nothing Phineas. Don't pay attention to him." McGee says to Phineas and shots Torres a look saying: "really Torres?"
Everyone seems to be comfortably seated in front of the tv. Jack looks around in the living room, and then she hears a sound from the kitchen. She walks to the kitchen, where Gibbs is busy making two bowls of popcorn.
"Need a hand?" she asks as she looks at the kitchen table where it seems like a bag of popcorn exploded.
"not really," Gibbs says a little irritated about the amused smile on Jack's face. She is not taking no for an answer and joins in and helps him out.
Suddenly it knocks on the front door. Gibbs and Jack look confused at each other and then hurries into the living room where there are suddenly very quiet. In the doorway between the entrance and the living room is a tall, familiar man standing with a little girl with blonde curly hair next to him holding his hand.
"Merry Christmas, boss." Is all the man, says with a big smile to Gibbs. A big smile spreads on Gibbs's face.
"Merry Christmas DiNozzo," Gibbs whispers into the ear of his former senior field agent as he is embracing him in a big hug.
"Ima?" the two former co-workers hug are interrupted by little Talis voice. She is starring at Ziva, and now everyone else is looking at Ziva too. She has tears in her eyes. The former always so tough agent and former Mossad assassin now have tears in her eyes from seeing her little girl again.
"hey, Tali," Ziva says and stands up. She doesn't know what to do or say. Tali looks up at her dad for permission to go and hug her mom, and Tony just gives her a simple nod, and Tali runs to her mom's arms, and Ziva lifts her in a big hug.
"I love you, Tali," Ziva says in between kissing Tali on the face while tears are falling on her face.
"I love you, Ima," Tali says and hugs her mom. After a few moments where Ziva gets her tears of joy under control again, she hugs Tali tight while she looks over at Tony, who is still standing in the doorway—just looking at her. he isn't sure what to do. "Abba loves you too, Ima," Tali says and looks at her mom and then to her dad.
"I know that Tali," Ziva says as she looks over at Tony. It amuses Ziva that the first time she hears that Tony loves her said out in words it is by her daughter.
"I never said it though," Tony says with his always charming smile on his face and walks further into the living room where the rest of the NCIS-family is gathered.
"somethings remain unspoken of," Ziva says amused and wipes a tear off her face.
"you said you loved me, though," Tony says confident and takes a seat next to where Ziva sitting and next to McGee also.
"no, I didn't." Ziva protests and sits down with Tali on her lap.
"I said that you are so loved. I never said it was by me."
"oh really," Tony says. It amuses Tim how the constant argument about who is right between Ziva and Tony that has been going on since the day Ziva entered the NCIS office is continuing endlessly.
"what are you laughing at McGiggle?" Tony asks and turns to Tim.
"you two never stop," Tim says with a big smile.
"admit it you missed it," Tony says.
"kinda," Tim admits.
"I don't," Gibbs says as he walks in and places the bowl on the coffee table while Jack places the other bowl on the floor.
"It is good to see ya too, boss."
"not ya boss DiNozzo," Gibbs says and sits down. Tali jumps down from her mother's comfortable lap and runs over to Gibbs.
"GIIIIIBBBBSSSS," Tali yells as she runs to Gibbs. He catches her in a big hug.
"I missed you." the little girl says as Gibbs places her on his lap.
"I missed you too, Tali. You have grown so much since I last saw you."
"I eat my vegetables every day." The little girl says proudly.
"that is great. It is important to do that." Gibbs says, and Tali nods in agreement.
"are you, Jack?" Tali asks, looking over at Jack, who is sitting next to Gibbs.
"yes, I am. You must be Tali." Tali nods.
"It is nice to meet you, Tali," Jack says, polite.
"can I give you a hug?" Tali asks bluntly.
"sure," Jack says and receive a big hug from Tali while Tali remains seated on Gibbs's lap.
"are you uncle Gibbs's girlfriend?" Tali asks once she breaks the hug.
Everyone is suddenly paying attention very much to Jack, Gibbs, and Tali, and everyone is quiet.
"no," Jack says a little hesitant and look over at Gibbs. He is starring at DiNozzo with a very accusing death stare. "why would you think that?" Jack asks.
"because that was what grandpa said," Tali says casually with a shrug, and then she jumps down from Gibbs and walks back to her parents.
"Sorry, boss. You know Sr. he always gets ideas. He sees romance everywhere."
"yeah, like father like son," Gibbs says, noticing how Tony has been paying attention to how close Gibbs and Jack are sitting on the couch right now. It is just done to the lack of space on the overcrowded couch as it is to comfort. Tony makes his round to greet every member of the NCIS-family before he finally makes it to Jack. He isn't sure if it is safe to get near Gibbs after Talis's question to Jack.
"so you are the infamous Anthony DiNozzo?" Jack asks as she shakes Tony's hand.
"the one and only," Tony says with a proud smile.
"expect for Sr," Tim says with a big teasing smile.
"Thanks for the reminder Mcbuzz-kill."
"wow, I almost missed the nicknaming, Tony."
Tony retakes his seat next to Ziva and Tali. Gibbs wraps an arm around Jack, and she leans closer to him. Tony looks over at Gibbs with a bewildered look.
"what DiNozzo?" Gibbs asks as he grabs the remote to the tv to start to the movie.
"Nothing, boss," Tony says and leans back on the couch and wraps an arm around Ziva. She snuggles comfortably into him with Tali relaxing on her lap.
"Abba, when can I play with my cousins?" Tali asks.
"well…" tony says, looking over at Johnny, who is snuggled upon his mother's lap.
"It is late, Tali. I think the Mc-Twins are out for the day. How about we find another day where you can play with them?" Tony asks. Tali nods. Based on her facial expression, she doesn't agree with her father's idea, but she seems to accept it disapprovingly.
"Mc-Twins? Really tony?" McGee asks and receives a classing DiNozzo smile in return.
Phineas comes back into the living room after going to the bathroom. He nearly trips over Tony's foot and apologies to him.
"so, you must be Phineas. "Tony says as Phineas is taking his seat on the floor next to Kasie and Ellie again.
"yes, sir. It is nice to meet you. McGee told me about you." Phineas says and reaches his hand out to shake Tony's.
"Yeah, what did he say?" Tony asks with a deceptive look to his former fellow agent.
"that you love movies," Phineas says.
"Yeah, I do. Do you like movies?" Tony asks.
"yeah," Phineas says with a proud smile.
"which genre."
"action movies," Phineas says.
"Which one?"
"Marvel Avengers endgame is my favorite. I love the MCU."
"how about classics kid. The real art of film? There was a time where the film was a real art." Tony asks. He has finally found someone to talk movies.
"you mean like those super old Star Wars movies from like the '60s?" Phineas asks, confused, and everyone else starts laughing at the very disproving look on Tony's face.
"kid those movies is what created all of the movies you watch today."
"Nah, not a big fan. I like the new Star Wars movies better." Phineas says. Tony looks very disappointed, and his disappointment in the new generation doesn't get any less from the smug smiles he receives from both McGee, Ziva, and Ellie.
Johnny is snuggled up on his mom's lap while Morgan is trying to find a comfortable place to sit. She ends up crawling up on her dad's lap and settles down after she has tried Ellie, Jimmy, and on the floor in front of Phineas. But none of the spots she found seemed to be as comfortable and safe as her dad's familiar lap next to her brother and her mom. Victoria is snuggled up on her grand-Duckeys lap. Everything is right this Christmas night for the team-Gibbs. Everyone is happy as the movie starts playing. Both current and former members of team-Gibbs are gathered in front of Gibbs black and white tv to watch a Christmas movie. Tomorrow they are going to have to deal with the aftermath of the death of Phineas' mother, but tonight everything is just right.
Merry Christmas.
Note: I know this doesn't line up 100% with episode 1711, BUT I just wanted some perfect Christmas joy in this chapter. I hope you enjoy it anyway.