A little 5-year old girl runs among the crowd at a street Christmas marked. She is wearing her red jacket and some pink earmuffs. Her mother, a tall red-haired woman tries to keep up with the little girl to prevent her from getting lost in the crowd. The little girl is so excited about the street marked. The little girl stops in front of one of the street stands and her mother manages to catch up with her.
"sweetie don't run away from me."
"I'm not, mommy." The little girl protest as she is looking over the many Christmas themed items in front of her.
"Daddy is waiting for us. We got to go back to him." the women explain trying to get her daughter's attention, but the little girl has her attention on something in front of her. she reaches over to the middle of the table. She stands on her tiptoes just to reach her arm above all the stuff on the table. She reaches for a little green plastic item.
"What is that mommy?" the little girl asks, looking up at her mom. Her mom smiles and reaches over and picks up the item that cut her little girl's attention.
"it is a mistletoe." She explains. The little girl looks confused.
"What is that? For the Christmas tree? Can I have one?" The little girls ask excitedly. She is looking up at her mom with pleading eyes. she has difficulties saying no to her daughter's pleading, smiling eyes filled with Christmas joy. The same inability she has been criticizing her husband for. He is a trained marine who can handle anything in a warzone, but when it comes to the little two-letter word no to his daughter, he is perfectly incapable of saying it. Something that has amused her since the day their daughter was born.
The little girl's pleading eyes sparkle with joy and her mother takes out her wallet and hands the demanded amount to the streetseller. The man hands the little girl the plastic mistletoe that she wanted, and the little girl jumps in joy. the street seller wishes them a merry Christmas and the little girl takes her mom's hand as they walk back to where they last saw their last family member. The little girl's dad.
"what does this do, mommy?" the little girl asks as she is examining her new item instead of watching where she is walking.
"it brings Christmas magic. When we get back to dad, you should hold it over your head and see what happens." The little girl nods eagerly. The moment she sees her dad, still sitting at the same bench as where they left him, when the little girl had to use the restroom, she lets go of her mom's hand and runs over to her dad.
"daddy… daddy… daddy." The little girl exclaims. "look what I got." The little girls eagerly show her dad her new item. "mommy told me to do this." the little girl says and holds the mistletoe over her head. Her daddy laughs and looks up at her mom, who has now joined them.
"daddy… look." The little girl demands. Her dad looks at her and leans in and kisses her on the cheek. The little girl looks confused at her dad and then turns around herself. when she can't seem to find what she was looking for she looks up at her mom very disappointed.
"nothing magical happened mommy." The little girl says disappointed and sits down on her dad's lap. Her parents just smile at each other.
"didn't dad just kiss you?" her mom asks as she sits down next to her husband and daughter.
"year mommy, but that is not magic." The little girl protests. Her dad pretends to be offended by that.
"I think a kiss from your daddy is pretty magical." Her mom says and leans in a receives a loving kiss form her husband.
The little family arrives home, and the little girl runs out of the car and to the front door where she impatiently waits for her parents to come and unlock the door. Her mom comes over and unlocks the door and the little girl runs inside and kicks off her boots before she runs into the living room.
"Hey, young lady." Her dad calls after her. she pokes her head into the hallway and smiles innocent t her dad.
"aren't you forgetting something, Kelly?" her dad asks with a raised eyebrow. The little girl walks over and picks up her boots and puts them on the shoe rack where they are supposed to go and then she hangs up her jacket and puts her earmuffs up on the shelf before she reenters the living room. Gibbs assist Shannon in taking off her jacket and hangs it up on a hanger for her. They carry their Christmas shopping into the kitchen and helps each other putting it away.
Later Gibbs is in the basement working on his boat when Shannon calls him up to the living room. He comes into the Livingroom and immediately starts helping Shannon clearing the dining table for dinner. Shannon picks up Kelly's little mistletoe that she has already lost interest in. she left it on the dining table when she went to play in her room. Shannon picks it up and looks at it and smiles. Gibbs chuckles.
"what was the deal with that thing?" he asks and walks over to his wife.
"she walked around looking at different stalls when she found this. she asked me what it was. I told her it creates Christmas magic."
"Clearly she didn't think so," Gibbs says and lovingly wraps his arms around his wife and kisses her.
"I still think it is pretty magic getting a kiss from you." they both laugh and share another kiss. Then they hear food boiling over in the kitchen and Shannon hands the mistletoe to Gibbs and runs to the kitchen.
Gibbs picks up the mistletoe and just looks at it for a moment. Then Shannon comes in with plates and utensils to set the table. "Kelly dinner is almost ready," Shannon calls as she places the plates on the table and starts placing them out on the table. Gibbs walks over and stands behind her. She can feel him standing right behind her. she giggles.
"what are you up to, Gibbs?" she asks and turns around to see what he is doing. He is holding the little mistletoe above her head. She laughs and places a hand on his face to pull him in for a kiss.
"Hey, mommy." Kelly is standing in the doorway. Gibbs and Shannon look over at her. She looks upset.
"that is mine," Kelly says and walks over and takes the mistletoe from her dad's hand.
"It is mine," Kelly says determinedly.
"you know what it is actually for?" Gibbs asks. Kelly shakes her head. Gibbs kneels next to her to explain to her.
"it is a tradition that you hang it up somewhere in the house and then if a girl is standing under it then the man who sees her there has to give her a kiss."
Kelly just giggles.
"that is silly, daddy." Kelly giggles.
"I think it is very romantic," Shannon says and smiles at her husband.
"mommy…" Kelly says. "it is my kissing thing." Kelly looks at it and giggles and then she looks at her dad and then at her mom. Neither of her parents can anticipate what she is up to. She then holds it above her dad's head.
"mommy look." Kelly giggles and points at the mistletoe above her dad's head. Shannon is about to walk over to them. She is standing on the other side of the dining table, setting the table. The moment Kelly sees her mom starts to walk towards them Kelly places a quick kiss on her dad's cheek and then giggles. Gibbs hugs Kelly into him and places a kiss on her forehead and it makes Shannon smile too.
"Okay, Kell… could you go wash your hands? Dinner is almost ready." Gibbs asks and places another kiss on his daughter's forehead.
"Okay daddy," Kelly says and walks to the bathroom with her mistletoe in her hand.