Early Friday morning, just three days to Christmas, Brynn woke up alone. As this was nothing unusual, she just got up and shuffled into the bathroom. She did her business and went to check on Chris. Not surprised to find his room empty, Brynn padded down the stairs, still in her pajama pants and long sleeved shirt. Still not quite awake, she hit the bottom step a little too hard.

"Ow." She tried to stifle the sound.

"Baby?" She heard Gibbs call from the dining room.

She bit back another grunt of pain and made her way into the dining room. Gibbs was sitting in front of Chris' highchair, desperately trying to get Chris to eat his baby cereal. Chris was smashing his lips together in protest. The funny sight made Brynn forget about the pain in her foot.

"You hurt yourself?" Gibbs asked over his shoulder.

"Just me, being a klutz." She shrugged. He just smiled and shook his head.

"Is there some secret to this?" Gibbs asked after another failed attempt to get Chris to open his mouth.

"Want me to give that a try?" Gibbs smiled and stood up. Brynn settled into the seat and set to work feeding Chris.

Just as she had successfully gotten Chris to open his mouth, she felt Gibbs reach out and put his hands on either side of her neck. He bent down and put his face against her ear. "How about I make us some awesome pancakes." Brynn giggled and nodded.

"So Tony couldn't keep his mouth shut, could he?"

"Would you ever expect him to?" Gibbs said, making his way into the small kitchen.

Brynn took a second to contemplate their morning ritual. Gibbs was almost always up first. By the time Brynn had awoken and gotten downstairs, Gibbs was usually done feeding Chris and on his way out the door. He had just recently started taking his time with breakfast. At first, Brynn thought nothing of it, but now she was getting the impression that Gibbs was trying to shove in as much quality time as he could with both her and Chris. Sure, it made Gibbs a little late to the office, but his idea of 'on time,' was an hour early anyways. Brynn liked the change. But still wondered what had brought it on.

Brynn finished feeding Chris while enjoying the sweet smell of maple and buttermilk. She picked Chris up and kept him in her arms while she ate her own breakfast and talked with Gibbs about Christmas plans. Brynn had hoped Jack would visit them, but he had opted to stay in Stillwater. Brynn had been satisfied when Jack promised to come down for Chris' birthday.

Gibbs stayed downstairs and cleared away the breakfast dishes while Brynn took Chris, already snoozing against her shoulder, up to his room. He had been up most of the night with a toothache. After tucking Chris in, Brynn went to get dressed for the day. Her mind was still buzzing with thoughts about Christmas day. Gibbs had been working in his basement on some big gift for her. Even though she had promised not to peek, he still felt the need to put a lock on the basement door. He was really pulling out all the stops this year. It occurred to her then that the extra time he had been spending in the basement might actually be the reason he had started drawing out their morning quality time…

Once inside the master bedroom, she pushed all holiday thoughts aside.

Brynn scowled at the full length mirror tacked on to the bedroom door. She pinched at the skin just barely peeking out of the bottom of her shirt. It wasn't quite a fat roll, but it was close enough to one, that Brynn found herself glaring at her own body. She knew raising a child, while working ten hour days in a windowless basement, would cause some changes in her life… But this simply would not do.

Her body was usually the one thing she could be confident about. She knew she had a great ass. She had been told so enough times. And for a woman in her thirties, she kept her body well trim and toned. But since giving birth to Chris, not that she would ever regret having a child, her body had stopped obeying her commands. She figured part of this just came with age, but still… She pinched her stomach again and groaned.

She hadn't felt comfortable in her own skin for a while now. And since Diane had weaseled her way back into Gibbs' life, Brynn's insecurities were at an all time high. In spite of the conversation she and Diane had on her last visit, Brynn couldn't help but fall victim to the green eyed monster called jealousy. Diane had even admitted to Brynn that she had purposely made sure she'd run in to Gibbs. Even with the constant reassurance Gibbs surrounded her with, Brynn couldn't help but feel like she was falling apart. Blaming it on her changing body was simply her newest way of coping. Brynn's glare intensified. Diane had certainly kept her figure…

The bedroom door opened and Brynn jumped back in surprise.

"What are you doing?" Gibbs stood in the hall, smiling.

"I'm gonna start doing yoga again." Her terse reply made his eyebrows go up in amusement.

"Why?"

"Gibbs." She looked at him like he should know what had her so upset. "I'm fat."

"What?" He choked out a laugh. Her eyes narrowed and he knew she was serious. "Baby, you're beautiful."

"I notice you said beautiful, not thin." Her hands went to her hips.

"Well, I don't think thin is beautiful. Honestly, I like your curves." He grinned.

Her mouth twitched. "I'm still going to start doing yoga again." Gibbs shook his head and rolled his eyes, before stepping into the bedroom with her. As Brynn moved to let him pass her, she felt a sudden flush of embarrassment, as if Gibbs could see right through her and knew what was really bothering her. "I, uh." She swallowed. "I put Chris down." She watched Gibbs pull out some clothes from the dresser. He didn't seem to notice the hitch in her voice. "He must get this from you."

"What?"

"This whole routine thing. Eat, sleep, wake, cry, play; eat, sleep, wake, cry, play." She smirked when he faced her.

"I like to think I leave out the crying part."

"Do you, now?"

"Hey." He protested and tossed the clothes back on top of the dresser. He moved forward and grabbed Brynn around the waist. "I like your body just the way it is." Gibbs wrapped his arms around her as he whispered in her ear. "You don't have to do anything to change it."

"You really like my curves?"

"Hell, yes." He eyed her seductively.

"Yeah… I think I'm still gonna start yoga again." Gibbs huffed and rolled his eyes. "It would be nice to get some of my flexibility back." She cocked her head.

"Now that, I have no problem with." He leaned in and kissed her. She could feel him gently pushing on her while still kissing her. Realizing they were headed for the bed, she broke the kiss but kept walking.

"What are you doing?" She asked, smirking.

"Showing you how much I love your body." All thoughts of yoga, left her mind.

Almost an hour later…

Brynn still had her legs wrapped around Gibbs, when she heard possibly the most annoying sound in the world.

"You gonna get that?" She grated her teeth as she asked.

"Hmm, what?" His lips were right against her ear.

"Your phone." Brynn shot her arm out to the bed-side table and grabbed the annoying device. She glanced at the caller I.D. and sighed. "It's Ziva."

"Mmhhh." Brynn shuddered as his lips sent tiny vibrations down her neck. "Answer it."

Brynn flipped open the phone. "Gibbs' phone." Gibbs continued his teasing around her ear and neck. "Uh, Oh, Uh, yeah." Gibbs let his tongue trace a circle where her shoulder met her neck. "Oh, yes… I mean, yeah! I'll tell him when he's done… Um, in the bathroom. He's in the bathroom." Brynn used her free hand to smack Gibbs' shoulder when he bit her neck. "Thanks, Bye." Gibbs chuckled and looked up at her. "You are such an ASS!"

"Did I get a call out?" He was still grinning.

Brynn nodded. "This is the third weekend in a row. Doesn't anyone else work for a living?"

"I ask myself that question all the time."

NCIS

Tim woke up with Tony's arms wrapped securely around him. Ever since he found out that Diane and Tim had spent the night on Tim's couch, Tony had been a lot more grabby than usual. More than once, Tim had woken up to find Tony wrapped so tightly around him, Tim almost couldn't breathe. It didn't help that Tony and Brynn had spent a week locked in a game of 'who can make who more jealous,' by trading snide comments about each other's love lives.

For a few minutes, Tim just lay still, listening to Tony snoring softly in his ear. Then he shifted until he faced his lover. Feeling wicked, Tim reached around and firmly pinched Tony's butt. Tony came awake with a yelp.

"Hey!" Tim laughed at Tony's protest. "You know what they say about payback?" Tim just smiled. But the smile quickly dropped when Tony's cell rang. Tony's pants were on the floor on Tim's side of the bed. Tim reached down and fished out the phone.

"Hello." He greeted the caller. "Oh, hey."

"Who is it?" Tony asked.

"No, he's right here… Okay… We'll be right there." Tim snapped the phone shut. "That was Ziva. Call out."

"Just when we think it's safe to enjoy a late morning." Tony scowled and ripped the covers off himself.

NCIS

Ziva looked down at her phone and sighed. "I am the only one not getting any."

NCIS

Gibbs came stomping into the house. After the day he'd had, he was ready to put his fist through the wall. He hated Tony's father. There was just something about the man that never sat right with Gibbs. And every time he came into town, it was weeks before Tony was himself again. Gibbs just knew Senior would do something to ruin the holiday for his son. Gibbs' temper was just about to get the better of him. But the second he crossed the threshold…

Brynn was sprawled out on the living room floor, on top of a blanket. She and Chris were stacking Lego blocks and laughing together. The brightly lit Christmas tree was casting red and green hues around the room. Brynn's smiling face looked up at him.

"Thought I recognized your crash and bang entrance." Her eyes went back to Chris. "You just missed Mrs. Ross. She brought by a pound cake." Gibbs cringed. As sweet as his neighbor was, she couldn't bake for squat. Brynn chuckled and he knew she was thinking the same thing. "Wanna join us down here?" Gibbs nodded and quickly stowed away his gun, before sitting down in front of Chris. "I'll get dinner started soon." Brynn said absently as she placed another block on the top of the growing tower.

"You know what… Why don't we all go out somewhere?" Brynn straightened up and looked at him. "We could all use a night out. And you're already planning on cooking a big Christmas feast for everyone…" He shrugged and grinned. "So, let's go out."

"Is everything okay?" She cocked her head.

"Everything's perfect." He put his hands on her cheeks and kissed her.

NCIS

The next morning, Brynn was bringing Gibbs a fresh coffee when she almost tripped over Tony. He was lying on the floor, stretching and groaning.

"What are you doing?" She asked while stepping over him. She set Gibbs' coffee on his desk and turned to face Tony.

"Slept on my couch last night…" He groaned and twisted his body.

"Right… So, how was your night with Senior?"

"It's too sad to talk about."

"Drama queen." Brynn laughed. "Where's my husband and the rest of the gang?"

"Timmy and Ziva went to search a suspects house. Gibbs went to talk with Agent Winter."

"Winter? Anyone I should be worried about?" She said it jokingly, but Tony caught the hint of jealousy in her voice.

"I seriously doubt it. She's one of those contest pissers. You know Gibbs can't stand those."

"Hmm." The elevator dinged and Brynn looked over to see McGee and Ziva walking towards them.

"Tony?" McGee asked when they got closer. "You alright?"

"No." Tony groaned again. Ziva looked at Brynn and nodded her head towards Tony.

"Don't look at me." Brynn held her hands up. "I didn't put him there."

Brynn kept herself behind Gibbs desk while the three of them discussed their case. She decided to be cute (or a dork, depends on who you ask) and use a sharpie to draw a heart with a smiley face inside, on Gibbs' coffee cup. It was something she had done several times. McGee alerted everyone to Gibbs' entrance and Tony popped up.

"Agent Winter…" Tony grudgingly greeted the dark haired woman on Gibbs' left. "What are you doing here?"

Brynn connected with Gibbs' amused gaze before letting her eyes drop to the coffee cup in his hand. She glared at the cup and looked back up at Gibbs. He had by now, seen the coffee cup in her hand… And the smiley-faced heart drawn on it.

"I was summoned." Winter's tone reflected her icy stare. "To brief you."

Brynn quickly tuned the other woman out. She turned and handed the coffee she had brought up to McGee. He scrunched his eyebrows at her, having seen the doodle on the cup. She just smiled and patted his shoulder. After sending one last glance to Gibbs, who was still staring at her, she turned on her heel and left.

NCIS

It was Christmas Eve at the office. Technically, Brynn had the day off. But she couldn't stand the fact that everyone but her would be working. So she bundled Chris in his new winter coat and set off for the Navy yard. As soon as she stepped off the elevator, she heard Gibbs ask where Tony was.

Her Tiger was in trouble as far as she was concerned. Something had happened between him and his father, and Tony refused to tell her what. She knew things had been weird between father and son after Tony came out about his relationship with Tim. But this was Christmas… Family was supposed to overcome these things for the holidays.

Christmas always made Brynn feel uncomfortable. She had never been good at dealing with her family when they were still alive, and it made enjoying the holidays, now that they were gone, feel just a little… Wrong. Brynn shook the thoughts away when she felt Chris jerk in her arms. He had spotted his daddy and was squirming, with his arms held out.

"Boss, do you remember that night," McGee caught Brynn's attention. She set Chris down and smiled as he rounded Gibbs' desk and demanded to be picked up. "May 2, 2011?"

"No." Gibbs set Chris on his lap and hugged him.

"Bet you do." Brynn made her way over to McGee's desk and snatched up one of his snicker doodle cookies. "It's the night Navy Seals killed Bin Laden." Brynn mused while she munched on her stolen cookie. What was she doing on that day? She suddenly couldn't remember.

"So we raid Abbottabad, and we kill the most wanted man in the world. Gotta think Homeland put the D.C. area on high alert and increased surveillance."

"Yeah." Ziva said. "They have to be concerned about retaliation." Gibbs picked up a card from his desk.

"What is it?" Brynn asked.

"Secret Service is under Homeland, now." Gibbs set Chris down and pulled out his phone. "We need to access archival surveillance of the D.C. area." He spoke as if he was about to regret his next move. "I gotta call Winter."

"No you don't." Gibbs looked up at her just as a smile spread across her face. His eyebrow came up. "I uh… I know some people at Homeland who owe me." Chris had crossed over to stand beside McGee, again demanding attention.

"Owe you?" McGee asked before puling Chris up.

"Yeah…" She pulled out her phone. "Long story…"

"Can't wait to hear it." Gibbs snapped his own phone shut, his eyes never leaving his now blushing wife.

NCIS

Late that night, Gibbs, Brynn, and Chris were sitting in the their living room. Brynn was still feeling the high from being with everyone in MTAC, watching "It's a Wonderful Life." She watched in anticipation as Gibbs carefully unwrapped her gift to him. It had taken her all month to finally decide what would be perfect for him. She just hoped he wouldn't be too disappointed, or just plain mad.

"A DVD player?" He looked at her curiously.

"I had your dad send me every home movie he could find of you growing up. I sent him back the originals after I had them copied onto DVDs. You can't play DVDs without a DVD player…" She watched his face, desperately trying to gauge his reaction. "Do you hate it?"

"Hate it?" His eyes came up. "Brynn, I love it. This is… You're amazing." His face broke into a grin.

"Oh, I'm so glad." She let out a loud sigh. "I was worried you might… I also found some videos of Shannon and Kelly…" Brynn bit her lip. Gibbs closed his eyes for several seconds before looking at her again.

"Thank you. It's been a long time since I was able to watch those videos… Now, I think I can." He smiled again. "I just hope you love your gift as much as I love mine."

"So I finally get to see the big basement project?"

"Yeah," he set the DVD player down and scooped up Chris. "Come on." He led the way to the basement.

As soon as Brynn hit the last step, her heart flip-flopped. Taking up most of the space in the middle of the basement was a wooden gazebo. The pillars holding up the dome roof, were ornately carved with vine designs. Wrapped around each pillar were white Christmas lights. The soft glow from the twinkling lights filled the basement. Gibbs set Chris down and he immediately ran over to the blinking lights. Gibbs just stood back and watched his son.

When Gibbs looked back at Brynn, he could see the tears she was fighting. He wrapped his arms around her. "Do you like it?"

"Gibbs… It's beautiful. I love it." She buried her face in his shirt.

"It's too cold to enjoy it outside, so I guess the rest of your gift has to happen down here?" He pulled away from her and went to the counter on the far wall.

"Uh… You do realize our son is right there…" Gibbs laughed and shook his head.

"I love that your mind immediately goes to the dirty place. I guess it means I haven't lost my edge, yet." He turned back around and Brynn saw him holding a familiar object.

"That's where my I-POD disappeared to." She crossed her arms.

"I had to steal it for a few days. I heard this song on the radio a few weeks ago and… Since we actually don't have a song, I thought this would be perfect. I had McGee help me put the song on here." Brynn was impressed that Gibbs knew how to hook the little device up to the speakers. "Here we go."

As soon as the music started, Brynn recognized. "I Won't Give Up," by Jason Mraz. It was actually one of her favorites. When Gibbs took her hand and led her to the center of the gazebo, she looked up at him, confused. He put her hands on his shoulders and wrapped his own, around her waist. Very slowly, he started to sway, side to side. Finally, she realized what he was trying to do for her. Unable to hold back the tears any longer, she sniffed and let them fall.

"You realize what you've done, haven't you?" Her voice cracked.

"Made you cry?"

"Well, yeah, that. But you also just seriously set a whole new bar for Christmas gifts. How are you gonna top this, next year?"

"I'll think of something." She smiled and let her head rest on his shoulder as the song played on. They could both see Chris off to the side, copying their swaying motion and smiling. Brynn didn't realize the music stopped, until Gibbs stopped moving. When her head came back up, she was laughing. "What?"

"How are you gonna get this thing out of here?"

"Same way I got the boat out."

"In other words, you're not going to tell me."

"Probably not."

"This is the best Christmas Eve I have ever had."

"Night's not over yet…" Brynn arched an eyebrow at his tone. "I think it's Chris' bedtime."

"I totally agree." She smiled.