For Olivia (MissJayne)

By primrose-lh (Emma)

Mistletoe Magic


When NCIS Director Jenny Shepard descended the stairs, the first thing that flew through his mind was that she looked like a snow queen. In her white shimmering dress with rhinestones decorating the straps, making her skin look even paler than usual and her hair even more fiery red. The silk of the dress clung to her upper body like a second skin, showing off her soft curves and revealing a generous amount of milky white cleavage, the dress flowed around her legs as she strode down the stair case with dignity, head held high and a small smile grazing her faint red lips. The second thing going through his head was that he really shouldn't look at his boss this way, really shouldn't incorporate her picture in one of his bedroom fantasies, and really, really shouldn't experience a burning sensation in his lower parts when his eyes hungrily wandered up and down her body.

He cursed her inwardly for forcing him to go to the NCIS Christmas party, and even though she'd be in a ballroom crammed full of NCIS agents, she would need someone to keep an eye on her, and she had chosen him – probably because she knew he hated those things and wasn't planning on going in the first place, or because she knew he wouldn't bring a date if he was supposed to be her protection detail.

Not that he would have brought a date anyway – even if he'd planned on going, which he wouldn't have done, unless he was forced to.

She shook her head and the long red curls flowed like a curtain of silk over her shoulders and cascaded down her back. Gibbs thought that if he'd been DiNozzo, he would definitely have earned a head-slap for the way he was looking at her.

Jen shot him an amused smiled as she passed him, and he immediately pulled himself together, knowing the way he had stared at her might have come off as slightly too inappropriate.

He quickly took to following her – he was supposed to be her protection detail after all – and at the same time cursing himself for agreeing to this in the first place. It was going to be a long night.

Gibbs sighed as he ran down the stairs to his basement later that night. It had been some night, one awkward moment after another. But the top twos were definitely when he'd accidentally nudged her elbow so she spilled her wine all over her dress. He wouldn't forget the look she'd given him any time soon. Luckily she could swap dress with Ziva, who was heading home anyway – though Gibbs had a feeling she hadn't planned on going home at all, just felt sorry for Jen and offered her the dress. Jen was the centerpiece of the party, after all. And so she'd continued the night dressed in Ziva's clinging short, red dress – in Gibbs' eyes she suddenly looked like a sexy Santa's little helper instead of the more sophisticated, but not any less sexy, snow queen she'd been before. Though that was something he'd never tell her.

And topping his list of awkward moments through the night – and at the same time, maybe his favorite moment – was when Abby had cheerfully pointed out that he and Jen were both standing together underneath a sprig of mistletoe. Jen had muttered a curse out of the corner of her mouth as Abby had firmly stated that they would have to kiss, it was tradition. Gibbs wasn't sure what had possessed him, but he'd found himself taking charge, and quickly leaned in to kiss her softly on the mouth. He pulled back and found her eyes glaring at him, but as he smirked and walked away, he could have sworn there had also been a softer spark in the deep green. Maybe the brief touch of their lips had roused the same feelings in her as it had in him. Though she hadn't spoken to him for the rest of the night and it was safe to say that the ride home had been awkward and this tension seemed to start growing between them, and it unnerved him slightly.

Jen cursed as she heard the ominous rip of fabric breaking. After having tried to struggle out of Ziva's red dress for five minutes, she'd realized it wasn't going to end well, and was about to try a different approach, when the dress had ripped. She threw the remains of the dress onto her chest of drawers, making a mental note to buy Ziva a new dress. She slipped into sweatpants and an old, worn NCIS t-shirt.

As she curled up between her expensive satin sheets, she thought back to the night's events. She had enjoyed Gibbs' reaction when he'd first seen her in her white dress. Even though she knew she could not get back together with him, she still loved to tease him, and she must have done a good job, because she could have swore he'd been ready to take her there and then.

Then, her annoyance with him at just grown as the night wore on. First him ruining her dress, and then the incident under the mistletoe.

She rolled over onto her back and stared up at the dark ceiling.

Her mind drifted back to the when Gibbs had kissed her. She'd been frozen in her position, watching his face rapidly move closer and before she knew what was going on, what was happening, he had already pulled away, leaving her mind reeling and throwing silent curses his way for the way he made her feel. She could still feel his lips on hers, even though the sensation had been so brief, just a light touch, she remembered what it felt like to kiss him from a time lost long ago. It was disturbing what effect he still had on her.

She rolled back onto her side, closed her eyes and tried to sleep. But the night's events had roused too many memories to the surface, and she was unable to relax, as Gibbs' face floated before her eyes. But it wasn't just his face. She let out a sound between a curse and a moan as she re-lived one of her fantasies about him.

Her eyes fluttered open and she threw off the cover, realizing she couldn't stay in bed. She went down the stairs and into her study. Pouring herself a healthy measure of bourbon, she knew she had to do something about this. She sank into the leather armchair, pulling up her legs and draping a blanket over her.

There was no denying it now. Her old feelings for Jethro had resurfaced – stronger and more intense than ever – and she doubted they'd go away any time soon. She looked over at the corner of her study were her Christmas tree was sparkling, and considered the thought, that it was Christmas, the time of the year when everything bad seemed worse. The fact that she was alone seemed even more suffocating now than it usually did, when she had no one to share the holiday with, no one to cuddle up with in front of the fire on Christmas Eve, no one to wake up next to on Christmas Day. She knew Jethro was alone too, knew he didn't care much for Christmas, most likely because he didn't have his family to spend it with. She figured, maybe if they had each other, it would bring back some of the magic of Christmas.

A plan started to form in her mind. An idea that – if it succeeded – would not only make him see the true meanings of Christmas, but also bring them back together. She knew it was against her better judgment to get back together with him – she was his boss now and she remembered clearly when she'd told him there would be no off the job – but now she knew she had to do what was truly the best for her.

The empty glass slipped from her grip as her hand started to relax, her body slowly drifting off to sleep. It tumbled to the floor without breaking, rolling over the rug and settling underneath the Christmas tree. Jen was fast asleep, curled up in the armchair, her hand clenched around the edge of the soft blanket. A small smile on her lips, dreaming of Jethro.

"What?!" Gibbs stared at her incredulously, like she was completely out of her mind.

"You heard me, Jethro." Jen replied calmly, skillfully hiding her smile. She had anticipated this reaction from him. She knew this wasn't going to be easy, but she would convince him. Eventually.

He stared at her, having hoped he'd heard her wrong, but the look in her eyes told him he hadn't.

"I'm not doing it." He stated firmly.

"Yes, you are."

"No, I'm not. You can't force me."

"Jethro, I'm your boss." She hadn't really wanted to play the 'I'm your boss' card, but she realized she didn't have much of a choice.

"My boss or not, you can't make me dress up as Santa Claus on the NCIS Family Christmas Party!" he said and glared at her.

Jen was finding it much harder to control her amusement now, the image of Gibbs as Santa just wouldn't get out of her head.

"I can, and I will." She said sternly.

"I won't do it Jen." He argued.

"Give me a good reason."

He glared at her as she waited for his answer. He paced the length of floor in front of her desk, feeling her eyes on him the entire time.

"I think it'll be good for you." Jen said, causing him to stop and look at her. She met his gaze. "Spending Christmas with other people. Children."

He looked away, and she knew she'd hit a sensitive spot. She just hoped it would be enough to convince him. He pulled out a chair from the conference table and sat down heavily. Spinning it slightly back and forth.

"No, Jen. I can't do it." He finally said, the pain in his voice making her realize the sensitive spot she'd hit may have been a little too sensitive.

"Please, Jethro. Do it for the kids. You'd make a great Santa." She tried to coax him, but he just shook his head.

"I can't, Jen." He looked down at his feet.

At that moment, when she heard the sadness in his voice and saw the pain flicker across his eyes, she knew he was not going to do it. No matter what she said or did would make him agree. The memory of the Christmases he'd spend with Kelly was tearing at him and she knew he'd only see her in all the excited little faces staring up at him.

She sighed.

"Will you at least come to the party? For me?" She tried, at least hoping he wouldn't be spending Christmas Eve in his basement working on that boat of his.

"It's the NCIS Family Christmas Party, Jen. It's for families."

"Your team is coming. Aren't they considered family?" She asked, her voice trembling slightly.

"Yeah," he admitted, and rose from his seat. "But I assume they'll have more fun without me."

"I honestly doubt that."

"How would you know?" the words slipped from his lips before he could stop them.

She looked at him intensely before answering.

"I know them better than you think."

He shot her one last look before he headed toward the door.

"Jethro," He turned as she called his name.

"If you change your mind…" She trailed off.

"I won't."

"Well, if you do, the Santa suit will be hanging in the conference room." She finished.

He didn't give her another look as he walked out of her office.

She sighed heavily, threw her head back against the headrest of her chair and whirled the chair around to face the windows. Maybe reminding him that Christmas was about family hadn't been her brightest move, especially since he'd lost his. But she knew she was right about what she'd said about his team, knew he considered them his family and hoped he'd eventually admit that himself. She wasn't sure what he thought of her though. She wanted to be incorporated in their family, but wasn't sure she fit. There was no denying it that Gibbs' team was the team she was closest to, but she was pretty certain they just saw her as the Director, not family.

Abby had once referred to her as 'mommy', and it always made Jen feel warm inside when she thought about it, though it didn't tell her what the rest of the team thought of her.

Her mother and sister lived in Florida, with their respective husbands and her sister's two year old son. And since they were all down there, and Jen was up in DC, they'd preferred if she would come down to them, but Jen didn't have the time any more. Didn't have time to go visit them even over Christmas.

She so badly wanted to make Jethro once more see the joys of Christmas, and she was determined to be the one to make him see it.

Gibbs blew gently at the beam of the boat, causing sawdust to whirl up and he stroked his hand over the polished wooden surface. Then he took a long swig out of the bottle of bourbon, sighed, and leaned heavily against the beam. He closed his eyes and reveled in the scent that surrounded him, a mixture of sawdust and bourbon that he was used to and comfortable with. But right now, that scent only served to remind him of Jen.

He thought about what she'd told him earlier today, about Christmas being a time for family. It had been, once, an important holiday for him. When he'd had a family to spend it with. Only time after their death the holiday had been slightly bearable had been that Christmas he'd spent with Jen in Paris. Well, the memory put a small smile on his face; it had been quite a memorable Christmas. On more than one occasion they had ended up together under a hanging of mistletoe, sometimes on purpose, sometimes not. Not that they had minded, or that they needed a reason to kiss anyway…as it was a whole lot of kissing and long mornings in bed that Christmas. The following year, without her, hadn't been filled with much Christmas spirit at all. He'd been out on a mission in Europe, leaving Stephanie to go by herself home to the US to spend the holiday with her family.

The thought of mistletoe once again roused his memory from the night before. The thought of kissing Jen made him feel in a way he knew he wasn't supposed to feel. But he couldn't let go of the feeling. Couldn't let go of the thought of how good it had been to kiss her.

He remembered their conversation, remembered she'd asked him to come to the party tomorrow, for her. She'd told him, his team was his family, and suddenly wondered, if she wished she was a part of their 'family'. Something in the way she observed them from the catwalk above the bullpen, the hint of sadness and longing in her eyes, told him that was exactly what she wished. He suddenly realized, she was just as lonely as he was. She didn't have a family to spend Christmas with either.

He took another swig of bourbon. Suddenly, the thought of dressing up as Santa for the kids didn't seem so bad. He knew it would made Jen happy, and seeing her happy, for some reason made him feel all warm inside.

It was Christmas Eve, and it was a fairly calm day at NCIS. Few agents were working, and among the ones that were there the main subject was the night's Christmas party.

"Boss, are you coming to the party tonight?" Tony asked as he packed up his things to leave.

"Maybe." Gibbs replied, causing Tony, McGee and Ziva to look at him in surprise, as they had all figured Gibbs wouldn't be there, he rarely showed up on events like this.

"Really?" Tony asked, still not completely recovered from the shock. Gibbs looked up at him, eyebrow raised.

"Did I stutter or something, DiNozzo?" He said, and Tony smiled.

"No, boss, I was just… ah I hadn't expected you to…I mean, you don't usually come to these things and…" He trailed off as Gibbs shot him a glare that told him it was time to shut up, or a headslap would be next. "Glad you're thinking about coming, boss." He said, throwing on his coat and grabbing his backpack.

"You leaving already?" Ziva asked.

"Got some Christmas shopping to do, Zee-vah." He said. "If you're lucky, I might get you something. Have you been a good assassin this year?" he grinned, but ducked as she threw a rubber at him. It bounced off the floor and ended up under the Christmas tree. Tony quickly scurried off toward the elevator, fearing next time she'd throw something significantly harder at him.

Gibbs felt eyes on him, and when he raised his head, he found Jen on the catwalk above them, staring out over the bull pen. He observed her for a while, the way her eyes darted over the floor below her, like a hawk. Her eyes inevitably locked with his. There was no spark in them. Nothing that suggested she had any Christmas spirit. Gibbs knew exactly how she felt. For some strange reason, all he really wanted to do was to go up to her, and pull her into a hug. She shot him a glare, before turning and heading into MTAC. He sighed, not sure what to do.

When he got home, he made the grave mistake of looking through an old photo album. It was filled with pictures of the Christmases he'd spend with Shannon and Kelly. His eyes filling with tears, he ran his fingertips over a picture of Kelly sitting in Santa's lap at a mall. Kelly loved Santa, loved everything about Christmas.

He closed the album, deciding not to go. He couldn't dress up as Santa without getting this picture of Kelly in his head. And he really wasn't in the mood for a party.

He darted down the stairs to his basement, opening a new bottle of bourbon and grabbing his sanding tool, deciding to spend this Christmas like he'd spend it every other year.

Jen flipped her hair over her shoulder, laughing warmly at the younger couple before her. Special Agent Mike Turner and his wife and adorable 4 year old daughter. The room was crammed with NCIS agents and their families, and those who didn't have any family were there with their friends.

The little girl tugged gently on Jen's long, champagne colored dress. She tilted her head downwards to smile at the little girl.

"Martha," Her mother reprimanded her daughter for yanking the dress of the Director of NCIS. Jen just shook her head, telling her it was no problem, and knelt down so she was level with the little girl.

"Yes, sweetie?" She said softly.

"When will Santa be here?" Martha asked, her big blue eyes sparkling.

"He will be here any minute." Jen replied. After Jethro had refused, she'd asked another agent to step in as Santa. She felt defeated, for not trying to harder to convince him, but she hadn't been sure how far she could push him. She didn't want to make things worse than they already were.

She smiled at Martha again.

"Do you know what you want for Christmas?" Jen asked, and Martha nodded, her pigtails bouncing.

"I want a doll."

"Well, have you been a good girl?" Jen inquired, smiling.

The girl nodded.

"Well, then I think you'll get a doll for Christmas." Jen smiled warmly, and was caught surprised when Martha suddenly threw her arms around her, pulling her into a hug. Jen hugged her back, reveling in the feeling of the small body in her arms.

"Thank you Madame." She said when she pulled away.

"Oh don't thank me, thank Santa." Jen threw a quick glance over her shoulder, seeing something red coming through the door. "Isn't that him coming right there?" She asked and pointed toward the door. The little girl squealed, grabbed her mother's hand and started dragging her over to the huge chair set up for Santa, as he was taking his seat, children already gathering in front of him.

Mark held out his hand to Jen, who took it.

"Thank you, Director." He said and Jen nodded.

"Merry Christmas Mark."

She looked after him when he went to join his family, suddenly feeling very jealous. He had a partner, had a child. She hadn't realized how much she'd missed having a child; until Martha so spontaneously had hugged her, it made her wish she had a child of her own.

As she went over to refill her glass of bourbon, she saw an agent standing there. An agent who shouldn't be there. She glanced toward Santa; it was too far to make out his features.

"John," She said to the elderly agent. "I thought you were supposed to be Santa." She asked, giving him a confused look. The man smiled at her and sipped his eggnog.

"I was, but when I went to get my suit, it was gone!" he nodded toward the Santa, now with a little boy on his lap. "I guess someone beat me to it…" he realized he was talking to himself, as Jen was already halfway across the room.

If John wasn't Santa, then who the hell was?

She froze in her tracks as she got closer, now seeing his face properly, though, not really sure it was actually him. It couldn't be Gibbs sitting there, Martha now crawling into his lap, dressed out as Santa Claus, could it?

But his laugh ringing out, his blue eyes sparkling, the sound of his deep voice what she asked what she wanted for Christmas, was undoubtedly Jethro's.

She was suddenly curious to find out what had changed his mind. She walked closer until he saw her and shot her a warm smile. She smiled back, making her way towards him through the sea of kids gathering in front of him.

"Hello, Mr. Santa." She greeted him with a spark in her eyes.

"Hello fair lady." He said back, winking at her.

"May I have a word with you? Now?" She inquired as he raised an eyebrow. The kids let out groans of disapproval.

"Are you stealing our Santa, Madame?" Martha asked, still in Gibbs' lap. Jen smiled at her.

"I promise to bring him back." Jen assured her and beckoned for Gibbs to follow her.

She stopped in a deserted corner of the room, waiting for Gibbs to join her.

"I thought you weren't going to come." She said, arching one elegant eyebrow.

"Changed my mind." He just said, smiling at her from behind the fake beard.

"Why, Jethro?" She inquired softly; wanting to think it had something to do with her.

"Shh." He said, pressing a finger to his lips. "It's 'Santa'" he teased and winked at her. She rolled her eyes but couldn't fight the smile creeping onto her lips.

"Why?" She asked again. He pulled out a photo from the pocket of his suit and handed it to her. She stared down at the young Kelly in the picture, sitting in Santa's lap. She looked back up at him.

"I was looking at that photo, first it made me sad, and then I realized that man in the Santa suit made her happy, he made her Christmas. I just want to give the same gift to other children." When he finished speaking, he smiled, and reached out a hand to brush away a tear from Jen's cheek. His hand lingered on her cheek for a moment.

"Though," He continued, making her look up into his sparkling blue eyes. "That's not the only reason."

"What's the other reason?" She said, her voice trembling slightly, not daring to believe…

He looked at her for a long moment.

"You." He finally said, and she thought her heart would stop.

"Me?" She whispered.

"Yes, you, Jen. You asked me to come, for you. And I couldn't let you down." He searched her eyes that were once again brimming with tears. He pulled her into a tight hug, running his hands soothingly over her back. He smiled when he cast a glance upwards, pulling away from her slightly.

"Well, we sure have a habit of ending up under the mistletoe…" He said with a laugh, causing her to quickly look up, and there above their head, hung a sprig of mistletoe. She smiled.

"Well, are you going to kiss me, Santa?" She said sweetly.

"Is that what you want for Christmas, Jenny?" He asked, amused.

"That's the only thing I want." She said. "Though…" She added thoughtfully.

"What?"

She looked up at him. "There may be one other thing I want…"

"What's that?"

"I want a man." She said and he raised an eyebrow. "A certain Leroy Jethro Gibbs. You know him?"

He didn't quite succeed in hiding his smile, but pretended to look like he was thinking.

"May have heard about him. He seems to be a good fellow." He said with feign seriousness.

"He is. In fact, he's the best man I've ever met. I just wonder, do you think he'll want me too?" She asked, seeing a sudden happiness in his eyes she didn't think she'd even seen there before.

He slipped an arm around her waist.

"I think he thinks you're the most wonderful woman in the world, and he'd be thrilled to have you."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. Now, about that kiss…" he said in a low voice, slipping his hand around her neck, pulling her closer. She smiled, leaning forward; glad to be where she was, in his arms, under the mistletoe. She pulled down his fake beard slightly to gain better access to his mouth.

She placed her fingertip to his lips, stopping his movements. He looked at her questioningly.

"You are a really great Santa, by the way." She said, smiling. He chuckled lightly, as she removed her finger from his mouth.

His lips covered hers, gently at first. Then she lifted her hands and pulled at the collar of his Santa suit, bringing him closer to him and eventually winding her arms around his neck, deepening their kiss.

"Are you sure about that Ziva?" Tony inquired, giving her an incredulous look.

"Yes, Tony, I'm sure it was Gibbs who was Santa Claus." Ziva said, smiling.

"I have to get a picture of that!" Tony exclaimed, digging out his cell phone from his trouser pocket. He glanced up to see Abby rushing toward them, a wide grin on her face, her eyes sparkling. She pulled to a halt in front of them, bouncing up and down, not able to stand still.

"What's up Abs?" Tony asked, wondering what could possibly have gotten the goth girl so excited. She clapped her hands and beamed.

"I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus!"

The End