For: OrtonsMistress
From: MissJayne
Title: It's a Wonderful Life
Rating: K+
Jennifer Shepard truly believed it was the small moments in life that were the best.
It was Christmas Day, a day she usually spent alone. Curled up in an armchair in her study, drinking rather too much bourbon for even Gibbs' good, staring miserably at the pile of paperwork awaiting her perusal and signature, wondering why she'd bothered to put up the Christmas decorations when there was no one but her to appreciate them, and even then she was doing an awful job, surviving on the food Noemi had left her while her housekeeper spent the day with her own family, and wishing she wasn't so damn alone.
Normally she gave up after a few hours and went to the office, trying to pretend it was just another day. But it didn't really work, not when she had to pass the Marines on duty who all desperately wanted to be elsewhere, and who all wished her a Merry Christmas and kindly asked her why she wasn't at home with her family. She knew how much they sacrificed for their own families and their country, and it upset her that she was willingly coming into work while they had probably drawn a short straw. Up in her office, isolated from the world, she would feel even more alone, missing the hustle and bustle (and occasional screams of abuse emanating from Ziva (currently located on the rug in front of her fireplace) targeted at some poor, unsuspecting electrical equipment that refused to co-operate, followed by pleas from McGee (currently sitting on one arm of her favorite armchair) for her to spare both it and her knives).
However, this Christmas was decidedly different.
A few months ago, she had resumed her relationship with Jethro. Oh, that sounded so clinical, but she felt like a silly teenager when she called him her boyfriend. And, really, she wasn't sure she felt safe using a term like that. They had both been very careful not to give a definition to their relationship in Europe, what with the danger and their jobs and their mutual determination not to fall in love (and look how well that had turned out), and what with all the new difficulties they faced, not to mention being a decade older, more emotionally bruised and pretending to be wiser, they had decided against jinxing their new-found happiness.
Sometimes he claimed he could read her like a book, which Jenny found highly amusing as she regularly threatened to tell DiNozzo (currently sharing an armchair with McGee, only he had managed to win the coveted seat) the secret that he only read Sniper Monthly and lurid trashy romance novels, and she had managed to snap a photograph on her BlackBerry of him lounging in her bathtub, covered with scented bubbles, wearing only a pair of her reading glasses and holding one of said books. Somehow he had picked up on her regular depressing loneliness at Christmas, probably because his own version of Christmas Day was dismally familiar to him, except with the addition of a boat and a basement. Therefore, being the wonderful boyfriend he was, he had said nothing and instead fallen to planning.
Abby (currently perched on the other armchair in her study) had undoubtedly been a Christmas elf. While Jethro had hustled her out to dinner on Christmas Eve, securing a table for two at her favorite French restaurant (she saw Ziva's hand in restaurant choice and McGee's hand in the existence of a reservation), Santa's Little Helpers had decorated her house from top to toe. Decorations she had not seen in years had found their way out of storage, while new ones had appeared out of nowhere. There were no less than five trees in her house, shedding needles all over the floor (Noemi was going to have a fit when she saw them). There was tinsel and mistletoe, baubles and candy canes, paper snowflakes (including some bizarre Star Wars themed ones), twinkling lights, candles that filled the room with beautiful scents, and, her personal favorite, a crackling fire in the fireplace.
Of course Jethro had made sure she hadn't seen any of it before Christmas Day itself (and if he planned to keep her away from her house again and not arouse her suspicions, he was more than welcome to distract her in the same way). Instead, he had roused her on Christmas morning and ignored her complaints as he had driven her through the snow-filled streets, only promising she could play in the snow later. He had made her go into her house, promising to be right behind her.
There was a reason for not surprisingly a highly-trained, armed Federal agent, and that reason had manifested when Jenny had been greeted with cries of Merry Christmas from a supposedly empty house. After everyone had put away their weapons, and Tony had been handed a frozen bag of peas in a vague attempt to make up for the heel to a rather sensitive part of his anatomy, Jenny had made her way into her study after copious hugs and a little bit of crying.
Abby was insistent that it wasn't a big deal for them to have Christmas at hers, especially because they were a family and no one was supposed to be alone at Christmas. And so they had shared presents under the tree that currently resided in her study, giggling as they swapped anecdotes of Christmases past, laughing as they pulled crackers and traded the dodgy jokes inside. They had shared hopes for the future, and missed those who couldn't make it, and wished for a glorious New Year.
Now, full of eggnog and punch, and possibly a glass of bourbon, Jenny lingered against the doorframe to her study, unseen by her new family. Everyone looked happy and peaceful, and decidedly festive with the paper hats from the crackers sitting on their heads at Abby's insistence.
Jethro came up behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. She rested her head against his chest, not needing words to express how perfect this was.