"Please, McGee!" she begged, her green eyes wide and pleading. "Please, please, please!"
Tim sighed, sinking down further into his chair. He'd been hoping to relax tonight, ready himself for the impending holiday rush of the next week. The days had been hard as everyone tried to finish up as much work as they could before their holiday break, and Gibbs' team was no different. Sure, it had been mostly paperwork, but even that could grow tedious after a while. He'd planned to fill his night with a nice glass of wine, a good book, and some jazz music. But he knew it was hopeless; he couldn't say no to her.
"What would I need to do?"
Before she even replied, Abby engulfed him in a constricting hug, planting her red painted lips firmly against his cheek. "Just be there at seven. I'll do the rest! Oh, and bring a pillow!" she added, giving his tummy a pat.
The building was filled to the brim with excited children and their parents. They came from poorer families, ones that had to spend their Christmas money on more sensible gifts, like clothing. While they would get the occasional toy, it was rarely the popular ones that filled the toy store catalogues.
"Ready, Mr. Claus?"
Tim turned around. He'd been peeking out from his waiting area, watching the children run around, eating the donated cookies and candy.
Abby was standing there in her red sweater, complete with a skull and crossbones Santa, and black jeans. Sleigh bells were tied around her pigtails and they jingled with every move she made.
"Ready as I'll ever be," he said, his words muffled by the white beard she had placed on him. After all, Santa just wasn't Santa without his long white beard. He only hoped no skeptical youngster gave it a tug.
"You'll be great," she assured him, giving him another hug. It made his body heat up even more than it already had, encased in the heavy red and white suit. "Thanks again for doing this! I appreciate it and so do the Sisters."
"I couldn't disappoint the kids," he told her. He also couldn't disappoint her, but that was better left unsaid. "Just glad I could help out."
"Well, I'll be your elf and I'll bring them up one by one to great you. They'll sit on your lap, tell you their name. Just ask the typical 'Have you been good this year?' stuff. Then they'll go over to Sister Rosita and she'll give them a gift."
"How many kids?"
"We've got enough for eighty, but we'll probably only have twenty or thirty. It's never gone above fifty."
He nodded. "Guess I'd better work on my 'Ho! Ho! Ho!'"
Her lips twitched upward. "I think you're doing pretty well with that already." She leaned up and lifted his beard, planting a kiss on part of his face hidden by the beard. "You always make a great Santa, McGee."
Tim blushed, adding to the make-up that had already been caked onto his cheeks, giving him that jolly, rosy look. "You don't do so bad yourself, Abbs."
