Funny story... I definitely uploaded this last night and then forgot to post it. So, double dose!

Gibbs was halfway through unwrapping the Hershey's Kisses when Abby pulled the first batch from the oven. "Help me put the Kisses in the cookies, Gibbs!"

Gibbs stood, picking up the bowl of unwrapped candies to set down next to the cookie sheet of warm peanut butter cookies. He smooshed a candy into the center of one of the cookies, pressing it down lightly so that the edges of the browned batter rose around the Kiss in a protective circle.

"Gibbs, I didn't know you knew how to make these!" Abby gaped up at him in surprise, now a few inches shorter than him in her sock-feet.

He shrugged, "Not hard, Abbs." He pushed another chocolate into a second cookie lightly. "Used to make them all the time."

Abby paused, leaving a Kiss partially pushed into a cookie. "You mean…with…"

"With Kelly." Gibbs plucked another candy from the bowl and set it with a push into another cookie, holding it for a moment as the base melted slightly from the remaining warmth.

"I…I'm sorry, Gibbs. I didn't mean to – I mean- I wanted to- I mean…" Abby stumbled over herself, trying to think of a way to tell him that she didn't want to bring up memories that would make him retreat further into himself; that she wanted him to make new memories, memories that were happy, with her.

"It's okay, Abbs." Gibbs placed a chocolate in each of the remaining cookies, one right after the other. Finished, he looked over at her. "They're good cookies."

She stood frozen in place as he leaned over and gave her a kiss on her forehead. Taking the bowl back with him, he sat back at the kitchen table and began unwrapping more chocolates. "Might wanna go ahead and take those off the sheet to cool."

Abby forced herself to pick up the spatula and started sliding it under two cookies at a time, moving the still-falling-apart cookies to the cooling rack she had brought with her in anticipation of Gibbs' lack of baking tools. Once finished she began to scoop a second batch of dough onto the cookie sheet, working in the tense silence that had prevailed in the room.

Abby placed the next batch in the oven and set the timer to eight minutes. Turning around towards Gibbs, she studied his quiet figure and sat in the chair next to him.

"Want something, Abby?" Gibbs tore the wrapper from a Kiss and threw it into the trash can that sat beside him on the floor.

"I just- are you…okay?"

"Always."

Abby frowned at him. "You don't seem okay."

Gibbs placed another unwrapped chocolate in the bowl and looked up at her. "I am."

"Gibbs…" Abby hesitated, "I just want you to be happy for Christmas. I know you're not crazy about the holiday, for obvious reasons, but I was hoping…" She took a deep breath, thinking through what to say, "I was hoping we could make some better memories. Ones that wouldn't hurt so much. And if I'd known about the cookies I never would have brought them. I would've found something else entirely for us to do. Something that you wouldn't have done – but I'm not really sure what that would have been. It's hard to know. I thought maybe some movies, but I don't know what you would want to watch and-"

"Abbs." Gibbs interrupted her, still calmly watching her. "It's okay." He studied her expression, and suddenly felt the urge to open up to her a little, "Kelly loved peanut butter cookies. Every year at Christmas Shannon made these, and Kelly always wanted me to help put the Kisses in the cookies when they came out. She and Shan always joked it was the only baking I could do." He smiled wistfully at the memory. "And they were right. But it's okay. I've missed it."

Abby looked at him tentatively, and then smiled a small, unsure smile. "Okay. I think you've probably unwrapped enough candy by now." She nodded down at the bowl which was brimming with chocolate.

"Then I'll help you put some more in now." Gibbs stood just as the buzzer on the oven went off.

The cookies were all made and were cooling, and Abby and Gibbs had placed the leftover unwrapped Kisses in a bowl on the coffee table, into which Abby kept reaching as they watched the original Miracle on 34th Street.

"Abbs, why don't you just eat some of the cookies?" Gibbs smirked at her from his end of the couch.

"Because those are for after dinner! Besides, I don't wanna spoil my dinner."

Gibbs' smirk grew into one of the smiles she loved so much but rarely saw. "And eating those isn't considered spoiling your dinner?"

"Course not. The carbs in the cookies would fill up my stomach. These Kisses by themselves aren't as filling so I won't be satisfied and full when the Chinese gets here. The Kisses alone leave me wanting."

"Kisses by themselves tend to do that." Gibbs retorted, then immediately regretted it, forgetting that he was trying not to flirt.

Abby grinned up at him suddenly, surprised in his return to his flirty behavior. It had vanished in the last week or so. The only things that had remained were his hugs and kisses on the cheek. "That's why they're more of an appetizer or a dessert."

Gibbs' smirk was gone, and in its place was his trademark stony expression. Abby's grin vanished as she realized he was no longer continuing the flirty banter. "Is something wrong, Gibbs?"

Gibbs shook his head, "No. Just fine."

Abby stared down the couch at him. "You got really quiet all of a sudden."

"Good part of the movie." Gibbs nodded over at the TV which was just going on commercial. Gibbs cursed himself silently in his head.

Abby continued to stare over at him. "Gibbs, what's wrong? You've been really off this last week or so. You're acting really distant. I mean…ya know, more so than usual. Is it because of Christmas? You've done this before, but not this badly. Why now? Why this year?"

Abby's eyes were filled with concern and fear. Gibbs hated that expression; it meant there was something he could have done to prevent her from hurting, and he had failed. "Didn't mean to be distant, Abby."

"Why has it been worse?" Abby pushed a little further, hoping he would open up again like he had earlier that day.

Gibbs cocked his head, debating on giving in and telling her that he'd overheard her request from Santa. "Abbs-" He was cut off as the doorbell rang, making Abby jump a little from the sudden noise.

"Chinese is here." Gibbs stood, grateful for an excuse to get away from the conversation and have more time to think.

Abby sighed to herself as she watched Gibbs cross the room and open the door. Frigid wind blew into the room as the door swung open, revealing a small pile of snow just outside on the porch. The conversation forgotten, Abby leapt from the couch at the sight of the snow. "Snow!"

"Yeah, it's not too bad right now. Thank goodness this is my last delivery," the delivery boy nodded at the food as he handed over the bag and took the money from Gibbs.

"Keep the change. Drive safe." Gibbs nodded back at the teenager who did a half-salute and carefully crunched through the snow and down the steps.

"They weren't calling for snow, were they?" Abby joined Gibbs at the still-open front door.

"Not that I know of."

"It's so pretty!" Abby leaned out the door to get a better view. "Looks like there's about an inch. That's not bad for Virginia. Though remember a few years ago when we had that mini blizzard? I think we got more than the rest of the state, which isn't hard to believe, given we're the northern-most point, so the furthest from the Equator-"

"Abby, food?" Gibbs held up the bag which had small splotches of grease towards the bottom.

"Oh, right!" Abby pulled herself back in and closed the door. "Did they include chopsticks?"

Had a bad day at work, so reviews would be so awesome. :) Thanks for the follows!