"Please please please open mine first!" Abby excitedly bounced as she knelt at the foot of the tree, handing a brightly wrapped gift up to Tony.
"Abby, you didn't have to get me anything," he told her as he accepted the gift. "I haven't even gotten you anything yet..."
"You get me stuff all the time, Tony," she smiled. "Besides, that's not what Christmas is about."
"Yet here you are, giving me a present," he said as he smiled and raised a challenging brow.
"Well, if you'd rather not have it..." She fake-pouted and grabbed for the gift.
"I didn't say that!" He twisted away from her grabbing hands and tore open the wrapping. "Oh...my god, Abs! The Godfather...The Coppola Restoration complete set! You shouldn't have spent this much on me."
"It wasn't that much," she retorted. "And it doesn't matter. I saw it and I couldn't resist. It had your name written all over it."
Tony smiled and her and crouch down to give her a hug. "Thank you, Abby. It's great."
"You're welcome." She smiled, satisfied and happy. "Okay, Ziva! Here's yours!"
"And here is yours," Ziva said as she handed Abby the gift she'd gotten her. "And for you, Tony," she handed him a square cube of a box. "And McGee," she smiled as she handed him a gift as well and dug into her bag to find the the remaining gifts.
"Duckman," Abby handed a gift to the M.E.
"Oh, Abigail. You didn't have to..." the older man smiled.
"As if I missed the presentsyou put under here for all of us." She winked at him.
He let out a small laugh. "Very well, then. Hand them out for me, will you, my dear?"
"Guys, hold on," McGee said. "We should wait for Gibbs."
"Yeah, we should," Abby agreed. "And Jackson. I really didn't know he was gonna be here. And I wasn't sure what to get him. So, I got him a bottle of Jack... Does that seem too impersonal?"
"Oh hell...really?" Tim grimaced. "I got him a bottle of Glenfiddich..."
"Good god," Ducky broke out in a fit of laughter. "I got the man a bottle of Macallan! I do hope he won't be under the impression that we believe him to be a drunkard!"
"Well," Ziva sighed, "I got him and Gibbs each a bottle of that bourbon...Gentleman Jack. I suppose that does not help..."
"Oh no!" Ducky's laughter reignited. "I got him the Glen Edinburgh!"
"Hell!" Abby shouted. "No! That's what I got Gibbs, too!"
"Gentleman Jack," Tim sighed.
"You people..." Tony laughed. "You're gonna give the both of them a complex."
"It certainly does seem that way, doesn't it?" Ducky's laughter continued. "Good heavens! It's been quite a while since I laughed so hard!"
They all laughed, but perhaps mostly at the red face of the eldest in the room who continued his laughter.
"What'd we miss?" Jackson asked as he and Gibbs entered the living room.
"Only the funniest coincidence ever," Abby said as she stood and handed McGee a gift.
"You know how I feel about coincidences, Abs." Gibbs smirked.
"Which is why I find it very hard to believe you've completely dismissed the possibility that Santa is real," she said as she returned the smirk with narrowed eyes as she handed him and Jackson each their gifts from her. Gibbs smiled at her as both men took a seat on the couch. "Now, don't take this the wrong way, either of you," she continued with a serious face. "It really is a complete coincidence...and saying nothing at all about...what we think...about... Well, just know that we didn't exactly corroborate when buying your gifts this year."
"Alright, Abby." Gibbs shook his head with a grin. "I'm sure whatever it is, we'll like it."
"Oh you'll like it," she said. "But it's the amount...that may seem a bit...well, you'll see."
"Okay." He tore the wrapping which revealed the marked wooden box, telling him what he'd received. "This is perfect, Abs." He smiled.
"Yeah!" Jackson agreed as he opened his. "I was runnin' low on my bottle at home. Although, with all these new airport laws, I don't know if I'll be able to get it back with me."
"Oh my god, I didn't even think!" Abby grimaced.
"Oh, none of us did," Tim said as he put two bottles in front of the men. Ziva did the same, and then Ducky.
The room was silent a moment. Then Abby spoke, "We really don't think either of you have a problem with alcohol...promise..."
And Ducky could no longer hold in the laughter. It started out as a long outburst of air that caught the attention of both Gibbs's. And as it grew into a hearty laugh, Jackson and Gibbs both smiled and joined him in the fit. Soon, the entire room was in happy tears, desperately trying to stop.
Ziva found herself kneeling beside Tony as he held his stomach, which was sore from laughing. She linked an arm around one of his and leaned in a bit to place a kiss on his cheek. He looked at her with shining eyes.
He felt a warmth about him; this roomful of people meant more to him than anything in the world. He was the luckiest person alive, he was pretty sure.
Tony wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her side into his, laying his cheek on the top of her head when she laid hers on his shoulder. And they watched the happy group of people dive into their presents...
Tbc...