To say she wanted to rip her hair out at the roots was a severe understatement. Jenny had spent the whole morning in the kitchen with her mother. The two disagreed on how everything for the Thanksgiving dinner should be cooked. Plus, she had to prevent her mother from calling Noemi five times. Katharine had intervened with her MacBook and suggestion of googling the recipes that her grandmother could not remember since the cooking had to be done her way.

Jenny left the kitchen and stopped when she heard racket from the other side of the front door. Moments later, she walked straight into her husband's arms and buried her face into him.

"Jen?"

"Just shut up and hold me."

"Can I let Coop off the leash first?"

She rolled her eyes and let go, bending down and releasing the German shepherd to run free about the house. "Now, hold me," she whispered and stared at Jethro with pleading green eyes.

Jethro nodded and hugged her tightly, rubbing her back in soft circles. "C'mon," he whispered against her hair. He felt her shake her head against him. With a muffled grumble, he lifted her off the floor and carried her up the stairs. Inside the bedroom, he put her down on the bed and retreated into the bathroom to run her a steaming hot bath. From her spot, Jenny watched him with a smile on her face. He left the bedroom and jogged down the stairs, quietly entering the study and grabbing one tumbler along with the bottle of bourbon.

When he reentered the bathroom, he found her in the claw foot tub surrounded by bubbles and with a content smile around her face. He poured a large amount of bourbon into the glass and handed it to her, kneeling down behind her to give her a shoulder massage.

"You're too good," Jenny murmured as she rolled her neck around.

He smiled and continued massaging her neck. "You need it."

"Do I have to go back down there?"

"Is she alone?"

"Katie's with her."

"We can hide together."

"Jethro," she admonished.

"What? You're good undercover."

She turned her head to side, giving him one raised eyebrow followed by a smirk. "I am good undercover."

He smirked, leaning in and kissing the corner of her mouth. "Jen, enjoy the peace and quiet," he told her, getting up.

"Where are you going?"

"I need coffee."

"Jethro, you do realize getting coffee means going into the kitchen?"

He muttered with a nod of his head as he left the bathroom. Jenny sunk into the bubbles and let out a long sigh. As Jethro descended the stairs, he noticed Cooper exiting the study. The dog stopped and looked at him, dropping a tattered sock onto the floor. Jethro noticed it was Helen's sock and grinned. Today may not be a bad day.

"Coop, give me that."

Cooper picked up the sock and trotted over, letting Gibbs remove it from his mouth. The sock was stuffed into his pocket, and he headed into the kitchen, kissing the top of Katie's head.

"Hey Daddy," she greeted.

He squinted to see what she was doing on the computer and had no idea what she was doing. "Morning, Helen."

"Jethro," she said briskly.

He reached for his favorite cup and came up empty. His eyes surveyed the situation quickly, and he saw Helen was using his treasured mug.

From her spot at the bar, Katie watched the interaction between her father and grandmother. Her father rarely verbalized his aversion to Helen, but the lack of love was mutual between the two. However, her grandmother was more verbal. She knew she had taken her son-in-law's preferred mug.

"Oh Jethro...did I accidentally use your coffee cup of choice?"

He shook his head. "Enjoy it. Did you wash it out first, Hel?"

"No."

"Cooper finished the last bit of coffee left in the cup last night."

Helen stopped in mid sip and leaned over to the sink, spitting out the coffee. She placed the mug into the sink and quickly left the kitchen to go brush her teeth.

Katie bit her lip to keep from laughing. "That was untrue."

He shrugged his shoulders. "I won't tell her different."

"Neither will I." Katie crossed her heart and smiled. She answered her phone when it began ringing and hung up minutes later.

"Lizzie and Tony are on the way. When's Ducky coming?"

"Later in the afternoon."

She nodded her head. "Where's mom?"

"Upstairs. Don't bother her."

Katie rolled her eyes and continued chatting with her Georgetown friends that were home for the holidays and equally as bored as her.

Upstairs, Helen finished brushing her teeth and freshening up. She hated and missed being in this house. There were too many memories of good times and bad times. After her husband's death from a long battle with cancer, she had to get out of the city. She could have moved to Florida since she wanted warm winters, but Florida was not far away enough. California was her destination. She heaved a sigh passing by her grandson's room and knocked on the door of the master bedroom. Jenny opened the door and stood in her robe, assuming her mother had complaints about Jethro.

"I want to give you something."

She walked away from the door to let her mother inside the bedroom. She twisted her hair up, putting it into a clip. "What is it?"

"You know how much you love my pearls?"

"Yes..."

"I'm too selfish to part with them yet, but I wanted to give you these as a late," she paused. "Hopefully not too late birthday present." Helen showed her a black box and offered it to her.

Jenny took the jewelry box and sat down on the bed, opening it. "They're beautiful." She took out the pearl and diamond necklace, smiling softly. "Thank you," she whispered as she admired the matching earrings.

"You're welcome." Helen put the necklace around her daughter's neck and fastened the clasp. "Perfection."

She hugged her mother tightly and kissed her cheek. "And it's not too late."

Helen looked away and swiped at her eye, clearing her throat. "I'll leave you to get ready for the day. I'll do my best not to be difficult."

"Not being difficult doesn't run in our veins."

Her mother grinned and kissed her head. "True."

"Mother," Jenny called as she reached the door. "You don't have to worry about Tony being with Lizzie for money. He's quite well off himself."

"On a NCIS salary, I think not," Helen replied coolly.

"His family has money. There are more than age stipulations for Tony to receive his inheritance." Jenny hoped she had placed a band-aid over her mother's concerns. She knew she had the best intentions even if tact was scarce at times. Her family had worked hard for the wealth, and Helen simply didn't want anyone to help her granddaughters drain through the sum too quickly. If Jenny hadn't had children, she'd probably still have nearly the whole amount of her inheritance.

Helen nodded her head, turning and leaving the room. Unknown to her daughter, she left the room with a pleased smile on her face. If one came from money, he or she was not a gold digger in Helen's opinion. Her opinion was all that mattered. The weight of approving or disapproving of a male had been so much easier when the burden had been shared. Jasper respected Jethro from the moment he met him, and Jasper had told her to keep quiet for Jenny's happiness which had been easier said than done.

Tony glanced towards the stairs as he and Lizzie entered the house. He noticed Helen and nudged his girlfriend. She looked up from petting Cooper and whispered, "Remember what I told you."

He nodded and greeted Helen as she came down the stairs. He was panicky and resisting the urge to dart and run behind Gibbs for protection from the dragon lady. Gibbs observed the interaction from the hallway with an amused smirk on his face.

Helen hugged her granddaughter first and stared at Tony for a moment before smiling at him. She took him by the arm, leading him out of the foyer. "Would you like anything to drink? It's best to have a bit of alcohol in your system at these family gatherings."

"I have to drive."

"I don't plan to get you drunk or take advantage of you. Tony is short for Anthony…isn't it?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"I'd prefer to call you Anthony."

Gibbs patted Tony on the back when the pair passed by him. He looked at Lizzie and smiled. Helen seemed to be making the effort. He could easily tell when the woman was being genuine or fake. She was being genuine. Jethro remembered her making the effort with him. Sadly, he thought back to when his relationship with his mother-in-law changed. The fine line of amicability between them had been erased with his son's death.

"Daddy?"

He shook out of his thoughts of Jasper at the sound of Lizzie's voice. He gave her a smile and eased his arm around her. "Today will be all right."

The day would be all right. He would be surrounded by his family and friends. After a wonderful meal and desserts, the group would relocate into the den. Ducky would tell stories from years gone by, and the stories would become more colorful with the help of scotch. Hopefully, he'd tell the story of when Jenny commandeered the boat in France. The story was Jethro's favorite, and the breathtaking-boat-stealing-almost-always-in control redhead would be next to him on the sofa sharing a glass of bourbon with him...a perfect end to a Thanksgiving gathering.