Jack and the MCRT agents gathered around Gibbs' desk for a case update. Once they were finished, Gibbs gave out new orders. While Agents Carthew, Greer, and Normand scattered to complete their assignments, Jack lingered in the bullpen and watched Gibbs pretend to work on his computer.

When Gibbs failed to acknowledge her, Jack bent over his desk, pressing her palms firmly against the top to thrust herself into his line of sight. The position caused the neckline of her shirt to gape and Gibbs couldn't stop himself from sneaking a peek. He quickly returned his gaze to his computer screen, but not before Jack caught him. Snickering, she teased, "You know, I don't mind if you look. It's one of the perks of dating."

"Not at work."

"I seem to recall making out in my office yesterday."

"Behind a closed door."

"Where's your sense of adventure, Jethro?"

The corner of Gibbs' mouth twitched as he turned to look at Jack. "There a reason you're still here, Jacqueline?" he asked while deliberately keeping his eyes on her face. He refused to give in to temptation a second time.

"To remind you that tomorrow is Christmas Eve."

"Yeah. And?"

"Do you have plans?"

"You offering?"

"I am. We're going to have homemade pizza for dinner and decorate gingerbread men. We'll watch White Christmas and read 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. Then, Faith will go to bed early to wait for Santa, and I'll stay up late to be Santa. You wanna join us? It'll be fun."

"Faith won't mind?"

"Are you kidding? She'll be thrilled."

"Okay."

"Great," Jack exclaimed, smiling brightly. "Just come over whenever you get out of here."

"Gotta work today, if I'm going to leave tomorrow."

Jack took the hint and left the bullpen. As she walked away, Gibbs noticed that her smile never faltered and there was a little extra bounce in her step.

NCIS NCIS NCIS

On Christmas Eve, Gibbs sent his team home in the middle of the afternoon, claiming there was no point trying to work when they all wanted to be somewhere else and were unlikely to learn anything new until after the holiday anyway. The other agents were so shocked at being dismissed prior to the conclusion of the case that they didn't immediately react and, by the time they recovered, Gibbs was gone.

After he made a quick stop at his house to meet a neighbor who had agreed to help him load Faith's Christmas present into the bed of his truck, Gibbs drove straight to Jack's house. He had barely gotten out of his truck when he heard the front door slam and saw Faith racing toward him. Years of experience told Gibbs that she was going to jump on him, so he braced himself and, when she launched herself at his chest, he easily absorbed the impact. Wrapping his arms around her, he said, "Hey, Little Doc."

"H-hi, G-gib-b-bs," Faith responded, her teeth chattering.

Gibbs was already carrying Faith across the yard when the front door opened again. Jack stood in the doorway and yelled, "Faith Maria Sloane, why aren't you wearing your coat?" Just as Jack finished speaking, Gibbs stepped past her into the house. He waited for her to close and lock the door, then greeted her with a kiss. As he started to move away from Jack, Faith latched onto her mother's neck and would not let go. Jack willingly took Faith from Gibbs and cuddled her close. "You have to wear your coat, or you'll get sick," Jack scolded Faith.

"I had to go see Gibbs."

"Gibbs could come to the door. You absolutely cannot go outside without your coat."

"I'm sorry, Mama."

"It's alright, baby girl. Are you ready to finish the cookies now?"

Nodding enthusiastically, Faith pushed at Jack's arms to signal that she wanted to be set down. The moment her feet touched the ground, Faith hopped over to the closet where Gibbs was hanging up his coat. When he was finished, Faith took his and Jack's hands to lead them to the kitchen. As they walked, she told Gibbs, "You can help me cut out gingerbread men and, after dinner, you can help me decorate them."

"Do I get to help eat them too?"

"Only one," declared Faith, letting go of Jack's hand long enough to quickly thrust a single finger in the direction of Gibbs' face.

Jack coughed to cover a laugh, but the flicker of a smile at the corner of Gibbs' mouth indicated she wasn't entirely successful. He was still smirking as he asked Faith, "Why only one?"

"'Cause the rest are for Santa. They're his favorite."

"Are they also your mom's favorite?"

Faith gasped. "How'd you know?"

"It's my job."

"As an agent or as her boyfriend?"

"Both."

"That's enough of that," Jack proclaimed, cutting them off before they could gang up on her. She handed them each a cookie cutter and gestured to the counter where the cookie dough had been rolled out. "Get to work my little elves."

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Later that evening, after all of the Sloane family Christmas Eve traditions had been completed, Faith announced she was going to bed. She made Gibbs promise not to swipe any of the gingerbread men she had put out for Santa, then asked Jack to carry her from the living room to her bedroom.

When Jack returned from tucking Faith into bed, Gibbs was sitting in the same spot on the far end of the couch that he had occupied all through their viewing of White Christmas and the reading of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. He had his arm stretched across the back of the couch, which Jack interpreted as an invitation to reclaim the space she had held during most of that time.

As she curled up against Gibbs' side and laid her head on his chest, Gibbs dropped his arm from the back of the couch to her shoulders and pressed a soft kiss to her hair. Jack practically purred in contentment. "Thank you," she murmured, her voice muffled by Gibbs' sweatshirt.

"For what?"

"Celebrating with us. It meant a lot to Faith. And to me."

"I had a good time."

Worried that Gibbs was just telling her what he thought she wanted to hear while privately struggling with the ghosts of his past, Jack placed her palm in the center of Gibbs' chest and pushed herself up and slightly away from him so she could look him in the eye. Watching him carefully for any signs of pain or sorrow, she asked, "Did you really?"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, um, I'm guessing this is the first Christmas you've spent with a family since you lost yours. It can't be easy."

Gibbs shrugged off Jack's concern. "Easier than I expected since I'm not trying to replace my family or forget them."

"You'll tell me if it stops being easy" insisted Jack, levelling a hard stare at Gibbs. She refused to blink until he acquiesced. When he nodded, she beamed at him. "Good," she praised. "Want to watch It's a Wonderful Life?"

Gibbs breathed a sigh of relief at the change in topic. He was so happy that Jack wasn't going to pursue the issue that he would have done nearly anything she wanted and was grateful that her only request was to watch another classic Christmas movie. "Sure," he quickly agreed. Glancing out the window behind him, he saw that it was starting to snow and added, "After I bring in Faith's gift."

"You got Faith a Christmas present? Are you going to tell me what it is?"

"If you help me get it inside, you can see it."

"Let's go!"

NCIS NCIS NCIS

There wasn't time for Jack to fully appreciate Faith's present while they were outside, but, once they had set it in the living room next to the Christmas tree, she crouched down to inspect every minor detail. She didn't even notice that Gibbs left the room until he returned and knelt beside her holding a box she had last seen on the front seat of his truck. He placed the box between them and began to unpack tiny furniture. As he filled the rooms of the dollhouse, Jack muttered under her breath, "You built my daughter a dollhouse. You actually built her a dollhouse."

"Had to buy the dolls and Mrs. Evenson did the curtains and things," noted Gibbs, effectively cutting off Jack's repetitive mumbling.

"Still, I can't believe you made my daughter a dollhouse. When did you have time to do this? You must have started months ago."

"Started in July. Worked on it when I had time."

"July! You barely knew us in July."

"Knew enough," Gibbs replied nonchalantly. He clearly viewed building a dollhouse for a child he'd just met as little more than a simple act of kindness. However, Jack considered it a very big deal. She reached across the box and grabbed the front of Gibbs' shirt, pulling until he leaned close enough to kiss. After she released him, Gibbs joked, "Guess that means you like it."

"I love it."

"Think Faith will like it?"

"I think she's gonna love it too. You should stay the night, so you can be here when she sees it."

"Are you sure?"

Jack pushed the empty box behind them and slid closer to Gibbs. Threading her fingers through his hair, she pulled his mouth to hers and kissed him deeply. When they broke apart, she said, "I'm sure."

"Okay."

"Fantastic! I'm going to get the Santa gifts and a blanket to cover the dollhouse, then we can watch our movie and share Santa's cookies."

NCIS NCIS NCIS

On Christmas morning, Gibbs woke up on Jack's couch with Jack sprawled on top of him. It was still dark outside, but he could sense someone watching him. He turned his head to see Faith sitting in front of the couch with her chin resting on the edge. Her face was so close to his that their noses were practically touching. Gibbs pulled his head back to regain some of his personal space.

"Merry Christmas, Gibbs," whispered Faith.

"Merry Christmas."

"Did Santa come? Did you see him? Did he bring lots of presents? Can I open my presents?"

Gibbs made a point of looking over at the pile of gifts under the Christmas tree, which had obviously multiplied since Faith had gone to bed. Looking back at Faith, he answered, "Yes. No. Yes. Not yet."

"Why not?"

"It's too early. How about we make breakfast for your mom?"

"We can't. Mom's s'pposed to make chocolate chip pancakes shaped like Christmas trees with whipped cream and sprinkles like she does every year."

"We could make them for her."

"Do you know how to do that?" Faith asked incredulously.

"Yes."

Faith pursed her lips as she contemplated the possibility of Gibbs making her mom's special Christmas pancakes. Ultimately, she relented and grudgingly conceded, "We can try."

In an effort to get up without waking Jack, Gibbs slowly inched closer to the edge of the couch while simultaneously trying to roll her off of him toward the back of the couch. Jack resisted the movement by clinging tightly to his shirt. "Five more minutes," she grumbled.

"We're going to make breakfast. You can sleep."

Groaning, Jack disentangled herself from Gibbs and stumbled to her feet. "I'll do it."

NCIS NCIS NCIS

Once they had eaten breakfast and opened presents, Faith's excitement waned and she settled down to play quietly with her new toys. Occasionally she would ask Jack and Gibbs to join her, but she was generally content to entertain herself while they cuddled on the couch.

By mid-morning, Jack was struggling to stay awake. Despite desperately wanting a nap, she refused to let herself fall asleep. Instead, she reluctantly separated from Gibbs and went to make a fresh pot of coffee.

When she came back, she had two mugs of black coffee, one of which contained a massive amount of sugar. She passed the sugarless coffee to Gibbs, then sat down next to him. As she made herself comfortable, she noticed that Faith had added her My Little Ponies and the Kelly dolls from her Barbie collection to her dollhouse. Chuckling, Jack nudged Gibbs' arm with her elbow. "I told you she would love it," she said, keeping her voice low so that only Gibbs could hear.

Rolling his eyes, Gibbs ducked his head to kiss Jack's cheek. Before he pulled back, he whispered in her ear, "You were right."