Friday night movie night was a longstanding tradition for Jack and Faith. Over time, it had become common for Gibbs to join them whenever he wasn't stuck at work. That's how he found himself wedged into the corner of Jack's couch watching A Bug's Life for the third time while Jack reclined against him and Faith sat on his lap.

When the movie was over, Jack reached for the remote. As she pushed the rewind button, she told Faith, "It's time for bed."

"Can Gibbs tuck me in?"

"That's up to him."

Gibbs didn't wait for Faith to ask again. He simply tightened his arm around her, effectively lifting her from his lap to his chest, and began trying to extricate himself from Jack. Within a couple of minutes, Jack was alone in her living room staring at the popcorn bowl and soda cans that were the remnants of movie night.

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Gibbs set Faith down outside her bedroom door and waited in the hall while she put on her pajamas. He expected her to open the door holding the book she wanted him to read. Instead, her hands were empty.

Faith beckoned Gibbs into her bedroom, then closed the door behind him. Spinning around to face him, she crossed her arms over her chest. "We need to talk," she announced.

"Okay."

"It's January."

"Yeah."

"Next month is February."

"That's usually how it works."

Gibbs' obliviousness annoyed Faith. To calm herself, she let her eyes drift closed and took a deep breath. Her shoulders lifted nearly to her ears before slowly lowering back into place as she opened her eyes. "That means Valentine's Day is coming up," she said slowly, taking the time to carefully enunciate each word. "You better not forget this year. Or else."

"Or else what?"

"Not sure yet. I'm thinking something with grasshoppers or piranhas."

Gibbs chuckled at Faith's references to her favorite Disney movies. "I don't think either one of us want to explain to your mom why you're playing with grasshoppers and piranhas."

"Then you better not forget," reasoned Faith.

"I won't."

With her hands on her hips, Faith regarded Gibbs through narrowed eyes. "Promise?"

"Promise," Gibbs repeated, drawing an x over his heart.

"Good," Faith replied sweetly, her fierceness suddenly dissipating. "Will you read me Stuart Little now?"

"Yeah, Little Doc. Grab your book and hop in bed."

As was often the case on movie night, Faith struggled to stay awake for even one chapter of her book. That didn't stop her from requesting a second chapter, but she didn't protest when Gibbs refused. He tossed the book onto the nightstand, then heaved himself out of the bed. Once he was on his feet, he bent over to pull the blankets up around Faith's shoulders and kiss her cheek. "Night, Little Doc."

"Night, Gibbs. Love you."

"Love you too."

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When Gibbs returned to the living room, both Jack and the movie night mess were gone. He tracked Jack down in the kitchen where she was washing the last of the dinner dishes. The clean dishes were stacked precariously high in the dish drainer, so he grabbed a towel and got to work drying them.

As Jack handed Gibbs the last pan and moved to his other side to put away the dry dishes, she said, "You were gone for a while. Is everything okay?"

Gibbs grimaced. "Faith takes her matchmaker duties very seriously."

"Oh no," groaned Jack. "What'd she do now?"

"Reminded me that Valentine's Day is comin' up. Warned me not to forget again. I'm afraid to find out what happens if I do."

"I'll talk to her."

"Don't bother. She's just lookin' out for her mom."

"I know, but February is a hard month for you. We're never going to be a couple that celebrates Valentine's Day. That's okay. I understand," Jack assured Gibbs while continuing to move around the kitchen putting dishes away as if the issue truly was no big deal.

"Actually, I was thinking we could celebrate early. Maybe next Friday? I have a reservation at that fancy French place you want to try."

Jack froze in the middle of bending down to put a pot away. Jerking upright, she squealed, "Dominique's?"

"Shh! You'll wake up Faith."

"I thought you said Faith just reminded you? How do you already have a reservation?"

"I don't need an eight-year-old to tell me not to make the same mistake twice," Gibbs stated, completely deadpan.

The corner of Jack's mouth lifted into a lopsided grin. "I guess not."

"Is that a yes?" Gibbs asked, looping an arm around Jack's waist and pulling her to him.

Instinctively, Jack raised her arms to rest on his shoulders. Her grin widened into a bright smile. "Yes," she answered with a happy sigh.

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Even though Gibbs wasn't concerned about Faith's warning, Jack didn't like the idea of her daughter issuing warnings or meddling in other people's relationships. She certainly didn't like the idea of her daughter issuing warnings as a way of meddling in other people's relationships. With that in mind, she decided to confront Faith on Saturday morning.

Jack plotted the confrontation while she cooked pancakes for breakfast and Gibbs shoveled the fresh snow off the driveway. She hadn't completely figured out what she was going to say by the time Faith wandered into the kitchen.

One look at Jack's face told Faith she was in trouble. Turning on her heel, Faith attempted to flee, but stopped when Jack called out, "Not so fast. We need to talk."

Reluctantly, Faith turned back around to face her mother. "What did I do?"

"You tell me. What exactly did you say to Gibbs last night about Valentine's Day?"

"He told you about that?"

"Yes."

"Don't worry, I wouldn't really attack him with grasshoppers or piranhas."

Jack instantly recognized the references to A Bug's Life and Tarzan and connected them to Gibbs' comment about being afraid of what would happen if he forgot Valentine's Day. A headache started to form behind her eyes when she let her imagination fill in the blanks regarding the specifics of Faith's warning. Rubbing her temples, Jack muttered, "I'm glad to hear that."

Faith shrugged. "It's only 'cause I don't know where to get piranhas and I think Gibbs'd scare the grasshoppers."

"There better not be any grasshoppers in this house, Faith."

"There aren't. Yet."

"Never."

"Fiiiiiine."

The pancakes were done, so Jack took a moment to flip the last of them onto a platter and turn off the griddle. Picking up the platter, she motioned for Faith to follow her to the table. At the table, Jack set down the platter, then sat down and lifted Faith into her lap. "I have a pretty good idea about what you said to Gibbs last night and I have some things to say about it. I want you to listen closely, okay?"

"Uh huh."

"It's not okay to threaten people and it's not okay to mess with other people's relationships and it's not okay to recreate scenes from Disney movies with random animals. It's really not okay to threaten to recreate a Disney movie to get Gibbs to act a certain way in our relationship."

"I was just trying to help," Faith pouted.

"I know and I appreciate it, but Gibbs and I can handle our own relationship. If you have questions or are worried about something, you can talk to me, but no more meddling. Got it?"

"Got it."

"Good. Why don't you go see if Gibbs is done shoveling, so we can eat breakfast?"

"Okay!" Faith agreed eagerly. She slid off of Jack's lap and bolted from the kitchen.

"Don't forget your coat!" Jack yelled after her.

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The following Friday, Faith sat on Jack's bed watching Jack rifle through her closet for a dress to wear on her Valentine's date with Gibbs. When Jack had narrowed her choices down to two, she held them up to let Faith cast the final vote.

Pointing at the red dress, Faith asked, "How is this a Valentine's date when it's not even February yet?"

Jack threw the black dress on the bed. "February is a hard month for Gibbs, so we decided to celebrate a little early," she explained as she stepped into the red dress and turned around so Faith could help her with the zipper.

"And you're sure this counts as not forgetting?"

"I'm sure."

Faith wasn't convinced, but, before she could argue any further, there was a knock at the door. "Gibbs is here!" she cried, scrambling to get off the bed. She darted toward the bedroom door. "I'll let him in!"

"Wait!" Jack lunged for Faith and managed to catch the back of her shirt. "It could be Gibbs or it could be Mrs. Evenson or it could be the pizza guy. Let's go together."

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When they reached the door, Faith swung it open to reveal Gibbs standing on the other side. The sight of him in his suit and wool coat holding two bouquets of roses rendered Jack temporarily speechless. It wasn't until Faith nudged her that Jack realized she had to say something. Seizing onto her first coherent thought, she blurted, "You didn't have to knock."

"Thought it might be nice to pick you up properly. Can I come in?"

Jack blushed. "Sorry," she murmured, taking a step backwards and tugging Faith along with her.

As Gibbs entered the house, he kicked the door shut and kissed Jack's cheek. "You look beautiful, Jacqueline," he said, handing her the bouquet of a dozen red roses.

"Thanks. I, um, I'm not quite ready yet."

"You look pretty ready to me."

"Jethro, I'm not wearing any shoes!"

"Hmm. Good point. It's a little too cold to go barefoot. Might want to grab a coat too." An eruption of giggles drew Gibbs' attention to Faith. He stooped to hand her the bouquet of a half-dozen pink roses and kiss her cheek. "Thanks for the reminder, Little Doc," he whispered in her ear. In his normal speaking voice, he said, "Let's see if we can find somethin' to put the flowers in while your mom finishes getting' ready."

"There's some vases in the cupboard above the fridge," volunteered Jack. "And the money for the pizza guy is on the table. Could you pay him if he gets here before I'm ready?"

Taking back Jack's bouquet, Gibbs shooed her away. "We got it. Go."

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After a pleasant dinner at Dominique's, Gibbs surprised Jack with tickets to a special invite-only preview of a new exhibit at an art gallery. Her thorough enjoyment of the event made Gibbs glad he had accepted the gift from the relieved sister of an exonerated Marine who had been wrongly accused, and nearly convicted, of murder.

Any lingering doubt about the success of the evening was erased when, on the way back to Jack's house, Jack slid across the bench seat of Gibbs' truck to nestle against his side. In a low, sultry voice, she asked, "Do you want to stay the night?"

"Don't I usually?"

"Thought it might be nice to ask you properly," Jack quipped, throwing Gibbs' own words back at him. "I'd hate for my new lingerie to go to waste."

Gibbs swallowed audibly as he pressed a little harder on the gas pedal.

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At Jack's house, Gibbs showed amazing restraint. He didn't comment or complain while Jack said goodbye to Mrs. Evenson and checked on Faith. However, once they were in Jack's bedroom, he barely gave her time to shut the door before he grabbed her by the hips and dragged her to him for a kiss.

Keeping a firm grip on Jack's hips and his lips locked on hers, Gibbs pivoted so Jack was walking backwards as he moved them toward the bed. At the side of the bed, he slid his hands from her hips, down her thighs, to the hem of her dress. He'd just begun inching her dress upward when Jack spun them around and pushed him onto the bed. She continued to push at him until he was lying in the middle of the bed, then she crawled on top of him and straddled his waist. The position allowed Gibbs to easily slip his hands under Jack's skirt. He was stroking the lace of her panties and encouraging her to grind against him when they were interrupted by a knock on the door.

Startled, Jack hastily pulled away from Gibbs. Her carelessness nearly caused her to fall off the bed. As she stumbled to her feet, Gibbs reached out to steady her, but she brushed his hand away and pointed to the bathroom. Taking the hint, Gibbs grabbed a clean change of clothes from the laundry basket that was sitting next to Jack's dresser and darted into the bathroom.

"Mommy," Faith cried plaintively. "I had a bad dream."

With Gibbs out of sight, Jack was quick to open the bedroom door and scoop Faith into her arms. "Hey, baby girl, it's okay. Do you want to talk about it?"

"I had a bad dream and I can't go back to sleep. Can I sleep with you?"

"Of course." Jack set Faith down on the bed. "You get comfy while I put on my pajamas."

As Faith burrowed under the blankets, she asked, "Is Gibbs sleeping at his house tonight?"

"No. He's in the bathroom putting on his pajamas." Right then, they heard the shower start. "I guess he's taking a shower first."

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A short time later, when Gibbs emerged from the bathroom, Jack was still awake, but Faith appeared to be fast asleep with her head resting on Jack's chest. Jack smiled at him. "Hey," she whispered.

"Hey," he whispered back.

"Faith had a nightmare."

"I heard. Do you want me to sleep on the couch or should I go home?"

"Nuh uh," Faith slurred sleepily. She flailed her arm at the empty space next to Jack. "Your side."

Gibbs looked to Jack for guidance. Her only response was a one-shouldered shrug that told him it was his choice. The decision to stay was easy. Without hesitating, he rounded the bed to what had been deemed his side and laid down next to Jack.

Though Jack would have understood if he'd chosen to leave, she was happy he stayed. As she drifted off to sleep, she mused, that while it may not have been what she'd had planned, falling asleep surrounded by her favorite people was a pretty good way to end Valentine's Day, even if it was a few weeks early.