NCIS: A Christmas Carol (3/6)
Title: NCIS: A Christmas Carol
Author: water4willows
Characters: Gibbs, Tony and Vance, other characters on the show but not at themselves
Parings: None
Rating: PG
Word Count: 20,371
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with NCIS and the characters in this work of fiction are the property of CBS
Summary: In honor of Christmas and one of the most beloved Christmas Stories of all time, I give you: A Christmas Carol, NCIS style :)
Chapter Three
He'd only meant to close his eyes for a moment but when Gibbs jerked awake after what felt like hours of sleep, his little basement was as frigid as the December night outside. A pale blue light, almost resembling a winder dawn, illuminated everything around him and he sat up suddenly remembering Leon's words of warning.
Expect the first ghost when the bell tolls one.
But it had to be well past one in the morning now if the crick in his neck from sleeping in the chair for so long was any indication, and he peered around his basement looking for any sign of lurking ghosts. There were none and he leaned back into his chair, unsettled. The fire in the stove lay smoking and low and he shivered a bit before reaching out to throw a few more logs in and stoke it back to health. Rising from his seat Gibbs stretched a little then made for the military cot set up on the floor on the other side of the stove and started to get ready for bed. It was cold so he covered his head with a black hat left over from his military days and pulled on the warmest sweatpants he owned along with an old college hoodie and started to crawl under his paltry blankets.
"Nothing like a nice dungeon basement to spend Christmas in, eh Gibbs?" Hearing the voice coming from somewhere over his shoulder Gibbs spun around with fists up anticipating attack and came face to face with the strangest person he had ever seen. The woman, standing as solid and real as any person could be a few feet away from him, was smiling from behind red painted lips, full on goth makeup and with jet black hair pulled into twin pigtails on either side of her head. She was dressed in tall boots, a short black leather skirt and a green t-shirt that loudly proclaimed Scientists Do It, Periodically superimposed over a picture of the periodic table of elements. Apparently his hallucinations were far from over.
"Who the hell are you?" he grumbled.
"Why I'm the ghost of Christmas Past." She said with a smile and walked forward, right through his wood burning stove like she was made of little more than air.
Gibbs shrank back, startled.
"Wow, Leon warned me you'd be a tough sell but I see he really wasn't kidding. I'm real, Gibbs. I swear and we're gonna take a little trip if you think you can handle it." She said as if mocking him.
But Gibbs wasn't having it. "I'm not going anywhere with you, lady." He said resolutely. "Who's doing this to me? What do they want? The United States government doesn't negotiate with terrorists so if it's money you're after, not gonna happen."
"Ok, tough nut, but we'll make this work."
The "spirit" before him stood straight and pointed a finger at him, speaking her next words like she was trying to say them as overdramatically and as spookily as possible: "I am here for your salvation Leroy Jethro Gibbs! Come, take my hand and I will show you the long forgotten past!" Gibbs blinked and the spirit dropped her hand with a sigh. "Oh just get over here and take my damn hand already."
"And what if I do? Where will you take me?"
"Uh, the past." She replied sarcastically looking him over with bemusement. ...Did you hit your head or something? Am I stuttering?" The spirit took a step forward and when Gibbs backpedaled away, she laughed. It was a squeaky thing that made him cringe. "Come on Gibbs! Where's that Gunnery Sergeant courage I've heard so much about? Take my hand, I won't let you fall."
Figuring he might as well let the hallucinations play out as they would and seeing no sense in resisting, Gibbs took a tentative step forward and grabbed the hand held out to him, expecting his own to pass right through it. But there was actual flesh beneath his grip, albeit icy, but still there all the same. The spirit had a spiked bracelet on that reminded Gibbs a little of a cat collar, and so many bangles half her arm was covered in them. He couldn't help but wonder what crazy recess of his mind had conjured this particular apparition.
No sooner had Gibbs placed his hand in the spirit's then the basement around him was dissolving and he suddenly found himself standing in the middle of his father's store. Dropping the spirit's hand, he took a few steps forward as he spied the tops of two young boys' heads as they raced through the aisles.
"Hey! I know those boys! I used to go to school with them. Chuck and Eddie!" He exclaimed, getting a little excited and forgetting for a moment that he was supposed to not be taking this seriously. "Boys! Come here!" but the two boys ran from the store on a jingle of bells and the spirit came to stand beside him.
"I guess I shoulda mentioned that no one can see or hear you."
"Why not?" He asked, kind of bummed he couldn't interact with his own visions.
"They're just memories, Gibbs. You're memories. And speaking of you, I think I spy mini-Gibbs right over there." The spirit pointed in another direction, but Gibbs knew what he would see when he lifted his head to look where she was gesturing. He remembered this memory now and why he could recall the names of those boys perfectly even after all these years.
Gibbs forced his sightline over to a secluded corner of the shop where a small boy sat crying quietly to himself as he held a rag to a cut on the side of his face that was still bleeding. Eddie Gantry and Chuck Winslow had terrorized him for years, even into their high school days, until his father had put a stop to it one year with a shotgun blast over the two boys' heads.
"You spent a lot of afternoons in this shop, didn't you?" The spirit asked and he nodded.
"My father owned it and I was cheap labor. I missed out on a lot of things because of that job." Gibbs mused and then looked over to the front of the store when a bell tinkled, announcing that someone had come in. Something warm flooded into the center of his chest, chipping away just the slightest, smallest bit of ice, and he looked on the face of his mother for the first time in years. She had snow in her hair and concern in her eyes and she walked toward his younger self even though the boy had turned away to try and hide his face.
"Leroy, honey, are you alright?" She asked and Gibbs had to swallow thickly. He'd forgotten how musical her voice had been and watched his seven or eight year old self drop the tough guy facade and run into her arms.
"Awww, Gii-iibbs!" The spirit said beside him and he glared over at her.
"Can we just go now?" He asked a little shortly and the spirit nodded with a laugh, putting out her hand for him to take with something sparking behind her eyes. He ignored it grabbed hold of the hand.
When the scene around him reformed he found himself standing in the middle of a high school gym, his high school gym to be specific, and it was covered from floor to ceiling in Christmas decorations. Every available inch sparkled, twinkled, winked and glowed with the color of Christmas and he recognized the memory almost instantly. It was the Stillwater community Christmas party his parents had dragged him to every single stinking year, only this particular year he had come on his own. The dancing, smiling people that had cropped up around Gibbs and the spirit parted as if by some spell, and Gibbs spied yet another younger version of himself in full dress uniform holding his arms open as a lovely girl, wearing a dress as red as her hair, jumped into his embrace.
"Oh my God, Gibbs! Look at how handsome you are!" The spirit squealed as they watched the young couple embrace and Gibbs' younger self lift the girl from the floor to twirl her around.
"I don't want to see this!" He cried, turning away from the scene before him to plead with his guide. "Please, there has to be some other memory you can take me to," but the spirit only shook her head sadly.
"These are important memories Gibbs. Now watch!" She scolded and gently grabbed his shoulder in her icy grip to turn him around so they could both observe the exchange happening at the end of the dance floor.
"Gibbs, I'm so glad you made it home!" The young girl was gushing, hugging him close with tears in her eyes and Jethro made himself watch his younger self hold the girl tight.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world! God Shannon, I missed you every day. I got all your letters though, thank you for writing them. I don't think I would have gotten through boot camp without you." Gibbs watched his younger self sweep Shannon into a deep dip after placing her back on her feet then kiss her thoroughly, right in front of a crowd of clapping party goers. When they righted themselves she laughed as her cheeks reddened in embarrassment and it cracked a hole open at Gibbs' center. Oh how he had loved that woman.
"I have a surprise for you," Past Shannon said with a gleam in her eyes.
"But I already have everything I want right here," his younger self replied coyly, pulling her into his arms and she laughed again when he kissed her neck. If it had been any other couple, the older Gibbs watching the disgustingly romantic display in front of him would have had something to say about the PDA. But Gibbs could still remember what it was like to hold Shannon in his arms. What it felt to be loved by her: so completely like he was the center of the universe to her.
"Listen," Shannon whispered and Gibbs could hear the whispered word as if he were standing right beside her. A moment later the band began playing a familiar tune and it effected Gibbs more than he dared admit. He watched his younger self pull Shannon to the center of the dance floor, envelop her in his arms and circle her slowly about the room. He'd forgotten how much he enjoyed dancing and that there had been a time when he'd actually been good at it and he watched his past self and the woman he had loved so completely get lost in each other for immeasurable moments. When the sprit stepped in closer to him as if sensing his change in mood, he looked away and cleared his throat.
"Come on, Gibbs. There's still more to see and I've got a schedule to keep." The spirit said mischievously and held out her hand. The dancing couples melted away but the decorations remained and morphed until he was standing in another festively decorated place, only this was even more familiar than the high school gym.
"You brought me home!" He started, looking around his own foyer, but his exclamation was cut off by a tumbling, thumping noise coming from the stairs at his left. Thundering down the stairscase, pulling an older version of himself than had been at the party Gibbs and the sprit had just left, was his daughter Kelly.
"Come on, Daddy, you promised! One present and my stocking while mommy makes the coffee!" the small girl cried, pulling a sleep tousled and bleary eyed younger version of Gibbs down the stairs.
"Now that has got to be the cutest darn thing I've ever seen," The spirit gushed, floating forward as the pair in the memory made their way into an inviting family room complete with decorated tree and more presents than Gibbs had ever seen. He followed the spirit into the room and stayed in the doorway while the spirit joined his daughter on the floor to look at the gifts under the tree. When the spirit started pointing out good prospects even though the young girl was completely oblivious to her presence, Gibbs almost found himself laughing.
He thought of his assistant suddenly; DiNozzo's face swimming to the forefront of his confused thoughts as he watched the memory of his daughter exclaim in delight at the goodies in her emptied stocking. DiNozzo would be doing this with his own children and Gibbs had nearly ruined it for him by demanding he come in on Christmas day.
"What are you thinking about?" The spirit asked, rising from her place beside Kelly and coming to stand beside him again.
"It's nothing." He deflected but the spirit was giving him a look he knew meant she would not be letting it lie. "I was just thinking about my assistant is all. I almost made him come in on Christmas day and it would have meant he missed this moment with his own kids."
"You had a beautiful family," the spirit said sadly but Gibbs didn't respond back, just looked back over at the happy face of his daughter as she played with her new trinkets, something that felt a little like fondness steeling over him. He hadn't let himself think of these Christmases in a long time and he'd forgotten just how wonderful they really were.
"You had another memorable Christmas with your family, didn't you?"
Gibbs knew right away what she was referring to and he felt his eyes go wide. "Please, spirit, not that! I'll go to any other part of my past with you that you want, just don't make me go there!" He pleaded but the Spirit merely put her hand out and touched his shoulder in an icy grip. The festively decorated family room around them melted away and when Gibbs was once again aware of himself, he found that he had been transported to the one place he'd avoided for nearly 20 years.
It was a quiet place and snow had fallen earlier in the day so that a blanket of white lay over everything as far as the eye could see. The sun had just sunk below the horizon and it was one of those rare crystal clear nights without a cloud in the sky and the stars burning brightly like a billion tiny flickering Christmas lights. The ground beneath Gibbs' feet was frozen but even though he wore nothing but socks, his feet didn't feel the cold.
The spirit had placed them just behind the bent and shaking form of a solitary man who was kneeling before twin grave stones carefully cleaned of snow. Though it was only moonlight that now illuminated the small Stillwater Cemetery, the engraved names of Shannon and Kelly Gibbs still glinted in the pale winter twilight.
"Why did you bring me hear?" He choked, unable to hide the effect the visions were having on him any longer and he buried his head in his hands. He couldn't watch this.
"Because this is where everything changed for you, Gibbs," the spirit replied sadly, losing all of her earlier mirth. When he lifted his head and looked over at her she had a sadness in her eyes and he had to turn away again. "This is the moment where you gave up."
"My first Christmas without them," he said brokenly. "You know if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were getting a kick out of torturing me with all this."
"Now now, Gibbs. No need to be rude. These are the visions of the past. I don't write the script, just screen the film."
"I don't want to be here anymore. Take me back!" He demanded, clenching his hands into fists to keep from striking out at something.
The spirit sighed heavily. "Expect the next ghost when the bell tolls two" she said then and with one touch, Gibbs found himself back in his basement and seated on his cot, warm tears gathered at the sides of his eyes but held back before they could fall. He fell back wearily against his blankets and knew no more for a time.
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Author: water4willows
Characters: Gibbs, Tony and Vance, other characters on the show but not at themselves
Parings: None
Rating: PG
Word Count: 20,371
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with NCIS and the characters in this work of fiction are the property of CBS
Summary: In honor of Christmas and one of the most beloved Christmas Stories of all time, I give you: A Christmas Carol, NCIS style :)
Chapter Three
He'd only meant to close his eyes for a moment but when Gibbs jerked awake after what felt like hours of sleep, his little basement was as frigid as the December night outside. A pale blue light, almost resembling a winder dawn, illuminated everything around him and he sat up suddenly remembering Leon's words of warning.
Expect the first ghost when the bell tolls one.
But it had to be well past one in the morning now if the crick in his neck from sleeping in the chair for so long was any indication, and he peered around his basement looking for any sign of lurking ghosts. There were none and he leaned back into his chair, unsettled. The fire in the stove lay smoking and low and he shivered a bit before reaching out to throw a few more logs in and stoke it back to health. Rising from his seat Gibbs stretched a little then made for the military cot set up on the floor on the other side of the stove and started to get ready for bed. It was cold so he covered his head with a black hat left over from his military days and pulled on the warmest sweatpants he owned along with an old college hoodie and started to crawl under his paltry blankets.
"Nothing like a nice dungeon basement to spend Christmas in, eh Gibbs?" Hearing the voice coming from somewhere over his shoulder Gibbs spun around with fists up anticipating attack and came face to face with the strangest person he had ever seen. The woman, standing as solid and real as any person could be a few feet away from him, was smiling from behind red painted lips, full on goth makeup and with jet black hair pulled into twin pigtails on either side of her head. She was dressed in tall boots, a short black leather skirt and a green t-shirt that loudly proclaimed Scientists Do It, Periodically superimposed over a picture of the periodic table of elements. Apparently his hallucinations were far from over.
"Who the hell are you?" he grumbled.
"Why I'm the ghost of Christmas Past." She said with a smile and walked forward, right through his wood burning stove like she was made of little more than air.
Gibbs shrank back, startled.
"Wow, Leon warned me you'd be a tough sell but I see he really wasn't kidding. I'm real, Gibbs. I swear and we're gonna take a little trip if you think you can handle it." She said as if mocking him.
But Gibbs wasn't having it. "I'm not going anywhere with you, lady." He said resolutely. "Who's doing this to me? What do they want? The United States government doesn't negotiate with terrorists so if it's money you're after, not gonna happen."
"Ok, tough nut, but we'll make this work."
The "spirit" before him stood straight and pointed a finger at him, speaking her next words like she was trying to say them as overdramatically and as spookily as possible: "I am here for your salvation Leroy Jethro Gibbs! Come, take my hand and I will show you the long forgotten past!" Gibbs blinked and the spirit dropped her hand with a sigh. "Oh just get over here and take my damn hand already."
"And what if I do? Where will you take me?"
"Uh, the past." She replied sarcastically looking him over with bemusement. ...Did you hit your head or something? Am I stuttering?" The spirit took a step forward and when Gibbs backpedaled away, she laughed. It was a squeaky thing that made him cringe. "Come on Gibbs! Where's that Gunnery Sergeant courage I've heard so much about? Take my hand, I won't let you fall."
Figuring he might as well let the hallucinations play out as they would and seeing no sense in resisting, Gibbs took a tentative step forward and grabbed the hand held out to him, expecting his own to pass right through it. But there was actual flesh beneath his grip, albeit icy, but still there all the same. The spirit had a spiked bracelet on that reminded Gibbs a little of a cat collar, and so many bangles half her arm was covered in them. He couldn't help but wonder what crazy recess of his mind had conjured this particular apparition.
No sooner had Gibbs placed his hand in the spirit's then the basement around him was dissolving and he suddenly found himself standing in the middle of his father's store. Dropping the spirit's hand, he took a few steps forward as he spied the tops of two young boys' heads as they raced through the aisles.
"Hey! I know those boys! I used to go to school with them. Chuck and Eddie!" He exclaimed, getting a little excited and forgetting for a moment that he was supposed to not be taking this seriously. "Boys! Come here!" but the two boys ran from the store on a jingle of bells and the spirit came to stand beside him.
"I guess I shoulda mentioned that no one can see or hear you."
"Why not?" He asked, kind of bummed he couldn't interact with his own visions.
"They're just memories, Gibbs. You're memories. And speaking of you, I think I spy mini-Gibbs right over there." The spirit pointed in another direction, but Gibbs knew what he would see when he lifted his head to look where she was gesturing. He remembered this memory now and why he could recall the names of those boys perfectly even after all these years.
Gibbs forced his sightline over to a secluded corner of the shop where a small boy sat crying quietly to himself as he held a rag to a cut on the side of his face that was still bleeding. Eddie Gantry and Chuck Winslow had terrorized him for years, even into their high school days, until his father had put a stop to it one year with a shotgun blast over the two boys' heads.
"You spent a lot of afternoons in this shop, didn't you?" The spirit asked and he nodded.
"My father owned it and I was cheap labor. I missed out on a lot of things because of that job." Gibbs mused and then looked over to the front of the store when a bell tinkled, announcing that someone had come in. Something warm flooded into the center of his chest, chipping away just the slightest, smallest bit of ice, and he looked on the face of his mother for the first time in years. She had snow in her hair and concern in her eyes and she walked toward his younger self even though the boy had turned away to try and hide his face.
"Leroy, honey, are you alright?" She asked and Gibbs had to swallow thickly. He'd forgotten how musical her voice had been and watched his seven or eight year old self drop the tough guy facade and run into her arms.
"Awww, Gii-iibbs!" The spirit said beside him and he glared over at her.
"Can we just go now?" He asked a little shortly and the spirit nodded with a laugh, putting out her hand for him to take with something sparking behind her eyes. He ignored it grabbed hold of the hand.
When the scene around him reformed he found himself standing in the middle of a high school gym, his high school gym to be specific, and it was covered from floor to ceiling in Christmas decorations. Every available inch sparkled, twinkled, winked and glowed with the color of Christmas and he recognized the memory almost instantly. It was the Stillwater community Christmas party his parents had dragged him to every single stinking year, only this particular year he had come on his own. The dancing, smiling people that had cropped up around Gibbs and the spirit parted as if by some spell, and Gibbs spied yet another younger version of himself in full dress uniform holding his arms open as a lovely girl, wearing a dress as red as her hair, jumped into his embrace.
"Oh my God, Gibbs! Look at how handsome you are!" The spirit squealed as they watched the young couple embrace and Gibbs' younger self lift the girl from the floor to twirl her around.
"I don't want to see this!" He cried, turning away from the scene before him to plead with his guide. "Please, there has to be some other memory you can take me to," but the spirit only shook her head sadly.
"These are important memories Gibbs. Now watch!" She scolded and gently grabbed his shoulder in her icy grip to turn him around so they could both observe the exchange happening at the end of the dance floor.
"Gibbs, I'm so glad you made it home!" The young girl was gushing, hugging him close with tears in her eyes and Jethro made himself watch his younger self hold the girl tight.
"I wouldn't miss it for the world! God Shannon, I missed you every day. I got all your letters though, thank you for writing them. I don't think I would have gotten through boot camp without you." Gibbs watched his younger self sweep Shannon into a deep dip after placing her back on her feet then kiss her thoroughly, right in front of a crowd of clapping party goers. When they righted themselves she laughed as her cheeks reddened in embarrassment and it cracked a hole open at Gibbs' center. Oh how he had loved that woman.
"I have a surprise for you," Past Shannon said with a gleam in her eyes.
"But I already have everything I want right here," his younger self replied coyly, pulling her into his arms and she laughed again when he kissed her neck. If it had been any other couple, the older Gibbs watching the disgustingly romantic display in front of him would have had something to say about the PDA. But Gibbs could still remember what it was like to hold Shannon in his arms. What it felt to be loved by her: so completely like he was the center of the universe to her.
"Listen," Shannon whispered and Gibbs could hear the whispered word as if he were standing right beside her. A moment later the band began playing a familiar tune and it effected Gibbs more than he dared admit. He watched his younger self pull Shannon to the center of the dance floor, envelop her in his arms and circle her slowly about the room. He'd forgotten how much he enjoyed dancing and that there had been a time when he'd actually been good at it and he watched his past self and the woman he had loved so completely get lost in each other for immeasurable moments. When the sprit stepped in closer to him as if sensing his change in mood, he looked away and cleared his throat.
"Come on, Gibbs. There's still more to see and I've got a schedule to keep." The spirit said mischievously and held out her hand. The dancing couples melted away but the decorations remained and morphed until he was standing in another festively decorated place, only this was even more familiar than the high school gym.
"You brought me home!" He started, looking around his own foyer, but his exclamation was cut off by a tumbling, thumping noise coming from the stairs at his left. Thundering down the stairscase, pulling an older version of himself than had been at the party Gibbs and the sprit had just left, was his daughter Kelly.
"Come on, Daddy, you promised! One present and my stocking while mommy makes the coffee!" the small girl cried, pulling a sleep tousled and bleary eyed younger version of Gibbs down the stairs.
"Now that has got to be the cutest darn thing I've ever seen," The spirit gushed, floating forward as the pair in the memory made their way into an inviting family room complete with decorated tree and more presents than Gibbs had ever seen. He followed the spirit into the room and stayed in the doorway while the spirit joined his daughter on the floor to look at the gifts under the tree. When the spirit started pointing out good prospects even though the young girl was completely oblivious to her presence, Gibbs almost found himself laughing.
He thought of his assistant suddenly; DiNozzo's face swimming to the forefront of his confused thoughts as he watched the memory of his daughter exclaim in delight at the goodies in her emptied stocking. DiNozzo would be doing this with his own children and Gibbs had nearly ruined it for him by demanding he come in on Christmas day.
"What are you thinking about?" The spirit asked, rising from her place beside Kelly and coming to stand beside him again.
"It's nothing." He deflected but the spirit was giving him a look he knew meant she would not be letting it lie. "I was just thinking about my assistant is all. I almost made him come in on Christmas day and it would have meant he missed this moment with his own kids."
"You had a beautiful family," the spirit said sadly but Gibbs didn't respond back, just looked back over at the happy face of his daughter as she played with her new trinkets, something that felt a little like fondness steeling over him. He hadn't let himself think of these Christmases in a long time and he'd forgotten just how wonderful they really were.
"You had another memorable Christmas with your family, didn't you?"
Gibbs knew right away what she was referring to and he felt his eyes go wide. "Please, spirit, not that! I'll go to any other part of my past with you that you want, just don't make me go there!" He pleaded but the Spirit merely put her hand out and touched his shoulder in an icy grip. The festively decorated family room around them melted away and when Gibbs was once again aware of himself, he found that he had been transported to the one place he'd avoided for nearly 20 years.
It was a quiet place and snow had fallen earlier in the day so that a blanket of white lay over everything as far as the eye could see. The sun had just sunk below the horizon and it was one of those rare crystal clear nights without a cloud in the sky and the stars burning brightly like a billion tiny flickering Christmas lights. The ground beneath Gibbs' feet was frozen but even though he wore nothing but socks, his feet didn't feel the cold.
The spirit had placed them just behind the bent and shaking form of a solitary man who was kneeling before twin grave stones carefully cleaned of snow. Though it was only moonlight that now illuminated the small Stillwater Cemetery, the engraved names of Shannon and Kelly Gibbs still glinted in the pale winter twilight.
"Why did you bring me hear?" He choked, unable to hide the effect the visions were having on him any longer and he buried his head in his hands. He couldn't watch this.
"Because this is where everything changed for you, Gibbs," the spirit replied sadly, losing all of her earlier mirth. When he lifted his head and looked over at her she had a sadness in her eyes and he had to turn away again. "This is the moment where you gave up."
"My first Christmas without them," he said brokenly. "You know if I didn't know any better, I'd think you were getting a kick out of torturing me with all this."
"Now now, Gibbs. No need to be rude. These are the visions of the past. I don't write the script, just screen the film."
"I don't want to be here anymore. Take me back!" He demanded, clenching his hands into fists to keep from striking out at something.
The spirit sighed heavily. "Expect the next ghost when the bell tolls two" she said then and with one touch, Gibbs found himself back in his basement and seated on his cot, warm tears gathered at the sides of his eyes but held back before they could fall. He fell back wearily against his blankets and knew no more for a time.
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