NCIS: Ages & Stages: Growing Up McBaby

Chapter 26

A/N Hello Everyone! Although it's been a while since I last updated, I wanted to let you know that I haven't abandoned this story. I've been dealing with some personal issues that have made it difficult to write. Hopefully the updates will be a bit more frequent and because I made you wait, this chapter is extra long. I hope you enjoy and thanks for being so patient!

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It was an overwhelming sense of cold that awakened Gibbs on Christmas morning. Slowly opening his eyes, he groaned and buried his face in the pillow as the sunlight filtering through the blinds glimmered in his face. Once his eyes adjusted to the light he slowly sat up and looked around. It was then that he realized why he'd been freezing for most of the night. Timmy was splayed out on the bed next to him, cozied up in what appeared to be mountains of fabric. In addition to the toddler stealing all the covers he'd also taken over most of the bed. One roll in the wrong direction and Gibbs would have fallen off the bed entirely. Sighing inwardly he shivered, knowing the only way to warm up was a hot shower. Tiptoeing into the bathroom he turned the water on, stripped down and stepped into the shower. It didn't take long for the chill to dissipate as the hot water pulsated over his body. As he washed his hair and the rest of his body he thought about the chores he needed to accomplish before Timmy woke up. There were dishes leftover from last night that needed to be washed, a turkey to clean and most importantly Santa's visit. After rinsing off he wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped out of the shower. Once he'd finished the rest of his routine he popped his head into the bedroom, relieved to find Tim still asleep. Dressing in a pair of worn out jeans and sweatshirt he turned the baby monitor on and padded downstairs. Jet stretched lazily as he climbed off his bed and met Gibbs at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey, buddy, Merry Christmas!" The canine yawned loudly, causing Gibbs to chuckle as he leaned down to rub his ears. "Good to know I'm not the only one who's not awake yet." Jet barked, following Gibbs into the kitchen where he parked himself in front of the back door. The older man sighed, reaching for the bag of coffee, "Give me a moment, Jet." Once he started a pot of coffee he proceeded toward the door as Jet excitedly got to his feet and started spinning in circles.

"Okay, here we go, boy."

The cold air took Gibbs' breath away as he opened the door. Suddenly Jet wanted nothing to do with going outside. "Go dog!" Gibbs ordered, practically pushing the canine outside. Jet whimpered as he was pushed out into the cold, tail quivering between his legs. "Hurry up and do your business. Then you can come back inside." Gibbs shivered, slamming the door shut to block the onslaught of blowing snow and wind. He peeked out the window to check on Jet; satisfied he was taking care of business he opened the basement door to grab a few of the larger gifts he'd hidden. One of those gifts was a large keyboard; although not quite a piano it would suffice until Tim was older. The added bonus with the keyboard was that it could be attached to a stand as Tim started growing. Tucking it under his arm he moved toward the family room, stopping in his tracks when he heard Jet barking at the back door. Not wanting the dog to wake the rest of the neighborhood, including his son, he lunged for the door handle and flung it open. Jet came bounding inside, shaking the excess snow off his thick fur coat. Gibbs listened carefully to the baby monitor hoping that Tim was so exhausted the dog's barking hadn't woke him. When there were no sounds of a disgruntled baby he continued into the family room.

His excitement grew as he flipped on the Christmas tree lights and leaned the keyboard against the wall. Returning to the kitchen he climbed down the basement steps for the last big gift he'd bought for Timmy. Grabbing the Radio Flyer wagon he'd assembled earlier in the week he hauled it upstairs. Once the wagon was situated in the family room he built a fire with logs and kindling and then lit it. The scene was set for a magical Christmas morning for the two of them. Knowing it wouldn't be long before Timmy was awake he returned to the kitchen, preheated the oven and gathered the dough from the refrigerator to make cinnamon rolls. The pastries had been a longstanding Gibbs family tradition on Christmas morning and he was excited to continue it with Tim. The smell of cinnamon always brought back memories of him at age six, standing in his pajamas in the kitchen, anxiously waiting for the timer to go off.