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"Daddy?" Victoria interrupted.
"Yes, Sweetie?" Jimmy stopped what he was doing to answer his daughter.
"Why are you kissing Santa Claus? Won't Mommy be upset?"
Jimmy exchanged glances with "Santa" aka Tony DiNozzo and grimaced. "Sweetie, you remember that conversation between you, me, and Momma?"
Victoria wrinkled her brow. "What conversation?"
"When Mommy moved out?"
Victoria tilted her head and frowned in concentration. "When she found a better job?"
"Yes, Sweetie."
"What about it, Daddy?"
"Do you remember Mommy explaining that she and I were going to see other people?"
"Yes, but what does that have to do with Santa? Mommy still hates it when she catches you with other people. She told me so." Victoria pouted.
Jimmy pursed his lips. "Your mother doesn't exactly get a say in who I choose to date or kiss anymore, Sweetie. She wanted to see other people too."
"But she doesn't. She just gets angry when she sees you with other people." Victoria's entire face drooped in sadness.
"I'm very sorry that your mom isn't happy, but she wasn't happy with me either, Sweetie. This is better for all of us."
"Ok. I trust you, Daddy." Victoria smiled, revealing her gap teeth.
"Know that regardless of how your mother and I feel about each other that we both love you very much." Jimmy patted her hand reassuringly.
"And Santa?"
"Santa loves you too."
"Presents now?" She fluttered her eyelashes.
"In a bit," Jimmy demurred.
She crossed her arms and glared. "I'm not waiting for you to kiss Santa again. You've kissed him plenty. Presents now."
Tony started chuckling. "She's got you there, Babe."
Jimmy huffed. "I just can't win with either of you," he protested.
Victoria scrambled over to him. "Don't be sad, Daddy." She kissed him on the cheek. "I love you too."
Jimmy ruffled her hair. "Love you too, Sweetie."
"Presents?" she asked hopefully.
"Santa will deliver the presents. I just have to go grab a very special gift that Santa forgot."
Victoria blinked up at him. "Ok, Daddy."
"You stay here with Santa. I'll be right back, Sweetie."
"Yes, Daddy." She shook her head and looked at him like he was silly.
Jimmy moved quickly out of the room and returned with a couple of packages that he added to the pile of gifts. Santa continued to grab one and read off the name before handing it to Victoria to place in a pile. Once all the gifts were sorted, Santa made his apologies about needing to move onto the next house.
"What? Don't go, Santa! Daddy will be sad. I don't want Daddy to be sad."
"Don't worry, Victoria. Your dad won't be sad for long. There's an extra special present for your dad on its way now, but I have to leave or it will never arrive."
"That doesn't seem right," she complained.
"I'm sorry, Sweetie, but that's the way it works."
She huffed. "Will Daddy like this gift?"
"I know he will."
"Ok. You can go."
Jimmy chuckled and waved goodbye to Santa. He knew Tony would return after he'd changed back into normal clothes. After all, Santa only delivered the gifts. He didn't stick around to open them.
"We open presents now, Daddy?" Victoria asked.
"Let's wait for my special gift to arrive first," Jimmy suggested.
"But when will that happen, Daddy?"
"Any minute now, Sweetie."
"Why is it taking so long? Why did Santa leave? Why can't he just deliver it himself?"
Jimmy opened his mouth to answer, but nothing came out. He really didn't know how to answer any of those questions.
"I'm afraid I'm a little too big for Santa to carry, Victoria." Tony grinned cheekily.
"Tony!" She beamed and ran to him to give him a big hug.
"That's me."
"Santa sent you to keep my daddy from being sad?" she wondered.
"Yep. What do you think? Can I do it?"
Victoria hummed. "I don't know. Can you kiss as well as Santa? Kissing Santa seemed to make Daddy happy."
"Well let's see." Tony pulled Jimmy into a gentle and very thorough kiss.
They eventually broke apart and Tony smiled sheepishly, looking at Victoria. "Did that work?"
"Yep. Now pressies?"
"Ok. We can do presents now," Jimmy agreed.
The three of them sat on the floor around the tree with their pile of gifts next to them. They took turns slowly unwrapping an item from their pile, or in Victoria's case ripping the paper.
It wasn't until it was Tony's turn that Victoria announced, "You're doing it wrong, Daddy."
"What's wrong, Sweetie?"
"You need to kiss Tony every time you open a present." She nodded like she knew more than they did.
"Is that so, Sweetie?" Jimmy raised an eyebrow.
"He makes you happy and Christmas is a time for happiness."
Jimmy stared at her, but she just smiled innocently and ordered, "Kiss."
"You heard her." Tony turned his face towards Jimmy, puckering up for a kiss.
Jimmy glanced between the two of them. "You're conspiring against me."
"How is trying to make you happy a bad thing, Daddy?"
"I don't know, but I know you're up to something."
Tony chuckled. "We don't have to, you know?"
"I don't mind. I just don't understand what's going on here."
"Victoria wants us to kiss. That's all." Tony shrugged.
"Yes! Kiss! Then a gift!" Victoria clapped happily.
Tony kissed Jimmy on the cheek and then opened his next present. As Victoria moved to tear open her package, Tony and Jimmy swiftly kissed her on the cheek. She squealed.
"Hey!" She protested. "I don't need kisses to be happy."
"You said kiss and then a present can be opened. We were just making sure you followed the instructions as well." Tony looked at Victoria guilelessly.
She huffed and crossed her arms. "No. The rules were that you two kissed and then unwrapped a pressie."
"But that's what we did." Tony fluttered his eyelashes at her.
She stomped her food. "No. Do it right. You kiss Daddy. Daddy tampers with the paper."
The adults exchanged amused glances, but did as ordered. Jimmy then kissed Tony and Tony opened his next gift. Once again, they both kissed Victoria when it was her turn to open a present.
"No!" She screamed. "You're doing it wrong!"'
Jimmy and Tony burst out laughing. They exchanged another kiss. "We're just teasing you, Sweetie," Jimmy reassured.
She glared at them, but after that everyone settled down and soon the gifts had all been unwrapped and many kisses exchanged.
As Victoria moved to play with her new toys, she queried, "Are you sure Mommy won't be mad that you kissed someone else?"
"If she is, Sweetie, just tell her that I kissed you too and ask her if that's bad."
Victoria blinked at Jimmy before smiling happily. "Ok. I can't wait to see Momma and show her my new toys."
Jimmy snickered and caught Tony's eye. They were both glad that they could distract Victoria from her mother's reaction. She didn't deserve to be caught in the middle of Breena's unhappiness.