Soup kitchen
Neera Kapoor: Don't be shy, we have plenty for everyone. Santa's here till noon, so take your time.
Vicious: Make way, make way. Hey.
Neera Kapoor: Back again, Vicious?
Vicious: That's Mr. Vicious to you, lady. Got any milk back there?
Neera Kapoor: You are not here for milk; we all know why you are here.
Vicious: Yeah? Well, call a cop.
Neera Kapoor: I can't believe I need a bouncer on the food line. Hey, where's Jerome?
Volunteer: I think he's taking out the garbage.
Street
Neera Kapoor: Jerome?! Jerome! We need our peacekeeper. Seems like our friend Vicious didn't get the message yesterday, and since you're the only one he will listen to, could you just...? Oh, God. Jerome? Oh, God.
NCIS: bullpen
Timothy McGee: All right, final report's almost done. How's that witness list coming along?
Eleanor Bishop: I am sending it to you right now. How's our confession summary, Nick?
Nicholas Torres: I'm pressing "print" in three, two, one.
Jacqueline Sloane: Ah, the sweet sound of the last case before the holidays.
Timothy McGee: Jack, please, do not jinx us.
Jacqueline Sloane: If anyone needs me, I'll either be on the slopes or drinking some damn fine whiskey in the lodge.
Eleanor Bishop: Christmas in Vermont, lucky you.
Nicholas Torres: You driving up tomorrow?
Jacqueline Sloane: Crack of dawn. And I'm not even close to being packed. Anyway, Merry, Merry Christmas, all.
Timothy McGee: Hey, you, too.
Nicholas Torres: Merry Christmas.
Eleanor Bishop: Sure wish I could drive. I just hate flying on Christmas Eve.
Timothy McGee: Yeah. You and me both. Oklahoma bound?
Eleanor Bishop: Mom has been baking all week. You?
Timothy McGee: Chicago with the in-laws. Delilah's had the twins there since Hanukkah.
Nicholas Torres: We're talking two whole weeks. I'm sure you didn't mind, uh, a little break from the kids.
Timothy McGee: Well, the first day was nice and quiet, but every day since then is a little too quiet. You'll know what I mean someday.
Nicholas Torres: Yeah, no. Playing Candyland with, uh, Palmer's kid after Christmas, uh, dinner, that's, uh, plenty of parenting for me.
Eleanor Bishop: I just love that Jimmy's having you over.
Nicholas Torres: Aw, I just love that you make it sound like a, like a charity case. Ugh.
Eleanor Bishop: Okay.
Nicholas Torres: Last bit of paperwork. Donzo. All right, guys. First round of eggnog is on this guy.
Kasie Hines: Ooh, count me in.
Eleanor Bishop: Whoa. I thought you were supposed to be in New York by now.
Kasie Hines: Change of plans. My mom and sister decided to go on a cruise, so I decided to stay here and catch up on work.
Nicholas Torres: Hey. No one should be working on Christmas.
Timothy McGee: Yeah, and no one should be making eggnog plans before noon on a workday.
Eleanor Bishop: You're so worried about jinxing, McGee.
Nicholas Torres: Yeah. Relax, McGee. Listen, it's a known fact, the crime rate goes down during holiday time.
Kasie Hines: Actually, the exact opposite is true. But one can dream.
Nicholas Torres: Guys, trust me. Okay? It's eggnog time. We are donzo.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: No, we're not. Dead Navy vet in Columbia Heights.
Timothy McGee: Uh, Navy veteran, boss? That's not always our jurisdiction.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Well, it is today. MPD is slammed.
Kasie Hines: Hmm. Well, hopefully, it is an open-and-shut case.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Ah!
All: Don't jinx us.
Kasie Hines: Geez...
Street
Neera Kapoor: Jerome's tattoo reminded me of his service. It just seemed right to call you guys.
Nicholas Torres: Big dude.
Neera Kapoor: He was a big teddy bear.
Jimmy Palmer: Big knife wounds.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: How long had he worked here?
Neera Kapoor: About three years, but strictly as a volunteer. Budget didn't cover guardian angels. That's what he was... To everyone.
Timothy McGee: Boss, found this knife tossed in a storm drain back there. Could be the murder weapon.
Eleanor Bishop: Oh, well, all we need now is a suspect.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Jerome had enemies?
Neera Kapoor: No, none. I mean, except for the neighbourhood drug dealers he was always trying to keep out of here. You know, come to think of it, one of them was back again just this morning after Jerome had tossed him out yesterday. A-a guy they call "Vicious."
Timothy McGee: On it.
Neera Kapoor: After everything Jerome had overcome… PTSD, alcohol. He even got himself a bed at the local V.A. And... Now this.
Eleanor Bishop: Hey. You got anything, McGee?
Timothy McGee: One second. It's still loading. All right, there we go. Here it is. Street name "Vicious," real name Albert Leary. He's got a long rap sheet and a last known address not far from here.
Neera Kapoor: That's him. Th-That's Vicious.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Bishop, Torres, you're with me. McGee, the V.A. center where Jerome was staying, see what you can find.
Neera Kapoor: Let me get you the address.
Jimmy Palmer: Hey, don't worry about it, guys, I got this.
Vicious’s door
Vicious: I'm telling you now. Ain't nobody coming in here without a warrant.
Eleanor Bishop: Why do they call you Vicious?
Vicious: Yeah. I wish I knew, baby. You're looking at a law-abiding citizen.
Nicholas Torres: Maybe it's because you're a vicious liar.
Vicious: I ain't lying, mijo. Me and Jerome maybe had a little misunderstanding the other day, but I ain't never killed nobody.
Nicholas Torres: Did he just...?
Eleanor Bishop: Mm-hmm.
Nicholas Torres: Did you just call me "mijo"?
Vicious: Yeah, and you just called me a liar. Now if you don't mind, I got things to do.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: We mind.
Vicious: Get your foot up out of my door, man.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Get your door off my foot.
Vicious’s kitchen
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: We have some questions.
Vicious: Fine. Hell with it. Come on in. See? I got nothing. But I'm still calling my lawyer to sue your asses, 'cause I know my damn rights.
Eleanor Bishop: Yeah, one would hope so since you've had them read to you so many times.
Nicholas Torres: Damn.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: If you didn't kill Jerome, what were you doing at the homeless shelter this morning?
Vicious: Getting breakfast. That a crime?
Nicholas Torres: You don't look very homeless.
Vicious: Hey, yo, law man, I got a problem here.
Nicholas Torres: What's behind that door?
Vicious: Hey. I said you could come in here. Back there ain't none of your business.
Nicholas Torres: Yeah. Here's the issue, though. When you say that's none of my business, it kind of makes it my business.
Eleanor Bishop: Ooh.
Vicious: I said don't go back there.
Nicholas Torres: Easy, buddy.
Vicious: Oh, yeah, now you say easy. I told you I didn't want you in here. Now, get out!
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: A little late for that.
Eleanor Bishop: Let's put the gun down before this gets any worse.
Vicious: Put yours down!
Gunshots
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Bishop, you okay?
Eleanor Bishop: Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Look-look at me.
Eleanor Bishop: Okay.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Are you all right?
Eleanor Bishop: Yeah. I'm okay.
Nicholas Torres: He's dead.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Okay?
Eleanor Bishop: Yeah.
Nicholas Torres: Ready?
Vicious’s bedroom
Eleanor Bishop: Uh... Vicious is a dad.
NCIS: bullpen
Leon Vance: Hardly any way to kick off the holidays, Gibbs.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Understatement of the year.
Leon Vance: And Bishop is all right?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah. Considering. She and Torres took the kid to Child Services.
Leon Vance: Well, hopefully, they can locate the baby's mother.
Timothy McGee: Hey, boss. Guess I missed some pretty serious fireworks. Director.
Leon Vance: Why, McGee, where were you?
Timothy McGee: I was at the, uh, V.A. center, collecting our victim's personal effects. No obvious leads, but sounds like we don't need them. Bishop and Torres seem pretty certain this Vicious guy is our killer.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: They called you?
Timothy McGee: No, they're, uh, down in the lobby.
Leon Vance: Why didn't they come up with you?
Timothy McGee: Well, they kind of have their hands full.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Full with what?
Eleanor Bishop: Ah, Gibbs, Director, hey. We can explain.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: What happened to Child Services?
Eleanor Bishop: Shh. He's sleeping.
Nicholas Torres: So we were sitting in traffic and I called them, like, five times and they put me on hold every time, like, over and over.
Eleanor Bishop: Yeah. They must must be really overwhelmed this time of year. You know, so between that and the traffic on the Beltway...
Nicholas Torres: Yeah, so we figure, bring the baby over here. We can find the mother way faster than Child Services.
Eleanor Bishop: And once we find her, we will have closed the case on Vicious, and we can all go home for Christmas.
Nicholas Torres: Oh, that kind of rhymes.
Leon Vance: So Bishop nearly gets killed and they both went into shock?
Eleanor Bishop: No, uh, Director.
Leon Vance: This office is no place for a baby… Though he is pretty damn cute.
Nicholas Torres: Cool. So, uh, we're good?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: No. We are not good. We are not near good. But here we are. That baby is your responsibility. McGee, see if you can unlock this creep's cell phone, and see if the mother's in there somewhere.
Timothy McGee: Nothing in his records about marital status or kids.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You two, go down and check with Kasie. She's running prints off the knife we found. Tell her to run the baby's DNA while she's at it.
Eleanor Bishop: You got it, Gibbs.
Timothy McGee: Uh, boss, someone claiming to be Albert Leary's attorney wants to see his client.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Vicious.
NCIS: morgue
Kasie Hines: Any prints from our suspect yet?
Jimmy Palmer: I'm only just unwrapping him now.
Kasie Hines: Okay. Well, then this must be our victim.
Jimmy Palmer: Yeah. He is a homeless vet… Apparently a real hero down at the shelter.
Kasie Hines: Um... Jerome Murray… Wow.
Jimmy Palmer: Wow, what? You know him?
Kasie Hines: Just, uh, reminded me of someone.
Jimmy Palmer: Yeah? Who?
Nicholas Torres: Oh, good. Kasie, you're here.
Kasie Hines: Oh. Here I am. Is that a baby?
Eleanor Bishop: Uh, yes. Yes, it is, and he is not coming in.
Jimmy Palmer: Uh, baby, as in, like, this guy's baby? I heard you found one at his place.
Eleanor Bishop: Uh, hey. We need his DNA ASAP and whatever prints you found on the knife.
Kasie Hines: Oh, yeah. No problem. What's the hurry?
Nicholas Torres: The hurry is Christmas.
Eleanor Bishop: Well, we just need to find the baby's mother, and confirm that Vicious was the killer, preferably before we leave tomorrow.
Jimmy Palmer: Oh, he is the cutest; what's his name?
Eleanor Bishop: Well, we didn't get the chance to ask, with the shooting and all.
Jimmy Palmer: Right. I heard about that. I'm so glad you're okay.
Eleanor Bishop: Thanks.
Kasie Hines: You'll send me blood and prints?
Jimmy Palmer: Quick as I can.
NCIS: briefing room
Paul Spencer: I admit, Agent Gibbs, to a rather reluctant soft spot for my pro Bono clients, which is why I'm here.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Ah, so you're the one he called.
Paul Spencer: Yes, and I hadn't seen nor spoken to Albert since getting him a plea deal months ago. Then out of the blue this phone call and those gunshots. I went by his place and the local P.D. pointed me here.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Well, what can we do for you?
Paul Spencer: I saw the blood. May I ask what happened? Is he even alive?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: No. He was a suspect in a murder investigation. He would not answer questions… He started shooting.
Paul Spencer: Man, you try to help these people, and they just... Won't be helped.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: He ever mention a wife, girlfriend?
Paul Spencer: Oh, couldn't tell you. Soft spot or not, I maintain a healthy personal distance. I mean, for all I know, Albert had ten of each.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: This one would have just had a baby.
Paul Spencer: A baby? Oh, man. Come on. Again... for all I know, he had ten of those, too.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Right. Okay. Sorry about your client.
Paul Spencer: Thank you. Oh, come to think of it, Albert said that he was from Florida. Might be a girlfriend down there.
NCIS: bullpen
Nicholas Torres: There you go, buddy. Good boy, Nicholas.
Eleanor Bishop: Nicholas?
Nicholas Torres: Yeah, we might as well give him a name.
Eleanor Bishop: Hmm. So you name him after yourself?
Nicholas Torres: No, the... It's, like, NCIS. You know, you move some letters around, you toss in a view.
Eleanor Bishop: Mm, yeah, right, mm-hmm. I'd say he's more of a... Logan or Cody.
Nicholas Torres: Those are, like, the whitest names ever.
Eleanor Bishop: Rude. Well, whatever his name is, he is adorable. Isn't he cute, McGee?
Timothy McGee: All babies are cute.
Eleanor Bishop: Yet you won't even look at him.
Timothy McGee: Yes. That's because if we make eye contact, I will bond, and if I bond, I'll get distracted from this case, which in turn could prevent me from spending Christmas with my own two little cuties, so let's just find his mother.
Eleanor Bishop: Okay, you're right. We got distracted.
Nicholas Torres: And, look, he's all asleep now, so... We'll be able to get some work done.
Timothy McGee: Careful. Babies do wake up.
Nicholas Torres: McGee, don't worry. We got this.
Timothy McGee: Okay.
Nicholas Torres: Whoa. Nicholas, buddy, what happened?
Eleanor Bishop: You jinxed us. Again.
Nicholas Torres: All right, somebody put a BOLO out.
Eleanor Bishop: On who?
Nicholas Torres: On the 300-pound biker who dropped a log in this kid's diaper. Oh, my God.
Eleanor Bishop: Oh, no.
Nicholas Torres: No worries. We are prepared. Here, here.
Eleanor Bishop: Oh...
Nicholas Torres: We got, um... We bought plenty.
Eleanor Bishop: Oh, no. No, these are for toddlers. These are way too big for him.
Nicholas Torres: Hey, uh, McGee? So, like... What do we do?
Timothy McGee: What do you mean? You got this.
Eleanor Bishop: Jimmy.
Nicholas Torres: Ah, come on, buddy.
NCIS: Kasie’s office
Jimmy Palmer: It's nice to know I haven't lost my touch. Yeah, cloth diapers are so much better than disposable, both for the environment and for the baby.
Nicholas Torres: Here, let me get that.
Eleanor Bishop: What? No. You can't use a stapler. Safety pins. Even I know that.
Jimmy Palmer: Seeing as we don't have any safety pins, these little binder clips should do the trick.
Nicholas Torres: Palmer, what are you doing? You're gonna pinch him. You're pinching him.
Jimmy Palmer: No, it's okay. He's probably just hungry.
Eleanor Bishop: Oh, here, I have his formula.
Jimmy Palmer: Oh, no, not that brand. No. That's filled with, uh, preservatives, corn syrup...
Nicholas Torres: Yeah. Put that back. Maybe some apple juice.
Jimmy Palmer: That's even worse. You might as well pour him a beer.
Eleanor Bishop: Hmm.
Nicholas Torres: There's so much to know.
Eleanor Bishop: Yeah. So much we don't know.
Jimmy Palmer: You guys are new to this. It's like a rite of passage for all new parents to feel inadequate.
Eleanor Bishop: Oh, there we go. Hi.
NCIS: bullpen
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Where is everybody?
Timothy McGee: With Jimmy. Apparently, changing a diaper is now a three-person job.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Swell. Update.
Timothy McGee: Well, no help on the cell phone. Other than calling his attorney, Vicious used it exclusively to call burn phones. No wife or girlfriend to be found.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Recheck the numbers. See if any have a Florida area code.
Timothy McGee: Boss, I hate to say this, but I really can't miss my flight to Chicago in the morning.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: No one's missing anything, McGee. Once we confirm the killer, you go, whether we find the mother or not.
Timothy McGee: Thank you. It shouldn't take too long. Seems pretty open-and-shut.
Kasie Hines: Oh, it doesn't seem open-and-shut, Tim. It most definitely is.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Fingerprints?
Kasie Hines: And blood. The latter being Jerome's, and the former matching Vicious, our killer.
Timothy McGee: Well, not a happy ending for either party, but at least it's the quick case we were hoping for.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Kase, you get DNA?
Kasie Hines: DNA came back negative.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: What?
Kasie Hines: Albert aka Vicious is most definitely not the baby's father, making us oh-for-two on parents right now.
Eleanor Bishop: All right, here's the little man, good as new.
Nicholas Torres: Yeah, no thanks to you, McGee.
Eleanor Bishop: Uh-oh. Nobody's smiling.
Nicholas Torres: What's wrong?
Timothy McGee: We're looking at a stolen baby.
Later
Leon Vance: Hey, wouldn't we have heard something? There had to be an Amber Alert.
Eleanor Bishop: Make that three alerts, Director, just in the Northeast this week. But none for a newborn.
Timothy McGee: I just can't believe the statistics on missing kids. I mean, they're stolen from hospitals, parking lots, people's own homes.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Double-check every case. Start locally, work outward.
Nicholas Torres: I've got two cases here in the Metro area, but neither matches our baby's age or description.
Leon Vance: What kind of monster would steal a baby?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: The kind dead on Palmer's table.
NCIS: morgue
Jimmy Palmer: Whatever lowly, depraved person you were in life, here's your chance in death. Where did you get that baby?
Kasie Hines: Are you really expecting an answer?
Jimmy Palmer: From beyond, maybe. A psychic message. At this point, I will take what I can get.
Kasie Hines: I need a word with my buddy Jerome.
Jimmy Palmer: Yeah, you mentioned that he reminded you of someone?
Kasie Hines: Oh, yeah. Not really, though. But did you happen to find anything in his clothes? Anything that might have fallen out, maybe?
Jimmy Palmer: Anything like...?
Kasie Hines: Purple Heart. This box was in his duffel with no medal inside.
Jimmy Palmer: Wow. No, I didn't find anything like that.
Kasie Hines: Got me looking into his service record, and turns out he did not one, but three tours in the Middle East. Purple Heart came after an IED nearly killed him.
Jimmy Palmer: That would explain all the old surgical scars.
Kasie Hines: After he was discharged, he battled PTSD and a painkiller addiction for years. V.A. tried to provide support, but with no living family, he fell off the grid entirely in '07.
Jimmy Palmer: Off the grid?
Kasie Hines: Oh, homelessness. An all-too-common tale.
Jimmy Palmer: Yeah, the numbers are pretty staggering.
Kasie Hines: You think the medal might have fallen out when McGee was packing the duffel?
Jimmy Palmer: You know, that or maybe Jerome just pawned it for cash at some point.
Kasie Hines: Yeah. But he kept the box. So clearly, it meant something to him. He should be buried with it… Too late to hit the V.A. center.
Jimmy Palmer: Yeah, we'll just have to go over there in the morning.
Kasie Hines: Uh, "we"? Tomorrow is Christmas Eve.
Jimmy Palmer: Okay, so we'll go over there early. Well, the medal obviously meant something to Jerome, which means something to you, so... Why not "we"?
NCIS: bullpen
Timothy McGee: All right, you bring the blanket around, keep it nice and tight, and there you go, snug as a bug.
Eleanor Bishop: He's like a little baby burrito.
Nicholas Torres: I like burritos.
Timothy McGee: Look how secure he looks. Like he's back in the womb. There you go, buddy.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Hey. Don't you got to get going?
Timothy McGee: Uh, yeah, boss. Got an early flight to catch-- still got to pack. But, uh, I know you'll find the mother before then, so...
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Go, McGee. Say hi to your family. Merry Christmas.
Timothy McGee: Merry Christmas, boss. Happy holidays, guys.
Nicholas Torres: See ya.
Eleanor Bishop: Bye, McGee.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: What about you? What time's your plane leave?
Eleanor Bishop: Uh, whenever. I can book a later one.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You know, I still think Child Services is the best place for him.
Eleanor Bishop: Ooh, and we respectfully disagree.
Nicholas Torres: I mean, where are they gonna put him, anyway?
Eleanor Bishop: He's already been through so much to be handed off to some stranger.
Nicholas Torres: Little Nicky's place is right here.
Eleanor Bishop: Oh. Now he's Little Nicky?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Okay, I get it, but... He can't stay here. Which one of you gonna take him home?
Nicholas Torres: Well, your place isn't exactly, uh, baby-friendly.
Eleanor Bishop: And your place is no day care center.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: And neither one of you know how to take care of a baby… Nope. No. Not gonna happen. N... I'm not doing it… No.
Gibbs’s house: living room
Nicholas Torres: Yeah, this is more like it.
Eleanor Bishop: No. More like it would be you tending the fire and me holding the baby.
Nicholas Torres: And since when do you care about stereotypical gender roles?
Eleanor Bishop: Whoa.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Whew. Remind me to clean out the attic.
Eleanor Bishop: You still have this.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Got to hold on to what you can. You know, it might be a better idea to set this up in the spare bedroom upstairs.
Nicholas Torres: Uh, we were also thinking that maybe, uh, down here could be a little bit more cozy, plus... You know, the three of us can take shifts.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Shifts?
Nicholas Torres: Yeah. Like... You know, like, every few hours.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah. No. No shift for me. No, I'll be in the basement. Night.
Later
Nicholas Torres: What?
Eleanor Bishop: Huh?
Nicholas Torres: You sighed.
Eleanor Bishop: I didn't sigh… Okay, I sighed. I was just thinking about what Gibbs said about hanging on to what you can.
Nicholas Torres: Talking about the bassinet?
Eleanor Bishop: His daughter's bassinet… Mm... His ornaments. You know, Shannon and Kelly, they've been gone for so many years, but... He keeps them right there up on the tree.
Nicholas Torres: Forever means forever.
Eleanor Bishop: I almost died today, Nick.
Nicholas Torres: I'm trying not to think about it.
Eleanor Bishop: Yeah, you and me both. And that baby... Made it a lot easier. But it can't help but make a person reassess things, you know?
Nicholas Torres: Things like...?
Eleanor Bishop: Like what you just said. Forever. What we hold on to, what we leave behind.
Nicholas Torres: And?
Eleanor Bishop: And... I don't know. I always thought I'd be a mom someday, but... I never really pictured myself, like, mothering, you know?
Nicholas Torres: Hmm.
Eleanor Bishop: Well, after today, I feel pretty much prepared for anything… Ay.
Nicholas Torres: Right on cue.
V.A. center
Samuel Kemp: You know, I never saw any medals. But maybe that nice agent who was here yesterday, maybe he dropped them. You might want to look around Jerome's bed.
Jimmy Palmer: Thanks so much.
Samuel Kemp: We shouldn't be long. I must say, I've been having some challenges just trying to find his next of kin to notify.
Kasie Hines: Jerome didn't have any. Parents died before he was enlisted and no siblings or cousins on record.
Samuel Kemp: You saved me some trouble.
Kasie Hines: But if you need a point person for funeral plans, I'm here...
Samuel Kemp: Uh, no, no, no. No, no, the V.A. will handle everything. They'll come and pick up Jerome's body right after Christmas. Ah. Excuse me.
Jimmy Palmer: Well, that was certainly nice of you to offer.
Kasie Hines: Man's got no one else.
Jimmy Palmer: I'll never understand how a guy like Jerome could end up homeless.
Kasie Hines: You know, some young people enlist to escape a bad homelife or neighbourhood. They get some structure, some discipline, only to be discharged and come back to none of those things. Same bad homelife, same low prospects. Only for some of them, it's compounded by the emotional and physical wounds of combat.
Jimmy Palmer: You sure know a lot about this subject.
Kasie Hines: My, uh... My dad did.
Jimmy Palmer: Wait. Was he ever homeless?
Kasie Hines: No, but he always said he could have been… Struggled himself after serving. Then he got a job with the post office and started a family. But he counselled homeless veterans on the side. He was helping them get a leg up, he'd say.
Jimmy Palmer: So that's why we're here. This is something your dad would have done.
Kasie Hines: Maybe.
Richard Sims: Is it true what I just heard? Vicious killed Jerome?
Jimmy Palmer: It appears to be the case, yeah.
Richard Sims: So Jerome did it. He went and ratted Vicious out to the cops.
Kasie Hines: Uh, ratted him out?
Richard Sims: Jerome was kicking himself for not stopping it right away.
Jimmy Palmer: Stopping what?
Richard Sims: Whatever he saw Vicious do. He wouldn't say what, but Jerome told me right here in this room he planned to go to the cops about it. And now he's dead.
Jimmy Palmer: Wait, wait. Whatever Jerome saw, did he happen to say where and when?
Gibbs’s house: living room
Jacqueline Sloane: Dashing through the snow - In a one-horse open sleigh - Over the fields we go...
Nicholas Torres: Jack?
Eleanor Bishop: Hey, what about skiing in Vermont?
Jacqueline Sloane: Oh, I made the mistake of checking in with Vance before leaving this morning. One mention of a stolen baby, and I thought you guys might be a little shorthanded, so...
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Hey. Yeah, Palmer, what do you got?
Nicholas Torres: So you came all the way back for, uh, the case or the baby?
Jacqueline Sloane: Aw, come on. Who doesn't love a baby? I especially love a baby in a safe and happy home.
Eleanor Bishop: Yeah, which we're still no closer to finding.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Palmer found a witness. We need to dig up security footage from an all-night store in Annandale.
Nicholas Torres: What are we digging for?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Anything we can find on Vicious or our victim.
Timothy McGee: Hey, guys.
Eleanor Bishop: McGee?
Timothy McGee: Couldn't sleep a wink, so, uh, booked a later flight. What happened? I thought you were supposed to be in Vermont.
Jacqueline Sloane: Oh.
NCIS: MTAC
Jacqueline Sloane: Any luck, Tim?
Timothy McGee: Well, took some doing, but fortunately, there is only one Atlantic E-Z Mart in Annandale. You said the parking lot, boss?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: That's what Palmer said. Around 3:00 in the morning.
Jacqueline Sloane: Hard to know what we're looking for exactly.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Slow it down… Who's that?
Jacqueline Sloane: Do we know her?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Nope, not yet… Well, that's our guy right there. That is Vicious.
Timothy McGee: He's taking the baby.
Jacqueline Sloane: I'm gonna be sick.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Here comes Jerome.
Jacqueline Sloane: Wait. What is she doing?
Timothy McGee: He's giving her an envelope. And she's... She's letting him take the stroller.
Jacqueline Sloane: Oh, my God, that baby wasn't stolen.
Timothy McGee: Boss, that's got to be money.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: He was sold.
NCIS: Kasie’s lab
Jimmy Palmer: I cannot imagine what this girl's been through to want to sell her baby.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You got anything?
Kasie Hines: Uh, the only prints on this stroller belong to Bishop and Torres, and no hits on DNA, either.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Facial recognition?
Kasie Hines: No matches yet.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: What's that about?
Kasie Hines: Oh, that? That's nothing.
Jimmy Palmer: It's not nothing. She's trying to find a Purple Heart, Agent Gibbs, for Jerome. You can buy one online for, like, 50 bucks, but delivery this time of year takes weeks.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Why does Jerome need a Purple Heart?
Kasie Hines: Because he earned it, and lost it.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah. Yeah. Leon, I'm on my way.
Jimmy Palmer: What?
NCIS: bullpen
Jacqueline Sloane: You're such a sweet boy.
Leon Vance: Well, so much for your ski trip. And McGee, what about Chicago?
Jacqueline Sloane: What can we say, Leon? We're here for the same reason you are.
Leon Vance: Doubtful. I'm pulling the plug.
Jacqueline Sloane: What?
Leon Vance: This is what Child Protective Services does. It's right there in their title.
Timothy McGee: But, Director...
Leon Vance: No, I'm not gonna waste any more of our time, our resources, and all of our holidays trying to do what they do best.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: I'm not sure you'd say that if you saw the video.
Timothy McGee: The mother was sobbing, Director.
Jacqueline Sloane: There has to be more to the story. Certainly her story.
Eleanor Bishop: Hey. So, no witnesses, and we all but papered the walls of the convenience store and the neighbourhood around it.
Nicholas Torres: Nobody knows her. How's my Little Nicky?
Jacqueline Sloane: Hmm. Looks more like a Logan to me.
Eleanor Bishop: Hey! I was thinking Logan, too.
Jacqueline Sloane: Yeah.
Eleanor Bishop: Yeah, or like a Cody.
Timothy McGee: See, I'm thinking he looks more like a Luke.
Eleanor Bishop: Oh, another Star Wars name, huh?
Timothy McGee: Well, I believe, uh, Logan is Wolverine.
Jacqueline Sloane: How about, uh, Superman? Kent? Clark?
Leon Vance: Well, we may not have found the mom yet, Gibbs, but this baby certainly has no shortage of aunts and uncles.
Jacqueline Sloane: Hey, Superman. Let's just call him Superman.
Timothy McGee: Albert's a better name.
NCIS: Kasie’s lab
Kasie Hines: I'm just saying, there was no need to involve Gibbs.
Jimmy Palmer: There is always a need. Look, if you want to help Jerome, Kasie, you got to let other people help you.
Kasie Hines: I let you help me.
Jimmy Palmer: I'm not Gibbs. Surely your dad didn't help all these homeless vets all by himself, did he?
Kasie Hines: No. I don't know. Look, just leave my dad out of this.
Jimmy Palmer: There you go again. Every time I bring up your dad, you change the subject.
Kasie Hines: No, I don't. Now find a face already.
Jimmy Palmer: It was him, wasn't it? Who Jerome reminded you of. It was your dad. You got all weird when you saw Jerome's body, the same weird that you got at any mention of your dad. Look, I... I'm sorry. I overstepped there. I didn't mean to...
Kasie Hines: No. No, you're right. I get weird. Jerome reminded me of the first dead body I ever saw.
Jimmy Palmer: It was your father.
Kasie Hines: About the same age, Navy tattoo. It just reminded me of our last Christmas together. In the middle of opening presents, I mentioned having second thoughts about finishing grad school, and he was... He was not happy… You know, he always said I had a knack if I would just apply myself, and... Oh, needless to say, it ruined the day, and most every day after that, right up till the day he died.
Jimmy Palmer: When was that?
Kasie Hines: A month later, out of nowhere. Just had a heart attack on his mail route. You know, the medics said that he was dead before he even hit the ground. Mom couldn't bear to I.D. the body, so I did.
Jimmy Palmer: Kasie, I'm so sorry.
Kasie Hines: You know, the day after that, I went back to grad school, and I busted my butt, and he was right. I had a knack. And within a week, I started working with Ducky, and... Man, I knew in my heart that I was on the right track after all.
Jimmy Palmer: Wait. All of this was a year ago?
Kasie Hines: Last Christmas, yeah.
Jimmy Palmer: Well, there you go. Kasie, that's why you don't want to go home.
Kasie Hines: No, I-I... I have work to do, and I...
Jimmy Palmer: No. No, you don't. And your mom and your sister… They're-they're not going on any cruise, are they?
Kasie Hines: I just... I know it's gonna be a rough Christmas.
Jimmy Palmer: There we go. Got a hit.
Kasie Hines: Uh, Tanya Jacobs, 17. Three trips to juvie for drug offenses.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah, Palmer. What do you got?
Motel
Jacqueline Sloane: We're sure it's the same Tanya?
Timothy McGee: Her I.D. and probation number were used to check in yesterday.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: She knows we're here.
Timothy McGee: Manager must have called.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Tanya Jacobs! NCIS!
Street
Jacqueline Sloane: Tanya!
Tanya Jacobs: Please let me go! Let me go!
Jacqueline Sloane: It's okay. Tanya, it's okay.
Tanya Jacobs: It's not okay. Leave me alone, please!
Jacqueline Sloane: Hey, hey, we just want to talk.
Tanya Jacobs: It's not mine, I swear. I swear.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: It's okay.
Motel
Jacqueline Sloane: You pretty high right now, Tanya?
Tanya Jacobs: I'm not high at all. I've been clean for months.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: There anybody we can call? Parents?
Tanya Jacobs: Yeah. Yeah, right. No. They kicked me out as soon as I got pregnant. Then my boyfriend skipped town. That's when the adoption agency hooked me up with Pete and Judy.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Last name?
Tanya Jacobs: They don't tell you that. They were nice people, though. So nice. They helped pay for my rehab and my medical care, all just for a chance to adopt my baby.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: When did Vicious come along?
Tanya Jacobs: Right before I delivered… I used to be a customer before I got clean. When he saw me knocked up, he offered me ten grand cash. More money than I had ever seen. So I lied. I told Pete and Judy that I wanted to keep the baby… And I felt bad for breaking their hearts, but adoption agencies once the baby comes, they don't pay you… And I knew it was wrong the second I took the envelope… But opportunities like that, they don't... They don't come around every... Maybe ever. I thought I'd be okay, but then I found out that Vicious was dead, and-and-and... And now I don't even know where my baby is.
Jacqueline Sloane: Tanya, we have him.
Tanya Jacobs: You do?
Jacqueline Sloane: Yes. He's safe.
Tanya Jacobs: Wha...
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: What's the name of the agency?
Tanya Jacobs: This changes everything.
Jacqueline Sloane: Why-why does it change everything?
Tanya Jacobs: I mean, maybe this is a sign. I've been... I've been sitting here, and I've been thinking maybe... Maybe if I would've just kept my baby, then I would've saved everybody from all this trouble.
Jacqueline Sloane: No, no, no, no.
Tanya Jacobs: Why not? I've got money now. I could get us a place. A nice one… I mean, maybe this-this could be my second chance.
Jacqueline Sloane: Hey, Tanya, y-your best chance is without a baby right now. And your baby's best chance is with those adoptive parents… This opportunity... Doesn't come around much. You have come this far, but you could go so much further, and so could your baby… If you let him go.
Tanya Jacobs: You seem so sure. How do you know?
Jacqueline Sloane: Because I know. All right? We all end up with regrets in our life, but one thing you will never regret is giving your baby a better life… More than anything else, I know that. And I'll help you get the support you need to get clean and turn your life around. I promise. Okay? Okay.
Tanya Jacobs: Okay, I will. Thanks.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Tanya... What did Vicious have planned for the baby?
Tanya Jacobs: Well, that's just the thing. It wasn't all about the money.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: It was to Vicious. Who was he selling the baby to?
Tanya Jacobs: He said he had a nice home lined up. Rich people. Like, a-a doctor or a lawyer or something.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Lawyer.
NCIS: interview room
Paul Spencer: Let me save you some time, Agent Gibbs. It's already been the worst Christmas Eve ever.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Yeah. How?
Paul Spencer: My wife figured out what kind of strings I was pulling to make this adoption happen.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You call paying a drug dealer to buy you a baby "pulling strings"?
Paul Spencer: Stupid, I know.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Oh, it is way more than stupid.
Paul Spencer: After I got Albert the plea deal, he said if there was anything he could do. And he meant anything.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: So you said, "How about a baby?"
Paul Spencer: Our third adoption had just fallen through, and we were crushed. Albert said for 25 grand, he would find us a healthy and willing birth mother.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: $25,000.
Paul Spencer: I was desperate to give my wife a family. Never expecting anyone was gonna die over it.
NCIS: Kasie’s office
Jimmy Palmer: Hey. Hear the good news?
Kasie Hines: Yeah. Uh, great. I mean, bittersweet, but at least we can find the original adoptive parents now.
Jimmy Palmer: I'm sorry. Am I interrupting something?
Kasie Hines: Oh, no. Just... Just deleting a bunch of spam. You headed home?
Jimmy Palmer: Yeah, I just wanted to, uh, come by. Drop off a little something.
Kasie Hines: Jimmy, why? You didn't have to. I didn't get you anything.
Jimmy Palmer: Yes, you did. Trust me.
Kasie Hines: Do I open it now or...?
Jimmy Palmer: That would be the idea, yeah. Just o-open it.
Kasie Hines: Yeah. Okay.
Jimmy Palmer: It's not Jerome's, but it's-it's someone's. Someone who doesn't need it anymore, I guess.
Kasie Hines: Who?
Jimmy Palmer: I don't know. But that is why you involve Gibbs. He knows people.
Kasie Hines: Thank you, Jimmy.
Jimmy Palmer: Merry Christmas… Oh, and Kasie? I'm a big believer in fate. I know there's nothing good that can be said about your dad passing away, but if nothing else, it led you here. To us.
Kasie Hines: I sometimes think maybe my dad gave me a little... Shove from above.
Jimmy Palmer: Well, we're all glad that he did.
NCIS: bullpen
Eleanor Bishop: Hey. We've got the hang of this now.
Nicholas Torres: Yeah. He's looking stylish, too. Aren't you, little Cody?
Eleanor Bishop: What? Cody?
Nicholas Torres: Consider that my Christmas present to you.
Timothy McGee: Great news. The agency tracked down Tanya's adoptive parents. Pete and Judy Shaw of Fairfax. They're only 20 minutes away.
Nicholas Torres: Oh, that's... That's great.
Eleanor Bishop: Mm-hmm.
Timothy McGee: I got a plane to catch. May the Force be with you, little Han Solo. Really good job, you guys.
Eleanor Bishop: Thanks. Okay, then, little guy. Here we go.
Nicholas Torres: Yeah, so, uh... We tell Gibbs now, right?
Eleanor Bishop: Mm-hmm.
Nicholas Torres: Mm-hmm.
NCIS: morgue
Kasie Hines: You know, they say, "You can't take it with you." But this? This, Jerome, you are... Most definitely taking with you. Or as my father used to say... "No greater love than this, that one should lay down his life for his friends."
NCIS: elevator
Mrs. Hines: Hey, baby. What's up? You okay?
Kasie Hines: No, Mom, I'm fine, really. I just, um... I actually finished that work faster than I thought and was thinking maybe I could still catch a flight home?
Mrs. Hines: Oh! We'd love to have you here, sweetheart.
NCIS: Sloane’s office
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Hey, Jack.
Jacqueline Sloane: Hey.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: You still coming?
Jacqueline Sloane: Are you kidding me? I wouldn't miss it for the world.
Street
Lydia Miles: Special Agent Gibbs?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Ms. Miles.
Lydia Miles: Lydia, yes. From the adoption agency. I spoke with your Agent McGee on the phone.
Jacqueline Sloane: Special Agent Sloane. Thank you so much for arranging this on such short notice.
Lydia Miles: Of course. We were overjoyed. We worked it all out with Tanya. She spoke very highly of you both. I take it the child is with you?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Absolutely.
Lydia Miles: Great.
Eleanor Bishop: All right, here we are.
Lydia Miles: Hi.
Eleanor Bishop: Hi.
Lydia Miles: Thank you so much for coming. Thank you.
Nicholas Torres: And there he is.
Lydia Miles: Oh. Wonderful. Well, I'll just take him from here.
Eleanor Bishop: No. Sorry. It's just we'd like to... Deliver him ourselves, if that's okay.
Lydia Miles: Actually, that might be better. I told the Shaws I was coming but didn't want to get their hopes up before you got here. They've been let down before.
Jacqueline Sloane: Yes, we know.
Lydia Miles: Why don't I just, uh, go on and break the good news while you wait at the door? Great.
Eleanor Bishop: This is a nice neighbourhood.
Jacqueline Sloane: Good schools. I checked.
Nicholas Torres: That's good. That's good to know.
Eleanor Bishop: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Good schools. That's important.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Hey, you two. You should get over there.
Eleanor Bishop: Right. Okay.
Jacqueline Sloane: Bye, buddy.
Eleanor Bishop: Are you okay? Got it?
Neighbour: Ooh. Oh, how adorable. Congratulations.
Eleanor Bishop: Thank you.
Nicholas Torres: Thank you.
Neighbour: Come on.
Nicholas Torres: That was weird.
Eleanor Bishop: Yeah. Just kind of came out… Okay.
Nicholas Torres: Hey, uh, hold on. You did good.
Eleanor Bishop: Yeah. You did, too. We both did.
Nicholas Torres: And you did good, too, bud.
Eleanor Bishop: Yeah. You... Are going to a great home. You're gonna love it there.
Nicholas Torres: Absolutely.
Eleanor Bishop: Oh, wow.
Nicholas Torres: All right, that's not even fair, buddy.
Eleanor Bishop: Okay. Let's go.
Shaw’s porch
Lydia Miles: Pete and Judy, these are the agents I was telling you about. They've been taking care of your baby.
Judy Shaw: Our baby?
Eleanor Bishop: Yeah, your baby.
Pete Shaw: This is, uh... It's a miracle, right? It's got to be a miracle.
Eleanor Bishop: Sure feels like it.
Judy Shaw: Does he have a name?
Nicholas Torres: That's up to you.
Judy Shaw: Thank you.
Eleanor Bishop: Oh.
Judy Shaw: Thank you so much.
Nicholas Torres: Congratulations.
Eleanor Bishop: Here.
Street
Jacqueline Sloane: Merry Christmas, Gibbs.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: Merry Christmas to you, Jack… You still going skiing?
Jacqueline Sloane: It's a little late now. Why? You got a better plan?
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: I was just thinking about that gift bottle you gave out.
Jacqueline Sloane: Kentucky's finest. Oh. Small batch.
Leroy Jethro Gibbs: I want to crack that. You in?