Disclaimer: None of it is mine..
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Mac is the one to take the wedding ring off the dead woman's finger, with Stella hovering anxiously behind him. According to the drivers license in the victim's pocket she is Cecilia Murray, 31 years old. Mac decides that she is rather beautiful, even with her auburn curls spread across the floor of the grimy back street and the harsh red entry wound marring her creamy forehead. He resolves to tell her husband himself. Except that turns out to be impossible. Instead Mac is assured that Corporal Murray's commanding officerwill break the news to him as soon as possible and the navy will have him flown back from Iraq that night.
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When the Corporal arrives in New York the next day he is closely followed by NCIS. There are four agents. Special Agent Gibbs is in charge, a gruff, silver-haired man who seems used to getting his own way. There are two men with him, one of whom is trying to flirt with Stella while the other just looks uncomfortable with the tension in the room. The fourth agent is a dark-haired woman who is calmly surveying the scene in front of her.
Mac can usually stand up to anybody's attempts to interfere in his investigations, but in this case it is clear that NCIS have priority, and it bothers him far more than it should with any normal case. He is in danger of losing his temper when Agent Gibbs dismisses all his protests, demands the evidence they have collected and insists that Mac takes him down to the morgue to see the body.
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Agent Gibbs stares at Cecilia's body and then keeps staring, seeming transfixed by her face. On the other hand the two male agents seem reluctant to look at the body, which strikes Mac as odd considering they must have been in dozens of morgues during their careers. He watches the two men look from their boss to each other awkwardly until the female agent moves to her boss' side and speaking his name in a soft, accented voice. As though a spell has been broken, Agent Gibb's head snaps up,
'McGee, go with Detective Taylor and send details of all the forensic evidence to Abby. Dinozzo, I want a full background check on the victim. Officer David, get the people who found the body into an interview room.'
Mac heads back towards the lab with Agent McGee and if he hadn't stopped to say a quick word to one of the technicians he would have been out of hearing when Gibbs called one of his agents back.
'Ziva, pull that detective's record.'
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A few hours later Gibbs appears in Mac's office. He asks a few questions about the evidence then invites Mac to interview Corporal Murray with him. They both know this is Gibbs' way of saying that Mac can stay involved in the case. He wonders whether the agent was swayed by his record from the marines or by what happened to Claire. The latter seems more likely but Mac has become very good at recognising pity and that is not what he sees in Gibbs' eyes.
It only becomes clear to him later when he is mulling over the interview, a difficult one despite a surprising degree of sympathy and tact from Gibbs. There is an understanding there. Gibbs understands Murray's pain the same way he does because they have both been through it themselves.
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The case is proving to be quite straight forward so Mac sees no problem taking a morning off to attend a memorial service for Cecilia. It is not something he does for most of their murder victims but in this case it seems appropriate. He is also not surprised to see Gibbs there, accompanied by his female agent who has the air of someone who has attended many of these services; not disrespectful but just detached. While the others listen to the speeches made by Cecilia's family and friends, her eyes follow one of their main suspects who is sitting a few rows away from them.
The service is short, sweet and far too familiar. Afterwards Gibbs immediately disappears after the suspect and Agent David asks Mac for lift back.
Trying to make conversation he asks her how long she was worked for NCIS. She tells him she transferred there from Mossad three weeks ago. Her voice is calm and steady but some instinct warns Mac that he should not ask any questions about the circumstances of this transfer. Instead they converse politely about the ways in which Washington differs from Tel Aviv.
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Five days later they have caught Cecilia's killer but the victory seems hollow to Mac. After all, there is no way to return Cecilia to her husband. The NCIS team are flying back to Washington that night and somehow Mac finds himself asking Gibbs if he has time for a drink. They end up in a bar a few blocks from Mac's office, nursing glasses of scotch and sitting in silence until Mac's curiosity gets the better of him.
'How long has it been since you lost your wife?' Gibbs looks down into his scotch thoughtfully.
'11 years'
The answer surprises Mac because there is an air of recent sadness about the other man. But he remembers the exchange with Officer David and wonders if there is perhaps another story that is still too raw to share. So he doesn't ask any more questions, and of course Gibbs doesn't question him because everyone knows that it will be 4 years this September.
They sit in a somewhat companionable silence until the NCIS agent glances at his watch and stands. He tips his glass towards Mac, says a few familiar words then downs the rest of his drink and leaves. Mac sits alone and quietly whispers 'Semper Fi' into his glass. He wonders if it is too late to visit Claire's grave tonight.
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