Title: The Sound of White
Author: iDefy Gravity
Rating: T
Warnings: Character death
Summary: Donald Mallard was a great man.
Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS. Title comes from a Missy Higgins song.
Author's Note: I really hope Ducky and everybody else lives. But this is much how I imagine Palmer would feel if Ducky did die.
"Donald Mallard was a great man and a great friend. He will always be missed."
With those words, I can no longer hold back the tears. Tears stream down my face as I lean into Breena and wrap my arm around her. He was more than just a friend to me. He was like a father. He taught me many things and not just about autopsies. He taught me about tact, kindness, and what it really meant to love someone unconditionally.
I can remember my first few weeks at NCIS. I was a mess; always saying the wrong things at the wrong times. He would admonish me, always saying, "Mister Palmer," in that stern tone of his. And then later, after we got back to the lab, he would lecture me at first and then, after he was certain that I'd learned the lesson he was trying to teach, he would smile and tell me stories of his youth.
It hits me that I will never hear another story about the days of his youth. Never hear him say "Mister Palmer" again. Never see him in Autopsy. Never see him smile. The pain is nearly too much to bear.
I barely register that the group is breaking apart and forming a line behind Doctor Mallard's coffin and I numbly walk over to place a single rose on his casket.
Yes, Donald Mallard was a great man. And I can only hope that he knew how much we all loved him.
