Title: In Memoriam
Rated: T, that's probably stretching it.
Disclaimer: Not my characters, no infringement intended.
Summary: The team pays tribute to an unforgettable woman while a fan attempts to do the same.
"She was quite a lady, Duck."
Gibbs smiled softly then turned away in the vague way he had – not really showing emotion… but just enough emotion to those he wanted to see it.
"Unforgettable. Look who she raised, Ducky?"
This was McGee, always the gentleman, with a writer's sense of tact. McGee knew that sometimes eloquence wasn't a matter of what you said… but rather, what you didn't say.
"I did not know her as well as the others… but I hear that she challenged my predecessor to show her her snickers."
Tony might normally have snickered himself at the mistake, but he had enough sensitivity in him to ignore the faux pas. "She really showed balls with Kate, didn't she?" This might normally have also earned a head-slap from Gibbs, but their team leader chose to ignore it as well.
"She had what I would call chutzpah," Ziva said with gentle reverence. "A woman to be reckoned with, there is no doubt."
"I'll never forget that she always called me Leonard. And she thought I was her manservant," Jimmy said, with a soft smile. When he looked up at his boss and mentor, his green eyes held a glimmer of loss, and the joy of remembrance as well. As Ducky's closest colleague, he had had occasion to meet Mrs. Mallard many times. He'd been subjected to her fried chicken, which to this day gave his normally iron stomach the flip-flops.
"Your Mom was… well, I can't really describe her in words Ducky. She was a capital lady. She liked me, even if I did remind her of her sister." Abby smiled brightly, though sadness did reflect in her bright eyes. Abby always was one to put up a happy front, even in the face of loss.
Ducky sat amongst his friends and colleagues – now more his family than anything else – and he took comfort in their words.
"Please accept my deepest condolences, Dr. Mallard. Your mother must have been quite the gentlewoman to have raised such a son as you." Director Vance made an effort, stiff as it was. His dark eyes shined with a certain amount of reluctant sincerity… Gibbs saw it, knowing Leon Vance better than the others did. Gibbs wasn't quite sure what to think of their new Director yet, but he extended nevertheless, a cautious respect for his authority.
"She was quite the woman Leon," Gibbs confirmed. He raised his coffee in the impromptu gathering. The others raised their drinks of choice in response.
"To Mrs. Mallard," Tony said. "She was one hell of a lady, even if she did think I was a gigolo."
Those who had been there at the time smiled at the remembrance, while those who had not smiled at the telling of it.
"To Mrs. Mallard," the others said in unison. McGee added, "May she rest in peace after a life well and fully lived."
Glasses and cups were raised, followed by silence. Ducky smiled sadly.
"To Mother," he said.
In respectful memory of Nina Foch, who brought to life the incorrigible, unforgettable Mrs. Victoria Mallard. Her appearances on NCIS were brief, but they will never be forgotten. May she rest in peace.