December 2001

Jimmy huffed as he sprinted toward the science building, trying to pull his winter coat around him more tightly while simultaneously keeping a grip on his book bag. His exhales puffed out in tiny balls of smoke as they met the frigid air. He could already feel his nose turning red. He'd be stuck with a cold for the next couple of days, but it couldn't be avoided.

He'd been neglecting his studies. He hadn't meant to. Normally, Jimmy was very studious. But between problems with his mother, who had just broken off her engagement to her most recent beau, and being turned down as an intern by multiple law enforcement departments, he'd found it difficult to concentrate on school work. Now, he had two major projects due that week, as well as an exam that would count for a third of his biochemistry grade. That meant his one day off in over two weeks was to be spent holed up in an empty classroom trying to complete his analysis of a medical case in which a woman's stomach lining had begun corroding from her stomach acids, along with what he as a doctor would have done to treat the problem.

Was medical school supposed to be this hard? Probably. Otherwise everyone would try to be a doctor and make lots of money. Not that Jimmy was really interested in the money; there wasn't a big salary in pathology, which Jimmy was leaning toward as his specialty. The people who saved lives were the ones who saw the big bucks. The pathologist just sliced and diced. But that's what he liked about it. With medicine, it was pretty straight forward (not at all as interesting as television might lead you to believe). Pathology, though, was more than that. It was like being a detective. You get to look at the evidence and draw conclusions, help put away bad guys. At least, that's what Jimmy wanted.

Ever since he was a little boy, Jimmy had dreamed of adventure. His had come mostly in the form of books: Treasure Island, The Three Musketeers, Moby Dick. They had been his escape, his chance to feel brave. Because Jimmy wasn't very brave. He didn't like confrontation and blanched when faced with any real danger, be it an intimidating bully or an impending fender bender. Not exactly the thing great adventurers like Jim Hawkins and Captain Ahab were made of. He couldn't work as a cop or detective. He wouldn't know what to do with a gun and even if he did come face to face with a bad guy...well, let's just say he would be better off staying out of that field of work. At least with a career in autopsy he could be close to the action without having to be an active part of it, and he could feel like maybe, in his own way, he was doing his part to put bad guys in jail. It was probably the closest he'd ever get to doing that.

He pushed into the building, welcoming the overheated air, despite the fact that it turned his coat into a mini sauna. He needed to defrost before he could concentrate on anything else. There was a radiator in the chemistry where he could hang his wet winter clothing and he suspected he could use a Bunsen burner as a small fire to warm his fingers. No one else was likely to be here on a Sunday; he would have the entire building to himself.

Or maybe not.

He saw the door to the chemistry lab open down the hall, and out stepped a hulking frame Jimmy knew all too well. Patrick McConnell, a fellow student who had a terrible temper and a short fuse. He was infamous among his peers and, aside from his pristine academic record, no one really had a good thing to say about him. Jimmy could still remember the time he'd accidentally knocked over Patrick's drink in the cafeteria. Since then, he'd become something of a target for the Med School bully and Jimmy made it a point to stay away. Though the men were roughly the same age, somehow Patrick seemed older, though, maybe that was because when he was around, Jimmy felt like a high school freshman, ripe for bullying.

Patrick didn't see him; he looked preoccupied, though by what, Jimmy didn't know. Not wanting his already bad day to get worse, he quickly ducked into an open door and hid inside the empty room. He watched Patrick pass by, hands rolled into tight fists. His gait indicated he was angry about something…but then he always seemed angry about something. Only after Jimmy had watched Patrick exit the building did he come out of hiding, breathing a sigh of relief. Though he couldn't help giving himself an internal scolding for his cowardice. Sam Spade wouldn't have hidden from the bad guy.

As fortune would have it, Jimmy had arrived at the building just in time. Had he arrived earlier, he would have been forced to share the chemistry lab with Patrick. He probably would have preferred taking an F for all of the assignments.

When he entered the lab, he saw that one of the Bunsen burners was out and had a flame. Jimmy frowned; Patrick should have known better than to leave one of those out like that. Still, it saved him the trouble of having to do it himself. He pulled off his coat, scarf, and mittens, laying them over the radiator. With luck, they would be dry by the time he left. Right now he had to focus on his pharmacology project. Time to enter the ever-so-fascinating world of acetaphetamine.

He would later state that he saw the hand first. It was peeking out from behind one of the lab counters, the fingers moving slowly as if trying to grasp for something. That was when he heard the soft groans.

It was Danielle Frasier, a fellow student. She was lying on the ground, still donning the necessary lab coat, goggles, and gloves that were required when working in the chemistry lab. The blood was pooling under her head, dripping from the terrible gash on the back of her head. Quite frankly, Jimmy was surprised she was even moving.

"Oh…oh my God," he muttered. What to do? Call 911, stupid. "Hello…yes I need an ambulance right away. There's a woman here and she's badly hurt."

"P..trick…" Her mouth was barely moving, but he heard her say something.

"What was that?"

Her eyes opened and strained to look up, trying to see who was beside her. "P-Pa…Patrick."

His heart almost stopped. He hadn't even entertained the thought of who had done this or how it had happened. Sure, Patrick was mean, but was he capable of this brutality?

"Just hold on," he said quietly, not sure what else to say. "Someone's coming to help." The blood was oozing out, wetting her hair and staining her skin. He wanted to vomit. Or run. Or both.

All of the medical training in the world couldn't have prepared Jimmy for this.

Present Day

The call came as Jimmy was enjoying the rest of his lunch. He'd decided to try out the deli on the corner instead of brown bagging it that day and was sitting at an outdoor table, enjoying the warm summer day.

"Hi, Mr. Babcock," he greeted, having recognized the number.

"Jimmy, we've known each other for almost nine years now. You can call me Will."

"Sorry…Will." Jimmy wasn't always sure how to behave around the District Attorney. He owed Will a lot and considered him a friend, but for Jimmy, he would always be a lawyer first. "How are things?"

"Just fine. Suzy just had her thirteenth birthday and I'm getting accustomed to raising a teenage girl. How about you? How is your mother?"

"She's fine. She remarried two years ago. So far, it seems to be sticking."

"Good to hear. And work? Are you still with NCIS?"

"They haven't kicked me out yet."

"I'm glad. They're lucky to have you. I always knew you were a bright kid."

Jimmy took a sip of his iced tea, waiting for Will to get to the point. He wasn't the type to call just to check up. He had something important to tell him.

"So, I'm sure you're wondering why I'm calling. As you know, Patrick McConnell had his first parole hearing today."

Jimmy nodded. It was a tense day for him. Just the thought that Patrick might get out of jail was daunting. "How did it go?"

Will sighed. "Not well, Jimmy. Not well."

His mouth went dry. "Oh? What do you mean?"

"Jimmy, the case was never as solid as I would have liked it." That was not a good answer.

"Will…no…"

"We're lucky we got what we did. I'm sorry. I fought, I swear I did, but they weren't listening. As of 2:30 pm this afternoon, Patrick McConnell will be a free man."