"Merida! I wasn't expecting to see you here."

At the sound of her name, Merida lifted her gaze from her locket, offering a weary smile. "Sorry if I startled you, Ducky."

Ducky simply shook his head and walked over to his desk. "Don't worry about it, my dear. I'm used to the living coming down here to spend time alone. However," he turned and peered over toward her, his face crinkled with worry. "They usually come when something is wrong. Is everything alright?"

She hesitated, and with a small sigh, dropped her gaze down to the floor. "Tired, is all," she said, a faint, sad smile twitching across her lips. "I haven't gotten much sleep these past few days."

"You haven't been yourself these past few days, either," he pointed out gently. "Jethro noticed you've been acting rather strangely ever since you two went to speak to Coulson. Though I suppose seeing the dead alive again can do that to someone."

Merida grimaced at the mention of Coulson, and her jaw tightened. "Yes… that was certainly quite a surprise." She sighed and lifted her gaze once more, watching as the kind doctor began to work on making his tea. "Have… have you heard of doctor Robert E Cornish?"

Ducky turned to face her, looking puzzled as he leaned against the desk behind him. "Why, yes, I have. In nineteen-thirty-four and 'five, he successfully resurrected two dogs, though both had permanent brain damage, which isn't much of a surprise considering they had actually been dead for quite some time. Why do you ask?"

She swallowed nervously and licked her lips, her gaze drifting away from him. "I…" With another sigh, she turned her gaze back toward the older man as the kettle began to scream, watching silently as he turned to tend to it. "Hypothetically, if you could resurrect someone, and do so in a way that reversed any brain damage, would you do so?"

He stopped, setting down the tea bag as he turned back to face her. "Well... I suppose doing so could help with our investigations, but morally..." He trailed off and crossed his arms. "No, I don't suppose I would. While it would be nice to have old friends back, I don't think I could bear losing them again, and depending on what they died from, it could make matters worse. After all, if a murder victim could be resurrected, they could remember their death, and be emotionally scarred from the trauma. Or if someone died of a disease, they may end up dying from it once more."

Merida nodded and turned her gaze away once more, her hands gripping the cold metal table underneath her tightly. She listened as he began to poor the water from the kettle into a mug, feeling more troubled than when she first entered the morgue. Coulson's words began to ring in her ears once again, and she squeezed her eyes shut to try and drown them out. However, before she could say something, Ducky interrupted her.

"If I may, why are you asking me this?"

She slowly looked up at him, feeling a faint flicker of surprise when she saw that he still looked worried. "I…" With a sigh, she offered a crooked smile. "There had been rumors around SHIELD that there was a program that could resurrect the dead. I guess talking to Coulson again spurred memories of my days as a specialist." Merida turned her head away, biting her bottom lip before adding, "And I suppose seeing him alive spurred that memory specifically."

"My dear, I don't know what you experienced while with SHIELD, but I think I can assure you that resurrection simply isn't possible without problems. It seems that he was never truly dead after all."

Merida jerked her head to face the doctor, feeling her heart leap into her throat. "Ducky," she said, her voice cracking. "I was there when he died. He was stabbed clean through the chest, and there was nothing that could have saved him. He bled out before the medics could even get there. He died that day."

Ducky blinked in surprise, ruffled by her outburst, but didn't take offense. "I didn't mean to question what you saw," he said, his voice soothing, "but I think that they were able to save him from a complete death. People have been brought back from the brick of death before. In fact, that's what caused a mass hysteria about being buried alive, and the brief popularity of having alarm bells built into coffins."

She stared at him silently before dropping her gaze, forcing herself to calm down. "I suppose that's what happened," she murmured grudgingly. "He…" She trailed off, swallowing heavily as Coulson's words echoed in her mind once more. You're right, you never went to Tahiti. You had died in Romania, and you were one of a few that made a full recovery from Project TAHITI. "I'm sorry to have bothered you, Ducky. I suppose I should go home and get a couple hours of sleep at least."

"A wise choice," he agreed. "Though it's much too late for you to be walking home by yourself. Would you like me to give you a ride home?"

Merida let out a small snort of amusement and hopped down from the autopsy table. "Thank you for the offer, Ducky, but you just got here. I can ask someone upstairs to give me a lift."

A smile flickered across the older man's face, and he raised an eyebrow in amusement. "I suppose you could, but it's in your best interest to know that the only one up there who would be willing to give you a ride is Ziva."

The idea of Ziva driving caused her face to pale, and she let out a nervous chuckle. "Ah, right. Well, if you're sure you don't mind. I could find a place to crash h-"

"None sense, Merida! I don't mind at all, and it would give me the peace of mind that you got home safely."

"Thanks, Ducky." With a smile, Merida did her best to push aside any remaining doubt in her mind, and met the doctor at the autopsy doors. "I suppose I owe you something for this?"

He shook his head, walking alongside her to the elevator. "Not at all, my dear. Just get some rest when you get home, and go home tonight instead of staying late."

She offered a shrug in response and stepped into the elevator, moving toward the back as Ducky followed suit. "Old habits die hard," she said before reaching forward, pushing the button for the ground level.

Ducky let out a tsk in response. "Yes, well, as long as they're habits and not you. I'd rather not have to find out whether or not someone can be Lazarus; I'm certain SHIELD wouldn't appreciate me poking around in their files."

ACK

Okay, so this is my first time writing for NCIS, so I hope I did Ducky some justice! I fear he's still OOC, but I'm hoping it's not too bad.

Anyway, Merida will be making more appearances in one-shots/drabbles, simply because I don't have the motivation to actually write a whole story around her. I mean, I could, but I'm way too confused as it is with the snippets I've come up with. Also, I've given her a FC, as seen in the image, and her FC is Katie Gray!

Also, I added Coulson in the list of characters because, while he is only mentioned, his character still has a significant influence in the story. I'm hoping to develop it more later on, but so far, this'll do.

Fun facts: Robert E. Cornish did indeed resurrected two dogs in 1934/1935, and he acted as himself in the movie, Life Returns (1935). The Lazarus Effect (2015) movie was also based on his experiments