Author's Notes; I don't own anything NCIS and I don't get paid for this. A short epilog/missing scene to "We Build, We Fight."
Victoria's Secret
By Mele
The room was a bit crowded for a hospital room, but the joy within was unmistakable. Breena sat in her hospital bed surrounded by the NCIS team including Dr. Mallard, with all eyes fastened on the newborn girl in Jimmy's arms.
No noticed - no one could see - the ghostly figure in the far corner. Victoria Mallard was able to visit this one time, to see her greatest desire realized. Well, at least as close to her greatest desire as would ever happen. The closest thing to a grandchild she would ever have. Her keen eyes dimmed as she watched her only son gently take the tiny infant in his gentle hands; his eyes moistening as he carefully cuddled his assistant's child.
When Donald had asked the child's name, she had gasped in shocked joy when Jimmy had announced their daughter was named Victoria Elizabeth Palmer. She knew the young couple could not have known the import of that name, in fact even Donald was unaware of what it signified.
It was Victoria's secret; the only one she'd kept from her loving and devoted son.
The Victoria Mallard in this hospital room was one restored to a form no one but her son would have recognized. Her thick blonde hair fell about her shoulders, her keen eyes and keener mind were no longer muddled by age and disease. This was the Victoria who had pledged her troth to a man eight years her senior, a career military man who had mastered the art of leaving his job at the base. Angus might have been a dedicated soldier, but he hadn't forgotten how to laugh, how to enjoy life. Their marriage was at times a lonely thing for her, when he was deployed far away, but when he was home she was in heaven….
Two years after her wedding, she found she was pregnant after one of Angus's furloughs. Both terrified and excited, she waited anxiously at the station for his return a month after she'd gotten the news. She'd refused to wire the news to him, telling him in person was the only option she'd consider. And his reaction had been exactly what she'd hoped for: excited expectation.
He'd swept her up in his arms, twirling her around ecstatically, before stopping abruptly and forcing her to sit down and 'conserve her strength'. He asked a hundred questions it seemed, and insisted on meeting with the doctor to go over 'her case'. He bought the most horrendous stuffed dog for the baby, putting both a pink and a blue ribbon on it.
With a promise to arrange to be home for the baby's birth in six months, he left again, standing on the rear platform of the train as it pulled out, waiving until he could no longer see the station where his young wife stood.
It was only four months later that he again arrived at the train station, but no loving young wife waited for him anxiously. He was met by an old school friend who was now a somewhat successful attorney. Gordon was grim faced and sympathetic as he greeted his old friend and loaded his duffle in the trunk of his car. The drive to the hospital was tense at best, and the car had hardly stopped before Angus rushed out and into the building. A gentle mannered nurse escorted him to the pediatric ward, where his wife and tiny daughter were being treated.
Victoria was pale and shaky, barely able to sit up in her hospital bed. Labor had come on suddenly and she'd hemorrhaged heavily before reaching the hospital. It was actually a miracle he'd not lost both wife and daughter right off. As it was, Victoria had a good chance of recovery, their little girl did not.
Late that evening and elderly nurse brought in their daughter, carefully swaddled and sleeping peacefully. With nothing more than a meaningful look, she handed the infant to her mother, helping place Victoria's hands in the proper position. Victoria's tear filled eyes met those of her husband, and Angus carefully lifted his wife, still holding their daughter, into his lap, cuddling both of them close. It was in this position that the four day old girl breathed her last, death taking her peacefully in her sleep.
When the mortician asked the child's name, it was Victoria who'd given an answer, the name they'd decided on when Angus had first learned of the pregnancy.
"Ealasiad Mallard," she whispered, wiping absently at the tears that flowed…..
With an inpatient shake of her head, Victoria forced her attention from the past to the present, to the young Palmer couple, who were as close a thing to children her only surviving child could reasonably expect to have.
"That's quite a traditional name you have there, young Autopsy Gremlinette," DiNozzo was saying, running a gentle finger down the soft cheek of the infant McGee was holding carefully. "Very proper for a Scottish lass."
"It may be 'proper' Anthony, but it is hardly Scottish," Ducky countered gently.
"It's not?" Tony replied, obviously surprised. "Huh, sounds right though."
"Well, the proper Scottish form of her name would be Bhioctoria Ealasaid," Dr. Mallard replied with a soft smile. "Yes, my very Scottish mother did not have a proper Scottish name."
"Darn. Why not?" Tony wondered.
"Her father was English, much to her everlasting dismay. Her parents didn't have an easy marriage, and Mother tended to side with her mother in the matter," Ducky reported with a wink.
"Doctor, I hope you won't be offended if we go along and keep the English version of her name," Jimmy asked anxiously, meeting Breena's worried gaze.
"Please, I'm incredibly touched and honored by her name exactly as it is. I wouldn't change a thing," the elder man reassured the young couple.
"Whew, that's a relief, because I don't even know how to spell the Scottish version," Jimmy sighed, generating a round of laughter.
Ten minutes later the NCIS personnel left to take Jimmy to dinner. Breena nodded off, her tiny daughter sleeping in the crib by her bed.
Victoria came quietly to stand beside the sleeping infant, drinking in the sight of the healthy color and easy breathing. Running one gentle finger down the soft cheek the once again young woman smiled happily.
"Oh, happy life to you, young Victoria Elizabeth. Have the life my daughter was denied. Laugh, sing, love. Ride your bike in the rain, swim with the hippos, love with all your heart no matter the pain. Learn all you can, help all you can, and leave the world a better place than you found it. You have been born into love, and there is no greater gift you can receive. One day, let's say ninety or so years from now, we may meet again. Live, Victoria Elizabeth, live it all," she whispered, fading away as she finished.
Breena stirred in her bed, sitting up to check on her sleeping daughter, before lying back down to enjoy what would probably be her last uninterrupted sleep for several months.
The End
Author's Notes: I did research online Scottish names and was somewhat shocked that Ducky's mom's name wasn't Scottish. Hmmmm. Anyway, I actually couldn't get the title out of my mind, I had to do something. Hope it was enjoyed at least a little. Oh, and I also researched the late Nina Foch, and she was a beautiful blonde in her youth. She did an awesome job as Victoria, and this story is dedicated to her memory. K