— That makes me think, Dr Mallard, of when I was young...Jimmy begun to laugh. There was this frog that I was trying to catch in the pond, in my village… My parents were so mad at me, because my clothes were so sticky when I came back for diner, and…
— Mr Palmer, Ducky interrupted him, I am glad that this current case is reminding you of some of your great childhood memories, but I am trying now to clean the body of our man the best way possible…
— That reminds me now of my mother, Jimmy barely listened and kept talking, I was telling her the whole story about my amazing afternoon while she was trying to clean me up, and she couldn't stop saying 'Damn it, Jimmy, could you wait a second and not move, I'm trying to clean your mess !' Oh, of course, he smiled, she was not just talking about my clothes. I had been walking for hours before coming home, so the floor of the living room was muddy like hell… I think she punished me for a week or two, I don't remember exactly how m…
— Mr Palmer ! Ducky insisted.
— Oh, sorry, Dr Mallard, I know you hear a lot of my stories, maybe I could tell this one to someone else…
— Sure, why don't you do that…Ducky mumbled, eyes still focused on the body, while the automatic doors opened up on the other side.
Jethro walked inside the place and Jimmy then slightly jumped, facing Gibbs' famous so serious expression.
— Anything new, Ducky ?
— We're still cleaning the body, Agent Gibbs, Jimmy managed a big smile, we were precisely talking about a funny story this case made me think of… Do you know that when I was young, I think I wasn't more than ten and probably not taller than that, he funnily showed an imaginary height to Jethro, raising a palm in the air, I started running after a frog, and…
Gibbs expectedly revealed a silent, bored face to Mr Palmer, making him stop right away sharing his memory. Jimmy swallowed hardly and prepared himself for apologies, eyes staring at the man as if they were both ready for punishment, but Ducky simply continued the conversation, pointing a finger at the body, Gibbs instantly approaching him.
— Our Marin has been spending quite a long time in here, Jethro, according to the state of the skin, but I don't think I will find anything really interesting about him, I mean, concerning his death. As I already told you on the crime scene, you've noticed the presence of only one bullet, just here…I do have, of course, to make a thorough examination of him before giving you my final word, but it is more than likely that the reason for his death might have been what we both thought earlier : a contract.
— It might be a suicide as well, Jimmy's voice interrupted the men's eye contact, I mean…he swallowed hardly again as he walked a bit forward, according to the wound's location… The gun has been pushed directly against the temple, right ? So it seems logical that it might indicate...
— A Marine is dead, Palmer, I don't believe in coincidences.
— I know, Agent Gibbs, but we cannot eliminate the big possibility of…
Gibbs' phone suddenly rang and Jethro immediately raised the item to his ear, leaving the room.
— Yes, Gibbs…
Jimmy sincerely smiled to Dr Mallard, still feeling a bit more relieved now that the big boss had left the space, and then approached the body again, helping the medical examiner with his task.
— Well, he chuckled nervously, he knows what he wants.
— He knows, indeed, Mr Palmer…
— But we cannot…I mean, he nervously smiled too, we have to take account of any possible…
— We have to be sure not to neglect any factors, Mr Palmer, but for now, I really need you to focus on your work in order to move on with the case.
— Of course, Dr Mallard. Let me hold this for you.
Ducky stepped back a little, grabbing a new tool between fingers, finally revealing a smile after such a moment of seriousness.
— Jethro has a very specific opinion about cases, especially when it concerns suicide, you shouldn't take personally his suspicions about your speech.
— But, Dr Mallard, Jimmy turned curiouser, that is not the first time we do find that Marines have killed themselves, is it ?
— That is not the first time, Mr Palmer, but I guess Jethro always thinks there might be another explanation, even when the final verdict is done. Marines seem to have this…'label', if I can say, of bravery that everyone is envying them, and with all these missions going on, with them constantly fighting against the enemy, I guess that it is fair enough to find it suspicious when a man in such a uniform finally embraces death…
— Wow...even a talk about suicide seems quite poetic when you start speaking, Dr Mallard, Jimmy sincerely smiled. Really, everything that you say is full of deep wisdom… I'm sorry, he shyly chuckled, I don't mean to look too clingy, but I…I mean it, Dr Mallard.
— Well…he gently sighed, then all I can say is thank you for this kind compliment, Mr Palmer. To be honest with you, Ducky continued, pointing a new tool at Jimmy in order to get it, Mother once made me join a poetry contest, oh it was certainly a long time ago, but…
Jimmy begun smiling again at the revelation, honored to be the one listening to his mentor's memory, before a strange feeling finally crossed his mind and made him leave the real world for a minute or two...
— Mr Palmer ? Ducky repeated.
— Uh ? Oh, sorry, Dr Mallard, could you say that again ?
— I was only asking for the scalpel, there is something just here that I would like to double check…
— Here it is, he quickly smiled. Sorry about that.
— That's alright…Ducky simply grabbed the tool, following his explanation. So we were only about five or six finalists on the second day, the jury had decided to divide the competition into two parts, if I'm not wrong, and…
Jimmy faced the wall for a dozen of seconds, uselessly staring at the closed automatic doors, a bitter chill of unfairness wrapping his heart, his mind strangely getting rid of the respect he always thought he should and would owe to the great man next to him… Another quick smile vanished after the opposite hands showed him something new to remember, and the room around him begun losing for a moment some of its interest... In fact, there was a question in his head that was pulling an invisible string of curiousness, a very simple one, but still logical enough to be asked…
Jimmy discreetly sighed to what he thought might be a mark of disrespect, before his own guilty thoughts insisted anyway for the question to be answered...
Well...if it wasn't necessarily the moment to listen to one of his umpteenth stories of life now that there were working on a case…then why was it more worth it to listen to any of Dr Mallard's ones ?