With a heavy sigh Ducky removed his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose. It was always the same, no matter how hard he tried. Not that he blamed them; it was hard to pay much attention to the grandfatherly character when you had characters like Tony—the suave playboy-cum-frat boy—and Abby—the hyperactive Goth girl with a heart of gold. They appreciated him, of course, and he had his moments, mostly as a sort of sage character who would dole out wisdom to the protagonist. But at the end of the day he knew he would never have the same popularity as his fellow characters.

He didn't resent the others; actually, he felt nothing but pride seeing his friends star in so many stories, to see their development and see the character arcs that played out within each story. Jimmy Palmer, his very own protégé, had come on the scene as a second banana of sorts. Now the young man nearly rivaled the main characters as far as his utilization in fanfiction.

"Perhaps I am too developed," he said aloud to no one in particular. "Is there really any further that my character arc can go?" He didn't know the answer to the self-inquired question.

Disheartened, he closed the lap top and began putting away his things, ready to go home. It could be worse, he reminded himself. At least people liked him. He certainly had more features than Director Vance did, but he also had a good five seasons on the other man. And at the end of the day, it was about the stories, right? It wasn't about having the starring role, but about doing your part to make a story the best it could be…right?

Those things were true and were things he sincerely believed, but not even Ducky could deny that a bit of recognition now and then was a nice boost, one that he needed desperately at the moment.

He shook his head. "I suppose it is time to move on. I've had myself a nice run in the fandom. Maybe…" He stopped as the thought entered his mind. He couldn't do that…could he?

"Retirement," he mused. Everyone needed to retire at some point. Why shouldn't it be the same for fictional characters? Surely the writers would find someone to take his place. Maybe Jimmy could finally get a promotion! In the meantime, Ducky could relax and take life easy. Perhaps, he thought as the elevator doors closed, I could even do a bit of writing myself…

************************************************************

ChannelD was quite confused as she read the entries for her latest challenge. It was supposed to be a challenge that would showcase Ducky Mallard—a character she found to be sometimes neglected within the fandom; the problem was that…well…none of the stories that had been entered met the challenge requirement! Not only was Ducky not showcased in any of the entries, but he didn't even make an appearance in any of them!

"Did they misunderstand the challenge?" she muttered as she returned to the Challenges topic on the NFA Community boards. Even as she said it she knew that the very notion was silly. These writers could read a simple challenge requirement, especially when the very name of the challenge was Days of Ducky. One person misunderstanding the challenge was slightly possible; nine of them misunderstanding it was simply absurd.

Something fishy was going on…and she needed to get to the bottom of it.

************************************************************

EmyPink logged on to find quite a few review alerts in her e-mail box. She smiled as she clicked to read them. Nothing gave a writer quite such a giddy feeling as having her work reviewed; well, nothing except maybe winning a Hinky or two.

Interestingly, five of the reviews there had been left for The First Cut is the Deepest, one of her older stories. Not that there was anything wrong with that; reviews were wonderful no matter how old the story was. She clicked on the first one and read through it, her mood going from excited to perplexed:

Hey, this is a great story and all, but why isn't Ducky in it? I don't think Jimmy would be there by himself like that, especially since he's still in medical school. Like I said, I think it's a cool story, but some Ducky would be nice.

What a strange review! Of course Ducky was in the story! It had, after all, been written for the Autopsy Men Challenge. She knew for a fact that Ducky not only made an appearance in the story but had a very big part in it! Maybe the person had confused this story with another one? She shrugged it off and went on to the next review:

Shouldn't Ducky be there? Or is this some kind of "future" fic in which Ducky's gone? I hope it's not because I love Ducky I don't want him to go!

One review about Ducky missing from one of her stories could be a mistake, but two? It was quite a coincidence; and in the words of Leroy Jethro Gibbs… "I don't believe in coincidences," she said as she went on to the next review:

Hey, Emy! So I was bored and wanted to read some old fics and thought I'd re-read this one. Am I wrong, or was Ducky originally in this? I know I'm probably just mistaking it with another fic of yours, but I just thought I'd ask. I mean, it's not like he can just disappear from a story, right ;)

Now Emy was convinced that something was wrong. That third review was from Nepeace, another member of the NFA Community, and there was no way that she too had missed Ducky's part in the story. Emy quickly went to the NFA boards and to her author board where she clicked on the story….

"Where is he?" As had been stated, Ducky was nowhere to be found in the story. Jimmy was there and the plot had remained the same…except without Ducky.

She went back and clicked on the discussion thread. Maybe she was crazy; maybe she had excluded Ducky from her story and had simply forgotten about it. Stranger things had happened…right?

Wrong. There it was, plain as day. Everyone who had left her a comment mentioned Ducky as well as Jimmy. There was no way that Ducky hadn't been in this story at one point.

So where had he gone?

************************************************************

By the afternoon, the conspicuous disappearance of everyone's favorite Medical Examiner was the talk of the fandom. Not a single story since the beginning of the television show featured Ducky Mallard; he wasn't even mentioned in any of them! How could this be possible? How could he have vanished without a trace? Most importantly, how were they going to handle this?

iheartGibbs, the NFA Community administrator, sent out an emergency message to all NFA members:

Subject: Ducky's Disappearance

I'm sure that many of you have noticed that Ducky has disappeared from NCIS fanfiction. At first we thought this error was limited to our message board and story board, but, after some investigation, we found that he is also missing from all stories on , , and many other independent fanfiction sites. As of now, no one knows why this has happened, but rest assured we are all working very hard to fix this.

You may be wondering how you can help. For starters, please avoid working on any Ducky-centric stories for the time being. A couple of our members have already tried to write new Ducky fics, but they don't stick. However, none of the other characters seem to have been affected.

Another way you can help is to go through as many stories as you can! Begin with your own and try to branch out to other ones around the internet. If you see any sign of Ducky, please let us know ASAP! Also, keep an eye out for other strange happenings. We'd hate to lose anymore characters.

And so the members of NFA furtively worked, scanning every story they could find, including drabbles and stories written in the "50 words or less" thread. But their search was in vain; the man was nowhere to be found.

As the members searched, the administrators and moderators called together an emergency meeting inside a chat room. This was a problem that they'd never encountered; not in this fandom or in any fandom that they'd ever been a part of. A character missing? Who knew what havoc that could wreak!

Do we know when he officially went missing? Smackalicious asked.

I noticed him missing around six this morning, replied ChannelD.

Emy sent me a message around that time, iheartGibbs commented. Based on the time stamps of the reviews she received, Ducky went missing around eleven pm last night, Eastern Time.

Where could he be? Nepeace asked.

It was the same question going through all of their minds.

************************************************************

Miss_Barbara scrolled through the next story on her list, looking for any sign from the missing pathologist. She'd been on Ducky Lookout for the past hour, going through story by story on . Someone had come up with the idea of splitting up the many stories on the internet and doling them out to the many members to read. That way people wouldn't overlap stories in their searching and they could cover more ground more quickly.

She rubbed her eyes as she moved on to another story. She enjoyed reading, but doing so much of it was beginning to take its toll on her vision. It puzzled her that a character—especially a regular character like Ducky—could just drop off the face of the earth, so to speak; yet that was exactly what had happened.

She clicked on the next story and began to read...then stopped. Was she really seeing that or were her eyes playing tricks on her? She blinked a few times and re-read it…and then re-read it again.

This could be important.

************************************************************

Ducky's gone. We've checked everywhere and can't find him. He left this note:

It appears that I have outlived my worth within the realm of fanfiction. While it pains me to do so, I have made the decision to retire. I doubt this will cause much inconvenience, though I will miss you all very much. I wish you the very best and I've no doubt you all—both my co-workers and our talented writers—will accomplish great things in the realm of fiction. I fear I was only holding you back.

All the best,

Donald "Ducky" Mallard

We don't know how to bring him back.

That was the message left in multiple recently-updated WIPs currently circling the internet (as those would have the most readers at any given moment). Each character left the message at least once in the fics in which they starred. Soon the NFA forum was flooded with sightings of the message and the members were on the verge of mass hysteria.

What does he mean he's outlived his worth?

Retire? Can he even do that? I mean, without an author writing for him to retire?

Won't inconvenience us? He doesn't know what he's talking about!

I think I'm gonna cry :*(

We want Ducky back!

Such were the typical responses given to Ducky's note. Everyone was stunned, including the other NCIS characters. No one had noticed any sadness or frustration from Ducky, certainly nothing that would indicate he was considering retirement. Of course, the authors could only see Ducky as they wrote him, which made it difficult to know his true feelings regarding such things.

Despite being upset by the news, the NFA could rejoice in the fact that they now knew why Ducky was gone. With this new knowledge they could go about fixing the problem and getting back their much beloved ME.

The first thing we need to do, iheartGibbs announced to the members in a forum that had been set up specifically for the purpose of finding Ducky, is set up communication with the other characters. ChannelD, smackalicious, akaeve, sondheimmcgeek, Cassy, sunset_leaf, three-steps, headslapdiva and EmyPink have volunteered to keep in touch with the main characters. ChannelD will communicate with Tim, smackalicious with Ziva, sunset_leaf with Abby, akaeve with Gibbs, sondheimmcgeek with Vance, three-steps with Jenny, headslapdiva with Kate, Cassy with Tony, and EmyPink with Jimmy. Those characters will keep in touch as they search for Ducky.

In the meantime, we ask that you avoid writing with those characters! It's a difficult task and we hate to ask that of you, but we need them available for searching and don't want them to be called away to appear in a story. Instead, please use the plethora of other characters we have at our disposal. Trent Kort, Michelle Lee, Ari Haswari, Gerald Jackson, Agent Fornell, Cynthia, Lt. Coleman, Paula Cassidy, and even Mrs. Mallard are available for use!

Do not be afraid to make mention of Ducky in your stories, either! In fact, we highly encourage it! If he is out there reading this, we want him to know that he is missed! Please, everyone, let's work together to bring out doctor home!

************************************************************

While the entire NFA community was running about in an effort to right this wrong, Ducky was settling in at his new home. It was a small cottage that he was renting while he assessed his options and figured out where he wanted to go from here. He had numerous books at his disposal, his trusty golf clubs with him should he find a nice course to play, and, of course, his laptop…just to keep up with what was happening in the fandom, of course.

After brewing a nice mug of Earl Grey, he pulled up that familiar website, his eyes scanning over the various stories. Some of them were works-in-progress that he'd been keeping up with; some were completely new works that looked very promising to him. Most of the authors' names were familiar to him, though some he was reading for the very first time.

"Hm…" he murmured. "Let's see what is new with Cassy." He clicked on her name and entered her author board, scanning the list of stories. Amid the various titles was one that immediately jumped out at him. It was entitled We Want Ducky! "That's strange…perhaps…" He shook his head; no, it was likely a coincidence. Still, the title evoked too many sad feelings. "I'll read that later, after I've grown accustomed to my life in retirement."

He scrolled down the column of Authors Boards before finally settling on smackalicious'. "I wonder if she has updated Ziva's Secret. I can't wait to see what happens next!"

Ducky didn't find a new chapter of Ziva's Secret, but he did find a new one-shot entitled Missing a Mallard. "Ah, a story about mother, perhaps?" he said aloud as he clicked on it. He was partially correct.

Victoria Mallard sighed as she strolled shakily through her house. It seemed so empty now. "Donald?" she called out hopefully, but the reply was silence as usual. "Donald, are you home yet?"

That was how it had been for two days. Her beloved son seemed to have disappeared.

Ducky stopped reading, not quite sure how to respond to the story. "Well…ah…it's nice to see mother getting some recognition," he murmured as he went on to another author board.

On iheartGibbs' board he found Flown South (Hopefully Just for the Winter):

Fornell couldn't figure it out. What could have made Ducky—NCIS' loyal ME—take off like that? He hadn't noticed anything wrong with the man lately, except maybe that his oral tangents had become slightly shorter.

"How's the team taking it?"

"How do you think they are, Sacks?" Fornell asked. "They don't understand it any better than I do."

"I take it there's been no sign of him?"

"Not that Gibbs has told me. All they have to go on right now is that note."

Note? Ducky had left a note before his departure…but certainly they couldn't be speaking of the same thing. That was preposterous, of course.

"Well, I think that's been enough fanfiction reading for the time being," he said as he closed the laptop. "I think it's too soon to dive back in."

As he went about making dinner, his mind kept going back to NFA and to the stories.

************************************************************

Still no sign, akaeve reported later that day.

Abby hasn't found anything either, sunset_leaf added glumly.

Neither has Jenny, three-steps said. Anyone else have better luck?

Not me, was sondheimmcgeek's reply.

Same here, said headslapdiva.

It was EmyPink who said what they were all thinking. Guys, we may have to face up to the fact that Ducky gone forever.

Never! Smackalicious proclaimed. Who will they go to for sage advice if Ducky isn't there? No one's says "sage" like Ducky.

I think that's the problem, though, headslapdiva theorized. I mean, we all love Ducky, but we don't seem to use him as much as we do some of the other characters. And when we do, it's usually just so he can give advice to one of the more prominent characters in the story.

Maybe if we paid a little more attention to Ducky he'd come back, akaeve suggested.

But we are doing that! said three-steps. Everyone's been writing about wanting him back, but it doesn't seem to be working.

We can write all we want, sunset_leaf­ said, but it won't do any good if Ducky isn't reading them. We need to send out a big message that we want him back.

ChannelD entered the discussion with a grinning smiley. Hey, guys! I think I have a plan!

************************************************************

Ducky had avoided NFA for almost three days. He didn't need want to be reminded of the wonderful stories he'd left behind. But by the third day, he was just aching to log on to the site. It wasn't just for the stories that he went; he needed to see what new pictures and captions had been posted in the "Caption This!" thread, to see who was signed up for this year's Secret Santa Exchange, to see what new challenges had been issued and who had won the latest challenges, and to see what gorgeous banners had been made in the Fan Art section. He also wanted to read up the latest conversation in the section dedicated to other television shows, specifically the thread for The Man From U.N.C.L.E. discussion.

In short, staying away from the NFA for so long was torture.

He'd visit the site, he decided. He would simply avoid the Authors Boards. He wouldn't even venture down to the Story Announcements section. He didn't want to be tempted.

Excitedly, he logged on to the internet and clicked the link that would bring him to the NFA website. It'd been so long since his last visit that he was sure the "Bizarre Feedback" thread would be brimming with amusing anecdotes and there would be a new Hangman puzzle to stump the other NFAers…

DUCKY, COME BACK!!!

That was the first thing he saw when the page loaded. The normal banner featuring the main NCIS characters had been replaced by a banner dedicated solely to him, with the above statement written in bold, blue letters.

"What's this?" he asked in a soft, awe-filled voice. The banner wasn't the only new addition. In the announcements section he saw that the top item—also written in large, bold letters—was his disappearance from the fanfiction world. The title of every board and forum and thread had been changed from its original title to "Ducky, Come Back!" or "We Love You, Ducky!" Surely, he thought, that must have been a grueling and tedious task.

A new section entitled "Missing Characters" had been added to the community. When he entered the section, he found a picture of himself, complete with all of his information, character tidbits, and a BOLO on him, complete with the promised reward of one story from each NFA writer to whomever could bring the ME back to them.

Topping off the entire heartwarming display of love was a plea from the NFA members, posted by ChannelD:

Ducky (Dr. Mallard) if you are reading this, please now that your absence has caused us much grief. We know that we don't utilize you as much as we should—and for that, we do apologize—but you must know how truly important you are to us! Without you, we wouldn't know the origination of terms like "Red Herring." Without you, our NCIS family would be incomplete, missing their sage, grandfatherly character on whom they can always rely. Without you, our Casefile stories would miss a key piece of the investigation: the autopsy! How can Gibbs and the team hope to solve their cases if you can't give them a TOD or a cause of death?

You are the center of the team, holding them together like glue. Without you, they fall apart! We could never continue our fandom without you! You're too important!

Please return! While I can make no promises, I think I speak for everyone at NFA that we will try to use you as much as we do the other characters and we will put forth more effort to show you that we do appreciate you! Just please come back! Don't make us be without our favorite ME!

Sincerely and from the bottom of our hearts,

The Loyal Members of the NFA

Was he reading correctly? "They do like me!" More than that, thought; they wanted him back! They were begging for him to return! So would he? He couldn't deny that retirement was nice, being able to spend his days doing whatever he wanted. But what he wanted was to be a part of his NCIS family once again, and that included the NFA.

He knew his answer.

************************************************************

…and so it is with great joy that we welcome back the ever wonderful, Dr. Donald "Ducky" Mallard! iheartGibbs announced upon the celebrated return of their previously missing character. The entire NFA had shown up for the homecoming. Some had played hooky from class and work to be there, but, considering the guest of honor, they were all too happy to do so.

Cheers rang out within the chat room, all applauding Ducky's return. Exclamation points and smilies of elation were used like they were going out of style. Not a frown was present—virtually or otherwise. They had finally found their man and all was right within the fandom.

To celebrate his arrival, iheartGibbs continued, NFA will host a congratulatory party all day today in an even we have dubbed "Ducky Day" and everyone is invited to come and join in the fun! Oh, also, there is the little matter of the promised reward…

************************************************************

Ducky sat back with a sigh. This time, though, it was a sigh of contentment. Not only had he received a Ducky-centric story from each NFA member (his reward for returning to them), but he had officially—and surreptitiously—joined the NFA community. Further more, he already had a story in the works, one that he hoped would be a hit with the other members of the community:

Memoirs of a Mallard
By ForeverDucky

Now to post the first chapter…

AN: This was written for the NFA Community's Anniversary party! All non-NCIS characters mentioned belong to themselves except for sondheimmcgeek who is me. Thanks for reading!