Chapter 1: body on the beach
He stood on the beach staring at the ocean. When he woke up this morning he wasn't really expecting this. He wasn't expecting he would stand on the beach. He wasn't expecting his hearth to break. Actually when he woke up this morning he had been feeling better. Somehow it seemed like the memory of Jeanne was fading. Little by little. But now he was standing here. Crying on the beach. It wasn't what he had imagined his day to be. Not at all.
And it had all started so great. He had woken up and had felt better. He had gotten to his job in one peace. He had talked with Ziva about movies (who would have ever thought). He had played a prank on McGee. Gibbs had hit him on the back of the head for it. He could still feel it. It didn't matter. Just a day like every other day. And then the phone rang.
Dead body on the beach. It wasn't the first time, it would definitly not be the last time. But the weird thing was that the person wasn't a marine. Or at least nobody could know if she was. She was wearing civilion clothes and had no indication of being a marine on her. Yet here they were. It seemed weird. But it wasn't the first time.
His mind drifted of as he had walked down the beach. It was weird that they had called them. Somehow it would have been more logical to call the police. If they would find out that she's a marine they would hand over the case. The weirdest thing was not that they had called but that they had specificly asked for them. Special Agent Gibbs team. That had only happened once before. It was when Ari had wired the car to explode...ok not a good thought.
He heard his boss give orders and had been talking to Ziva but when he saw the body he stopped. Her face was down on the sand so he couldn't see it. But yet there was something familiar about her. Almost as if he knew her. Maybe he had met her before. He sighed. It was probably his imagination. That's when he saw the bracelet.
It was a beautiful silver bracelet with dolpins hanging from it. He had seen that bracelet before. Actually the bracelet was his. It had been his mother's. He had given it to her. That's when he had realised why the body was so familiar. Vaguely he realised he had dropped the camera in the sand. It didn't matter. He knew everyone was looking at him. But he needed to make sure first.
'Ducky..Could you..euhm...turn the body around?' Ducky looked at him as if he had gone crazy. He knew that it was against protocol. But he needed to see her face. 'Ducky just please.' 'Tony I can't you know that my boy.' He took a deep breath. 'DUCKY! Just do it please.' He had never screamed at Ducky. Nor would he ever do it again. It was like screaming at Abby. It was just wrong.
He felt Gibbs look at him. He knew he was acting strange but he had to convince himself first. He expected another hit on the head. Anything. 'Do it Duck.' 'Gibbs.' 'Duck.' Ducky and Palmer softly grabbed the body and turned her around. The second he saw her face he closed his eyes. He had known it since he saw the bracelet. But now he was absolutely sure. He fought the tears and looked up again.
'DiNozzo. You know her.' He nodded. He knew his boss wanted a name. He just didn't really trust himself to speak at that moment. After a couple of seconds he answered anyway. 'Yeah.' His voice didn't sound like his voice anymore. It sounded broken. 'Ladies and gentlemen...I give you...Jeanne Benoit.' He saw the understanding slid over their faces. He felt Ziva come closer to him. He didn't want to be surrounded by them.
'I'm sorry' Unable to fight his tears back anymore he turned around and ran away. Behind him he could hear Gibbs tell Ziva not to come after him. He had never been so gratefull. He just needed to be alone. Gibbs understood. He ran untill he couldn't anymore and then he stopped. He had no idea how long he had been standing there before his knees became very weak and he fell down. Tears rolled down his cheeks.
He had not forgotten her. He had needed more time to stop loving here. He realised that he had kept on to the hope that maybe she would come back. But now it was over. She would never come back.