AN - Sorry, din't mean to give the impression this was a one shot. There will be a few chapters - covering each of the team (more or less)
Tony had dodged the local LEOs and made it as far as the threshold to the damaged building, when a familiar figure coming out, almost ran into him. "Anthony, my dear boy, I do apologise. Entirely my fault, I'm afraid I wasn't looking where I was going."
"It's OK, Duck." Tony went to step around him, only to be caught by a hand on his arm.
"I'm sorry, Tony," The sincerity in Mallard's tone was almost too much for the field Agent to bear. "Paula was a fine woman."
"Yeah," Tony struggled to find his voice. "She was."
"Actually," The grip on his arm tightened, as Tony felt himself turned around and propelled back out into the sunshine, helpless to resist without knocking the elderly MD off balance. "I was rather hoping to run into you. No pun intended, of course. Mother has recently become quite interested in what I believe you call "action movies". I do believe that the main draw for her is the way that the male lead is often required to remove certain items of clothing but as we usually watch television together in the evenings it would be a blessing for me if you could recommend anything that has some vestige of plot."
"Duck," Tony was distracted as he tried to look over the MD's shoulder to see past the plastic sheeting screening off the crime scene. "Now's not really a good time."
"On the contrary, now is the perfect time," Mallard's expression was brimming with compassion even as he herded the younger man towards a nearby bench in the warmth of the sun and sat down beside him. "There's nothing you can do in there."
"I could do my job, Duck."
"Tony, the perpetrator is already dead, the case is closed, and given the number of witnesses your investigative skills are hardly required. Gibbs will ensure that all is as it should be."
In truth, Mallard was more concerned that he wanted to admit. He didn't need any medical equipment to see that DiNozzo was pale and shocky. The way that the younger man let him place a cool hand on his brow without a word of complaint or apparently even noticing was enough to let him know that he was not himself.
"I just wanted," Tony bit the inside of his cheek, tasting blood, before he could continue. "I need to see her, Duck."
"Anthony," Ducky met his gaze steadily. "Do you trust, Jethro?"
Tony scowled. He should have realised that Gibbs would have told the others to keep him at arms length.
"Its not like it's my first dead body, Duck," He protested. "I've seen 'em chopped, diced, sliced, splattered across the sidewalk, dissolved in acid, preserved in aspic and in the case of one weirdo in Baltimore, made into jewellery. I can handle this."
"And were you in love with any of those people?"
"I wasn't in love with Paula," Tony heard the regret in his own voice. "I mean, I liked her, I really did. When we were together it was like nothing else existed."
"Well, if that isn't love, my boy, it sounds a great deal like it," Ducky turned the thin wrist over, to check his pulse, frowning as he felt the rapid thready beat. "I don't suppose it would do any good to order you back to the office? No, I thought not. When did you last eat something?"
"I don't know," Tony didn't want to talk about food. Even the thought of eating was making him sick to his stomach. "Breakfast?"
Mallard tutted his opinion of that, like many athletes, Tony had a very high metabolism, a lack of food, combined with the emotional shock and it was no wonder that the poor boy was struggling. Mallard himself needed to stay at the scene to ensure that the various body parts were correctly packed for transportation to NCIS, Jethro was busy and he doubted that either young Timothy or Mr Palmer had the strength of personality to persuade the stubborn young man to do anything he didn't want to, which only left one option.
"I will ask Ziva to bring you something,"
"Duck," Tony shook his head. He knew there was no point in arguing with the MD when he got like this. In truth, he was grateful that Mallard cared enough to override his objections. "I should have told you this before .."
"Anthony," Ducky interrupted as he shook his head briskly. "If you are going on a coffee run you never forget to bring me my Earl Grey. You service my Morgan out of the goodness of your heart. Despite your dislike for her corgis, you go out of your way to spend time with my mother, so I can have a little respite. Do you really think you need to tell me that you love me?"
"I guess not." Tony blushed slightly. "But I want to."
"And I am most appreciative my dear boy. Rest assured the feeling is quite mutual. Now, I must go and see to poor, dear, Paula," Mallard patted his arm, as he rose to his feet. "Never fear. I will take the very best care of her."
"I know you will, Duck," Tony assured him. "Thanks."
As the elderly MD walked away, Tony pulled out his notebook crossed one of the names off his list before adding a couple more. Chewing a little at the end of his pencil, he considered the remaining names. Telling Duck had been a lot easier than he expected. Somehow, he didn't think talking to the rest was going to be that simple.
