Disclaimer: All characters except Riley belong to CBS. I just like to play with them.
A/N: I made some minor changes to the end of Chapter One to match up with the dialogue in Chapter Two.
Chapter Two: How Tony Met Riley
Earlier that morning . . .
Tony DiNozzo couldn't help but notice her. How could you not notice her? Even Gibbs had checked her out (not that he would admit it!) Well, I guess if NCIS was going to have to work with the FBI on a case, it was nice to have somebody to look at other than Fornell and Sacks.
"DiNozzo, quit daydreaming and get to work," growled Gibbs. "Haven't you ever seen an FBI agent before?"
"Sorry, Boss," answered Tony with a slight grin. "She just looks really familiar to me. I know her from somewhere, but I just can't figure out where." As he was speaking, the agent smiled at Ducky, and Tony's feeling of recognition intensified.
A few minutes earlier, FBI Agent Riley Kendall had approached the body of Lt. Commander Randall Sheridan as it was being examined by NCIS medical examiner Dr. Donald Mallard (known as Ducky to his friends). Even though it was an NCIS crime scene, FBI was involved because it fit the profile of three unsolved murders being investigated by the FBI as the work of a serial killer. Riley was a profiler, new to the DC office after five years as a field agent in Los Angeles. She was anxious to view the body to see if it bore the same pattern of wounds as the other three victims.
"Do you mind if I take a look?" she asked quietly. Ducky looked up at her in surprise. "I'm sorry. Dr. Riley Kendall, FBI. I just wanted to see the wounds to make sure we really need to be here."
"Not at all, my dear," answered Ducky. "I'm Dr. Donald Mallard. I would welcome your input."
"If it's our guy, there should be knife wounds in his legs, shoulders, the abdomen, and the chest. In addition, one or both of his shoulders will be dislocated. There will also be signs that he was restrained though there is little evidence of struggle. You will find no evidence of drugs to explain why he was able to be captured and restrained quite easily. Even though he's nude, there will be fibers in the knife wounds, indicating that he was fully clothed when killed then undressed before being brought here and posed." As Riley talked, she was making an examination of the body. From all appearances it seemed that their serial killer had claimed another victim, though additional testing would have to be completed to confirm the presence of fibers and absence of drugs.
"Thank you, Dr. Kendall. That lets me know what I should be looking for."
"Please, call me Riley," she said. "And thank you, Dr. Mallard, for your time. I'll send copies of the other three autopsies that I conducted, and if it would be okay, I would like to be present when you perform the autopsy on Commander Sheridan."
"You performed the autopsies? Are you a medical examiner?"
"I was a medical examiner when I was in the Marines. I'm still in the reserves and I usually pull my duty at Bethesda. I'm technically a profiler but performing the autopsies gives me greater insight into the mind of the killer."
Ducky was again surprised. It was hard to believe that the petite FBI agent crouched beside him was a Marine. When he thought of Marines, he tended to compare them to Gibbs. There was absolutely no comparison between this young lady and Gibbs! Or at least he thought so until FBI Agent Tobias Fornell strode forward and informed Ducky that the FBI would be taking the body.
"No, Tobias," stated Agent Kendall firmly. "The victim is a naval officer. NCIS should handle the autopsy."
Fornell looked at her with shock. "And this is our case. We have been working on this for three months. I am not giving it up."
"I am not talking about giving the case up. It's called cooperation, Tobias. And we will cooperate." Ducky noticed two things. One, Agent Kendall's tone left no room for argument, and two, Fornell actually backed off. Maybe the young lady was more like Gibbs than he thought!
Agent Kendall gave Ducky a dazzling smile. "Thank you, Dr. Mallard. I'll see you in autopsy in a little while. I just need to make a few more mental notes about the scene so I can compare them to the previous crime scenes." She moved away in the direction of Tony and Ziva David and began to survey the scene from a distance. As her eyes roamed the area she noticed the tall NCIS agent across the way. There was something familiar about the way he moved, but it was hard to see him with that scarf covering his nose and mouth. 'I shouldn't have left my scarf behind but Fornell would have given me grief if I had gone back for it. I didn't realize it was this cold. I probably need to. . . Oh no! Not now! Not in the middle of a crime scene!'
Tony was also watching the FBI agent's approach. She smiled at him and Ziva and he again had that sense of familiarity.
"You are drooling, Tony," stated Ziva, watching her partner gaze at the agent.
"Am not," retorted Tony, laughing. " She just seems familiar to me. I just can't seem to . . ."
Tony saw the look of pure panic that crossed the pretty FBI agent's face just before she went down. He knew exactly what was happening as she knelt on all fours vainly struggling to draw a breath. "Call 911. Agent down!" he shouted as he reached the fallen woman. He grabbed her backpack and searched for the inhaler that he knew would be there. Finding two, he scanned the labels and selected the emergency inhaler that would hopefully put a stop to the attack.
Sitting on the ground himself, Tony pulled Riley against his chest and forced the inhaler between her lips. 'She's already turning blue! I hope I'm not too late with this. Man, that was fast.' He depressed the inhaler, forcing the medicine into her lungs. She relaxed for just a moment and then began to cough up strings of ropy mucus. Tony looked around and started to call for a tissue but Gibbs pressed his handkerchief into Tony's hand. He gently wiped Riley's mouth as the coughs subsided and she fell back against his chest, completely exhausted.
"It's okay," Tony said gently. "The ambulance will be here soon. Just hold on." Riley relaxed within the arms holding her as the worst of the attack passed. She was still wheezing but that would also be over soon. And then she threw up. Tony almost didn't get her turned to the side and he still ended up with vomit all over his sleeve and his watch. He heard somebody snort with laughter, probably Sacks, and looked up angrily. He saw Sacks turn away hastily as Ducky passed him on his way over.
"Ambulance is on the way," said Tim McGee. "Is she okay?" He was concerned with her pallor and her shallow breathing. He was also slightly amused that she had puked on Tony.
"Anthony, why don't you let me take a look," said Ducky, kneeling down beside the still form. He was also worried about how pale the young woman was along with the fact that she appeared to have lost consciousness. Her breathing was becoming more regular, however, and he felt confident that she would be fine.
Tony continued to hold the girl in his arms, keeping her warm as she leaned against his chest. It seemed like the whole event had taken hours when it was actually taken only minutes. "Ducky?" he asked quietly.
"Yes, Anthony," the ME replied.
"Is that what it's like when. . . I mean, when I . . ." Unable to finish the question, Tony simply looked at Ducky.
"I'm afraid so." Ducky hesitated. "Sometimes worse."
"Man, I am so sorry for putting you guys through that. This was, I don't know, . . ."
"Scary beyond all reason?" a quiet voice said. Tony and Ducky both started.
"Welcome back, my dear," Ducky said warmly. Riley started to get up but Ducky gently pushed her back into Tony's arms. "Oh, no you don't. The ambulance is here are you are going to hospital!"
"No hospital!" Riley argued without a lot of hope. "I hate hospitals"
"My god, she's a female version of you, DiNozzo!" joked McGee. "Movie references and she hates hospitals."
'DiNozzo? Did he say DiNozzo?' Riley thoughts were swirling. 'This cannot be happening.'
Riley's eyes flew open and she stared into those green eyes she remembered so well, that she had dreamed of so many times over the past 17 years. Closing her eyes she groaned, "Somebody just kill me now!"
TBC