Chapter Three
Dramatis Personae
Gibbs leads Shepherd and Ducky back to the waiting area, the five Agents rise at his approach, anxiety plain on their faces.
"I'm not going to sugar-coat this for you," he tells them as soon as the door is closed, seeing the powerful effect his words have on them. "McGee's alive but he thinks he's someone else, somewhere else. He thinks we're all different people, in some kind of fantasy world. Some people he knows, some he doesn't." He sees there are a thousand questions, no one dares to interrupt.
"Something's happened to his mind; we don't know what, but–"
"Perhaps I can be of assistance, Jethro." Ducky holds up his phone. The five Agents gather close to see the small screen, difficult though this is, as Ducky activates the video. Those who cannot see clearly past Ziva hear it with merciless clarity. Upon it they strain to watch the tiny image of their friend kneeling on one knee before Gibbs and Shepherd. Even subservient there is definite haughty pride that flows through in his posture and words. He wears the bandage that encircles his head as though it were a crown.
"I am Greagoir Daibhidh Cearbhall, Lord of the Elves that reside beyond the river Tygren, in the land of Dubhrein, who has answered your Majesties' Summons for aid."
Intense shock flares through them. None of them want to believe the evidence of their own eyes.
x
The video plays out before them with merciless clarity, the evidence of a mad sojourn into a fantasy world. When it ends, Ziva is the first to find her voice and she has only one loud question for Ducky. "What the Hell happened?"
It's clear to them that the hours of tense waiting have taken their toll on her, on them all. "The nearest Dr. Sullivan and I can determine," he tells her with deep sympathy, "is that Timothy suffered a shock to his mind when he struck his head and it has led him into this fictional landscape–"
"All right," she nearly shouts, "how do we snap him back?" He tries to formulate a gentle answer, but for too long. "WELL?" Her voice rises with her heat. "You have taken all those Courses in Forensic Psychology so you can understand the mind of a killer. How about using them to understand the mind of your friend?"
"Enough!" Gibbs won't let her emotions lead her to say things they'll all regret. That's not helping McGee. "We're going to find out just what this fantasy world means, who's in it and what's going on, then we'll work on snapping him back."
"Jethro," Ducky tries to make his friend see reason, "it may not be that easy. You know what you went through, this is a different kind of retreat–"
Ziva is in his face in an instant. "Tim does not retrea–!"
Gibbs grabs her arm, silences her. "Sit down. All of you - while I tell you what we're going to do." They all obey the force of his command, leaving only Jennifer, Ducky and himself standing.
x
"Now, apparently whatever is going to happen will happen at midnight on 'the night of the dark moon', whenever that is–"
"Tuesday night," Michelle cuts in softly. Everyone looks at her. "It's a major Wiccan feast," she explains defensively.
"Okay," Gibbs resumes command of the conference, glancing at his watch. "We have sixty plus hours. We need to know what's going on. When he wrote 'Deep Six' and 'Rock Hollow' we were all in them. Now he sees Shepherd and I as Queen and King and Ducky as the Court Physician. I'm bringing you in one at a time. Let him identify you - go along with anything he says and try to pull clues out of this fantasy. Let's put it all together."
"How can we be sure he'll know all of us?" DiNozzo asks.
"He will know me," Ziva declares, rising and stepping forward, determined to see him first.
"It is possible, my dear," Ducky cautions her gently, "that he will not. You must prepare yourself for that. Whomever he is in his mind, he is not Timothy McGee."
"He - will - know - me!"
xx
Shepherd and Ducky are in the hospital room, laying the groundwork as best they can with the Elf Lord. Standing beside Gibbs outside the door to McGee's room, the rest of the team waiting behind her, Ziva prepares herself. "Sorry I got off hand," she says quietly.
DiNozzo is about to correct her but cuts himself off. "This'll be rough on all of us."
"I will get under it," she declares, reaching for the knob before she can reconsider. Gibbs blocks her hand.
"Remember, whatever happens, keep calm - all of you." His message is primarily for Ziva; who of all of them has a greater emotional tie to the man.
"I am always calm," she assures him, pushes past his hand and turns the knob.
x
When she enters the room with him, Ducky, Shepherd and the middle-aged man from the camera video who had been identified as 'the Neurologist' are gathered about the bed upon which Tim sits. As soon as he sees her he's off the bed, takes a step to her.
"Muirne, how comes it you live? How did you survive the battle - and where have you been these hours past? Have you learned why and how we are back at the castle?" Ziva stares at him, unable to answer. "Come, girl, do not stand there like a lout - time is running out! Must we begin the hazardous and hard fought journey all over again?"
Ziva is too astonished to answer. His tone is less surprise as command. In lordly manner he demands answers but she barely understands the questions. Fortunately, Gibbs is prepared.
"Do not answer him," he commands haughtily. "I will know how well his mind works before he hears the answer."
"As you Command, Sire," Tim says, properly chastised but not flinching an inch.
"Who is she?"
"Sire, she is my subject and companion on this Quest, Muirne Cainneach Sorcha, greatest Armsmaiden and swordskill of all the Elves of Dubhrein."
"Describe her." He wants to know if he sees her as herself or through the eyes of his imagination. Tim seems surprised by the command, but renders a good description of the woman, with the exception of her pointed ears 'rather than the rounded ones of menkind'. She wears a leather jerkin and breeches, is armed with a sword in a sheath down the middle of her back and a dagger at her right hip.
"Wait here, the test is not complete." He turns to Ziva. "You will answer no question."
"Yes, your Majesty," she humbly complies.
x
Michelle enters at Gibbs' signal. "Know her?"
Tim smiles. "Of course I do. Una Eilidh Nimah, the Queen's lovely handmaiden. How goes it with you, girl? Have you exhausted our beloved Counselor Aylfryd?" Michelle doesn't have a clue how to answer the odd question. "Come, come, girl, it is not seemly to think you would hide things from his Lord. Since last we were here he has spoken of naught else but you. Had I not brought him on this sojourn I fear he would have pined away to nothing for want of your luscious presence."
It's not long a guess for Gibbs to beckon Jimmy Palmer in next. Tim greets him with satisfied pleasure, not at all surprised to see him in the castle rather than back from 'the Quest'. "Who is he?"
"Your Majesty, I would have to be wounded indeed not to know my friend and Counselor Aylfryd Cuidightheach Ceallair." Tim goes to him, clasps his shoulders heartily. "Well, Aylfryd, was this journey everything you hoped for?"
"I - I guess so?" Jimmy replies vaguely.
Tim glances for an instant at 'Una' before returning his attention to 'Aylfryd', "So tell your Lord, have you yet planted in her lush and fertile field seed to produce one worthy to grace the land of Dubhrein?" Jimmy's mouth falls open. Michelle blushes deeply. "Come, did you think to keep your love secret after decrying it through the hills of our green land for lo these many moons?"
"I - I don't know…."
"It's obvious you remember them," Gibbs declares, cutting off any further male bonding at Michelle's expense. He does consider it very significant, however, that McGee engages in such outrageous talk with the subject of their discussion barely four feet away.
x
Only Abby and Tony remain and Gibbs feels a bit apprehensive about introducing Abby into this colorful mix. She and he have long maintained something of a 'Father/Daughter' relationship but the relationship she'd had with McGee from the beginning had never been that of siblings. If she represents the kidnapped Princess Mairenn, then for her to walk into the room could so disrupt Tim's world view that they might well make things worse.
It does, however, have to be tried. They need information if there is any hope of bringing Tim back from wherever this madness has sent him.
Hiding his apprehension, he calls her in. But when Tim sees her, satisfied understanding comes into his eyes.
"Aislinn Catradine Gormlaith. I am not likely to forget this Seer, Mystic and powerful Mage. Now I understand. It was you who returned us to the castle. But why did you do it? Muirne and I were on the verge of breaching the walls of the castle of Dubhshlaine and freeing the Princess Mairenn. Why did you return us?"
Gibbs is about to cut in but Abby's answer is appropriately haughty. "I had my reason for casting my spell - and I shall reveal it at the proper moment."
"Of course, oh great Mage," the Elf Lord defers to the Mystic.
One angers a Magician at one's peril.
x
Gibbs is relieved that someone is quick on her feet, not that he would have expected any less of the 'Mysterious of the Dark'. He opens the door one last time, admitting DiNozzo.
"Hey, buddy," Tony asks solicitously, "do you know me?"
Tim's face becomes a mask of savage fury. He charges DiNozzo, "Varlet!" he cries, locking his hands about the startled Agent's throat. His charge dives DiNozzo back until they slam into the wall. His hands dig into Tony's neck. "Monstrous Demon!" he cries hatefully, strangling the startled man, "what have you done with her?"
x
Astounded, the men and women struggle to pry the furious Elf's hands from Tony's throat. They can't break his mad grip! In the mêlée no one wants to hurt Tim worse than he has already been. Tony's face turns red, he gags for breath and no combined effort can pry Tim's hands loose. Gibbs, the only one confident he can actually break the grip without injury, is to the back of the throng, Lee the closest.
As they struggle, Tim goes limp, sags to the floor. Michelle's hands are locked to either side of his neck, following him down as they ease him to the floor. Tony is left gasping, supported by Ducky. They are the only ones still standing.
"I'm all right," he wheezes, more astonished than hurt. He looks down at the others, particularly to Michelle cradling Tim's head in her lap. "Nice nerve pinch, Probette. Thanks."
"It wasn't a 'Nerve Pinch'," she tells him tersely, certain that even in the chaos he should have recognized the difference. "It was a Sleeper Hold."
Her hands pressed palms in about his neck are like no sleeper hold he's ever seen. "I didn't know you were into wrestling," he quips.
"I'm not. Jimmy is."
Jimmy looks at her apprehensively, but no one notices or cares.
x
"Let's get him back on the bed," Jon Sullivan directs. Gibbs, Jimmy and Ducky lift the quiescent Agent back onto the bed, but they're outraged when Sullivan begins securing leather straps across his body.
"What do you think you're doing?" Gibbs demands.
"I told you, Dr, Mallard, this is a mistake," the Neurologist forcefully reminds his colleague. "Agent McGee's fixation is such that he could turn violent at any instant. You knew that and yet you allowed this – this experiment to proceed."
"What are you saying, Doctor?" Shepherd demands, putting all their thoughts into words.
Finding the attempt to get through to a fellow medical man useless, he turns to the boss. "This man requires proper treatment for his condition, not this parade of characters from a fantasy world."
"What sort of proper treatment?"
"Psychoanalysis, observation and a careful regimen of treatment–"
"Commitment?" DiNozzo asks, knowing it's what everyone is thinking.
"Possibly." He turns back to Shepherd. "Certainly in his present state he is a danger to himself as well as others. He almost murdered your friend."
"I think there's a better way." Gibbs says.
"Oh, you do, do you, 'doctor'? And just where did you get your degree?"
"That's enough, all of you." Ducky's voice is low but cuts through them like a titanium chisel. He turns to all save Gibbs and Shepherd. "Would you please excuse us?"
xx
For fifteen tense minutes DiNozzo, David, Sciuto, Lee and Palmer wait outside the door, the ladies sitting on the bench with DiNozzo and Palmer as unintentional bookends. Not one of them makes a sound for fear of missing a word that might filter through the door. It is a very good door however, only a few words come through. Those are the ones raised in anger and they're usually Gibbs', frequently cut off, perhaps in deference to the unconscious Agent.
"How long does a sleeper hold last?" DiNozzo asks quietly, still not believing it is.
"About four minutes," Palmer returns. The implication is clear: either Tim is awake by now and participating in the discussion or he is sedated. But he looks to his fiancé for an answer.
"I don't know."
x
They wait longer, and longer … and longer still.
Finally, when the tension becomes unbearable the door flies inward and Gibbs stalks out, followed a moment later by Shepherd and Ducky. One look on the grim face of their leader and they all know how well the conversation went.
The five are on their feet, facing what feels like a tribunal across the hall, Gibbs in the center, Ducky on his right. The Marine is so angry it gives Jennifer a chance to begin more calmly.
"The recommendation of Agent McGee's doctor is that he be held over for observation and evaluation of his condition, and that a course of treatment be formulated based on that evaluation. They are going to contact Sarah McGee, his sister, as next-of-kin. She would be enabled to act on his behalf."
"To sign the papers putting him in the loony-bin," DiNozzo says.
"Agent DiNozzo–"
But Gibbs cuts off her reprimand. "No, let's call it what it is. Yes, DiNozzo, that's exactly what it might come down to."
"What time are we talking about?"
"Dr. Sullivan," Ducky tells them gravely, "estimates at this point some five to eight–" "Weeks?" Ziva breaks in.
Ducky's expression is sad, and he clearly wishes he didn't have to tell her "Years."
x
"No way!" DiNozzo declares for them all.
"There is an alternative treatment considered."
"We'll take it!"
"Please, Anthony, hear me out," Ducky appeals. "Jethro here proposes that we–"
"We're gonna take him through this scenario right to its conclusion, play out his drama and hope that when it's over we can get him back."
"How risky is that?" DiNozzo asks Ducky.
"It is very risky, Anthony. In some of the cases where that method was employed it resulted in the breaking of the fantasy fixation and the recovery of the patient. In others, it only made the situation worse. Not only was the patient locked into the fantasy, making it harder to free him, but the dangers involved are magnified immensely."
"What can we do?"
"This is too complete," Gibbs declares, "too detailed. He didn't just create this out of thin air in the past hour. We've walked into one of his books."
"Agreed," Tony declares, snaring their attentions. "He told me this morning he's writing a fantasy book."
"If it is this book," Gibbs declares, feeling on firmer ground, "we're in it and so are the clues we need to bring him out of it again. DiNozzo, David, Lee, turn his apartment upside down. Find it!"
"But why?" Abby asks. "Why would he fixate on this?"
Ducky shakes his head. "There are a number of reasons, but resolving the problem may well depend upon determining which one it is." He doesn't want to dwell on the already rejected point that 'bringing him out of it' could well be the work of weeks or months - even years. No one wants to hear that and he doesn't with to sap confidence, not even his own.
x
"Director," Michelle asks, "do you want the legal view on this?" Her tone says she'd rather bite off her own tongue, but she has to say it.
"Yes I do."
"Legally, unless Agent McGee signed a waiver authorizing NCIS to act on his behalf in a life-threatening situation - and I'm not sure if such a document would even stand up in this case since his life isn't at risk - then we have no authority to do anything. Neither does the hospital have jurisdiction to commit him without authorization. As next-of-kin, the decision - either way - would be his sister's. If she sides with Dr. Sullivan and signs the necessary papers, then it's out of our hands."
"If she sides with us," Gibbs counters, "then you know my plan. But I can't do it without all of you. If you're with me, say so. If you're not, this is your chance to back out."
"I want Tim back," Ziva declares. Abby puts up her hand. One by one everyone's hands go up - except Ducky's.
"Abby, she'll be at the college. You're with me; we're going to get her; bring her here." "Boss?" DiNozzo tries to cut in.
Abby also raises her protest. "Gibbs, are you sure you want her brought here?" To her, it's best to keep Sarah far away.
"We have to talk to her before they do. They're already going to make the call. I don't want them to reach her."
x
"Has anyone considered that we're one player short?"
Gibbs comes to a halt at Abby's words. "What do you mean?"
"We all have our parts to play, but we still haven't found the Princess." No one hazards a guess that the part has not been cast, that they will not meet her, that she is dead. McGee's is a Hero story, and the Hero always rescues the Princess. "At first, when I found out Ziva wasn't the Princess, I thought it might be me, but he already had a role for me."
"Those names are all Celtic in origin," Ducky points out.
"I can't even pronounce them."
"You'll have to do more than pronounce them, DiNozzo, you'll have to answer to them if we're going to pull this off."
"Boss, are you really planning to play along with this ... story?" he has clearly toned down the adjective.
"You got a better plan, now's the time."
"Psychotherapy–"
"could take months if it works. And after what we've been through lately are you going to trust those guys?" To that there can be no answer. "I need McGee now - he has work to do." That is the limit of the personal motivation Gibbs is willing to voice.
x
"If we are to do this," Ducky says firmly, regaining the conversation, "let us remember that there is a danger here. These narratives are set within a violent framework. Problems are not solved through negotiation or in the courts, but at the point of a sword. We have already seen that Anthony is cast in the role of the Villain who has kidnapped the Princess Mairenn and Timothy is the Hero who must save her."
"Certainly from a fate worse than death, if she's with Tony," Abby quips. She wanted to ease the tension and fails spectacularly.
"As I was saying," Ducky recaptures their attention sharply, "we have yet to identify the Princess. She will play a crucial role in this situation."
"Not one of us. Who could it be?"
Ducky realizes it's an indication of the worry Gibbs is hiding that he has missed it. "If I were casting the role of a Celtic – read Irish – Princess, I know whom I would select."
Gibbs restrains himself from striking the back of his own head when the obvious is pointed out to him so directly. He pulls out his phone, punches in the number for St. Mary the Virgin Church.
"Jethro, what are you going to tell her?" Jenny asks.
"Everything it will take to get McGee back."
"Then there is an even greater danger you must first recognize," Ducky points out, not to anyone's pleasure, halting Gibbs in mid-keystroke. He slaps the phone closed.
x
"Greater than my being choked to death or split in two?" DiNozzo demands.
"I'm afraid so. You see, in Timothy's mind that world he has fashioned is reality, we merely reside in it. But the Heroic Myth usually ends in one of two ways: the death of the Villain – or that of the Hero."
"Wait a minute," Gibbs breaks in. This isn't part of his plan, "Are you saying McGee might not come back at the end of the story, that he could die?"
"That is why this method of treatment is so universally frowned upon. Unless he successfully frees Princess Mairenn - and does not kill Agent DiNozzo in their inevitable confrontation - then yes, this battle is to the death."
"I'm not using a sword on the Probie!" DiNozzo swears.
"You may not have to - in our reality. In his, if he fails, Greagoir Daibhidh Cearbhall could very well die. And he will take Timothy McGee with him."