"Tony, take the evidence to Abby. Bishop, start doing a background check on the names we found." Gibbs barely slowed down on his way upstairs to check in with McGee. The doctor's appointment wasn't until tomorrow, but he wanted to make sure he was going to get them dug out in time to get there. Rubbing his stomach, he'd barely sat down when his phone rang.
"Yeah, Gibbs."
Agent Gibbs, the Director would like to see you in his office right away.
"On my way." Still wound up from the search and his gut pinging, Gibbs bounced back to his feet and headed for the stairs. Pamela waved him through with a strange look on her face.
"You wanted to see me, Leon?"
"Have a seat, Gibbs." Vance was sitting at his desk, a grave expression on his face, and Ducky was standing next to him, equally sad.
Already suspecting, Gibbs sank into the chair. "My father?"
"I'm so sorry, Jethro."
"He was supposed to see the doctor..." Gibbs closed his eyes. "Tomorrow. Just one more day – one more damn day. Was... was McGee with him?"
"Yes." Ducky took over since he'd already talked to the doctor in Berwick. "It appears Jackson suffered a sudden cardiac arrest. Timothy performed CPR, did everything possible, but the doctors were unable to resuscitate him."
Gibbs didn't say anything for a moment, just rubbed at his mouth, before he stood up. "I need – need to go up there and – and take care of him."
Vance had never seen the man looking so lost. "Of course, Jethro. Your leave is already taken care of. You have more than enough saved up, take as much time as you need."
Falling silent again, Gibbs nodded and walked out the door. Worried, Ducky turned to Vance. "Since I have no current guests downstairs, I would like to go with Jethro. Make sure Jackson is properly taken care of and answer any questions Jethro might have."
Under the circumstances Vance had already figured that would be the best option. "Of course. Keep me posted as to the arrangements. I'll make sure the team gets there when it's time."
"Unless Jethro says something to them himself, which I doubt he will, it would be better if you break the news to Tony and Abby after Jethro and I have left the Yard. They will certainly mean well, but I suspect Jethro will need a bit of time before he can handle any sympathy, even from those he cares about deeply."
Vance nodded at the sage suggestion. "Understood."
-NCIS-
Gibbs returned to his desk and dropped down in his chair, mechanically going through the motions to make sure that everything that would normally go to him as team leader would be forwarded to Tony while he was gone.
My father is dead.
He was vaguely aware of Bishop sitting on the floor next to her desk with an assortment of papers strewn around her.
My father is dead.
HR needed to be notified, that was agency protocol, but he'd never had to do it before. Forcing his hands to stay steady, Gibbs opened the necessary window.
My father is dead.
HR already had his bereavement leave recorded. He stared at the words for a minute before he remembered that Vance had said it was taken care of. Closing that back out, he searched for his car keys. He'd need to top off the tank before he left and call to let his dad know... He took a shaky breath.
My father is dead.
No calls. Suit, he'd need his suit. He'd need his suit for the funeral.
My father is dead.
Gibbs jumped as a hand was laid on his shoulder. When he looked up, Ducky's compassionate face filled his view. "I'm sorry, Jethro. Jackson was a good man. Now, why don't I drive us? Director Vance has authorized the use of an agency sedan."
When he got a slight nod, Ducky continued, wanting to get Gibbs moving and out of the building before it finally hit him. "Why don't you fetch your go bag and I'll meet you in the parking lot in a few minutes."
"Yeah, yeah, thanks, Duck."
Ducky squeezed his shoulder once again before stepping away, not noticing Bishop on the floor behind her desk.
-NCIS-
The problem with being the new kid on a team that had been together for years was the fact that it was easy to miss the subtle nuances as the rest of them worked together. She didn't have a clue what was going on, only that it started when McGee testimony suddenly wasn't needed. Thus, she stayed quiet and kept her head down when Gibbs returned from the Director's office. She was still quiet when Ducky arrived, obviously not used to looking down onto the floor for her.
Ellie felt bad for eavesdropping, but when she heard Ducky talking she knew making her presence known would be worse. Once Ducky and then Gibbs left the squad room, she grabbed her phone.
-NCIS-
"This is everything? You guys spent hours at the scene and this is all you bring me back? I'm beginning to think you don't love me, Tony, and where is Gibbs? I haven't seen him all day." Abby took the small pile of evidence bags and started spreading them out.
Tony casually tried to stretch his arms. "Hey, don't blame me, we looked. Eight hundred and twelve crates and eight hundred and eleven of them were filled with gears and ball bearings."
Trying to look sympathetic, Abby failed when the side of her mouth twitched. "You had to pry all of them open?"
"Yep, and no McGeek to help with the grunt labor. Any idea when he's getting back?" Tony sat on the stool and snuck a sip of Abby's CafPow before shuddering at the taste. She glared at him and took the cup back, setting it out of his reach.
"He's not back? I heard his testimony was canceled."
Tony pulled out his phone. "Let's find out because we could sure use him back here." He dialed McGee's number, but it immediately went to voice mail. "That's weird, maybe he's on his flight back."
Before Tony could put his phone away, it rang, startling him. He expected it to be McGee, but the display showed Bishop. Figuring it was a heads up that Gibbs was looking for him, he took a deep breath before answering. "Hey, Bishop, what's up?"
Who's Jackson?
"What about Jackson?" Tony looked over at Abby, who was listening to his side of the conversation.
Is he somebody important?
Tony didn't like the way this was heading. "Yeah, what about him? Just tell me, Bishop." Her voice sounded very timid when she answered.
I think he's dead, Tony.
"Dead? Jackson's dead?" Tony was only vaguely aware of Abby bursting into tears next to him. "Bishop, how do you know, what did you hear?" She was crying by the time she'd related the entire conversation she'd overheard.
What do we do, Tony?
"You keep working on what Gibbs told you. I'll take care of it."
I'm sorry.
"Yeah, me too, kid." Tony disconnected the call and held an arm out. Abby immediately burrowed against him.
"What are we going to do, Tony?"
"We're going up there."
-NCIS-
"Need to stop at the house. Need my black suit."
"Of course, Jethro. Is there anything else that needs to be done before we get on our way?"
Gibbs leaned against the roof of the sedan. "No. We're used to hitting the road in a hurry. Never for..." He sighed and hung his head. "Not like this."
"This is the one trip we never think we will take, Jethro." Ducky waited for Gibbs to climb in the passenger side before he got behind the wheel and started the engine. "No matter how much we try to prepare ourselves for it."
Gibbs was silent until they left the Yard. "Appreciate this, Ducky."
"Jackson was your father, but he was also my friend. He would expect this of me and I am glad to do it, even if I regret the circumstances."
"Should have told the team, but can't quite say the words yet."
It was the closest Ducky had ever seen his old friend to breaking down and he reached over to touch his arm. "That's very understandable, Jethro. Leon has promised to break the news and to release the rest of the team to be in Stillwater in time for the funeral."
"Good. That's good." Gibbs' voice trailed off as he stared out the side window.
-NCIS-
"Tony?" Bishop scrambled to her feet as DiNozzo came into the squad room.
He shook his head as he grabbed his pack. "If Vance looks for me, tell him I went to talk to a witness, okay?"
"Tony..."
He pointed at her as he walked away. "Cover for me, Bishop." Not letting her say anything else, he waved as he left the room.