"There are plenty of examples you know" Ducky said next morning as he stood in the company of Jen, Gibbs, and Ziva in autopsy. "In September and October of 1984, seven hundred and fifty-one people were intentionally infected with salmonella when followers of the Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh contaminated restaurant salad bars in Oregon."

Jen nodded knowingly. 


"Plenty of examples outside of the US too" she said.

She leaned over one of the metal tables as she spoke – her shoulders practically brushing Gibbs'.

"In 1994, a Japanese sect of the Aum Shinrikyo cult attempted an aerosolized release of anthrax from the tops of buildings in Tokyo."

"They found ricin in the possession of a Minnesota militia group in ninety-eight, did they not?" asked Ziva.

"Ninety-five" Jen corrected. "But yes, they did."

"And in ninety-six a man from Ohio tried to obtain bubonic plague through the mail" contributed Ducky.

Jen turned to Gibbs and found him mirroring her stance on the metal table.

"You were in Desert Storm. So you know first hand that the coalition of allied forces faced the threat of chemical and biological warfare."

Gibbs nodded.

"Did they not also deliver anthrax by mail to US media and government offices in 2001?" asked Ziva.

"Funny you should mention that" Ducky said with a wry smile as he turned away. "Did Anthony ever tell you his SWAK story?"

"Swak?" asked Ziva.

Ducky smiled.

"It's easy to smile now of course" he began "but he gave us quite the scare."

As he launched into the story, Jen leaned forward.

"Thank you for the coffee last night" she said softly to Gibbs. "That was ver-"

Her fingers suddenly clasped his on the metal table. They were standing very close together, and for a second a surge of heat ran through him. But a quick look in her direction quickly dispelled any notion that there had been anything intimate in the action.

"Ducky" he called.

Alerted by the tone, the medical examiner raised his head.

"Your jacket, Jethro" Ducky said, his tone urgent, as he looked at his watch and kept time. "Under her head. Quickly."

Gibbs shucked it off and folded it before doing as he was told.

"Should I ..." he said, looking up from the ground.

"No. Just step away and don't touch her. Contrary to popular belief the tongue can't be swallowed. You only risk injury to the teeth or the jaw or even yourself if you try. There's nothing to do but wa-"

"Gibbs, I can't find Je-"

Gibbs closed his eyes as Abby swept into the suite, and then turned to stop her from getting too close. She took one look at the figure on the floor and buried her face in him.

"It's okay, Abs" he said, stroking her hair.

"No Gibbs, it's not."

"Duck ..." Gibbs said.

The medical examiner held up his hand, still keeping time.

"Forty-two seconds" he said when the seizure had run its course. "What was it last time, Abigail?"

Ziva nudged her gently when she didn't answer, and she looked at Ducky a bit vacantly.

"How long did the seizure last last time?" he asked a little more gently.

"Um ... I don't know" she said, struggling to remember. "I think it was about two minutes."

She extricated herself from Gibbs' grasp.

"We need to turn her on her side" she said as he knelt beside her. "You gave her your jacket" she observed, her voice teary. "That was sweet, Gibbs."

He looked at her once and then pulled her towards him.

She dissolved into tears.

"Duck ..." he said over her head, indicating the phone.

"Right" the older man said. He picked up the receiver and dialled a number. "Donna Durlap please" he said after a moment.

When he was done he put the phone back in its cradle.

"Abby" he said gently. "I need you to go and get Jenny's medication from your lab. The neurosurgeon will need to know what it is."

"You get an appointment?" Gibbs asked.

"There's a small opening in a few hours. I think she'll be awake by then. Abby ..."

"If she wakes up while I'm gone ..." she said – even though she knew it wouldn't happen.

"I'll be here" Gibbs said.

Abby looked from him to Jenny and then back again.

"You have to ask her a few questions, and be calm and friendly and reassuring ..."

"Ducky knows the drill" Gibbs said gently. "Go get the stuff."

"Okay" she said in a small voice.

____________________________________________

Jenny opened her eyes to an intense sea of blue.

"Hey" Gibbs said – and it took her a long moment to realise that he was on the floor cradling her in his arms. His eyes held the telltale signs of a person who'd never witnessed a seizure before, and her heart ached for him.

She tightened her grip on the hand in hers, sending him a message with her eyes that she was fine; that the worry in his eyes, however welcome, was uncalled for. The worry seeped out slightly, not completely, but his firm but gentle grip didn't lessen and for a moment she wished she had a reason to stay in his arms.

He stared, unable to tear his gaze away from her slightly questioning eyes. Because he didn't want to admit to what seeing her on the floor had made him feel, and he certainly didn't want to admit that her gentle squeeze of his hand had calmed him more than should be possible for a woman he had only just met.

"How long?" she asked weakly, moistening her lips.

"Not long."

"I meant how long have I been out."

"An hour and a half" Gibbs said as he held her securely in place.

Jen shut her eyes for a second and then they fluttered open. Abby's face hovered above Gibbs' head.

"I asked you about your meds last night" she said with a hint of reproach in her voice.

And then her eyes widened and her hand clapped over her mouth.

"Abby .." Gibbs said as he helped Jen to her feet. She was unsteady, and Ziva brought a chair forward immediately.

"You don't understand, Gibbs" Abby said, her eyes filling with tears. "It's my fault."

"It's nobody's fault Abby" Jen said as she reached for her.

Abby took a step backwards.

"It's my fault you didn't take your meds. Admit it. If I hadn't handcuffed you and if I hadn't fallen asleep on you then you would have been able to get your meds. They were on the desk and ..."

Gibbs looked at Jen. Something he couldn't understand flashed across her features for a moment. But it was gone before he could even attempt to analyse it, and she was speaking again.

"Don't do this Abby" Jen said, emotion lacing her voice as well. "I'm fine."

"No, you are not fine."

It was Ducky who spoke this time.

"And I'm afraid the matter is now out of your hands" he said seriously as he moved towards the hat stand. "The arrangements have been made. And there is a time crunch. We leave now."

Jen opened her mouth to protest but the look in Gibbs' eyes silenced her. He was about to say something when his cell phone went off. He listened intently and then his fingers lodged under her elbow.

"Take Ziva" he said as he moved her gently towards the back door.

"Jethro?" Ducky asked.

He was just about to slip on his jacket and hat and follow them when Jimmy walked in pushing a body bag on a stretcher.

"What have we here?" Ducky asked as unzipped the bag.

"Local leos found him" Tony said, entering behind Jimmy.

"One of ours?" Ducky asked.

"LA field office."

"What's he doing down here?" Ducky asked.

The door to autopsy swished again and Leon Vance materialised.

"That's what I need you to find out. This has to be your top priority. We need a quick resolution on this one. SecNav's breathing down my neck."

"Understood" Ducky said.

He waited till the Director and Gibbs had gone before turning to his assistant.

"You go with Jenny and Ziva to Bethesda" he said. "Someone needs to work the machine."

"But the autopsy .." Palmer began.

"Time is of the essence, Mr. Palmer" Ducky said as he slipped into his scrubs and pulled the faceguard off its hook. "Call me when you're done."

He started with the Y incision before Jimmy had even left the room.

_______________________________________________________

Donna Dunlap met them in the corridor of the Imaging Wing.

"You have twenty minutes. A minute longer, you'll get found out and I'll get fired. Clear?"

"How do we repay you?" Jimmy asked as he hurried after her with the stretcher, knowing that Ducky would have asked the same thing.

Dr. Dunlap looked at him over her shoulder.

"You can tell Dr. Mallard I've repaid him. We're even" she said with a smile as she swiped her card and pushed the door open.

"Are you claustrophobic?" Jimmy asked as he settled Jen at the opening of the machine

She shook her head.

"Okay. We don't have much time. I'm going into the other room to run the test. Ziva, you can't stay in here."

Ziva nodded once and preceded him out of the room.

Palmer flipped the switch and watched the screen as the imaging started. His brow furrowed after a while.

"What?" Ziva demanded, as she peered closely.

"I'm not sure ... I ..." Jimmy said. "What time did Dr. Dunlap say the neurosurgeon was coming to look at the results?"

"In two hours" Ziva replied. "Is something the matter?"

Jimmy looked pale.

"Yes" he said.

"Are we done with the test?" the Israeli asked, her eye on the clock.

Palmer nodded dumbly, his eye still on the screen.

"Then we need to get out of here before we cost Dr Dunlap her job."

"Yes ... I ..."

Jimmy's eyes cut to the screen one last time before he saved the images to a cd and erased everything. He pressed the cd into the doctor's hand as they passed her in the corridor.

"I will have the results out to Dr. Mallard as soon as I can" she said reassuringly.

But Palmer felt anything but reassured.

"Hurry" was all he said.

Jimmy pulled out his cell phone and called autopsy. There was no response. He got into the back of the car and looked over at Jenny.

"Are you going to make me guess?" she said after a while.

"I ... um .. I .." he said.

Jen surprised him by reaching over and squeezing his hand.

"It's alright Jimmy" she said gently. "I didn't mean to put you in this position. Ignorance can be bliss for a few more hours."

Jimmy looked down at her hand on his.

"I ..." he began again.

"It's not your fault" she said softly – looking straight ahead so that he couldn't see the look in her eyes. "It's not anybody's fault."

Her eyes locked with Ziva's in the rearview mirror and she turned away from her as well.

The rest of the drive back to the navy yard was spent in silence.