Chapter Seven: Ducky


In all his years, one Doctor Donald "Ducky" Mallard had known that one of these days, someone was going to surprise him. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite sure that today was one of those days.

As he walked into Abby's lab to drop off some samples, Mr. Palmer having gone out for some refreshments, he noted a whiteboard with the familiar faces of both Team Gibbs and Team Seven.

"Ducky!" Abby greeted, walking from her office. "Like it? See, me and JD are keeping track of our Serial Valentine."

Ducky had to laugh. Yes, he had heard about the 'Serial Valentine' that both Abby and young JD were following. Abby herself, along with Palmer, had received valentines and, following Ezra's gift, both she and JD had started keeping track of the presents and recipients, along with how, where, and when they were found. "What are the extra pictures there for? I have yet to receive one."

"Oh, that's for 'just in case'. You never really know who is going to get the next one."

As Abby took the samples from him, Ducky perused the board and nodded. "The gifts all appear somewhere around lunchtime and they all appear to be spaced within 24 hours of each other."

"That's why we're thinking that JD's Serial Valentine has to be connected to ours," Abby told him. "I mean, yeah, so far only me and Palmer got anything…"

"Better make that three, Abs," Gibbs told them as he stepped into the lab.

"Three?" Abby frowned. "Who else?"

Gibbs gestured them to follow and Ducky and Abby found themselves going down to Autopsy. "Ziva found it."

Entering the sterile room, they found Tony DiNozzo, Ziva, McGee, Palmer, and, to their surprise, Director Vance, all clustered around one of the tables.

Abby immediately gasped. "Ducky! You have a present!"

Lying on the metal table, there was a wrapped box no bigger than an average laptop (notebook, thing…) complete with red bow. "So it would appear," Ducky murmured as he slipped between Tony and Palmer.

"Ms. Scuito," Vance called her attention. "I just wanted to see what progress you've made concerning this 'Serial Valentine,'" he said with a little smile. Frankly, this was amusing him to no end. So far, none of the gifts presented to either Teams Gibbs or Seven raised any red flags. (Palmer's gift, on the other hand, was of some concern, but Vance was confident that the model kit was in fact intended to give a clue.) Even if it did, the phone call he had received that morning from the 'Serial Valentine' himself had alleviated any undue frustration and Leon Vance was actually looking forward to the big reveal on Valentine's Day. He wanted the week over already.

"What's in it?" Abby nosed.

Carefully lifting it, Ducky observed the fairly light weight of the box. Unwrapping it, the room observed a plain wooden box with leaves bordering the name 'Earl Grey' on the lid, which was written in an elegant cursive.

"Very nice," Ziva nodded approvingly. This particular tea group was also one of her favorites.

"Is there anything inside?" McGee wanted to know.

"I believe so," Ducky, delighted to have something to keep his favorite varieties in, opened it and found at least a dozen compartments in a tray-style design and already filled with favorites, the latest flavors, and a 12-year gift certificate offering supply of the flavors of Ducky's choosing. "Not very inexpensive," he said. "Though, I do admit I have been looking for one of these organizational cases for awhile now. Why, just last year-"

"Ducky," Tony interrupted, "do you like it?"

Ducky just smiled. He did. In his opinion, nothing could be better on Valentine's Day than a hot cup of tea.

As much as Ziva resented the implication, she had to play devil's advocate. "Ducky, maybe we should let Abby run the ingredients before you drink it."

Abby gasped. "Ziva! Who would want to poison Ducky?"

"It's not poisoned, Agent David," Vance smiled, basking in the mystery of it all. "But, just in case, I'll volunteer for the first cup."