Gibbs took a look at his agents, all silently sitting behind their desks. If he wasn't really glad that this case was moving so slow, the almost perfect picture of an obedient Tony, Tim, and Ziva, after his previous discussion with Palmer, was somehow cheering him a bit up. He briefly chuckled at the reflexion, no one around, hopefully, noticing the slight movement of his lips.
'Discussion'…
Gibbs wouldn't have believed it himself if someone else had told him so, but that was now a true fact : he had been the one making the conversation.
Well, now, at least, he could understand how others were feeling when he was remaining cold as ice with them.
— McGee, how long before she comes back ? he finally asked, mostly willing to leave his numerous thoughts.
— Well, two days from now, so tomorrow evening…he logically said, although...she might be coming back a bit earlier than expected, he added as he opened a new document on his screen. I've just received my answer after I typed her name in the airport system, boss, and it says that she should be in Washington DC at 17:45.
— Good. We'll pick her up there.
— You think someone already told her about the death of her brother in law ? Ziva asked, Tony only slightly raising both shoulders.
— If she's in the middle of nowhere, no chance about that, so I guess it's gonna be quite a difficult ride...Tim commented and sighed.
— Yeah, why don't we directly bring the stretcher…Tony mumbled. After so many hours of travel, discovering that someone else died in the family, I guess it's gonna be quite demanding...he added, Ziva now being the one silently reacting. Unless she wanted him dead too.
Gibbs discreetly nodded and started overthinking again when he suddenly felt his phone vibrate on top of his desk, the moving item revealing a number he had strictly no idea about…
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
— Good morning, Mr Palmer, Ducky smiled as he entered the room, still not fully decided if he should pretend that everything was fine or directly go to the point with Jimmy.
— Good morning, Dr Mallard, he reacted with a brief look in his direction, quickly turning his head back, focusing on a file.
— Uh…did you enjoy your evening yesterday ? Ducky now questioned him, putting down his bag next to the piece of furniture, trying to hide his obvious worries.
There was no need, for sure, to mention yesterday. If Jimmy had really been in there, then it would be very uncomfortable for the both of them to talk about it, especially with Palmer's usual guiltiness feeling, and if he hadn't been there, then...
— I quite enjoyed it, Dr Mallard, thank you again for this opportunity, Jimmy strangely nodded and interrupted his thoughts, the coldness in his voice sounding absolutely scary.
Ducky nervously smiled, not really knowing if Jimmy could have seen him, and shakily approached him.
— So what do we have now, Mr Palmer ? he asked with a visible uneasiness, Jimmy's silent and simple tall body now looking like a wall that no one on earth could ever break.
— Nothing much, in fact. There was some minor things that I needed to bring to Abby…
— Oh yes, the box number 22...Ducky answered right away, trying as much as he could to keep a regular conversation between the two of them, I didn't have time to...
— Yes, but do not worry about this anymore, I've already put it on her desk.
— Already ? the medical examiner calmly reacted, taking a clumsy look at his watch. Alright, then…he tried to continue speaking, but the words were becoming harder and harder to find.
— So I can still write the report for Mrs Allmanstern, I realized earlier that there was some details that hadn't been written properly…
— Well, I can see that you had a productive morning…Ducky tensely commented, still shaking in the inside because of his nervousness.
— Dr Mallard ? Jimmy suddenly asked.
Ducky noticed the closed lips trying to force a smile, and he wished that the face in front of him could have seemed a bit more natural, but at least Mr Palmer was now trying to start a conversation, so maybe he could do, in turn, his best to make it happen...
— Dr Mallard ? Jimmy repeated.
— Yes, Mr Palmer ? Ducky asked, his hopeful tone of voice echoing inside the working area.
— It's ringing.
— I beg your pardon ? the medical examiner questioned him, a short bump in his heart momentarily accompanying the ending ultrasound which had isolated his eardrums for a second or two.
— Your phone…it's ringing.
— Oh, Ducky hardly exhaled, right. Well…thank you Mr Palmer, he added as he started palpating his pockets, before noticing the item on the desk. Oh…he tried to smile.
— Here it is, Jimmy grabbed it and gently handed it to Ducky, although it was obvious that it was no more than a sign of politeness...and even more obvious that Jimmy had only meant to say his name in order to mention the phone call going on.
Ducky frenetically pinched his lips and answered, hardly disappointed.
— Hello ? Oh, hi, Jethro…well, certainly. We'll be ready if this is necessary, of course... Alright… Alright, keep me informed as soon as you know more.
Jimmy silently raised both eyebrows in his direction, wondering if there was something that he should know about…
— Something I should know about ? he finally loudly asked, Ducky remaining silent as he couldn't hide anymore behind his conversation with Gibbs.
— Well, Agent Gibbs just spoke with one of the Captains he has been visiting the other day. It seems like another one of his men who was supposed to come back this morning never showed up, and with the case going on, including our already two dead Marines, he is afraid now that some others who might soon come, too, from their vacation, well…never do.
— I guess prevention is better than cure, Jimmy instantly reacted.
Ducky briefly smiled at the reflexion, knowing it was perfectly the kind of thing that Mr Palmer could say…the only difference today was that there wasn't any energy in his voice while he was pronouncing these words.
— So what about now ? I guess that NCIS is gonna look for the missing man and hope for him to still be alive somewhere, and try to find the future men who might be missing ? Jimmy shortly tried to make the conversation.
— Well, about them there is no proof yet, as they are still supposed to be somewhere on vacation, but yes, that is the idea…I do guess that it will be the program of the day. But if you wish to have some more informations about this, he immediately spoke again, I am pretty sure that someone out there might be able to tell you ab…
— It's okay, Jimmy quickly forced a smile for the umpteenth time of the morning, his top lip emotionlessly pressing the bottom one. It is none of my business anyway.
Ducky whished he could have intervened but finally powerlessly watched him go back to reading again a few lines from a file, incapable to decide whether or not he should try to be direct. Anyone else from the team who would have pronounced that kind of last sentence would have probably done it on purpose if something had once gone wrong for any reason, but he could swear that it was not the same about Jimmy Palmer.
No, indeed, Mr Palmer's heart was probably so dark for now that he certainly truly believed his own, terrible words.
— Do you need me for something ? Jimmy finally raised his head from the paper and briefly turned back, silence filling the space longer than expected.
— I beg your pardon ? Ducky repeated for the second time.
— I can help you if you need me for something, otherwise, I can correct that report I was telling you about, concerning Mrs Allmanstern's death.
— Oh no, please do, Mr Palmer, Ducky nodded with a new slight shaking he managed to hide, finally heading to his chair. I think I have myself…a few things to write.
