What Mrs. Mallard Said - 21
Author: GataChica
Rating: M/FR18
Warnings: sexual situations
Spoilers: Untouchable
Disclaimer: My writing is not-for-profit and I don't own the characters or anything else besides my ideas.
Abby spent much of her time (when she was not sleeping) wandering around the Internet. First, she read all she could find about miscarriages, but that only made her more depressed. Then she found a site that allowed parents to make pages to remember their unborn children. Although it made her cry, she found the process of making the page strangely comforting. Since they didn't know the sex of the baby, she used primarily yellow along with some pinks and blues, and gave the name as simply "Our Baby."
By the time she finished, she was exhausted, so she ate a sandwich and followed it with a nap. She was sleeping still when Ducky called.
"How are you, my dear?" he asked.
"Sleepy," she admitted. "How are you?"
She could hear a definite edge to his voice, although his words did not seem to match. "It hasn't been busy so far, and I've been able to work on the continuing education I told you about."
"What's wrong?" she demanded, just as soon as he stopped speaking (and perhaps a bit sooner).
Ducky faked a cough to keep himself from getting choked up. "Nothing, dearest. I've had quite a pleasant morning." He willed himself to believe it, since if he didn't believe what he said, she certainly wouldn't.
"You don't sound like it."
He coughed again. "Maybe it's because I have a bit of a cough. Allergies, most likely."
"Okay," she said reluctantly. "Oh, Ducky, I have to tell about this website I found…"
He sighed with relief as she described the memorial page she'd made for their baby. This time he didn't try to hide the edge in his voice or the emotions he felt. "Would you send me the link?" he said, as tears threatened to break out.
"Yes," she said simply. "I think I should let you go now," she added, "but call me again if you want to talk."
He nodded, then realized she couldn't see him. "Yes, my dear. We shall talk again later." As soon as he heard the click on her end of the line, he allowed the tears to spill out and cried for several minutes. He didn't hear the door open, so he wasn't aware anyone else was in the room until the person was quite close.
"Ducky, should I come back later?" Ziva asked uncertainly. Nothing in her Mossad training had prepared her to deal with such displays of emotion.
He glanced at her, then wiped his eyes and cheeks. "No, it's all right. What did you come for, Ziva?"
"I don't understand what is happening," she confessed. "I mean, between you and Abby and the Director and Agent Gibbs –"
"What about Gibbs?" he asked, surprised.
"I though Abby told you."
"No, she didn't tell me. Perhaps it was meant to be a secret."
"The Director can hardly expect to keep it secret much longer; she's already unable to wear some of her clothes."
For a moment Ducky unsuccessfully tried to process that information, then he realized what Ziva meant. "You mean she is pregnant?"
"Yes."
"How far long?"
"I think about four and a half months. But I'm not certain."
"And how did Gibbs take this?" he asked worriedly.
"According to Jenny, he took it just fine. She was very surprised that he seemed to be happy about it."
Ducky felt a chill running through his bloodstream straight to his heart. "How dare he," Ziva heard him whisper. His mind was full of anger and vivid thoughts of what he would like to do to Gibbs.
Ziva could see the developing rage on Ducky's face, so she decided it was best to leave, before she said something else to make the situation even more difficult.
After he had finally calmed down, Ducky started thinking about how he would confront Gibbs. He needed facts first, so he called Abby's OB doctor and left a message. Then he contemplated what his "friend" had done. Ducky could not trust Gibbs' motives in anything to do with Abby; that much was clear. Whether he realized it or not, he was probably still in love with her. He still wanted her, regardless of his feelings for Jenny.
And if Gibbs couldn't have her, he would make sure that no one could.
Ducky felt himself letting go of the guilt that Gibbs had escalated in him earlier that day. Now that he distrusted Gibbs' motives, what Gibbs said didn't seem to matter much anymore. He would talk to Abby about the dangers, then they would decide together what to do.
His phone rang, interrupting his thoughts. "NCIS Autopsy, Dr. Mallard speaking."
"Dr. Mallard, this is Dr. Williams. I got your message; what can I do for you today?"
He took a deep breath before asking the question that was nagging him. "My partner, Abby Sciuto, recently had a miscarriage, and the surgeon found it difficult to stop the bleeding. Given that fact, how much greater will the risk be with a second pregnancy?"
"You mean, how likely is it that she will miscarry again?"
"Yes, and also the bleeding problem. I was there, and I know that she almost died from it."
"Hmmm. Well, having one miscarriage does increase the likelihood of another one. I can't bring the details to mind –"
"She's only seen you once."
"Oh, I see. Is she over 35?"
"No."
"Does she smoke, or drink caffeine?"
"She loves a drink called Caf-Pow! but she stopped drinking it when we found out she was pregnant."
"That's good. So she doesn't smoke?"
"No."
"Okay, I can give you a rough estimate of the odds. A woman who has had one miscarriage has a 20% chance of having another one, as compared to someone who didn't miscarry. That's barring any other risk factors like smoking. Regarding the bleeding – does she have a bleeding disorder?"
"No, she's never had any problems with that. She's quite healthy."
"Then it's unlikely to recur. However, just in case, I'll do a set of tests the next time she comes in, before she gets pregnant. Would you like to make an appointment now?"
Ducky agreed, and the doctor transferred him to the front desk, where he scheduled an appointment for the following week. When that was completed, he felt a sense of relief wash over him. The danger wasn't as bad as he feared – he was free of the guilt, and he and Abby could try for another baby as planned.
Now to take care of his other problem. He was sidetracked briefly by an agent who needed a copy of an autopsy report, but then he picked up the phone to call upstairs. But as he was entering the number, Gibbs walked into Autopsy.
"Gibbs – I'm glad you're here," Ducky said, his expression grim. "We need to talk, and we need to talk privately."
Gibbs didn't answer, just beckoned Ducky to the elevator. They both stepped into the elevator and it began to rise.
Then Ducky pulled the emergency switch. As he turned to face Gibbs, he muttered "You bastard."