Told from McGee's journal entry after 12x12 as a one shot story. Mentions of spoilers 10x9
In season 12 Episode 12 - The Enemy Within, Fornell recieves condolences from DiNozzo , Bishop and McGee on the loss of Diane and when Timothy McGee offers his, Fornell reminds Tim that Diane was "fond of him." McGee argues the fact, fearing retribution for the time Fornell and Gibbs found he and Diane asleep on his sofa together, albeit innocently (Season 10, Episode 9) .
As a publisher novelist, I like a good game of wordplay as much as the next person. I've been engaged in a wordplay battle with the mutual ex-wife of my boss and his best friend for just over two years now.
She calls me 'Chucky' and I pretend to be infuriated at her. It's our thing. Although, my infuriation wasn't pretend in the beginning.
The truth is though, we began sharing a special, but strange sort of friendship. Trust me, the night Gibbs and Fornell dumped her protective custody onto me because neither of them wanted the dirty deed, it wasn't my intention to become her friend.
At first I didn't even realise we were friends. Until she popped up again and again. She came back to my apartment after a fight with Victor, her husband. After fighting with Emily, after fighting with Gibbs, adter fighting with Fornell, after a problem in her office. After... , well you get the gist.
She called me, asking to listen to her dilemma's again when she decided she was interested in getting back together with Fornell. She used me as her sounding board.
Being her confessional over the years, I have come to know too much about all the men she has been married too, my boss and his best friend included. Too much about the woman whom both of the men that I look up to and admire, were once married to.
Sure, the way she called me Chucky changed a lot over the few years I knew her. But it wasn't until just before she was killed, I realised we were friends.
So let's study the etymology (origin and meaning of words) of the word CHUCKY
CHUCKY:
Noun:
1. In the Scottish origin.
A chicken. Also more generally: any bird. More fully "chuckie bird", "chookie birdie".
2. In English origin, from the 20th century.
Chucky is an English-language pronunciation spelling of "tiocfaidh" (Irish phrase loosely translated to our day will come)
3.
Chucky refers to a term of endearment or affectionate form of address for a loved one, especially a woman or child.
4.
Someone who is easily nervous, frightened, or shy towards almost anything.
In nearly every language on earth Chucky is pronounced the same way as it's pronounced in English. As I look above at all of the etymology for the word Chucky, I realise that at one point or another, I've been all of these in Diane's eyes.
But for the FBI hard-ass Agent Tobias Fornell to tell me in the middle of the bullpen today that Diane was "fond of me." Made me question her 'annoying' me and confessing her problems to me.
Maybe all Diane ever wanted was a friend. A friend in me. But Tobias assured me, she considered me a friend.
Suddenly the third point in the etymology of the word Chucky flashes to my mind. "Chucky refers to a term of endearment or affectionate form of address for a loved one, especially a woman or child."
Suddenly, I'm mourning the loss of Diane Sterling, née Fornell, née Gibbs, almost Mrs Diane Fornell again.
And my heart is broken.
The End.