Their Smallest Witness

The four agents watched on anxiously as Ducky worked on the small girl, with help from Palmer.

"It's a miracle this child is still alive," Ducky muttered. "Her neck is deeply bruised. God only knows how she managed to survive this."

"Does it really matter now, Doctor?" Palmer said, almost absently, as he worked intently. "She's alive. That's what counts. We weren't too late this time."

McGee and Gibbs helped to load her on to the gurney when the ambulance arrived, and Ducky took note of Palmer's expression as the doors were slammed shut and the emergency vehicle pulled away in a blaze of sirens and flashing lights.

"Jimmy, you said, we weren't too late this time. What exactly did you mean by that? Is there something wrong, my boy?" Ducky asked him quietly, gently pulling him aside.

Palmer blinked. "Not anymore." His boss and mentor looked at him, not convinced at all.

"It's a long story, Dr. Mallard. Maybe… maybe it's time to tell you. It has to do with why I'm here, doing what I do. But it has to wait until we've gotten her parents home." Ducky nodded, as McGee approached. "You're ready to take them out, Duck?"

Ducky nodded. "Yes, Timothy. You can get to work here soon." Ducky took on a thoughtful look, pulling McGee aside.

"Timothy, since Jimmy has been seeing your sister, has he talked to you much, about things?"

"Uh… what sort of things, Ducky?"

"Himself, his past, for example. Why he's here."

McGee nodded. "I see. Yeah, actually, he has. It came up one night after a difficult case. But it's really not my place to say. You'll have to hear it from him, Ducky."

The older man nodded. "Of course, Timothy." McGee turned as Tony called him over, and he reached over and patted Ducky's arm as he turned to walk over to where Tony was.

……………………………………………………………………………

Abby and Ziva walked into Emily's hospital room, and glanced at each other.

What kind of monstrous bastard could do this to a child?

They glanced back at Gibbs, who stood in the doorway. Ziva and Abby were here to collect physical evidence, and to see if Emily could talk yet.

They had, in this tiny little girl, their only surviving witness to this double - almost triple - murder.

The thought burdened Gibbs. That meant that she could still be in danger. If whomever had tried to strangle her to death found out that he had failed the first time, he might come back for a second try at it.

That wasn't going to happen. Not in this lifetime. Not if Jethro Gibbs had anything to do with it.

He realized, also, that his agents were equally aware of how important it was to keep an eye on Emily. McGee and Tony had both seemed on edge, almost paternally angry at whoever had done this. Gibbs had never seen his boys quite so intense before. Ziva was subdued, almost as if she were forcing herself to keep her temper in check. It wasn't until he'd seen her enter Emily's hospital room with Abby, that he knew she'd managed to reel her emotions in. But still, he couldn't help himself - he almost wished that their killer would step forward, dared him to walk right into the sight picture of any one of their Sigs.

Ducky was more professional, on the outside, but Gibbs knew his old friend, and he knew better. And Palmer was clearly very deeply affected by it, but why that was exactly, Gibbs had no idea. He just knew that he'd never seen Palmer quite this intense before, either. It was almost as if Jimmy were… haunted by something.

Gibbs glanced over as Abby carefully approached Emily's side. "Hey baby girl," she said softly. "Don't be scared, we're not here to hurt you. I'm Abby, and this is Ziva, okay?" The little girl was unable to speak yet, due to the injuries to her throat, but she nodded anyway. Abby smiled warmly at her, as she gently took her hand and began to collect scrapings from under her fingernails. Ziva brushed her cheek gently with a gloved hand, as she gathered the little girl's hair in her other hand, and prepared to comb it out carefully.

Gibbs turned as he sensed eyes watching from behind.

He wasn't the least bit surprised to find Tony and McGee standing there, with concerned expressions on their faces.

"She needs to be watched over, Boss," Tony said. "We're volunteering for protection duty. We'll take turns." Gibbs looked at him, then glanced at McGee as the younger man said, "That bastard tries to get anywhere near her, all he'll find is the business end of our weapons."

Gibbs took each of them by the arm as he led them outside. "Guys, she can't stay here forever. I think we're gonna have to take her back to NCIS with us once she's released. You boys up for extended babysitting detail?"

Tony glanced at McGee, who raised an eyebrow and turned his head slightly. "We're up for keeping that little girl safe and alive, Boss," Tony said, with finality. McGee nodded in agreement, and said, "For how ever long it takes."