The Right Road

Afterwards, they sat back in the break room, waiting for Emily's Aunt to come pick her up. The case had been solved, the killer had been caught, and they all looked a little less haunted.

Jimmy Palmer, especially. Jasmine was delighted to have him call her up and invite her to dinner. "I've got some lost time to make up for," he said, sheepishly. She had sounded relieved when she accepted the invitation, but suggested that instead of going out for dinner, they order in, and spend some "quality time" in front of her fireplace. Jimmy was long since beyond blushing at this point in their relationship, but he readily agreed to her suggestion. He was just grateful she was a patient and understanding woman.

Gibbs thought back to what they'd found out from Sofia Maddox's confession.

She had harboured rage towards Mark Tennant for three years, convinced somehow that he had murdered her husband under the cover of a friendly fire accident. When she realized that there was a possibility that her husband had deliberately put himself in the line of fire, she feared that the life insurance she'd collected upon the determination of Daniel's cause of death was in jeopardy.

She had gone to the Tennant's house, with the intention of finding out just what exactly Mark Tennant knew about Daniel's death.

She discovered, to her horror, that Mark had already concluded, through many sleepless nights, that Daniel had killed himself at the hands of a fellow Marine.

Fearing that Mark would let it slip that Daniel's death may very well have been a suicide, she decided, in a flash of bad judgement, to shut him up for good.

But she hadn't bargained on his wife and daughter being home.

Mrs. Tennant had walked in at just the wrong moment. In a fit of fear and rage, Sofia had launched herself at the unsuspecting woman, wrapping her hands around her throat and squeezing until the woman had sunk to the floor, dead.

Then, she remembered Emily.

She carefully crept into the dining room, where the little girl sat, working on a painting with a jar of blue finger paint that Sofia had given to her out of her own set, in her last week as Emily's pre-school teacher.

Sofia had approached her carefully from behind, but Emily had sensed her presence and turned around. The little girl's sudden movement had startled her former teacher, and Sofia briefly lost her balance, and reached for the table to steady herself. In the process, she had neatly placed two of her fingers on Emily's artwork, leaving behind a print, and inavertently leaning the cuff of her sweater in the wet paint.

When she had brought her hands up to Emily's throat, the paint and cashmere fibres had transferred to Emily's long hair. Emily fought back frantically, reaching up and grabbing a fistful of hair in her small hand. She passed out long before she was dead, however, and Sofia, glad to have it over with, had hastily left, taking the dog with her, and not bothering to check that her final victim was indeed, dead.

Gibbs was brought back to reality as Emily approached him. "Thank you for looking after me, Agent Gibbs," she whispered hoarsely. Gibbs smiled at her. "You come visit us sometime honey, promise?" The sad little girl nodded, then wrapped her arms around him, as he kissed the top of her head. She turned to McGee and wrapped her arms around his neck as well, as he whispered, "Seeya, Sweetness. Come back soon?" She nodded at him and smiled, as he quickly kissed her temple, then she turned to Tony. "There's always plenty of ice cream for you here, squirt," he said to her, as he embraced her and softly kissed her cheek. Abby opened her arms and welcomed the little girl next. "We're gonna miss you, baby girl," she said sadly, hugging her tightly. Next she turned to Ziva, who reached down and wrapped her arms around her, saying nothing, but sniffing quietly as she stroked her hair gently, a single tear rolling down her cheek. "Don't forget to come visit, Emily," she finally managed to say. Ducky crouched down next, and said, "Remember the trick I showed you?" Emily smiled and nodded. "Good, because I expect you to practice and show me the next time you're here, my dear girl." He embraced her and kissed her cheek.

Then, she turned to Jimmy. He reached down and picked her up, holding her tightly. "Whenever you can't sleep, just call me, okay? I'll always have a lullaby for you." Emily smiled up at him. "Okay, Jimmy," she whispered softly. He softly kissed her cheek, closing his eyes briefly. Abby smiled to herself as she saw a peaceful look pass over his dark eyes when he opened them again.

He set her down as her Aunt arrived in the doorway.

"She's all set," Gibbs said, his voice a little thicker than he'd have liked. "Thanks for giving us a chance to say goodbye."

"Of course, Agent Gibbs," the woman said, smiling. "I see she's very fond of all of you. I'm sure my husband won't mind if she wants to come visit you here, once in a while. I know I don't mind."

They all watched as Emily left them, turning and waving her small hand in farewell, and Ducky glanced at Jimmy, who sat with a small, peaceful smile on his boyish face.

Ducky sat back, watching the others leave to get back to work, then quietly quoted Robert Frost.

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I - I took the one less travelled by, and that has made all the difference."

"What was that, Doctor?" Jimmy asked, looking at him curiously.

"For what it's worth, Mr. Palmer, I believe you chose the right road."

Jimmy thought about this for a moment, then nodded, smiling slightly. "Thanks, Dr. Mallard. I think, maybe… Emily has helped Michaela to finally rest in peace. At least, in here, she has," he said, pointing towards his heart.

"Indeed, Jimmy, indeed," Ducky said softly, as he stood to leave. He reached out and clasped the younger man's shoulder, briefly. "Well, come on then. The bodies in the cooler await us, my boy."