A Ghostly Heads-Up

Once upon a time, in an NCIS forensics lab far, far away, there dwelled a beautiful, dark haired Princess…

"Oh, come ON, Duckman," Abby protested, blushing. Tim chuckled softly, glancing at his wife. Gibbs laughed, shaking his head. Since when did Abby mind being the fairy tale princess?

Oh… right. She wasn't the Princess type.

Ducky cleared his throat. "Well, you wanted a story. You didn't specify what it should be about," he pointed out, with a raised eyebrow.

"How about a Christmas story, Ducky?" Faith suggested. Tony nodded, smiling. "Sounds like a good idea," he said, agreeably.

Ducky sighed. This was a tough crowd.

"Very well, then."

Once upon a time, in an NCIS squad room far, far away, there dwelled a mean, cranky, caffeine addicted team leader named…

"DOCTOR Mallard," Gibbs protested, loudly. Tim and Tony grinned at each other, then shared the same grin with Ziva. "I don't know, Gibbs," Ziva said, sweetly. "I kind of like this story."

Gibbs sighed. "I need more coffee," he pouted. Ducky smiled as the group seemed to urge him to continue.

A mean, cranky, caffeine addicted team leader named Gibbs. Now, Gibbs' team was dedicated to him, make no mistake about that, but they had far too often been called in to work on days when they should have been allowed to stay home and unwind.

One day, why, it was Christmas Eve day, to be sure, his team had all gone home, save for one - his youngest agent, Timothy.

Caitlin smiled. "Do you mean, Daddy, Uncle Ducky?"

"Perhaps," he granted her, with a smile and a slight turn of his head. He glanced over at Tim, who was now himself blushing.

Timothy was slaving away at his desk, slowly working his way through a veritable mountain of paperwork that Gibbs had saddled him with. Timothy knew that it was pointless to protest being kept back, so he remained quiet as he quietly worked through his assignments. Only the soft hum of his computer, and the tick ticking of his fingers on his keyboard could be heard throughout the squad room.

"McGee, I'm not THAT bad, am I?" Gibbs suddenly asked. Tim frowned a moment, as if contemplating the question. "Uh… no, Boss. Not usually."

"Not usually," Gibbs muttered to himself, as Ducky continued.

"Boss," Timothy said, looking up from his work. "Would it be alright if I took tomorrow off?"

Gibbs was stunned at the sheer audacity of the request. "Tomorrow off? I don't think so, McGee. We've got a backlog that isn't going to take care of itself."

"But, Boss… it's Christmas. And Abby was really looking forward to spending the day with me and the…"

Gibbs glared at his young agent. Finally, he said, "Well, I suppose if you must, you must. But be here all the earlier the next morning."

Young Timothy nodded solemnly, and waited for Gibbs to turn away before smiling.

When the hour struck, Timothy gathered his things, and promptly left, before Gibbs had a chance to change his mind.

And so, Gibbs was left alone in the squad room. He was quite grumpy, you see. His coffee had just run out, and his usual coffee shop had closed early for the holiday.

He got up, gathered his coat, and left for home.

Now, Gibbs doesn't believe in many things.

"Coincidences, for one thing," Tony piped in, grinning cheekily, and doing his best Gibbs impersonation. Gibbs chuckled softly at this.

"Yes, Anthony. Gibbs does not believe in coincidences," Ducky said, nodding.

Gibbs does not believe in coincidences. And Gibbs most decidedly does not believe in ghosts.

So, imagine his shock and surprise when he should return home, only to find that the mirror in his entrance should reflect back to him the face of one of his lost ones.

"Miss Todd?" JT asked, curiously. The team smiled softly at this. They had made sure that the children knew about Kate, how wonderful she had been, and how much she would have adored being "Auntie Katie."

"Yes, JT. Miss Todd," Ducky said, solemnly.

The face that stared back at him was indeed none other than Special Agent Caitlin Todd.

"I'm named after her, aren't I, Mommy?" Caitlin suddenly said, turning to Abby. Abby smiled at her daughter. "You sure are, baby girl."

Caitlin turned her attention back to Uncle Ducky.

Gibbs at first brushed it off as being a mere side effect of caffeine withdrawal. He blinked, and looked again in the mirror, but the reflection remained.

He shook his head, and turned away, deciding that he needed to go work on his boat to clear his head. Clearly, some kind of hallucinogenic chemical had found its way into his coffee.

"Don't you believe in me?" the ghostly voice suddenly said. Gibbs stopped dead in his tracks. "Kate?" he asked.

"Yes, Gibbs. I ask you again, don't you believe in me?"

Gibbs sat down, feeling suddenly rather weak in the knees.

"I do NOT get weak in the knees, Duck," Gibbs protested again.

"Jethro, MAY I please tell the story?" Jasmine smiled at Jimmy, then got up. "Hang on a second, Ducky. I think our Fearless Leader needs a refill to put him back in his happy place."

"McGee, has she always been this much of a pain in the ass?"

Tim cleared his throat. "She's my baby sister. It was her job." Tony snorted and coughed as he tried to swallow a mouthful of cider at just the wrong moment. "She knows where you live, Probie, and you have to sleep sometime," he reminded his colleague, after he'd finished choking on his beverage, and caught his breath.

Jasmine returned quickly, and Ducky continued.

"Dedication is fine, Gibbs. But look where it got me?"

Gibbs glared at the spectre.

"If you continue on this path, it can lead you to no happy endings, I assure you. But it isn't too late to change."

"Why would I want to change, Katie?" Gibbs asked her, rather petulantly, I might add.

"Because some things are worth dying for, and some things are not. Your job is not worth dying for. Lighten up, Gibbs."

"Is that an order, Agent Todd?"

"Hey… if it walks like a duck and sounds like a duck… odds are, it ain't a penguin."

Gibbs continued to give her his famous glare. "Tonight you will be visited by three spirits. Listen to them, Gibbs. Take their advice to heart. Remember, it isn't too late to escape my fate…" the ghost said, as she faded from view, and finally, was nothing more than a fine cloud of mist, rapidly dissipating in the air.

"Bull," Gibbs said. He glanced over to his bottle of bourbon, but found it empty. "Might as well go to bed, then," he muttered to himself.

"Pee break!" Ziva suddenly declared. When everyone looked at her, she shrugged. "It was a long drive over here, and I had a big cup of coffee before leaving."

The group took the opportunity to get up and stretch their legs. Tony added more wood to the fireplace, and Jimmy went off to change Jeremy's diaper. Tim arose and retrieved his niece's favourite blankie, and Abby refreshed her cider with Caf-Pow chaser. Faith retrieved blankets to curl up in, from the linen closet.

When everyone had once again settled in, Ducky continued.