Unearthed Secrets
AN: Thankyou all for your reviews, i really appreciate them
Thankyou also to Kate for her great help and fantastic ideas!
Ducky laid out some clothes for Gibbs, listening to the sound of the running water. He'd found it hard to get Gibbs up and motivated, eventually telling him to take a shower.
Ducky quickly ate some toast and changed, having had a shower earlier. He heard the water stop, followed shortly after by the opening of the bathroom door.
"Jethro, I rang Mr. Palmer, he said he'd get to the office as soon as he can to start the autopsy, so we have some time before we have to get there" Ducky called
He heard Gibbs grunt and the sound of his bedroom door close. Ducky sighed and patiently waited while Gibbs changed. Making some coffee, he filled Gibbs' mug, setting it on the table beside a bowl of cereal. Sitting down with his own cup of tea, Ducky began reading through the newspaper.
A noise in the kitchen made him look up, and saw Gibbs leaning against the bench.
"We going?" Gibbs asked
"We can take our time getting there, Jethro. Why don't you sit down and have something to eat?" Ducky suggested
Gibbs looked for a moment like he was going to refuse, but decided it was better not to argue. He sat down and picked up the spoon, using it to move around the cereal in the bowl. When he spotted the coffee, he took a long gulp, almost emptying the cup.
Ducky watched him in mild fascination. Gibbs finished the cup, getting up to refill it.
After several minutes, Ducky looked over the newspaper again, folding it into quarters, "Jethro, are you going to eat that?" he asked, gesturing to the bowl
Gibbs shook his head, "Not hungry" he whispered
Ducky sighed, picking up the bowl and their cups, putting them in the sink. Grabbing the keys, he looked behind him to make sure Gibbs was following and started the engine of the car. The ride to headquarters was again made in silence as Gibbs didn't feel like talking and Ducky respected that, keeping quiet.
When they got into autopsy, they saw Jimmy standing over the dead Lt. talking to him about something. Ducky raised his eyebrows, thinking it strange and slightly amusing that his assistant had taken to talking to their visitors. Gibbs frowned and slightly tilted his head to the side, but lost interest fast.
"Ah, Doctor Mallard, Agent Gibbs" Jimmy greeted them, pushing his glasses up his nose
"Mr. Palmer" Ducky said in greeting
Gibbs gave a small nod, then lay down on the slab next to the Lt., closing his eyes.
"Here, Jethro" Ducky said, giving him a roll of hand towel
Gibbs took the roll and put it under his head, sighing as he closed his eyes again.
"I'll be right out, Mr. Palmer, I'm just going to change" Ducky told him
Jimmy watched Ducky leave the room, his eyes resting on Gibbs, "I'm sorry, Agent Gibbs"
"About what?" Gibbs asked quietly
"About your son" Jimmy replied
Gibbs was silent for a while, before growling, "He's still alive, Jimmy."
"But, how do you know?" Jimmy asked, either not hearing or ignoring the warning in Gibbs' tone
"I just know, Jimmy!" he almost shouted, "He's not dead!" he added, choking on the last word
"Sorry" Jimmy apologized
Gibbs sighed, "Don't apologize, it's a sign of weakness, besides, you're not the person who kidnapped him"
"What's going on out here?" Ducky asked as he walked back into autopsy, he'd heard the raised voices and had gotten concerned
"Nothing, Ducky" Gibbs said, putting his arm over his face
"Mr. Palmer?" Ducky asked, not entirely believing Gibbs
"Nothing happened, Doctor Mallard" Jimmy replied
Ducky nodded, not quite believing them, but he wasn't going to raise the issue now. Ducky put his gloves on as Jimmy helped him into a gown, then started the autopsy. He continually stopped to talk to the Lieutenant's face.
"You know, I used to know a young man who looked very much like you. We met in England on a rainy day. He had a flat tyre and there wasn't another gas station for…" he said as he worked
The doors to autopsy whooshed open and Tony and McGee walked in
"Ducky" Tony greeted him, "We came earlier but you weren't here"
"Anthony. No, I was at Jethro's house" Ducky explained
Tony quirked an eyebrow at him, "So, whatcha got for us?"
"Not a lot, I'm afraid. The cause of death is apparent. Before he died, he fought with the attacker, scratching them" Ducky picked up one of the Lt.'s hands and showing them, "I've taken a scraping of the skin under his nails and sent it to Abby for analysis"
Tony nodded, "And these bruises?" he asked, pointing to some bruises over the body
"They're a couple of days old" Ducky replied
"Anything else unusual?" McGee asked
"No, but I can tell you that the person who did this is shorter than our marine. The angle of the knife wounds suggests that the attacker was around 5 foot 7." Ducky replied
"Left- handed?" Tony asked hopefully
"Unfortunately no, Anthony. The angle suggests the attacker was right handed" Ducky replied
"Ok, anything else?" Tony asked
"Not at the moment. I'll call if there is" Ducky responded
Tony smiled and began walking out of autopsy, McGee following in his wake.
"Come back" Gibbs muttered, stirring in his sleep
Tony exchanged a worried look with Ducky, "Boss?"
"He's asleep, Anthony" Ducky said quietly
"Don't go" Gibbs said, then groaned and rolled over, almost falling off the slab as Tony tried to catch him. They fell to the floor, partially waking Gibbs up.
"Don't hurt him!" Gibbs shouted at Tony, still in the grips of his nightmare, he grabbed the front of Tony's shirt
McGee recognized the situation and ran forward, grabbing Gibbs' arms before he could hurt the younger agent. The three men struggled until eventually Tony and McGee had pinned Gibbs to the ground.
"Keep him still" Ducky told them, filling a syringe
"What're you doing, Duck?" Gibbs gasped
"Giving you a sedative" Ducky replied, advancing on the trio
"I don't need one" Gibbs told him, renewing his struggle
"I beg to differ" Ducky replied
"Ducky, please" Gibbs said, trying to get out of the younger agents' hold
"It'll be okay, Jethro" Ducky responded, sticking the syringe into him and plunging the liquid in
"Ducky" Gibbs said, tears forming in his eyes, "I need to help…gotta find…Jake" he said in gasps as the sedative took effect
Tony and McGee stood up, still surprised at the turn of events
"Boys, would you please help him up there?" Ducky asked nicely, gesturing to the autopsy table that Gibbs had just vacated, "I'm not the man I used to be"
That's it for chapter 17!...Hope you liked it! Please review!