The case definitely kept them on their toes. He had Ducky take point on the case and, the man did the job quite well. Rule #38: Your Case, Your Lead. It had quickly become apparent that Ducky's cold case and Jethro's hot case were somehow connected.
Ducky and Ziva interviewed Roberts' daughter, Ellen, and it was revealed that Roberts was a huge space buff and his death came after another rejection from NASA. Ducky promised Ellen that he'd avenge her father's death. Afterwards, Ziva gently reminded the man not to make promises he might not be able to keep, especially since it was a cold case that they were working. A sentiment Jethro readily agreed with.
Several alarms ended up going off while Jethro was in autopsy, originating from Abby's lab. Hill's clothes were apparently radioactive, harmless levels of radiation, but enough to trip the sensitive alarms and worry Jethro. She wasn't in any danger thankfully, but they did learn that there were somehow traces of simulated lunar soil on the clothes.
Ducky then sent DiNozzo and Ziva to speak with scientist Dr. Felix Blackwell to find out more about the simulated lunar soil, JSC-1. Felix Blackwell was a whacky scientist who laughed at his own bad jokes and offhandedly commented that JSC-1 could be used to make a dirty bomb. More than a little concerning, to say the least.
"Twelve years ago," Ducky commented as he started the latest briefing, "Commander Roberts was murdered. I presided over his autopsy."
"I'm sorry," Ziva said, "which one is Roberts?"
"Uh," Ducky replied, "the one with the deviated septum."
Ziva pretended to understand. "Ah."
"And which one is that?" McGee asked.
Ducky pointed to one of the x-ray photographs that were up on the plasma, signalling that the man on the left was the man in question.
"Ah," McGee said. "Okay, got it: Roberts, murdered."
"We now suspect that Roberts was killed twelve years ago by Sergeant Hill, then Private Hill," Ducky continued. "Nice of you to join us, Agent DiNozzo."
DiNozzo looked sheepish. "Sorry, I was just in..."
Evidently, the Medical Examiner didn't care. "Now, where was I?"
"Moon dirt," Jethro supplied from his desk.
"Ah, right!" Ducky said, jumping right back in. "We also learned that when Roberts was killed twelve years ago, he was in possession of a radioactive lunar-soil simulant called JSC-1. With enough, it could be used to make a dirty bomb."
The Italian-American agent leaned into Ziva. "Which one's Roberts?"
"The one with the deviated septum," the young Israeli supplied.
"All of which begs the question..." Ducky continued unperturbed.
"What was Roberts planning doing with the fake Moon dirt?" McGee offered.
Ziva chimed in next. "Why did Hill kill him twelve years ago?"
"And who killed Hill two days ago?" DiNozzo added.
"Okay," the medical examiner said, "three questions. So, where to start?"
"That's four questions," Jethro said cheekily.
"Uh," Ducky said, "Commander Roberts. He's the key."
"Um," Ziva said, "uh, if I may..." Ducky passed her the remote for the plasma. "Thank you very much. Commander Roberts was a decorated Navy officer and a teacher, not a terrorist, so... what could he want with a dirty bomb?"
"He wasn't selling it," DiNozzo replied. "Didn't need the money. The guy was loaded."
"Well," Ducky stated, "there's clearly more to this man than meets the eye. While Mr. Palmer attempts to reconstruct his physical reality, we need more data to construct a viable schema of his interior psychological state."
Ziva eyed the medical examiner curiously. "Which means?"
Jethro got up from his desk and addressed her. "Go talk to his old C.O."
The medical examiner nodded his approval. "Excellent idea."
Ziva turned back to the medical examiner. "Hey, Duck." She then tossed the man the remote for the plasma, Ducky catching it easily. "Nice catch."
Over the next couple of hours, more information pertaining to their case started slowly coming to light. They were still missing a piece to the puzzle, though. Very old emails were dug up that suggested that Roberts had bought something from Hill and then Hill killed him. Hill had chemical burns that matched the poison that had been used to kill Roberts. Of course, that left them with more questions than answers.
"Any idea what he was selling?" he inquired.
"No," the eternally bubbly forensic scientist admitted. "But... I think it's illegal because Roberts was really paranoid about the police."
He eyed Abby. "Dirty bombs are illegal."
"Yeah," the goth agreed. "Maybe Sergeant Hill was part of some WMD smuggling ring? I think something went wrong with the sale, because in the next e-mail Roberts threatens to turn Hill in to the feds."
He scanned the emails, noting the times. "Three days later, Roberts was murdered."
"Yeah," Abby said. "What worries me is that Sergeant Hill was just killed two days ago, so is this smuggling ring still active?"
He quickly settled on his next move. "Abbs, can you take this new info and find out if Hill had any other buyers? They might know something."
"Of course," she replied eagerly as Jethro started to make his way out of the forensics lab. "WMD smuggling ring, here I come."
Jethro knew something was going on, but his gut was telling him that likely wasn't it. They were still missing a crucial piece to the mosaic.
The MCRT continued working for another hour or so, but when 1830 rolled around and they had no new leads, Jethro and his field agents all finally called it a night. Abby was still needed in her lab, but there was no reason for the rest of them to stay.
Shannon pulled Jethro in for a kiss as he walked through the front door. When the pair parted, she shifted slightly and smiled up at him. "You're home."
He returned the smile. "I am. How was your day?"
"It was good," she replied. "The Halloween craziness has definitely started."
Jethro chuckled. "A bunch of eight-year-olds are excited for Halloween? Can't say I'm in the least bit shocked."
"They have some pretty creative ideas for costumes," she stated. "How about you? Did ya have to put out any flames today?"
He gave a slightly shrug. "One or two of 'em. Wasn't too bad, though."
She gave him an assessing look. "Were ya able to eat anything at all today?"
"We all grabbed some hoagies for lunch," she confirmed.
"Good," she said. "One cannot subsist off of coffee alone, Gunny."
He rolled his eyes and then pulled her in for a bear hug, kissing her on the top of the head gently. "I love you, Care Bear."
Shannon smiled up at him. "I love you too, Tiger. Come on, dinner's ready. As always, your timing's impeccable."
Jethro smirked. "When you've got it, you've got it." He adopted a slightly more serious look. "What did ya make? It smells amazing."
"Tried out one of my grandmother's recipes," she replied simply. "Got it off of Mom the last time we visited."
He gave a little hum. "Well, it smells great."
She grinned. "Thank you. First time making it, but I think it turned out okay."
Jethro had been home for a little over an hour when Ducky spontaneously showed up at the house, the man clearly struggling with something. After a bit of small talk with his wife, Jethro let Shannon know that he and Ducky were headed down to the basement for a marginally more private conversation.
A few short minutes later though, and they had company join them.
"Agent Gibbs." Jethro turned to see Palmer making his way down the stairs and into his basement in a mad dash. "Agent Gibbs, I am sorry to barge in like this, but... I'm afraid that Dr. Mallard is losing it. The other day, he actually yelled at me. And then once Commander Roberts' body shows up, he starts issuing orders like he's Attila the Hun..." He watched as realization dawned that they weren't alone. "Dr. Mallard! Hi."
"Mr. Palmer," Ducky greeted.
"See," Palmer stammered, "that - that... that was just... that, uh, I w… I was, um... "
"Wishing you weren't here?" Ducky offered.
"Yeah," the younger man agreed. "Um... Gentlemen." The young man rushed back up the stairs, evidently feeling uncomfortable.
"Mr. Palmer is managing quite admirably," his long-time friend commented. "However, he is slightly overwhelmed with his new position. Something I can relate to."
"You're doing great, Duck!" he said, more than familiar with the stresses of being a team leader. "You may have single-handedly uncovered a WMD smuggling ring."
"Yes," Ducky acknowledged, "but I promised Commander Roberts' daughter that her father's death would be avenged. Now I might have to tell her that he's a terrorist. I don't know how you do it."
"Is that why you're here?" he questioned. "To find out how I do it?"
"Avenged," Ducky said. "I mean, who even talks like that?"
"Someone who cares," he replied. "It's 99% of the game."
"Yeah, well, it's a game I fear I underestimated." Ducky took a seat on one of Jethro's benches. "My cold case is about to turn into a hot one. Lives could be on the line."
"Well," he pointed out, "won't be the first time."
"But now I have a front-row seat," Ducky stated, "and I'm not sure I'm up to the task. A task that you handle with such aplomb, even when the building where you work explodes around you." He glanced up, giving Ducky a look of concern. He wasn't used to hearing his friend talk like this. "Funny. I was dismayed that the world could get on without me. Now, it seems... well, it just might be better off."
Ducky was evidently feeling lost since his heart attack and Jethro wished he knew how to help his long-time friend. He didn't get a chance to try though, as his phone chose that moment to start ringing.
He answered the call. "Yeah, it's Gibbs."
"Can you come in?" Abby asked. "I found another buyer."
"Good work, Abbs." Hopefully, they'd be able to get some real answers from whoever this new buyer the forensic scientist had found was. He didn't want to go in, though. Ducky had point, his team was capable, and Shannon deserved to know that she was a priority of his. "I'll send Tony your way." Jethro closed his flip phone and then turned back to Ducky. "Abby found another buyer."
His friend nodded before taking his leave. After filling DiNozzo in on the brief chat with Abby, Jethro made his way back upstairs.
"How's Ducky?" Shannon questioned when he joined her in the kitchen where she was getting some water boiling for hot chocolate.
"He's okay. Just not happy about taking it easy." Jethro gently pulled his wife in close, smiling down at her. "You're too good to me, Shan."
Shannon grinned back up at him. "You're pretty great yourself, Babe."
His wife hummed as Jethro started to kiss her deeply and passionately. As she put her right hand around his neck, he thought that it felt as though each of them was pouring all of their love for the other person into it.
Briefly coming up for air, he pulled his wife into a second kiss. He encircled Shannon's body with his arms, each of his hands resting on her bottom as he kissed her left ear. Gently but firmly, Jethro shifted his wife so that she was even closer to him, grinding up against her slightly, which the gorgeous redhead in front of him responded rather enthusiastically to.
Jethro pushed up against Shannon a little more, guiding her gently towards the couch, all the while both of them were frantically moving to take off the other's clothes.
Life could get hard sometimes, but none of the relationships that he'd been in had felt as right as he and Shannon felt since the beginning. The last several months had been a very stark reminder that life was far too short and the last thing that he wanted was to take the redhead for granted.
How had he gotten so damn lucky? And not just once, but twice. He didn't know how, but he did know that he'd be thanking God until the day he died.
