Chapter 7: Unveiling the past

Meanwhile, Gibbs sat down in front of the blonde woman, who was carefully ripping apart a small card in tiny pieces in front of herself. He amusedly recognized his own card, now reduced to shreds.

"I'm sorry for your loss."

She refused to lift her gaze from the paper in her hands, but sniffed a tiny sob before answering.

"I bet you've said that to a lot of people."

"Unfortunately, yes."

"How… did Bill die?"

Gibbs used his most soothing tone but she still folded into sobbing and tears as he said it. "He … crashed his car. We are still investigating it but apparently he was already dead by the time he hit the tree."

"What?"

"Tell me, Ms. Mills, did Lieutenant Trent ever complain of chest pain, headaches, shortness of breath?"

"Sometimes. But nothing out of ordinary. He was on top form and he was an athlete at heart. I don't know why you're asking me this. Bill was in perfect health. When I spoke to him, just yesterday, he told me he has… had… been training for a triathlon next month."

"Did he have any enemies?"

"I… I… don't know. He never told me anything about his job."

At that moment, Ducky entered the room, gesturing to Gibbs for a moment so they could talk. Both men left her in a corner of the conference room chatting in low tones, Ducky opened a folder in his hand and showed something in it that made the older man's brow frown, his intent gaze moving later to the young lady who by now had finished Gibbs' card and was systematically tearing apart McGee's card now.

Gibbs nodded and Ducky went around the desk to sit at the table, so both men flanked the young woman from both sides.

"What's happening?"

"Ms. Mills. My name is Dr. Donald Mallard, I'm the medical examiner here in NCIS."

"Oh…"

"I'm sorry for your loss, but I have some questions that I need you to answer."

"Wasn't that what I have been doing since I've arrived here? Giving you answers? What about you start answering me for a change? What the hell happened to Bill?" At the end, her voice was already a shrill scream ripping the room, so Ducky tried to placate her in soft tones he usually reserved for deranged people.

"I'm sorry you see this as a waste of time, but we have to ascertain that we have all the pieces of the puzzle before giving you the right answer, Ms. Mills. Could you please help us?"

She calmed a little, sitting down again and looking from one man to the other before resting her gaze again at the table, her hands still ripping apart the small piece of paper.

"I've checked your fiancé's medical history and he complained about palpitations last year."

"Yeah… after running a marathon with his pals. But the doctors said it was nothing."

"And there is a history of shortness of breath, even at rest."

"He was under a lot of stress. He was an important officer, with a lot of responsibilities. He … sometimes had … no escape valve for all this pressure."

Ducky nodded lightly, sending a grim glance towards Gibbs before opening the folder before him.

"I'm afraid to say that the earlier medical assessment was incorrect." She looked confused at Ducky, who continued. "Your fiancé had a very rare disease. He probably had no idea he had it and whenever he went to the doctor, he was misdiagnosed. As the evidence shows, he had no chance."

"What are you talking about?" Her voice was barely a whisper, her gaze jumping from one man to the other, finding only compassion and pity on them.

Ducky gestured to Gibbs, who leaned towards the young lady and asked in a kind voice. "Has Lieutenant Trent ever complained of lightheadness or complete blackouts?"

"No. He didn't. That's absurd. He was an athlete back at school. A jock while in University. He joined the Marines as way to keep his physic in top form. Why are you asking me that?"

Ducky took his glasses off and started to slowly polish them, a defense mechanism he had when he did not wish to see the pain in the eyes of the person he was speaking to.

"Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy." She kept looking at him blankly, so Ducky continued. "This is a disease in which the heart muscle becomes abnormally thick, making it harder for the heart to pump blood. The muscles grow, literally strangling the veins and arteries that supply blood to it. There is irregularity in the heart beat, insufficient oxygen supply and fall in blood pressure. While usually not fatal in most people if early diagnosed, it is still the most common cause of heart-related sudden death in people under 30. And it's virtually undetectable during life unless it has been specifically screened for during an echocardiogram. He had no chance."

She was looking at them shell shocked, not willing to believe them.

"So… there was nothing the doctors could do. No medicines, no pills, no…"

She kept listing a series of medical alternatives, but Ducky simply shook his head showing his own helplessness before this case.

"The sudden heart attack is the onset of the symptom. There are usually no warnings before HCM makes itself know and the few symptoms are easily misdiagnosed with several harmless conditions, none of them fatal … when it strikes a man, it's usually deadly."

Ms. Mills stared blankly ahead, her head trying to wrap itself around the facts just exposed to her.

"God must hate me…"

"No, he doesn't. And you shouldn't think like that. You're young and…"

Ducky's attempt to console her backfired as she stood up abruptly, her chair snapping and flying away, her gaze burning at them as she became a fury to be reckoned, her pain fueling her anger.

"Stop playing with me! I've heard all these platitudes once and I'm not willing to hear such lies again."

Gibbs decided to interfere. "Ma'am, please sit down."

But she wasn't finished yet.

"I'm tired. I'm tired of being stolen of my loved ones. I hate him! I hate him! How can he go on as if nothing had happened while I try to move on and MY FUCKING FIANCE DIES! HOW DARE HIM!"

Ducky stood up, looking nervously from her to Gibbs. "Ma'am, please calm down!"

Her outburst spiked Gibbs' curiosity. "What are you talking about?

"Ah…" the smile on her face was more like a grimace, marring her features turning her in just a shadow of the woman she was when she entered the room. "I bet little Timmy didn't tell you, did he?"

And she started telling her tale, making both Gibbs and Ducky silent for a while as she spilled her venom resultant of a festering wound for years and years hidden from the naked eye.

NCIS NCIS NCIS NCIS

Gibbs walked to the door with Ducky, asking for a moment with his friend at the corridor before going back to check the story he had just heard. He sighed deeply as he looked down the corridor, eager to run as far away as possible from that bitter woman.

"What are you going to do?"

"What do you expect me to do? I've gotta talk to the kid. I've gotta… Jesus, Ducky, that wasn't in his file."

"It was probably expunged by court. He was minor, so was she. His father was a higher up in the Navy, he would have ways of wiping this under the rug."

"The kid never told me. Why didn't he come to me?"

"Why should he?"

"Ducky, my team knows …"

"Your team knows that they can reach out to you in their time of need. He doesn't. He doesn't feel like he's part of the team yet. He probably has learnt since early age to fend for himself, so when things got tough he did the best he could in the circumstances – which were all against him – and yet he failed. Nobody likes to be remembered of his own failures."

"I don't know what to say."

"Then don't." Gibbs looked up at Ducky, seeing the concerned gaze in the older man's face. "Sometimes words don't suffice. Just be there for him. If she's still like this, after all these years, I can't even imagine the amount of pain and guilt that boy carries around without any of us knowing."

Gibbs walked back to the bullpen, leaving Ducky to handle the distraught woman. Once he arrived at his desk, he looked curiously around, noticing one glaring absence while the other team members were dutifully typing their reports.

"Where's McGee?"

"He left. Said he had a dentist appointment." Kate said distractedly.

Tony hooked a pencil between his nose and his upper lip, looking like a demented as he narrowed his eyes and gazed vacantly towards Gibbs.

"Funny thing is that his appointment was last week, so either we've entered in a time travel machine, or…"

"He lied." Gibbs growled as he opened his desk, grabbed his gun and badge and started marching towards the elevator. Both Kate and Tony stood up to follow him, but he gestured that they should stay.

"But Boss…?" Tony looked surprised at Gibbs, hearing an unnatural tone in his Boss' tone.

"Man the phones, wait for my call."

"But how do you know where did he go?" Kate froze, her hands hovering over her desk, eager to follow him.

"I simply know, Kate."

He entered the elevator and sighed, his fingers sliding softly over a small flask in his pocket, a beloved gift from a never forgotten past.

"I simply know."

The doors closed.