AN: I'm really sorry, I completely forgot on my last update to thank everyone that alerted this story and to give an even bigger thanks to the person who left my very first review. My apologies. And thank you, too.
Morgan wasn't sure what was going on in the case. The team was careful to not give her any specifics. She really didn't mind, even if she was shuttled from one area to the next. She got to know Abby better, met Ducky, who entertained her with stories of his life, and talked with each member of the team. She did not even feel odd around Gibbs; she just felt a sense of respect that had grown, even if he had not said very much to her. She liked watching them work and getting to know them better.
Perhaps that was why she knew something was off when Gibbs came back from Abby's lab. "Ah, Morgan, maybe you could go down to see Ducky again?" McGee suggested after a glance at his boss.
"Of course," she murmured, and swept off.
"Abby matched the hairs from our petty officer?" Tony asked.
Gibbs nodded. "To Pierre Lenier," he said. Ziva frowned, "That is not good."
"Why?" Tim asked.
Ziva looked grim as she answered him. "Lenier is an interrogator. He is quickly coming to be known as one of the best in his particular…field. He will get whatever information he wants from his victims."
"I want to know everything about this man," Gibbs ordered the team as he returned to his desk.
"Hello, my dear girl. To what do I owe this pleasure again?"
Morgan smiled at Ducky, though worry still showed on her face. "Gibbs sent me." She wondered at how quickly she had fallen into the mannerisms of the team when she used the man's last name. "Technically, McGee, but you know what I mean."
"I do indeed." He sat her down on a stool and swiveled his seat to face her. "Tell me what bothers you."
She snorted and shook her head, "This whole team knows me better than my friends do."
"Go ahead," Ducky urged when she hesitated.
"I just-I could tell something was wrong when I got sent down here. I think Abby found something surprising. Gibbs looked more…focused? than usual."
Ducky leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. "Well, my dear, it seems that you know the team just as well in return," he mused.
"How do you feel about lunch, my dear girl?" Ducky asked a short time later. Morgan grinned, shoving her shoulder length black hair behind her ears, "Like it's my favorite time of day."
They left, going to the bull pen first to tell the team. Morgan's gaze fell on the screen where McGee was giving a report. On one side of the screen was an image of a man with black hair, while pictures flashed on the other side. Her stomach twisted; the people in those pictures were hurt very badly, bleeding and broken. The petty officer she found had looked like these men and women.
"McGee!" Ziva hissed and Tim looked up. "Oh, ah-" He fumbled with a remote and the screen went blank. Each of the team members turned to look at her, but Morgan ignored them. She leaned against the wall by the elevators, propping her leg up and crossing her arms. Morgan considered herself a very emotional person; usually, any emotion she felt was written across her face. Not now. Morgan felt her face fall into an emotionless mask, a defense mechanism that she had used so few times, she could count them on one hand. Watching her best friend dying from cancer found Morgan refusing to allow any negative emotion that could further harm her friend, from being shown. When she went home, when she was by herself, that was when she released all of her pent up emotions. Now…now she was reaching her limit and becoming overwhelmed, but she would hold it together. She would hold it together, go to lunch with Ducky, and then find a private place to just let go.