"Ziva! How are you and those crazy ninja skills? Heh. They're sending me to the Seahawk tomorrow, which sucks, but hey, what doesn't suck in my life right now? Well, other than my thoughts of you and Abs, I think writing you guys postcards is the only thing keeping me sane...and I know Gibbs is missing his Senior Field Agent, right? HA! Okay, okay, he's fine, but a guy can dream, right? Anyway, I'm rambling here and running out of space, so..."...Ziva starts to turn the card as the words start to move up and along the edge of it..."Take care of yourself okay? Love, Tony. P.S., I miss Probie, too. P.P.S., tell McGee, thanks for the pics."...Ziva smiled as she finished reading one of the many cards, she moves the card to the bottom of the pile and looks at the next card on the pile.
In large letters "SHALOM!" is spelled out..."Damn, I don't have time to write you something funny or even noteworthy before the mail is picked up, so...what's the Hebrew word for goodbye? Oh yeah, SHALOM!"...Ziva laughs as she glances at the driver's side view mirror, Langer was slowly moving towards her.
Langer walks up next to the driver's side window..."Talked to the bartender, Heather Mack just left the bar no longer than 10 minutes ago, he said she came in, ordered a Shirley Temple, drank it and left, must've been there 5 minutes, tops. That pretty much goes along what her employees said that she took the morning off, then came into work after lunch, then goes back to her usual routine, everyday after work, according to the bartender, she comes in for one drink, then leaves...umm, does any of this make sense to you? Why isn't she hiding?"
" I think you missed a spot, yes?"...Ziva shuddered, putting her postcards into her jacket pocket.
Langer looked down at his tie, he wipes his hand over it..."Ugh. I don't remember eating that."
Ziva pinches her nose and looks away from him, cringing..."Gross."
"It's your fault, you REALLY didn't need to drive that fast and you sped up when I said slow down!"
"My? My fault?! MY?!"...Ziva turned back to him, but quickly looked away again..."Ewww."
"What now?"
"There is something."...Her entire body starts to shake..."In your teeth..."...Ziva puts her hand over her mouth, trying not to puke.
Langer bends down, opening his lips, his teeth clasped together, looking at his mouth in the side mirror, he starts rubbing his finger over his teeth, he looks towards her..."Better?"
Ziva shook her head in disgust..."Get in the car."...She groaned.
Langer starts to make his way around the car, he reaches the passenger side door and tries to open it, but it's locked..."A little help here."
Ziva clicks the unlock button on the driver's side door, he tries again, but it's still locked..."Uh...unlock, not lock, the opposite of lock, you know? Open, you know, O-pen, meaning, I can get in...the car."
She clicks the button again, Langer notices its unlocking the backdoor. He chuckles sarcastically..."In the back? You're joking, right?"
Ziva was silent.
Langer lifts his hands in confusion, finally shaking his head, giving in..."Fine."...He moves back, opening the back passenger side door, he slides in, slamming the door shut.
"Ready to go?"...Ziva asked.
"Yeah."...He slouches down in the seat.
"You sure?"
"Yeah!"...He grunted loudly.
"Okay."...Ziva starts the car and drives off quickly, but abruptly stopped, hurling Langer into the back of the passenger hard, he started to moan in pain holding his face..."Oops!"...Ziva smirked, trying not to chuckle as she accelerated..."Someone was not wearing their seat belt, yes?"...She starts to chuckle, unable to hold it in anymore.
--
The elevator dings, McGee steps out, holding his back, the sliding door of autopsy opens as he slowly shuffles his feet across the floor..."Ducky, can you look at my back?"...He grunted softly.
Ducky turns away from the body of Petty Officer Mack..."You were injured, Timothy?"
"Fell out of a dumpster, tweaked something."
Ducky held up his hands, showing his blood covered latex gloves..."Of course, just give me a moment, lad."
"I can look if you want, Special Agent McGee."...Palmer spoke up.
"Right, good idea, Mr. Palmer...if that's okay with you, McGee."...Ducky looked at McGee.
He nodded as he struggled to get on top of one of the autopsy tables.
Ducky turns back around and continues on with the autopsy. Palmer moves behind McGee, pulling off his gloves, tosses them into the bio-hazard waste container..."Lift your shirt for me, please."
"Huh?"...McGee grunted.
"So I can see your back."
"Oh, s-sorry."...McGee slowly started to take off his jacket, grunting with each and every tug he makes.
Palmer moves his hand to McGee's lower back, pulling the back of his dress shirt out of his pants..."It's okay, I got it."...Palmer touches the left side of his lower back and slowly started moving towards the middle making McGee arch his back, grunting even louder.
"You're going to have to work on your bed side manner, Mr. Palmer."...Ducky chuckled softly.
"It's his coccyx, Doctor...he might've cracked it."
"My what?"...McGee quickly turns his head, but stops grunting again.
Ducky chuckles again, he turns..."Sorry, Timothy...it's just that."
"You heard Tony making a joke in your head, too, Ducky?"...McGee asked.
"He was always good for those, the good...and the bad."...Ducky cracked a wry smile..."He cracked his tail bone you say, Mr. Palmer? Did you know, some humans are born with tails, I've come across a few in my days, including one in a bordello in a small village in Vietnam, he was..."
"You still haven't told me why you were in the bordello, Duck."...Gibbs said, moving into autopsy fully dressed in his tuxedo.
"HA! And you never will, Jethro."...Ducky chuckled..."My mother would kill me."
"What happened to you, McGee?"...Gibbs asked.
"Broke my coccyx, Boss."
"Wear a cup next time, Tim...what ya got for me, Ducky?"
"This man was not a SEAL."...Ducky turned back towards the Petty Officer..."He was an addict."...Ducky lifts the man's foot, spreading his toes, showing needle marks..."His other foot is riddled with them, as well, Jethro."
"He's only been on leave for a week, Duck."
"Some of these scars are months old, maybe older...this man was not in the SEALs."
"Then who the hell is he?!"...Ducky started to talk, when Gibbs interrupts him..."I know, it's my job to figure that out."
Gibbs turns, placing his hand on McGee's shoulder..."You okay? Wanna go home?"
"Just in pain, Boss...I can still help."
Gibbs nodded, he starts moving towards the elevator..."Help, Abby."
McGee nodded..."Where you going, Boss?"
"I do hope he's not getting married again."...Ducky joked.
McGee and Palmer look at Ducky.
"He's not."...Ducky replied with a smile.
--
Ziva and Langer move up to the front door of the Mack residence..."I feel stupid."...Langer grunted, as he turned to her, showing a tampon stuck into his nose. ..."And look even dumber."
"Will you be quiet."...Ziva said in a loud whisper, she looked at the tampon in his nose but couldn't help but smirk and shake her head.
Langer leans over to his right, looking through the large window, Mrs. Mack was sitting on the couch..."Okay, who kills their husband, go to work, then grabs a drink, then goes home and knits?"...He whispered.
"What?"...Ziva tilted her head, looking at Langer oddly. She quickly joins him next to the window, she peeks over seeing the woman knitting, she looks back at Langer, she squints, then looks back through the window.
Ziva moves to the door and was about to kick it in, when she knocks instead. Moments later, Heather Mack opens the door..."Yes, may I help you?"
"NCIS."... Ziva pulled back her jacket, revealing her badge and handgun on her belt; she readys herself to tackle the woman, but the woman didn't move.
Langer held up his ID so the woman could see it, she nodded as to say, she knew who they were..."What seems to be the problem?"...She asked.
"Ma'am, your husband, you..."...Langer said, before being interrupted.
"What about him?"...She said, raises her hands chest high in a praying manner.
"He's dead."
The woman immediately drops to her knees and starts to break down in tears.
Ziva and Langer look at each other completely and utterly confused.
--
Abby and McGee sat next to one another in front of Abby's computer, McGee's head was laying on his folded arms on the table..."How could someone never exist? Or be erased, Timmy? Especially if its a twin and his twin can be found? That's like, so not cool!"
McGee just laid there.
"McGee!"...Abby yelled..."Could you have the common courtesy to be awake when I'm ranting towards you! Where's Gibbs or Tony when you need head slapped!"
"Can you keep it down, Abby."...McGee raised his head slightly, his eyes barely open.
"It's alive!"
"Please."...McGee pleaded.
"Better, McGee."...She moved her hand to the back of his head and lightly stroked it.
McGee turned his head and smiled at her..."Have you checked everything?"
"Define everything, McGee."
"Well, how did you find Jasper Shepard?"
"Hmmm...deceased?"...Abby quickly types into her keyboard, a match pops up..."McGEE!!"...She stands up, pointing at the screen.
McGee sat up, he focused his eyes..."Robert Mack, date of death: 11/02/2005...that's All Souls' Day!"
"Yeah, so?"
"This is bad juju, McGee, really bad juju!"
"Juju? He's not a ghost, Abby, he's in our morgue."
"Yeah, McGee...but who?"...She lifts her right hand up into the air, palm up..."Richard?"...Then her other hand..."Robert?"...Abby stops, shaking her head..."Dick and Bob?"...She laughs..."I really shouldn't laugh, REALLY...their parents were really, really cruel, McGee...terrible even."...Abby looked at McGee and they both started laughing together, which makes him grab his back, he started grunting through the laughter, until he stopped..."Great McGee, look what you did, you hurt yourself again!"
Abby looked at McGee sulking, he softly started to whimper..."Aww, McGee...lets go find you some painkillers, make that pain go bye-bye and your head go whoopie!"...She smiled.