Gibbs strolled into autopsy an hour later. He felt bad about leaving JJ alone at the house. Tomorrow he would ask him if he'd rather stay there or come in with him. Now, though, he wanted JJ to get a little more comfortable. Maybe unpack, relax in a shower, whatever. Ducky was standing over Private Conway. Palmer was on the other side of the table. "Hey, Duck. How's your mom?"

"Trust me. You're better off not knowing," Ducky said.

"You really are," Jimmy confirmed.

"So what's the verdict here?" Gibbs stood next to Ducky.

"It appears Mr. Palmer's assessment was correct. On top of all that, we found some lividity marks across her shoulder blades and back of the arms. It looks as if she were lying on carpet for a while."

"Do we have a more accurate TOD?"

"Not really. Based on normal housing temperatures and this phase of rigor mortis, I'd say between midnight and 2:30 this morning. I should have more for you in a couple of hours."

"Thanks, Duck." Gibbs walked for the door. "Good job, Palmer," he said stepping into the elevator.

"Thank you, Agent Gibbs!"

"His godson?" Tony asked. Gibbs had sent the team out for lunch while he took JJ home. They were huddled together in a campfire position in the middle of the squad room. This was the first chance McGee had to tell the other two about the mysterious boy. "I didn't even know Gibbs had friends." Tony suddenly froze and stared straight ahead. "He's right behind me, isn't he?"

Ziva chuckled. "No, not this time."

"What else you got, Probie?"

"Not much. He's Gibbs' godson. His parents died. He's going to stay with Gibbs for a while." McGee pushed away and rolled backwards in his chair to his desk.

"Where are you going?" Tony asked.

"Now's about the time Gibbs shows up. You wanna get caught?" He maneuvered to his spot behind his desk.

"Get caught doing what, McGee?" Gibbs came up from behind him and headed for his own desk. Tony and Ziva scattered. "What have we got so far?"

"Called the girl's parents," Tony said while throwing away the remnants of his lunch.

"Private Conway," Gibbs corrected. "Not 'the girl'."

"Of course, Boss. Sorry."

"DiNozzo!"

"Private Conway's parents did not want to talk to us over the phone," Ziva cut in. "They are on their way up now."

"They're here." McGee gestured towards the couple getting off the elevator. The woman was a wreck. Her make-up was streaked all over her face. She was wiping at her cheeks and nose with a well-worn tissue. The man's arm was around the woman's middle. He appeared to be the only thing keeping her from falling to the ground.

Another agent walking by asked the couple who they were here to see. "We're looking for Agent…DiNozzo?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Conway," Gibbs said stepping forward, "I'm special Agent Gibbs. We would really like to talk to you about your daughter."

"Anything, Agent Gibbs. This is absolutely terrible." Mr. Conway tightened his grip around his wife as he spoke.

"Yes, it is. Come with us, please. DiNozzo." Gibbs indicated for him to join him. They followed him to the conference room. He motioned for Mr. and Mrs. Conway to sit. He and Tony sat on the other side, across from the grieving parents. "Tell me about your daughter."

"What can we say really?" Mr. Conway said. "Its not as if anything we say will bring our baby back." His voice hitched.

"You may be able to help us find who bought the alcohol."

Mr. Conway's expression was confused. "What alcohol?"

Gibbs looked at Tony. He was clearly not happy with the young man next to him. "We didn't have a positive cause when I called," Tony whispered to his rather pissed off boss.

"Wasn't our daughter murdered?"

I will kill him, Gibbs thought. He knew Tony knew he was in trouble. "No, Mr. Conway." Gibbs looked back at the parents. The mother had even stopped crying for the moment. "We do not believe your daughter was murdered."

"What the hell is going on here?" Mr. Conway demanded.

"Melanie had been drinking last night. She passed out and choked to death." Mrs. Conway broke down crying again. Gibbs knew he sounded cold describing their daughter's death, but there really was no good way to do it. "We want to find whoever gave her the alcohol."

"You're wrong," Mrs. Conway sobbed. "Our daughter didn't drink. We don't even keep alcohol in the house!"

"Do you know where your daughter was last night?"

Mrs. Conway put her face in her hands. Mr. Conway spoke with tears in his eyes. "We didn't even know she was gone until this morning. She told us she was going up to bed to read for a while then sleep. That was around 9:30."

"Can you think of anyone she may have gone out to see?"

Both parents were silent while they thought. "Liz, but why would she lie about that?" Mrs. Conway said.

"Liz Keller is Melanie's best friend."

Gibbs slid his notepad across the table. "I'm going to need her contact information along with anyone else you think would help."

"You don't think that's something I should have known before we talked to the parents?!" Gibbs scolded Tony while they walked back to the squad room.

"I didn't get a chance to tell you beforehand, Boss."

Gibbs stopped walking, turned around, and came face to face with Tony. "Maybe if you spent less time discussing JJ, you would have had a chance, DiNozzo." Gibbs continued to stare Tony down. Tony knew better than to say anything. Finally, Gibbs left. He tossed his notepad on Ziva's desk. "David, call those numbers and see if you can find anything out about where Private Conway was last night. McGee, get her phone records."

"Want her parent's home phone?" Gibbs just looked at him. "Of course you do."

Gibbs looked around the squad room. Tony was now sitting at his desk and staring at his computer. Ziva was looking the information in the notepad over. McGee was eyeing Tony suspiciously. "Stop." His voice was rough, harsh. The team looked up at their boss. "Does anyone have any questions they need to ask about my personal life? I would like the scuttlebutt on this to stop so we can do our jobs." No one said anything. "Good. Now get to work!"

Gibbs walked up behind Abby. He set her new Caf-Pow! down next to her keyboard. "Tell me you have something, Abby."

"You want me to lie?"

"If you have to."

She turned around. "McGee did it." He half smiled, but it was a tired smile. Abby embraced him. "Oh, Gibbs. I'm so sorry about John and Tina." He hugged her back. "You should be home with JJ."

"Can't let the trail go cold, Abbs." She pulled back and punched his shoulder. "What was that for?"

"He's more important than this case!"

"Tell her parents that." He made to leave, but Abby grabbed his arm to stop him.

"He needs you, Gibbs! You need each other. You don't want him to end up like this girl, do you?" She hit a few keys and Melanie's picture popped up. It was one of her laying on the autopsy table. Gibbs backed away and headed for the door. "Where are you going?"

"To see Ducky."

"Almost done, Jethro," Ducky said still working on Private Conway.

"The parents said she never drank. That alcohol was never even in the house."

"Methinks thou dost protest too much?"

"Something like that."

"Mr. Palmer, would you do the honors?"

Jimmy's mouth hung open. "Me?"

"If you'd rather not-," Ducky started.

"No. I can. She drank, Agent Gibbs. A lot." He moved over where the x-rays were displayed. He flipped on the light and revealed a multi-colored picture of some organ. "The liver showed some signs of cirrhosis."

"She was an alcoholic?"

"And I would say for about 3 to 4 years."

"What was she thinking? Why enlist in the Marines? She wouldn't have been able to keep up with her habit." Gibbs was thinking out loud.

"Maybe that was the point," concluded Jimmy.

"Maybe," Gibbs muttered. He stared at the pictures for a few more seconds. "Going home, Duck."

"Already?"

"Abby told me I had to."