March 25
Thou thy best friend shalt cherish many a year. – Samuel Taylor Coleridge, "To a Friend"
Ducky sighed as he rode the elevator down to Autopsy. Another year had passed and his birthday had come around again.
On one level, he enjoyed his birthday: another year wiser, another year's worth of experience. But the years seemed to pass so quickly now; it was as if he blinked and he was a year older. Time was speeding up and he had no way of stopping it. And to top it all off, everyone had somehow forgotten his birthday. It was not as though he had reminded anyone, but even Jethro had not mentioned it. Neither had Abby, who had an excellent head for dates and always took the time to sing 'Happy Birthday' to everyone.
The elevator dinged and he stepped out. He had no more autopsies to perform, but there was always more paperwork to tackle. He spared a brief thought to how the Director coped with all of her files, before walking into Autopsy. The lights were off, which was unusual…
"SURPRISE!" came the cry as the lights turned back on, revealing what looked like half of NCIS squished into the small room. They burst into a version of 'Happy Birthday', only slightly marred by the number of people singing out of key. He spotted many of his friends in the crowd, all clutching presents and cards. Abby seemed to be leading everyone; he should have guessed she was behind this in some way.
Ducky smiled as the song finished. He should have known that his friends would not forget his birthday.