Disclaimer: I don't own anything. Henry is not mine, he is the security guard is from the Season 2 episode 'Call of Silence', with Corporal Ernest Yost, the Medal of Honour recipient. He talks with Gibbs about the Japanese food place in the episode prologue.
A.N.: The little dashes I usually break up my POV's with wouldn't stay when i uploaded this for some reason, so I've had to use the horizontal line instead. Thank you everyone who has reviewed this story, you guys are the best!
Jenny swallowed, suppressing the impulse to cry as she reached out to Gregory's body, and closed his sightless eyes. He had been her only friend, but he had been in on the lies, he had been helping Trent to turn her into a monster, and the only reason he was sorry, was because he had been dying. She let out a steadying breath and then stood slowly. She looked back at the full glasses on the table, and the one she knew must have been Gregory's, the nearly empty one. His death had already been decided, he just hadn't known. Or had he? When she had heard him speaking in the kitchen, his voice had wavered nervously. Had he realised his usefulness was at an end? Why didn't he leave? Jenny shook her head, dismissing the thoughts. His motivations were unimportant, she had to try and complete his last request.
"Tell Du-… tell Ducky…" Who was Ducky? The name was familiar, and she could feel something, almost like a memory niggling at the back of her mind. She knew who Ducky was, she must do or Greg wouldn't have told her to speak to him. He hadn't been a target of hers, but he was affiliated with NCIS and Jethro. It can't be that hard, she had remembered about her father and Benoit, she should be able to remember a co-worker. She succeeded only in giving herself a headache and she growled angrily. Well she had to find Ducky first maybe Jethro would know where to find him. She walked to the front door and switched the light back off as she passed it, hoping Trent wouldn't know she had been back. That thought gave her pause, where was Trent? If he had killed Greg did that mean he was after her now too? He knew where to find her didn't he? He had told her to kill Jethro, so he would wait for her there. What if he went in to find her? Or if he just decided to kill Jethro? She calmed herself down, telling herself Jethro could take care of himself. She froze then as she realised she had his gun. The one she had left with him only had two bullets. Then find Ducky quick! He might be able to help! Jenny threw open the door and slinked out, walking quickly down the street and towards the navy yard.
Ziva, Tony and Ducky all stood around in Abby's lab, waiting for the results to come back on the liquid from in the syringe Ziva had found in Jenny's bag. It had taken a while for them to figure out how to work some of the machinery, but Ducky had soon taken charge and gotten everything ready. They watched the monitors as the syringe test flashed through the options. They had begun by trying to see if it was some type of poison, and when all of those came back negative, they had moved on to looking through anaesthetics. Ducky became even more impatient as the substances he had thought made the most sense to be found on an assassins' person, were discounted by the computer.
"We don't have time for this." He muttered and then walked to the syringe, so he could take a sample. He put the sample in one of Abby's more prized machines and spoke to it while he programmed it to give him a chemical analysis. "I know I am not Abby, but I would greatly appreciate a quick response on this one. Our family may be in danger, and this could tell us why."
Rather than making jokes about Ducky moving on from talking to dead bodies, to machines, Tony watched him and willed the equipment to listen to him. They really did need to know. If this was a bad substance, they may need to go back to Gibbs' and make sure he and Abby were alright. He hadn't liked leaving Gibbs alone with an intruder in his house, but he'd had a gun out and he wouldn't have been comfortable while they were still there. Maybe he had made a mistake by giving in without talking to Gibbs about it. He shook his head and tried to stop second guessing himself, again.
"I would like a coffee, would any of you like one?" Ziva asked, the boredom of watching the flashing screen finally driving her out of the lab. Ducky and Tony both said yes and Tony decided to go with her. If Ducky found something, he could call them. "You will call us if you get something, yes?"
"Of course I will, Ziva. You will be the first person I call." He said with a conspiratorial wink. Ziva chuckled as Tony pretended to be wounded by the remark and then walked out, his nose stuck so far in the air he had to hold his hands out in front of him so he didn't walk into anything. Ducky laughed at him and then went back to watching for results. After a few minutes he became too restless to stay in one place and walked out, taking the elevator to autopsy. He had some paperwork down there that he may as well bring up to lab to complete. The doors opened and he walked swiftly to his desk, unlocking it quickly and pulling out his work, and then locking it again. He sighed and rubbed his face as he recalled he had to cancel the order to exhume Jennifer's body. She was alive; they had physical evidence of that fact, so they didn't need to have her grave opened. He picked up his phone and dialled his friend, the one that had said he would do it for him, to avoid a media circus.
"Hello? Brendon, it's Ducky."
"Hi Duck, you need another favour?"
"Ah no, no I don't. In fact I called to ask you to forget my request. We don't need the grave opening anymore."
"Really? No problem, we haven't started yet anyway. You find what you needed?"
"Yes, you could say that. Thank you Brendon, for your discretion."
"No problem, Duck, anything for a friend. Bye."
"Goodbye." Ducky hung up and put his phone back in its cradle and picking up the bundle of files. He had to get back to the lab, if someone else got there and decided to tidy up he would never forgive himself. The doors opened behind him and he sighed, thinking Tony and Ziva must have come looking for him. "I only popped down to gather some work to do while I wait, there was no need to come looking for me."
"Actually there was." Ducky turned around and stared as Jenny cautiously walked through the doors, her eyes meeting his in something close to recognition. "I'm looking for Ducky. That's you isn't it?" he nodded dumbly and then remembered his manners.
"Yes, my dear. I am Dr Donald Mallard, Ducky is my nickname."
Jethro looked out of his window briefly at the car opposite his house. It had pulled up only moments after Jenny had run from him and it hadn't moved since. No one had exited the vehicle and Gibbs hadn't gone out to confront the person in there. He had Abby upstairs; he wasn't going to risk her life because a weird person had some sort of obsession with his house. He sighed and carefully made his way upstairs in the dark. He had turned his lights out and actually locked his door, so there was at least a little bit more protection for Abby if this person decided to enter. He was trying to put himself at ease by pretending the person outside was just a stalker or a homeless person who had found a place where no one else parks. He entered his bedroom and took out the gun he had taken from Jenny. She only had two bullets left in this gun and it just put him more ill at ease, but he had been a sniper. He would make sure both count.
Abby opened her eyes and then sat up ramrod straight in the bed, her eyes going wild and a small scream bubbling up in her throat. Where was she? Had no one come to rescue her? Had some other man found her and brought her home to… she felt tears spill down her cheeks as she curled her legs up to her chest protectively. She just wanted to go home!
"Abs? You're ok. Ziva, Tony and Ducky found you, they brought you here. " A figure that she knew so well moved from the door and then hesitantly sat on the edge of the bed. Abby released a sob and a sigh in relief.
"Gibbs?" she reached out a hand to him and he took it, letting her pull him into a hug. She was safe with Gibbs. No one could touch her here. She released all of the pent up terror in her tears, thoroughly wetting Gibbs' freshly changed shirt. He rubbed her back softly, unsure of how she would react to him, since she had just been attacked by a man.
"Are… you ok, Abs?" she sniffed and nodded against his chest. "I mean with me. Here. After…" she slapped his chest slightly.
"It's completely different Gibbs. I know you would never hurt me." Gibbs relaxed and pulled her in for a bigger hug.
"I should have taken you home with McGee."
"I wouldn't have gone with you. You know that." She smiled up at her father figure, enjoying the safety of his embrace. A thought came to her and she jolted up. "Mommy! I saw her Gibbs! She saved me, she wasn't going to hurt me, she was looking out for me!" Gibbs smiled and nodded.
"I know Abs."
"She wasn't going to hurt me Gibbs! She… you know?" he grinned at her and she smiled back, feeling slightly silly for rushing on without really listening. Of course Gibbs knew, he was Gibbs.
"She came here to see me. I got the truth from her, or at least some of it." Abby sighed, glad that they weren't after 'Mommy' anymore, and then burrowed back into Gibbs' chest. Daddy would make it all better. Gibbs pulled away slightly when he felt his phone vibrating and he looked at it curiously. Henry? Why would he be calling him?
"Gibbs."
"Gibbs, its Henry. You will never believe who I just saw walk into NCIS."
Jenny arrived at the navy yard and was amazed at how easy it was to slip past the gate guards. She just moved with purpose and no one stopped her. She didn't realise that the reason no one stopped her was because they weren't sure they had really seen her. She was dead, had been for nearly a month. They just stared at her as she passed, believing they were seeing things. One of the security guards, Henry, had the presence of mind to realise he had really seen her, and he picked up his cell phone, dialling Gibbs. She got all the way in to the building and then slipped into the stairwell, narrowly avoiding being seen by Ziva and Tony as they exited the elevator. She couldn't believe her good fortune as she found the stairwell was empty, and none of the doors were locked. She moved as if on autopilot after that. She pulled out her gun and moved downwards, going to the bottom floor, somehow knowing she would find Ducky there. The autopsy floor was obviously marked, and she moved out of the stairwell slowly, looking through the doors and seeing an elderly man standing by a desk, talking on a phone. She put her gun away, knowing he wouldn't hurt her and then cautiously moved closer to the doors. He put his phone down and she moved closer to the doors, triggering the opening sensor. He sighed and spoke to her, believing her to be someone else.
"I only popped down to gather some work to do while I wait, there was no need to come looking for me." She watched him, hoping something he did would trigger a memory, but nothing happened. Frustrated, she replied a little forcefully, causing him to turn around with a look of concern on his face.
"Actually there was." She moved further in the room and looked at him square in the eye. "I'm looking for Ducky. That's you isn't it?"
"Yes, my dear. I am Dr Donald Mallard, Ducky is my nickname." She nodded and walked further towards him.
"I'm supposed to tell you something, but I'm not exactly sure how you will take it." he raised his eyebrows and then shrugged his shoulders slightly.
"Try me." She smirked at his confidence and open mindedness. He hadn't pointed a weapon at her or called security, so she decided to trust him.
"Alright. I have just come from my safe house, which I shared with Greg and Trent." He stopped her.
"Who?" She squinted and bit her lip as she thought of how to describe them, now that she knew they were not who they had pretended to be.
"My… well, Greg was my friend, and I used to believe Trent was my brother, but now I know he lied to me. Anyway, Greg is dead; Trent or his partner killed him. He told me to tell you specifically that Trent lies and Sec-Nav is his partner." Ducky's eyes widened and his stomach plummeted. He now knew the real reason Sec-Nav had taken the case off of Gibbs' team, and it wasn't a reason that would have entered his wildest nightmares.
"I think you had better tell me everything, Jennifer." He moved around her and towards one of the autopsy tables, heading towards the desk that Palmer usually worked at, so he could wheel the chair over to his desk and they could sit down and talk. Jenny watched him go and then sucked in a breath as it hit her, the memory that had been lurking in the back of her mind.
"Duck, this is my new probie, Agent Jennifer Shepard." A middle aged man turned away from a body as they approached, his gloves still clean as he hadn't yet cut into the cadaver. He smiled at Gibbs and then at the new arrival, her. He reached out a hand to her and she took it, glad he hadn't started yet, while trying to keep her eyes off of the corpse. Her stomach was bubbling; she just didn't do well with death ever since seeing her father's body. Somehow all of the corpses began to look like him.
"Hello my dear, I am Dr Donald Mallard; my friends however call me 'Ducky'." She raised her eyebrows and grinned at him.
"Ducky?" she asked, and he chuckled at her expression.
"A name I was given during my youth. I didn't like it then, but now I find I am rather fond of it, and since I have a feeling you and I will be better acquainted, I would be glad to have you use it." she felt very flattered that he thought they would be friends after knowing her for only a few seconds, and she gave him the first genuine smile of the day. Her first day hadn't turned out as bad as she and the Director had thought. Then Jethro pushed her over to the body…
Another memory came to her, one from her first few years at NCIS, then another from the last as Director. She gripped her head as more memories poured in, like a floodgate had been opened and she couldn't stem the flow. She fell to her knees and curled up as whatever was left of the drug Greg had given her tried to fight the images that burned in her mind, causing an acute headache to form. The suppressant hadn't been renewed however, so the memories were allowed to pour through. She remembered her mother's face as she reached out to her from her hospital bed, her arms bony and her strength waning. That was the last time she had seen her mother, she had died soon after and her father had sent Jenny home with the house keeper so he could grieve alone. She remembered her father drinking himself into oblivion until she had gained the courage to film him doing it and make him watch the film. She had helped him to pour it all down the sink after that and he had gotten better. He had become her hero and they had spent every free minute together. She remembered playing pranks on Chris Pacci and Stan Burley, then being slapped on the back of the head by Jethro for distracting her team mates during stake outs. She remembered Paris, Positano, Marseilles and the Czech Republic. She recalled leaving Jethro a letter in her coat pocket, and all the following years of despair because of it. She remembered everything.
Ducky turned with the chair in time to see the memory wash over her. He watched her cautiously, recognising the look of intense concentration on her face as the one Gibbs had back when he'd had a memory. He approached her warily as her eyes roved wildly around the room, not really seeing anything from the here and now. A memory? He groaned a little as he realised she must have amnesia or something like it. Only a memory from such an accident could remove a person from current events while they watched it. He moved closer as she sunk to the ground, her hands clutching her head as she moaned in pain. He settled next to her on the ground and pressed his fingers to her neck. Her heart was racing, but she didn't notice his presence. He was sure that remembering wasn't supposed to be painful, but she was obviously suffering and there was nothing he could do. She finally came out of it and she took a big shuddering breath.
"Are you alright, my dear?"
"Yes Ducky, I'm alright." She sat back at looked him in the eye, the old familiar flame back in her emerald spheres. "I'm just really pissed."
