"You know what?" Tony declared as soon as the boss was gone. "I think we've all entered," he mimicked the creepy voice, "the Twilight Zone."

Ziva shot him an annoyed glance. "The what?"

"Old TV series Ziva," McGee spoke up.

"Thank you McNerd," Tony grinned gleefully. "Starring Rod Sterling as the Narrator. The series ran from 1959 to 1964 and was quite possibly the greatest science fiction television show of it's time."

"Stop!" Ziva held up her hand before he could continue. "I do not want to hear any more of your stupid TV or movie references. I want to finish my reports and go home."

At that moment Abby burst into the room but stopped short at the sight of one empty desk. "Where's Gibbs?" she demanded.

"Gibbs has gone home for the day Abby," Ziva said calmly, without breaking the flow of her writing.

"Home? Okay, someone had seriously got to tell me what's going on!"

"Abby, maybe he just needs a break," McGee tried to help.

Abby slapped the back of his head, her eyes boring into his. "Gibbs does not take breaks!"

Tony looked over, noticing how distressed she was. "Hey, Abbs, what's going on?"

Abby slumped into Gibbs chair. "I think I'm losing my touch. Gibbs only came down once today and he was barely listening. He forgot my Caf-Pow!, I didn't get a kiss. Am I not cute anymore?"

Tony stood up and walked over to where Abby sat. "Abby, you are most definitely still cute. There's got to be something else going on."

"Well hello everybody!" came Dr. Mallard's cheerful voice. "My my, what do we have here? A team meeting perhaps?"

Abby jumped up and ran to Ducky for a hug. "Gibbs has gone home again Ducky, that's twice in the same week!"

"He has been acting strange," Ziva added, paperwork forgotten for the moment.

"Yeah, ever since the director was rescued," Tony put in.

Ducky sat in the chair Abby had vacated. "Oh dear."

Ziva looked at him. "Do you know what is going on Ducky?"

The older man nodded slowly. "I may have an idea, my dears, but I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to divulge what that reason may be just yet."

"Aww Ducky," Abby pleaded, "you're not just going to leave us hanging, are you?"

"For the time being all we can do is wait and see what happens. Well, I must being going. Cheerio!" he called as he headed for the nearest elevator.

"Now that was strange," Tony said, feeling like the world just didn't quite make sense anymore.

"Yeah," McGee agreed. "First Gibbs and now Ducky."

"Something is definitely going on," Ziva said what they were all thinking.

But what? And how to find out without getting headslapped or fired? Perhaps only time would tell for this mystery.

Gibbs picked up the annoying cell phone ringing on the seat beside him as he whizzed through traffic with his normal lack of caution. "Yeah, Gibbs." If it was another case, he was calling in sick and putting DiNozzo in charge.

"Hello Jethro."

"Duck," he sighed. "Calling to check up on me?"

"Well, your team is worried about you Jethro. You have to admit, leaving early twice in two days is unusual, especially for you. Is something wrong?"

"Really can't talk right now Duck, gotta get home."

"Do I presume Jennifer is the reason for your rush?"

"Presume away Dr. Mallard." Gibbs was too busy thinking about Jenny to have a proper conversation.

"How is she Jethro?"

"This morning - a wreck. I didn't want to leave her alone but I had that case to finish and she didn't seem to want me around."

Ducky sighed. "Jethro, I understand your frustration, but you really must be patient with our Jennifer."

"Nope, not 'ours' right now Duck. Mine."

"Granted, she is your wife." There was a pause. "Might I give you some advice Jethro?"

"Sounds like you're going to anyways."

"Women that have gone through the kind of trauma the director suffered are bound to react in many different ways to it, ways which won't make any sense to your or I."

"Can you elaborate on that Ducky? Nothing is making sense right now."

"Jennifer has been damaged by this ordeal. She is emotionally bruised and feeling overwhelmingly vulnerable. What happened to her was degrading and her self-esteem has taken a real hit. And though she has no reason to, she feels guilty and ashamed."

"Are you breaking doctor-patient confidentiality by giving me my wife's psychological profile Dr. Mallard?"

"Since the profile I did on her was a very basic one given the few minutes I was allowed to speak with her, and that I did it without being asked, no, there is no breach in what I'm telling you."

Gibbs sighed. "I'd want to know anyways. What else?"

"Well Jethro, these things are on a case by case basis. So much of what she's going through even she won't fully understand. Is she suffering from flashbacks?"

"You could say that."

"Nightmares?"

"Only one that I can think of but that doesn't mean there haven't been more."

"Any change in her habits?"

"I can't touch her without permission and a warning. And she's not eating."

"Ah. Believe it or not Jethro, those things are all normal. Everything that happened to Jennifer was so out of her control. I shouldn't be surprised to see her trying to take back that control in any way she can. Either by deciding things like going back to work or what she eats and when you are allowed to be close to her."

"That doesn't make it any less frustrating Duck."

"I know Jethro," the doctor sighed. "But I'm afraid everything will just take time. There's a few things I want you to keep in mind though.

"What's that Ducky?" he was almost to Jenny's street and anxious to get off the phone.

"Be patient with her Jethro. Try not to startle her. Remember that she isn't rejecting you specifically when she doesn't welcome your touches, she's rejecting what she's afraid of. There is going to be a lot of inconsistency as she fights to get her life back. She may be okay with holding hands one day and the next day she won't even want you near her."

"That's not exactly encouraging," Gibbs sighed, thinking this road they were on might be a lot longer than he'd originally thought.

"Yes, but this isn't about you right now Jethro. Jennifer is hurting and she needs your support. Take things slow, talk to her, don't get angry when she doesn't want to open up or can't stand being touched. Help her rebuild her trust again with gifts, words and acts of service. Help her with things around the house that you wouldn't normally do. And most of all, let her know that she has your unconditional love and support, no matter how long her healing takes."

"I've been trying that."

"Keep at it my friend, in the long run I guarantee the results will be well worth your efforts. Oh and Jethro, be prepared to deal with a lot of different emotions. Jennifer may get angry when there's no cause to or cry at the drop of a hat and not even know why she is doing so. Her mind is trying to purge the memories and her body will be reacting to that process in many different ways."

"Thanks Duck. I'll se what I can do. Gotta go."

"Good luck Jethro."

We're going to need it, Gibbs thought heavily. He parked the car and headed into the house to check on his wife.