FREEZE FRAME 4: Dead Man Talking
SUMMARY: –A dead Marine, a burned out car, a poker chip, a trophy bullet, a cold case, a bunch of lies and a broken promise. What do these things have in common, and how will these threaten Marley's new life with Gibbs and Gill?
Fourth in the Freeze Frame series.
DISCLAIMERS: I do not own NCIS.
Previously: The skeletal remains of Corporal Patrick Sean Devlin were found in a remote clearing in the national park close to DC. The team collected the evidence and tried to interview the Semper Fi Gang, who had found the body.
Warning: CP of a minor in this chapter.
Chapter 3 : 8 Bells.
FREEZE FRAME: Cut to profile close up of Ziva and Tony, looking into each other's eyes. Convert black and white. CUT
Fade Into long shot of bull pen at NCIS headquarters.
Tim is busy going through the hard copy of a cold case file, while Ziva taps away at her computer. Tony sits at his desk with his feet up, twirling a rubber band around his fingers, watching the proceedings. Marley sits opposite him, elbow on the desk and her head cradled in her hands. Pan to mid shot profile of Marley and Tony.
Marley sat at Tony's desk waiting for things to happen. It was getting onto early evening, and the team were busy with reports and handling the preliminary protocols.
Abby had been given the crime scene photos and all evidence found there. She had started running tests as soon as they were handed to her, including DNA tests to officially identify the victim. Until then, next of kin and witnesses to the original missing person case could not be contacted or re-interviewed.
Corporal Devlin's remains were now safely in the morgue, and his 1976 Ford Maverick had been hauled into the garage to be swiped clean by the technicians. Tony had ordered as much done as possible, so that they could get started first thing in the morning on the investigation, with a good many more facts under their belts. Interviews for the Semper Fi gang had been arranged for the next day as well. Saturday morning looked rather busy, but that would seem like a walk in the park, once Patrick was officially identified. Then the case could get hectic, depending on the cause of death. Gibbs would be returning by late Sunday. Tony was hoping for a quick resolution and anticipated that by Monday the cold case that had been stuck in archives for the last 13 years would have all the pieces put together, then be stamped solved and archived once again.
Tony wished he was like Lily Rush from that television show "Cold Case". They seemed to have the gift of extra perception and be able to see into the past. They imagined the witnesses as their younger selves. The homicide detectives could then look with fresh eyes at a case and those all important tell-tale signs regarding motivation and cause and effect of everybody's actions. The most important time frame of a case was the first 48 hours, where the clues were, most likely, right in front of them.
Tony wondered what he would look like in thirteen years time. He was sure he would look very much the same, maybe there would be some distinguished grey sideburns. He scanned the room, squinting his eyes at his team mates, trying to imagine them with greying hair or perhaps in Tim's case, no hair. He laughed to himself. Gee, he couldn't get any skinner. No hair and skinny, he'd look like Mr Burns from the Simpsons.
Now Ziva, what would she look like? Tony tried to imagine the strong jaw of her face a little softer as she concentrated on her screen. When she concentrated, she would push her lips together, raise her perfectly shaped eyebrows at interesting facts and information, or even more interesting personal trivia. Sometimes she mouthed the words of particularly difficult parochial language, annunciations, or analogies. In thirteen years she would probably have grasped some of those American idioms, spoiling the fun for all of them. He was certain, though she would age gracefully. Her facial structure promised that. The tone of her skin and the dark thick hair would hide the few strands of grey she might end up having.
Marley sat opposite Tony, wondering what he was squinting at. She was still in trouble and hoped his silent musings had nothing to do with her. Surely Tony would be thinking about the case. She prayed that he would not have to contact Gibbs over her misadventure today. It was enough that Ducky was 'not pleased' with her deception, as he put it. She had been given strict orders by the medical examiner to stay in the bull pen, and not move. No internet and no talking, until he, Abby, and Palmer finished with their tasks.
Marley was quite happy to do that, really. At least it gave her time to think about what she was going to say to Ducky, how she was going to apologize and convince him that she would never deceive him again. Ducky had said very little to her before they left the national park, other than to stay with Tony until he came for her. She was to 'go nowhere'; those were his exact orders. Tony had just shrugged, with a "well what did you expect" look on his face as he escorted her back to his car. Once they reached headquarters, he unceremoniously plonked her on the chair in front of his desk.
"Whatcha thinking about, Tony?" asked Marley.
"No talking from the naughty chair, Marley. I'm thinking about the case."
"Good. How will you find out what happened? Will anyone remember what happened that long ago? I wonder what the guy looked like."
"What part of no talking didn't you understand, Marley Rose," asked Ducky as he came through the partitions of the bull pen.
"Ducky! What you got?" asked Marley.
"Hey, that's my line, kid," complained Tony. He dropped his feet from the edge of the desk and jumped up to come around to stand in front of Marley and next to Ducky.
"Quite a lot, Agent Di Nozzo. It's all in my report. I'm just waiting on Abby to confirm a hypothesis."
"Well, I can confirm one, Duckmaster. The DNA results are in, and the remains you have in the morgue are definitely Corporal Patrick Devlin, MOS 2671; Middle East Cryptology Linguist. Date of Birth…"
Ziva stood and pulled up a picture of Corporal Devlin on the screen, "Date of Birth June 15th 1971. Military career has him enlisting in 1991 after a year at Georgetown, where he studied cryptology. He did not complete his course until after boot camp, but did so with high scores and proficiency in Middle East and Asia Pacific languages and cryptology linguistics. Following basic qualification as a Marine Linguist, Devlin was assigned to the Asian Pacific division then transferred to the Middle East Cryptology division. He was one of the translators working onthe interpretation and analysis on some Intel that came out of Singapore that related to the Mendoza investigation in the Philippines. The files on Operation Bojinka were continually being translated, reviewed, interpreted, and analysed, especially the interrogation notes on Abdul Hakim Murad. His unit worked throughout the mid and late nineties with the National Security Council and NORAD. These related to suspected plans for Middle East terrorists attacks on American companies from airlines to trains to computer companies, even federal agent headquarters such as the CIA and FBI here in Washington."
"Wow, he sounds really important," said Marley, poking her head around Tony to get a good look at Patrick Devlin.
Ducky gave Marley a pronounced glare, and the girl shuffled backwards and sat back down on her chair.
"Yes, investigations before 9/11, that we now know more about," continued Ziva.
"Anything like that in his file, McGee?" asked Tony.
"Nope, though, that's what I guess this big CLASSIFIED stamp stands for," Tim quipped as he held up a paper.
"Doesn't mean we can't get it," smiled Ziva.
"Well, that's what we'll do then. Is there something in that cold case file that suggests his work in cryptology might have anything to do with him going missing?"
"He was reported missing on May 8, 1999, by his parents, Lilith and Angus Devlin, after he failed to turn up for his own formal engagement party. He was engaged to an Arielle Lau Quing, the daughter of his father's business partner, a Henry Lau Quing. The only statements from his co-workers relate to his character and personal life. There were several working on a highly classified case, most likely the Bojinka Operative. He was considered a hard worker and a friendly guy. There are also six statements from his poker buddies. They were playing poker the night before his engagement party in preparation for a competition coming up. They were probably the last people to see him"
"So I take that as a no, McGee?"
"Yes, that is a no, Tony. There seems to be no connection to his operative details, well at the moment. We will probably re-interview everyone."
"Not necessarily, that depends on the cause of death."
"That's my cue, Agent Di Nozzo, and I think we should arrange interviews for everyone on that list. And others who, perhaps, were not originally interviewed."
"Okay, Ducky, I'll always take your lead. So, what makes you say that?"
"First things first, Anthony. I am almost certain that our young Corporal Devlin's wound was not self inflicted. He was not left handed. Oh, I would suggest the talented young linguistic was ambidextrous, but he still was a dominant right hander. The nodules on his digits suggest so. So he could not have pulled the trigger with the left hand and have the bullet enter and exit on the angle that it has. Abby will confirm that with her assimilator computer creation."
"You're right, Ducky, see…" Abby punched the pad on her tablet and bought up a graphing animation of the victim and probable scenario of an attempted suicide. "It is clear, from the position of Patrick's body and the angle of the bullet's trajectory that another person would have had to pull the trigger."
Marley had snuck up behind Tony and between Abby to get a good look at the screen. She loved it when the team round tabled, as Gibbs called it. Though there wasn't any table, just a huge big television screen that they could all look at and log into. Just the same, it was really interesting, and Abby's little computer animations were the best.
"Very good, Abigail, in fact from your calculations, Patrick could not have shot himself with that gun from either hand and produced that angle."
"So our missing person cold case is now a murder cold case?" stated Tim.
"WOW, that's fantastic. You can really work all that stuff out? Hey, just like on T.V.," beamed Marley.
"Marley, will you stay seated? You don't need to be seeing this, nor commenting on it."
"But, Ducky, these are not real pictures, only cartoons. It's not like I'm seeing real dead people here. Anyway, it's not like I haven't seen dead…"
"Marley! Don't worry, young lady, you've had your input here. How you get yourself involved in these things I'll never know."
"DC is a small place, ya know. Besides, I'm a witness to the discovered corpse, Ducky."
"A disobedient witness, who will sitting a little more uncomfortably, if she interrupts again." Ducky pointed to the chair at Tony's desk, and Marley returned to it, slowly obeying the silent direction. He then turned back to the screen. "As I was saying, yes, I'm afraid Corporal Devlin was indeed murdered. The bullet wound was a clean shot, but it was not the cause of the death. His skull shows another severe fracture; A blunt force trauma caused his death."
"Are you sure Ducky? asked Tony.
"I would bet my best Callaway, Agent DiNozzo, that the bullet entered Patrick Devlin's skull, post mortem. That and the fact that a blow to the head that could cause that skull fracture is so severe, that even if it did not immediately cause his death, he would have been in no condition to drive himself to a secluded part of the national forest or be conscious enough to pull the trigger on his weapon. Mr Devlin was murdered, and his body was dumped at the national Forest."
"So, Ducky, can we tell if he was shot there as well?" asked Tony.
"I'm presuming he was, but there is no proof of that yet."
"So he was shot to make it look like a suicide?" summarised Ziva, " I do not think it was a professional hit then, if it was related to his work and the investigations, we would have never have found his body."
"Maybe, but we shouldn't be ruling it out just yet, Ziva," added Tim.
"We better get Gibbs in on this," suggested Abby.
"Yep, but I think it can wait till morning. We need to inform Devlin's parents and set up interviews with all the witnesses," said Tony then fired orders to the team. "Probie, get to work on finding them. Abbs, keep processing all the evidence. Anything found in the car yet?"
"We'll be lucky to find anything with DNA other than the victims, but you never know. The techs have sent up a few things. I'll be working on that tomorrow. I've already set a cross reference search for any of the corporal's DNA linked with any other cases in the DC area around that time."
"We can also probably get into some of these classified files now. It's been over ten years," suggested Ziva.
"Okay, you and Tim work on that tomorrow. I'll interview the kids, at least get their statements out of the way."
"We may find out more about motivation from the witnesses, his poker buddies especially," added Tim.
"Well, that's an abnormally, too, the poker chip…" postulated Ducky, "Abby, if you please." Abby pulled up the image of the poker chip.
"8 bells," announced McGee, "that was the name of their team."
Marley's interest immediately picked up again. She chewed on her bottom lip and stared wide eyed at the image of the colorful chip with its gold insignia. Ziva caught the look on Marley's face and watched from the side as Ducky continued.
"Exactly, but teams are usually of eight, well even numbers at least. They work the tables in pairs. And unless there was man down, the witness list is one short. That's something Gibbs would be most interested in."
Marley gasped.
"Marley, what is the matter?" asked Ziva.
"Huh? Oh nothing… I mean, is Gibbs going to have to come home early?"
"Probably. Sorry Marls, he'll want to be in on this straight away," offered Tony, feeling kind of sorry for the kid now. Gibbs wasn't going to be too impressed with her behavior.
"Marley! He needn't worry, I and Miss Marley Rose, will be spending the night together discussing a few things," said Ducky.
"Phew, then you can call him and fill him in," said Tony.
"Thanks a lot, Tony," scowled Marley.
"Marley and I will be most happy to," smirked Ducky as Marley dropped her head onto the desk and wrapped her arms around it before letting out a long moan.
"I say we trade, Anthony, you take Ziva to her dance lesson, and I'll call Gibbs."
Now it was Ziva's turn to gasp and blush. "Oh, Ducky, no that's alright, we have two weeks, before we…"
"Deal," cackled Tony at Ziva's obvious embarrassment.
Tim stood there laughing at the team's banter as he flicked through several hard copy pages of Patrick Devlins' missing persons file. He suddenly stopped."Hey, Ducky, I think Gibbs might want to know this bit of interesting information as well. I must have missed it. I don't know how, it should jumped out at me."
"And that is, Mc Watson?" asked Tony, annoyed and using hand gestures to wind him along.
"The agent that signed off on this case, classified it cold because of lack of evidence, motive, and links of a sensitive nature to national security, was none other than Mike Franks."
Cut away to Ducky's kitchen - Marley and Ducky are preparing their dinner.
"What did Gibbs say?" asked Marley, as she diced a carrot.
"Nothing yet, he isn't answering the telephone. I'll try the landline again later; it should have been connected by now."
"His cell is probably out of range, too." Marley added hopefully.
"Perhaps you should send him a text. That will most likely get through, eventually. Tell him to call me."
Marley put down the carrot and dried her hands on the front of her jeans, much to the annoyance of Ducky. She then pulled her cell out of her pocket and quickly typed a message. Before she could put it back in Ducky held out his hand.
"Show me, please."
Marley reluctantly passed it over.
"Bring up the message, please," Ducky requested politely, as he passed it back.
Marley quickly hit the tabs on her key pad and handed her cell back to Ducky, her face turning red.
"Hi, Gibbs & Gill. Hope U R behaving. I am. Call U 2morrow. NNTCB…NNTCB?" asked Ducky.
"No need to call back," clarified the girl as she looked at her toes.
"Hmm… I think I may just hold on to this," said Ducky.
"Are you going to send another message?"
"No need, my dear. Jethro is NCIS's best agent. He'll read right through that," sniggered Ducky.
"Ya think!" Marley growled.
"Come on, toss those carrots into the salad. Let's move to the dining room for our meal."
"My last meal," mumbled Marley as she tossed the finely diced carrots into the mango salad.
Ducky, followed by Marley, grabbed the plates and moved into the dining room, then sat them on the long table.
Marley went to move her place to the other end, but Ducky quickly shook his head. "No, young lady, up here next to me please," he said pointing to the place he had set next to him at the head of the table.
Marly screwed up her face, but did as she was instructed and sat down to the side of Ducky. "You're pretty pissed at me, aren't you?"
"Language, Marley, you will not enjoy your meal if I have to wash your mouth out. That's your only warning."
"Sorry, Ducky, so you're real mad at me then?"
"I'm a little disappointed, Marley. I'm responsible for you, and you lied to me about your whereabouts and your intentions. There was no need to."
"You mean you would have let me go on the hike to the national park?"
"Most likely. I would have wanted to know all the details, like how you were going to get there, who with and what time I could expect you home. All those things are pretty reasonable and really very simple. Three hours is a long bike ride. Perhaps we could have arranged a drop off location with one of the other parents or Chief Lindsey. He seems like a reasonable fellow. There was no need for all the cloak and dagger scenario."
"It was a reconnaissance mission. We were looking for a second base camp. Besides, it didn't take us three hours, only two. It's only an hour by car, so it wasn't all that much longer on bikes, though Ben's old bike was a bit rusty. Do you think Gill and Gibbs will let me get a new one?"
"Don't change the subject, Marley. It may only take an hour in a car, but that's because an automobile can use the freeways, bicycles can't."
"But we can cross them."
"WHAT? YOU CROSSED THE FREEWAYS?" Ducky yelled.
Marley filched. She'd never heard Ducky yell, and she didn't like it.
Ducky saw her flinch and attempted to soften his tone. "That is definitely an infraction of the road rules and even more DANGEROUS," he emphasised, without much luck at trying to soften his approach.
"Okay, shutting up now before I put my big fat foot deeper in my mouth."
"It's not a foot in your mouth you should be concerned about, young lady."
"So, I'm in big trouble with you?"
"Yes, you are, Marley. All you had to do was tell me of your plans, and I would have made sure you could have kept them safely. You did not have to lie."
"I thought you wouldn't let me go. I'm mean you guys are so, like, over protective all the time."
"It might seem like that, Marley. But most families have those safety protocols and expectations in place."
"But, I know my way around DC, Ducky. I've lived here all my life. And when I was with mom, well, I guess I told her where I was all the time, because I knew she would panic. But other than that, I didn't have to get her permission to go, I just went. I even drove sometimes, late at night when nobody would catch me. Sometimes I had to, Ducky."
"Marley, just because we don't have bi-polar doesn't mean we don't panic either. It's normal for people who care about you to worry. We all want you to get some of that childhood that you have missed out on back. I would have encouraged you to go on a little outing with your friends. But I won't be lied to, young lady. That will not do."
"You make me sound…"
"Naughty, and very child like, that's all. But that doesn't mean there aren't consequences. Gibbs has taught you that. I dare say he will expect it once you tell him of your adventure. The running away from Tony was not your wisest move either."
"I was trying just to get back here, well, to headquarters. I got your text. The kids covered for me. We hadn't committed a crime or anything."
"Setting the national forest on fire is a crime, Marley."
"Well yeah, but we didn't mean to, and we put it out. So the guys figured if I could get back here, they'd take the fall there. They couldn't help but be caught anyway, their uncle's the fire chief, unlucky bas… er…fellers."
"So you had intended to deceive me once again, and NCIS and the fire authority, all because you didn't want to be punished. Well, you just made it worse."
"I wasn't scared of being punished, I was worried about…" Marley hesitated.
Ducky sought her features for a clue for the indecision. He had every intention of discussing the events with Marley. Once again, she had seen the horrors of a death. While this was a minor scenario in comparison to her traumatic experiences with her mother's death and her uncle's rescue mission, Ducky was always mindful of Marley's physiological state. She was still very much in the grieving process with the death of her mother, and the very changes to her life, the guardianship and the absence of her only biological relative. He fully indented to discuss some of those events in relation to her well being in the morning, after he dealt with the more general and domestic issue of her disobedience. Perhaps, it needed to be dealt with now.
"What were you worried about, Marley?" He asked gently, foregoing his earlier demeanor of the scolding parent.
"I was worried about you, Ducky."
"Me, child?" Ducky asked in shock, then mused over the idea that perhaps the child was worried about his mortality. It was true Marley had become very much part of this extended family, and he was the oldest member. No doubt the child, on seeing a human skeleton, had imagined his inevitable demise. It tugged at his vanity, he was very fit for his age and in good health, with his intellect and senses still all at their best. Though I suppose to a twelve year old, I must look like I have one foot in the grave. He chuckled to himself before asking, "Why were you worried about me?"
"Yeah, well. I just didn't think, Ducky, At the time, I mean, when we decided to go for the hike and all. I forgot about you. It was the second time I took off on you while you were supposed to be minding me. None of this was your fault, and I know I let you down. I didn't want you to think that you weren't capable of looking after me, or that you're too old to keep up with my mistakes. I didn't want you having to apologize to Gibbs and Gill because I did the wrong thing. You take your responsibilities seriously, and you really care. It wasn't until I figured we wouldn't get back in time that I knew you would be really worried and disappointed and feel guilty. You shouldn't feel guilty, Ducky. I figured you'd probably never want to look after me again, or that you wouldn't, just not trust me, that you might not trust yourself."
Ducky sat there gobsmacked. It shouldn't have surprised him. He was well aware of Marley's pre-deposition to self deliberate and overburden herself with guilt and responsibility for others and their commitment to her. Marley still had a long way to go, as far as her self worth was concerned. However, her empathy for others was truly a gift.
"Marley, I do not blame myself. I am perfectly capable of looking after you and teaching you the correct protocols. I do not for one minute believe Gibbs and Gill will place any blame on me. However, I suppose I do feel some remorse for not keeping a tighter reign on you, but I shouldn't have had to."
"So, you still want to look after me. I'll never lie to you again. I'll always let you know where I am. In fact, when I'm with you or staying here I will stick to you like glue. I'm so sorry, Ducky. I should have been more responsible for you and your position."
"No, Marley, you should have been more responsible for you. You did no worse than a lot of children have done or tried. But, I can tell you very few get away with it, well more than once."
"I seem never to get away with it now," she groused.
"That's because you are part of a larger family of very efficient detectives, young lady."
"So am I forgiven then, Ducky?"
"Yes, Marley."
Marley smiled as she gathered up her and Ducky's empty plates. "Guess I wash these then, and we can spend a night in front of the TV together."
"Oh no, you can get them washed, and then we will be having a discussion about the consequences for disobedience to this old duck. I especially traded places with Anthony tonight, so it would be me to discuss this with you."
"Oh, what are you going to do?"
"Finish those dishes, and you will find out. Perhaps Gibbs may telephone while you're busy, and I can get a few pointers."
Cut away to Lake House Gibbs and Gill. Gibbs is in the boat shed, when Gill comes in.
"Hey, where did you find this?" asked Gill as she slid her hand along the upturned hull of an old white oak dinghy and its peeling green paint.
"Down by the jetty. Had a few holes, not anymore," said Gibbs as he scrapped the last of the filler on the lip of the tin.
"You going to take it back to the wood?"
"Yep."
"Nice."
Gibbs looked up and smiled. "Yes, she'll look beautiful," he said, inferring to Gill standing there in her one piece swimsuit, towel in hand.
"Hmm, you'll be able to serenade me, pretend we are in Venice."
Gibbs laughed, "You stand up in this little dorie you'll tip it. Going for a swim?"
"I better, I'll need the practice. You want to come? I need to cool off before dinner."
"Maybe I'll just watch you swim. How's it going inside?"
"Good, everything's just about done. It will be ready by Monday when Alistair arrives with the boys and the clients. It's nice of you to let us have the house."
"Not a problem, not my house."
"Yes it is. Nic and Marley wanted you to have it."
"Well, I'm happy to share then." he said, laying down his tools and taking her in his arms for a long lingering kiss.
Gill smiled as they broke apart. "Good. We take possession of the new duel care facility on the 15th, which gives us two weeks. And a nice little place for a holiday many of the kids would never have had."
"You swimming or talking?" smirked Gibbs, "or we could keep…"
"Swimming, come with me. Here, I've got a towel and your trunks," smiled Gill holding them up in the air.
Gibbs grabbed them and threw them over his shoulder with a smirk and a wink.
"Oh, good idea!" Gill ran out the door and headed toward the small isolated jetty at the lake and dived off.
Gibbs arrived soon after and started to peel off his clothes. Before he got his cargos off, a wet mass of mauve Lycra hit him square in the face. He raised an eyebrow before he finished undressing and dived in after the giggling figure in the water. Between the splashing and the kissing, neither noticed the vibrating pocket of Gibbs pooled trousers as they swam in the cool lake.
Cross fade to Ducky's house one hour later. The Parlor. Ducky is sitting on a chair talking on the landline to Gibbs.
"Swimming? You've been swimming, how nice, Jethro" Ducky smiled at the thought. "Yes Marley thought your cell might drop in and out of range. Yes, well it's probably a good idea, Jethro, though the morning will do fine. Anthony has arranged for the children to be interviewed. Patrick Devlin's parents have been contacted. Arrangements need to be made to interview them as well. They now live in Bridgeport, Connecticut. I presume you are going to contact Franks?"
Ducky spotted Marley come to the door. He called her over, while listening to Gibbs on the other end of the phone. "So you'll be here in the morning," he looked at Marley, conveying the information. "After you've spoken to Mike. … Oh yes, very good, here she is… Marley, Gill wants to talk to you," said Ducky as he handed over the phone.
"She knows everything?" asked Marley.
"Not everything, but she knows you were at the national park and was part of the group that found the body. Gibbs wants to talk to you after that. You may want to tell him the whole story before we all meet up in the morning," suggested Ducky.
Marley sighed, and then put on a brave face as she put the phone to her ear. "Hi, Gill, having a nice time?" she asked.
"Yes, I'm okay… No. I didn't really see him, just an arm. It kinda didn't look real, well sort of like the time we dressed Mr Clarke's plastic skeleton up during O week…. No really, it's okay. I'm fine, I'm … "Marley took another huge breath and looked to Ducky for a cue. The pensive gentleman just nodded, sending the silent encouragement she needed.
"I'm in trouble with Ducky, though, and Chelsea. Jarrod and I didn't tell them we were going to hike the forest and well… I sorta of lied about it…" Marley held the phone away from her ear. Not that Gill yelled, but she must have had their end on speaker, because she heard Gibbs.
"I know… I was wrong. And the fire chief is making us come back on Monday for litter duty for two weeks, and, well, Ducky is going to have a talk about how I let him down and all… Yes, Mom. Yes, mom… I will, promise. See you Monday night. Ah, Mom? I didn't mean to spoil your weekend. I'm sorry that Gibbs has to come home early. Okay… say hi to everyone for me. Oh and, Mom, will I be able to stay with Chelsea and Jarrod while we do the community service at the park? Gibbs will be busy with this case and all…" Marley slumped at Gill's obvious response. "Okay, yes I will do what Gibbs says. Sorry, Mom, really I am."
Marley waited, smiling at Ducky, and then feigned excitement. "Hi, Dad… Yes, sir… Here ,Ducky, Gibbs wants to talk to you."
Marley handed over the phone.
"Jethro? Yes, Miss Marley Rose and I are about to discuss the consequences of her deception and poor choices. Yes, I've thought of that, but then I thought you may like to deal with the situation on your return. You are right, Jethro it is me she lied to, and I should deal with it. Oh, I think she is already most remorseful. I know you don't, but she keeps us on our toes," he laughed. "So I'll expect you tomorrow and Gill late Monday night?" Ducky nodded and said, "Good bye."
Marley bent over and yelled into the mouth piece, "Bye, Mom. Bye, Dad, take care, don't rush back. I mean stay safe. Love you."
Love you too, Marley, she heard buzz back through the speaker of the landline.
"You should really get one of those cordless phones, Ducky. It has a speaker on it."
" Hmm. Yes well, perhaps that way you may have been forewarned."
"Well, that wouldn't be so bad would it? You've got me a bit nervous. If it was Gibbs I'd know what to expect, even though Tony has already spanked me and Chief Lindsey has got us as slaving over the next two weeks. Gibbs wouldn't count that."
"Nor do I, Marley. Though, I am perturbed about your nervousness. Is that what Gill was alluding to on the telephone?"
"Sort of. She thinks I might be freaking out because I saw a skeleton. But it's not that it seemed real at the time. I mean, I feel sorry for the guy and all, but it's not like Rose. I didn't know him, and I didn't see him get killed or anything. I kind of still see her, every now and again. I get the shivers from it… her eyes, Ducky. I'll never forget her eyes. But then I remember the good times and what you guys did for her, and well, I get sort of, I dunno, honored. But, the skeleton in the car didn't remind me of any of that. I haven't had a psycho relapse or anything, though if it will help you change your mind about punishing me. I'm sure it may have had some deep sub conscious effect, right… yeah ya know, I might be just burying it all…"
"A Psycho relapse?" he laughed. "Really, Marley, you watch too many movies just like Di Nozzo."
"At least they're classics, Ducky."
"Good, I'm glad you understand classic, my dear, because a classic method of conditioning in behavioural modification, is one of reward, positive re-enforcement, and punishment, negative re-enforcement, used to remind the subject of possible consequences." Ducky made no more speeches before pulling Marley across his lap, and started paddling her jean clad backside.
Marley yelped in shock at first. She hadn't really expected the gentle ME to follow through with a physical chastisement. "Ow, Ducky, I thought you didn't believe in spanking. Ow."
"Where did you," Smack, " get that idea," Smack, "Marley?"
"Ahh, I dunno, Ow, maybe because you Ow, seem, Ow, a modern Ow, thinker. Ducky, you're hurting… Ow!"
"It is supposed to," smack, "it's called," smack, "reasonable physical chastisements, in some countries," Smack.
"And Ow, unreasonable, Ow, and not ow very effective, Ow, in others."
"Well, let's consider it an," smack, "experiment," smack, " then," smack, " shall we," smack.
"Ow! Okay! Okay, I'll never lie to you again, Ow."
"I know you won't," smack, smack, "this will help you to remember that."
"Ow. I'm sorry, Ducky, enough now, please. Ow, you are a lot, ow, stronger than you look."
"It has nothing to do with," smack, "strength, Marley," smack, "I am an expert on the anatomy of the human form, and," smack, "very much aware of the," Smack, " best spots," smack, " to target the buttocks and gluteus maximus of a disobeying rapscallion," smack, "without causing," smack, "serious soft tissue damage," smack, "and yet getting my point across," smack, " with a stinging," smack, "physical incentive." SMACK!
Marley was crying by this stage, no longer yelping at the sharp swats Ducky applied. As soon as he felt the sobs and heard her sniffles, he stopped and helped her up immediately, then embraced her.
Marley sniffed into his shoulder, "you … sure … Gibbs didn't give you a few extra pointers?"
"Perhaps, but, Marley, while I have never really spanked a child before, I have often been known to give our young Abigail a firm reminder to her posterior. I've even been tempted to hand one down to Gibbs as a reprimand for his bull headedness at times."
"Well, you've… pretty much… got the technique down pat,." she grizzled, rubbing her backside.
Ducky laughed, "very good pun, my dear. You know, when I was a lad my father had to reprimand me much the same way, on several occasions. You are lucky; he had a nasty apparatus known as a cane; very popular in English and Scottish boarding schools."
"Glad you couldn't find that," shuddered Marley, at the thought of her bottom burning any more than it already was.
"No, and I won't, because if my memory serves me correctly I burned the bloody thing," he laughed, "in the compost pile some fifty years ago."
Marley joined in with a giggle as she wiped the last of her tears away, "he never found out?"
"No, he did not."
" Hmm, a cold case of your own, hey, Ducky."
"Let's hope that it is not re- opened. Now, it's time for bed, young lady. Gibbs will be here first thing in the morning. We'll all have a fine breakfast together. All infractions have been dealt with and forgiven."
"But not forgotten."
"Oh, Gibbs might just want to know how well you've learned the lesson."
"I really am sorry, Ducky. I promise never to put you in that position again and put myself over that one," she frowned, pointing to Ducky's lap, "AGAIN!"
Cut away to a dance class. Long shot with a small plump woman stand in the center of a hall, clapping her hands to the beat of a waltz. Ziva and Tony are amongst the couples who surround her. Pan to mid shot of Tony and Ziva as the music starts.
"Left two three, right two three. Count it to yourself, people" coached Miss Carla.
"Zive, don't watch your feet, just follow my lead," coaxed Tony.
"But, Tony, it does not feel right," complained Ziva.
"No, it's left two three, right two three, forward two three, back two three," corrected Tony and laughed.
"I do not like going backwards, Tony. Why do I have to go backwards first?"
"Turn two three, forward two three," said Tony, ignoring her protest and spinning her on the floor. "Because, Ziver, I have my hand on your waist."
"What has that got to do with it?"
"Nothing, but let me lead will you? Trust me, I know how to waltz."
"So do I," scowled an indignant Ziva.
"Then why are you fighting me?" Tony asked sincerely, a silent plea written in his eyes.
"I… I do not know," Ziva answered honestly.
"Well, just relax, just let me nudge a little bit, here, " he indicated her tiny waist with the palm of his hand. " When I push just a little, move backwards, and when I pull… two three, come to me…" he pulled her in close, " easy, see?"
"Yes, I am sorry, Tony, I do not wish to fight you."
"Sure ya don't, but hey, it's fun." He grinned and pushed a little on her waist and stepped onto her body.
Ziva, moved. "back, two three…" she counted. "Yes, I must admit it is…"
Tony pulled and counted again, "forward, two three…" This time he reigned her in closer to his body and looked down pensively into her face, as he linked her fine petite, killer fingers in his."Turn, two three."
Ziva blushed at the closeness. "Ah hum… I wonder who Marley has arranged to escort me to the ball? I hope they are taking lessons too."
"Ah, fishing for information, Ziva?"
"Well, someone must know. Probably Abby," frowned Ziva.
Tony chuckled, "left two three…Probably. But she won't tell," he teased.
"No, she likes surprises."
"Don't you?" asked Tony.
"Not really, but I am getting use to them."
"You may not have to worry about it. This case could take us weeks to solve. You may not get to the ball, Cinderella."
"Yes, Gibbs may have overlooked the case, perhaps. But if Mike Franks is involved…Well, he is like a dog with a bone. He will want to keep work it until we solve it."
"Gibbs never overlooks any dead marine, especially a murdered dead marine. But Mike declaring a cold case like that, will have him working us around the clock.
"Hopefully he will let us in on the details. Sometimes, his need to know philosophy is a little frustrating. We could be working without the lights."
"In the dark," corrected Tony.
"Same thing," scoffed Ziva.
"Yeah, but it doesn't have the same ring to it. It has an okay ring to it… but..."
"Well, we better make the most of this practice then. I may not get another chance."
Tony looked down and smiled. "Turn, two three. Turn, two three. Turn, two three."
"Tony, that is too many turns; you are making my head spin."
"Spot"
"Spots no I mean spin."
"Look at one spot when you turn, Ziva. When you come out of the turn, look for that one spot again. Just watch my face when we turn, I ain't going nowhere."
"Promise?"
"Yep."
FREEZE FRAME: Cut to profile close up of Ziva and Tony, looking into each other's eyes. Convert black and white. CUT.
TBC
Chapter 4: Charlie Foxtrot: Interviewing the Semper Fi gang.
A.N. Please review, though I must say I am over the moon with the fantastic responses I've had, the alerts and fav's. Next chapter may be a while… maybe two- three weeks at the most, I'm extra busy at work. Big shout to Harliquinn for adding some insights and helping me with the order of this chapter, I had a few options and we asked ourselves what Gibbs would do. I still don't know if he will have anything to add when he gets back, he is going to be busy helping Tony with the interviews.