Ducky dared not approach Ziva, not while Abby still clung to the woman. Instead, he hung back, watched as Timothy, Anthony and Jethro made their way through the office amid the applause. As Tony sat down, Ducky caught the look in the younger man's eye. There was fatigue there, of course, but he also looked like he did not believe that Ziva was back himself. McGee seemed the most pleased, smiling and soaking in the atmosphere.
It was only Jethro that seemed oddly aloof to the whole thing.
He recalled his conversation with Gibbs after he had returned to DC without Ziva five months ago. He tried to comfort Gibbs about the outcome of the whole affair, but the man seemed to ignore the overtures. Next, Ducky tried to peck around at the edges, trying to understand why Gibbs was so hurt by Ziva's apparent rejection. He brought up the unique connection he had observed over the last four years between the surly agent and the Mossad officer who had joined his team.
In truth, he was waiting for Gibbs to admit something Ducky was fairly certain of. He had performed the autopsy on Ari Haswari, when the latter met his end at last. Ducky had read the report, Gibbs' account of what had happened in the basement.
Ducky's own knowledge led him to, privately at least, question the truthfulness of the report. Everything about it was wrong. The trajectory of the bullet, the size of the slug, the fact there was no gunpowder residue on Gibbs, led him to one conclusion. Gibbs had not fired the fatal round.
Which left the question, who had? And Ducky could come up with only one answer.
He understood, if he was correct, why nothing had ever been said, officially. It would have put the shooter in a difficult position, not only for her allegiance to her own people, but also to her family. But in killing Ari, she had saved Gibbs' life. That was something Dr. Mallard was eternally grateful for.
And now the debt had been repaid. That was what Jethro's look seemed to communicate, that merely a transaction had gone through, repaid in full. It was not what Ducky would have expected, especially not after the suspicions he had voiced to Gibbs in the basement. He'd have thought the other man who had shown more fatherly relief at saving a woman he'd come to think of as a daughter, when he'd been unable to save his own.
Skirting around Abby still locked in her embrace of Ziva, Ducky walked over to Gibbs, his hand extended. He was having difficulty finding the words, a rare occurrence many would joke. In the end, he merely said, "Well done, my boy. Well done indeed."
Jethro looked down at this hand and shook it firmly, before his gaze shifted to the landing, to where Director Vance was overseeing the welcome back. Vance continued his descent into the squadroom, shaking McGee's hand and then Tony's.
It was to Agent DiNozzo that the first words any of them had spoken was to. "Expect a call from Director David, thanking him," Vance said.
"Thank you, Director, but I don't need his thanks," Tony replied, still watching Ziva.
Ducky had turned to the men when the words were spoken, but looked back to Gibbs when he noticed the look on his friend's face. He was about to question him further, when Abby interrupted him, dragging Ziva along with her. Finally releasing the woman's hand, she flung herself at Tony. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she shouted, making the four returnees flinch. She planted a kiss on his cheek as she babbled further. "I was so worried! I mean, I wasn't getting any work done, just worrying myself silly." She continued on in that vein, babbling on to the others, at last leaving Ziva's side.
Ducky took advantage of it. "My dear…" His voice seemed to catch her attention, which he noticed had remained on DiNozzo from the moment he had sat at his desk.
"Ducky." She spoke his name, a smile appearing slowly.
He embraced her, much more gently than Abby had. She was thin and drawn, almost so fragile she would break. He made quick work of the gesture, then pulled back. "You shall stay with me tonight, to get your bearings," he informed her, his words gentle but his tone strong.
It said much about Ziva's condition that she put up no argument against him.
Ducky turned his attention away from her when Vance approached and spoke to her. He looked back to Jethro. His friend still seemed to be acting oddly, for him at any rate. He was never the most demonstrative man, but he looked as if he was holding back even further than usual.
Ducky sighed, his mind going back a couple of weeks, to the last time he'd seen Leroy Jethro Gibbs.
At first, Ducky thought to alert Gibbs as to his entrance. But the door wasn't locked, it never was. He'd never understood, not until after he had realized his friend's deepest secrets. He had already lost the most precious thing to him, when his wife and daughter died. Anything else he may own within his house was replaceable, if needed.
Donald Mallard had a remarkable memory, but every so often, it failed him. He had not recalled the name Shannon until he had read the report about the death of her and their daughter Kelly only a few years ago. A conversation on a street with a young Marine came back to him at once and he felt awful for not making the connection sooner. The Jethro Gibbs he had met then was, quite frankly, not dissimilar to the one he met when the man arrived in DC nearly a decade later. And, since he had not mentioned the name Shannon then, Ducky reasoned he had stayed with his decision to not marry her back then.
Of course, he eventually learned the truth. They all had, the whole tragic story. Wife and daughter killed with the NIS agent charged with their protection. It was what had propelled Gibbs to join the agency after leaving the Marines, brought him here, made him a part of nit just Ducky's, but of a wisecracking cop, a cheerful forensic scientist with gothic sensibilities, a young and fresh computer expert…and an intelligence operative searching for a different life.
Ducky had always been curious as to why Ziva David had returned to the United States after her mission to retrieve Ari Haswari. He doubted she had much knowledge of investigative procedures, but he assumed Director Sheppard had brought her in as a link to Israel, to bolster cooperation between the two nations.
Within a few months of her arrival, he noticed the closeness that had developed between her and Gibbs. It continued to grow in the years since, yet it ended so abruptly in the spring. The incident with Officer Rivkin and Anthony, the meetings in Tel Aviv, and how they concluded were a shame in his estimation. It had only gotten worse as the summer went on, with communication from Ziva drying up quickly. No one, not even Abby or Mr. Palmer had heard from her.
It was on all their minds, Ducky knew. They all began to look for her, only for that to end when word of a freighter sinking off the coast of Africa that tied to a Mossad operation, which Ziva had been involved in, of he understood correctly. And they all took it hard, but Anthony and Gibbs most. Tony had become the driving force in a mission to avenge the death of Ziva.
They would be leaving in a day or so, Director Vance had confided in him. He knew Ducky could be discreet when it was needed and anxiety was running high, at least with Abby. He had assured the director he would keep an eye on the young woman. But Ducky was also worried about Gibbs. That was the reason for his visit tonight, to try and have his friend open up to him about what he was thinking.
As per his normal routine, Gibbs was down in his basement. There was no boat there now, the eternal mystery of what happened to them once they were finished (and how he got them out of this location) unanswered yet again. All he was doing was sweeping the floor.
"Note my shock at finding you here, at this hour, Jethro," Ducky called out by way of a greeting. "My only question is, what will be your next project when you return?"
"Not sure yet, Duck. Just finished the last one," Gibbs replied. "What are you doing here?"
"You're leaving in the morning. I just wanted to look in on you." It's what you do for a friend in distress, physical or emotional, he wanted to add. But then again, Gibbs seemed to be in a perpetual state of emotional trouble, he wanted to add.
His friend's normal coping method was bourbon and once more, Jethro did not deviate. He emptied a mason jar, pouring some for Ducky, then one for himself. It gave the doctor a pause, trying to find an approach to sensitive matters. "Do you think she's alive? Is that the reason for this mission?" he finally asked.
Gibbs didn't answer.
"Are you hoping she's alive?" Again, all that he got back was a glare.
It was then that Ducky decided to make a connection he'd noticed over the years. He doubted Gibbs would welcome it, but… "Is this you hoping to save someone who's become a daughter to you…when you couldn't save your own?"
That was something he thought wouldn't be taken kindly. Yet, if there was one thing Jethro Gibbs did. It was surprise. "Yes," came the response.
"Jethro–"
"I was too far away to do anything for Shannon and Kelly. If I'd been there…" He took a slug of his drink. "There are conflicting reports coming out of Somalia. If there's even a chance…"
Gibbs was a man of few words but every so often, he came out with a week's worth in one moment. "Martin Luther King said, 'We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.,'' Ducky quoted, pulling once more from his vast knowledge. "Keep that hope, Jethro, and bring our girl home."
Gibbs gave him a single nod and Dr. Mallard left his basement, with his own renewed hope.