The Silent Season by Karie

[LJG_NCIS]

Hmmmmmm, getting a look into Gibbs life... I like, as usual. I think Ducky's gonna find out Maggie's real name soon, having dinner with her and everything. Another chapter tomorrow, right?

[Karie]

May have to skip a couple of days, it's hard for me to get online during weekends and any time hubby is home. For sure another act on Tuesday! *shuts her mouth before she says any more about Ducky and Maggie...*

[LJG_NCIS]

Ok, I can wait. *wishes Karie wasn't so carful about what she says*

[Karie]

LMBO!!!!! OK, for that.... brb.

[Karie]

Act 2

When dinner finally arrived, Ducky felt that he would have to begin talking about that time in their lives when they both realized that something was wrong in the Gibbs household. But he also knew that Gibbs despised talking about his past with anyone. He decided to start with something easy.

“Remember when we first met?”

“How could I forget, you treated me like an object, not like a person.”

“Well, you were the one standing like a tree.”

They both laughed lightly as they fell into remembering that first day.


“Dr Mallard, I want to introduce the newest member of our team.” Director Morrow seemed ill at ease with the young man beside him, and after one look Donald Mallard could see why.

The man was obviously an Ex-Marine; he certainly looked the part. He stood ramrod stiff and stared straight ahead. Donald waved a hand in front of the younger man’s face, only to receive no response. The coroner harrumphed and turned back to his work.

“Does your new lap dog have a name, Tom?” he asked facetiously.

“Gunnery Sergeant LJ Gibbs, Sir!” the younger man snapped out.

Donald glared at Gunny Gibbs before attempting to speak to the Director yet again. “Will he be this loud every time I must speak with him?”

Tom opened his mouth, but was overridden by Gibbs yet again.

“Sir, if you wouldn’t mind asking your questions to me directly? I can answer for myself.” The younger man glared back at the M.E. Donald never flinched under the stiff gaze.

“Very well, are you always this rude?”

“This isn’t rude, sir. You should see me in an interrogation room.”

“Indeed, well we shall have to see about that some other time, Gunny.”

“He’s a Special Agent now, Donald,” the Director finally interjected. “He’s brand new for us and I intend to put him on Tassert’s team. That means he will be working with you quite often.”

“Well then, I will look forward to it. Good day to you both. I have much to do, please excuse me.” And with that, Donald Mallard turned his back on them both.

“As I remember it, Morrow was ticked at you for that,” said Gibbs before taking a sip of his wine.

“I’m sure he was, but I wasn’t exactly happy with having you join the team. I had finally gotten used to the current team, and I disliked the change.”

“You seem to have gotten over that.” Gibbs smiled as another recollection came to mind.


“Donald Duck! Get over here before the body gets too cold!” Gloria Tassert was a beautiful red head with a temperament to match. Her bright blue eyes sought out her friend the doctor and spotted him next to the new agent. She had not been wholly accepting of this new man on the team, but after a few weeks, he had grown on her a bit. She sighed with relief as the agent tapped Donald on the shoulder and pointed towards her waving figure. He nodded to the man, and then toddled off in her direction, the agent right behind him.

“Where do you want me, Gloria?” asked the M.E. with a bright smile.

“If you were a few years younger, or I a few older, that question would have a whole new meaning, dear Duck.” She grinned like a Cheshire cat at the agent’s discomfort. He seemed to her to be quite the prude when it came to conversations on sex and she wondered what else she could say that would get him to turn redder than he already was.

Gibbs simply looked around and tried to find something else to do. Donald smiled in sympathy and pointed in the direction of the tracks that led away from the body.

“It seems as if someone left him here, Jethro,” said the M.E.

Gibbs glanced at the Doctor and then to the Agent in front of him. She was trying to get his dander up, and she had succeeded. He wondered if he was as red as he felt at this moment. Some of the things this woman said always set him off track and he constantly had trouble getting settled again. It wasn’t as if he didn’t understand what she was doing, but it conflicted his feelings and emotions so often that he was grateful that the doctor had given him an out of the current conversation. He nodded to them both before wandering off to investigate the tracks that he had already seen before they had been pointed out.

Donald turned back to Gloria. “That was uncalled for, dear. It is obvious you like the young man, but it would be considered rude in some circles to send his thought flying with every comment you make!”

“What ever do you mean, Duck?” Gloria tried to look hurt by the doctor’s chiding, but inside she was really trying to figure out how much he actually knew about her feelings for Gibbs. She thought she had been able to fool everyone with her teasing; after all it was frowned upon by the Director himself for agents to fraternize on the job as well as outside of it. She had been trying to decide if it was worth the looks and whispers to pursue a relationship with Gibbs, but she was still unsure of how he would react.

“I mean, you like the young man, and don’t try to deny it. I see the looks you give him when you think no one has noticed. And from what I have been told, it is not unusual for the woman to ask the man on a first date.”

At this, Gloria gasped in total shock. He knew! Oh by God he knew! And if he knew, it was a sure fact that other people knew as well, and if they didn’t know for a fact, then it was a sure thing that they suspected! She was damned if she did and damned if she didn’t do something about this soon.

Gibbs, of course, had heard the entire conversation up on the hill. He had excellent hearing and he could also read lips, but it didn’t take his ASL training to see the look of shock cross Gloria’s face. She really didn’t know what the entire office had known for a week! They had all talked about it, but never with Gloria or Gibbs himself, but he already had suspicions as to what her head and heart were fighting her about. And he wasn’t one to run into a relationship. He had done that once, and had the ex-wife to prove it. No, he would take this slow and let Gloria take the first step.

“Penny for your thoughts, Jethro?” asked the Doctor before he took another bite of his food.

“Just thinking about when I first realized I had feelings for her.”

“Ah yes, she did delight in embarrassing you so often. That reminds me of Anthony and Caitlyn, always trying to one up each other. Only in that relationship, it was Tony who often became the instigator.”

“Yea, I think that’s why I was always smacking him on the head.” Gibbs smirked over his fork.

“Perhaps that was why you were attracted to her, she was rather a wild woman wasn’t she?”

“That and the red hair didn’t help much.”

“Ah, yes, you and your affinity for falling for the red head. You would think you would have learned by now that the color red should mean stop!”

“Not in some countries, Ducky.” Again the two friends took to lightly laughing at their shared joke. After a few minutes, Gibbs stopped and looked at Ducky, pulling a serious expression back to his hard edged features. “Remember when I proposed to her?”

“I do remember, and I also remember the moment you wish to forget. And that was the case that tore you both apart.”

“Aww, Ducky, do we have to go there?” Gibbs puckered his lips in a sour expression. “I was actually enjoying this dinner; I don’t want to end up losing it over thoughts of her.”

“It must be done, Jethro. You know as well as I do that the subject is going to plague you for years unless we come to terms with it. It has been eight years and you still hide from the world on this day.”

Gibbs sighed in frustration. The waiter came alongside their table and asked if there would be anything else, to which both men declined. Waiting for the check, Ducky pressed once more.

“Jethro, what part of that case had you two split up the way you were?”

“It wasn’t the case, Ducky. It was us and the way we handled the stress of it.”

Memories of that fateful case came unbidden to Gibbs’ mind as Ducky paid the check. Oh if only things had gone a little differently…


The body of a 25 year old petty officer had been found in a flooded out culvert just five miles south of her suburban home. The victim’s husband had reported her missing and was now grieving as he told the circumstances of her death. The questions remained, why was she killed, how was she killed and finally, who killed her? It was a case that had the entire team on edge, and not for the first time did Ducky wish he was back in his nice cold, safe autopsy. So that is exactly where he went.

Once there, he prepared himself for the extensive work he was about to perform. Pulling on his gown, surgery cap and a pair of surgical gloves, he turned on the tape recorder and began his examination. He began by explaining what he saw on the outside.

“This is the examination of Petty Officer Sabrina Young out of Norfolk, Virginia. What we have here is a 25 year old African-American female. She is approximately 5 foot 2 inches in height and weighs in at 118 pounds. Her hands and arms hold multiple bruising; her head and chest have also suffered with similar bruising. There is a rather large depression on her skull, I would assume this contributed to the cause of death, but I am making no conclusions at this time.”

Ducky moved to the lower half of the table, inspecting the legs and feet of the woman. “There are abrasive scratches along her legs and there is a dry patch to her skin on her right foot. More than likely the dry patch has nothing to do with this case; I am merely adding this to be thorough.”

The doctor finished his circuit around the woman on the table, and then set the recorder down on the table next to him. Reaching over, he picked up a scalpel and leaned over the woman, preparing to make the first incision to begin the internal examination. Just then Gibbs walked into the room, with Gloria right behind him, arguing as usual.

“Just tell me why it is so important for you to win this argument.” Gibb was fuming as he stopped inside the door.

“Who said I had to win the argument? I just would like you to acknowledge that there are times when you could be wrong.” Gloria glared at him. After a moment, he relented and smiled at her ruefully.

“Acknowledge that your mother is not really a pain in the ass and the real reason she wants you to come out to California is not to talk you into having children?”

“Ok, I have to admit it is a little odd that she suddenly wants me out there, but really Jethro, maybe she would just like to have a visit from her daughter once in a while.”

“She wants you to visit without your husband? I don’t think so, Gloria, I think she’s up to something. I just think that now is not a good time to go on vacation.”

“Well, of course now is not a good time. I would wait until this case is finished and then we can go.”

“What makes you think I want to go? I may have had plans, Gloria.”

“What plans? And do they include me?”

Gibbs stopped and turned to his beautiful wife. Taking her in his arms, he kissed her passionately, one hand unconsciously sliding up to tangle in her soft red hair. When he had released her, she stared into his eyes, a glint of humor lighting them from behind.

“Tell me, when didn’t my plans include you?”

Both of them had forgotten where they were and were slightly startled when Ducky cleared his throat.

“Ahem, please disregard the argument you have just heard and edit for content.” He snapped off the recorder and glared at his two young colleagues. “Honestly, can’t you two deal with your arguments before coming in here? And what was this latest spat about, anyway?”

“Nothing of importance, Ducky. Sorry we interrupted you.” Gloria glanced nervously at the body on the table behind the doctor; then turned her eyes back to Gibbs. “I’m going back upstairs to dig into the Petty Officers contacts and previous history. Come find me when you’re done, ok?”

“Sure, Honey. Talk to you later.” Gibbs watch her leave autopsy in a rush.

[LJG_NCIS]

Argggghhh, my dad kicked me off the computer right while I was halfway through this chapter. Grrrr. Anyway, thanks for posting so soon *makes a mental note to try to be funny around Karie*

[Karie]

Act 3

When Gibbs returned to the bullpen, he stopped by Gloria’s desk and looked down at her, watching her write notes on the latest case. She didn’t seem to notice him and so he took this private moment to just watch her. Her red hair shone brightly in the filtered light, some of it slipping down over her face. He took the time to reach out and brush a lock of her hair away and tuck it behind her ear as she looked up, her gaze meeting his.

“Are you ok?” he asked gently.

“I’m fine, why do you ask?”

“You seemed a little… uncomfortable being in autopsy today. I was just wondering what happened.”

“I don’t know…” She glanced around before waving him over to sit next to her. He did so; kneeling next to her chair and looking up into her sad blue eyes. “I think that this case is getting to me.”

Just then, a shadow fell across them both. Gibbs looked up into the face of Tobias Fornell with the FBI. As a friend of Gibbs and Gloria, he had been there since the beginning. He was Gibbs’ best man at the wedding. He also had been on many a case with NCIS, assisting in every way he could. Now he came to hear what Gloria was worried about.

“But we just started the case today. What’s bothering you about it?” Gibbs reached out a hand and took one of hers in it, rubbing the back of it absentmindedly with his thumb.

“Well, first there is the way she disappeared. It was in the middle of the night, after she had gone to bed,” she replied.

“Yes and the husband was working during that time. That’s why it took a while for him to report her missing. He usually didn’t get home until after she had gone to work,” added Tobias.

“And no one bothered to call him when she didn’t show up at her post?” Gloria snorted in an unladylike fashion. “If I didn’t show up for work, you would have been calling all over town for me.”

“Well, according to Ducky, she was pregnant as well. So maybe they assumed that she was sick, or she had to go to the hospital for something and had neglected to inform anyone ahead of time.”

“And you know what they say about the word assume.”

“Yes dear, I do. But the Petty Officer hadn’t done anything to dissuade that train of thought, so why don’t we give them the benefit of the doubt for now.”

“Ok, maybe you’re right on that.” Gloria sighed again as she glanced over the files on her desk. Gibbs pulled her chin around and caused her to meet his gaze again.

“I may not be right,” he told her, “but I will be the first to admit it when the evidence presents itself to me. Now how about we knock off this for the moment and get some dinner. I’m starved and we can’t do anything else until the evidence has been processed.”

“All right, that sounds like a good idea to me.” And so saying, she closed the files on her desk and stood, taking his hand and letting him lead her to the elevators. She took a quick glance over her shoulder to smile at Tobias as they left.


While the two field agents were out having dinner, the evidence was processed and Ducky finished his examination of the body. Afterwards, he stepped out of his office to check the progress the lab techs were making with the blood and tissue samples he had managed to extract from under the nails of the victim. The lab tech smiled as Ducky passed the windows and waved him in. She was really a nice young woman, with perfect skin and dark brown eyes. She wore her lab coat crisply buttoned and her name badge said her name was ‘Emily’. She was the fifth lab tech they had in as many years, and for some reason Ducky didn’t think this one would last too long either.

“Hello, Emily. And how are you today?”

“I’m fine, Dr Mallard. And before you ask, I haven’t gotten the tox screens back yet on the victim on your table.”

“Ah! Well, one can not expect things to be ready when they want them all the time, eh?” Ducky joked with the woman for some time before the beeping of one of her machines interrupted them.

“And here we are, Dr Mallard, hot off the press.” She handed the sheet to him and waited for some reaction. What she got was a very puzzled look upon the usually jovial face of the M.E. “Not what you were expecting?”

“No, it isn’t really. If you will excuse me, I must call Agent Gibbs.” And with that, he turned on his heel and strode out of the lab.


Gibbs took a swig of beer as the couple sat waiting for their burgers to arrive. He was talking with Gloria about the idea of getting a boat, when he felt his pager go off on his hip. Glancing at the number he groaned.

“Is it the Director?” she asked.

“Worse, it’s Ducky which means that he found something and is not happy with the results.” Gibbs stood as their order came to the table. Grabbing the bags, he reached out a hand to Gloria, who took it and walked with him out of the restaurant and back to the office.

When they reached their desks, Ducky was there to brief them on what had been discovered.

“It would seem that our Petty Officer’s baby was not related to her husband.” Ducky said, looking pointedly at Gibbs.

“She had cheated on him and was pregnant as a result of it?” asked Gibbs.

Gloria sat down at her desk and opened her files. “Maybe he felt slighted by it and decided to kill her for it?”

“So are you thinking a crime of passion, or premeditated murder?”

“According to the markings on her face and abdomen, she was beaten severely before she was drowned, which was the cause of death, by the way. I would say she attempted to defend herself, but her assailant got the best of her eventually. The blow to the head that she received was not consistent with a killing blow; it simply caused her unconsciousness until she was thrown into that culvert.”

“Death by drowning is not a very comforting way to die,” whispered Gloria.

“Death in any form is not a comfort, Gloria.” Gibbs walked to his desk and pulled out his Sig. “Let’s go talk to her husband and figure out what we can get from him.”


And so it went, each lead bringing them closer and closer to the husband, but Gibbs was not too sure, he was actually considering that someone from work may have done the deed of kidnapping and killing the Petty Officer. Gloria didn’t like to argue with her husband and she especially disliked bringing their work home with them. She preferred to keep work in the office so that they could concentrate on themselves and each other after hours.

But Gibbs wouldn’t leave it alone. He was certain that the husband was innocent and was hell bent on proving it. He traced down each lead and played devil’s advocate for so long that Gloria was tired of it. Soon she began to spend more time with Tobias at his apartment. Night after night she would walk to his place and talk to him about Gibbs, but soon she would only want to talk about her needs and the feeling she was getting that she was in the wrong marriage. These nights would often end with her in Tobias’ lap, her head on his shoulder fast asleep.

When she got home, it was to find Gibbs curled up on the couch with papers and files scattered around him on the floor, chairs and coffee table. Each night she would leave him there while she went to bed. And each morning, she would wake to find him gone, off on yet another lead without her.

She began to feel less like a wife and more like a room mate, and not for the first time did she wonder if Gibbs even remembered that she was alive. She would never admit it, but it was because of this that she sought solace in the arms of a good friend. It would prove later to be a great mistake on both their parts, but Tobias Fornell would never admit that. Night after night, she would find herself in the home and arms of Tobias. One such night was spent talking about the subject of her frustration.

If was after a particularly hot session of sex that she laid back on Toby’s chest and stared up at the ceiling, trying to figure out the best solution to her dilemma. Toby realized that she was unfocused and attempted to recapture her mind.

“Penny for your thoughts?” he asked lightly.

“I don’t know what to do about Jethro. He seems to be so focused on this case that more and more I wonder why I married him.”

Toby said nothing. This was typical of Gloria’s ramblings and he knew there were no words to help ease her frustrations. He simply placed himself in constant availability to her, knowing that it was just sex, nothing more.

“He’s becoming obsessed with this case, Toby, and I can’t let it go on forever.”

“Have you thought about taking him off the case? You are the team leader, after all.”

“Take Jethro off the case? He would never forgive me!”

“Which would you rather, a man obsessed with the case to the point of possibly getting himself hurt? Or your husband back.” He left the last bit hanging, as he wasn’t sure if she would be agreeable with either scenario. He could feel her sigh beside him and he glanced at her unreadable face.

“I don’t have much choice, do I?” She snuggled into Toby a bit more. “I just hate the thought of him angry for taking him away from all his hard work.”

“Is he making any headway on the case?”

“I don’t know he won’t discuss anything with me.”

“Then I think you know what you have to do…”

But it was already too late. When Gloria reached her home that night, it was to find a very angry Gibbs sitting in the living room with papers scattered all around him. He glared up at her hot eyes. “Where have you been? It’s past 9 o’clock.”

“I was with Ducky,” she lied as she hung her coat on the hook next to the door. “You seemed distracted and so I went to chat with him about some things.”

“Was it about the case?” That one-track mind of his was yet again set into over drive on the case.

“No, I was talking to him about us.” She knelt down and took the papers from his hands. “I’m worried about you, Honey. You’re getting too wrapped up in this case.”

“I am not. I just want it done right. That way we won’t ever have to see it again.” There was something that she wasn’t telling him. He noticed that she wouldn’t look him in the eye, so he brought her chin up to make her. Slowly his mind came back to the fact that he had a wife and she seemed visibly upset.

“Is something bothering you?”

“It’s this case,” she wailed. “You won’t leave it alone for a second. And I can’t compete with it anymore.”

She stood up and paced the living room floor before him, her words coming out in such a rush.

“All you ever think about is this case. You have to follow up on each and every lead, and it hasn’t gotten you any closer to solving it. You have totally shut me out. I can’t take it; I just want it all over with!”

Gibbs stood with her, catching her arms in his hands and turning her to look at him. “Why didn’t you tell me before? I didn’t know it was causing you so much pain and frustration.”

“What was I supposed to say? This is your job, and you are so good at it, I didn’t want to do this.” She gulped before dropping the final blow. “Jethro, I’m taking you off the case.”

He stared at her in shock. “You’re pulling rank on me? No, Gloria, you can’t do that. Not now when I am so close to solving this?”

“Consider yourself off the case, Jethro. I’m giving it back to the Director to be reassigned to someone else’s team.”

Gibbs glared at her with that stony-eyed gaze he would become famous for in the coming years. “Is this your way of winning an argument?”

“This isn’t about winning an argument; this is about you becoming obsessed.”

“I am not obsessed. I’m just so close now; I can almost taste the end of this case coming up. And then we can concentrate on us again.”

“No, Jethro, I won’t wait anymore. This case has you so preoccupied.”

Gibbs stopped cold. Was it true? Had he been so obsessed with the case that he had totally forgotten the woman standing before him? He looked around himself at the papers scattered around them both. Stepping over them, he took his coat off the peg on the wall, opened the door and then walked out briskly. Gloria didn’t stop him, but simply knelt on the floor and began to collect the papers to the case that she was handing down to some else as soon as possible.

[Karie]

You got lucky again LJG, hubby is in bed taking a nap and the kids aren't pestering me so you get another Act to the episode!

[LJG_NCIS]

You're so nice to me Karie! Thanks for posting, I actually got a chance to read it all the way through at one time (my dad's out in the garage, fixing up his old car). Awwwww, poor Gibbs.

[Karie]

It get's worse, but then you knew it would. I'll try to put the next chapter up tomorrow.

[Karie]

Act 4

Three weeks after Gloria had passed down the case; it was found out that the husband was indeed innocent. The murderer had been the Petty Officer’s lover, and the father of the baby. Unfortunately, the husband had since killed himself in a fit of despair over the loss of his wife. But Gloria was simply relieved that the case was finished. Gibbs on the other hand wouldn’t let her forget it.

Each night he would come home in a gruff mood. He would barely speak to her and every attempt at conversation on her part was often met with a cold glance. She was beginning to think that he would never speak to her again. One day he finally relented.

“I almost had it solved. It took them nearly three weeks to get where I was already, but you took it away too soon. I could have had it finished and we could have been concentrating on other things.”

“I’m sorry Jethro. I didn’t know because you wouldn’t let me in on what you had found. It had become your case, not the team’s case.”

He glared at her still and she flinched under that stone gaze. She had never flinched before. She headed for the door, grabbing her coat and keys on her way out. He watched her go, not even trying to stop her.

After she had left, he went to talk to Ducky. The M.E. was kind enough to offer a shot of whisky as they sat on stools in his beautiful Victorian home.

“I messed up, Ducky.” The younger man sounded entirely remorseful as he stared off into space.

“In what way, Jethro?”

“She told me I was becoming obsessed with the case. She took it away from me, and the husband nearly went to prison for it. I was right, but she was angry with me for wanting to find the truth.”

“The fact of the matter is, both of you were right, and that is something that neither of you can admit.” Ducky sipped his drink quietly for a moment. “But one of you has to be the better person and relent.”

“I think she did just that. She left, Ducky, without a word, she walked out of the house.”

“Then we shall just have to wait until she returns before we can sit and resolve this.”

“We, Ducky, are you saying you will help me?”

“I will indeed, Jethro. After all, what are friends for?”


What Gibbs didn’t know was that Gloria had gone to a friend as well. When she knocked on the door of Tobias’ apartment, she was relieved that he answered it quickly. She had begun to cry and she all but fell into his arms as the door opened. He led her inside and sat her on the couch, then shut the door.

“What happened Gloria, what did he do now?” Toby asked her as he reached out to snag the tissues on the table next to the couch. She sniffed as she wiped her eyes.

“He was so angry with me, Tobias. I should never have taken him off the case. I should have waited it out.”

“You didn’t know what he could have accomplished, Gloria, and you were worried about him. Anyone can understand it’s not your fault that the case turned out that way.”

“He is never going to let me live this down, Toby. I really hurt his trust in me.” She began to sob again and Tobias felt that it was best to let her do just that. He took her into his arms and they held each other for a while. His best friend was hurting and he could do nothing about it but let her cry on his shoulder. It’s what he was good at, letting the women cry on his shoulder. He was seen as the sensitive type and he did nothing to dissuade that belief. But there were times when he wished it was more than that. Looking down at Gloria’s head leaning on his shoulder, he suddenly made a decision.

“Maybe we should tell him about us,” he mused aloud. Gloria sat back to look at him.

“No, that’s not a good idea. If we told him about us, he might kill you, or me, or both of us. Let’s just keep us between ourselves. No one has to know about our relationship.”

“Is that all this is to you, Gloria? A convenient side trip from reality?” He hadn’t meant it to seem so harsh, but he felt that Jethro should know that his wife and his friend were seeing each other behind closed doors.

“Of course not, Toby. I’m sorry, maybe you’re right.” She sighed inwardly. “I’ll tell him tonight.”

Leaning back into her lover’s arms, she wondered exactly what Gibbs would think, and how he would react. She knew it wouldn’t be good.


Gibbs and Ducky drove to Gibbs’ home in total silence. Gibbs was determined to find his wife and try to understand her, and to come to terms with her. He hadn’t meant to be angry with her, it was all a mistake. He loved his wife and he knew deep down in his soul that she loved him as well. As they pulled up to the house, Gibbs knew exactly what he would say when he saw his darling wife. He jumped out of the car and raced to the front door, throwing it open and calling out loudly to her.

“Gloria! Are you in here? Honey?” He began to search the rooms, only to find her still missing. “Gloria?”

There was no answer. Ducky entered the house and stood with Gibbs in the middle of the living area. Neither had an idea of where Gloria could be.

“Perhaps she went to her mother’s?” asked Ducky.

“She wouldn’t go all the way to California with just her jacket,” answered Gibbs.

“Well, perhaps one of her girlfriends?”

“Or one of her boyfriends.” Gibbs bent down to pick up something from the floor; it was a matchbook from one of the local nightclubs near by. It must have fallen out of her coat when she took it from the hook.

“Jethro, you don’t honestly think that Gloria would cheat on you?”

“Ducky, I don’t know what to think anymore. This case has set me on edge. What would you think?”

Just then, Gloria walked in the door of the house, saw the look on both her husband and her oldest friend’s faces, noticed the matchbook, and realized that the sweets was literally about to hit the fan. She took off her coat and hung it on its hook slowly, then walked past Gibbs into the bedroom. He turned to follow her, while Ducky sat on the couch.

When she entered the bedroom, she went into the closet and pulled down a suitcase. Gibbs watched her, asking the obvious questions.

“Where have you been?”

“Out,” she replied with no inflection in her voice. It was an answer, nothing more.

“Where do you think you’re going now?”

“I’m going to my mother’s for a while. I figured that now was a good time, so that you could calm down.”

“Where did you get this matchbook?” It was time to get down to the suspicions running through his head.

“You can read the name on the book as well as I can, you tell me.” She was feeling the flush rising in her face as she tried to figure out what to say to him. Tell him about Toby, or deny it.

“Who did you meet there?”

“Who said I met anyone there? I went for a drink, and came home some time later.”

“Damnit, Gloria, will you just talk to me. Tell me what’s going on in that head of yours.”

“I told you everything I am going to tell you, Jethro. Now if you will excuse me, I have some packing to do.” She turned away from him then and continued to put clothes in the case. Gibbs walked out to the living room where Ducky was having a discussion with Tobias. When the FBI man had gotten there, Gibbs had no idea. And why he was there was yet another mystery to him.

“Toby, what can I do for you?” he asked lightly.

“Is Gloria here? I wanted to talk to her.”

“She’s in the bedroom, packing her things.”

“So you’re kicking her out of the house?” Toby growled at him.

“Why would I do that Toby? Do you know something I don’t know?”

Toby stared hard at his once good friend. He could not believe the man was acting like this. As if it were none of his business even though he was smack in the middle of it. “She didn’t mean for any of this to happen, Gibbs. She just needed someone and I happened to be there for her.”

Gibbs’ face became stone cold as he looked from the FBI man back to his wife standing in the hallway.

“You happened to what? You happened to be there for what, Toby?”

“Shut up Toby. It’s not what you think.” Gloria yelled at him. But Gibbs had already put it together; he simply wanted the confession to come through. And Toby knew this; he knew that Gibbs was the one who deserved the truth, more than anyone else.

“Jethro, Gloria and I have been seeing each other.”

Gibbs turned on Gloria, disgust etched in every line of his face. “Did you sleep with him?” he snarled.

“Yes,” she said, almost proudly. She held her head up high and glared at him. Gibbs turned back to Toby and blinked a few times, trying to sort it all out.

“My wife was sleeping with another man, while I was working on a case?”

“It was because of your obsession with this case...”

“Don’t pin this on me Gloria. I didn’t do this, you did.” Gibbs was wounded now. She had deceived him and slept with another man and now she wanted to blame it on his job!

She glanced at Ducky, who simply threw up his hands and sat on the couch again. She pleaded silently with him to help.

“Don’t look at me, Gloria, you made this mess, you will have to deal with it.” Ducky couldn’t believe that she would go and do something like this. He thought she had more morals than that.

“Jethro, you were so caught up in the case that she thought she was taking second place to it.” Toby was trying to sooth the situation now, laying a restraining hand on Gibbs’ arm and trying to get his friend to look in his eyes.

“I don’t blame you, Toby. I blame her for lying to me and deceiving me. I can’t blame you, because I should have seen it coming a long time ago. I never should have trusted her.”

“You nice guy,” she snarled in contempt.

“You made me this way, Gloria. If you think I’m going to let you get away with this, you’re wrong. Like Toby said, I want you out of the house; I don’t ever want to see your face again.”

“You’re throwing me out?”

“Like yesterday’s garbage. And you can forget about getting anything from me. You can look to your new lover for everything you’ll ever need.”

Ducky said later that the bat to the head could have done much more damage had he been looking at her. Luckily for him, he could no longer stomach the sight of her and had turned away when she struck.

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Yeah, you get another Act. Hubby is still sleeping so I can slip this in. Last act tomorrow.

[LJG_NCIS]

Thanks again for posting today. Awww, I just want to give Gibbs a big hug! (Well, I wanted to do that before anyway. ) Can't wait to read the last act!!! ;D

[Karie]

Last act of "Get off my case!" later this morning

[Karie]

Act 5

The court ordeal was rather tough, as she had every intention of taking the house and all that came with it, but since she was the wrongful party, she got nothing. Soon she found herself in long battles over belongings and eventually she came away with nothing but the clothes on her back and a few mementos. The final date of the divorce was also Gibbs’ birthday. It was a wretched way to remember life.

She also lost her job and standing in the NCIS field. Director Morrow was upset by the entire mess and forced her to resign her post, leaving Gibbs, in effect, as team leader. This meant that he kept Ducky on staff with him. She moved to her mother’s for a while before she came back to Toby. They had decided to marry, and Toby had asked Ducky and Gibbs to join them at the wedding. Gibbs had declined but before he hung up the phone, he gave Toby one last piece of advice.

“Don’t do this Toby, she’s not worth it and eventually she’s going to do the same to you that she did to me.”

“I can handle this, Jethro.” Toby had smiled into the mouthpiece before going on. “After all, she truly loved me.”

“Just don’t come to me when she throws something at you.”

The marriage of Toby and Gloria lasted for six months before she had treated Toby the way she had Gibbs, and they divorced without much ceremony. Gibbs wasn’t surprised.

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For months and years after that, Gibbs was selective about the people he had on his team. He was also selective about the women he dated, until one day he fell in with yet another red-head. This relationship ended with yet another failed marriage and a two iron to the head. Yet another concussion and Gibbs swore off women for a while.

It was after hiring Abby to the team as a forensic specialist that Gibbs felt a little better about the evidence that was being processed. And after bringing a young brash cop named Anthony DiNozzo into the bullpen that Gibbs realized he could actually have a decent team. Kate and McGee had rounded out the team nicely and things were going fine for some time.

But once a year on his birthday, Gloria felt it was only fair that she at least call him. Wishes of a happy year were tainted with sarcasm and he often felt a bitter taste in his mouth after each call. Another year at a failed marriage, another call to remind him of the one that got under his skin.

He had once told Kate that romance between agents never worked and he believed that, he had seen it happen. It had happened to him, and he would never forget it.

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“What do you feel was the first mistake you made in that ordeal, Jethro?”

“I married her,” Gibbs cracked with a smile. The two friends were driving back towards headquarters so that Ducky could retrieve his car and go to Maggie’s house for drinks. Gibbs was still deciding if he wanted to join them or not.

“You loved her. She even tried to admit that the baseball bat was a mistake.” Ducky glanced at Gibbs.

“I notice you haven’t tried to go make nice with her,” Gibbs responded.

“She betrayed my trust. She lied to me, and I do not take to liars very well.”

Gibbs nodded as they pulled in next to Ducky’s car. He had thought a lot about that night, and the only thing he felt he could have done better was to have let the case go when she wanted to. “Why didn’t I just let it go?”

“You couldn’t let the case go, Jethro, it was important to finish. It’s what you do, work until the job is done and the bad people are caught. It was no one’s fault, what happened to you and Gloria. The fault lay with the actions that resulted from the problem. The problem was that you were both too much alike.”

“Somehow I got the house, and she got to leave.”

“You also got the team, were able to stay at NCIS and you got me.” Ducky brightened as he exited the car.

“Yeah, I actually came out of that divorce somewhat better than I had expected.”

Suddenly there was a ring on Ducky’s phone. He reached for it and answered, “Mallard here. Oh, Anthony, has Mother fallen asleep? Splendid, I am on my way to Maggie’s house right now for drinks; would you care to join us?”

From the sad look on Ducky’s face, Gibbs could tell that the Italian had declined the offer. “Ah, well I understand Anthony. Have a good night and we will see you in the morning.”

“He still feeling Iceberg Maggie?” asked Gibbs as Ducky shuffled over to his car.

“Yes, I feel there is more there than he wants to let on.”

“Just as long as he remembers what I told him about romance and agents.”

“Jethro, I think the only reason you say that is because you don’t want them to see how much you were hurt. One of these days you are going to have to admit your faults to someone besides me.” Ducky looked at his long time friend with pain in his eyes. “They are your family now, Jethro. Treat them with some respect.”

Gibbs nodded as Ducky pulled out of the parking lot and headed off to his next appointment. Presently there was a ringing in his phone. He reached down to his hip, detached the phone and scanned the ID. It was Gloria, calling to wish him yet another year. He stared at the phone for a moment, wondering if he should answer it. Finally, he flicked it open and hit talk.

“Hello Gloria.” Gibbs tried to sound all smiles as he held the phone to his ear.

“Hello Jethro. Happy Birthday, this makes what… eight years?”

“Yeah, it is. How is your mother?” Gloria had returned to California after her divorce from Toby, feeling that it was the safest and best place to be.

“She’s doing well. How is work? Is Ducky still there?”

“Yes, Ducky still works with me, we are doing well. Abby, Tony and Tim are adjusting to life without Kate.” Gloria knew all about his team, he never hid anything about it from her.

“I’m sorry again about your losing her, Jethro. I know you cared about her very much.”

“Thank you for your concern, Gloria. We do have a new replacement. She’s an old friend of Tony’s, from college. She’s really smart, and I think she’s going to fit in just fine.”

“That’s good to hear, I’m glad for you.” Gloria was being evasive. She wanted to say something, but she couldn’t bring herself to say it. Gibbs opened the door of communication for her to plunge through.

“Gloria, I know you’ve been trying to say something for the last minute or so, why don’t you just come out and say it.”

“I’m sorry, Jethro. I’m sorry for all those years I put you through. I never meant to hurt you with Toby.”

“I know, and you were right, I was being obsessed. Gloria, I can’t take back what happened. And I don’t think I would anyway.”

“Are you saying that we never should have married? Do you think it would have been better for us that way?”

Gibbs stood for a while, staring at the sky of stars above him. What was it he was really saying? Should they have never been married? Had he never loved her? Did he think she never loved him? Was their love a mistake?

“I wish I had paid more attention to you, Gloria. I think if I had, we never would have had a problem. We were so much alike, but I think we were afraid to communicate. I’ve learned to do that now.”

“Is that thanks to Kate?”

“No, not just Kate, it’s much more than that. I should have seen it years ago, but now with this new agent, and, well there are problems between her and Tony that are much like you and I were. She won’t talk to him about what’s bothering her. And he is much like you, happy all the time on the outside, but on the inside he’s totally miserable.”

“Well, it never worked with us, but do you think you can help them?”

“Using our mistakes as guidelines of what not to do, I think I can. And seeing them, I see I have to communicate more. Ducky reminded me tonight that they are my family now, I need to treat them with more respect.” Gibbs left the rest of his thought unspoken.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that you are doing better, Jethro. Perhaps I can come out to visit you one day.”

Gibbs grimaced slightly. “I don’t think that is a good idea, Gloria.”

“Too soon to say all is forgiven?”

“Maybe I can forgive, but Ducky can’t. And forgetting is too hard still.”

“I got it, Jethro. I’m sorry; I shouldn’t have forgotten about Ducky, he still dislikes me for what I did.”

“For what you did, but not for who you are. You are still a friend to him; I think that’s why it was so hard on him.”

“I understand. Well I should let you go. Have a good year Jethro.”

“I will, Gloria. Thank you for the call.” This was the first time that Gibbs actually meant that last phrase as he hung up the phone and replaced it on his hip. He stared off into space, thinking about her, the mistakes they had made and the outcome that resulted. Turning to the car, he slipped back in and wondered what he should do next. He could go home and work on his project all night. He could go to bed and get an early start on paperwork in the morning.

He began to drive, letting his subconscious decide for him his next course of action.

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Ducky had shown up at Maggie’s apartment and after giving her a brief overview of the events of the night, they sat on the couch and were sharing a cup of tea when there was a knock on the door. Maggie went to answer it only to find Gibbs standing there in her hallway.

“Hi Maggie, mind if I join you two?” he asked shyly. She smiled and nodded, turning slightly to allow him entrance. After pouring him a cup of tea and settling back on the couch with Ducky, the three sipped tea in silence for some time.

After some time had passed, Ducky looked at the two agents and smiled.

“Maggie dear, have I told you about the time that Gibbs had to drag poor Anthony and Caitlyn down to Guantanamo Bay, and Anthony had the most amusing incident with an iguana?”

Gibbs chuckled to himself as he remembered the morning of the iguana that Ducky was referring to and he and Maggie settled in to hear the tale with interest. So this was what Maggie and Ducky did on those nights after Gibbs would leave her at her doorstep. Maggie was so not like Kate or Gloria. He would be happy to spend time with her, and help her feel like a member of his family. However long it took.

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Another episode down, shall I go on? Well of course I must, there are much to this story that must be told! Enjoy!

[LJG_NCIS]

Are you crazy?!?! Of course you have to go on!!!!! Poor, Gibbs *gives her Gibbs clone a big hug*