Worst Case Scenario (21/23)
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water4willowsCharacters: Tony, Gibbs, McGee, Ziva, Ducky, Palmer, Vance, Various OCs
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, Muti-Chapter Case Fic
Pairings: Slight TIVA, but blink and you might miss it, other than that None
Rating: PG-13 for Violence & Language
Words: Chapter 21 - 702
Summary: The death of a child draws the team into web of lies, cover-ups and murder. Will the emotional case claim the life of one of their own?
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with NCIS. The character's contained in this work of fiction are the property of CBS.
The elevator dinged and deposited a lone figure into the bullpen. His leg had been freed from its cast and he was reminded of a time, not long ago, when disembarking the elevator had been such a hassle. Now his leg was free to bend and move any which way he decided and it was an exhilarating feeling.
A honey light was filtering in from the west facing windows and dusk was fast approaching. It was an interesting time to hold an outdoor memorial service, but he wasn't the one who planned everything so he would just go along with it.
McGee found what he was looking for in the top drawer of Tony's desk. The Mighty Mouse stapler had been his friend's most prized possession so it was right that it was going where it was going. He held the miniature object in his hand and smiled at the memories it reminded him of: Tony's story of how he'd won it off an officer from Baltimore, the time McGee and Ziva had hidden as a joke… Those were moments you had to hold onto on days like today.
Sighing, McGee pocketed the Mighty Mouse stapler and made his way back out into the fading sunshine and towards the churchyard.
The road winding through the cemetery wasn't paved and his Taurus struggled up the hills until he finally found the corner of the graveyard he was looking for. He spotted the small group of mourners standing near the grave. He unfolded himself from out of his car, so happy that he could drive again he almost didn't want to get out from behind the wheel but there was something he had to do and he couldn't linger.
The walk across the grass to the small gathered group was peaceful. The sinking sun was painting a riot of color across the sky and McGee's only wish was that Tony had been there to see it with him. That wasn't possible though, and he finally reached his destination.
Abby, decked out in her Louisiana funeral finest, noticed him first and walked over to throw her arms around his neck with a sigh. He hugged her back putting everything he was feeling at the moment into the hug until they finally released at the same time.
"Thank you for coming."
"I wouldn't miss it for the world."
Gibbs nodded to him when he caught his eyes and their stoic team leader looked as natural as always in jeans and blazer covering a dark blue polo shirt. Pure Gibbs. Ziva was simple in an unadorned black dress but even though McGee suspected she'd tried to find the most unflattering dress she could, her well-toned body still looked good in it. Abby slipped her arm around his and lead him over to the grave. Gibbs took a place beside Abby and Ziva took McGee's other arm and laid a head on his shoulder.
They stared down at the gravestone atop a mound of earth that just was beginning to show signs of life. Small tendrils of green were peeking out and reaching for the sun, the circle of life on full display. McGee felt himself choke up a bit at the thought but he didn't have a free hand with Abby and Ziva on each arm to wipe away the evidence so he let it stay.
They stood in silence for a few moments as the sun's rays began leaving their figures one by one and then Abby started the speeches.
When it was all said and done and the sun was gone McGee untangled himself from Ziva and Abby and pulled the small stapler from his pocket and set it reverently on top of the stone. He walked away with the rest of them hoping that the little object would be left to lie and not be swept away by the crew who cleaned up the grounds. Mighty Mouse deserved more respect than that and so did the stapler's previous owner who would never hold it again. He thought about turning around and maybe burying the stapler in the soft earth but decided he liked it better where it was.
He imagined Tony would have approved.