TIE UP

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is a companion piece to Kick Up.


What a great way to start the day Gibbs thought as he observed his hard working team from the door opening. McGee didn't really know how to handle the crime scene and his insecurity had kicked in. DiNozzo immediately took advantage of that and made him sketch the toys closet. DiNozzo's eyes were sparkling and he was smiling like a little boy in a candy store. Gibbs wouldn't be surprised if DiNozzo would have a hidden room like this one in his own apartment. Ziva handled the toys like a pro, she kept her cool, swapped for DNA and dusted for prints. She didn't look shocked or horrified, and she wasn't in awe either. Gibbs had anticipated this, he just knew that Ziva played or had played in the past.

But the one person that threw Gibbs off balance, was his best friend and lover DUcky. Not his some-what daughter Abby, as she would be in her element in an environment like this, but Ducky. The sophisticated but eccentric Medical Examiner. His Ducky, the one he was supposed to know through and through.
Although, he, Ducky, was probably referring to his secret life, which Gibbs had found out about many years ago and they hadn't talked about it ever since. "Oh yes." Ducky's voice sounded. "When I was younger, I found myself hung up on ropes or chains nearly every week, instead of working in the laboratory, just because my..."
Alarm bells went off in Gibbs' head. "Duck." he nagged. "What can you tell me aobut this man's death?"
Ducky looked up to Gibbs, he looked tired, but his blue eyes were twinkling with mischief and realisation that he nearly had blown his oh so solid cover.
"Well..." Ducky started. "Certainly not the fun and play..." he chuckled. "I found two entry wounds on the back of his head." Ducky tilted the head of the deceased Petty Officer. "And unfortunately, or fortunately, there are no exit wounds."
"What killed him?"
"I don't know for sure until I get him home, Jethro. Something pointy like an ice pick or a magic bullet."
"Magic bullet?" Palmer echoed.
"If someone gets shot in the head, there are exit wounds 90% of the time, Palmer." DiNozzo shot at the poor ME assistent.
"DiNozzo!" Gibbs snarled at the younger agent. Tony winced. At least it was as effective as a headslap. Gibbs really didn't want to cross the room right now to make his senior agent focus, mostly because the crime scene was a mess and there were already too many people in the small playroom, which was hidden behind a cupboard.

"You nearly blew your cover today, Duck." Gibbs said as he walked into Ducky's kitchen. Mrs. Mallard was out to Mrs. Patterson for the night, so they could talk freely.
"I'm sorry Jethro, it just slipped my mind." DUcky answered tiredly.
"A lot is slipping your mind lately." Gibbs knew that Ducky wasn't telling the truth, he just waited until Ducky would say what was on his mind.
"I'm getting old." Ducky chuckled as he let the butter melt in the pan.
"That's bull." Gibbs interrupted Ducky mid-sentence.
"Jethro..."
"I told you not to over do it with taking care of your mother."
Shock and surprisement could be seen on the older man's face. "She's been sleepwalking for a few nights now," the man admitted. "She's attacked the nurse, and isn't co-operating at all."
"I told you to ask me for help." Gibbs reached for the stove and turned it off. He put his arms around his lover and pulled him into a hug. "Let's order in." he said softly as he stroked the older man's thick hair. "Let me take care of you tonight."
"Jethro..."
"You need to rest." The NCIS agent said sweetly, but stern enough to let Ducky know that he meant business. "You need to relax... how about a nice massage after a long, hot bath?"
Ducky softly nodded. "Alright then, Jethro."
"If you want, you can tell me all about being tied up on ropes and chains."
Ducky snorted. "I'd rather not... the physical abuse I had to endure in that time is too painful to remember."
Gibbs softly kissed Ducky in his neck. "I'm sorry about that." he felt how Ducky started to relax in his arms. "Why won't you go into the study, sit down with your feet up after you've poured yourself a drink?"
"And what are you going to do, dearest?"
"Call the Chinese." Gibbs softly planted a kiss on the Brit's forehead. "I said that you have to relax, so don't get your Forensic Psychology books out."
The other man softly chuckled. "You know me too well, dear.'
The Marine saw his lover toddle out of the kitchen and started to clean up the area while he dialled the number of the take out Chinese.

A life time ago, his Ducky had lead a different life, a life that no one would think of when they met the eccentric Brit. He wasn't a real Brit, Ducky's other life had taught him to do accents very well. Ducky's mother wasn't even his real mother, but someone's grandmother who, when she wasn't suffering from Alzheimers yet, had been instructed to be Ducky's mother for securing the man's new identity. And Vanessa Mallard could say some crazy things when she had started to become less lucid from time to time, so no one believed her anyway.
Gibbs hadn't known about this before, and had almost put Ducky in danger. He could understand why his lover hadn't said anything in the past, but on the other hand he had felt hurt. It meant that even though Ducky had loved him at that time, the man couldn't fully trust Jethro back then, and that had been a wake up call. He had started to take better care of himself, and had been weak when he married Madeline, Anne and Diane. Gibbs was lucky that Ducky was a forgiving person, and had made the reservist realize that he shouldn't be afraid of what other people might think should they see the two men together.
He had even forgiven Ducky for not telling him about his former partner. After all, Ducky was leading two lives at the same time and balanced it well, and didn't have to do that anymore when his old partner died, which was very unfortunate. Gibbs had realised though that he had been acting like a jerk, he helped Ducky cope with the loss, and Ducky helped Jethro deal with Shannon and Kelly's deaths, only to never speak of them again. Not about Napoleon, not about Gibbs' wife and daughter. And it worked fine for the both of them.

Gibbs walked into the study and found his lover sound asleep on the big comfortable chair. The sight of the sleeping man made a smile appear on the marine's face, and he hated to wake him up but Gibbs knew that his partner needed to sleep in his big and comfortable bed, he just hoped, for Ducky's sake, that the man wouldn't awake fully.
Gibbs squatted down infront of the sleeping Medical Examiner and softly kissed his lips. "Duck, time to go to bed." he almost whispered.
"You can't carry me up the stairs." Ducky murmured.
"No." Gibbs snickered. "I need you a little awake."
The older man yawned and opened his eyes. Even in the dimmed light of the study, the NCIS agent could see the stars in the steel blue eyes of his foreign friend. "Did you order from the take out, Jethro?"
Gibbs was a little surprised by that question. "Yes." he chuckled.
"I"m not going to bed without a decent meal, dear."
"But.. you were sleeping."
"I know, but I'm hungry now."
Gibbs leaned towards his doctor and kissed him tenderly. "You never seize to amaze me, Duck." he smiled.
"That's a good thing, Jethro dear, then you won't get bored with me." Ducky chuckled mischievously.
"Never with you around."
"Tell me one thing, Jethro."
"Tell you what?"
"You have played, haven't you? Before you met Shannon?"
"Duck..." Gibbs sighed, realising that Ducky wasn't satisfied with no answer. "Even I was young once."

And with that, Gibbs hoped that he had said enough.