Author's notes: This story is based in this season, and for it to work you have to disregard the episode "House Rules", awesome as that one was. I don't own NCIS, much as I'd like to. On with the story…..

The Gift

By Mele

At nine in the morning on Christmas Eve day Team Gibbs had only one Christmas wish: no dead bodies. Though they were supposed to be working on cold cases, in reality they were checking the status of last minute gift orders, making New Year's Eve reservations, or emailing family members. None had made any travel plans, for once. Bishop and her husband planned to spend the holiday together, Tony was going to help Abby serve dinner at the local shelter, and Tim's family was in town to spend what they expected to be the admiral's last Christmas together.

But even the magic of Christmas can deny wishes, and Gibbs hung up his phone while standing up. "Gear up, we've got a body in the park," he announced, electing to ignore the faint grumbling of his team. Placing a quick call to Ducky, he led the team into the elevator, thankful that at least it was a nearby location.

The ME team showed up five minutes after they did, parking their vehicle beside the MCRT's vehicles and two police cars. Ducky and Jimmy hurried past a non-descript car parked on the grassy expanse, and knelt by the body of a young soldier.

"What do we know so far?" Ducky asked as Jimmy inserted the liver probe.

"Not much," Gibbs replied. "Two passersby noticed the car, came to investigate and found the body. Bishop and DiNozzo are talking to them," he noted, as Tim moved about, taking pictures of the scene.

"Time of death is about four hours ago," Palmer spoke up, cleaning the probe and putting it back in the satchel.

Ducky looked up from his examination of the body. "Of course, the autopsy might reveal something unexpected, but my initial supposition is that three gunshots to the chest would be the cause of death."

"He fought back. Or fought someone," Jimmy chimed in, holding up one curled hand with bruised and abraded knuckles. "And it appears we may have some evidence under the nails," he added, pulling a couple of small plastic bags to put on the appendages to preserve the evidence.

"Hey, aren't you off today, Gremlin?" Tony asked the younger man as he and Bishop joined them.

"I came by to drop off some gifts when the call came in. I offered to come along, in case I could help," Palmer replied, standing up. "I'll go get the gurney."

Tim had finished the pictures and gotten a fingerprint before Jimmy bagged the victim's hands, now he spoke up. "He's Petty Officer Charles Bragdon, just back from a tour in Iraq. Single, no children, from West Virginia."

"Okay, Tim, you and Bishop bag and tag everything within ten feet of the body. DiNozzo, you and I will check out the car," Gibbs decided, looking at the vehicle, which was parked about fifty yards from the body.

The two police officers stood talking near the front of the vehicle and Jimmy was approaching from the rear, pushing the gurney, when the car exploded.

"Holy crap!" Tony exclaimed, instinctively ducking. "What the hell?"

"Ducky, DiNozzo, check Palmer, McGee, Bishop and I will check the officers," Gibbs ordered, sprinting forward, closely followed by the others, with Ducky having automatically grabbed his ME bag.

DiNozzo raced past the burning car and downed officers already being tended by the others and headed toward the rear. He saw the gurney upside-down, and spied one of Jimmy's arms protruding from beneath it. The Senior Field Officer checked to make sure it was safe, and then with the newly arrived Ducky's assistance shifted the gurney off the assistant ME.

"Oh, dear," Dr. Mallard muttered, starting a careful probing of his assistant.

"I'm gonna grab a fire extinguisher," Tony gasped out, running toward the parked vehicles.

Ducky noted Palmer was unconscious, but appeared to have no broken bones nor open injuries. The young man did have a rapidly swelling knot just above his hairline, but at least it wasn't bleeding.

"Ducky, we need some help here," Gibbs called out as Tony arrived with two extinguishers and attacked the blazing car.

"Is Palmer okay?" Gibbs asked as Ducky arrived still toting his medical bag. Gibbs and Bishop were struggling to calm the struggling officer, who moaned and writhed in pain.

"Unconscious, but apparently not too badly injured," he reported, absently.

"I can't really do much for this officer, I don't have any medication to give him, but perhaps this might help soothe the pain some," he said, pulling out some salve. He glanced over to the other officer, noticing Tim had a grip on one of the victim's arms while using his phone with the other hand.

"Timothy, how is he?"

"Unconscious and bleeding badly, I've got it slowed down with manual pressure, but if you can provide a tourniquet that'd probably be best," McGee replied. "I called 911, they are on their way."

Just then the first officer lost consciousness, which was actually a relief, at least he wouldn't be aware of the pain. Leaving him for the moment, Ducky hurried to Tim's side and deftly worked to stop the bleeding. In the distance they could already hear the welcome sound of approaching sirens.

"Timothy, keep an eye on him to make sure the bleeding stays stopped," the ME ordered after a quick examination of the policeman. Both officers had suffered burns and shrapnel wounds. "I'm going to go check on Mr. Palmer."

He walked past the still smoking car, his gaze going automatically to where he'd left his injured assistant. He saw the gurney, but no sign of Jimmy, and he turned to Tony, who was just setting down the second emptied extinguisher.

"Anthony, did you move Mr. Palmer?"

"What? Of course not," Tony exclaimed, walking up to stand by Ducky. "Where did he go?"

"Problem?" Gibbs asked, coming to stand by them.

"It appears we've lost Mr. Palmer," Ducky said, walking up to the spot he'd left his assistant.

"Careful, Duck, this is now a second crime scene," the team leader advised.

"Maybe he went back to the ME van," Tony suggested, starting toward the parking lot.

Just then an ambulance, fire truck and two police cruisers entered the park, coming to a stop behind the police and NCIS vehicles already on the scene. The area was quickly filled with police, firemen and ambulance attendants in a scene of controlled chaos. The ambulance attendants readied the two injured officers for transport as the firemen made sure the vehicle was safe to be removed and Gibbs and Ducky reported to the newly arrived policemen what had transpired. Dinozzo had found no sign of Palmer in either van, so he, McGee and Bishop were searching the area round where Jimmy had been injured, looking for any indication as to what happened to the assistant medical examiner.

"So, the initial crime scene is yours," Detective Ramos said, indicating the still waiting body of the petty officer.

"Yeah, and the missing person is a NCIS employee as well," Tony noted with some asperity.

Gibbs considered his options. It was Christmas Eve, none of the other teams were on duty today, and he was reluctant to call them in. He wanted to work both cases, but couldn't split the team yet. With a sigh he made his decision.

"Ducky, you and Tony prepare Petty Officer Bragdon for transport and take him in. Duck, go ahead and do the autopsy. McGee, you make the arrangements to bring the car in, and Bishop and I will take the evidence in, get it to Abby." He raised his hand to forestall the objections he saw coming on all sides.

"We have a responsibility to find the petty officer's killer. The police are more than capable of searching for Palmer," he declared. "The sooner we get the case finished, the sooner we can join them." There was a bit of grumbling, but the team disbursed to follow orders.

"We'll do our best, Gibbs," Ramos assured him. "Anyone got a picture of him?"

"Hey, Duck," Gibbs called over to his old friend. "You have a picture of Palmer we can use?"

Ducky walked back, pulling out his wallet as he came. Carefully extracting a picture, he handed it to Gibbs, as if to remind the man of the place the youngster held in Ducky's life. It showed Jimmy and Ducky at the prior year's Christmas party, standing together and holding glasses of eggnog aloft, smiling with carefree joy. Gibbs handed the small rectangle to Ramos without comment.

"My God, he looks too young to be drinking," the veteran officer commented.

"He has a seven months pregnant wife waiting at home," Dr. Mallard said simply, turning again toward the petty officer's body.

Gibbs watched Ducky stalk off, then turned to the officer with a wry look. "He's a little protective of Palmer."

"Agent Gibbs, if there's one thing police officers know about, it's protecting their partners. I'm guessing you're ex-military, I doubt I need to explain anything to you."

"Right on all counts," he agreed, extracting his card and handing it to Ramos. The other man took it and put it in his uniform pocket.

"The minute we know anything at all, I'll call," he promised sincerely, surprisingly touched by the NCIS agent's trust. He suspected Gibbs wasn't someone who trusted lightly.

"I'm counting on it."

NCISNCISNCIS

By one in the afternoon Ducky had the preliminary results of his autopsy, so Gibbs headed down to get his old friend's report.

"Jethro, any word from the police yet?" he older man asked anxiously.

"Ducky the minute I hear anything, I will call you immediately, I promise," Gibbs said quietly.

"Of course, I should know that," Ducky muttered, turning toward the table where Bragdon's body lay covered.

"My field assessment was correct, cause of death was gunshot wounds. One severed an artery, death was very quick, if not painless. Otherwise our young petty officer was in exemplary condition," he noted, checking his notes. "Only other things to note are he had Italian for dinner last night, and sexual intercourse. Abby is running DNA on that and on the samples from under his nails. She should have results shortly."

"Looks like you've done all you can, why don't I help you put Petty Officer Bragdon away, and if you want to go look for Palmer yourself I can't see any reason why not," Gibbs decided, helping shift the body to a drawer.

"I appreciate that, Jethro," Ducky started, only to be interrupted by Gibbs' cell phone ringing.

"I've got something…well, somethings actually. Can you come down?" Abby asked.

"I'll be right there," he replied, pocketing the small device. "Want to come along?" he asked the ME.

"Why not? As you pointed out, the sooner this is solved, the sooner we are all looking for Mr. Palmer."

They entered the forensics lab to find an anxious Abby waiting for them. "No word yet?" she asked immediately. Atypically, there was no music playing in the background, and her Christmas decorations had been turned off.

"Not yet, Abbs. What do you have?" he replied.

"Besides massive anxiety for Jimmy? Well, mucho goodness," she explained, turning to her computer.

"First the DNA from his hands. Belongs to one Munitions Expert Ned Larson, recently back from Iraq. I checked the records and he and our deceased petty officer have crossed paths many times. Now for the part that actually belongs in a soap opera or something. The DNA from the area that is not his hands, that belongs to Regina Larson, a bookkeeper at a local construction company and wife of Ned Larson," she explained, turning to Gibbs with an expectant expression.

"We need to locate the Larsons," Gibbs noted, pulling out his cell.

"I'm ahead of you," Abby said, staying his hand. "I called Timmy right after I called you, I'm betting by the time you get upstairs they'll have answers for you," she grinned. "But first, one more nugget from my Christmas stocking. They found the remnants of the explosive device that set the car off. I did some checking, and the components are military. The sort of things a munitions officer, for instance, could easily enough obtain."

"Good job, Abbs," he said, giving her a quick kiss on the temple before heading toward the door.

"Can I come along?" she asked with a longing look.

Gibbs gave her one of his half grins and waved his hand in invitation. They arrived in the bullpen to find Bishop and DiNozzo standing behind Tim's chair, watching him.

"Got anything, McGee?" the team leader asked.

"Found them, Boss," the green eyed agent answered, picking up the remote and moving to the area in front of the plasma where he was joined by everyone else. "I found their cell numbers, which I was able to trace. Regina Larson is at home, and Ned Larson is at a bar on Newton Avenue," he reported, bringing pictures of both the Larsons up on the screen side by side.

"Tim, you and Tony go pick up the husband, Bishop and I will deal with the wife," Gibbs ordered. The team turned to grab their bags but stopped as they saw Vance walk into the room, followed by Detective Ramos.

"I ran into him downstairs, thought I'd bring him up myself," Vance said quietly.

"We found this near the back of the park," the detective explained, handing over a dark jacket. Jimmy's NCIS Medical Examiners jacket, to be exact.

"Any idea why he was back there?" Ducky asked with a worried look.

"It's an odd one. We found no evidence of a struggle, anywhere. It's as if he simply got up and walked off on his own," Ramos explained with a puzzled look.

"It's possible he did just that," Ducky said slowly. Seeing the questioning looks, he continued somewhat hesitantly, as he thought his way through it. "He was pushing the gurney when the car exploded. I would expect it flipped upward, ironically providing a sort of shield, which would explain why I found no cuts or burns. But when it landed on him, I believe part of the metal framing hit his head, he had a fairly significant head injury. If he woke up, alone, seeing a burning car, people hurrying about…he could have been disoriented. Confused. Might even have amnesia; it's not common but not unheard of either. He wakes up…doesn't understand what is happening…he might indeed feel himself to be in danger, and if so he would leave. We may need to get the public involved in the search as well," the ME suggested.

"We usually only do that with missing persons in imminent danger," Ramos noted.

"Mr. Palmer has a head injury, he is also an insulin dependent diabetic, which means if he doesn't eat and take his medication regularly he can die. He IS in imminent danger," Ducky countered.

"I see your point. I'll arrange a press conference."

"And I'll go to Breena, bring her here. She can't hear about this through a press conference," Ducky added, turning to go. The others looked at Gibbs.

"The Larsons first. Abbs, did you finish with the rest of the evidence?" Gibbs wondered.

"Major Mass Spec is working on it as we speak," she replied.

"Okay, I'll check in with you when we get back," he said, as the team headed out, anxious to have this case decided.

NCISNCISNCIS

Ducky pulled up in front of the small house the young Palmer family called home. Christmas lights lined the windows and roof, and an inflatable Santa waved a cheerful greeting in the tiny front yard. The older man took a deep breath, steadying himself for his duty, one he always prayed never to have to do, then climbed out of his Morgan.

Breena answered the door with a puzzled smile, which faded when she saw the expression on her husband's boss. "What's happened," she asked with tear filled eyes, her hands going down instinctively to cradle her burgeoning belly. "Is he dead?"

"We don't believe so," Ducky replied, gently escorting her a chair.

"What do you mean? 'We don't believe so'? What kind of answer is that?" she asked, studying Ducky's face anxiously.

"He was injured in an explosion at the crime scene, but I examined him, all I found was a head injury, he was unconscious but his vitals were strong. I went to assist with the other victims, and when I checked back on Jimmy he as gone. The evidence indicates he simply wandered off," Dr. Mallard explained gently.

"Why would he wander off?"

"I think he was disoriented, confused. There was a burning car, Anthony was fighting the fire, and we were treating two severely injured police officers. Enough to confuse anyone, really, let alone someone with a head injury. They found his jacket near the rear of the park, but no signs of a struggle," he reassured her. "They are going to release a press conference, asking for the public's help in finding him. I thought it might be best if you were with us at NCIS, not sitting here alone. Mr…uh…Jimmy told me your folks were in Montana this year for Christmas."

"Dr. Mallard," she started hesitantly, then continued. "Why was Jimmy at a crime scene? It was his day off."

"He was there when the call came, dropping off my present. He offered to help, and I didn't have the sense to refuse it," Ducky said with a downcast look.

"Don't you dare blame yourself, Dr. Mallard," she hastened to assure him. "Jimmy loves his job, and he thinks the world of you. I should have known," she continued with a chuckle. "It's been hard not working in the mortuary since I got pregnant, but with all those chemicals…well, I know the reason but I still miss the work," she concluded.

"Come with me, my dear," he encouraged her, nodding in approval as she grabbed her jacket and purse. Helping her into the warm apparel, he escorted her to his car.

NCISNCISNCIS

Gibbs knocked sharply on the door of the apartment, noting the lack of any decorations. When no one answered, he knocked again, calling out. "NCIS, we know you're in there Mrs. Larson."

The door was finally opened by a slightly pudgy blonde sporting two black eyes, swollen lips and a cornered look. "What can I do for you?" she asked, her gaze darting between the two agents.

"May we come in? We have a couple of questions," Bishop asked.

"It's not a very good time," the woman demurred, starting to close the door. Gibbs put out his foot to stop it, but kept his behavior from being aggressive.

"It won't take long. Did your husband do that?" he queried.

"No, I um…I fell. Clumsy," she answered, avoiding eye contact.

"Was that before or after you had sexual relations with Petty Officer Charles Bragdon?" Gibbs asked bluntly. While he understood it was unintentional, evidence indicated that this woman helped set into motion actions that culminated with two police officers and one assistant medical examiner being injured. He didn't have the patience or the time to be subtle.

The woman paled, and staggered a little. "What? What are you talking about?" she gasped out.

"Our ME found your DNA on the petty officer's penis during his autopsy."

"He…he's dead?" she asked, tears filling her eyes. "He really killed him?"

"Care to revise your story?" Gibbs asked with knowing look.

NCISNCISNCIS

Tony led the way into Mario's Bar, a small establishment that depended on the neighborhood patrons to survive. Tim walked in behind DiNozzo, pulling up the suspect's picture on his phone to be sure it was fresh in his mind. With only three patrons so early in the day, it was easy to spot Ned Larson at the far end of the counter. The man stared into his drink moodily, not noticing the two agents' arrival until Tony spoke up.

"Find any answers at the bottom of that glass?" he asked.

"Yeah. Women suck," the man slurred.

"Deep," Tony answered, reaching to take out his cuffs. "Ned Larson, you're under arrest for the murder of Petty Officer Charles Bragdon and the setting of a bomb that injured three others," he intoned, reciting the Miranda Rights as he led the man out. While Tony secured their prisoner in the car, Tim ran the plates in the parking lot, finally locating the one that belonged to Larson.

Tony quickly jimmied the lock and the two agents searched the vehicle. Tony whistled in appreciation when he looked under the mat in the trunk.

"Jackpot Timmy," he called out. McGee shot him an irritated look which brightened when he saw what Tony had uncovered.

"I'll call for a tow," the younger agent said, and Tony carefully examined the wires and other small parts.

"They're on their way. So, you thinking parts for making a bomb?" McGee asked.

"I do indeed, Probie. Santa came a little early this year," he added with a smirk. "I can't wait to drop this ass off. We can't do anything until he sobers up anyways."

"It's time to go find us an Autopsy Gremlin."

To be continued…..

Author's Notes: I kinda rushed through the case, but this isn't meant to be a case fic.