Author's Note:

This is a story for x0NCISx0 - who asked in a review whether the inspiration for the name Imogen (the infant in The stork comes calling) came from Shakespeare ... and inadvertently gave me a plot bunny.

It may be the Christmas season 'n' all, but my brain jumped from Cymbeline ... to Twelfth Night ... to the Twelve Days of Christmas carol ... and then back to Twelfth Night.

This is the result.

________________________________________________________________________________

"I'll have to research the predatory, manipulative, grandiose nature of this behavior, but my first impression is that we're dealing with a complete loon."

Anthony Di Nozzo suppressed a chuckle.

"That Master's in Psych is starting to pay off, Ducky."

"Sadly this is no laughing matter ..." Ducky replied, looking at the papers in front of him.

Tony was about to say something in return when the doors to autopsy swished open and Gibbs walked in.

"What've we got, Duck?"

"Where did these come from, Jethro?"

"McGee's publisher. She brought them in herself an hour ago."

"Considering her involvement last time I'd say that was ... wise of her."

"You learn anything from them? Same person?"

"Yes" Ducky said as he spread the letters on one of the stainless steel tables. "These are definitely written by one person."

"We at stage one? Stage three?"

"There are stages?" Tony asked.

"Stage one is attraction" Ducky said as he picked up the letter at the far end. "This one was written around seven weeks ago. Thom E. Gemcity is on a pedestal. There were two more letters written within the space of one week. Same vein. There is an understanding that there hasn't been enough time for him to respond, but the desire to adulate and to compliment is irresistible. To the fan the writing is impeccable. The author can do no wrong."

Tony snorted.

"Have you ever actually read McGee's novels, Ducky?" he asked derisively.

"I have" the medical examiner replied, lowering his eyes with a smile.

Tony's eyes widened.

"You can't be serious .."

"You should be flattered, Tony."

"Flattered?"

Gibbs shifted impatiently when it seemed as though Ducky might expound on his theory.

"There a stage two, Duck?"

Ducky picked up the fourth letter in the sequence.

"This" he said "was written four weeks ago. "Thom hasn't replied, and a sense of desperation has started to creep into the tone. Phrases like your words sustain me, and I live to be your muse suggest that she has already moved onto the next stage – which is obse -"

"She, Ducky?"

"In Greek mythology the Muses are a sisterhood of nine goddesses or spirits who embody the arts and inspire the creation process with their graces. Not only are the Muses explicitly used in modern English to refer to an inspiration but they are also implicit in -"

"So she wants to inspire McGee?" Gibbs cut him off as he motioned towards the next letter.

"Three more letters. Again in the same vein. Again written within the space of a week."

"There a pattern here?"

Ducky angled his head for a moment.

"One does not become a predatory stalker overnight, Jethro" he said slowly. "Up till this point there were two sets of three letters each. Written three weeks apart. Until this letter arrived. Two weeks ago."

"Less gap. She's getting impatient" Gibbs said as he did the math.

"And she's moved to stage three."

"Which is?" Tony asked.

"Destruction" Ducky said slowly. "The threats are somewhat vague in this letter" he said, placing his hand over the seventh letter. "Not so vague in this one." He held up the eighth one. "And not vague at all in these" he spread his hand over several others. "She's gone from writing three letters a week to five a week. Each one slightly more aggressive than the one before it. The only thing that's consistent is her desire to inspire her idol."

He picked up the last letter in the row.

"This one is by far the most disturbing."

He turned it over in his hand once before handing it over to Gibbs.

"I know I can still be your inspiration" Tony read aloud over his shoulder. "I know you'll want to write about the gentleman in the marquee."

"She offering him ideas, Duck?"

"I believe they're known as plot bunnies, Jethro. And no .. I fear it's a little more serious than that. Read the last line."

"Don't make me do this," Gibbs read.

He looked to Ducky for interpretation.

"A sentence like that, coming at the end of a long line of unreturned fanmail might indicate that she has become increasingly delusional."

"And?"

"I can't say for certain, but I suspect she feels that now that all else has failed to garner Thom's attention it may be time for something a bit more ... noteworthy."

"McGee in any danger?" Gibbs asked.

"It's not McGee I'm worried about."

"Then who?" Gibbs asked as he dropped the letter back on the desk and fixed Ducky with his best penetrative stare.

"I can't help thinking that this means something" the medical examiner replied, holding the letter up again. "This gentleman in a marquee. It has a ring to it that I can't quite ..."

"We have twenty letters ..." Gibbs rationalised.

"Make that twenty-one."

They looked up in time to see Leon Vance enter the suite. With McGee trailing behind him.

"Got another one, Boss" he said as he placed a package on the table.

"Delivered by courier to NCIS. Twenty minutes ago."

"What's in it?" Ducky asked.

"This" McGee said as he tipped the contents out onto the table. "Abby's checked it for prints already. Came up empty. Whoever it was apparently used a drop-off box. Ziva's talking to the people who work inside the building."

Ducky picked up the piece of paper.

"Now maybe you'll pay attention to me" it read.

"Are we missing something here?" Vance asked.

"It feels like we are" Ducky mused as he compared the note to the other letters. "Definitely the same person."

The silence that fell was shattered by the ringing of the Director's cell phone. He listened to what the caller had to say and then snapped his phone shut.

"Metro PD found a body" he announced. "Piece of paper attached to it."

"What did it say?" asked McGee with trepidation.

"Ask Thom E Gemcity about the first day."

"Oh dear God" Ducky said as he picked up the penultimate letter and read the clue again.

"What is it Duck?"

"i knew there was something about it that was familiar. This is a spinoff from the old carol The Twelve Days of Christmas."

"How is that significant, Dr. Mallard?" the Director asked.

"This letter was a warning" Ducky replied as he took a closer look at its envelope. "A warning that got delayed in the Christmas mail and wasn't opened by the publisher's minions till this morning."

"How can you be sure?" Vance asked.

"Because this letter is postmarked December 20th."

"I thought the twelve days of Christmas were the run up to the holiday" Tony said, confusion written all over his face.

Ducky shook his head.

"The origin and the counting of the Twelve Days is .. complicated. To say the least. Contrary to popular belief they are not the twelve days before Christmas, but the twelve days after it. In our family the first day of Christmas begins on the evening of December 25th with the following day considered the First Day of Christmas. January 5th is known as Twelfth Night – the precursor to the Twelfth Day of Christmas .. which is the Epiphany. Officially that is when the Christmas season ends – with the visit from the three wise men."

"And this is relevant how?" Gibbs asked.

"We're working under the assumption that the first day of Christmas is December twenty-sixth, Jethro. That was Friday this year. Today is Monday. It was intended to reach Tim before Christmas. He was meant to respond to the threat. And when he didn't ..."

"She made good on it? Is that what you're saying, Duck?" Gibbs asked, stupefied.

Ducky looked sombrely at the agency director.

"Do you think she'll kill again?" Vance asked.

"I think it depends on whether she gets Thom E. Gemcity's attention. I suspect there are other missives that got caught in the mail."

"If the first day of Christmas was Friday, that means ..." Tim said slowly.

"That today is day four."

"Do you think the number of gifts will correspond to the number of bodies?"

McGee was almost sure he didn't want the answer to his question.

Tony did the math in his head.

"That would be a lot of bodies" he said.

"Seventy-eight" contributed Vance.

Ducky was still looking at the letter in his hand.

"Killing people isn't what motivates her. What she wants is Thom E. Gemcity's attention."

"Well I'd say she's got it" said Gibbs, sparing McGee a look.

"Murder is a means to an end here. She's acting to impress a man who works crime scenes for a living and who writes crime novels" Ducky said.

"Are you sure about this carol thing, Dr. Mallard?" Vance queried.

"There is one way to find out. Call Metro PD. Ask them if the body has been identified yet. If I'm right the man's last name will be Partridge. In all probability randomly selected from a phone book."

They waited in silence as Vance placed the call.

The look on his face as he received the information told them all they needed to know.