A/N:This story was written for dewgoddess in the NFA White Elephant Exchange. Her prompt was "The mind is a terrible thing to waste." It stars Jimmy and Ducky...with Tim as a tertiary character...because he has to be there somewhere. The rest of the team shows up a little bit as well.

Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS and I'm not making money off this story.

A Terrible Thing to Waste
by Enthusiastic Fish

Chapter 1

The windshield wipers swept back and forth, back and forth. It could have been a hypnotic, sleep-inducing rhythm, but the two occupants of the car were not paying attention to something so prosaic as windshield wipers.

"...so, in the future, Mr. Palmer, I would recommend that you not make comments about bodies being a smorgasbord when presenting at a professional conference," Ducky said.

"Was it that bad, Dr. Mallard?" Jimmy asked. "Some people laughed."

"Yes, but the people you need to impress were not amused. Now, I'm not saying all should depend on a few old fogies, but these are the people who will have a say in what you end up doing in the future."

"But I like what I'm doing now," Jimmy said. "I don't care about going somewhere else."

Ducky smiled. "So would many say with equal sincerity, but you never know what might happen that will make you desire to move on. At the beginning of one's career, one wants more options, not fewer."

"I guess," Jimmy said quietly.

Ducky took his eyes off the road for a moment and looked over at his companion. Jimmy seemed strangely upset by Ducky's advice.

"What's wrong, lad?"

"Nothing, Dr. Mallard."

"Come now, that's obviously far from being the case. What's wrong?"

"Is this your way of trying to nudge me out of NCIS?" Jimmy asked, suddenly. "I wondered why you were urging me to go to this conference, why you came with me. Is it because you're tired of working with me? I mean, I know that I have a weird sense of humor and that Agent Gibbs doesn't seem to like me very much, but I thought that my work was okay."

"It is, lad," Ducky said. "I have no issue with your work ethic, nor with your sense of humor, bad timing notwithstanding. ...and since you work for me and not for Agent Gibbs, you have nothing to worry about on that score."

"Then, why?"

"Have you been thinking that I didn't want you in Autopsy?"

"Well, my supervisor never pushed me to go to conferences or anything like that."

"Exactly."

"What?"

"He should have been, Mr. Palmer. No matter where you end up, and your final stop could very well be NCIS, but you know that Abigail takes the time to attend conferences and publish on occasion. Even in our field, being known and seen is important."

"But you're already well-known, Dr. Mallard. I saw all those people talking to you the whole time!"

"Of course, but I'm at the end of my career, not the beginning of it. I don't need new connections."

"But I do?"

"Precisely. Which is why I recommended that you attend and present at this conference, and it should have been your supervisor who accompanied you. He has been rather lackluster in promoting your academic development. In addition, I have been interested in attending this conference as well."

"Why? If you don't need to...I didn't think most of it was very fun. In fact..." Jimmy hesitated. "...a lot of it was pretty boring."

Ducky chuckled. "Well, yes, there is that."

"Then, why?"

"Because, Mr. Palmer, the mind is a terrible thing to waste, as the saying goes. Leonardo da Vinci said once that 'just as iron rusts from disuse, even so does inaction spoil the intellect.' I have no intention of allowing my intellect to be thus spoiled. Ergo, I will continue to work and to educate myself as long as I possibly can. That is why I continue to maintain my medical skills although my customers are generally beyond benefitting from them."

Jimmy just nodded and looked out the windshield at the rain.

"This is a big storm, Dr. Mallard."

"Yes, it's unfortunate that we couldn't have avoided it."

"I know I shouldn't have gone out with that group after the last presentation. They were so interesting...a lot more than some of the others."

"Mr. Palmer, I wasn't criticizing. What you did was the main purpose of these things. Networking. ...and if you network with people whose company you enjoy, all the better."

The conversation lagged. Quite an achievement for two men who were both rather talkative. ...but it gave them a chance to take in their surroundings.

"Mr. Palmer...I do believe that we are not where we should be."

Jimmy squinted through the windshield and then at the trees lining each side of the road.

"I think you're right, Doctor. How long have we been on this road?"

"I couldn't tell you, Mr. Palmer. You have the map this time."

In spite of the slight concern, Jimmy grinned. "I thought it was always the driver's fault."

"Watch yourself, Mr. Palmer. That could be considered insubordination."

"Only by the old fogies," Jimmy retorted.

"Well, I suppose that we are probably going the right direction, are we not?"

"I don't even know with all of these trees and the rain...and the fact that it's dark."

"The trees will have to break eventually and in this part of the country, it's highly unlikely that a paved road, no matter how winding, will not lead us to civilization sooner or later."

"I think I have to admit that I got us lost this time, Dr. Mallard."

Ducky chuckled. "Yes, I think it is time for you to finally admit it."

Jimmy laughed, too...but then, the car made a noise that it wasn't supposed to make.

"Oh, dear."

The dashboard lights went out, the soft music coming from the radio...and most importantly, the engine.

"Uh oh," Jimmy said.

Ducky steered the car to the edge of the road, off the shoulder a bit...and there was a click. Clicks were bad when it came to cars.

"Well, Mr. Palmer, perhaps we should call for a tow."

Jimmy pulled out his cell and grimaced.

"I don't have any service, Dr. Mallard. Do you?"

Ducky dug into his pocket and checked his.

"No, I don't. That's not good. How are you with cars?"

"My limit is changing the oil. I go to a mechanic."

"As do I. Very well." Ducky turned the key again...only a click. "That is a bad sign."

"Yeah, and I don't remember driving past anything. I haven't seen any cars on the road."

"Why don't you take a look at the engine?" Ducky suggested.

"I don't think I'll see anything, but I'll try it," Jimmy said.

He hopped out of the car while Ducky popped the hood. Jimmy stared at the engine for a few seconds and shook his head before running back to the car to get out of the rain.

"I don't know what to do, Doctor. It's well beyond what I know."

"Very well. I suppose it was wishful thinking that the solution would be so simple."

"What do we do?" Jimmy asked. "My phone isn't working. Yours isn't either."

"Well, I wouldn't suggest that we do anything until the rain stops. We may end up having to walk for help. So let us get comfortable here and wait."

Jimmy looked at Ducky and then smiled.

"All right. Want to play twenty questions?"

"I beg your pardon?" Ducky asked.

"Twenty questions. It'll pass the time. Besides, it'll keep your mind from wasting away."

Ducky smiled. "Very well. You may start."

Jimmy closed his eyes for a moment and then smiled. "Go ahead."

"Is it an animal, vegetable or mineral?"

"Huh?"

"My apologies. That is a variant. I believe the question should be... is it bigger than a bread box?"

Jimmy smiled. "Yes."

"Is it a human being?"

"No. That's two."

"Is it associated with your residency?"

"No. That's three."

"Is it..." Ducky stopped. "Good Lord, what is that out there?"

Jimmy looked.

A figure stumbled out of the woods onto the road and fell. Ducky and Jimmy looked at each other for a few seconds and then got out of the car at the same time and hurried over.

"It's a man," Jimmy said...and then realized how silly that sounded.

The man was shaking and mumbling incoherently as they turned him over. His hands were bound in front of him.

...but it wasn't his hands that grabbed their attention first. It was his face.

"Timothy," Ducky gasped.