Chapter 9

Gibbs walked into his house and put his keys down on his coffee table. He knew he was not alone. He pulled out his gun and opened the door to the basement. He let out a sigh and holstered his gun before descending the stairs.

"You know, Agent Gibbs." Dean said as he inspected the Team leader's latest watercraft. "You really shouldn't leave your doors unlocked like that. It invites all sorts of riff-raff."

"How do you get these things out of here anyway?" Sam asked as he, too, inspected the soon-to-be boat.

Gibbs didn't say anything at first. He just went for his bourbon. He emptied 3 Mason jars and filled each one half full. He then handed one to Sam, and Dean, keeping one for himself. He took a drink before he spoke.

"You do know it's unwise to sneak into my house." Gibbs asked. He was sure Tony would have told them. "I've shot people for much less. It's a good thing, for you. I happen to like you two." He looked at Dean. "It's good to see you up and about."

Dean nodded. "We just wanted to thank you. You didn't…you didn't have to believe us and you didn't have to bring in your team. It was…I can see what Tony sees in you. And…you actually remind me, just a little, of our dad. He was a Marine, too. We really appreciate you putting so much trust in Tony, regarding us. We don't get that from a lot of people," The elder Winchester admitted. "…even those who don't know anything about us."

Gibbs leaned back against one of the saw horses in the room and nursed his bourbon, considering his response.

"As I said before, I trust Tony. I trust his judgement. I met Tony when he was still a detective in Baltimore. I recruited him after all that…mess with his former partner."

Sam nodded. "Price was a piece of work."

"You're being much, much to kind, Sam." Gibbs replied. "But I agree."

Their heads turned when they heard noises coming from upstairs. Soon Tony, Ziva and Tim appeared at the head of the stairs, followed by Abby and Ducky. They all made their way down.

Abby and Ducky's appearances had not been expected. But it was obvious to all of them that they had some sort of news.

Ducky could not help but stare at Dean. The man he had on his autopsy table was the spitting image, except, of course, that man for some reason, completely unknown to the M.E., was shedding his skin.

"I…we have something, Gibbs. And it's big. It's really big. I mean really, really big, like…huge." Abby said. She was practically vibrating with energy.

Dean whispered to Tony. "Wow! She's like the Energizer Bunny. Does she have an 'off' switch?" He continued to watch her, an amused look on his face.

"But," Abby continued. "Ducky has to go first." She then looked at the doctor. "Go ahead Ducky." Abby then followed his gaze. She realized what had Ducky's attention. She stared, completely speechless, for just a moment.

"Do you have a twin brother?" The forensic scientist asked Dean. She had seen the man that Ducky had had on his table through the video link she had.

Dean shook his head. "…just Sammy here."

"You're sure, no separated-at-birth thing going on?" Abby asked just to make sure.

Dean shook his head again. "It's a shape…."

Tony elbowed Dean hard in the side to get him to shut up. Dean looked at the agent, and Tony shook his head vigorously.

"What?" Abby asked. She hadn't missed Tony's reaction. "What's going on?" She then looked pointedly at Dean. "What were you going to say?"

Ducky spoke up at this point. He wanted to tell his findings and he was sure that the two young men with them were a huge part of it. "First of all, our young victim has no fingerprints. The pads of the fingers have no discernable design whatsoever. Second of all, and most important, he appears to be…shedding his skin, Jethro, for lack of a better term. I have heard of this happening. Back in the days when mining was a popular occupation, the mines were frequently flooded. The miners who were inevitably trapped were submerged in the water. In a matter of days, their skin would begin to slough off. It, fortunately, was not to terribly painful for the miners, the nerves being somewhat deadened by the cold water…."

"Ducky…shedding?" Gibbs asked, remembering what the Winchesters had said. He didn't seem too surprised at the news, which only puzzled Ducky more.

Tony looked at Dean. "They do that…after death?"

Sam and Dean shrugged their shoulders.

"We usually don't hang around that long." Sam stated.

Ducky and Abby looked around the room. They hated to be left out of the loop, especially when they were the ones who were handling the evidence.

"What is going on here, Jethro?" Ducky asked. "First you have Sam and Dean Winchester in your basement, and then you bring me…?"

"Have you ever heard of a shape shifter?" Dean asked.

"Yes, Dear Boy, English lore is filled with mystical creatures." The M.E. stated.

"Well," Dean replied. "this one has tripped the line into 'real.'"

"What do you have, Abby?" Gibbs asked. She seemed very distracted, still trying to digest what she had just heard.

"Abs?" Gibbs asked, finally getting her attention.

"Oh, Bossman…the skin, yes, Ducky sent me a sample of the skin. It's…it's weird. The cells are not shaped like the cells of a human being. They are shaped and are very similar to snake cells. Snakes have a special protein in their body that allows their skin layers to separate. This…person," Abby said glancing at Dean. ",had the same type compound in his skin. But it is an abnormal protein for humans to have. Our bodies don't make it, and we can't get it from the foods we eat."

Gibbs had seen the thing, up close and personal, though he had not known it at the time. But her findings had not surprised Gibbs, not after what he had seen.

"This," The team leader addressed Ducky and Abby specifically, but also everyone else in the room. "This does not leave this room. Nothing said here leaves this room. We are dealing with an unknown skin condition. That is what, Ducky, you and Abby will put into your reports. It's not untrue. We have no explanation for what we saw. No rational one, anyway. But, thanks to the Winchesters, we put down a threat to our military. That's what matters here. Our military and their families are safe from a very real threat."

THE END

DISCLAIMER: The stuff about the snake skin protein is total, complete B.S. I did no research to see how snakes shed their skin. I just saw the comparison and made up all the rest.