Rating: PG

Spoilers: Season 10 premiere episode EXTREME PREJUDICE

Summary: The team finds evidence that suggests Ducky was another intended victim of Harper Dearing.

Disclaimer: I don't own NCIS or its characters/plotlines as they belong to CBS and Bellisario. I've made nothing from this so please don't sue me!

AN: I began writing this shortly after the Season 10 premiere so excuse anything the rest of the aired episodes might now contradict!

Although the case had already been made and closed against Harper Dearing, the team had still spent a few days combing through the man's records to look for any evidence they might have previously missed. The morning was tedious as they poured over page after page of records until McGee piped up, "Boss, think I found something."

He punched a few buttons to bring it up on screen so everyone else could see it too. "I've been going through Dearing's phone records for all the known phone numbers he used."

"And?" Gibbs prompted.

McGee pushed another button and highlighted a number on the listing. "This is the list of all the outgoing calls from one of his phones."

"Wait isn't that-" Tony started.

"Ducky's number!" Ziva finished.

Before another word could be said, Gibbs was heading to the elevator and they all knew without asking he was going to Autopsy.

As he vanished behind the elevator doors DiNozzo commented, "Dearing is lucky Gibbs already killed him or he'd really understand what 'with extreme prejudice' means." Having noted the date and time stamp on Dearing's call to Ducky, the other two agents could only nod in agreement as the call had been placed just after the bomb went off at NCIS.

"Please take this up to Abby, Mr. Palmer."

"Right away, doctor." Jimmy replied and on his way out, "Oh hello, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs nodded, "Palmer."

"Ah Jethro, I would ask to what do I owe the pleasure but I can see from the look on your face this isn't going to be a social call," Ducky said while he stripped off his gloves and threw them away.

"No, Duck, it's not. You know we've been combing through Dearing's records all morning to see if we can add more to the evidence we already have against him."

"I take it you found something, something you deem worthy of my knowing about."

Gibbs nodded, "Yeah, McGee found an outgoing call from Dearing's phone that was time stamped a minute after the bomb went off here at NCIS."

"You don't have to tell me the number Dearing made the call to was my own, Jethro. You see I've gone over that conversation in my memory perhaps a thousand time and I've come to realize that the voice I heard telling me that you had all been killed did not belong to anyone who works in this building."

EN: This is my first attempt to write for Ducky and only my second attempt at writing Gibbs, Tony, McGee, and Ziva... I hope I got them all fairly right – especially the conversation between Gibbs and Ducky! And can I just say I am so relieved Ducky is okay after seeing how Season 9 ended... honestly I was more worried about him than anyone at NCIS because of the heart attack plus before the season started there were some rumors going around he would be killed off and I know about you but I cannot imagine NCIS without Ducky!

Anyway about them finding Ducky's number in the phone records of Harper Dearing... I think the man was resourceful and just that mean enough to do such a thing, really thought so when Jimmy said he couldn't get a hold of anyone at NCIS that just sealed the fact Dearing must've been the one to call Ducky in my mind!

EN2: I am sure that this fic needs something else to finish it but since I can't think of what it would be and since no one can suggest it, I am going to post this story as you see it now.