WEDNESDAY
Needless to say, the sessions are not going well. Director Morrow called yesterday evening for a report, and after what I told him, he had merely chuckled and said it was all right and that I was making quite a bit of progress. He is a merciful man, and it was no doubt a pat on the back for encouragement than not.
As for Agent Todd, I have discovered that her pretty and seemingly nice and gentle exterior covers a hard-nosed, female version of Agent Gibbs. Apparently she considers her session on Monday enough catharsis for herself and does not see the need for more, and has become rather surly.
Dr. Mallard pointed out to me that 'Caitlin' is in fact quite reasonable, except I insisted on pushing her unnecessarily, and so quite frankly, this tough behavior is my own fault. He then proceeded to tell me a story about the psychology of cooperation, concerning World War II prisoners of war or something. I have begun to tune his stories out; there are so many of them.
(Agent DiNozzo informed me that perhaps I ought to listen. I might learn something if my nose weren't stuck so high up my Harvard degree rear end, and I quote.)
Agent DiNozzo is the resident ham, and for the life of me I cannot understand why anyone finds him amusing. He's rude and boorish (an assessment with which Miss Sciuto disagreed, and Agent Todd pointed out that he could be charming, sometimes), yet his teammates still laugh at his jokes. (On an unrelated note, he took my secretary out on another date.)
Miss Sciuto has a disturbing sense of humor which Agent DiNozzo appears to share. Only they could share a fondness for a colored picture of the insides of a petty officer who died from drinking Draino.
Agent McGee was the last vestige of hope I had had. He is odder and quirkier than Agent Todd, but he is more malleable. Agent Todd has decided she does not want to cooperate with me anymore; Agent McGee still has that chance of working well with me. Unfortunately, as was mentioned on Monday, he is unduly influenced by the aforementioned Agent DiNozzo and their boss, Agent Gibbs.
Agent Gibbs remains an enigma. All I know at this point is that he does not like me and he protects his team. He is allowed to whack them on the head and glare at them, but I may not so much ask a question.
I am at my wits' end. I have been called upon to help the team resolve their tensions, and this is the last chance I have for them to talk about the cause of their tension (although Miss Sciuto keeps insisting they did that on Day 1 already). In an attempt to reach this goal, I have decided to separate them and meet with each separately using play therapy.
Yes, I understand this is the method used to communicate with small children. I am beginning to think I am dealing with small children.
I have considered reading their files and analyzing what I believe are there most traumatic experiences, but for some reason, they are inaccessible, and I would need a direct order from Director Morrow himself. When I called, I was informed by a throaty voice that he was not in.
For some reason, a naggling little voice has told me that between the profiler Kate Todd and the computer whizzes Tim McGee and Abby Sciuto, they have figured out my plan, and I have been thoroughly played. I, however, believe in the general goodness of mankind and prefer not to think suspiciously of my fellow species.
If we do not breakthrough today, I am not sure what to do Thursday and Friday.
"Why do I feel like I am in kindergarten," Gibbs said clearly but harshly as he and his team stood in the psychiatrist's office.
"Dolls?" McGee asked incredulously.
"It appears even the Dummies' Guide to Psychiatry has run out of options," Tony muttered. Kate laughed.
"If you would prefer, we can act this out," Dr. Havsy said impatiently.
"Hey, doc, don't get your knickers all bunched," Tony replied, holding his hands up.
"Dolls," Kate muttered. "I'm almost thirty and this is the first time I'm going to play with dolls."
"Misspent youth?" Tony grinned.
"I think this going to be fun," Abby grinned, her eyes gleaming happily. Tony laughed knowingly.
"What are we to do, doctor?" Dr. Mallard asked.
"The idea is to act through some of your most interesting or traumatic moments at NCIS, and be able to watch as a detached observer. Often that will allow for one to be able to express feelings that one does not normally consciously acknowledge."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Tony commented.
"We're doing what we did yesterday, just with dolls instead of paint," Kate replied.
"Who would like to go first?"
"I think McGee or Kate should," Tony offered. They both glared at him. "You can get it over with."
"Probie walks point," Kate replied, pushing McGee forward. "So if he steps on an ordinace EOD missed - "
" - POOF...he goes first," Tony grinned, referencing his story from the bone yard they had found last fall.
McGee scowled as his teammates left.
McGEE
Dr. Havsy set out the boxes and boxes of different toy dolls and different houses. There was even a truck - "Think of it as a medical truck, like Dr. Mallard might drive" - and a company-like sedan.
"Do you have a garbage can?" McGee asked curiously.
"Well, you can improvise with whatever you find."
McGee dumped the blocks out from a block container and methodically set it aside. He then rifled through the doll box and found a doll, which he set next to the container.
He hummed softly as he set up his scene: a raised platform. He put the container on top and then sat back in his seat thoughtfully, just looking at his creation.
Dr. Havsy was about to ask a question when McGee moved his chair to another position and looked at his creation and frowned. Ten minutes later, he asked, "Can I get a drink?"
There is a long sigh. "Yes, if you promise to return in five minutes."
McGee popped out the door, and Tony frowned at him. "Done already?"
"Oh, no, I'm just getting to the good part." McGee grinned.
"Whatcha going to do?" Abby asked curiously.
McGee grinned. "Surprise." He pulled out his wallet and frowned. "Do any of you have a dollar I can borrow?"
"McGee, what are you doing outside of that office?" Gibbs frowned.
"I'm working on...my...scene. Sir. Boss."
"Here's a dollar, probie." Tony handed him one.
"And now Tony only owes you forty-four dollars and 39 cents," Kate supplied.
McGee stopped by the secretary's desk. "Ma'am, do you have any white-out I can borrow?"
The secretary frowned, but Tony smiled charmingly at her, and she handed McGee the white-out.
McGee disappeared for a minute, and they hear the chink of the juice machine outside.
"I'm almost afraid to know," Kate muttered.
Dr. Havsy looked up as McGee returned, sipping on an apple juice. "Thanks for letting me go," the agent said brightly, then sat down again, the juice nearby.
The psychiatrist was having trouble seeing over the platform McGee has built, what with the container on top. McGee had taken the doll out and was doing something.... "May I see what you're doing, Agent McGee?"
"Oh," McGee sighed innocently. "I - I guess. But...but to feel the full effect of what this did to me, I think...well, I could show you."
"No, no," the psychiatrist replied, waving for him to go on. "Please." It was the first possible breakthrough in three days, and he was not about to derail it.
McGee finished whatever he was doing, and then brought the container down. The psychiatrist frowned as he stuffed what was obviously the doll inside. "And...and who is the doll, Agent McGee?" he asked as gently as he can, still trying to peer over the platform to see what the man was doing.
"Petty Officer Drew," McGee sighed. "He was so young, you know. Just a few years younger than I."
The psychiatrist nodded encouragingly and almost giddily. Breakthrough! "And...and why is he being stuffed in the container? The garbage can?"
McGee's face had a sad expression. "They killed him."
"And how do you feel about it?"
"It was what they did to him after he died." McGee shuddered in horror.
"What did they do?" The psychiatrist said encouragingly.
McGee took his apple juice and it chugged into the container in just a few seconds. He popped on a lid, then set the container on the platform and tipped it over. Juice leaked everywhere, and the doll covered in white-out half fell out, a mix of still wet white-out and apple juice mixed across the doll's face.
"Hydrochloric acid," McGee whispered hoarsely.
The door opened, and through it they could hear someone retching into a wastebasket. It wasn't McGee, though, as he walked triumphantly out, the door sliding shut behind him. "Ducky, I think you better go in next. Look him over very quickly." He sat down, a triumphant grin on his face. "Kate, you are brilliant. How'd you know he'd fall for me being the good kid?"
"Because," Kate chuckled. "It's you."
"What did you do, McGeek?" Tony asked curiously as they hear another sound coming from the doctor's office.
"Do you remember the first case I worked with all of you? Petty Officer Drew's body was dumped in a container of hydrochloric acid? Body all bubbly and white?"
"You were about to ralf." Gibbs nodded.
"I got a nightmare about it once. Kate said I just needed to forget about it, because the only other way was to relive it and deal with it."
"So you relived it," Tony grinned. "And made the doc barf. Way to kill two birds with one stone." He patted his shoulder approvingly, and McGee nodded back, basking in the praise. Then his face fell a little. "What, probie?"
"Oh, uh, Tony," McGee said sheepishly. "I think you owe Dr. Havsy's secretary a bottle of white-out."
DR. MALLARD
The door opened, and in came the medical examiner with a can of ginger ale and a pack of Saltines. "Your secretary had the crackers in her drawer, and the ginger ale is from the vending machine. It should help settle your stomach some," he said kindly, and poured some of the ginger ale into an empty Styrofoam cup before handing it to him.
"I swear he did that to me on purpose," Havsy grumbled.
"Well, well, now, doctor, we mustn't jump so quickly to unwarranted conclusions," the medical examiner chastised gently. "Agent McGee was rather unsettled about the whole incident," he said. "He had to remain on site for almost two, three hours while we drove there."
He looked at the demonstration on the table and clucked in surprise. "Amazing," he marveled. "Timothy certainly did an excellent job with the crime scene. Indeed...that is exactly how the tub had looked when we arrived in Norfolk."
"Even the white-out?" Havsy asked sharply.
"Actually, the body looked far worse," Ducky commented, holding up a finger to make a point. "There are multiple purposes for hydrochloric acid on a naval base. Most often it is used to surface clean metal, but - "
"Doctor, why...why don't we discuss...some of your cases," Dr. Havsy started. "I'm sure you must have had some troubling cold cases, or particularly disturbing ones."
"Yes, in fact, most recently in fact, I was nearly desanguinated by a man whom I had helped to put away for murder. In fact, he had sent me the body parts of all the law enforcement personnel who had worked with me - they were in vats of alcohol, so the skin was raw and...."
The door opened, and again the doctor could be heard retching as Ducky came out, looking slightly sheepish.
"Ducky, you were only in there five minutes," Gibbs said.
"Yes, well, I'm afraid the meat puzzle was a bit more than the good doctor could handle," Ducky sighed. "And I truly thought I was finally communicating with Dr. Havsy. That case truly unnerved me, you know. There were those with whom I worked, systematically and methodically killed and laid out before me. I spent months putting together the bodies of those I knew. It was as terrible as doing Chris' autopsy."
Kate gently laid a comforting hand on Ducky's arm. "You put him away permanently, now, Ducky. He's not going to get to you again. Ever."
Ducky smiled at her. "Cold cases are solved only for others to come up, my dear. I fear finding one of Ari's victims on slab."
"He's not going to get to you, Ducky," Kate replied firmly.
"He's not the one I worry about," Ducky sighed.
"So, who's our next victim?" Kate asked brightly. "I mean, for that." She jabbed a thumb at the door.
"Perhaps you should go, Abby," Ducky suggested.
"No, not a good idea," Tony interjected. When everyone looked at him, he shrugged. "Trust me."
KATE
Kate carefully plucked the chair out of the juice mess and set it a few feet away before looking at the doctor expectantly.
"I understand you don't want to be here," Dr. Havsy sighed.
"You do realize that Gibbs made Abby and me cancel our spa plans to be here."
"The director ordered it."
"So let's get this over with."
"From what I understand, in this last year alone, you almost lost Dr. Mallard, and Agent DiNozzo twice."
"Aren't I supposed to be playing with dolls?"
"Of course, if you would like to." Dr. Havsy waved toward the boxes. "And you mentioned you were supposed to protect Agent Gibbs, and you dreamt you hadn't? Is there any instance in which you...were unsuccessful in protecting Agent Gibbs?"
He hit a nerve, because Kate raised her eyes to him slowly and steadily - with a deadly look in them.
"And...can you...show me how you would feel, if you were to lose a teammate?"
Kate plucked a doll from the box and laid it down on its back. "This is my dead teammate."
The psychiatrist nodded encouragingly. "Please go on."
"This is the coffin." Kate plucked out a pencil box, emptied the contents and laid the doll inside.
"Yes?" The doctor placed a female doll down near the coffin. "This is going to be Katie Todd, OK? This little doll here. And what would Katie do?"
Kate took the female doll and had her slam the "coffin" door shut on the "dead teammate", then smiled sweetly at the doctor.
"These interviews are going a lot faster than I think they're supposed to," Tony commented when Kate exited. "So?"
"Good enough," Kate replied. "Who's next?"
"I'll go," Tony replied.
"You OK, Kate?" Abby asked.
There was an audible groan from the office, after which Tony's cheery, "Hey, don't be like that," was heard.
Kate grinned. "Perfect."
TONY
"Now, I understand that you had two close brushes with death this year," Dr. Havsy stated. "That must be difficult."
Tony shrugged. "Comes with the job."
"Let's start with the closer one, shall we? You were exposed to yersinia pestis and got sick, and Kate was with you."
"Uh huh."
The doctor held up a doll and handed it to him. "So how does Tony feel about being sick?"
"Tony...felt...like...the King of Cool," Tony said smoothly, making the doll do the requisite Travolta arm gesture.
"John Travolta?" Havsy asked incredulously.
"You're doing better than Kate," Tony acknowledged. "She thought it was Elvis." He snorted derisively.
"What does he have to do with this?" the psychiatrist asked sharply.
"Hey," Tony said, miffed. "You're the doctor, and you're supposed to be concerned for my mental welfare."
"Right now I'm not even sure any of you have mental health."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Tony said defensively. "We're a good team, and we're smart."
"You want to see? You want to see? This is Agent McGee's most traumatic experience," Havsy said, just about at boiling point, pointing to the mess now in the garbage can.
"That's not nice," Tony chastised. "Throwing McGee's most traumatic experience in the trash." He set the doll on the table and had it shake its fist at the doctor. "Tony is insulted."
"Yeah? Well, if it was so traumatic for him, why don't you tell me what it was, huh?" Havsy obviously thought McGee was making it all up.
"It was a petty officer at Norfolk," Tony replied, half-smugly. "He was killed and his body stuffed in a vat of hydrochloric acid so as to erase his identity. Poor McGee looked like he was about to throw up, so my boss made me take him away. McGee actually did a pretty good job," he commented, looking at the play therapy piece McGee had done. "The petty officer looked all white...and bubbly, and the acid was yellowish. Probie's pretty creative for a geek."
The door opened, and Tony yelled back as he left, "Yeah, so you don't even care what MY traumatic experiences are!"
Kate raised an eyebrow. "He didn't pry you?"
"He asked about us getting infected, I got as far as John Travolta, and he started talking about McGeek. By the way, I saw your makeshift crime scene. It was pretty good, McGee."
"Thanks," Tim said, perking up a little at the praise.
"Hey Abs," Tony said doubtfully. "Dr. Havsy wants you to go next. I told him it wasn't a good idea, but he insisted. Says he needs to see someone before he talks to Gibbs."
ABBY
"Hey! Do I get to play with the dolls?" Abby asked eagerly.
"If you want to," Dr. Havsy grumbled. "Just tell me about...let's start with when Tony was missing, when he was undercover. Can you tell me about that? How did you feel? You're one who can just talk, if you like."
Abby nodded and said softly, "I was supposed to put the GPS locator on him." She reached for the box of dolls. "And it ended up in his shoe because he wouldn't let me put it somewhere creative. Like in his neck."
Dr. Havsy gulped and swallowed down the feel of bile in his throat.
"And then he crossed a small creek and the locator must have dislodged or something," she said, her voice taking on a worried tone. "So we hoped he would run into the truck we planted by the side of the road. And it was such a relief to hear his voice when he called 'On Star,' which was really a call redirected to me."
Dr. Havsy didn't make much of the popping noise.
"And then the car crashed." Abby sighed. "And we had no idea where he was. And I was the one who lost him."
Dr. Havsy opened his mouth to comfort her, and that's when he noticed it.
Five doll heads lined up on the table, their bodies in a neat stack on the side.
POP
Six.
POP
Seven.
POP
Eight.
"What are you doing?" he said as calmly as he could, his nervousness palpable.
"Oh, we were working a case once where there was a bullet in a doll's head," Abby said cheerfully. "I had to remove all the dolls' heads to find it."
"The bullethole wasn't visible in just one doll? You had to dismantle all of them? Was the bullet doll in the bottom?" The doctor's voice rose with each question.
"No, actually, the round was on top." Abby smiled.
"The round was on top," Dr. Havsy said slowly.
POP
Nine.
POP
Ten. One more row.
"So why did you pull off all their heads?" Dr. Havsy said, beginning to look a little sick. "And why are you doing it now?"
"Well," Abby smiled sheepishly. "It's kind of fun."
"Fun?" Dr. Havsy nearly screeched.
"Yeah!" Abby then thought a minute and amended her statement, grinning happily as she said, "Well, almost as fun as the one time my next door neighbors and I torched one of their sister's Barbies and we golfed it down the street as it was burning. It was like this big fireball whenever it would go in the air. That was great."
The door opened, and Abby came out.
"Your turn, boss," Tony grinned. Gibbs glared.
"Actually," Abby said sheepishly, "Dr. Havsy said he doesn't even want to see Gibbs. He just says to come back tomorrow."
Chapter End Notes:
Posted to ff.net 9/18-9/23/05.