A Heads or Tails for Ducky's Lady
Title: Must Be Doing Something Right
Genre: NCIS
Rating: PG
Prompt : Must Be Doing Something Right
Requester: duckys_lady
I hope that you enjoy this little mystery! My thanks to you and to Sparky for her beta.
Ducky carefully arranged the napkins on the small dinner table and stood back. Then he moved one a fraction of an inch.
“What am I feeling so anxious about?” he asked his reflection. It was just a dinner, nothing more than that. Or was it? It had been a long time in coming and now certain questions were going to be put on the table.
Ducky sighed and caught a glimpse of his reflection in a highly polished spoon. He looked truly anxious and that wouldn’t do.
He took a step back again and regarded the table. The place settings were perfectly arranged and he’d known better than to try and arrange the flowers himself. He might be able to piece a skull back together, but the art of flower arranging eluded him. It was a small regret of his. He left that to the florist. There were two other vases of flowers decorating the living room of his small condo.
“I tell you, the day I sold that house was the day I started living again.” The table remained silent, but he was very used to holding one-sided conversations. “While it was fine when I was younger, it was much too much for me now. I’m sure Mother is happy that there’s a young family with children in it.”
Another regret. Children would have been nice, but it wasn’t in the cards for him. While technically he could still have children, he had neither the desire nor the need for them. Whenever he felt that, he would call Jimmy and soon little Victoria was wreaking havoc in his living room. He would just laugh at Jimmy’s concern. Ducky knew well enough to keep anything precious locked away.
“Anything precious locked away. Well, that’s what you’ve been doing, haven’t you, you silly old fool?” He asked himself as he made his way into his small kitchen. While it wasn’t extensive, it was more than enough to pander to his love of cooking. He’d been careful in his selection of that.
A quick look into the refrigerator revealed the chilled champagne and flutes. The apps were arranged artfully upon the silver serving tray and just awaited his guest’s arrival. Thankfully, years of friendship removed any doubt as to what he would serve. He knew just what was and wasn’t a favorite.
A ping pulled his attention to the oven and he checked on dessert. He’d finally decided upon apple rose puffs. They looked elegant and delicate, but had a rich and at the same time homey taste to them. They would be sure to please and Ducky knew they pair well with the ice wine he’d planned for dessert.
He slipped them out of the oven and onto the counter to cool. The lamb he’d do at the last minute. The rest of the meal was done and waiting to be served. All he needed now was a guest.
He checked his watch and hurriedly took off his apron. A quick inspection in the highly polished exterior of his refrigerator assured him there were no stains or disrepairs to his shirt.
Quickly, or as quickly as he could these days, he crossed to the stereo system and started the music. He’d agonized over what to choose. He didn’t want anything too suggestive or moody. He certainly didn’t want show tunes, hip hop, or rap. Instead, he’d eventually selected a 40’s and 50’s mix from the satellite radio program he subscribed to. The content wasn’t too old as to make either of them feel ancient, but it was warmly familiar, just like their relationship.
He’d just lit the candles when there was a knock at his door. Ducky looked around the room one last time. It was going to be a Valentine’s Day they would both remember, hopefully with affection and not embarrassment.
Squaring his shoulders, he walked to the door and paused, relishing the warm feeling welling up from his soul. Then he opened the door and hugged his guest, while saying, “I must be doing something right.”
Genre: NCIS
Rating: PG
Prompt : Must Be Doing Something Right
Requester: duckys_lady
I hope that you enjoy this little mystery! My thanks to you and to Sparky for her beta.
Ducky carefully arranged the napkins on the small dinner table and stood back. Then he moved one a fraction of an inch.
“What am I feeling so anxious about?” he asked his reflection. It was just a dinner, nothing more than that. Or was it? It had been a long time in coming and now certain questions were going to be put on the table.
Ducky sighed and caught a glimpse of his reflection in a highly polished spoon. He looked truly anxious and that wouldn’t do.
He took a step back again and regarded the table. The place settings were perfectly arranged and he’d known better than to try and arrange the flowers himself. He might be able to piece a skull back together, but the art of flower arranging eluded him. It was a small regret of his. He left that to the florist. There were two other vases of flowers decorating the living room of his small condo.
“I tell you, the day I sold that house was the day I started living again.” The table remained silent, but he was very used to holding one-sided conversations. “While it was fine when I was younger, it was much too much for me now. I’m sure Mother is happy that there’s a young family with children in it.”
Another regret. Children would have been nice, but it wasn’t in the cards for him. While technically he could still have children, he had neither the desire nor the need for them. Whenever he felt that, he would call Jimmy and soon little Victoria was wreaking havoc in his living room. He would just laugh at Jimmy’s concern. Ducky knew well enough to keep anything precious locked away.
“Anything precious locked away. Well, that’s what you’ve been doing, haven’t you, you silly old fool?” He asked himself as he made his way into his small kitchen. While it wasn’t extensive, it was more than enough to pander to his love of cooking. He’d been careful in his selection of that.
A quick look into the refrigerator revealed the chilled champagne and flutes. The apps were arranged artfully upon the silver serving tray and just awaited his guest’s arrival. Thankfully, years of friendship removed any doubt as to what he would serve. He knew just what was and wasn’t a favorite.
A ping pulled his attention to the oven and he checked on dessert. He’d finally decided upon apple rose puffs. They looked elegant and delicate, but had a rich and at the same time homey taste to them. They would be sure to please and Ducky knew they pair well with the ice wine he’d planned for dessert.
He slipped them out of the oven and onto the counter to cool. The lamb he’d do at the last minute. The rest of the meal was done and waiting to be served. All he needed now was a guest.
He checked his watch and hurriedly took off his apron. A quick inspection in the highly polished exterior of his refrigerator assured him there were no stains or disrepairs to his shirt.
Quickly, or as quickly as he could these days, he crossed to the stereo system and started the music. He’d agonized over what to choose. He didn’t want anything too suggestive or moody. He certainly didn’t want show tunes, hip hop, or rap. Instead, he’d eventually selected a 40’s and 50’s mix from the satellite radio program he subscribed to. The content wasn’t too old as to make either of them feel ancient, but it was warmly familiar, just like their relationship.
He’d just lit the candles when there was a knock at his door. Ducky looked around the room one last time. It was going to be a Valentine’s Day they would both remember, hopefully with affection and not embarrassment.
Squaring his shoulders, he walked to the door and paused, relishing the warm feeling welling up from his soul. Then he opened the door and hugged his guest, while saying, “I must be doing something right.”