NCIS (2003–…): Season 7, Episode 10 - Faith - full transcript

- ("Jingle Bells" plays) -WOMAN:
We can get arrested for this.

MAN:
Oh, come on.

It's one little Christmas tree.

Why pay, when we can
just cut it down?

WOMAN:
Because this is a park.

It's Christmas!

It's illegal.

It's what
our grandparents used to do.

Hey, Lara.

What?

I like this whole
criminal sexy thing.

(chuckles):
Stop it!

So, what's it gonna be
this Christmas, huh?

A little naughty or nice?

(shrieks happily):
Dean, wait! Wait!

- Wait.
- What?

LARA:
Oh, my gosh.

What's he doing?

Hey, mister.

You all right?

Must be freezing.

Sir?

Sir?

(Lara gasps)

Call the police.

JACKSON:
Merry Christmas, everybody!

- Loretta, thanks for the ride.
- Bye-bye.

- You drive careful now.
- Have a good time.

Hey, Dad.

Didn't expect you till tonight.

Well, I like my pilots
caffeinated and fresh.

I caught an earlier flight.

Yeah, but you should
have called.

I would have picked you up.

No matter. I made it.

Yeah, you did.

Ah.

Too many years
since I was here last.

Yeah. Whose fault is that, huh?

We gonna do this again, son?

Come on in.

Old place looks pretty good.

Yeah, well, it could
use a coat of paint.

Couldn't we all?

Well, look at this.

Hope you didn't get all
decked out on my account.

Plenty of comfortable
hotels nearby.

I'll be fine, just as long
as I have a working clicker.

GIBBS:
There's the clicker.

No cable.

Color?

(chuckles)

I'll manage.

Okay, that's your bed.

What happened to the guest room?

It's not a guest room anymore.

The, uh, the cupboard's
not totally empty.

Maybe I'll cook us something.

Long as it's not your
Stroganoff, knock yourself out.

What's wrong with my Stroganoff?

I'm still surprised
you came, Dad.

It's good to be with family
at Christmas.

Yeah.

You gonna be okay here alone?

I'll be fine, yeah.

You go to work.

Death doesn't take a holiday.

I'll be fine.

Okay.

Leave my number
right here by the phone.

You need anything,
Ericson family

two doors down
same side of the street...

they're always home.

Leroy...

I'm glad to be here.

(door opens)

(door closes)

McGEE:
It's freezing this morning.

TONY:
Man up, Chilly Willy.

Feel that warm blood
coursing through your veins.

Get in touch with your inner
McGrizzly Adams.

I got hand warmers.

Give me one.

No.

I'm not cold at all.

That's because
you're cold-blooded,

David,
like a lady Komodo dragon.

Ice queen, frigid and deadly.

And I remembered
to wear my thermal underwear.

I'll give you 50 bucks
for it right now.

It wouldn't fit; you're too big.

They'll stretch. Hand them over.

Crime scene gloves.

Triple bag for insulation.

God, there's got to be
a better way to avoid frostbite.

There is. Get to work.

Right. On it, boss.

(gasps):
Oh.

Marine First Lieutenant
Thomas Ellis.

Married, decorated,
third-generation marine.

Father's a retired marine
colonel, George Ellis, who is

now an ordained minister.

Second career.

Second calling.

Well, his son experienced
the call of the wild.

Going barefoot
and without gloves

in this weather is
ill-conceived, to say the least.

Was not a robbery.

Money and credit cards
are still here.

Not much in the backpack,
except for a towel

and what I think is
some soapy water.

Frozen soap residue
under his fingernails

confirms your discovery.

It's an odd place
to take a bath.

Could have at least
turned around, enjoy the view.

Yeah, if he had,
it might have saved his life.

Recent footprints here

indicate the attacker
came from this direction.

Used a compass.

- It's facing east.
- Why would a marine

not even attempt to fight back?

Lift him up, Duck.

Look under his knees.

Agent McGee,
if you would be so kind.

It is called a sajada.

An Islamic prayer rug.

Well, son of a preacher man
was... Muslim.

He was praying
when he was killed.

McGEE:
As a marine,

Ellis officially changed
his religious status

eight months ago
from Christian to Muslim.

That was clearly
not just a passing interest.

Fruit of the month
might be good.

Maybe a foot massager.

Gee, Tony, never pegged you
as a catalog shopper.

Well, that's 'cause
I'm not, Tiny Tim,

but desperate times
call for desperate measures.

Took these
from my neighbor's doorstep.

You stole them?

Doorstep's considered

a common area.

I would never steal mail.

That's a federal offense.

Ooh, hold the phone, Malone.

Little bit of lingerie.

Nice. What do you get for
the shrew who has everything?

This for the, um, Secret Santa?

How did I end up
with Delores Bromstead

in Human Resources?

She's a miserable grinch
of a woman.

Can't argue with you there.
Once wished her

a happy Valentine's Day,
she claimed sexual harassment.

- You ever seen her smile?
- No.

Stop it, both of you.

She is a single, middle-aged,
Ionely woman.

Have some compassion.

Must be tough living up there
on Mount Crumpit.

Scheming to take Christmas away
from poor Cindy Lou Who.

Why do I bother?

Careful, or I'll take
your present back.

We have a rule, remember?
No presents.

But if I had gotten you one,
you'd be sorry.

(phone ringing)

DiNozzo desk.

- GIBBS: DiNozzo!
- Hey, boss.

- You know where
the Ellises live? - Uh, n-no.

- Find out.
- Yes.

- Get there.
- I'll meet you there.

- Now.
- Right away.

Gibbs?

Yeah, he wants me to meet him
over at Colonel Ellis's house.

Don't touch my catalogs.

MAN:
Was it a hate crime?

GIBBS: Don't know yet.
It's a possibility.

TONY: How long were you and the
lieutenant married, Mrs. Ellis?

Uh, two years.

Thom had just gotten back
from his second tour,

so we hadn't really spent
any real time together.

Nothing tests a marriage
like the Corps.

Nature of the beast.

I forgot you were a marine,
Agent Gibbs.

I remember you, Colonel.

It's Reverend now.

Why the change?

When my wife died,
I wanted to be closer to God.

Now he's taken my son, as well.

If you don't mind my asking,
Mrs. Ellis,

when did you and Thom meet?

College, here in Maryland.

Um, he swam,
and I played softball.

After he joined the Corps,
things changed.

He, uh...

He started studying the Koran,

and he said it would
make him a better marine.

Within the first year,

though, he was, he was
reciting prayers, and

he was thinking
about converting.

I blame myself for this.

Did I push my beliefs on Thomas?

Was all of this Islamic study
just to spite me?

I asked a friend of mine,

a Muslim Navy chaplain,
to reach out to him.

Maybe he can make some sense
of all this.

Merry Christmas, everyone.

This is my younger son Patrick.

What-What happened?

What's wrong?

Thomas is dead, Pat.

Your brother's gone.

Come here.

Lieutenant, when you knelt
to commune with your maker,

did you have any idea
you'd be seeing him so soon?

I think not.

Is it true that Muslims
pray five times a day?

To be called Muslim, yes.

It's one of the Five Pillars
of Islam.

I don't do anything
five times a day.

Salaat, as it is called,

certainly takes dedication.

Yeah, perhaps

if humanity focused less
on what separates us

from one other

and more on what we could learn
from our differences,

we would stop
killing one another.

That is what I pray for.

You're not the only one, Duck.
What do you got?

Well, I'm waiting for the cleric
until I begin

the autopsy proper,
but cursory examination

indicates blunt force trauma
to the parietal lobe, and

multiple lacerations
to his shoulders and neck.

It's deep.

Yeah, and oddly angled.

The blow was delivered
in a downward slicing motion.

Delivered with what?

Ah, good question.

Whatever it was was cylindrical.

We found paint residue

and some kind of thread
in the wound.

Yeah, well, we'll have
to wait until Abby

is done with her analysis.

However, there is still
much to surmise.

The lieutenant has

minor scratches
on the soles of his feet.

And due to soap traces
on his lower appendages,

it appears that Lieutenant
Ellis cleansed his feet again

before returning to prayer.

Which means he most
likely knew his attacker.

Trusted him enough
to turn his back on him, Duck.

And paid for that
misplaced trust with his life.

Mmm. These chocolates
are delicious.

GIBBS:
Hey, Dad.

- TONY: I love chocolate.
- Stop making my team fat.

- I'd really like another one.
- Gibbs, why didn't

you tell us your
father was coming?

I didn't think
he'd actually show.

Go ahead.

Have another one, bubble butt.

My metabolism
is slowing with age.

It's nothing a post-holiday
cleanse won't cure.

Come on, it's just candy
for the holidays.

Homemade.

Best in Stillwater.

Ms. Hannigan, huh?

She's been after you
ever since Mom died.

She means well.

Been cooking for me lately.

She does put together
a hell of a care package...

when people are hurting.

TONY:
Our instincts were right, boss.

The widow did have a fling
while the lieutenant

was overseas with a banker
named James Hanlin,

- from Chevy Chase, Maryland.
- Any recent contact?

Uh, not that I can tell.

Called it off
when the husband found out.

Assalamu alikum.

Wa alikum assalam.

I'm Chaplain El-Sayed.

I'm looking
for Special Agent Gibbs.

Thank you.

Most people don't know
that the marine code

is not unlike the code of Islam,
as written in the Holy Koran.

Honor, courage, commitment.

Same three philosophies
that Islam teaches.

Yet, ignorance and bigotry

remain a problem
in the military.

Well, ignorance isn't unique
to any one group, Agent David.

All we can do is try our best
to educate and pray

for acceptance as a whole.

Lieutenant Ellis...
he find acceptance?

Like many of the Islamic marines
I counsel, Thomas tried,

but opposition
can be overwhelming.

Yet, he stuck with it,
determined to become a Muslim.

Because I think
he found something

that was missing in his life.

Thomas referred to his awakening
as a devout epiphany.

That's when he became
Tareef Bashir.

Yes.

And how did the rest
of his unit react to

his conversion?

Well, some were open to it,
others not so much.

They found his need
to pray multiple times a day

inopportune and dangerous.

Was any one marine more vocal
about it than any other?

Thomas did ask me

to personally speak to
a First Sergeant Louis Tibbens.

Successful?

Well, let's just say that
some battles can never be won.

Spoke to Ellis's C.O.

He was on vacation
with his family,

but he did confirm
that Tibbens and Ellis

did not get along.

Hmm.

Louis Tibbens, home on leave.

Athens, West Virginia.

Population: 900.

Bigger than Stillwater.

But does it have the charm?

Or the perpetual smell of coal?

GIBBS:
I always liked that smell.

Keep going.

Yes, uh...

no criminal priors, boss,
uh, but Tibbens does have

two NJPs for being disrespectful
to a superior officer.

Tony, you and Ziva
find Tibbens. McGee?

Look into Ellis's Muslim life.

As Tareef Bashir?

Let's see if two names
means he's leading two lives.

How the hell can you sit
like this all day?

No, I'm serious.

You'd think,
after all these years,

they'd give you a couple walls,
some privacy.

Come on. Got a job for you.

Where are we going?

It's a surprise.

Here.

You're building toys.

Wow.

No.

We're building toys.

So, when did you get
into the spirit?

Oh, I don't know.

For me,
it's more about the wood.

Though having that deadline
of the 24th has been good.

You don't believe in Santa,
but you believe in hobbies.

As long as you believe
in something, I guess.

Settles my mind, Dad.

Keeps my hands busy.

(grunts)

So, you want me
to finish all this,

paint it
and put it together, huh?

If you want.

It's up to you.

If it settles my mind.

You want to let those kids down

at the children's hospital,
go right ahead.

You're trying to Tom Sawyer me

into whitewashing a fence
for you.

No, not for me.

With me.

If you feel up to it.

Go to work.

There's a steak in the fridge.

We'll talk when I get back.

Yeah, yeah.

Hey, Dad.

I mean that.

Okay.

- (country-rock plays)
- TONY: If Santa's looking

for Rudolph,
think I know what happened.

ZIVA: Tibbens' sister described
this place perfectly.

So this is where a red throat
would hang out

after being overseas for months.

It's not "red throat,"
it's redneck.

- Oh.
- And I think we found

the entire cast of Hee Haw.

ZIVA:
Over there.

That's him.

TONY:
Hmm.

With his brother Darryl
and his other brother Darryl?

First Sergeant Tibbens.

Call me Tibbs.

They call you Mr. Tibbs?

Who the hell are you?

NCIS.

Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo.

This is
my probationary sidekick,

Agent Ziva David.

What's the problem?

Thomas Ellis. He's dead.

Allah didn't save his ass, huh?

Guess he should have gone back
to Iraq, where he belonged.

Where were you at dawn
this morning?

Why, do I need an alibi?

Couldn't hurt.

I was in a hunting blind.

With these two.

Can you prove it?

Got a six-point buck
in the bed of my pickup.

How's that for proof?

But I bet a pretty little thing

like you never killed
nothing before, huh?

(chuckles)

I'll never tell.

Oh, boy.
Uh, you're going to have

to come down to NCIS with us.
Come on.

Got a better idea.

How about this one comes back
to my place and...

decorates my tree?

Oh, no.

Happy Hanukkah.

Now, let's go.

- (Tibbens groans)
- Ziva, no!

Easy, easy. Heel.

(handcuffs clicking)

(grunting, groaning)

(Tony yells)

Sit down.

(grunting)

My turn.

(man groans)

(Ziva grunting)

Red throats.

Rednecks.

Whatever.

# #

What people believe in
is their own business.

But the brass knows having

a devout Muslim riding patrols
could blow up in our faces.

Really? Why?

Hajis think

when a white marine
starts reciting the Fatiha,

he's mocking them,
and they hate him for it.

And they hate us even more,
so we get concerned.

You get concerned...
enough to kill?

Wasn't me.

So, if it wasn't you,
who was it, then?

He knows something.

Could be anyone.

Who?

Look, somebody out there

felt strong enough
to offer us money...

good money... to get Ellis
to quit the Corps for good.

So someone paid you guys
to be bigots?

It was for the safety
of the unit.

So somebody offered you money.

Who?

Don't know.

Traveled word of mouth.

We answered to a PO box,
got wired the money.

No questions asked.

- (women laughing)
- ABBY: Oh, my God.

Remember freshman year...
Miss Santa?

- (laughing) -("The Little
Drummer Boy" plays)

McGEE:
Abby?

McGee, you're here.

Hey, got any, uh, specifics

on the metal we pulled
from Ellis's wound?

It's, uh... mass spec's
working on it as we speak.

But there's someone
you have to meet.

This is one of my
very bestest friends

in the whole world.
We went to college together,

and she's the lab tech
over at the VA now.

Carol Wilson,
Special Agent McGee.

How goes it, McGee?

Goes great.

Much better than this guy.
(chuckles)

Santa... I don't know why he did
the LAP-BAND. I told him not to.

Well, you know, Santa...

can't have a LAP-BAND, you know.

He's got to be...

Doesn't work.

- What are you drinking?
- Um, Caf-nog.

It's an old family recipe.

Speaking of families... tell him.

Oh.

This is my nephew Fisher.

How cute is he?

His mother, my sister,
is stationed

on a naval destroyer
in the Indian Ocean.

Fisher has been staying
with Carol until she gets back.

I took Fisher to the mall today.

Watched as kid after kid sat
on some lame-ass Santa's lap

and asked for toys, video games.

But not Fisher.

(sighs)
All Fisher asked for

was to see his mom
on Christmas Eve.

On a destroyer?

Yeah, so...
we thought you could help.

(sighs)

Look, I sympathize, okay,

but satellite feeds
to the Indian Ocean

are restricted to all but

the highest priority
communications.

What's a higher priority
than a little boy

that wants to see
his mom on Christmas?

McGee... he's, like,
a miracle worker.

If anyone can do this, he can.

Right, McGee?

(sighs)

(elevator bell dings)

Boss, I've been
running bank records

on each marine
in Ellis's unit.

So far, only two marines,

including
First Sergeant Tibbens,

accepted a bribe...
four grand apiece.

Ho, ho, ho.
Merry Christmas.

All the money was drawn
from the same overseas account

and deposited
around the same time.

It's a dummy corp.

Interpol is checking into it.

Tell them to check faster.

You do it.

Not you, boss. You.

I mean, how many languages
do you speak, anyway?

Including the language
of love, ten.

(phone ringing)

Yeah. Gibbs.

JACKSON:
You have to come home.

- Dad, I can't.
- I need you here.

I almost burned your house down.

You did what?!

MAN:
Sir, everything's okay.

Hey, guys.

- Thanks.
- No problem.

Dad... you okay?

JACKSON: When was the last time
you-you cleaned that flue?

The damn fireplace
was all clogged.

What is all this?

Boxes.

Decorations?

They're your mom's stuff.

No use leaving them at home.

I had them shipped for the tree.

It's a beauty, isn't it?

Yeah, yeah, it's good,
it's fine.

Will you please
stop patronizing me?

If you don't like
what I'm doing, speak up.

Dad, I am trying
to make this work.

And I'm not?

(beeping)

Will you please put that box
in another room?

I don't like
being around what's in it.

It's secure.

It's dangerous!

Why won't you do what I ask?

How come everything with you
ends up in an argument?

For just once,

will you listen
to what I'm asking you?!

All right.

All right, I'll move it.

I'm going for a walk.

You want some company?

I'm all right. I'm fine.

(cell phone ringing)

(sighs)

(door opens, closes)

Yeah. Gibbs.

Spoke to Interpol, boss.

Got the account that was paying
those guys to pressure Ellis.

Got a name?

Colonel George Ellis.

His father?

How dare you guys come in here
and accuse a decorated marine...

a reverend, no less...

of hurting his own son.

It's a fact.

It's a lie.

Not according to the bank.

People do things
for such misguided reasons.

Well, marines aren't
just people, sir.

You're right, Pat, they're not,
but they abide by the same laws.

- Your father didn't.
- Tina,

we need to get in touch

with James Hanlin.
You have his number, right?

I mean, I understand.

You needed a shoulder to cry on
and he was happy to talk,

among other things.

Where were you the morning

- Thom was killed?
- With friends.

And Patrick was at school.

Why are you doing this?

Because you're not
being straight with us.

GEORGE:
It's okay, Tina.

They have a right
to know everything.

(sighs)

You're correct, Agent DiNozzo,

but I didn't want him
discharged.

I just wanted
this Muslim nonsense to end.

You paid off the men
he trusted with his life.

Because I thought if Thom knew
he was putting them in danger,

he would stop being selfish.

What I did was wrong,
but well-intentioned.

And if it led to my son's death,
then God forgive me.

And Thom's God, too.

One and the same, Colonel.

(door opens)

Do you really think the colonel
was involved in his son's death?

Well, he has a congregation.

Humiliation can do
irrational things to people.

(phone ringing)

DiNozzo.

WOMAN: Agent DiNozzo,
this is Delores Bromstead...

(whispers):
It's her.

...from Human Resources.

(chuckles):
Hi, Delores.

- Is something wrong?
- No, I...

l-I just, l-I have a cold.

(whispers):
Delores.

Uh-huh.

Human Resources, the grinch.

- Oh.
- Watch, watch, watch.

- This is gonna be really good.
- (Tony chuckles)

You crack me up. That is...

- Not funny. My office...
- No, it's not...

- That's not funny.
- Be there.

Of course I'll be there.

- (chuckles)
- With bells on.

- Big silver bells.
- Yeah, good-bye.

- Okay.
- (dial tone)

(chuckles)

Someone broke my cover.

Oh.

She knows I'm her Secret Santa.

McGee, you wouldn't do that.

Ho-ho-ho.

She wants me to meet her
at 6:00 on Christmas Eve.

To exchange gifts?

To wrap me in a cocoon of ivy

and suck the Christmas joy
out of me.

ZIVA: Okay, I'm going
to say this again.

She is probably

someone who just lacks
social skills,

so be nice,
get her something special,

kill her with kindness.

Or with a stake of holly
through the heart.

- (phone ringing)
- What should I get her?

David.

GIBBS:
Ziva, meet me in Abby's lab.

All right.

Any of these things could kill,
but none of them did.

Any luck I.D.'ing
the murder weapon?

- ("Joy To the World" plays)
- This job is not about luck.

It's about the keen eye
of science.

Abby.

Would I have called you down
here if I didn't have something?

Hold that thought.

Go ahead, taste one.

I'm sorry, Abby,
I could never eat you.

I'll take one to go.

For my dad.

- Aw.
- Abbs, I hope you have

something more than
a gingerbread cookie.

Yeah, I have aluminum
and titanium.

I found minute particles in
Lieutenant Ellis's head wound.

How about a baseball bat?

That's a very good guess, Gibbs.

So I used the angle of impact,
the depth of the wound

and the density of bone
to work my way backwards

to simulate the kill.

SANTA (over monitor):
Ho-ho-ho!

What's that?

- On Dasher...
- Oh.

Oh, you weren't supposed to...

- Merry Christmas!
...see that.

Um, okay, here.

So check out the death blow.

It's the speed
at which it impacts

Ellis's skull
that's what's impressive.

Watch this.

Whoever killed Lieutenant Ellis
was definitely athletic

and knew how to generate
some serious momentum.

Mrs. Ellis,

your father-in-law said
you were here.

I wanted to see
where it happened.

I'm Agent David from NCIS.

I hope you don't mind.

Can we talk?

What could you possibly ask me

that your friends
don't already know?

Look, I know we have
brought up some personal issues.

The affair you had while
your husband was overseas...

did he know about it?

Eventually.

He knew that James and I
were good friends.

You are in excellent shape, yes?

Agent David,
what is the purpose of this?

Do you still play softball?

- I'm sorry?
- Your husband...

he was killed by a blow to
the head, possibly by a bat.

The angle of the blow
was unique.

And you think that I did it?

Well, you returned
to the crime scene.

Look... I have
a funeral to plan.

A military funeral for a hero

and a husband that
I loved very deeply.

Now, if you'll excuse me.

- (both laughing)
- And by...

by the time I got there,

Leroy had fallen asleep

and left the gate unlocked.

(both laughing)

I don't remember
what happened next.

Well, I spent the next 25 hours

trying to round up
26 missing sheep.

That's right.

- Hello, Jethro.
- That's right.

Your father has been regaling me
with stories of his youth.

We have a lot in common.

Naive heartbreak,

tales of adolescent...

(laughing):
chivalry.

Oh, oh, and fond memories

of skinny-dipping as children.

- Duck.
- Uh?

Come on, getting late.

Oh, yeah, time to go.

Yes, there is
Christmas shopping to be done

and a roose to be goasted.

(laughter)

A goose to be roasted.

Ah, a pleasure
to finally meet you.

Pleasure is all mine.

DUCKY: Where's my coat?
(mutters)

(chuckles)

Okay.

What a sweet,
lovely man, Jethro,

and certainly much warmer
than you depicted him.

And in many ways,
more accessible than you are.

Duck, please.

My dad?

Well, you understand
I cannot make

a firm diagnosis on the basis
of such a short meeting.

But... (sighs) there is most
definitely something wrong.

Well, how bad?

That's an interesting question.

I doubt what you experienced
was any kind of dementia.

I mean, despite
his disorientation,

your father shows

no signs
of impaired recognition,

has no trouble solving problems.

He certainly doesn't have
any symptoms of motor aphasia.

Well, what the hell
is wrong with him?

Something far more
old-fashioned, I believe.

(sighs)

Your father... is under

significant emotional distress,

the kind one sees when
one loses a loved one or...

I mean, has he experienced
any kind of trauma recently?

Well, it's nothing
personal, Jethro,

but I don't think he came here

for your uplifting
holiday cheer.

Martha Stewart you are not.

Why'd he come?

Well, the answer to that
question is not in my purview.

You are, when all is said
and done, the investigator.

I prescribe
some phone calls back home

on your father's behalf.

They just might prove
enlightening.

Okay, so you're telling me

that Ensign Blake
cannot be reached on board?

Well, you know what?

This is an emergency.

I have direct orders from
Admiral... Nicholas Whitebeard.

Yes, yes, that is his name.

He's the admiral that oversees
the Northern Polar regions.

Great.

Okay, get back to me
as soon as possible, please.

Thank you.

Misplaced tidings of joy,
McScrooge?

I'm donating my time to a very,
very worthy charity this year.

- How worthy?
- Very.

Who are you doing
this favor for, McGee?

Abby, her friend
and the big man.

Gibbs?

- Nope.
- Director Vance?

Bigger. And rounder.

(phone ringing)

DiNozzo.

Yes, sir.

Oh.

Got it, yeah.

That was Director Vance.
He just spoke with SECNAV.

Colonel Ellis was visiting
his Chesapeake Bay home

at the time
the lieutenant was killed.

SECNAV's house?

Yep.

- And the daughter-in-law?
- She drove him.

Thom stayed home.

Well, that is an airtight alibi.

So we have nothing.

In a manner of speaking.

All I want for Christmas
is a clue trail.

I must see Special Agent Gibbs.

Chaplain El-Sayed.

We have a problem.

I just got this in the mail.

(door opens)

The letter came through
the military postal service.

So it could have been dropped
in a box on any base.

By someone who has
easy access to you.

So you think the threat is real?

Or a distraction,
if we're getting too close.

NCIS will provide protection.

(sighs)

That won't be necessary.

You have a wife and a daughter.

Whom I love very much,
but I am also a Navy chaplain,

a man of honor and pride.

Bullheaded stubbornness.

Look, as much as I am here

to pray for the injured
and the dying,

I am also here
to open the minds of people.

To help them
to understand the beauty

and strength of Islam.

You talk to teenagers, Chaplain?

Yes, before society dictates for
them what is and isn't moral.

You see, in the Muslim religion,

the most immoral thing
a person can do is to not

accept someone who lives by
the Pillars of Islamic belief.

So, a while back,
Thomas asked me

to speak to his brother's
prep school class.

So you spoke with Patrick Ellis?

I did.

And let me just say,
it is amazing

how two siblings can be
so very different.

How fun would it be

to have a totally impromptu
Christmas party,

like, right now?

We could decorate
my test-tube tree,

we could warm up dumplings
in the incubator.

ALL:
Abby!

I know. Typing.

I feel like Scrooge
being visited

by the three grumpy ghosts.

You want to see
the attack again, right?

GIBBS:
The point of impact.

Like I said, whoever did this
had agility, speed and power

on their side.

Well, if I don't mind saying so,

I have many of those
qualities myself.

Ha!

Where's your generous
holiday spirit, probette?

Bah hum-bog.

Bah what?

ABBY:
Here's another angle, Gibbs.

GIBBS:
Freeze it right there.

Patrick Ellis played lacrosse?

Yeah, team captain.

Abby, try lacrosse.

Checking.

Okay, today's lacrosse sticks
are a composite of

aluminum and titanium,

and the head is made
out of nylon and leather mesh.

The exact same breakdown
we found in the wound.

Abel and Cain.

He killed his own brother.

(door closes)

(Patrick panting)

Hey.

What's going on?

So, Patrick, we know
that you were at the park

the other morning with Thomas.

I was at school.

What are you talking about?

No. You went there to confront
him about being Muslim.

You argued,
you lost your temper.

Most lacrosse players like
to run with their sticks.

Where's yours?

Dad, l-I just
went on a... a run.

Is it broken,
or did you destroy the evidence?

I like the letter
to the chaplain.

The cut-and-paste letters...
very Zodiac.

Dad, you got to believe me.

Thom was embarrassing us.

People were laughing at him.

I did this for you.

Thomas just wanted
to find the good in people.

Yes, he found God, his God,

and that humiliated me,
but he was still my son.

But I'm your son, too.

You taught us
to be proud, you know.

Proud of this family.

And when Thom changed,
everything changed,

because the one thing
this family always had

was honor.

And he ruined that!

I loved him so much,
and he turned his back on us.

Mm-hmm.

I don't know.

Maybe we turned our back on him.

(Patrick mutters)

(crying softly)

(flames crackling)

(footsteps approaching)

Not very traditional.

Yeah, it is.

Let's talk.

You called Betty Hannigan?

She told me to call the sheriff.

Ed sent you the report?

Uh-huh.

(sighs)

How about you fill in
some of the details?

(sighs)

He rumbled up
in an old fastback.

Whole town could hear him.

Yeah. Dirt-kicker
looking for trouble.

I guess.

The Dobson girl
was in the store.

She had a friend visiting.

l-I never got her name.

He said he come there to rob me.

He had a gun, Leroy.

I told him to take anything
he wanted from the register,

but... the girls
were in the corner,

crouching, terrified.

He turned after them and...

(sighs)

Well, that's not the first time
you fired that Winchester.

No.

It's not the first time
I killed somebody, either.

But it's the first time
I saw the face.

Twenty-three.

Had a kid, somebody told me.

Looks different
up there in the cockpit, huh?

Uh, yeah, yeah.

From up there, it doesn't
look like much of anything.

You pull the trigger,
feel the release, nothing.

I never even
thought about it much.

Now, that's all I think about.

How did you do it
all these years, son?

I need to know.

This why you came?

That and because it's Christmas.

It's not supposed to be easy.

Nobody said it would be, huh?

No.

("Kangaroo Cry"
by Blue October playing)

Attention on deck!

# Losing my control #

# Here it is the day... #

(groaning)

- I can't. I can't.
- Of course you can.

- Please, I don't...
- Go back. Go back!

- I don't want to. I don't want
to. - You... come on, Tony!

- You can't make me. I...
- Go back!

I don't want to do it.
I can't do it.

Special Agent DiNozzo?

# To leave you so alone #

# God, I'm terrified #

Merry Christmas, Delores.

# We've lost respect
for decency #

I got this for you.

I looked in your personnel file.

Which is legal, 'cause I have
that security clearance.

But I saw that
when you were eight years old,

all the little girls
in your neighborhood...

they all got
this incredible doll,

the-the Knee-High
Cherry Pie doll.

And you didn't get one.

Uh, I guess Santa didn't
make enough that year, so...

I got this for you.

# A warm, pathetic ocean flow #

# We have to live by #

# We have to live by,
because we have to live #

(sighs)

# And you choose to break
our families #

# Tell me you've used
all precautions known #

(quiet laugh)

# And I'll stand beside
the ones who stood alone #

(laughing)

# How long
will we have to sing #

# Until you finally bring
our sons, our daughters home? #

All right, Fisher.

Right this way, my friend.

Whoa. What is this place?

This is a very special room

that only a few people
know about.

It's a magic room called MTAC.

Aunt?

Don't look at me.

See, Santa told me

very specifically
to bring you here.

Why? What's gonna happen?

Well, let's make
a Christmas wish

and see if it comes true.

How about that?

FISHER:
Yeah.

Want you to shut your eyes
good and tight.

Got 'em closed?

All right.

Now...

All right, I want you to think

of the one thing
you want for Christmas

more than anything else
in the entire world.

You ready?

(mouthing)

Oh, Fisher, baby, is that you?

Mom!

Oh, I love you, sweetheart.

Merry Christmas.

Look at you.

You are getting so big.
(chuckles)

I got all the mail you sent,
all your artwork.

Your pictures.

I'll make you more.

BLAKE:
I can't wait.

I have told everybody here

all about you,
about how proud I am of you.

You know, we're going to have

a big Christmas dinner
here tonight.

(whispers):
But I'd rather be there instead.

I wish you were, too.

Well, not bad, huh?

- Pulled it off.
- (Blake murmuring)

- BLAKE: Would you like that?
- FISHER: Yeah!

BLAKE:
This was my favorite story...

You would make a great Santa.

"'Twas the night before..."

I guess you just got to believe.

"...not a creature
was stirring..."

I do believe.

"The stockings were hung
by the chimney with care,

in hopes that St. Nicholas..."

# How long
will we have to sing #

# Until you finally bring
our sons, our daughters home? #

# We'll let the prayers
start healing #

# What time's been stealing #

I'll go warm up the sleigh.

# Been stealing... #

# Oh... #

# Keep hanging on... #

(music fades)