the bullpen there's a big box on McGee's desk...Tony and Ziva are trying to figure out what's in it. They assume it's "goodies/baked goods" from home. Ziva takes out her knife and goes to open it when McGee walks in. McGee is all excited about his package, grabs Ziva's knife and opens it. McGee takes out the computers he owns beginning with a Macintosh Classic! Gibbs arrives Petty Officer Lynn has been killed...grab your mittens - it's cold outside!!!!!

On the scene, Gibbs interviews the woman the Petty Officer was with...she knows who did it...the guy's ex-fiance. Palmer is back!!! He's explaining how he got lost...again. He and Ducky argue about city planning, streets, etc....a great Ducky rant.

Ziva gets a call about the woman spotted with blood on her. Ziva leaves the crime scene to join Gibbs a few blocks over. They find her in an alleyway and arrest her. Tony meets them when they return and makes a remark about the "fastest crime ever solved."

Back at the crime scene, Ducky makes Palmer run the analysis to make up for getting lost. There's a suspicious woman on the fringe of the onlookers. She notices Ziva has left and Tony leaves to meet up with the rest of the team when they return with the murderer. The woman notices everyone moving away. She wraps her scarf around her face, grabs the crime scene knife, starts yelling in a Middle Eastern sounding language and stabs Ducky. Ducky raises his arm in defense as Palmer shouts. The woman takes off as Ziva chases her but she gets away. Ziva only finds the green scarf she used to cover up with. Gibbs goes to Ducky, who says he's ok...just a defensive wound, as he holds up his hand with the knife still in it!

Abby arrives at the hospital and calmly asks Palmer how Ducky is, Palmer gives Abby the medical version (rambling, technical...). Ducky will need surgery and rehab. Abby is VERY calm, saying she can't freak every time they get hurt or she'll go to crazy town and then they'll have to change her address. They wheel Ducky out of surgery...oh is he doped up! His vision is blurry due to not wearing his glasses and the morphine the doctors gave him. Ducky calls Gibbs sweetie and thanks him for keeping an eye on his glasses. They wheel Ducky away on the gurney and Gibbs gives Abby the knife to analyze for prints, etc.

In the bullpen, they're watching a video of the attack that a nosy neighbor person caught on video on their cell phone. Ziva believes that given the woman's attire, her language, that she's likely Muslim...sounds like an Afghan dialect. Tony says he'll take the tape (after McGee has cleaned it up) and have a translator analyze it.

In autopsy, Palmer is pretending he is Ducky by talking to the corpse. The sub ME Jordan enters and remarks she is surprised that Ducky wanted a sub, especially with such short notice. Palmer tells her Ducky was assaulted at a crime scene. Jordan seems preoccupied after hearing this and Palmer calls her name. She finally focuses and begins the autopsy with Palmer.

In the lab, Abby tells Ziva about the kitchen knife used in both attacks (she describes it in great detail like she's selling it - Ziva asks if it was a summer job and Abby says yes, she did telemarketing and you have to believe in what you are selling). Abby is able to lift several prints from the knife. The scarf had some hairs that Abby recovered...Ziva says it's not something she would easily give up.

In the hospital, Gibbs sits at Ducky's bedside as he rambles on after his surgery. Tony and Ziva have given Gibbs the hard copy of the translation of what Ducky's attacker said as she attacked him. Gibbs tells Ducky the woman shouted..."Bringer of death"...she also said "You killed my brother". Gibbs asks why she'd say that and Ducky says it's probably because he killed her brother. Camera focuses on a shocked Gibbs.

Ziva tells Gibbs they have ID'd the attacker but they can't find her. They discovered she worked at a florist shop near the original crime. The supervisor said she had gone out for coffee and never returned. They checked her home and the husband said he hadn't seen her since she'd left for work the previous morning. Gibbs has them bring in the husband. Tony calls McGee McGarnagle. Gibbs asks McGee if Vance is still tied up with budgeting. McGee says yes, until the end of the week. Gibbs tells McGee to pull up a personnel file...on Ducky!

In a meeting room, the husband seems very upset. He was so upset he forgot to give his children their lunches when he brought them to school (he's still holding them in his hands). He says his wife isn't calling him back and he has no idea where she is or what is happening. Ziva pulls up the wife's scarf and asks him if he recognizes it. The husband doesn't understand why Ziva has it and where his wife could be.

In autopsy, Gibbs reads Ducky's file. As he's reading the file, the camera cuts to Ducky's house...he's talking about Afghanistan, etc. to Jordan. She is helping him settle in after he goes home from the hospital. He cannot light a fire so she goes to light a fire in the fireplace and a bird flies out. Ducky sees the bird and looks scared.

Outside in DC, Gibbs is sitting on the infamous bench in the park. Gibbs meets with Trent Kort. Gibbs remarks how Trent has been spending a lot of time in the States. Trent says he's made some enemies so they are keeping him close. They trade barbs like when Kort says to Gibbs "When you open that charm school let me know" Gibbs asks for a favor. Kort says he doesn't like Gibbs and Gibbs replies he doesn't like Kort either. Gibbs asks for information on something that happened in 1980 on the Pakistani border...Kort says he'll owe him big for this.

After checking Ducky's attacker's cell phone, they discover the woman made a call to the Afghanistan Embassy. Tony and Ziva head to the Embassy. When they arrive, Tony talks to the Afghan ambassador (quite sarcastically - asking the man twice if he is aware of what goes on). The Ambassador tells them the woman is there under their protection. He says she has made accusations against Dr. Mallard and that he violated article 4 of the Geneva Convention. Shocked, Ziva says "War crimes?!"

Bullpen...the team does not believe Ducky is guilty of war crimes. They don't believe it was an accident that the woman was there...she was purposely looking for Ducky.

In Gibbs' basement...Kort arrives with files on Ducky. Kort says he had to call in a favor, so he's stockpiling them against Gibbs. Kort also gives Gibbs a file on Vance!!!!! Probably because he didn't go through usual channels with a director to director call. Gibbs puts the Vance file away and goes through Ducky's file.

At Ducky's Gibbs arrives and Ducky explains the curse of a starling (bird) dying in the house. Ducky claims the superstition is that when this bird comes inside and dies, it means someone in the home will soon die. He believes it's himself because his mother no longer lives there. Gibbs sets up a film reel for them to watch...CIA footage taken in the camp where Ducky was in the 80's. Ducky says he was there to try to help save lives but it was impossible. Ducky informs Gibbs that he was unaware this man was torturing people. He played chess with the man regularly and then points out the individual being tortured was his attacker's brother. Ducky tells Gibbs the man came to him once with wounds and he fixed him. The man returned to Ducky a second time with his wounds reopened, Ducky again fixed the man up. When the man repeatedly returned to Ducky for first aid, Ducky learned the man he played chess with was known as "Mr. Pain." Due to the man's own wounds, he was unable to feel any pain but he was responsible for torturing others.

Back at the bullpen, they continue their analysis of the attacker...she was a calm person. They need to find something on her...otherwise it means Ducky was guilty. They do a search of any other crimes in the same neighborhood to see if this was just a random attack but the team comes up empty handed.

Back at Ducky's, they watch the film...he says he helped the woman's brother, stitching him up. Ducky explains that he didn't know the torturer...each time after the torture, Javide was sent to Ducky to be stitched up. Gibbs is getting pissed because Ducky is not telling the whole story about what happened. Gibbs says his life is on the line here. Ducky tells him to leave things alone.

As Gibbs leaves, Jordan arrives with a shovel. Gibbs seems surprised that she is there. She tells Ducky she found a spot to bury the bird. Ducky carries the bird in the box outside...they want to bury it, but it flies away! Gibbs tells Jordan to keep an eye on Ducky...he's concerned about him.

At the bullpen, Gibbs doesn't believe it was a coincidence the woman was there with Ducky. He tells McGee to ID the guy on the film. Jordan calls Gibbs and reports Ducky left and she doesn't know where he went. Gibbs knows where he is...at the Afghanistan embassy. Ducky has turned himself in! When the Ambassador comes out, Gibbs says if they arrest Ducky, then he'll arrest the woman. The Ambassador tells Gibbs he's not being political and Gibbs informs the Ambassador that it's not his job. He is determined to leave with Ducky. Ducky stands up and informs the Ambassador that he neither has nor needs counsel, he is there to give himself up.

At the embassy, Ziva talks to Gibbs...he can't get Ducky off the hook. The ambassador hasn't yet called the State Dept....he can't afford to appear as the aggressor with the way things are overseas. They need to get Ducky to open up.

In the lab, Abby and McGee have a still of the torturer (Gibbs gave it to McGee and told him to age the man in the video and find him) and they run his image for a match. Abby can't believe McGee was a "Mac guy"! They eventually find a match to the photo. Tony calls McGee, McEgghead!

At the embassy, they ask to talk to Ducky...oh! When the Ambassador tells Gibbs Ducky won't speak with him, Gibbs says it's not him that needs to talk to Ducky. Tony and Ziva found the man known as "Mr. Pain" and they dragged him to the embassy to talk to Ducky. The NCIS team, Ducky's attacker and her husband and the Ambassador watch Ducky and "Mr. Pain" from a two-way mirror. Torture guy, Marcin Jerek says it must be Trent Kort that's responsible for this situation...that they're being brought up on war crimes charges. Ducky and Jerek argue about what happened at the camp. Ducky says Javid was innocent and had no information to give Jerek. Ducky says the man would have continued to be tortured so Ducky eased his pain and helped him die. Jerek informs Ducky that Javid wasn't the target, Ducky was. Ducky doesn't understand why. Jerek tells Ducky that he was the target - the man Jerek was trying to change/break. He wanted Ducky to toughen up but it took too long to break him. Why would that guy be so horrible that he would see the need to break Ducky by killing another man? Ducky is heartbroken...he could have saved Javid.

Outside the room, Ducky comes face to face with Javid's sister...they don't speak. The Ambassador tells him no charges will be pursued, Ducky's free to go. Gibbs says he's forgiven, but Ducky still feels guilty for what he's done.

In autopsy Palmer and Jordan prepare for Ducky's return. Ducky tells Palmer to take the day off. Before Palmer goes, he tells Ducky there's no J street because J resembles I and they just didn't want people to get lost. Palmer tells him that there was no J street due to the letters being too similar. "They were just trying to keep people from being lost." Ducky's heart officially broke at that point because he was lost. After Palmer leaves, Jordan goes to Ducky's side and comforts him as Ducky begins to sob, he reaches up and holds her hand against his shoulder. He can't hold it back anymore. The End!!!