SPIN A YARN

By

Ashleigh Anpilova

Ducky knows how to spin a yarn.

A Ducky-centric gen story.

Written: May 2009. Word count: 300.

If there was one thing, outside of all things medical, at which Ducky was extremely apt, it was the ability to spin a yarn.

He knew countless stories, and even those he had told more than once got embellished to make another tale, so not as to bore those with whom he had already shared them.

But it wasn't just that he could speak about his own personal experiences, he seemed capable of talking about any subjection. Indeed he had talked his way out of trouble on more than one occasion, befuddling the opposition with his convoluted speeches and vast vocabulary.

So when, after Ducky had told her about the BBC4 Radio Program Just A Minute, Abby had suggested a charity event between the various 'alphabet soup' agencies based on the program, no-one was surprised when the person chosen to represent NCIS was Doctor Donald 'Ducky' Mallard.

The rules were very simple: the panelists were challenged to speak for one minute on a given subject without 'repetition, hesitation, or deviation'. During his or her minute, the speaker could be challenged by the other panelists for breaking one of the aforementioned rules. Points were then awarded to the challenger for a correct challenge and to the speaker if the challenge was incorrect.

It was rare a speaker remained unchallenged, but after Ducky's fourth unchallenged minute, the speakers from the other agencies seemed to accept defeat and appeared content simply to listen to Ducky. Rather than having a problem speaking unhindered for a minute, Ducky's problem was stopping after a minute!

There was only ever going to be one winner. When Fornell stumbled to a halt after fifty seconds and Ducky was given his final subject, no one bothered to stop him talking. He spoke for five minutes without breaking the rules.

Feedback is always appreciated

Go to NCIS General Series Gen Fiction Page