"Actually, I probably would have had more of a problem with Ducky keeping his mother's death a secret if the writers hadn't thrown in the line about Ducky "being surrounded by death" on a daily basis. I'm glad that you did this post because the Ducky and Gibbs relationship has always been one of my favorites because the two are so different, but I think this shows that in grief these two are at least somewhat similar. "

"I was disappointed too, to read that Ducky hadn't told the team of his mothers passing. But some people like to mourn in private first. Perhaps Ducky felt he was imposing on the others with their work load or something. A change in clothing, as you say, may well be his way of moving on. Perhaps his mother bought him all those bow ties and he never really wanted to wear them? But he did out of respect for her. I think the bow ties have become a trade mark with him and I hope he will start wearing them again at some stage. Gibbs used to wear a tie in the early days on occasions..now he wears polo or tee-shirts. "

"I was disappointed to, to read that Ducky hadn't told the team of his mothers passing. But some people like to mourn in private first. Perhaps Ducky felt he was imposing on the others with their work load or something. A change in clothing, as you say, may well be his way of moving on. Perhaps his mother bought him all those bow ties and he never really wanted to wear them? But he did out of respect for her. I think the bow ties have become a trade mark with him and I hope he will start wearing them agin at some stage. Gibbs use to wear a tie in the early days on occassions..now he wears polo or tee-shirts. "

"I just hope she isn't too young for him if she is a love interest."

"Piece of Trivia. Character's name is Sophie and a real estate agent.

David McCallum has a daughter named Sophie, whom I understand, is a real estate agent."

"Ah, well, you may be disappointed as he says "she's quite a bit younger". And her name is Sophie :) ."

"I have just begun to rewatch NCIS from the very first episode and it is interesting to see how all the characers have changed and evolved from those early days. Ducky not only looks 10 years younger but his demeanour is so much younger and fresher than it was 7 years ago. I think that he may be ready for a serious relationship, he certainly deserves one after caring for his Mother. But one question that I have is Mrs Mallard was 98 - nearly one hundred, Ducky said,when she passed away, that makes him a fair age doesn't it? Do we know how old Ducky is?"

"Just to add to Windykat's comment, when you know someone with alzheimers, it's not necessarily a bad thing that they're released into death. The disease is just as bad as cancer, only you're losing your brain, not good cells per se.
So perhaps one explanation as to why Ducky did not display more mourning was because he felt it was a release for her and she had had a good long life, so there is nothing to mourn to the extent. "

"I agree with both you and windykat. Ducky has likely already been grieving for quite some time, as he really had lost the woman he knew as his mother long before the actual death of her body. As a friend (whose mother died recently having been placed in nursing care a few years ago because her dementia made it impossible to care for her at home) told me recently, the woman in the nursing home had not been "mother" for the past year, I lost the person I knew as my mother 2 yrs. ago) Something I will have to face in a few years in my own family, which I will never for ready for."