- Gibbs tells Joe that Joe was right about Kersey's presence with the enemy in Afghanistan, and that he and the gang need his help to find the bad guy; Gibbs talks with Joe, his brother (Evan), and their father. Evan stays to help Joe, but their father goes back home in Ohio; Joe goes with Gibbs to see Paul, another member of the outfit, who responds negatively to Joe. Abby uses virtual-reality (VR) gear to help Joe recover some of his memories; the gang increase their efforts to find Kersey; Gibbs continues to work with Joe; they catch a clue; the gang find Kersey's car but not Kersey, then they find a girl with blue hair, then Kersey; then Joe suddenly recalls another face. Abby tells the site of the next incident, and McGee tells its significance; Gibbs and the team saddle up and head out; they find and seize first a package and then a ponytail. Joe reconciles with Paul; Tony gives Ziva an audio treat; Abby serves Thanksgiving dinner to the gang at Gibbs's pad.—DocRushing
- Gibbs tells Joe that Joe was right about Kersey, and he asks for his help to find the bad guy; Gibbs continues to work with Joe and his problems. The team eventually grab Kersey and a ponytail. Abby serves turkey to the gang at Gibbs's pad.—DocRushing
- Flashback as Captain Joe Westcott comes to get his men before their patrol the night of the ambush. Private Hall talks about how excited he is that his wife is pregnant back home.
Later that night during the ambush, Westcott watched helplessly as Hall was dragged away by militants, including Randall Kersey.
Back in the present in DC, Gibbs wakes Westcott and his brother and father up in the middle of the night to tell him Joe was right about Kersey. NCIS needs his help. Joe remembers that night at the convenience store, Kersey didn't look like he was there to buy anything.
The after action report on the ambush says that Westcott and Torres were inside enemy HQ during the ambush, but Westcott doesn't remember it. Torres told him that's what happened.
He remembers Kersey attempting to capture PFC Hall. Paul "McCartney" Patterson was nearby but Westcott doesn't know what he saw. Westcott agrees to go talk to McCartney with Gibbs tomorrow. Westcott's dad George clearly doesn't want to be there and says he has to get back to work in Ohio. Joe's brother Evan volunteers to stay with Joe.
At NCIS, they find Kersey grew up in LA and studied philosophy but after study abroad in India, he hooked up with terrorists. His girlfriend's name is Brooke Fenton, she's a caterer.
Based on the remnants NCIS found in his apartment, Abby thinks Kersey has two IEDs.
Gibbs and the Westcott brothers visit McCartney. He isn't happy to see Westcott and says he needed him "before" but not now.
Flashback to the ambush, Westcott remembers McCartney went after Hall to get him from Kersey. He starts running away as he remembers being in enemy HQ, but Gibbs tackles him.
In the garage, Abby has created a virtual reality recreation of the ambush. She outfits Joe Westcott with a VR helmet and gun to help him remember. Meanwhile, the computer has linked the blueprint scrap in Kersey's apartment to the historic register and is searching.
Abby walks Westcott through the VR scene. Inside the HQ he describes a computer and satellite modem and wall covered with documents and maps. He saw Ijil written on one and a clean cut picture of Kersey.
Westcott walks outside to the ambush, but the firing is overwhelming. He takes the VR helmet off and leaves.
Upstairs, Tony meets with Brooke Fenton, who is unnerved she can't reach him. She says he's always on chat, even at her apartment on her laptop.
He came over to say good-bye before a business trip in India today. But later, they find he didn't fly out today.
Gibbs visits Duckie in the morgue for a profile. Randall's parents were killed when he was five and he was raised in foster care, but always ran away. Duckie thinks being part of a terrorist group makes him finally feel like he belongs. Gibbs says he pushed Westcott too hard and Duckie encourages him to reach out.
Gibbs finds him in a bar with Evan. Evan just got back from Iraq and says he can understand what Joe is going through. Joe disagrees and they end up in a fist fight. Joe says it's not the same because Evan came back OK.
Back at NCIS, McGee has spent the night going through Kersey's chats on Brooke's laptop. He finds a photo of Kersey and Brooke in front of his car and they finally have his license plate.
Gibbs checks in with Dr. Dan, who says Westcott needs to redevelop a sense of purpose and rebuild trust.
Gibbs visits Westcott, who's ready to leave town. Gibbs invites him to stay at his place.
Evan apologizes to Gibbs for letting Joe drink, but says it was nice to have his old brother back for a minute.
"Try to love the one you've got," Gibbs says.
Gibbs takes Westcott to the convenience store where he and Torres ran into Kersey.
He remembers Kersey standing in the corner looking shifty and someone coming in the door. He passed a note to a girl with blue hair.
Later, they have Westcott's sketch artist description of the girl. They get a call about Kersey's car and head there. They find a terrified teenager who says Kersey paid him $200 to take the car and keep driving.
Back at NCIS, Gibbs thinks Kersey hasn't left town yet and is following his plan. The convenience store manager said the girl with blue hair was a regular so Gibbs sends Tony and Ziva to stake it out.
Back at Gibbs' house, Westcott can't sleep. He's wracked with guilt for letting Hall get killed. Gibbs tells him he has to keep fighting and accept help.
In the morning of the stakeout, Tony tries to get info out of Ziva about her opera date. There's no guy, she goes to the opera every year on her late sister Tali's birthday. But it's sold out this year and she feels like she's letting her down.
They spot blue hair and ask her about Kersey. She says he brought homeless kids like her food and odd jobs. The last note told her to meet him at a coffee shop today at 10. He was going to give her a box to drop off at union station, but she says it was "nothing bad."
The girl waits for Kersey in the coffee shop. He comes in with a small package and sits down. "You know where this is going, but I'd like to know when it's done," he says.
Tony and Ziva pop out with guns on him.
Back at interrogation, they open the package and find a bomb.
Gibbs asks him questions, but Kersey stays silent. Tony and Westcott watch from observation.
Gibbs shows him a photo of Private Christopher Gomez, who left behind two little brothers. He was KIA by Ijil rebels. Gibbs tries to appeal to his orphan side as he asks for info on the other bomb. Westcott gets angry that Kersey won't even look at photos of his men, including Private Hall, who left a pregnant wife.
Gibbs gets in Kersey's face demanding info about the bomb. He cries and gives his Arabic name, then says he's glad he killed Hall. When he spits on Hall's photo, Westcott charges out of observation and into interrogation and attacks Kersey.
As Gibbs pulls him off, Westcott remembers more about inside HQ, including that Brooke Fenton's photo was also on the wall.
Back in the office, Brooke's laptop schedule shows she's working a catering event, but they don't know where. Abby comes in to report she got a name to match the blueprint, a home belonging to Senator Geoffrey Roberts.
He's hosting Thanksgiving for a Senate committee tonight at his house.
At the senator's house, they find the bomb in the kitchen, but Brooke has disappeared. They find her chef's whites and know with the roadblock, she might still be there.
Gibbs sees her telltale ponytail. She's in a cop's uniform getting into a cruiser. As she looks for the keys, they surround her.
With Gibbs, Joe Westcott goes back to talk to McCartney again. He tells McCartney his head is messed up and maybe McCartney should talk to somebody, too. When McCartney isn't sure he's up to it, Gibbs references the fact he charged after Hall and got his body back.
McCartney tells him he didn't do it, it was Westcott.
Westcott remembers the ambush again, this time firing at Kersey and driving him away, then going to get Hall and dragging him out of the line of fire.
Westcott is relieved to know he didn't run away.
"You didn't run, forgive yourself for the rest," Gibbs says.
"I just wish it would have mattered," Westcott says.
"It mattered to us," McCartney tells him. He and Westcott share a hug.
At the office, they're getting ready to head to Gibbs' for Thanksgiving. But first Tony has a surprise for Ziva. He tells her McGee installed surround sound in the office. He presses play on opera and leaves her alone with her sister's memory.
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