Joint Duty Assignment 2

Rating: K+

Summary: Second installment in my quest to try to figure out Ellie Bishop. I think there are loads of things that Gibbs doesn't know about her. Things he should know. I'm a Stargate fan so decided to cross it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Just borrowing for a bit.

"You're just going to the Pentagon, Leon. Why are we tasked with escort?"

Leon Vance gazed at his MCRT teams senior agent before revealing, "With Parsa still out there, SecNav doesn't want to take any chances. She believes more eyes looking around for threats is a good idea."

It sounded like a crock of something to Gibbs, but he wasn't in the mood to argue. On the other hand, maybe he could take half the team and leave the other half working. Tim had been through the ringer, but was back and hard at it. Gibbs knew he wouldn't appreciate being pulled out for what amounted to babysitting. Tony already took too many breaks so he would have him stay. Bishop. Her brain didn't need to be at NCIS to keep working so he could take her, get her away from the others and maybe cut the tension that had been in the bullpen for a while. She wouldn't be great for protection, but Leon said they needed eyes, not guns.

"Two of us. The others keep working Parsa."

Gibbs and Bishop were East of the small group while Vance's driver and another agent were West. SecNav's escorts were everywhere and other security flanked the rest. The meeting had ended about five minutes before and now the participants were chatting casually, one or two walking away every half minute or so.

For too long Bishop had been staring at two men. One was in a suit and tie and the other was an Air Force Lieutenant General. Gibbs wondered what her connection to them was, but before he could start to think more about it, the two shook hands and walked away.

Gibbs had been scanning the area for the umpteenth time when Bishop was suddenly by his side, not where she was supposed to be, and he was ready to bark at her.

She spoke first. "I'm wondering why he was talking to O'Neill. In fact Gibbs, I'm wondering why O'Neill was here at all for this meeting."

Gibbs didn't know what the meeting was about or why the people there were there, but he knew Bishop had gotten off track and was now not doing her job.

"What difference does it make, Bishop?"

She looked a little nervous, more than she usually did, and her eyes darted to the small crowd still present before replying. "Because he's supposed to be..." She didn't finish her sentence before being interrupted.

"And you would know that HOW, Mrs. Bishop?"

Both Gibbs and Bishop turned quickly and General Jack O'Neill was standing behind them.

Bishop blurted, "I.. uh... I saw your name on an NSA brief."

Gibbs tried not to look startled and stepped up to defend his agent. "Just how do you know Bishop, General?"

O'Neill peered at the two of them for a moment.

"Not your concern. Suffice it to say, Bishop has a tendency to read things that were not intended for her, open her mouth when she shouldn't, and repeat things she shouldn't know about in the first place."

Bishop was blushing now, proud and ashamed at the same time.

"Marlens just told me she was with NCIS." He introduced himself. "Jack O'Neill."

Gibbs remembered Jeremy Marlens was an NSA Supervisor that he'd never met.

"Special Agent Gibbs."

"Watch her closely, Gibbs, and expect her to hold back."

Bishop looked ready to run. Gibbs glanced toward Vance and others to make sure everything was still okay before he brought his attention back to O'Neill.

"Spit it out, General. Tell me directly what you're trying to say."

"If you have her in the field then you don't know enough about her. Talk to Marlens. As for holding back," and he looked right into her eyes, "Ellie Bishop only divulges information a smidgen at a time and sometimes it gets people killed."

O'Neill's attention snapped back to Gibbs and then with a minute nod of his head in dismissal, he walked away.

"What the hell was all that about, Bishop?"

"Nothing really," she downplayed. "He just doesn't like me very much."

Gibbs couldn't help thinking he should find out more about Bishop... and O'Neill too.

The End

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