"Howdy ma'am, I'm Joseph."

Joseph McGuire was everything Hannah had pictured: tall, handsome, and with a drawling voice that would make any girl swoon. She thought back to the operation in Seville, holding in laughter as she imagined what else may be a part of the McG seduction toolkit. From the way he had looked her up and down, Hannah thought there was a good chance she might just find out.

I mean, that's just unfair , she thought on the jet back to DC. Entirely too good looking for his own good. Hannah never had much of a type when it came to men; there had been phases of course, the kind that were common enough to teenage girls. The bad boy, the jock, the brooding artist. As she'd gotten older though, she'd realized the men who stayed close to the cliches had lost her interest. Natural curiosity paired with a biting wit made her active and restless in relationships that didn't challenge her.

After college, she'd joined the CIA, and her dating life took a back seat. It wasn't easy to keep a boyfriend when she had a cover ID to protect. The years wore on, and then she got her NOC assignment… there were casual things here and there, guys who often looked like McG in fact. It wasn't that she didn't want companionship, it was just easier to know the person she slept with last night wouldn't freak out when she didn't call back for a month and a half.

McG was funny and kind, and she had to admit she was attracted to him, if in a more amused kind of way. He had approached her while they waited for transpo out of Colombia, sidling up to her in a way that made her recall a panther stalking its prey. She held back a laugh.

"So, Ms. Rivera, any reason to get right on back to DC tonight?" His voice was caramelized butter.

"Besides my job, you mean?" Hannah answered, a smirk playing on her lips. She didn't quite know where he was steering this, but she was interested enough to want to find out.

"Oh, of course-I thought there may be someone waiting for you…" He trailed off, and she arched an eyebrow. There it is.

She was saved from having to let him down easy when Dalton yelled at him from across the tarmac to "Stop flirting and get your ass over to the medical area". McG rolled his eyes and didn't even bother looking abashed as he backed away from her.

"Sorry ma'am, gotta go save some lives," he grinned and winked at her. This time Hannah did laugh. She shook her head and mused on why exactly her reflexive answer would have been a no; there was attraction there, if only physical. Sex with McG would undoubtedly be good, and she wassingle; no one waiting at home for her other than an uninterested goldfish named Pauline. Hannah watched him jog toward the small tent where paramedics were still looking over some of the passengers on the plane, his impressive form moving in an agile and controlled way. She could appreciate his looks, but the heat, the aching burn behind her belly-button was noticeably absent.

"Or at least more times than Joseph can count."

Hannah bit her lip and searched the tarmac for the other ex-CIA operative, recalling the warmth of his shoulder beneath her hand. She hadn't met Amir before today, but she'd felt a kinship with him before she's even stepped off the plane. To be honest, she'd read his file cover to cover, and she'd been a little in awe of him when she first started as the team's Mission Coordinator. Not many people could understand the feeling of coming back to civilian life after being undercover; you pretty much had to be either a damn good psychologist or another NOC agent. Hannah had most definitely had her fill of the former, and the latter didn't exactly grow on trees for her to befriend and bond with.

The few times she'd worked with him in particular, in his ear talking him through a cover situation, she'd felt a connection that, out of principle, she'd ignored. Today though, they were face to face. Today, when she saw him smile, there was no screen or hundreds of thousands of miles between them-only a yard of empty space the both of them unintentionally gravitated into.

"Height isn't everything."

"No, but it's something."

It's not like she meant for her voice to get lower, or initiate physical contact, or lock eyes with him quite that long; just like she didnt mean for a spark to light in her chest, making her body buzz like she was a kettle put on to boil. It just… happened.

Banter had always been a turn on for Hannah. She liked to tease, liked to flirt. The look in Amir's eyes when he dropped down from the truck right in front of her might as well have been a starter's pistol, or a lighter. Or a great big fucking neon sign that said go ahead, Rivera, try me.

Hannah was never one to back down from a challenge.

The sincerity that lingered beneath his retort made her want to figure out exactly what else he was working with. He was quick, but she was quicker. When she leaned in to finish him off, he didn't move back; just smiled and took it as everyone else laughed at his expense. Of course, she'd have liked to keep going, but they were still on the clock. Hannah took in this good natured, reserved manner, like he was used to bearing the butt of the joke. Something about that made Hannah want to touch him. A lot. She couldn't resist rubbing his shoulder in apology, and noticed that he reached out in the same way as he laughed.

Soon it was back to business, but image of Amir's dark eyes and crooked smile kept returning.

Hannah spotted him carrying a couple duffel bags toward the jet the team would soon be departing on. She smiled as he neared her, and he slowed, looking swiftly off to the side in an unmistakable "who, me?" gesture. If he kept acting all sweet and endearing, Hannah was going to have some serious trouble getting on that plane back to DC.

"Hannah," Amir said, nodding in acknowledgement as he stopped beside her. "Quite a return to the field today."

"Well, it's easy to direct an op when your operators are world class," she said, tilting her head. When he that smile spread over his lips, the warmth in Hannah's belly sizzled. He looked down, and she was glad of the dark; if he was blushing she'd really be in trouble.

"I'd say you did a little more than directing." Amir glanced in the direction of the local authorities standing guard over the traitor. Hannah shrugged, moving a little closer to him as he dropped the duffel bags to the ground. "I wish I could have seen you take him down."

Hannah felt a shiver go down her spine.

"I did get a little feisty," she laughed, casually bumping his shoulder with her own. Amir raised an eyebrow.

"Somehow I can't picture you as 'feisty'."

"Oh? What word would you use?" Hannah met his eyes with a challenge. Amir considered for a moment.

"I believe 'kick-ass' would be the most accurate." Hannah laughed. Amir cleared his throat before changing the subject. "So, how many times has McG asked you out already?"

Hannah smirked. "Just one. Well, sort of. He didn't exactly get to the asking part before being called away." She glanced toward the medical tent. "I was going to say no, though." Amir looked surprised.

"Oh?"

"Yeah," she answered. "He's not really my type…I've actually been thinking height may be a little over rated."

Amir's raised his eyebrows. This time she was sure he was blushing.

McG collected his gear as quickly as he could, hoping to get another crack at Rivera before they all left Colombia. As he headed out onto the tarmac, he noticed that she was standing in the same place he'd left her, but she wasn't alone.

Amir stood close-by, and as McG watched, Hannah drifted closer to him. They were chatting, smiling. Hannah leaned into Amir, touching her shoulder to his. McG frowned. Was she… was she flirting ? With Amir ?

He saw Amir look shocked at something Hannah said. Before he knew what was happening, Amir pulled a phone out of his pocket, and Hannah was typing something into it.

McG stopped dead in his tracks.

"Oh," he murmured.