Special Agent Scott O'Connor sat in his car outside a middle school, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel and watching thirteen year olds walk by in groups. It had been an entire year since his probationary period ended, but apparently, he was still the go-to guy for probie work such as picking up his boss's daughter from school.

He jumped when someone rapped on the passenger side window and turned to see Azalea herself, looking confused. She opened the door and stuck her head in. "Agent O'Connor? What are you doing here?"

"Your dad sent me," he said. "He's in interrogation."

"Oh." She got in, shutting the door behind her. With one hand, she fastened her seatbelt, and with the other she waved at a perky-looking blonde girl. "Please tell me I don't have to come to NCIS."

"Yeah, sorry. I need to get back." O'Connor pulled away from the curb and paused, but couldn't help adding, "You should try not to miss the bus next time."

Azalea rolled her lips. "Sorry. I had to do something for a project."

O'Connor nodded but didn't say anything. Truth was, he liked Azalea, even though she had been demanding and a bit of a bully when she was younger. Now, she was still kind of… pushy, but in a much more diplomatic way. It wasn't as obvious or as annoying.

Of course, that didn't change the fact that he had spent more time than he'd cared to getting sweets out of the NCIS vending machines for her.

This thought was still in his head when they approached a gas station, and he made a split-second decision to stop there. He pulled into a parking space, dug two dollars out of his pocket, and held them out to a confused-looking Azalea. "I need a coffee."

"A coffee?"

"Triple-shot mocha. Three creamers."

It was a total role reversal, and it was fairly obvious that Azalea hadn't been expecting to be tasked with fetching the agent's coffee. But he had grown a backbone over the years, and he wasn't relenting; she took his money and slipped out of the car.

O'Connor turned off the engine and sat back in his seat.

He might be able to get used to this arrangement.