AN1: These may no longer be in chronological order since I don't want to tie myself to a time line. If one belongs before another, I'll let you know.

AN2: I don't own anything. I even rent my textbooks now.

AN3: I banged the back of my head really hard last night and this is what came out.

199?

Kate and Jenny meeting at the bar had become an unspoken weekly ritual for them. Kate knew that if Jenny wasn't already sipping her bourbon when she got there, she was certain to be along soon. It helped Kate remember that there was a world outside of the Secret Service, even if it did involve another federal agency.

It was another week and another fancy security detail for Kate. She didn't mind them so much now since it was part of her profiling training. Though she still hated dressing up, she was getting better at carrying her service weapon discretely while still performing her duties. She could almost remain comfortable for an entire evening.

Jenny walked in uncharacteristically late this week. Rushed in was more like it. She looked particularly flushed and flustered. As soon as Kate saw her walk in, she ordered a double for her and handed it to her the second she sat down. Kate risked Jenny's wrath and spoke up. "Running late tonight Jenny? You're not screwing the boss yet, are you? It would explain the... " Kate gestured to Jenny's appearance.

"Shove it, Todd."

"Sorry Jenny, I couldn't resist. You make it so easy."

They sat in silence for a while, each enjoying their drinks. Or rather, Kate enjoyed her drink while Jenny downed her first and then enjoyed her second.

"Rough day at work?" Kate asked.

"Have you ever known me to have any other kind."

"Who's at fault this time, you or your boss?"

Jenny seemed to take personal affront to the accusation. "Since when am I ever at fault?"

"You did run off with a bullet once. And confront an off-limits suspect. And plenty of things I'm sure you haven't told me," Kate reminded her.

"Those were all under his orders. They were so not my fault."

"Have you ever done anything not on his orders?"

Jenny sipped her drink and thought about it for a while. "Once, when I was still trying to prove myself, I went back out to a crime scene alone to look for more evidence. I figured if I found something, he'd stop questioning my judgment, maybe let me do something on my own."

Kate knew when Jenny said 'he' she meant her boss, not the director. Kate doubted anyone besides her boss ever questioned her judgment. Jenny seemed like a highly capable agent, one destined to go far. "Did it work?"

Jenny continued, "I started poking around at the scene and came up with the murder weapon. While not wearing gloves. So my fingerprints were all over it. 'Rule 2 - always wear gloves at a crime scene.' He didn't let me out on my own for months."

Kate stored that away for future reference: note to self - 'always wear gloves at a crime scene.' "So what happened?"

"We got the guy anyway. I never would have lived that down had I not done something worse the next week."

Jenny stopped as if her story was complete while Kate just waited for her to continue. She wanted to know what Jenny had done.

After a few minutes of silence, Kate felt compelled to ask. "What did you do?"

"Oh, it was nothing professional, not related to the case at all."

"Come on, Jenny. You've got this whole build up and suspense going and you're just going to leave me with 'I did something else.' I'm dying for something interesting here. Am I going to have to start making inappropriate guesses about what you may have done?"

"Feeling cheeky tonight, Kate? You really want to know what I did?"

"If it's not going to get me shot, sure."

"I invited his wife to an office party, as a gesture of friendship or as a way of apologizing or something. Apparently their marriage was on the fritz and being invited to an office party by his female partner did not help things. She didn't know he had a female partner, let alone a red head. I thought I was just being nice. Really. No ulterior motives on this one. I didn't know he'd told everyone never to invite her to these things. She came and ended up making a huge scene. He blamed the entire thing on me, since I was the one who invited her."

"How'd you get out of the dog house on that one?

"I just used another rule. Rule 18 - 'It is better to seek forgiveness than to ask permission.' I think he's starting to regret teaching me that one since I use it so often now." Jenny smiled evilly, "'I'm sorry I put milk in your coffee Boss. Rule 18.' 'I'm sorry I encrypted the files on your computer so you can't read them Boss. Rule 18.' The rules only supposed to work in his favor."

Kate snickered. "How do you know inviting his wife wasn't in his favor? Didn't he want the divorce? You just made it easier on him."

"I never thought of it that way." Jenny pondered the concept for a while. "Somehow I don't think I should tell him that theory though, definitely not right now."

Again they sat in a comfortable silence.

Finally Kate asked, "So why were you running late today?"

"Meeting with the director. I just found out that I'm going to be out of town for a while."

"Why?"

"Undercover mission. In Europe. With the Boss."

2003

Kate kicked herself when she forgot Rule 2 on Air Force One. But she smiled to herself every time Gibbs taught her a new rule. She was sure Jenny had found some way to abuse each one.