AN1: I changed the name of the story because there's another ongoing story called 'Conversations' that had slipped my mind. It's awesome, though, and it was here first.
AN2: More urgent law paper writing, ergo more frequent non-law writing.
AN3: I know my time line is questionable. I don't know if the ones about the missions in Europe are even going to indicate what order they belong in. But Serbia is after Marseilles, no? So I'm good for now. If they do need to be re-arranged, re-order the chapters and let you know.
AN4: I don't and won't beg for reviews. But they do give me a pretty awesome feeling.
199?
Kate was ecstatic. She'd just received confirmation that she was on the fast track for the presidential detail. Sure, she knew she still had a few more years to go, but for now she deserved to celebrate. She also was eager to share the news with her NCIS friend. At least now she'd have something to rival 'need to know' missions in Europe. This warranted a trip to the bar.
She knew Jenny was back in town; Jenny had given her a quick call when she got back. After quite a few random meetings, they'd finally exchanged phone numbers. Not that it did much good for general communication since Jenny was always out of the country. It mainly served to arrange their meetings.
"How's sex with the boss?" It was Kate's turn to sneak up on Jenny, who was already knee deep in her bourbon.
Jenny didn't flinch. "Need to know. You don't," she shot back and looked down the bar.
Kate sat down and the bartender slid her her martini and walked away slowly. Kate looked up, glared, and reached towards her waist and the bartender walked a little faster. "It's great; I don't even have to pull out my weapon and he goes away. Apparently some men are trainable."
Jenny laughed. "Now that he's out of ear shot... He's officially my partner now. And the sex was well facilitated by being stuck in a tiny farm house for a week. Though the living conditions themselves left much to be desired. The stench of cows... "
"You're there doing all this secret undercover spy stuff and they can't spring for a nice hotel or something?"
"Sometimes you need to lay low for a while." Jenny gave Kate a look that said 'don't ask.'
"At least you travel first class and stuff, right?" Some of this undercover stuff was sounding less fun now. Especially since Kate had Air Force One to look forward to.
Jenny scrunched her nose. "We're pretty low on the federal law enforcement food chain. We get whatever Navy transport is going where we need to go. It can be rough."
"So you haven't made it into the 'mile-high club'?"
"God no. He sleeps through every trip on every transport. He claims it's from his time in the Marines. He finds it relaxing," she scoffed. "And I spend my time throwing up in a plastic bag on most flights."
"Air Force One is sounding so good right now."
Jenny looked confused.
Kate beamed. "I'm going to be on the presidential detail. It's as official as it can be at this stage. In a few years, I'll be traveling on Air Force One. Staying in the best hotels. Protecting the president."
"All of a sudden, your job sounds better than mine." Jenny actually sounded jealous.
Kate was surprised at Jenny's reaction "But I don't get to sleep with my boss."
"Partner, Kate. Partner. It doesn't sound quite so... inappropriate... if you say it that way."
"So is your arrangement just a European thing? Or do you get to play when you're home too?" Kate went digging for details.
"Not getting any on your own still, Kate? You should really think about taking home one of the boys at the Secret Service for a little fun. Maybe if you got one of them out of those over-starched suits, you'd be able to live without the details of my relationships," Jenny teased, suddenly no longer jealous.
Kate gave it right back, "But Jenny, you're always so eager to share. I'm sure you remember our first time here when all you wanted to do was destroy his beloved boat and give me details to ruin his reputation."
"That was before we started..." Jenny flailed for a word to describe her current situation, "whatever this is. Now, I'm finding less and less to complain about."
"Oh, I'm sure you'll find something." Kate knew she was right, her boss... partner... whatever was not the type to stop pissing someone off just because he started sleeping with her. Two divorces proved that. She wondered what he would do by the next time she saw Jenny.
2003
With the exhilaration of landing on an aircraft carrier and the comforts of a Navy jet, Kate wondered what Jenny had been complaining about. Then she took a trip on a cargo plane.