this story is the result of a few writing prompts shoved together. I hope you guys like it. one thing to note, the first chapter will be set in season 11, when Ellie is still new. The point of that decision was that when she first joined, she always had some sort of snack food on her, chips etc. I felt that Ellie fit the prompt I was using was 'a hoarder of donuts.' sorry, my rant is over. I hope you guys like this story, i have plans for a second chapter but I'm having issues with it so let me know if you think I should post it.

-owl

Ellie walked out of the elevator for the first time in three months. Gibbs had sent her undercover as a nutritionist at a herbal remedy store on base, in hopes to lure a killer out. In Ellie's opinion, the worst part of the assignment, other than not being able to talk to her family, was that to keep her cover, she could not eat like she normally did. That was not helpful as she remembered things much better when she associated them with food. Either way, she was glad she was back.

Tony and McGee were at their desks when Ellie entered the bullpen. Gibbs was elsewhere though, and Tony noticed her first.

"Bishop!" he called happily, standing to give her a hug. "How was your first undercover op?"

"It went alright, Tony," she hedged, setting her bag and final case report on her desk. Then, sitting on it, she continued. "Besides, weren't you on the surveillance team and probably know what happened better than I do?"

"True, true," Tony said, nodding his head. "But you were the one doing it, and nothing I would have seen as part of surveillance can tell me how the op went for you personally."

Sliding off her desk, Ellie placed her report of Gibbs' desk, half-heartedly nodding along with Tony's words.

McGee nodded, standing and walking to the middle of the bullpen. "Tony is right, Bishop. We are glad you are back, Gibbs gets fed up when it is just the two of us for too long, Abby does nearly the same thing. Actually, you should probably go see Abby before she spontaneously combusts waiting to see you."

"Good to know, I will go see Abby first, then. Thanks, McGee," Ellie said as she headed for the elevator, her laugh echoing behind her.

Abby's music was blaring when Ellie entered the lab. Abby was in her inner office, rapidly typing on her computer. She was so engrossed in her work, Abby didn't realize Ellie was there until the door opened.

"ELLIE!" Abby called, launching herself at her. "I'm so glad you're back! How did it go? Have you seen the boys yet? What about Gibbs?"

Abby was asking questions so fast Ellie could barely think of her answers. "I think it went well, though it was a little stressful," she sighed, shaking her head. "Yes, I have seen Tony and McGee. Have you seen Gibbs, though? I need to give him my report."

"I think he was heading over to the break room, he said something about coffee," Abby said, letting Ellie out of the hug.

Ellie nodded, walking back through the lab. "Thank you, Abby," she called back.

Gibbs was in the break room as Abby had said. He was messing with the coffee machine, but looked up as soon as Ellie entered the room.

"Hey, Bishop," he greeted her, smiling. "How do you think your first undercover assignment went?"

Ellie took a seat at one of the tables, and Gibbs joined her, handing her a cup of coffee and a few packets of sugar. He set his own coffee in front of him. Ellie busied herself with adding the sugar she wanted, stalling answering the question. "My report is on your desk," she said, not looking up.

"Bishop? I'm not asking about what you have in your report."

Her eyes snapped up when Gibbs said her name. "I don't know, Gibbs. It was not like I expected — then again, I don't know what I was expecting," she paused and sighed. "I have always been able to act however I wanted, do whatever I wanted. But, for the last three months, I've had to think about what my alias would do."

Gibbs nodded. "Going undercover isn't easy. Certainly not your first time, and especially since you have not been out of Fletc for long." he took a long sip of his coffee as Ellie watched. "It gets easier the more you do it, everything does."

Ellie watched as Gibbs left the break room. He had given her a lot to think about, she thought as she scanned the now empty room. The room was empty and nothing was remarkable until she spotted a donut box sitting on the counter.

She got up to inspect the box, a sign sat on the top, reading; 'in honor of Kevin's birthday, help yourself,' below the note the previous day's date was written. There were only five donuts left, all of them plain, glazed donuts. Well, the sign said to help herself, so why not?

Tony and McGee walked into the break room twenty minutes later. They were greeted with the sight of Ellie surrounded by the remaining donuts.

"Bishop?" Tony asked, not sure whether to laugh or not. "What are you up to? I see you found the donuts from yesterday."

Ellie glared at him. "I have been denied eating any sort of junk food for the last three months, Tony, you don't get to say anything."

Tony shook his head with a soft laugh. "Do we need to give you a donut after every undercover assignment?" he asked.

"You don't need to," Ellie said, trying to hide the look of longing to accept the offer. "But thank you."

"We can get you donuts, Ellie," McGee added.

She sighed and relented. "Fine, if you really want to, I won't stop you."

The next time she was undercover, Ellie was pretending to be a marine, and McGee was her husband. The operation was not a long one, but Ellie had ended up being attacked and was still shaken up. She was really looking forward to going home for the weekend at this point.

The bullpen was a welcome sight, she thought as she exited the elevator, the orange walls for once being a source of comfort rather than an annoyance. Ellie could not see anyone in the bullpen when she approached.

One thing that was different from the last time she had been at her desk, a chocolate frosted donut (with sprinkles) sat on a napkin in the center of it. A note next to it read: 'great job today, Bishop! Hope you enjoy your treat' beneath the writing Tony and McGee had both signed their names.