WIP I'm afraid! I thought posting the start might give me a kick up the backside to work out and finish the rest...

GIBBS

"You know one time you mentioned the possibility of going undercover as Tony's wife?"

"What about it?"

"Well, there's this mission the director has a personal interest in, and it requires a couple..."

Gibbs mentioned it as casually as he could, his face deadpan, and his effort was amply rewarded by her indignation.

"Tony's wife? Tony's wife, Gibbs? Why, why would you do that to me? Am I being punished or something?"

With great effort he swallowed back the smile, the laugh, that would give him away.

"Hey, don't shoot the messenger..."

Kate strode over to his desk and leaned over, dropping her fisted hands on top of his paperwork so she could glare into his eyes. "Why the hell not?"

He noticed, with concealed but considerable amusement, that she'd learned some tricks from him over the months. Her stare might not quite be a full on Gibbs stare, but he'd be willing to bet it would be almost as effective in interrogation as his, at least on anyone who had the misfortune to make her angry.

"I'm not the director... I'm just passing on the assignment."

She stood there for several moments, making him wonder if she was deciding exactly how she planned to torture and kill him. The tension in her jaw made him pretty sure she was grinding her teeth together, and it was hard to keep a straight face. Seeing her speechless was a rare treat, and it always brought him satisfaction that he could still do it to her.

Finally, she stood up with a low, irritated growl, and planted her fists on her hips.

"OK." She didn't sound at all OK, but Gibbs held out the mission file, trusting she'd decide to at least read it before she slammed up to Director Morrow's with the latest grievance. She snatched it from his hands, gave him one last dark look - the kind of look which, in his experience, tended to lead to painful revenge - and stalked back to her desk, sitting down with a thump and opening the folder with more force than was probably necessary.

Reassured she would be engrossed in the facts and plans for a while, Gibbs allowed himself a small smile of anticipation for when she found out just how misleading his question had been. He wasn't exactly sure how Kate would feel about going undercover with him, and her reaction to the details of operation might prove... interesting.

He grinned, shook his head, and started filling in the paperwork that would no doubt be interrupted again once Kate reached the salient parts of the brief. He'd better work while he was still able. And before she decided she might just shoot him after all.