Tony was laughing at the reaction Isabel was getting from a group of teenage boys sitting near them as they waited for their flight. Her red curls flying every which way, she was decked out in a pair of painted on jeans and a tight white t-shirt with “NAVY” emblazoned across her chest. The teenagers were gawking openly at her and Tony would just bet that underneath her sunglasses that her eyes were full of humor. He was hoping that they weren't sitting near the pubescent horde or it would be an extremely long flight.
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Jack looked around the terminal as he waited for his flight. He smirked as his attention fell to a group of boys laughing and oogling a pretty redhead wearing a NAVY t-shirt. Her eyes were hidden by her sunglasses but her body language let him know that she was well aware of the boys' attention. He noticed the familiar ball chain around her neck and assumed that she was in the Navy. The guy she was with was clean-cut, but Jack didn't get a military air from him. As he watched the man scan the crowd unconsciously for danger, Jack realized that the man had to be a Fed. Which branch he didn't know, but the man certainly had all the earmarks.
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Tony sighed contently as he settled into his seat, he hadn't told Isabel that he had splurged and bought first class tickets. Now getting comfortable, he was glad he had. Isabel was in the window seat, studying the airline provided diagram of the 757 they were in as if she were going to be tested on it. Tony asked teasingly, “Ever fly one of these?”
She laughed, “No, but it's got wings how hard can it be?”
Tony just shook his head, she always dismissed her natural flying ability. But from what he had heard from some of her shipmates, she really was the best of the best. She could fly anything and almost take the aircraft beyond what it was supposed to be capable of doing. She had some sort of an instinct, or intuition that other aviators just didn't have; she knew exactly when to punch it and precisely when to pull it back. Flying was just part of who she was, and the plane just became an extension of her body.
Isabel put the diagram away and stretched lazily, “I want a mojito big enough to swim in.”
He leaned back and closed his eyes, “Mmmm, and a nice sunny beach.”
“And 3000 spf sunscreen,” she teased.
“And then we party till dawn and do it all again the next day.”
“Works for me.”
“Me too,” he turned a little and cracked an eye, “hey, by the way, one piece or two?”
“Huh?”
“Your bathing suit. One piece or two?”
She punched his arm playfully and teased, “Brat. You'll just have to wait and see.”
“Ah, so that'll be a two piece then. So are talking a string bikini or...”
The flirting thing wasn't anything new to them, and there was a sexual attraction between them that promised to be incredible if they ever decided to cross the line between friends and lovers, but that was all it would ever be. Neither willing to risk their friendship for sex, because for both of them, finding a willing bed partner was easy enough, finding someone to trust and care about was something entirely more difficult.
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Jack was across the aisle from them and smiled at their playful antics. He was a little confused though, they made a really striking couple, but he didn't think they were. Their body language was all wrong, more of a buddy thing if he had to name it, yet there did seem to be an attraction between them. Whatever it was, it was nice to see, one of those little moments that Jack mentally cataloged as reason number 99,999 for him to keep up the fight to keep Earth safe.
He watched with amusement as she mimicked flying the plane through take off to amuse her friend and he realized that she was making all the same movements and motions as he was in his head, neither of which exactly matched the actual pilot's actions. It was like they both anticipated exactly what the plane would do and compensated for it before it happened. He had spoken with Sam about that at one point, the way that those with the Ancient gene seemed to be such natural pilots, and she agreed. Looking at the woman's red hair and freckles he felt safe in assuming she had Celtic roots and he would be willing to bet if they sat her in a puddlejumper that it would do handstands for her, same as him. He decided to find out her name once they reached cruising altitude and what she actually did for the Navy. Because if she did have the Ancient gene, new worlds of opportunity just opened up for her.
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By the time they had reached cruising altitude the only other passenger in first class, a portly business man with a newborn at home, was already fast asleep. Jack unfastened his seat belt and stood and stretched. Then he went across aisle to the seats in front of Tony and Isabel and asked her lightly, “I watched your take off maneuvers, a little aggressive weren't they?”
Tony was eying the silver haired man in front of them. He had had seen him in the terminal, and noted that although he seemed to be relaxed and friendly, that the man had been watching everything, assessing everything. He had to be military of some flavor, and now given the way he was teasing Isabel, Tony surmised he must have some flying experience.
Isabel's eyes flashed and she beamed a wicked little grin at Jack, “Oh, I don't know, sometimes aggressive gets the job done.”
Jack chuckled, he knew exactly how she felt, “Yeah, I guess it does. Jack O'Neill.” He extended his hand and received a confident hand shake in return.
“Isabel West.”
Jack turned his attention to Tony who had been watching the exchange and offered his hand. Tony shook it and said, “Tony DiNozzo. Are you a pilot too?” Jack's ears twitched at the “too”, she was a pilot, and her name was ringing a bell for some reason he just couldn't remember why.
Isabel piped up before Jack could answer, “My money's on the Air Force.”
Jack looked at Tony, “Remind me never to bet with her.”
Tony laughed, “I could have told you that.”
When Jack clarified that it was General Jack O'Neill, it was almost comic to watch Isabel try and get out of her seat and not clock her head on the overhead compartment as she went to attention.
“At ease already, West. I'm on vacation.”
“Yes, sir. And just for the record, sir, it's Lieutenant Commander Isabel West, United States Navy, currently stationed on board the USS Teddy Roosevelt.”
“And just what do you do in our Uncle Sam's Navy out there on the Big Stick?”
She chuckled at his good humor, “I fly F/A-18's and blow stuff up, sir.”
Bingo. Give that man a cigar, Jack thought to himself. And then it hit him, he remembered where he knew her name from, “Your reputation proceeds you.”
“A girl's reputation is everything, sir.” she teased in reply, trying to down play what she knew he was about to bring up, something she hadn't told Tony.
And sure enough, Tony asked, “What reputation?”
“You mean you don't know? What kind of a Fed are you?'”
Tony didn't bother to question how he knew he was a Fed, he just answered automatically, “An NCIS Special Agent, General... sir. And what is it that I don't know?”
Jack looked between them, “Your Commander West here happens to be the number one female pilot in...” Isabel was silently praying he wouldn't actually say it out loud, because she would never hear the end of it from Tony, but her luck wasn't that good as Jack continued, “...Top Gun history. And exactly how many hours have you logged over enemy airspace?”
She held her index finger up to Tony, silencing him, and she addressed Jack, “I'm flattered that you have heard of me, sir. But really, I just do what the Navy pays me to do. It's nothing special. I'm just part of a great team.”
Tony finally couldn't keep it in any longer and Jack couldn't help but laugh as Tony rambled on, “You went to Top Gun? Did you buzz the tower? Tell me you buzzed the tower. Is your name on that plaque? I can hear you now, “No, boys. There's two l's in Tinkerbell”. Did you go to that bar, I'll be highly disappointed if you didn't...”
Isabel just dropped her face in her hands and groaned. She looked up to see Jack smirking, “Thank you, sir, really. Tony here is a movie buff, and I'm now never, ever going to hear the end of the Top Gun quotes.”
She slapped her hand playfully over Tony's mouth when he started, “I feel the need, the need for...”
Jack watched their teasing interaction with a little envy, SG-1 had had that same camaraderie and it was something he missed terribly being stationed in Washington. He asked, “How long are you two in Miami?”
“Five days, sir.”
“Good. When you get back to D.C. I want to see you in my office at the Pentagon, I may have an interesting opportunity for you. I'll clear you missing your report in with your C.O..”
Isabel was confused, “Sir?”
“Let's just say, I oversee a project that I think you might be a good fit for, Commander.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you, sir. I will be there.”
“Now if you two will excuse me, I'm going to go take a nap and rest up for my four days of deep-sea fishing out in the middle of no where.”
Jack chuckled to himself as he settled in his seat when he heard Tony tease her, “You really went to Top Gun and didn't tell me...”
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tbc...
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