Johanna may be ready to play the game, but she hadn't quite expected this game. 

Maverick had texted the group telling all of them training was canceled and to meet him on the beach by the Hard Deck. 

Johanna did not think a beach day was needed when this mission was right around the corner, but Maverick had seniority and rank over her on this one. 

Jo arrives at the beach, and only about half of the aviators are there. Luckily for her, Javy was not there yet, so she had some more time to prepare. 

But soon enough, the rest of the group arrived, and Maverick walked out of the bar with a bag in his hand. 

When he pulled out two foam footballs, no one was more confused than Jo. 

“You canceled training, actual flying which they need for this mission, to play football?” 

Jo almost went into a rage when he smiled at her. 

He tossed her one of the balls. “No. I canceled training because we need to work as a team. No better way to do that than an old-fashioned game of football.” He was placating her now.

“But with a twist.” 

And with that, he explained the very confusing rules and set the team loose. 

Before anything started, all the men, with the exception of the sweet baby angel that is Bob Floyd, took their shirts off. 

(It honestly wasn't fair that all of them looked like walking Abercrombie models with photoshopped abs.) 

To make things a little more even, the women made eye contact with each other and disposed of their own shirts, leaving them in sports bras and shorts. 

(And it worked, as quite a few of the guys became a bit more distracted. Coyote, in particular, was staring Johanna down like he had the night they met.) 

Johanna was doing her best not to look at Javy, as he had only gotten better looking since their hookup. But she did sneak a peak or two here and there. 

The game begins, with Maverick and Hangman having the balls. And it quickly becomes utter chaos. 

Rooster and Phoenix both score for their respective teams, but just as fast, Coyote suddenly has the ball and is scoring again. 

Jo makes a winning catch just before Payback does as well. 

She and Phoenix nearly collide as they run, both bursting into laughter at the end. Rooster ends up scoring before jumping up and chest bumping Coyote and doing this shimmy, that honestly kinda worked for him. 

Someone scores again, and now celebrations are being thrown into the mix. 

Jo pretends to shoot an arrow into the sky as Phoenix holds a hand over her heart. 

Fanboy manages to do a damn good worm on sand that has the entire group in stitches. 

And Hangman, in all his douchebag glory, manages to throw the ball behind him and simulate an earthquake that has the others on the ground as he yells in excitement. 

This goes on for a little longer before Maverick taps out, much to everyone's disappointment. 

But as he sets up to watch his team finally coming together, a shadow makes its presence known. 

"Sir," Maverick acknowledged the man. 

"What is this?" Cyclone asks, as he observes Bob, making a surprising catch to score.  

"Dogfight football, offense and defense at the same time."  

"Who's winning?" Cyclone asks, almost reluctantly. 

"I think they stopped keeping score a while ago," Maverick smiles as he answers. 

"This attachment still has some training to make up every available minute count," Cyclone tries to get back to the point. 

"Yes, sir," Maverick answers. 

"So why are we out here playing games?" He's just trying to make sense of all of this. 

"You said to create a team, sir. Here's your team," Maverick gestures to the aviators on the beach. 

Cyclone sighs, because unfortunately Maverick is right. These aviators actually seem to be working together effectively in ways he had yet to see from the detachment. 

Maverick looks back just in time to see Bob being hoisted up onto Rooster's shoulders to celebrate his score. 

Once Hondo is someone roped into the game and the sun starts to set, they finally call it. 

And into the Hard Deck for refreshments they go. 

☽☆☾   ☽☆☾   ☽☆☾

Once everyone has food in their stomachs and a drink in hand, the conversations keep flowing.

Payback looks to their NCIS agent in a mixture of awe and fear. “I'm still not sure how you managed to do that earlier. I mean, he's like twice your size!” 

So, someone decided it was a good idea to try a sneak attack on her while playing and ended up with quite a nasty shock. 

“It's all about weight distribution. Have the right footwork and balance, correct shoulder placement and anyone goes down the same way.” 

Yeah, she completely flipped the man over her shoulder and onto his ass. Well, technically, she flipped him and then rolled him, with an arm in the air ready to slap cuffs on him before she realized what she had done. 

(Sue her, she's a federal agent. Most people who put her into that position are trying to cause her harm.)

Phoenix tapped her drink against Jo's. “Well you've got to teach that move to me. I could use that in my arsenal.” The smirk she gave worried quite a few of the guys. 

Rooster looked Johanna up and down. “Please, don't hold out on us. How did you get this good? Weren't you a pilot until just a few years ago?” 

Jo looks a bit reluctant, never a fan of sharing this story. “There was an accident,  and I couldn't do it anymore. But I wasn't done with the Navy or helping people. Apparently, I had made an impression on some people who personally recruited me to NCIS.” 

That made Maverick intrigued. He knew many of the higher ups within the Navy and, by extension, NCIS. Both from pissing them off to knowing them through Ice. 

Jo was even more reluctant to share that information because anyone who knew the legend had high expectations afterward. 

“I was the last person Henrietta Lang recruited.” 

Maverick damn near choked on his drink. He was the only one who knew who she was. But he could tell Jo felt uncomfortable. 

“Well fellas, I warn you now. Any of you ever piss her off, Johanna has the means to murder you and get away with it, no questions asked.”

Maverick knew exactly what type of fighter and operative she was as soon as she mentioned Hetty. That woman didn't recruit just anybody. 

Jo smiled in thanks before continuing. “I did my training at Flet-C, just like everyone else. Started out as a probie, probationary agent, in DC with one of our best teams to get my feet wet before being transferred to LA.” 

Fanboy raised an eyebrow. “So you're a certified badass, is what I'm hearing.” 

Johanna shrugged. Yes, she considered herself a badass, but she would never make anyone else say it. (Unless you were Deeks, but that was a given.)

Coyote scoffs. “Now you're just being modest. Which team are you on in LA again?” He knew the answer. He had done some checking up on her after the surprise appearance. 

Jo felt her cheeks warm just a little bit. She wanted to attribute it to the alcohol but she knew that wasn't it. “The Office of Special Projects. We're pretty much the covert operatives for NCIS. At least on the West Coast.” 

Fanboy only smiles, “like I said. Certified badass.” 

She shrugs. “It's not all sunshine and rainbows. The reason I'm here giving you these lessons in covert ops is so that you have a chance at survival if something goes wrong. I've lost a lot of friends in this business. Lots of good agents and good people. I am giving you the best chance you can have under the circumstances.” 

So apparently, the games and alcohol make her lips a bit looser than normal. After unintentionally bringing down the mood, she had to bring it back up. 

“We do a lot of good. That's what you should focus on. Besides, we've made some good friends with the people in town. I can get you free fish tacos from any food truck in the city. Not to mention this amazing Thai restaurant not far from my office. Oh! And the to die for Italian place down on 5th street.” 

As Jo kept going on about all the food options she could give them, they all laughed. So, the way to their mysterious agent's heart was food. Good to know. 

Jo excused herself to get another drink, and when he saw the opportunity, Hangman took it. 

Managing to catch the woman at the bar, where she couldn't leave, was the only option he had. 

“I wanted to apologize to you for the way I've been acting. I've never really been a team player, but I've seen over the past few days how much of a detriment that is.” He's trying, he really is. 

But Jo doesn't quite believe him. “It's not me you should be apologizing to. And I'll believe this change of heart and character when I see it. Time to put your money where your mouth is, Lieutenant.” 

But as she goes to walk away, Hangman stops her again. “I get that you don't like me. But don't let me stand in the way of how you feel for Javy. Don't use me as an excuse to avoid him. It's not fair to him.”

Now it's his turn to leave. Jo's just too stunned to stop him. Of course. Of course he knows. He's Javy's best friend, it'd be stupid if he didn't know. 

And since Johanna had told herself she would actually do this, she made herself a deal. She had to talk to Javy tonight. Not fully, but at least let him know she wanted to talk. 

So, after bills were paid and everyone was either given the okay to drive home or had a designated driver, Johanna approached Javy. 

“We can have that talk tomorrow. Come by my place so we can figure this out.” 

Javy didn't have time to respond with anything other than a single nod of understanding before Johanna tuned and walked away. 

Tomorrow was certainly going to be interesting. 

✈✈✈✈✈✈✈✈✈✈✈✈✈✈✈

Word count: 1,737

Overall, a fun chapter with some serious moments sprinkled in. And some more NCIS Lore for those of you who are fans. 

But the all important talk is coming next chapter you guys!! 

Finally, movement on the relationship front. Remember, slow burn. It's gonna take some time. 

But until next time, bye guys!!