Title: Who Watches the Watchers?
Author: DizzyDrea
Summary: Nell is pleasantly surprised to find out that she matters to Callen.
Rating: T
Spoilers: The Watchers
Author's Notes: For some reason, Callen putting himself and Sam in charge of Nell's undercover assignment resonated with the muse. It's like he was her very own personal guardian angel. So, I thought maybe they'd better talk about it.
Disclaimer: NCIS and NCIS: Los Angeles and all its particulars are the property of CBS, Paramount, Donald P. Bellisario, Belisarius Productions, Shane Brennan, Shane Brennan Productions, and a lot of other people who aren't me. I am doing this for fun and for practice. Mostly for fun.
~o~
Nell Jones walked into Ops, breathing a sigh of relief as the last of the tension and stress of the last two days melted away.
She'd been as surprised as anyone when Assistant Director Owen Granger had shown up and taken over as if he'd owned the place. And of course, he had to mention that she'd been recruited by other intelligence-gathering organizations before she'd settled on NCIS, because a man with power and no way to demonstrate it was impotent.
She giggled at that thought, an image of Granger standing in Ops with duck tape over his mouth floating through her head.
"Glad to see you're doing alright."
Nell spun around, eyes wide as she recognized who the voice belonged to. "Agent Callen."
G Callen sat at one of the computer terminals just inside the door—although 'sat' might not be quite the right word. Sprawled would probably be better.
Callen raised an eyebrow. "Ms. Jones."
She took a step forward. "Was there something you needed?"
"You did good out there this week," he said after a short pause.
"Oh," she said. She flashed a smile. "Thanks."
"Were you okay with that?" he asked, cocking his head a bit. "With being sent out into the field? I know you and Eric don't train for that."
"No, we don't," she said, shaking her head. She moved a bit closer to him, the side of her leg brushing against his. "But it wasn't like I was in danger. I mean, these people did want to hire me at one point."
"True," he conceded.
"Were you…worried about me?" she asked.
A slow smile played over his lips, and she felt her stomach flip. He so rarely smiled, but it really did transform his whole face. He seemed younger somehow, more carefree. It was nice to see.
Instead of answering, he reached out and took her hand, brushing his thumb against the inside of her wrist. Her pulse jumped at the simple contact, and she fervently hoped he hadn't noticed.
"I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't worry about you, Nell," he said quietly.
"Oh." Nell looked away, somehow disappointed by that answer. She knew she was just an analyst and not a field agent; not someone he needed to think about except when he needed information.
"Hey," he said, tugging on her wrist.
She hadn't been expecting that, so that little tug had her dropping inelegantly into his lap. Whipping her head around, she looked at him, feeling a sudden blush work its way over her cheeks. But whatever she'd expected to see, a contented smile wasn't it. She wasn't sure what to make of that.
"Sorry," she muttered. She tried to push up but instead of letting her go, he settled his arms around her, effectively hemming her in. She turned a curious gaze on him, one eyebrow raised in question.
"You matter to me, Nell, and not just because I'd be lost in the field without you."
She practically gaped at him. That was so much more of an admission of—well, she wasn't sure what it was an admission of, but it was more than she'd ever expected to get from him. From any of the field agents, really.
Callen chuckled. "What, you didn't think I'd care?"
Nell shook her head. "No, not really. I mean, we're not field agents—I'm not a field agent. I know what I do is important, but I can be replaced. You can't."
"Now, that's where you're wrong," he said, his blue eyes sparkling in the low light of Ops. "If we'd lost you on this case, it would have been very hard to find someone with as much skill and talent as you have. Not to mention your sweet smile. Try as he might, Eric just doesn't have that."
She stared at him for the space of a few heartbeats, unable to fathom what exactly would have possessed him to say something like that. Shaking her head, she chose to ignore the comment about her smile. She couldn't even begin to imagine what to say to that, anyway.
"There are a few people out there who can do what I do," she said. She nibbled her lip, her nerves getting the better of her. "You didn't really need me, actually. Eric's pretty good at what he does."
"True," he conceded again. "But that doesn't mean that losing you wouldn't have been a problem."
Nell could only shrug. It wasn't that she was insecure about who she was and what she did. Far from it. She knew she was one of the best in a tight field; you didn't get to be the best by faking it. But for as good as her instincts were, she'd known from the start that field work wasn't for her. It wasn't that she got nervous, just that she knew she could do more good in Ops with a computer in front of her and the internet as her playground.
"It wasn't all bad," she said, smiling a little. "I mean, it was actually kind of fun to get out of the office for a while." She paused, considering her next words. Finally, she decided to just say it. "And you were there."
"Yes, I was," he said, smiling back. "And you know that I'd have come running if anything had gone wrong."
"I know," she said, nodding. "You and Sam, Kensi and Deeks. None of you would have left me hanging." Callen tipped his head, a slight frown creasing his brow. "What?" she asked.
"Kensi? Sam?" he asked. "Even Deeks. But I'm 'Agent Callen'."
Nell blushed, shrugging her shoulders. Somehow, he was different, and she wasn't sure she understood it herself. There was no way she was explaining that to him.
Callen chuckled. "Just do me a favor?" When she nodded, he continued. "Try calling me G. At least when it's just the two of us. Can you do that?"
She lifted one shoulder. "I can try."
"Good," he said, smiling. He leaned in and kissed her temple, causing her to blush all over again. "We're headed to The Geisha House tonight. Wanna join us?"
She turned and looked into his eyes, expecting teasing but finding his gaze sincere. "I thought it was just the agents."
Callen shrugged. "I'm inviting you."
She nibbled on her lip once more. She wasn't sure she was comfortable with the idea of hanging out with the 'cool kids', but he was asking, and she really didn't want to say no. It didn't matter that he might not be doing it because he wanted her company. But she could hope.
"Okay," she said quietly, eyes shining.
His face lit up, and she smiled in return. "Do you need a lift?"
"Actually, I have my car," she said. Call it self-preservation, or old habits dying hard. Either way, she wanted to be able to leave when she needed to.
"Okay, then," he said. "You know where it is?"
"Yep."
"Then I'll see you there," he said.
He pressed another kiss to her temple, then urged her up. Once standing, he moved toward the door.
"G," she called out just as the sliding doors swished open.
He turned to her, a pleased smile on his face. "Yeah?"
She smiled back. "Thanks."
He nodded, then turned and left. Nell sagged back into the center console, her heart pounding nearly out of her chest. She hadn't realized what it would be like with his entire focus on her. It was intense, and if she were being honest, amazing. But that was just the two of them. She knew it wouldn't be like that at the restaurant, in front of the whole team, but she was fine with that.
She had no idea what was going on between them, if anything. He was so hard to read. Then again, he was a Special Agent with the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. They did inscrutable for a living. Still, she was curious to know what exactly was going on. What did he see when he looked at her? What did he feel, if anything at all?
It had been nice to hear that the field agents would have her back, if she ever got out there again. Even nicer to know that she mattered to him, maybe more than just a little bit. And far from being weird, it was pleasantly comfortable to know that he watched out for her.
Shaking her head, she made her way downstairs to grab her stuff and head out. The night was shaping up to be quite interesting. It was a better offer than Cookies and Cream ice cream and Thor on DVD. And she intended to make the most of it.
~Finis