My first Neric story. Hope you like it.
Eric strolled into the Office of Special Project. Just like every morning he was one of the first, except probably Hetty. Nobody was really sure if she even left the building sometimes, but yet nobody questioned her either. Heading up to OPS he wondered why the room wasn't glooming yet in its bluish glow from the working computers, since by now Nell would have been there and already started everything. Entering OPS he then realized that Nell wasn't there. It was confusing, but everyone got a day when they're late, right? Besides that she wasn't late yet. She had still an hour to go and come to work. The time ticked by slowly, minute by minute passed and yet there was no trace of Nell. That lead only to one option.
"Mister Beale, what can I do for you at this early hour?" Hetty asked as Eric entered her office.
"I was wondering…Do you have any idea where Nell is?" He asked the Operation Manager.
"Ah, I see what is bothering you. Actually I wanted to tell the news when the whole team is present." Hetty answered.
"What news?" Eric asked, but the bustling of the team entering the mission, even Deeks, interrupted him.
"If you please will follow me to the team." Hetty gestured to the bullpen and Eric followed her that way.
"Agents, and Detective, Mister Beale already noticed and I am here to tell you the information. Miss Jones is absent today. As a matter of fact she will be absent for a while now. Director Vance needed her qualities on another team, so she took a flight to this team. I don't know any more detailed information because Director Vance made it clear that this operation and also this team are top secret. I'm sorry." Hetty finished, addressing her sorry especially to Eric.
"Can't Eric like hack into that mission? I mean you're like a magician with your keyboard." Deeks joked but Kensi shot him a glare. All of the team had been rather shocked that Nell was just gone, except Kensi. Sure she had a frown on her face but she wasn't as shocked as the others and this Deeks did notice.
"I don't think our federal agency is dumb enough to put the info up when they know HOW good their own people are." Callen just answered.
"I believe you all have work to do." Hetty looked at her team and they quickly made their way to their desks, Eric up to ops, and started working. With a quick glance at the now working team, she nodded satisfied and went back to her own office to do some work herself.
The day had been going slowly, there was new case, which meant Eric had to go through some reports, checked updates and other feeds and the others had to their usual paperwork. Somehow Deeks' idea of hacking into the system and getting the information was always in the back of his head and he had trouble concentrating on his actual work, instead how he would leave no trace if he hacked into it. Suddenly his phone beeped and signaled him a new text message. It was from Kensi.
Don't even think about it.
He was confused what she meant. Sure she could lip read but he hasn't told anybody of his plan. So why would she know about it?
Don't think about what?
He answered her. Of course in a matter of seconds he got his reply with the answer he already knew. He should not even think about hacking into the system.
Deeks, downstairs in the bullpen with the others, had watched Kensi and how she causally texted. He wondered what this was about, had it something to do with Eric, with Nell, or maybe a boyfriend she was hiding from everyone. He really hoped it was either of the first ideas and he dreaded the last. He admitted to himself that he had feelings for his partner, yet he couldn't really admit it to her.
"So Kens…anyone I should know about?" He confronted the topic that formed knots in his stomach.
"What? Who?" Kensi hadn't realized she was being watched.
"The texting." Deeks gave her his usual grin, but she noticed that it didn't reach his eyes.
"Oh that, just giving a friend advice." She answered truthfully and Deeks didn't detect anything suspicious about it.
"A girl friend that I happen to know?" He hinted, trying to show her that he knew that Kensi knew more about the situation with Eric and Nell than she let the others believe.
"Actually it was a boy you happen to know, he was about to make a mistake." A pointed look followed and Deeks didn't miss how her eyes glance up to ops and back to him.
"No need to talk cryptic around us, we know you talk about Eric." Sam answered, not looking up from his paperwork.
"And Deeks was just making sure that you got no new boy toy, Kens. After all he's stuck, smitten.. or whatever to you." Callen followed the example of his partner but couldn't help the smirk that spread out on his face when he recalled the thing they had teased Kensi with when something set of her warning bell at Jason Wyler.
"What?" both younger teammates exclaimed, shocked. Kensi obviously trying to hide the original comment and shocked at Callen's statement, while Deeks tried to block the thoughts from his head, which where all about his partner now and how the hell Callen could just spit it out. But eventually they turned, looked at each other and decided to simply ignore it. After all Deeks was trying to get information out of Kensi about Eric and Nell. So later when Callen and Sam decided to get lunch, Deeks decided it was time for a break.
"So Kensi, now that we're alone-" Deeks was cut off b his partner, while he walked over to stand in front of her desk.
"Don't even think about starting this, I thought we agreed on it." She shot him a glare.
"Actually I was asking about Nell and Eric, and what you know more than all of us others do…but if you want to talk about the other-"
"Deeks it's their thing and their problem to deal with." Kensi just said.
"But that everyone is mixing in our thing doesn't matter?" He huffed, turning to go back to his desk.
"There is a thing now?"
"Oh come on you know as much as me that there is a damn thing, one that we don't act one. And sure as hell Eric and Nell got one too."
"Nell has told him and he hasn't reacted and she asked Hetty to transfer her somewhere else for a while, happy now?"
"Not really, because our tech operator is moping around now because he misses his favorite rockstar." Deeks replied with a sigh, and going to sit beside Kensi on Callen's chair. "So what can we do to help them?"
"I am talking already to Nell, told her how Eric reacted and how he's moping around. All she says that it's what he deserves if he hasn't got the guts to tell her anything." Kensi shrugged. "I kind of understand her. After all she kind of spilled everything to him and all he does is stutter a bit and get back to work, ignoring completely that she has said anything."
"So that means if I ask you on a date, you would say yes?" Deeks ask grinning.
"Don't change the subject." She ordered with a glare, but the twinkle in her eyes showed him what he needed.
"Okay well seems like I have to give a talk. You know, from surfer to surfer." He winked at her and made his way upstairs to Eric, not giving Kensi a chance to reply or react to anything. Upstairs he entered ops without being noticed by said tech operator. Eric was staring at his computer and his gaze was fixed on the screen. He was frowning and Deeks didn't have to know much that he was just fighting an inner battle with his mind.
"Hey, you okay?" Deeks approached Eric and choose to stand beside him instead of sitting next to him. The chair was Nell's and he knew what the absence of a partner meant. When Kensi had been suspected of the murder of the teammates from her father's unit, it had been hard for him to walk into the bullpen, seeing her desk unoccupied.
"Of course." He answered, snapping back to reality.
"You don't really seem okay, and I know what you're going through, so just tell me."
"Nell is away and it's my fault."
"I don't think that."
"If Kensi told you she had feelings for you, what would you do?"
"Depends on how she tells and when she does it. I mean it's probably not the best idea to get up and sweep her off her feet when we're probably shooting down the bad guys, huh?"
"Well let's say she would say it here in the mission, maybe the shooting range. What would you do then?"
"I would definitely say that I have feelings for her too and I would like to try to work out that thing of us. But if I can't bring out a word, because I'm too shocked that Kensi, the master of hiding her feelings, admitted that she has feelings for me, I would probably choose the drastic way and just kiss her. Although this could be the goodbye to my future kids."
"Did you plan that?" Eric as dazzled.
"What if I did? But why do you ask?"
"Because..well Nell did exactly that and I was too shocked that she actually felt the same and we were at work and I couldn't just kiss her, could I? And then I just worked on and she seemed sad but I couldn't react, because I didn't know how to react. I haven't been through this how to get a girlfriend procedure often and I don't plan to either. But how can I know what is the right thing to do? How-"
"Woah, stop there buddy." Deeks put a hand on his shoulder. "You can't beat yourself with what if's and how you should reacted. You have to move forward, which means you get the guts and tell her. Send her a mail, text, do something tech thingy that I don't understand but which will work with the two of you because you're smarter than me. Just react now. Say you're sorry, explain your point. After all honesty will work the best. Okay?" Deeks looked questionable at the tech operator.
"Okay." Eric sighed and looked back at the sceen, and just then Deeks noticed what was on there. The secured file of Nell's current mission.
"Don't hack it." Deeks advised. "Ask the little Ninja for an email address or anything how you can reach her. If you hack that she'll be mad."
"Dogs get mad, people get angry, Deeks." Kensi said from behind him and the two males turned to her, her entering had been unnoticed.
"Eric? Send her flowers. You should know that. And the food is here, you coming Deeks?" With that Kensi left ops and Deeks just squeezed Eric's shoulder before he headed after Kensi.
"Flowers. Why didn't I think earlier of that." Eric mumbled and started typing away.
Meanwhile in DC, Nell Jones sat surrounded by computers and was running through a hell lot of files. Why was I so stupid and requested to be transferred? She thought, glancing every once a while at her phone, hoping for Kensi to update her about the recent events. But what she didn't knew was, that Kensi had currently other plans than updating her. For one she had given Eric the tip how to get Nell back and for the other time she still had an open conversation with Deeks about that comment from Callen. Seems like male bonding nights have their secrets.
"Miss Jones? Could you look over these files too?" A current co-worker asked her, handing over a flashdrive which had Nell sighing again. God did she miss Eric right now. He would've gone through the flashdrive while she was looking through the other files and meanwhile the would talk about meaningless and yet the most important things at the same time. But that would be destroyed now too. She remembers how late she had stayed behind to talk with Hetty and what she had advised her.
"Miss Jones, are you sure this is the right way to handle the situation at hand?" Nell nodded. "Then I believe I have no other choice, but always remember that fleeing from the problem will no fix it, and sometimes it makes it worse."
It was indeed getting worse, because Nell missed her friends. Her family back home in the mission. She missed Los Angeles. But the most she missed Eric.
"Miss Jones?" a voice rang out and Nell had to do her best not to rage at the person calling her name.
"Yes?" she snapped.
"Outside is a courier waiting for you to get something." Dazzled Nell stood up and followed the co-worker and signed the courier for whatever she should be given.
"It is an express mail from Los Angeles" The courier answered and gave her a package. Her co-workers curiously glanced in her direction, so Nell quickly went back to her working space and slowly opened the package. Inside of it was a letter and a dried Rose. At first she thought it was a joke, but then the rose seemed familiar.
Dear Rockstar,
I know what I did was the most stupid thing ever. I just wanted to let you know that I have feelings for you, too. If not a whole lot more than you for me. Densi made me realize what I have to do. And I miss you here. You are my partner, partner of ops, and it's really boring without you. I want to apologize if I have offended you, and right now I feel like rambling, which I probably am doing already, I hope you and your IQ bear with me. I'm sorry. Please come back.
Love Eric.
P.S.: Since I don't know if you come back and I am forbidden to call I just want to say: I love you, Nell Jones.
P.S. #2: Uh that just gave me butterflies.
P.S. #3: I hope you come back, after all we still have to work on Operation Densi.
Nell couldn't help at the single happy tear that made its way down her cheek. He had said he loved her. He wanted her back home. She was his partner. She quickly grabbed her phone and called the one number to fix it all.
Eric had sat the whole night beside his phone, heck he even put the ops line to his phone in case Nell would call there. But he was disappointed that had gotten no call at throughout the whole night. Sadly he made his way to the mission and went through the usual morning routine. After all it has to be done without Nell too. All the computers were starting and Eric set everything up for the following work day to come. While the computers started, he made his way out on the balcony and watched as slowly one by one of the teammates entered.
Callen was like always the first. He placed his things on his desk and went to Hetty's office and left something on her desk before heading to the gym. Shortly after Sam entered, setting his laptop on the desk and started working on it. The loud banter from the bickering younger teammates was already heard so it only signaled Eric the entrance of Kensi and Deeks, which were like ever y morning fighting about the most irrelevant topic in the world. Behind them tagged the short red head and Eric just sighed, they were all here, now he could work. He suddenly whipped around, he just saw a short red head, which only meant Nell.
"Hello Eric." She stood at the entrance of the bullpen, looking up to him, meeting his eyes. He needed nothing more and practically flew down the stairs and scooped her in his arms in a bear hug.
"God, Rockstar, you don't know how much I missed you." he kissed the top of her head, before hugging her tighter and twirling her around, still embraced in his hug. "I'm so sorry." He whispered.
"It's okay…I forgive the guys that send me flowers." She smiled up at him, wrapped her arms around his neck and stood on her tip toes before kissing him lightly. "Especially if they have kept the flower that means so much." She grins.
The guys in the bullpen were confused and didn't knew what was meant, but Eric and Nell were beaming. After all Eric had sent the single Rose he had stolen from Hetty's desk once to make her jealous. Hetty had said she didn't like when someone touched her flowers as he wanted to put it back. In fact she told him to keep is as a memory. And this little memory was now a message of his love.
Fin!
I hope you liked it.
Please Review and tell me what you think
Love KayKay