After the guys all walked off for single malts from Hetty's desk, she watched him move. She looked at the ring again nestled in the jewellery box. It reminded again of love and heartbreak. The small ring so simple in design just like Diane had told her it was. Just like hers all those years ago.
She hadn't shared in the looking for the ring like Diane had, like she had with Deeks today. She chose the splashiest ring she could today, and Deeks just went along with it after the slight protest of 'she said size doesn't matter'. Jack chose it by himself but what he picked was what he thought she liked.
The day that she was proposed to. The flowers, the picnic, the view from the mountain side. It was perfect. She hadn't been expecting it but when he asked she could not say no. The smiles as they shared the news with family and friends.
The ring she returned to his mum when she realised that he was never coming back. He was gone and what they had was over.
This ring brought closure to her, reminding her that once it is gone you can still look back at the memories but you must move forward.
It wasn't even her engagement ring but for some reason, she knew that she needed to do to help ease Diane's pain and get her to move on with her life and maybe find love again. Partly to relieve her own pain, she made the call. Maybe it really was time to move on romantically.
She remembered Callen quoting Gibbs' rule 'never date a coworker' and Callen's own rule of 'never date a cop'. Things had to grow and stay between them as friends, they needed trust not a few hours in the sheets. And when she thought about it a bit more, the guy at the gas station that had given her his number might be a good place to start. He did say he was a graphic artist.