Hi, this is my first fanfic ever. Reviews are very very welcome and very very helpful. It'll be a multi-chapter thing. But I don't quite know yet how many there will be.

It's centered around Callen and Nell. Because I think the characters deserve some more time together. Enjoy

(And of course I do not own any of the characters)


Strong little Nell

It was the way Hetty was looking at Nell that morning, that finally made Callen realise he had known for some time that there was something not quite right with their analyst. The look that Hetty was giving Nell was one of deep concern. He had seen her use only a few times before, and he would usually have been on the receiving end.

It wasn't that Nell was acting strange or in a way that would suggest there was anything wrong, but he realised now she was looking tired… no not just tired, worn out really.

She was giving the team an update on the current case. It was just another update, just another day.

Callen realised now that he had been having a slumbering feeling of worry about Nell for the past few weeks. She had been her joyful self, as always - maybe even a little more than otherwise - , but there had been a few strange moments.

Like the one where Eric touched her arm to get her attention and she jumped as if he was about to kill her. Eric, being the least likely person in OSP to kill even a spider, had showered her with apologies and Deeks had wrapped the situation up with the words 'bad conscience'.

Or the few times he had caught her in the middle of the hallway lost in thoughts. She had always been a very pensive person, but still…

Meanwhile Nell had finished the update and the team was flooding out of the ops center. Callen took a step towards her, but Hetty held up her hand and whispered: 'I'll take care of it.'

There was a finality in her words that made him realise he wasn't supposed to oppose her on this one.

'Nell, dear… a word', Hetty said with a softness in her voice he had rarely heard there before.


The women retreated to Hetty's office, and Callen got caught up in the case too much to think about anything else that day. When he gets back at OSP that evening, only Hetty was left. He immediately walks over to her.

'Congratulations. Job well done.', she murmurs before sipping from her tea and offering him a cup.

'Yeah…', Callen answers sitting down and taking the cup, 'About Nell', he changes subjects immediately.

Hetty's eyes seem to darken over her cup of tea, or maybe it is just a trick of the light. But she holds her silence longer than she usually would.

'I talked to her', she says finally.

'Yes… and… what did she have to say?'

Hetty takes another sip from her tea before answering him: 'That's between the two of us… and I urge you not to ask her anything about it', she adds before Callen can react.

'I want to talk to her, I have as much right as you do to know what this is about.' There's anger in his voice that he didn't expect himself.

'No, you don't.', she interjects sharply, 'I'm asking you for the well being of Nell: leave her alone. Don't talk to her about it. If she wants to talk to you she'll come to you herself. But if she doesn't I'm ordering you…'

Callen scowls but it only makes Hetty press it more '...Yes ordering Mr. Callen, to leave her alone and not to talk to her about it.'

Callen can think of quite a lot of reasons why he shouldn't listen to Hetty. But he realises that defying her openly is not the best option right now.

'Fine', he says after some more scowling, 'but this isn't over yet', he warns before sipping from his tea himself.

'No, I'm afraid this won't be over yet for quite a while', she says grimly before delving into the debrief and the details of the case.