Had this in my head so hammered it out in the shortest time ever! Enjoy, even though it's short. Zoe
It started after Deeks was shot. The incident had forced Callen to think about the safety of his team. Deeks was new, he was LAPD and wasn't trained in the same security measures NCIS were. That's why it had happened. Deeks had inadvertently made himself an easy target.
Callen didn't have to worry about Hetty, she had more experience under her belt than anyone and he knew for a fact she not only took different routes to and from work, she had multiple residences so she was never in the same place two nights in a row. He didn't worry about Sam either. He was the master of personal security and had already made clear his intentions to give Deeks a crash course in staying safe as soon as he was well enough to leave the hospital. The very fact that Deeks had been targeted in order to get to Kensi meant Callen didn't have to worry about her. If anything, she would only beef up her security protocols in light of the knowledge that someone had been trying to get to her. And Eric, Eric may not be an agent but he had been right there with them when Dom was taken and when his life was so cruelly snatched away months later. Eric was all too aware of the consequences of falling into habits.
But there was one member of the team Callen was worried about; their newest and youngest member, Intelligence Analyst Nell Jones. His worry stemmed from his lack of knowledge. He didn't even know she was weapons trained until the day she came into the field when his 'ex' was holding hostages. He had been as surprised as the others when she checked out the gun and slipped it into the back of her pants like a pro. So he had made the assumption that in being trained to do her job and in handling weapons, knowing about security protocols was a given. But in light of what happened to Deeks, Callen knew he could no longer assume Nell knew what she should be doing.
And that was why it started. For a full week he tailed her to and from work, making sure she used a different route to work each day, that if she stopped for coffee she used a different place each time. Parking up the street from her apartment, he would wait until she had passed by then he would stay a safe distance behind her all the way to the office. At night he would wait until she had pulled out of the parking garage then once she made it home, he would park down the street until he saw the lights go on in her apartment before finally going home.
When the week was out, Callen was satisfied that Nell was doing everything she needed to. But every month or so he would tail her for a few days just to check. She had become an important part of the team and he needed to be sure she was safe.
