Two friends turn a lonely weekend around

THE IMPORTANCE OF SIBLINGS

Mission Bullpen

Deeks finished packing up his things after saying good night to Sam and Callen. He let out a sigh, trying to figure out what to do tonight. He knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to do what he did every night, go home with Kensi. But that wasn't an option. Kensi was in Hawaii as a favor to the 5-0 taskforce. She had been there all week helping out when they needed the extra manpower, or womanpower in this case. He was about to leave when he saw Nell come down the stairs.

"Hey, Nell." He said to her.

"Hey, Deeks. What's up?" she asked.

"Nothing. Heading home for the day?" He asked her.

She sighed. "Yea. And do what? I have no idea." She said. On top of Kensi being in Hawaii Eric was currently in DC helping on a joint NCIS/FBI/DoD taskforce. Nell had been running Ops all by herself and Deeks could tell she was exhausted.

"Want to come over and watch a movie tonight? Sounds like both of us could use some company." Deeks said.

Nell looked at him and smiled. "Yea, that sounds like fun. Let me go home and change and I'll be right over."

They walked down the hallway and out to the parking lot, getting in their cars and driving off.

Deeks' apartment, 1 hour later

Deeks was finishing the pizza when the door bell rang and Monty barked in response.

"Chill, buddy. You know who it is." He said as he opened the door to see Nell standing here.

"For the last time, I already bought cookies at the office!" Deeks said in mock annoyance.

Nell playfully shoved him. "Oh shut up." She said.

"Come on in. I was just about to toss the pizza in the oven." He said.

Monty came bounding up, his tail wagging in excitement.

"Hi, Monty! Who is a good boy?" Nell said to him, scratching behind his ears. Monty lept up and licked Nell's face. "Hey!" She said.

"Monty, get down." Deeks said. Monty jumped down and looked at Deeks.

"Make yourself at home." Deeks said as he went back into the kitchen and put the pizza in the oven. He grabbed a pair of beers from the fridge and came out, handing one to Nell.

"Thanks." She said as she opened it, taking a drink. Monty walked over and laid down next to her, placing his chin in her lap.

"I'm so glad this week is over" She said as she softly pet Monty.

"You and me both, Velma. Playing third wheel to the level 6 Bromance was getting old." He said, taking a drink.

"Oh yea, try running Ops by yourself sometime. Having to dig up every bit I can find for you guys while keeping the whole place running." She replied, poking him.

"Point taken." He said, smiling.

"Still, it does kind of suck being on your own." Nell said in a soft voice.

Deeks nodded. "Especially when you gave that up a long time ago." He replied in a soft voice as well.

They both sat there in silence before the oven timer beeped.

Deeks got up and went into the kitchen. "Pick a movie out" He yelled out.

"What kind?" She replied.

"Whatever you want. I'm not picky." He said.

He came out a few moments later with two plates of steaming hot pizza and more drinks.

"Wow, this looks awesome. Thanks Deeks" She said as she accepted the plate and the drink.

"Anytime,Nell." He said.

"So I decided on Jurassic Park. I haven't seen this movie in ages." She said.

"Sounds awesome. Start it up" He said as he turned down the lights as the opening started. They both dug into their pizza as the dunes of Montana came on the screen

4 hours later

They had finished the first movie and were just finishing the second move when Deeks looked over and saw Nell asleep, curled against the arm of the couch. He smiled and nudged her.

"Hey, Wake up Nellster" He said.

She opened her eyes and stretched out. "Must have dozed off there." She said.

"Am I that boring?" Deek said with mock hurt.

She smiled at him. "No, I just haven't been getting much sleep this week. It's crazy how much you get used to sleeping with someone else." She said.

"Preaching to the choir there, Nell." Deeks said.

Nell went to stand up and almost fell over. "Woah, headrush" She said.

Deeks grabbed her and stabilized her. "You ok?" He asked.

"Beer hit me a little harder than I thought." She said.

"I don't think you are good to drive tonight, Nellster" Deeks said.

She nodded her head and sat back down. "I think your right. I'm really sorry, Deeks." She said

He sat down and threw a brotherly arm around her. "Hey, don't sweat it. I'd much rather have you crash here then try to drive home in that condition".

He stood up and grabbed her keys. He walked out to her car and grabbed her go bag from her trunk and brought it in. He set it down next to her. "Feel free to use the bathroom to change. I'll get the couch ready." He said.

She stood up, trying to stabilize herself before she slowly walked into the bathroom and closed the door. Deeks went and grabbed a spare blanket, a sheet, and some pillows. He laid the sheet down on the couch and covered it with the blanket and the pillows. He fed Monty just as Nell came out, dressed in a pair of shorts and an all too familiar Spider Man T-shirt. Deeks couldn't help but smile.

"Any word to Eric and I will make your life Hell, Shaggy." She said, smiling back.

"My lips are sealed." He said, making the motion of zipping his lips shut.

Nell pulled him into a hug and kissed his check. "Thanks Deeks. Good Night." She said.

He squeezed her gently. "Night, Nell. See you in the morning" He said as he let her go. She laid down on the couch and curled up. Deeks walked into his room, changed and crawled into bed.

The Next Morning

Deeks woke up early to the smell of coffee. He got up and stepped into the living room to see Nell pouring coffee.

"Morning." She said as she handed him a mug.

"Morning. Sleep ok?" He asked as he took a drink.

"About as best that can be expected. Hope you don't mind me helping myself to the coffee." She said, taking a drink of hers.

"Not at all. Mi Casa es su casa." Deeks replied.

He finished his coffee and put his mug in the sink. "I was going to go catch a few waves with Monty. You are welcome to join me." He said.

"I don't surf but a morning on the beach does sound fun." She replied as she grabbed her bag. She pulled out a towel and a swimsuit. Deeks gave her a strange look.

"What? I'm dating a surfer. I never go anywhere without a bikini and my towel." She said when she noticed his look. Deeks nodded.

"Yea that makes sense. I'm still trying to get Kensi to realize that." He said as he walked into his room to change. Nell ducked into the bathroom to change herself.

Deeks walked out a few moments later in a pair of board shorts and a t-shirt. He gathered his things as Nell came out in a pair of shorts and a loose fitting t-shirt. She slipped a pair of sandals on and grabbed her bag.

"Ready to go?" Deeks asked as he clipped Monty's leash on.

"Ready. Let's go" She said as she walked out the door, Deeks and Monty following her.

Beach

Deeks pulled his car into a parking spot and shut it off. They climbed out of the car while Deeks got his board off of the car while Nell let Monty out. They walked out to the sand and Nell laid out a towel. Deeks set his board up while he put his wet suit on. Nell slipped her shirt and shorts off, standing in a red and yellow string bikini. Deeks was totally caught off guard by the sight. He whistled.

"Showing a little skin there, eh Nell?" He said. Nell blushed.

"Kensi and I went shopping a few weeks ago and I just had to get it." She said. She looked around like she was checking for someone listening to them. "I wanted guys to be jealous of Eric." She said. Deeks grinned.

"You want to turn some heads?" He said.

Nell nodded as she started to apply sunscreen. "Eric has an issue with his self image. He always sees himself as the nerd that everyone picks on." She said as she started to rub sunscreen on her legs.

"He sees all these guys with these blonde bimbos hanging off of them and he thinks that he doesn't match up. I bought this," indicating her bikini, "So he has his own trophy to show off." She said with a grin.

"Didn't know Nell had a naughty side to her." Deeks said.

"Oh you don't know the half of it, Shaggy. Now go, I'm fine here with Monty." She said as she set up a beach umbrella to provide a bit of shade. She sat down, Monty sitting next to her as she pulled out her book. It was the new Deep Six novel and every time one came out McGee sent a copy to her and Eric.

A few hours later Deeks got his runs in. He walked back onto shore and back up as Nell was laid back soaking up some sun. He stabbed his board into the ground as he took off his wet suit.

"How were the waves?" Nell asked him as she sat up.

"Amazing. Too bad your boyfriend couldn't be here." Deeks said.

"Yea, same with your girlfriend." She said, sticking her tongue out at him.

There were more than a few times when Deeks, Kensi, Eric, and Nell all went to the beach on their days off. Usually Eric and Deeks would hit the waves while Kensi and Nell would chat, tan, and fight off wannabe hunks trying to impress them.

Deeks dried off and sat down on his towel, petting Monty. "When is he supposed to get back anyway?" Deeks asked.

"He is scheduled to come in tonight. At least that is what he told me yesterday. What about Kensi?" Nell replied.

"Same. She said she would text me when she boarded this afternoon." He said.

"It's a race to see who gets home first?" Nell giggled.

"Seems like it." Deeks said. He looked down at the book.

"McGee's got a new one?" He said with a raised eyebrow.

"Yea, came out 3 months ago. This one is based on the Harper Dearing Case" She said.

"Leave it to McGee to go full bore with his stories." Deeks said.

Nell stood up. "I'm going to go for a swim. I'll be back" She said as she ran out to the water.

Deeks sat back and relaxed in the sand while Nell swam in the ocean. After a bit she came walking up dripping wet.

"You look like you had fun." Deeks grinned.

"Can you come to the beach and not have fun?" She replied as she dried off.

"Point taken."

They sat for a second, just enjoying the sound of the waves.

"Thanks for hanging with me, Deeks. It's nice to spend the weekend with someone." Nell smiled at him.

"Any time, Nellster. You're family. You're like the cute as a button little sister. I'm always willing to spend time with my siblings." Deeks nudged her.

"Speaking of, I just had an idea." Deeks stood up and grabbed his board, laying it down on the sand.

"What?" Nell asked.

"We are going to torture your boyfriend." He said as he grabbed a camera from his bag.

"And how are we going to do that?" Nell asked with a raised eyebrow.

"By sending him insanely sexy pictures of you in your bikini to him. Maybe that will convince him to come home sooner." Deeks said with a toothy smile.

"I like the way you think." She said with a sly smile.

"Ok, get on your stomach on the board." He said, taking on an over the top British accent, which elicited a laugh from Nell.

"It's going to be hard to look sexy when you are making me laugh there." She said.

"Oh come now, love. You want to make it in the modeling world you have to learn to deal with airheads like me" He continued.

"Ok, brush your hair to one side. Rest your chin in your hands." Deeks switched to his normal voice.

"Like this" She did as she instructed.

"That is perfect. He won't know what hit him." Deeks said as she snapped a couple of photos.

Nell turned around and leaned back on her elbow, running a hand through her hair as Deeks snapped a few more.

She turned on her side, propping her head up as she ran a finger across her thigh. Deeks took a few more.

"Perfect. Let's head back, I can do some quick touch ups on these on my computer and we can send him to them. Then I think we should get some lunch." He said as he packed his things.

"Sounds perfect to me, Shaggy"

Later that evening

After they got back Nell took a quick shower while Deeks uploaded the photos from his camera, fixed them up a bit, and after Nell gave her approval she sent them to him with the message Missing you. Here is some of the beach you can take with you. They got lunch afterward and hung out, watching some TV and relaxing until it came time to go to the airport to get Kensi and Eric.

Deeks pulled into the parking garage of LAX and they both climbed out. Making their way to the arrival gate they checked the flights.

"Kensi's flight comes in at 8:30. Eric's at 8:45. Looks like you win, Shaggy." Nell said.

"I won't let it go to my head, Velma." Deeks smiled.

Nell elbowed him. "Little late for that." She laughed.

20 min later and Kensi's flight had landed. Scores of people came up the escalator from the arrival gate. Nell was the first to see her.

"There she is." She pointed.

Deeks saw her a second later and walked toward her, His smile getting bigger and bigger. Kensi saw Deeks and returned the smile as they fell into each other's arms. Kensi kissed him deeply.

"Take it you missed me, Kensalina?" He said.

"Way too much, Shaggy." Kensi replied with a smile.

She looked over and saw Nell walking up.

"Hey Nell, What are you doing here?" Kensi said, giving Nell a hug.

"Deeks and I spent the day together and since both you and Eric's flights were close we decided to wait here together." Nell said.

"When is he supposed to get in?" Kensi asked.

"About 15 minutes. If you guys want to go please don't stick around on my account." Nell replied.

"What did I say earlier, Velma?" Deeks said, giving her a knowing look.

Nell rolled her eyes and gave an exasperated sigh. "Fine." She said smiling.

"What?" Kensi asked, confused.

"I told her that I don't mind spending time with family. Which, in my case, is the team." Deeks said.

Another crowd of people came up the escalator from arrivals. They scanned the crowd as Nell saw Eric immediately. She took off toward him and as he was looking away she snuck up behind him. She grabbed onto his arm suddenly. "Boo!" She said.

He looked over and saw her smiling at him. "Welcome home." She whispered to him as she grabbed his head and kissed him.

"Good to be home." He replied as she took his hand and they walked back.

Kensi and Deeks couldn't help but smile at the two of them.

"What say we go get some dinner to celebrate being whole again?" Deeks said.

"That sounds awesome! I'm starving." Kensi said.

"That is because you are always starving, Fern. Or what? Did you get knocked up while you were in Hawaii?" Deeks said, eliciting a punch from Kensi as they waited for their luggage.

After they retrieved their luggage they walked back to Deeks' car and loaded up. Eric and Nell got in the back with Deeks and Kensi in the front.

"I've got a surprise for you." Eric said to Nell as he reached back for his bag. He pulled out two objects. One was a book and the other was a picture frame

"McGee has got another one in the works and he gave us his first print." Eric handed the book to her.

"Deep Six: One-Zero-One." Nell read the title.

"Spoiler Alert. We are in this one." Eric said with a smile.

"Seriously?" Nell said.

Eric nodded. "Remember that embezzlement case we needed to help MCRT on? That is this case." He said.

"Awesome!" Nell said. She looked over at the frame.

"What about that?" She said.

"Oh this. When you sent the pictures your words gave me an idea, so I bought this."

He pushed a button on it, revealing it was an electronic picture frame. Pictures from the beach started to display, switching randomly.

"Now I'll always have some of the beach to take with me." Eric said, shutting it off. Nell leaned against him as he threw an arm around her.

Kensi and Deeks silently observed the exchange between the two. Kensi looked over to Deeks who looked back, giving a smile. She reached out and placed her hand on his thigh, softly running her thumb over his leg. She didn't mean it in a purely sexual way and he understood. He took one hand off of the wheel and took her hand gently.

They continued to drive on, finally stopping for food and then back to Deeks' place where Eric and Nell said their goodbyes and left.

"So what do you say we go inside and I show you just how much I missed you, Fern?" Deeks said with a grin.

"I can think of nothing else I would love more, Shaggy." Kensi said as she opened the door and stepped inside, throwing a glance over her shoulder.

This episode is for XoxMountainGirlxoX. This origionally was supposed to be a 2 parter for Tales from the Mission but she gave me the idea to expand on it so it is now part of a stand alone series. This mainly focuses on Friendships between members of the LA team.

Also (speaking of Tales) with Episode 40 comming up I have decided to let you, the readers, decide which episode, out of the upcomming ones I have so far, will be Episode 40. As you can see from the Profile one is already completed but I want to know what you want. So vote in the Poll on My Profile.

Thank you for Reading, Reviewing, Favoriting, and Following.