Hopefully it is easier to read now, sorry! I have only ever written 3 fanfics but yeh (:

"See you tomorrow Eric" Nell called cheerfully as she left Ops.

Eric, sat in a chair at his desk, looked behind him and called out "Yeh, bye Nell!"

As he heard her run lightly down the steps he looked back at his computer monitor and typed 'excel college CA' into Google. After checking behind him he clicked on the first result and quickly typed a name into the search page of the school blog. After scrolling down multiple results showing awards and competitions he finally found what he was looking for. He looked around again, to ensure nobody could see him before clicking on the video.

As it zoomed in, covering half of his computer screen, Eric regretted searching for it. His mouth went dry. His body changed from warm to ice cold. His hands became clammy, and as he gripped onto his wireless mouse his fingers slipped. As his eyes studied the shaky, over saturated moving images he became angry. So angry, in fact, that he clicked close on the website and turned his computer off violently. He span around in his chair, like an evil mastermind in a hurry, before grabbing his bag and stalking out of Ops.

In his car he realized that he was automatically heading for Nell's house instead of home. His anger had dissipated slightly, but it was replaced with a deep hurt inside. He had never felt this way before and he didn't like it. His hands gripped tightly onto the steering wheel and he pulled up to Nell's house. Her house was immaculate from the outside, with neatly cut grass and not a weed in sight. Having been invited to her house for movie nights numerous times he knew that the spotless theme was continued inside too. Eric took a deep breath and stepped out of his car. His flip-flops flapped as he walked briskly up the level stone path, and as he knocked on her bright red front door his hands shook.

When Nell finally opened the door, any anger he was still feeling vanished completely. Nell was wearing an oversized grey periodic table t-shirt that went down to her mid thighs, and her bangs were uncharacteristically sticking up at odd angles. She blinked blearily, having been woken, but smiled when she saw her partner. "Eric!" she said confusedly "It isn't movie night until Friday?" As her vision became clearer and her eyes adjusted to the darkness outside she saw how upset he looked. When Eric didn't reply, Nell shivered and said kindly "Hey, what's up? Come in, it's cold outside. Sorry about how I look…"

Eric stayed silent as he sat, legs crossed, shivering on Nell's kitchen floor, a hot chocolate in his hand. "Umm, why don't you come sit over here on the couch Eric? Tell me what the problem is, partner." Nell said softly, patting the soft throw cushion next to her, now wearing a blue cardigan over her t-shirt.

His heart skipped, like it did whenever she said 'partner', but as he stood up he realized what he was doing and how surreal the situation was. He spoke for the first time since he had seen Nell, stepping towards the front door as he did so

"Uh, yeh no it's fine… I didn't mean to wake you I'm so sorry… I only came to say-" he put the mug down on the kitchen counter but as he did the hot brown liquid spilled over the edge. "Oh bugger- Nell I'm so sorry I" He turned, frantically looking for some paper towels. Nell got up and walked over to Eric, smiling kindly.

"It seems like Hetty is rubbing of on you! Leave it- I can clear it up in a minute." She grabbed his arm gently and pulled him to look at her

"Now come and tell me what's on your mind. I'm assuming you didn't drive here and wake me just to drink my hot chocolate and apologize…' Nell pulled him over to the couch and sat down, pulling the nearest cushion to her chest and folding her legs neatly underneath her. "Spill" she commanded.

Eric, looking down at his hands, took a deep breath and began to talk. "I came here because I felt hurt." He looked up at her kind, open face, softly lit in the lamp light, but became distracted so looked back down at his hands. "I- uh- found an old video of you and Nate, in college. I didn't know that you and him… you never said… you never said you dated him… I didn't know-" He replayed the video in his head, his heart aching. "Nell, he proposed to you on campus!" He suddenly became aware of how stupid and childish he sounded and turned red. He took his glasses off and brought his hands up to his face, burying it in them. After a short pause, Nell touched his shoulder gently.

"Eric, I- I made some mistakes in college. Nate and I thought we were in love, which is why he proposed. But we were just really, really good friends. There was no romantic connection, it just didn't work." She exhaled slowly. "When I saw him in Ops it shocked me, but please don't be cross. I didn't even know he came to work at NCIS. After I called the proposal off I didn't see him much, we were too embarrassed."

Eric removed his hands from his face and looked up at her. He could tell she was being honest; her hazel eyes were meaningful and sad. She continued "I guess you are upset because I didn't tell you. Which I totally understand. Eric, I didn't tell you because frankly, I am embarrassed about some of the choices I made. I know I should have told you, we work together every day, but I just couldn't." Nell quickly removed her hand from Eric's shoulder and looked down at her bare feet, blushing. Eric studied her, the way her red hair fell on her shoulders, the way her cheekbones glowed in such a warm, gentle way. The way the t-shirt hung off her small stature, and how her small hands gripped the pillow.

"Bugger it" Eric thought. He lent forward on the soft sofa and guided Nell's face to his. "I'm sorry." He mumbled, before pressing his lips firmly against hers. At first she sat still, eyes open in shock, but she soon joined in, forgetting all of her past and only thinking about how happy she was. She lent forwards onto Eric, but as she did both heard an ominous CRUNCH which stopped them. Eric reached under a cushion and pulled out a mangled arm of his glasses "uhh… whoops?" Nell laughed, and continued to kiss him.

"You have nothing to be sorry for." She whispered "Although that hot chocolate does need cleaning up…."