The early morning sun began creeping through the crack in the curtains, lighting up the room. Callen had been awake for many hours prior to this, thinking about anything and everything, he had long left the bedroom not wanting to wake up Nell, she had always slept for much longer than him. He always chuckles when he remembers how the two came to be and also how they have managed to keep such a big secret from the team, however he wasn't kidding himself, Henrietta Lang most definitely knew that there something going on between the two agents. Even Sam didn't know, he was currently under the impression that Callen was enjoying a romance with Arkady's daughter Anna, she was lovely she just wasn't Nell. Nell had completely changed Callen's outlook on, well, everything. After Joelle he had given up on attempting to hold a meaningful relationship with anyone, a relationship couldn't never last when it was built on lies. But this was different, they knew each other, they knew what they did, the dangers they faced every day, they understood. Yes, it was hard seeing Nell in potential danger and not doing anything about it, but if he let his feeling get the better of him he would be risking not only the operation but the safety of everyone involved and if that was to happen they wouldn't be able to continue this. And for the first time, Callen was happy, he had someone to go home to and for the first time in what forever he lived in a home it was no longer just a house, each room had a full set of furniture he had begun keeping personal affects. And he knew in his heart that this was all down to Nell, she had opened his heart to so many different things. He couldn't imagine life without her and to the special agent this was a terrifying prospect for as long he can remember he relied on no one, but now it was different, what he had with Nell was different to anything he had ever experienced. As silly as it sounded he was scared that all of this would go away as fast as it happened and he would go back to being 'lone wolf' Callen who had a house with only a sleeping bag and a fridge full of beer. So he had decided that he was going to have show Nell Jones just how much she meant to him.

As the sun began to fill the entire room, Nell began to wake up instantly she noticed she was the only person remaining in the bed and the other half of the bed was no longer warm indicating that Callen hadn't been here for a while. When she first started this relationship with the senior agent every time she awoke to an empty she would be consumed by fear. Fear that he had gone and wasn't coming back she knew it was going to happen, it was inevitable, she just didn't know when it was going to happen and truth be told a small amount of fear still lingered even after all this time. But she wasn't worried when she woke up anymore she knew he would still be there, he was either off in a different part of the house occupying his mind with something or he had gone on a run. It was almost as if he was allergic to sleep. As she got out of bed she reached to her phone to see one new text message of Eric.

Hey. I hope you had a nice time with the girls last night.
Have a nice weekend see you Monday
Eric : )

She felt bad for lying to him, he was one of her closest friends but even so she couldn't tell him about Callen, she couldn't even tell him that she was seeing someone because no matter what name she gave she knew for a fact that Eric would be carrying out a full background search on whomever she had made up the moment she turned her back.
"What lie did you use for this weekend then?" Callen's voice interrupted her train of thought, she hadn't noticed him entering into the room as he leaned lazily against the wardrobe, not that she was surprised he was alarmingly good at catching her unaware.
"This weekend's elaborate lie was that Katie's boyfriend had broken up with her and she was in need of a girls weekend with no males in sight" she replied already knowing that Callen was referring to their co-worker Eric.
"But I thought Katie was the one who had recently moved in her boyfriend?" Callen quizzed her.
"Well remembered, but they are always breaking up and getting back together again, it will probably happen soon anyway." She replied, impressed he had actually paid attention to her attempts in explaining who all of her friends were with.
"I'm sorry you have to keep lying about us, I know it must be hard keeping things from them." Callen quietly said as he moved across the room to sit next to Nell on the bed.
Nell was taken aback by this, she had always understood that their relationship must always remain a secret for them to keep their jobs as it was a policy that co-workers couldn't date. Luckily for Kensi and Deeks, Deeks was still employed by LAPD so technically they weren't co-workers, lucky buggers. "It's alright, for us to have this relationship we have to keep it a secret." Nell replied wondering just where this conversation was going.
"I know that, but we have been keeping this secret for a year and a half now Nell, I understand why we did it to begin with, but it's different now Nell, I know how I feel about you this isn't some fling or short-lived relationship this is real" Callen said rather urgently.
There was several moments of silence as Nell processed what she had just heard, was Callen saying what she thought he was saying that he truly believed their relationship was going to work. The silence was driving Callen crazy as soon as the words left his mouth he knew there was no going back that now he had no other option than to man up and tell the I.T analyst just exactly how much she meant to him.
"Nell what I'm trying to say is that I love you, you mean more to me than you could ever comprehend and I can't bear to think of my life without you in it." Callen rushed to say the words that he had been wanting to say for a long time. "And I know that this may come as a shock and if you don't feel the same that's ok, this isn't what we signed up for at the beginning but I can't hide how I feel about you anymore not to you, to the team or to anyone. I think ..."
"Callen I love you too, I always have and I have just been afraid that you didn't feel the same way that I do. And I would like more than anything to tell everyone just how I feel about you but you know what the NCIS policy is. Co-workers cannot under any circumstances date and I don't know what I would do without my job and I know you feel the same way." Nell interrupted, feeling very flustered this was not the conversation she had pictured herself having this morning.
"I know that Nell, it's all I have been thinking about for the past few months but I think I have come up with a solution. There is nothing saying you couldn't work with your spouse." Callen explained as he tried to work up his courage to do what he knew he needed to do. So as he slowly got off the bed and began to kneel on the floor in front of the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, in that moment he knew he was making the right decision. And audible gasp left Nell's mouth as he reached into his trouser pocket and produced a small black box. "Nell Jones, you have turned my world upside down, you have changed me for the better and I would very much like to spend the rest of my life with you. So Nell, will you marry me?"

Nell felt slightly dazed as she sat on the edge of her bed. Was she even awake? Had the senior agent really just asked her to marry her? Had G 'I have no emotions' Callen said he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her? She was soon pulled out of her thoughts when she realised she hadn't give him an answer.
"Yes, yes of course I will marry you." Nell blurted out as she shot of the bed to kneel next to Callen on the floor and the elated agent slid the elegant ring onto her finger. "You do realise we are going to have to tell the team now?"

Callen chuckled just thinking of this. "Let's maybe wait until tomorrow to open that particular can of worms."