Actions and Consequences - NCIS LA Fanfiction
A/N - After careful analysis of my original story, I figured out that I actually had no interest in writing it anymore, and as I am a BIG believer in write what you want to write, not what others want you to write I started brain storming again. Thus resulting in my first multi chapter Neric fanfic, it will not ALL be happy, happy sunshine and roses and rainbows. I will promise two things though: 1. I will try not to kill off any characters and 2. The first couple of chapters are fluffy!
Disclaimer- I do not own any of the characters in this story, they are property of CBS and Shane Brennan.
Chapter 1- Only Four Years
She sat nervously on her couch, fiddling with the sapphire blue ring that she wore on her pinky finger. She was wearing a knee length dress with spaghetti straps, patterned with a summer gradient of orange, pink and purple. She had small wedges on, not a lot of height but enough to not feel like a complete midget.
She checked her watch, it was seven twenty-nine. He wasn't late, it wasn't like he'd decided to bail, and it wasn't like he was going to be exactly on time, and even if he was, it was still a minute early.
She was expecting him to be a few minutes late considering he'd have to battle LA traffic but she was still nervously twiddling and twirling her ring. As soon as the clock hit thirty-one past, and when knocks on her front door started, her heart, head and pulse jumped into hyperdrive.
As an instinct she tried to instantly calm herself. It didn't work, not that it ever did much. Though tonight she swore that it made her heart race about one hundred and fifty times faster. She picked herself up from her couch and walked over to the door. Picking up her small dark peach coloured clutch. It had a long simple chain link strap.
She opened the door and as she saw Eric standing there the realization hit her like a full forced blow.
After all this time; four years. All of the hours spent typing in close proximity or tag teaming through team briefings. The time spent bouncing theories off one and another. Every comment, every glance. Every single moment in each others presence. It was this one that was the most unbelievable.
Nell and Eric were finally going on a date.
"Hi," Nell greeted.
"Hey," Eric returned, "is that musk I smell?"
"Yeah," Nell admitted, "that would be my perfume."
"Well, you smell very nice tonight," he complimented.
"Thank you," Nell replied, stepping out of the door and locking it behind her. She finally took note of what Eric was wearing; a short sleeved, collared shirt with blue and red stripes. With his trademark fashion item; a pair of shorts.
Together, they made their way to Eric's car, enjoying each others company.
"Where are we going tonight?" Nell asked curiously.
"We are going to dinner," Eric replied cryptically.
"And that would be where?"
"Somewhere."
"So we're playing the cryptic clue game."
"I don't know? Are we?"
When he tried he could be frustrating, but that just made her smile more. He always made her smile and he didn't even need to try.
"One rule first," Nell said.
"What is it?" Eric asked with slight hesitation in his voice.
"Because we spend so much time at work together, when we are out together, no talking about work," she explained simply.
"Okay," he easily agreed, glad that it was nothing major that would linger over them for the rest of the evening.
"So we are driving in the direction of the beach," Nell deducted.
"We live in LA we could be driving in almost any direction and be heading towards a beach," Eric countered.
"Correct, but from where we are, we are less than five minutes from multiple beach side dining restaurants."
When Nate had started to pick up on their feelings for each other, or at least Nell's feelings for Eric. Especially after he read her like a feature article on the front page of the newspaper. She had started hiding her emotions and had learned to read others better; if the slight tone in his previous comment hadn't been enough to tell her, his lack of comment was the deciding point. She'd guessed his plans.
She kept quiet on that topic for the rest of the trip there, which wasn't too long. So when they got there it took a fair amount of will power not to mention anything about her being right.
As they walked from the car to the restaurant they walked with their fingers interlocked. When they arrived one of the waiters came and greeted them at the door.
"Good evening," the waiter spoke in a thick Indian accent, "do you have a reservation?"
"Yes, a table for two, under the name 'Beale'," Eric replied.
He looked through what Nell could assume was the reservation book, "Ah, yes. If you will follow me," the waiter said turning on his heal and walking further into the restaurant.
He walked through the chatter of tables and chairs and other couples, whilst Nell and Eric followed behind him until he reached the door on the other side of the large room and opened it. It revealed a large verandah lined with more tables. It was lit only by lanterns hanging from posts, candles on tables and light from the shining moon.
"Your table," the waiter said, motioning for Eric and Nell to sit.
Eric being the gentleman that he was pulled out Nell's chair for her and once she was seated he pushed it back in.
"Thank you," Eric said to the waiter.
"My pleasure, " he replied, "the menu and wine list are just here," he said gesturing towards the two leather bound books in the centre of the table," he finished before walking away.
Once taking his own seat he noticed the piece of folded parchment that had the word 'Reserved' on it and underneath read: 'table for two, 7:30, Beal'.
He picked up the offending piece of parchment and showed it to Nell.
"Does no one know how to spell?" He asked.
Upon noticing the commonly made mistake, Nell broke into laughter.
Why it was so amusing? It was just was.
Nell took a breath to compose herself, letting the laughing stop on its own account. She took one of the menu's from the middle of the table and examined it, Eric did the same.
Here next to the beach it was peaceful; waves crashing and receding on the shore, the summer air with its floral scent, silent birds chirping in the trees for anyone patient enough to listen for them.
From the pages and pages in the menu filled with everything from burgers and coconut chicken to ice-cream and crème brûlée- which were all pretty well priced- neither one of the knew what they wanted.
"What are you having?" Nell asked.
"Not a clue."
She scanned through the page of the menu that she had open again. She could've easily picked more than five dishes, but of course that said, she would never eat it all and therefore it would be a waste. She considered these options very carefully in her head and ruled out three, leaving only two as options.
Option one: Satay Chicken. As a lover of hot, spicy food, it would be unrealistic for Nell to pass up the Satay Chicken, but then again she had never been here before and wasn't sure how mild or strong the flavour would be.
Option 2: A simple but tasty, piece of flat-head fish and a garden salad.
Decisions, decisions.
She was startled out of her thoughts when an unfamiliar voice spoke.
"Are you ready to order?" The waiter asked.
Nell's vision flicked between the waiter and Eric, a question in her eyes.
"Maybe just a few more minutes," Eric replied, reading Nell's mind exactly.
"Okay, while you decide would you like anything to drink?" the waiter asked, "a bottle of wine; or maybe just a glass?" he suggested.
"Nell?" Eric asked, wanting her input, "I don't mind either way, it's your choice."
Quickly, she picked up the wine menu and scanned though it as she would a classified document; picking out only the necessary information.
"Could we please get a bottle of Merlot," Nell responded turning her head to the waiter who nodded his head and said, "Most certainly, I will be back out with it shortly."
"So," Nell said, turning her head back to Eric, "anything look good?"
"Almost everything," he replied.
"Almost everything?" she questioned.
"Well there are a few questionable items."
"Such as?"
"Lion Fish, Chicken Feet and Ostrich soup."
"Well they get five stars for eccentric dishes."
Eric made no comment, but he smiled the smile that told her that he really actually, in fact, had no comeback to that statement. It was also the smile that made her heart beat faster with its own little unsaid comment when she bested Eric at something.
Still wearing the smile he looked back down at the menu. Having made a final decision he put it down. Nell, of course, didn't need to look again at the menu. Instead she continued her mental 'Pros and Cons' list in her head.
In the end, after much a mental debate, Satay Chicken had won out, and Eric had decided on the Pumpkin and Spinach Risotto.
They chatted and laughed and watched the light bounce off the rippling waves under the moonlight.
00..
"But now at this point in time," Nell continued in between mouthfuls of Satay Chicken and in between laughter, partially from the story, partially from the wine, "you have my oldest brother standing on the dining room table, completely drunk; my older sister sitting inside the now empty fridge holding a half- filled bottle of Gin between her feet; Mum who's absolutely lost it and is yelling at them about why all the food from the fridge is on the floor; why Bella is sitting in the fridge; why Daniel's dancing on the table; why there is a bottle of bleach in the kitchen sink and most importantly why the hell they had broken into the liquor cabinet," she explained, "I had gone to bed long before they'd broken into the liquor cabinet, because I was only fourteen at the time and I wanted no part in my siblings shenanigans so when our parents got home, I was in my room; asleep.
I heard my mother screaming at my older siblings, I woke up and stumbled out of my room because I have NO IDEA what is going on. I walk out of the hallway and when my mum sees me she screams.
"NELL WHAT THE HELL?!"
I'm standing there running every single thing that could have been wrong through my head, and I turn around and look in the hall mirror. My sister must have come into my room when she was bored and had had way too much to drink and bleached half my hair."
"What!" Eric asked, laughing lightly but still slightly shocked, "she bleached half your hair?" he reiterated with wide eyes.
"And it wasn't even streaks. It was just splotches all throughout all of my hair, which when I was fourteen was just above my waist long. So I cut it to shoulder length and dyed it as close as I could to its natural shade."
"That's an oddly funny story."
"It was an oddly funny night, despite the fact that my sister had bleached half my hair," she summarized, Bella and Daniel had been grounded for a month and a half after that incident, and Jackie had to pay for Nell to fix her hair.
"So any weird childhood stories Beale?" she asked.
Eric rooted though his brain for anything. 'Damn' he kept shooting down every suggestion he came up with. Fifth grade camp, the story about Millicent Gruednay, his brother trying to convince him to go clubbing... No. None of those stories would even compare to drunken siblings half bleaching your hair whilst you're asleep. He wanted something a little more crazy.
Alas, he could not think of anything.
"Nope," he replied.
Nell tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow, "there's nothing?" She asked playfully, "not a single thing?"
"Well there's what happened on fifth grade camp, the story of Millicent Grudney and I, or the time my older brother Michel tried to convince me to go clubbing..."
"And was he unsuccessful?"
"Of course."
What about a high school incident?"
"There's the time my mum caught my brother teaching her parrot to swear and throw insults at anyone that walked past," he offered.
"So it was your mum's parrot that your brother was teaching to insult everyone?"
"It was meant to be a joke, our mum was always laughing at something," he explained.
"Sounds like one of my best friends in high school," seeing Eric's slightly confused look she elaborated, "her name was Mimmie, she laughed at absolutely everything. You knew it was a bad day if she wasn't laughing."
"Speaking of bad, that is something that this Risotto is not," Eric commented drastically changing the topic.
"I completely agree. I love this Satay Chicken and want to marry it but, I cannot finish it," Nell agreed sitting back in her chair slightly, and for a minute taking her eyes of her partner sitting in front of her and turning to look out at the ocean. She watched the way that the moonlight darted from wave to wave, not daring to stay in one place for too long, as if afraid of what would come from it.
The waiter that had been waiting on them all evening approached their table once again.
"Are you finished?" he asked, motioning at their plates.
"Yes, thank you," Nell responded before adding, "it was delicious."
"I'll be sure to tell the chef," he said as he picked up their plates and started walking off, before he turned around, and as if on second thought added, "would you like the desert menu?"
They looked at each other, because it was almost as if, when they stared into the others eyes they could tell what they other were thinking. Their decision was made quickly and without verbal discussion.
"No thanks, I think we'll just have the check," Eric replied, graciously turning down the offer.
"Certainly," he said nodding his head, "I'll be back out in a minute," he finished before departing from their company, only to return a short while later holding what both Nell and Eric assumed to be a check. Eric took it from him and Nell shot him a look as he reached for his wallet.
"Dinner was my idea, I should pitch in for some," Nell said forcefully, but not loudly nor sternly.
Normally Eric wouldn't argue with that but this was different.
"I picked out the restaurant," Eric argued.
At hearing his comeback Nell flicked her gaze straight at Eric. The gaze itself contained no strong emotions to the naked eye, but Eric could see through the glamour and to the emotion in her eyes. Nevertheless he didn't back down, for once not letting her look melt him.
He pulled a fifty out of his wallet and placed it inside the check, not once breaking her gaze as he did so nor when he handed it back to the waiter.
She smiled at his bravery, but carefully as if not to let her gaze waver until the waiter spoke again and they both broke away.
"You two have something very special," he said referring to the way they read each others mind's with just a simple glance, "the way you two look at each other to consult a question. You have both found another who is so understanding," he explained, "what you two have is rare," he added as an afterthought.
Nell handed the waiter a five dollar tip before he turned around and walked back telling them to have a good night.
Nell smiled at Eric who returned it. Normally she would have to look away to hide the blush that crept onto her cheeks when he smiled at her like that. This time she did.
When they'd first started working together it was easy to return the smile, then it got harder, not
because her feelings had faltered instead they had some what intensified which, for whatever reason made it not easier, but harder to smile back. Maybe it was because her feelings were indefinitely real and that she didn't want to pass that out or give wrong signals in the meaning behind her smile, so whilst she blushed she'd turn back to whatever she was doing. She figured, considering the fact that they were at dinner together at a nice restaurant that they were, in some way, past that point, but out of habit she still turned away to hide her scarlet cheeks.
"I'll let you pay for dinner but I am buying dessert," Nell said.
"That's a plan I'll agree to."
"This is, of course, after a walk, on the beach."
"Yeah, okay," Eric agreed.
They walked out of the restaurant they same way they came in, but for some reason it seemed quieter, it wasn't the fact that the crowd of people in the restaurant had lowered, but simply that they were too involved in their own lives at the moment to notice anyone else's. For all they knew their existence, together, was the only one that mattered.