TITLE: SAVED.
Nell-centric...kinda. Involves the entire team.
DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters. I just love them. Guilty.
SUMMARY: A what-if version of Raven and the Swans when Visser walks out of his room and almost finds Nell tampering with his briefcase. What if…:p Kensi never came in to save Nell? Or even better…what if she came a bit too late? Just an idea that has been wandering around in my head since I watched the episode. Anyways, Read and review!
SAVED
"What are you doing here?" asked Nolan Vanderburg's thug Visser. He came out of his room in a white gown trying to hide his bandaged wound.
"I am with housekeeping. I am housekeeping." She said sheepishly wiping the table in front of her with the cloth in her hand; Eric and the others all listening to her.
Visser then looked at Nell suspiciously. He kept staring at her making her feel uncomfortable. And not to forget the fact, Eric could see everything, and Hetty. God!
"You want to steal something from me?" He asked very softly looking at his briefcase from the corner of his eye. "You're here to steal." He stated mockingly smiling at her.
"Nooo…I am not." She said trying to defend herself. "No really, I am not." Nell tried to assure the guy who was not ready to listen.
"You're a thief." He said coming closer. A smile appearing on his face. Smile? Not a good sign.
"Guys…we have trouble." The team heard Eric speak. "Visser caught Nell."
Reacting to Eric's news, Kensi and Deeks ran out of their room guns drawn. Bad idea. The next thing they knew they were surrounded by Visser's men all trying to protect their boss and ready to kill in the process. "Uhhh….Sam, Callen. Help." said Kensi shielding herself behind a door.
"We are here." Said Callen as he came running upstairs with Sam on his heels.
They could all hear Nell screaming and Eric trying to assure her, which was good for now as the adrenaline kept rushing into their bodies making it impossible to think twice before 'killing' Visser's men.
"Deeks get down." Kensi screamed as one of Visser's men came into view from behind Deeks.
Deeks quickly bent down and Kensi shot the guy in the head. They were all probably freaking out for not being able to get there any faster and save their friend from a disaster which was quite evident given to how Callen was reacting; practically beating the hell out of one of Visser's men. Sam could not control Callen…well, he did not want to. After having killed all of the thugs, the team rushed to the room to save Nell. Please, don't be too late. They all thought. Please.
MEANWHILE,
"Kensi and Deeks are coming Nell. Just a few more seconds." Nell heard Eric speak in her ear. Few more seconds? Do I have that much time?
Visser started coming closer to Nell taking longer steps making her feel uneasy. She began to move back as he came closer. Not good, she thought to herself. Nell moved one more step back to only collide with the wall.
Visser had the crazy look in his eyes. "Uhhhh…excuse me. I have to go." Nell said dodging Visser trying to get away but unluckily he was too fast. He quickly stopped Nell gripping her hand tightly and shoving her backwards. She collided with a large-size glass painting on the wall, only this time it was much more harder and painful. Nell winced as she felt her muscles burn from within, the glass pieces from the painting scattered on her shoulders and hair.
"Nell, are you…" Eric somewhat asked; concern clear in his voice finding it difficult to even complete his question.
Visser was really close to Nell now, his hands pinning her to the wall and his eyes staring into her beautiful green ones. Nell couldn't breathe. She could hear the others speak in her ears but she was just too scared.
Visser came closer. "Stop please. Please." Nell was practically begging but Visser did not stop. Hell, he was enjoying it.
He slowly let go of Nell's wrists and brought his arms down holding her waist. She tried her level best to get away but failed yet again. Visser was too strong for her to handle. She vigorously moved in his arms not giving up and hoping for her friends to arrive and fast. She screamed in agony as she felt her ribs crush between her and Visser.
She struggled to get out of his grip and finally she made it. With all the force in her body, she pushed the man and made a run for it. He only moved an inch luckily hitting the table behind him and falling to the ground with a loud thud.
She ran. Not far enough as Visser gripped her foot sending her to the ground with a loud thud as well. She kicked his face over and over really pissing the man off. With his anger intensifying, Visser pulled Nell towards himself while still on the ground. She screamed as a glass piece pierced through her body. Visser slowly got up and bent down practically sitting on Nell and clutching her wrists and pushing them closer to her chest. He held onto her wrists with one hand, slapping her on the face with the other with full force. Nell tasted blood in her mouth and slowly began to lose consciousness. Her eyes were only slightly open when she heard a familiar voice.
"Hey…get off her. NCIS." Kensi.
"You heard the lady, GET OFF!" Deeks shouted his gun pointing right at Visser's head.
Visser quickly got off Nell dusting himself. Kensi and Deeks rushed to Nell while Sam and Callen took care of their suspect.. Actually, Sam took care of Callen while Callen beat the hell out of the man.
"Uhhh…guys…updates?" The team heard their techie nervously ask.
"Nell…hey." Said Deeks as Nell slowly opened her eyes. 'You're okay. You're fine." Deeks said trying to convince her…himself. He was trying to calm Nell down who was not fully conscious while Kensi began to look for any serious wounds.
Kensi moved her hands to Nell's wound on her abdomen which was now bleeding. The small glass piece had pierced through her body, and it was still in there. "Eric, we need to call an ambulance." Said Kensi biting her lip. Nell groaned as she felt Kensi's cold touch on her forehead.
"Already on it." replied Eric from the other side.
Callen and Sam hand-cuffed the unconscious Visser in the bathroom and walked back to Nell.
"Nell, hang on. The ambulance is on its way." Assured Deeks. Nell was barely conscious, completely drained out of any energy and battered. Not the kind of scene anyone in the NCIS team would have ever imagined. Somehow they all thought it was their fault. Had they come a bit earlier none of this would've happened. They blamed themselves for sending Nell to do their dirty work at the first place.
The sirens of an ambulance interrupted their thoughts. A few people walked in, picked Nell up and took her out on a gurney.
FEW HOURS LATER,
After a few hours of waiting, the Doctor came out of Nell's room.
"About time." Sam said angrily. Kensi who was sitting beside him kept her hand on his shoulder trying to cool him down.
"How is she doctor?" asked Kensi getting up from her chair and walking towards the doctor. She was stuck in the middle of three frustrated men. The best thing would be for her to talk to the doctor and not them.
"Miss Jones has a bruised rib, bruised ankle and a concussion. The glass piece is removed and the wound is stitched. We are just going to keep her for the night to make sure it doesn't get infected. Then she's ready to go." Informed the doctor.
The others all let out the breath they were holding since they brought Nell here relaxing a little.
"Thank you doc. Can we see her?" asked Deeks hoping for a yes.
"She's awake. Slightly sedated but awake. You can if you want to." replied the Doctor much to Deeks delight.
They all acknowledged the doctor one by one before entering the room to see their information analyst who they had been very eager to apologize to.
Kensi made her way towards Nell's bed sitting beside her, Callen took the chair while Sam and Deeks sat on the sofa.
"How are you feeling?" Deeks asked. A very stupid question.
"Hmmm…lem'me see." replied Nell sarcastically smiling; her voice hoarse and almost inaudible.
"Don't answer that." suggested Kensi looking at Deeks and chuckling to herself while Deeks just apologetically looked at Nell.
Then there was the awkward silence in the room. No one spoke. They did not know what to say or ask before Nell began trying to prop herself on her elbows and the others rushed to help her out.
"Thanks." Nell said running her hand through her hair uncomfortably.
Nell could see there were a few things the others wanted to talk to her about especially Kensi who opened and closed her mouth a dozen times by now.
"Look…we are sorry." Kensi finally spoke rather quickly.
"Sorry?" Nell asked surprised. "What are you guys apologizing for? Kens you people saved my life." Nell shook her head with disbelief. "Wait…you think this is your fault?" she asked her eyes filled with tears.
The others just looked away not making eye contact. "No…no…no look at me all of you. This is not your fault. Please, don't blame yourself. You saved me today from…" Nell began to choke on her words. She knew exactly what could have happened, what Visser could have done to her but the thought itself gave her shivers.
Kensi just hugged Nell tightly letting her know that she was safe now. That she and others would not let anything else happen to her. Nell did not react at first but eventually she held onto Kensi burying her face in her shoulder and letting it all out. She cried, her sobbing getting worse as she let it all sink in. All the what-ifs and consequences. Kensi rubbed her back trying to soothe her. The others just kept looking at the scene in front of them rewinding all that had happened earlier that day in their heads and thanking god for keeping their friend secure.
Nell hugged Kensi and cried for long enough to have all the energy drained from her body. Eventually she fell asleep on Kensi's shoulder. Sam was the first one to notice.
"Hey...I think she is asleep."
Kensi called her name out. "Nell?" When she got no response, "I guess you're right." she said slowly and carefully placing Nell's head on the pillow and pushing her hair strands away from her face. She touched Nell's cheek with one hand slightly surprised by the softness when she suddenly remembered, "What about Visser?"
"Visser is going to rot in jail for assault on an NCIS agent. Nothing is going to get him out now. We wont let that happen." Deeks said gritting his teeth.
Everyone else just nodded. Someone hurt their friend...no way were they going to let him go. Not now. Not ever.
Nell was still petrified after the whole incident not that she would admit it. But the others knew that. So they stayed with her the whole night uncomfortably sleeping...resting on the hospital chairs and sofa while she slept her night off because of the exhaustion of the day's events.
NEXT DAY,
"Yes. Miss Jones, you're all set. Just remember do not do any heavy lifting or bending, anything that could hurt your ribs. Your ankle looks better today but don't put a lot of pressure on it. Let it heal first." The doctor warned.
"I'll make sure of that." said Kensi helping Nell out of bed while Nell just smiled.
The team wanted Nell to go home and rest but Nell had demanded to be taken to the OSP centre first where she could meet Eric and Hetty. Eventually after a lot of bantering and argument, the decision was made in favor of Nell. Well, who could argue with the red-head whose IQ was more than the combined credits of the rest of the team?
Their trip to the OSP centre was not very long. Nell got out from Kensi's car and limply walked into the headquarters only to be facing a super-dramatic Eric who hugged her as she came in. The others came from behind her trying to pretend as if they saw nothing minding their own business.
"Ow!" she said as Eric decided to not let go. "Eric…my ribs."
"Oh! Sorry. I missed you. Not that you were gone for long but the OSP centre is just not the same without you, you know what I mean? God! So much happened so quick. I did not think …." Eric was blabbering.
"Eric, stop." Said Nell chuckling to herself.
"Got it." Eric said taking deep breaths.
Nell looked at Eric and bit her lip before breaking into a laughter which very quickly turned into a groan. Eric stared at her for some time thinking things through before softly smiling, "God! I am glad you're back."
"O.K if the reunion is over, can we please get out of here?" asked Deeks noisily interrupting their conversation.
"I am coming with you." Informed Kensi shutting down her laptop's screen.
"The paperwork can wait.." Added Sam doing the same.
"Let's all celebrate." Suggested Callen getting up from his chair.
"I must ask, where are we going?" Nell inquired out of curiosity.
They did not know where they were going too but…
"Oh! That's a surprise." Said Deeks quickly receiving frowns from his team mates. "We... have a surprise for you." He hurriedly but carefully grasped Nell's shoulders and began to push her out of the headquarters trying to not make eye-contact while Kensi just stared at him angrily. "We..." she muttered to herself.
"Ooohh..I love surprises. What is it? " Nell asked.
"No. Nell that's the whole point of surprises!" Kensi said getting involved. Deeks! She shook her head in disbelief.
"Yeah…well wouldn't hurt to ask." Nell replied timidly smiling.
As she left the headquarters, Nell looked back at her home. She looked at everyone, Deeks, Kensi, Eric, Sam, Callen, thanking God for making them her family. A tear trickled down her cheek and she wiped it off. "I love you guys." She said louder than she wanted to.
The others suddenly stopped and looked at her softly smiling. Deeks who was behind Nell walked in front of her, "Well...I can guarantee we love you more." He said kissing her on her forehead. She smiled shyly before quickly walking, "C'mon. My surprise." She said excitedly jumping like a 4 year old. Well, IQ had nothing to do with that. Right?
So...please review. Your reviews are everything to me. And thanks to those who have read, reviewed, Favorited, followed my stories. I love you guys!And for those who are wondering about 'Heart of NCIS' I have not yet given up on that. It'll be up soon. Sorry for the long wait! :/
Until then, TATA!
-ZoEy!