Author's Notes – Disclaimed…not mine.
Here is chapter two…really having issues with this story and it's slightly frustrating me. Hoping it's more my lack of being completely well (battling a chest thing right now) than indications of things to come.
Please, please, please read and comment! I have no clue where this is going and I have zero written ahead for it. It's all off the cuff and it's happening a lot slower than the other stories are.
Thanks to everyone who has responded up to this point and for those who have put this story on alert. I really hope it can meet some sort of expectations. It just doesn't feel quite right yet…thinking it's the topic though.
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The response is quick, but confused. "Sure, give me ten minutes." Dragging himself out of bed, he runs his hands across his face. Peering around the room, he gathers some clothes and throws them on quickly. Considering the time it seems whatever is going on must be serious. Nevermind the fact Nell never calls him to just hang out; especially in the middle of the night from work. Her calls are always about a case.
Pulling his car into the lot, he makes a mental note that no one else's vehicle is there. He isn't entirely sure what that meant, because he just assumed the others would be there as well. Thinking back to the words she spoke, he is beginning to question exactly why she called him. There would no reason to pull just him into a case, so what exactly is going on?
Walking into the Mission at night is slightly eerie. All the hustle and bustle of the day is gone and the only sounds are his feet as he moves through the building. Completely unsure where exactly she is at, he heads for ops. Seems to make the most sense, right? Of course, the more he thinks through things, none of this is making a whole lot sense.
Going through the automatic doors, it is immediately clear she is not there. The whole situation just isn't sitting right with him and if she would have been in any other location, he would have already secured his weapon. But this is the Mission. No one can get in there without having the proper access. As he pulls his phone out to text her, he hears her voice calling him from downstairs. "I'm in the gym!" Putting his phone back into his pocket, he moves in that direction.
Still feeling a bit on edge, he pulls his weapon from its holster and moves slowly through the door to the gym. He sees her figure standing in the corner of the gym and makes a quick visual sweep of the premise to set his own mind at ease. "You good?" The question is meant to alleviate the edge he is feeling.
"Been better." That answer did not alleviate the edge. Feeling a bit ridiculous at the thinking someone could have broken into this fortress, he tries a different question as he continues walking slowly towards her. He hopes this one will make things more clear. "You here alone?"
"As long as you don't count yourself, then yes I am alone." Nice, a smart-ass response. Just what he needs to hear at this hour. Shaking his head and laughing, he holsters his weapon and comes up behind her. Relieved that it was just his imagination getting out of line, his mind refocuses on why she called him.
"So…what's up?" He sees her put her head down ever so slightly and he realizes she is making no move to turn around. Walking around her body so he is now facing her, he tries the question again. "Nell? What's…" He stops when she brings her face up to meet his.
"What the Hell!" Moving her closer to the window to use what light is coming in there, he attempts to get a better view. Not satisfied with the lack of ability to see, he grabs her hand and moves them both towards the closest light switch illuminating the gym.
Turning to face her once again, he takes in the swelling and bruising on her face. She laughs nervously and shrugs as she speaks, "Would you believe a door?" She had hoped that would lighten the mood, but it failed to have the effect she had hoped for; at least past the first part of his response.
"Sure, Nell! Just as about as quickly as anyone would believe I'm a super agent with no first name who can scare the hell out of the some of the most hardened criminals I've met by simply narrowing his eyes and survives on little to no sleep."
He takes her face gently in his hand trying to assess the damage. It's really just a delay tactic as he tries to figure out why she called him instead of the police. Obviously, they should have been the first choice.
"Still waiting for the explanation." He was getting impatient now.
"Ok. Bad day. Or rather couple of weeks. Apparently I am not to be trusted, which is kinda funny because I have been lying. But that's par for course, right? I mean that's what we do; we lie to those who care about us under the guise of protecting them. Seems kinda…."
"Right, so you're rambling." He figures the interruption might well reset her brain waves because at this point he is getting nowhere quick. "How 'bout this. Let's get more specific. What happened to your face? As in, what exactly caused the damage?
"A hand." She says it like she is ordering sushi or something. Completely calm and with no regard to the fact that it isn't everyday that someone's hand would leave a mark like that, especially on Nell's face. Take him or another one of the team and it's likely. Not her, though.
"Who's hand, Nell? And why the hell was someone's hand causing it?" This is becoming a lesson in patience he isn't sure he can handle at this point. It's late. He was woken from a deep sleep and nothing is making sense.
"Well." She drags that out in a way that he already knows isn't going to lead to a revelation. Gesturing to her face, "Just so you know the main reason I called you here wasn't for this." Turning around she points to another injury. Seeing the dried blood forming from what he assumes is a cut on the back of her head, he turns her back around to face him.
"You were mugged, right? Feel free to tell me that at this point, because it would be better than the scenario I'm coming up with right now." It is blatantly clear to him what is happening, but he really needs to hear it from her.
"No. I wasn't mugged." She lowers her head and he can tell she wishes that was what actually happened. It would make this conversation a lot easier.
"Nell, we have to go to the hospital. You need to get your head checked out. They are going to need to document your injuries. You need to talk to the police." Watching her shake her head back and forth, it's becoming clear this is going to be a fight. "Why did you call me? Why not someone else from the team?"
She takes a breath as she looks directly into his eyes and offers her explanation. "Because I knew you would know what to do and you would be calm about it. I knew could document everything without me having to actually report anything right now. You can check out my head and see if it's worse than I think it is. I can't go to the hospital. And I'm already talking to the police." She finishes off by pointing her finger at him.
It's his turn to shake his head, "Nell, that's not the same and you know it. You have to report this. Some guy has obviously laid his hands on you. I don't know how long he has been doing this, but you have to report this."
He watches her for some sort of acceptance of what she needs to do next. Just as he thinks maybe she is coming around, the opposite happens.
"It was a mistake to call you. I should have just taken a couple of personal days and let my face heal. Sorry I bothered you in the middle of the night. I'll handle it from here." Turning on her heels, she heads out the door before he can even respond.
"Nell, wait!" Moving quickly out of the room, he catches up with her in the bullpen area. "Wait. Nell, c'mon. Listen to me." He reaches out and grabs her arm, then drops his grip just as quickly when he hears her take a sharp intake of air. The disruption in her stride gives him the chance to move in front of her effectively blocking her from leaving.
"Ok. Apparently you have more injuries than I have seen." Taking a breath while looking up to the sky for some sort of divine intervention he is well aware won't be happening, he comes up with an idea he thinks maybe she will go along with.
"Here's what we are going to do. And you don't get any more choices here, just so you know." He is looking her directly in the eyes now as he explains what will be happening. "I will document your injuries. All of them. Then we will go from there."
She nods her head knowing that this is probably the best offer she is going to get. She knows this should be documented; just the same as she knows she should go to the police. Nell also knows she has to think about the ramifications on all fronts. She is an intelligence analyst for an elite group that she can't admit to being a part of. An investigation will just put too many wheels in motion that will need to be backstopped and forged. Possible? Yes. Necessary? She isn't convinced.
Reaching for his phone and activating the camera feature, he begins by taking pictures of her face. Her eye is still swollen and the bruise is turning several shades of various colors. She has to admit, it hurts like a mother too. Moving from her eye to the back of her head, he documents the injury there. It's a pretty small cut with a good bit of swelling, but nothing that requires medical intervention. He knows the injury had to have come from a slam into a wall, but doesn't say anything to her. Hopefully, sooner rather than later, she will give him all the details so he doesn't have to assume or guess.
Now the arms; she has kept those hidden up to this point. Nell knows there are multiple bruises and they are all in different states of healing. Taking a breath, she removes her cardigan and lays it on the nearest desk. She turns around facing him as her bruises give a visual timeline of the last two weeks.
"Holy Shit!" He is shocked to see the number of bruises. There has obviously been more than one incident and he is finding it much more difficult to hide the anger he feels looking at her. Realizing his reaction is fueling embarrassment on her part, he pulls her into a soft embrace before continuing. "I'm sorry, Nell. God, I just didn't expect that. I promise you though it stops now; even if you never report. He won't touch you again."
Pulling out the embrace, she nods her head sadly. "It really wasn't all him, you know. I have been working so much the last couple of weeks and I've been gone til all hours. You know why he is so mad? Because he thinks I'm lying to him. And I am, so what right do I have to say he can't be mad?"
Seeing the tears forming her eyes as she tries to shoulder the responsibility for his actions, he takes her face in his hands. "No. This is not alright, Nell. Never is this alright. Even if you were lying to him, he had no right to lay his hands on you. You have to know that. This is not acceptable for any reason." The tears are now freely falling and he feels so far out of his element.
Finishing up the pictures of her injuries, he gives her a reassuring smile. Assuming she won't want to go back to her apartment, he tells her she can crash at his place for as long as she needs. After he hands her the key to his house, she excuses herself to use the bathroom before they leave.
Dropping unceremoniously into the chair at his desk, he rubs his hands through his hair as he tries to figure out how this is all going to play out. He leans his head against the back of the chair trying desperately how come up with something tangible. It's going to require the others knowing, but he knows she is not willing to tell them just yet.
"I really am sorry for all this, Deeks." Jumping slightly and laughing at her Hetty-like skills of sneaking up on people, he shakes his head. "Nothing to be sorry for. Not a thing." As he rises from his chair and they start to walk out of the bullpen, they hear a voice. Deeks looks at Nell as her body freezes in fear.
"What are you two doing here this early?"
Using his body as a wall of sorts, he moves towards the voice as she follows his path effectively blocking any view of her face. When they reach their destination, Deeks pushes Nell past the figure quickly so as to avoid any interaction. Looking to face questioning blue eyes, Deeks clears his voice as he speaks.
"Callen! Wasn't expecting you at…" he pauses to look at his watch. "5 am." Wait, when the hell did that happen. It doesn't seem like that many hours had passed. Between the documentation and the random conversation, time has flown by.