Same deal as always guys feel free to follow favourite whatever constructive criticism is always welcome any ideas you want me to incorporate let me know and as always I don't own any of he NCIS characters

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That Friday night I am in my apartment when I get a call from Nell.

"Hello"

"Matthew, is that you" asks Nell sounding like she's been crying

"Who else silly, it is my phone"

At this she laughs and says " I hate to ask but could you come and pick me up, I'm at Eric's apartment, we had a fight and I don't have my car and I accidentally left my wallet in Eric's and he won't open up"

"Ok send me the address"

"Sure I'll text it right through, and Matt"

"Yeah Nell"

"Thank you"

"Don't mention it I'll see you in 15 min" I say hanging up

When I arrive at Eric's I find Nell sitting in the cold on the sidewalk, this infuriates me as I get out of the car and bring Nell back to the warmth of the car, I excuse myself for a moment and walk up to Eric's door. I bang on the door until Eric opens up.

"Matthew, what are you doing here it's 2 in the morning"

"I'm here because you're an ass, I got a call from Nell saying she was in the street because you had a fight and couldn't even be bothered to call her a taxi let alone open the door, what if something had happened, I hope you are proud of yourself" I turn to walk back to the car leaving a stunned Eric standing there

I get Nell home just before the night finally overwhelms her, I tuck her into bed and wait until she falls asleep before going to lie down on the couch and hopefully get a few hours sleep

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Several hours later I hear the front door open, as the footsteps approach the dining room I jump up weapon drawn only to find Eric standing there with a box of doughnuts He screams a little being confronted by me with my gun, I say "What the hell Eric, didn't anyone tell you it's a bad idea to break into an agents apartment"

"I came to apologise to Nell, tell her I was sorry, that I acted like an absolute idiot"

"Ok, she's asleep in the other room I'll go get her, how did you know she was here anyway"

" She wasn't at her apartment, so I hoped she was here"

I walk into the bedroom to find Nell standing at the door "Hey Eric is here, he wants to apologise for how he acted"

"I'm not sure I want to speak to him at the moment, what he said really hurt"

"Trust me you want to talk to him, if it makes you feel better I'll be there the entire time and if you still don't like him I'll hurt him for you" I say smiling slightly

"Ok I guess you're right, I do need to talk to him" Nell says walking out into the living room

Nell looks at Eric says "Ok Beale make it good"

Eric looks at the solemn look on Nell's face and I can see that he is obviously struggling to find the words he so desperately wants to say so I decide to prompt him a little

"If you don't feel comfortable talking about this with me here I can go out for a little bit" I offer

"No, no I owe you an apology too, Nell I know how I acted was wrong and I hurt you on so many levels. I don't know how you could ever forgive me, and I won't ask you too, There is no justification for what I did and you have every right to hate me. In spite of this I hope you could find it in your heart to forgive me, what I said was because I care about you deeply, so deeply it hurts me, when I first met you I found you annoying but as time went on you took over my heart and now I find that my heart belongs to you. I can't imagine my life without you in it and that scares me, to know that if something, anything happened to you I couldn't live with my self, and when you told me you wanted to be a field agent I couldn't handle it. I Love You more than life itself, I beg of you let me have another chance and I promise you I will spend everyday showing you and never give you cause to hate me again"

"Eric, I love you so much but you really hurt me, I'll never hate you, how could I, you're as much a part of me as I am of you, it's just I have to do this, this is what I want for my self, what I have always wanted.

"I realise that Nell and I understand why you want this, I will never like it, but that doesn't give me the right to yell at you, all I can promise is when you are ready to take me back, I'm yours and I'll try to keep an open mind on this, but I ask one thing, promise you'll always come back in one piece"

"I promise Eric, I love you and I'll always come back to you" Nell says pulling herself into Eric's chest

Seeing the raw emotion between the two I slip out the back careful not to disturb them, later that day when I finally get back I find a note on my kitchen table

Matthew, thank you for everything you have done for Nell over the last couple of days, I owe you an incredible debt, I can't think of a better partner for Nell, please make sure she stays safe.

-Eric

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Monday morning I arrive to pick up Nell from her house and drive to Camp Pendleton as soon as we are in the car Nell says"I just wanted to say Thank you, I know we've only known each other a couple of days but I already feel that I can count on and trust you"

"That's ok, how did things turn out between you and Eric"

"They are a lot better, we've finally started communicating about how we feel, and it really helped us get past what happened"

"Yeah having someone profess their undying love from you tends to do that"

"You heard that" Nell asks shocked

"Yep, don't worry if you don't want me to tell anyone I won't"

"Thank you I appreciate it, though I did notice something when I was in your house"

"Yeah, there was no trace of a woman in your apartment but your file says you're married"

"Was married"

"What?"

"I was married, she died"

"I'm so sorry, when did it happen?"

"Six months ago, she was deployed in Iraq training the National Army, she was just coming back from a training exercise when a roadside bomb exploded, her and three others were killed instantly, we never even got to go on our honeymoon, it was booked for a week later" I say pulling over to the side of the road and getting out of the car I say "You should probably drive, I don't think I'm in the right mind to do so"

Nell swaps seats with me and as we move back into traffic she says "I'm sorry that I asked about it, I didn't mean to bring up bad memories for you"

"That's ok you couldn't have known, it's not something I typically tell anyone"

"Then why tell me, why not say I don't want to talk about it"

"You're my partner I want to tell you things that way you know you can trust me"

"I do trust you, look at what happened Friday, I called and you came without hesitation, and I know that you would put your life on he line for me"

"Thanks Nell that's exactly what I needed to hear, but with the 7th highest IQ ever recorded I can't say I'm surprised"

"What who told you that, no one knows that, not even Eric"

" I have my connections and your name rang a bell, so I asked"

"What sort of bell?"

"The, she beat me by 3 points type of bell"

"What!?"

"Your IQ is 3 points higher than mine, I suspect it's why Hetty partnered us up"

The rest of the trip passes rather fast as we compare the similarities of our childhoods and schooling until finally we arrive at the complex. There isn't much time for talking over the next 12 days as Nell and I are pushed through the hardest exercises the base has to offer everything from knife fighting and sniper training to S.E.R.E training eventually it comes time to do our final assessments and go home. The tests are gruelling and mind numbingly painful but eventually we finish.

I am on my bunk relaxing when a young Petty Officer rushes in "Are you Special Agent Wilkins?"

"Yes"

"Your results sir"

"Thank you Petty Officer, dismissed"

I call Nell into the room and say "Nell the results are in, do you want to know what we got?"

"Yes, come on open it already" she says clearly anxious

I read it aloud "Small Arms 99th percentile, Bladed Weaponry 99th percentile, Sniper school 98th percentile, Demolitions 99th percentile, Survival training 99th percentile, Aquatic Operations 97th percentile, Jump qualifications Passed, Tactical Training passed, Lock picking passed. Congratulations Nell you have exceeded in the hardest courses they have to offer.

am proud to call you my Partner, what say we get out of here, go back to LA. You can surprise Eric and I can sleep in a comfortable bed for the first time in two weeks

"Ok, and Matt"

"Yes Mighty Mouse"

"I couldn't have done it without you"

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Next chapter back to the real world how are things back in LA and how will Nell react to being back with Eric after two weeks