Disclaimer: Nothing of mine. Otherwise, everyone would be set up and happy. And we would know more about Deeks. Okay, all done.
Author Note: Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! I seriously just write fast to see more reviews. Keep it up and don't be afraid to give me ideas. I love plot ideas(:
Callen felt nauseous. To see Nell, sitting less then a foot away from him, and know what happened to her, how she had been taken advantage of, was almost worse then any of the scenarios he had imagined. How? How had this happened to Nell? To Nell of all people? He knew he had to respond very carefully. Her tears were now flowing freely, scattering across her face. "Nell…I'm so sorry. You are the last person to ever deserve this."
She smiled back, in almost a pitiful way. "Yeah, but it did happen, I guess. Now I just have to deal with it, but it'll be fine. Now, if you excuse me, I want to go grab a coffee before Eric gets worried about me." She stood up, wiping her face quickly.
"Nell, sit down." Callen commanded. He hadn't meant for it to come out as harsh as he did, but it slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it. "I'm sorry," he said, standing up to join her. " That was uncalled for. I'm, I guess I'm just worried about you Nell."
"There is absolutely no need to be." She lied, the tears fading from her face. "I overreacted. It's no big deal. Sorry for bothering you."
How quickly Nell had masked her face surprised and frightened Callen at the same time. Her face appeared tearless and almost cheery in a deranged way. For some reason, this made him more sick to his stomach then he already was.
"Well," He began, "if you ever want to talk about it-"
"You'll be there." Nell replied. There was an awkward pause broken only by Eric calling Nell's name.
"Nell, got something! Callen, you probably want to see this too!"
….
The case was wrapped up for now and the leads would be picked up again tomorrow. Deeks and Kensi had already left, arguing about something that had to do with food, and Sam had excused himself complaing about a raging headache. Callen felt bad for leaving him with Deeks and Kensi and promised to himself that he would make it up to Sam. But right now he had a bigger issue. And the bigger issue's name was Nell Jones. He had gone upstairs to talk to Nell, hoping to find her alone but ran into Eric alone in OPS.
"Hey Eric, seen Nell?"
"No, actually I think she said about heading home early. Wasn't feeling the greatest. Look man, about earlier…"
Callen shook his head, a headache already beginning. He did not have time to listen to Eric try to apologize. "I get it, it's cool."
"Really, well thanks. Well I was thinking-" but before Eric could finish his sentence, Callen was already out the door.
….
Callen knocked on the door twice, before calling out. "Hey Nell, it's G." Callen truthfully had no explanation why he was standing outside of Nell Jones apartment except it was something he had to do. He couldn't sleep, or more likely, sit up all night wondering about her. It was enough to drive a man crazy. So here he was. Outside her house at 10:00 at night.
"Callen?" a voice called from the house, and he could hear footsteps edging towards the door.
"Nell, how many G's do you know?" He answered and the door swung out, reveling Nell. While she wasn't wearing what she had worn to work, she was still dressed nicely in jeans and a long sleeve shirt. It seemed strange to see her like this, and all of a sudden he felt invasive. Why the heck was he here?
"G." She said cautiously. She had never called him G often, usually because she was unsure how he would react but since he had used it only a minute before, she decided it was okay. "What are you doing here?"
"I needed to see you." He told her honestly. "I've been worried about you for the past couple weeks, and after today..I'm worried, I guess."
"G, I'm okay." She replied.
"Is that the truth, or what you tell yourself to go to sleep at night?" He asked, and she sighed, swinging the door open to let him through.
….
"Are you going to tell me what happened?" Callen started. They were sitting at her kitchen table, which was small enough that they could sit across from each other and not feel awkward. As soon as Callen had walked into the house, she had offered him a beer which he had gladly accepted. That included searching for a bottle opener which she handed him before settling down across from him with her beverage, a Pepsi, in her hand. It was entirely domestic and friendly which confused and interested Callen. G Callen didn't do many things friendly and never did things domestic. Sure, he hung out with Sam's family and sometimes the team, but more often then night, it was simple. He had never had an entirely domestic feeling, even with Tracy, and now here he was, having it in Nell's apartment of all places. Her apartment was wonderful, even a man with little taste would know that. It was sunny and bright, with pictures and books covering the surfaces. Everything was placed in perfect order and looked as it was well-cared for. It was homey. It was nice.
"Did you really want to know the truth?" Nell said, her eyes downcast. She looked tired, and Callen wondered when her last night of good sleep was.
"You look tired." He observed.
"A rape would do that." She said, with a simple ha. But when Callen didn't laugh, she rubbed her eyes. "Callen, I'm really fine. I appreciate your concern but I will be fine."
"You will be….or you have to be?" Callen replied, peering up at her.
"My family was pretty freaked to say the least. It was hard to come back, but it was harder to stay." She replied, ignoring his question. " They were very protective, very angry. They asked me who he was…Callen..I lied. I said I didn't know the man."
"But you did." Callen replied.
Nell's eyes hadn't reached Callen's yet, and when they finally did, it was only for a second before they went back to the table. "Yes."
"Nell. Talk to me." Callen retorted, his patience running thin. "Tell me what happened. Maybe we can pull some strings, get some justice."
"No Callen." Nell said, looking into his eyes. " I get you want to help. I get you feel the need to help people, because that's the way you are wired. I mean, your job is to help people. But I'm not a victim. Sure, something happened, but talking to you about it will not help. It happened, and it's done. He has no idea that I'm working for NCIS or that I'm some agent or any of that. I don't even know if he knows what town I live in! That's what I tell myself when I go to sleep at night and I think that's what you need to tell yourself too if it bugs you so bad. And it shouldn't bug you. I'm Nell Jones, some little geek tech and you don't have to worry about me. Because he's gone. And now I think you should leave."
"Your not a geeky tech, Nell."
"Callen, the door is right there."
Callen looked from the door to Nell. He had never seen the fiery red head act like this. Of course, he had seen her temper but to see it directed at him was a whole different ball game. It was almost frightening. "Nell…"
"The door, Callen."
"Thanks for the beer." He replied, setting it next to sink and walked towards the door. "Remember, I'm always here to talk."
Whipping her body back towards the door, since her back had been facing it, she crossed her arms. "Why do you even care!"
He felt his throat dry up. She was asking the question that he had been asking himself for a long time. "Because I care about you. Your important to me." And with that he slipped the door shut. He was angry at her at the same time he was angry at himself. Slipping into the car, he shut the door and drove around the corner, only to loop around and slip silently back into her neighborhood, out of view from her windows. G Callen was proud of his tailing skills and darn it, he was going to use them. Besides, if Nell wasn't going to sleep tonight, he shouldn't either.