AN: Again thanks for the great feedback. I would be happy about any and all opnions you might have on my story as it helps me to improve it. Yes I am shamelessly stealing the noodle-scene from the show. I might use other scenes from the original shows as well.

After Nell had watched Charlie for a while, who was absentmindly cleaning their board at the FBI-Building, the agent went over and gently plucked the sponge from his hands and put it on the table.

"There was nothing we could have done, that anyone could have done to save her Charlie.", Nell said quietly, grabbing his arm, willing the mathematician to comprehend what she was saying. They had done everything they could have possibly done and still they hadn't been in time to save the lastest victim. She had died only hours before Don's team had finally found out where she was being held and it was a severe blow to everyone as the killer had rid himself of the girl earlier than they had assumed he would. And so the whole team, including Charlie and Nell, had gone to the scene with every intention to find a live victim.

Charlie hadn't actually seen anything, Don had not let either him or Nell anywhere near the cellar once it was clear what had happened there earlier, and Nell had to agree that it was probably for the best. All the agents on the scene had already seen bloody corpses but Charlie was no agent. He had been upset enough when he learned that they had come too late.

"I know..." he replied quietly, looking down at her,"thanks Nell."

"You know, I think your brother needs someone to tell him that too.", the agent continued and nodded towards the break room where Don was sitting at the table, staring down morosely. Don felt responsible as team leader, she knew Callen would be off at the gym beating the punching bag to pulp had he been in the same situation.

"Yeah...", Charlie just said and nodded. He studied Nell for a moment, but the younger woman seemed to be OK, upset like everyone else but she had accepted that this was not on them.

"Go, he needs company. I'll be fine on my own, and I'm not in a hurry to get back to CalSci either.", Nell said, urging Charlie to go and talk to his brother. At least Don had someone who could try and talk him out of feeling guilty, unlike Callen. Though Hetty usually tried with him.

Smiling slightly, she watched Charlie go over and chuckled when the two brothers started breaking spaghetti. Well at least they seemed in better spirit. If noodles was what it took, why not! Meanwhile the rest of Don's team started filing out of the office, biding Nell a good night, so she was alone pretty quickly and took out her copy of 'Anna Karenina' and began reading. Unless there was a new case by monday, Callen would ask her about it just to see how much she had understood as the set task had been to read the book without the aid of a dictionary and to use only words that she had learned by heart so far.

A couple of minutes later, Nell heard someone approach from the entrance and looked up from her book to see Alan Eppes standing in the doorway to the bullpen seemingly searching for his sons. She had seen his file of course and so she had recognized the picture, but it would probably be weird if she knew the man without ever having met him so she just smiled at him kindly.

"Hi. Uhm, I'm sorry but it seems everyone else has already left and I'm not an agent." She said and pointed towards her visitor badge, similar to Alan's.

"I was looking for my sons, but it seems they are busy. I'm Alan Eppes, most of Don's colleagues just call me Alan.", the man replied after he had spotted Don and Charlie who were still immersed in their endeavor with the noodles.

"I'm Nell Jones, actually I work at CalSci. I'm a PhD-student. Nice to meet you."

"Aren't you a bit young for that?", Alan asked at her reply and eyed her again. Nope, definitely not older than 25 and probably younger than that!

"Everyone asks me that...", Nell replied chuckling, "but I started MIT as a teenager."

"Alright then! Well actually I was planning on treating these ones to a steak but they seem to prefer shredding noodles. You came here with them didn't you?", Alan asked, and continued when Nell nodded, "it's past 8 already so how about I treat you to dinner. My sons should know where to find us when they get hungry or run out of spaghetti." He would have to talk to his sons about letting women waiting while they were attending to their own business, he mused, breaking spaghetti of all things! At this rate he would never get any grandkids from either of his apparently socially lacking sons.

"It would be a pleasure." Nell replied with a genuine smile and closed the book she had still been holding before packing it carefully in her backpack. When she was done she scribbled a note on the board and turned over to Alan.

"All set.", she said, leaving with the older man.