Eric woke up feeling groggy and confused. This wasn't his bed, it wasn't his room, and it definitely was not normal to wake up with another warm body in the bed. Not that he ever woke up to cold bodies... but waking up to find someone else with him was not par for the course.

As his brain began to focus, he took in the familiar scent, and the beautiful face beside him and couldn't help but grin. He was with Nell - in her bed. The peaceful moment lasted only briefly before he began to panic. They hadn't... had they? No, it couldn't have happened! But they were both still fully clothed. He sighed in relief as he tried to piece together the previous night.

He remembered getting ready to go out, and drinks at the club. Kensi and Deeks downing shot after shot. Nell taking a shot of vodka, and Deeks explaining Plan B... then coming home with Nell. A blush crawled up his cheeks as he remembered their kisses, and how gentle and sweet she had been. Then her quiet teasing as she encouraged him to join her in bed, and those beautiful words "Nothing more, tonight."

He groaned quietly. He would feel he'd died and gone to heaven if this became routine. But tomorrow was never promised, so he relaxed and enjoyed watching his beautiful partner sleep. Her hair framed her face perfectly, and he loved the way her nose moved with each breath. She was curled up next to him, clinging posessively to his shirt. The blanket was wrapped around them, soft and cozy like the rest of her home. And everything smelled like her. The scent was intoxicating, and he hoped it would soak into his clothes. If it did, he was never going to wash them.

He stretched carefully, not wanting to wake her, and just revelled in the peacefulness of her room, the sound of her breathing and the sight of her, asleep in his arms.

An hour later, Nell's eyes began to flutter. She reached out and stretched, then jerked her arm back when her hand touched something warm. Her eyes flew open in a panic, but she relaxed slightly when she saw the presence in her bed was Eric.

"Good morning, beautiful." He whispered to her.

"mmm?" she managed to mumble back at him. "what time is it?"

"Eight a.m." He replied. "We've got the weekend off, you can go back to sleep if you want." Nell replied with a cross between a mumble and a moan.

"I can think of something else I'd rather do." She finally managed to say as she rolled towards him, wrapping an arm around his chest. Eric froze for a moment.

"Really?" He finally asked, sounding uncertain. Nell pulled herself up and kissed him. He hugged her close when she snuggled into his chest, and he wondered again how he got so lucky. They lay there together unmoving for ages, talking about nothing, until the need for food and bathroom overcame the desire to stay in bed.

Nell hopped up first and headed for the washroom while Eric found his glasses and headed for the kitchen. He was still unfamiliar with her house, but he knew his way around a kitchen and was determined to make her some breakfast. He just hoped that it would help with the mild hangover he was experiencing. He found what he was looking for in her fridge, and smiled as he set out the milk, bacon, veggies, cheese and eggs. He grabbed a knife from the block to place on the cutting board, and he set to work chopping the peppers and onions before tracking down a bowl and a frying pan.

By the time Nell emerged from the washroom, having taken time to shower and freshen up, she was greeted by the sight of a shirtless Eric standing over a frying pan as he carefully flipped an omelette. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, but she knew this wasn't it. She joined him in the kitchen and set a pot boiling to make herself some tea.

"What can I do to help?" She asked, impressed with his skill.

"I think I've got it under control." He said. "Do you want to make the toast?" She nodded and dropped several slices of bread into the toaster, then stood back and watched him work. Not long after, they were sitting at the table, enjoying their breakfast together.

"So... do you have any plans for today?" Nell finally asked him. "If not, I was thinking maybe we could hang out, have some partner bonding time?" She suggested.

"I was thinking about reformatting my computer." He said, realizing he sounded like a true nerd. "But there's no reason that can't wait for another time. What were you thinking of doing?" He asked.

"Um... well I kind of have this thing today... It's a, um, drone flying competition." She said, blushing and seeming uncharacteristically hesitant. "But if that's not your kind of thing, I could skip it and we could go to the park instead, or stay here and watch a movie marathon." She added quickly. Eric stared at her in awe.

"You fly drones?" He asked. "That is awesome. I'd love to come check it out!" A relieved smile crossed Nell's face.

"Really?" She grinned. "You aren't going to tease me or anything?"

"Why? It's so cool! Why didn't I know this about you already?" He asked.

"It's... I dunno. It's just a hobby I picked up. I turned out to be kind of good at it. But it isn't something I really talk about much..." her voice trailed off. "But you can't tell the team about this. They'll just laugh." She continued, looking mildly panicked. Eric look puzzled but shrugged and agreed.

"So do you have your own drone?" He asked. "I don't really know how these things work."

"Yeah. I actually have a couple..." She looked at him and then glanced at the clock. "We've got an hour or so before I need to go... Why don't I clean up here since you made breakfast, and you can grab a shower?" She suggested. He nodded agreeably and headed for the washroom, but quickly realized he had no clean clothes.

"I... um... I don't have anything to change into. And these clothes kind of smell like a bar. I should probably go home and change." He told her nervously. Nell paused and looked at him, clearly thinking.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Give me ten minutes and then we can go back to your place." She said.


Two hours later they were pulling into a huge open field outside of LA. Nell appeared slightly nervous as they pulled in, surprising Eric. All he felt was excitement at seeing not only drones, but watching Nell compete. On the drive, she had filled him in on how competitions worked, but gave no indication why the sudden case of nerves.

"Is everything ok?" Eric finally asked.

"Yeah, all good. I'm fine. Why?" She replied.

"You seem a bit on edge. Nervous about the competition?" He asked. She glanced at him and quickly looked away.

"Oh. Yeah, that must be it. Not a big deal though." She shrugged, but Eric suspected something else was up. He watched her for a few more moments as she pulled her equipment from the car, and then decided to let it go.

They walked out to the middle of the field where a group of about 50 people had gathered. Eric followed Nell as she went to sign in and took a quick glance around. While the crowd was largely male, he saw a few females milling around the edges of the tent. As they made their way to a free area, Nell was greeted by a number of other competitors, the majority of whom did not seem friendly. Eric was starting to get an idea of why Nell had been nervous.

She took some time to check over and inspect her drone quickly, before handing the control tablet to Eric and then hauling him outside.

"Want to give me a hand?" She asked him, as she set down her drone and took the tablet from his hands.

"Um sure, anything. Just tell me what to do." He said, clearly surprised.

"I need you to help me launch her while I manage the controls. I want to do a test flight before things start." She explained. Eric's jaw dropped.

"You want me to... to actually touch your drone?" He asked. "Are you sure... I mean, it's obviously fragile and expensive and I..." Eric began to babble.

"Just pick her up gently, and launch her in the air." Nell said. "She's not so easy to break. And I built her myself, so I can fix her if need be." She told him impatiently. She set the tablet on the ground and scooped up the drone. "Here, let me show you." She said as she demonstrated what she needed him to do. He watched carefully, and then took the drone from her hands. She picked up the tablet and nodded, indicating he should go - so he gently and carefully did as she had demonstrated and a moment later his face was the picture of awe as Nell expertly controlled her aircraft.

"So, um, does she have a name?" He asked. She gave him a sly grin.

"I call her Henrietta." She said with a wink. "But that also stays between us." Eric started to laugh. He watched as Nell guided Henrietta through a series of maneuvers and eventually brought her down next to them. He was in complete awe.

"Do you want to have a go?" She asked. "Henrietta is set for competition, but I have my old one that you can try." She explained as she gestured to a smaller version. Eric's face lit up - he wasn't sure how today could get any better. After launching the back up drone, Nell handed him the tablet and showed him how to control it. Every few seconds she would lean over and help make adjustments as Eric clumsily did his best to fly around the field. "I was thinking we might bring this one in to work sometime. It would be awesome to use it to spy on or scare the team." She suggested. Eric couldn't help but grin. He loved how her mind worked.

"That would be awesome." He replied, still focused on the task at hand. A whistle sounded indicating that warm up time was over, and Nell took over the controls to bring down the back up craft. She retrieved Henrietta as Eric placed the back up drone back in its case and followed her to the tent. They waited with the others while instructions were given for the competition. Nell was one of the last to compete, so she and Eric had some time. As they made their way to the observation area, a few other competitors nodded curtly to Nell or shook her hand. Eric could see how uncomfortable she was getting so tried to stay close. When they sat down, he reached out to put his hand on her arm.

"You ok?" He whispered.

"Yeah. I'm just not very well liked at these things." She said. "I'm the only female competitor... a lot of the guys don't like that. And the ones that do, well, they aren't too happy I'm here with you." She explained. "I, um, I hope you don't... I mean... would it be ok if you played the part of my boyfriend again today?" She asked quickly.

"No problem." He said as he took in what she had said. "Any time. I'll just follow your lead..."