Prompt from ifiknowyouatall - Deeks/Nell Hug from Behind
Nell stood by the hospital bed, awkwardly fingering the sheet. She never thought she would see The Henrietta Lange this way; frail, unconscious, and hooked up to numerous machines that were obviously keeping her alive. Hetty's past had finally caught up to her, and in typical Hetty fashion she had sacrificed herself to save her team.
"I'm sorry we couldn't save you this time," Nell said aloud. "I let you down."
"You know that's not true."
Nell jumped, startled at the voice behind her. Deeks has walked into the ICU unit behind her. "You scared me. I never even heard you walk in."
Deeks shrugged, looking at Hetty sadly. "We learned from the best, I guess."
Nell gave him a small smile before turning back to Hetty. "Yeah I guess. I feel like I need to be here, to make my peace with her before…" she cleared her throat.
Deeks nodded and pointed to the doorway. "Do you want me to leave?"
She shook her head furiously. "No. It's kinda comforting to have you here. We've known her the least amount of time, ya know? Imagine how everybody else is feeling right now."
Deeks stood quietly, letting her get out whatever it was she needed to. Nell rubbed her eyes and coughed, trying to keep from crying. "You gave me a chance, Hetty. You saw something in me that you thought was valuable, and you took me in and taught me things nobody else ever could have." She couldn't stop the tear that escaped from her right eye, breaking the seal for all the rest of the tears she'd been holding back.
Wrapping his arms around her shoulders, Deeks rested his chin on his friend's head. "It's okay," he whispered.
She nodded and rubbed Hetty's hand. "I just hope I can make you proud."