Six

Nick followed Ellie out the back door and waited as she looked around for a minute before turning towards the barn. He had to speed walk to keep up with the pace she had set and he was glad when they stepped into the barn, the wind was cold and he hadn't thought to bring a warmer jacket.

"You don't need to babysit me."

He watched her wander over to the first stall, he stepped towards her but abruptly stepped back when a horse stuck its head over the stall door. He wouldn't say he was afraid of horses but he wasn't necessarily fond of the large animals, they smelled and were unpredictable. He watched Ellie gently rub the horses nose, leaning heavily on the stall door. He ignored her statement and leaned against the barn wall opposite the stall.

"I feel stupid." She stated with a sigh.

"There's nothing to feel stupid about." Nick replied, "you had a bad day, everyone has them."

He watched her lean her forehead against the horses, she wasn't crying but he could tell she was still struggling with what had happened.

"I've never had a panic attack before, why now? Why in front of my entire family?"

Nick pushed himself off of the wall and crossed the aisle to stand next to her, he didn't hesitate before reaching out to let his hand rest on her lower back.

"You almost died three days ago." He reminded her quietly, "as Jack would say you need time to process that."

"We've almost died on the job before, Nick." She argued, "that wasn't my first close call and I've never reacted like this before!"

He wasn't expecting her to throw up her hands in frustration and judging by the indignant whiny the horse wasn't either. He understood her frustration but he had no idea how to help her.

"You've never had a bullet miss your head by less than six inches." He stated.

She turned to look at him, he could see the anger and confusion on her face, he wasn't sure if the anger was directed at him, herself or the situation.

"My first week on the job I took a bullet to the chest." She said slowly, "my vest caught it but it was one of my first times in the field, I had less experience and less training than I do now and I didn't react like this."

He could hear her voice getting thicker the longer she spoke and he noticed the slight wobble of her lower lip.

"Why is this happening now?" She asked, her voice cracking on the last syllable.

"I don't know."

He opened his arms and wrapped them around her tightly when she stepped forward, he felt her shoulders shake and had to bite his own lip to stop himself from crying right along with her. He had seen her cry before, but the sobs coming from her shaking form were enough to break him. The only thing stopping him from snapping was knowing that she needed him to support her more than ever.

He was well aware of how close he had come to losing her and that thought terrified him. She was his best friend, they did everything together. He had known that his feelings for her were growing but he hadn't realized by how much until he had heard the gunshot in that kitchen, had watched her reach up to feel her neck and head. He had desperately wanted to rush to her side, to make sure that she was okay but Gibbs had beaten him to it.

He held her tighter and ran his hand up and down her back, he rested his cheek against the top of her head.

"Tell me how to help." He whispered.

He had never felt so helpless in his life.

"Just… Hold me please."

For those of you asking for a bit more Ellie and Nick here we go! I'm hesitant to write them because I did skip a lot of season 11 and 12 (I was mad about the whole Ziva thing I'm ashamed to admit, however I'm in the process of rewatching) and I have a hard time remembering season 14 and a lot of the information about Nick so I did my best to write this without giving any important information about his past… Remember I own nothing but I love love love to hear from all of you!

~Katie