A/N: My first attempt at uploading from my iPad, so here goes nothing! Enjoy!

Several days had passed since Nell spent the night at Callen's, and although they really had not had a chance to talk, she could tell that things were improving between them. As much as she wanted to believe it had something to do with her visit that night, she knew deep down that he just had to figure things out on his own, and in his own time. So she was not entirely surprised to see the agent when he showed up on her doorstep late one night.

"Hey," she smiled, letting him inside.

"Hey, yourself," he returned her smile before embracing her. He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, and continued, "We need to talk."

Nell backed away a few steps. "Uh oh." Her eyes grew wide.

Callen sensed where her thoughts were going, and grabbed her hand. "No, it's nothing bad. I just...I feel like I owe you an explanation."

He led to her to the sofa, and they sat down facing each other. Callen took a deep breath and looked at their still entwined hands. "Nell, this last few weeks has been amazing. You're amazing. I can't for the life of me figure out why you want to be with someone like me." He looked into her eyes and continued. "Look, I've done a lot of things in my life that I'm not proud of. I've taken lives. I lie for a living. I had a really messed up childhood. I have no family, no name. I've been an alias so many times, I don't even know who the real G. Callen is. And every time I'm with you, I feel like you deserve so much more- so much better than me. That's the reason I've been running so hot, then cold lately. I don't want to give you up. I don't want you to be with someone else. I don't want to be with someone else. But I just don't want to destroy your beautiful spirit with all my issues."

Nell started to protest,but Callen held up a hand to silence her. "And that's the funny thing- when I'm with you, all the darkness goes away. I find myself saying, and doing, and thinking things I never have before, and I wonder if that guy who feels those things is the real me? And if I don't know the answer to those questions, how is it fair to you to have to guess?"

The petite redhead successfully interrupted him this time. "G., I knew what I was signing up for when we agreed to try this. I knew enough about you and your demons to know you'd need some space to sort it out. Heck, I'm no relationship expert, either. But a wise woman once told me to be patient. I'm not going anywhere, G. You can't get rid of me that easily," she smiled, squeezing his hand softly.

Callen shook his head, smiling. "You talked to Hetty, right?" he chuckled. "Well, a wise man once told me that I should let you decide what was right for you, and what you wanted."

Nell leaned in, her face just millimeters from Callen's. "He is a wise man. I want you, G."

Their eyes locked for a moment before their lips met.

For the next few days, the two spent all their free time together. Nell told Callen more about her family, and Callen opened up a little about his past. They had fun just getting to know each other better, and despite Callen's trust issues, he seemed to be letting Nell into his heart. They were connecting on an emotional level- something unheard of for G. Callen.

The only thing missing, at least as far as Nell was concerned, was taking their physical relationship to the next level. Sure, they had shared a bed more than once, but no sex was involved. There had been a number of scorching hot makeout sessions on Nell's couch, but before anything could happen, Callen always pulled away, citing how he wanted to take it slow. It was sweet at first, but Nell was beginning to get frustrated, in more ways than one.

One night, Nell's level of frustration, combined with her slight paranoia that there was more going on, prompted her to climb into his lap following his usual 'in due time' speech.

"Nell..." he warned, although it came out as more of a groan.

She leaned suggestively into him and murmured, "G, when I said I want you, I meant I want you."

Callen really did groan this time. "And I meant that I didn't want to rush this. I want us to be sure...". His concentration was broken by Nell's tongue slowly dancing around his ear. But he recovered quickly, and pulled away slightly.

Nell sighed deeply. "Look Callen, this is not my first rodeo. I am not some innocent girl who can't handle sex with an extremely hot, dangerous man. Unless..." she trailed off, biting her lip uncertainly, "...you don't want me..."

"Oh my God, Nell," he began, taking her face in his hands. "How could you even think I don't want you? I mean, surely you can tell how much I want you," he raised an eyebrow suggestively.

"Then...why?..."

The agent closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the sofa. "I told you I'm not good at this. I really, really like you, Nell. I've never really felt like this before, with anyone. I don't want it to be just sex with us. I guess I'm just trying to make sure we don't get so caught up in our attraction that we lose sight of the relationship. I don't want to break your heart, and I don't want you to break mine."

Nell's heart broke a little bit just hearing his admission. She had known of his trust issues, but before her now was a scared little boy who had been hurt too many times in his life. She gently stroked his face. "G., you don't have to worry about me breaking your heart. And I trust you with mine. I care about you. And if you want to go slow, we'll go slow." She kissed his cheek as she climbed off his lap. "But don't make me wait too long."

Callen smirked. "I'm not sure I can. Wait- you think I'm hot and dangerous?"

"Extremely."