Author's Notes: We're at about the half way mark, chapter-wise, folks. There will be 15 chapters in all. :) Thanks to all who have left reviews! I appreciate them greatly.


Chapter 8

Callen's already up when Nell wakes the next morning. He's in the kitchen, reading the paper, when he hears feet running. A moment later, he hears the toilet flush.

Yep. Hangover time.

He is at least glad Nell hadn't protested when he made her drink a bottle of water between margaritas last night, but he knew all the same this was coming.

Grabbing some supplies, Callen heads upstairs.

"Still alive in there?" he asks quietly, poking his head into the master bathroom.

Nell whimpers and he can't help but feel a little sorry for her. When they'd arrived home, he'd practically had to carry her. He would have, but she was having none of it, convinced she could make it inside on her own. She passed out as soon as her head hit the bed, which was a little awkward since the rest of her body was angled off of it. Callen managed to roll her over so she was at least more comfortable and then left to let her sleep off the alcohol.

He did, however, sleep on the floor in the room, just to make sure nothing went on in the middle of the night.

Now, she's curled on the bathroom floor, still in her bathing suit but without the cover up clothing.

"Oh, god, why did I drink so much?" she rasps, eyes squeezed shut.

"You were having fun."

"How is this fun?" she groans.

He'd be amused if he wasn't a little concerned. Nell's smaller than him, both in height and in body mass, and given how many drinks she had, he's worried she may have overdone it.

"Will you let me help you?"

"Please." The word is almost a whine.

Without another word, he sits on the floor behind her and gently pulls her to a sitting position. He has water, which he makes her drink, but it all comes back up again when she suddenly lurches forward to the toilet just in time.

Callen pulls her to him again, applying a cool cloth to the back of her neck. They try hydrating once more and this time she keeps it down so he gives her some Tylenol, too. It takes a couple hours, but she's more hydrated and has even managed to eat something (even if it is just plain toast).

"I'm starting to feel human again," she mumbles.

Callen's lips twitch. "That's good. Hetty would kill me if you became a zombie."

"Hetty, ha. Oh, god, Hetty! Don't we have a briefing today?" Nell flails and Callen has to hold her tight before she hurts herself or him.

"Next week."

She calms down and they sit in silence for a long time.

"Thank you."

"For what?"

Nell turns her head to look him in the eye. "For being the most awesome person on the planet."

He's uncomfortable with the sincerity in her words and features. "Through sickness and in health, right?"

She nods and then turns away. Callen tries not to dwell on the sadness of her expression. He's pretty sure he knows what's going through her mind, but neither of them is ready to talk about it. He'd quoted from the traditional wedding vows on purpose, because he needed to remind himself, to remind both of them, of the roles they're playing, especially him. Callen starts to wonder if the case itself will be easier to manage than their relationship.


It's a week after the beach when Callen realizes they're probably going to have to spend a little time on their cover.

It starts with a question from Terri: "Everything all right at home, George?"

Callen frowns slightly, confused. "As far as I know, why do you ask?"

Terri takes a seat in front of his desk. "I can't help but notice that you're spending an awful lot of time at work."

"We have a lot to do with the audit coming up," he replies, slowly.

"Yes, but nothing you should risk your marriage over."

Ah. Crap. "Oh. Uh, no, nothing's wrong. Norah and I have been through this before. It's always feast or famine with the workload, isn't it?"

Terri nods sympathetically. "John and the kids have a hard time of it, too, but they make sure I don't spend all my time at work. You should keep that under consideration."

"Will do. Thanks for your concern, Terri."

She rises and offers him a supportive smile. "That's my job."

Callen sits back and sighs heavily after she leaves. Truth be told, things on the home front have been a little awkward since the beach. Both of them have thrown themselves into their work and while they still take time off to not work, there's a wall between them and Callen's just not sure how to deal with it. Now, he has to figure something out before their relationship gets in the way of the mission.


Nell is having her own experiences with other people's perceptions of her life. She's checking the mail, of all things, when their across-the-street neighbor, Susan, flags her down.

"Hi, Susan," Nell greets, flipping through the bills and junk mail.

"Norah, how lovely to see you. Things going okay with you and George?"

The question is so direct Nell pauses and lifts her eyes to meet the other woman's gaze. Nell knows Susan is the neighborhood gossip, but they haven't really spent much time together other than waving at each other when she's out of the house or general pleasantries. "Um, fine. Why?"

Susan looks a little embarrassed and her eyes sweep to each side before stepping closer. "Well, I wasn't the one to tell you this, but George's behavior hasn't gone unnoticed," she says, voice barely above a whisper.

Nell is really confused, now. "George's behavior?"

"It's all right, honey," Susan remarks, putting a hand on Nell's shoulder. "We've all been there. It must have been tough for you to pick up everything and move across the country. It's only natural that you guys would hit a rough patch."

"I, uh, guess? But what did you mean about George's behavior?"

"Oh, you know, leaving really early for work, coming back late at night. And you almost never go out other than to the grocery store or something. Not to mention we never see you guys go out at all. You know, like on a date?"

In the space of a few moments, Nell suddenly realizes what it must look like to other people: that George and Norah's marriage is in trouble.

"Oh? Oh. Ohhh." Nell laughs because she can't come up with another response while frantically thinking of what to say. "I'm sorry, Susan, but you've got it all wrong."

Susan's eyebrow goes up, clearly skeptical.

"No, really," she continues, waving a hand dismissively. "I'm still doing consulting for my old job in DC, so I'm working from home for now. And George is just completely swamped at work; they have an audit coming up that they need to prepare for. Trust me, once it's done I won't be able to get him to go to work."

"If you say so," Susan replies, clearly still unconvinced.

On a whim, Nell hugs Susan. "Thank you, Susan, for looking out for me. But I promise you, nothing's wrong between George and I."

Tentatively, Susan smiles. "You know I think the world of you, Norah. Just—if you ever need anyone to talk to…"

"I know just who to talk to. I'd love to chat more, but I actually have a meeting in a few minutes," Nell explains. She heads back into the house with a wave and a smile.

Of course, Nell doesn't really have a meeting, except with herself. She's pacing the entire house—all levels—trying to figure out what they need to do to get their neighbors' attention off them. She thought they'd been doing fairly well, but clearly the people around them are way more interested in their relationship than they are.

Nell can't help but think about the beach trip the week before. It had been a really nice trip and she thought she and Callen were growing closer and not just as George and Norah, but as G and Nell. But then, the next day, as he nursed her back to health from her hangover, he made it clear that he was playing a role and Nell found it nearly impossible to hide her disappointment. She has a vague memory of kissing him on the cheek and she wonders if she crossed a line, if that was even real.

When had she started wanting something more? When did she start developing feelings for Callen? Was it only because of the mission? She doesn't know, but she has them now and she doesn't know what to do about them. She just knows she'll have to face him and figure out how to have a relationship with him, in whatever capacity he'll allow.

When Callen returns that evening—earlier than normal—she's upstairs. Nell makes her way to the first floor and they see each other when she's halfway down the staircase.

"We need to talk about our marriage."

They say the exact same thing at the exact same time and they now wear matching surprised looks on their faces.

"What happened?" she asks first.

"Terri was worried I was spending too much time at work and not enough time at home. You?"

"Pretty much the same. Our neighbors have been spying on us. Not only have they noticed your extended work hours, but they've noticed I don't leave the house much. They think our marriage is in trouble. George, what do we do?" Her words come out all in a rush and when she's done she still feels anxious.

Callen walks up the stairs, stops just below where she's standing, and takes her hands in his. "How about a dinner date, Mrs. Chapman?"


Over the course of the next week, Nell and Callen spend a lot more time pretending to be married. Sure, they do the work that needs to be done during the day, but Callen comes home before dinner and then they either eat at home or go out, making sure to be seen.

Sometimes, she wonders if it looks like they're trying too hard, but for the most part everyone else looks approvingly at them. But now she's in trouble because she's been enjoying their time together way more than she should and she knows he's only pretending.

Nell has spent a lot of time thinking about her feelings for Special Agent G Callen and she's come to the conclusion that she was doomed from the start. From the first day they met, she was intrigued by him. After she was read into OSP, she'd studied all the agents and Callen's mysterious past—not to mention good looks and spectacular record—inevitably meant she paid more attention to him. She admired him, tried to get him to notice her and, more importantly, approve of her.

It didn't take long before she became an integral part of the team. Her friendship with Eric blossomed and they traded tasks easily, each acknowledging the other's strengths and supporting each other through their weaknesses. The agents soon began to understand what it was she did and the types of things she was best at.

Intuitively, she knew Callen trusted her to do her job, too, but it wasn't until the case that led them back to Callen's old contact, Arkady Kolcheck, that Nell really felt he trusted her as a part of his team. That was the first time Callen gave her something about his past to look into—without Hetty's authorization.

This mission has forced her to acknowledge that she has a bit of a thing for the senior agent and she has to keep reminding herself that anything he reciprocates is for the benefit of the mission. Logically, she understands this and she tries not to let it affect her work. But sometimes, she's overcome with a sense of sadness because she can't help but wonder what it'd be like to really be a part of his life.


When the weekend comes, Callen can feel Nell's anxiety level go up at least two notches. He's been spending so much time with her that he's acutely tuned into her moods which should disconcert him but somehow doesn't. It's been a long time since he's been so personally connected to another person, but with Nell, it doesn't feel wrong.

They spend the day running errands and doing chores—together. It's incredibly domestic and kind of surreal, but Callen finds he's actually okay with it. For the evening, they decide on a dinner date and while that part goes off without a hitch, when they return home, Callen can't help but notice Nell is nervous and fidgety.

"Something wrong?" he asks.

"What? No. Nothing's wrong." Nell's words are quick and she won't look at him.

They've been doing so well, he's not going to let her run from this now. He catches her by her hand and tugs her to him, gently turning her head so she'll look at him. "Pardon me if I don't believe you."

He feels an unfamiliar pang in his chest when she looks at him because she just looks so conflicted and he doesn't know why. His protective instincts kick in and Callen just wants to fix everything. But he doesn't know what's broken.

"It's just—I couldn't help but notice all the other couples while we were out," Nell starts. She's blinking fast, but maintains eye contact.

"What about them?"

"I—no—it's stupid."

He says nothing and waits.

"It's just, I couldn't help but notice how close everyone else was and I don't know if it's because I know this isn't real," she starts, gesturing between them, "that I felt like we were so far apart or what?"

Now he's confused because he saw the same people but he's not really sure what she's getting at.

"And, I know we talked about PDA and that it isn't necessary, but I can't help but wonder if our neighbors and your co-workers think it's weird that we don't show any."

The words hang in the air and then Callen suddenly gets it. "You mean because we never kiss."

Nell flinches at the word and he has to grab her hand again to keep her from leaving the room. "I know, it's stupid. Never mind. Forget I mentioned it."

Callen purses his lips and thinks for a long moment. Without a word, he moves towards the basement, her hand still in his.

"Wh—what are we doing down here?"

"Here," he says, his hand sweeping around the mini-Ops, "we're G and Nell."

"I thought it was a bad idea to mix cover and not?"

"It is, but because you don't really have a cover, I don't think we can avoid it. So let this be our haven," he explains. "Now, about kissing."

She flinches again and Callen frowns. "Nell, it's not a bad word. Or a bad thing."

"No, I know, I just—this is way beyond awkward," she sighs, pulling her hand from his grasp and pacing the room. "But, you're an adult. I'm an adult. We can talk about this like adults, right?"

He nods, then starts again. "Kissing." He waits and Nell doesn't flinch. "Yes, it can help our cover marriage, but we both need to be perfectly aware of what we're doing and why."

"You mean that it isn't real."

"Right. We both have to be on the exact same page about this or someone's going to get hurt." He's very careful not to say "you're going to get hurt" because he's not entirely sure he can remain unscathed in this situation, either. Not that he's going to tell her that.

Nell nods, arms crossed. She exhales slowly. "Okay. Okay."

"Okay, what?"

"Okay, I get it. I can do that."

"So, let's try it."

There's a shocked silence and Callen would be amused at Nell's wide eyes if he wasn't so concerned about this whole fake relationship falling apart.

"What?" Nell's voice is almost a squeak. "Right now?"

"No time like the present." Callen moves closer to her. He frowns again when she steps back. "I won't push you, but I'm thinking it'd be better if our first kiss was on our own terms and not forced by circumstance with, possibly, an audience."

Nell looks up and meets his eyes. Callen steps closer and takes her hands, then waits. He doesn't want to press when she's not ready and risk damaging their mission.

"I…understand that and I agree with you. It's just…"

"Tell you what," Callen says, dropping her hands. "You lead."

"Me?"

Callen nods. "I said I wouldn't push and I won't. But this is also part of the mission. So, it's up to you."

She's quiet for a long moment, wringing her hands. "You're right. You're right. Okay. A kiss."

Callen quirks an eyebrow but stays where he is and waits for her. She moves towards him and he's suddenly caught by her eyes. There's an intensity in them he's never seen before and he's surprised to find his breath catch.

Nell puts her hands on his shoulders and he instinctively leans down. Their faces are mere inches apart and he sees her eyes flick to his lips and back. Callen closes his eyes and leaves it all up to her.

"I'm sorry."

His eyes snap open at her words.

"I'm sorry," she repeats.

Callen frowns, but then Nell is pushing away from him and practically sprinting up the stairs. He turns his head to follow her with his eyes and blinks in bewilderment as he hears a door slam.

Callen sucks in a breath. "Okay…"


Nell Jones has never been so mortified in her life. She leans against the bedroom door and slowly slides down it to sit on the floor. She buries her head in her arms as they rest on her knees.

"I can't believe I just did that," she says aloud.

What if she's just ruined the mission? Worse, what if she's just ruined her working relationship with Callen? Would he force her out of OSP? Or out of NCIS all together?

"Nell?"

She practically jumps out of her skin. She hadn't expected him to be right outside the door, although she's not exactly sure what she thought he'd do otherwise.

"You want to tell me what's going on?"

His voice is neutral and friendly. There's no anger or disappointment or accusation or anything in his tone. It's just Callen and it makes her feel that much more terrible.

"Um, not really."

A beat passes.

"Okay, let me put it another way. I need you to tell me what's going on."

"I know," she replies and she's ashamed to hear a whine in her tone.

She knows she has to tell him, she just doesn't know how. The words bounce around in her brain in a jumbled mess. Finally, Nell pulls out her phone and starts typing.


Long moments pass and still there's no word from the other side of the door. Callen opens his mouth a half dozen times but says nothing. Nell's not a person of interest he's questioning, so badgering isn't going to get him anywhere.

His phone buzzes in his pocket and Callen pulls it out, wondering who'd be contacting him.

It's Nell. She's sent him a text.

As he reads it, he hears her get up and walk away from the door. He reads the words several times before her meaning really sets in.

"I don't think I can pretend."

Callen's surprised by Nell's words, but he's even more surprised by his reaction. He feels hope. He forces himself to push the feeling away, though. Now isn't about him. He tries the doorknob and, even though it's unlocked, knocks before opening it.

What he finds on the other side unsettles him: Nell is packing.

"What are you doing?"

She jumps slightly but she continues putting her clothes into a suitcase.

"I'm packing."

"Why?"

"Because I can't do this."

"Yes, you can."

"No, I can't!" she yells, unceremoniously cramming her clothes into the suitcase and slamming the lid. "I should have realized it before this all started that I wouldn't be able to do this. I'm sorry. I've…I've ruined the mission."

Nell's trying to zip the lid shut but there are pieces of clothing sticking out making it impossible to close. Callen reaches out and places a hand on hers.

"I'm so stupid," she mutters, but she stops moving.

"No, you're not. If anyone's to blame for this situation it's me. Or Hetty. Or Vance. Not you."

Nell doesn't say anything so Callen continues.

"You're not trained to be an undercover agent. It's not reasonable for us to put you into a deep cover assignment, especially one that forces you to be in a fake relationship with another person, without any training, Nell. And it's not like you really had a choice."

After a long moment, she finally speaks. "Regardless, you know now. So, we can't possibly continue the mission."

"Sure we can."

Her eyes jump to his and then immediately away again.

Callen suppresses a sigh. "Are you saying this would be easier if you hated me?"

"I…well…I guess not."

"Nell, look at me."

Slowly, she raises her eyes to his and keeps them there. Callen tries to keep his features neutral.

"You're worried that you won't be able to separate the cover from reality?"

She nods.

"That if we pretend to be in love, you'll develop feelings for me?"

Nell nods again, eyes blinking rapidly, but she holds his gaze.

Callen's voice drops to almost a whisper. "That once the mission is over and we stop pretending, I'll break your heart?"

This time she does look away and he lets her, but only for a moment. Callen touches her chin lightly with a finger and she looks at him again. He sees vulnerability in her eyes and it unnerves him. Nell's one of the strongest, most confident people he knows. To see her like this makes him want to comfort her, protect her from the world—from him.

"I will never lie to you about any feelings between us, okay? Mission or not."

"But you don't want me," she protests. "How will we maintain our cover for the mission?"

Callen chooses to ignore the first part of her comment. After all, he just promised not to lie to her and right now he's not ready to acknowledge, at least to her, any feelings he might have.

"We'll figure it out. Our marital relations are no one else's business, so we'll keep it that way."

He can tell she's almost convinced, if still a little embarrassed.

"Nell, you're the right person for this job. The only person. I'm here to help you and protect you, if necessary. I still think we have a good shot at completing the assignment, don't you?"

Nell looks him earnestly in the eyes and he can see her confidence building back up. He smiles reassuringly at her and is rewarded with her normal bright smile in return.

"Yes, I think so, too."

"Good, I hoped so," he smiles at her. "You should probably unpack. It's getting late."

She turns away again, the tips of her ears going pink.

"Nell, what happened tonight was a necessary step, but we don't ever have to talk about it again if you don't want to."

"Thanks, Callen," she murmurs. "For everything."

He drops her hands and squeezes her shoulder reassuringly before turning to leave the room.

"Good night, Mrs. Chapman."

"Good night, Mr. Chapman."


End Part