Author's Notes – The characters from NCIS-LA aren't mine. Unfortunately the only characters I have been able to claim have been jerks or victims…thinking I'm getting the raw end of this deal! I claim Drew Michelson.
Same routine….read and review! Comments and opinions always welcome. They can shift the winds of my stories and/or give me more to work with. Let me know what you guys think!
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Lying in bed that night, Deeks tries to come up with some way to get Callen to see he is playing a dangerous game by pushing the envelope with Nell. He knows the scenario well; too well. He lived it for years. His experiences with domestic violence give him insight that others may not have. It would be easy to jump the gun and fly off the handle with this guy; threaten to give him a taste of his own medicine, but he has seen too many women defend the man abusing them. He saw it growing up as well as through his years as an officer. Nell needs to come to this decision on her own or it will not matter in the end. Resolving to watch the situation for now, Deeks can only hope that Callen heard the words he spoke earlier and take them for what they were. He also silently prays she will see the right answer before he has no choice but to react.
Arriving at the Mission early the next morning, the team hopes for a calm and uneventful day. They all relax at their desks enjoying some much needed light-hearted bantering. Deeks is relieved to see Callen joining in freely and hopes it's a sign that he is going to back off. The morning is spent splitting their time between hand-to-hand combat training, impromptu games of trashcan basketball, paperwork, and conversation. The day is proving to be almost boring as the hours multiply and they have nowhere to be. The ops center is eerily quiet and they all decide a late lunch break will give a much needed pause to the monotony.
Taking two cars and meeting at a local restaurant, they all settle into their chairs picking up the menus placed in front of them. Sam and Callen are positioned on the outside of the circle-shaped table with Kensi and Deeks sitting on either side of the two men. The circle is completed with Eric and Nell on the inside closest to the wall. To an outsider the seating arrangement would not appear like anything in particular, but the positioning strategically places the most lethal of the team on the outside with the weakest team members securely positioned in place of safety.
Enjoying the casual pace of the meal, the team is enjoying some much needed down time. Between the humorous recounting of various sticky positions they have all been in over the years and the comfortable silence, it has indeed proven to be a good time for all involved. After settling the bill, they all rise and move towards the front door. Passing through the entrance, they hear a voice come from behind calling for Nell. "Hey! Wait up, Nell. I need to talk to you." All eyes fall on the young analyst as she turns around.
"Drew!" Her voice catches slightly as she turns around. The team all take note of her obvious discomfort at the appearance of the man. Deeks and Callen give each other a quick look and silently close ranks on either side of Nell as they recognize the man from the picture Nell gave them. Sam and Kensi follow suit standing close to their partners as they pick up on the non-verbal cues. "What are you doing here?" She asks quickly.
Looking at the people surrounding her, he speaks up. "Who are these people? Co-workers, I would assume." Giving his best smile, he extends his hand in the direction of Callen as he introduces himself, "My name is Drew Michelson. I'm Nell's boyfriend." Callen responds by crossing his arms along his chest and simply gives the man a look that tells him there is no need to continue speaking to him. Drew looks amongst the group watching them all position their bodies in various stances that make it clear he is not welcome.
He looks at Nell and then scans the members of the group before speaking again. "I have been calling and texting you for days. You haven't answered me or called back and when I saw you here it seemed like a sign. I figured we could finally talk for a few minutes." He reaches out grabbing her arm as if to remove her from the others and she instantly makes a motion to pull away. His grip tightens in response and he lowers his voice focusing just on her face. "I'll take you back to work Nell. It will give us a chance to hash things out."
Before Nell can respond, the team takes action working together seamlessly. Callen's hand grabs Drew's wrist and he quickly bends his arm behind his back in a painful position. Deeks moves Nell into Kensi's waiting grasp and she motions for Eric to follow her to the car. She pulls out of the parking lot heading back to the Mission knowing the others will meet them there. Without speaking a word, Nell was extracted from Drew's grip and moved to safety.
Deeks comes to rest in front of Drew as Callen retains the hold on him. Sam is now standing beside Callen acting as a brick wall to block anyone from getting a clear view. Closing the gap between himself and Drew, Deeks speaks calmly making his opinion known. "You will stay away from Nell. She doesn't want you in her life anymore as evidenced by the lack of returning your calls and texts; time to get the clue buddy."
Glaring directly into Deeks eyes, Drew grits his teeth as he speaks. "Fuck you, man. This is between me and Nell." Looking at Callen who gives a subtle nod of his head, Deeks grabs Drew roughly around the jaw. "You don't get an opinion, man. Back off and forget you ever saw her. Think of us as protective big brothers if you will. Come near her again, you will have one or all of us to deal with and I promise you don't want that." Releasing his grip with a flick of hand that causes Drew face to jerk off to the side and nodding at Callen to release his arm, Deeks backs up slightly.
Giving Drew one last look, "I'm telling you to back off. I'm not asking." Walking around Drew, Deeks moves towards the car with Callen and Sam following close behind. Sam gets into the driver's seat as Callen takes the front passenger with Deeks in the back, they watch out the back window to make sure the man doesn't follow. Seeing Drew walk towards the restaurant attempting to straighten his jacket as goes, they give it another minute before deciding it's safe to leave. They all make a mental note of the obvious irritation showing as Drew walks into the restaurant. It's obvious he isn't used to being on the receiving end of a physical confrontation.
Callen locks eyes with Deeks as he speaks, "Nice job back there Deeks. You actually made me flinch a little when you grabbed his face that hard. What do you think, Sam? Deeks give him a scare?" Callen looks at his partner waiting for a response. Grinning in the rearview mirror, Sam responds. "Maybe, so Callen. Guess we have been wearing off on him a little. Who knew?" All three men laugh as they pull away from the restaurant parking lot.
Arriving back at work, they make their way to the bullpen bantering back and forth with each as they approach the desks. Deeks stops mid-sentence when he sees Kensi's face. "What's up, Kens?" Callen and Sam turn to face the woman having been too busy bantering to notice her demeanor until Deeks spoke up. "Kens?"
"She is really mad and I'm not entirely sure why. I am pretty sure she channeled some of Callen's looks though because if one expression could kill several people would be dead right now. Eric wouldn't even make eye contact with her. I tried to talk to her, but Eric motioned for me to stop before I could say anything really. I have never seen her angry like this before." Kensi is genuinely worried and at a loss as to how they should proceed. She looks amongst her team and silently questions who's going to approach her.
"I'll go." He takes a deep breath looking at the rest of the team hoping maybe one of them will volunteer instead. Getting the distinct vibe this is all going to fall on him, he speaks again. "Do you know where she is?" One set of eyes settles on Kensi for the answer, but the stunned reaction is seen in all of their eyes as Kensi replies. "She's at the range," she replies quietly.