Night Off
NCIS Office of Special Projects, Los Angeles, California, USA. 1630 hours.
Hetty re-appeared in Ops a minute later. "Miss Jones, Mr. Beale."
"Yes, Hetty," the pair replied simultaneously.
"You don't have to look so concerned. I was simply sending your co-workers home, as I am fixing to do to you. There is little more we can do on this case tonight, and it has all the signs of one that will go down in great size when it does go down. Mr. Beale, you may finish whatever you are typing at this moment, but after that I do not want to see you again until tomorrow morning. Go do whatever you do to relax. Unwind."
Eric finished his last line of code, grabbed his bag, and headed for the door. "Good night, Mr. Beale," Hetty called as she sensed him lingering.
Eric met Nell's questioning gaze. Their eyes locked for a second, and then Eric gave her a lopsided grin and slipped out of Ops. "Miss Jones." Hetty returned her attention to her remaining team member.
"Yes, Hetty?"
"Mr. Getz is standing by to talk to you. Once you are finished, I expect you to go home and relax. Not necessarily in that order. Good night, Miss Jones." Hetty left Ops.
The videocon reminder beeped. Nell depressed a key, and Nate's face appeared on the screen. "Hi, Nell."
"Hi, Nate."
The pair sat in silence for a minute.
"So, how are you?"
"Do I have the pleasure of addressing Nate or Dr. Getz?" Nell asked bluntly.
"I don't like having my questions answered with questions."
"Sorry, Dr. Getz."
"You're not, really."
"Not talking to you."
"Geez, Nell, what are you, eight?"
"Old enough to take care of myself, thank you." Nell reached for her keyboard.
"Woah, Nell, not so fast."
"Says who? Nate or Dr. Getz? Cause I so do not care if I hang up on Dr. Getz."
"What is with you tonight?"
"You just answered my question with a question."
"Your point is?"
"You answer mine or I won't answer yours."
"Snap out of it, Nell."
"Not a chance." Nell stuck her chin out a little more. It was when she was in moods like this that Nate had to remind himself just how young she actually was. And how much of a control freak.
"Sorry, you're stuck with Dr. Getz tonight."
"Then good night, Dr. Getz." Nell reached for her keyboard again.
"I wouldn't advise that."
"Nate, or Dr. Getz?"
"Nate wouldn't advise that because he really does want to know how you are. But Dr. Getz happens to know that Hetty is on the other side of that door."
Nell let her hand fall into her lap. "So I'm stuck here."
"What's going on, Nell? Usually I have to drag myself out of conversations with you."
Nell sighed. "Eric and I are...were going surfing tonight at Malibu."
"Oh." For once, Nate couldn't find the right words to say.
"Besides, I'm not sure how much talking to you would help right now. It's like, I haven't had any time to process. Hetty couched me—"
"Couched?"
"Like benched, only with a couch."
"Gotcha."
"—and as soon as I woke up, it was back to work."
"You're fishing, Nell."
Nell sighed. "Yeah, I am."
Nate thought for a minute before replying, "Okay, I'll tell Hetty you need some time, on one condition."
"What's the condition?"
"Okay, actually two conditions. Has Eric left yet?"
"Nope. I hear him walking downstairs."
"Text him and tell him to wait up. Condition numero uno is that I talk to Eric before he leaves."
"And what's condition numero duo?"
"You call me when you get home."
"Who'll pick up?"
"If you're at home, you get to talk to Nate. You should know that by now."
"Just making sure."
"Okay, go get Eric."
Nell headed for the door and was, as she expected, confronted by Hetty on the other side. "It's okay, Hetty," Nate said. "I told her to go get Eric for me."
Hetty stepped aside and let Nell continue downstairs.
"Hey, partner, what's up?"
"Nate wants to talk to you."
"Oh...kay."
Eric entered Ops. "Nell said you wanted to talk to me."
Nate nodded. "I'm letting her off the hook for tonight. She hasn't really had time to process. You two go have fun, but, Eric?"
"Yeah?"
"Keep an eye on her for me."
"I was planning on it."
"She may be a little...more sensitive than usual. Her walls are in shambles right now, and it's leaving her feeling more than a little vulnerable. But if she asks you, don't hesitate to talk about it. You may be one of the few people she's okay being vulnerable in front of."
Eric nodded.
"And do watch her a little more closely at Malibu. She may not notice things like she usually does."
"Got it."
"Oh, Eric, and one more thing."
"Yeah?"
"You planning on staying with her tonight?"
"Definitely."
"Good. 'Night, Eric."
"Bye, Nate."
"Tell Hetty I'm ready for her."
Nell was waiting for Eric at the bottom of the stairs. "Still meeting there?"
"Yep," Eric replied, obviously excited. "Does an hour give you enough time?"
Nell grinned. "Plenty." The pair headed out to the parking lot. As they parted ways, Eric called, "See you soon!"
When she reached her apartment, Nell was glad she had done most of her preparations before heading into work that morning. She had just enough time to change into her surf gear before grabbing her bag and heading out.