Merry everything guys! I hope your holidays are going well. This has been in the works for a while and I put it on the back burner so I could figure it out. It definitely takes place before the gushy feels stuff I've been writing and there isn't much Neric but this is just something to introduce you to the story.

A sharp whistle cut through the noise of the daily bustle in OSP like a foghorn in...well...fog. Down in the bullpen, three of the four agents looked up from their desks to acknowledge the whistler. The fourth, an LAPD detective and liaison for NCIS: OSP, kept his head buried in his arms like an ostrich with its head in the dirt.

"What the hell, Eric? It's too early for this," Deeks groaned loudly.

"Nell is up in Ops. She needs to talk to us." Eric turned on his heel and headed back to his cave.

"Come on, Deeks," Kensi goaded chucking a paper ball at her partner's head before following Callen and Sam upstairs.

"Was that really necessary?" Deeks asked with his head still down. Deeks pushed himself away from his desk, gulped down the rest of his coffee, and, rather reluctantly, trudged his way upstairs. Once inside the cool, darkness of Tech Ops Deeks immediately felt like curling into a ball and sleeping.

"Good of you to join us, Mr. Deeks," Hetty said from her place in front of the main screen. "Just in time, too. Miss Jones was about to update us." It was weird seeing Nell on the main screen and not beside Eric. Her surroundings were odd, too. There were posters of bands and countless photos made into a collage.

"Hey, guys. So I vetted all the Delta Gamma girls as discretely as possible and most of them came up clean except for two: Ashleigh Evans and Kristina Peters." Nell held up a photo of each of the girls and continued. "Both of their fathers hold high-power positions and control a lot, and I mean a lot, of money."

"Kristina's father is head of a weapons manufacturing company and Ashleigh's father is the CEO of another," Eric chimed in. "Both companies distribute weapons to pretty much all of the US Armed Forces."

"Yes, but one of them is selling surplus weapons to the cartels in Mexico and some unsavory folks in Russia." This flow of information continued for a few minutes with Eric cutting in here and there with some of his own gathered intelligence.

"Eric, what can you tell us about the girls?" Hetty asked.

"Ash-"

"Ashleigh Rae Evans was raised in Lancaster where she attended Jack Northrop Elementary School until her parents divorced just before her eighth birthday. She stayed at Jack Northrop until her mother remarried two years later and they moved to her step-dad's house in Nichols Canyon. Once she moved there, she met her best friend, Leah, at Gardener Elementary and went on to Bancroft Middle School and graduated from Fairfax High School where upon graduating she began attending UCLA double majoring in education and child psychology." Nell paused to take a breath but found herself looking at a very confused team on her laptop. "We had a lot to talk about over coffee," she said sheepishly.

"How much coffee did you have?" Deeks jested which got him a scolding glare from Kensi and Hetty.

"What about Kristina?" Callen said ignoring Deeks' comment.

"She's not big on talking," Nell sighed. "All I got out of her was that her dad cut her off because he doesn't approve of her boyfriend. I don't even know the boyfriend's name. That's all I have, Callen. I'm sorry."

"That's okay, Nell," Callen said, smiling reassuringly. "You did good."

"How you holding up, Nell?" Sam asked with a concerned look on his face. He always did have a soft spot for Nell. "You look a little beat."

"I'm okay," Nell yawned. "Classes are killer. College wasn't this tough the first time. Then again I was majoring in computer science, not linguistics and psychology." She yawned again. "I've gone through all the coffee you guys sent me," she said shaking the empty bag in front of the webcam.

"You're super smart, Nell," Kensi said encouragingly. "You'll get through this."

"Plus, it's hump day so you've only got two more days until the weekend!" Deeks chirped.

"I've got a psych paper due Monday," Nell said with a glum look on her normally cheerful face. "I won't have a weekend."

"We'll send you some more coffee, Nell," said Callen. "Anything else?"

"Um…" Nell wracked her tired brain to make sure she didn't miss anything. "Oh, yeah. Ashleigh is having a party for the new pledges at her step-dad's house in Nichols Canyon tonight. If you guys can get me some surveillance tech I can set it up in his house."

"Of course, Miss Jones. I will send Mr. Deeks with a care package containing everything you need including a box of my best gunpowder green tea. One cup has as much caffeine as a cup of coffee and it is much healthier."

Nell smiled appreciatively. "Thanks, Hetty. I already have a cover story for Deeks, too. I told my roommate that I have an older brother. I know, I deviated from the cover story but it seemed like a good idea in case something came up later."

"It was a smart move," praised Callen. "Deeks, get the gear to Nell then look at Peters' company with Kensi. Sam and I will look into Evans'." Hetty and the team left Ops with Nell waving goodbye on the main screen.

"How's that paper coming along?" Eric asked when the team had left.

Nell looked at the ceiling and groaned. "It is so frustrating! I've read so many articles and thesis papers on nature versus nature that I'm ready to puke." She stuck out her tongue and made a gagging noise.

"It's that bad, huh?"

"My first time writing code was easier than this stupid paper," Nell said rubbing her temples.

"Uh huh. Have you checked your email?" Eric said with a small smile.

"Not yet. Why?"

"Just look."

Minimizing the Skype window, Nell opened up her email and her jaw dropped which made Eric smile more broadly. "How did you-"

"I downloaded a copy of your course syllabus and I thought I'd give you a hand. Mind you, it's been three days since I've played my XBOX so if it sounds a little disjointed towards the end, it's from XBOX withdrawal."

"You are an amazing man, Eric Beale," Nell said pointing her finger into the webcam. "I am buying you a buttload of Oreos when I get back."

"How about the next time you feel like ripping out your hair you give me a call?" Eric asked hopefully.

"I'll do you one better," Nell smiled into the webcam. "I've got nothing due next week and since you did my paper, my weekend has magically freed up so how about you and me have a video game marathon? I can go home, too, and actually sleep in my own bed."

"It's a date," Eric said and he immediately tried to backtrack. "What I meant to say was that-"

"I know what you meant," Nell chuckled. "I gotta go; Rachel's back." She waved goodbye and shut the laptop leaving Eric alone in the cool darkness of Ops.

I know it's not Christmas anymore but when I tried to upload this at my aunt's house, it was taking forever and I was eventually dumped out. This is what happens when 20+ people are using one router.

I know absolutely nothing about L.A. since I'm an east coast girl BUT I researched my butt off for Nell's little spiel. Thoughts?

Also, the last episode? I almost died from happiness at the end. I was squeeing and then I was all hnnnnnnnggg! FEELINGS!