Deeks was watching Kensi intently, waiting for any sign that the drugs were making a difference. He knew that it would likely be a few days before she woke up, but he was hoping that she would come back sooner. He was feeling antsy, and bothered more and more by the fact that he wasn't helping with the investigation. He messaged Eric and asked if there was anything he could help with - even if it meant reading through files. He couldn't leave Kensi, but he needed to do something.

Eric's reply left him feeling more frustrated. There was nothing he could do from the hospital. He sighed, and put his head down on Kensi's bed, figuring he might as well rest a bit.

Eric was a bit of a basket case, worrying about Nell. He was checking surveillance of all the routes between Cindy's neighbourhood and the boatshed, but couldn't take his eyes off the boatshed cameras for more than a minute at a time. Abby was helping him, but she had several other searches on the go, trying to figure out how Cindy had gotten custody of Julia. Finally, Eric found what they had been looking for - they found Verette stopped at a traffic light not far from the boatshed. He was driving a white VW passat, with a child seat in the back. Eric swore when he realized that he was much closer than Callen and Sam.

"Hey, guys, we've got Verette confirmed just a few blocks from the boatshed. What's your ETA?" He asked.

"Still about seven minutes out" Callen said. "You better warn Nell."

"Already on it. Something else - Verette has a child seat in the back of the car. It looks like he plans to take Julia." Eric said, feeling even more anxious.

"We'll get there as quick as we can" Callen yelled. He thought for a second. "Do you know how well Nell swims?" He asked.

"Uh... yeah, she's a great swimmer." Eric said. "Why?"

"I've got an idea. I need to call Nell. Just trust me, Eric." Callen told him, before hanging up.

Nell was surprised when her phone rang, and even more surprised when it was Callen.

"Hi dad" She answered the phone "I'm at work, this isn't a great time, can I call you back?" She said evenly.

"Nell, it's Callen. Verette is on his way there, and we aren't going to make it before he does. We're pretty sure he's planning to take Julia, and I don't think he's going to give up too easily."

"Oh, that's not so good. What does mom think about that?" She asked, trying to maintain her cover so as to not alert Cindy.

"Eric said you can swim. I need you to grab Julia, go to the interrogation room, and move the table. There's a trapdoor. Jump through with Julia, and you'll need to swim around. And you'll need to do this without Cindy realizing, because if she knows, she'll tell Verette. Can you do that, Nell?"

"Yeah, I agree, mom's plan is a good one. So can we talk about this tonight, then?"

"I'll meet you at the ramp by the fourth boat down. You can take our car, then we'll deal with Verette and take yours back. OK?"

"Yup, all good. Love you dad." She said, and hung up. Looking at Cindy she said "Parents! I mean, really. What do I care what new roof they put on the shed?" Cindy smiled politely, but didn't say anything. "So, we've got another agent coming in to interview you again. He'll be here soon. I'll watch Julia while they do the interview, ok?"

"Can't she stay with me?" Cindy asked, looking nervous.

"No, I'm sorry - we need to interview you alone. But I promise I'll take good care of her. Let me take you to the interview room." She said, standing up. She escorted Cindy into the first room, and carefully pulled the door shut. She hoped Verette wouldn't be able to find her there - and Nell had smartly lifted Cindy's phone from her bag.

Turning to Julia, Nell asked,

"Do you like swimming?" When Julia nodded enthusiastically, Nell grinned. "We're going to play a fun swimming game, ok? I need you to hold on to me, and we're going to jump through a special door, then go for a little swim. Does that sound like fun?" Julia beamed.

"Swimming is fun! And I love jumping into the water." Julia giggled.

"That's great!" Nell said, as she picked her up. She went into the interrogation room, moved the table, flipped open the door and counted down from 3 before she and Julia jumped through the trapdoor.

The cold water was a bit of a shock to Nell, but she quickly swung Julia on to her back and said,

"Pretend I'm a whale, and you're riding my back" Julia happily obliged, as Nell swam around to the ramp. She stayed out of sight and urged Julia to be quiet until she heard Callen calling her. A moment later, she was passing Julia up to Callen, who wrapped her in a towel. Nell climbed out quickly and took the keys he offered her.

"There's some towels on the seats. There's no carseat, but we don't have time. Take her to the hospital and leave her with Deeks. Then come back here - you can interrogate Cindy while we take Verette. Eric is already on his way to the hospital, and he has a change of clothes for both you and Julia." Callen told her. Sam gave her a quick hug, soaking wet and all, then the two men ran for the boatshed as Nell bundled Julia into the car.

When Callen called back to explain his plan, Eric went nuts.

"That's insane!" He yelled at him. "What if Verette sees her? And she can swim, but I don't know if she can swim while carrying a child! Are you crazy? How is she going to get Julia away from Cindy?" Abby looked at him, and he stopped. "OK, Sorry, that was a bit out of line." He apologized. He was watching the screen as Nell escorted Cindy to one room, then spoke to Julia and led her to another. He took a deep breath and prayed for them to be ok as they disappeared from his screen.

"Good." Callen said. "Once we get there, Nell is going to bring Julia to you. Either you or Abby can watch her. And they'll both need dry clothes - see if there's anything in wardrobe for a five year old."

"Can I make a suggestion?" Eric interrupted. "Deeks is dying to do something useful, and we're kinda swamped. What if Nell takes her to the hospital? He's good with kids. And it might be good for him to have a distraction."

"Yeah, that works." Callen said. "Go grab some clothes for Nell and Julia, and meet her at the hospital. Let Deeks know what he's getting himself into. We'll be at the marina in a minute." Abby waved frantically at the screen, and he saw that Verette had entered the boatshed.

"Hey, Callen - Verette is in the boatshed. And he looks pissed." Eric warned.

"Got it." Callen said. "Go."