Nell was busy analyzing all the information she could find on the burn phone which had sent her the video. There was very little to go on - the phone had copied information from Kensi's phone, including the photo that Nell and Kensi had taken while out. Nell's contact information was copied as well, and was the only number that had been contacted by the phone. She was able to continue digging deeper though, and found that the phone had used a large amount of data connecting to the internet and she was able to use GPS to create a map of locations the phone had been at, as well as the times. She was now trying to call up video surveillance of some of the locations at the time of use.

Eric was still attemtping to compile a photo suitable for use with facial rec. He had started to run his first trial, but was getting too many possible matches. He went back to each image Sam had captured and worked on enhancing each image before compiling them together. It was tedious and frustrating work, which used every ounce of his attention. As he was processing the images, an email alert pinged and he turned to another screen to check what he had received.

"We've got a lead!" He said, opening the email. "I got the DNA analysis results back!"

Nell was behind him in seconds, reading over his shoulder.

"So we've got 3 white males, all mixed european heritage. 2 Dark hair, 1 light, 1 dark eyes, 2 blue. One is a carrier for Cystic Fibrosis." Nell read out loud. "Not a lot to go on, but it's a start." She continued. "Does that help with your facial rec?" She mused.

"Yeah, I think the guy we've got is dark hair and dark eyes." Eric said. "That'll help me fix up the colour a bit, I think." He turned back to the screen he was working on and continued mumbling to himself as he tried to clean up the images Sam had captured. As he was working, he had another brainwave - he remembered the glint of the knife he had seen at the beginning of the video. It wasn't one of the images Sam had copied, but what if he could get a reflection off the knife? He thought it over for a minute, and decided it was worth a try. He swallowed and took a deep breath before starting to play the video, sound muted, so he could capture the images of the knife without disturbing Nell. When he had what he needed, he closed the video, relieved to be done with it. It wasn't until he heard Nell's strangled sob a minute later that he realized that the video hadn't closed - it had gone up on the main screen.

He rushed to remove the video from the screen above them as he apologized profusely to Nell. She didn't seem to hear him as she choked and cried, then rushed from the room. Eric froze for a moment before running after her.

He caught up with her as she headed for a quiet corner of the building, where she often went to think. The look on her face broke his heart as he reached out to wrap his arms around her.

"I am so sorry. You shouldn't have seen that. I can't believe I was so stupid... I'm sorry, Nell, I'm sorry." He whispered into her ear. He felt her sink into his chest as she cried, and he led them both to sit on the couch. He hated the way her body shook, both in shock and despair. And he hated even more that this was his fault - his carelessness had caused her to see the video he had tried so hard to keep from her. The only saving grace was how little of it she had actually seen, but clearly she had still seen too much.

Finally as her sobs slowed, she looked up at him and asked

"How on earth did she survive? If that happened to me... I don't think I could go on. I don't think I would want to."

When Kensi was ready, she and Deeks headed back to his apartment for lunch. Her appointment with Nate was scheduled for 1 pm, but he had reassured her he was quite flexible if she wanted it to be sooner or later. Deeks had sureptitiously messaged back and forth with Hetty to discuss how to best go about bringing Kensi in. It was decided that Nate would break the news to her about the video during their session. Deeks felt a tiny bit of relief that it wasn't up to him, but he knew no matter who told her, it was going to go badly. And she would need him. He shook his head to clear the thoughts from his head, and focused on making lunch while Kensi napped on the couch again. He was relieved she was getting her rest.

He threw together a plate of leftover lasagna for each of them, and debated if he should wake her or leave her to sleep. The decision was made for him when she started to flail and cry out. He left the plates on the counter as he went over to comfort her as she woke up - taking care to avoid getting hit. He didn't think Lindsey would be impressed if he racked up any more injuries. When Kensi's eyes flew open, she threw herself at him, breathing rapidly and clinging to him for comfort. As she calmed, the scent of freshly warmed lasagna hit her, and she glanced towards the kitchen. With a silent grin to himself, Deeks set her on the couch and retrieved the plates. Handing one over and keeping one for himself, he started to eat while keeping an eye on her to make sure she was ok.