Roomies

Ch 2

Friday, March 27th

"Um Bishop?" Nick walked out of his room that morning ready for work, only to see Ellie sitting at the kitchen table in her fuzzy robe, drinking coffee and reading something on her phone.

It had been a week since he had been crashing in her spare room and, while this wasn't an unwelcome sight, they were going to be late for work. She was so engrossed in whatever she was reading she didn't notice he was in the room until his hand was on her shoulder.

"Nick! You scared me! What're you doing?"

"What am I doing what're you doing?! We're gonna be late for work!"

"Um… no we're not." At his confused look she realized he didn't know. "You haven't checked your email yet have you?"

"No. Unlike some people, my email is not the first thing I check in the morning." Scoffing, she stuck her tongue out as he pulled out his phone. He quickly went to his email app and searched for what she was talking about. The most recent email's subject immediately piqued his interest. "NCIS building closed?"

"Yeah. Apparently they've decided to close the NCIS building until at least April 30th and have agents work from home because of the 'Safer-at-home order.' Even if anyone does have to go in, they're only allowing thirty people in the building max. As part of Gibbs team we're on call though."

"Oh lucky us." Nick rolled his eyes, sitting in the chair across from Ellie. "So, now what. We're just stuck here for a month? What're we supposed to do for that long?!"

"Nick calm down. I'm sure we can think of something. I mean, I have plenty of movies and books and, oh! There's board games in the hall closet!" The long groan he let out followed by his head hitting the table told her just how he felt of those ideas. "What? Like you can think of anything better to do while we're cooped up together in my house for a month?" She immediately regretted her words when he slowly raised his head and smirked at her.

"Well. I can think of one thing."

"In your dreams Torres."

"Don't you know it Babe." A blush quickly rose up her neck to her cheeks as he winked at her.

"Don't call me Babe!" Chuckling, he stood up from the table and went into the kitchen.

"So, what would you like for breakfast?" When she didn't respond he looked over at her to see a shocked expression. "What? We're not going anywhere today. And I know you're hungry."

"You don't have to keep cooking for me you know." He had cooked every meal that week and, while she certainly wasn't objecting to his cooking, she didn't want him to feel like he owed her.

"I know. But I figured it was the least I could do since you're stuck with me for a month. Besides, I actually like to cook."

"Well in that case, cook away Chef Torres. I'm thinking pancakes this morning."

"Yes ma'am." He laughed as he began to get the ingredients out for pancakes, adding chocolate chips to hers to satisfy her sweet tooth. As he flipped the first batch, a coffee cup appeared next to him and he smiled at her. Taking a drink, he realized she made it exactly how he liked it without even having to ask. That thought didn't scare him like he expected it to but he pushed it aside and got back to work.

After breakfast, Nick started washing dishes (against many protests from Ellie) while she went to shower. As he was putting the last dish in the cabinet, he looked over to see Ellie, wrapped in a towel, sprint from the bathroom into her bedroom. He gripped the counter as he tried to control his breathing, shaking his head to clear the thoughts that suddenly came to mind. A minute later he heard the door knob turning and he worked to compose himself. While he loved to tease her, this would only make her blush and him turn into a fumbling mess and no one needed that.

"Hey, everything okay." She was now standing in front of him in a sweatshirt and yoga pants, hair up in a bun, and face free of makeup. He thought she had never looked more beautiful. "Um… Earth to Nick."

A hand being waved in front of his face finally broke him out of his trance and he cleared his throat, using the towel still in his hand to wipe down the counter before responding.

"Yeah, yeah um, everything's fine. Just uh, thinking."

"Right." She drew out the word, moving into the living room. "Hey if uh, you don't have any plans for today my favorite show is playing a marathon. You could join me and help point out all of the discrepancies."

Placing the towel down, he walked over and sat next to her on the couch, just far enough away where they weren't touching but close enough that he could rest his hand on her leg if he reached out.

"If there's so many discrepancies B then why do you watch it?" You would think he had just said he ran over her puppy based on her wounded expression. "What? Valid question."

"Because of the storyline! It just keeps you coming back week after week and there's always a new mystery. Besides, the main couple is just too cute."

"Whatever you say B."

Five hours later, Nick was too into the show to notice that they had drifted closer together on the couch. Ellie now had her head resting against his shoulder and his arm was across the back of the couch, hand resting on her shoulder. When the main couple had, what he assumed to be their first kiss based on Ellie's squeal and smacks to his leg, he had momentarily tensed up. After all, the couple on TV were co-workers who, based on the episodes he had seen today, had been dancing around each other for a while and it hit a little too close to home.

Suddenly, a rumble broke through the silence and Nick laughed, pushing himself up off the couch and pulling her with him. "C'mon Ellie, let's get you fed. I wouldn't be a very good roommate if I let you starve now would I?"

Ellie felt a slight blush heat her cheeks as she followed him into the kitchen and pulled herself onto the counter to watch him work. She could really get used to this.