Disclaimer: I do not own NCIS.

I struggled writing this part. As a character, Jasper doesn't come easy to me.

PART THREE

Henry walked down the corridor of identical doors. It was exactly like the corridor at Florida State, but instead of visiting his sister, Henry had taken a four-hour train ride after work to visit Jasper, his oldest friend.

Henry looked at his phone, checking what number he was looking for. Jasper had been in class, meaning Henry had to find his own way from the train station to the Harberd dorms.

He reached room 353 and knocked. The door opened.

'Henry!' cried Jasper.

'Jasper' replied Henry, just as loud. The two guys hugged.

'It's great to see you' said Jasper.

'You too' added Henry. 'You look good.' He stepped into Jasper's dorm room. It was the standard dorm room, not unlike Pipers, though there was a slight difference. Two guys were sharing it after all, not two girls.

However, when Henry turned around he found a girl sitting at one of the desks.

'Hi' he said, slightly surprised.'

'This is Ellie' said Jasper, excitedly. 'My girlfriend.'

'Oh' said Henry. Now it made sense. Jasper was constantly talking about Ellie. 'Hi' said Henry, offering his hand. Ellie stood up.

'Nice to finally meet you' she said, shaking Henry's hand. 'Jasper talks a lot about you. You and Charlotte.' Henry laughed awkwardly.

'Does he now?' he said, trying to ignore what his stomach was doing at the mention of Charlotte's name. It had been seven weeks since he had heard from her. He had sent a few emails but there were only so many messages one could send before it started verging on the side of creepy and absurd.

'It's all good' said Ellie. Henry scoffed as he dumped his backpack.

'When did you two meet?' asked Henry.

'Our very first day' said Jasper, grinning as he draped an arm around Ellie.

'It was also my birthday and my mom had made a chocolate cake' said Ellie.

'Her mom makes the best chocolate cake ever' said Jasper. 'I think it might be better than Charlotte's dad's chocolate cake.'

'What?' said Henry, sounding shocked. 'That's saying a lot.' Christopher Page was a talented cook and baker. For every single one of Charlotte's birthdays, he made his signature chocolate cake that everyone loved.

A phone buzzed and Ellie pulled hers out of her back pocket and sighed.

'I've got to go,' she said. 'Mandy's forgotten her key again.' Jasper let out a snort. Ellie's roommate was always forgetting her key.

'It was nice to meet you' said Henry.

'You too,' replied Ellie.

Henry and Jasper watch Ellie leave.

'She's nice' he said to Jasper.

'The best' replied Jasper, still staring at the door. Henry looked at his friend.

'You like her' he said. Jasper gave a shrug of the shoulders and sat down on his bed. Henry reached into his backpack and pulled out a present. 'Happy birthday buddy' he said, handing it to Jasper.

'Thanks dude' said Jasper. He unwrapped it. A giant bar of Hershey's milk chocolate. Jasper opened and broke some off. His birthday had been a week ago but due to work and community college, Henry hadn't been able to make it Harberd in time.

'Root beer?' offered Jasper.

'Sure' said Henry. Jasper went to a mini fridge and pulled out two bottles.

'So, how's it back home?' asked Jasper, offering the beer to Henry.

'It's OK' said Henry. 'Very chilled and relaxed.' Jasper chuckled. 'I like that I have multiple things to keep me occupied, though no basketball anymore.'

'Tournament over?'

'Yep.'

'The Woodpeckers won a game?'

'They won the tournament' said Henry, sounding incredibly proud of his team. He had thrown a party for them at his house, Kris later commenting how good Henry was with the kids and how happy he was when coaching.

'Wow' said Jasper. 'You must be proud.' Henry grinned and nodded as he ate some chocolate. 'You've seen much of Ray?'

'Actually no' said Henry, scratching the back of his head. Jasper raised an eyebrow. 'I've gone over a couple of times to say hello but apart from that, I haven't spent much time with the guy.'

'Do you miss it?'

'Sometimes' said Henry honestly. 'Ray and the kids are still fighting crime. Just because Kid Danger died doesn't mean crime stopped.'

'So you don't regret leaving?'

'Most of the time, no' said Henry. 'And when I do, I get this image in my head of the three of us in the future. We're 25 and you and Char, even Piper have graduated college and have proper adult jobs, but I'm still Captain Man's sidekick, still a high school dropout and still sleeping in the bedroom I've slept in since I was, what, four?' Jasper laughed, taking a swig of root beer. 'When I was thirteen, it sounded great but now, at nineteen? I don't want to have two identities for the rest of my life. It just makes it complicated and I want straightforward.'

'You've done a lot of thinking since Christmas' said Jasper. The two friends had caught up over the holidays.

'Yeah I have.' He had done a lot more than thinking, even seeking therapy a little bit, trying to figure out the crossroads he was at in life. He had also found himself having nightmares about Drex's attack. His therapist had given him some tips on how to deal with bad dreams. Henry only had five sessions but they had been helpful.

'Have you heard back from colleges?' asked Jasper.

'I got into Swellview' said Henry. 'But I don't really want to go there.'

'Bet your mom does.'

'Yep' said Henry. 'I also got into Florida State but I'm still waiting to hear back

from Oregon and De Loughrey in Rhode Island.'

'Do you have a first choice?' asked Jasper.

'Not really' said Henry causally, but deep down he had his heart set on one in

particular. One that was only a couple of hours away from Cambridge, MA.

'How's Piper doing?' asked Jasper. 'I oddly miss her sometimes.' Henry grinned and laughed.

'She's doing fantastic' he said, just as proud of his little sister. 'Though she had a bit of a rough start in the first semester.'

'Doesn't sound like Piper' said Jasper.

'I think the reality of college didn't quite match up to Piper's expectations'

explained Henry. 'She wanted to get it over and done with, and took a little bit too much on her plate.'

'And wanted to do it all by herself?' suggested Jasper. Henry nodded.

'Yep. That's my sister. Independent to a fault.'

Piper had come home for Christmas as she said she would. Kris and Jake were ecstatic for two weeks, having their children home. Henry actually enjoyed himself a little bit, even though family gatherings could be stressful.

In the four weeks since Henry's visit, Piper had been busy. She dropped a course, taking her workload from six courses to five. She got the job as a social media coordinator at the small business that Henry had found, and she started making friends, notably her roommate, Tara. The two had semi-bonded whilst eating ice cream and watching trashy TV after Tara's boyfriend had broken up with her.

'You wanna go out tonight?' asked Jasper.

'Honestly, not really' said Henry. 'Work was a nightmare and then the train, I'm shattered.'

'What happened at work?'

'Some dude threw up but missed the toilet.'

'You're kidding.'

'Nope. I had to scrub every inch of that bathroom. Normally I can clean one of the hotel rooms in 20 minutes, maybe 30, max. But this room took 50 minutes.'

The dorm door opened and in walked a guy.

'Hey Jasper' said the guy. 'Oh' he added, spotting Henry. 'I didn't know we

had company.'

'This is my friend Henry' explained Jasper. 'This is Cam, my roommate.'

'The famous Henry' said Cam. 'Nice to finally meet you.'

'Yeah, you too' said Henry.

'You guys going out tonight?' asked Cam as he went over to his closet.

'Nah. Maybe tomorrow,' said Jasper.

'We're just gonna hang out here. Play some games' said Henry, nodding

towards Jasper's gaming setup.

'OK' said Cam. 'Have guys. See you around Henry' he added as he left the

room.

'And that's Cam' said Jasper.

'Nice guy' said Henry.

'Yeah. He's gay' said Jasper. Henry raised an eyebrow. He figured out that

Cam was gay seconds after meeting him.

'You don't say,' replied Henry.

'So, we're gonna play?' said Jasper, handing Henry a game controller.

'Anything but Fortnite' said Henry.

Henry felt himself wake up. Rolling over, his bed felt harder than normal, and opening his eyes, he realised he was in a makeshift bed in Jasper's college dorm room.

Sitting up, Henry rubbed a hand over his face and instinctively reached for his phone. He had five new messages. One from his boss at the hotel, asking if he could work a particular shift. The second was from his study group at college, arranging a get together, and the third, fourth and fifth messages were from his mom, making sure that he had gotten to Harberd safely. Henry swore under his breath. He had meant to message Kris last night.

He sent a quick 'hi, hello. I'm safe' message off to Kris before going back to scrolling through his messages. Then he went to his email, checking the various addresses he'd had over the years. Nothing in his DMs either. No message from the one person he actually wanted to talk to.

The door opened and Jasper walked in.

'You're awake.'

'Yeah I am. Where did you go?'

'Laundry room' said Jasper. 'You gotta get in early otherwise all the machines are taken.' Henry stared at his friend. Jasper had grown up quite a bit in the last nine months.

Hey, have you heard Char lately?' asked Henry, trying to sound casual.

'Um, not in a couple of months. Why?'

'Just wondered' said Henry, again hoping he sounded casual. He pulled a

t-shirt out of his backpack and put it on. 'What?' he asked, seeing the look on Jasper's face.

'Nothing' he replied. 'Are you seeing anyone?'

Hmm?' asked Henry.

'Are you seeing anyone? Have you gone on any dates?'

'What? No, not really. Couple of dates here and there. Why you asking?'

'Because of the look of disappointment on your face when I said I hadn't heard from Char in 2 months' said Jasper, sounding serious. Henry sighed and faced his best friend of twelve years.

'You like Charlotte' said Jasper, very matter-of-factly.

Henry looked at his friend. He could try and deny it, just as he and Charlotte had done the past but what would be the point. Henry missed Charlotte and at least Jasper would understand that.

'Yeah, I do,' he said eventually.

'Holy crap' he said, smiling. 'Chenry is happening.'

'Uh no it's not' said Henry quickly.

'What do you mean?'

'I mean that Charlotte and I aren't together. We aren't dating.'

'Why not?' Jasper was a little confused.

'Uh, because she's in Dystopia' said Henry. 'And we agreed that we would take time to figure things out.'

'Figure what out? You like her. I'm pretty sure she likes you. What's the problem?'

'It was Char's idea' said Henry. 'To figure out whether we actually have feelings for each other or whether it was just with school ending and Drex's attack. Plus Charlotte won't be back for another three months.'

'And?' asked Jasper, though he wasn't sure what to say.

'And what if she met someone in Dystopia? What if she decides to stay there permanently? What if she didn't meet someone but doesn't actually have feelings for me? What if I see her and I realise I don't have feelings for her? What if we date and it doesn't work out and we ruin 12 years of friendship? What if we date and it does work out? Have we sealed our entire lives together at the age nineteen?'

'Dude, you're spiralling.'

Henry collapsed on Jasper's bed. All of these questions had been floating around his head for months now.

'I don't know what to do?' he said. 'I miss her.'

'I miss her too,' said Jasper, standing in front of Henry. 'What you need is to get out' said Jasper. 'Have some fun. You just said that you and Char agreed that you'd take the year off to get a clear head but at the moment, your head isn't clear.'

'What do you suggest I do?' asked Henry, slightly dreading Jasper's answer.

'I just said let's go out' he said. 'You, me, Ellie, Cam and anyone else we can find. There's a couple of decent bars and clubs around here. You never know who you're gonna meet.' Henry sat up on the bed and looked at Jasper. 'I'm not saying you hook up with the first girl you see. Maybe you just talk or maybe you get a little lucky or maybe nothing happens but it's better than moping around my dorm room.'

Henry looked at Jasper. He made a lot of sense. College really had made his friend mature.

'Fine' Henry said, standing up.'Let's go out tonight.'

Several hours later, Henry, Jasper, Cam and Ellie went down to meet some of the guys from Jasper's ultimate frisbee team at the prearranged meeting point. Henry had met the team that afternoon. They were great guys and for the millionth time in the last nine months, Henry enjoyed meeting new people.

When he initially 'retired' from Kid Danger, and Charlotte, Piper and Jasper had left, Henry became acutely aware of just how few friends he had. As a teenager, he kinda felt like he didn't need to make friends. He had grown up in Swellview, went to school with the same people since kindergarten.

But when almost his entire class (plus Piper) left for college, Henry realised he was going to have to make new friends as an adult. It was tough at first. As kids, you could just start playing together in the sand pit. That didn't work as an adult.

Fortunately, getting a new job, going to community college and then coaching the Woodpeckers had helped Henry expand his social circle. The housekeeping team at the hotel were a lot of fun, even though Henry was the only male out of a team of seven cleaners. He was frequently asked to fetch things off top shelves or carry the slightly heavier items. A couple of the older women on the team seemed to have taken it upon themselves to mother him a little, constantly trying to get him to eat more on their breaks.

'You're too skinny' they kept saying.

At community college, Henry had joined the gym with some of his new classmates. Working out on a regular basis had an impact that Henry hadn't expected. He focused better, and was able to give the Woodpecker kids tips on how to live healthier. Along with not getting tripled beeped from Ray, Henry found he was sleeping better, apart from the occasional nightmare about Drex and the blimp.

Though whilst there were definite improvements in his life, Henry constantly found himself thinking about Charlotte. It was getting to a point that it was frustrating him, just how much he thought about her. Not because he didn't want to, but because of the volume of 'what if' scenarios that popped into his head. He knew that in the future, they would look back on this year and be grateful for it. Right now though, there were times when it felt like torture.

Henry could feel the music move through his body as they stepped into the club. It was crowded but then again, it was Saturday night in a college town. What else would you expect?

'Let's dance' said Ellie.

'Woo hoo!' cried Cam as the two of them aimed for the dance floor. Jasper gave Henry a quick glance.

'We'll join you later' he said. 'We're gonna get some drinks.'

The two of them went over to the bar, squeezing themselves between everyone else standing there.

A girl came up and stood next to Henry. He glanced at her. He quickly glanced at her a second time. And then a third time. Jasper smiled and moved to the other side of Henry, tapping the girl on the shoulder. She turned around to face them.

'Hi, this is my friend Henry' he said. 'He just said he thinks you're pretty.'

'I didn't say that' protested Henry as Jasper walked away, grinning. 'I didn't say that,' he repeated to the girl.

'So you don't think I'm pretty?' she asked.

'No. No. No you are pretty' Henry said flustered. He stopped for a second to look at the girl in front of him. 'You look very pretty tonight' he said, sounding sincere. He smiled, making the girl laugh. 'I'm Henry' he said, offering his hand.

'Sophie,' she replied, shaking it. 'Would you like a drink Henry?'

Henry sat up on his makeshift bed on the floor, rubbing his eyes. He had gotten in after Jasper, who was asleep when Henry stumbled in after 2 am.

Henry rubbed his face, stood up, went to the sink and splashed some cold water on his face. His head hurt, even though he hadn't drunk that much. Lack of sleep probably didn't help either.

The dorm room opened and Jasper walked in, carrying two coffee cups and a brown bag.

'Hey, you're up. Coffee?'

'Sure' said Henry, taking the cup from Jasper and taking a swig. 'You got any food?'

'Bear claw?' Henry reached into the paper bag and pulled one out. 'What time did you get in?'

'Around 2 ' said Henry, sitting down on Jasper's bed.

'So, did you get lucky?' asked Jasper after a while. Henry looked at the smirk on his friend's face.

'No,' he replied eventually.

'The two of you were sitting very close in the club.'

'And?'

'You gonna call her?'

'Probably not. I made it clear I was only visiting and I'm going back home tomorrow, so, you know' Henry said, with a shrug of his shoulders. He took another swig of coffee. Sophie was lovely and Henry had a good time with her, but the fact remained she wasn't Charlotte.

'Thanks for last night,' Henry added. 'I needed it.'

'Anytime' said Jasper. 'You were right too.'

'Hmm?'

'About you, me and Char spending time apart' said Jasper. 'Look, the two of you are my oldest friends and we will always be friends but if we were here together, we'd fall into old patterns. And had we gone to Dystopia I wouldn't have joined the ultimate frisbee team and met the guys and I wouldn't have met Ellie.' Henry laughed.

'It has been good' said Henry. 'Mostly good.'

'Mostly?'

'Nice to take time to figure things out.'

'They say that's what our twenties are for' said Jasper.

'I guess so,' said Henry. He took another sip of coffee, becoming pensive.

'She'll call,' Jasper said after some time.

'Hmm?'

'Charlotte. She'll call or email.'

'Dude, I really don't-' began Henry.

'She'll reach out' said Jasper. Henry looked at him. 'I don't know how I know. I just do. In every email she has sent, she mentions you multiple times, making sure that I'm making sure you're OK.' Henry chuckled.

'Anything could have happened. Anything could happen' said Henry.

'True' said Jasper. 'But I have dibs on being the best man at your wedding.'

'What?' Henry was slightly speechless.

'I'm just saying, the two of you have been in the making for years.'

'Huh?'

'you dated when we were like fourteen.'

'Yeah, about that,' said Henry. 'That was a test we did to see if you could keep the Kid Danger secret.'

'That was a test?'

'Yeah.'

'So the two of you haven't dated?'

'No.'

'And you haven't kissed.'

'Well…' began Henry.

'You guys kissed? When?'

'Last summer. Just before Char left for Dystopia' said Henry.

'Ok, that is it. Best man at your wedding' said Jasper, aggressively pointing to himself.

'Whatever dude' said Henry, taking another swig of coffee.

A week later Henry sat at his desk at home in his bedroom, throwing a basketball into the air and catching it. He was procrastinating, putting off an assignment for his business class at community college. It wasn't a big assignment and Henry still had a week till it's due date, but he couldn't figure out how to start it.

His laptop dinged, distracting him from the basketball in mid air which promptly fell and hit him on the head.

Rubbing the top of his head, Henry turned to his laptop. A new email. He looked at who had sent it. Charlotte. . It was the first email she had sent in almost 2 months.

Dear Henry. Sorry I've been MIA for the past two months but I was in this village in North Dystopia setting up one of our schools and we didn't have internet access.

Smiling, Henry read Charlotte's email.

Thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed it.

As I said up top, I struggled writing this part. I wanted to include Jasper somehow, but it took a while to figure out how.

The story of Henry cleaning the room with the guest threw up is based on a true story from when I was a cleaner in a hotel.

The next part will feature Charlotte.