A/N: Thank you for all your reviews and suggestions! I would have replied but it's called the silly season for a reason. (And not just the weather being silly – honestly I'm half convinced Australia is now located in Britain because of the weather) Anyway, enough ranting. I hope you like this. It's a bit different.

One By One, Part 1

The harsh wind battered the wood walls of the old house, edging its way through cracks and gaps. Cold air ran through the house. The fire in the rusted fireplace flickered as the air moved around it. Callen glanced up at the momentary loss of light, surveying the room then going back to the book he'd read five times during their 'holiday'. He could pretty much recite it verbatim but it was the only thing to do at one am if he didn't want his partner to get angry.

Floorboards creaked and the wind whistled as it travelled down the hall. "You should be asleep," Callen said, not looking up. He could tell the minute difference between footsteps and floorboards moving.

"Kensi's a blanket hog," Nell explained, moving into the fireplace's glow. She sat down next to the fire – almost too close. "And it's freezing."

"So you're gonna sleep out here?" He guessed her plan.

"Better than pissing off Kensi," She nodded, lying down on the ground. "And it's warm," She added as an afterthought and yawned.

"Do you want a blanket?" Callen asked, watching the tiny redhead curl up on herself, forming a ball of bright pink flannel.

"Nah," She drawled, voice trailing off slightly as sleep claimed her. She seemed perfectly content to sleep on the hardwood floor.

Callen shook his head at her, leaving her be and returning to his book. He probably would have done the same thing.

NCIS:LA#NCIS:LA#NCIS:LA

Eric stumbled down the corridor, rubbing bleary eyes and nearly stumbling into the wall as he misjudged the distance between himself and the unmovable bricks. "Ow."

Callen's blue eyes flicked up, "You okay?"

"Deeks is horrible to sleep with," The tech replied, squinting to see who was talking. Without glasses he felt blind but he wasn't going to risk waking the sleeping dragon that was Deeks to reclaim his glasses. "That wasn't supposed to sound dirty," He added, knowing Callen would be smirking in his direction.

"I know. Still did," The older agent didn't bother to hide his amusement. It was amazing what a tired adult could say- and how it could be misinterpreted. "Deeks and Kensi make good partners."

"Huh?" Eric's unintelligible grunt came a few seconds later than expected.

"Nell said Kensi was a blanket hog," Callen explained, waving to the redhead sleeping on the floor.

"Oh," Eric squinted again, edging forward to identify the pink and red mass next to the fire. "Didn't see her there."

"You're not seeing much of anything, are you?" Callen asked, recalling the time he'd tried on Eric's glasses and given himself a migraine of epic proportions because of their strength.

"Not really, no," He shook his head. "I think I might sit for a bit. Get warm before going back," He slid down the back of the sofa, ending up sitting on the floor next to Nell. "Deeks' feet are freezing."

"That's too much information," Callen said immediately. He had no desire to learn that sort of details about his team mates.

"TMI," Eric said tiredly.

"What?"

"Too much information."

"That's what I said."

"I know. Just bringing you into this century."

"Are you calling me old?" Callen frowned.

The only answer was a slight snore from the floor below.

NCIS:LA#NCIS:LA#NCIS:LA

"Is there a slumber party no one invited me to?"

Callen jumped at Sam's voice over his shoulder. Sam was one of the few people that could sneak up on his undetected. "Nope," He answered, glancing over his shoulder to look at his partner. "And in his defence, Eric did start sitting up."

"Yeah, that went well," Sam drawled sarcastically looking pointedly at the tech, who was lying on his side, one arm slung over Nell and holding her close to him. "Did Deeks put out mistletoe that no one spotted until now?"

"They're asleep. No harm done," Callen shrugged.

"I wish I had a camera. Wipe that smug grin off his face for once."

"Tell me about it."

Sam climbed over his sleeping colleagues and sat on the sofa, "Why didn't they take the sofa?"

"Maybe they knew you were coming and decided to be nice so they didn't have to listen to you whine about your sore back all day tomorrow," Callen suggested dryly, teasing his partner.

"That was one time," Sam objected, waggling a finger in the air, "and I'd just been hit by a car. I think I'm allowed to say 'ow'."

"Once or thrice but not hundred times in a minute," His partner replied coolly. "And you were grazed by the car. You jumped over it. Exaggerating isn't cool."

"I'm not arguing with you," Sam shook his head and swung his legs onto the sofa, letting his feet dangle over the edge. "I'll just bask in the knowledge that I am right, and you are wrong. Again."

"Pretty sure you have that the wrong way around."

"Shut up and let me sleep."

NCIS:LA#NCIS:LA#NCIS:LA

Kensi awoke tangled up in the blanket like she was stuck in a cocoon. "Nell?" She asked, keeping her voice low. She glanced over looking for her friend but couldn't see her. Wiggling her way out of the tangle she'd created, Kensi sat up and wondered where Nell was. It wasn't like the redhead to disappear in the middle of the night. It wasn't like this was a high school camp and secret trysts to be had. They were responsible adults. Or at least some of them were.

Frowning slightly, Kensi made her way down the corridor, trying to skip over the creaky floorboards. The last thing she wanted to do was wake Deeks- he needed his beauty sleep. But in his case, it should have been more accurately called anti-idiot sleep. She paused in the doorway. And smiled at the sight that greeted her. Callen was asleep in his chair, book discarded in his lap. Nell and Eric were a tangled mess of limbs and the only way she could distinguish between them was by the colour clothes they were wearing. Sam was stretched out on the couch, dozing peacefully. Or so she thought.

"You going to stare all night?"

"No," She pouted and ambled into the room. "My room's too cold." She didn't voice the secret voice in her head that said it was because she wanted to stay with her friends. She was sick of being alone, on the outside, looking in. But she had no idea how to say that.

"Mine too," Sam smiled at her knowingly. Sometimes he was more psychic than Hetty – and that was an achievement. "You can always kick Eric if he gets too fresh."

"I think he's got his hands full," She couldn't help but smile as she looked at the redhead and the blonde wrapped up in each other's arms. Nell was facing him, her head tucked under his chin. They looked like a postcard for young love at Christmas. She lay down next to them. "Goodnight Sam."

"Goodnight Kensi."

NCIS:LA#NCIS:LA#NCIS:LA

Deeks stretched in the early morning light. Any sensible person would still be asleep in the dawn hours but he was a surfer. They defied laws of gravity, sane sleeping and sanity in general every day. And habit was hard to break. Running a hand through his hair, his version of brushing his blonde mop, he strode down the corridor to the kitchen/dinning/living area intending to find something edible. He whistled lightly as he walked, then stopped and grinned at the group of sleeping people in the lounge room. "That is just too good."

Practically skipping back to his room, Deeks jumped to the ground, skidding under the bed, and grabbed his secret weapon. They would have no idea what hit them. "This is gonna be awesome."

A/N: Happy Christmas Eve Guys! I hope you like this. I don't know when the next chapter will be up. I've started a new project- a modern Merlin AU, if that means anything to anyone- and that's taking up what's left of my brain. I will finish this soon though. Happy Holidays everyone!