Thank you for all the positive reviews for the start of this sequel. And thanks to everyone who has put an alert on the story - I'm thrilled you're looking out for the next instalment. And here it is. I hope you enjoy! Zoe.
It was a little before 8.30 on Friday morning when Sam pulled the borrowed SUV up to Nell's apartment building, his Challenger being way too small for all the camping equipment and three people. She was already waiting outside for them and Callen chuckled when he saw her. Standing at the curb in a pair of very tight light blue jeans, a grey hooded sweatshirt and sneakers, Nell had a large backpack at her side that easily reached her shoulders and it was laden down with camping gear. Callen wondered how she had even managed to get it down from apartment by herself as it looked like it could easily weight twice her own body weight.
"Morning Nell." He greeted her with a warm smile and bright eyes, as he stepped out the car and moved to take the bag from her.
"I got it." She grinned and heaved the bag off the ground, staggering round to the back of the SUV. Callen stepped back and let her do it herself, admiring her desire to be independent. But as she struggled to actually lift it into the trunk, he shook his head, smiled and took it from her, effortlessly lifting it off the ground and tossing it in the back with his and Sam's gear.
"We're only away for three days." He laughed. "What did you pack?"
"Only what we might need. I like to be prepared." She replied as her eyes drifted to the contents of the trunk. She spotted Callen's bed-roll, a couple of backpacks, three tents, a guitar case, two coolers and a plentiful supply of beer. Her eyebrows rose and she went back to the guitar wondering whether it was Sam's or Callen's.
"Girl Scout?" Callen asked, quickly drawing her attention back to him. Nell merely shot him a look that said 'do you even need to ask' before she moved around to climb into the back seat, taking the one that placed her behind Sam. With a shake of his head and smile that was becoming a permanent fixture on his face whenever Nell Jones was around, Callen jumped back into the passenger seat and pulled on his seatbelt.
"We good to go?" Sam checked.
"Let's roll." Callen smiled as he settled in the seat. Despite initially seeing this weekend as a way to get his head clear away from the source of what was fogging it up, he was glad Sam had invited Nell along. He knew it might actually give him a chance to do something about his feelings for her. As Sam pulled out into the road, Callen glanced back at Nell and when she met his eyes and smiled back, he felt a his stomach flutter with nervous excitement. There was definitely something between them. He just had to find the right moment to explore that.
xxx
When Kensi left her apartment, she was more than excited about their camping trip. She hadn't been camping in the longest time and though it was only for a couple of days, she was looking forward to being away from the city and in surroundings she felt at home in. As she drove to Deeks' apartment, she thought about the hikes she would take and sleeping out in the fresh air. And while she had teased Deeks about coming along, she really didn't mind. He kept her life interesting and their flirtatious banter was always entertaining. And with Nell and Eric joining them all, she knew they would have a fun and interesting few days.
But Kensi knew she had drawn the short straw with the travel arrangements for this trip when she went to pick up Deeks and found him clutching a large Starbucks coffee and paper bag filled with packets of Starbucks sachets of ground coffee. The man could mainline caffeine but she had not expected him to be unable to go three days without a fix of the good stuff. She really knew she had drawn the short straw when she picked up Eric and he clambered into the back of her car with a large bag stuffed with electronic equipment.
"Eric. The whole point of this weekend is to get out of the city and relax. Do you really need all that?" she sighed.
"Yes." he stated, his tone almost questioning her need to ask.
"This is going to be a long ride." Kensi muttered to herself as she pulled away from the curb.
xxx
A couple of hours later the two cars had convened at the campsite. Sam, Callen and Nell had arrived first and Sam had already booked in, scoring a prime camp site with its own fire pit that was secluded enough to give them privacy without leaving them too far from the amenities on offer.
After unloading everyone's bags, the tents and their supplies, Sam and Kensi took the cars to the parking lot whilst the others started to set up. It only took a few minutes for Nell to grow irritated by Deeks and Eric. They had dived right in to the task but were fumbling around with the tents, not knowing which pole went where. And when a few moments later they abandoned the task and started joking around, each using a pole like a sword, Nell dropped her head into her hands out of sheer frustration. Callen took a few steps over to her and placed his hand on her back, just below her neck.
"Deep breaths Nell." He joked. Nell dropped her hands and glanced up at him, his soft expression and expressive eyes making her forget about the chaos for just a moment. She had noticed he did that a lot lately, touching her subtly on the back or the arm when she was stressed or worked up about something. And it always had the same calming effect.
"They're like untrained puppies." She shook her head. Then taking Callen by surprise, she put her fingers to her mouth and whistled sharply, causing both Deeks and Eric to freeze.
"Drop everything." Nell commanded, pointing to them and then to the ground. Callen laughed as the petite woman took charge. She had always been a force of nature but he worried she had been spending a little too much time with Hetty given how easily she could make them all jump when she wanted to.
"You're getting everything mixed up." Nell stomped over to where the two men stood and dropped to her knees. "I can't believe they let you play with guns and run the ops centre." She muttered to herself as she took a few minutes to get the tent poles and canvasses in order.
"Deeks, take these." She stood up and handed him a bundle of tent poles. "Eric, these are yours, and Callen." She smiled warmly at him as she handed him a bundle of poles. "These are for you." Callen took the bundle, letting his hand slide over hers as he did so and watching with delight when he saw her cheeks get just a little flushed and her gaze sharply avert to her shoes.
For the next fifteen minutes Nell was like a drill sergeant, barking orders and watching their every move as the three men assembled the tents. But it paid off and by the time Sam and Kensi returned and joined the group, the three tents were set up.
Callen took a moment to take in their temporary home. Surrounded by lush forest and green grass, the tents were set up in a semi-circle about ten feet from the fire pit. The fire pit itself had a large slightly curved log along one side, providing seating or something to lean your back against. His mind flashed forward to when it would be dark, the stars would be out and there would be a roaring fire. It would be a very romantic place to be with Nell and maybe tell her how he felt about her…if he weren't also with his partner, two bickering agents and a computer geek who hated camping.
"So, are we sharing with our partners?" Deeks asked with a cheeky grin and a wiggle of his eyebrows, breaking Callen from thoughts of being snuggled up in front of the fire with Nell in his arms.
"In your dreams Deeks." Kensi punched his shoulder as she walked past him and found her backpack in the pile of bags and supplies that had been stacked up by the fire pit. "Nell, which is ours?" she called over.
"Your pick." Nell called back. Kensi considered all three tents then settled on the one on the end, nearest to the short footpath to the bathrooms. She joked about it but she really did have a teeny tiny little bladder and in the middle of the night, a few feet could make all the difference.
Also wanting to get her bag away and her sleeping bag set up, Nell moved over to the pile and began to tug hers out, using both hands to heave it out from amongst the others. As she gave it one last yank, she lost her balance and stumbled backwards but instead of falling, she bumped into something, or rather someone. She felt two hands on her upper arms, holding her steady and instantly knew exactly who it was just from his touch.
"I got you." Callen whispered, causing Nell to shudder and suck in a sharp gasp as his breath tickled her ear. As she tried to compose herself, Callen released her and stepped around, taking her bag in one hand and hiking it up onto his shoulder.
"You really should learn to pack light." He joked as he walked away from her and over to the tent. Nell could only nod and follow, thrown by how quickly he could move from such intimacy to absolute casualness. He did it a lot, getting close to her only to back off moments later. She had a strong feeling he was doing it deliberately to get her to react, and when he turned to look at her just as he reached her tent and winked, she decided he definitely meant to do it.
"Yo G!" Sam called over as Callen deposited Nell's bag inside the tent. "What do you say to a little fishing?"
"As long as no-one expects us to catch dinner." Callen smirked. He didn't get a thrill out of actually catching fish, it was the peace and quiet of sitting out by a lake or a river he enjoyed, so more often than not his fishing line would sit in the water without bait.
"Anyone else in?" Sam asked as he crouched by his things and retrieved the fishing poles, tackle box and a couple of foldaway chairs he had brought for this very purpose.
"I'm going for a hike in the woods." Kensi announced as she emerged from the tent. "Deeks, you wanna start learning to love the great outdoors?" she asked, inviting him along with her.
"No time like the present." He grinned and rubbed his hands together. He wasn't so much excited about the hike, more the alone time with his partner.
"I think I'm going to stay here. I have a new book I want to get started on." Nell told Sam. She was fighting against the instinct to stay go with Callen but she knew three would be a crowd and with Sam around, Callen was unlikely to say or do anything to give her a clue as to what was going on in his head. She also wasn't really a big fan of fishing – it was too much sitting around doing nothing.
"Eric, what are you going to do?" she asked as she walked over to her pseudo partner. He held up a portable game console and dropped into a deckchair he had just unfolded by the fire pit.
"Well, it looks like it's just you and me Sam." Callen walked over to his partner and took his gear. He was trying not to be too disappointed that he would be spending the afternoon away from Nell and definitely not letting himself think about what it meant that given the opportunity, she hadn't opted to go with him.
Xxx
Nell had been sitting on a blanket by the fire pit reading her book for a while but she had grown distracted. Eric was sitting a few feet away, totally engrossed in his game. As she looked over at him, she realised there was something she needed to do but hadn't had the right opportunity to in the last few weeks. They were alone and now seemed as good a time as she could imagine. Marking the page with a bookmark, she placed the book down and got to her feet, crossing over to stand by him.
"Hey Eric, can I talk to you a minute?" Nell asked, surprised that she sounded a little nervous. Eric glanced up from his console and seeing the serious look on her face, he paused the game.
"Uh, sure." He replied as he shifted in the chair a little.
"So, I haven't had a chance in the last few weeks to tell you this." She began as she crouched next to him. "But I need to say thank you. If you hadn't kept digging, the team wouldn't have known Hector Valdez was still alive until it was too late." She reached out and placed her hand over Eric's. "Callen saved my life by shooting Valdez, but you saved my life by letting him know I was in danger. And I'm eternally grateful." She leaned in and pecked his cheek. Eric, clearly surprised, got nervous and began to fidget, avoiding her gaze.
"It was nothing. You'd do the same for me." He muttered.
"I would." She confirmed. "We're partners." She grinned and rose to her feet. "You can get back to your game now."
xxx
Sam and Callen were sitting at the edge of the lake, their fishing lines out in the calm water as the bright mid-morning sun shone down. They had been sitting in silence for a while, and though Callen was sure Sam was just enjoying the absolute quiet of the woodland and revelling in how different it was to LA and the craziness of the last few weeks, he had spent the time thinking about Nell.
She had intrigued him from the moment she first appeared at NCIS. He had been convinced she would be gone in a week but despite a rocky start, she seemed to have won Hetty over and in the process the agents too. And for the longest time he thought of her as nothing more than a colleague. He was actually convinced she and Eric had a thing, given their sometimes awkward interactions and geeky flirting. It really was only recently that he noticed he felt differently; that his heart beat a little faster when she was in the room, that he looked forward to seeing her every day and felt disappointment if he didn't. And then a little over two weeks ago he almost lost her. To be here with her now, in the wilderness hanging out with their friends, was a minor miracle.
"This was a good idea Sam." Callen said, taking his partner by surprise by the sudden break in silence.
"What, fishing?" Sam asked with a smile, turning to look at his Callen.
"This trip Sam."
"I think we all needed it." Sam said as he looked back out over the lake.
"It has been a rough few weeks." Callen acknowledged with a slight nod of his head.
"It's been a rough year G." he paused. "Prague." Sam's comment needed no explanation.
"And the Sudan." Callen countered.
"Kensi." Sam nodded.
"And Nell." Callen felt himself getting a little angry as he thought back to the trauma Nell had been through and how they had come within seconds of losing her.
"She's bounced back well." Sam commented after a moment, looking back at his partner.
"She's strong." Callen stated.
"And she's had you." Sam turned to his partner. It only took Callen a moment to look round at his partner, a slight questioning look on his otherwise neutral face. "Come on man, I see it." Sam smiled.
"See what?" Callen asked, feigning ignorance because although Sam was correct in his suspicions, he wasn't quite ready to talk to him about it yet. Not until he knew what he was going to do about it.
"Nothing man." Sam laughed, realising his partner wasn't in a sharing mood. "I see nothing."
Sam knew it wasn't unusual for Callen to keep something to himself. He didn't trust easily and even as his partner and best friend, Sam knew there were parts of Callen's life he was unlikely to ever know about. But he knew Callen would talk to him if and when he needed or wanted to, and that was good enough.
I'm just getting warmed up. Lots more Nallen to come.