Thanks so much to everyone who continues to review my story. I don't think I can every express how much joy I get from seeing your reviews in my inbox. It makes everything worthwhile and I am so pleased you are enjoying this story. I had originally intended on this being about five chapters but it is quickly getting a lot longer! I hope you enjoy this next bit. Some fun team activity. Zoe.
It was a little after two in the afternoon and Nell had long since given up on her book, her mind drifting too often to a certain Special Agent to be able to concentrate on the plot. Instead, she had spent some time organising their supplies and making a note of what they could make for meals, had taken a long walk around the campsite whilst indulging in her thoughts about Callen and the things he had said and done which left her with little doubt that they were definitely more than colleagues and quite possibly more than friends too, if only one or other of them would do or say something about it.
For the last half hour she had put those thoughts to the back of her mind and been preparing lunch for everyone in anticipation of their return.
Eric hadn't moved from his deckchair all day but Nell was content to let him be. She knew he hadn't really wanted to come along on this impromptu trip but she thought it was nice of him to make the effort to be with the team, even if he was a little lost in his own world.
Nell was just finishing up putting the sandwiches she had made onto paper plates on top of a small foldaway table she had brought when Kensi and Deeks returned. Nell could hear Deeks complaining from fifty feet away and it caused her to laugh out loud.
"Deeks, will you shut up!" Kensi grumbled as she and her partner reached the camp site. "Three hours Nell, three hours of that." She jabbed her finger at Deeks then threw her hands up in resignation.
"I got eaten alive out there." Deeks immediately complained to Nell. "Vampiric, blood sucking devils." He moaned as he scratched at his arms. Kensi rolled her eyes and muttering something Nell couldn't quite hear, she wandered off to her tent to get changed.
"This is the wilderness Marty." Nell reminded him as she took a few steps to a small bag she had been keeping a few essential items to hand in. Digging around in it, she pulled out a tube of cream. "Antihistamine cream." She said as she handed it to Deeks. "It'll stop the itching."
"Thanks Nell." Deeks replied gratefully as he immediately opened the tube and started slathering it over his bite covered arms.
Distracted by helping Deeks, Nell didn't hear Callen and Sam approaching until she heard Callen's voice directly behind her.
"What's all this?" Callen asked as he spotted the food and drinks set out. Nell whirled around, her heart pounding when she found herself face to face, or rather face to chest, with the man.
"Oh hi." She gasped, a little caught off guard by his close proximity. "I made lunch for us." She tore her gaze away from his toned chest and up to his face.
"Thanks Nell, you didn't have to." Sam called as he moved to put the fishing gear near his tent.
"Yeah Nell. Thanks." Callen smiled warmly and placed his hand on her shoulder for just a moment, giving it a gentle squeeze. He couldn't help himself, when he was around her he had to find a reason to touch her.
"It was nothing." Nell shrugged. She spent every day doing things for the agents to make their lives easier and to her this was just a natural extension of that. "Help yourselves." She gestured to the food.
"So what are we doing this afternoon?" Kensi asked, having emerged from her tent in fresh jeans and a t-shirt. "Oh hey, food." She added, making a beeline for the plates.
"I saw a basketball court when I took a walk earlier. Maybe it's time for a rematch – without Hetty to referee." Nell grinned.
Xxx
An hour later, Callen, Sam, Deeks and Eric were waiting at the basketball court for Kensi and Nell. Deeks was bouncing the ball and making free throws whilst pointing out that once again, Kensi was the one running late.
"Relax Deeks, we're here." Kensi called as she and Nell approached. Callen turned on his heels to see the two women approaching. Kensi was wearing tight black leggings and a fitted t-shirt, showing off her figure to its fullest. Nell on the other hand, was wearing black running pants and a large baggy t-shirt layered with a long sleeved top underneath. It drove him crazy because while most women in LA left nothing to the imagination, Nell left everything to his imagination.
"So if this is a rematch, we get the same teams right?" Callen looked around everyone.
"As long as Eric actually plays this time, and doesn't hand the ball to the opposition." Deeks laughed.
"I was caught off guard." Eric defended himself.
"What are we playing? First to 21?" Kensi asked. Everyone nodded in agreement and as the six of them spread out around the court, the game began.
Callen had been impressed by Nell's aim the first time she sank a basket in the gym, and she didn't disappoint. Despite being the shortest on the court, Nell scored several baskets early on until Kensi, Deeks and Eric were trailing 10-4.
"Come on Eric, she's like half your size. How come she keeps getting past you?" Deeks moaned in jest.
"She's sneaky." Eric shrugged.
"I'm not sneaky, just good." Nell smirked and gave Sam a high five as he passed her.
"Maybe we should switch it up." Kensi suggested to her team. "I'll take Nell."
"What, and leave me with Callen?" Eric looked horrified.
"I'll go easy on you." Callen joked.
Callen did go easy on Eric and even though Kensi was guarding Nell, the analyst was still able to make several long shots. Between celebrations of Nell's latest basket, Callen took a moment to observe his team. It had been a while since he had seen everyone enjoying themselves and they were definitely more relaxed then he seen any of them in months. He paid particular attention to Nell and was happy to see her laughing and fooling around with everyone, seemingly carefree. He knew she was still carrying a lot from what happened to her several weeks ago – no-one went through what she did without having a little baggage, but if this were anything to go by, she was definitely going to be okay.
As he got back into the game, he and Sam dominated the court. With their well-practiced moves and Nell's free throw abilities, they easily had the advantage over Kensi, Deeks and Eric and it wasn't long before they claimed victory.
"And that's how it's done." Callen gestured widely with his hands and took a mock bow.
"It's all about teamwork." Sam added as he jogged over to his partner and they bumped chests and patted each other on the back.
"Hey, I helped too." Nell spoke up.
"Yeah, I knew you could shoot but girl, you can play." Sam complimented her as Nell joined both men.
"Nell, you can be on my…" he caught the glare from Sam, "I mean our team anytime." Callen slung his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a side hug before loosening his arm but leaving it hanging off her shoulder. Though he was a little concerned about showing too much affection towards her publicly, he didn't believe anyone would think anything of the friendly gesture.
"I demand a rematch." Deeks announced, clearly frustrated that his team had lost.
"This was the rematch." Callen smirked.
"Come on man, I need a chance to redeem myself." Deeks persisted.
"Well you can do that without your partner." Kensi sighed. "I'm done." She told him as she walked to the edge of the court then dropped down onto the ground and began to pull her hair from her ponytail and redo it, scraping back the hair that had come loose during the game.
"Kensi, Princess, you can't leave us hanging." He called after her. "We can't play with five."
"You can if I go too." Nell announced. "I'm out." she took a step forward and Callen lifted his arm to release her, his hand sliding over her shoulder as she moved to join Kensi.
"Two on two?" Sam looked at Deeks and Eric.
"I don't know." Eric shook his head.
"Come on Eric, I know you got game in there somewhere." Deeks encouraged, knowing if Eric gave up he wouldn't get his game.
"Fine." Eric agreed, his tone suggesting he was none too thrilled. But Nell saw the smile tugging at her friend's lips and knew he was actually happy to be included. And with the reduced teams agreed, the four men squared up and began a whole new game.
As Nell settled herself at the side of the court and watched the game, she found her eyes following only Callen. As he ran the court, dodged around Deeks and Eric and made jump shots, she found herself entranced. With each shot he took, the muscles in his arms flexed and she recalled having those arms wrapped around her the night he rescued her from Valdez and how safe and secure it made her feel.
The longer the boys played, the harder they played and as Callen squared up to Deeks they tussled a little. Nell watched with wide, admiring eyes as she saw how Callen used his strong shoulders to bump Deeks out the way to get the shot in. She was a little surprised at how it made her feel. Nell had never been one of those girls who swooned over manly men, she was usually drawn to the intellectuals who in her world were skinny, pale and a little bit geeky. But watching Callen posturing and showing off, she felt a tingle in her stomach. And she felt like he was deliberately trying to impress her because each time he made a shot, he turned to look at her, as if seeking her recognition. And she found herself willingly giving it to him, at first with a smile in return, then as Kensi's support for Deeks and Eric became more vocal, Nell began calling out "great shot" or "way to go!" Before long she and Kensi were both on their feet, cheering and shouting like they were at a real game.
Time flew by and before long the sun was getting low in the sky. The game was hard fought and with a lot of laughter and some playful banter from both on and off the court, the game ended with Sam and Callen winning but only three points ahead of Deeks and Eric.
"Kensi, you gotta help me out." Deeks pleaded, none too pleased that he had lost again.
"No can do." She shook her head. "It's probably about time we got dinner started." She glanced at her watch.
"Great, I'm starving." Eric tossed the ball he had been holding to Deeks and moved across the court to join the Junior Agent.
"Fine. I can be a graceful loser." He moaned as he joined Kensi, Eric and Nell.
"But can you be a clean loser?" Kensi waved her hand in front of her nose and pointed to Deeks' sweaty shirt.
"What? Does my man smell not turn you on?" he joked as he tugged at his shirt.
"Just go take a shower." Kensi sighed. "Nell, you had a suggestion for dinner?"
"Uh huh." She nodded. "But we'll need to get the fire started."
"Hey G. What about a little one on one?" Sam asked. Callen stole a glance at Nell, torn between wanting to play with Sam and spending more time with Nell by going back down to the campsite.
"Uh, sure big guy." He replied after a moment. Then he jogged over and picked up the ball Deeks had dropped. "How long do we have Nell?" he asked.
"Um, about an hour and half" she replied after making a few quick calculations. "Oh, and that includes time for you to shower." She added. Both men looked down at their sweaty shirts then looked back to see Kensi and Nell walking away from them laughing.
Xxx
Two hours later everyone was gathered around the fire pit, sitting on blankets and the fold away chairs, with plates of food on their laps and beer in their hands.
"Awesome dinner Nell." Deeks complimented as he shovelled another spoonful of the stew she and Kensi had made into his mouth.
"I helped." Kensi thumped his arm, startling him and causing him to choke a little.
"Easy there Blye." He laughed as he wiped his mouth. "We're a long way from a hospital."
"Wimp." She retorted playfully.
"Hey guys." Callen interrupted and drew everyone's attention with his serious sounding tone. "I just want to say, before we get drunk…" he smirked. "It's been one hell of a year, but I'm glad we're all here to enjoy this." He raised his beer bottle.
"I second that." Sam raised his bottle. "To friends."
"To family." Nell added, glancing over at Callen and meeting his gaze with a smile.
"To friends and family." The others agreed, each raising their bottles to the toast.
I have to admit that I haven't actually seen the episode with the basketball scenes but I have watched a clip on youtube so forgive me if anything seems weird about the references I've made. It fit so well with what I wanted them to do I just had to bring it in.
And I think the end went a little bit too mushy, so I stopped it there and the next chapter will pick up after dinner and it'll be a good one filled to the brim with Nallen.