So I didn't mean for this chapter to be so long but there wasn't a natural point at which to split it into two, so you get a really long chapter filled with lots of team and Nallen moments. I was going to wait another day before posting, but what the heck. Enjoy! Zoe.
With full stomachs and beers on hand, the team were seated comfortably around the fire pit before a roaring fire. Callen sat on the ground in the middle with one arm stretched out across the large log that half encircled the fire pit. He was content watching his friends as they chatted animatedly. Nell was at his right side, deep in conversation with Kensi and Deeks while Eric and Sam were talking about scuba diving. The sun had gone down and the darkness was creeping in, the glow from the fire and a couple of lanterns providing their real light.
"I know what this little party needs." Kensi suddenly announced.
"What's that?" Callen asked.
"It's a surprise." She laughed as she jumped to her feet and took off towards her tent.
"I should have got her to bring me back a sweater." Nell said as she rubbed her arms, feeling the cool night air chill her through her thin long sleeved top in spite of the heat from the fire. "I'll be right back." She moved to get up.
"Nell." Callen stopped her with a hand on her knee, then slipped off his zip up hoodie and handed it to her.
"You sure?" she asked, seeing he was only wearing a t-shirt. He nodded and smiled as she slipped her arms into it, tugging it close around her front. He couldn't quite explain the feeling it gave him to see her wrapped up in his jacket. There was just something about a girl wearing a guy's clothes that he found both sexy and cute at the same time.
He was torn from his thoughts when Kensi returned, clutching a brown paper bag.
"What's in the bag Kensi?" Deeks asked.
"Tequila!" she announced with a grin, as she pulled a large bottle from the bag and held it in the air. After putting it down on the ground, she pulled out six plastic shot glasses and began setting them up on the little table.
"What? No salt and lemon?" Callen joked, receiving only a playful glare from Kensi in response.
"Who's in then?" Kensi asked as she opened the bottle and began to pour the golden liquid into the shot glasses.
"Me!" Nell reached over and picked up one of the glasses.
"I never figured you for a tequila shot kinda girl." Callen commented with a smirk on his face.
"There's a lot you don't know about me." Nell replied with a smirk of her own as she passed a glass to the Senior Agent.
"Touche." he rose his glass to her.
"You know what would liven this up even more." Deeks began. "A little…game." He nodded with a cheeky grin.
"And what exactly did you have in mind?" Sam asked sceptically.
"How about 'I never'?" Deeks suggested.
"Deeks, that game never ends well." Callen shook his head.
"Chicken?" Deeks teased.
"No. As long as what is said at Crystal Lake stays at Crystal Lake." Callen responded with raised eyebrows in a subtle warning. Even with his limited experience, 'I never' usually resulted in someone's most embarrassing or darkest secret being revealed and he had no desire to have to deal with the aftermath.
"Okay, everyone got their shots?" Kensi checked. "And since this game was Deeks' suggestion, he goes first." She grinned at her partner. Deeks looked thoughtful for a moment then stared right at Callen as he spoke.
"I never kissed Kensi."
"Deeks!" Kensi thumped him.
"There will be payback." Callen retorted as he took his shot, completely missing the brief look of jealousy flash across Nell's face.
"My turn." Kensi announced as she refilled Callen's glass. "I never dressed up like the cop on CHIPS." She laughed. Callen and Sam glanced at each other, remembering their six month operation undercover as Highway Patrol cops, before they lifted their glasses in a silent toast to each other and knocked them back.
"I never…streaked in public." Callen asked, knowing this would be one round he wouldn't be drinking. He glanced around everyone else and saw both Eric and Nell look down momentarily before taking their shots, the only ones to do so.
"Really?" Deeks gasped. "Both of you have streaked?" he asked, vocalising what everyone was thinking, that those two were last people they would expect to perform such an act.
"I was drunk at the time." Eric defended himself.
"I wasn't." Nell sniggered, causing Callen's eyebrows to rise in shock.
"I never…got a tattoo." Sam took his turn, drinking his own shot immediately then looking around to see who else was going to drink. Kensi took a drink which was unsurprising, but when Nell drank her shot, everyone stared at her.
"What?" she shrugged.
"So, what's your tattoo of?" Callen asked, leaning in close.
"More importantly, where is it?" Kensi laughed.
"That is something you're unlikely to ever find out." She laughed as she held out her glass for a refill. She had only done two shots but paired with the two bottles of beer she had drunk, she was feeling quite tipsy. And that is what led her to make her 'I never' statement.
"I never…had someone try to kill me." Her words startled everyone given how recently it happened to her. As she looked around, she caught Callen's gaze, even in the minimal lighting seeing his eyes darken and narrow, and that familiar look of concern mixed with a little horror cross his face.
"Come on, if I'm not able to joke about it I might as well quit my job and push paper at a desk at the Pentagon." She shrugged and knocked back the shot.
"She has a point." Deeks nodded and took his.
"To being shot." Kensi raised her glass with flare before drinking the shot.
"Shot and stabbed." Callen chimed in as he drank.
"Shot, stabbed and blown up." Sam swallowed his tequila with a slight grimace.
"To being frelted." Eric finished.
"Shouldn't we be worried about that?" Nell asked seriously, looking around at the others who appeared to be thinking the same thing. "Nah." they all agreed with a muttering or a shake of their head.
The game carried on for a few more rounds before it drew to a natural conclusion. Callen realised they were all getting incredibly drunk very quickly. Except Deeks. It hadn't escaped his attention that the Detective had only done two shots and Callen wondered just how honest he had been.
"Hey Eric, I don't suppose you've got something in your bag of wonder that I can hook my iPod up to?" Kensi asked as she fished her iPod out her pocket.
"I have speakers." He replied as he staggered to his feet and clumsily stepped over Nell and Kensi, heading to his tent.
"Oh God." Deeks sighed. "Are we going to have to listen to your techno crap all night?"
"It's better than jazz." Callen laughed, garnering a glare from Sam.
"It's not only techno music I like." Kensi pouted as Eric returned and quickly set up the speakers. Within a minute the playlist from Kensi's iPod was streaming and Deeks sighed with relief that it was actually bearable while Kensi began to move and sway with the beat as she sat.
"I think I need some water." Nell announced. She started to get to her feet but immediately lost her balance and fell back down, bursting into giggles. "I really need some water." She laughed. As she made another attempt to get up and used the log to brace herself, Callen rose with her and took her arm to help keep her steady.
"I'll go with you. Anyone else need water?" he asked, getting a quick shake of the head from Sam and Eric.
"We're good." Deeks waved him off as he turned back to tease Kensi about her lack of rhythm.
Callen walked slowly beside Nell as she stumbled towards her tent where the cooler with the bottled water was being stored.
"You alright there Nell?" he asked, looking down and smiling at her.
"I'm fine, Callen." She replied, flashing him a grin before she stumbled again, almost losing her balance. Callen reached out and grabbed her waist with both hands, keeping her on her feet. When she was balanced again, he kept an arm around her waist, holding her close against him as they walked.
"Just remind me whose idea that little game was tomorrow morning so I can plot my revenge." She laughed and leaned into him, letting her head fall against his chest. She had long since lost her inhibitions and let herself just enjoy the feeling of closeness and knowing he wouldn't let her fall.
"Wait here. I'll get the water." Callen said to her when they reached her tent. Nell didn't argue, she was pretty sure if she so much as looked down at her feet she would fall over. A moment after disappearing into the tent, Callen emerged and handed a cold bottle of water to Nell. She immediately uncapped it and took a long drink, her eyes drifting over to the fire pit.
"They look like they're having fun." She said, watching Kensi as she desperately tried to get Eric to get up and dance with her while Sam and Deeks laughed at her efforts.
"Are you having fun?" Callen asked.
"I am." She replied, glancing up to look at him. "Thanks for inviting me." Callen's response was to wrap his arm around her shoulder and as Nell leaned into him again, he threw caution to the wind, bending head down and placing a soft kiss on the top of her head, silently thinking he was just glad she was around to be invited.
"Come on, we should get back and rescue Eric." Callen laughed, seeing that Kensi had pulled Eric out of his chair and was trying to get him to move his hips to the music.
"Nell, you'll dance with me right?" Kensi called as the pair approached the fire pit.
"Kensi, I love you, but no." Nell shook her head and laughed. Aside from never dancing in public, mostly for their own safety, Nell was too comfortable next to Callen with his arm around her and she was in no rush to move away.
And Callen was in no rush either. He walked her past Kensi and sat them down beside the fire, keeping his arm around her the whole time. He was a little surprised that no-one commented on the fact that he was sitting with Nell essentially cuddled up against his side. In all fairness he wouldn't have expected Sam to comment on it in front of the others. He would likely save that for when they were alone. And Eric wouldn't risk Callen's reaction if he made a comment. But he would have thought Deeks would have made a joke about it, or for Kensi to comment. But as he looked around he realised Deeks was too interested in watching Kensi and she herself was too drunk to really notice. So he relaxed and took a gulp of beer, letting himself fall into the drunken conversation and just enjoy the night for what it was.
xxx
A few hours on the other side of midnight later, and it was just Callen, Nell, Deeks and Kensi still awake. Sam had said his goodnights a while back and headed to his tent, closely followed by a very drunk Eric who practically crawled from the fire pit to the tent he was sharing with Deeks. Kensi and Nell were huddled together at the far side of the fire pit, giggling like school girls as they finished the bottle of tequila and listened to the music, having moved the speakers over beside them.
"You know we're going to get the blame for the hangovers they have tomorrow, right?" Deeks said to Callen as he looked over at the girls.
"Oh, I know." Callen smirked.
"Maybe we should have cut them off." Deeks wondered out loud.
"I'd like to have seen you try." Callen laughed as he finished his beer and reached to open another, passing it to Deeks before taking one for himself.
"What do you think they're laughing about?" Deeks mused. Callen glanced over then sat up a little when he heard Kensi squeal.
"Boys." He chuckled.
xxx
"Come on Nell, you can tell me." Kensi whispered.
"Tell you what?" Nell whispered back, all too aware that if she spoke any louder both Deeks and Callen would be able to hear them despite the music.
"What it is that's going on between you and Callen." Kensi grinned and looked over at Callen, who was talking with Deeks.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Nell replied innocently.
"Please, I see the way he looks at you." Kensi grinned. "The way you look at him." She waggled her eyebrows suggestively as she offered Nell a shot of tequila. "And for a man who isn't big on PDA, he's been paying you a lot of attention lately. I saw you two earlier, all snuggled up in front of the fire." Kensi laughed as she drank her shot.
"He's just being friendly." Nell reasoned, even though she couldn't keep the grin off her face.
"Oh, I'm pretty sure he wants to be a lot more than friendly with you."
"Shhh, he'll hear you." Nell quickly looked over at Callen, to find him staring at her. Blushing, she turned back to Kensi.
"Relax, he can't hear a thing." Kensi gestured for Nell to drink her shot and the young analyst obliged, thinking that if everything went wrong, she could just blame the tequila.
"You do like him, right?" Kensi checked.
"You won't go blabbing to Deeks?" Nell checked. Kensi shook her head vehemently.
"Girl talk is sacred." She affirmed.
"I really like him." Nell grinned. Kensi squealed and grabbed Nell's hands.
"It's about time there was some romance around here."
"There's hardly any romance going on." Nell sighed.
"And there won't be unless you let him know how you feel." Kensi said, trying to sound wise despite her inebriated state. "Callen is a complicated man but the one thing I do know is he does everything to protect himself from getting hurt and unless he's sure you won't reject him, he won't make a move."
"Urgh, why are boys so…" Nell trailed off, taking a final shot of tequila. "But why are we only talking about me? What about you and Deeks?"
"Deeks!" Kensi laughed then realising she had spoken quite loudly she covered her mouth with her hand and returned to hushed tones. "There is no me and Deeks."
"Really?" Nell shook her head disbelievingly.
"Really. We're partners. Even if we wanted to we couldn't." she stole a glance at her partner who was laughing with Callen on the other side of the fire.
"He is cute." Nell grinned. "That floppy hair, scruffy beard, his big blue eyes."
"You don't need to remind me." Kensi laughed. "I'm not blind."
"Good, because I was beginning to think you might be." Nell chuckled.
"Oh please." Kensi reached for the bottle of tequila and pouted when she found it empty. "Hey, we're all out." She held the bottle upside down, shaking it a little as a few drops fell onto the grass.
"Did we drink all that?" Nell laughed and reached over to grab the bottle but Kensi moved it out of her reach and Nell felt herself toppling over and landing on the soft grass, bursting into loud laughter.
"You're drunk." Kensi laughed as she leaned over the younger woman.
"So are you." Nell retorted, poking Kensi with her finger, causing Kensi herself to fall over and land beside her.
xxx
Deeks and Callen looked over at Nell and Kensi when they heard loud laughter, seeing that both women had collapsed onto the grass.
"I think they're done." Deeks nodded as he finished his bottle of beer.
"Come on, it's time to play hero." Callen laughed as he set his beer down and rose to his feet. With Deeks at his side he walked around the fire and over to Kensi and Nell. The two women were lying on their backs, still laughing, though a more sober Callen and Deeks had no idea over what. Nell had been laughing so hard she was actually crying.
"Alright Fern, time for bed." Deeks crouched down and grabbed Kensi's arm, pulling her to sit up.
"It's still early." Kensi protested.
"Yeah, early morning." Deeks replied. "Up we go." He grabbed her other arm and hauled Kensi to her feet, wrapping his arm around her waist as she struggled to stay standing.
"No fair." She pouted as he began to walk her towards her tent.
Callen crouched next to Nell and brushed a lock of hair from her face.
"Can you sit up?" he asked with a smile on his face.
"No." she laughed, wiping a tear from her face before throwing her arms out to each side. "I'll just sleep here." She sighed.
"That's not a great idea, Nell." He said as he dropped onto one knee. Then slipping his hands under her arms, he lifted her upright. But as soon as she was sitting up, she collapsed against Callen, her world spinning, and she began to giggle again.
"You are hammered." He laughed. "Put your arm around my neck." He told her as he slipped one arm around her back and the other under her legs. Nell wrapped both her arms around his neck and held on as Callen rose to his feet. Then making sure she was secure, he started to walk the short distance to the tent.
Nell's world was in a spin. She couldn't see straight. She couldn't think straight. But she knew where she was and she liked being there. She could feel the warmth from Callen's body flooding into her and as he held her close, she let her head fall onto his shoulder, her eyes fluttering closed.
"Hey Deeks." Callen called as he reached the tent. The younger man had just got Kensi inside and was emerging from the tent when Callen reached him.
"Did she pass out?" he asked, looking down at Nell as he held the tent open.
"No I did not." Nell mumbled and forced her eyes open.
"Okay, here you go." Callen lowered Nell to the ground but held her around the waist from behind as she struggled to stay on her feet. She leaned her back into him as she swayed a little, before moving forward to get into the tent. Callen followed, keeping two hands on her waist as she ducked inside. As soon as she got in, she fell forward onto her open sleeping bag, slowed only by Callen's firm grip on her. Once safely down, she rolled over and sighed sleepily, closing her eyes as Callen tugged off her sneakers and dropped them at her side.
"You alright Kens?" Callen asked, glancing over at her equally drunk tent mate as he pulled the sleeping bag over Nell.
"Mmm hmm." Kensi mumbled and rolled over onto her stomach.
"Goodnight Nell." Callen whispered, turning his attention back to the young analyst. Then not really caring if Deeks could see, he leaned down and kissed her forehead, feeling a surge of warmth flood through his chest when she sighed and a smile settled on her face.
When Callen emerged from the tent a moment later, Deeks was hovering outside, his hands stuffed into his jeans pockets.
"I think I may have to give up some of my coffee stash to those two in the morning." He joked.
"I'm surprised they got so drunk." Callen commented as he began to walk slowly with Deeks towards the other tents.
"I'm not." Deeks replied. "Not when they know they've got us to look out for them."
Callen looked at Deeks with surprise.
"You're not drunk at all are you?" he asked with a smile, realising Deeks had deliberately stayed sober to watch over Kensi.
"Nope." He shook his head. "As soon as I saw Kensi on her third shot I knew she was going to go all the way and I'm her partner, I need to have her back." He shrugged. "I can't very well do that if I can't see straight." He looked at the Senior Agent. "Just like you with Nell." He added, throwing Callen a meaningful look.
"What do you mean?" Callen asked, even though he was pretty sure Deeks was hinting at knowing Callen had feelings for Nell.
"She's not your partner, but I know you care about her." Deeks knew he was treading on thin ice but he continued. "She's been through a lot lately and she feels safe with you, anyone can see that." Callen remained silent and Deeks took that as a sign he could carry on.
"She's been on guard for weeks, always looking over her shoulder. But tonight she let her guard down because she knew you wouldn't let anything happen to her. She trusts you." Deeks came to a stop outside his tent. "Well, g'night Callen." He said lightly, as if he hadn't just been talking about something quite serious.
"You know Deeks, sometimes you surprise me." Callen laughed. "You can be really deep."
"Yeah, just don't tell Kensi. It'll ruin my image." He laughed as he unzipped his tent and stepped inside.
Callen took a look around the now silent campsite and after briefly thinking about joining Sam in their tent, he decided to go back to the fire pit. He wasn't really tired and Deeks had actually given him a lot to think about. He knew Sam had suspicions and now Deeks seemed to know how he really felt for their youngest team member. Callen had been trying to be controlled around Nell, careful with how he spoke to her and touched her, until tonight anyway. But if everyone was already thinking it, maybe he didn't need to be so guarded. Whatever happened, he knew tomorrow would be interesting.
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