I am so completely overwhelmed by the amazing reviews for the last chapter that I am actually speechless. I can't thank you enough for that feedback – it has motivated and inspired me. I think you'll like what comes next, at least I hope so.

Nell woke with a groan and as she blinked her eyes open and looked around, she realised she was alone in her tent. Her memory was a little patchy from the night before but she knew she had gotten really, really drunk and admitted to Kensi she liked Callen, who then had to carry her to her tent because she could barely stand. It was probably not her finest hour but her hangover aside, it had otherwise been a great night, the first time she had really let loose in months.

As she threw the sleeping bag off her body so she could get up, she realised why she was feeling so uncomfortable – she he had slept in her jeans…and Callen's hoodie. She bunched up the front of it in her hands and held the soft grey fabric to her face, breathing in his familiar scent. Memories of the previous day and night came flooding back, namely the time spent curled up with Callen by the fire. She was sure that if she just told him how she felt he would tell her he felt the same, but saying those words and taking that step was easier said than done. Once it was out there was no taking it back and if things didn't work out, there would be consequences.

Clanging and clattering noises from outside assaulted her delicate head and Nell figured that as well as Kensi, everyone else was already up. Pulling on her sneakers and dragging herself to the front of the tent, she yanked down the zip and peered out into the bright morning sunshine.

She spotted Kensi first, sitting on the log at the fire pit with one hand pressed to her head, the other clutching a cup Nell assumed was coffee. Callen was cleaning out the fire pit from the night before, while Sam, Deeks and Eric looked to be tidying up after breakfast. Glancing at her watch, Nell saw it was only 9am but by the looks of things the others had gotten up early, clearly less affected by the previous night's drinking. But that wasn't at all surprising since they weren't the ones that polished off a bottle of tequila.

Nell finally worked up the courage to get up and staggered out of the tent, groaning loudly as her head thumped and her eyes stung from the bright sun.

"Oh hey, Nell's finally up." Eric said cheerfully.

"Morning." Nell croaked as she walked over to the fire pit, her whole body moving far too slowly for her own liking.

"Morning." Callen greeted her with a sympathetic smile as he walked towards her and she came to a stop before him.

"How are you feeling?" he asked as he placed his hands on her shoulders, giving them a soft squeeze. Nell couldn't formulate a response; she just leaned forward and let her head fall onto his chest, a soft groan escaping her lips. She didn't care that everyone was around, she just needed a little TLC and he was right there willing to give it.

"You'll feel better with some coffee in you." Callen told her as he moved his arms from her shoulders and rubbed her back soothingly. "Hey Deeks, you got more coffee?" Callen called over, glancing down when Nell mumbled something unintelligible.

"What's that?" he asked.

Nell pulled back from him and held a single finger to her lips.

"Quiet voices." She whispered.

"Sorry." Callen laughed lightly. "Why don't you sit down and I'll bring you some coffee." he said in a softer voice. Then he turned Nell around and with a hand still on her back, he led her over to the log and sat her down beside Kensi.

"I feel like crap." Kensi whispered before she took a sip of her coffee.

"It's like there's a heavy metal band playing in my head. " Nell replied.

"Why did they let us finish that bottle?" Kensi shook her head slowly. "I blame Deeks." She decided.

"Me too." Nell smiled a little.

"Here." Callen suddenly appeared and crouched before Nell, handing her a cup filled with Deeks' Starbucks coffee. He rested a hand on her knee as she took it from him and she flashed him a weak but grateful smile. As he rose and headed back to help Deeks clean up, Nell let her eyes follow him.

"So into him." Kensi muttered under her breath with a smile.

"I think I need a shower." Nell sighed.

"Me too." Kensi rose to her feet. "Hey, what's the plan for this morning?" she called over to the four men gathered a few feet away.

"We thought we'd take it easy this morning, since you two are feeling a little…delicate." Sam laughed. "We're going down to the lake to do some fishing. Can you believe neither Deeks or Eric have ever been fishing?"

"I can believe it." Nell nodded, immediately regretting moving her head so much.

"We'll meet you down there in a bit." Kensi told Sam. "Come on Nell." She grabbed Nell's hand and pulled her up, the pair making their way back to their tent with coffee cups still in hand.

When they emerged from their tent with clean clothes and towels in their hands a few minutes later, the guys had already left the camp and taken the fishing equipment with them.

"So, what are you going to do about Callen?" Kensi asked Nell as they walked up to the shower block.

"You remember that huh?" Nell asked, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Yup." Kensi grinned. "So?" she probed.

"I have no idea." Nell sighed.

"If you want, I can make sure you two have some space this morning. Deeks will be easy to distract, and I'm sure Sam will keep Eric occupied, you know how he gets when he's 'teaching'." Kensi offered.

"Isn't that a little obvious?" Nell asked, biting down on her lip nervously as she realised she might actually be forced into confronting her feelings for Callen.

"Nell, I think you two are past being discrete." Kensi laughed. "Wait for me when you're done, we'll walk down together." Kensi told Nell as they entered the shower block and found cubicles.

Nell spent the next fifteen minutes letting the lukewarm water rinse away her hangover. When she had dried off and changed into fresh jeans and a top, she felt a lot more human, though she was completely exhausted. With a big yawn, she dropped down onto the steps by the door to wait for Kensi.

Xxx

Down at the lake, Sam was setting Deeks and Eric up with fishing poles and attempting to show them how to bait the hook.

"Do I really need to touch it?" Eric asked, looking at the worm with disgust in his eyes.

"It's a worm Eric, it won't bite." Sam replied.

"I know. But it's gross, and slimy." Eric tentatively took the worm and dangled it in front of his face, analysing it.

"Hey G, are you going to help at all?" Sam called over to his partner. Callen had found himself a great spot, sitting near the edge of the lake on a soft grassy patch with his back resting comfortably against a very wide tree. He had a line in the water but held it loosely in one hand, his eyes slightly hooded from not getting much sleep.

"This was all your idea Sam." He called back, making no effort to get up.

"Great. Thanks, partner." Sam replied with mock annoyance.

"Sam, I got my line baited, what now?" Deeks asked, proudly showing Sam the hook with the worm dangling from it. Sam moved over to Deeks and showed him how to cast the line into the water, getting frustrated as Deeks' did so a little too enthusiastically and got the line caught behind him on a tree branch.

"This is going to be a long morning." Sam shook his head as he glanced over at Eric who was still holding the worm, seemingly unable or unwilling to put it on the hook.

Xxx

Kensi felt much better after her shower and as she joined Nell outside, they made the short walk back to the campsite, depositing their old clothes in their tent. Nell still clutched Callen's hoodie in her hand and tossed it into her tent on top of her clothes deciding she didn't need it. But as Kensi started down the slope towards the lake, she suddenly changed her mind and grabbed it, slipping it on she hurried to catch up. She wasn't cold, but she really liked how it felt on her.

"Hey, there they are." Kensi pointed out the spot where the guys had set up and with Nell behind her, made her way over.

"Hey." She greeted Sam, Deeks and Eric where they stood by the water's edge.

"Feeling better Fern?" Deeks laughed, receiving a glare for his use of 'Fern'.

"You got one of those for me?" she asked Sam, pointing at the fishing poles.

"I'm gonna go…" Nell trailed off quickly when she realised no-one was paying any attention to her. Her eyes drifted over to where Callen sat and she found her feet walking in that direction. A glance over her shoulder confirmed that Kensi was keeping Deeks company while Sam was working with Eric on casting his line into the lake. It looked like she was going to get some alone time with Callen after all.

"Hey." She stood beside Callen, looking down as he sat with his eyes half closed. When he heard her voice he opened them fully and turned to look up at her. He was quite surprised to see her still wearing his hoodie, and he briefly wondered what that meant. He knew she had her own sweaters with her, but she had chosen to keep his on.

"Hey, have a seat." He patted the ground next to her and smiled warmly, pleased that she had come over to him. Nell dropped to her knees then shifted her weight and sat down about a foot away from him, crossing her legs. "Feeling any better?" Callen asked.

"Some of the cobwebs have cleared but..." she was prevented from continuing by a massive yawn, using her arm to cover her mouth.

"But you're tired, right."

"Exhausted." Nell admitted. "I don't sleep properly when I drink."

"Maybe you should have stayed at camp, got some more sleep." Callen looked at her with concern as he noted her unusually pale face and red rimmed eyes.

"I didn't want to miss out on seeing Deeks and Eric trying to catch fish." She replied, immediately wishing she could have just told him she wanted to spend the time with him.

"Well you've got a front row seat." Callen glanced over at the other four. "Get comfortable, it'll be an interesting show." He laughed.

Nell shifted and wriggled on the grass, trying to do just as he suggested, but she couldn't quite get comfortable. She leaned back against the tree then immediately shifted forward and shuffled a little towards Callen.

"Problem?" Callen asked.

"Looks like I picked the least comfortable spot." She glanced at the ground around her.

"Come over here then." Callen gestured for her to move closer, and after glancing at him for a moment, Nell scooted over until she was sitting right next to him. To her surprise but delight, he lifted his arm and wrapped it around her shoulder, drawing her against his side.

Nell wriggled a little and positioned herself so she was nestled in the crook of his arm, turned slightly away from him so she could the rest of the team fishing. Callen's arms were fast becoming a welcome place to be and she was a little surprised that she wasn't nervous about that. In fact, it felt entirely natural. She felt him shift, sliding down a little so he was half lying on the grass, both legs stretched out in front of him and crossed at his ankles. As she glanced over at where the others stood, she caught Kensi's eye and was pretty sure, despite the distance between them, that Kensi winked at her.

After watching the others for ten or fifteen minutes, Nell felt her head getting heavy and she let it fall onto Callen's chest, too tired to keep it up any longer. With the warm sun beating down on her, she was struggling to keep her eyes open and when she felt Callen slowly stroking her arm through the fabric of his hoodie, it was like being lulled to sleep. She stopped trying to keep her eyes open and just let them fall closed.

As Callen looked down at Nell and listened to her rhythmic breathing, he knew she had fallen asleep. Drawing her a little closer to him, he couldn't help but think what it meant that she had so easily fallen into his arms, particularly when their friends were only feet away. They hadn't spoken about the change in their relationship at all but maybe they didn't need to. Nell seemed entirely accepting of his affection towards her. He knew if she weren't comfortable with the direction they seemed to be heading in she wouldn't continue to allow him to touch her or hold her. So maybe he didn't need to actually tell her how he felt. Maybe he could just show her. And with that last thought, he settled back against the tree, let his fishing pole fall to the grass and his eyes close.

xxx

Sam's voice stirred Callen from sleep. As he opened his eyes he glanced down momentarily to see Nell's arm thrown across his stomach and her whole body turned into him, her knees pulled up to her chest. Looking up again he saw Sam walking towards him and there was no mistaking the 'I knew it' look on Sam's face. Callen realised he would have to do some explaining to his partner…later.

"Yo G!" Sam called again as he got closer. Callen immediately put his finger to his lips.

"She's sleeping." He said quietly.

"Uh huh." Sam smirked. "So, Deeks and Eric have actually caught a couple of fish. We're going to take our catch up to camp and cook it up for lunch. You two lovebirds joining us?" he laughed.

"Sam." Callen frowned a little. "We're not…never mind." He shook his head, realising he couldn't really explain. "We'll meet you up there in a bit." He looked down at Nell and glanced at his watch, realising they had both been asleep for almost three hours. He hadn't even realised he was that tired.

"Eric thinks you two are a couple, just so you know." Sam told him. "I think he's a little bit heartbroken." He added with a chuckle as he began to walk away.

Callen let his eyes drift back down to the sleeping analyst and he knew that there was really nothing stopping them from being together if she wanted it too. Clearly the others all knew something was going on and so far it didn't appear that any of them had any real issue with it. But he worried about taking that step. It would make it real and that meant real emotions, real feelings and the very real possibility that he could get hurt.

"Mmmmm." Nell mumbled as she stirred, her arm moving from Callen's stomach to rest on his chest by her head. Knowing it would take a little while to get a fire started and to cook the fish, Callen decided to let her sleep a little longer. So tightening both arms around Nell, he rested his chin on her head and started to think about whether he was ready to take things to another level.

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