Sorry it's been a while since I updated this story - I encountered a smidge of writers block but finally broke through it. I hope you enjoy :) Zoe

Kensi heard the chirping of birds and it slowly roused her from sleep. She pushed her hair from her face and blinked her eyes open. Rolling over onto her back, she groaned and lifted her body up, resting on her elbows.

"Morning." Nell greeted her cheerfully.

"Urgh, morning." Kensi groaned as she heaved herself fully up. "What time is it?"

"A little after seven." Nell replied brightly as she climbed out of her sleeping bag and began to root around for clean clothes to wear.

"Why are you so perky?" Kensi asked, a sly grin crossing her face as she formed an idea about just why Nell couldn't keep a smile off her face.

"No reason." Nell smiled to herself.

"Oh please. Don't think I didn't hear you sneaking out of here last night."

"I went for a walk." Nell lied…badly.

"Did that walk take you three hours?" Kensi asked with raised eyebrows. "I heard you coming back in only a couple of hours ago." Kensi laughed as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Spill it." Nell looked at Kensi and suddenly came over all shy, looking away and focusing on the clothes she held in her lap.

"You and Callen?" Kensi asked. Nell's eyes darted up and met Kensi's, instantly giving her the answer.

"We…kissed." Nell admitted, the smile creeping back onto her face. Kensi jumped onto her knees and beamed a smile at Nell.

"What happened? I mean last night when I went to bed you two were not exactly…"

"I know." Nell interrupted. "But I had a…" Nell caught herself before she revealed too much to Kensi. "I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep, and was going to go for a walk. But he was up and we talked and…"

"He kissed you? You kissed him? Was there tongue?" Kensi fired the questions quickly.

"God Kensi, what are you, fourteen?" Nell laughed.

"Just living vicariously." Kensi grinned.

"He kissed me." Nell sighed in content.

"And?"

"And, well you know. You've kissed him." Nell shrugged.

"When we were undercover, it was acting. Besides, it was like kissing my brother." Kensi smirked. "Come on, tell me." she begged.

"All I'm going to say is I thought I had been kissed before but clearly those boys have a lot to learn." She laughed.

"So are you two together now?" Kensi asked.

"I guess we are." Nell grinned.

Xxx

It was a little after seven and Callen was stoking the fire so he could get some coffee started for everyone. He had only gotten a few hours of sleep after Nell had returned to her tent, but he was high on energy and there was one simple reason for that. He was happy. For too long he had been fighting his feelings, torn between pursuing something that could be very special and running from the risks it would bring both to his personal life and his work life. But in the early hours of that morning she had come to him, and under the stars and in the orange glow of the fire, they had finally found their way.

A rustling sound behind him shook him from his thoughts and as he turned around, he saw Sam emerge from his tent, dressed in khakis and a black t-shirt and all ready for his team hike.

"Morning G." he greeted his friend as he walked over to join him.

"Good morning Sam." Callen chirped.

"Someone's sounds happy." Sam smirked.

"Someone is." Callen replied with a grin as he set the water on to boil.

"Does this sudden cheeriness have anything to do with a certain intelligence analyst you've been mooning over for weeks?" Sam asked.

"It has everything to do with her." Callen replied. "Nell and I, we're…together now." He focused on Sam and awaited his response.

"It's 'bout time." Sam laughed. "I'm happy for you G." he patted his partner on the shoulder. "For both of you." He added. "But why is no-one else up yet? We're supposed to be going on a hike." Sam glanced around the quiet campsite.

"Relax Sam, they'll get up." Callen told him as he moved about, pulling supplies from the cooler and getting breakfast ready.

"Oh my God it's early!"

Both Sam and Callen whipped their heads around when they heard the loud grumblings of Deeks as he emerged from his tent with Eric trailing behind him.

"I need coffee. Where's my stash?" Deeks staggered towards the fire, one hand shielding his eyes from the bright morning sun. "Coffee." He repeated.

"In a minute Deeks." Callen laughed. "Kensi said you were a caffeine junkie but wow." he shook his head as they all gathered around the fire.

Kensi and Nell had got dressed and freshened up a little in their tent, and emerged to find the boys were already up and standing around the fire pit. As soon as Callen noticed them, he looked over and a wide grin spread over his face. Kensi glanced at Nell and when saw the same grin on the young woman's face, her own broke into a smile. New love was something special and though it had been a long time since Kensi had experienced it, she never forgot that feeling.

"Morning." Kensi called out to everyone as the two of them made their way to the fire pit. Callen started walking towards them and as soon as he reached Nell, he took her hands in his, leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. They had agreed the night before that they didn't want to hide anything from their friends. They all hid too much of their lives as it was, and since Callen knew Nell had talked to Kensi, Deeks had hinted at knowing something was up, Sam had been more obvious and had also told him Eric already believed they were in a relationship, there was no point in being anything other than honest.

"Good morning." He whispered.

"Good morning." She grinned back.

"Come on, I've got coffee ready." Callen let go of one of her hands but held on tight to the other as he led her over to the fire pit.

Xxx

"Sam, this is quite possibly the worst idea you have ever had." Deeks muttered as he flapped his hands in front of his face, trying to wave away the flies and bugs buzzing around him.

"You're just not in tune with nature." Sam retorted as he pressed forward up the hill.

"Yeah Deeks, what happened to 'learning to love the outdoors'." Kensi laughed as she jogged past him and fell into step beside Sam.

"I tried. I failed." Deeks sighed. "Can I go back now?"

"Deeks, we only left camp twenty minutes ago!" Sam replied incredulously.

"Twenty minutes too long." He grumbled before stumbling on some broken twigs.

"I'm not enjoying this any more than you are." Eric told him as he caught up to the Detective. "But it's easier if you just roll with it. Trust me." He added as he trudged forward.

"What is wrong with you people?" Sam stopped and turned. "This is nature's wonderland." He held his arms wide.

"Well nature's wonderland is giving me hives." Deeks moaned. "And why do Callen and Nell get out of this torture?" he asked.

"They didn't, they're right behind…" Sam paused as he looked around and realised that Callen and Nell were nowhere to be seen. Chuckling to himself, he didn't let his mind think about what they were up to. "Deeks move." He thumbed in the direction of the trail they were taking.

"But."

"No buts." Sam said firmly.

"You're like a drill sergeant." Deeks muttered as he trudged ahead.

Xxx

Callen and Nell had stayed at the back of the group as they set off into the woods. They hadn't gone very far before Nell tugged on Callen's hand, bringing him to a stop. She wasn't sure she knew exactly what she was doing, but she had spent the last fifteen minutes walking with him, their fingers intertwined, and the whole time all she could think was how much she didn't want to be with a group.

"Nell?" Callen turned to face her.

"I'm not really feeling like a hike this morning." Nell caught her lower lip between her teeth and smiled a little.

"Oh really." Callen smiled and closed the distance between them. "What do you feel like?" he asked as he settled his hands on her hips and tugged her against him. Nell cocked her head to one side and subconsciously licked her lips as she slid her hands up to rest on his chest. Rising onto her tip toes, she stretched up to kiss him but couldn't quite reach so she slipped one hand behind his neck and drew him down to her, pressing her lips to his in a soft but enticing kiss.

"Some time alone." She told him when she pulled back. Callen glanced behind him, where the rest of the team were disappearing over the ridge.

"I don't think they'll miss us." He whispered in a low husky voice before he caught her lips in kiss that was brief but left no doubt that he was on the same page as her.

Xxx

Sam, Kensi, Eric and Deeks had reached a small clearing in the woods and stopped beside a fallen tree for a water break. Eric and Deeks sank down onto the grass, leaning against the log, while Kensi and Sam hovered beside them.

"So, exactly how long have Callen and Nell been hooking up?" Eric asked suddenly. All eyes turned to him, surprised at his bluntness.

"They haven't." Kensi replied. "At least not until last night."

"Last night?" Deeks asked. "How do you know?"

"Girls talk." She shrugged.

"Sam, Callen must have said something to you." Deeks looked to the older agent.

"Nope." Sam shook his head. "And you know what? I don't need to hear about it anyway. As long as they're happy."

"So we're happy for them then?" Eric checked.

"Of course we are." Kensi turned to Eric. "Is there some reason you can't be?" she probed.

"No." Eric shook his head. "Nell's my friend. It's just…weird is all."

"Weird?" Sam asked.

"I think Callen and Nell make a cute couple." Kensi butted in.

"You're putting the words Callen and cute in the same sentence?" Deeks laughed. "It's probably a good thing they bailed on us."

"Alright ladies." Sam interrupted. "Enough gossiping. Let's hit the trail."

"Isn't this supposed to be fun?" Deeks asked Eric as they staggered to their feet.

Xxx

The sun was shining down through a cloudless sky as Callen and Nell lay entwined in each other by the fire pit. Callen lay flat on his back on top of a blanket with Nell curled into his side, resting her upper body on his chest as they exchanged slow languid kisses.

"This is so much better than hiking in the woods with Sam." Callen chuckled when they broke for air.

"How long do you think it took them to realise we were gone?" Nell mused as she trailed her fingers down his cheek.

"Not long."

"You think they're talking about us?" she asked.

"Probably." He replied with a smile. "But I don't want to talk about them." He said as he flipped them over so Nell was on her back and he was leaning over her.

"What do you want to talk about?" Nell asked with a sly smile tugging at her lips. Meeting his eyes, she could see passion and lust swirling in them and as he licked his lips, she could feel the shift from a gentle relaxed make-out session to something much more serious.

"I don't want to talk at all." Callen whispered as he captured her lips and kissed her deeply. Nell moaned softly as his tongue ran along her lower lip and his fingers slid under her t-shirt, brushing against the skin at her waist. She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close as he deepened this kiss, his tongue dancing with hers and exploring her mouth, making her arch into him and moan softly.

Callen began to trail kisses down Nell's neck and his hand slid further up under her t-shirt, brushing lightly against her the fabric of her bra. Feeling his gentle touch, Nell let out in involuntary giggle and immediately Callen pulled back. Nell clamped a hand over her mouth as a smile tugged at Callen's lips.

"Something amusing you." He murmured. Nell she shook her head and Callen returned his lips to hers letting his hand slide over her skin, cupping her breast. Again, Nell couldn't stop the giggle and this time Callen had to ask.

"What is so funny?"

"Nothing." Nell immediate replied, hoping she hadn't accidentally insulted him. He stared at her, with his 'I know you're lying' look and she sighed softly, a smile pulling at the corner of her lips.

"It's just, we're actually doing this." She said. "A few weeks ago we were just colleagues going about our business, making small talk, and now…well now you have your hand up my shirt and are kissing me senseless."

"May be I should stop." He said playfully as he withdrew his hand and rolled off her, returning to his position on his back. Nell knew from the tone of his voice and the look on his face he was only teasing her so playing along, she lifted herself up and straddled his lap, leaning down over him.

"No, you shouldn't." she whispered as she leaned into kiss him. But Callen turned his head, toying with her. Pouting, Nell trailed her hand down his chest, tugging at his t-shirt to get his attention. He looked up and met her hazel eyes as he lifted his hands and settled them on her hips.

"No?" he asked.

"No." she replied smiling.

"Okay then." Callen grinned and flipped them over eliciting a squeal from Nell as she found herself pinned to the ground. Their eyes locked and neither moved for several seconds as they both took several heavy breaths before Callen leaned down and continued to kiss her senseless.

Probably only one more chapter to go on this story. Thanks for sticking with me and leaving reviews - they make me smile :) Zoe