So I've had a terrible case of writers block lately, maybe too much on my mind with work or something, who knows. But I've pushed through and finished this story - this is the last chapter, with a really short epilogue to follow. I'm not entirely happy with it but I didn't want to drag it out any longer. Thanks to everyone who has stuck with me through this story, I really appreciate your support and reviews :) Zoe.
It was lunchtime when Sam and Kensi led a bedraggled and bug bitten Deeks and Eric back towards camp. Knowing Callen and Nell were not likely to be sitting chatting back at camp judging by how quickly they had abandoned the group, Sam had fired off a warning text to his friend, so no-one would catch anyone in a compromising position. While he had no problem with Callen and Nell getting together, he didn't need to be witness to it.
"So Deeks, is the outdoors as bad as you think?" Kensi asked with a big grin.
"Worse." Deeks replied as he slapped at his arm, killing another bug trying to bite him. "I don't know what I was thinking coming along this weekend." He grumbled.
"Awe, come on. It isn't all that bad." Kensi said as she looped her arm through his. "The company is good, right?" she asked with a glint in her eye.
"Well, I guess I can't complain about that." Deeks smiled. "But this whole outdoorsy thing, I think it's something we'll just have to agree to disagree about, partner."
"I can go along with that." Kensi replied.
"I'm with Deeks." Eric spoke up. "The only outdoors I want to experience is the beach."
"Well, at least you gave it a try." Sam laughed as he led them out of the woods and onto the path heading back to camp.
As they came into the clearing, they could see Callen and Nell pottering around the fire pit. Nell spotted them first and tapped Callen on the arm to let him know.
"Hey guys!" Nell called out as the four returned.
"Hey Nell." Kensi replied slyly. "You two have a nice morning?" she asked with a wiggle of her eyebrows, noting her young friend's tousled hair, swollen lips and the distinct mark of an emerging hickey on her neck.
"We did, thanks for asking." Nell replied, knowing exactly what Kensi was thinking.
"How was the hike?" Callen asked Sam as he packed up some of the coffee cups and utensils they had out for breakfast.
"It would have been better without these two complaining the whole time." Sam threw a playful glare towards Eric and Deeks. "But it was good. I feel at one with nature." he smiled and inhaled a deep breath of fresh air.
"Don't start with all that new age hippie nonsense Sam. You know it freaks me out." Callen shook his head and smiled.
"So what are we doing this afternoon?" Nell asked as she re-joined Callen and slid her arm around his waist. "I want to make the most of the time we have left before we need to head back to the city." She glanced up at Callen and flashed him a warm smile.
"There's a place that hires out rowboats down the lake. Maybe we could take a couple out?" Kensi suggested.
"At last, something I can enjoy." Deeks sighed.
"You know Kensi won't let you row, right?" Callen laughed.
"Then I can just sit back and relax." Deeks smiled. "Right partner?"
"Just for that, I'm going to make you do all the rowing." Kensi scowled.
"Sam, Eric, are you in?" Callen asked.
The two men looked at each, each thinking the same thing – two grown men taking a spin in a rowing boat wasn't exactly cool. In fact it was decidedly uncool given the romantic overtones of such an activity, especially given the other two pairings.
"Um…" Eric began.
"I don't know." Sam shook his head.
"Come on guys. I bet Kensi and I can beat you across the lake." Deeks said encouragingly. "Winner buys dinner?"
"Deeks, does everything have to be a competition with you?" Sam laughed.
"Not everything." He sulked.
"Fine." Sam threw his hands up in resignation. "We're in."
"We are?" Eric looked mortified and glanced between Sam and the rest of the group.
"Awesome. Let's grab some lunch and then head down." Kensi grinned.
Xxx
An hour later and three rowing boats were making their way out onto the lake. In one boat, Callen was rowing as Nell reclined back, letting the afternoon sun shine down and warm her skin. Just a few feet away Kensi and Deeks were bickering about who should row, the result of which was each of them grabbing an oar and their boat starting to go in circles. Sam and Eric were in the third boat and were waiting patiently for everyone else to get their act together.
"So, where are we racing to?" Sam called over to Deeks.
"The buoy here to the one over there and back!" Deeks called back, pointing to where a little orange blob could be seen bobbing in the water some distance away. He had no idea how far it actually was but it didn't look too far and he was confident he and Kensi could beat Sam and Eric.
"Hey G, you and Nell getting in on this?" Sam called to his partner. Callen glanced at Nell then over at his partner.
"What do you say Nell, think we can give these guys a run for their money?" Callen asked.
"Probably not but what the hell." She shrugged.
With the three boats lined up, Deeks counted down from three to one and with vigour, Deeks, Sam and Callen began rowing hard and fast, encouraged by their boat-mates. Deeks slowly began to take the lead as Sam and Callen battled for second position.
"Come on Callen, put your back into it." Nell yelled, getting caught up in the competition. He rolled his eyes and chuckled, wondering if she would always be that bossy.
The buoy they were all heading for started to get closer and although Callen rowed fast, Sam started to creep ahead, his huge arms clearly giving him an advantage. Though it was apparently no match for Deeks, as he and Kensi had already rounded the buoy and were heading back to where they had started from when Sam and Eric manoeuvred their boat around the buoy. Callen and Nell were close behind and the front of their boat bumped the back of Sam's as they turned.
"Hey, watch it!" Sam called out.
"Stay outta my way then." Callen laughed back as he moved his boat up beside Sam's.
The two boats battled on, side by side as they tried to catch Deeks and Kensi.
"We're actually winning!" Deeks exclaimed as he glanced behind him and saw their starting buoy getting close.
"Don't get cocky, they still have time." Kensi replied as she looked behind her at the other two boats slowly gaining on them.
"I got this in the bag, partner." Deeks grinned cheekily as he increased his pace and rowed a little faster. Kensi stared at his arms and his muscles flexing with every pull. She knew he was strong, he had after all, pulled her clear of an explosion, but she was surprised that he was stronger and faster than Sam who had arm muscles like tree trunks.
"Come on Callen, they can't beat us." Nell cried as Sam and Eric began to edge ahead.
"You wanna give this a go?" Callen laughed as Nell looked over at Sam then at the oars, clearly deciding she couldn't row them any faster than Callen could.
"Fine, but if we're going to lose and have to buy dinner, at least let me pick where we go." She smiled.
"Done." Callen grinned as he kept rowing.
Only moments later a loud cheer sounded across the lake. Callen glanced over his shoulder to see Deeks standing up in the boat, his arms punching the air.
"I win!" he called out with glee. "I finally win!"
"Deeks will you sit down, you're rocking the boat." Kensi said warily as she braced her hands on either side of the small rowing boat.
"Relax Kensi." Deeks told her. "Looks like Callen and Nell are buying dinner." He laughed as Sam and Eric pulled up beside them, closely followed by Callen and Nell. "I want steak!" Deeks shouted over to Callen. But no sooner had he spoke than he lost his balance and began to wobble precariously back and forth.
"Deeks!" Kensi warned as the boat rocked dangerously.
But her warning was lost on the Detective as he was unable to regain his balance. With arms waving and a loud yelp, he fell sideways into the water, tipping the boat over and plunging Kensi into the lake along with himself. Nell let out a gasp and clamped a hand over her mouth while Sam burst out laughing, Eric looked shocked and Callen just shook his head, as if expecting something like this to happen.
Kensi and Deeks quickly disappeared under the water for a few seconds then with everyone looking on, they burst to the surface, Kensi spluttering and looking incredibly angry as she flailed around. Deeks shook his head like a shaggy dog and laughed. Regaining her composure somewhat, Kensi paddled over to their boat.
"You idiot." She yelled back at Deeks.
"It's just a little water Kens." Deeks laughed as he swam over to join her.
"You guys alright?" Callen asked.
"No." Kensi huffed. "I'm soaking wet." She grumbled as she grabbed hold of the side of their boat and used one hand to wipe away the hair sticking to the side of her face.
"You'll dry off." Deeks smiled as he awkwardly hauled himself back into the boat, causing it to rock and Kensi to lose her grip on the edge. She fell back under the water for just a second before Deeks leaned over and grabbed her arm, pulling her back up.
"Come on Kens." Deeks smiled despite the glare she was throwing him, and grabbed her other arm, hauling her back into the boat beside him.
"I can't believe you did that." Kensi said as she thumped Deeks on the arm.
"I can." Callen laughed. "Maybe you two should head back in and dry off." He suggested.
"Yeah, we'll join you." Sam interjected.
"You and Eric don't feel like a romantic row on the lake?" Callen asked, winking at his partner.
"You're definitely buying us steak now G." Sam retorted. "A big fat juicy porterhouse."
"That sounds good." Deeks nodded. "I know just the place."
"Alright, alright." Callen lifted his hands in defeat. "As soon as you guys are dry and camp is packed up, we'll head back to the city."
As Kensi and Deeks, Sam and Eric began to row back to shore to return the boats, Nell reached over and covered Callen's hand with hers.
"Can we stay out a bit longer?" she asked, her eyes wide and hopeful.
"Sure." Callen nodded. "Hey Sam!" he called to his partner. "We'll be in a little while, gonna take another spin."
As the other two boats drifted away, Nell carefully moved herself from her position opposite Callen to sit between his legs, resting her back against his chest and sighing contentedly when he wrapped his arms around her.
"You like it here huh?" Callen smiled and kissed her cheek.
"I always did like the outdoors."
"I wasn't talking about the outdoors Nell." Callen whispered in her ear. "I was talking about here." Meaning in his embrace, he squeezed his arms around her. Nell turned her head to look up at him, her big hazel eyes locking with his bright blue ones.
"Can you blame me." She replied softly before stretching up to kiss him.
Shifting positions a little, Callen leaned back in the boat so they were both almost lying down. He had no intention of rowing anywhere until they had to head back to shore. Nell wriggled a little and twisted so she was facing him, her hand resting on his chest.
"It's not always going to be this easy, is it?" she asked quietly.
"What isn't?"
"Us." Nell replied. "Just being together. I mean with work and everything we deal with day in and day out."
"We'll just need to make the time." Callen told her before dropping a kiss to the top of her head. "Take the moments we have."
"We'll make it work." Nell smiled before leaning up and placing a soft kiss on his lips. As Callen's arms tightened around her and she felt him rest his chin on her head, Nell had never been so happy.
Xxx
The sky was dark, the moon high, and in a steakhouse in downtown LA, the team were seated around a large oak table finishing off the steak dinners Callen was paying for. Callen sat with Nell at his side, his arm draped over her shoulder as he sipped beer from a bottle. Throughout the meal, his eyes drifted had down to her frequently, a smile planted on his face. He was still having difficulty believing they were actually together now.
"This turned out to be a pretty great weekend." He said suddenly.
"Yeah, we beat Deeks twice, basketball and football." Sam laughed.
"And I beat you once." Deeks reminded him.
"At rowing." Eric snorted.
"At least we didn't get obscenely drunk like these two." Deeks gestured to Kensi and Nell.
"The hangover and the unexpected dip in the lake aside, I'm really glad we did this." Kensi said, choosing to ignore Deeks' comment. "It was nice to get away from the city and everything, even if it was just for the weekend."
"Just don't expect Hetty to give us another long weekend for a long while." Callen said as he lifted his beer to his lips.
"She'll work us twice as hard when we get back." Sam added.
"We can handle it." Nell grinned and looked up at Callen. She was pretty sure with him in her life she could handle anything.
"It is getting late though, we should hit the road." Sam said, glancing at his watch.
"Yeah, we don't want to incur Hetty's wrath by being late our first day back." Nell laughed.
"You got this, right?" Deeks looked to Callen.
"Yeah, I got it." Callen smiled and pulled a wad of cash from his jeans. "A bet is a bet."
After settling the bill and grabbing their jackets, the six team members headed out into the cool night air and back to the two cars parked up the street.
"Guess we'll see you in the morning then." Kensi said as she unlocked her car.
"Night Kensi." Nell stepped forward and gave Kensi a quick hug. Nell wasn't normally a hugger, but over the past couple of days she and Kensi had grown closer as friends and Kensi had helped push her and Callen together and she hadn't really thanked her for that. "Thanks for everything." She said quietly before she pulled back, leaving Kensi with a smile on her face.
"G'night Kensi. Deeks, Eric." Callen nodded as the three of them clambered into Kensi's car and slowly pulled away from the curb. Callen then led Nell over to Sam's car and opened the door for her. With a smile she climbed in as he closed the door behind her. She was an independent woman but chivalry never went unnoticed and she had a feeling that Callen was a chivalrous kind of guy and she would be seeing a lot more of that.
Twenty minutes later Sam pulled up to Nell's apartment.
"I'll help you up with your stuff Nell." Callen offered as she climbed out the back of the SUV.
"Thanks." Nell nodded as climbed out. "Thanks for driving Sam." She added before she closed the door and walked around to the curb to wait for Callen as he retrieved her backpack from the trunk. With it slung over his shoulder, they walked side by side up to her apartment, their fingers laced together.
"So, I guess this is goodnight." Callen sighed as he put down her bag when they reached her door. Nell bit down on her lower lip and glanced at her feet for just a moment.
"It doesn't have to be." She said as she dragged her eyes up to meet his.
Waiting in the car, Sam heard his cell beeping. He pulled it from his pocket and checked the message;
Staying at Nell's, G.
Shaking his head, Sam smiled and turned the engine back on. He had seen this relationship building over recent weeks, but it was still a little odd to think about his best friend with Nell – they didn't seem to have a lot in common and there was a big age gap, but maybe their differences would be why it would work. Regardless, Sam had never seen Callen so content and after everything his partner and best friend had been through in his life, he deserved happiness.
Thanks for reading, I'd love you to leave a review