A/N

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"Hey, Eric, if you want to make that flight, we better leave now. Kaleidoscope shows a lot of traffic near LAX."

Eric was just finishing up some software downloads when he heard Nell whispering.

"Of course there's traffic near LAX, it's almost Christmas. We can just badge our way through."

"Shh!"

"What?"

"I don't want Hetty hearing about us going on vacation together, she might think too much of it." Eric kind of wondered if he was making too much of it.

"Mr. Beale, Ms. Jones, I would never assume anything about the two of you, and in case you haven't noticed, you don't have badges." They heard the voice of the tiny yet frightening woman from the doorway.

"You heard that much, huh?" Nell asked awkwardly.

"Indeed. I, however, can get you through the airport in less than five minutes."

"I figured we could just get some badges and hats from wardrobe." Eric commented

"You do realize that's illegal, right?" asked Nell

"Well..."

"I will take you." Hetty ended the conversation and walked out of the room.

"Do not be too long Ms. Jones; I have an appointment with the governor in two hours." Nell heard these words from her boss while getting out of the car. She hadn't had the time to pack before work.

"I'll only be a minute." She lied. It had always taken her a long time to pack.

Nell unlocked her door and rushed into her apartment. She began packing. Shirts, pants, shampoo, toothbrush. She felt as if she were forgetting something. 'Socks' She thought to herself. While rifling through her drawer she came across a pink lace lingerie set. She was sure she wouldn't need it, but she may as well bring it, for whatever reason necessary, you never know.

She grabbed it and a pair of socks and rushed out the door.

"We're almost late for our flight." Eric said. "What took you so long?"

"Sorry, I couldn't find my hair brush." Another lie. She knew the reason she took so long. The entire time she was packing all she could think about was Eric. She couldn't decide what this trip meant yet. Were they just friends, or did Eric want to take their relationship to the next level also? She rebuked herself for thinking of that. Friends. That is all they would ever be. Because it's all just a silly crush that she was getting over. Kind of. Oh who was she kidding, getting over Eric would be like throwing out her new IdeaPad tablet. It was not going to happen.

Hetty pulled out of Nell's driveway and they drove to the airport in near silence. Both Eric and Nell felt the nagging intensity of Hetty's silence and knew that it meant something. What it meant they were not sure of, but they knew when they found out, it couldn't be good. It never was with Hetty.

They walked through airport security, Hetty badging their way through easily. No one even questioned them.

She walked them to their gate. Eric and Nell were both anxious to find out why Hetty was so quiet.

"Mr. Beale, Ms. Jones, are you alright? You're looking pale." She said.

"Uh, yeah, no, uh, just, you've been really quiet, and, uh, I was just, uh, worried, not, worried like I should be, I mean, just, uh, is everything okay?" Eric stuttered out.

"Yes, Mr. Beale, I am quite alright. I do, however, need to have a talk with you to." She replied.

"You do?" Nell asked awkwardly. She was a bit afraid of what Hetty was about to say.

"Indeed. You see, as an agent, I understand how important it is to trust your partner." Nell knew where this was going, she didn't like it. "When two agents build a relationship outside of the work environment, it can often make it harder for them to work together in a stressful work environment such as ours. I, unlike other agents, do not forbid inter-agency relationships; I am simply warning that you know what you are getting into before it goes too far."

"Uh, Hetty, I don't know where you're going with this, but I promise we're just friends. That's it. We can go on a vacation together as just friends, can't we?" Eric didn't want to believe this but had to. That's all they were, friends. Besides, he couldn't believe that Nell would want them to be any more. She was too good for him. All he was was a geeky computer nerd, but Nell was intelligent, pretty, and reasonably good at World of Warcraft.

Nell didn't need any more confirmation from Eric. He wasn't interested. Whatever, at least now she could try to move on. That's okay, she'll find someone else in Hawaii, she didn't need Eric.

"Hmm. I am afraid that I am late for my meeting, I will see you in three weeks." Hetty walked away, and Eric and Nell heard an announcement to begin boarding.

"Kensi check it out they have bacon wrapped shrimp here." Deeks nudged Kensi on the shoulder.

"Prawn." Deeks and Kensi turned around to a tall, blond haired man with a thick accent standing behind them.

"I'm sorry can I help you?" Kensi asked him.

"No, I was just mentioning, it's not a shrimp, it's a prawn. Better watch out or the locals are gonna make fun of your yank boyfriend over there."

"He's not my boyfriend." She replied quickly.

"No but we've got a thing." Deeks inserted

"There is no thing." She corrected.

"Definitely a thing. Verified, by a few people actually, so yeah, it's definitely there."

"Deeks, go buy your bacon wrapped prawn."

"Fine, princess. Someone's grouchy today." He walked away.

"There is no thing." She said to the man.

"Umm… Okay. My name is Jack. You wanna go get dinner some time?" She liked this guy, but she couldn't help but think of her Jack now.

"Well, you cut to the point quickly. Yeah, sure, umm… here's my number." She searched her purse for a pen and notepad, and then wrote down her number for him.

"Cool. I'll give you a ring."

"What?"

"I'll call you."

"Ooohh… ok. I'll see you later."

"Alright, bye." He walked away just as Deeks was walking up.

"Want some shrimp?" He asked.

"Prawn" She corrected.

"Whatever."

"No."

"But bacon is your favorite. Come on, try it."

"You know how bad that stuff is for your cholesterol?" She asked

"No, but I know it's delicious."

"Fine." Deeks smiled triumphantly.

"Let's go to the hotel and check in." Kensi said while eating her bacon wrapped shrimp. Deeks was right on this one, it was pretty good.

"I'll get our luggage." Deeks picked up their stuff and they took a bus to the hotel.

Bacon! Had to throw that in there.