Thanks for all the awesome reviews for the first chapter! I really appreciate you guys taking time to comment. I've still got writers block on The R Word but don't seem to have that problem with this story. Enjoy this nice lengthy chapter full of Nalleny goodness :) Zoe.
Callen and Nell made a habit of meeting for a run on Saturday mornings, when work or other plans didn't come first. They chose a different park or trail each time and Nell was impressed at how much her abilities increased in such a short period of time. Callen was a good running partner. He challenged her just enough and knew when she needed to slow the pace. She also knew their runs were not as challenging for him. She had noticed how he shortened his strides and slowed his natural pace in order to keep level with her. And he was never as tired as she was when they were done. While she wasn't going to say anything to him, she appreciated what he was doing and would usually throw in a sprint towards the end so he could get a real run, even though it would leave her exhausted.
Inevitably, they would find a café along the way to stop at for a bite to eat and a cold drink before they made the return trip to their cars. And when the trail they were on didn't have a café, they would find somewhere to stop after their run. They both enjoyed the simplicity of the day, that there were no expectations and when neither felt like talking they were comfortable in silence, though those moments were rare. Without intending to, they had also kept their runs to themselves. No-one else knew they went out running together and with no reason to bring it up, it stayed between just between them. Callen had a close relationship with the others and at work and Nell was always on the fringe of things there, not quite fitting in with their tight knit group. She liked having something that was just theirs and was in no rush to reveal their little secret. Though Callen had plenty of opportunities to tell Sam and the others what they were doing, he never did and Nell just hoped it was because he felt the same way as she did, and not because he was embarrassed to admit he was spending so much time with her.
It was a warm autumn morning and they were out for one of their usual runs, this time in Woodley Park. They had already been out for a couple of hours and were on the home stretch on the way back to the parking lot and Callen's car. He had picked her up that morning because he had to drive past her neighbourhood to get to the park anyway.
As the pair jogged down a small hill with the parking lot just within sight, a group of cyclists came speeding down the hill behind them, taking up the whole of the path. Callen heard the sound of the wheels whirring and looked around in time to see them coming. He altered his direction to get out the way and onto the grass. As he moved, he called to Nell to warn her but her reaction was slightly slower and though able to dodge out the way of the first three cyclists, the last one clipped her arm just enough to throw her off balance. She stumbled and lost her footing, landing hard on her side before rolling and coming to a stop face down on the gravel. Callen's heart leapt into his throat when he saw her slam into the ground and he immediately dashed across the path to her side, worried she was hurt.
"Nell." He gasped as he knelt down beside her. With a groan, she started to push herself up and turn over so she was sitting. Her heart was racing and she took in several ragged breaths, the shock of the fall really hitting her.
"I'm fine. I'm fine." She said quickly, more to assure herself than Callen. With shaking hands, she brushed the dust away, wincing a little as she noticed the grazes on the heels of her hands. Callen reached out and cupped her cheek with his hand, his eyes looking her over from head to toe. He could see a small cut on her cheek and blood dripping from her elbow where she had a nasty graze. She had also scraped the heels of her hands when she went down and there was a tear in her pants on her knee where Callen knew she would have another cut.
"You're bleeding. Let me take a look." He said as he took her left arm and lifted it so he could see the damage. It was a wide graze covered in dust and gravel from the path, and it was bleeding quite badly. Nell looked down at the graze and bit down on her lip. He took a few moments to check her hands then released her.
"It's not that bad…is it?" she asked finally.
"Nah, just needs a little TLC." Callen gave her a reassuring smile. "Let's get you up." He took both her hands carefully so as not to touch the grazes on them, and pulled her up with him as he rose to his feet.
"I don't suppose you're carrying a first aid kit?" she joked weakly.
"Left it in my other pants, but I do have one at the car." Callen was smiling but behind the smile he was a little worried. Her eyes were glassy and he could see she was shaking, probably from the rush of adrenalin. Though her injuries appeared superficial, often when adrenalin wears off other injuries become apparent and he had a feeling that Nell would find out later she wasn't quite as fine as she appeared to be.
"Come on." He draped an arm across her shoulders in a gesture he hoped she would just see as friendly, but one he really intended to provide her with a little bit of support while they walked.
Once back at his car, Callen opened the trunk and retrieved a first aid kit while Nell leaned against the side of the car. After slamming the trunk closed and placing the first aid kit down on it, he gestured for Nell to sit. When she moved round, he placed his hands on her hips and in one swift easy movement he lifted her and sat her down on the trunk, bringing her to eye level with him. Then while Nell visually inspected her injured elbow, no doubt contemplating whether she would have a scar when it healed, he opened up the first aid kit and began to sort through the supplies, pulling out a bottle of antiseptic, cotton pads, some gauze, tape and bandaids.
"Okay, so this will probably sting but I need to clean the gravel out of the cut so it doesn't get infected." Callen moved to stand directly in front of her as he poured some antiseptic on a cotton pad.
"I'm a big girl, I can handle it." Nell told him, hoping she sounded more confident that she was.
"Alright then." Callen shook his head and let out a little chuckle. He liked that she was trying to be strong but he knew from personal experience just how much what he was about to do would hurt and he was curious to see how she would actually react. "Hold still." He met her gaze briefly then started to clean the graze. As soon as the cotton pad touched the open wound, Nell gasped and jerked her arm back.
"I warned you."
"I know." She replied through gritted teeth.
With one last look at her, Callen turned his attention back to her cut and continued to clean it up, gently removing the gravel and dust and cleaning the blood up. He was focused entirely on her arm but Nell was focused on him, finding that it helped take her mind off the stinging pain. She studied his face as he methodically tended to her. His eyes were narrowed in concentration and his jaw was tight. Nell wondered what it was he was thinking that had him looking so tense.
As Callen worked on Nell's elbow, his mind went back to the cyclists whose stupidity had caused her to get hurt. He knew it wasn't intentional but he was angry that they had been so careless. Nell could easily have been hurt worse, it really was only good luck that she hadn't broken an ankle or twisted a knee when she fell.
"How's it going there?" Nell asked, breaking the silence. Callen snapped his head up having been so deep in thought the sound of her voice startled him.
"Almost done." He told her. "I just need to wrap it." He reached for the gauze and after placing a cotton pad over the cut, he wound the gauze around her arm and secured it with tape. Nell made to slide off the trunk but Callen placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her.
"Not so fast." He said as he tapped her knee. Nell looked down and for the first time noticed the tear in her pants and the blood showing through. She rolled up the fabric of the leg and got a good look at the cut on her knee as Callen cleaned it up and stuck a bandaid over the worst of the graze. She had been so focused on the pain in her elbow she hadn't realised that her knee was hurting too. At that moment it was a dull ache but she had a feeling it would get worse that night.
"Hands." Callen instructed. Nell held her hands out, palms up, for Callen to take a look. While he worked, Nell let her lips curl into a smile as she studied the man standing before her, tending to her wounds in the most caring way. Nell had fought her whole life against the stereotype of being the little girl who needed to be looked after and it had turned her into a defiantly independent woman. On her first trip into the field shortly after she started at NCIS, Sam had tried to insist on helping her pull a heavy case out of the trunk of the car but she had shrugged him off, knowing she could do it herself. But while she was certainly capable of cleaning her own scrapes and grazes, there was something comforting about having Callen doing it for her.
"Am I done?" Nell asked as she watched him place the last bandaid on her hand.
"Just let me clean your cheek and you're good to go." Callen told her. He took another cotton pad, dampened it with the antiseptic and gently dabbed the small cut. Nell clenched her teeth and took in a sharp gasp.
"Sorry." Callen whispered. The cut to her cheek was small and didn't need a bandaid so with it cleaned, he put the cotton pad down. "I'm all done." He announced.
On impulse and without giving herself time to think through the consequences, Nell leaned forward and planted a soft kiss on his cheek.
"Thank you." She told him. Callen looked stunned for a moment but he quickly recovered.
"I thought I was supposed to kiss the booboo and make it all better." He joked. Feeling brazen, Nell threw him a mischievous look and tapped the cheek he had just tended to. Without needing a further invitation, Callen leaned in and placed a soft, chaste kiss on her cheek. As he pulled back, their eyes met and for a split second he felt like all the air had been sucked out of his lungs.
"All better." Nell laughed nervously, breaking the intense atmosphere that had been created between them in that instant. The sound of her voice seemed to snap Callen back to reality.
"Come on, I'll drive you home." he took her arm to help her down from the trunk and walked her round to the side of the car. "I hope this hasn't put you off running." He said as she settled in the passenger seat.
"Afraid of losing your running partner?" she asked. Her tone made it sound like a joke but they both knew they were more than just running partners. But was it friendship or something more?
That question haunted Callen as he drove Nell back to her place. For two months he had been going out running with Nell almost every week. They talked, shared meals and he felt truly relaxed with her. She had definitely become more than just a running partner but what she had become he didn't know. He liked her, he knew that much. She was funny and witty and he felt comfortable confiding in her about things he would never tell Sam or Kensi despite having known them longer. But did that mean he liked her as more than a friend? He couldn't deny being attracted to her. There was something about her petite frame, bright red hair and big brown eyes that he found irresistible. That, combined with her intelligence, humour and caring nature, and Nell Jones was the complete package.
Callen glanced over at the woman sitting next to him. She was examining her hands, picking at the bandaids and running her fingers over the small grazes not covered by the fabric.
"You okay Nell?" he asked, realising she had been silent for some time.
"Hmm? Oh, I'm fine. I was just thinking."
"About?" Callen enquired. Nell contemplated the consequences of telling him that she was thinking about how she felt about him; that what started as a crush had, over the past couple of months, turned into real feelings, though quite what those feelings were she wasn't sure. But she couldn't do it. She couldn't risk a perfectly good friendship without knowing he felt the same.
"The accident, back there." She lied. "I was just thinking I got off easy." She glanced over at him in time to see him throw a concerned look her way.
"You gave me a scare." He admitted. "When you went down I thought you might have been really hurt."
"Awe, it's nice to know you care." She nudged his arm with her uninjured elbow, deliberately making light of her words, afraid to openly admit it warmed her heart to know he was worried about her, that he might actually care for her.
Callen wasn't sure what to think about what Nell had just said. It was spoken in a jovial tone, but he wondered if she really meant it. Was she glad he cared? Did she want him to care more? His head was spinning.
"Uh, looks like we're here." He said suddenly, realising he was coming up to her apartment block. Glancing at the traffic on the street, he pulled the car into a parking spot and turned the engine off. "I'll walk you up." Callen said as he pulled off his seatbelt. Nell glanced at him with a curiosity. It wasn't the first time he had picked her up for their run then dropped her off again, but he had never walked her up to her apartment before. She had always just jumped out the car, waved him goodbye and watched as he headed off up the street.
"Uh, sure. Okay." She nodded as she took off her own seatbelt. Callen was already out of the car and walking around to her side as Nell moved to get out. When Callen had been patching her up she had a feeling that her body was going to ache from the fall but she hadn't expected it to hit her so soon. She already felt a twinge in her back and pain down her right leg, the one she had landed on and scraped. Not to mentioned her elbow was stinging like hell. Forcing the look of pain off her face, Nell stood up as Callen reached her. He shut her door and fell into step beside her as she walked towards the door.
Callen noticed the change in her step immediately. He could see her putting more weight on her left leg and the stiffness in her upper body indicated she had some pain in her back. She was hiding it well, but not well enough. He saw her bite down on her lower lip, something he had noticed she did when she was worried, stressed or upset. He could add 'in pain' to that list. But he kept his mouth shut. He knew Nell well enough to know that she didn't need him pandering to her. He would just make sure she got into her apartment in one piece.
Nell unclipped her keys from the belt around her waist and opened the main door leading into the foyer of her building. She had two flights of stairs to climb to get to her apartment and as she and Callen started up, she actually wondered if she was going to make it. Her right leg from her hip all the way to her knee was really beginning to ache and with every step she took there was more discomfort. She could feel Callen's eyes boring into her but she refused to look at him and instead concentrated on taking each step up. She wasn't counting the seconds but as she stepped onto the landing half way up the first flight of stairs Nell knew it had taken her a couple of minutes to just get there when she would usually have made it all the way to her apartment in that time.
"Okay Nell, stop." Callen said suddenly. As she came to a stop beside him, he stepped towards her and before she could react, he scooped her up into his arms and started carrying her up the stairs.
"What are you doing?" Nell protested.
"Nell, you're in pain and it was going to take you forever to climb the stairs." He stated.
"Put me down." She insisted, wriggling a little in his arms.
"Nope." Callen shook his head, smiling a little. Nell stared at him and realised there was very little she could do at that point. He wasn't going to cave and if she were honest with herself, it wasn't so bad not having to climb all those stairs herself. She was just a little freaked out at the sudden intimacy of being in his arms.
Callen reached her apartment door just a minute later and he gently set her back on her feet. She threw him a scowl as she opened her door but he just chuckled.
"Do you have ice or an ice-pack?" he asked as she stepped across the threshold. "You should put ice on your hip and knee."
"I don't think I have either." Nell said as she shook her head. "Maybe a few ice-cubes in the freezer."
"There's a store down the road right? I'll go get you some ice." Callen started to head back towards the stairs.
"Wait!" Nell called after him. "Would you mind picking up some Thai food from the place on 8th while you're out?" He looked surprised and she felt the need to explain further. "They don't deliver and I really feel like Thai tonight." She added. She really did feel like Thai later but if Callen was going out to get ice and also had to wait on a food order, she would have time to have a shower and clean up a little before he got back. She hadn't looked in a mirror but she was pretty sure she was a bit of a mess.
Twenty minutes later as Callen waited for the order at the Thai restaurant, he knew he was being played. Sweet innocent Nell Jones had him running around after her. But he didn't mind, he could play games too.