Hiya guys! I'm much happier with this chapter than I was with the last one. It's long and something very different, it's Nell/OC friendship + the team. I always love reading stories where characters are seen from an outsiders' pov. I think I'll probably do some more stories centered around that theme.

I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!

Nell/OC/team Friendship

Nel, like Kensi, had tried to maintain some friendships from before she worked for NCIS. All of the secrecy surrounding their jobs made it hard. It would've been easier if she could just tell her friends that she had a job which she couldn't tell them anything about rather than having to lie to them.

The team was wrapping up a case late in the evening when Nel got a text from one of her oldest and best friends Cheryl.

Nelly! How's life in sunny LA?

Nel had to smile when she read the message, making Eric look at her curiously.

"Who's that?" He asked in what she recognised as his forced offhand kind of voice.

She grinned at him. "It's my friend Cheryl from back home. You know the one with the cat that had kittens?"

He nodded, remembering when Nell had excitedly showed him pictures of the kittens the day they were born and how Cheryl would send new pictures every day to show how much they were growing.

Life's all good! Busy at work, as always. I'm just finishing up now, can't wait to have a nice hot bath later. Skype when I get home?

Nell got a reply within seconds.

Deal!

Nell quickly finished her report and grabbed her things.

"We haven't spoken in a couple of weeks so I'm going home to skype her. Are you finished?" She asked Eric.

"I'm going to stay a little bit longer, see you tomorrow!"

Nell drove home quickly, parked and ran up the stairs to her apartment on the second floor. She was excited about talking to Cheryl and thinking about all the things she had to tell her. When she was almost at her door someone came running at her from a side corridor, squealing.

"NELLY!" She saw a flurry of brown and green before being enveloped in a tight hug.

"Cheryl!" Nell gasped when she finally got over the shock of someone surprising her, not even really registering yet that her friend was here in LA.

"Surprise!" Cheryl finally released her, a massive grin on her face.

"Wow, it certainly is." Nell held a hand over her heart, trying to get it to stop beating so fast.

Cheryl looked uncertain for a moment. "Bad timing?"

Nell had to smile at her. "Nah, you just surprised me. Come in, I've got so much to tell you!"

A couple of hours later they were both sitting cross legged on the king sized bed with a glass of red wine.

"So enough about me and about work." Cheryl told her in a business like voice. "How's Eric?"

"Cheryl" Nell said embarrassedly, pushing her shoulder.

"Hey, you're the one that's always talking about him." She gasped and her eyes widened. "Can I meet him?" She was practically bouncing on the bed in excitement.

"I don't think that's a good idea." Nell told her apprehensively.

"Why not? I'm here now. You fancy him. Why shouldn't I meet him? Are you afraid that I'm going to tell him about that one time with Chase Miller?" She smirked, knowing how to rile her friend up.

"That's exactly why. I knew I shouldn't have told you about him."

"You love me and you know it." Cheryl told her, smirk still in place. "So how about this weekend? We can go to the beach. He surfs right?"

"Alright, alright. I'll ask him tomorrow." Nell pretended to be persuaded, in truth she didn't need much persuading at all. Any excuse to spend more time with Eric was a good one. Her thoughts must have shown on her face because Cheryl snorted at her expression and then they both fell back on the bed in fits of laughter.

The next morning Nell and Cheryl had breakfast together at Nell's favourite local brasserie and Nell left her with a spare key before going to work, arriving a little later than usual. They had a new case immediately, this one particularly gruesome and it left two young children parentless. The case wrapped up unusually quickly but it was one of those that left an impression on everyone. It was almost 8 when Nell and Eric descended the stairs into the bullpen where the others were packing their things as well.

"I think" Kensi said with a pause "we could all use a drink tonight."

"I think you're right Kens, it's been a while since we've all been out. Callen, Sam, you in?" Deeks asked.

Callen and Sam shared a look, Callen shrugged and Sam agreed for them.

"I'm going to go get changed first though, see you guys there?"

As usual the killer had put up a fight and both Sam and Callen had multiple blood stains on their clothes.

"Ok" Kensi said before turning to Eric and Nell. "Are you guys coming?"

Nell bit her lip and Eric looked at her, waiting for her reply. It had been a long time since they'd all gone out together and she could really use a drink but Cheryl was waiting at home for her.

"I'm sorry guys, I've got a friend over from back home."

"Why don't you bring Cheryl along?" Eric suggested.

"Cheryl? Isn't she the one with the kittens?" Kensi asked. At Nell's nod she continued. "She's one of your oldest friends, I'd like to meet her."

Nell still wasn't convinced. "We wouldn't be able to talk openly. She thinks Eric and I work as tv news editors."

"Maybe that's a good thing. We can all go out and relax without talking about work." Callen jumped in.

"Alright then, she'll be really excited to meet all of you. I'll go pick her up and we'll see you guys there."

While driving home Nell tried not to think about all the possible things that could go wrong. Cheryl talked a lot and was very curious and smart. The team were all experts on becoming their cover, except Eric. She was just worried that a relaxed atmosphere, with alcohol, would make someone slip up. She told herself again not to worry and started looking forward to some downtime with friends from both of her lives, NCIS and outside of NCIS.

When she opened the front door Cheryl was already waiting for her on the sofa. Nell threw open her arms.

"Surprise! We're going out for drinks with some of my colleagues."

"Yes! I finally get to meet Eric, and will Kensi be there?" Cheryl asked her excitedly as she jumped up from the sofa.

"Yep Kensi and Eric will be there and Callen, Sam and Deeks too. I haven't told you about them but you'll meet them in a bit anyway."

"When are we leaving?"

"Now, if you're ready."

"I need to get changed first!"

"Cher, we're not going clubbing, it's just drinks after a long day of work." Nell told her but it was no use, Cheryl had already taken off towards the bedroom. She smiled fondly and followed her.

Fifteen minutes later they were sitting in the car, on their way to the usual bar that the team would go to for drinks after work. Cheryl couldn't sit still and kept asking questions about everyone. Nell kept fending off her questions, telling her she'd see everyone soon enough.

"What do the others do at the company? Is there going to be a complete film crew?"

Nell sighed "Cher, we've all had a long day at work, the point of going out for drinks is to relax and not talk about work."

She could see Cheryl think and was relieved when they arrived at the parking lot two blocks from the bar. She didn't think that she could hold off Cheryl's questions any longer without her getting suspicious. They parked and got out of the car, walking towards the exit of the parking lot and chatting. Nell did a little twirl as she clicked her car key, locking the doors. She was halfway through her twirl, facing Cheryl, when someone slammed into her back. The force of it threw her into Cheryl and both of them onto the asphalt. Nell clasped her hand around her car keys as they fell and simultaneously tucked in her arms and rolled to the side, thus avoiding landing on Cheryl but not avoiding hitting her head on the floor. She rolled away from their attacker and stood up, facing him in almost one smooth motion. Almost. She wobbled slightly as she got to her feet her vision unclear for a moment before focussing on her attacker.

He was about a foot taller than her with a muscular frame, that's all she could see as he was dressed completely in black and a baseball cap and black hoodie cast shadows over his face.

"Give me the keys and your wallets." He growled out in a deep voice.

Rationally Nell knew that the wisest thing would be to hand over their things and leave. However, her training and all of the experiences she had from watching the field team on screen made that feel like the most unnatural and wrong decision. When she didn't comply immediately he took a quick step towards her and instinct took over. She grabbed his shoulders and brought her knee up to his groin with as much force as she could. Nell heard Cheryl scream as her assailant brought his leg up sideways, blocking her hit and grabbed her arms. She struggled as he tried to twist them behind her back, yanking the keys from her hand, snapping one of her fingers in the process. Nell clenched her teeth in pain, continuing to struggle even though her head was now swimming.

"Federal agents, let her go!" She'd never been happier to hear Sam's voice. Cheryl let out another scream and in a split second her attacker had swirled them around to face Sam and Callen and pulled out a knife, holding it against her neck. It became harder and harder to see Callen and Sam clearly, even with all the adrenalin rushing through her.

"Right now you'll only be guilty of attempted robbery and assault. You don't want to add murder to that list." Callen's warning sounded like it was coming from far away as her vision blurred further.

"Nell" Sam's voice pulled her back to the present and she tried to focus on his outline.

Her attacker's voice rang out next to her ear a moment later.

"Back off or she dies."

"There's no way out of this for you. You either surrender or you die." Callen told him coldly.

"I'd do as he says, my partner over there is a great shot." Deeks had appeared next to Cheryl on one side of them and Kensi on the other, having a clear shot.

"Your choice." Kensi added.

Nell slowly felt the pressure of the knife leave her neck and her attacker's hands release her. When she was sure the knife was gone she stumbled forward, Sam, who was closest, wrapped his arms around her and led her a few steps away. When she looked back Kensi was already zip tying his hands behind his back. She'd have to remember to ask Kensi if she always carried those on her.

Not now though. Now she felt like she was going to be sick and tried to stumble away from the others. Sam wouldn't let go of her and supported her until they were in a corner of the parking lot and he held her hair back as she threw up. Nell rumbled through her bag until she found some tissues and used them to clean herself up.

She turned to Sam, already embarrassed about her actions and throwing up. "I'm sorry."

Sam had started to reply when she whirled around and he had to steady her again. "Where's Cheryl?" Nell looked around frantically, trying to find her friend.

Sam led her over to where Deeks was squatting in front of Cheryl, who was still on the floor where she had landed. He was talking to her calmly and checking her for injuries. "Nell!" She jumped up as soon as she saw Nell and Sam approach. Running to her and carefully wrapping her arms around her friend.

"Are you alright?" Nell asked her.

"Am I alright? You're the one that fought a guy with a knife." She cried out in exasperation.

Eric chose that moment to come running towards them, he looked extremely worried and stopped in front of Nell, looking her over, checking for injuries before wrapping her in a gentle but desperate hug. When he finally released her she patted him on the chest before looking for a place to sit down. When she didn't find one she sat down on the asphalt with Sam's help. She could hear the others talking somewhere above her.

"Callen, I've called the LAPD, they'll be here in about 5 minutes."

"Thanks Eric. Deeks, go help Kensi and talk to the LAPD. I'll call Hetty." Callen said before walking away. Eric didn't take his eyes off of Nell and hovered over Sam, staying as close by as possible.

Nell felt more than saw Cheryl sit down next to her. Sam was carefully running his hands over her head, feeling if there were any cuts of bumps.

"Tell me when it hurts."

She hissed as his hands went over a spot on the side of her head. He carefully inspected it but couldn't find a wound.

"There's no wound, I'm sure you'll have a spectacular bump there tomorrow though."

He sat back on his heels and studied her face, there was a deep cut on the side of her left eyebrow.

"Soon you'll have a scar next to both of your eyebrows." He told her gently with a hint of humour.

"At least they'll match." She replied with a feeble smile.

He got his phone out of his pocket, unlocking the screen and moving it in front of her face.

"Follow the light for me Nell." She did as she was told, squinting because of the brightness.

"You've got a concussion. Does it hurt anywhere else?"

Nell took a moment to move the different parts of her body, cataloguing pains and aches before hissing as she tried to move her fingers. She placed her tiny hand in his big one that was resting on her knee and was both surprised and shocked to see her ring finger bent at an unnatural angle and already swelling up.

Eric's face appeared above Sam's shoulder and he gasped. "Nell, that looks really bad."
"We're going to need some ice." Eric just stared at Nell's hand in horror. "Eric!"

"Right, Ice. On it!" He said before running off towards the street.

Sam turned to Cheryl, still carefully holding Nell's hand in one of his and extending the other to Cheryl.

"I'm Sam Hanna, you must be Cheryl."

Cheryl nodded, clearly still shocked and now also confused about the whole situation. Nell could almost see the clogs turning in her head, trying to process what was going on.

"I saw Deeks already checked you for injuries. Are you alright?"

She nodded again before finally finding her voice. "Yeah I'm fine, just a couple of scratches."

Nell spoke up. "I'm so sorry Cher, I should've just given him what he wanted."

"It wasn't your fault that he attacked us." She objected.

"I know, but I shouldn't have fought him. I knew that I shouldn't but he came towards me and I just reacted."

Sam squeezed her good hand as Callen appeared beside them. "You did good Nell. You reacted on instinct and you see us in the field so much, it was bound to rub off on you." Callen told her in a firm tone.

Eric came running towards them with a bag of ice, his flip-flops announcing his arrival.

"I've got the ice." He said, holding the bag out for Sam.

Nell jumped slightly as Cheryl gasped loudly beside her. She had an almost comical expression of both shock and exasperation on her face. She raised her hand, pointing at Sam, Eric and Callen.

"Sam, Callen and Eric." She spoke slowly, before spinning around to face Nell.

"These are your colleagues? What the… What the… But you work for a news company!"

Nell looked over at Callen desperately. This was exactly what she'd wanted to avoid. What now?

"We're federal agents and work for a special undercover branch of NCIS. Therefore we keep covers in our private lives as well. That's why Nell couldn't tell you about her real job. You weren't supposed to find out but now you did we have to ask you to keep this a secret." Callen told Cheryl, his tone making it clear that this was a serious matter.

Cheryl gaped at him before looking at Nell. Several moments later she finally seemed to process what was going on.

"Well, this explains a lot." She took a deep breath before facing the others. "Nice to meet you all. And thank you for saving us. It's lucky that you were with us so quickly."

"That wasn't luck. That was our superstar." Eric said proudly, grinning at Nell.

Deeks and Kensi approached them with an LAPD officer.

"Yeah Nellster, I don't know how you managed to type in your Agent in Distress code whilst fighting off an attacker but that is freaking awesome." Deeks told her.

Kensi introduced herself to Cheryl and introduced the officer with her.

"He's going to ask you guys a couple of quick questions and then we'll take you to the hospital.

When they'd told the LAPD officer everything Sam took the ice off of Nell's hand and inspected it. He helped her and Cheryl up and passed the ice to Nell.

"Why don't you two go ahead and get in your car Nell, one of us will drive you to the hospital." Sam told her.

"I'll drive you guys, here" Kensi said, giving her her keys back and a bottle of water each. "I'll be right there."

They walked to the car, Nell was still a bit unsteady so Cheryl held an arm around her shoulders. They both got in the back and closed the doors. The sudden silence seemed very loud to Nell and she looked over at Cheryl who was watching the team talking with the LAPD from the window.

"That's so hot." Cheryl finally blurted out, looking over at Nell. She rambled on, interrupting Nell's reply.

"I know that it's all dangerous and this was a bad situation. I'm so glad that you're alright. But my god, that is hot. I can't believe you kept your job and your gorgeous colleagues a secret from me."

"Cheryl!"

"What?! Look at Sam! He is one sexy beast!" She exclaimed. "My god, what must be under that shirt." She continued, speaking more to herself.

"Ew Cher! He's married! And he's got kids."

Cheryl sighed. "That is one lucky woman."

Nell threw her good hand up in the air in exasperation.

"Tell me why we are friends again?"

"Because you love me." Cheryl told her with a smile before she put her arms around Nell and rested her head against hers.

"I'm glad you're alright."

Nell closed her eyes, hugging her back. "Me too."

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, please let me know what you think. If you have any requests or suggestions, please let me know!