Author's Notes: Jane will make her first official appearance in the next chapter. You may notice, with this story, that each chapter will generally have a different focus. Same overall story, but some might be more centered on Densi or others Nallen, or sometimes neither and it's about other characters. Unlike most of my stories, I wanted to do this with this one in particular - there's a lot more characters in this story (with shorter chapters than I usually prefer), and more plots going on - so I wanted to explore those journeys from many angles.

Thanks again to every single one of my reviewers and readers. For those who asked for more Nallen on my Twitter, I found it amusing because I had already been working on a considerable amount for this chapter, since the last two were Densi. Anyway, enjoy!

~ Something Different ~

Nell was agitated.

She'd arrived at work two hours ago with a routine set in her mind, which she still had to carry out, and yet all of it hardly mattered now. How could she make sense of her work when her own mind was betraying her? How could she locate a bad guy when she felt lost inside herself? It had taken five minutes for her entire resolve to crumble, and it was all because of a single agent. She wanted to blame Kensi, who was probably truly at fault, yet it was Callen who had wound Nell's nerves tightly with only a few words.

A shouting match with Kensi could hardly compare to the uttered breaths from Callen.

'Nell?' Eric's voice startled her so much Nell had to grip the back of her chair, which she stood behind, to steady herself.

Nell didn't speak, or turn to face him, as she clenched her hands over the smooth material of her seat. The chair she sat in each day, typing away at her keyboard. The chair where she seated beside her partner, Eric Beale, and yet did not share the same level of intensity the other agents did with their partners. The chair, her chair, was no longer an item to be sat on – it was an entrapment that guaranteed the same flow of action each day. The same similar tasks, directed swerves, and generally-set height adjustments. It was all the same, everyday. Callen was right, and Nell hated it. She hated that he could walk in and say only a few words, with one small grin, then walk right back out – and yet disrupt everything.

She was furious.

'Nell?' Eric repeated, sounding very concerned now. 'You okay?'

'No.' Nell stated simply, her gaze fixed in front of her. 'No, I'm not.'

Finally, she turned and surprised Eric with her angered expression. She didn't explain, or reassure him he had done nothing wrong. Instead, Nell marched out of the room she felt was suffocating her this morning.

She reached the railing beside the top of the stairs and changed direction to position herself so she had a better overhead look of the bullpen. Kensi was shuffling papers in an annoyed manner, likely still feeling guilty about her loud discussion with Nell earlier. Sam was trying to ignore Kensi, while he typed dutifully at his computer. Deeks sat beside him, fiddling with his phone, while occasionally glancing warily across the room at Kensi.

Nell set her gaze on Callen, who lounged casually back in his chair with his boots propped up on his desk.

As if he sensed her staring, Callen turned to look over at Nell with a perplexed expression. Worry crossed his face for a brief moment, and Nell hurriedly looked away.

Embarrassment flushed her face, and she quickly made her way down the stairs. She headed away from the bullpen, and tried not to be paranoid about the sound of footsteps behind her. Bursting into a storage room, Nell inhaled a calming breath and forced her mind back on track. She had things to do, and others depended on her for the answers to their current case – but who did Nell turn to when she needed answers?

Who did she have to rely on when her brain had forsaken her?

'Nell?'

Immediately, a gasp escaped her lips when she heard the voice at the reopened door. Back in Ops, Eric had questioned with concern and uncertainty. Now, in the much smaller storage room with cardboard boxes instead of computer screens, Callen's voice was different. Curiosity was strongest, but Nell sensed his patience. It seemed impossible, as her back was turned and he'd only spoken her name, yet it was what her brain provided her with.

Slowly, she turned. Slowly, she raised her hazel green eyes from the floor to meet his blue ones. He stared back at her, waiting; Nell felt her anger fading and flaring in undecided conflict within her heart.

'You had no right to say that to me.' Nell stated plainly.

Callen opened his mouth to ask her what she was talking about, then his befuddlement turned to understanding, as she continued to stand firmly in front of him. He looked her over, making Nell feel only slightly self-conscious, then nodded.

'It's true.' Callen said, matching her previous tone. 'You would make a great agent.'

'That's not fair.' Nell frowned at him, fidgeting, as she moved her hands at her sides.

She smoothed the material of her black pants against her legs, but wasn't sure what to do with her hands. They longed to be useful, to aide her mind in its search for control and answers, but Nell wouldn't allow it.

'That's not my job.' She sighed, pressing her lips tightly together. Nell glared at him, like she would a puzzle with all the wrong pieces, and awaited his explanation.

'I wasn't talking about your job.' Callen shrugged, far less bothered by the situation than she was.

She become uncomfortable to notice he had not overlooked the seriousness of the moment, in full awareness of how she was poorly handling the honest compliment he'd given her in Ops earlier. Callen took a step closer, and Nell tried to stand taller. This amused him, though he kept his expression professional to not disrespect her agitation towards the topic at hand.

'I was talking about your potential.' Callen confirmed.

'I know.' Nell exhaled the breath she'd been holding. 'My skills. My observation-based tactics and analytics. My logic – what I can do, and what I can learn. It's true, I have the potential, but-'

'It's not your job.' Callen guessed, smiling again. 'Is that the truthful answer? The solution?'

'No.' Nell ducked her head with shame. 'How do you know this? How-?' She looked at him, surprising Callen by her level of desperation to know how he saw a side of herself he hadn't realised Nell had been so fearfully protective of.

'I don't...' Callen halted, unsure again, and averted his eyes from her intense gaze. In honesty, he'd had no idea. 'I don't know.'

Nell inhaled a sharp breath, and turned sideways away from him. She touched the tips of her thumbs to her forehead in direct parallel to her closed eyes. He didn't have the answer, so Nell had to figure one out. She needed certainty, and facts, but panic settled in when she wasn't able to formulate a proper explanation.

'Nell?' Callen took another step closer. Too close, as it broke her thought process, and she blinked to look at him. 'You don't always have to have all the answers.'

'Yes, I do!' Nell quickly shut her mouth after speaking, realising she'd let slip her agitated tone. She calmed herself, and rubbed her hands slowly over themselves in effort to do something.

'No, you don't.' Callen lowered his tone, looking downwards at her. 'Sometimes, you just gotta wing it. Jump the tree branch even if you can't see the ground below.'

'I can't form the connection between what you said then and what you're saying now.' Nell frowned, trying to work out what the tree branch scenario had to do with the compliment regarding her making a good agent.

'Distraction logic.' Callen told her. 'A thought within a thought – you taught me that.'

Nell had no response.

She was getting a headache, and continuously turned her hands in search of a useful task to give them. She couldn't deny that his close proximity was having an impact of her level of concentration towards her own thoughts and logic. He was a distraction, and Nell did not like distractions. Why, then, couldn't she move away? Why was she no longer angry at him? Why were they inside a small enclosed space while standing at close range?

Nell blushed in sudden realisation of their predicament.

'Here.' Callen reached for one of her hands, carefully holding it within his own.

He watched her reaction carefully, then lowered her enclosed hand towards his belt. He saw her blush, but he waited for Nell to realise his intentions. Callen brought her hand to the side of his hip, where her fingertips made contact with his gun.

She narrowed her eyes at the black object, then understood. Taking control, Nell unlatched the gun from its holster and lifted it. She watched Callen, and saw the trust in his blue gaze. She'd heard about partners trusting each other with their weapons, and recalled an incident between Kensi and Deeks years back when they hadn't been at the stage yet.

In that moment, Nell realised this was something special.

It was something she couldn't share with Eric, despite him supposedly being her partner. And yet, here she was in a storage closet, sharing it with Callen. She blushed again, and gripped the weapon in her hands. Holding it properly, but refusing to aim it in his direction, Nell raised it, and exhaled a slow breath.

'You're right.' Nell acknowledged, feeling calm and rational once again - she'd discovered her answers. 'I thought field work wasn't satisfying enough. I underestimated my own adrenaline, my own...'

'Thrill?' Callen supplied the word. 'Admit it, you're an action junkie just like the rest of us.'

'No.' Nell shook her head, looking to him again with a small smile. 'I won't admit it.'

'Will you do me a favour? Well, do yourself a favour more like it.' Callen asked, accepting his offered gun and re-holstered it.

'Sure.' Nell said, biting back her desire to have all the facts before making a decision. She could tell by the look in his eyes that it was not ill-intending, so she accepted the responsibility beforehand in knowledge that Callen had never led her astray.

'When there's something big going on, something that can't be easily explained.' Callen paused and met her gaze again. 'Something not relating to work, but to you, will you wing it?'

'Wing...What?' Nell wondered, unsure which sort of scenario he was referring to.

She did not like it, though, because Nell Jones did not do that – she HAD to have the facts and answers to make informed decisions. She needed to know which path was the right one; not jump from a branch without seeing the ground below first-hand. Nell also would have judged the distance and angle from the branch as well, while calculating her own weight and speed.

'Anything.' Callen told her. 'Take a jump. You might surprise yourself. Actually, I know you will.' He nodded.

'Why-?'

Nell didn't get to ask her question, as his hands closed around hers again. She felt warmth this time, and the thrill he'd mentioned earlier. Tightly pressing her lips together once again, Nell watched as his thumb rubbed the back of her hand for a moment, then he let go. She felt something against her skin, and opened her hand to see a slightly faded blue spinning top resting motionless on her palm.

'Hey, we got a...' Eric appeared at the doorway, then halted when he saw the scene in front of him.

Callen and Nell stood hardly a foot apart; she was staring mesmerised at her hand, while Callen hissed at the interruption and glared upwards.

'Uh, a lead.' Eric cleared his throat, feeling awkward. 'We got a lead.'

'Go away, Eric.' Callen grumbled.

'Okay. I'll just...' Eric nodded and hurried from the room.

'So that's what that feels like.' Nell muttered, watching Eric leave.

Callen looked back at her; Nell raised the aged child's toy to his face, clearly demanding an explanation.

'Does a top spin on water?' He asked her.

'Of course not.' Nell scoffed, knowing the wooden one he had given her was a very old-fashioned toy and would not hold up to the momentum required for it to remain above water whilst spinning. 'The force needed to start the spinning, and the gravity of solid against water, doesn't equalise. The speed of the top's friction cannot possibly match that needed to float balanced on the water, let alone-'

'This one does.' Callen said.

'It's impossible.' Nell frowned, as if he was insulting her.

Callen smiled at her in smugness to finally give her the look she always gave him – he knew something she didn't, and he wasn't about to give it away. Turning, he left the closet to head up to Ops and find out what Eric deemed to be worthy of an interruption.

Nell remained where she was, unable to work out what had happened.

Of course, she could catalogue the entire scene in her mind and retell it exactly as it occurred, if needed, yet she was left feeling a sense of unexplained ease. She didn't have answers; in fact, she had more questions than before. Her mind was less erratic, but only to give the classification to her heartbeats instead. Somehow, as Nell stood alone in the storage closet with a toy spinning top held gently in her hands, knowledge wasn't essential. In that moment, something special had occurred - even though Nell wasn't sure why it was so important.

Whatever it was, Nell knew there was one thing she could be absolutely certain of: G Callen was the only distraction she would ever knowingly allow.

And now, she had to get back to work – to her job. That was what mattered, she told herself, though the faded blue toy was pocketed with great care - as if made of the most fragile form of glass rather than aged wood. She would decipher it's significance later, and why Callen gave her what was clearly one of a few memorabilia from his childhood.

Nell had a strange feeling she already knew the answer.

~ EB ~

Eric had called them up to Ops several minutes ago, but Kensi still hadn't left the bullpen.

She knew the others were waiting for her, but she also knew Nell hadn't joined them yet either. Kensi lingered by the lattice, her arms crossed over her chest, and waited for the ginger-haired analyst to appear. Finally spotting Nell leaving a corridor Kensi knew led only to storage rooms and bathrooms, Kensi pushed away from the lattice and approached her friend.

'Hey.' Kensi said, still experiencing guilt about her argument with Nell earlier.

'Oh. Hey.' Nell glanced up at her, a bit surprised.

'Look, Nell, about before...' Kensi fidgeted uncomfortably. 'I was really out of line.'

'Yeah.' Nell nodded in agreement, though she showed no signs of resentment or further annoyance. She understood Kensi hadn't meant her words, and Nell could tell her friend was genuinely sorry for being unnecessarily harsh and angry.

What Nell didn't know, however, was the cause for Kensi's outburst.

'I don't know what came over me.' Kensi huffed, frustrated at herself for such unprofessional behaviour towards her friend. 'I just don't like people stopping by my apartment without warning me first.'

'You never minded before.' Nell pointed out curiously. 'I tried to call.'

'I know.' Kensi sighed. 'I know, I just...'

'Where were you?' Nell wondered. 'If you don't mind me asking?'

She and Kensi usually talked a lot more than they had been lately. It was months since they'd even hung out together outside of work, which was why Nell had stopped by the night before. Kensi had said, when she was leaving work, that she was going straight home.

And yet, she hadn't been there last night.

'I was at home.' Kensi said, without thinking. 'I mean-' She winced, seeing Nell's disbelieving look in realisation of her mistake.

'Hellooo?'

Both girls jumped and looked over at the stairs, seeing Eric standing there. He waved his arms impatiently and stormed back to Ops.

'Someone just got in trouble by Hetty.' Nell mused.

'Yeah. We better go before we join him.' Kensi shuddered at the thought of Hetty being unhappy with them. 'I'm really sorry for being crazy, though.'

'I forgive you.' Nell nodded on the walk to the stairs. 'We weren't yourself.'

'Yeah, I must've slept funny.' Kensi said, though she doubted that was it. She'd spent almost every night with Deeks since they'd decided to start a relationship; each time, every morning, she woke well-rested and comfortable.

'Or you're coming down with something?' Nell theorised, trying to be helpful. She could easily list off twenty different reasons that may or may not apply to Kensi specifically, but she tried anyway. 'You're moody, and snacking more. Did you have a bad break-up recently?'

'No.' Kensi scoffed. 'No, maybe I'm just...Pregnant?'

'What?' Nell halted near the top step and spun around to stare at her taller friend.

'What?' Kensi frowned, then shook her head adamantly. 'No, no...I'm talking crazy again. I don't know why I thought that. It's one of those usual things every woman panics about when things aren't right, right?'

'Sure.' Nell nodded. 'It's entirely common. But, you know, you're sure that's not it?'

'I'm sure.' Kensi nodded with a forced smile, trying not to picture her negative pregnancy test from last week. 'C'mon, before Hetty comes out to tell us off. I'd rather not be grounded for the next month.'

'Right.' Nell grimaced at the thought and hurried ahead.

'About time.' Callen stated when the pair finally joined them in Ops.

'We were about to send out a search party.' Deeks added. 'What were you doing? Painting nails? Starting a Marty Deeks fan club?'

'Oh, shut up.' Kensi grumbled, moving to stand beside Sam. She faced the screen to wait for Eric to fill them in, including Nell, and tried to focus on the case.

Kensi kept tossing her own words through her mind, wondering why she'd automatically thought being pregnant might be a cause for her added moodiness and tiredness lately. It wasn't really noticeable, until moments like that morning when Nell had started a perfectly average conversation - only for Kensi to behave irrationally. She shouldn't have been mad, yet Kensi felt it was justified at the time.

Now she was just confused.

For a short moment, Kensi almost wished she'd never agreed to have a baby with Deeks – since the night they'd tried to conceive, everything had changed. She felt unsure of herself and her life - Kensi didn't like feeling that way. Convinced it was all of those changes that were throwing her off balance, not something she'd already proved wasn't true, Kensi shrugged off her concerns and resumed her focus on the case of a missing Arms Dealer. She reminded herself she had a job to do, and that's what she should be worried about – not a few mood swings and odd sleepiness at random times of the day.

Sensing she was being watched, Kensi glanced around Ops to see Deeks staring back at her. He was concerned too, though likely because he'd tried to talk about their "thing" the night before and Kensi had carefully shut him down. It had only been a week - Kensi wasn't prepared to go into detail yet. She was still scared, and contemplative, but Kensi felt proud for at least letting him know. Deeks agreed to be patient with her, and Kensi held onto that. She couldn't avoid it forever, but for now Kensi felt she needed to sort herself out first.

She had to get back to who she'd been before the baby agreement - Kensi wanted to be herself again.

'Kensi and I will go.' Callen's voice broke Kensi from her thoughts.

She looked up, noticing the way Callen watched her. Kensi nodded in confirmation; she was almost relieved for a change of pace brought on by partnering with Callen for a task, and moved to the door to wait for him.

'Sam, check with the wife again. Eric, the traffic cams. Nell...' Callen looked at her, and paused, with an almost-invisible smile parting his lips. 'Go with Sam.'

'What?' Nell narrowed her eyes at him. 'In the field? What about the phone records?'

'Deeks can do it.' Callen nodded.

'I can?' Deeks asked, surprised by his unpredicted instruction. 'I mean, right. Yeah, of course. I can do that.' He nodded, sounding momentarily unsure of himself until he shrugged it off.

'Okay.' Nell said slowly, looking to Sam.

'Can we go now?' Kensi asked Callen when he didn't move, his gaze lingering on Nell.

'Yeah.' Callen turned and left Ops with Kensi, feeling proud of himself for trying to prove his point to Nell.

All he needed was to send her off with Sam, who will also see her potential and likely point it out to her or the others afterwards. Callen wasn't trying to push Nell into becoming an agent, as he'd never do that to her, but he didn't want her to overlook her own potential. He'd seen how good she could be in the field, and Callen wanted everyone else to acknowledge it as well.

'I'm driving.' Kensi announced as they stepped outside.

'Hell no.' Callen insisted. 'Not gonna make that mistake again.'

'Seriously, what is wrong with my driving?' Kensi huffed, yet conceded to sit in the passenger seat.

'Driving?' Callen teased. 'Is that what they told you it was?'

Kensi rolled her eyes at him, and did up her seatbelt. She sighed with defeat and looked through the window, as he drove them out into the streets of Los Angeles. It was a welcome shift of her focus, and Callen was a lot like her when it came to a lack of need to have a conversation while driving.

He was content to sit in quiet, just as Kensi was.

When they were slowed down by traffic, much to Callen's instant complaint, Kensi turned on the radio for a distraction. The volume was low, and set to nothing annoying, but it served the purpose of diverting their irritation away from the traffic. Both Kensi and Callen were the sort of people who would not take kindly to being stuck in traffic, which is why they often took any measures necessary to avoid it.

'You okay, Kenz?' Callen asked, still glaring at the car in front of him.

'I'm fine.' Kensi replied automatically.

'Sam says you've been on edge.' Callen added casually.

'I'm just tired.' Kensi shrugged. 'Some of us actually need sleep, you know?'

Callen chuckled at her response, but didn't return the banter. He didn't use humour to communicate like Deeks did, and yet he could tell Kensi was expecting him to tease her back. It was interesting, as he wondered if the majority of Kensi's communication was now related to Deeks. Remembering how more closed off and serious she'd been before Deeks had joined the team, Callen knew he was right.

She anticipated further avoidance of the topic at hand, or for it to be eased into discussion through humour. Normally, Callen respected that because he often did something similar, but this time he was genuinely worried about her. He'd mark it off as being the Team Leader who had to ensure everyone was able to perform their duties to the best of their abilities and focus. Truthfully, he couldn't stop thinking about how quiet she'd been over a week ago. He'd offered to be there if she needed to talk, and Callen wasn't going to overstep, but he couldn't hold his silence in forever when something was clearly bothering her - and Kensi didn't appear to be dealing with it.

'So, you're not sleeping?'

'What's with all the questions?' Kensi asked defensively. 'I said, I'm fine.'

'I'm just concerned, that's all.' Callen raised his hands in surrender, then placed them back on the wheel when the traffic began to move again. Taking her hint to shut up, Callen tapped his fingers against the steering wheel while he drove them across town to talk to a witness again.

Kensi was relieved for the returned familiarity, and wondered what had gotten into Callen – she could usually rely on him to be like her, and therefore the one less likely to check she's okay. She returned her interest to the window, and drummed her fingers against her leg in tune with the music on the radio.

After a few minutes, Kensi realised something was wrong. She tried to shake it off, but the odd feeling continued to spread through her. Drawing in a panicked breath, Kensi knew she couldn't ignore it any longer.

'Stop the car.' Kensi abruptly demanded. 'Callen, Stop!'

Callen obeyed without hesitation, causing the tyres to screech loudly on the road. He didn't even pull over when he'd heard the urgency in her tone; Callen put the car into a halt exactly as she'd asked. He quickly looked in her direction, alarmed and instinctively prepared to reach for his weapon, but Kensi had already left the vehicle.

Deciding he didn't care if his car was parked in the middle of a street; Callen snatched the keys, and got out to follow her.

Callen wondered where she went, and how Kensi could move so fast. He soon spotted her slip into an alley across the road. Callen sensed the situation wasn't dangerous, so his weapon remained holstered - Kensi hadn't gotten hers out either. Callen hurried after her, and peered into the alley, utterly bewildered about what was going on. She was bent over an open dumpster; the heaving sounds she made left little to the imagination. Callen was confused; she'd given no indication of being sick at all that day. Yet there she was, heaving her entire lunch into the open dumpster.

'Kens?' Callen worried when she stopped.

'Oh, my God.' Kensi gasped, turning to press her back against the side of the dark blue bin. She slid to the ground, and wrapped her arms around her legs.

Callen was completely baffled.

He had no idea how to react to this side of Kensi – she looked so lost, and unsure, that he was completely thrown off balance. He was convinced she'd forgotten he was there – surely Kensi Blye would never have willingly allowed anyone to see her in such a vulnerable state? Callen had never seen her like this before; not in all the years they'd worked together. He'd seen her cry, and comforted her on occasions, but never had Kensi looked so fragile as she huddled in the filthy alley.

She gave the appearance of someone whose entire world was falling apart around her.

'G?'

Callen blinked, unconvinced if he'd heard her correctly at first, then took a step forward. He was utterly in new territory, but knew he was needed right now. Whatever it was, something big was going on with Kensi and he had to be there to help her. Her use of his first name, or what he had deemed to be his first name as he had not idea what followed that letter, Callen approached her in hope of being able to somehow help her.

'Yeah?'

'You remember when I asked if I could talk to you later, if I needed to?' Kensi asked quietly, though her composure was beginning to recognisably emerge.

'I'm here.' Callen nodded, moving to sit beside her.

He wasn't sure how he knew it was the right thing to do, but it was. The case could be damned, for all he cared, and so could his car that was still parked in the middle of the street. All that mattered right then was how broken and lost his friend was. He didn't have a lot of friends, so he was fiercely protective of those few he did have.

Kensi needed him right now, and Callen couldn't ignore that even if he'd tried.

'What's going on?' Callen encouraged.

'I think...' Kensi shook her head at the impossibility of it, but she simply could not disband it any longer.

She didn't know how, but her body was telling her it was possible. Something felt different, and no matter how much she tried to rationalise or dismiss it, Kensi knew it was the most likely reason behind everything she'd been trying to make sense of lately. She'd considered it after two days, but then scolded herself for jumping to conclusions.

Kensi explained away everything she felt, until the moment she'd lost her lunch into the dumpster.

Inhaling a nervous breath, lacking in any certainty or confidence, Kensi turned slowly to look at Callen. She could see he was worried, and shocked, but her friend and fellow agent patiently waited for her to brace herself to continue. Kensi didn't want to say it aloud. It couldn't be true, could it? The test had been negative! Suddenly, a chill crept up her spine when Kensi replayed the night she'd told Deeks about the negative test result.

She finally realised what had been missing during that second night of intimacy that followed the news – it made her suspected predicament all the more possible and real.

'I think I might be pregnant.'