Chapter 4 – new partner
Nell walked home after her conversation with Eric on the beach. She hoped that she hadn't hurt his feelings too much, and they would still be able to go back to being friends and partner tomorrow morning. Nell went to bed with worry about how her friendship with eric would be from now.
Nell comes in to ops a little late. Everyone is there besides Eric she notices.
"let's get started." Granger says.
"wait where is Eric?" Nell askes. Everyone look at her and then at Hetty.
"miss Jones, mr Beale quit the NCIS yesterday." Nell look choked. So much for keep things normal, Nell thought.
"why?" Deeks asked.
Nell can see on Kensi, Hetty and Granger that they had an idea about why.
"something about not being able to stay professional anymore." Hetty explained without any further explanation about what had happened last night.
"so who is going to be Nells partner? Sam asked.
The door to ops opened.
"me." Everyone turns around to see who it is. Dr Nate Gates enters ops. Everyone besides Nell looks happy to see Nate. Nate looks different from last time they so him. He doesn't have a beard anymore.
"I need Eric." Nell realized how desperate that sounded. "I mean I need my partner. I can't do this without him. Nate doesn't have the same skills at Eric."
"I am aware of that problem miss Jones, but until we can find a replacement for Mr. Beale dr. Gates is going to be your partner."
"okay let's get to work." Granger demands and everyone turns their attention to the big screen for briefing.
A few hours later in ops. Nell is looking through surveillances from a crime scene but Nate notices that she keeps looking at Eric's empty spot. Nate walks over at take a seat on Eric's chair.
"you are okay kiddo?" he asks. Nell look at him with a sad look.
"that obvious?"
Nate nods.
"what is going on between you and Eric?"
Nell shakes her head and then look at her screen again. But she can't focus on the case.
"you do know I have patient-psychiatrist-confidentiality, right?
Nell smiles and nods. "year I know. Do you have to tell Hetty?"
Nate just smiles. "is it that bad?" Nell nods a little a shamed about letting Nate get under her skin so easily.
"how bad can it be?" he says with a nice calm non-judgmental voice.
"I kissed Eric here in ops."
Nate smiles. "is that it?" he asks surprised. Nell nods.
"it's bad. Hetty saw my lipstick on Eric's cheek after. And Granger was there too."
"that is no big deal Nell." He takes her in to a hug. "so you and Eric are together now?"
Nell look op at Nate and shakes her head. He looks wondering at her.
"why not? I have seen how you look at him and how he obviously looks at you."
Nell chuckles a little thinking about Eric's little clumsy attempt to hide his feelings.
"what if we can't be professional and we put the team in danger?"
Nell stands up and takes a step away from Nate.
"what if we get in to a fight and we can't work together anymore? I just don't want to break up the team for a little 'thing'."
"Nell, do we have eyes inside?" Sam asks. Nell walks over to her computer and focus on the case, like their conversation never happened. Nate look a little concerned at Nell.
Nate comes down the stairs and walk to Hettys office. She is sitting with her desk.
"how is you new partnership going, mr. Gates?" Hetty asks.
Nate looks around to make sure no one is listening.
"I'm concerned, Hetty." Nate says and sits down across from Hetty.
"you are going back to the field as soon as I find a replacement for Mr. Beale."
"it's not me I am concerned about Hetty. It's..." nate stops for a moment.
"it's miss Jones. I'm aware of the situation." Hetty says and takes a sit of her tea.
"she needs to sort things out with Eric before she can focus 100% again."
Hetty nods. "how do you suggest that should happen, dr. Gates? Mr. Beale quit OPS."
Nate looks around again before I lean forward and says very quiet.
"we both know what this is really about Hetty. You done this before. You did it with Kensi and Deeks. You can help Eric and Nell too."
Hetty takes a sip of her cup of tea.
"do you say I manipulate my team, dr Gates?"
"we both know that you 'helped' Kensi and Deeks when Kensi where in Aghanistan." Hetty look confused. "you gave Deeks a zet phone so he could talk with Kensi. Nell and Eric need help to figure this out. They might not end up together but..."
Nell comes running down the stairs.
"Hetty, we have a situation." Nell look very concerned.
Nell packs up her stuff and is ready to leave for the night, when Nate comes in.
"see you tomorrow... Partner." Nell says. She doesn't sound as happy as normal, Nate notices. Nell is about to leave ops.
"Nell..."
Nell turns around to face Nate.
"talk to him." Nate says. Nell doesn't say anything. She looks to the ground and then leaves ops.
Eric is sitting with his computer and plays call of duty, when it knocks on the door. He looks at the door and then turn his focus to the game again. It knocks again. He doesn't respond. Third time it knocks he takes off his headphones and pauses the game and walk to open the door. he looks through the spyhole in the door. it is Nell. He takes a deep breath before he opens the door.
"hey partner." Nell says with a smile. Eric doesn't look happy to see her. He is still wearing his pj. Nell holds up a paper bag.
"I got Oreos." She smiles. He still doesn't respond. There is a moment of silences.
"may I come in?" she asks.
"I'm a little busy."
Nell look at his computer.
"with playing call of duty I see."
"what do you want, Jones?"
She is surprised about he is using her last name. He pretty much never does that.
"I just want to talk."
He signs and step aside for her to enter. She steps in to the apartment and notices how clean there is besides an empty pizza box.
"you cleaned up since last time I was here."
"yeah I start on my new job tomorrow."
He says and closes the door. She turns around to face him.
"why did you quit Eric? Because of me?" she has a much more serious voice now.
"'we can't be professional if we have romantic feelings for each other.' You said that." His voice sounds more emotional now than it did before.
Nell nods.
"I do have feelings for you. I don't want to ruin your chance to become an NCIS field agent. So I quit so it wouldn't ruin anything for you."
He walks over to his computer and sit down again.
"I also got a new job so don't worry about me. And I'm sure Hetty will find you a new partner in ops."
He focusses on his game again.
"she already did. Its Nate."
Eric look shortly up at her.
"good for you. So what is the problem?" his voice sounds cold.
"that I want my best friend and partner back in ops." Nell walks over to him. She stands behind him and looks at his game.
"you been pretty good at that game."
"I had a good partner." He says without looking at her. She smiles a little.
"so what is your new job?" she asks, trying to switch focus.
"it's with my old body Ira Wells at Zero days."
Nell is surprised about that news. "Eric that is crazy. Last time your friend was shot at by snipers and kidnapped."
Eric just look up for a short moment and then focus on his game again without saying anything.
6.30 am Nells apartment.
Nell is getting ripped out of her sleep when her cellphone is ringing.
"Nell." She says.
"Nell OPS ASAP." Kensi says and hangs op.
Nell comes running in to ops. Granger, Hetty and Nate is there.
"what is happening?" she asks confused.
"did you talk to mr. Beale last night?" Hetty asks.
"yes. I did. I went over to him to talk last night. Why?"
Nell look op at the big screen. Kensi and Deeks is at Eric's places. It is totally messed up.
"why is Kensi and Deeks at Eric's places? And why is it totally messed up? It was clean last night."
"so someone did search for something here?" Kensi says over the ear pieces Nell just put in.
"did you notice anything different about your boyfriend's apartment last night Nell?" Deeks asks with a teasing tone.
"Mr. Deeks." Hetty says with an admonishingly tone.
"he said that he had got a job at Zero Days with his old buddy Ira Wells."
Nell start typing at her computer.
"miss. Jones Mr. Callen and Mr. Hannah is at the office of Zero Days and there has been a shooting and both Mr. Wells and Mr. Beale is uncounted for so fare." Hetty informs her. Nell look up at Hetty shortly before she continue typing.
"I try to track and search all Eric's devices now."
"all?" Hetty asks for clarification.
"yes all. He is a gig so he has 5 different computers and 3 cell phones. One old computer he is mostly just working on to try to fix. Two gaming computers and…"
She stops talking and continues typing.
"and miss. Jones?" hetty asks. Nell stops typing.
"this is wired." Nell look up at them. Then she stands up and take the keyboard and get her screen up on the big screen so Hetty, granger and Nate can follow her. "Eric has a decrypted file on his gaming computer. Why would he have that?" Nell look up at Hetty, Granger and Nate. They have of cause no idea.
"can you open that file, miss. Jones?" Hetty asks.
"I can try. Hey guys." She turns to the big screen to talk to Kensi and Deeks.
"yes Nell." Kensi says.
"look for anything out of the places."
"thanks for the heads up Nell have you seen this places. This places look like a mirror of Eric's feelings for you." Deeks says and starts laughing. Kensi punches Deeks in the stumache and then he walks back to where he was searching before.
"what do you want us to look for Nell?" Kensi asks.
"you know Eric right?" Nell asks.
Kensi hesitate a little.
"yeah I guess." She finally says.
"look for anything that sticks out of what you normally know about Eric."
Kensi nods. "copy that."
Kensi starts looking while Nell gets back to the computer. She continues typing. Shortly after she jumps up from her chair.
"hey Kensi. Last night there was a picture next to Eric's gaming computer of a boy and a girl on a playground. Find that one."
"what is your plan Nell?" Nate asks.
Nell turn to face Granger, Hetty and Nate.
"Eric has told me that he didn't have any friends when he was a kid but there was a girl named Stephane Petersmark how used to punch him, when he was in second grade. Why would he have a picture of her if she was a bully to him?"
"it's a message to you that he knew you would understand." Nate says. Nell nods.
Suddenly they hear Deeks laugh.
"what is so funny Mr. Deeks?" Hetty asks.
Deeks come to the screen. He holds a picture of Eric and Nell. In a broken glass frame.
"and you said he wasn't your boyfriend Nell?" Deeks asks.
Nell blush a little. "it was Christmas years ago." Nell explains.
"could you please focus on the case Mr. Deeks?" Hetty asks.
Deeks look at the frame.
"there is something behind the picture." He breaks the frame a part and takes out the picture. Behind the picture there is another picture. The picture Nell was talking about with the little boy and girl.
"I think I found you picture." Deek says. "picture coming now."
Shortly after the picture comes up on Nell's computer in ops.
"there must be a lead in this picture."
Nell starts working on the picture.
About 2 hours later Deeks, Kensi, Callen and Sam comes in to OPS.
"COME ON YOUR STUPID SHIT!" Nell yells the moment they step in to OPS.
"Nell are you okay?" Kensi asks concerned. Nell look back at them.
"oh hey guys. Any lead?""
"no we found to sets of blood on the crime scene and waiting for DNA-results." Callen informs.
"I guess there is no news here?" Sam says.
"no. still nothing. I thought Eric would have giving me some sort of lead in this picture but there is nothing…" she walks back toward her computer. "wait a second. Deeks do you have the picture of me and Eric you found?"
Sam and Callen look curious at her. Deeks takes out the picture from his back pocket in his pants and handle it to her. She walks over and scan it in. shortly after there is a bip from the computer.
"thank you Eric."
The rest of team is confused.
"what did you get?" Kensi asks. nell get the picture up on the big screen.
"last time when Eric's friend Ira Wells was involved in a case and I worked with him he was obsessed with my eyes. Eric doesn't know that I heard this but Eric corrected him that my eyes isn't brown. They are Hazel. Hazel is the password to Eric's decrypted file. That's why the password was hidden in my eyes on this picture. The picture of the girl and the boy was just to drag out attention to it."
"so we would be able to find it?" Sam asks. Nell nods.
"smart kid." Callen says.
Nell gets Back to her computer to work on the decrypted file.
Later down at the open office Deeks, Kensi, Sam and Callen is sitting and talking.
"I'm just saying they are together." Deeks says.
"I don't think so." Sam says. "Nell is too smart for that gig."
Nell comes running down from OPS.
"guys I got a lead. I think I might know what happened."
Nell is plugging in a flash drive to the monitor.
"I think Eric knew that his Friend where in danger. I found a secured chat between Ira and Eric from a few days ago." Hetty and Granger comes in and listen to Nell.
While Sam, Callen, Kensi, Hetty and Granger is paying attention to Nell's explanation of the new evidence. Deeks is more focused on the chat where Ira is asking Eric Questions about "the hot tech chick." Deeks starts laughing.
"what is so funny Mr. Deeks?" Hetty asks.
"it's just…" everyone is looking at him with a serious look. Kensi give him that you-are-a-jerk-look and he try to look serious.
"nothing. Nothing." Deeks is trying to keep a straight face and Nell continues.
"okay anyway..." Nell continues. "I think Eric knew his friend had got some dangerous information. He asked Eric for help. At first Eric turned him down."
"so what changed his mind and made him leave NCIS?" Callen askes.
"Eric isn't a risk-taker. He prefers the safety of ops over the danger in undercover. This doesn't sound anything like Eric Beale."
Nell look down. A little guilty.
"I did. I think I made him changes his mind."
"miss Jones I'm sure you have nothing to with Mr. Beales decision about leaving NCIS." Hetty reassure her.
"is there something we shout know about Nell?" Callen askes. Everyone look at Nell and then at Hetty.
"Eric quite because of an argument with me." Nell says very quiet. Kensi walks over at hugs Nell.