A team member goes down and one person takes it extremely hard

AS TOUGH AS THEY COME

Mission Ops

Chaos had erupted in the OPS center of NCIS OSP when the call from Callen came in. Sam had been shot and it looked bad, really bad. Now Hetty and Granger were at the hospital with Michelle and the kids, Callen was interrogating the CIA's new asset, and Kensi and Deeks were working with their Gurkhan guest to find out who did it. Eric and Nell were running everywhere trying to keep up with any information they could find.

"Eric, both LAPD guys are down. Send backup now!" Kensi said into her phone franticly.

"On it." Eric said as he hung up and reached over to dial LAPD.

"Dispatch." The voice on the other line responded.

"This is Eric Beale with NCIS. Passcode is Alpha Charlie 6 0 0. I need immediate back up with medical." He said. He provided the location.

"They are on their way." The dispatch responded.

"Thank you very much." Eric said as he hung up. He closed his eyes and breathed in deep. He looked at his hands and noticed they were shaking. Nell reached over and took one of his hands in hers, gently squeezing it.

"Gonna be ok?" She asked, giving him a reassuring smile.

"Yea. I'm fine." He said as they continued to work.

Few hours later

Eric and Nell reported to Kensi, Deeks, and Thapa what they had found. Nell promised to fill them in on anything about Sam. Kensi signed off and Nell sat back, breathing out a sigh. She knew the worst was over for now. She looked over a Eric who was still frantically typing away at his computer.

"Eric, there isn't much more you can do right now. We are running all the searches but unless you can compress time or own a Tardis you aren't going to make it come any sooner." She said, placing her hand on his shoulder.

Eric didn't respond, just continued to type away. "Earth to Eric." She said. Still nothing.

"Ok, that is it." She said. She pulled his headset out of his ear and tossed it on the desk. Before he could ask what she was doing she spun him around and grabbed his arm. With a force that surprised even him she hauled him to his feet. "You are coming with me, mister." She said.

"What? Nell!" He protested but she was determined.

She pulled him down the stairs and down the hallway to the burn room. Giving him a slight push into the room she followed and closed the door, locking it.

"What has gotten into you, Nell?" Eric said, rubbing his wrist where she had grabbed him.

"That is something I should be asking you, Eric." She said crossing her arms. "I know something is wrong. And I want you to talk to me." She said, her voice softening.

"Nothing is wrong, Nell. I'm fine." Eric said, fidgeting.

"Eric." She said in a voice that showed she didn't believe that. "Eric you are my best friend. You are my partner. I know you better than that." She said.

She made a step to him and took his hands in hers. "I know you are worried about Sam. It's ok to admit it." She said, staring into his eyes.

They stood there for a second, tears starting welling up in his eyes. His breathing quickened before he grabbed her in an embrace and buried his face against her shoulder. Muffled sobs came from his as his body shook. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held his head against her. "It's Ok, Eric." She whispered into his ear.

They stood there for minutes when he moved his head, resting his chin on her shoulder. "I'm not worried about him, Nell. I'm scared to lose him." He said between ragged breaths.

"You have a family back home, Nell. I don't. This place is my home. You are all my family." He continued.

She ran a hand up and down his back. "I know." She said. She pushed him away for a second so he could look at her.

"You and I both know that Sam is as tough as they come. He will make it through this." She said, as she stroked his cheek.

"We aren't going anywhere, Eric. I am not going anywhere." She said as she brought his head to hers. They touched foreheads and both closed their eyes, feeling the closeness of each other.

"I love you, Eric." She said.

"I love you too, Nell." He replied.

She pulled him into a kiss and held him against her. They broke the kiss after a few moments.

"Better?" She asked.

He pulled his glasses off and wiped the tears from his eyes, sniffing. He put his glasses back on and nodded. "Better." He replied.

"Now come on, Wolfram. Let's go catch these guys." She smiled as she took his hand.

"Lead the way, Rockstar." He smiled back as she opened the door and walked out into the hallway, Eric right behind her.

Thanks to Dubigail for the idea. Normally I stay away from brand new stuff but she gave me the idea for Eric and Nell's reaction (since they were kinda forgotten) and I had the idea of reversing the rolls and having Eric struggle. Honesetly I don't know if his lack of a family is accurate or not since they have never mentioned it but I've always ran with it.

I received a lot of feedback with last episode and the fact that I had Eric and Nell refrain from having sex. I wanted to keep this rating accurate and really wanted to focus more on their dependence on each other, not the growth in their relationship. I may or may not explore that down the line. Also keep and eye out for Tales from the Navy Yard soon. I have enough ideas to get a good start on it. Thank you all for reading, favoriting, reviewing, and following. Keep it up and Stay tuned for more!