Two lovers, thousands of miles apart, one chest unites them

JUST A LITTLE BIT CLOSER

5 weeks, 2 days, 3 hours, 28 minutes, 38 seconds. That is how long it has been since I last saw her. Only 3 more weeks to go. Eric sat, thinking to himself. He sat on his couch, staring at the clock. It was 12:45 in the morning. She was supposed to call in 15 min. Eric couldn't stop fidgeting. Try as he might he couldn't sit still. He stood up and went into his room, opening his closet and pushing some of his clothes aside and finding a small golden chest. He picked it up and walked back to the living room.

He sat down on the couch and set the chest on the coffee table. He ran his hand over it, letting the memories come back in. He bought the chest shortly after she left. He still remembed how they felt after Hetty broke the news

6 weeks ago

Eric and Nell sat in the Ops Center going through some intel that was brought in. They teased and joked with each other, taking advantage of the down time. Just then their phone rang. Nell grabbed it.

"Nell…..Yea, Hetty….Ok, we will be right down." Nell said as she hung up.

"Hetty wants to see us in the armory right now." She said as she pulled her headset off. Eric followed suit as they left Ops and came down the stairs, went down the hallway and turned the corner to the armory.

"You wanted to see us, Hetty?"Eric said as they walked up to Hetty. She was standing on the far side of the armor next to the two stools.

"Yes. Please, sit down you two." She said. Eric and Nell looked at each other, questioning looks on their faces.

"Um…ok?" Nell said as they sat down.

"Is everything alright?" Eric said.

"That depends on your definition of alright, Mr. Beale. I'm afraid I have some less then pleasant news." Hetty said. By instinct Nell grabbed Eric's hand.

"I am afraid that Ms Jones has been temporarily reassigned." She said as she sat down facing them. Nell and Eric both felt their chests tighten. Nell squeezed his hand.

"Reassigned? Why?" Her voice started to shake.

"The NCIS Field Office in Rota, Spain needs some additional Intelligence Analysis help and Director Vance feels that you are the best person to assist." Hetty said.

Tears starting to well up in Nell's eyes. "Spain? How long will I be gone?" She said as she leaned against Eric. He threw his arm around her and rubbed her shoulder.

"Two months at the most." Hetty said. Eric squeezed her body against his, trying to reassure her.

"I'm genuinely sorry. But I made sure that this will just be an Analyst position. You will not be in any dangerous situations. And I made Director Vance aware that beyond a shadow of a doubt that I will raise all manners of hells if anything happens to you." Hetty said, patting Nell's hand reassuringly.

"When does she leave?" Eric tried to force out.

"Next week." Hetty answered. She placed her hands on each of their shoulders. "Finish up any work you have to complete and then go home. Take the rest of the week off. Spend as much time as you can with each other. I will let the others know." She said.

They both nodded silently. Hetty left the armory and once they were assured they were alone Nell buried herself in Eric's chest, crying. "It's ok, Nell. It's going to be alright." He said assuring her.

Present

Eric returned to the present, staring at the chest. He ran his thumb over the small combination lock. He smiled as he entered the numbers 0312. March 12. The day they met. He opened the lock and put it aside. He opened the lid and listened to the jingle that it played. He started to pull out the items in the chest. Two passes to San Diego Comic Con along with the picture of the two of them in costume as Dr. Who and The Master. They were back to back holding their Screwdrivers up, looking over their shoulders at each other. Eric smiled at that memory.

Next was a take home menu from a Pizza place on the Boardwalk where they had their first official date. They devoured a large pizza with the works and spend the rest of the night walking barefoot on the beach. He still remembered the strapless summer dress she wore that night, it was the most beautiful thing he ever saw.

Eric couldn't help but chuckle when he pulled out a little sprig of mistletoe. It was the exact piece of mistletoe that they had their first kiss under during Christmas.

He pulled out a picture of Nell in some burlesque lingerie with a feather boa posing in a chair. It was her Valentine gift to him. Hetty had gotten her in contact with a well known photographer who specialized in Pin up and Burlesque style photography. She surprised him after they had dinner at her place. She sat him down on the couch with his eyes closed. She connected her computer to her TV and set up a slide show of the pictures. He was speechless, watching her in different clothes, dresses, and much less, all in different poses. She had always admitted to him that she struggled with her self-image but she admitted that Eric had brought out that side of her.

Another picture showed them at Kensi and Deek's wedding. They were both in the wedding and they had a picture of the two of them together. Eric was in a beautiful tuxedo and Nell was dressed in a blue dress that complemented the both of them. The smiles on both of their faces were evident that there was no other place with both wanted to be.

Next picture was one that Kensi had snuck during a surfing double date with the 4 of them. Eric and Nell sat on a beach towel, Eric's board stuck in the sand behind them. He was leaning back on his hands with one leg bent and the other one straightened. Nell sat in her bikini with her knees toward bent and her legs crossed at her ankles. They were leaned into each other and their heads touched each other. Both of their eyes were closed, content on their faces.

He pulled out a hair clip with a lotus flower on it. It was a souvenir from their trip to Hawaii last year. He remembered waking up on the beach every day with her for a week, thinking that if that wasn't Heaven to him, he could sure see it from there.

He sat back, looking at the items spread around the coffee table. He couldn't help but smile. 5 weeks, 2 days, 3 hours, 48 minutes, and 23 seconds. He thought. Just then his TV started to beep. His Skype showed that he was receiving a call. He rushed to put all of the items back into the chest before he pushed a button on his remote. A window opened and he looked into her eyes, her red hair, and her smile.

"Hey, Wolfram. Hope I'm not keeping you up." She said.

He smiled. "Not at all. I wouldn't miss this for the world." He said.

"Yea, me too." She said. Her eyes moved to the chest on the table.

"What is that?" She asked curiously.

"This?" He looked at the chest. "Oh, nothing." He said.

"Nothing?" Her eye brow raised.

"I'll tell you when you get home." He said.

"Ok, Eric." She said, nodding. "I miss you." She said in a low voice.

"I miss you too." He said.

"So how was your week?" She asked as she leaned on the desk, resting her chin in her hands.

"Busy. Had a case dealing with some thugs stealing explosives from Pendleton." He began to tell her about his week. While he explained everything that happened in the back of his mind he thought. 3 more weeks is just a little bit closer now.

Getting another Twofer on Tues. This was one I had for awhile but just didn't get to a point where I liked it until I had the idea of the chest. Thank you for Reading, Following, Reviewing, and Favoriting. Not just this episode but all of them. I am comming up on a full week since I started this and I've had over 8k views which I could never dream of. I am still blown away that you are all enjoying it enough to keep comming back for more. I just hope I can continue to deliver