The last person they thought would ever go down…just did

THE BULLET HOLE CLUB

Mission Bull Pen

The team gathered in the bull pen, starting their day discussing their plans for Saturday night. Sam and Callen were going to a basketball game and this time had invited Kensi and Deeks to go with them. Sam, of course, was constantly teasing Deeks, threatening to ask someone else to go when Deeks' phone rang. He picked it up.

"Marty Deeks?" He asked. "Hey Ryan, long time no see…What?" Deeks shot up, catching the attention of the others.

"Where?...How long ago?" He asked as he grabbed a note pad and started writing on it franticly.

Callen and Kensi looked at him questioningly as he looked up at them. He mouted the words Get Hetty to them.

Kensi took off toward the armory where she saw Hetty go just a few minutes ago.

"Ok…Thanks for letting me know…I'll keep in touch." He said as he hung the phone up.

"What is going on, Deeks?" Sam asked.

Kensi rounded the corner with Hetty in tow.

"That was my buddy Ryan Jenkins from Robbery and Homicide. There was a botched robbery at a store about 30 min ago. Eric was there, and he has been shot." Deeks said.

Kensi gasped as Hetty closed her eyes for a moment.

"Ambulance just left taking him to LA Mercy General. Two shots, one to the side and one to the chest. Small caliber." Deeks said.

"Oh my God!" Kensi said.

"Shooter?" Sam said.

"Got away but witnesses say it was on foot. Ryan is coordinating a search of the area. They are going through witness statements and trying to get surveillance footage of the shooting." Deeks said.

"Any indication he was targeted?" Callen said.

"Not sure yet. They are still processing the scene." Deeks said.

"That is a question that will need to be answered swiftly. And we will offer our assistance to LAPD. Mr. Deeks, Miss Blye, I want the two of you to go to the crime scene and work with LAPD. Sam, Mr. Callen, I want you to go to the hospital and keep watch over Eric in case this is more then what it seems." Hetty said.

"What about Nell?" Kensi asked, looking up toward Ops. Nell had been upstairs all morning.

"I will break the news to her. I want the two of you to take her with you to the hospital." She said, looking toward Callen and Sam.

"Let's go." Deeks said as he grabbed his equipment and followed after Kensi.

Mission Ops

Hetty took a deep breath before stepping through the door into the Ops Center. Nell was typing away at her computer when she looked up and saw Hetty.

"Good Morning, Hetty!" She smiled.

"Good Morning, Nell." Hetty said, mustering a smile.

"Have you heard from Eric? I left him a Voicemail about 20 min ago but haven't heard from him." Nell turned toward her.

Hetty sat down in the chair next to her.

"Nell, My dear. We just received word that Eric was involved in a robbery that went south. He has been shot." Hetty said, taking Nell's hands into her own.

Nell gasped, her eyes wide. "Is….Is he…?" She tried to say but couldn't

"He is at the hospital right now. We don't have any word yet." Hetty said.

"I have to go, Hetty." Nell said as she shot up.

"Go, my dear." Hetty said, not holding her back at all.

Nell ran down the stairs toward the exit as fast as she could, which was surprising with the shoes she was wearing.

"Nell" Callen called after her.

"Whatever it is Callen, it can wait." She called back.

"Actually I was going to say he is driving." He said. She turned around and saw him with his thumb pointed at Sam.

Robbery Scene

Kensi threw her car into park and they both climbed out. They walked up to the crime scene tape when a uniform officer stopped them.

Deeks flashed his badge and nodded toward Kensi.

"She is with me." He said. The cop raised the tape and let them in.

Deeks scanned the area and found the man in the suit and tie talking with an officer and writing a few things down on a notepad.

"Ryan!" Deeks called out to him.

He looked up. "Marty! Thanks for coming down." He walked over and extended his hand.

Deeks took it and shook it. "This is NCIS Special Agent Kensi Blye. Kensi, this is LAPD Robbery and Homicide Detective Ryan Jenkins."

Ryan stuck his hand out. "Nice to finally meet you, Agent Blye. Deeks has told me a lot about you."

Kensi shook his hand. "All of it good, I hope."

"Deeks has been a good friend for many years. Helped me out of a bind when I was still a Uni, got my life and career back on track." Ryan said.

"I just showed you the door, you are the one who opened it." Deeks said with a smile.

Ryan's face turned serious. "This looks like a robbery that went bad. Your friend was the only injury. Found 2 9 mm casings from the weapon but the perp ran off with it. I'm having my guys canvassing the area. He couldn't have got far." He explained.

"Checked the security footage?" Kensi said, nodding toward the camera.

"My guys at the crime lab are working on it right now." Ryan explained. "Look. I made call to you as a courtesy, Deeks. I don't need Fed heat on this." He said.

"Not looking to take over, Ryan. Just offering to help out. Eric is one of ours." Deeks said.

"Well I can always use some extra eyes."

LA Mercy General Hospital

Sam, Callen, and Nell walked into the hospital lobby. Nell was still shaking even after the agonizing 30 min car ride. Callen had sat in the back seat with her, holding her hand as Sam drove.

Sam walked up to the receptionist. "I'm looking for an Eric Beale. Came in with two gunshot wounds." He said, showing his badge to the receptionist.

"Mr. Beale is still in surgery right now. If you would like to wait I will call you as soon as he is out." The receptionist said.

"Thank you." Sam bowed his head. He turned around and walked back over to them.

"Eric is still in surgery. They will let us know when he is out." He said.

"I'm going to check in with Deeks and Hetty." Callen said as he turned to walk toward the door.

Sam placed his hand on Nell's shoulder. "Come on. Let's take a seat. Nothing we can do right now but wait." He said. Nell just patted his hand. She hadn't said a word since they left the Mission.

Outside the Hospital.

Callen pulled out his phone and dialed Hetty.

"Mr Callen?" Hetty answered.

"Eric is still in surgery. Not really much beyond that right now." Callen said.

"All we can do is hope and pray." She said. "Standby, Mr. Callen. Mr. Deeks is calling. I will conference us together."

The line went dead for a second before she came back. "Mr. Deeks. I have Mr. Callen on the line as well." Hetty said.

"LAPD is canvassing the area. No evidence so far that Eric was targeted, just wrong place wrong time. Any word yet?" He said.

"Still in surgery." Callen repeated.

"Ok. Nothing more we can do here but Ryan said he will call if he finds anything or needs our assistance." Deeks said.

"Good job, both of you. Now, Mr. Deeks, I think Miss Jones would appreciate some additional support at the hospital." Hetty said.

"We are on our way." Kensi said.

"See you soon." Callen replied.

An hour later

Deeks and Kensi walked into the lobby of the hospital and saw Sam, Callen, and Nell sitting against the wall. They walked over to them as Callen stood up. Sam had his arm wrapped around Nell and was holding her hand with his other arm. She just stared at the ground, not even looking up to see who came up.

"Still no word, yet." Callen said.

Deeks and Kensi sighed. Deeks nodded toward Nell.

"What about her?" He said.

"Been like that since we left. Hasn't said a word." He said.

"Why don't you guys go take a break? We will sit with her for awhile." Kensi said.

"Thanks. I'll go get some something to drink." Callen said. Sam stood up and patted Nell on the shoulder.

Deeks said down and resumed Sam's position.

"He's going to be ok, Nell. He will make it through this." Deeks said in a low voice.

Nell managed to smile just slightly, as she laid her head on Deek's shoulder.

45 min later

A doctor and nurse walked up toward them. "Family of Eric Beale?" The nurse asked.

They all shot up. "Yea, that is us." Deeks said. Nell rushed in front of everyone as soon as the Doctor walked up to them.

"This is Dr. Carter. He is the one who operated on Mr. Beale." The nurse introduced him.

"You are the family?" He asked as he shook hands.

"Yes. We are his co-workers and the only family he has." Deeks said.

"Eric was very lucky. One bullet went through his side clean, no major damage. The one to his chest punctured his lung. We were able to patch him up but he is going to be on oxygen for the next few weeks while his lung heals." The Doctor said. The tension in the team visibility started to ease.

"He lost a lot of blood into his lung so we need to keep him in the ICU for a day or two. Once he is stable we can move him to a room and he can have visitors." The doctor said.

"Can I see him?" Nell said, finally breaking her silence.

"I just said he can't have visitors right now." The Doctor said.

"She just needs to see him. This is his girlfriend, Nell." Deeks explained.

The Doctor thought for a moment. "I think we can make this one exception. Lisa," He said turning to the nurse. "Can you take her back?" He asked.

The Nurse nodded. "Of course, Doctor. Right this way, Miss." The nurse waved toward the hallway.

The Nurse led her down the hallway and through a few corridors until they game to a long room lined with glass. The nurse pointed to one bed and Nell looked at who occupied it. She had to brace herself against the wall.

Lying on the bed was Eric, hooked up to all sorts of machines. He was shirtless but his entire upper torso was wrapped in bandages.

"He is going to be fine. Like the Doctor said it was a small caliber." The nurse said. Nell just wrapped her arms around her stomach.

The nurse gave Nell a few moments before gently touching her shoulder.

"Time to go. We will call you as soon as he is out of ICU." The nurse said, gently.

"Thank you." Nell was able to say before they walked back to the lobby.

As they returned to the Lobby Nell noticed a new figure with them. Hetty had arrived.

She saw Nell come over and she grabbed her in a hug. "Are you ok, my dear?" She asked.

"I'll be fine, Hetty." Nell said.

Hetty turned to the Nurse. "My name is Henrietta Lange. I am Mr. Beale's next of kin. I would appreciate it if you were to call me the moment he is out of the ICU. My number is provided on his forms and it available 24/7."

The nurse checked the forms on a clipboard and nodded. "Of course Mrs. Lange." The nurse said.

"Miss Lange, actually. Thank you m'am" Hetty said as the nurse returned to her work.

She turned to the rest of them. "There is little else we can do so I suggest we head back. Nell, if you want to go home you are more than welcome to."

Nell shook her head. "I don't want to go home." She said. "I think Im going to get a hotel room tonight. I can't stay at our place tonight." She said.

Hetty shook her head. "Perish the thought, Nell. You can stay at my home tonight. " Hetty said.

"Thanks Hetty." Nell gave a weak smile.

"I want to swing by LAPD Crime Lab. Check up with Ryan." Deeks said as they all walked out.

"Okay. See you guys back at the Office." Kensi said.

The next morning

Hetty slowly opened the door to the guest room and stepped inside. Nell was asleep on the bed on her stomach, gripping her pillow in a death hug. Hetty moved to the side of the bed and gently shook Nell.

"Nell…Nell, wake up" She said gently.

Nell stirred and opened her eyes. "Hetty?" She moaned.

"I just got a call from the hospital. Eric is out of the ICU and in a room. They said he should be awake in the next few hours. Get cleaned and dressed. I will have breakfast ready for you and then I will take you to the hospital.

Nell slowly moved to a sitting position and brushed her hair out of her face.

"Thank you so much, Hetty." She said, barely stifling a yawn.

"Of course, my dear." Hetty said as she left the room.

LA Mercy General Hospital

Hetty pulled into a parking spot and turned the car off. She looked over at Nell who was dressed in a casual business look that Hetty selected for her.

"Hetty, do I want to know why you had clothes that were exactly my size?" Nell said.

"Always pays to be prepared my dear. Do you want me to go in with you?" Hetty said.

"No. I can handle it from here. I will call if I need anything." Nell said, finally genuinely smiling for the first time in days.

"Of course, my dear." Hetty said as she pulled Nell into a hug.

Nell opened the door and stepped out. She walked inside of the hospital lobby. She walked up to the receptionist.

"Hi. I was here yesterday for Eric Beale. I was told I could visit him now. My name is Nell Jones." She explained to the receptionist.

"Yes, I remember you. He is in room 1235. Down that hallway past the second nurses station on the left" The receptionist pointed down the hallway on the right.

"Thank you." Nell said as she walked down and found the room. She took a deep breath before opening the door and stepping inside. She walked over to the bed and saw him lying there. He didn't look like he just woke up from the Matrix now, only thing he had was an oxygen tube in his nose and an IV in his arm. She leaned over him and gave him a gentle kiss on his forehead.

His eyes stirred a bit and opened at the kiss. He tried to blink a few times, unable to focus. She grabbed his glasses and put them on him. When he realized who it was he smiled.

"Hi there." He said in a raspy voice.

She couldn't help but smile. A tear welled up in her eye.

"Why do you have to do that?" She asked as she laid her head on the bed next to him.

"Do what?" He rasped.

"Look at me like that whenever you see me. You always have that look like I'm the first person you've seen in years. It makes me feel…special." She said.

He smiled weakly. "It's because you are." He said.

"I'm not special. I'm just a run-of-the mill Midwestern girl." She said, blushing.

He shook his head. "You are to me. And that is what counts." He said.

"I really wish you hadn't been shot." She said.

"You and me both." He said.

"Because I really want to hug you and kiss you to kingdom come right now." She said.

"Sorry to disappoint you, Rockstar." He said. He moved like he was trying to sit up.

"Woah! What are you doing?" She said.

He managed to scoot a few inches over to the side of bed. "Making room for you" He said between breaths.

She climbed onto the bed with him and curled up against him.

"You have a punctured lung and you still think of me?" She said, moved by the gesture. "Eric Beale, you are too good for your own good." She said.

He chuckled painfully. "Yea, I guess I am." He said as he reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Don't go anywhere, Nell." He rasped.

"Never, Wolfram. I'm not leaving you ever." She said as she started to relax. Eric slipped into sleep and Nell spent the better part of the day watching over him, holding on to his hand and, as she said to him, never letting go.

A week later

Nell and Eric slowly walked down the hallway into the Mission. It was slow going because Eric was still having some trouble breathing. He was on oxygen while his lung was healing but he wasn't 100% yet. Hetty stood in the center, smiling.

"Welcome back, Mr. Beale. We missed you." She said.

"Good to be back. I may feel like an old man, wheezing and such, but I can still help out." He said.

"As long as you stay off your feet and don't strain yourself. I have given Nell the authority to kick you out if she needs to, and I have no doubt she will act on that." Hetty smiled.

"I'll keep that in mind." He said.

Nell squeezed his arm. "Come on. Let's get you situated. The others will be in shortly and will want to come up to see you.

They made their way up the stairs and into Ops. Nell rolled his chair over and he sat down, hanging the oxygen tank on the back. She rolled him over to his computer.

They both saw the card sitting on the computer. Eric reached over and grabbed it. Tearing open the envelope he opened it. It was a welcome back card signed by everyone. He couldn't help by chuckle at Deeks' note.

Welcome to the Bullet Hole Club, brother.

Deeks.

Little long to be a One Shot but not enough flow to be a Two shot. I guess you could call this a One and a half Shot. And guess what? :: Sarcasm Alert :: It's an Eric/Nell Drama story! OMG! Sorry. Im being a little patronizing but everytime I post one of these I get the rage. And you know what? I don't care! Don't like it? Read something else!

Ok, Rant over. Thanks for continuing to Read, Review, Follow, and Favorite it. I don't have much past this so next episode is going to take some time, especialy since this is not my top priority anymore. Thank you all!